The Last 8 Months

I've completely FAILED at blogging since Christmas. I have had numerous people scolding me about how the world is not in touch with my life or more importantly, how Henry is changing and what he is doing because I have stopped blogging. I actually didn't realize that anyone even looked at what I posted, but boy was I wrong! So I will start with what is going on today, and then I will try to go back and post things about the months that I missed.

The Henry update: I'm sure you can tell by this picture what his best feature is. Those bright, big blue eyes. And this summer he's turned into a little blondie. He's turning into a handsome little boy and I'm very proud to say he's my child. But, I will also say, he's got quite a personality to go with those looks. He's not saying many words but he babbles all the time. He talks with his eyes though, and sometimes he's got an attitude. His favorite thing to yell is, "DA, GA, CA, GUH"... I think he gets frustrated because we don't always understand what he's trying to tell us. I'm sure a lot of people boast about their children being smart, but some of the things Henry does impresses me. I love watching him learn new things, and everyday he's doing something different.

Our new thing has been brushing his teeth. Of course, I have to help with the brushing, but if I say, "Henry, it's time to brush your teeth.." he runs straight to the bathroom and looks up at the counter. He kind of chews on the toothbrush rather than brushing. Today he CRIED when I took his toothbrush away. Yes, he's dramatic.

I think he's been blessed with my corky sense of humor. But he's got the curiousness of his father, and he climbs on EVERYTHING! He loves the stairs. He loves climbing on tables. I don't know how to break this habit. I attempted to put him in time-out a couple of weeks ago. That lasted a whole 20 seconds, but he knew he was in trouble because he was pouting the whole time. When he's upset he stomps his feet and sticks his arms out all stiff and gives me his "mean" face. Sometimes he sticks out his bottom lip too. My mom laughs at us all the time because I'm the bad guy and he likes to test my patience.

I could go on and on and on about Henry stories, but my recent favorite is the donut story. My mom was craving donuts and chocolate milk on Friday night so me, mom, Ellie, and Henry packed up and went to BP for a donut run. My mom got the kind with the cream filling, and Henry tried to eat some of it, but she wouldn't let him because it was his bedtime. I took carried him into the livingroom, sat him down on the couch, and noticed that he had something in his ear and on the side of his face. CREAM FILLING!!!! We were all laughing to the point where we were crying. It's still a mystery how he got the cream in his ear and running down his face since he didn't even eat any of the donut. Too funny.

So what's been going on with me in 2010? My life's definitely not as comical or as fun as Henry's. I've been living and breathing nursing school. This last Spring, I took the hardest class I've ever taken in my life: Pathophysiology-Pharmacology 2. I'm serious, it was the most intense class I've ever experienced and there was a lot of time, energy, and tears associated with that class. I also took OB last semester and HATED it. Kind of depressing considering OB is my area of interest. It was just so busy. Not only did I do clinicals at SBL, but I was also going places like Indianapolis for a fertility clinic visit, a 12 hours overnight shift on the unit, two weekends at Carle, and a day shadowing in the Doc's office. Mind you, all of these experiences were on weekends or my spring break so I began to HATE that class.

After I survived this spring semester, I decided to do the accelerated track which meant I had no summer. 8 hour clinicals and 5 hour classes. But I made it and I'm going to be graduating with my BSN in December. This last semester is suppose to be really tough, but I've heard that about every semester so I guess I'll have to see. I'm just ready to be a nurse and to have more time with Henry. So if anyone sees me around Christmas Time I will probably be overly happy for the holiday :)

Farewell to the Rat tail

Most parents don't have to worry about their child's first hair cut until they are a lot older than 6 months. We put off cutting Henry's hair for awhile, but when he began to get a long rat tail we decided it was due time for a trim. I've found that other babies Henry's age are bald or just have patches of hair. He had a head full of hair when he was born, and it has grown very fast. (And in case you're wondering, YES I had TERRIBLE HEARTBURN during the last few months of my pregnancy. There's conflicting views on whether heartburn is an indication that your child will have hair. All I know is heartburn was my biggest complaint through my pregnancy & Henry's got beautiful hair to show for it!) Henry's first official haircut was December 13.... and his Grandma Tracy was person who gave him his new do.

This is a BEFORE picture. It looks like a botched haircut has already taken place. This is a great picture of the "Rat Tail"

It just had to go....

The first snip... I think I was more nervous than Henry

Look at that shaggy hair

It's easiest to cut a baby's hair when they're asleep, but that was hard to accomplish since Henry only takes cat naps. It was quite a process getting him to hold still... me holding his face, Tyler occupying his attention with teething toys, and Tracy working her magic

We had some fun with him by giving him a mohawk

Then we made him a porcupine

The new hairdo! (We rewarded him with cereal for doing such a good job holding still!)

Looking an awfully lot like dad with his new haircut

Who's ready for Christmas?

For all of you who don't know, my mother (Henry's Grammy), loves Christmas. During the entire month of December, there's always Christmas tunes playing in her house... anything from Reba to Nsync holiday songs. She usually puts up about 7 trees all around the house that each have a theme. (ex: gingerbread, stocking, snowmen, etc.) All of the Christmas movies shown on ABC Family's 25 Days of Christmas and FaLaLaLa Lifetime..... my mom's watched them all. If you'll refer back to a year ago on Christmas, she bought us all matching holiday pajamas. I'm sure that tradition will continue, and I will definitely post pictures because who wants to forget that? So with all of this being said, it's no surprise that I'm carrying on the tradition with my child. In his defense, he wasn't feeling the best when we took these pictures. I was frustrated when we were trying to take the pictures because he didn't smile and kept choking himself with the candycane. Now that I look at them though, I think they're pretty cute. This is only the beginning though, because me and my mom have several ideas for holiday pictures so there'll be more fun photos to come.

What a pose! He's all about his feet and toes these days so this picture is perfect

All cuddled up with stocking number 1. This one stays at Grammy's and Grandpa Kev's. (It's way cuter than the stockings for the rest of the family so this one hangs all by itself in the kitchen! *L*)

Stocking number 2. This one's from Uncle Todd and it's for Mommy and Henry's house.

On a side note, this has also been a bittersweet week. Henry turned 6 months old on December 7. Half a year gone already!! When people tell you it goes by fast, they aren't kidding. While it seems impossible for him to be half of a year already, I can't remember my life not including him. I had a rough day with finals for nursing, but he made all my worries fade when he smiled at me when I walked through the door. His smiles are the best! Because I haven't kept up with my blogging, I should give some highlights from the last couple of months.

Henry is very long and skinny. He must have a high metabolism because he eats all the time! He's now wearing 6-9 month clothes and size 3 diapers. We used to use Dr. Brown's bottles to prevent his "spitting up" episodes, but now that he is on Enfamil AR (a special formula for spit up babies) he rarely spits up. We now use Playtex bottles because they are much easier to clean. Henry also has a short patience because we have to use a fast speed nipple or he refuses to take the bottle. *L* He loves bathtime and his new favorite thing to do is to try to kick so hard that he jumps out of the tub. It terrifies me, but he seems pretty proud of himself for splashing so much. He also loves grabbing the washcloth and sucking the water out of it. Again, a little irritating for mommy but he gets a kick out of it.

At about 5 months, Henry started to suck his thumb. Such a horrible habit to break, but I don't know how to stop it. He also has a blankie and he finally takes his pacifier. We've been trying babyfood and I must say I never knew carrots could be so messy! In the last two weeks, he's really been jumpy and fidgety like he wants to move. He almost has the sitting up thing down, but sometimes he falls too far to the side or front and then he gets ticked off. He can't crawl yet either, and I'm not sure that's a bad thing. My apartment isn't baby-proofed yet! One last thing that is significant is that Henry chews on and tries to eat EVERYTHING! His mouth is like a faucet of drool that never stops. I like to think that he gives me kisses when he grabs on to both sides of my face and "kisses" my cheek. Tyler claims Henry's just trying to eat me, but I know he does it with love. hahaha. No teeth yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if one popped out soon!

I get four weeks off of school for the holidays so I'm going to try to update my blog more with old photos and stories about Henry so I won't forget them. I must say its a little sad to go shopping and realize that he's not a tiny baby anymore. But, with getting older he's developed such a funny personality and I love him more and more each day. Happy 6 months Henry!

Is it Deer Season?

Is Henry lying in a pile of leaves??

No, no. That's just his dad!!! Tyler bought this "hunting gear," and he tried it on for me and Henry. He asked me if I thought he would blend in with the woods.... I don't know how you could blend in more! I'm sure it will only be a couple of years before Henry wants a "Leafy Outfit" of his own.

My Favorite

This is my favorite picture of me and Henry. I took it over Labor Day weekend, but I never got around to posting it.

Big Shoes to Fill

Me, Tyler, and Henry got family pictures taken last Friday. I can't wait to see the results because Henry was the cutest, most "smiley" baby! After the photoshoot, we headed to the Eagle Football game. I dressed Henry in an adorable football outfit and had to try out some matching shoes (yes, this is the 2nd time he's worn shoes... EVER.) I had him "stand up" next to Tyler and we compared their feet. Too cute

White Coats

There's a tradition in nursing school where you get presented your white coats. The ceremony for Lakeview College of Nursing was held two weeks ago. (A little behind on blogging but this was important so I couldn't skip posting this!) I was looking forward to the ceremony because 1. I'm a big dork and 2. I feel like its another step further towards completing my nursing degree. Of course, this exciting day was tampered when my babysitter called and said she couldn't watch Henry that day.... as I'm walking out the door to take him to daycare. I was frazzled and had no idea where to take him so I just packed him up and took him with me to school. My friends and the faculty were thrilled to meet/hold Mr. Henry thank goodness. I had finally gotten in contact with Tyler's mom and she was coming to get Henry but she didn't get there before the ceremony started. So here I am.... in my uniform with all of my fellow nurses and all faculty (including the dean) and I have Henry with me. I was just praying he didn't puke on me or even worse.... the faculty members that decided to hold him! The Dean spoke at the beginning of the ceremony and Henry thought that would be a perfect opportunity for him to fill his pants. LOL. Oh yes, he was grunting and making a bit of a scene while the DEAN was speaking. And, he has a tendency to suck on his fingers and lately he's been forming a habit of accidentally choking himself. So here's Henry, grunting and gagging. Thank goodness Tyler's mom sent me a text saying she was in the parking lot. The ceremony turned out okay, and me and my girlfriends had to get a picture to look back and laugh at when we graduate. From left to right: Holli, Kelsey, Jenna, and me. (I look huge because I didn't have my coat buttoned. Note to self, no need to look pregnant again.... button the coat!)