It's David's Birthday!!!

Go State!

Friday afternoon, Henry and I joined the Dumas family in an attempt to watch the MSU homecoming parade. Turns out that it went the opposite direction down University Drive than we predicted. So we missed that, but......the kids enjoyed the pep rally at the ampitheatre. Can't you tell that Henry is having fun cheering for the bulldogs?

Lawson Joy loves Baby Henry (their name for him!) and was thrilled that I actually let her hold him and then even more thrilled that he smiled and seemed to enjoy her company. She is going to make a great babysitter in just a few years.

Our friends, Emily, Brad, and Graham drove up from Auburn for the weekend. I thouroughly enjoyed catching up with Emily and admiring how big Graham has grown.

Saturday night was cold!! Henry is all bundled up under the blanket. Turns out he is completely covered up in all the pictures from the tailgate.

Graham, Emily, me, otherwise occupied Henry, and Hope

Henry loves his playmat...he now enjoy playing by himself, kicking and hitting at the dangling toys. He has yet to make contact with the toys, but his arms are still pretty short. I took advantage of his busyness to try out some of his bigger winter clothes.

Camo pants. Cute or rednecky?

Dichotomy in Babyland

One Year Ago

Before Henry was born, I would have been quick to say that completing the Nike Women's Half-Marathon was the best thing I had ever done. After raising $4,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, 18,000 women ran 13.1 miles through San Francisco. Joining a group of women who raised over $20million for such an incredible cause was an uplifting experience like no other I have ever experienced.

Hope, Emily Anne, and I had a great time in San Francisco. We literally shopped till we dropped after the race was over. Never before have I been so exhausted that I had to prop up my arm in order to look through clothes on a circular rack.

And, to think how much can change in a year. A year ago, I was dreaming about where Taylor and I would travel the next summer...would it be India, Europe or Machu Picchu? Baby Henry wasn't even a thought in our minds. And, who would have thought that Emily Anne and Cooper would get married and expect a baby boy in November?

It's also pretty funny to me that I had big plans to continue running....how many times I have been running in the past year? Not a one!!!

Obsessed

Can you tell that I really, really like scrapblog? It's my new obsession.....

Since I never did buy a baby book -- I just couldn't bring myself to buy an ugly pastel baby book that I knew I wouldn't want to fill out because it wasn't cute -- I am going digital.

Band-Aid Baby

As previously posted, Henry is now two months old. In lieu of this landmark, he had his two month check up and first round of immunizations today. The shots were fairly traumatizing for all involved parties but we survived and Henry seems to be dealing quite well. Dr. Shirley confirmed his perfection after a very thorough examination. He now weighs 12lbs and 2oz and is 23 inches long. He is in the 50% percentile in height and 75% percentile in weight and head circumference. To quote my mother, "He sure is a heavy 12 pounds." Agreed.

The doctor appointment disrupted his afternoon naptime and he immediately fell asleep in my arms once we got home. Since I was feeling a little sorry for him, I kept him in my arms and didn't put him down in his crib. Please notice the blue band-aids on his little legs.

We spent the past weekend in Jackson due to Taylor being a groomsmen in his friend Jay's wedding. It was a beautiful wedding and we very much enjoyed visiting with Clinton friends.

Can you tell how much smaller Taylor is compared to the other guys??

Caine and Mandy kept Henry both nights. If I was a better logger of memories, I would have lots of cute pictures of Henry with his cousins, Jobe (2) and Emily Caine(8months). But, I'm not, so I don't....However, they are super cute kids and Jobe's name for Henry is "baby cousin." Too cute. Another first: Henry received his first wound at their house. Jobe apparently wanted to give baby cousin a toy but since Henry doesn't have the ability to grasp and hold, the toy landed on his face and scratched his nose. I told Mandy not to worry about it-- it is only a matter of time before Henry injures one of her kids.

Yes, readers, little Juhu is feeling much better. It was a tenuous time for the muttbutt but his feet and mouth have healed and he no longer is wearing the cone collar. He wanted me to thank everyone who thought of him during his difficult time.

The passage of time..........

Click on me to make it bigger....

Portability

This is the one picture I took over the course of last week....Henry's first time sleeping in the baby part of his stroller without his carseat attachment. He was asleep for the night in his pram (as Taylor calls it) so we strolled down to our friends' house to watch the LSU game. We are trying hard to have a portable baby and he was very willing to oblige this weekend.

City Dog Country Dog

Our dogs are city dogs. They are accustomed to walking on soft yard grass and pavement. But, they love to pretend to be country dogs...running through a pasture, digging in a creek bottom, chasing little country animals. You get the idea.

But, it's hard to be country dog when you are most definitely a city dog. Juhu is living proof....his little feet were so tender and sore after running free for 4 days that he began compulsively nibbling on his toes once he got back to city life. The nibbling evolved into full fledged chewing and now even his little lips are a raw mass from all his obsessiveness.

Therefore, the cone collar. His face looks so sad and his little tail is so droopy.

One Proud Mama

Henry hasn't slept his straight 9.5 hours again, but I do believe that only waking up to eat twice in the middle of the night at 8 weeks is still a brag worthy accomplishment. Goes down at 7:30, eats around midnight and again around 3:30, and ready for the day at 7:00. Can you tell that I think my baby is pretty much perfect?? Yes, I realize his perfection phase will not last forever but......

Baby and I had a very nice extended visit with my parents. We watched a massive amount of FoxNews.....politics and the economy, we ate alot of good food, shopped ALOT (it's pretty funny to me that I bought one shirt for myself, yet Henry rounded out his winter and springtime wardrobe,) and we spent a day at the Gulf Shores Shrimp Festival eating more funnel cake. My mother and I spent a large portion of each day discussing how cute Henry is and admiring his strong little legs. It's been decided that his Olympic event will probably end up track and field although he will most likely have the ability to win a gold medal in a variety of events. He is quite talented.

I did not do good taking pictures during our week in Foley...not a one, I apologize to all interested parties. Henry doesn't even have photographic evidence that he attended a winning MSU game. Bad mama.

Did you notice my pretty new header? My new obsession is www.scrapblog.com -- it makes me feel like a technologically gifted artist. I like how it makes me feel talented with so little effort exerted.

Is this going to jinx it?

9.5 hours! Can you believe it?!? My little baby actually slept for 9.5 straight hours last night! Granted, his naps were pretty pitiful during the day......but 9.5 hours. And, then another 3.5 hours to arise at the very reasonable time of 7:00 am.

I officially slept 7.5 of those hours.......the most sleep I've had since August 17.

Of course, I am giving myself credit for his good nighttime sleep patterns. Before baby was born, my main topic of conversation was how I was going to train him to sleep in his crib and all night long. Crazy enough, my parenting skills seem to be proving effective. Now, let's all cross our fingers together and say a little prayer that this outpouring of excitement will not jinx little Henry's sleep........

Fair Food, Naps, and Babywearing

Taylor, Henry and I are spending the weekend in Madison with Carla, Taylor's mom....maximizing our time with her before she goes back to India for a few months. So sad...

Anyway, we DID the fair to the max today. 11 am-4pm with 3 babes and way too much junk food. I alone ate a corndog, roasted ear of corn, funnel cake, lots of taffy, a root beer float, and cotton candy. And, yes, I actually did throw up a little as we were finally walking back to car.

Henry and Emily Caine enjoyed their first Mississippi State Fair, sleeping and sweating in their respective strollers. Jobe had a blast...he rode the Dragon Wagon all by himself, talked about the bee ride extensively, and ate almost as much junk as I did.

Taylor and I spent Friday morning in Yazoo City with my grandparents, Pat and Dibbus. They are doing well and I certainly enjoyed Dibbus' oohing and aahing over my pretty baby. Taylor is teaching Henry the proper protocol of a visit to Yazoo....eating lunch and then taking a nap.

Seven years ago, Taylor bought this wrap in Germany for his friend Jeffrey in celebration of the birth of his eldest son, Luke. Those German babies all wrapped up must have really caught Taylor's eyes for his 21 year old self to notice and actually purchase a wrap for his friend. So, Jeffrey brought us his wrap last weekend and now I am practicing the ancient art of babywrapping.

Henry loves being so close to his mama and immediately falls asleep in his wrap. We have walked all over the Cotton District wrapped together and it certainly makes blogging easier when you actually have two hands to work with.

And, yes, he can breathe just fine.....the wrap is pulled up so high to support his head as he sleeps.

Mandy tried the wrap out on Emily Caine and I think both were quite happy with the results!

I am looking so very much forward to a long visit at my parent's house...... my sweet mother and father, shrimp poboys, shopping at the outlet mall and Pots and Pottery, sitting on the beach in the afternoon, the Shrimp Festival, etc. Surely we will get some cute photos to post from all those impending activities...

Comments

Multiple people have told me that they want to leave comments but they do not know how. It's very easy----just click on the word 'comments' at the end of the indiviual post.

To experienced bloggers: How do you get the comments to show under the post? I can't seem to figure it out.

That being said...if you visit my blog, please leave a comment. I want to know who is interested in my little family!

Pictures, Baby Girl, and Jimmy

Taylor and I took a million pictures of Henry outside in our front yard this afternoon. Several of the pictures turned out pretty cute. You can really see how he good he holds up his head and stands on his legs now.

Notice the cute outfit? Hope and I went through her children's baby clothes, so Henry got some cute new outfits and.......................

because Lizbeth is having a girl, sweet little Martha now has lots and lots of cute clothes to grow into.

Our friend, Jeffrey, came for a visit Friday night. He was excited to meet Henry and we were excited to see him.

They practiced singing a mariachi song together until the harmonies were perfect.....

The cat came back the very next day. The cat came back--you thought he was a goner, but...

Yes, the cat came back! Taylor had a very stressful 4 days anxiously awaiting the reappearance of Jimmy the cat. But, as cats do, he came back...not the very next day, but he did come back just in time for an outdoor photo op.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Make a Smilebox greeting

Sleep, The Biggest Loser, Trash to Treasure, and Dogs

Just yesterday, my mom and I were discussing how 'they' say that when babies reach 6 weeks old, a parent can expect their baby to sleep 5-6 hours in one stretch at night time. I told her that I felt that longer sleep stretches were eminent because lately he isn't very hungry when he wakes up in the middle of night. We laughed about getting excited about 5 straight hours of sleep, whereas not too long ago, I thought I needed a solid 9-10 hours of sleep to function the next day.

Can you believe that the very same night, Henry actually slept for exactly 5 hours???

He was asleep in his crib at 8:30...about an hour later than his usual bedtime because The Biggest Loser was on and I LOVE that show. Enjoy this irony-- I couldn't go on a walk last night because I didn't dare miss a moment watching other people exercise and because I was vegging on the couch, I ate about a dozen peanut butter cookies. Maybe the show isn't as motivating as I always believed...

ANYWAY, Baby Henry slept from 8:30 to 11:45 AND then from 11:45 to 4:45!! A major event in our lives!

I refer to Henry's hair style as his "old man fringe." People tell me that babies typically lose the hair they are born with---I am still anxiously awaiting that day!

He has gotten so strong--holding up his head and supporting his weight on those skinny little legs.

Bath time is no longer an emotionally draining event. The screaming has stopped but his serious nature remains.

Taylor and I always look forward to the end and beginning of each semester....when students move, students throw away alot of good stuff! In the past we have done pretty well looking through the trash of the Cotton District -- huge stacks of magazines, my full length mirror, dry erase board for my classroom, two bar stools, etc. But, the crown jewel of our curbside pickups is our new coffee table! Taylor sanded off the fraternity letters and ugly 1970's stain, painted the table the same red color as our dining room, and voila.....

Our dogs love each other.

Another day...

'Tummy Time' tends to break my heart. He looks so helpless laying there all by himself.

Henry looks so very tiny sleeping on Taylor's chest. There seems to be a trend of Taylor shirtless in pictures around the house!

Another shirtless Taylor and sleeping Henry picture. There are many, many more saved on my computer but they tend to be quite redundant....

One of my favorite pictures. His little face looks so sweet!

Personally, I think we both look pretty cute in this picture.