Nine Months Old

Unbelievable to me that he is this old already. Everyone cautions you how fast time flies, but you just cannot imagine how fast it really does go by until you are watching a child grow. (Exept for the first couple months...those do not fly by, those drag on and on in a sleepless haze.)

Henry is amazing. He is getting so talkative, so busy, so curious. His newest skill is clapping his hands which he has learned elicits an excited "patty-cake, patty-cake!!" response from us. He also is loving feeding himself lots of finger food to the point of sometimes refusing food that is fed to him by us. He loves to eat bread, egg, fruit pieces, cereal, turkey, graham crackers...pretty much anything we'll give him. Not crawling yet, but we think it will be soon. In any case, I'm not in any hurry - I like that he still stays where I put him.

Here is a picture of him sitting in his Uncle Geoff's old rocking chair that our grandpa (his great-grandpa) made for him when he was little...enjoying a little Christmas cigar (not really, of course).

Happy Holidays!!

More Snow!

A week ago Henry saw his first snow; now a week later he sees one of the biggest snowfalls we've seen in Portland in decades. Plus, today, the ice on top of that! I got some great videos of Wilbur going nuts in the snow and ice.

Must watch video of us as elves!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

38 Weeks Old

This week's picture is also his Santa picture. We had to take him to see Santa Claus on his very first Christmas... I thought he would scream his little head off, but he actually really liked Santa. He tried to touch his beard and smiled and laughed. So now he's had the requisite commercial Christmas experience I suppose. Since neither Brett nor I are religiously affiliated maybe we'll have to come up with our own holiday traditions. I'm leaning towards the Festivus model as proposed by George's dad on Seinfeld. We didn't get a tree this year...maybe there's still time to go get a Festivus pole. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQFLqMyo0fo

PS I know I am prejudiced, but isn't he the cutest kid you've ever seen?

SNOW! SNOW! SNOW!

They said it was coming, but, as those who live in Portland know, the news sometimes like to make a mountain out of a molehill in regards to snow. However, we woke up this morning and it was coming down hard and it hasn't let up since. So we took Henry out in his first snowfall. Hard to say whether he thought it was anything special or not... Wilbur, on the other hand, loves the snow as we found out the first year we had him. He goes crazy - running around and sliding into things. We bundled up and went down to Starbucks which is usually only a 10 or 15 minute walk each way but it took longer of course today. Here are some pictures of our walk and the snow around our house. The lake looks absolutely beautiful. Hopefully it will just keep snowing so Brett won't have to go to work tomorrow!

37 Weeks Old!

I should have thought about this last week, but for some reason it didn't cross my mind until this week - but Henry was born at 36 weeks gestation; so he's now officially been outside longer than inside! :) I love that in the first picture he's excited and leaning forward and in the bottom one he's just laid back, chilling.

More Milestones

First, the second top tooth has poked through! Just like on the bottom it was right followed about 4 days later by left. These top ones haven't seemed to bother him as much as the lower ones did, so let's hope that trend continues. Second, we (finally) got the crib set up in the spare bedroom for him. Of course, the old mattress is still in there, pushed up against the wall, but it's a start. I'm going to try to transition him into it by putting him down for naps in there and then move on to overnights. I love these pictures because in the first one he looks stunned to be in the crib, but then he likes it.

Vital Stats Update

Henry went in to meet his new doctor today and get some more vaccinations. After meeting the doctor, I felt very comfortable with her as she is very supportive of our philosophy in regards to breastfeeding and vaccinations. Henry got a three-in-one shot of DTaP, Hib, and Polio. The doctor in Savannah would have given him the DTaP and Polio together so I knew those two were safe to do together and I knew from my own research that the Hib vaccine does not have any aluminium in it and since he's had that one before and did not have an adverse reaction to it, I figured it was okay to do those three....especially because he only had to get stuck one time for all three! He weighed in at 17 pounds, 8 ounces and was 27 inches tall. Measured against other 8 month old that puts him in the 13th percentile for weight and 55th percentile for height. Measured against other 7 month olds obviously he's even higher up on the percentile charts. She said that he's right where he should be developmentally. While I think Dr. Ramos will forever be my favorite pediatrician, I am so happy to have found Dr. Gopal and I think this will be the beginning of a long relationship!

Milestone Alert

Henry's top right tooth poked through on Saturday! I've felt like one was coming for about a week now and on Friday and Saturday he kept running his tongue over his gums which is what he did before the bottom ones came in and, sure enough, by Saturday I could see it coming in. This one didn't seem to bother him as much as the bottom ones did, thank goodness.

36 Weeks Old!

Henry is getting so big! Probably the most profound change in him is that he is asserting his own desires much more - protesting, in the form of crying, when he wants to do something different than he is doing at the moment...and moving (or trying to move) all over the place to try and get things that interest him - as seen in the top photo. Gone is my quiet, content little baby! But, as I told my mom the other day, he seems like a real baby now. What I meant was that he's active, messy, loud, moody, etc. I love it!!

Feeding Frenzy!

Last night I let Henry try to feed himself some mashed potatoes. Here is the result.

8 Months Old!

Henry turned 8 months old right on Thanksgiving day. We had a great dinner over at Gigi's house and Henry even got to eat some turkey, mashed potatoes, and asparagus. Strange, I know...but he really seemed to enjoy the asparagus and we have the pictures to prove it!

Our sign language class is continuing and it is amazing to see some of the kids signing. Henry's vocabulary is definitely increasing. He recognizes more and more words all the time. Most recently I realized he knows "more" and "bubbles." "More" I could tell because he was sitting in his highchair looking down at a toy and I said, "More?" and he opened his mouth. He does this also when he's looking at me but I didn't know that he actually recognized the word and wasn't just responding to the spoon coming towards him! "Bubbles" I can tell he knows because I ask him if he wants bubbles and he looks up to the shelf where I keep them. Exciting stuff!

Late Again!

Blame it on Turkey Day. Stay tuned!

New Bath Time!

Since I've posted a number of pictures/videos of Henry in the bath, I thought I'd better take a picture or two of him in his new, bigger bath. He finally outgrew his little blue bath (well, he still fit in it but he could pretty much climb out of it and tip it over). Yes, he could be bathed in the big bathtub but I'm glad we got this one because it fits on the kitchen counter so no bending over. Plus our bathroom is pretty small and the toilet is unfortunately and disturbingly close to the bath which makes me cringe. (Although nothing tops the all-in-one toilet and shower units like in some of the hotels in Italy we stayed in.)

34 Weeks Old!

...and one day. Here is Henry sitting on the bed watching me fold laundry. When he was about 3 months old or so he went through a long phase where every day you could see marked changes in him. It was as if we could literally watch him grow right before our eyes. This past week I feel like he has started another phase like that. Each day he does something completely new and not just a slight change or evolution of something he's already doing, but what seems like a brand new thing. For example, he now will push away from me when I'm holding him and he doesn't want to be held. He calls for Wilbur by going "uhhh...uhhhh" to get Wilbur's attention. He recognizes Wilbur's name (and his own!) - if you ask him "where's Wilbur?" he looks around for him and stops looking when he sees him. All kinds of things like that. And it won't be long before he's crawling either. He spent about 30 minutes last night rolling over back and forth from front to back and back to front and today he tried and tried to go from sitting to all fours - with only one successful attempt, but he really wants to do it you can tell.

Thursday

It completely escaped me that today was Thursday and I needed to get a picture of Henry. I'll get on it tomorrow. Sorry...stay tuned.

Sense of Humor

I think that Henry is going to have an awesome sense of humor. Sometimes he laughs for no apparent reason. Like tonight. He was sitting in his high chair and just cracking himself up. He kind of made a face and then just laughed and laughed and laughed. So I grabbed the video camera and tried to capture him, but of course he didn't really do it the same again. The best part of the video is right at the very beginning because he is still sort of laughing hard.

Swingin' in the Park

Henry and I had our pictures taken yesterday in Laurelhurst park. The photographer was wonderful and I'm hoping got lots of great pictures. At the end of the shoot, she asked if Henry liked to swing and I had to admit that I didn't know because I've never put him in a swing before. So we tried it out and he absolutely loved it. In fact it was pretty much the first and only time he smiled the whole time (of course). Since the weather was nice again today we walked and found some swings nearby our house where I took these pictures of him. Hopefully we'll continue to have some nice days so that he can swing some more!

Playtime

While not a very exciting video, it is still kind of fun to just watch him play with his little Fisher Price barnyard toy. It's the first "real" toy he's gotten (only has had little stuffed animals or blocks or teething toys) and he loves it. Totally makes me feel badly for not getting him toys sooner! And of course Wilbur had to try and get on camera as well. He cannot stand not getting the same attention that Henry gets, including if I'm trying to take Henry's picture without Wilbur in it.

33 Weeks Old

His outfit for this week is 180 degree turn from his outfit last week...last week was business casual and this week is commune casual. Hee hee hee. I had to put a little closeup in as well as the regular picture because he is so damn cute here. He's playing with his drum; a new toy that I got him that lights up and makes sounds when you hit it. He thinks it's amazing. :)

Baby Buddies

Aww. Henry and Daniel, Kati's son, playing together. Daniel will be 2 in about a month and he is so funny with Henry. He is so sweet and gentle and will show him all his toys and pat his arms and head but doesn't like it when Henry touches him. He'll gently pick up Henry's hand and move it off of himself. Daniel doesn't realize it yet (at least I don't think he does), but come May he'll be a big brother (!) so this is good practise for him. And look, their outfits are even color-coordinated!

32 Weeks Old

Here is Henry's weekly picture! Little man in his little plaid shirt!

Trick or Treat

This post is a little late, but better late than never I suppose. On Halloween we went to the home opener of the Trailblazers with Gigi and Grandpa Rex and my friend Hilary (who I am SO SO SO happy is finally living back in Portland!). Geoff and Carolyn were also there but sitting in a different spot. Geoff, Carolyn and Henry dressed up - Geoff as Diego Rivera; Carolyn as Frida Kahlo; and Henry as Superman! :) We put earplugs in his ears because the Rose Garden was very noisy and so he didn't seem to be bothered at all by the loudness. In fact, he really enjoyed looking down at the court and around at all the people. I'd love to take him to another game - one during the day though so his sleeping schedule isn't disturbed...

31 Weeks Old

We started baby sign language classes this week. Henry is the youngest in our class with the oldest being 1 year. It is so hilarious to watch all the little kids play together. At the beginning and end of the class all the parents sing a song to the children with a verse for each child. All the kids' faces light up when they hear their own name. The teacher is a speech pathologist so in addition to teaching us the signs she is teaching us some great ways to teach language skills. It will take some getting used to signing all the time (the more you use the signs, the better), but so far it's been pretty fun.

Here he is in his Halloween shirt and socks from Gigi and then also wearing his pumpkin hat from Uncle Mike and Jackie.

Seven Months Old!

I took this picture today while Henry was eating his breakfast. It makes me laugh because it reminds me of a Halloween themed recreation of a scene from The Exorcist. Actually it's Henry
"eating" a piece of orange. He has a habit of chewing on whatever piece of food he has (apple, orange, bread, etc.) and letting it hang out of his mouth as if he's saying "Look, no hands!"

Look Who's Talking

So...this video doesn't properly demonstrate his speaking capabilities but after trying a number of times to get him to say "mama" clearly, this is the best I could do. But take my word for it, even if it sounds like he's just babbling and randomly happens to say what sounds like "mama" on this video, that is actually not the case. In person he will clearly say it after Brett or I say it to him.

30 Weeks Old!

Almost to 7 months old...just a couple days away. The biggest accomplishment is that Henry is saying "mama" very clearly and can do it on command. Of course he has no idea what it means, but it's still exciting. The baby books call is indiscriminate talk which is the first step towards understanding how to use language in a meaningful way. We start our baby sign language classes next week and are really looking forward to them. I've been having Henry practise his fine motor skills as much as possible in preparation! He's always been a very curious, observent child, but as he is getting older he is really getting even more curious and interested in the world around him. It's amazing to watch. For example, he just discovered that he can tilt his head way back and look behind him, so now he does that all the time to see what's going on behind him. It's hilarious.

Pumpkin Patch

We took Henry to the pumpkin patch yesterday. My mom, dad, Mike, Jackie, and Geoff all joined us for a trip out to Lee Farms where Henry got to sit with pumpkins, goats, chicks, and hay. I didn't get the best pictures with our camera, but somebody must have gotten some because I'm sure Henry must have felt like a mini-celebrity being stalked by the paparazzi there were so many people flashing pictures of him. I'll have to check out everyone else's pictures to find some better ones, but for now here a couple of the better ones I got.

More Eating Fun

Brett was feeding Henry and saying to him "say ahhhhh" and Henry was repeating the "ahhhh" sound with his mouth open waiting for the next bite. It was so cute that I had to get a video of it, but of course, once the camera came out Henry stopped doing it...so you have to listen at the very beginning of the video because I only captured him doing it one time. But the rest of the video is pretty darn cute anyway.

Laugh Track

Okay, so I know this is weird...but this is a video with really no visual component...just the audio component of Henry laughing. The reason there isn't anything to see is because I took this in bed last night when I was making Henry laugh and laugh and laugh. So just turn the sound up and enjoy!

29 Weeks Old!

Sleeping has been thrown off, I'm thinking due to the teething. Those sharp little teeth are coming right in...it's so cute to see them get a little bigger each day. It hurts when he chomps down on my fingers (or nose!) but he doesn't seem to mind chewing on his own fingers. He continues to do really well eating "solids" (not a very accurate term because they are really anything but solid!). He's now had: bananas, sweet potatoes, carrots, apples (that's the newest), lots of prunes, and a taste of peas and apricots. These all get mixed in with the rice cereal which was causing some, ahem, congestion problems - hence the prunes. I cannot express how much I love that he's sitting up so well now! It makes so many things WAY easier to do now that I can just plop him down on the floor with a couple toys in front of him. He absolutely loves to be sitting up with a couple interesting things within his grasp. This is a 180 degree change from the way he was about lying down - he absolutely hated to be laid down so this is such a nice change!

He was much more interested in his shoes today (second picture) than in having his picture taken...

Tooth...make that Teeth!

That's right...today the bottom, left tooth started poking up through the gums. So, now he officially has TEETH!! Oh my goodness - getting two teeth has really made him cranky. Sometimes I forget just how much of a calm, content, easygoing little guy he is until something like this reminds of what he could be like. It's been so hard to get him to fall asleep for the past two days and he will wake up just crying and putting his little fists in his mouth. I hope that once these two are through that he gets a break before the top ones start coming in.

Major Milestone Alert!

Tooth, tooth, tooth, tooth!! Henry was a bit fussier than usual Thursday night...okay, a lot fussier than usual. When he didn't even want to nurse, I knew something was up. Sure enough, a little, sharp tooth was poking through on the bottom. Finally I got him to sleep and today you can still feel it, but it seemed to have gone down a little bit which I thought was odd, but mom says they do that. But it's definitely here, his very first tooth!!

28 Weeks Old!

Not a whole lot of new developments to report this week. Henry is continuing to eat rice cereal and bananas, usually two servings a day. I'm going to start introducing him to more new foods slowly (to make sure he doesn't have an allergic reaction to anything). So far I've made sweet potatoes, carrots, yellow peas, prunes, and of course the bananas. I buy the organic produce and then steam it and puree it and then freeze it in ice cube trays. It's super easy to do and since the portions are so small you actually get quite a bit of food done all at once. It definitely saves money but I think the more important thing is that I am controlling exactly what goes into his body at this important stage in his development. I guess the only other new thing that's going on is something that you can see illustrated in this picture...he is trying to move around a lot. He reaches, stretches, leans, bends, etc., to try and get things that are out of his reach. I suppose this is the first step to crawling!

Bathing Baby Boy

Once again, here's more of Henry in the bath...this time in a video so you can see him in action. As much as he is active in this video, he is usually even more active - I think he might have been a bit camera-shy.

Adventures in Eating

We added another food to his diet...bananas! Here he is trying mashed bananas mixed into his rice cereal for the first time. There's the still photo as well as the video in case some people have trouble viewing the video.

27 Weeks Old!

Henry cannot keep his fingers out of his mouth right now....he's been teething for about 2 months now and still no sign of a tooth. I keep having dreams that he gets all his teeth at once, so we'll see. He wasn't very pleased with having his picture taken today and used his new-found weapon of choice, the back arch, to try and wiggle out of the boppy. This is the best picture I could get of him. We are continuing a nightly feeding of rice cereal and he is still loving it. Last night he ate about half of what I mixed up for him and then just shut his mouth and refused any more so I guess he was full! Right now he's sitting on the bed next to me and picking up and dropping a pacifier over and over. Picks it up, drops it, picks it up, drops it. And he is very intent on it. :)

Milestone Alert!

Henry had his very first feeding of "real" food tonight. We mixed breastmilk with a little rice cereal and fed it to him. He took it as if he has been eating for a long time - he knew exactly what to do with it and didn't spit it back out or anything. He just kept eating and eating it. It was awesome!

Six Month Check Up Stats

Hello all! Henry had his 6 month check up yesterday and the doc said he looks great. He weighs 15 pounds 4 ounces and is 27 inches long. The weight measured against other 6 month olds only puts him in the 10th percentile, but measured against 5 month olds in the 35th. The height is in the 30th percentile for 6 month olds and 50th for 5 month olds. He got two vaccinations yesterday - DTaP and Hib. The DTap is for diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (whooping cough) and is the first of three he needs for him to be fully protected against those diseases. The hib is for a really common flu-like disease that causes vomiting and diarrhea and does kill children in other parts of the world, but here is typically treatable. Miserable to have, but treatable. The DTaP vaccine contains aluminum but the Hib does not, so I felt good about him getting those two together. He actually didn't react as much as I thought he would. Of course he screamed and cried as she was giving him the shots, but she was super fast and I nursed him right afterward and he stopped crying quickly. He was a little more fussy than usual last night but no fever or any other noticeable side effects.
I have a picture to post along with this so stay tuned! Ok, here's the picture...you can just barely make out his battle wound - the little bandaid on his left thigh where he got the shots!

26 Weeks!

Technically he is a half a year old today (his six month is on the 27th)! He goes next Monday for his 6 month check up so I'll have more info on his vital stats after that. Right now he is sitting on the bed next to me (sitting up all by himself!) and trying to grab the remote control and laughing and babbling. He is so pleased with himself at being able to sit up. I put him in the shopping cart the other day for the first time just sitting in the little kids seat. I had to have him hold on to the bar in front of him and place something behind his back to support him but he absolutely loved it. He spent about 5 minutes just laughing. Laughing. People in Target were stopping and going "what is he laughing at?" and I told them I think just at sitting up. It was awesome. I'm putting two pics of him up today since he wasn't very happy when I took the first one. The shirt is a new one from Gigi...and it's a 12 month size. It says "I Love Mommy" in tattoo art style - it's my new favorite shirt of his.

Major Milestone Alert!

Henry has mastered the art of sitting up unassisted (well, "mastered" might be too strong of a word, but you get the idea!). On Saturday night he was sitting up while holding onto a bar in front of him and then on Sunday got steadier and steadier and was able to sit and balance himself completely alone. If he starts leaning too far in any direction then he does tumble over, but for the most part if he sways a little he can right himself again.

25 Weeks Old!

Henry is reaching out and grabbing more precisely now and he is trying for any and everything within his grasp. He is absolutely fascinated with Wilbur and loves to watch him. He is definitely teething right now - we have had a couple of rough nights. It's making him cranky during the day too which is a new experience...up until now he had been such a docile little kiddo. His 6 month check up is at the end of this month and I can't wait to see how much he weighs!