12 Months

Henry James!

Tomorrow you will be 1! I can't even believe it! I love you so much sweet boy. When you put your head on my chest and cuddle with me my heart just about explodes. There are not a lot of things I love more than watching you walking all over the place. Your wobbly little knees are wiggling all over the place and you just step step step so daringly all over the house. You crash and burn quite often and you aren't too stable but man are you fun to watch! I especially love the huge giggle you let out when you have successfully completed quite a few steps and then with the biggest grin I have ever seen... you clap for yourself. Ahhh so fun to watch. You are quite the turbo.... you crawl quickly all over the place and are in to everything! You try to run even though you have not quite figured out the whole walking thing yet. It's almost as if your heart gets ahead of your little body and you forget that you don't yet have the skills. You are daring and great my little one!

11 Months

11 months my sweet Henry James! I adore you more and more with each passing day. I love your heart for adventure, the way you try to keep up with your 2 older sibs, and the way you gasp with excitement every time I walk in the room. I love the way you clap as if everything is the most exciting thing you have encountered yet, and the way you lean forward to greet anyone that talks to you. I love how you lean in and cuddle with me when you are tired, and how you love to jump, jump, jump when you are excited.

I love how you hold on to the coffee table and bounce up and down when you hear music, and the way you laugh when I tickle you is one of my favorite sounds in the existence of all time. I still love your squishy soft cheeks, and the way your white blonde hair sticks straight up in the middle no matter what length it is. I love how you crawl with one knee and drag your other foot on the ground even though you know how to crawl in the traditional way. I love how you take little steps all the time without even thinking it through! It's as if your body can't keep up with your mind, and you are trying to run before you even know how.

I love how you want to be involved in everything Kaelyn and Liam are doing, even though they get frustrated for you messing up their blocks and tea parties. You are just happy to be with them, regardless of how they let you participate. People tell me all the time that you are the happiest baby they've ever met, and I continue to be amazed at how easy going you are. You do want to be held most of the time while I am trying to make dinner, and get a little fussy around bedtime, but we understand you are just trying to communicate with us. ;-) You started sleeping nice long stretches for mommy and Daddy, going to bed now at 7pm, and sleeping until 4:30 or 5am, having a snack, and going back to sleep until almost 7! Sometimes you just stay and play by yourself with toys in your pack and play until I come and get you because... you are just independent and sweet like that. You are easy going in the way that you LOVE to be around lots of stimulation and people, but you are also completely content to explore the world and play on your own. That makes it sooooo easy on mommy... because I can take you anywhere, and because you allow me to do other things rather than hold you 24/7! Which don't get me wrong... I do love to hold you... but you are getting a little heavy!! You were about 20 lbs at your 9 month visit... and you have since gotten chunkier! Looking forward to your 12 month visit!

You have been exploring lots of new foods, and 90% of the time feed yourself! You have 4 teeth on top and 2 on bottom. Your favorite foods are watermelon and toast and you will try most anything!

Here are some adventures from this month!

11 Months

11 months my sweet Henry James! I adore you more and more with each passing day. I love your heart for adventure, the way you try to keep up with your 2 older sibs, and the way you gasp with excitement every time I walk in the room. I love the way you clap as if everything is the most exciting thing you have encountered yet, and the way you lean forward to greet anyone that talks to you. I love how you lean in and cuddle with me when you are tired, and how you love to jump, jump, jump when you are excited.

I love how you hold on to the coffee table and bounce up and down when you hear music, and the way you laugh when I tickle you is one of my favorite sounds in the existence of all time. I still love your squishy soft cheeks, and the way your white blonde hair sticks straight up in the middle no matter what length it is. I love how you crawl with one knee and drag your other foot on the ground even though you know how to crawl in the traditional way. I love how you take little steps all the time without even thinking it through! It's as if your body can't keep up with your mind, and you are trying to run before you even know how.

I love how you want to be involved in everything Kaelyn and Liam are doing, even though they get frustrated for you messing up their blocks and tea parties. You are just happy to be with them, regardless of how they let you participate. People tell me all the time that you are the happiest baby they've ever met, and I continue to be amazed at how easy going you are. You do want to be held most of the time while I am trying to make dinner, and get a little fussy around bedtime, but we understand you are just trying to communicate with us. ;-) You started sleeping nice long stretches for mommy and Daddy, going to bed now at 7pm, and sleeping until 4:30 or 5am, having a snack, and going back to sleep until almost 7! Sometimes you just stay and play by yourself with toys in your pack and play until I come and get you because... you are just independent and sweet like that. You are easy going in the way that you LOVE to be around lots of stimulation and people, but you are also completely content to explore the world and play on your own. That makes it sooooo easy on mommy... because I can take you anywhere, and because you allow me to do other things rather than hold you 24/7! Which don't get me wrong... I do love to hold you... but you are getting a little heavy!! You were about 20 lbs at your 9 month visit... and you have since gotten chunkier! Looking forward to your 12 month visit!

You have been exploring lots of new foods, and 90% of the time feed yourself! You have 4 teeth on top and 2 on bottom. Your favorite foods are watermelon and toast and you will try most anything!

Here are some adventures from this month!

10 Months

Hi Henry!

Today is your 10 month birthday! That means you will be one years old in just a short 2 months. Wow! Your next steps are just around the corner and that gets me all sentimental! You are my sweet last baby... and you are growing up so fast! You are still in the baby room in the nursery at church so that makes me happy! I know they are going to bump you up any day now since you are pulling up on everything and are very self entertaining! I went to nurse you in between services yesterday and all of the women in there were commenting about what a happy baby you are! 

One of my favorite things about you is how you kick your legs and gasp/giggle every time I walk into the room. Ohhhh may I never forget how excited you get to see me even if it has just been 5 minutes since I last saw you! That warms this mama's heart! 

You have such a contagious little laugh. You grin from ear to ear and are so content with life most of the time. When you are fussy I almost always know what is wrong because you are quite easy to read. You try to keep up with your siblings and get frustrated when they run away from you because you can only crawl so fast!

Speaking of crawling so fast... you really are quite speedy now! You pull up on everything and your balance is soooo good. You even tried to stand this morning on your own a few times. You only last a few seconds here and there! I pretty much want to just push you over so you won't try and walk on me. My last baby needs to stay a baby a little while longer!!

You eat everything in sight and are very good at self feeding! Your favorite foods are bananas, oatmeal, yogurt, watermelon, toast, macaroni and cheese, blueberries, black beans, and you pretty much love whatever is on mama's plate!

You love to play peek a boo and clap your hands with a huge grin on your face! You say "Da Da Da" and love to bang things together. Emptying the silverware out of the dishwasher is one of your favorite games, and you love to be tickled and kissed! You are quite the cuddly one, and I love your deliciously chunky thighs and feet/toes!!

I LOVE how you just take in everything from the world around you with great fascination. You especially love to explore! It's been very difficult to keep you out of the dog food and dog water. I gave up this morning and just let you splash around in the dog water because it was making you so happy. You made a huge mess and had a ton of fun. :-)

I took you in for your 9 month check up recently and you were 20 lbs! You are still in the 50th percentile for both height and weight. You still have 4 teeth on top and 2 on bottom!

I love you so much baby boy. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful son. You are the easiest most happy go lucky baby and are just such a joy and a delight. I love watching you grow!!! Happy 10th month of life, sweet boy! 

XO, Mama

9 Months

Hi, Henry!

You had so many firsts this month! First time standing on your own, first plane flight, and first taste of chocolate cake!

On the 10th of June, you had your first plane flight to Medford, OR! GiGi picked us up at the airport and we traveled another 2 hours to Happy Camp, California where your Grandma Kathleen grew up. We spend a whole week just you and I with my grandparents (your great grandparents) and had a wonderful time! You really enjoyed having mommy all to yourself although you really missed the hustle and bustle of your sibs. 

 This was when we found out our flight was delayed!! You did really well and just flirted with the grandmas across the aisle. You leaned over and they played with you while we waited for our plane to be fixed!

You made this for Daddy for Father's Day! ;-)

 Exploring grass!!

Your sibs asked if we could make chocolate cupcakes together one afternoon. I just happened to have all the ingredients and Kaelyn had been asking for a long time to bake together. I gave you some apples to chew on while the other kids had a cupcake. YOU WERE NOT HAVING THIS!! You were very upset and knew you were missing out ha ha. This is really funny to me because the other kids were not allowed to have sweets until after they were a year old. And then here you are at 9 months eating bites of a cupcake. You loved the bite I gave you and then shrieked at me for more. Hilarious. Look at your cute little rolls. You crack me up.

In other news, you have been sometimes standing here and there letting go of whatever surface you are holding on to. Crazy!!! I think you are going to be an early walker!

You have 4 teeth on top and 2 on bottom!

You LOVE to laugh! I volunteered at Vacation Bible School last week and the helpers in the nursery said you were the happiest baby in there. Some kids saw me in the hallway and said, "that's the happy baby's mom!!" 

We love you so much, sweet Henry! Can't imagine life without you! Can't believe you are already 9 months. WOW.

8 Months

Henry!!

You're 8 months! What!? Where did the time go!?

Here are some updates from this past month!

Kid... you are eating everything in site. I can not keep enough food on your tray. You just want to eat whatever we are eating now! You nurse all day, and then you eat whenever we eat with snacks in between!

You now have 4 teeth almost 6! Your top 2 teeth are cutting through this week!

You just started crawling. Like REAL crawling! Not just the launch and scoot... crawling on all 4's! On top of that... you just pulled up on your crib this week, and just pulled up on the dishwasher door for the first time today! I'm in trouble now! You are all over the place! You have had quite a few injuries this week learning about balance and head bonking.

I'm sorry sweet Henry.. but your sleep is STINKING the past few weeks. I know it's because you're teething and growing but you are waking every 2-3 hours to snack and get a hug and mommy is exhausted!!

I am LOVING all your chunk!! You are getting all rolley poley on me! You are still not as big as your chunky brother was but you have some decent rolls! :) And your skin is sooooooo baby soft and squishy. I love to kiss your sweet cheeks so much!

You are loving exploring everything and especially loving joining your sibs in the bath every night now. You are busy, busy, busy!

Here are some pictures from this month!

Love you so much little man!! You are such a treasure! Can't believe you are growing so fast!