Months 10 & 11

Henry, 11 months

Being a mom and a full-time nurse means that some things must fall to the wayside, including this blog. Henry is turning 1 in less than a week, and I have been busy planning his party. What started out as a small gathering has turned into quite the event. We have family coming from out of town for Henry's birthday. We are extremely grateful that there are so many people who love H and want to spend his special day with him. I am working Wednesday and Thursday, and everyone is arriving on Friday!!! The thought of planning his party and accommodating visitors, while also working 12-shifts, stresses me out. I just keep reminding myself that this is for Henry, and he only turns 1 once!

Putting the circus aside for a moment, Henry is becoming a little man before our eyes. He hasn't started walking yet, but he stands on his own, without support, when he feels like it. Tom swore that he took a step yesterday, but we have no photographic evidence to corroborate that. He waves "hello" and "bye-bye" enthusiastically when Dan and I wave at him. He is cutting a molar at the moment, so he has been quite crabby the last week! Dan sleep-trained him a few weeks ago, so he really has no issues at night. He has a bedtime routine of dinner at six, bath (if it's a bath night), story time, then bed. We try to stick to the routine as much as we can, although there are nights when we are out late (like last night), and we have to be somewhat flexible.

Playing with packing is so fun!

He "talks" quite a bit, usually involving a string of "Mamamama" or "Dadadada", along with chirps, squeals and laughter. The funniest thing is when he imitates the cat. He is obsessed with Annabelle, and will follow her around the room. His voice gets higher-pitched, and he makes a sort of mewing sound, eyes fixed on the cat the entire time. It is a riot! Which reminds me, I must try to record him next time. Annabelle is not amused with H's fascination with her, and has made a few harmless swipes at him, as if to say "Leave me alone, kid!"

10 Months

 Henry is not a picky eater at all. If Mom is eating, he wants some. He can handle most foods. I nurse twice a day, and he also eats 2-3 meals a day. We supplement with formula when I'm working, and Henry also like apple juice in a cup. His favorite foods are string cheese and Mum-Mums (little rice wafers that come in a bunch of flavors). He has meat that has been pureed, like Happy Baby Organics Gobble-Gobble or Chick-Chick. I was tempted to go vegetarian, but opted for organic instead.

Thanks for the ice cream, Mom!

Henry is observant and enjoys being around other people. He often gets smiles from strangers at the store. He absolutely loves his Aunt Des (we joke that she's his "girlfriend"), and he always has fun hanging out with her, Uncle Tom, and Cousin Azlynn. KinderMusik is on summer break, so Dan has been spending a lot of time playing the guitar and the keyboard with him. It's baseball season, and there have been lots of Little League games going on during our walks at Veterans Park. It's neat to wonder what interests H will have when he gets older. Will he be a musician? An athlete? A science geek like his mom? For now, we love watching him be a baby. That will be over soon enough...