Food from Friends

We have been so fortunate to have such a supportive group of friends here in Madison. We've had very yummy food delivered this week to help us survive our post-partum period. We happened to catch Henry's tribute to "Mama Stephanie's" cake...well, more importantly, the frosting.

More Birthdays

Toddler has Talent

Two days late. We should have practiced blowing out candles more before his birthday. However, I'm not sure guests would have wanted this approach on his big day...

When I dip you dip we dip

Favorite things: Fireflies!

Perhaps his cousins' excitement (you should hear the shouts -- as if they were finding fireflies made of pure gold!) really rubbed off on Henry, but he finds fireflies wonderfully exciting.

Or on second thought, let's see, Henry is very quick to find a light (anywhere and everywhere). His baby sign language is opening and closing your hand (some people mistake it for waving). And he's super interested in bugs. The sign for bee, moving the "ok" sign around and buzzing is now the sign for all things insect.
This means:
These are a few of my favorite things...

Light + Bug = Lightning Bug!!

Which becomes a compound word of waving "ok" while buzzing.

Tractor

Favorite word:

Being so brave

Henry was being "helpful" while I was digging out a tree stump. I'd dig out a scoop of dirt, and he'd throw two handfuls back into the hole. Gee, thanks.

He managed to find this narrow strip of dirt that was left and walk this path -- over and over and over. I figured I had to record it if he was going to do it so many times.



Not only was the dirt fun to play on, but it apparently tasted good too!

Slap happy

Here we go again being all slap happy around bed time! Enjoy the silliness!

Wagon shuffle

Here is a video of Henry discovering a new way to play with his block wagon. He had some initial trouble with the dismount, but as you'll see in this video, he's mastered that "big" step down.

Henry's Happy Noise

This is Henry's happy noise. It's been compared to purring like a kitten, gargling, and the call of the wookiee. See what you think!

No particular place to go...

Big Laugher

Look Who's Walking

Henry made some huge developments today! He's been practicing his walking very hard for the last couple of days (meaning I've been stooped over offering a finger for support) and today he found the courage to let go! He was so excited and we were equally thrilled to witness his milestone.

More piano lessons

Henry had a chance to catch a piano lesson during our visit to Stoneham. We were amazed by how gentle he was on the keys. Enjoy the video. It cracks me up how he sits at the piano like a big boy.

Monkey See Monkey Do

Uh oh. Look what we taught Henry.

Leaves

In Madison, they have a great system for picking up leaves around town. All you have to do is form piles at the edge of the street (not in the street, so as not to contaminate the lakes or clog sewers). This saves a person from bagging and dragging barrels of leaves around. As an aside, let's recall that I grew up on a farm, where leaf raking was simply not done. Unless, of course, it was for the pure pleasure of forming a big pile for jumping. That's what ditches are for, right, to collect the leaves where the wind blows? So I really can't complain about this aspect of home ownership.

George, however, has experienced first hand the hassle of yard clean up in the fall. So the video includes Henry supervising my raking, and the photos are the equipment used by the city for pick up. Henry was fascinated watching both my manual labor, and their high-tech methods.

One Man Band

Here's a video of Henry with his most recent favorite toy. It is funny to see him jammin' to the tunes he produces on this thing! At least he has his father's sense of rhythm, if he lacks a love of dance.

Tired Henry

Story behind the video: Stephen was telling his kids to go to bed and to stay in their bed, so Jennifer was using the "fatherly" voice to tell Henry to go to bed and stay in bed. The results speak for itself. (No babies were harmed in filming this video.)

Mover & a Shaker

Whew, its been rough keeping up with things around here because we're all still struggling with colds. George has been coughing up a storm, my throat continues to hurt, and Henry still has gunk coming from his nose. Week 2 of this crud, and I hope its the last.

It is quite a challenge taking care of Henry and keeping him entertained when energy is low. Therefore, I've been trying to teach him new tricks so he can keep himself occupied. Here is a video of Henry after I've placed a rattle in his hand. He still has that strong grasp reflex, which helps my cause!

Also new this week: we've entered a new size realm - breaking into the 3/6 month clothing. I remember when Julia was wearing this Iowa sweatshirt and she was learning to sit up on her own. Its a little big on Henry, but its been chilly in the mornings, despite the warm afternoons this week!

Video of Henry talking to Charlotte

Here's a little clip of Charlotte talking with Henry on Thursday. Too bad the last couple of seconds got cut off, since he kept talking. He's so funny when he's chatty! He's just past 6 weeks in this video.