Merry, Merry!

Henry celebrated his first Christmas this year!  It was the first time since my brother and I were little that my family got to experience Christmas through a child's eyes.  I loved watching Henry tear into his gifts.

We began the celebration on Christmas Eve at my grandmother's house.

First up: Stocking time!  My grandmother got Henry this cute teddy bear stocking.

Ooh, for me?!

Henry eating his boy baby doll.

Next, we looked to see what Santa brought Henry.  A musical walker!  To brag on Santa for a bit, let's just say Santa knew what he was doing.  The walker is by far Henry's favorite toy.  He loves sitting and pressing its lower buttons, as well as standing and hitting the buttons on the top.  He's not quite able to walk behind it, but give him a couple of months and I think he'll be up to the challenge.

Hello--Hiller residence!

Then, we opened all of the gifts from generous family members.  Henry was able to tear the wrapping paper if you got him started.  As you can see from the pictures, he thought the gifts (and their wrappers) were all very tasty!

Dachshund shoes from Grandma!

Just openin' my presents, Mom, no biggie!

A snowman hat and gloves from Great-Aunt Lois and Great-Uncle Tom!

Mama's baby rattle.  Meets Henry's stringent standards.

A dog book from Uncle Michael and Aunt Laura!

Laura made him this onesie!

Later that day, Henry wore several more of his holiday ensembles.

I hope he enjoyed this smocked outfit, because it was nearly too small and he won't be able to wear it again.  Maybe he'll have a brother or cousin he can share it with?

Mama bought this outfit for "Beansprout" before we knew Beansprout was to be a boy named Henry.

Love me some Rowan.

Finally, what's a great first Christmas without a little snow??  We were lucky enough to have a white Christmas for the first time in years.

Christmas Eve.

Christmas Day.

Admiring the snowman Daddy and Aunt Laura made!

Feed Me, Seymour!

This will be the first of a series of catch-up posts.  On December 23, Henry began his foray into the exciting world of solid foods!

I want to make Henry's baby food, to the extent that I can.  Mark's mom gifted us the Beaba babycook to facilitate this process.  The Beaba is a steamer and food processor in one nifty contraption.  Because we don't have much in the way of storage space, a two-in-one device is perfect!

 First in the line-up were sweet potatoes!  I skipped past rice cereal and oatmeal, since Henry is six months old and can handle pureed vegetables and fruits.  Henry's been eying us eagerly while we eat for months, so I was fairly certain he would take right to having some "real" food of his own.  As you can see from the photos, I was right!

Mmm, if nothing else, this bib is pretty tasty!

Gimme, gimme!

He ate them without hesitation, as if he'd been doing it all his life.

Mama, thanks for the yummy food!

Daddy's turn at the spoon.

What, that's it?!

Henry's been eating 1-2 solid food meals a day since the first day.  Other than sweet potatoes, he's had:

• Applesauce (Delicious!)
• Prunes (Not homemade, but we were in a dire "situation," if you will, and needed them for their non-nutritional powers.  In any event, Henry loved them!)
• Squash (Hated it!  Gagged and choked like he was dying.  Mama and Daddy wimped out and gave him applesauce instead.  I may try again later, but since I hate squash and don't eat it myself, I don't think it's fair to force it on Henry)
• Carrots (So-so.  A little gagging at first, but they grew on him.  He eats them more readily now).

Next up are peaches.  I'm sure Henry will love them.  Not sure what I'll try after that.  It's very fun to feed Henry solids and to see his reactions!

Sunday in the Park with Henry

One Sunday in early December, Mark and I took Henry to a local park to swing.  We have a great set of trails in our neighborhood, so we took a trail to the park. 

Henry napped on the way to the playground but woke up in time to swing.  We all had a great time!

Bundled up in an assortment of clothing items!  We just needed gloves, which Henry received for Christmas.

Yeah?  You talkin' to me?!

Whheeee!!!!

And finally some evidence that Mama was there.

Playtime with Daddy!

Every little boy needs a daddy to be rough and tumble with.  Luckily for Henry, he's got a great one!

Exhibit A: Henry and Daddy play the face grab (and taste) game. 

Hey, that nose looks pretty tasty!

Exhibit B: Henry uses Daddy as a launching pad to practice pushing up to a standing position.

Hi, Mom!

Looks like Henry may have enjoyed this game more than Daddy.

Exhibit C: Watching the world from a new vantage point: Atop Daddy's shoulders.

Looking at himself in the mirror.

I have a feeling the daddy-son games will get even rougher and tumblier in the years to come!

The Sweetest Sound

Tonight, Henry gave his first, from the belly, chuckle.  He has been laughing for a couple of months, but those laughs were more short staccato-like sounds.  This laugh was different and more like a giggle you hear from a two or three year old.  I had ordered Henry an outfit online and it came wrapped in plastic.  As I was unwrapping it, making a bunch of noise, I heard Henry.  At first I thought he was crying (because it was close to dinnertime!) but when I looked at him he was wearing the biggest grin and was just laughing away.  So, of course I kept crinkling the plastic wrap to elicit more belly laughs.  I nearly died from an overdose of joy.  And then I called Mark, who was still at work, so he could hear Henry's first real big-kid laugh.

Because there are no photos or video to go along with the story, here are some lots of recent photos of our boy.

Headed out for a walk in my winter suit!

Reading already.  Told you he is precocious.

I love my jumperoo!  Thanks Chris and Caroline! (and baby Grayson!)

Five Months!

Henry turned five months old on November 26th!

Here's what he's been up to in the past month:

• On November 12th, Henry weighed 16 pounds, 2 ounces (no change from his 4 month appointment), was 26.25 inches long and had a head circumference of 16.75 inches.  On November 21st, he was up to 16 pounds, 6 ounces. 
• Henry has become much more adept at reaching for and grabbing items.  He can pick up smaller objects and direct them right to his mouth.
• He also now is able to put his feet in his mouth, and he enjoys this new activity especially during bathtime and during diaper changes.
• He has a little toy keyboard that he likes to play with, and Mark downloaded a baby "app" on his phone that plays different musical instrument sounds when the baby presses the instrument's picture.  I swore I would never be one of those parents who lets their baby play with an adult phone, but here we are!
• Henry is practicing his sounds, and he has said what sounds like an early version of "hi" a few times.  He also likes chatting to himself at night after we put him down to sleep.
• Henry can sit well in his bumbo-type chair, and he will occupy himself while we eat if we put toys on the tray of the chair.
• He would much rather stand (with assistance) than sit, and when you have him in a sitting position on your lap or a chair, he will use his legs to push himself up to a standing position.  His legs are very strong, as many people who know him can attest!
• Our favorite game to play with Henry is the "kissing game" (sounds so PG-13!), where Henry stands on his changing table, being held by Mark, and I stand about two feet away.  Then, I open my arms for a hug and tell Henry I want to give him a big ol' kiss.  He grins like a wild man as soon as I do this, and Mark brings him to me for the kiss.  Henry smiles the whole time, but as he gets close to me, he turns his head to the side, in anticipation of me kissing his cheek.  It's so, so cute, and all three of us love it.
• Henry celebrated his first major holiday, Thanksgiving, during his fifth month.  Mark's family visited and we hosted.  It was a nice holiday and Henry wore the longall shown in the first two pictures above, which my mom gifted him for the occasion.
• Unfortunately, he also got his first cold right before Thanksgiving, so he wasn't his usual cheery self around family. Luckily he never got too sick, but he did wheeze some through his nose.  He is pretty much back to normal now, although he's still a little congested.  The pediatrician told me it's common for babies to be congested basically all winter.  I'm hoping that's not the case, but it doesn't phase him, as long as we don't try to put saline drops in his nose or suction the mucus out! 

Henry, we love you so much and love watching you grow!

A couple extra pictures that were too cute not to share: