Mommy's Tea and Tippy Toes

Running away from these gingerbread men

2011-12-02T13:29:00.000-08:00

Today while Jude was napping, Henry and I were busy cooking dinner, and all of a sudden inspiration hit. Henry announced with great enthusiasm, "We will now make gingerbread men!" Of course I pounced on the computer to see if Heidi had a recipe, and of course, she does. A fancy one where she put the gingerbread men on popsicle sticks and sprinkled them with sugar. Adorable. I think I can safely say that we have her beat. Hands down. Henry simply modified her recipe to make it even um...better. (And yes, our new SLR can make anything pretty.)

This is the one I made.

Boring, right?

Here is the master at work.

And then Jude wakes up, just as we pop the deliciousness in the oven.

Ta Da! Here are two of my favorites: gingersnake, and something that looks like it was run over by a truck.

So what's up, Aubrey, I see you haven't been blogging since 2009. Eh. I'm not addressing that. Just enjoy these cookies, k? I don't even know if I like Blogger anymore. If anyone has any better (free) suggestions, I'd be up for that. Let me know.

wall building

2009-09-12T11:02:00.000-07:00

Think Henry has a future in architecture? He built this wall himself and was SO PROUD that he did it. We took his picture in front of it over and over and then David took this little video on his iphone. Peekaboo! Henry kept saying, "This is HENRY'S wall!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmKmWbLylSw

Daily Bread

2009-09-07T05:57:00.001-07:00

Since Henry turned about 6 months old, I've been playing with baking my own whole wheat bread. I really try to do this every week, but realistically it ends up every other week. I'd really like to get to the point where we don't *have* to buy any store-baked bread at all, but we eat a LOT of bread, and since I'm working part time it's hard to be around the house long enough for the long rising sessions. So, thanks to my mother, this recipe for refrigerator bread is my absolute favorite. After you mix all the ingredients together and knead it (which I do in my mixer), you let it rest a mere 20 minutes, punch it down, and pop it in the fridge until you're ready to bake it, which could be the next day. The taste is not crumbly - it's soft and chewy and perfectly what whole wheat bread should taste like! It's not the only bread I make, but I think it's the easiest! I always bake it at 350 for about 35 minutes, but I think that's because my oven runs a little hot.

Refrigerator Bread

1. Mix together:
2 cups ww flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp salt
2/3 cup dry milk
2 pkg yeast

and add:
2 ½ cups very warm water
¼ cup softened butter

2. Mix for 2 minutes on medium, scraping sides of bowl.
3. Add 2 cups flour. Mix high speed 1 minute.
4. Stir in 2 cups flour with wooden spoon until dough leaves sides of bowl.
5. Knead in additional flour to make a stiff dough. Knead for 10 min., until dough is smooth and very elastic.
6. Cover with bowl for 20 min.
7. Punch down, cut dough in half with sharp knife.
8. Form loaves and place in well-greased pans.
9. Cover pans loosely with plastic and put in refrigerator 2-24 hours.
10. Remove from fridge and let stand 10 minutes. Bake at 400 degrees for 50 minutes to 1 hour.

What's new?

2009-08-25T12:40:00.000-07:00

1. Every time we paint a room in our house (and the whole house, currently a very dingy white, is desperately in need of new paint in all rooms, including all trim!), we agree to paint the next room immediately. The change is so dramatic for us. So this past weekend we painted our bedroom a really pretty dark gray-blue. This month we had found a dresser, mirror, and rocking chair on sale at Weirs (love it!) and they arrived Saturday afternoon. It looks amazing in there. Finally we have a real bedroom, and more importantly, when people come over I don't have to say, "oh, yeah we got all this cheap-o furniture for free twelve years ago when we were in college." Why oh why didn't we plunk a little money down earlier? It's worth every penny.

2. This morning Henry was sitting on his potty seat....this one.

...and as he was sitting, he was grunting (it's not what you think)...and counting! Uh! One! Uuuuuhhh! Two! Uuuuuuuhhhh! Three! Each time he said a number, he lifted the potty steps up and down with his legs. I remembered that the last time we visited my parents, my dad had shown him his weight machine!

Speaking of pottying, he's doing really well. He hasn't pooped his pants in a couple of weeks, I think. Unless we're at home on the hardwood floors, I have him in training pants with a little prefold doubler sewn in, and it's just enough to catch a pee. I even tie dyed a few for fun. Henry calls them his underwear (he used to call them panties!) and I usually have some wool shorts over them just in case, like a diaper cover. It's a pretty good transition for us. This way I really coudln't care less if he has an accident inside or out, and he seems to be basically training himself.

3. Right now I'm making whole wheat tortillas for tonight's veggie fajitas. I love whole wheat pastry flour!

4. The other day at Whole Foods one of the workers was offering samples right behind me. David poked my arm and said, "Try one of those - they're great!" and I turned around and carefully picked up the little sample, not even thinking twice about it. It was bread and cheese, I think. The server guy gasped as my fingers touched the little morsel of food. "No, no, noooo, ma'am, I'll grab it FOR you," he sputtered...but my fingers had already touched sample. He hung his head and shook it slowly. His shoulders slumped in defeat. He wouldn't meet my eyes. Seriously. Not joking. I muttered an apology, and I'm certain I turned bright red. Then I started thinking. I had just sampled about 15 different kinds of food around the store - including oranges, salmon salad (which you spread on yourself, cookies, and bread (no tongs provided). The whole store is a germfest. It's probably the reason why I got this rotten cold. By the way, I still don't care enough not to sample - it's one of the perks of shopping at Whole Foods. So my point is, WHY was that such a bad thing to do? Probably the guy's manager told him that his job was to serve the cheese and bread slices and to always serve the customer so he wouldn't just stand there like an idiot with nothing to do. And probably that gives him the opportunity to tell the customer about why it's such great cheese or something. I really hope someone tells that guy to lighten up because it must be a sad life to be so depressed over someone taking a sample off your sample tray.

5. Rotten cold aside, this is Henry's first week at school in the toddler class for this year, and mine, too! He is still in my class, but this year he really is old enough for it, and he's having a blast! He keeps talking about all his new friends and singing the songs we've been singing at our circle time. I'm glad he's having fun.

6. Tortillas are done. They smell amazing.

7. Right now Henry is driving around his scooter and crashing it into furniture. And I just heard a tamborine fly across the room and hit the floor. Back to mommyhood!

Henry in the sky with...

2009-08-09T16:49:00.000-07:00

Today Henry was playing with his blocks in the den. Suddenly, he leapt up and shouted, "Diamonds! I some diamonds!" and he ran out of the room. David and I looked at each other, a bit concerned and a lot confused. We could hear Henry yelling "Diamonds! Here it is! Here it is! Diamonds!" from the other side of the house. He barreled back into the den, and triumphantly held up his hands, which contained two tiny, glinting objects.

I grabbed David's arm, fearing something dangerous. He was closer to Henry than I was, so I said frantically, "Go find out what those diamonds are!"

David carefully inspected each little open palm and grinned. "They're not diamonds, but they are DIMES!" We burst out laughing! I was relieved very much! Not earrings or safety pins, but coins.

Henry laughed, too. "Diamonds!" he said, "Star!" He held the dimes up into the air as high as he could get them. "Twinkle, Twinkle!" he said.

All this time, my baby has been looking up in the sky at night and wondering what was twinkling up there as we sang the song. I guess he finally thought he had figured it out! Who knew? Kind of a nice idea, isn't it?

Henwee take a bath in the ocean, too!

2009-08-04T14:13:00.000-07:00

We took a vacation to Key West, and Henry absolutely loved the ocean! The beaches there are perfect for a baby - clear blue-green water and very few waves. He ran down the beach and back playing chicken with the little crashing waves.

Artist

2009-07-14T14:20:00.000-07:00

Mostly he's commanding me to do the painting..."How 'bout a cat, Mommy? Paint a circle. Dot dot, Mommy!" But he's getting there! So serious, though!

and it came with a toaster, too

2009-07-10T15:13:00.000-07:00

It all started with my husband. Both of us, once avid coffee drinkers, had toned down our addiction over the years. I still drink mostly tea. When David started working in a cubicle (ah, horrors!), the "coffee break" apparently became an essential part of existence. I can't really blame him. At the time, coffee had faded into the background for me, something that you might have with dessert - decaf, of course, so you wouldn't be kept up all night. Our coffee maker didn't really work that amazingly, anyway. Then one day we went shopping and found the most lovely looking stainless steel cuisinart coffee bean grinder. A new coffee maker, shiny red with mesmorizing flashing lights appeared in our kitchen as well. We had fallen in love again, and...so had Henry!

For the past several weeks, he's been making coffee all over the house. In the bathtub. With his legos. On the couch. With his plastic cups. In the sandbox. In the car. You name the place and coffee has been "made" there by Henry and offered to anyone within a five foot radius. So today, when I happened to be browsing with a friend in Constructive Playthings, I saw Henry freeze and sigh dramatically. Almost inaudibly, an "ooooooooh" escaped his lips. I turned to find what he was looking at. My friend, having been offered coffee by Henry many times, giggled and covered her mouth.

There in front of us on the shelf was the object of Henry's dreams. Smooth. Flashy. Shiny. Double AA taking. I'm not usually a fan of plastic, but I couldn't help myself. Henry's eyes got big as I reached for the box. My friend sealed the deal. "It's on sale," she spoke softly.

The doubt was erased from my mind today for the future. I will want to buy him that Ferrari.

While I was gathering lettuce...

2009-06-29T15:53:00.000-07:00

I did tell you Henry did something funny every day, right? Well, this morning I took this lovely picture of the lettuce growing in my garden. This afternoon I went outside to retrieve some lettuce leaves for a salad for dinner. I left Henry inside playing happily in the dining room. When I got back after about 45 seconds with a bunch of lettuce in one hand, I found the back door locked! There was Henry on the other side peering up at me through the glass grinning! I should also warn you that the stove was ON with dinner boiling in pots. Yikes! I shouted through the window. "Henry, did you lock the door?"

"Yes!" he yelled.

"Please unlock it!"

He smiled big and reached up high and tried to turn the lock. "Help me?"

"I can't help you! You can do it!"

He tried again and failed.

"Get your stool!"

"The big one?"

"Any stool! The big one or the little one!" He disappeared and reappeared with no stool. "The stool is in the den! Go get it!" Me smiling big and nodding. Henry looked a little nervous, but he retrieved the stool and put it up next to the door. He jiggled the doorhandle. "The lock, Henry! Turn the lock up here!" I pointed and nodded enthusiastically. Henry turned the lock and I opened the door. He was so excited that he ran around in circles, jumping around me and hugging my legs.

Lesson learned. HIDE A KEY IN THE BACKYARD!

Mommy Blog Reinstated

2009-06-29T11:36:00.001-07:00

Ok, I think I am sufficiently inspired, so we'll give the blog a go again. :) It helps that I can post via iphone when I please, too! OH...and it's been renamed. Something gaggably cutesy. What can I say? Really this blog is about our family, not just about the baby anymore, and well, "Hargis Family Blog" just sounds kinda boring. No offense to the other Hargis families who have named their blogs just that - I'm sure it's fine for them. Since I am the one writing, really I can name it whatever I like. So there it is. Mommy's Tea and Tippy Toes.

Ok, so for the family members I haven't talked to in a while, here's the scoop. I'll do my best not to make this sound like one of those campy Christmas family update letters, but I'm not promising!

1. Henry is two! He's adorable, funny, charming, mischievious, and a daddy's boy! Every day he makes me laugh. Hopefully I'll get it together to share some of the funnier stories with you.

2. I'm off for the summer! For those of you who don't know, I've been teaching a Montessori toddler class in the mornings, M-F, since last August. Teaching really must be in my blood, because even though I'm in the middle of lazy summer days, I can't seem to stop working on stuff for school. What kind of stuff? Well, for instance, I got the bug to go organize all the language material stuff and there were little objects (for letter-object matching) and puzzles and all kinds of cards all over my kitchen table for about a week. David can testify to that because I'm not really sure where we were eating dinner. And then there's circle time preparation. I'm ripping all my kids music CDs into my laptop and I'm going to go all MP3 next year with a pair of speakers in the classrooms. No more messy CDs to flip through. That's another giant project.

3. David is pretty happy at his current job, even though he's had to work some long hours recently. He's an editor for an educational software company. Don't ask me too much about exactly what he does because I really don't know! It has something to do with online courseware for Universities.

4. My summer days with Henry are pretty much spent like this. I run around the house using countertops (high surfaces!) to do a little of my school work and personal projects...sewing, tie-dyeing, making bread, etc., while Henry runs around in his new training pants playing with legos, making "coffee", playing with playdough, and participating in my endeavors. I catch up with him every twenty minutes or so and take him to the potty! He pees in the toilet and we continue with our day. I sneak outside to take out the recycling, and Henry escapes into his sandbox. I run back inside for hot tea and Henry uses his shovel to dump sand all over the yard in little piles! After about 15 trips to the potty I can't take much more pottying and neither can Henry, so I diaper him. During his afternoon nap I read The Three Musketeers on my iphone or play on the computer (like now!). The afternoon continues very much the same way, only I start preparing dinner in between playing with Henry and trying to get some housekeeping done, which I have to admit I'm not very good at keeping up with. Then eventually dinner is pretty much done and we are waiting for Daddy to get home.

4. Oh, did I forget to mention food? A huge part of my day is grabbing stuff out of the fridge and putting it in little bowls for Henry (and myself) to snack on during the day. You would be amazed at how much time this takes. I literally spend hours in the kitchen just preparing food for him to eat, and since toddlers are primarily grazers, the little bowls of food are constantly renewed with new little bits of food throughout the day.

The news of the day is Caterpillars! Henry and I found these really beautiful caterpillars on my dill in the garden. I looked them up, and I'm pretty certain they are black swallowtails! I can't believe I hadn't noticed them before. I guess they've been hiding in the dill for some time, eating away at it. They are quite large now, and I hope we will see some pupae soon. I think we have six caterpillars total.

Checking out the iPhone blogwriter

2009-05-04T19:20:00.001-07:00

So I could write something pretty short if I wanted and publish it immediately. Cool.

No zucchini for me, please.

2008-07-25T06:59:00.000-07:00

Oh, I forgot to mention - Henry is rejecting squash! last night we had ratatouille (homemade) and I cut up a bunch of zucchini for Henry. Yuck. Bite of avocado - yum! Pick up zucchini, look at it in distate, put in mouth, spit out into hand. Drop on floor. Pick up rest of zucchini off of tray and drop on floor. Sign "more" and look up expectantly! What will I do with a boy who doesn't like zucchini? David is amused. "I secretly don't really like zucchini either," he said, "I just eat it because you buy it." It's a good thing I'm the cook! Surely I can teach my boy how to eat zucchini again!

I'd like to drink some water, Dad. Please?

2008-07-25T06:53:00.000-07:00

Last night Henry went to bed at 7:30, so he woke up at 7:30 this morning. When he woke up, he rolled over, looked at David and signed "more". We said, "What do you want? Are you hungry? Then he signed "water" and pointed to my end table. We said, "Are you thirsty? Would you like water?" He signed "water" and "more" again. Finally I saw the cup of water sitting on the top of the dresser! That's what he was pointing at! So the boy drank water first thing!

Then David waved bye bye and left. For fifteen minutes afterwards, Henry would play with his blocks, then stop and say, "Dada" and wave bye bye. The boy misses his daddy!

He has learned so many new things in the past month! It’s truly amazing! We went to Chicago to see Margo and Jed (who are expecting in September) and Henry had just learned the sign “more”. As in more food, please! While on the plane, he waved bye-bye to the flight attendant for the first time, and he also is shaking his head “no”! He played the no-no game with Margo’s cat water while we were there. Cheeky munchkin! Yes, I’ve got some good pictures of our trip, and I’ll post more about Chicago next post, I promise!

Da.

2008-07-03T07:11:00.000-07:00

Henry went to bed at 8:00 last night, so no bath, we just let him sleep. He woke up at 7:00 this morning all ready to play! I was groggy. David got up and left to go shower. Henry lifted his head and said, "Da." I rolled over and tried to nurse him back to sleep, but that lasted 2 minutes - he popped up again and said, "Da-da." He looked at the door. I looked at the door. He said, "Da." I said, "Go back to sleep." He said, "Da-da" and crawled off the bed. I said, "Maybe Da-da would like to watch you while Mommy goes back to sleep." He said, "Da" and reached the door and reached up to try to get it open. I figured I was awake and he was awake - no point in sleeping any more, so I opened the door for him. He crawled right through, saying, "Da. Dada. Da." He crawled all the way through the hallway until he got to the shower where David was! David gave him a big smile and a big kiss and Henry giggled and squirmed to get to him, even though he was getting all wet. Our boy loves his daddy.

Big O...little o...What begins with O?

2008-06-28T11:38:00.000-07:00

Is this what I think it is?

2008-06-27T20:45:00.000-07:00

Yep. It is.

An awesome birthday party!

2008-06-09T09:11:00.000-07:00

Henry's birthday party was Saturday evening at 6:00, and he had a BLAST! He was one happy one year old, surrounded by friends and family. We sang happy birthday and Henry devoured his whole wheat blueberry muffin with yogurt "frosting"! Henry played with his baby friends and the adults chatted until late in the evening. Here are some pictures of the fun.

Chillin' with Uncle Devin.

Thanks for all this wrapping paper for me to eat!

Birthday cake all for ME!

The Morning After:

He played with this balloon for like 30 minutes.

An inside toy or an outside toy? You decide...we're still not sure!

One. Year. Old.

2008-06-05T20:30:00.000-07:00

I have a one year old. Not a newborn, not a little baby. A one year old. I'm in awe!

Headfirst?

2008-05-26T19:45:00.000-07:00

NOPE. BACKWARDS! Henry can climb up and climb DOWN now. Last weekend his Papa (my dad) came over and helped him practice a little, and now he's a pro! He can get down backwards off of the stairs, the bed, and the couch. Here's a little video I took today. It also shows off our nice new wool carpet (which I absolutely love). Wool is naturally antimicrobial, water resistant, and it's a soft, natural fiber. We found it on sale, and it just happens to be exactly perfect for our den.

Oh, and here's me at Whole Foods today with Henry in my latest mei tai. I love making these things. This one is the best yet - perfect amount of padding on the shoulders, soft brushed canvas for the straps, sateen yellow flowers for the panel, and super long straps, just in case David needs to use it (which, as any baby-wearing couple will tell you, is a boon). The babe made it through the entire long (and expensive) shopping trip, and this pic was taken at the end. He was kinda tired and probably ready for a nurse and a nap. See the sleepy eyes?

Climb, Henry, Climb!

2008-05-22T20:57:00.000-07:00

Henry has really taken to the slide recently. He can scale it in less than 15 seconds all by himself, and then he giggles and giggles when he gets to the top because he knows that we will slide him down - especially when David is around! H loves his "da-da" so much. He gets all excited from the moment David pulls into the driveway and wiggles and squirms to jump into his arms and play!

Here's the climbing video I took today.

Napping on Mommy

2008-05-02T21:09:00.000-07:00

Here's Henry napping in a mei tai, my favorite baby carrier. We were in San Antonio staying with my brother for a cousin's wedding. We stopped off at La Madeline's for lunch, and Henry nursed and fell asleep as I ate my salad...which was awesome (!)...but wearing him is not about being able to "get things done" while holding him. My carriers are special pieces of clothing that we wear that snuggles both of us. Why would I want to "put him down" for a nap when he can nurse to sleep and snuggle right into my chest where he feels safe and warm and loved? I love being his mommy, and I love wearing him.

I'm entering this picture in a babywearing contest (check it out at http://www.babyslingblog.com/) in honor of Mother's Day. Marni's store in Richardson, Peppermint, is an incredible resource for us DFW mommies, and for those of you who live elsewhere, please go to www.peppermint.com!

roses

2008-04-24T08:27:00.000-07:00

You could say David and I have gone rose-crazy recently. We'd love to have roses all over our yard! We keep going to nurseries and looking at them - so beautiful right now! So we decided to plant one in a planter box on the front side of our house. It's a Don Juan rose - velvety red with that classic "rose" fragrance. We're going to train it to climb up the wall. We planted it this past weekend, and look how it's blooming already! I took these pictures this morning after it stormed last night.

Henry the Squirrel

2008-04-23T12:55:00.000-07:00

So I've been really trying to keep things clean around here but every time I turn around Henry has something in his mouth! Yesterday it was a piece of plastic. Today, just now in fact, the Squirrel was crawling around the kitchen, and I swept as quickly as I could on the other side of the room. Well, I looked up after literally a couple of seconds and Henry was licking (yes, LICKING) the pile I had been sweeping together.

GROSS!!!!!!

Nature

2008-04-22T16:17:00.001-07:00

This boy loves trees. He loves wind and grass and leaves and twigs and dirt. Every day I try to take him out in the yard so he can explore. He crawls around putting things in his mouth, and I crawl after him taking those things out!

This month he also went from one tooth to eight! How's that for magic? I still think it's funny to see my baby with a mouthful of teeth!

There was an old lady....

2008-03-26T12:00:00.001-07:00

Henry's little fingers have been getting more and more dexterous. He loves picking things up with his little fingers and eating them - like what, you ask? Well, like Cheerios. Small cubes of tofu. Pieces of bread. And dangerous things. Like carpet fuzz. A small rock. A button. But this morning really takes the cake. This morning he TRIED TO EAT A FLY!!!

There was this big black fly buzzing around his room, and I saw it land on the floor. I shooed it away and forgot about it. I guess it was a dying fly, because before I could blink twice, Henry had crawled over to it and had picked it up perfectly in his thumb and forefinger, and it was on its way to his mouth! I grabbed his little baby hand so fast and shook it, but Henry was grinning at me and clutching it tighter. I had to pry his little fingers open to release it, and then off to the bathroom we went to wash hands!

More news on Phthalates....

2008-03-23T19:06:00.001-07:00

Here's why Henry gets cloth and wooden toys. Until phthalates are banned in the U.S. like they are in Europe, there is just no real way to screen for them. Everything goes in his mouth nowadays. The state of California is trying to ban them as of next January.

I highly recommend checking out the info on the NOW episode I just watched on PBS. Here's the link.

http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/412/index.html

We got SCAMMED.

2008-03-20T20:14:00.000-07:00

So David finally said, after viewing all my blurry pictures of Henry (let's just say it was an unfortunate accident!), "Just order a new one, and I saw a deal online where you can get it for a pretty good price." So I ordered it and we paid with our credit card/debit card (linked to our bank account). I got an email immediately asking to call to confirm my order, which I thought was a little weird, but ok so I called. First there was a lot of static on the line, and then I was on hold forever, and then the guy confirmed my order and tried to talk me into ordering all this stuff to go with it. He said that the camera came with a battery that only lasted for 20 minutes and that I had to get the upgrade. I refused and started questioning him, and then he tried to talk me into an extended warranty. I refused that, too, and he said that the camera was being sold on the grey market (???) and the instructions would be in Japanese! I questioned him again and he HUNG UP! I told David that I thought we were being scammed, and he had me call him back - and this time I put him on speaker. The guy answered again. I asked "Is this James?" and he said, "No he left already." But I knew it was him because it was the same voice. I said, "James hung up on me, and I have a few more questions." The guy said, "I apologize. How can I help you?" So I asked another question, and the guy started making up answers - and then David popped in and started asking questions. The phone went dead - he'd hung up AGAIN when he heard David's voice!!! So David called our bank and thankfully the order hadn't gone through, so he cancelled our bank card immediately. We could have done a stop payment, but it would have cost us $. I am SO grateful that the scammers didn't get our $. It's a bit of an inconvenience for David to be without his bank card, but at least he can use mine and we're not out several hundred dollars!

Boy do we feel stupid. After we did this, we looked them up online and tons of people have been scammed by them - and it was the same story - high sales pressure for upgrades, rude behavior, hanging up, and some people even got duped out of hundreds of dollars for no camera. Lesson learned: if you're going to buy something off the internet, make sure to GOOGLE the company name first!!!

This weather is awesome

2008-03-20T19:40:00.000-07:00

Ok, so our dryer went kaput. We had a huge rainstorm and the roof started leaking in three places. But look how beautiful it was yesterday after the storm. Henry is loving playing in the yard. He's eating less grass and doing more grabbing of grass, and he LOVES his new swing. David hung it on our fort the other day, and Henry could stay in it all day with the wind in his hair.

Woof, woof! Meow, meow!

2008-03-10T20:27:00.000-07:00

Henry isn't baby-crawling in classic cuteness 100% of the time, but it's happening more and more often! Check out the knee action!

A not-so-memorable first snow and guess what I gave the baby for breakfast

2008-03-07T09:03:00.001-08:00

I was so excited that we got a little snow here at the very end of February. I love for there to be at least one snow per year. Unlucky for us, it snowed (both times) at night, so Henry didn't get to see it. This morning we had just a smudge of snow on the ground, so I bundled him up in a snowsuit and plopped him down on the ground on the snowiest part and took his picture! It didn't turn out so well. He lay very still and gave me this look like "Uh, Mom? This is not so fun." Oh, well.

Back in we went and he happily crawled around the kitchen while I ate breakfast and started mixing the ingredients for bread - a "Sunflower-Millet Bread" recipe I've never tried before. I found the sunflower seeds and cooked the millet...except that after the millet was done, I looked inside the pot and realized that I had cooked quinoa instead! So I guess it will be a Sunflower Quinoa bread! Well, I thought since I had just cooked this lovely grain, I might as well give a little to Henry to try, seeing as quinoa is so nice and nutritious, loaded with protein, and I don't make it very often. I put about a tablespoonful in a little bowl and plopped him in his high chair. Then I did something that Henry's Daddy hates - because it usually leads to a mess. I let Henry reach in with his fingers and feed himself the quinoa straight up - I didn't puree it or grind it or anything. Henry loved it. He reached in and sucked it off his fingers. Then some of the quinoa fell of of his tray and onto the floor. It made a nice bouncing sound, so he took both hands and whapped his tray so more quinoa would fall on the floor and go splat all over! I think he may have ingested about a teaspoon. The rest is still all over his tray and on the floor in the dining room. I thought it might be easier to clean if I let it dry first - and then maybe I can sweep it up without it sticking. I'm a little afraid to go back in there!

I know - it sounds crazy...but I really do believe in the value of self-feeding, even though it makes a giant mess. It gives Henry finger muscle practice. It lets him feel the texture of small, wet, or sticky things in a safe way (as in - it's not mud or grass!). And it's fun for him.

Henry's first caucus

2008-03-05T15:02:00.000-08:00

So last night we went to vote and we stayed for the caucus. It was a total mess. It seemed like everyone came out of the woodwork for this, and nobody knew what to do. The person organizing was just not very helpful. She didn't explain anything about the process and people were all confused. Still, I'm really glad that we stayed. Not only did I get to vote for Obama, I got to vote for him twice! Henry was as good as gold during the whole thing.

The other day it snowed. It didn't stick here, though, and I was a little disappointed. I would have liked for Henry to see his first snowy day, and maybe taste a snowflake. Here are a couple of pictures of Henry enjoying the flowers in our yard the day before. He was fascinated with all the weeds. We couldn't even get him to smile - he was too absorbed what he was doing. I can't wait until it really warms up and I can let him crawl all over the grass. He loves being outside.

Go vote!

2008-03-04T08:58:00.000-08:00

Now that I've plugged the election, I'll supply you with a few pics. It is his 9 month birthday, after all!

Napping with Grammy...

What can I say? Boys and drums...

Hanging out with Great-Grandma and Nana...

A ride on Daddy's back...

What a life, huh?

Funny behavior

2008-02-01T19:40:00.000-08:00

Henry threw a little fit the last time I changed his diaper. Waa, WAA, WAAAH louder and louder - screaming as loud as he could! I pulled him close for a nurse, and he nursed a little and then screeched again intentionally so he could hear himself, fists clenched, mouth wide open, cheeks puckered. Clover (my cat) came into his room to see what was the matter and Henry froze. Clover came up and sniffed his nose and licked his forehead. Henry smiled and just watched, all happy and relaxed. Clover swished his tail and purred really close to Henry's head. Henry didn't move a muscle. When Clover sat down after a few minutes, Henry sighed contentedly and turned around to finish nursing.

Henry has also become obsessed with baskets, doors, and the dishwasher. He is getting frustrated easily because (I think) he wants to pull himself up so badly. When I unload the dishwasher, he crawls over as fast as he can and tries to pull up onto it. When I try to change his diaper, he's learned that he can roll over and crawl away! Diaper changes have become quite a game!

Eyes that melt your heart...

2008-02-01T19:34:00.000-08:00

What color do you think they are?

babysitting

2008-01-14T18:48:00.000-08:00

Henry is finally sitting unsupported now. Today I let him play in the leaves again and he sat by himself for several minutes before toppling over! Here he is sitting up in a high chair at a restaurant. He loved playing with his toys while sitting in the chair. We had to keep a hand out, though, because he sure does love to drop them!

Leaf Happiness

2008-01-11T16:56:00.000-08:00

Today Henry and I went on a nice long walk around the neighborhood. He slept for the first half and then was awake enjoying the wind for the second half. After we got back it was so pretty outside that I took a blanket and put it on the grass out in the middle of the yard. Henry crawled off it immediately and played with the leaves and pulled and batted at the grass (and tasted it). We walked around the yard smelling and enjoying everything. We ended up back on the grass with the leaves. I sat him down and he sat up and played with the leaves and tried to eat them. I picked up some leaves and threw them up in the air over his head and he giggled. Then he had a giggling fit. I kept pushing leaves around him and throwing them in the air and he kept giggling hysterically. It was soooooo cute!

Henry's New Favorite Toy

2008-01-11T14:38:00.000-08:00

Yup.

Beware, Maury!

1234 tell me that you love me more...

2008-01-10T15:23:00.000-08:00

Thanks to the good folks in Eddy, we have a nice big high chair for when we're ready to start solids (nope, we haven't yet!), but...we were at IKEA the other day and saw this cute little one that we couldn't resist. It's the "cooking" with Mommy chair, and it's the perfect size to keep in our small kitchen area. When I'm cooking dinner, he sits up nice and high next to me and practices dropping his toys everywhere. He thinks this is the most fun game ever.

Here's how you play:

Mommy chops 1/2 onion.

Mommy picks up toy.

Mommy chops the other half of the onion.

Mommy picks up toy.

Mommy picks up toy on the way to the refrigerator.

Mommy picks up toy on the way back to the cutting board.

Mommy is tired of picking up toys and gives baby a new toy handy from the counter.

Mommy chops carrot and picks up both old toy and new toy off floor...

See? FUN!

We've moved!

2008-01-09T12:25:00.001-08:00

Yes, we are now the owners of a house in the Lochwood neighborhood in Dallas. It's a mess around here with half-unpacked boxes galore! Somehow we are managing to feed ourselves and play with the babe as we slowly shift miscellaneous items from room to room.

The neighborhood here is awesome - I'm really so happy! Our next door neighbor actually baked us a cake and brought it over in the evening right out of the oven. So yeah, we had some before bed and the rest for breakfast! So much for after-holiday diets. Henry is loving his new hardwood floors. My father and darling husband refinished them for us. It took a week and they were both completely exhausted...but they look beautiful. I'll take pictures for you for my next post. For now, enjoy this happy boy:

Ah....life with baby!

2007-12-08T06:17:00.000-08:00

Last night a 6 month old Henry went to sleep at 9:30 or so. I nursed him to sleep on the couch. Usually by that time, he is out for the night. David got in bed, and I set Henry down in the middle and cuddled up to him. Eyes flickered open! Sometimes this happens and David makes silly faces at him for a couple of minutes before we turn out the light and I nurse him back to sleep. So David made silly faces and Henry made silly faces back. David said, "Shhhh..." and Henry said, "Amabababaeeeeeeeee!" David patted Henry's head, and Henry batted at his hand. David turned out the light and Henry cranned his head to see David's iphone glowing in the dark. David swoooshed the iphone over Henry's head and Henry giggled and cooed. Finally I leaned over and got Henry in a nursing position and David turned off his iphone. Henry started to cry. "Waa, waa, waa!" Arms flailed furiously. Wouldn't nurse. Legs kicked and kicked. "Waa, waa, waa!" David turned on the light. Henry stopped crying and his mouth formed a big happy smile. "Weeeeeeebababadamama!" he said. David and I looked at each other and sighed. Guess it wasn't bedtime yet! We played with Henry in bed (which is a big baby-book no-no just before bedtime) for about 20 minutes. Finally his arms stopped batting. He rubbed his little eyes and I put him back down to nurse him back to sleep. This time he stayed asleep. Lucky us!

"I'm gonna eat that book!"

"So this is the crib I don't sleep in!"

"Happy Thanksgiving!"

"What are we doing, Mom? It's bedtime. What's a Christmas tree and why are we going to get one?"

"That Christmas parade was exhausting!"

Bababagoobababamamamabababa...

2007-11-15T14:11:00.000-08:00

That's what you would hear if you saw Henry today! Last weekend he was really working hard on saying "ah-mama...mom...ah-mamamama". He would silently open and close his mouth while looking at us with furrowed brows. This Tuesday we had a language explosion! He woke up and said, "Bababa!" He's been talking to me for the past three days non-stop. I just love hearing him babble!

This past weekend, some exciting things happened for all of us! Nana and Pops and Great Grandma came to visit to see Henry. Poor Henry was sick with a cold, but that didn't stop him from giggling and giving smiles to everyone! We had a nice lunch, and then David and Pat went to the annual motorcycle show at the convention center downtown while Linda and Wilma drove to Blue Ridge to see some old friends. When they got back, Henry tried on his new onesie, shown here in this picture. It says, "That was my Grandpa who just passed you!"

Great Grandma, Nana, Pops, and Henry!

I love you, Great Grandma!

I'm gonna get that toy!

Happy Halloween!

2007-10-31T20:34:00.000-07:00

Henry's first Halloween! We had a big day. Henry woke up at 9:30 and I whisked him into the car to go to Itsy Bitsy Yoga for the Halloween party. You can imagine...about 15-20 babies all dressed in costumes. We put them on the floor in a circle and took pictures from above. It was soooooo cute! Henry wore his Halloween jammies (a present from Nana). After the picture taking, we celebrated with cake for the mommies. After yoga, we dropped by St. James to hang out with the elementary kiddos at their party. Henry was super tired, but he hung in there and gave people smiles anyway. We got home and took a nice long nap after that!

In the evening, Grandma and Papa came to visit and we carved pumpkins and waited for trick-or-treaters at home. We didn't get many trick-or-treaters, but we did have lots of fun! Henry learned how to make a click-clock noise with his tongue! Silly baby.

The Henry Fan Club

2007-10-25T08:27:00.000-07:00

Dear All,

I have started taking lots of little video clips of Henry as he completes milestones and sending them to friends and relatives....but I haven't been consistent on who I'm sending them to! SO I'm starting a Henry Fan Club (email list) that I will use to send short 1-2 minute videos (via Google Video) of Henry as he grows up. If you would like to be in the Fan Club, please email me at aubreyhargis@gmail.com, and I will make sure you are included! Likewise, if you have found yourself inadverdently in the Fan Club and would like yourself removed from the list, please let me know. I don't want anyone's email box cluttered with "Oh, yet another video of the baby?" So please let me know!

Thanks!
Aubrey

Henry, Henry, Pumpkin Eater

2007-10-24T19:44:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we took Henry to the Dallas Arboretum to look at their pretty pumpkin patch and take pictures. It was a beautiful day! Henry tasted his first pumpkin (as Mommy cringed...but let him), and we all enjoyed the beautiful weather. Henry is now rotating 360 degrees counter clockwise on his tummy, and he is scooting just the tiniest bit forward by scrunching up his legs and thrusting them out in front of him. He is going to be crawling before we know it.

Henry also had some fun playing airplane and "Six Flags" with his Papa. What a joy he is! I love four months old. It can't get better than this, can it?

Wheeeeeeeee!!!!!

Relaxing with Daddy. What a long day for a baby! He's ready for a nap!

Gremmlers Visit Henry!

2007-10-17T09:57:00.000-07:00

What do jello wrestling, advertising, and the zoo all have in common? Margo, of course!

This past weekend was really fun - my old college roommate Margo and her wonderful hubby Jed came to visit Henry! They flew from Chicago and arrived on Friday evening. It was nice and relaxing. We really got a lot of time to hang out and talk. Then Saturday afternoon, we took the DART to the Dallas Zoo. Henry's first zoo visit! David carried Henry in the Baby Bjorn almost the whole time. Henry saw tigers and elephants and gorillas and then took a long nap in his Daddy's arms. Gremmlers, please come visit us again, and we look forward to visiting you in Chicago, someday!

Fun at the Fair

2007-10-16T07:33:00.000-07:00

Henry got to go to the State Fair of Texas twice. Once with Grandma and Papa and once with Nana and Pops! We cruised the cool new cars, we got free ice cream, we saw dinosaur footprints, and we saw a hot air balloon filled with farm animals...made out of butter!

Smaller than a dinosaur foot...
Grandma and Henry eating Fair Food....

Here are Nana and Henry looking at cars....

Henry also had his first Merry-Go-Round ride!

He loved the whole thing...well, to be honest, he found it very stimulating watching the colors whirr by - right up until the merry go round stopped. What a shock! He burst into tears!

Ok this is just too hilarious to keep to myself!

2007-10-08T19:18:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I'm on this birth club online - it started out on Pregnancy Weekly, but the June '07 group quickly moved to a private message board site. We're a pretty close-knit web group...maybe 20 people or so whose babies were all born in June. If I didn't "show up" for several days, they would worry about me, so I try to check in at least every other day. It's like World of Warcraft for women, I tell my husband. We share photographs of our babies growing up, ask each other questions, and just generally have baby-related conversation. Well, someone on the birth

club started a new post - what stories are you reading to your baby?

Everyone wrote in the books they were reading - Goodnight Moon, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, etc. I responded and wrote in that I read Henry The Owl and the Pussycat by Edward Lear. The funny thing is that after I posted my response, the website automatically changed pussy to "vagina" (non-offensive, I guess!) so everyone read my post as "The Owl and the Vaginacat"!!!

"The owl and the vaginacat went to sea in a beautiful pea green boat.

They took some honey and plenty of money wrapped up in a five pound note.

The owl looked up to the stars above and sang to a small guitar,

Oh lovely vagina! Oh vagina my love! What a beautiful vagina you are, you are!

What a beautiful vagina you are!"

Call it immature if you like - I laughed so hard I cried! ROTFLMFAO

A cut, a run, and three birthdays!

2007-09-23T20:11:00.000-07:00

Ok, first things first. Daddy got a new job! Hooray for Daddy! Now the big news: Daddy cut his hair! Yes, it was a stipulation of the new job, and Henry and I went for the viewing. Our wonderful hairstylist, Shea, did the chopping of the ponytail, and I kept it. I thought at first that we might want to have someone make a toy out of it for Henry (yes, I really did - and there is someone who does that in Dallas if you can believe it), but now I think we might donate it to Locks of Love. A better cause, no? It's in our car. It's very weird and...organic feeling now that it's off of David's head. David keeps opening the glovebox and asking what is wrapped up in that piece of cloth and OH yeah. The Hair. So I've really got to get on the Locks of Love thing and ship it off! So no more hair play for Henry until he's a little older and he can reach my hair a little better. I probably won't think it's so cute then.

Speaking of cute, here's cute:

So last weekend was the Sherman Arts Fest, and we "ran" the 5K with Henry. Henry's first run! Here's a pic of us slowly getting going...after everyone else has gotten a good two block head start! I have always loved the Sherman Arts Fest - it's definitely a small town thing. A high school girl sang the national anthem, the high school band and choir played and sang, and after the run, there was a teddy bear parade. It was so cute! The drum line lead the march, and the toddlers followed clutching their teddy bears. So the run: we ran the first two blocks together - David, my mother, and I, trying to catch up to the walkers at the end. My father raced on ahead - to win! Well, after a diaper change, those walkers were WAAAAAY up ahead - like tiny dots on the horizon, so we decided to cheat, and we cut through a side street. I think it cut off half a mile. Henry made it about a mile and a half before fussing and wanting out of the jogger, so we carried him the last mile to the finish line. Just as we were making our way down the last block, the first 15Kers raced in. My father had time to finish, have a little snack, and walk back to meet us. We hung out for the results of the run, of course, and my dad won first place! Here is Henry napping while my dad got his medal. I did mention three birthdays, right? Mine was yesterday, David's is next weekend, and Henry's four month birthday is Oct. 4th! Happy birthday to us! What? You want more pictures? Ok, per request, here is one more of the babe in honor of his upcoming birthday. The almost four months old center of the universe:

Roll Over, Beethoven!

2007-09-12T12:17:00.000-07:00

Not sure where I'm going here...There, that feels better!

If you looked like this...

2007-09-07T15:25:00.000-07:00

...then Henry would love you! The other morning David and I were in bed awake and gazing at the babe. The babe gazed back at us and smiled. Then the babe reached up for a stretch, and his little fingers caught something next to Daddy's face. HAIR! The babe started squealing and reaching frantically over and over for more hair. Forget all those expensive rattles and bells and stuffed animals....all you really need is hair! Long, shiny hair...big, beautiful hair!

Yup, the boy is growing

2007-09-05T07:53:00.000-07:00

How our little Henry is growing! Has it really been three months already? Have I really only had him for three months? I don't know which way to feel. One one hand, it seems like the weeks are flying by. On the other hand, I really can't imagine what I did without him! I miss that scrunchy little newborn face, but I don't wish Henry were like that now. I love him just as he is.

I love my toy hanger!

2007-08-15T12:11:00.001-07:00


I'm sure this will be exciting for everyone...

I love my dolly!

2007-08-14T09:54:00.000-07:00

My mother and I bought Henry his first doll. Finding a doll for a boy is not easy - they're all pink and girly! I would like him to have a nice cloth boy doll someday. However, for now we settled on this happy little pink frilly dolly. Her head rattles, her arms crinkle, and Henry LOVES her! He gazes intently at her face and reaches out to touch her.

Growth Spurt?

2007-08-11T11:28:00.000-07:00

Henry has been very fussy for the past two days. David suggested that maybe he is going through a growth spurt. Well, after a morning of crying off and on, just when I was sure he needed a long nap, he became very alert and happy. My mother was visiting, and we put him on the floor under a toy hanger (thank you, Lisa!). We hung extra toys from it so he could see them better, and lo and behold, Henry started to bat at them! His movements are very uncoordinated, and at first it looked like he was just hitting them by chance, flailing his arms around...but then he got this "listening" look on his face after he swug a toy around and he heard the rattle inside. Then he started doing batting them with both arms one after another. I am certain it was on purpose! So here is a picture of him in mid-bat!

My poor baby...

2007-08-08T08:30:00.001-07:00

Ok so Henry had his shots at noon and he woke up at 4:30 pm in hysterics! I was prepared for "fussy" but I wasn't prepared for this! It was the saddest crying I have ever heard him make - much worse than even the colic screaming. It was like a loud whimper (if that makes sense) or like a hurt animal yowling in pain. My cats got all upset and ran around the house wide-eyed, and then they ran up and sniffed Henry and kept trying to nuzzle me while I held him. I think they knew that this cry was different. It was awful. I rocked, sang, bounced, and nothing helped - he couldn't even nurse. I gave him another dose of Tylenol and rocked him and sang lullabies to him until he finally nodded off an hour later.

He slept until 10:00, woke up and nursed, and was awake...but I couldn't tell he still wasn't very happy. I didn't give him any more tylenol because he didn't cry again after that. He wouldn't go to bed with me, though. I sat in the rocking chair until 5:00am and finally he let me crawl into bed next to him. We slept for a couple of hours before he woke up....bright and happy, ready for the day! Me? Groggy and grumpy!

No itsy bitsy yoga for US today.

2 Month Doctor's Visit

2007-08-07T13:35:00.000-07:00

This morning was Henry's 2 month appointment, and I was SUPER nervous because... #1 we've known he's had jaundice and even though we've been watching him get pinker week by week, I was just certain that the doctor was going to say that he looked too yellow and we'd have to go back on formula. #2 vaccinations and shots make me nervous - I just hate that it hurts them and I am a little suspicious of side effects.

So here's the news:

1. NOBODY commented about the jaundice. I didn't bring it up (because I'm a wuss!), and the doctor and nurses didn't either! That must mean that he looks pink enough to not worry about it anymore. Great BIG sigh of relief!

2. He gained over 4 pounds in the last 2 months, and they were all happy with that. He weighs 9 lbs, 8 oz. He's in the 10th percentile for weight, but he was such a little baby at birth that they said it was normal.

3. He grew a lot in length! They measured him at 22 1/2in for length, which bumped him up into the 25th percentile. Yay Henry!

4. His head was fine. It measured 38 cm around and he's in the 10th percentile for that, too.

5. They were all very impressed at how alert and happy he looked. His reflexes were also very normal. So...hooray - all happy news.

He took his vaccinations just fine, and he only cried a little bit. Now we're home and he's sleeping it off. I hope he takes a nice, long nap because it was pretty exhausting. I might go nap with him!

Oh, Henry! We do love you!

2007-08-04T22:42:00.001-07:00

This weekend we took at trip to visit Nana and Pops (David's mom & dad) and the Hargis side relatives and a multitude of Eddyites! Henry was in an unbelievably good mood the whole time - really no fussing at all, even when passed from stranger to stranger cooing at him. He is just a different baby recently. All that colicky fussing in the evenings has become just a little fussiness - not screaming crying anymore. He is pretty easily calmed by nursing, bouncing, or a diaper change...and he has become very happy baby. It's not just in the morning that he interacts with us. Throughout the day he smiles and plays and listens to sounds. He especially loves the sound of a bell ringing.

Anyway, it was his 2 month old birthday yesterday, and Nana and Pops had a birthday cake for him and Oh, Henry!'s as party favors for the guests. 6-year-old second cousin Jaden asked me with a funny look on his face if Henry even eats cake. I said, "No, just milk." He laughed and shouted, "Milk for Henry's birthday!"

Where do you find an Oh, Henry! anymore anyway? Nana had to order them online. I haven't seen one in the store in years.

Mommy & Daddy time

2007-07-30T10:02:00.000-07:00

Henry loves to play in the morning with his daddy before he has to go to work. David makes funny noises and bounces him in the air and tickles him, and Henry just coos and giggles. He never smiles that much for me - I guess mommies are for cuddling and nursing and comfort, but daddies are for fun! Here are David and Henry at our favorite Indian-inspired vegetarian food at Kalachandji's, the Hare Krishna Temple in Dallas.

And here is Henry cuddling with Mommy outside.

Smiles and Cooing

2007-07-28T10:56:00.000-07:00

It's so cute. Here is our first picture of Henry smiling. It's so hard to catch on camera because the smiles come and go so quickly! Oh, and Linda L., the blanket you gave us is so wonderful! We use it every day.

We got kicked out of our first class...

2007-07-28T10:54:00.001-07:00

Ok, so here's the story...

At 7 weeks old, Henry and I went to Itsy Bitsy Yoga at the Pea in the Pod store on Wednesday morning. It's a free class, and there were babies in there all the way from 1 month to 5 months. Lots of mommies, tiny room. All the other babies were on the floor on their blankets cooing and happy. Mommies were talking to the babies and smiling at them - everyone was having a great time...except for us! Henry and I just got through the introductions before he started screaming. I calmed him down for a bit, but then the class started for real (the yoga chanting and giggling babies) and he started to scream again.

The instructor looked at me and said, "Um, you can take him outside if you can't calm him down." I was so embarrassed! I just felt like the bad mom who couldn't calm down her baby. Henry and I walked around the store, and he just WOULDN'T calm down! He was having one of his colicky fits where nothing helped; he just screamed and screamed! The store employees were frowning at me and pregnant women avoiding us. We finally found a "lounge" room and he let me nurse him for comfort. Finally he fell asleep and we went back to class. Henry slept. The class went on for 5 minutes and was over, and we slunk out of there. Nobody talked to me. They all kinda looked at me as I left like "Oh that poor mom..."

3 weeks old!

2007-06-27T18:32:00.000-07:00

Time is a blur! I think I may have slept a total of 15 hours since his birth, and that would be exaggerating! Our darling boy is doing great - looking chubbier and more like a "baby" and less like a "newborn" every day. Right now Daddy is holding him while he sleeps. No rest for the weary, though - we're about to wake him up so he can eat!

Check this out. Too cute.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuNvVNCtOE4&mode=related&search=

Sorry. I just checked back, and the link isn't working. It was a youtube video of Herman's Hermits singing Henry the 8th! I sing that song to him all the time.

Henry's Birth Story

2007-06-13T06:35:00.000-07:00

Here goes… At my 35 week appt, I was measuring 1 cm dilated. At my 36 week appt., I was 2 cm dilated, and at 37 weeks, I was 3+ cm dilated, 50% effaced, and at -3 station. Henry was still completely breech, and to be honest, I had this feeling he wasn’t going to turn, despite my bat-like efforts and chiropractic visits. At that appointment, my OB said, “Um, you’re not going to make it to your scheduled c-section at 39 weeks. You’re dilating too fast to be a 40+ weeker. In fact, I would make sure your hospital bag is packed because he is coming SOON and you might not make it to your 38 appt with me.” It seemed like almost everyone that I told that to (except my family, who was super excited) said, “You think he’ll be here soon? Yeah, right. Doctors are always wrong. You’ll probably be pregnant for another month.” But…I just knew my body was ready. That week I had a lot of early labor symptoms, including frenzied energy. The day before his birth, I mopped the kitchen floor 3 times! I just felt different.

On Monday, 38 weeks, 1 day, I finished up ALL my thank-you cards, wrote down addresses on labels for birth announcements, met up with my husband for lunch, had a looooong phone call with my friend who has been TTC for years and just found out she was pregnant, and then crashed for an hour long nap. David came home with groceries (good hubby!) and we ate guacamole with chips and a frozen burrito for dinner. Halfway through my burrito, my water broke! I was wondering all that time if I would recognize it if it happened, but when it did, the warm gush was unmistakable. David grabbed a few items, and we were off to the hospital, knowing that I would likely have my c-section within a few hours if not sooner. On the way we called our parents, and they got in their cars and drove right to the hospital.

When we got to the hospital and walked to Labor & Delivery, I was really gushing. I had filled out all the pre-admission information stuff online, and they were still having us fill out paperwork at the desk! We went back with someone to finish the paperwork and I stood standing (feeling VERY wet), while David sat down in one of the chairs. The woman looked at me as though I was crazy to be still standing and said, “Please sit down. Is there a problem?” I said, “My water broke, and I’m really gushing.” She said, “Hm. This must be your first. It’s fine. Sit down.” So I sat down on the cloth chair gingerly and signed paper after paper. My shorts were soaked. Now I know how dirty those chairs must be! Finally, we were done and they took me back to a room that would be my recovery room after the surgery. A really nice nurse named Jenny took very good care of me – she was young and sweet and blonde. She checked me for contractions – nothing – and then called my doctor. Unfortunately, my OB was not on duty, so I got another doctor in the practice. I really wish it had been mine, but this doctor was very nice as well. I told them about my severe formaldehyde allergy (which includes basically all adhesives except for paper tape), and they promised to do their best.

They put in my epidural, and I know a lot of people love the feeling of going numb, no pain, etc, but I absolutely hated it. Every time I felt the coolness go down the tube into my back, I got the shakes horribly. My teeth chattered, and I started getting light headed and dizzy. Believe me I would take all the pain of natural childbirth – that epi was awful. The rest went very, very quickly. David got outfitted into his scrubs (and he was so cute in them!), they wheeled me into the operating room, prepped me, adjusted the light/mirror so I could see (yes, I asked), and Henry James Alexander Hargis was born at 10:15pm. He weighed 5 lbs, 13 oz. Such a tiny baby! I was not expecting him to be so small. I cried in the operating room when they showed him to me. It was so surreal – like watching a birth on TV of another baby. I couldn’t believe that he was mine.

He didn’t need oxygen, but he was “grunting” from the fluid in his lungs, so they took him to the nursery right away for observation. Although immediate mother-baby bonding was very, very important to me, it was just as well that they took him then rather than later. I was feeling really awful from all those drugs and I really did use the time to recover in the recovery room. I know now that there is no way I could have tried breastfeeding all drugged up like that. They took me into the private room upstairs after an hour, and I waited for my baby. I finally got him for good at 3:00am. The next few days in the hospital are now a blur. I don’t think I slept much, but I don’t remember feeling sleepy either. The adhesive that they used during surgery resulted in a HUGE rash-burn in a semi-circle around the incision area. They were just applying a regular hydrocortizone to it twice a day, and it was doing nothing. When I came to my wits a few days later, I begged for something stronger, and they gave me something else very mildy stronger. Finally, on the 3rd day, I talked to the doctor checking on me (from my OB's office) and he agreed that the rash was severe and prescribed me the strongest topical steroid cream to take down the inflammation. It's finally starting to subside. I was pretty mad that they didn't take my formaldehyde allergy seriously. My OB said, “Now we know if this happens next time.”

He lost a lot of weight in the first 3 days – down to 5 lbs, 3 oz, and the pediatrician said I needed to supplement with formula. I know that babies lose weight the first week, but they were concerned because he was so little to begin with. I hated doing that – my milk still hadn’t come in, and my colostrum wasn’t enough to help him gain weight. I started pumping every 3 hours to get my milk to come in. It finally did come in by Friday, the day we got to come home, but after eating all that formula, Henry wasn’t nursing very well. I was so relieved when we took him to the pediatrician on Saturday morning and she said that he weighed 5 lbs 8 oz and we could go off the formula! Since then, he has been a happy, nursin’ baby!

It was not in any way my ideal natural childbirth...a lot happened that I hadn't anticipated, and yet I just don't care! All I can think about is how much I adore him.

Henry James Alexander Hargis

2007-06-10T17:59:00.000-07:00

Born at 10:17p.m. on June 4, 2007.
Weight: 5 lbs 13 oz
Length: 19 inches

Here are some pictures of me, David, and Henry the first few days after his birth. He is almost a week old, and we can't believe it.

37 weeks, 4 days

2007-05-31T19:21:00.000-07:00

We went to Flag Pole Hill to take a few pictures before I go into labor.

whiny moms

2007-05-31T12:15:00.000-07:00

When anyone already a mother asks me when I'm due and I say "June", they say "June what?" and I say, "Well, the due date is June 17th, but I'm already dilating, so my doctor thinks he could be ready to come any day now...so I'm prepared for him to come sooner. It's exciting."
The mom inevitably rolls her eyes and says nastily, "Well, don't count on THAT. Doctors tell you whatever you want to hear. I (or my friend) was dilated for ___cm for ____WEEKS. You probably have like a MONTH left before you go into labor!"

Uh, did I say I cared when he would be here? Tomorrow or in a few weeks...either way is SOON. Oh, and when I mention that it will most likely be a scheduled c-section before the due date unfortunately because he's breech, they look at me as though I'm not trying hard enough to WILL his head downward, and they say, "Well, I'm sure that if you just _____________(insert lie upside down, burn matches on your toes, play music for him, shine a flashlight in there, wait long enough, eat certain foods, use acupuncture, etc.) he'll turn right around.

I guess people are just trying to be helpful, but it seems to me that a lot of them are VERY resentful of how long it took for their babies to come out! Someone else told me that I wasn't miserable enough to go into labor! "Pregnant women who are due soon are miserable, and you still look happy." Thanks.

Maybe I should change my response to "I'm due June 17th, but you know babies...it could be July or even August!"

I have officially entered

2007-05-23T16:10:00.000-07:00

The NINTH MONTH! 36 weeks now, and I really don't have too many complaints, other than the usual - sleeplessness, heartburn, joint inflammation, fatigue, etc. Today was my last day of school with kids, and it wasn't a real school day at all. The kids showed up in the morning, and my coteacher Stephanie and I looked the other way while they played around on the computer and got out the blocks on the floor and socialized with each other. Then at 9:00 we made our way to the church for graduation. I read the names of our first graders and a couple of their accomplishments, and I have to say I am very proud that I did it without fainting! Yes, lightheadedness seems to come and go these days, too. Usually the last day of school is all full of emotion for me - I get so attached to the kids during the school year, that I always cry when it comes to an end. This year, though, I'm just glad it's over. I can't wait to stay home on the couch and rest for a little while before Henry makes his grand debut. Most of our kids are coming back in August, so I'll see them next year anyway. That's a big plus for working at a multiage Montessori school.

Went to the chiropractor again today to loosen up those ligaments and see if Henry will turn over...and this time it really hurt like hell. The chiro said that all the ligaments were super tight, close to the surface, and felt like a "wall" (as opposed to the last several times when they've been getting loose). I don't know if the ligaments loosened or not, but I'm pretty sore! I have one more chiro session on Friday before we give it all up to fate. I guess if little Henry wants a cesarean, that's how he'll be born. It doesn't seem fair that I am probably going to have to have surgery to do what my body should be doing naturally. :( Wah! I'm really hoping that I'll go into labor on my own before the scheduled c-sec so that he gets a shot of hormones to prepare him for entrance into the world. I read that cesarean babies do better with lung development if they experience a little labor first.

Oh, here's something funny... So the other day David and I are at Half Price Books, and I'm in the baby section (of course), and I see the book, Runner's World: Pregnancy. I open it up to the "ninth month" section and I read, "There's no reason to cut down on your running this month. Because of the baby's position deep in your pelvis, you may simply find yourself shuffling a bit on your daily runs." Ok, so because of all the pressure and fatigue, I can barely walk around the block right now, much less jog! Kudos to the women who can do that! Honestly, I think you'd have to be a little bit crazy.

Breech

2007-05-17T17:07:00.000-07:00

Ok, so my OB gave me the phone number of a chiropractor that she trusts who works with pregnancy. She didn't know if he did anything for breech, but I called and guess what - he does! He could get me in IMMEDIATELY. Thankfully, my students were all on a camp-out with the other teachers, so for the three days they've been gone, I've been filling up my days with appointments with pediatricians, etc. So anyway, I dashed off from school to meet with the chiropractor, and he said he does the Webster technique. I have to admit that it was pretty doggone painful....a good preparation for natural labor! I did deep breathing and handled it ok. He adjusted my sacrum from the back and then applied deep pressure to a particular ligament near my pelvic bone. I've never been to a chiropractor before, so this was totally new experience for me. I do have to say though, that Henry has ALWAYS been on my right side this whole time (and I think it's because of my mild scoliosis), and yesterday after the appointment was the first time I felt him shift his body to the left. I think that's a good sign. I'm supposed to go in every other day until 1. he turns or 2. the chiropractor feels that he ligaments are good and loose and the breech must be some other problem. Yes, I'm also doing the inversion stuff (laying with my butt up in the air - which is so not easy to do for the full 20 minutes several times a day). The chiropractor said that the success rate with the Webster technique is 80% positive. My fingers are crossed.

So at my next OB appointment, now that I have had another sono verifying that he is indeed head up, I think they will schedule me for a c-section. I'm already 1 cm dialated, and as everyone keep telling me, you can walk around dialated for several weeks...but my OB has the feeling that Henry will come a little early - maybe at 38 weeks (at the very least without induction before 40 weeks), and I have to say that I actually think I will be ready! I really don't want a c-section...I know - either way, he'll come out a happy, healthy baby boy...but I am really hoping he will turn around so that I can try the natural childbirth on my own.

Finding a pediatrician

2007-05-16T16:52:00.000-07:00

We interviewed 2 pediatricians this week. The first one really turned both of us off. She acted like we were wasting her time with our questions, and she only looked at me - she acted like David wasn't in the room at ALL and I was the one having the baby by myself! She also didn't shake our hands or introduce herself, and she was just a bit condescending with her answers. We were so turned off that I was really depressed - I don't expect my pediatrician to agree with all of my parenting decisions, but I do expect him/her to act like he/she loves children and is looking forward to a relationship with me. Also, their office staff didn't acknowledge us at all (just took the sign-in slip through the window without looking at us), and I got a bad vibe on the phone when I was making the appointment. I left feeling like we might never find a pediatrician we liked.

When I called for an appointment with the pediatrician we saw today, the secretary was soooo friendly on the phone "do you know what you're having? Let me tell you how to get here," etc. When we went into their office today, it was the same. The staff was all laughing with each other and we were greeted personally by 4 people who were walking past and saw us waiting. They gave us a bunch of pamphlets on breastfeeding and newborns, and the pediatrician was chatty and so nice! She looked right at David and included him in every answer, and she talked about how much she loved children and gave us some "new parent" advice that worked for her when she had her own children. We both left feeling like we made a new friend for our baby. What a relief!

The kids gave me a shower!

2007-05-12T11:06:00.000-07:00

Well, last week I had my work shower from the kiddos at our school! It was so cute. They came in that morning and said, "Uh, are we having our spelling test today?" I said, "Of course." They looked at me really weird and said, "Uh, are you sure?" I thought that was funny. Then there was cake in the fridge, and I didn't make the connection at first, but later thought...oh, something's up today!We went to chapel first (we're an Episcopal Montessori school), and all the kids were giving me these strange, "knowing" looks, so I knew something was up! The music teacher had us practice some extra hymns...and then they led me to our cafeteria, and everything was all decorated by some of their parents!

The kids all surrounded me and hugged my belly and talked to Henry. I'll post a picture of the cake - Peter Rabbit theme. It was adorable. We played the "measure mommy's belly" game, so they all got to come up and see if their piece of tape fit. They also all participated in writing a book for me..."Mrs. Aubrey's Baby Book of Things You Should Know." Here are some examples of the pages. That's what I'm looking at in one of the pictures.

"The best way to take care of your baby is to not drop him."
"The most important thing you should know is your baby's name."
"The best way to take care of your baby is to feed him, clean him, and share him with your husband."
"The most important thing you should know is that your baby will cry A LOT!"

"The best way to take care of your baby is to not leave him with people that you don't know."

"The most important thing you should teach Henry is how to love. Teach him not to hit and stuff."

"The best way to take care of your baby is to not leave him at a store...make sure he's with you!"

"The reason you will be a good mom is I'm sure you will let Henry stay up sometimes!"

...and my favorite (this one made it all around the school)...

"The best way to take care of your baby is breast pumps!" Kids are hilarious.

2007-04-29T05:28:00.000-07:00

Oh, so the hospital update! The Margot Perot Center part of Presbyterian hospital was really nice, and I really enjoyed our tour. I have to admit that being there was scarier than I thought it would be - seeing all those very pregnant moms having contractions in the hallways as we walked, and seeing the labor & delivery room with all of that equipment! I think the scariest part was going upstairs and seeing all those newborns and thinking of Henry being THAT big, and THAT fragile, just like those babies!

Since the beginning of this pregnancy, I've been chatting on the message boards of my "birth club", full of mommies who are all due in June. I told David that it's the closest I think I can get to something like World of Warcraft. You have to post frequently enough to stay in the conversation, and when you're gone from the message boards, people start wondering about you. Well, people have finally started to have babies - preemies right now that have to stay in the NICU for a little while, because we are all under 37 weeks. It is so much fun to look at their pictures and envision little Henry that big all in my belly.

Exciting day planned

2007-04-14T07:59:00.000-07:00

I have my tour of Presbyterian hospital today, and it will be so exciting! I can't wait to see what the rooms look like and I'll have time to ask lots of questions. I also want to go to the fabric store and buy crib sheets today. David will love that. I think shopping for baby must be his faaaavorite thing to do. Anyway, here is a pic of me at 30 weeks.

Nothing against the baby...

2007-04-09T09:36:00.000-07:00

but I am really starting to get a teensy bit tired of carrying this bag of sand around in my belly. No, I'm not really ready for him to come out into the world yet, but I'm starting to understand what "third trimester" means. I wake up feeling fine, but by the middle of the day, I get so darn exhausted! When I take walks or am out & about on errands, I get so far and then I start waddling really slowly and my belly gets super tight and it's hard to breathe. It's funny how just sitting wears me out, too. Yesterday evening, we went to see a really rotten movie with some friends (The 300), and I kept getting up to walk up and down the movie theater hallways because I felt like I was going to die if I had to sit in that movie theater seat for too much longer. I think long car rides are out from now on, unless absolutely necessary, and I just need to start understanding my new limits and take things easier.

I have the day off today, and thank goodness - I'm pooped from all the weekend running about, and we didn't really do all that much! David's at work, and they just told him that he has these really impossible deadlines - really, truly impossible. I expect the weekends will be quiet for a while because he'll have to go to work.

I organized some old files, and now I'm going to do a little work on my Montessori papers. I just have three (out of 8) to go. I think I can do them today if I sit myself down and make myself do it.

Soccer, anyone?

2007-04-06T08:14:00.000-07:00

I'm not going to say who it is, but Somebody in our family is likely to be an excellent soccer player! He's using my bladder as a practice ball for the millionth time....any guesses?

Ok make that

2007-04-06T07:48:00.000-07:00

FOUR times in one day! How is that possible? Seems like our little one's swallowing mechanism is working.

On our last U/S, we got to see his diaphram practicing breathing! How cool is that? When the technician looked, it was still, but when the perinatalogist came in, he looked, and it was moving on the screen back and forth. They said that babies do this 30% of the time to get their breathing muscles in shape for the world outside.

David and I went to IKEA and bought a chest of drawers for Henry's room. We originally went last weekend and thought carefully and picked out this cute red-stained one. We thought it might match the Peter Rabbit posters I bought and framed. There's a little bit of that red in them. Well, when we went down there to get it, of course it was out of stock. The guy at the counter told us that there were 8 more coming on Tuesday morning if we wanted to call and come get one. He showed us the number to call, and we agreed to come back Tuesday evening if they had one.

Anyway, on Tuesday afternoon, I called the number, and I got this really dumb girl on the phone who kept saying, "I don't know what you're talking about with the new shipment - it just says out of stock on my screen." I kept asking her if she could look at when it would be delivered next, etc., and she just couldn't see anything on her screen. She sounded so dumb that I didn't believe her. So...I picked David up at the train station, and we drove through this yucky thunderstorm all the way to Frisco in traffic. It took us forever to get there, and when we finally did, of course there weren't any there. We talked to the guy at the counter again, and he said that four of them had indeed arrived at 8:00 in the morning, but people immediately came and bought them! He expected another shipment Wednesday morning of the remaining four (and this time gave us the correct phone number for his department!)...but seeing as they won't hold one for you, you can't order it online, and neither of us could take off work to go to Frisco to pick it up at 8:00 in the morning, we gave up! We went back upstairs and chose another chest of drawers to take home that day. It's not nearly as cute as the one we originally wanted, but I'm so glad we don't have to drive back to Frisco only to be disappointed! David put it together last night. It has four nice, deep drawers, and it's a natural wood color. It's not the best dresser ever, but it WILL hold diapers and baby clothes, and it will match the other furniture in the room.

The Montessori infant philosophy suggests not having a chest of drawers at all for your baby - you should put a few clothes in tubs for the kid to choose from when he's two...but I couldn't for the life of me figure out where they wanted you to store everything! We will have so many diapers, diaper covers, clothes, etc., to deal with. Right now I don't see anything wrong with putting some clothes in the bottom drawer for him to choose from.

Oh, and our crib mattress came in the other day! It's the nice organic cotton/wool one, and it is so soft and comfortable, yet firm enough to be good for baby. I can't wait to put it in a crib! Did I tell you that one of my parents from school is giving us their old one? It will be so cute next to our bed. Maybe I'll call her today and we'll try to pick it up.

Henry

2007-04-05T14:12:00.000-07:00

...has had the hiccups three times today...and it's only 4:15!

Hooray for small bellies!

2007-04-02T19:16:00.000-07:00

Ok so at my last OB appointment, I was measuring 4 weeks behind schedule (fundus height), so she recommended that I see the perinatalogist and have another U/S with their high tech machine. Eeek! I've been a teeny, tiny bit worried over the past 2 weeks, waiting for my appt., and finally today was the big day.

The U/S technician was so considerate and lovely, and she took her time and looked at all of Henry's important parts (except the boy parts, that is - those were too far down in my pelvis), which all looked perfect to her. Then the perinatalogist came in, and he was SO GREAT! He came in and was just so comfortable and chatty and funny. Then he took HIS time and looked all over checking out the baby. Everything was perfect...the brain, the heart, the limbs, the cord blood flow, the amniotic fluid, etc.

His assessment? I have a "gynocoital pelvis", which is the perfect baby-making kind! He said that my hips are in the optimal position, and the uterus makes a perfect little round shape inside my belly like it's supposed to, and THAT's why I don't stick out much! Take THAT stupid people who have been frowning at my small belly and complaining because I'm not appropriately huge for whatever month I'm in! He estimates that the baby is 2 pounds, 12 ounces, which is great for 29 weeks pregnant, and the baby will probably weigh 8 pounds by the end....not in any way tiny!

I then went to my OB's office for an appointment with my doctor, and she said I passed everything with flying colors. Definitely no chance of diabetes in my genes, no anemia, nothing. And I got to see my little baby on the big screen, all cute and cozy tucked inside. What could be better? I can't believe he'll be here in 11 weeks. Is it just me, or is that SOON!?!

Hooray for Hiccups!

2007-03-28T17:01:00.000-07:00

I felt them for the first time yesterday for absolute real! Felt like a little rhythmic bubble bursting in my belly. We were at the Home Depot getting paint and a new lawnmower, and as soon as I got in the car, it occurred to me what the little pings were. So cute! David couldn't feel them, though. I guess the movement was too tiny. Then today just now I felt them again for about 2 minutes, and they are really adorable.

little wooden spoons

2007-03-26T19:32:00.000-07:00

I ordered them! Aren't they cute? I can't wait for them to come in. I was having a hard time finding metal spoons in baby stores. It seems like everything is just plastic nowadays. I have a little spoon & fork that Linda (David's mom) gave us, but I just couldn't find anything to register for. So I ordered these little wooden ones, and I'm really hoping they'll work out. It's been a little while, so I hope they didn't get lost in the mail or anything.

12 weeks left!

2007-03-26T18:45:00.000-07:00

That doesn't seem like very long, does it? Because it's not! We only have 12 weeks to prepare for a new life in our household! A million things to do...a million things to buy...

I also understand now what it means to carry a baby high or low. I am apparently carrying LOW. Henry is way, way, way down there using my bladder as a trampoline throughout the day. I have the feeling he is transverse - all stretched out sideways! Today for the first time, I feel the heaviness of him. Until this week, my belly has just been growing bigger - but now I am carrying a very large ROCK in my belly! (A rock that squirms around.) Today several times I tried to cross my legs and realized that I couldn't without bumping into the ROCK with my thighs. I have to admit that it's nice to feel the squirming all the time.

Here is another pic of what I look like now (I know it's important to Some People). I have to admit that I had another pic here posted earlier, and I am replacing it with this one because...well, because it's cuter, and I thought the other one was kind of dopey looking. So, I know that's against the rules of blogging, and I don't care. Please enjoy the NEW picture! I also had my first 3rd trimester OB appointment last week, and everything went well. I got to drink the sweet glucose test drink, and it tasted exactly like hot pink Kool-aid. I was later told that it was probably Island Punch flavor. Drinking it (giant glass though it was) wasn't bad, but afterwards I started to feel really sick. My body is just not used to drinking heavy, sweet drinks like that. I also learned that I get another sonogram next week! I feel so lucky because this time it's with the perinatalogist...a specialist who apparently has a phenomenal U/S machine that will show everything...even eyeballs! Eyeballs, really? Hard to believe, isn't it? That's what they say, anyway. I'll let you know if we see any. Better yet, I'll try to get David to scan and post them! I need to learn how to use our scanner one of these days.

What trimester???

2007-03-11T06:57:00.000-07:00

This whole "how pregnant are you" thing is totally confusing. Ok, first of all, there are 4 weeks in a month, right? No. Some "months" have 4 weeks, some "months" have 5 weeks, and if you count them up right, your pregnancy equals a total of 9 months or 40 weeks. Here I thought I was in the third trimester already, but I went online and found that I'm still "officially" in my second and won't reach the third until my 27th or 28th week. ??? I'd just rather consider the pregnancy to be 10 months long. From now on, no more worrying about what trimester or "month" I'm in, just the week I'm on and the number of days & calendar months left until my due date. Ok, so this week is mid-March, and I'm due in mid-June, so that means three real months left!

Gosh, that seems soon...don't you think?

More bellies, please!

2007-02-28T18:38:00.000-08:00

My mom complained because I didn't add my new belly pics, so here they are. Geez, I emailed them to her right away! You'd think that would be enough, but nooooo..... What's a blog for? I obliged. Enjoy. ;)

24 weeks

2007-02-27T18:08:00.000-08:00

The third trimester is only a week away. I've gained 19 pounds so far. David and I just got back from a weekend trip to Florida to visit some relatives, and it was the perfect getaway. I certainly would not want to fly on a plane any later than this - the seat was pretty uncomfortable, even now, but I am so glad we went! Here we are in Florida, taking in the beautiful weather. I think if I could, I would always wear jeans and a light, long-sleeved shirt.

Registered at BB&M!

2007-02-06T17:32:00.000-08:00

We are officially registered with Babies, Bottoms, and More, a wonderful local store in Plano. People can buy stuff online or over the phone. The one thing I love is that she offers free shipping on all online purchases. I always hate dealing with shipping! We registered for cloth diapers, diaper covers, diaper bags, toys, etc. Diana, the owner, was SO helpful. I don't have any friends who cloth diaper, but Diana helped me figure out a system that I think will be easy to manage. No disposables for us! I also LOVED their wooden toys. It took us several hours in the store to register with them, and by the time we left, my head was dizzy thinking about all the decisions we had to make about sizes and colors! I dreamed about those cute little diaper covers that night. Ok, so maybe my brother Devin is right and this blog is a more than a little cheesy...but think what you like. Cute little diaper covers danced in front of my sleeping eyes all night.

You can find our registry here on their website:

www.babiesbottomsandmore.com

20 weeks

2007-02-01T17:41:00.000-08:00

Here I am at the midpoint in my pregnancy! It's hard to believe I'm halfway there - it feels like it's taken SO long to get here and now the weeks are kind of flying by. I guess it's always that way, like in school...first semester long and tedious, second semester blink of an eye! I'm guessing it will slow down a bit again once I reach the last couple of months.

Ok, so speaking of later on in the pregnancy, yesterday I got some baby boy hand-me-downs from a friend. In the bag was the CUTEST little onesie, white and blue checkered. Last night I handed it to David while he was watching TV. He didn't know what it was. He looked at me quizzically, and then he smelled it (!) and felt it...and finally stretched it out and started giggling. He put it up to his laptop computer screen, and you know it just fit top to bottom on the screen. Then I took the teeny tiny thing and I held it up to my belly....and it looked just huge! He burst out laughing, and so did I! I couldn't believe the teeny, tiny outfit looked so HUGE when I think about having a baby that would fit it inside me?!?

I've grown a little more...haven't I?

Getting the registry going

2007-01-28T16:33:00.000-08:00

Our gift registry is finally up and running! We have registered at two stores so far (Target and Babies R Us), but we will soon be registering with Babies, Bottoms, & More, a locally-owned store in Plano. Lucky for us (and for relatives and friends who may live far away), everything can be ordered online. It is exhausting trying to anticipate your near future with a baby (Henry isn't even born yet!) but it's worth it so that people know what we might need.

This weekend we visited Babies, Bottoms, & More, and they are just the cutest little store ever in downtown Plano. We are definitely going to do the cloth diaper thing, and I finally feel like I can see how it will all work. I think that the cotton prefolds will be really nice against baby's skin, and the covers are absolutely adorable.

Wood and Cloth!

2007-01-24T17:54:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I found some nice, natural teething toys online. A lot of them are organic, too, and I would definitely prefer that. No pesticides for Henry! At least, not the ones we can help for as long as he tends to put things in his mouth. I read that it's not quite as important for your older child (age 5+) because he will be playing with them instead of mouthing them all the time. We'll decide about that when we get there, but for now, we want to play it safe. I would absolutely prefer to have a couple of more expensive, really nice, safe wooden or cloth toys than a bunch of cheap plastic ones.

Ok, here are some of the websites I really like that they offer natural teething toys, and they're actually not as expensive as I thought. Sometimes organic and wood options are out of my price range (like organic, natural clothing for myself - I'd love to buy that stuff, but it's just not affordable). It's worth it to avoid plastic for baby, though. I've actually seen some of this stuff on Ebay, too - I'm definitely going to check that out.

http://www.tinybirdsorganics.com/organiccotton/stuffedbabytoys.html

http://www.organicgiftshop.com/catalog/html/Wooden-Baby-Toys-p-1-c-248.html

http://www.naturebaby.co.nz/index.html

http://www.cheek-a-mo.com/Toys.html

We've decided...

2007-01-24T17:27:00.000-08:00

...on no plastic baby toys, especially for teething. I've been reading online about child safety and plastic, and the new info out there is scary! Many countries in Europe have actually banned certain teething toys because new research has found that the plastic outgasses toxic chemicals that can later be detected in a baby's blood! Not surprising for big business, U.S. baby toy companies have been lobbying against this. (I guess it costs more to produce non-toxic toys?) Several major toy companies (I think Gerber is on the list) have agreed to phase out the toxic substances in their toys, but many toy companies are refusing. I also read that some toys which are labled "phthalate free" (not a regulated label) actually were found to contain phthalates! So...until more research is done and we know exactly which plastics are safe, we are going to use only natural wood, cloth, and metal. In case anyone is interested, here are a few articles I found with some of the info on plastic.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1565564,00.html

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1566958,00.html

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8702465/site/newsweek/

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15618676/wid/11915773

http://www.checnet.org/healthehouse/education/articles-detail.asp?Main_ID=138

It's a....

2007-01-20T09:24:00.000-08:00

BOY!

Welcome to the family, little Henry! My mother, father, MIL, and SIL were in the room with me, along with David, and everyone burst out crying when the tech put BOY on the screen and printed a little picture for us. Who says it's not a surprise to find out early? This will be the first grandchild for both families.

My U/S tech was amazing (as always), and we got to see both fingers and toes, the heart chambers, the organs, and at one point, Henry opened his mouth and drank some amniotic fluid! She had just checked his bladder, and after she saw the swallowing, she checked again, and the bladder was bigger, so she knew everything was working perfectly. No Down's, no spinabifida, just a healthy, happy, kicking baby boy! I can't wait to see the video! My father is going to transfer it to a DVD for us.

Pictures coming soon!

The big Ultrasound

2007-01-18T15:09:00.000-08:00

...is tomorrow! I am so excited I can't stand it. It's been torture waiting and waiting, although I know that the longer we wait, the older the baby will be (and the more we will see)! I can feel kicks all the time now - every 2-3 hours pretty much. I'm always delighted, of course, and yesterday I lay on the couch, and I thought to myself, "I think I have to go to the bathroom...but wait, there's baby movement, I'll just wait here a couple more minutes..OW!" Baby must have kicked my bladder 10 times in a row, and it hurt even after I went to the bathroom! At least I know he/she is healthy! I know, I know, if I think that hurt now, wait a few months. I've heard that babies can be more and less active in the womb, with varying degrees of kicking and squirming. Right now I'm thinking ours must be in the "more active" category!

Kicking!

2007-01-14T16:20:00.000-08:00

I finally felt my little one on Friday afternoon. Someone suggested that I eat a meal and immediately lay down in silence, so I did that, plus I threw in some orange juice for good measure! For the past three days, I have been feeling little kicks every few hours...sometimes more, sometimes less. Sweet, sweet little baby pokes. It will be a while before David can feel them, but for now it's my own special little feeling. 18 weeks. That's almost halfway there! Here's the belly pic of the day.

Oh, yeah

2007-01-10T18:44:00.000-08:00

The OB appointment on Monday was a bummer. My doc. was apparently delivering a BABY. Who does she think she is, anyway? So we are rescheduled for next Monday, MLK day, which I have off. That's probably fine anyway, since all I really care about is my next sonogram. That will put me at 18 weeks, and the sonogram will either be scheduled for later that week or at 19 weeks. I'm not really planning on buying anything blue or pink, so it really doesn't matter in that sense...I just want to pick a name! Who says finding out with a sonogram isn't a surprise? I don't see any sense in waiting until the baby is ready to leave the womb. It is already a girl or a boy. I guess some people like suspense.

I finally did it...

2007-01-10T18:26:00.000-08:00

I told the class. The elementary kids are now in the "know", and they are SOOOO excited! All day they patted my tummy and talked about what the baby might be doing, seeing, or feeling. Here are some cute stories:

From a 3rd grade girl (after our thorough unit on the digestive system last semester):
Her: "Um, Mrs. Aubrey? What does the baby do with all that acid?"
Me: "Acid?"
Her: "Yeah, you know, in the stomach. Does the stomach acid hurt the baby?"
Me: "Uh, the baby's not actually IN the stomach..."

From a 1st grade boy after watching me blow my nose:
Him: "Your nose is running."
Me: "Yes it is."
Him: "I want to say something, but it's kind of a bad word, but not really that bad."
Me: "Go ahead."
Him: "My mom's nose was running a lot, too. She said the baby was pooping inside her. They had to put things in my nose because I pooped. It made her nose run. Your nose is running, too."
Me: "You think the baby is pooping in me right now?"
Him: "Yup. It is."

Girl or Boy?

2007-01-04T18:32:00.000-08:00

On Monday we go for our next OB appointment, and we will schedule our next ultrasound! Hopefully the doctor will be able to hear Baby's heart nice and strong on the doppler, and then at the ultrasound, we will find out of it's a girl or a boy! We can't wait - wish us luck!

Well, here it is...

2007-01-04T18:24:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! First blog of the year! Here is a picture of me and the baby's first Christmas (in the womb!). Baby got some lovely new presents this year, but he/she doesn't know it yet! Right now Baby is the size of an avocado, and his/her heart is beating 167 beats per minute. Baby might even be grabbing at the umbelical cord - his/her first toy!