Winter Wonderland

The snow is still falling as we warm up by the fire after a family play time outside. It was Henry's first time really playing in the snow. We were going to wait until after the snow stopped, but my parents motivated us to get him outside since the snow isn't suppose to stop until tomorrow. Henry liked checking out the falling snow from inside, but we weren't sure how he was going to react to being in the snow and more importantly being in the cold and windy weather...

We quickly realized he was not fan of getting ready for the snow.


The Before Shot

The Action Shot
Doesn't look like he is having too much fun, but after going down the hill, he signed "more"

The After Shot
Henry's cute little cheeks quickly turned red so we didn't last too long outside, but it was a lot of fun and I think he liked Todd pulling him around on the sled. Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa McDannell for Henry's snazzy snowsuit.

Fall Fun 09

Here are a few pictures from some of our fall adventures. It's such a blast to get out and see Henry experience things for the first time. Pumpkins apparently are very fascinating!

The Big Reveal

A year and a half after moving in, we finally finished (well almost) Henry's playroom. It took us awhile to pick our theme. We were going back and forth on a few different ones and then I saw one of our options at a friend's house and loved it. So from there, we were pretty much copy cats (best form of flattery, right?). We ordered the decals, a few months went by, bought the paint, painting took a few weeks, had to wait another month according to the decal manufacturer, and then FINALLY, the decals went up. In the meantime, Todd was working on the design and construction of the custom toy chest with a compartment for our TV equipment. Being a big fan of "While You Were Out", I was so excited to finally show Henry is new room. I brought him downstairs, turned him around, opened the doors, he turned around and...he just walked in. No screams of excitement or tears of joy. I guess walking in and playing is what I should have expected. Oh well, hopefully over the next several years he'll enjoy playtime with his sea creatures. We are hoping to at least get 8 years out of this room considering I also painted the ceiling blue! On second thought, under the sea stickers are cool for teenagers, too, or so we'll brainwash Henry into thinking.

Henry's first look at his new playroom

He did like checking out the treasure chest

Reading Corner

Check It Out

Noticing his new friends

Update Finally

Well, it's been way too long since my last post and I thought now that Henry is officially 14 months old, I'd send out a new update. Henry has really been keeping me busy with his new mobility. He loves to walk around the house and he is so amazed by the littlest things. I can see why they say the brain works the hardest the first three years of life! Henry had his first cold a few weeks ago. It's pretty amazing he went that long without getting sick and luckily it was just a little congestion. Although Henry's walking (and falling without getting hurt) is pretty impressive, right now I'm the most proud of his baby sign language vocabulary. I don't think I would have been a believer if it wasn't seeing my neice, Gisa, in action a few years ago. I can tell he loves being able to communicate with us just as much as we love seeing those cute chubby hands sign what he would like. Now that he has most of the basic signs down, he picks up new signs easily. A family favorite right now is "please". Henry has (almost) cut out the whining and gone straight to rubbing his tummy to say "please". Love it!

I tried to get an action shot of him signing "please", but he was too fast for me.

Peek-a-Boo

Henry just keeps entertaining us with his new skills. Here he is playing his new favorite game...

Henry is Walking!!!

Today Henry took his first steps. It began in the kitchen when Jenny asked Henry to close some cabinet doors. He obliged by closing the doors, turning around and walking about 8 steps to the carpet. The rest is captured here.

More Celebrating...

We did a very low key party for Henry's birthday, but I couldn't resist decorating the house. His favorite book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, was my inspiration.

Todd's creations!

Henry wasn't sure what to do at first

Then he figured it out

How fast can Henry go?

How tall is Henry now?

YAY! Birthdays are FUN!

September 4th

Todd took Friday off so we could celebrate Henry's first birthday all day together. We started off with a trip to the Elmwood Zoo. Henry wasn't overly impressed with the animals, but he was a big fan of watching big kids run around and the mist machine that sprayed water.

For dinner we were planning on a Japanese Steakhouse. We even drove to what we thought was a Japanese Steakhouse, but then I quickly realized that I forgot Henry's milk. Since we were already at the restaurant I jumped out to check it out. Since the place didn't seem like the right place to celebrate Henry's big day, we had a change of plans and took Henry to the very fancy Applebees (after picking up his bottle at home). It ended up being the perfect place for the celebration. I knew it was meant to be when I saw the Very Hungry Caterpillar Kids Menu. The host thought I was crazy when I said that was the theme of my son's birthday. Henry enjoyed people watching almost as much as people enjoyed watching him cheer for his birthday, drink out of a straw, and of course eating his ice cream. The first day of Henry's birthday weekend was a great success!

Celebrating Henry's First

We started Henry's celebration in Virginia with his Grandma and Grandpa McDannell. He showed off how close he is to walking and they spoiled him with lots of fun new toys!

11 Months

Yesterday we celebrated Henry's 11 months of being in the world. We can't believe our baby is fast approaching his first birthday. He is showing more and more signs of closing in on being a toddler. Where did the time go?! Since Henry seems very close to walking, I took him out shoe shopping. Surprisingly, Henry really enjoyed the process of getting his feet measured, trying on shoes, and "walking" to try them out. He gave the person helping us lots of smiles and giggles along the way. In the end, Henry got some sweet new kicks and loved every second in the shoe store (Dad is so proud).

Henry has had lots of first this month. Here are a few...

1. When I sing "If You're Happy and You Know It" he somtimes claps along

2. Started his first swim lessons and LOVES it

3. If I ask "Where is Dad", he will look in Todd's direction (same goes for Riley)

4. Henry likes to give high fives

5. After I make monkey noises or say ribbit, Henry looks at the picture of the monkey and frog in his room (thanks Aunt Kat!)

6. In addition to cruising around the house with the crawl he has mastered, he also likes to walk along the couches, cabinets and window sills.

7. Henry is now just eating food that Todd and I eat...no more baby food (even though I still try once in awhile, he wants nothing to do with it)

We are looking forward to many more firsts in the near future! Here are some pictures from the past month.

Celebrating the 4th

After working hard all day painting, we enjoyed a night out in Phoenixville. Every Friday they have live music and the Friday before the 4th they also had fireworks.

Henry was up way past his bedtime, but held out just in time to see his first fireworks show. He was slightly scared, but not scared enough to fall asleep before they were over.

The next day Henry turned 10 months and we spent the day celebrating. He completely loved eating his special "10" blueberry pancakes.

YUMMY!

Later in the day Henry checked out his cake that Todd made for him.

Then we hit up the nearby park. Henry showed Todd how much he likes to swing. And lastly, we spent the evening at a neighborhood party. It was a fun filled day with lots of activity! I started writing this post a week ago, but between traveling to Cincinnati and chasing Henry around the house, I got a little behind!

Movin and Shakin

Henry is now officially a mover and a shaker...

Southern California, it doesn't get any better...

We just got back from a week in southern California and we already miss the weather.  Jenny had a cousin that got married on Saturday in Carlsbad CA, so we decided to make a vacation out of the trip.  The land is so beautiful with rolling hills, mountain vistas and intriguing architecture.  Henry had a blast from take off to touch down.  He slept most of the way home Monday night which made those flights a little easier, thanks Henry :)

My first pool!!!

In celebration of Memorial Day we got Henry a pool to enjoy the hot day.  He was a bit hesitant at first because he is used to the warm water from his bath but once he sat on the edge for a couple minutes he loved it.  He was splashing and playing and having a grand old time.  Check out it out...

Teeth, teeth and more teeth

Henry has been popping out teeth left and right.  He has four coming in real well and a fifth on the way.  He has not been fussing much at all, just eating a little less when he's cutting a new tooth.  Check out the new pix...

Mother's Day

I had a wonderful first Mother's Day. In the morning, Henry and Todd made a scavenger hunt for me that led to a beautiful charm bracelet.  I was shocked since all I asked for was not to cook, sleep in, and not to change the dirty diapers.

Todd even enjoyed the day while reading up on his new favorite person with Henry. He had an even better day when I finally helped out with the dirty diapers after number 5! I think Henry was going for a record.

We ended the day with a great dinner at my parents with my grandma.  It was a perfect day.

Grandma and Grandpa McD Visit

We had a great time visiting with Todd's parents this past weekend.  Here is a picture at the Brandywine museum.  Thankfully the rain held off for us to get out and about on Saturday. Thanks for making the trip to see us! 

8 is Great!

Henry turned 8 months on the fourth. It's hard to believe he is such a big boy now. His sleeping and eating routines are finally getting back on track.  His favorite thing to do is look at books and tear up magazines at Grandma and Grandpa Lemker's house.  And my favorite thing is when he reaches for me to hold him.  Henry is working on growing three teeth (one on the top and two on the bottom).   Here he is before bedtime on his 8 month birthday. 

Red Cross Walk

On Saturday we did the Red Cross 5K Walk.  In addition to sponsoring the event, Todd's company also raised about $23,000.  Overall, over $200,000 was raised to support our local Red Cross.  Thank you to all of our friends and family who donated to the cause.

Todd and I had such a great time walking in Fairmont Park with Henry and Riley.  Riley of course enjoyed the time outside and the endless attention from the other walkers. He sported his "doggles" and a t-shirt which was part of the reason for his celebrity status.  Henry was having such a good time he didn't even let us know that during the walk he peed through his diaper, clothes and jacket. Luckily, we had a spare outfit with us.  All in all, it was a great morning.  

The morning was a little chilly, but we ended up with great weather.

Getting close to the finish line.

The Easter Bunny Came!

Henry had a great first Easter. We made it back home from North Carolina just in time for the Easter bunny's visit. Check out the slideshow (below) of the big day.

Spring Break 09

During my six years of teaching I never took a vacation over my spring break. So for my first Spring Break as a mom, I decided to give Henry a fun first one.  We had a blast visiting with my wonderful school friends in Wilmington, North Carolina.  Henry experienced the beach for the very first time.  While I was able to catch up with my girls, Henry and Elly had some time to get to know each other better. He was a great traveler, but this last week back has been a bit of a struggle to get him back on track.  It was of course worth it to be able to spend time with friends. Thanks to the Mottrams for being such great hosts!

Happy Seven Months!

For Henry's seven month birthday we took a drive up route 95 and visited Clevenger and Barrish in Manhattan.  It was Henry's first time in the city and he loved every minute of it.  Unfortunately it was in the 40's and extremely windy so Henry spent a lot of time in the stroller while we were walking from one spot to another.  All in all we checked out the Empire State Building, the Rockefeller Building where all the NBC shows are filmed, Times Square, Central Park and much more.  Enjoy the new slide show...

A Reunion at the Farm

This past weekend we went to Altavista, VA, for the second annual farm reunion with all of Jenny's high school friends.  What a difference a year makes.  Last year it was all adults and dogs, this year the dogs stayed home and instead there were 5 babies!  While the car rides down and back were long (about 8 hours each) they were certainly worth it.  In total there were 20 of us not including the babies and everyone had a blast.  We were fishin, riding 4-wheelers, chillin around the camp fire, having an impromptu birthday party and just relaxing out in the country.  Enjoy the pix!

6 Months Old!

We can't believe it...Henry is 6 months old today! Time is really flying by. He did a fabulous job at his doctor's appointment today. I was really worried about the shots since he had such a hard time at his four month appointment. This time around I gave him Tylenol at the doctor's office instead of waiting to come home.  After the shots, he surprisingly calmed down very quickly. That was good news for mom and dad!  And Henry was great for the rest of the day!  

To celebrate Henry's first 6 months of life, I made a dessert of course (thanks to Christine for inspiring this monthly tradition), but it didn't cool in time to make the picture.  We also treated Henry to a new toy for his half birthday.  And then Henry got to try out his new big boy bath tub.  Hopefully, he'll enjoy it more next time!

We are so proud of our baby boy! He is sitting up on his own and reaching for anything that is around him.  His new favorite thing is to try to eat whatever he can get into his mouth.  We are going to move to veggies tomorrow! Hopefully he'll like the new tastes to come.

Height: 28 inches (95th percentile...shocker!)

Weight: 18 lbs 3 oz (75th percentile)

Henry and Dr. Seuss

Henry has been making lots of new strides lately.  He is now eating oatmeal two times a day and is able to sit up on his own.  Granted he tips over every now and then but according to Henry, "that's half the fun".  He is reaching for everything and also turning his head when he hears sounds.  This picture is from "Read Across America Day" when Jenny and Henry were stuck at home because of the snow...