The past few weeks have been crazy busy - it's getting harder and harder to keep up with this little guy!
Henry's become more and more attached to his "teacher" - since he requires him for sleep, he's getting washed a few times a week. I'm not sure what we're going to do when he falls apart one of these days (especially since they stopped manufacturing these in March 2011)....
A few weeks ago, we were so blessed to get Paul's grandfather's piano. While our upright was doing its [very out-of-tune] job, I couldn't have been more excited to welcome this gorgeous instrument into our house! I've been dying for a grand, but never really saw how it would fit in our budget. We're so excited to keep this piano in the Meredith family!!
We've pretty much got Henry eating all adult food now. I've spent the last 6 months fretting over whether his food is pureed enough, soft enough, the perfect choking size, etc., but I finally feel comfortable feeding him whatever we're eating (or whatever I can find in the fridge). Makes life so much easier!
And what's learning to eat like an adult if there aren't some adult desserts in there as well.....:)
Didn't take him long to figure out he loves cupcakes!
You don't get a belly like this without a big boy appetite! :)
Can't believe this sweet boy will be 1 year on Wednesday! Where did the time go?!?!?!?
SO BEHIND. The story of my life lately. Do I have a legitimate excuse? Does tiredness, exhaustion, and general laziness count? If so, there's my mini-list. I won't disclose the full list - that would make me sound whiny. :)
Here are a few updates, including our 10 and 11 month photos. I told Paul when I was pregnant that this child was not going to sit still when he arrived - so far, I'm so right.
Beating the table.
Looking at the light - he is obsessed with lights and light switches. He looks for lights wherever he goes, and says "aight" a LOT. We haven't mastered the "L" sound yet.
Caught him still. For a second.
No blog is complete without some bath pictures. Why are babies the sweetest when they're in the bathtub? Just want to squeeze him.
And here are a few pictures from our 11 month "birthday" earlier this week. These were impossible to take. I'm fairly certain standing on a swivel/rocking chair is an accident waiting to happen. Hence the hand (poised to catch him) at the bottom of the picture.
Climbing to try and dive off the chair over the arm. Please note we tried to give him his "teacher," (the zebra from the Llama Llama books - Henry is OBSESSED with teacher) but he refused to sit still.
Next, we tried a toy. Only successful picture from the group. Note the 11 month sticker is covered. Ugh.
Dad attempting to make him sit still and re-affix his sticker. Henry is NOT HAPPY to be contained.
If he could speak, I'm pretty certain he would be screaming at us to "Get off me and leave me alone!"
So we backed off and snapped one before he ripped the sticker off. Can't wait to see what his 12 month photos look like!
My favorite things about Henry these past two months are how much he's trying to talk. He can sometimes make his version of animal noises when we ask what certain animals say - the only one that's pretty accurate is his hissing (like a snake). We also found out last week (by accident) that he could climb the stairs. My parents were over for dinner, we were talking in the front hall, and within 2 seconds, he was up 3 stairs. Agh! We now let him climb up (while we're right behind him). He also likes to walk down them - we can't get him to safely scoot or back down them - it's either a head first attempt or us walking him down the stairs. And he laughs hysterically the whole way....
Silly boy! He's such a sweet kid. He's learned what no means, and does a pretty good job listening when I tell him not to touch something. He is obsessed with outlets, is immediately drawn to them, but will stop and hesitate before he touches them. As soon as I tell him not to touch it, he looks at me and finds something else to play with. Paul and I have been so blessed to have such a good-natured, sweet baby that we're convinced our next one will get us back. We'll see..... :)
My sweet baby is bumped, bruised, scratched, and generally beat up. And he has no one to blame but himself.
Here, you can see the bruise over his right eye. He obtained this while attempting to pull himself up and peek into the dryer. Unfortunately, his arm gave out and he did a face plant directly into the metal. Poor, sweet baby. This is also a good shot of all his scratches. When he does not get his way and he's a little sleepy, he tends to scratch and rub his face while crying. Sometimes this results in temporary wounds that stick around for a day or two.
Here, you can see that his bottom lip is busted. Yet again, an arm gave out (while crawling). Hard wood floors - 1, Henry - 0.
And here, it's kind of hard to see on film (not as difficult in person), but he has a pretty impressive sized bump/bruise over his right eye. Wanna guess how? Yup, you guessed it! Another encounter with the wood floors! Hard wood floors - 2, Henry - 0.
Maybe if I had a child that sat still for more than 2 seconds, he wouldn't be so beat up. But then again, our lives wouldn't be so entertaining! Love this kid. Can you tell he spends a ton of his time chasing poor Oscar around (these were taken over a 2 minutes span - Oscar couldn't find a spot to park for more than about 15 seconds)?
So Henry's had a pretty solid attachment to stuffed animals in general, but has recently become fixated on "teacher," the zebra from the Llama Llama books. Whenever "teacher" comes into sight, he starts flailing all his limbs and grunting until we hand him over. He's also a necessity at naptime/bedtime. Only a baby could fall asleep like this.
And Henry came to see me at lunchtime today! Sure makes this Mama happy. He is most decidedly a fan of Potbelly chicken salad. No surprise there - Yum!
Henry has become a regular on our neighborhood swings. He absolutely loves them!
In fact, tonight, when we went on a walk after I got home from work, he actually cried when we walked past them and he didn't get to swing. We tried to explain that they were wet from the rain, but such logic did not go over well with the 9 month old.
Henry has also discovered the joy of the private baby pool. Mama loves it as well, because there's no need for those overpriced swim diapers!
Sweet Daddy teaching Henry about leaves on the trees.
Sweet baby on his rocking horse (or cow - my Dad is convinced this thing looks like a cow and not a horse). This child loves anything that moves. I'm worried we may have an adrenaline junkie on our hands.... :)
