No peeing in the pool! - Week 33

Chris Freeman and Henry

Week 33 featured the beginning of a 6-week run of swim lessons for Henry at the Troost YMCA. Laura and Jen went out and got him some sweet swim trunks to wear on Saturday. Needless to say, they were very long on him. However, I think that is the look that all the true 'ballers' are going for these days, right? Henry took right to the water, and loved splashing around and going in and out of it! Apparently, the point of this session of lessons isn't for the kids to actually learn anything, but rather to just get used to the water. One of the lifeguards commented to the other that Henry was "ready to go" and didn't appear uncomfortable at all. Upon hearing that, Reggie wondered if he could get 5/6ths of the swim lesson fees we paid back :) It was also really nice that his friends Dolan and Noah were also participants. All the boys played and splashed together most of the time, though I think Henry enjoyed himself the most. Reggie apparently messed up when he went to put Henry completely under water and plugged his nostrils so that water wouldn't go up his nose. Reggie countered that it is much like a baptism whereby the preacher would plug your nose before submersion. I guess that is a debate for another time.......

Baywatch eat your heart out

Ready to swim!

We knew we were potentially playing with fire on the timing of the lessons considering that Henry normally goes down for a nap between 9 and 10. However, we never thought it would show up the way it did. After splashing for a bit, Reggie tried to put him on his back in the water to work on his backstroke. Almost immediately, Henry would shut his eyes and try to go to sleep! This happened repeatedly throughout the lesson, and was absolutely hilarious to everyone! After the lesson, Reggie took Henry into a deeper section of the pool (4ft) next to the water slides. Another father had his daughter sitting on the edge of one of the slides, and for some reason Henry couldn't stop staring at this. We don't know if it was the girl or the slide he was interested in, but Reggie had a discussion with him that it is hard to pick up a girl when you longingly stare in their direction. :)

Dolan and Noah also had their 1-yr old birthday parties this weekend. On Sat, we went across the street to Dolan's house. The Knoblauchs had bought a ball pit for all the kids. This was definitely Henry's favorite place for the whole party. I am pretty sure he slobbered on about 70% of the balls! On Sunday, Laura and Henry went over to the Howes for Noah's party (Reggie went to the 5-hr long Royals game). It was outdoors, and had a sailboat theme (complete with sailboat cakes for the kids!). Overall, our little party animal held up really well!

Look at my breaststroke!

Hey, Noah, how do I open this?

Henry and his buds

Partied out!

Peek-a-boo!

Knoblauchs and Bogarts

Welcome to the jungle! - Week 32

Rebecca and Lawson Muller with Henry

This week brought Grandma and Grandpa Anderson back into town on Thursday for Craig's work. Kathy brought Henry to Hallmark on Friday for lunch with Laura and Jen. Also, it was a great chance for some of Laura's Hallmark friends (including his old flame Emily) to see him. Also, we all went down to the Plaza for shopping and dinner at Coal Vine's on Friday night with Jenni Payne. It seems so easy to go to dinner with your child when you have six sets of hands around to help appease the little guy! He actually was very content drinking his bottle and playing with sugar packets (which by the way, he LOVES to play with sugar packets).

Chillin' with the grandparents!

On Wednesday, Laura had April and Anne over to the house to watch Top Chef, drink wine, and catch up/gossip. I think Anne came over primarily to hold Henry because she wouldn't hardly let go of him (and he loved it!) :)

Reggie showing Henry just how much mom has spent on clothes this month!

When Reggie dropped Henry off on Wednesday, Trina (the lead "teacher") showed him this rainforest/jungle-type setup that they had apparently constructed. When Laura picked him up that afternoon, Trina said how much Henry loved sitting in it since it had lots of toys hanging down from it. However, our friend Lindsay e-mailed Reggie the next day and told him that when she picked up Noah that Henry was sitting in there just crying away!!! Do you smell that.....it is the stench of deception!

On Saturday, Reggie headed down south to play poker while Laura and Henry went over to his godmother's house to "look at nursery stuff." For those that don't know, this is "Laura code" for sitting around drinking wine and talking. Dave played with Henry, right up until the point when Henry's face got real red.........Laura changed him :)

After a busy week, a guy's got to sleep!

Developmentally, Reggie thinks that Henry is starting to recognize his name. He can be sitting there looking around, and generally when you say his name he will look back at you! Laura thinks it is just a function of him hearing someone talking. Who knows? Also, he is starting to get his second tooth! This one is also on the lower jaw in the middle, right next to the first tooth he cut. Finally, it is amazing what kids find amusing. Henry has lots of toys to chew on, throw, beat together, and yet it is everyday things that he seems to like the most. In the mornings he loves to play with an unopened small makeup jar of Laura's. You have seen the colander picture in the kitchen. This week, we put him in an empty diaper box and called it a spaceship, and he absolutely was in heaven! Of course, the bottom of the box started to bow a bit from the weight, so "Spaceship" came to an end real quick :)



"Negative Ghostrider, the pattern is full"



'Baby Maverick' after another safe landing! Where's Goose?

This happened while trying to take this picture. It's Baby WWE!

The Recovery - Week 31

Cormac, Steve, Stella, Elizabeth, and Roan Mills with Henry. Henry couldn't help from continually pulling Stella's hair!

The week started off where last week left off. Henry wasn't allowed back at daycare due to his fever, so Reggie took his turn and stayed home with the little guy.  He was extremely needy, and just wanted to be held. Otherwise, his demeanor was back to normal. Reggie tried to take his temperature a couple of times, but the thermometers kept coming back with 94, then 99, then 92 (i.e. unreliable). After staying with dad on Wednesday, and Aunt Allison on Thursday, he was ready to roll when he went back to daycare on Friday.


An quick review for those readers who don't have kids. Ear thermometers are a joke for babies. They are expensive, unreliable, and in general are hated by the kids. 

Saturday brought some great weather to the area, so we took Henry out for his first true "jogging" experience in the Bob! The first half of our run** he just sat and had a conversation with his Wub-a-Nub (pacifier). The second half of the run he actually slept! When we got home Reggie raked up some leaves that had accumulated over the winter and took them to the dump site. During all this, he started wondering how old does Henry need to be before Reggie can have him do all these chores :)

**The term "run" here is being used somewhat liberally. When Reggie is running with you, it at times is more of a brisk walk!

I said shake my hand, pooch! (and yes, they are giving me colanders to play with; what a cheap dad!)

Also on Saturday night, Henry caught word that his girlfriend Sara was out on a date with another guy. He is now reconsidering his decision to let a poll determine who his girlfriend would be. Thanks for the info Aunt Jen!

The only developmental item this week is that Henry is now up to two non-milk meals per day. He his eating cereal in the morning, and then pureed fruit or vegetables at night. We have determined that this kid doesn't like vegetables as much as fruit. I guess that is par for the course for kids, though. Also, Henry can now feed himself his bottles for the most part. He struggles near the end tilting it up enough to get the last 1/4 out, but does great otherwise. It is making our lives so much better, especially in the morning when we are trying to both get ready!

I got this!

"Week of Laura" ends -Week 30

Anne Hassleberg and Henry

This week was Laura's 30th birthday, so on Thursday night we went out to dinner while Jenni Payne watched Henry. It was her first opportunity to babysit him since she is always busy with work, school, or begging for someone to help her "put a down payment on a cheeseburger" on the Plaza when we have needed someone to watch him. Needless to say, she was excited! Afterward, we all went over to April's for ice cream cake and to watch MU get bounced from the Big 12 Tourney.

If it isn't all about Henry, he doesn't like it!

Friday brought with it the title holder for WORST DIAPER EVER. I won't say anything more about that.....

Saturday morning was Henry's 6-month photo shoot. Obviously, we have already posted some of those shots. We were so fortunate that day, because Henry hadn't had a nap yet prior to the shoot, but was still extremely happy to smile for the camera! Annie Pendleton definitely gets our recommendation for others!

This week Henry experienced his first parade, which was the St. Patrick's parade in Brookside on Saturday. He enjoyed seeing all the dogs, and especially enjoyed hamming it up for all the random people who stopped to talk to him (generally women). After about 30 minutes (the parade went for about 1.5hrs!) he was done with his stroller, so Bella took over sitting in it!

Where's my green, mom?

On Saturday night, we all went out with our KC friends for Laura's birthday (if you have been keeping count, yes, we have celebrated her 30th now three times :) ). We went to dinner at Westside Local, and then met everyone up for cocktails at the Blue Stem lounge. While we were having fun, Henry went across the street to the Knoblauch's house to be watched by Eileen's parents, who were also watching their son Dolan.  Luckily, Henry was good for them!

On Sunday, Reggie and Henry (note Laura did not attend the bday party, she was recovering from too much bday fun) went over to his friends Jonathan and Carrie's house for their daughter's 2yr. birthday party. Reggie's friend Emily spent most of the party holding Henry and playing with him. For some reason, he seemed to be very interested in some paper party cups that were stacked together. More than anything, he was interested in throwing them on the floor, someone picking them up, and then throwing them on the floor again! I see our future, and that little game does not sound very fun.....

Finally, on Tuesday Henry was sent home for the first time for being sick. That morning he seemed a bit despondent and would just stare off into space. However, all of our pathetic thermometers said he didn't have a fever. Laura got a call at 10am telling her he had a 103.5 temp, and that he needed to go home for 24hrs. He just whimpered, moaned, and slept a lot of the day. By late in the evening on Tuesday, he was starting to get some of his personality back and was feeling better. Poor guy!

Developmentally, a number of things happened this week. He has developed the ability to army crawl to things. He doesn't use his feet/legs at all, just pulls himself with his arms to get him to where he wants to go. One thing Henry loves is the tv remote. So, Reggie would put it on one side of the bed and Henry would pull himself over to it. When he got close, Reggie would throw it to the other side of the bed, and Henry would just change course and pull himself over to the other side. This goes one for a bit before Reggie will finally let him get it. He calls is 'development of motor skills' while Laura thinks it is just annoying for Henry :) In addition to this, Henry has picked up the ability to shake his head 'no.' He doesn't know the meaning of the head shake, just that he likes to do it. It is absolutely hilarious when you talk to him and ask him a question, and as if he knows what you are even saying, will do the head shake!

The STL shower - Week 29

Sara and Ned Wilson, and Henry (no his head has not been photoshopped on another kid's body)

The big event this week was a trip to St. Louis for April's STL baby shower. Henry also attended this shower so all the hens at that shower could pass him around. While this was going on, Reggie and Grandpa Craig watched the MU/KU game back at the Anderson house (lucky for us we were in STL, otherwise we wouldn't have gotten to see the exciting finish!).

Hues, Laura and H-Bo at April's shower

On Saturday night, we officially kicked off "LoBo week," celebrating Laura's 30th birthday (you will read more about LoBo Week in the Week 30 post). Grandma and Grandpa Anderson were nice enough to watch the little man while we painted the town. It was a pretty tame night filled with catching up with all her friends that are strewn about the country. Good times!

The STL girls out on the town!

We got back to the Anderson's around 1 or 1:30, at which point we saw (and had predicted) that Grandma Kathy had stayed up holding Henry in a chair the whole time we were gone :). Though I am sure Henry loved this, we quickly found out that this is not the best way to have him sleep through the night. Once he woke up as we walked in, he wasn't ready to go back to bed. It took Reggie about an hour to get Henry back to sleep! We have now amended our standpoint on holding him into the night, and will be putting him in the crib during the traditional window every night!

Jenni and Henry just resting up for the party later

The trip back on Sunday got off to a late start due to the aforementioned nighttime issues we had. Henry held Jenni Payne's hand for about 80% of the ride back to KC!

Developmentally, Henry continues to get glowing reports from daycare regarding his disposition as well as how he has been sleeping. On Tuesday, there was an incident whereby Henry was sitting and playing by himself. He apparently lost his balance and fell backwards into a bookshelf, leaving some bumps and red lines across the back of his head. When Laura picked him up 30 minutes later and was informed of the issue, she was understandably upset. However, Henry just smiled big and was his normal, happy, perfect self! Again, he's 'Bogart Tough!'

Henry also was allowed by Bella to give her a belly rub on his floor. As always, Henry was just staring at Bella one day while Reggie was holding him. Bella rolled over, and with a little assistance from dad, let Henry rub her belly for a few minutes. Really cute moment.

Grandma Kathy pulled out Laura's old toys.  Much like mom, he is going directly for the phone. Probably to check Facebook!

Finally, Henry continues to perfect the 'diaper blowout as you are leaving the house' move, doing it two out of three daycare days this week. Unfortunately for Laura/daycare, one of these incidents happened while she was actually in route to drop him off. She of course felt like a bad parent, dropping off her poopy kid to daycare. The hilarious part is that Henry always thinks this is funny, and once you notice what he has done, he will just smile so big :) Love that kid!

Is it Cinco de Mayo yet?

Preview of Henry's 6 month photo shoot

From the minute I stepped into little Henry's house it was just a completely laid back and happy environment...which makes for a completely laid back and happy baby!  Henry is such an expressive little guy, and such a sweetheart...I couldn't get over his sweet grin and little expressions.  He just melted my heart.  His parents were equally as wonderful...even if they are Missouri fans :)  All of this made for a wonderful session, and a fun morning with a sweet baby boy.  Enjoy your preview!

Henry was even happy as his dad dressed him...now that is a happy baby!

So sad the picture on the left is out of focus, but I had to post it...it's just too funny.

Ahh...love these so much

Hey, look...I'll even pose for you.  6 month old rockstar.

Still posing...such a stud.

If this doesn't make you smile, I'm not sure what will.

Some details from his gorgeous nursery done by his momma.

All of these windows are just heavenly...I want a room like this so bad...it is just awesome for a nursery.  I'd be smiling all the time if I lived in a room with all of these windows, too! :)

Love this shirt!