Henry at 8 Months

In looking at our last post, it appears that we need to start blogging about things other than Henry's milestones, but these will have to do for now.  I'll get Stephanie on creating other blog posts, stat.

Right now, we have a sick boy.  Henry has been throwing up on and off for the past few days, and just really hasn't been his normal goofy/hungry self.  It is really sad to see our boy looking so miserable sometimes, but it is also a reminder of how much we love our little guy.

Here's what's been going on in Henry's life lately:

• He enjoyed the holidays and loved getting to see his family so much.  In the past month we have taken a bunch of trips (I guess we need to blog about those) including a trip to Seaside, OR with Grandma Nyland and a trip to Portland with the Quigleys and Papa & Grandma Farrar.   Henry was a good sport for the most part, and had some good naps in the car.
• He is still an early riser.  He typically goes to bed around 6:30-7.  Wakes up once in the night around 4-5 and then wakes up around 6:30-7am.  Steph and I are convinced that we will never be able to sleep in again.
• Henry's becoming a little bit of a handful.  He is always busy and always trying to get to something.  Usually its the stereo system, fireplace, or Dad's ukulele.  He is no longer the calm/chill baby that he once was.
• He sits like a pro, but prefers to be on his stomach army crawling somewhere.  He still hasn't figured out how those knees can be an asset to his transportation.
• He is quite the talker these days.  He often will just sit in the back seat of the car and have a little conversation with his Sophie the Giraffe.  His most frequently heard phrases are "Mumumum", "Dadadada", and a strange African bushman clicking.
• Last month, we talked about putting Henry in the crib for naps.  We tried it for a couple weeks, but it drastically shortened his nap time (from 2 hours to 45 mins).  Recently we caved in and put him back in the swing -- it's soooo nice.
• Henry loves animals.  When we were at Seaside, we saw some Seagulls and he gave them the goofiest laugh.  So now, we try to go out of our way to find some animals for him to look at.  Today we went to a dog park (without a dog) and Henry thought that they were hilarious.

Here's to you Henry.  We still like you, and are glad that you are in our family.  Hope you feel better soon!

Henry at 7 Months

We forgot that Henry turned 7 months today until late morning - usually we're anticipating it for days (especially those months that include a well-child visit to the doctor). I realized it during Henry's first nap and then went to Rob and said, "Guess what today is?" He didn't guess, so I said, "The second of December, what happens today?" Still didn't know. "Henry is 7 months old!" I feel like not a lot has changed since six months, including his picture - I don't think he looks that different from month-to-month in his pictures since, maybe, four month old. What do you think? I'll try to come up with some new developments for Henry in this past month...

• He is super talkative. Usually just at home with us, but tonight at our ward party he was talking to everyone (and stealing their hearts, I'm sure.)
• I miss the days of Henry lying still while we changed his diaper or his clothes. Not anymore - he is a major wiggle bug, HAS to turn over and gets really upset when we try to stop him. Is this just a stage or will it be like this forever?
• Sleep is the same as last month - still going pretty well. We got back to being able to put him down partly awake and he either doesn't cry or cries for about five minutes (feels like 20). I've gotten into a new routine for naps in that he wants to nurse for a few minutes before going down. I don't mind. I wonder if next month we'll report that he's napping in his crib. One of these days we're going to have to make the transition out of his swing for naps and I have a feeling we're not going to like it.
• He met Santa today! No crying. We actually met two - one at the mall and the other at our ward party. He was oblivious for the first and curious for the second.
• He is a champion sitter! He started sitting really close to the six month mark and now could sit up all day long. He is only starting to learn how to get down on his belly from a sitting position. It either makes him nervous, or he just doesn't remember how to do it most of the time.
• We're in a new stage called, "My family makes me cry." The last 4 times we've seen mine and Rob's family he has screamed - including once when we were talking to them over the computer. It's silly.
• Henry eats a lot (amount), or at least more than I thought a little baby would eat. He's pretty good about all the new food we give him. He loves plain yogurt but for the last couple days we are not giving him any to see if it helps with his spitting up which has been back full force. We don't think he likes spicy food. He got mad at me the couple times I've tried to give it to him.
• He is scooting all over the house, well, he tries. If he were quicker he would be all over. 
• Nursing is not the most interesting thing anymore for him, so where I used to have him on a consistent (not strict, but consistent) eat-play-sleep schedule, I now have to be fine with him just snacking throughout the day. If I can catch him when he's just woken up, before he wants to see what's going on around him, he'll usually nurse for about 10 minutes still.
• He's generally happy and laughing. Our home teacher commented that he can't picture Henry crying. It's true, he doesn't cry much. But he can be pretty squirrely with nothing making him happy when he's in a bad mood.
  

That's all for this month!

100 Things I'm Grateful For

Thanksgiving has passed and I failed to really emphasize the gratitude part of the season. I think the night of Thanksgiving, right before we fell asleep, Rob and I talked about a few things we were grateful for, but that's it. I listened to this message today and thought, "it's not too late to think about and share what I'm grateful for." So, here are 100 things I'm most grateful for, listed here in the format suggested at the end of the link to the message. 1. Write 10 physical abilities you are grateful for. - the ability to provide nourishment to my little baby boy - a capable mind - knees that do all I require of them to do - the ability to climb a flight of stairs or a steep hill - a healthy body that is rarely sick - I quickly recover from those times that I am sick - cooking (I do it with my body) - ability to grow a baby - ability to give birth to a baby - ability to (once upon a time) run in a race 2. Write 10 material possessions you are grateful for. - an apartment that is more than we need it to be - a computer - two cars (even the one that makes me angry) - baby swing - jeggings - artwork - money in the bank - wedding ring - food - food storage 3. Write 10 living people (or groups of people - I added that) you are grateful for. - Jesus Christ - my husband, who is my best friend - my little baby boy - all my family - police officers - Young Women presidency - friends - Julie Beck - safe drivers - ward family 4. Write 10 deceased people (or groups) you are grateful for. - Joseph Smith - Papa - Grandpa Bill - Abraham Lincoln - Gordon B. Hinckley - Georgette - ancestors - Rob's ancestors - Mormon pioneers - Founding Fathers 5. Write 10 things about nature you are grateful for. - The view outside my window - the colors of Fall - Springtime, when all the world turns a bright green - rain (yes, rain. but not snow) - no natural disasters - the trees because my son likes to look at them - beauty of Hawaii - Provo Canyon - summer - the Food Chain 6. Write 10 things about today you are grateful for. - time spent serving at Deseret Industries - my husband be willing and capable to be with the baby while I was gone - finding a pair of socks in the dryer because my feet were freezing but a baby was asleep in my room (even though they were Rob's socks) - spending time with Alicia at Costco - Costco samples - husband putting the duvet cover back on (I hate that job) - my baby sleeping in my arms - taking care of Xander - the ability to buy the things we need and even things we just want - the holiday season! 7. Write 10 places on earth you are grateful for. - my home - the temple - Silverdale, our little "get-away" - my parent's home - Provo, Utah - the Pacific Northwest - my bed - Group Health/hospital (strange, but I really am grateful for them) - my walk-in closet - my ward (is that a place?) 8. Write 10 modern inventions you are grateful for. - the www. - my phone - my husband's phone - pinterest - skype - plumbing - baby swing - IVF (is that an "invention?") - cars - blu-ray streaming 9. Write 10 foods you are grateful for life experiences you are grateful for. (that was a strange category, so I changed it.) - meeting and marrying Rob - struggling to have a baby - having a baby - my mission in Pittsburgh, PA - teaching English in Russia - attending BYU - attending UW - attending Rick's College - being a member of the 191st ward - watching all my siblings get sealed to their spouses 10. Write 10 things about the gospel you are grateful for. - the Atonement - my testimony - temple covenants - modern revelation - personal revelation - a living prophet - the scriptures - missions - eternal families - repentance Happy (belated) Thanksgiving from our family to yours!

Halloween

We were excited for Henry's first Halloween but knew that, like all the holidays for his first year or so, he'll enjoy it even more when he's a little older. I've been waiting to have kids to enjoy Halloween - I've never big a big fan, but I always thought that it must be a lot more fun when you can see how much fun your kids have with it. Henry was pretty cute in his monkey costume, though, so that did make the day more fun for me. I was asked a few times what Henry was going to be and I just had to brag each time I answered that he's a monkey because we got the costume 75% off the year before, back before Rob and I told anyone we were pregnant (the first people we told were Rob's family - on Halloween. Rob and I dressed as a Baker and an oven with a bun in it, respectively.)

 Grandma's porch is always decorated for the holidays with lights and other beautiful decorations. I love this picture even though Henry isn't looking and Linda is hidden because Henry is loving the decorations.

 Isn't it beautiful?

Family costumes: Monkey, Monkey Tree and Jungle Explorer. Even our trunk got into the theme for our ward's Trunk-or-Treat.

 Henry thought it was pretty cool that he got to be outside for a little over an hour during the Trunk-or-Treat. I'm going to try to be a little picky about my kids' costumes, one requirement is that they are warm. Henry's costume was warm fleece, it was perfect!

 Henry and Grandpa

 We spent Halloween night with these two witches. Leah was the Black Witch and Clara was the White Witch. Natalie, their mom, said that calling them the good and evil witch made Leah feel bad. :)

 Rob's second costume of the holiday.

 I like this one.

Henry's first solid food

The Farm

Our favorite (perhaps only) Halloween/Fall tradition is going to The Farm. It's a pumpkin patch + petting zoo + hay ride + perfect place for a photo session. We were excited for Henry's first visit to The Farm, even though he didn't really know what was going on. It meant a couple hours of being outside, which is his favorite thing to do, so he was pretty happy. This year it became more apparent how much of a yuppie activity this is - families dressing up in the requisite boots, scarves and knit hats. Carrying their children in their baby carriers or wagons, taking pictures with pumpkins. I like to think we're different from all of them because we've been going for so many years, prior to it being as busy as it has become... but maybe we're not.  Here are some pictures from the day.

 cider donuts

 petting zoo - next year Henry will enjoy this more

 my boys

 We missed Natalie & Monica - only two Farrar sisters went this year

 It's impossible to get two babies to look at the camera

Oh pumpkin, Henry loves you

 Mmm.

 Henry & Xander

faces

About 6 mo old