Fun with Henry

Watching Daddy cook, one of Henry's favorite things.

Place your baby in a box, instant fun for all!

Here's Henry sporting one of his new cheesy grins.

Henry as a shepherd for Christmas?

Henry's First Visit with Santa

Today we took Henry to meet Santa Claus. We went to a little house set up for him on Main Street in our town. Overall it went quite well: no long lines, no crying.
In the picture above you can see Henry started to have some second thoughts about the situation.
Before we left Santa gave him some early Christmas presents, a stuffed dog and a Bob the Builder book. Thanks Santa! Henry has been a very good boy this year!

9 Months

Henry was 9 months old on 12/13/08. We had his check up today. He weighed in at 24 lbs. 8 oz. and was 30.5 inches long! He's almost off the charts for height! It's no wonder he is wearing mostly 18 and 24 month clothing. He is a crawling fool now and always seems to end up in the kitchen for some reason. He also goes looking for mommy or daddy in the office when necessary. He pulls to his knees and can stand with the assist of some furniture. He's trying all kinds of new foods. He loves to play with his pretend tools and continues his never ending quest to capture the remote control. He added another tooth, this one is on the top. He favors us with lots of babbling and raspberries. Henry appears to be a real people person and enjoys smiling at, playing with, and studying just about everyone.

The Berns Twins Memorial Birthday Party

Although my Grandma and her twin sister, my Aunt Tene, have passed away, my whole family (aunts, uncles, cousins) still holds a nursing home-wide party to celebrate them at their birthday. There is always an elaborate Christmas theme, games, prizes, cake, and treats. I didn't get a lot of pictures because I was a busy elf, helping tables with games and serving punch, but here's one Chad took of Henry in a Santa hat (every resident got one).This party is also a time to spend with family. Here's Henry having fun with his cousins, Eva and Eli, at the hotel.

Get One by the Tree...

Henry seemed a bit more interested in coming to get the camera from me!

My Little Blue Puff

A Mandatory Diaper Shot

Professional Photos of the Little Man

We just received our fall pictures of Henry that we ordered from Wagner Photography of Columbia, IL. They turned out so wonderful! I should have done this earlier, but here's how you can take a look online:
Go to http://www.collages.net/
Username: Henry D
Password: 21248
Enter an e-mail and first name
Click on "At the park" on the left side of the screen
I think d928 is his "baby model" shot.

Family Photos

Generous Aunt Brooke offered to take some family photos for us to use in our Christmas card this year (She's got skillz and a fancy camera, look out!). Here are two that didn't quite make it to the card. You'll just have to wait to see the ones that did :o) It was hard to choose; there were lots of good ones!

Henry's First Thanksgiving

This year we celebrated Thanksgiving at my parent's house (Henry's Nonni and Papa) in Jackson, MO. His Uncle Bob, Aunt Brooke, and cousins Eva and Eli (and Lily on the way) were there too. Here are some photos. We hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving with good food and family!Geez, by the photos you'd think Henry was the only one there! We really need to work on that.

Ah, We Meet Again, Old Friend

We had some of our friends over for dinner last Saturday: Jessica and Chuck and Amy, Carlos, and Jerard. You may remember Jerard from some of my early posts during my maternity leave. Back then Amy and I had our weekly get togethers with the boys. Jerard and Henry seemed to enjoy their reunion. Jerard is quite the crawler, and he really wanted to grab hold of the "sprout" on Henry's head! The babies provided all the entertainment for the evening.

Eight Months

This handsome little fellow is 8 months old today! Henry can sit like a pro and is starting to do the combat crawl in addition to his usual rolling. (I'm so mean inching things farther and farther away from him). He has two bottom teeth and is working on some on top. He approximates the sign "more" for cereal puffs and then feeds himself. He can hold his own sippy cup. He eats and sleeps like a champ. He seems to be very social, and he is babbling, which warms the hearts of most, but especially his SLP mommy and Nonni. He still loves to play with all his toys and books and watch his trusty dog, Cooper. He started bouncing away in the Jumperoo I borrowed from a friend at work. We should have a delightful little video of that soon. He wakes up with a smile and is just a cuddly, lovable baby boy.

Is this the droid you were looking for?

A Long Time Ago in a Galaxy Far, Far Away...

Henry with The Great Pumpkins

Jack O' Lanterns...

one of our favorite things to do this time of year! Chad did the pirate ship, I did the spooky face with the hand in the background, and we both worked on Henry's baby one.

Did I Mention I Have Two Teeth?

Look close (you might have to click on the picture and make it really big)!

The Cutest Aplasia Cutis Around

You may remember a post regarding Henry's "sprout," that little tuft of hair on the top of his head. Well, I left something out of that post. You see the sprout, or "collar of hair" as the doctors call it, actually accompanies a rare congenital anomaly called an aplasia cutis. This is the absence of a portion of skin in a localized or widespread area at birth occasionally involving the dura or the meninges. Usually they heal before delivery and appear as an atrophic, membranous, or parchmentlike scar with associated alopecia. Henry will be having an MRI to see how deep his goes. He will then have surgery to remove it, but a neurosurgeon will be involved if it affects deeper areas. We feel very fortunate to live so close to some of the best children's hospitals in the country. This picture was taken 3 months ago, but it's one of the best shots I have. The sprout is longer now, and all of his hair is getting blonder. I think we'll miss his little curl. It's become a part of him.

Family Fun Weekend

Chad and I celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary on Saturday. At lunch time we met Brooke, Bob, Eva, and Eli at the St. Louis Zoo. That evening they baby-sat for Henry so Chad and I could go on a date. Then on Sunday, after some of Chad's famous doughnuts, we went to church and to Eckert's Farm for lunch and more fun activities. Good thing we have a day off to recover! Oh, and Henry is 7 months old today!

Two monkeys in the primate house!
Henry's little helper, Eva, looks on as he takes a snooze by the zebras.
Posing at Eckert's. Henry looks so big!

Happy at lunch! (By the way, he doesn't use a pacifier any more he just likes to play with it on a ribbon, odd, but true).

Saturday Morning with Daddy

Last Saturday, while I was getting ready, Chad decided to make a little video. Here's what they were up to. This game actually went on for over 10 minutes... I think Henry has a pretty good attention span! Although when it comes to Cooper, I have a feeling he'd watch him all day!

Thanks Aunt Brooke!

The outfit looks great! I think his Great Papa Bill is smiling down on him in his overalls!

Four Generations

We went to visit Chad's grandma this past weekend. She's been moved to a nursing home temporarily due to some health problems. I think a visit from Henry cheered everyone up! There he is with his Great Grandma Bernadine, Grandma Peggy, and Daddy.