10 Months!

Henry has reached double digits - 10 months old!  And what an eventful month it has been!  Here are some highlights:

Crawling - It is official, Henry is on the go.  Kinda.  Henry decided it was finally time to check out this crawling business.  At first he moved like a little inchworm, but now he is pretty good at keeping his belly above the ground.  However, Henry only crawls on his own terms.  More often than not, he really isn't in the "mood."  But as time passes, I think Henry is starting to realize the benefits to this new-found mobility.

Pulling Up - Henry pulled up onto his music table yesterday.  He crawled right over to it, got on his knees and pulled himself onto his feet.  Then he promptly fell over and banged his head.  I'm sure this will be a frequent occurrence.

Separation Anxiety - Henry has recently decided that his life is officially over once Mommy and Daddy sit him down, leave him at Gail's house, etc. etc.  Heaven forbid I try to use the bathroom.  He has discovered that as we try to sit him down, all he has to do is stiffen up and twist and we cannot get him into a sitting position.  Pretty smart.  But Mommy is smarter.  If Henry doesn't want to sit, then he can just lay down.  This also helps with crawling practice.  I try to remind myself that this is just a phase and that there are other babies who have a much worse separation problem.  Besides, in 13 years or so Henry wont want to be anywhere near me.  I should "enjoy" this while it lasts.

Teeth - Henry got his two front teeth this month.  So now we have a total of four.  Pretty soon he is going to start looking more like a little boy than my sweet baby Henry.  Sigh...

Facial Expressions - Henry has developed some pretty hysterical facial expressions this month.  His newest expression is one of surprise.  His eyes get big, and he forms his lips into a small circle.  Unfortunately I haven't caught this look on camera because you don't know when it will strike or why.  It absolutely cracks us up everytime.

Big Boy Carseat - We moved Henry into a convertible carseat this month.  His infant seat was just getting too small for him.  The new carseat safety guidelines are to keep him rear-facing for his first two years instead of one.  So get comfy Henry.

 Enjoying some nice weather

 Ryan gave Henry his old blackberry to play with.  Henry wouldn't even look at me when I tried to take a picture.  He's hooked already.

 Happy St. Patrick's Day!

 I wanted to take a picture of Henry in his new chair, but this was apparently unacceptable.

 Life is over.

 Our attempt at getting his "surprise" face

Henry on the go!

Zoo Trip

On Thursday, Henry and I met up with Avery, Molly and cousins for a fun day at the zoo.  We had a great day filled with animal sightings and lots and lots of walking.  The big kids (Jack, Anna Beth and Cooper) had a wonderful time, and the little kids (Graham, Caroline and Henry) were such little troopers.  I cannot wait until everyone can really enjoy a day at the zoo!

On a sad note, Sophie the Giraffe left us to join her own kind.  We wish you all the best.

Inching Along

I just wanted to make a note that Henry actually "crawled" forward today!  I have to put "crawled" in quotations because he looked more like an inchworm than anything else.  A very whiny inchworm, but he moved forward nonetheless.  And all it took was my iPhone.  I turned on my iPod, put it in front of Henry, and off he went.

I would also like to note that the pivotal song that led to Henry's first successful act of "crawling" was Outkast's "The Whole World."  Could be worse, I guess...

Swing into Boredom

We thought it would be fun to take Henry to the park on Saturday and let him swing for the first time.  We didn't know what to expect.  Pure joy?  Tears?  Excitement?  Fear?  This is what we got:

Nothing.

Lunch

Lunch (and breakfast and dinner) can be a messy time in the Hawkins household.  Henry is more likely to eat when he can do it himself so we just let him go to town.  The pictures just don't do it justice, sadly.  Needless to say, lunch was followed by a much needed bath.

Go Heels!

Go Heels!  What a great win over Dook (as always)!!

 Blue Steel strikes again

Two thumbs up!

9 Months!

Henry turned nine months on Monday!  He is 3/4 of the way to becoming a toddler - amazing!  It has been a really fun month in the Hawkins household.  Henry is just Mr. Personality and such a joy to be around (I feel like I say this every month, but it is so true!).

Henry had his nine-month appointment this morning, and it looks like he may be long and lean.  Here are his stats:

Weight - 19 pounds, 3 ounces (25%)
Height - 29 inches (76%)

Creeping and "Crawling":  We still aren't crawling, but we may be getting close.  Henry can move backwards like a champ.  Moving forward is the tricky part!  He also likes to rock back and forth on his hands and knees - especially in his crib (and even at 1:30 in the morning).  He will rock so hard that I'm just waiting to see him start propelling himself forward.

Mealtime:  This has still been a bit of a struggle for us.  Henry would rather feed himself than have Ryan or me feed him.  It is basically a two-man job:  one sings and dances around while the other shoves food in his mouth.  Henry is getting better and better at feeding himself, and we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Tickle-Monster:  Henry is such a ticklish little baby!  Henry will start belly laughing even if he thinks you are going to tickle him.  Ryan and I have discovered all his ticklish spots, and there are many!  It makes me so happy to hear those giggles and see that face light up.

Puppy Love:  Henry just adores Bea.  Beyond adore - he may love her more than he loves Ryan and me.  He gets so excited whenever he sees her.  She has been such a trooper and will let him "pet" her.  We think this is because she now associates him with food...

Warm Weather:  We have really been enjoying some of this warmer weather.  It has been such a nice break from the cold temperatures we had at the beginning of winter.  I love the fact that we can sit outside on the deck in February!  I hope this keeps up.

Henry/Daddy Weekend:  Last weekend was my first weekend away from Henry.  Ryan and Henry had a very manly weekend.  They went to Target, a dinner party and baked a cake.  Very manly.  I had a great weekend in Chapel Hill with some girlfriends.  And I must say it was wonderful!

You never know where you will end up when you only move backwards.

Henry likes to hold his toes while he has his bottle.  It is just too cute!

Henry is quite the yoga baby - he can do a lovely plank and a pretty impressive downward-facing dog.

Henry's hair is getting very long in the front.  We've had some pretty bad hair days lately.

Now that is the look of determination!

Enjoying the warm weather and sweet Bea.

Kissy-kissy face!