Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Wordless Wednesday - The Face


Is it his: "Why, Hello Ladies" Face or his "Excuse me, I am trying to concentrate on making a poop" face?! You decide. You caption the photo.


Hint: he progressively turned a bright shade of red after this picture was taken. :) heehee

Thursday, March 08, 2012

HDH – 6 Months Old!!


Hold on a second, I just need to take in the fact that our little man is SIX MONTHS OLD! He is half way to a year and if this second half goes as fast as this first half has then we need to start planning his first birthday party now!!

It is crazy how fast this has all gone.  C.R.A.Z.Y.

Granted, in the beginning when every night for 4 hours or more he was fussy and crying it may not have seemed like it was going all that fast but looking back at how far we have come in such a short period of time just blows my mind!  This little man who only came into our lives a mere 6 months ago is growing into this little boy who is fun and exciting and starting to develop his own little personality!  LOVE IT.

Ok, enough with me being sentimental, let’s talk about the big boy, shall we?!

A little bit about Henry:
Henry is a fantastic child.  No really, he is.  Am I about to jinx everything, eh?  I don’t think it will change the fact that he is such a WONDERFUL baby.  He is very laid back and calm.  He just wants to observe the world while also playing with EVERY. SINGLE. TOY. he has at the same time!

Henry is also, shall we say active and curious.  The boy loves to move and get into everything and anything he can get his little hands on.  Changing his diaper, getting him dressed, feeding him a bottle all take extra work on our part as he just wants to move the ENTIRE time!  Kick, grab, wiggle….there is no sitting still during the waking hours for this child. 

And he is strong….I am talking baby hulk strong!  He has a basket of toys in the living room that he will grab and dump ON him.  He feeds himself his bottle and good luck trying to take the bottle away before he is done.  You have to fight him to take it from him.  It is crazy just how strapping he is, you don’t think a baby should be able to be stronger than you!!

Finally, this kid is hilarious to watch!!  He is always smiling and laughing.  And he makes these faces that crack us up!  This child is a hoot, and doesn’t even know it yet!!

Some videos for your viewing pleasure:
(These videos are on my phone and since my phone is about 3-4 years old the picture is really dark, even with the flash!  For the laughing videos, hearing him works just fine!!)

Being really silly. (It is hard to see but his suk is in his mouth upside down and he is laughing and smiling with it in his mouth while also jumping!)

Laughing with Aunt K. (similar videos)


Likes:

- He LOVES his jumperoo!  This is THE. BEST. toy he can have right now.  The boy LOVES to move and this thing lets him do that.  He goes crazy in this thing and jumps hard; so much so that you think it is going to break.
 I luvs it mumeez!
Its do lots of tings!
Likes dis...
...ands it has dis tings...
...ands i jumpses in itz...
...itz is amazings!!

- Bath time.


- To be free!  I am fairly certain his motto is: “Do not hold me, I want to MOVE!” followed by some jazz hands.  Even in his crib he must move all around!
 Terry says we bought the Hokey Pokey crib...heehee

- TV.  Yes, we let him watch TV.  He loves it.  What he loves most, singing.  Any singing show that is on he will stop what he is doing and watch them sing.  So maybe Henry will be a singer or in a band when he grows up!! 
 (Watching American Idol with his feet on the entertainment stand. COME ON child, you kill me!!)
Our piano man :)  Mama gets bored by herself with Henry.
heehee!!

- Tags.  If there is a tag on a toy, he will suck that tag rather than playing with the toy.  And his boppy, well that is his favorite tag….he is always wiggling around to get that tag. 


- Getting at his neck and making him laugh. LOVES that.

- Reading!


- “Talking” aka yelling and mimicking the sounds you make.  We call it the parrot game, and he loves when you “scream” and he “screams” back.

- Food!  Yep, he loves to eat.  Surprise, surprise.  He is actually an exceptional eater, only a few times in the beginning did he refuse to eat something (green beans).  But now he eats his food right up, no problems. 

Foods he has tried:
- Rice Cereal
- Oatmeal
- Sweet Potatoes
- Carrots
- Peas
- Peaches
- Bananas
- Prunes
- Green Beans
- Mashed Potatoes
- Apple Juice
 I want to smooch that face...prunes and all!!

Apparently prunes and a clean colon are sexy!

Dislikes:

- Sitting still or being in one place when he is awake for longer than A SECOND!!
- Lotion
- The vacuum.  LOATHES the vacuum or other loud noises.
- Nose sucker…what kid doesn’t, really.


Milestones:
 -Putting himself to sleep.  I am rather proud of this.  We feed him his last bottle at night, burp him, and then lay him in bed with his suk and mobile on and he goes to sleep! He loves to sleep.

- Rolling over and rolling all over the place and getting into everything!
 (Child proofing will be starting very soon!)


- Sitting up!

- And trying to prop himself up on his own…aka high school senior picture pose!

ahhhhhh, we love it!!




Folks, these last 6 months have been the hardest and the best 6 months of my life!!  
And it is all because of this amazing little man.  
We Love you Henry!! 



Extra Pictures:


 All smiles every morning!
 Iz too bigs for its mumeez!
Iz wantes dat.





Friday, March 02, 2012

Then and Now....



The other morning while I sat alone in our living room pumping and listening to the repetitive drone of my pump, basking in the only 20 minutes each day that are truly all mine, I thought about how my life has changed in the last year.  I thought about how things were then compared to how they are now.  And I thought I would share some of those things that have changed in my life the past 6 months!  

Then:
Sleeping in usually meant sleeping until 11am and not getting out of bed until noon.
Now:
Sleeping in means getting to sleep IN my own bed instead of on the futon in the baby’s room because Henry keeps waking up at night and it is just easier to stay in there.

Then:
Saying you were tired and actually being tired were two different things.  Usually when I said I was tired it just translated to being bored.
Now:
You are in a perpetual state of exhaustion and simply too tired to even say or think about how tired you really are.

Then:
Your boobs were perky, the same tone and when you had them out in front of your husband he got excited because it meant something special was about to happen!
Now:
Your boobs are just sad looking, you can see every vein, your nipples are cracked, and when you have your boobs out in front of your husband he doesn’t even notice you or them; and instead of your husband getting excited when he sees them, now your baby gets excited.

Then:
You could take as long as you wanted to eat dinner and even enjoy multiple courses at an actual restaurant!
Now:
Dinner consists of you scavenging for food from anywhere you can find it and eating as quickly as possible.

Then:
You sang your favorite band’s songs in the shower or car.
Now:
You find yourself singing kids songs….and hating the fact that you sort of enjoy them.

Then:
Conversation on bodily functions, while funny, were usually limited to special circumstances.
Now:
The day is not complete without at least one conversation & an accompanying picture message about poop.

Then:
Running to the store to get something small you forgot, like soap, took no time and was not that big of a deal.  Well, running to the store in general was no big deal.
Now:
If you have to run to the store for something it has to be strategically timed between feedings and naps and involves 30 minutes of prep time that includes (but is not limited to) changing his diaper, making sure he is properly dressed, fighting him as you strap him into his car seat, make sure you have: a burp cloth, pacifier, toy, back up toy, back up pacifier, make sure you are fully dressed and have your purse (including your wallet – made that mistake!).  Then you have to awkwardly climb in your car to load and unload him out of the middle portion of the back seat. And let’s not forget about once you are actually IN the store.  Usually once you think about all you have to do to pick up something, like soap, from the store you realize the best option is to forego the soap all together.

Then:
You could pick up and leave for a long weekend whenever!
Now:
They idea of taking all the necessary stuff required to go somewhere overnight causes anxiety…so you just don’t leave the house.

Then:
7:30am – Wake up
7:30 – 7:45 – Shower and get dressed
7:45 – 8 – Pack lunch and leave for work
8:30 – 5 – work
5:30 – Get home
5:30 – 7:30 – Terry’s at work so I get comfy clothes on and lie on the couch and watch TV. A nap may even be possible!
7:30 – start dinner
8 – Terry’s home, eat dinner
9:30 – go to bed
Sleep and Repeat

Now:
6am – Wake up
6:15 – 6:45 – Shower and get dressed
6:45 – 7:15 – Pump (and enjoy the alone time)
7:15 – 7:30 – Pack lunch, pump, bottles and leave for work
8am – 5pm – Work (pump at 11 & 4)
5:30 – 5:45 Get home and briefly go over Henry’s “STATS” for the day with Terry on the days he works  i.e. When did he eat, how many bottles, when did he sleep, how did he poop, how much/little did he vomit, how was your day, love you and bye! (I prefer the days he doesn't work!)
6:00 – 7:30 – Feeding solids and a bottle and then a nap.
7:30 – 9:15 – Play time, mom grabs a quick bite to eat, get ready for bed, story time.
9:15 – 9:45 – Feed last bottle of the day and put him in his crib to let him fall asleep.
9:45 – 12am - Wash bottles, prep bottles for the next day, pick up living room/house,  pump for 30-40 minutes, relax, have an actual (non text message) conversation with Terry, and then off to bed.
12am-6am – Possible baby wake ups in the middle of the night.
Sleep and Repeat.

Then:
I was happy, loved, and my life was really really good.
Now:
My life with Henry in it is AMAZING.  I had no idea I could love someone in this way and this much and that one little person could bring so much joy and happiness to our life. My heart is full and I wouldn’t change any part of my life NOW.


(Ok, maybe I would want some more sleep and naps….but that will come!!)