Plaza Art Fair with Aunt Jen and the Gang- September

In September, Mom and Dad left town to go to Nashville to celebrate the 30th birthdays of Laura and some of her other close girlfriends/hens. Aunt Jen traded off with Aunt Allison and Grandma Janith with Henry-watching duties. Aunt Jen, along with her friends Chris, Meg, and Sara, all took Henry down to the Plaza Art Fair that Saturday night. For whatever, reason, this weekend was when Henry officially decided that he was pretty much done with crawling. It was like we came back from Nashville to a different baby!

Here are some pics from their outing:

Henry and his Ex

No pictures, please!

Waiting for his ride (pulling up on the right side of the shot)

Henry and Meg

Give me a high-five, we made it!!! - Week 52

What a difference a year makes!!!!!

It's hard to believe how fast this has happened. In what seems like a blink of an eye, Henry is 1! His birthday was Wednesday, and Laura and Reggie took the day off to spend with our little guy. The weather was beautiful, so we went on a long walk, followed by a couple of hours at the pool. After a long nap, we took him to BRGR, along with Aunt Jen, for his birthday dinner. As much as the guy hates veggies, he loves french fries! The restaurant even gave him ice cream with strawberry syrup at the end. Even more than the meal, he was enamored with the guy that brought his three kids that were all under the age of 5 (including one infant). On a side note, how that guy did it, I don't know. He deserves a medal. Henry just stared at his kids the whole second half of dinner.

Mmmmmmmm!

What, no more ice cream?!?!

Mom and Dad went to the Keith Urban concert on Friday with the Lorei's & Jenni Payne, while Grandma and Grandpa Anderson (who were in for Henry's b-day party) watched Henry for the night. Unfortunately for us, there was a large storm that must have woke Henry up at 5:00am. He was not going to go back down. Reggie stumbled downstairs to make a bottle, while Laura headed to the bathroom for aspirin before getting Henry :). Luckily, Grandma woke up about 6:15 and asked if we wanted her to take him, to which we said yes in our most relieved voice. I think that is the last concert we go to prior to a major child event.

Saturday was the big party. We had a number of Henry's friends and their parents over, along with all our family. Laura was able to borrow an inflatable waterslide from a friend at work. Luckily, it stopped raining about an hour before the party began so the kids were able to enjoy it. Laura and Grandma Anderson did all the decorations, and Laura's friend Jenny Thompson created a number of things for the party as well. The place looked amazing once Laura forced Reggie to move all our furniture on the bottom level of the house to the garage. As expected, Henry wasn't really into opening gifts. He would just get fixated on a particular gift and play with it as mom and dad opened gifts. He was particularly interested in a pushable hot rod from Laura's friends Sara and Elizabeth. Since his party, that hot rod has replaced the stroller as Henry's go-to vehicle for family walks around the neighborhood.



Really mom????

Too spoiled!

At cake time, Henry wanted nothing to do with it and started to cry. While his mouth was open mid-cry, Reggie stuck some cake in his mouth. Once he figured out that it was tasty, he started to plow through the thing. Eventually, Laura had to stop him for fear of what the future might bring (sickness, diaper destruction). Plus, you shouldn't swim/go down the waterslide on a full stomach!

Very timid at first.......

Knocking back some cake!

Developmentally, Henry has set a new record for walking. He is up to 12 steps. Also, he has learned to high-five. He thinks it is really cool, and shoots you an ear-to-ear smile each time he does it. At his 1-year checkup, Henry's weight is 20lbs, 15oz (25th percentile), height is 29.5"(50th percentile), and noggin size is 18.75"(50th percentile).

Henry's new favorite toy - He loves to go cruisin'

Roadtrippin' - Week 51

Pat, Dana, Ben, and Anna Kirn and Henry. Aunt Dana's fish face can't beat the original!

The Bogarts have been road warriors this summer, and this weekend was no different. We headed out on Thursday night for St. Louis, the first leg on our ultimate trip to Morton, IL for Laura's cousin's wedding. On Friday morning, we had set up a photoshoot with Stephen Seebeck to take Henry's 1yr. pictures. As would be our luck, within 15 minutes of arriving in Forest Park, it started to rain/drizzle. We headed under cover and continued to take pictures. The rain stopped, and we headed back out into the park. Again, after about 5 minutes, it started to rain, this time pretty hard. We also had a further run back to cover. As you could guess, after getting rained on twice (coupled with the humidity), Laura's hair was wrecked, and she was done with pictures. We attempted to shoot some shots of Henry with a little cake, but he was very turned off by the icing texture, and wanted nothing to do with the cake. He was more interested in trying to get to the various cigarette butts on the ground!

About to get the best frozen custard ever made! 

On Friday night, we were able to go to dinner with Reggie's friends Jana and Jeff Sindelar (and their son Jackson), Jani Schramm, and her boyfriend Dan. We went to a pizza joint, and Henry and Jackson loved watching the guys throw the pizzas up into the air! Even moreso, Henry was mesmerized with Jackson. What I wouldn't give to know what Henry is thinking when he looks at kids that are just a bit older than him. Great weather, and great to catch up with them! Afterwards, we hit the original Ted Drewes for some ice cream until Henry melted down. He had had a big day!

The Kirn cousins

On Saturday morning, we loaded up again and headed to Morton for the wedding. All of Laura's extended family on her moms side were in attendance which is a rare treat considering it's a large crew (Kathy is one of seven), and several family members live out of state.  Henry was the
hit of the party and at one point had a circle of guests dancing around him while he stood (assisted by Aunt Jen) in the center.  He just loves to be center of attention, wonder where he gets that from?? He also loved interacting with Laura's cousin Jeff's two boys, Rylan & Mason, who are both under the age of 5.

Adam & Henry

Takin' over the dance floor

Boogeying down with Aunt Pam and Amie

Henry with Aunts and Uncles

Derek and Samantha with Henry

The Kirn men

Jeff, Rylan, & Tina 

On Sunday, we did the whole drive back to KC (approx. 6hrs.). When we got to Hannibal, MO, our car's four-wheel drive system almost broke down, so that cost us some time to get it taken care of. It must have been the amount of carseat time Henry had had over the last three days, because he was so mad that he decided to blow out of his diaper three times that day. There is nothing like walking through a Wal-Mart in Hannibal holding a baby out away from your body as you beeline to the family restroom

On Thursday, we took Henry back to Bright Horizons so he could see his old "teachers." Also, deadbeat Reggie still owed the center money :). Trina was really excited to see the little guy, and played with him for a few minutes. There is a ball chute there, and Henry was able to quickly put together that you are to put the ball in the top and get it from the bottom. So, we did that for about 5 minutes.

Developmentally, Henry continues to sporadically take steps, with the maximum still being 3-5 steps. He is getting better at standing for a more prolonged period as well. His daycare has a step apparatus with games on the sides that Henry loves. When Reggie drops him off in the morning, he always goes straight for it, and when Reggie picks him up, he is always on it still. For some reason, he likes to pull the sidewall on it back and forth. Also, I guess he must like being able to get higher.

It was pointed out that we had overlooked a big relationship happening in Week 49. Laura had gone out with her friends Emily (Henry's "girlfriend") and Jessica from work. After a night on the town, Emily had decided to stay in our guest room, and to stick around for waffles in the morning. Is it too soon to have a sleepover after dating for 4 months?

They call this "The baby walk of shame!"

Stepping out! - Week 50

Jeff, Tami, Mason, & Rylan Kirn & Charles, Tina, & Campell Quijano with Henry

Week 50 featured Henry's first trip to Grandpa and Grandma Bogart's house in Carl Junction (Joplin). We all loaded up and headed down on Friday with Aunt Allison. On Saturday, Grandpa took Henry and Bella on a morning golf cart ride. Henry at least got to act like he was driving the cart. The kid absolutely loved this! As Grandpa would pull forward, Henry continually made a squealing sound to show his excitement! Later, we all went to lunch at the Under Cliff grill, where Grandpa fed Henry french fries and other non-healthy things. Also, one of the waitresses loved Henry, and kept wanting to take him behind the bar. As always, Henry had a huge smile the whole time.

The Grandparents

On Saturday night, Uncle Rusty and cousins Courtney and Grant came over for dinner (Week 47 picture). This was the first time they had seen Henry since Christmas, so obviously there were a lot of changes!

Love my Aunt Ally!

On Sunday, we took Henry to church. As you may remember from a few weeks ago, the last time we attempted this Reggie ended up in the church basement all service playing with him. Sure enough, after about 10 minutes, Henry was done with the service. Grandpa scooped him up and took him to the nursery to play. Laura went to check on him, only to notice the girls watching the kids were about to give Henry a PB&J sandwich. Laura quickly explained to them that full sandwiches are a bit above his current culinary level :)

Now, at some point during our visit, Henry officially dumped 'ol mom and dad. All Henry wanted was his grandpa. Heck, he was giving him hugs, yet never gives mom or dad a hug! As we left on Sunday, Henry started to cry when grandpa shut the car door. We determined that between the golf cart and french fries, grandpa had an ace up his sleeve! It is a rough feeling as a parent to know that you can be dumped for a basket of fried food!

The greatest toy ever!!!!

On Friday, Laura took Henry over to Elizabeth Mills' house to play with her son Cormac. For some reason, the boys were infatuated with the magnets on Elizabeth's fridge.

Just two dudes playing with magnets

A huge developmental point happened on Friday, where Laura noticed Henry taking three steps in the house! He was in the process of falling, so she didn't know whether to count it or not. This was repeated on Monday and Tuesday at daycare, as well as back at the house on those nights. The babysitters at Union Hill predict he will be full-on walking within a three weeks! Watch out world!

The only other developmental item/game Henry has developed relates to ball throwing. For some reason, Henry now finds it hilarious to pick up the ball and throw it away from the other person. The only exception is when he is playing with Bella, who still gets them thrown directly to her :)

Stand up and cheer - Week 49

Janna, Jackson, & Jeff Sindelar with Henry

This was our first weekend at home in the last three weekends, so there wasn't a lot of big happenings for the week as we utilized it to get caught up around the house. The big event was that Henry started to stand on his own this week! He is able to stand for about 3-5 seconds before he drops. Funny how something as trivial as being able to stand on your feet can make two adult parents cheer like crazy :) When he stands up, he starts to get really excited because people are cheering for him. When he tries to clap for himself...down he goes!

Look Mom, No Hands!!!!

Happy 30th Bday JP!!!

This weekend Laura threw a surprise birthday party for Jenni Payne on Saturday. Knowing we would be out late, Aunt Allison came over to watch over Henry. They got to play and eat dinner together. Most importantly, no one got locked in or out of the house! It is so great having our sisters in the same town as us. We know Henry loves it. He has been missing Aunt Ally now that she doesn't watch him twice/week!

Developmentally, Henry has developed a case of separation anxiety. It all started on Friday when Laura dropped him off at the gym daycare. Henry went into a huge cry when Laura set him down. This repeated itself the following week at daycare when Reggie would drop the little guy off. It lasts for only about 5 min, and then he is back to his fun-loving self. Laura had to drop Henry off at daycare one morning, and just about couldn't leave him. Reggie's cell phone rang, and for the first 10 seconds, he couldn't tell if it was Laura or Henry himself calling due to all the sniffling and whining :)

Cleared for takeoff - Week 48

Bella (looking dejected), Jen Waldrop, Henry, & Brandon Bertz

Attempting to make an "H" for the week pic. Henry was not amused! 

This week started out with Henry's first day at his new daycare facility, Union Hill. We were a little nervous as to how he would respond to having teachers and kids who were all new to him. However, as we should have known, Henry had no issue adjusting, immediately smiling and playing with their toys. The ladies at the facilities told both Reggie and Laura that he is already the most chill baby they have, and they wished that they have seven more just like him in the room! Also, they love his "fish face," which is something that Henry somehow developed on his own. It is extremely cute,
especially if you overlook all the snot running
out of his nose from teething!

The famous "fish face"

Cute, huh?! :)

On Saturday, we all packed up and went to St. Louis for a U2 concert on Sunday. Which on a side note was the best concert we've ever seen hands down!!! Once we arrived, we found out that Grandpa and Grandma Anderson had gone out and bought Henry a Mickey Mouse airplane which Henry could use to either ride on top of, or walk behind it. This has immediately become Henry's most cherished possession! All weekend, all he wanted to do was push it around or have Dad push him around real fast. (On a related note, ol' dad needs to get into shape! A 32 year old shouldn't be out of breath after 5 minutes!)

Blast off!!!!

U2 at Busch Stadium - before we melted in the 100 + temps

On Sunday morning, we all went to brunch with our friends Stef and Tim, and their girl Ella (See Week 20 pic). Great time, Ella was very good at sharing her dolls with Henry and vice versa. When he wasn't sharing with Ella, Henry was making fish faces at everyone all during the meal!

Henry, the doll Tim made Henry hold, & Ella Jerry

Nothing really to report on the developmental side. It is interesting to note how much older having four teeth (or 3 and 1/4) makes a baby look!