Henry's First Christmas

What an amazing Christmas season.  We traveled down to NOVA to celebrate Christmas with my family on December 20-24.  His grandparents spoiled him rotten.  He got many clothes, toys and even a new car!  Granted it is a plush toy car but they are setting a precedent that will be hard for the us to follow.  Thanks again Mom and Dad, we enjoyed getting to spend Henry's first Christmas with you both.

Christmas Eve we traveled back to PA to celebrate with the Lemker's.  Henry was again spoiled this time getting more clothes, toys and a nice (and I'm sure very loud) leap frog learning music station where he can play instruments and learn both English and Spanish.  Henry even got a book, bib and shark all they way from Sydney Australia courtesy of his future god parents Mike and Jeannine.  Thank you to all of the Lemker family for your generosity.  I know Henry will enjoy all of his gifts and they will make us think of each of you.

Merry Christmas

Well, the lights are finally done on the house.  It only took two Saturdays and a solid 6-8 hours outside, however I must say, every night when I come home I love seeing them all lit up.  

!!

December's almost halfway gone!

We are a bit behind on our posting so I'll try to keep this brief. Jenny took Henry for his 3 month pix @ JC Penny which we should get in a couple weeks. It wouldn't have been a party unless we had a potty explosion halfway through a photo shoot so Jenny had fun with that.

Last weekend we got our Christmas season started right by purchasing a tree, putting up lights outside and adding many, many decorations around the house. I got Tom's extension ladder so more lights will go up this weekend along with more pix!

Jenny took Henry to meet Santa this week which was a fun experience. He didn't smile but he didn't poop himself so I consider that a moral victory.

Jenny and I took several photos of Henry as we tried to get a Christmas card photo done but we didn't have a lot of luck. The slide show above are most of the out takes. We'll have some more photos after the weekend when we complete all the decorations. Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season!

Henry's First Thanksgiving

Thanks to all the family that helped Henry to have a fantastic first Thanksgiving.  We stayed here in PA for the holiday weekend and my parents came up so we had all four grandparents together for Henrys first turkey day.  Henry also got to see his great uncle Al (all the way from Ohio) and his great grandma Carmela.  At one point we measured him next to the turkey but the turkey edged him out by about 5 or 6 pounds.

Henry is tracking movement really well now and seems to really enjoy when we read to him.  While watching football Sunday he had his first official laugh/giggle.  He was trying to convince me to turn him around and let him watch the Redskins game but I told him, "trust me, you don't want to seem them playing like this."  Henry has his 3 month pictures this Thursday so more to follow shortly.

Henry's first trip to NOVA

Henry had a blast this past weekend meeting many new friends.  He got lots of time to hang out with grandma and grandpa McDannell and says thank you so much for letting us stay with you! 

Friday we visited Leslie and her daughter Lillian followed by a trip to Jenny's old school, Wakefield Forest Elementary.  Jenny caught up with many old friends at the school and saw lots, and lots, of prior students.  All of them asked some really good questions, my favorite being, "what is Henry's favorite color?"

Saturday we visited Brian & Katie and their son Jackson.  He is two weeks younger then Henry but boy does he love to hear himself talk.  Henry and Jackson are said to be BFF's already so I think we will have plenty of trips back to NOVA in our foreseeable future.  Saturday afternoon we visited with one of my fraternity brothers and his 3 year old son.  

Sunday started with a great breakfast then it was off to Jenny's brother Mike and his wife Jeannine's house in DC.  We had a great time visiting with everyone and never thought it could be so exhausting.  On our way back home we stopped off and grabbed a new macbook which I am playing with now, fun stuff.  Enjoy the new pix...

2 Month check up

Mr. Henry went in for his two month check up today and got a clean bill of health. He also got a couple shots which he was "none to pleased" about but Jenny said he calmed down pretty quickly. The doc gave him some infant tylenol to help with a possible fever so he's been sleeping for most of the day. We took his temperature right before bed time and all was normal so we are keeping our fingers crossed for the next couple days.

Henry's measurements were all pretty normal, head was 15 3/4 inch (50th percentile), length was about 23 1/2 inches (85th percentile) and weight was 13lbs 4oz (90th percentile).

Me and my bumbo

We got Henry a bumbo today and from look the pictures, we're pretty sure he likes it. He can't quite hold himself up yet so we put him up against the couch to support his head. Now he gets two work outs a day, tummy-time and bumbo-time.

Meeting Great Grandma "Nona"

Tonight Henry met his great grandma Gammarino. He also got to meet his great aunt and uncle and a few cousins. He stayed awake for a little while but then slept through most of our visit. Slide show below updated...

Happy 2 Months Henry

We celebrated Henry's two month birthday yesterday and he was quite happy. Jenny made a house favorite, rice krispy treats with chocolate chips! Henry is becoming a lot more active and still has his best time of the day under his jungle gym. He really loves the lights and has started reaching for some of the hanging rattles and other items.

Halloween '08

Henry woke up quite happy today so we took some videos. I think it was because he met so many new friends during Halloween. All our neighbors came by with their kids last night for some trick or treating and it looks like Henry will have many little friends when he gets older. Below are some new pix of Henry in his Halloween outfit.

ps, be sure you listen closely to what Henry has to say...

Henry for the Heisman

Its only Saturday afternoon and we feel like we've already had a busy weekend. Kathleen came in early to surprise Eva for her B-day. Everyone came over to our house for lunch and helped us get ready for a neighborhood halloween party at 2pm. Jenny's great idea was to dress Henry up as a football and we'd obviously be Redskins players. As you can see from the pix we had WAY TOO MUCH FUN with this idea. New slide show below, enjoy.

Who needs Tae-bo?

Henry asked that we put on some dance music so he could practice his moves and get ready for his first full work out tape. Coming soon to a video rental shop near you, "Raving with Henry", enjoy the short preview of this winters blockbuster...

Meeting Uncle Clev and Uncle Barrish

Henry and Jenny have been having lots of tummy time lately and Henry is really starting to lift his head and look around. He is becoming very aware of loud sounds and just barely starting to track movement with his eyes.

This weekend Henry got to meet two of his uncles, both from New York. Uncle Clev and Uncle Barrish were on their way home from vising other friends in VA and stopped by to watch the Jets beat the bungles and the Redskins loose, miserably I might add, to the Rams. They enjoyed getting to meet Henry and Uncle Clev had fun showing Henry how his iphone worked.

Updated pix below...

Happy Birthday Gisa!

My favorite cousin turned 2 today!

One Month Dr Appointment...

Henry's one month Dr. appointment was yesterday and he wanted to make sure he showed the doc all his body parts were working well. After getting into the exam room he peed while being weighed, so we changed his diaper. The doc came in and while checking him for diaper rash he shot another stream across the exam table, so we changed his diaper. While changing Henry he decided to spit up, so we changed his clothes. Then the doc wanted to see tummy time and his neck movement so Henry simultaneously lifted his head while ripping a big fart, we didn't change his diaper. All in all she said he is very healthy and doing well. The stats:
Weight: 10lbs 2oz 70th percentile
Length: 23inches 95th percentile

Tummy time for Henry

We celebrated Henry's one month birthday this weekend with some really fun tummy time. While enjoying his jungle gym he learned a new trick. We think his brother was involved but we can't be sure. Check it out...plus, new pics added below.

Hail to the Redskins!!!

Henry was absolutely ecstatic about today's win over the Cowboys. I was explaining the long history between the Washington Redskins and the Dallas Cowboys and he couldn't get enough. He was cheering and raising his arms to say "touchdown!" Needless to say, he had a great Sunday afternoon.

FYI, I've added some pix to the slide show below and archived many of the older pix. The hospital, bath, and other pix can be found on the right in the "web album" section.

Henry's First Road Trip

Congratulations Ann & Sean!!! Jenny's high school friend Ann Aydlett got married this weekend to Sean Sanderson in Roanoke VA and we got to witness it all. Leading up to the weekend we were not sure if we would be able to make it as Jenny was still recovering and the pediatrician said Henry should not be around too many people. By Friday Jenny felt great and Henry wouldnt stop clammering about meeting all "Aunti Ann" so we drove to her sisters house in Baltimore to stay the night and split up the trip.

Kathleen took great care of Riley while we got back on the road down to Roanoke, VA Saturday morning. Henry did great in the car. I think he enjoys car rides as he usually just falls right asleep. He ate well when we stopped to feed and change him and the drive was absolutely beautiful.

The wedding/reception were fantastic. Jenny got to see all her high school friends (and their babies!) and little Henry got to meet evereyone for the first time. We kept Henry in the stroller for most of the evening to protect him (per the pediatrician) and he just slept the evening away listening to the band. The drive home Sunday was just as easy as the drive down with Henry and Jenny sleeping away in the back seat. A couple stops to feed Henry and one to pick up Riley and we were back home.

It was a really fun road trip and Henry said he can't wait to go on another. I told him we'd be heading back to VA in the coming months and he was very excited :)

more pix added below

Sleeping with big brother

Henry finally got some time to hang out with his big brother today. They were both a little tired so they decided to just take a nap together.

Rubber Duckie, You're the One...

Henry was a little sleepy while I was trying to feed him. To help wake him up, Todd went to change his diaper upstairs. As I was waiting for Henry's return, I heard Todd yelling and laughing loudly. It turned out Henry had the urge to tinkle in the middle of the diaper change. And the next thing Todd knows, Henry is covered with pee! Needless to say, it was time for Henry's first bath!

Thank you to Angela and Christine for the bathtub and cute towel!

Day 6, and counting...

We are all doing great and trying to learn Henry's little mannerisms. Jenny is still working on recovering and keeping little Henry fed. Jenny's mom has been a huge help this week dropping by a couple times with dinner and helping to clean up the kitchen a bit. We can't thank her enough.

I added a couple pix to the slide show and enjoy the video of Henry sneezing below...

Day 5 as parents...

The past few days have been a complete joy. My parents came up from VA to visit us in the hospital and meet their first grandchild. Jenny's family came in from DC, MD and locally to visit us as well. We were even lucky enough to have Jenny's oldest sister visit from Alaska! All the support from family and friends has really meant a lot while we were in the hospital.

So far we are getting adjusted to life at home with little Henry. The first two nights in the hospital we let him stay in the nursery with the nurses so we could catch up on some sleep. The first day home he slept about 4 hrs at night. Sunday night he slept for almost 5 hours. Monday afternoon we saw the pediatrician for the first time and she said Henry is doing well. Henry has lost 5 oz since birth and the doc thinks he has lost all he is going to lose and is starting to gain weight. We go back this Friday for our next check-up.

Many, many pix below, enjoy.

Please welcome Henry Thomas McDannell

Jenny's labor started early Thursday morning about 6am. By 9am she was having regular contractions so we called the doctor who said to come in to the office. After a short visit, the doctor said she was still at 1cm and to go home and wait for Friday when she was set to be induced.

After returning home Jenny's contractions began to get stronger and more fruequent till we met the 5-1-1 rule so we called the doc again around 4pm. They said to come in and after inspection found she was at 3-4 cms and that we would be admitted to the hospital right then.

After a couple more hours of contractions Jenny got the epidural (approx 6:30pm) which was a true blessing as she had almost no pain for the rest of her contractions. By 8:30pm the doctor said it was time to push and push she did. At 9:54pm we welcomed Henry Thomas McDannell into our family. He was born at 7lbs 14oz and 21 1/2 inches.

As I post this it is Friday morning 10am and Jenny and Henry are doing great. She is currently trying to get Henry to breast feed and rest while she can.

Thank you to all of our friends and family that have contacted us over the last couple days, your compasion means the world to us. It is such a great feeling that you all were thinking about us.

We are currently scheduled to check out and return home on Saturday, more to follow in the
coming days!

See a few pix further down.

We think we're getting close...

...this is two nights in a row now that jenny is feeling tightness in her stomach and tonight the little man is kicking up a storm. Her stomach keeps moving around and we think he's looking for a way out :)

The tightness seems to come and go. We've tried timing them to see if they are 30 mins or 60 mins apart but no real pattern. I was originally convinced he was going to be late but after these latest events I think we might be heading to the hospital in a day or two.

More to follow soon...

Still waiting...

We are down to the final 2 weeks! Jenny is still feeling lots of kicking by little bambino, always a good sign. The last two weekly dr. vists have said she is 1cm dialiated. The doc said he expects our little guy to arrive close to the due date, I'm betting he'll be late. 38 weeks or not, Jennys is still up and about, she even spent a couple hours cleaning yesterday and went to the limerick outlets today.

Our nursery is almost back to normal, the roof, ceiling and walls have all been fixed/painted. We are now waiting on the carpet to be replaced which should be next week. More to follow shortly...

Waiting for Bambino

We are about three weeks away from baby McD's arrival. We can't wait to meet our little man! The nursery is still not back together, but luckily the builder is going to fix everything. Hopefully it will be back to normal before baby comes.

I am still feeling pretty good...after shopping all day at the outlets with my mom, I realize I probably need to stay off my feet a little more. I feel very lucky to have had a pretty easy (knock on wood) pregnancy up to this point. Of course, I'm getting nervous about the labor, but I just keep thinking after it's all over, we'll have our son! We are getting our bags packed and installing the car seat this weekend just in case bambino decides he wants to see the world a little early.

Reigh Family News

We were so excited to find out that we will have a new niece or nephew in February! Tina sent each of my family members a card. The card said, "I'm working on becoming a big sister" and it had a picture of Gisa holding a baby doll. Check out my mom's reaction to the great news...

The only room we painted...

...so the only room we paint, fully furnish and need ready at any time now (yes, I'm talking about the nursery) has a bad roof leak and water damaged walls, ceiling and floor/carpet. Called the builder this morning, its all under warranty so lets see how this pans out. Pictures below.

3 year anniversary

Today we celebrated our 3 year wedding anniversary. The weather was pretty nasty with very bad thunderstorms and lots of places with the power out. We went to dinner in downtown Phoenixville to a new restaurant called PJ Ryans. The food was ok, it seems a better place to drink than to eat :)

Jamming Riley

Our current boy dancing away...