Baby Sign Language

This morning I attended a baby sign language course and let me tell you... an hour and a half is not nearly enough time for all of that info! There were just four of us in the class, and two of the other ladies were from my ECFE classes so it was nice to see a couple familiar faces. I feel fairly confident with some of the basics but I have a lot to learn. Thankfully, she gave us loads of resources and names of books to look into. Consider this a warning: you may see me using more gestures than normal in the near future as I learn and teach Henry (and Eric). Per the instructor's advice, we'll be focusing on "milk", "eat" and "more" to start us off.

In other baby news, Henry is so close to rolling over from his back to tummy (he's perfected the tummy to back already). I think he is actually getting frustrated sitting still and wants to be mobile. That's a good thing! He loves being on his tummy and raking in all of his toys.

Of course, everything is instantly brought to his mouth for identification. I was at the flower shop today and he even tried taking a plant and putting it into his mouth. Thankfully the shop attendant was paying attention and stopped him (I was apparently off in la-la land).

We're planning on starting solids next weekend. Yippee! Henry is likely to have/develop allergies since they (a) run in the family and (b) he has eczema so we've been waiting til Henry gets closer to the 6 mo mark to start. I'm excited to see what he does the first time we feed him.

We're off to Bubba's 65th birthday bash this afternoon where Ya Ya will be making Indian food. Yum!

Oh, Northfield...

Eric and I often refer to Northfield as Pleasantville: amazing neighbors, great community support, parks galore, etc. However, there have been some *interesting* stories budding out of this little historic town.

Here's the most recent: http://www.northfieldnews.com/news.php?viewStory=52054

Amazing Dog Tricks

Walter scratches at food bowl. It's empty.

Ally ignores Walter because she's eating her own dinner and trying to watch Wheel of Fortune.

Walter continues to scratch at bowl and drags it across the kitchen. He obviously wants some kibble.

Ally gets up from couch, sets her dinner on coffee table, goes to meet Walter's needs.

Ally goes to get dog food.

Walter ignores dog food and beelines it to the coffee table to eat Ally's dinner.

Tricky. Tricky. Dog.

Two Years Ago...

Eric, Ally, Colin and Lacey had breakfast under the umbrella at the hotel as the rain poured down. Would it stop in time for the wedding?!

The aforementioned four of us went over to the beach for a walk.

Lacey calmed Ally's nerves as the Bahamian folk did her hair and make-up for the big day. Ally whispering to Lacey, "Is he doing it right?"

Eric and Colin went to Rum Runners for a lobster lunch. This will be known as the last supper. They brought the famished Lacey some shrimp. Ally couldn't eat b/c of all of the nerves!

Colin and Eric were struggling to get his handkerchief juuuuust right.

Ally's dad came and got her at the hotel room. They took a limo to the wedding site and sang Madonna's "Like a Virgin" the whole way there and down the aisle.

We had the best dinner at the Ferry House. Ally had the Chilean seabass and Eric had the swordfish.

Eric married his best friend and Ally married hers.

Wannabe Babies

Dogs. That's right. Dogs. It's a love-hate relationship with Walter and Ardy these days. Some days we love them. Some days we hate them. I never thought I'd say those words about the beings that we called our babies before Henry was born. Scratch that. I never thought I would say those words about Ardy. Walter has always had a dubious place in our hearts. For the most part, they are well-mannered dogs. Ardy has his barking issue. Walter has his "I get into everything issue"...he has been the sole reason we have started to baby-proof the house already. He is on a determined mission to show us everything that Henry could potentially get into once he becomes a terror on hardwood floors. This includes depicting the dangers of garbage, recycling, bumbo seats, diapers, and books. Oh, Walter sure does think those diapers are a threat. When it comes down to it though, we think these cries for attention are because they really just want to be our babies again....

I was brushing my teeth, and when I looked behind me I saw Walter wanted his turn in the baby bathtub:

Walter choosing to obstruct the whole laundry folding process (he wouldn't get out of the laundry basket all night):

I also frequently find Ardy napping on my nursing pillow:

Gurgling away

Henry just went down for the night and my stomach has those warm butterflies swarming about inside of it. You know which butterflies I'm talking about...the ones that are usually partnered with a slight smile as you reminisce about something dear... your last birthday party, a great episode of Modern Family, or an inside joke you share with your significant other. Right now my butterflies are the direct result of my lil' man gurgling throughout the day. He has decided that cooing is for the babies and now that he is a big boy he'll gurgle his thoughts instead. As I stop to laugh at his gurgles (they're just too darn cute...especially when they come with a side order of bubbles and drool) he reacts with a pause, a smile, and then some more gurgling. It's as if this pause is his way to connect with me and say, "I totally know you get it, Mom." This could be in response to me asking how his skin is feeling...what he thinks of his fancy rubber ducky...how great it feels to have cozy pjs on.... God, I love that kid. I can't wait 'til tomorrow so that I can have another gurgly conversation with him.

4 Month Check-Up

Henry went in for his four month check-up and vaccinations today. He did quite well with everything and is currently passed out from the excitement (or the Tylenol).

He weighed in at 13 lbs 10 oz (25th percentile) and 27 inches (95th percentile). Long and lean, just like his daddy!

We *heart* Wednesdays

Wednesdays are play date days for us, so we always look forward to seeing our friends (big and small). I meant to take out the camera today to get some snapshots of all of the little ones, but I completely forgot. However, here are a couple of photos from the day....

Henry helping me make cookies for the gals:

Henry also loves the mirror. We've named his reflection Enrique:

And this is Ardy saying, "How come Henry gets all of the attention?"

We put on our Sunday best...

As some of you know, we have been trying out some of the local churches to find our "home" and we haven't had much luck. Well, today we were able to get out the door and attend the First United Church of Christ for their service. We felt right at home the whole time: their mission is right in line with what we believe (which is the most important part), the congregation members were comfortable sharing their joys and struggles for prayer time, and the woman next to me shared her hymnal with me for a couple of songs (I couldn't make sense of the hymnal for a song...I guess I needed another cup of coffee). The church is also very family oriented (Sunday school during the service, rocking chairs in the back for those with infants, etc.) and they had great music. We plan to attend a few more times to make sure this is the right place for us, but we really have a good feeling about it. Oh, and Henry liked it too...he felt so comfortable that he decided to make silent prayer time a bit more upbeat with his voice. I guess he just wanted to make sure God heard his prayers!

We've been busy!

I'm sitting here typing with little Henry on my lap. His head is stable and his body comfortably sits up (with me holding him, of course)...he's also reaching around because he wants to do something with his hands. It's amazing to think about how much he has changed in the past three months. *sigh*

We officially started our second session of ECFE classes: Baby & Me. Today we sang a couple of songs and bonded with other babies and moms. Every time I attend one of these functions I feel so blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful moms in the Northfield area. It's also been kind of fun as I know a lot of the moms from other mom groups or play dates, so I'm really starting to feel like part of the town. In fact, I ran into our pediatrician's nurse at Cub the other day and she asked about little Henry. Makes me feel all fuzzy inside.

Eric has also been busy working on some projects around the house: painting the living room anice brown, trimming some trees, etc. I think it is safe to say that both of us are starting to settle into parenthood quite nicely!