61 Weeks Old

I'm a day late this week...for the last couple weeks I've felt like I have barely had a minute or two of free time. I think the nice weather is partially to blame - we're getting out and doing a lot more - and I think Henry's increased mobility and ability to get into things is also partially to blame. No longer is he content to stay in the living room and play, he wants to explore the whole house...and cupboards, and stairs, and bookshelves, etc.

We went to the zoo last Sunday as you can see in the bottom two pictures. It's kind of hard to tell here, but in the picture of him by the penguins he is laughing hysterically. I don't know why, but he thought it was the funniest thing in the world to sit there. The first picture is of him at his gym class yesterday. We had an outdoor play day since the weather was so nice. He's wearing his "Little MVP" Trailblazers hat. Everyone was laughing at him because he looked like a little old man in his jeans, polo shirt, and baseball cap that was just a little too big. He has this new habit of sticking his lower jaw out farther than his upper jaw (like a bulldog's underbite)...he's doing it in the top picture. It drives me crazy!! But it's no where near as disturbing as a nasty little behavior he's been doing for the last two days...making himself gag by sticking his fingers down his throat. He's made himself throw up twice. Once yesterday just a little and then this morning his whole breakfast. This is one of those things I am just going to have to ignore because the more I try and stop him the more he jams his fingers down his throat, and with more gusto each time. So frustrating!!

Moving next week! Yay! Just in time for summer - big backyard and deck to play in. We cannot wait!

60 Weeks Old!

So if last week was defined by illness, this week has been defined by falls, bumps, bruises, and scrapes. And also more illness. Poor guy's teeth are still causing pain for him as they come in resulting in his unwillingness to eat just about anything, which in turn makes him a grumpy little boy. Continuing to climb, creep, crawl, and cruise, Henry has taken more than his fair share of tumbles this week including a rather scary fall down four or five steps. He also poked himself just under the eye with a spoon that it cut the skin. I am still waiting to see if he gets a black eye...I wouldn't be surprised if he does. He took another especially hard fall while pushing his truck around the kitchen...right into the handle on the drawer under the stove. Maybe he's in a growth spurt or maybe his newly forming physical prowess is making him unsteady, but whatever it is I hope he gets a little bit steadier soon.

Despite all the aches and pains this week we've still tried to get out as much as possible and enjoy the great weather. Lots of walks and taking advantage of parks in the area. We're going to try and make it to this new indoor playground next week that one of my friends told me about - it looks like it has lots of stuff that Henry can climb on (which until Henry started crawling and climbing I didn't realize how difficult it was to find). We've got one more week of art and gym class and then those are over; music class ends the same week but returns after a brief time off (I think a month maybe), but we've signed up for another round of sign language that starts the following week. I'll have to figure out some other weekly activity to keep us busy...maybe a storytime at the library. Not sure yet!
(Picture is coming - I have to put new batteries in the camera.)

Swinging with Dad

Subtitled: A Lesson in Balance

Here's a little video from this past weekend at the park. I had told Brett how Henry liked the tire swing...the rest is self-explanatory. And, don't worry, no babies were harmed in during the filming of this video.

Sunny Days

What a weekend! The weather in Portland was warm to hot (by Pacific Northwest standards, at least) and we spent most of it outdoors. The bottom picture is from Friday; Henry and I went to the library for music and then in the afternoon went and played outside where he liked to take off his sunglasses every time I put them on him! The above picture is from Sunday at Gigi's house where we spent the day and had a BBQ. We had to put warm water in the pool otherwise it was too cold for him, but he loved being in there...and especially loved climbing out.

59 Weeks Old!

Subtitled: I'm a lover not a fighter.

About two weeks ago Henry started trying to hug his little girlfriends, Anna and Inari. He would grab them around the neck, lean in, and lay his head down on their shoulders. He even pats them on the back sometimes. Then came the kissing, which is more of him just pressing his wide open mouth against their face. Now he will do this to any kid he meets. Now he has learned how to blow kisses. I didn't think he could get any cuter, but when he blows kisses it pretty much surpasses anything else he's ever done in terms of cuteness.

He's eating red licorice in the bottom picture - then in the top picture you can see that it looks like he either has red lipstick or a bloody mouth! He walks all the way around that island just balancing against the side of it as he is in the pictures.

OMSI

We had a great Mother's Day. Went to breakfast with the whole clan and then relaxed the rest of the day with a long walk in the afternoon. The rain held off which was nice because I really wanted to take a walk. Henry is finally feeling better - phew. What a long, smelly week it was. He has his appetite back and, most importantly, his thirst!
Today we went to OMSI with Molly and Anna (thanks for taking us!!). It's only the 3rd time he's been there and the last time I took him was about 6 months ago so it was so much fun to see him actually able to interact with the kid exhibits and play. He and Anna looked so adorable in their boots and smocks playing in the water. Henry got so wet and loved every minute of it. His other favorite thing was the air blowing and keeping a ball suspended in the air.

58 Weeks Old!

This week has been spent cleaning up dirty diapers and trying to get liquids into the little sicky kiddo. He's had (explosive) diarrhea for going on 5 day now. No other symptoms - no fever, no vomiting, still pretty happy and active. We haven't actually gone in to see the doctor, but I spoke to them on the phone and was told as long as it stays as it is and we can keep him hydrated not to worry unless it continues for longer than a week. Even though she said a bland diet isn't necessary, I've had him on one since yesterday. But he's not eating much anyway, so I don't think it really matters too much. He really does not like the electrolyte drink - any of the flavors I've tried. I even tried the flavor-less kind and mixed it with some Jell-O mix. Still didn't like it. I am so thankful that I'm still nursing because if not I would really be worried about him.

In non-illness related news, he's still getting better and better at pushing his little truck around although he's taken some pretty rough falls and has the bumps to prove it. He's also practising using a fork and is fairly competent at getting the food into his mouth once it's on the fork; it's getting the food onto the fork that he is still struggling with. The cutest thing he did this week (at least the thing that's coming to mind right now) is after I was done cutting his toenails he took the nail clippers from me and pulled his foot up and tried to cut his own nails.