Bathtime

So Henry is getting teeth. His two front teeth on the bottom are both starting to come in! We can't really get pictures because he doesn't like to show them off. But the crazy thing is that it isn't really making him cranky. And actually, he's been sleeping better than usual the past week (8-9 hour stretch). Very exciting.

Anyway, we gave Henry a bath yesterday (not that we don't do that often, but we had the camera this time). Just a few shots of bath time :)

Illinois

Yes, Mom and Henry made it back safely (albeit two hours late). It's be so great to have both of them back home. Last weekend, Mom was very busy with stuff for her store so Henry and Dad got to spend a lot of quality time together. We had much fun. Because of how busy we've been since Mom and Henry returned, we haven't taken a lot of pictures. Yesterday, though, after I was done working, we got to hang out and take new photos. This is Henry and Dad fighting over who gets to play with the ribbon:



Then this is Henry and Mom chilling (aren't they so cute :)



Then a couple pictures of Henry by the window. Thanks Aunt Ellen for the jeans!

Away

Henry and Mom are still in California. They are attempting to come home tomorrow, and hopefully the weather allows them to (a winter storm is coming in IL). Mom keeps me up to date on the happenings of Henry by sending me picture messages through our phones - isn't technology great! So here's one of the pictures she sent me. With the holidays coming up, hopefully many more fun pictures will follow in the coming weeks!

End of Vacation

So this is Dad's last day on vacation. I'll be coming back home tomorrow. Which means I have to go another week without getting to see Henry. He seems to be learning more and more motor skills everyday so I'm sure I'll miss a lot over the week. Just the other morning when I got up with Henry (he's been waking up consistently at about 6am every day), he rolled over from back to belly... It was actually quite hilarious because every time he tried, he would pass gas. Then when he actually rolled over, he passed a lot of gas :)

Anyway, I'm going to post a few pictures with this one since I won't be able to take any pictures over the next week. This is on Henry's first Thanksgiving:



This picture was taken one morning over the weekend at the cabin:



While we were up at Shaver, Santa was in town so we took Henry up to see him. It was outside in a very rustic setting which was much better than in a big mall. He was very well behaved and was fascinated by the fake beard.

At the Lake

We've been up at the cabin at Shaver Lake all weekend. Yesterday we went to the lake to feed the ducks and enjoy the fresh mountain air. Mom, Dad, Uncle Adam, Aunt Tina, and Cousin Nikki and her daughter Riley all went. Henry seemed a little indifferent about the ducks, but he liked feeling the texture of the rocks. It was such a relaxing weekend even though Henry didn't quite adjust to the different crib.

Cereal

Last night we started Henry on some solids. We gave him some rice cereal after his normal dose of evening formula. He was a little shocked by the new taste and didn't appear to like it much on the first try. I'm sure he'll begin to develop a liking for cereal since Dad could pretty much live on it. I don't think it is possible to capture the priceless expressions completely with a camera, but here's a few pictures of the feeding. Notice the progression of disgust...

Five Months

Five months ago today, Henry was born! He's come a long way from the tiny little guy we met that day. Today, he's celebrated by taking really short naps to make himself more cranky than usual. But he managed to stay happy through lunch with Great Grandma and Great Grandpa. Fortunately, we didn't have much else going on today so we could work around his short naps. Uncle Adam comes back tonight and Aunt Tina rides the train here tomorrow. Good times! Here's Henry today:

Sitting

Yesterday was a good day of relaxing. We didn't really have much going on other than visiting with Uncle Adam in the morning before he left for a visit with his family up north. So in the afternoon, Henry and Mom were watching some Baby Einstein on the laptop while I worked on improving the performance of Grandma & Grandpa's home computer :) Mom put Henry on the floor and he was doing a pretty good job of holding himself up! Occasionally, he would fall forward in an effort to see what his socks tasted like. But then the cow would come back on the screen and he'd work his way back up to smile at him. Here's a few shots from yesterday afternoon.

Reunited

So... It's been a while. Dad was out sick for a while. Shortly after Dad got better, Henry had is four month doctor visit. He had another dose of immunizations that went much better this time than at the two month visit. We also found out that Henry is in the fiftieth percentile for weight and ninety fifth percentile for height! Tall and lanky like Mom and Dad. Then Mom and Henry flew off to California to visit all the family out in the central valley. Dad was home alone for a week and really missed Henry (and Mom of course). On Wednesday, Dad got to fly out and join them for two weeks! Henry certainly changed in that week that I didn't get to see him.


This was the first day I got in. He was so happy to see me - I was afraid he was going to forget who I was. But we got to hang out for a while, then he went down for a nap. I was reminded how peaceful he looks when he sleeps.





Yesterday, we went to Uncle Wayne and Aunt Ellen's house in Firebaugh (not Fire Ball). Here's a couple pictures from the visit:





We were hanging out with Mom's cousin's daughter, who is super cute. Even though she's not ours, I just had to post this picture because it's awesome. Mom took this one:

Out

So Dad's been out with H1N1... So yeah, I've been spending a lot of time away from Henry - mostly quarantined in the bedroom - so I don't get him sick. That doesn't yield many pictures. But there's a few shots I wanted to post from last weekend that Mom took of Henry and I (before I got sick). Back to the recovery room...

Shoulders

Henry's still developing every day. He's getting better at grabbing on to things which makes him have more fun with his toys. His attention span seems to be increasing. And I swear he responds to his name, but maybe it's just to my voice... Here's a picture when Mom put Henry up on her shoulders.

Remote

Uncle Adam bought Dad a remote for his camera. I played around with it a bit today so here's a picture with both Mom and Dad (and Henry, of course). He has no idea what he's in for being raised by us :) Clearly he'll have non-stop fun! I mean, look at him!

Sickness

This past weekend, Henry came down with a bit of a cold. He was congested and sneezing and coughing and his voice was really raspy. He even had a bit of a temperature last night. Needless to say, he did not have a good weekend. Even though he cried a bit more than usual, and his face was covered in snot and drool, we were still able to find smiles throughout the day to keep us going:



But yes, he did do more crying than usual (this next picture was moments after the previous one)... We'll all be happy to have him back in full health. -Click on the picture to see the tears :(

New Toy

Henry's borrowing an exersaucer from some friends. Mom's not the biggest fan of plastic toys, but Henry loves this thing! There is so much to stimulate his little developing brain. He's a little small for it, but he has such good leg and head strength, that we just pad him with some blankets and let him go at it! Here he is enjoying his new toy.

Three Months! (Big Boy Edition)

Three months old... Henry is getting so big! It gets harder and harder to hold him up for prolonged periods of time - quite the arm workout. He's increasing his baby-talk vocabulary which is totally cute. He's gaining more and more control of his motor skills. But he's still on the same general sleep schedule which includes waking up far too frequently for Mom and Dad's liking. I just took a quick snapshot of Henry and Mom to show how big he is today. I posted twice today so be sure to continue scrolling down for more!

Three Months! (Pumpkin Edition)

Henry is three months old today! It's hard to believe, I know. This past weekend, Henry got to experience his first Pumpkin Festival! We got up and met Grandpa and Great Grandma there for pumpkin pancakes on Saturday morning. This picture (Grandpa took) is in the food tent after Henry scarffed down about a dozen pumpkin flapjacks :)



After the pancakes, we got to watch the parade. It was quite a disappointment this year -- they didn't have the tumblers on the semi or the old-folks with their wheel chairs decorated. This is after the parade. Can't you see that hint of disappointment in his eye?

Captured Smile

That elusive smile I mentioned a while back... I finally outsmarted it and captured it for all the world to see! I had to hold the camera away from my face because he seemed to get confused when the big black box went over my face. Suddenly things became less fun like that. But since he could see all the crazy faces I was making, he maintained the smile. Enjoy!

Labor Day

There has been a lack of posting lately and for that I apologize. Anyway, this picture was taken on Labor Day weekend before Grandma & Grandpa went to Ohio. I was sad not to get to go because it's one of my favorite holidays! I love the opportunity to just relax outside. We also usually get to play some outdoor games (yeah, cornhole!). Here's Grandma and Henry:

Two Month

On Friday, we had Henry's two month doctor visit. That's the one where they give a baby four shots... One was oral and three were stuck in his leg with a needle the size of Henry! Needless to say, he did not have a good time. But overall, I'd say he took it well for a two month old baby.


Today, he and I got to hang out for a while and Mom took our picture. It is already feeling like fall here in East Peoria, so we got to bring out the lumberjack outfit! Next week we're renting a log splitter :) We take preparing for winter seriously in our household.

Visitation

We got to visit with Henry's Aunt and Uncle for the past ten days. It's always so great to see them and so hard to say goodbye. Last Sunday, we got to have Henry dedicated at the church. It was excellent and a good reminder of how we desire to raise our son to become a Godly man. Sometimes it's hard to remember that with all the diaper changes and late night feedings (Mom). But certainly even the way we raise him now can have profound results later in his life!



After church, we went to Eli's Coffee Shop in Morton. It was so beautiful out! Aunt and Uncle had such a great time hanging out with Henry - and Mom and Dad didn't mind having our hand free!



Mom and Twin Sister with Henry:



And later that night, we went over to our doula's house. For those who don't know what that is, check out the link. She was such a tremendous help through the long process of laboring! We honestly believe that we would have had a Caesarean Section birth without her. She's the greatest :)

eight

So Henry is now eight weeks. Each day brings new developments and growth which is so exciting to watch! He's so alert and responsive now. He's started smiling so much more (but when the camera comes out, it's very elusive). He also has begun baby talking and cooing which is absolutely adorable! And unlike dad's hairline, Henry's is growing forward again. Anyway, here are a couple of pictures that demonstrate that he's the cutest baby ever!

Sleep

So it seems as though sleep is the thing to ask about lately. Henry is nearly seven weeks old. He doesn't technically sleep through the night as a grown man would do - eight hours straight - but he has known the difference between night and day for most of his life. So he is used to sleeping at night and being more active during the day. He usually gets one longer stretch to start the night (about 4 hours), then gets up every 2-3 hours after that for food. Fortunately for me, Mom is the best and she lets me sleep through the night, especially when I have to get up for work the next day. I always like to say, he sleeps like a baby :)