Merry Christmas!

So while it is a few days late, Merry Christmas from the Merediths!! 

Knowing I was returning to work on the 27th, I've spent very little time in front of the computer over the last few weeks.  We managed to stay pretty busy, which has gotten easier now that Henry's a little bit older and starting to show interest in what's going on around him. 

A few weeks ago, our church hosted a live nativity scene for children in the Plano area to enjoy.  They had a fairly impressive petting zoo, as well as a little marketplace for kids to work on crafts.  Henry was recruited by a friend to play baby Jesus for one of the 45 minute shifts, which Paul and I thought was hysterical.  We were a little concerned that he would fuss the entire time (no one wants to see a crying baby Jesus!), but he did great and actually seemed to enjoy having a bunch of people come up and "ooh" and "ahh" over him. 

The funniest part of the entire experience was when we stripped him down into his diaper to go place him in the manger, Paul and I were also handed Mary and Joseph costumes.  No one bothered to tell us that if you volunteer your 2 month old to play Jesus, you automatically volunteer yourself to play Mary and Joseph - surprise!!  It ended up working out great, especially when Henry decided it was time to eat (heaven forbid the child go longer than 2 hours without eating)!

Last week, the three of us spent a few days in Pennsylvania with Paul's parents.  One of their friends got Henry a Santa suit, which was a hit!!  It was cute on the hanger, but SO much cuter on this chubby guy....

How could you not love this 10 week old Santa Claus?!? I could squeeze his cheeks just LOOKING at this picture!!

Henry has also started to notice Oscar.  As soon as Henry sees the white fur nosing around his bouncer, his eyes track Oscar until he's out of sight.  I think Oscar's ready for him to play, but I keep telling him to enjoy Henry before he's old enough to terrorize the poor dog. 

And here are a few more pictures on Christmas Eve and Christmas day.

There are not enough words to describe how thankful Paul and I are for this sweet child. And especially on the day of my Savior's birth, I cannot be thankful enough for the grace granted to us by God through his son. 

For to us a child is born,
   to us a son is given,
   and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
   Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
   Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

Henry meets Santa!

A few weeks ago, Henry braved the mall the crowd [shhh! Don't tell his pediatrician he was in a crowd during "flu season"] and saw Santa. 

He spent most of the 1.5 hours in line sleeping.  

He did finally wake up to show the big guy his baby blues. 

Santa's only comment/word of advice for the Meredith family was to "come back during the week next year to avoid the line."  Good call Santa - Paul and I will take off work if necessary!  Can't wait to see how Henry reacts to Santa next year when he's 14 months old. If he's anything like my brother, we should get some priceless screaming photos!  Merry Christmas, all!

First Thanksgiving

Henry got to celebrate his first Thanksgiving at Gigi and Papa's in Allen, Texas.  He was also lucky enough to meet his Great-Uncle Frank and Great-Aunt Lorna!

Great-Aunt Lorna appears to have a little experience with babies.

Feeling a little sleepy before dinner.





Getting fed his Thanksgiving dinner by Gigi.

The Green brothers with Henry.

Mama loves this little guy.



Typical Thanksgiving - the men fell asleep on the couch after dinner while the ladies chatted.

Henry seemed to enjoy his first Thanksgiving!

2 Months Old!

Henry is 2 months old today, and Paul and I sometimes still have a hard time believing we're parents.  Time has absolutely flown by!  This month has been so much fun, though, because Henry's little personality has really started to come out.  He has shown no signs of wanting to roll over or pick his fat head up during tummy time.  In fact, during tummy time, he'd rather just scream face down the entire time if he doesn't fall asleep first, as demonstrated below.

In spite of refusing to properly do his neck exercises, he has really started to smile, laugh, and talk.  I will gladly admit that I'm wrong later, but I'm going to have a hard time believing that any milestone is as heartwarming as that first, on purpose, smile.  I absolutely could have just died of happiness. 

Henry has chosen to smile more at certain people than others.  Obviously, he smiles at Paul and me.  He also smiles at his Papa.  And for whatever reason, he thought his Great-uncle Frank was hysterical.

He's been very stubborn with Gigi, however, which has been a semi-source of entertainment for the rest of us.  As of December 1st, she was convinced that he had not smiled at her (though I have documented proof that he smiled at her before December 1st).

November 21st smile at Gigi.

Though he has been stingy with his Gigi smiles until the 1st, he finally decided to stop testing her patience and truly started buttering her up. Smart man, Henry, smart man.



(please excuse the fuzziness - I forgot to focus the video in attempt to capture the moment).

I can't wait to see what this next month holds for us.  My guess is a lot of drool, as he's started to chew on anything that gets near his mouth.....

Poor little guy can't really get much besides his hands to his mouth, so he currently resorts to shirts and bibs that accidentally get shoved in the general area around his mouth.  But before he grows up any more, I keep reminding myself to enjoy every last second of the cuddling.  If his current squirminess is any indication of what he'll be like as a toddler, we think this little guy is going to be running around non-stop once he figures out how to move on his own.

And seriously, how could you not want to cuddle with this little guy?

Happy Belated Birthday, Dad!

So yesterday was technically my Dad's birthday, but I've been a little disorganized recovering from last week.... whoops! 

Even though I know you had to work last night, I hope you had a fantastic birthday, Dad.  I cannot be thankful enough that Henry has such a selfless, godly grandfather in his life. 

Happy Belated Birthday!!

1 Month Checkup

Today was Henry's 1 Month checkup.  He received his second Hepatitis B shot (he got his first one in the hospital), and I can certainly vouch for him when I say that he did not like it.  He was wide awake and flirting with the nurse, but approximately 0.5 seconds after the needle entered his thigh, his mouth opened as far as it would go, he turned 10 different shades of purple, and he stopped breathing for approximately 3 seconds as he sucked in as much air as possible to start screaming at the top of his lungs.  Fortunately, by the time he actually remembered to breathe and he started screaming, the band aid was on and I was allowed to scoop him up to calm him down.  And yes, I did tear up a little to see him in pain, but I didn't actually cry, so I should get some credit there! :) It only took about 2 seconds for him to be calmed and stop screaming, at which time he started looking around, probably wondering what the heck just happened to him. Poor little guy.  However the nurse and I both assured him that the shot was better than actually contracting Hepatitis B.

His report card stats from this visit and his 2 week visit are below:

TWO WEEK REPORT CARD

Weight: 9 lbs. 0 oz. - 75th Percentile

Height: 21.8 in. - 97th Percentile

Head: 14.8 in. - 75th Percentile

ONE MONTH REPORT CARD

Weight: 10 lbs. 14 oz. - 75th Percentile

Height: 23.5 in. - >100th Percentile (Let it be noted that Paul and I are confused at this percentile, as it is mathematically impossible.)

Head: 15.5 in. - 75th Percentile

Henry's healthy as can be, and Paul and I couldn't be more thankful!  God has truly blessed us.

1 Month Old!

One month old today!  You would think the 6 month onesie he's wearing would look a little bigger on him than it actually does.... :)

This baby sure has been loved on over the past month!

Gigi

Papa

Grandma and Grandpa

Uncle Clifton

Aunt Gracie

Aunt Lauren

Uncle Grant

Lyndsey and Patrick

Mandy

Nana

And countless other friends we didn't remember to get pictures of. I blame it on lack of sleep.

Happy Belated Halloween. Cute outfits, eh? These card costumes (the adult ones) have literally been worn in multiple different states by multiple different family members. I find them hilarious every time!  Henry definitely needed his own miniature version.

And no, I did not remember to look at a card before making this costume, which would explain why the club has 4 leaves instead of 3.  Whoops! Once again, I'm blaming this on lack of sleep...  And I did make him a headpiece, but it was freezing outside and he spent most of the time at Trunk or Treat in his carrier bundled up (and he did not fit in the carrier with his headpiece on).  Still made one cute Ace of Clubs in my opinion.

Happy 1 Month, sweet Henry!

Henry's Arrival

Waking up and knowing it's the last morning without a child is a strange experience, which is why October 3rd will go down as one of the weirdest and most amazing days of my life.  I woke up super early (around 4:30 a.m.), which had become typical in the last days of my pregnancy.  I proceeded to scarf down some food, knowing I was going to be cut off from eating beginning at 9 a.m.  Needing to pass the time, I reverted to baking [brownies, cookies, rice krispie treats, and cupcakes] like a madwoman. 

A friend of mine advised that I bake goodies for the nurses to suck up - some of the best advice I received while being pregnant! I suggest any and all pregnant woman do this prior to the delivery of your child (or assign a friend/relative to do this for you), as you'll be spoiled by the nursing staff!  They apparently don't get fed very often....

Since we didn't have to be at the hospital until 3:00 p.m., Paul and I decided to have one last "hoorah," and we went to our last movie as a family of 2. As a side note, we saw 50/50, which is fantastic, but will make any pregnant woman cry like an idiot.

At 2:30 p.m., however, we packed up and headed to the hospital.

My chauffeur.

Arrival at Labor and Delivery.  I won the "Battle of the Bulge."

Waiting for surgery.....

 

...which was enthralling, as you can tell.

Paul was then prepped for surgery as well. Sexy. :)

My right left-hand man.  He got to keep his man card because I demanded a play-by-play throughout the surgery, and despite earlier hesitation as to whether he would look over the sheet, he managed to look over and keep me updated about what the doctors were doing during surgery.  I even have pictures to document Henry's arrival, but will spare the World Wide Web from such details. :)

My fabulous physician, immediately after Mr. Henry's arrival.

Henry Louis arrived at 5:48 p.m., weighing in at 8 lbs. 15 oz., and 19 3/4 in. long.

Our first meeting as a family. There's no other feeling in the world like this, especially with such a healthy boy! 

Gigi and Uncle Grant examining Henry for the first time.

Uncle Grant finally worked up the nerve to hold him.

Proud Daddy. 

Post-surgery in the recovery room.

First diaper change. If only we knew how many more were to follow.... :)



Gigi finally convinced Papa to hold Henry - he was convinced he was going to contaminate Henry with something he'd picked up from work, but he finally gave in!!  Looks like a natural.

And although we could have stayed 4 nights in the hospital, we were all ready to leave after 3 nights.   Henry was ready to head home!

The Paul Meredith family leaving the hospital.  Love these two boys more than life.

Headed home!



The newest love of my life.  Most kissable cheeks ever.