Missing camera...

Not sure if anyone has noticed or not, but there has been a serious LACK of new pictures of Henry on the internet lately. This is because I suspect that Henry casually dropped our camera in the garbage. That is the only thing I can think of to explain the fact that we cannot find our camera. We've looked EVERYWHERE...at least, I think it we looked everywhere.

:(

Henry's getting good at stuff...

This past weekend, Molly spent nearly all of Saturday getting ready for a craft fair, and then the majority of Sunday AT the craft fair. So, a lot of my ramblings below will be referencing stuff that happened over the past few days. I've realized that I don't spend nearly enough time with him.

Henry's sign language vocabulary has grown quite a bit.

He definitely knows the signs:
Milk
More
Help
Book

Sometimes he gets confused and says Book instead of Milk and the like, but he's figuring it out. Yesterday, I showed him the sign for water, and he did made a very close approximation...

He got this great book for his birthday, I think it is called "I can do it"? by Eric Carle. Each page has a different animal on it doing some sort of activity, and asking "Can you do it?" For several weeks now, Henry has been clapping at the seal page (showing that he can, in fact, do it). Then on Saturday, while I was reading it to him again, the elephant proclaimed that it could stomp its foot, which I demonstrated to Henry for clarity. Henry promptly started alternately stomping his feet. It was the cutest thing ever.

When I tell him, "go get your milk," he will walk over to the kitchen and wait at the gate that separates the kitchen from the rest of the house. (it's not quite 'getting' his milk, but he gets as close as he can to it). When we tell him to brush his teeth or take his bath, he walks over to the bathroom and points to the thing he needs to do that (like his tooth brush or the bath tub).

Henry seems to love music. We used to stand in the room that has our TV and stereo & stuff and listen to music and dance around (here, dancing means that we would hold henry and 'slow dance' or something to that effect). Henry would snuggle in and be generally cute. That kinda faded and became less fun for all involved as he started pushing away and being less content with this. But, yesterday, I decided that we would try it again. As soon as the music started, Henry sprang to attention and was SO happy that we were gonna dance around. He didn't snuggle in, but he started moving around in a 'trying to help my dad dance' kind of way. I thought I'd see if he'd dance on the floor, so I put him down, started dancing alone (i bet it was silly looking), and told him to dance with me. He did the elephant stomp. awesome :)

Henry...

So, Henry does so much awesome stuff, and has quite possibly left the title of "baby" behind and is may be more accurately classified as a "toddler."

Henry walks all over the place, wants books read to him over and over and over and over again (next time you come over, if you offer to read him "Corduroy's 4th of July," you will probably become his best friend), and gets into everything. I'm pretty sure that he means it when he says "Mama" now (though there's often a few extra ma's in there).

Henry loves animals and trucks. Big soft stuffed animals seem to be one of his favorite things right now. Henry would have loved the hundreds (ok, maybe just several dozen?) bright green parrots that I saw flying around North Riverside today, but he wasn't there. He loves having his mom read him book after book after book. Pretty sure he'd be able to just sit there for hours and have books read to him if given the chance.

He loves to throw his food on the floor from his high chair (I do not love this activity). When I got and get him in the morning when he wakes up, the first thing out of his hand (sign language) is "MILK!!" When I say back to him "Oh, you want milk? Really?" he says something that sounds like "meh." It's really cute. After he drinks his milk 1st thing, we like to hang out and snuggle on the couch for a little bit and pretend that it's not morning yet.

He likes to sit with me at the computer and watch photo slideshows.

And now, some of the best Henry pics...for more, visit his photo album (the link is at the bottom right of each photo.)

From Henry is Cuter

Harassing Daddy's boss is fun!

From Henry is Cuter

I LOVE animals!!!

From Henry is Cuter

Birthday Boy!

From Henry is Cuter

Cutest Parrot Ever! (and Liz)

From Henry is Cuter

Walking away

From Henry is Cuter

That was MY sailor-suit when I was Henry's age

From Henry is Cuter

Patiently waiting for more ice cream from Abuelito, after making a good mess of his chocolate cupcake.

Dumbledore and Catacombs?

What on earth do these two things have in common?

I have absolutely NO idea. But Henry seemed to say "Dumbledore nah nah nah catacomb" today. You might want to ask him about it next time you see him.

In the meantime...

In just 17 days, 1 hour, and a handful of minutes, he'll be one year old. :)

Look, Ma, no drawers!

more walking...and shrieking

Learning to walk

This kid is having a great time...

Henry can Snort-Laugh

This is pretty awesome.

Learning to eat cheerios

So, henry is figuring out how to feed himself cheerios. And i have to say it is hilarious. First of all, the lack of fine motor skills. The hand to mouth coordination. Holding the O in his hand (towards his pointer finger and thumb) but then sticking his pinky finger in his mouth, and thinking that he must have gotten it that time. more to come later. Henry's wanting me to pay attention to him and not my phone. Or maybe he wants the phone. Oh, one last thing. Henry can now get to a sitting position by himself and just started crawling on monday. And, he seems to like Johnny Cash.

my favorite person

Guess who it is...

If you guessed THIS guy, you'd be right!!

From Henry is Cute 2

oh yeah, this guy too...i like how his shirt matches his wall...

From Henry is Cute 2

and THIS guy...So, on this day, he was done eating his cereal, but there were several big scoops left. So, we decided to play with it...I put it in a nice little pile on his tray and let him take it from there.

From Henry is Cute 2

He really is a happy little man...

From Henry is Cute 2

...who absolutely loves to stand. If there is anything sturdy nearby, he will work as hard as he can to pull himself up. And if there is anything not sturdy nearby...he'll work as hard as he can to pull himself up, and end up pulling said non-sturdy thing on to him instead.

From Henry is Cute 2

oh, and he's got some crazy hair, too...

From Henry is Cute 2

This was his first wagon ride ever with his cousin Lily. He seemed to like it well enough. I'd never known a wagon to have a seat belt in it, but I guess those come standard now. Good thing, too, or he would have face-planted at Lily's feet.

From Henry is Cute 2

Reaching is totally his new thing. Not sure if he's been doing it more with Molly or not, but I just really noticed it yesterday. He reaches for EVERYTHING. It's pretty cool, cause I'm pretty sure he's learning that he can indicate a desire for something . . . bad part comes in when there's like 40 things gathered together - well, which thing is it that he wants?

From Henry is Cute 2

Molly bought Henry a bunch of cooking implements from the dollar store. He's got spoons (good for licking) and a colander (good for sticking his head in, and chewing on the rim). Everything pretty much goes in his mouth. He sits (mostly) patiently while we make his meals. Oh, and he's got two teeth now. One of them has been out for a couple of weeks. And another little one peeking out right next to it (I think we just noticed that one a few days ago).

From Henry is Cuter

Our new thing in the morning is to hang out in the computer/tv room and listen to music and dance. It either totally invigorates him in a really happy way (complete with laughing and squealing, which is pretty much the best thing ever) or really calms him down. Today we were dancing to some Jack Johnson and he started falling asleep in my arms. I had to wake him up cause his nap was in about a half hour and it would have ruined it. But that hasn't happened in a really really long time and it was the sweetest thing ever. I left work early today and we were listening to Cake's version of Mahna Mahna and I was of course singing along in the silliest voice I could come up with. He was just laughing his little head off.

Love him. Can't believe he's like 8 1/2 months old now! He's got his [nearly] 9 month check-up next week. size details to come...

Henry's a great sleeper!

So, last night Henry proved that he can sleep through the very loud noise and subsequent shaking that results from a car crashing into our house. Not only our house, but the the front wall of his bedroom.

Yes, that's right, a car crashed into (not through, just into) his bedroom wall while he lay sleeping just a few feet away. Everyone (on our end of things) is OK, though at least one person from the accident went away in an ambulance. We're not entirely sure what happened, but we were told that it was a hit and run (as in, car A hit car B, which then hit our house, then car A ran away).

Henry did, however, wake up a little bit when I was feeling around him (very quietly, since I recognized that he was asleep) to make sure there was no glass in his crib, since his window broke. Let's see---REALLY LOUD series of booms, with the final crash shaking your house vs your dad tip-toeing around in your room...which one wakes you up? Well, if you're Henry, then you'll select door #2...weirdo.

This was probably the 1st time that I've ever been TERRIFIED for his safety. I'm not really sure how fast I ran to him, but I could tell that he was fine (and asleep), so I slowly crept back out of the room.



In other non-scary news...
-in addition to milk, Henry is eating 3 solid meals a day (solid used lightly---can a puree be considered solid?). He's eating oatmeal and barely cereals, bananas, carrots, zucchini, peas, apples, and carrots. He really doesn't like the apples. Pretty sure he doesn't like the peas either, but I can't remember right now if they're as bad as apples or not.

From Henry is Cute 2

-Henry can roll freely from his tummy to back and back to tummy
-While on his tummy, Henry can scooch around in a circle so that he can face other directions.
-Henry can roll over in his crib and get his arm stuck in between the slats.
-Henry can sit completely unsupported once you sit him up (he can't get there himself yet)

From Henry is Cute 2

-Henry hates it when you say, "YAY!" - he hates it so much that if you do it, his face will crumple and he will cry. A lot. Please don't say "YAY" to my baby boy!
-From a seated position, Henry can pull himself up to stand if you hold your hands out for him at the right height...You don't need to help him other than to put your hands out, he does all the work.
-Henry's drinking a little bit of water each day from a sippy-type cup, just to get him used to the idea that he can feed himself (granted, water isn't feeding, but you know what i mean).
-Henry thinks flowers are for eating.

From Henry is Cute 2

-Henry is currently not a big fan of cars - seriously...look at that grumpy old man!

From Henry is Cute 2

-Henry likes noses

From Henry is Cute 2

possibly a musician?

It is quite possible that Henry is the best pianist ever.

Sad boy

Ok, i didn't really have anything to say, but he is so sad, but cute, in this picture. Poor little guy.

can't believe it

this kid is just getting huge. he's growing up so fast. i seriously cannot believe that in just 6 days he will be 6 months old. he's doing so much great stuff---he can sit totally unsupported for several minutes at a time. he's totally chowing down on rice cereal. he's figuring out the whole rolling over thing (you know, that skill that he learned back in like February or something, but decided to just stop doing...). He's even got a pair of sunglasses so that he can be the coolest kid on the block (forget the fact that we're the only family on the block).

as the weather is warming up, we're going out more and more. yesterday we went back to the park and tried the swing again. we took it a lot slower than last time and he did not cry or get freaked out at all. In fact, we got a few smiles out of him while he was swinging. the rest of the time at the park was spent sitting and people watching, which henry seems to like doing when we're out in public. we forgot to bring a camera, so we didn't get any happy baby swinging pictures. oh well.

Lots of pics to share this time...these are the ones that i have deemed to be the best, but there are of course many many more, so please feel free to checkout the whole album ...


Totally giving Molly the stink-eye for interrupting his meal.

From Henry is Cute 2

Very cool with his new sunglasses

From Henry is Cute 2

The look on his face totally asks, "What?"

From Henry is Cute 2

Really excited to eat more food

From Henry is Cute 2

Uncle Jon gives the best nelsons!!

From Henry is Cute 2

This picture is just perfection :)

From Henry is Cute 2

oops..

OK, So I've been slacking. I've been on a special project at work, which have required me to change my hours at work, which makes it less convenient to write about my life with Henry. Apparently, it is now MUCH less convenient as it has nearly been a month and a half. Whoops.

Since my last update, Henry:
1. weighs 16 pounds 14 ounces
2. can sit in his high chair and mostly support himself
3. can sit on the floor or other fairly firm surface without immediately falling down
4. is not terribly impressed with rice cereal
5. has developed the cutest squeaky noise EVER
6. is not a fan of the swing at the park
7. has his very own castle (thanks to Iris and Simon)



Henry does apparently like the coolness of the glass of ice water, and will try to eat the glass. Come to think of it, he tries to get at anything that you have (including your beverage, snack, cell phone, book, magazine or anything else that you have that he decides should be his).

Sweetest boy!

Henry LOVES nako-time!!! Especially if it takes place a) on the floor of the bathroom, b) standing up in the bathroom so he can see himself in the mirror, or c) anywhere else

Henry also enjoys being stuck in his/my sling, zipped up into my jacket and going for walks. Especially if it is semi-close to nap/bed time. It calms him down quite nicely, and he'll often nuzzle in (like here) and take a nap...very cute.

So, sorry about my slacker-ness. I will try to do better next time.

OK, here's some updates since I typed this out yesterday (it's Tuesday the 8th now)...
Regarding rice cereal---Henry did the BEST job ever eating yesterday. He spit almost none of it out, didn't "tight-lip" when I came at him with the spoon, and didn't make horrible gagging noises. AND, he ate everything (well, everything that didn't spill down his chin).

Regarding the swing at the park. Listen and watch---especially pay attention to the last couple of seconds.

4 months

Yesterday Henry had his 4 month check-up, and much to his dismay, his 4 month immunizations, as well. Oddly enough, it was probably one of his best doctor visits yet, in my opinion.

When we got there, it was the standard strip him down to his diaper, get weigh and measured (incidentally, he weighs 15 pounds 12 ounces and is 25 1/2 inches long. I think his head was like 40 1/2 centimeters around, or something like that), then chill out til the doctor comes in.

When she came into the exam room, the first few minutes were just talking/consultation type time. Henry got a bit bored of just laying on the exam table, so I sat him up on the table and supported him for a few minutes so he could look around and see what was what. This went rather well until he realized that NO ONE was paying ANY attention to him. I was looking at the doctor, who was looking at Molly, who was looking back at the doctor. And Henry was looking all around trying to catch someones' eye. He let out this loud shout/cry and his mouth fell into the most pathetic pouty/lip-sticking-out face that I think I've ever seen from him. Well, that got our attention, but only for a minute...then we were all talking and looking at each other again...

So, he did it again. Poor baby boy.

Everything is great with Henry. The doctor said that he was perfect (though there is a mild concern that we might be bundling him a bit too much for naps cause he's get some heat rash going on) and he is holding pretty constant at 75th percentile for both weight and length.

When he got his shots (4 of them, two in each leg), he was really really sad. I felt very bad for my little guy. :( But, once we scooped him up he started calming down pretty quickly, then proceeded to be fine for the rest of his day (which wasn't very long). I was totally expecting a repeat of Crabby McCrabberson, but Henry sure proved me wrong.

Tomorrow night, Aunt Susi is coming to babysit Henry for a bit so we can go out to dinner and a movie. Then, on Sunday, we're going to Northbrook for Henry's Abuela's birthday. And then next weekend, Grandma Brennan is coming to stay for a while. All sorts of fun stuff coming up!

:)

From Henry is Cute 2

Henry's totally missing his lower lip

From Henry is Cute 2

Henry's new sleep-sack, aka, baby-in-a-bag. Looks comfy...Has a robot on it.

One year...

OK, Henry's not one year old in the traditional oxygen breathing sense, but it was one year ago today that Molly showed me that little white stick that confirmed his life in utero! :) So, to celebrate, Henry and I gave Molly some time off.

Henry and I let Molly be for a few hours so she could do non-Mommy stuff. I took the day off of work, but still went to work with Henry. We coordinated with my old co-worker and friend Jen who had her baby Joshua the day after Henry was born. Here they are, just hanging out on my desk




Henry met up with his pal Mary in the lunchroom. Mary's tyring to make his hair lie flat. Silly Mary. Mohawks are in!







And here's Henry with Rebecca making really happy faces at Stephanie. Overall it was a good day. A few cranks here and there, but good.






In other news, Henry is really getting a lot better at the rolling over from his tummy to back thing. He did it 3 times on his own today alone. GO HENRY! :)

Sooooooo Sleeeeepppppyyyyy

OK, so this isn't the 1st time that Henry has fallen asleep in his monkey sling, but it is the 1st time that he fell asleep in the monkey sling without being actively walked around (previous sleepy sling occurrences included walking to starbucks, to the grocery store, or elsewhere---but we were outside, he was covered up, and we were moving).

But this time, I guess he was just too sleepy to stay awake. Probably because he just doesn't take long enough naps...he often wakes up after just 45 minutes and wakes up as Mr. Crankster (aka Crabby McCrabberson). I was watching Molly doing whatever it was she was doing. I was swaying back and forth (just to appease him). Molly turned to us and started laughing...That's where we pick up here:



In other Henry news, he went to the doctor the other day (there was a brief concern that he may have been under the weather, but he's not---he's perfectly fine) and weighed in at 14 pounds 12 ounces! :) Henry's normal doctor wasn't in the office that day, so we saw a different one (that we had seen before, but only once). I was feeding Henry a bottle while we waited for her to come in. When she did get into the exam room, there was no rush. She just talked to us about Henry, asked what the issues were, etc, and let Henry keep on eating. Then, instead of having me toss him (not literally of course) on the exam table, she just examined him while I held him. Had me hold his hands out of the way when needed, switch positions a couple times, etc. I really liked that. Seemed very...I'm not sure what it seemed. But it felt good, and I left the office with a very nice feeling. :) (don't get me wrong, Henry's normal doctor---We like you too! It was just a new experience for us)

Also, Henry got some fantasic outfits from Grandma Brennan---Here's one of them...It is like green long underwear with a hoodie. The inside of the hood has cute turtles on it.

From Henry is Cute

This is a while before he fell asleep in the sling...

From Henry is Cute

and the boys just chillin on the couch...

From Henry is Cute

recent pictures and more

Here's a quick selection of some recent pictures...more can be found at Henry's online album of course, but these are my favorites:

Here, Henry demonstrates one of his new favorite activities...sitting up like a big boy. :)

From Henry is Cute

Tummy-time is so much more bearable when he's propped up and has friends to talk to

From Henry is Cute

Oh, and it helps when his bottom half is naked, too...

From Henry is Cute

Henry loves his froggy hoodie-blanket that he got at Christmas-time. Helps keep him snuggly and warm after his bath.

From Henry is Cute

Just sitting on the couch, falling to the side, and thinking that's awesome.

From Henry is Cute

Who doesn't like making out with turtles?

From Henry is Cute

Hopefully, by now, you have all seen yesterday's post with the video of Henry's First Laugh. If not, go watch it!

Oh, I forgot to mention...Henry has rolled over from his front to back twice so far. Once with Molly while I was at work, and once with me. But, when we go and get the video camera, he refuses to do it again. Ok, I know it's not really a refusal. He's just a baby, he's only done it twice, and he probably doesn't even realize how he did it. When he flipped over for me, he rolled right off his blanket and bonked his head on the hard floor. It was either the bonk or the surprise of the roll, but he started crying almost immediately. Poor guy.