Officially Walking

This is Henry's new "thing," peering into holes and under beds, couches, tables etc. He is fascinated with confined spaces. He really likes it if he can drop a thing into a hole or place a toy under something and then go search for it.

Henry still LOVES his Santa book that Grandma Sherry got him. I thought about putting it up until next Christmas, but he loves it so much, so we still read it at least 5 days a week.

Rather than locking many of our kitchen cabinets, we simply use rubber bands. Henry is amused by pulling the rubber bands to make them snap. Occasionally he gets frustrated that he can't open the cabinet, but usually the rubber bands are enough of a distraction (for now).

As for other recent achievements, Henry is now officially walking. He can easily walk across a room and even change direction to head into another room. He is now trying to work on standing from a seated position. This is a good lesson regarding center of gravity. He doesn't quite get it though so he often just topples over before he gets to the standing position. The boy is becoming a bit of a food snob (I can't possible understand where he gets this from). His toast must be buttered now (or smeared with some other condiment like jelly or peanut butter) and now demands syrup on his waffles and pancakes (otherwise Sophie gets a treat when he tosses his waffle or pancake over the side of his highchair). He's never liked bland food though, so I can't blame him, but really, I must butter my 13 month old's toast!

In my effort to count more moments (rather than minutes), here are few highlights:

1. 80's dance party. Henry and I spent at least 20 minutes last Friday morning before I headed to work dancing to Cher, Kenny Loggins, Madonna, Beastie Boys, New Kids On The Block etc. Henry likes the boy bands in particular. Henry's dance moves are awesome. He not only rocks back and forth but side to side. If standing, he'll even occassionally squat down to the beat. His favorite though is when Mama picks him up and spins around.

2. Henry and I read books everyday (well, most days at least). His favorite books include touchy-feely pages and/or large exaggerated colorful faces. He often will pull books out of his book bin (downstairs) or bookshelf (upstairs) and look through them. I hope his love of books sticks.

3. The boy is ticklish, particularly on his sides and neck. The giggle that comes out of him when he is tickled is HILARIOUS.

4. With Henry walking now, I love it when he clasps one of my fingers and we walk hand in hand.

5. Now that Henry isn't nursing anymore, we don't have as many opportunities to cuddle. On the weekends I make it a point to cuddle up and take a nap with him, often in our bed. Those weekend naps are PURE heaven on earth to me.

This last weekend marked another big milestone in our household. Ryan and I asked Grandma Sherry and Grandpa Keith to watch Henry OVERNIGHT. This was the first night of Henry's life that he wasn't with me. I had EXTREME seperation anxiety for at least 2 weeks leading up to our overnight date night, however, when Saturday came, it actually wasn't that bad, for me. Ironically, it was much harder for Ryan, who was the one who organized and promoted the idea of having Henry stay at the grandparent's house. Ryan and I had a wonderful evening out with friends and then tried out a new restaurant for brunch on Sunday. Ryan and I used to go out to breakfast a lot before we had Henry. This was the first time we've been able to go to breakfast (just the two of us) since Henry was born. It was fun. I thought I would freak out when I woke up on Sunday and didn't have Henry there to greet me, but I was actually okay. There were a few moments of anxiety, but they passed. I am SOOOOOO very grateful to have people in our lives that we trust with our son. THANK YOU Grandma Sherry and Grandpa Keith!!! All in all, it was a good experience. I can't say I want it to happen all the time. I still definately prefer Henry to be at home when I wake up in the morning (call me selfish). I did survive without him though and I did have fun, SO I'm open to the idea of an overnight date again. Question remains...is Grandma and Grandpa open to the idea again??? Little Man is quite the busy body these days, so I'm sure Grandma and Grandpa were ready for a nap by the time we left their house.