On Saturday, we took Henry to Joel's Bistro at the UofA for breakfast. We were thinking of going to the zoo, but Henry was got up late (his new pattern). Afterward, we went to my office, and Jeff moved a table over to my lab. We ran into Dale, which was nice. Jeff agrees that my lab space looks pretty darn good now. In the afternoon, Henry visited Grandma and a Grandpa for a couple hours (visit was a little shorter than usual).
On Sunday, we played with Henry in the morning. Jeff put together the truck that Craig gave to Henry. He then took Henry to my parents in the afternoon, while I finished my syllabus. Henry was awake when they came back home in the evening. And, he fought going to sleep. Took us about an hour to settle him down.
On Monday, Alicia came in the morning without Karina. It was a quiet day. I left for school around 1PM, as I had a research team meeting and a class to teach (first day). My mom visited in the afternoon. When I came back home, Henry gave me a huge smile. We went for a walk and ran into several of our neighbors. Jeff made dinner while I watched Henry. I confess. I did turn on the TV to see Michelle Obama's speech. We didn't make it through the whole speech as Henry kept trying to touch the television. So we adjourned to the kitchen and played with the animal refrigerator magnets instead. We worked on identifying animals and their sounds. We've got the lion roar down, and we are doing a good job working on the cow's "moo." We gave Henry a bath after dinner. Toward the end of the bath, he looked very sleepy and tried to lie down in the tub but got annoyed at how the side of his face kept getting wet when he tried to lean forward in the water. It was super cute. We dried him off and got fresh clothes on him. Then, it was off to bed. Again, he fought, fought, fought going to sleep, but it looks like Jeff finally settled him down.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Party All the Time Henry
On Thursday morning, Henry continued to be a sack of potatoes, refusing to get up. Unfortunately, I had to get up and finish up some data analysis for a meeting, otherwise I would have been happy to lounge around with him. When we would call his name or rub his back, he would bury his face in the sheets. Jeff finally got him up, with much effort. Henry ended up taking a nap just short of 3 hours long midday.
Grandpa visited in the afternoon. Henry went for a walk with Dada and the dogs in the evening, while I made dinner. By the time he arrive back home, he was sound asleep in his backpack. He didn't stay down long. When he got up, he ate a decent amount of dinner. He was very fussy in the evening, until I gave him some Tylenol. We suspect that he is teething again. The Tylenol worked its magic. He didn't go to sleep easily, although it was clear that he was tired.
On Friday morning, he got up around 7-7:30AM. Shirley, the PT, didn't come this week, because she was going on a trip. When I got home around 5PM, Henry was sound asleep in Jeff's arms on the bed. They took a nap that lasted until 6:25PM. Jeff then took the dogs for a walk while I fed Henry. He grazed on a lot of different stuff (fresh peach and strawberry, pieces of toast with margarine, turkey, Gerber's Lil Crunchies), but did not eat much of anything in particular.
The big news was that tonight was the big communication department party at Chris Segrin's house (he's the head of the communication department). He lives on the West side, not too far from us (probably 5 miles away, which on the West side is nothing...it is a more "rural" side of town, where houses tend to be located on large lots of land). It was fun showing Henry off to everyone...many have been following Henry's story and praying for him since he was born. Grandma and Grandpa were already at the party when we arrived. Grandma was excited to see Henry b/c she had been on a road trip to Pullman since Monday. Craig Hullett, an associate professor in the department who has a toddler, brought Henry a new toy. We are excited to try it out tomorrow. Craig was the one who recommended the vibrating seat when Henry first came home; the seat was such a soothing device during Henry's infancy.
Grandma took Henry around to meet people. A couple minutes later, Jeff and I went looking for them and found Henry sitting in Dale Kunkel's lap engaged in play with Margarite, Isabel's toddler. They were touching fingers; it was very cute. Henry looked perfectly happy with Dale. It certainly didn't take him long to adjust. He usually scrutinizes people heavily before making contact. I asked Dale his opinion's on children and television, specifically "At what age is it appropriate to have children watch television?" Dale is one of the country's leading experts in the area of children and television; his research focus is public policy in that domain. Anyway, Dale recommended not before 2 years of age (although there is not a whole lot of "hard" evidence in the literature). He contends that there are two potential problems with introducing television before 2 years of age. First, young children learn through tactile activities. Obviously, if the kid is sitting in front of the television, they are displacing their time, such that tactile learning gets the short end of the stick. Second, there is a feed back problem with television that confuses children. In normal human interaction, if I make a gesture in front of you, you will respond. But if a child makes a gesture to the person on the television, the person on the television doesn't respond in an interactive way. That's confusing and gives children mixed signals. This confirms what Jeff and I have already thought about television. Keep it off. There is also some evidence from the medical literature (sample size in the thousands) that suggests that television viewing at a young age wires the brain, such that the chances of developing ADD increase.
I can't claim that Henry has never watched television. Baseball tends to be on at my parents' house. But Jeff and I really don't want Henry exposed to television for the next two years. So, it is definitely off at our house.
Talked with Jamie a bit. She said that she'd like to knit Henry a new hat for winter. That's exciting. We used his other hats so much (as evidenced by the bazillion pictures of him in his Kennealy wear).
Henry loved Chris' house. He zoomed around the place, weaved in and out of people, with one of us trailing behind him making sure that he didn't get stepped on. We finally said adieu around 10PM, even though Henry was still going strong and could have probably lasted a while longer. We just wanted to make sure he didn't reach the "overtired" point, which he is often tempted to do.
It was a great evening all the way around.
Grandpa visited in the afternoon. Henry went for a walk with Dada and the dogs in the evening, while I made dinner. By the time he arrive back home, he was sound asleep in his backpack. He didn't stay down long. When he got up, he ate a decent amount of dinner. He was very fussy in the evening, until I gave him some Tylenol. We suspect that he is teething again. The Tylenol worked its magic. He didn't go to sleep easily, although it was clear that he was tired.
On Friday morning, he got up around 7-7:30AM. Shirley, the PT, didn't come this week, because she was going on a trip. When I got home around 5PM, Henry was sound asleep in Jeff's arms on the bed. They took a nap that lasted until 6:25PM. Jeff then took the dogs for a walk while I fed Henry. He grazed on a lot of different stuff (fresh peach and strawberry, pieces of toast with margarine, turkey, Gerber's Lil Crunchies), but did not eat much of anything in particular.
The big news was that tonight was the big communication department party at Chris Segrin's house (he's the head of the communication department). He lives on the West side, not too far from us (probably 5 miles away, which on the West side is nothing...it is a more "rural" side of town, where houses tend to be located on large lots of land). It was fun showing Henry off to everyone...many have been following Henry's story and praying for him since he was born. Grandma and Grandpa were already at the party when we arrived. Grandma was excited to see Henry b/c she had been on a road trip to Pullman since Monday. Craig Hullett, an associate professor in the department who has a toddler, brought Henry a new toy. We are excited to try it out tomorrow. Craig was the one who recommended the vibrating seat when Henry first came home; the seat was such a soothing device during Henry's infancy.
Grandma took Henry around to meet people. A couple minutes later, Jeff and I went looking for them and found Henry sitting in Dale Kunkel's lap engaged in play with Margarite, Isabel's toddler. They were touching fingers; it was very cute. Henry looked perfectly happy with Dale. It certainly didn't take him long to adjust. He usually scrutinizes people heavily before making contact. I asked Dale his opinion's on children and television, specifically "At what age is it appropriate to have children watch television?" Dale is one of the country's leading experts in the area of children and television; his research focus is public policy in that domain. Anyway, Dale recommended not before 2 years of age (although there is not a whole lot of "hard" evidence in the literature). He contends that there are two potential problems with introducing television before 2 years of age. First, young children learn through tactile activities. Obviously, if the kid is sitting in front of the television, they are displacing their time, such that tactile learning gets the short end of the stick. Second, there is a feed back problem with television that confuses children. In normal human interaction, if I make a gesture in front of you, you will respond. But if a child makes a gesture to the person on the television, the person on the television doesn't respond in an interactive way. That's confusing and gives children mixed signals. This confirms what Jeff and I have already thought about television. Keep it off. There is also some evidence from the medical literature (sample size in the thousands) that suggests that television viewing at a young age wires the brain, such that the chances of developing ADD increase.
I can't claim that Henry has never watched television. Baseball tends to be on at my parents' house. But Jeff and I really don't want Henry exposed to television for the next two years. So, it is definitely off at our house.
Talked with Jamie a bit. She said that she'd like to knit Henry a new hat for winter. That's exciting. We used his other hats so much (as evidenced by the bazillion pictures of him in his Kennealy wear).
Henry loved Chris' house. He zoomed around the place, weaved in and out of people, with one of us trailing behind him making sure that he didn't get stepped on. We finally said adieu around 10PM, even though Henry was still going strong and could have probably lasted a while longer. We just wanted to make sure he didn't reach the "overtired" point, which he is often tempted to do.
It was a great evening all the way around.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Baseball, and More Baseball
We are short on Henry pictures this week as our second digital camera in the past year has gone kaput. Sigh. Many missed photo ops.
Thursday:
Grammy came over in the afternoon. Can't remember anything else.
Friday:
Shirley, Henry's PT, came in the afternoon. She thought that his ankles looked good and said that he is making progress. Henry tried some gazpacho soup (wasn't crazy about it, but he did come back for a second bite).
Saturday:
Saturday marked Henry's 1 year homecoming anniversary. Henry came come from the NICU on August 16, 2007. We went to the zoo in the morning. Henry liked the monkeys a lot (who were very noisy). His favorite animals were the ducks. Afterward, we headed to the university area for breakfast. We ended up at the Marriott (I really like their omelets). Henry was super social. I think that he had a crush on the waitress. He also gave big smiles to some guests at a nearby table and liked the bus boy too. He had pancakes, strawberry, hash browns, and omelet with goat cheese and asparagus (which is turning into one of his favorite veggies). In the afternoon, Henry visited my parents for a spell. We ate dinner at their house. Then, Jeff, Henry, and I went to another Sidewinders game. Henry wanted to crawl around and stand, which we didn't let him do much. He made friends with a lady in the row in front of us. He also had some lemonade, which he managed to extract from a foot long straw. He absolutely loves the music at the games.
Sunday:
Jeff went over to Carolyn's house in the morning to help her and Chris pack up the truck, because they are officially moving everything they own to Pullman. I was going to take Henry over to my parents in the morning, but Henry had a different schedule in mind. He got up and had some breakfast. We played a little bit in the living room. We headed to the bedroom (the bedroom formally known as "Kate and Jeff's bedroom" but I think that Henry's laid claim to the king bed in there). I put him on the bed to change his outfit. He started playing on the pillows. He was rolling around. Then, he took a two and a half hour nap (give or take a few minutes). Jeff ended up coming home before we had left. So, after he came home and got ready, all three of us headed to Grandma and Grandpa's house. Henry's big thing was climbing into one of the chairs on his own. Henry spent a lot of time with Grandpa. Later in the evening, we had an informal family get-together for dinner, watched the Olympics, and then said our goodbyes to Carolyn and Chris.
Monday:
Alicia called in sick. Jeff took the day off of work to take care of Henry. I headed to school to work on a paper. Got side tracked at my lab. While talking to Dale, the professor with whom I share lab space, a leak started dripping from the ceiling about three feet from my brand new computers. A similar leak happened in June, right on top of my old, junky computer. Apparently, they didn't fix it right. We could see where it was coming from b/c "facilities" never replaced the damaged ceiling tile. Ellen, a staff member in our main office, called "facilities" but they said that they didn't know when they would be able to come (maybe the next day)...and this is for A LEAK (as in water dripping down from the "fill-in-the-blank" ceiling). What a first-rate operation. I asked Ellen to call them back and tell them that by leak, I meant water, and that it was dripping near $3,000 worth of equipment. I went back to the lab, waited an hour, moved all of my furniture out of the way, and "facilities" was a no-show, so I left a note.
Henry had a good day with his Daddy. I was a bit moody when I got home. Henry certainly lifted my spirits. I introduced the pen and paper to Henry. He's got the idea, but doesn't quite get how to hold the pen. I decided that we needed to buy Henry some toys (specifically, magnet writing pads), as we had neglected to buy him gifts for his due date day and homecoming anniversary. We started off at Petco. While Jeff was buying kitty litter, Henry and I looked at the fish, lizards, turtles, and creepy things. We didn't find much at Babies R Us. The toy selection was lacking. Henry started off in the cart, but ended up getting held by Jeff but placing his hands on the bar of the cart and pushing it around. Jeff said that Henry did an excellent job steering. Having not found what we wanted at Babies R Us, we headed to Toys R Us a couple blocks away. We bought Henry a writing mat and some animal magnets for the refrigerator. Our last stop was Borders. I had a gift certificate to use. We ended up finding Henry lots of books.
Tuesday:
Alicia came back to work. I went to school to see what state my lab was in. One of the graduate students said that "facilities" stopped by in the late afternoon Monday, look at the pipes, said that whoever did the patch work in June didn't do it right (really, wow, what an insightful observation), and then left. So, I spent the day reconfiguring the lab so that my space will be somewhat functional and my equipment will be several feet from the leak (still dripping occasionally). My dad spent the afternoon with Henry. In the evening, Jeff, Henry, and I met up with Steve and Jamie at the Sidewinders. It was a nice night with a slight breeze. We sat on the grass near the outfield, which was a different view than I've experienced before. It was nice. We brought a sheet to sit on. We thought that Henry would stay on it b/c in the past, he hasn't liked the feel of grass. He stayed confined to the sheet for about a half hour. Then, he spent the rest of the game, climbing up and down the grassy hill. It was great having four of us to watch him. The boy has no shortage of energy, that's for sure.
Wednesday:
Henry and I slept until 8:26AM. Then, Henry rolled around in bed for awhile. Alicia and Karina didn't arrive until after 8AM. I didn't get to school until about 10:30AM. Paul, one of the graduate students, said that "facilities" stopped by in the early evening. Basically, they moved a ceiling tile from one part of the ceiling where there was not leak to where the leak was. Don't know whether or not they actually fixed anything.
When I got home in the afternoon, Henry was active. Jeff reported that Alicia said that Henry is saying "Pop" at the right times during Pop Goes the Weasel (one of the songs on Henry's big song cube). I ended up feeding him a large snack. He had already eaten quite a bit for breakfast and lunch. It appears that he is drinking less and eating more...at least for the past few days. At some point, I changed his diaper. While in the process of changing him, he grabbed the baby wipe from my hand and then tried to wipe himself. Luckily, it wasn't a messy diaper. We went to Bookman's to look for more books for Henry. On the way home, Henry fell asleep. He got up 45 minutes or so later. Ate some French fries, turkey, chicken, and Gerber's vanilla custard with banana. Played. Had a bath. Played. At 10PM, we decided it was time to try to get him to bed. He fought going to sleep. But he and his Daddy are now fast asleep.
Thursday:
Grammy came over in the afternoon. Can't remember anything else.
Friday:
Shirley, Henry's PT, came in the afternoon. She thought that his ankles looked good and said that he is making progress. Henry tried some gazpacho soup (wasn't crazy about it, but he did come back for a second bite).
Saturday:
Saturday marked Henry's 1 year homecoming anniversary. Henry came come from the NICU on August 16, 2007. We went to the zoo in the morning. Henry liked the monkeys a lot (who were very noisy). His favorite animals were the ducks. Afterward, we headed to the university area for breakfast. We ended up at the Marriott (I really like their omelets). Henry was super social. I think that he had a crush on the waitress. He also gave big smiles to some guests at a nearby table and liked the bus boy too. He had pancakes, strawberry, hash browns, and omelet with goat cheese and asparagus (which is turning into one of his favorite veggies). In the afternoon, Henry visited my parents for a spell. We ate dinner at their house. Then, Jeff, Henry, and I went to another Sidewinders game. Henry wanted to crawl around and stand, which we didn't let him do much. He made friends with a lady in the row in front of us. He also had some lemonade, which he managed to extract from a foot long straw. He absolutely loves the music at the games.
Sunday:
Jeff went over to Carolyn's house in the morning to help her and Chris pack up the truck, because they are officially moving everything they own to Pullman. I was going to take Henry over to my parents in the morning, but Henry had a different schedule in mind. He got up and had some breakfast. We played a little bit in the living room. We headed to the bedroom (the bedroom formally known as "Kate and Jeff's bedroom" but I think that Henry's laid claim to the king bed in there). I put him on the bed to change his outfit. He started playing on the pillows. He was rolling around. Then, he took a two and a half hour nap (give or take a few minutes). Jeff ended up coming home before we had left. So, after he came home and got ready, all three of us headed to Grandma and Grandpa's house. Henry's big thing was climbing into one of the chairs on his own. Henry spent a lot of time with Grandpa. Later in the evening, we had an informal family get-together for dinner, watched the Olympics, and then said our goodbyes to Carolyn and Chris.
Monday:
Alicia called in sick. Jeff took the day off of work to take care of Henry. I headed to school to work on a paper. Got side tracked at my lab. While talking to Dale, the professor with whom I share lab space, a leak started dripping from the ceiling about three feet from my brand new computers. A similar leak happened in June, right on top of my old, junky computer. Apparently, they didn't fix it right. We could see where it was coming from b/c "facilities" never replaced the damaged ceiling tile. Ellen, a staff member in our main office, called "facilities" but they said that they didn't know when they would be able to come (maybe the next day)...and this is for A LEAK (as in water dripping down from the "fill-in-the-blank" ceiling). What a first-rate operation. I asked Ellen to call them back and tell them that by leak, I meant water, and that it was dripping near $3,000 worth of equipment. I went back to the lab, waited an hour, moved all of my furniture out of the way, and "facilities" was a no-show, so I left a note.
Henry had a good day with his Daddy. I was a bit moody when I got home. Henry certainly lifted my spirits. I introduced the pen and paper to Henry. He's got the idea, but doesn't quite get how to hold the pen. I decided that we needed to buy Henry some toys (specifically, magnet writing pads), as we had neglected to buy him gifts for his due date day and homecoming anniversary. We started off at Petco. While Jeff was buying kitty litter, Henry and I looked at the fish, lizards, turtles, and creepy things. We didn't find much at Babies R Us. The toy selection was lacking. Henry started off in the cart, but ended up getting held by Jeff but placing his hands on the bar of the cart and pushing it around. Jeff said that Henry did an excellent job steering. Having not found what we wanted at Babies R Us, we headed to Toys R Us a couple blocks away. We bought Henry a writing mat and some animal magnets for the refrigerator. Our last stop was Borders. I had a gift certificate to use. We ended up finding Henry lots of books.
Tuesday:
Alicia came back to work. I went to school to see what state my lab was in. One of the graduate students said that "facilities" stopped by in the late afternoon Monday, look at the pipes, said that whoever did the patch work in June didn't do it right (really, wow, what an insightful observation), and then left. So, I spent the day reconfiguring the lab so that my space will be somewhat functional and my equipment will be several feet from the leak (still dripping occasionally). My dad spent the afternoon with Henry. In the evening, Jeff, Henry, and I met up with Steve and Jamie at the Sidewinders. It was a nice night with a slight breeze. We sat on the grass near the outfield, which was a different view than I've experienced before. It was nice. We brought a sheet to sit on. We thought that Henry would stay on it b/c in the past, he hasn't liked the feel of grass. He stayed confined to the sheet for about a half hour. Then, he spent the rest of the game, climbing up and down the grassy hill. It was great having four of us to watch him. The boy has no shortage of energy, that's for sure.
Wednesday:
Henry and I slept until 8:26AM. Then, Henry rolled around in bed for awhile. Alicia and Karina didn't arrive until after 8AM. I didn't get to school until about 10:30AM. Paul, one of the graduate students, said that "facilities" stopped by in the early evening. Basically, they moved a ceiling tile from one part of the ceiling where there was not leak to where the leak was. Don't know whether or not they actually fixed anything.
When I got home in the afternoon, Henry was active. Jeff reported that Alicia said that Henry is saying "Pop" at the right times during Pop Goes the Weasel (one of the songs on Henry's big song cube). I ended up feeding him a large snack. He had already eaten quite a bit for breakfast and lunch. It appears that he is drinking less and eating more...at least for the past few days. At some point, I changed his diaper. While in the process of changing him, he grabbed the baby wipe from my hand and then tried to wipe himself. Luckily, it wasn't a messy diaper. We went to Bookman's to look for more books for Henry. On the way home, Henry fell asleep. He got up 45 minutes or so later. Ate some French fries, turkey, chicken, and Gerber's vanilla custard with banana. Played. Had a bath. Played. At 10PM, we decided it was time to try to get him to bed. He fought going to sleep. But he and his Daddy are now fast asleep.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Henry Looking Dapper
On Tuesday, Henry had another long 3 hour snooze. He woke up just after Alicia and Karina left. He played in the living room with Jeff while I read them "Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince." Then, I took a nap. Jeff was playing a game with Henry, where Henry was tasked with finding puffs underneath some blocks. Jeff put one of Henry's new outfits (from Grandma and Grandpa) on him (as seen in the video below).
Around 6PM, we headed to my parents. It was date night. Henry had passed out in the car. I put him in his crib when we arrived. He woke up right after we left. We went to the store to pick up his Prevacid and buy some baby food. We then headed to the World Sports Grille to play video games (the selection is not as extensive as D&B's, but they had my horse game, so I was happy). When we got back to my parents, Henry was up. He gave his Dada a big hug and flashed me a gorgeous smile. While we were out, my mother said that Henry's new skill was pushing a foot stool next to one of the kitchen table chairs, and then trying to use his construction to climb to the top of the kitchen table, which Grandpa put a stop to.
Henry spotted me going into the kitchen this morning and followed me there. He's getting so tall that it has become apparent that we need to baby proof some of the higher drawers that we haven't put locks on yet. I distracted him by taking his picture and showing him the camera display of the result. Alicia and Karina left about an hour ago. Apparently, Henry threw up his entire lunch, but he isn't showing any other signs of illness. He is now playing with Grandma and hopefully drinking his bottle.
Around 6PM, we headed to my parents. It was date night. Henry had passed out in the car. I put him in his crib when we arrived. He woke up right after we left. We went to the store to pick up his Prevacid and buy some baby food. We then headed to the World Sports Grille to play video games (the selection is not as extensive as D&B's, but they had my horse game, so I was happy). When we got back to my parents, Henry was up. He gave his Dada a big hug and flashed me a gorgeous smile. While we were out, my mother said that Henry's new skill was pushing a foot stool next to one of the kitchen table chairs, and then trying to use his construction to climb to the top of the kitchen table, which Grandpa put a stop to.
Henry spotted me going into the kitchen this morning and followed me there. He's getting so tall that it has become apparent that we need to baby proof some of the higher drawers that we haven't put locks on yet. I distracted him by taking his picture and showing him the camera display of the result. Alicia and Karina left about an hour ago. Apparently, Henry threw up his entire lunch, but he isn't showing any other signs of illness. He is now playing with Grandma and hopefully drinking his bottle.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
1 Year Adjusted!!!
On Sunday, we played around the house in the morning. I went to school in the afternoon to continue reorganizing my office. The floors obviously have taken a lot of abuse over the years, but they look a lot better and I feel set for the new school year. Jeff took Henry to my parents in the afternoon. Then, Jeff and I headed over there at 5:30PM for a big family get-together (with my parents, Carolyn, Chris, Erin, Brian, Uncle Jim, Uncle Richard, Jeff, Henry, and me). I finally met Erin and Brian's new addition, Winston the Sheepdog, who is very cute. Henry chowed down on some guacamole before dinner, which he hasn't done in a long time.
Right after dinner, Erin, Jeff, Henry, and I were talking in the living room, when Henry took a big tumble between the coffee table and couch. He bit his tongue rather hard and blood was drizzling profusely out of his mouth. This was quite disconcerting at the time because we couldn't tell exactly from where the blood was coming. Henry calmed down after a few minutes. Jeff held an ice cube to his mouth to suck on, and after being wiped several times with a wash cloth, we managed to see that he had bit down in the middle of his tongue.
Monday was Henry's One Year Adjusted Birthday Day (or Due Date Day)! He took a three hour nap for Alicia from 10:45AM to 1:45PM. That was bizarre. After Alicia left and we fed Henry his lunch, we gave him a much needed bath. He managed to get food all over of his second outfit of the day. He had fun in the water as usual. Afterward, we weighed him (21 lbs 2.5 ozs) and put on his "hot pants" for awhile. Henry got into the dirt in the plant pot. The picture of him to the left shows him with his hand in the cookie jar (so to speak). I looked at him and told him "no," and he placed some of the dried leaves in his hand back into the pot.
We met my parents at Swenson's around 5:30PM or so. Henry had a few bites of hamburger, a French fry with ketchup (which he managed to smear all over his face), and a few avocado pieces. For dessert, we let Henry have some vanilla frozen yogurt, which he loved. Alas, it was non-fat yogurt. Unfortunately, the frozen yogurt tends to be the non-fat variety. I'm going to look into getting Henry some full fat frozen yogurt at the store (or learn to make it myself...that will be interesting).
After dinner, we went to a Sidewinders baseball game. The weather was perfect. There was a slight breeze. The Sidewinders trounced Tacoma. Henry was wonderful throughout the game. A couple a few rows in front of us commented on what a good baby he was. Henry sat on my lap. I explained to him where the pitcher was and what the batter did, and he seemed to be paying attention. He was also a big fan of the music blaring from the speakers during breaks in the game. He would bounce up and down and bob his head to the music. He like clapping and cheering. He started getting sleepy by the 7th inning and drank his bottle cradled in his daddy's arms. Then, we headed back home.
Henry tossed and turned all night, according to Jeff. I don't think that Jeff got much sleep. Henry was up bright and early at 6:30AM this morning.
Right after dinner, Erin, Jeff, Henry, and I were talking in the living room, when Henry took a big tumble between the coffee table and couch. He bit his tongue rather hard and blood was drizzling profusely out of his mouth. This was quite disconcerting at the time because we couldn't tell exactly from where the blood was coming. Henry calmed down after a few minutes. Jeff held an ice cube to his mouth to suck on, and after being wiped several times with a wash cloth, we managed to see that he had bit down in the middle of his tongue.
Monday was Henry's One Year Adjusted Birthday Day (or Due Date Day)! He took a three hour nap for Alicia from 10:45AM to 1:45PM. That was bizarre. After Alicia left and we fed Henry his lunch, we gave him a much needed bath. He managed to get food all over of his second outfit of the day. He had fun in the water as usual. Afterward, we weighed him (21 lbs 2.5 ozs) and put on his "hot pants" for awhile. Henry got into the dirt in the plant pot. The picture of him to the left shows him with his hand in the cookie jar (so to speak). I looked at him and told him "no," and he placed some of the dried leaves in his hand back into the pot.
We met my parents at Swenson's around 5:30PM or so. Henry had a few bites of hamburger, a French fry with ketchup (which he managed to smear all over his face), and a few avocado pieces. For dessert, we let Henry have some vanilla frozen yogurt, which he loved. Alas, it was non-fat yogurt. Unfortunately, the frozen yogurt tends to be the non-fat variety. I'm going to look into getting Henry some full fat frozen yogurt at the store (or learn to make it myself...that will be interesting).
After dinner, we went to a Sidewinders baseball game. The weather was perfect. There was a slight breeze. The Sidewinders trounced Tacoma. Henry was wonderful throughout the game. A couple a few rows in front of us commented on what a good baby he was. Henry sat on my lap. I explained to him where the pitcher was and what the batter did, and he seemed to be paying attention. He was also a big fan of the music blaring from the speakers during breaks in the game. He would bounce up and down and bob his head to the music. He like clapping and cheering. He started getting sleepy by the 7th inning and drank his bottle cradled in his daddy's arms. Then, we headed back home.Henry tossed and turned all night, according to Jeff. I don't think that Jeff got much sleep. Henry was up bright and early at 6:30AM this morning.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Henry's Jam Packed Schedule
Friday was another therapy-free day. Henry is over his cold, but Shirley (PT) couldn't make it this week, which opened up time for Henry to spend with his Dad in the afternoon. Henry played with Bitsy by dangling his new Converses in front of her. Jeff reported that Henry was doing more standing on his own.
In the late afternoon, we broke out the water table that I had bought for Henry last week. Jeff set it up in the kitchen. It is a table with deep sides that can be filled with water. It is just the right size for Henry. I am hoping that Henry will become less inclined to spill his tippy cup all over creation if he spends more time getting used to playing and trying to manipulate water. Well, let's just say that goal is a work in progress. We ended up having a very wet kitchen floor. Thank goodness for tile. Henry had a lot of fun. After flooding the kitchen, we went for a walk around dusk.
This morning (Saturday), we went to the Garland for breakfast. We sat outside in the courtyard. It was warm, so we had the courtyard to ourselves. Henry did some exploring, while we waited for breakfast to arrive. He had pancakes, potatoes, banana, and bites of huevos rancheros. He fell asleep in the car and took a two hour nap. Then, we went over to Grandma and Grandpa's house.
Grandma, Jeff, Henry, and I went across town to visit Lucinda, who is recovering from major surgery that took place a couple weeks ago. Lucinda is a much loved member of our extended family. She used to take care of me when I was a child and was our housekeeper on Fridays for many years. In elementary school, I once faked an illness so that I could stay home with Lucinda. Anyway, given Henry's cloistered existence during the fall, winter, and spring, Lucinda had not yet met Henry in person. It was nice to have Cinda finally meet him.We went back to my parents' place. Henry spent some time with Grandpa and ate a very big meal. Jeff and I saw "Mamma Mia!" (as fun and goofy as the stage production; must really like/love ABBA to enjoy). We then came back home. Henry fell asleep in the car. He hadn't napped this afternoon, so he was down for the night.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Selective Use of "Mama"
Henry had a good day yesterday. Grandma visited in the afternoon. Jeff suggested that she go home a little early because a storm was brewing. Henry and Jeff played. I came home around 6:30PM with dinner from Lovin' Spoonfuls. Henry tried chilled coconut cucumber soup, of which Jeff only took a bite. Jeff thought it sounded gross even before I forced a spoonful upon. Henry, on the other hand, was much more willing. Henry and I both enjoyed the unusual soup. Henry also had some bites of ravioli in creamy pesto and linguine. The pesto was a big hit.
I have noticed that if I ask Henry to say "Mama," he will no longer do it. Refuses. Acts like he has forgotten how. But both yesterday morning and this morning, when Alicia was taking care of Henry, I walked into the kitchen and suddenly Henry calls out "Mama, Mama" upon seeing me. So this confirms that he knows how. I'm going to test him this afternoon after Alicia leaves and see if he again "forgets" my name or starts calling me "Bob" again (which was his name for me for a couple weeks).
I was holding Henry a little while ago. He wanted me to hold him but also wanted to touch Karina who was being held by Alicia. Apparently, Karina gave him a hug this morning, which is sweet.
I have noticed that if I ask Henry to say "Mama," he will no longer do it. Refuses. Acts like he has forgotten how. But both yesterday morning and this morning, when Alicia was taking care of Henry, I walked into the kitchen and suddenly Henry calls out "Mama, Mama" upon seeing me. So this confirms that he knows how. I'm going to test him this afternoon after Alicia leaves and see if he again "forgets" my name or starts calling me "Bob" again (which was his name for me for a couple weeks).
I was holding Henry a little while ago. He wanted me to hold him but also wanted to touch Karina who was being held by Alicia. Apparently, Karina gave him a hug this morning, which is sweet.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
"Date" Night
On Tuesday, Grandma came over in the afternoon. I had a hair appointment at Gadabout at 5PM. I reached the "new mother must cut hair" phase. My hair was down to my lower back, so enough was enough. My hair is much shorted now. Todd, my hair stylist, did a lovely job. Of course, as soon as I opened the door to the parking lot, the heavens opened up and dumped massive amounts of rain. So Todd's styling did not last. My parents described the storm as the worst they'd seen in years. When I got back home, Henry was sound asleep, looking adorable as always.
On Wednesday afternoon, a package for Henry arrived from Robin and Bob. It contained a very cute outfit, which we put on Henry before taking him to my parents. Before we left the house, Henry unraveled a Christmas ornament that Bitsy had found under the bed. Bitsy had been playing with it.
My parents said that they were willing to take care of Henry during a week night evening, so that Jeff and I can go out on dates. We have gone out on a couple of Tuesday night dates, rekindling are Tuesday night dates at Oracle View, one of the second-run theaters in town.
We postponed our "date" night to Wednesday this week, because I needed to move furniture back into my office. And, we couldn't exactly do that with Henry around. So, we picked up some paint to touch up the moldings that had been affected by the sander. Taped up the floor edges. Painted the moldings. Cleaned the walls that had varnish splatter on them. Moved the very heavy furniture back in. My desk is a green metal 1950s-60s contraption that I'm sure could handle major artillery assaults. Thank goodness Jeff is strong. Moved my belongings out of Dana's office and Steve's office. Just what one looks for in a date night!
Henry was very busy at my parents' in our absence. He took a 1 hour nap. He ate lots of things...turkey, snap pea crisps, Yo-Baby, real peas, and tuna with rice. Thank goodness for grandparents! He never eats like that for us. We are admittedly horrible cooks, but we are trying to improve for Henry's sake. He went swimming and saw Aunt Erin. My mother said that Henry is standing by himself for longer and longer periods of time. She walked around the house with him holding just one of his hands. What a big boy he is becoming.
We were away from Henry for about 7 hours. Way too long in our opinion. Jeff called to check on him. It isn't so much that we worry about him when we are parted. We just miss him.
Henry didn't go to bed until about 11PM last night. He started off in his crib but missed his new mattress, so he ended up with us. He snuggled with me quite a bit, which was nice. He snoozed until 8AM and woke up happy. Jeff said that he had walked around with Henry one-handed and that Henry had traveled quite a distance.
On Wednesday afternoon, a package for Henry arrived from Robin and Bob. It contained a very cute outfit, which we put on Henry before taking him to my parents. Before we left the house, Henry unraveled a Christmas ornament that Bitsy had found under the bed. Bitsy had been playing with it.
My parents said that they were willing to take care of Henry during a week night evening, so that Jeff and I can go out on dates. We have gone out on a couple of Tuesday night dates, rekindling are Tuesday night dates at Oracle View, one of the second-run theaters in town.
We postponed our "date" night to Wednesday this week, because I needed to move furniture back into my office. And, we couldn't exactly do that with Henry around. So, we picked up some paint to touch up the moldings that had been affected by the sander. Taped up the floor edges. Painted the moldings. Cleaned the walls that had varnish splatter on them. Moved the very heavy furniture back in. My desk is a green metal 1950s-60s contraption that I'm sure could handle major artillery assaults. Thank goodness Jeff is strong. Moved my belongings out of Dana's office and Steve's office. Just what one looks for in a date night!
Henry was very busy at my parents' in our absence. He took a 1 hour nap. He ate lots of things...turkey, snap pea crisps, Yo-Baby, real peas, and tuna with rice. Thank goodness for grandparents! He never eats like that for us. We are admittedly horrible cooks, but we are trying to improve for Henry's sake. He went swimming and saw Aunt Erin. My mother said that Henry is standing by himself for longer and longer periods of time. She walked around the house with him holding just one of his hands. What a big boy he is becoming.
We were away from Henry for about 7 hours. Way too long in our opinion. Jeff called to check on him. It isn't so much that we worry about him when we are parted. We just miss him.
Henry didn't go to bed until about 11PM last night. He started off in his crib but missed his new mattress, so he ended up with us. He snuggled with me quite a bit, which was nice. He snoozed until 8AM and woke up happy. Jeff said that he had walked around with Henry one-handed and that Henry had traveled quite a distance.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Henry's New Shoes and New Mattress
Friday:
I dropped Henry off at Grandma and Grandpa's house in the morning, so that I could go to school and find out whether or not my floors were going to be redone on Monday. We ended up canceling our appointment with Shirley (PT). Jeff called her to say that Henry was sick. He gave her the choice to come or not. She chose not, because she visits a very medically fragile child after she sees Henry. After I picked up Henry at my parents', we made a quick dash into Babies R Us to get Henry some shoes. At our last PT appointment, Shirley said that she thought Henry would benefit from some high tops (to stabilize his ankles and encourage the feet forward).
We then went back to Grandma and Grandpa's house for dinner. Henry had his first taste of cheese raviolis, which he liked a lot.
Monday:
Alicia and Karina were back in the morning. In the afternoon, we played with Henry. Then, Jeff waited at home for our new mattress, while I dropped off Henry with Grandpa and took Princess to the vets, which isn't too far from my parents' house. Princess has been bleeding, and she is a senior kitty cat. The vet trip was quick, only about 45 minutes. I then went to pick up Henry on the way back home. I arrived about 5 minutes after Grammy got home. She wanted to spend time with Henry, so I left Henry with them and then an hour or so later, they met Jeff at Costco. Jeff reported that Grandpa seemed to have a good time pushing Henry around in the cart and showing him things. My mom reported that the bagger, a gal about 20, was checking Jeff out, and Jeff was clueless that he was being eyed up and down. My parents had Henry in their cart. Jeff had his own cart. While Jeff was being checked out by the bagger, Henry called out for Dada. When Jeff went to pick him up, my mom said that the bagger's face looked crestfallen. Way to go, Henry!
Henry was very active in the evening. We managed to give him a bath after dinner. He finally went to bed around 10PM and slept until 8:15AM. He apparently enjoyed the new mattress and slept quite soundly. He ended up on my side of the bed for most of the night, lying against me upside down.
That's all on the Henry front.
I dropped Henry off at Grandma and Grandpa's house in the morning, so that I could go to school and find out whether or not my floors were going to be redone on Monday. We ended up canceling our appointment with Shirley (PT). Jeff called her to say that Henry was sick. He gave her the choice to come or not. She chose not, because she visits a very medically fragile child after she sees Henry. After I picked up Henry at my parents', we made a quick dash into Babies R Us to get Henry some shoes. At our last PT appointment, Shirley said that she thought Henry would benefit from some high tops (to stabilize his ankles and encourage the feet forward).
Saturday:
In the morning, Henry kicked back on the couch and drank his bot while reading a magazine. We took Henry to breakfast at Café Paraiso. He ate pancakes (his favorite), potatoes, banana, and a couple bites of my huevos rancheros. It was too hot and muggy to sit by the turtle pond. Jeff and Henry walked me to my office, where I had to move books out so that the floors could redone this week. Jeff then took Henry back home and had him try on his Converse shoes. Later, Henry visited my parents, while Jeff helped me move the furniture out of my office and pull up the carpet (yes, at the U of A, we do these things ourselves…although we aren’t allowed to install software on our computers because as faculty our time is "too valuable to spend doing such things").
Sunday:
We played with Henry in the morning. We took him to his Grandparents’ house around noon. Jeff and I went mattress shopping at Sleep America in the afternoon. That took a long time. We had taken Henry with us a few nights earlier, but his energy levels weren’t exactly conducive to paying attention to the products. And mattresses aren't an inexpensive purchase. It was definitely much easier without Henry there.
The salesman, Peter, asked Jeff: “How long have you had your current mattress?”
Jeff said, “About 14 years.”
Peter then asked: “How long has it been uncomfortable?”
Jeff replied, “About 6 years.”
Jeff has long wanted to get a new mattress. So that was his birthday present. He is the hardest person to shop for. He likes computer gadgets and golf stuff (but he knows exactly what he wants, so making the purchase for him doesn't work). After hours of product testing, we found a mattress that we really liked.We then went back to Grandma and Grandpa's house for dinner. Henry had his first taste of cheese raviolis, which he liked a lot.
Monday:Alicia and Karina were back in the morning. In the afternoon, we played with Henry. Then, Jeff waited at home for our new mattress, while I dropped off Henry with Grandpa and took Princess to the vets, which isn't too far from my parents' house. Princess has been bleeding, and she is a senior kitty cat. The vet trip was quick, only about 45 minutes. I then went to pick up Henry on the way back home. I arrived about 5 minutes after Grammy got home. She wanted to spend time with Henry, so I left Henry with them and then an hour or so later, they met Jeff at Costco. Jeff reported that Grandpa seemed to have a good time pushing Henry around in the cart and showing him things. My mom reported that the bagger, a gal about 20, was checking Jeff out, and Jeff was clueless that he was being eyed up and down. My parents had Henry in their cart. Jeff had his own cart. While Jeff was being checked out by the bagger, Henry called out for Dada. When Jeff went to pick him up, my mom said that the bagger's face looked crestfallen. Way to go, Henry!
Henry was very active in the evening. We managed to give him a bath after dinner. He finally went to bed around 10PM and slept until 8:15AM. He apparently enjoyed the new mattress and slept quite soundly. He ended up on my side of the bed for most of the night, lying against me upside down.
That's all on the Henry front.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Stuffy Nose, Lousy Sleep
Last night wasn't a good night. Henry's cold has made it very hard for him to breath. His nose was stuffed up. He would occasionally breath through his mouth, but most of the time he was trying to force air through his nose. His breathing was quite loud. I tried to suction out his nose while he was asleep, but even with Jeff's help, Henry managed to evade us without appearing to wake up. He must have a sixth sense when it comes to nose bulbs or something.
Alicia called this morning to say that she was getting a sore throat, and Karina had thrown up last night. So, she wouldn't be coming to work. I took care of Henry at first, while Jeff handled some things at work. Then, Jeff took a sick day. Around mid-morning, he and Henry passed out on the bed and slept for nearly two and a half hours. Not surprising considering that last night was pretty miserable.
Around mid-afternoon, Jeff took Henry over to Grandma and Grandpa's house. I spent the afternoon trying to get my new computer set up (old one died). Grammy reported that Henry was active all afternoon, and he ate well for them, which is good. As of late, he hasn't been eating well for me or Jeff.
He stayed in his crib for 1/2 to 1 hour when he came home. Then, he cried, so I held him and put him in our bed. He seems to sleep best when he is in our bed, snuggled with one of us. Tried suctioning him again, without much success. It looks like tonight is going to be a repeat of last night.
In other news, I forgot to mention that Dr. Bianchi called about the measles shot on Monday. I went ahead and paid them for the measles shot order (10 shot pack for $172). We'll end up using 2 of the 10 shots. He asked if he could give the other 8 shots to his other patients. I said that was fine with me. Henry will get the measles shot in September. We'll take care of rubella and mumps at some other point in time. The only reason why we are moving on the measles shot is because of the spring outbreak in Tucson.
Alicia called this morning to say that she was getting a sore throat, and Karina had thrown up last night. So, she wouldn't be coming to work. I took care of Henry at first, while Jeff handled some things at work. Then, Jeff took a sick day. Around mid-morning, he and Henry passed out on the bed and slept for nearly two and a half hours. Not surprising considering that last night was pretty miserable.
Around mid-afternoon, Jeff took Henry over to Grandma and Grandpa's house. I spent the afternoon trying to get my new computer set up (old one died). Grammy reported that Henry was active all afternoon, and he ate well for them, which is good. As of late, he hasn't been eating well for me or Jeff.
He stayed in his crib for 1/2 to 1 hour when he came home. Then, he cried, so I held him and put him in our bed. He seems to sleep best when he is in our bed, snuggled with one of us. Tried suctioning him again, without much success. It looks like tonight is going to be a repeat of last night.
In other news, I forgot to mention that Dr. Bianchi called about the measles shot on Monday. I went ahead and paid them for the measles shot order (10 shot pack for $172). We'll end up using 2 of the 10 shots. He asked if he could give the other 8 shots to his other patients. I said that was fine with me. Henry will get the measles shot in September. We'll take care of rubella and mumps at some other point in time. The only reason why we are moving on the measles shot is because of the spring outbreak in Tucson.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Adjusted Age
