Henry's 1st Christmas! (Week 19)

The Laffertys (Chalice, Matt, Lola, Annie) and Henry

Having fun with Grandpa!

As the title implies, this week was filled with tons of Christmas activities. We started off heading over to St. Louis on Wednesday night for all of Laura's family events. Henry slept the whole drive, so when we arrived around 10:30 that night, he was all set to stay up and watch a big MU win over Illinois! (we really didn't force/try to get him to stay up through the game, he just decided he wasn't tired; so no need to call child services :) ). Maybe he can be the good luck charm for another MU sports streak!

Learning to share....thanks Ella!!!

On Thursday, Laura took the little man to her dentist's office with Jen. Everyone at their office absolutely loved him, and of course he ate it up. This visit included Henry's first dental check for incoming teeth (there were none, of course!). We were able to meet up with Reggie's friend Stefanie and her husband Tim and daughter Ella (they will be featured on the Week 20 post). That night, Laura and Reggie left Henry with Grandma Kathy and headed out on the town with Laura's friends Heidi and Leah (they were previously featured on the blog). It is so odd now when we go out and he isn't there. On one hand, it is so nice to not have any "baby" responsibilities for a little bit, but on the other hand you continually keep thinking about him - what he is doing, if he being fussy, has he blown through his outfit, etc. When we got back, we found out that Grandma had stayed up until 12:30am holding him while he slept :)

Just loungin'. Being cute is hard work! Now where's my margarita!

On Christmas Eve we received an early present......SNOW! It snowed about 3-4 inches, which made everything perfect for Henry's first Christmas. That afternoon, we all loaded up and headed to church. Laura insisted on having Henry wear a buccaneer (skull and swords) stocking hat. You know, nothing represents the birth of Christ like attire that says, "Give me your booty, swashbuckler!" Plus, I think in the book of Leviticus, it talks about Jesus' pirate days....... Anyways, Henry was in no mood for sitting still for an hour, so Reggie ended up having to walk around in the lobby for about 1/2 of the service. When we were seated, there were two little girls behind us that were probably 4 or 5 years old. They would keep moving around so they could see his face and wave at him. It was really cute!

After church, we went to Laura's Aunt Pam's for her extended family Christmas (called 'Kirnaka'). It was the first time for Laura's Uncle Pat and Aunt Dana to meet the little guy (they are from Baltimore). Dana is originally from Kentucky, and has never lost her twang. As you can see in the picture, it was a bit confusing for our guy. I think he was trying to determine if it was English he was hearing :) An annual highlight of Kirnaka is the singing of "The 12 Days of Kirnaka," sang by all the cousins. It is a recap of anything of note that happened to family members during the year, and includes various props. One of the "days" in this year's song was 'one maid of milking' featuring Laura and her pump! Overall, Henry did good for a little bit, but went south quickly right as it was time to open gifts so Reggie had to take him into another room to try and get him to sleep (which only kind of worked). Luckily, pretty much everyone in the family got to hold him prior to that point - sorry Colleen!

Aunt Dana and Uncle Pat

Henry and Santa (a.k.a. Uncle Tim)

Christmas morning was great as always, and Henry absolutely cleaned up. He got lots of clothes, puzzles, toys, etc. However, as you would guess, he had no idea what was going on. But, boy did those ribbons and boxes taste good! After brunch, we headed back to KC to do Christmas with Reggie's sister and mom. As you can see in the pics, it has become a bit of a family tradition with Reggie's mom for everyone to wear funny looking hats while they open their gifts. Unfortunately for them, Henry's schedule was so messed up by the time we got back to KC that he was pretty fussy for most of the time we were all together. Luckily, Grandma Janith got Henry some work stations that played music and lit up, so that consumed him for about an hour. It was just too bad we had to listen to those kiddie songs throughout our gift opening!

Mmmmm, presents!

This year's hats!

Grandma and Santa's Little Helper

Coolest Book Ever! Each page progressively spells his name!

There weren't any big developmental accomplishments this week. Henry has continued to discover his feet, and loves that he can just about get them into his mouth. Actually, in general, anything that can go into his mouth is now seen as "cool" in his book.

Boy do I hate the Cards!

Merry Christmas from the Bogarts!!!!!

The Great Girlfriend Debate/Catfight

(Note: As you read this, you need to be playing Rocky's 'Eye of the Tiger' in your head to fully enjoy this post)

Due to aforementioned hostilities that Henry has been experiencing amongst his ladies, he has decided to become a one-woman guy. Thus, he needs your help! Read below and vote on the poll as to who he should choose! One thing is certain....the guy likes blondes!

Sara and Henry (Week 13ish)

VS

Emily and Henry (Week 3ish)

Name: Sara Condreay

Hamburger Mary's

Hometown: Cornshuck, Nebraska
Height: 5'7"
Weight: No woman discloses this information; N/A
Job/Way to support Henry: Commerce Bank M-F; Barnum and Bailey Circus Clown Sa-Su.
Relationship events to date:
Pro:

• One breakfast with Henry; three total visits to the house
• Went on a dinner date with him to Hamburger Mary's (complete with drag queen)
• One night meeting out at Kona Grill (though that could be construed as spying)
• Actively defends her claim as Girlfriend #1

Cons:

• Potentially spying on Henry's activities with other girls (ask Chalice Lafferty)
• She's from Nebraska
• Visits are becoming more sporadic, focusing more on phone check-ups
• Occassionally gets a little mouthy with Henry's Dad
• Already buying Henry pajamas, which seems a bit forward for a 4 month old!

Check out my Polo PJ's - Thanks Sara!

Dinner date!

Emily Kinder
Hometown: Flyover, Indiana
Height: 5'8"
Weight: No woman discloses this information; N/A
Job/Way to support Henry: Hallmark Cards M-F; Mascot for Liberty Tax Services Sa-Su. (you know, those people that dress up like the Statue of Liberty and stand on the side of the road)
Pros:

• Two dinner dates at the house; three total visits
• Has the "bounce" that calms Henry down
• Lots of baby experience from nephews/nieces
• Doesn't call Henry's dad at 3am to push her out of the snow (in front of a driveway!)
• Finds Reggie's juvenile humor somewhat funny (or at least says that to his face)
• Taught Henry's parents how to use the carseat without using the base
• Brought Henry's mom (and thus Henry) lots of treats while she was pregnant

Cons:

• Not a KC sports fan (prefers Horse to Indian)
• No carseat, so Henry has to be driven "Brittany Spears style"
• Peyton Manning will always be her true love

A Festivus for the rest of us - Week 18

Henry and Emily - a.k.a. Girlfriend #2

Week 18 for our guy was the official start of the holiday season. On Wednesday, Laura took Henry back to Nordie's Cafe to meet up with the other Hallmark mom's that are currently out on maternity leave. As you can see, Henry was much more well behaved than the last time. However, those rings that he is holding below were stolen from Katelyn, who is sitting next to him. That must be why Henry looks as if he is bracing to get hit, and Katelyn looks like she is winding up for a right-cross!

Lawson, Katelyn, Henry, Audrey

On Friday, Laura had her annual ugly sweater party at Jenni's house. Thanks to some very appropriate gifts from Reggie's mom last Christmas, she was more than prepared this year, including her own Santa belt complete with cupholders! While she went to the party, Henry and Reggie headed over to Ryan Lorei's house for a 'guy's night'. His son Reece was already asleep, so Reggie and Ryan watched 'The Town' and took turns giving Henry life advice for a guy. For instance, if a woman tells you she will be ready in 5 minutes, go ahead and turn on the tv. It will be 30. Also, as a guy you always need to HYB (Handle Your Business)! Anyways, Laura and Ryan's wife Ashley came back from the party and we headed home around 12:30.

Getting home late didn't bode too well for the next morning, when we needed to be at Reggie's extended family Christmas 2hrs. away. In addition to the general slowdown that comes with having a baby, Laura didn't feel too well (I will let you determine why that was - hint: see above :) ). Anyways, we got to the Christmas an hour and a half late, but were in time for lunch at least! Henry got there and had a nice pile of presents from the aunts. As always, there were no shortage of people wanting to hold him! Following the extended Bogart xmas, we went to Reggie's dad's house for Christmas with that side of his family. Henry really enjoyed playing with his grandparents, and he got some great gifts!

Three generations of Bogart men!

Monday was a big day. For starters, we had Henry's orientation at his daycare facility. As I think has been written previously, he is headed to daycare in mid-January and in a room with a number of kids of friends of ours. As expected, this was an extremely difficult thing for Laura, as it symbolizes her having to go back to work and leave our guy. Other than a few tears in the parking lot and within the first couple of minutes of walking into the center, she did great and feels better about the whole thing afterward.



I love presents!!!



We did our family Christmas on Monday night. As you may have guessed, Reggie waited until Sunday to buy anything! It really is an odd Christmas for us (and I guess a number of parents) when it came to buying for Henry. Obviously, he can't open his gifts, or understand anything he is getting. All he wants to do is put whatever he gets into his mouth! So, we decided to each buy a couple independently so that at least the other parent would be surprised when the gift was opened. Thanks to good ol' dad, Henry now is a proud owner of a 6-9 month KC Royals onesie for April!!!!



Best. Gift. Ever.



On Tuesday night, our friends Chalice and Matt Lafferty (and Lola and Annie) came in from Chicago to visit. Chalice is one of Laura's good college friends from her sorority. She is an elementary teacher in Chicago, so it was no surprise when she showed up that she had a big bag for crafts for us to make our own rubber ducks for Henry! We took them to Kona for dinner, where there was a bit of scene caused. One of Henry's girlfriends, Sara (SEE I SPELLED IT RIGHT), was there and was none too happy that another woman was there with him. There was a bit of a catfight, but Henry was able to settle her down before Chalice lost too much hair!

"Don't mess with my guy!"

We took the Laffertys to Oklahoma Joe's for lunch on Wednesday. Luckily Henry was much better behaved than a few weeks ago. We were starting to think that he didn't like OK Joe's, which I would consider a parenting failure on our part!

Z-man/fry please!!!!

Developmentally, Henry had his 4-month checkup on Friday. His stats are 12lbs, 12oz, which is in the 20-25th percentile. He is 24.25 inches long, which is in the 50th percentile, and has a 17" noggin, which is the 75th percentile. What I deduce from this is that he is average height, but really smart. But then again, he is a Bogart, so was there any question he would be smart! :) Also, we found out that our little guy has a bit of a nubbin (i.e. 3rd nipple)! Essentially, it is just some extra tissue. It is barely noticeable, and will go away as he grows, but it was really funny! She said he is doing great, and it "following his growth path beautifully!"

The Laffertys

Keeping watch - Annie, Lola, and Bella



Chalice and Henry



Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow! - Week 17

Jessica, Audrey, and our guy

Henry was trying to emulate Laura's best dance moves!

This week wasn't extremely eventful for our guy. However, there were a couple of 'firsts' for him. On Friday, Reggie was let off work early due to a systems upgrade and planned to finish up mulching leaves in the yard. However, Henry ended up needing to go to the pediatrician for his congestion. As it would turn out, he had a mild ear infection, which was his first sickness requiring antibiotics.

This week also brought with it Henry's first experience with snow. He obviously is too young to think much about it, but it was fun to set him in it! We wanted to make a little snowman, but time got away from us. Who would have thought that having a baby would do that to your free time.

Yes, there is a baby in there!

Visits this week included a trip out to Laura's friend Jessica's house to visit her and her girl Audrey. Also, one of Henry's adult girlfriends, Emily, came over for a dinner date.  We think there is a battle line about to be drawn between Sara and Emily for girlfriend supremacy. That is a bit of foreshadowing to a future post, though :)

There weren't any real developmental achievements this week. Henry is still drooling like crazy. Reggie found out that he loves to be lifted up as if he were flying (i.e. Super Baby) Superman style. Also, he apparently likes to sit on top of Reggie's shoulders. It must be the idea that his is so much higher than everyone. Bella does the same thing!

Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound!

Pictures from Henry's 3-month shoot

We said a few weeks ago that we had Henry's 3-month shoot over the Thanksgiving weekend, so we thought we would share a few of the shots with you all. Enjoy!

Note - Week 17 should be posted tomorrow!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! - Week 16

Henry, Jill, and Chris

Week 16 was filled with lots of holiday events. On Thursday, we all went to Holidays in Crestwood, which is an event which Aunt Jen is in charge of for the Children's Center for the Visually Impaired (CCVI). The highlights of the event are a gingerbread house contest featuring creations from pastry chefs across the city, carolers, and a living reindeer. Henry did good for most of the time, but then all of a sudden conked out for the night. Take a look at the pics and just try to guess when that happened!

Henry and Rudolph

.....and I'm spent!

Friday night was Reggie's company Christmas party, so Laura's parents stayed in town to watch after him for the night. The party was great, Reggie actually won a $200 gift card to Quiktrip. That will buy a LOT of taquitos! And what can I say about the background in this picture below. Believe it or not, it is supposed to be a snowman. "Why are there all those random colored circles on it" you say? I don't know, maybe some 5 year olds made it!

Date night!

On Saturday morning, we took our guy back to Crestwood for 'Breakfast with Santa'. Henry was able to sit on Santa's lap, get his picture taken, and tell him what he wanted for Christmas. Tops on his list ---- Royals season tickets for his dad (since infants get into the game for free)! Later on Saturday, we went to the 2nd annual Tennessee Dave's Smoke-a-thon. Essentially, four or five guys smoke various meats during the day. Then everyone else comes over in the evening for dinner/football. Henry was a hit with all the ladies as usual! It was either because he is so good looking, or because he smelled of smoked pork!

"Mom, this guy smells of beef and cheese"

Developmentally, Henry is still working on rolling over consistently. He is really good at holding his own pacifier, and is grabbing onto things and starting to pull, prompting Laura to ask Reggie to work on securing the picture frames on the wall next to his changing table!

I got this mom!