Fun with the Grandpas

On each trip to the beach I take a picture of Henry in Daddy's recliner. This past weekend he didn't really want to sit up for Mommy. Leaning forward and making it rock was way more fun.

Grandpa Jim is SOOOOOO funny!

I turn my back for one second and Grandpa Keith decided to give Henry a little pick-me-up. I think this is Grandpa's way of getting back at Ryan for all those sleepless nights when he was a baby (although if I remember right, Ryan was a great sleeper as a baby...perhaps this is pay back for something I did...)

This past weekend, we were very fortunate and had both sets of grandparents down at the coast. The men-folk (plus my mom) went crabbing on Saturday. Although they didn't have much luck (just caught 7), it was plenty for dinner that night. I made some awesome homemade clam chowder as well (I'm allergic to crab, so this was a great seafood alternative) . On Saturday afternoon I got Soph down to the water for a swim (her all time favorite activity). Henry stayed behind and played with Grandma Sherry while Soph and I were down at the beach. Henry thought playing with Grandma Sherry was great fun because she let him bang his toys against the table for more than an hour straight!

Henry's biggest achievement this week is crawling in the forward direction. He isn't exactly an expert crawler at this point, but he now knows that he has to move each of his limbs independently. It helps if he has something in his sight line to go after, like the vacuum cord, which is a "not for babies" item, but oh so enticing.

His favorite food this week is avocado. I think we might try salmon tomorrow.

Henry loves being outside, even though we have been in the high 50s/low 60s. Although chilly, he doesn't seem to mind one bit. The stroller is a back-saver. We sometimes still go for walks using the front pack, but the stroller is my preferred walking appliance now. Henry likes the stroller because Mommy straps on a few toys to chew on.

As for Mom, I'm doing pretty well. I am struggling to find the time to work on Henry's baby book and play the piano, two things I wish I had more time to do. I also recently realized that Christmas is just around the corner and I should start working on my cards, otherwise they will end up being Fourth of July cards instead of Christmas cards. On the mom-front I am toying with the idea of weaning again. Six weeks ago I gave Henry a bottle of formula. It didn't go well. So I continued nursing. Now, I'm thinking about giving him formula again, but part of me also thinks, only 16 more weeks and you've made it to a year. But, on the flip side, it's 16 more weeks! Perhaps I'll wait until Henry goes in to see the doc for his 9 month appointment and chat with his ped about weaning. Somehow I have a sneaking suspicion he will convince me to continue nursing until Henry's one. I should just accept it and look at my breast pump with more affection rather than irritation. After all, it has allowed me to continue nursing and work full time. Two things that mom's historically couldn't do at the same time. Thank goodness for cultural evolution.

Pumpkin Patch

Dad, this pumpkin is too big for me to carry!

On Sunday, we took Henry out to the pumpkin patch for the first time. It was such a beautiful sunny day. Henry loved all the people watching.

Wow, my head is as big as a pumpkin!

By way of other Henry updates, he turned 8 months last Friday. He is approximately 22 lbs now and very wiggly. He gets closer and closer to crawling forward, but he still primarily moves in the backward or circular direction. His favorite foods these days are bread, papaya and pumpkin. He tried chicken for the first time this weekend, and thought that was pretty awesome too (he gets that from his Dad). He can now sit in the bathtub like a big boy, but has recently learned how much fun it is to splash Mommy. We also retired the car seat adaptor on the stoller. He much prefers to sit upright and face forward so he can see stuff better. On the agenda for this week: retire the infant car seat and install convertible car seats (thank you Britney for the hand-me-downs!!!).

Buddies

On Saturday, Mama and Henry went to play at Kellie's house (Cameron's mom). Henry had a great time playing with Cameron (pictured left) and Cayden (pictured middle). Sarah (Cayden's mom) took this great picture. Who knew it would be so hard to get three little guys to look at the camera at the same time. It was comical. Henry was way more interested in playing with Cameron's toys rather than looking at the camera. We try to get together once a month. It has been so fun to watch the kiddos develop and great to have other moms to chat with who are going through the same developmental stage as us. Sometimes there are a couple of girls who show up, but this was all about the boys this weekend. It will be even more fun when they actually can play games together. At this point they like to stare at each other and grab at each other's faces, which is also adorable. Can't wait for next month's playdate, Henry and I are hosting.

All smiles and drool

Last weekend Mommy, Sophie and Henry went to the beach for a night. This was the first trip to the beach without Daddy. Henry was such a good traveler. He didn't fuss one bit on either the car trip down to the beach or the car trip back home. He usually doesn't like to be stuck in the back seat without any company for more than about an hour. It probably helped that he could see and hear Soph's rhythmic panting (she travels in the "trunk" of the Outback). Henry also was a trooper when we went down to the water so that Soph could play fetch. On past beach trips, Henry has been a bit sensitive to the wind. This trip, the wind seemed almost amusing to him. Every time a big gust would come up and hit his face, he would take a deep breath and then smile.

ALMOST crawling. Henry started to get on all fours this week. You can see here that he is quite proud of himself. Now he just needs to figure out how to coordinate all of his limbs and he will be in business. He now likes to get in this position and rock back and forth as if it is going to propel him forward. When it doesn't work as planned, he usually resorts to scooting backward, turning 90 degrees, scooting backward, turning 90 degrees and so forth until he gets either to his original intended destination or some new destination that seems just as appealing. Mommy doesn't know if she is happy about this recent development, or fearful.

Drool happens. My boy drools ALL the time. Sometimes it is kind of cute though. : ) Henry and I hosted a baby shower for Aunt Sarah and Cousin Mason last Saturday. Although he may not have been the guest of honor, he sure was a hit among the ladies attending the party. He is such a flirt! This picture was taken shortly after everyone left. Henry seemed to be happy that the world was back to revoloving around him...at least in Mama's world.