11 months old

Wow! I've really been slacking with the blog updates. Henry is now just over 11 months old. He is officially a walker. Although he'd taken a few steps here and there for the past month, on Friday he took 14 steps and Monday he took 21! Each day he's been doing more walking and less crawling. Of course, crawling is faster so that is still his preference.

A few weeks ago Henry and I went to Michigan to visit family and he got to meet my cousin, Caitlyn. She is in the US from Taiwan. He had fun seeing her, Grandma, Grandpa, Great Grandpa, Aunt Carol, Uncle Jim, Aunt Janet, George, Natalie, and Scott, too!! He also got to go for his first horse ride and Jim and Carol's. It was a very fun visit.

We've been going through a bit of a sleep regression--hopefully it's just due to learning to walk. His naps are still great but he's waking up 3-4 times at night and getting up early in the morning. Thankfully Mark enjoys hanging out with Henry in the mornings and giving him breakfast so I can get a little extra sleep.

We're looking forward to two birthday parties for Henry in a few weeks. He'll be having some buddies over on the 8th and a bigger party with family and friends on the BIG DAY, December 10!

Henry's current favorite foods are grilled cheese with turkey, mac and cheese, yogurt, and carrots. Yummy.

10 months old

This has been an incredibly busy month. In fact, I'm a week late with his 10 month photos. This month Henry took a couple steps on his own, but is definitely not walking yet. He continues to stand, do squats, and cruise around on the furntiture, but no official walking!

A few weeks ago Henry said "Mama". That was the best thing I've ever heard. He said it after he'd knocked over a big cup of water and I was cleaning it up. He crawled over, put his hand on my arm and said Mama. I'm sure he was trying to say sorry! He said it a few more times that night and has said it a few times since then.

We went to Cleveland this weekend to see all the Dillons. Henry had been suffering from a fever for the past few days. We thought it was a bad reaction to the flu shot, but he got a rash all over his body. It turns out, he has Roseola, and the rash is the sign that it's almost gone. We just hope he's back to his old self again soon. He's been grumpy and hasn't been eating well.

Henry and I are going to Michigan in a few days for another visit. Busy busy!

9 months old

Henry is 9 months old today! We took him to the petting farm at the Lincoln Park Zoo to celebrate and enjoy what's left of the warm weather. Henry enjoyed petting the goats, looking at the cows, ponies, chicks, and vegetable garden. He even got to see a demonstration of grooming a pony! The goats were especially interested in Mark's pants and leg hair.

Henry is 18 lbs. 5 oz. now and only 27 inches tall. It was very hard to believe that he only grew 1/2 an inch in the past three months, but that's what the doctor said! He is certainly growing out of his clothes quickly.

He is eating solids pretty well, although he prefers store bought food to my home cooked baby food. Poor me! He really likes to feed himself although he's not great at chewing, so we have a few scares when he eats. His favorite foods right now are cottage cheese, yogurt, whole peas, avocado, banana, peaches, and pears.

Mark wanted me to add that he is awesome!

first words and sleep for mommy and daddy!

Henry's sleep habits were really getting out of control. He's never been a great sleeper, but for the past week and a half he was up every 45-60 minutes and would wake up the instant he touched the crib. We had to do something!! So, after a lot of research, discussion, and many sleepless nights we decided to Ferberize that boy. It went so much better than we ever dreamed. After only three nights he is falling asleep on his own with only a little bit of crying and staying asleep for long stretches of time (7 hours last night). Today he put himself to sleep for a nap with no crying. I know there will still be bad nights and other set backs when teething or illness come along, but we are happy right now.

Last night he said his first words! I wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't said it twice. After dinner he said "all done". For the past 3 months I've been trying to teach him the sign for all done after meals. So I say it about 4 times and do the sign then I say it and make him do the sign. I've never gotten any type of response from him until last night. I said "all done" and he looked up at me and said "aahh done". I said "Did you just say 'all done'?" and again he said "aahh done". He can't do the sign, but he said it two times and again (although not as clearly) this morning. Other babies say mama, dada, ball... but not my kid!

We also had a great trip to Cleveland last weekend. We celebrated Omi's 89th birthday. Henry had so much fun with his grandparents, great grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and doggies! He went swimming with B and Quinnie, too. We'll be traveling back there in October and we're looking forward to visiting again!

8 months old

Henry turned 8 months on Wednesday. It was very challenging to take his monthly elephant picture this time because he doesn't like to sit still! That morning we met Grandma in Michigan because she and Grandpa babysat him for 5 days while Mark and I went to California for a baby free vacation. We sure missed Henry but it was wonderful to catch up on sleep and have a break from changing diapers and cleaning up spit up. Now the family is back together and we are back to chasing Henry around! He is crawling very quickly, standing for longer periods of time, and is learning to feed himself finger foods. He likes to try to use the spoon, too.

So many new things

Henry is officially a mobile baby! He took his first crawling "steps" on July 24 and hasn't slowed down since. He enjoys chasing Gracie around the condo, chasing balls, throwing balls, climbing on furniture, and finding anything and everything that is NOT a toy, and putting it in his mouth. He is such a busy boy, you would really think he'd sleep better at night! Not only is he crawling, but he is also standing up. He can go from hands and feet to just feet in a matter of seconds. Of course, he is lacking in the balance department so his upright adventures do not last long. Recently he has discovered pulling up on furniture--this is a much more sturdy and stable way to stand! Today Henry waved bye bye for the first time. It was adorable and only took 2 weeks to learn :) Henry will be 8 months on Wednesday and is about 18 lbs now. Where has the time gone?

7 months old

Henry turned 7 months on Sunday. He is now 16 lbs. 8 oz. Every day he is changing--it's so hard to keep up with him. He is now an expert sitter and very rarely falls over. He is in the precrawling phase. He can get on his hands and knees and rock back and forth. He also reaches forward and stretches out his little body. Even though he can't technically crawl yet, he is constantly on the move! He crawls all over me and rolls back and forth. It won't be long before he is on the move. Time to baby proof the condo!

Henry's sleeping patterns are becoming more consistent. He takes 3 naps during the day, but it is still a challenge to get him in the crib. He has good days and bad, regarding naps. We can always count on him taking a good nap in his stoller though. At night he still wakes up a few times, which is exhausting for us. Sometimes he surprises us and only gets up once. Those are fabulous nights.

He is still enjoying trying new foods every few days. A new recent favorite is yogurt.

Michigan

We just spent a week and a half in Michigan. It was so much fun--Henry met many more relatives including his cousins, Sean and Josh from Colorado. Henry had a blast with all of his family and friends.

We even went to Bass Lake with Mark's family for 4th of July weekend. Henry went for his first canoe ride. Gracie had a great time swimming in the lake. We all enjoyed the beautiful, sunny weather! Even though Henry has been known to be a light sleeper, he slept through all the fire works. That made me VERY happy!

Father's Day!

What a wonderful day!

6 months

Henry is now over 6 months old. He's getting so big and strong! He's 27 inches long and 15 lbs 13 oz.

He's sitting so well now and has recently learned how to throw things. Henry thinks it's so funny when he throws things. He also loves to make people laugh. His giggle is infectous!

Right now Stu and Tutu are visiting and Henry had a great time showing them around the Lincoln Park Zoo today. Tomorrow is Father's Day--Mark's first!

New Skills

Henry is about 5 1/2 months old. Last week he got his second cold. We made a trip to the doctor and she said it is just a virus. We had one pretty awful night but after that, he was on the road to recovery. He still has a bit of a runny nose, but seems to be feeling much better. This week he has been working so hard at sitting on his own. I still don't feel comfortable leaving him alone while he's sitting but he can stay in that position for 5-10 minutes without toppling over.

Yesterday he rolled over from his back to his tummy. I am pretty sure he'll be rolling all over the place pretty soon!

Henry is also enjoying a new food every few days. So far he's had sweet potatoes, butternut squash, and peas. He seems to be enjoying peas the most, but it's a challenge to get more than a few spoonfuls in his mouth!

5 months

Henry is 5 months old today! He is developing more of a personality every single day. We love watching him grow and change--he's such a big boy now. He loves to smile and laugh. He really responds well to silly faces and funny songs. He still loves his daily walks in the stroller or carrier and this is becoming easier now that the weather is warm. He has finally embraced the concept of "tummy time" and will occasionally roll over in both directions. He can sit up on his own for a short period of time, but still slumps forward or to the side after a bit. He loves to "stand"--he'll hold on to something and lean. I think he enjoys seeing the world from different perspectives and he lets us know when he's ready for a new view!

This past Sunday was also my first official Mother's Day. Henry and Mark were so sweet. They bought me a beautiful necklace! It was nice to be in Michigan for Mother's Day so we could spend time with my mom as well.

This past weekend Henry visited his grandma and grandpa in Michigan. He had many babysitters while we all attended our friends' wedding. He was a good boy and had his longest stretch of sleep yet-10 hours in a row!

He is doing better all the time at sleeping at night. He usually goes anywhere from 6-8 hours in a row and has even had a few nights without a night feeding. Naps are a whole other story...