Henry is an unbelievably sweet little boy. Who knows if it is the age or his real personality, but it is great to watch. For example:
*There are very few toys that he won't share with his friends. I know kids this age don't understanding "sharing" as a concept, but if another baby wants something he readily hands it over. The one exception is a baby stroller, he will knock people over to get at one of those!
* We went to visit his cousins Madeleine, Kate and Charley this week. He would try to hug the girls and made sure not to leave Charley (4 1/2 months) out of the action. He would go over to his bouncy seat and "talk" to him, squeeze his feet, lean down by his face etc. He was even letting him play with his cell phone this morning. He would say a few things and then lay it in Charley's lap. He would give Charley a minute and then take it back. He did this over and over and I was amazed watching it.
*He loves to share his food. He is always offering me bites from his food and sips from his drink. Even when he was in the worst throes of his Noro virus and we had to ration his drinking to stop his vomiting he was still offering me his drink. Of course he then shared his virus, but that comes with the territory!
*When he came into our bed the other night he had one pacifier in his hand and one in his mouth. I shut my eyes and he was trying to jam his spare into my mouth. I took it between my lips so not to insult him but then dropped it after a second. He sat up and gently placed it back in my mouth again like we do to him. I almost died from the sweetness!
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Isn't he helpful?
Despite going to bed easily and sleeping much longer, Henry consistently wakes at 4am every night. I know, I can eliminate this waking by ignoring him for a few nights, but frankly I don't have the energy to listen to him scream at that hour. I just go grab him, his adult sized pillow that he now sleeps with and plop him in our bed. Works like a charm, he smiles and goes right back to sleep.
On Sunday, I went to grab him and he practically squealed with delight when he saw me. Acted like 4am is a perfect time for a social call. Just a I got closer, he reached down and picked up his own pillow. All packed and ready to go!
On Sunday, I went to grab him and he practically squealed with delight when he saw me. Acted like 4am is a perfect time for a social call. Just a I got closer, he reached down and picked up his own pillow. All packed and ready to go!
Sunday, January 06, 2008
City Boy
As I mentioned in my last post, Henry is really starting to pick up on certain routines. He has picked up some funny habits that I think are unique to his city upbringing. For example
*He always wants my keys when we hit the front door of our building. I give them to him and let him out of the stroller. He runs through the lobby and heads straight for the bank of mailboxes. He stops right in front of our box and holds the key in the air waiting to open the lock.
*As soon as we hit the elevator, he holds up his arm to press the button to call the elevator. Once inside, he wants to hit the number for the floor. He then looks up at the numbers to watch what floor we are on, and when we get there wants to push the door open. He also likes to look into the window on the door of the elevator and watch Adam "disappear" in the morning.
*This morning we were doing some laundry. We were headed out to switch the laundry from the washer to the dryer. On the way out the apartment I handed Henry a small grocery bag of garbage to hold just to keep him occupied. As soon as I opened the door he ran down the hallway and stopped in front of the garbage chute. I was amazed that he knew what he was holding and where to put it.
* As soon as we hit the basement, he takes off towards the laundry room. He has a little routine. First he helps me load the washers, putting in the clothes and then trying to slam the door on my fingers. Then he pushes the wheeled baskets around. Then he stands in front of the dryers, mesmerized by the swirling clothes.
* I let him run around the hallway sometimes. Despite the fact that all of the doors are black, he always knows which one is ours. Once he was running and fell into our neighbors door. The door popped open and he landed in their foyer! I quickly grabbed him, shut the door and beat a hasty retreat!
*He always wants my keys when we hit the front door of our building. I give them to him and let him out of the stroller. He runs through the lobby and heads straight for the bank of mailboxes. He stops right in front of our box and holds the key in the air waiting to open the lock.
*As soon as we hit the elevator, he holds up his arm to press the button to call the elevator. Once inside, he wants to hit the number for the floor. He then looks up at the numbers to watch what floor we are on, and when we get there wants to push the door open. He also likes to look into the window on the door of the elevator and watch Adam "disappear" in the morning.
*This morning we were doing some laundry. We were headed out to switch the laundry from the washer to the dryer. On the way out the apartment I handed Henry a small grocery bag of garbage to hold just to keep him occupied. As soon as I opened the door he ran down the hallway and stopped in front of the garbage chute. I was amazed that he knew what he was holding and where to put it.
* As soon as we hit the basement, he takes off towards the laundry room. He has a little routine. First he helps me load the washers, putting in the clothes and then trying to slam the door on my fingers. Then he pushes the wheeled baskets around. Then he stands in front of the dryers, mesmerized by the swirling clothes.
* I let him run around the hallway sometimes. Despite the fact that all of the doors are black, he always knows which one is ours. Once he was running and fell into our neighbors door. The door popped open and he landed in their foyer! I quickly grabbed him, shut the door and beat a hasty retreat!
Saturday, January 05, 2008
Doing my dirty work for me!
Fourteen months is such a fun age. Henry is used to certain things and routines and gives very predictable responses. For example, whenever we say "It's Bath Time!" he runs to the bathroom and waits for us to turn on the water.
When Adam is home, baths are his domain. Sometimes, he might be caught up in something else and want me to do the bath. I tell Henry it's bath time, and he shouts out "DaDa" which of course prods Adam into giving him the bath. Who knows what he is really saying, but it is quite effective so I don't dispel the notion.
Tonight, it was getting late and I wanted Adam to give Henry his bath sooner rather than later to avoid a melt down. He was engrossed in a work project and asked for "10 more minutes" once or twice. Finally, I just went to get the tub water started and get Henry undressed. Henry heard the water and ran toward the bathroom. He reached into the tub, grabbed his little wash rag and ran out of the room. A minute later Adam followed him into the bathroom. Apparently Henry had delivered it to him in a not so subtle hint that bath time was his job!
When Adam is home, baths are his domain. Sometimes, he might be caught up in something else and want me to do the bath. I tell Henry it's bath time, and he shouts out "DaDa" which of course prods Adam into giving him the bath. Who knows what he is really saying, but it is quite effective so I don't dispel the notion.
Tonight, it was getting late and I wanted Adam to give Henry his bath sooner rather than later to avoid a melt down. He was engrossed in a work project and asked for "10 more minutes" once or twice. Finally, I just went to get the tub water started and get Henry undressed. Henry heard the water and ran toward the bathroom. He reached into the tub, grabbed his little wash rag and ran out of the room. A minute later Adam followed him into the bathroom. Apparently Henry had delivered it to him in a not so subtle hint that bath time was his job!
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Happy New Year!
Instead of tossing confetti at midnight, we watch Henry tossing his cookies. Poor baby woke up and was coughing so hard he threw up his dinner. He was burning up so I gave him a little water and some Motrin. He fell back asleep and woke soon after because he had thrown up all over his crib.
We changed him and my pajamas, and in fifteen minutes he had thrown up all over our bed. We basically repeated this process all night long. All told we changed our sheets 5 times, my pajamas 6 times and Henry's pajamas 5 times. I felt terrible because he couldn't even hold down water but was so thirsty. We followed Heather's advice and just gave him small sips every few minutes so that he would stop vomiting. Of course Henry didn't understand this and was literally crying for water. It was really heartbreaking and we spent most of the night pacing the floor with him.
We finally got to bed around 3 am and woke to Henry throwing up again at 7am. The good news is that he is still his normal, playful self and has not stopped tearing up the apartment. The bad news is that we are totally wiped out and sick ourselves and were hoping for a little sleepiness on his part!
We changed him and my pajamas, and in fifteen minutes he had thrown up all over our bed. We basically repeated this process all night long. All told we changed our sheets 5 times, my pajamas 6 times and Henry's pajamas 5 times. I felt terrible because he couldn't even hold down water but was so thirsty. We followed Heather's advice and just gave him small sips every few minutes so that he would stop vomiting. Of course Henry didn't understand this and was literally crying for water. It was really heartbreaking and we spent most of the night pacing the floor with him.
We finally got to bed around 3 am and woke to Henry throwing up again at 7am. The good news is that he is still his normal, playful self and has not stopped tearing up the apartment. The bad news is that we are totally wiped out and sick ourselves and were hoping for a little sleepiness on his part!
Monday, December 31, 2007
Four Hundred and Forty Two Days
When I first came home from the hospital, I didn't think that I would be able to nurse for four more hours, let alone four hundred and thirty eight more days. It was so painful that I would literally clench my toes in anticipatory pain when Henry needed to eat.
I walked around smelling like cabbage from a home remedy to soothe the engorgement and had cuts and blisters in a place that in my wildest imagination I never thought possible. I would call my sister at night in tears because I wanted to nurse but every fiber of my being was begging me to stop. I am sad to say I hated it that much.
She of course gave me permission to throw in the towel, telling me "I was not a bad mother if I didn't nurse my baby, I was just a bad mother if I didn't feed him something!" Leave it to me to phrase my question in such a dramatic fashion and leave it to my sister to bring me back to earth.
Just as I was getting ready to send Adam to the store to buy some formula, I read a tip from someone in my October '06 Babies group online that I thought may solve my problem. Luckily it did, and I will be forever grateful to this person in cyberspace. Adam urged me to pump until my wounds could heal and take a break from our son who I had nicknamed "Chopper."
I set an original goal of sticking it out for three months. Three months came and went and I shot for six months. Six months came and went and I thought that nursing had become too easy and too convenient for me to stop there. Not to mention how much money we were saving and more importantly that it allowed me to scarf down five hundred extra calories a day in sweets.
My new goal was nine months and I really, really thought I would stop there. Two things happened by nine months. Henry became very aware of his surroundings and became much more vocal of his desire to nurse and also his dislike of formula that I tried to give him. My competitive nature also kicked in. I realized I was thisclose to hitting the ultimate goal of one year and I decided to go for it.
I have been trying to slowly wean Henry since he turned a year, and suffice it to say he was not a willing participant in the weaning process. I am sure the knowledge of this will mortify him some day! I just decided to bite the bullet and make December 31st, 2007 our absolute end date.
Despite the rough start, it has been a wonderful experience. Not only did it allow me to drop some weight, it has also been an extraordinary way to bond with Henry. It forced me to slow down every day and have a little cuddle with my baby. I loved taking him to the doctor to see how much weight he had gained, knowing that every ounce was due to nursing.
I am so grateful that my body cooperated so long, I know of many people who were not so lucky. I am grateful to Adam for being so supportive, even though it meant I would have a bond with Henry that he would not be able to share.
It is very bittersweet to stop. I am glad to gain some freedom and my body back, but I will certainly miss that time with Henry. It also shows me that he is not a little baby anymore, but is growing more into a little boy every day.
On to new adventures!
I walked around smelling like cabbage from a home remedy to soothe the engorgement and had cuts and blisters in a place that in my wildest imagination I never thought possible. I would call my sister at night in tears because I wanted to nurse but every fiber of my being was begging me to stop. I am sad to say I hated it that much.
She of course gave me permission to throw in the towel, telling me "I was not a bad mother if I didn't nurse my baby, I was just a bad mother if I didn't feed him something!" Leave it to me to phrase my question in such a dramatic fashion and leave it to my sister to bring me back to earth.
Just as I was getting ready to send Adam to the store to buy some formula, I read a tip from someone in my October '06 Babies group online that I thought may solve my problem. Luckily it did, and I will be forever grateful to this person in cyberspace. Adam urged me to pump until my wounds could heal and take a break from our son who I had nicknamed "Chopper."
I set an original goal of sticking it out for three months. Three months came and went and I shot for six months. Six months came and went and I thought that nursing had become too easy and too convenient for me to stop there. Not to mention how much money we were saving and more importantly that it allowed me to scarf down five hundred extra calories a day in sweets.
My new goal was nine months and I really, really thought I would stop there. Two things happened by nine months. Henry became very aware of his surroundings and became much more vocal of his desire to nurse and also his dislike of formula that I tried to give him. My competitive nature also kicked in. I realized I was thisclose to hitting the ultimate goal of one year and I decided to go for it.
I have been trying to slowly wean Henry since he turned a year, and suffice it to say he was not a willing participant in the weaning process. I am sure the knowledge of this will mortify him some day! I just decided to bite the bullet and make December 31st, 2007 our absolute end date.
Despite the rough start, it has been a wonderful experience. Not only did it allow me to drop some weight, it has also been an extraordinary way to bond with Henry. It forced me to slow down every day and have a little cuddle with my baby. I loved taking him to the doctor to see how much weight he had gained, knowing that every ounce was due to nursing.
I am so grateful that my body cooperated so long, I know of many people who were not so lucky. I am grateful to Adam for being so supportive, even though it meant I would have a bond with Henry that he would not be able to share.
It is very bittersweet to stop. I am glad to gain some freedom and my body back, but I will certainly miss that time with Henry. It also shows me that he is not a little baby anymore, but is growing more into a little boy every day.
On to new adventures!
And will there be anything else Mr. Hefner?
Henry has started bringing me his slippers to be put on while we are at home.
He loves them so much that he was furious the other day when I made him wear shoes to the grocery store. I felt terrible this morning when I plopped him on the floor barefoot and he came trotting back a minute later with a pair of socks! How bad of a mother am I that my poor baby has to tell me that his feet are cold?
Other funny Henry happenings:
He took a page from the playbook of his cousin Jack with this one. I was racing around looking for the phone this morning and I heard ringing coming from his room. I searched and searched until I realized that the ringing was coming from the tube of his Busy Ball Popper. He had jammed the phone down into the toy and now it is stuck there.
The phone was ringing last week and I was ignoring it because I was in the middle of something. Henry disappeared for a minute and came trotting after me with the ringing phone that he had gotten for me. It drives him crazy if I don't answer the phone, he just NEEDS to know who is calling.
He walked into the bedroom last week and put his changing pad on the bed. Think he was trying to tell me something?
He has taken to hiding his sippy cup in the play refrigerator and taking the wooden play bottles and storing them in the real refrigerator. I think our cleaning lady thinks I have lost my marbles.
He can now perfectly imitate coughing, sneezing and nose blowing. He also breaks out his raspberry for something else that I won't mention.
I was making his breakfast and he was rooting around in the refrigerator. He took out a container of cottage cheese and left the kitchen. He returned shortly with one of his play spoons. Another proud mothering moment, my poor baby is so hungry that he needs to fetch his own breakfast.
As is very common, Henry can refuse to eat at the table but be perfectly happy to eat food off the floor right after. He is so sweet that he brought two grape halves that he had salvaged, one for me and one for him. Ick!
He loves them so much that he was furious the other day when I made him wear shoes to the grocery store. I felt terrible this morning when I plopped him on the floor barefoot and he came trotting back a minute later with a pair of socks! How bad of a mother am I that my poor baby has to tell me that his feet are cold?
Other funny Henry happenings:
He took a page from the playbook of his cousin Jack with this one. I was racing around looking for the phone this morning and I heard ringing coming from his room. I searched and searched until I realized that the ringing was coming from the tube of his Busy Ball Popper. He had jammed the phone down into the toy and now it is stuck there.
The phone was ringing last week and I was ignoring it because I was in the middle of something. Henry disappeared for a minute and came trotting after me with the ringing phone that he had gotten for me. It drives him crazy if I don't answer the phone, he just NEEDS to know who is calling.
He walked into the bedroom last week and put his changing pad on the bed. Think he was trying to tell me something?
He has taken to hiding his sippy cup in the play refrigerator and taking the wooden play bottles and storing them in the real refrigerator. I think our cleaning lady thinks I have lost my marbles.
He can now perfectly imitate coughing, sneezing and nose blowing. He also breaks out his raspberry for something else that I won't mention.
I was making his breakfast and he was rooting around in the refrigerator. He took out a container of cottage cheese and left the kitchen. He returned shortly with one of his play spoons. Another proud mothering moment, my poor baby is so hungry that he needs to fetch his own breakfast.
As is very common, Henry can refuse to eat at the table but be perfectly happy to eat food off the floor right after. He is so sweet that he brought two grape halves that he had salvaged, one for me and one for him. Ick!
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Henry gets more cousins!
Barry's wife Tara gave birth to their twins last night (12/27) at 2:54am via caesarean section.
Mason Connor
19 inches
5lbs, 9oz
Maya Rose
18 inches
5 lbs, 1oz
We saw them this morning and they are absolutely gorgeous. The attached pictures don't nearly do them justice, I will add more when I get them.
Mom, Dad and babies are doing well. Great job Tara!
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Merry Christmas!
We had a wonderful Christmas. Christmas has never really been my favorite holiday in the past, but I never realized how much I was missing until we had Henry. It was so fun to think of new family traditions that we can carry from year to year and continue old ones with him.
The first thing that I did was make most of the ornaments for our tree, which I normally do anyway. I didn't want to have to gate the tree and I didn't want to be constantly worrying if Henry touched it. My mom bought me a bunch of craft supplies and I made them out of felt and foam. They came out really cute and I will probably use them until we have less of a need for "Henry proofing." We also continued the tradition of buying and decorating our tree on December 16th, which was my Dad's birthday. We make a big Italian feast for dinner; I was pleased that Henry liked Insalate Caprese and lasagna as much as we do!
The second thing that we did (much to Adam's dismay) was order matching holiday pajamas for the three of us. They were goofy looking but it was a fun thing to do and Henry definitely had a confused look on his face when he looked at us this morning! I am going to order different ones every year.
The next tradition that we started was to make cinnamon buns to eat while opening our presents before breakfast. I have to admit, this one is mostly for me. Grandma was nice enough to get up early and finish the preparations so we woke to the smell of hot buns and coffee this morning. My idea of heaven! For her efforts she was awarded the honor of having her breakfast on the special red plate that we bought for our family.
Henry just loved his new play kitchen and food. Adam and I had such a ball putting it together after he went to sleep last night. It was quite the sight to see us carefully arranging the playfood and seeing Adam actually contemplate whether the toy steak belonged in the fridge or the freezer. He also received a new ball, a baby stroller, some musical instruments, some clothing and books and a few other great toys. We were so excited for him to wake up this morning. We had the camera and the video camera charged to document his first view of his kitchen. Poor boy was probably wondering why his parents had turned into the paparazzi!
After breakfast, we stopped to visit Grandpa Joe and then headed out for dinner at Uncle Kevin and Aunt Julie's house. It was so great to see Henry playing with his cousins, he is finally able to participate in some of the things that they do and they were so sweet to him.
All in all, it was a wonderful day. Merry Christmas everyone!
Monday, December 24, 2007
Yes Henry, There is a Santa Claus
He is also known as the UPS Man. We have been waiting and waiting (well actually not that long, I placed the order late OOPS!) for Henry's big Christmas gift. We got him a deluxe wooden play kitchen that he is going to flip over. The rest of his gifts relate to the kitchen, so they would no be that fun to play with without it.
The package was lost in Dallas and Costco had to put a trace on it. The whole process was a real nailbiter. Just when I had given up all hope the doorbell rang around noon today. Woo Hoo! Now we just need to put the damn thing together. It may be next Christmas by then but we'll get it done.
The package was lost in Dallas and Costco had to put a trace on it. The whole process was a real nailbiter. Just when I had given up all hope the doorbell rang around noon today. Woo Hoo! Now we just need to put the damn thing together. It may be next Christmas by then but we'll get it done.
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