Camping!

Henry turned 6 months old on Wednesday, and got to see his dad do his autocross competition for the first time! It was cold out though, so we left halfway through. The weather has been gorgeous and we have been enjoying playing outside! We go for a 4 mile walk every day with the landlady, which is wonderful! Henry has tried many foods, including eggs, mangoes, bananas, chicken, rolls, carrots, and those are just a few. This weekend, we took him camping and boating for the first time! We had a great time camping in our camper, and can't wait to do it again soon! Now, he is having allergy issues, or has come down with a cold. We'll give it a few more days, and see what happens!

Almost 6 months??

I can't believe my baby boy is almost 6 months old!! Where did the last 6 months go? Henry is changing and growing so much! I am proud to say that he has met a lot of his family! Wisconsin relatives, New Mexico, California, and Illinois relatives are the last on the list for him to meet! He and I along with mom, dad, and Abby went on a trip to Jersey, and it was great to see him with all of his great aunts and uncles, great grandparents and my cousins (I don't know what that makes it for him)! Henry is sitting by himself, weighs somewhere over 15lbs, is over 25 inches long, and continues to make Carl and I laugh every day! He is one of the happiest babies ever! We have been enjoying these warm sunny days, and can't wait for pool weather! He and I are going to have a blast! Well, he's telling me he is hungry and needs a diaper change...guess I better go take care of that!

Advice

If there was one thing that I was not prepared for in motherhood, it was the advice that every well-meaning person has for you. I know this is purely my own problem, but I can't help but feel judged when I make my own decisions for my child, that I know others have voiced opinions that are not in agreement with what I have decided. What I have learned most importantly from this well-meaning advice, is that no one person is right. What works for one family, might not work for another. You have to do what is right for YOU, YOUR family. And well, it's nice to think you can please everyone--you won't. Times have changed so much, and will continue to change, and you have to decide what is important for you...and how you are going to prioritize it. My biggest priority is exclusively breastfeeding Henry for the first 6 months. I felt with the winter months, he was going to get the best nutrition from me, and that he should get it exclusively as long as possible. I would be filthy rich if I had $1 for every time somebody said to me, "He'll sleep better if you start him on cereal", "He's how old...and hasn't had solids yet" etc. I am constantly having to remind myself--this is what works for our family! It's okay that not everybody thinks it's the best decision...heck why do I care so much anyways!? The other big one, is the choice to delay his shots. After all, he has LOW exposure, and by the time he is one, he will be completely on schedule, they just won't be completed by 6 months like the CDC would like. I am the one that has to live with the decisions that I make for my son...nobody else will have to live with the consequences for the decisions made except for myself (and of course, my spouse). Here's to doing what we feel is best, with the good Lord's guidance!

3 months old!

During the first week of being 3 months, Henry has done quite a lot! His first, was going to sleep, all on his own, without crying! He continues to go to bed on his own, however, has had some frequent crying spells the last few days. We hope to figure out what all goes right on the days that he falls asleep without crying, so that we can repeat it all the time! Yesterday, Henry went to his first birthday party. C turned 2 on Saturday, and the little guy slept from 3-5:30 in C's room...which worked out VERY well, because Henry gets quite cranky when tired! C was so cute playing with his new toys, and digging into the cake! He loves Henry so much, and requested to hold him almost as soon as he saw Henry...we definitely need to make more of an effort of getting those boys together! Henry continues to amaze his mommy and daddy, and entertain them too! His smiles, laughs and coos...are what makes it all worthwhile! He loves bathtime still, and it makes for an enjoyable time for us all! He kicks and waves his arms, along with splashing all over the place! I'll have to get a video of it tonight, and put it up here in the next few days. We are going to have to start bathing him in the big tub, because he kicks water everywhere in the little tub! Little man and mom are looking forward to warmer weather when we can get outside more and more enjoy the fresh air! There is nothing like spending some time outside!

New Year's!

Have I not blogged since Thanksgiving...my goodness I guess I need to get on it! The first few weeks of December were crazy in the Tannenbaum House. Carl had an extra week off of work (thanks to his boss who gave him a whole extra week of paid vacation when we had Henry!) and so we spent the week visiting with family (Henry met his Great Grandma from Florida, and his Great Aunt). At the end of the week, we took a road trip to Charleston, SC to show the little man the beach for the first time! He seemed to like how the water went through his toes, and was a very good boy on the road! Carl finished up his 2 classes he was taking (and got A's in both of them :) ), and before we knew it Christmas was upon us. We spent a week plus in Fairview, and were able to hang out with Brooke while mom, dad, and the rest of the family (minus Ray) went to Jersey for Christmas. It was very difficult to be without my family for the first holiday, but I enjoyed spending Christmas with Carl and Henry, along with the rest of the Tannenbaum's and Aunt Jean (who Henry met too). Our little man is growing up so fast!!! It makes this mommy very sad! I can't believe that he is already going to be 3 months old this week! Some accomplishments in Henry's life are: -Smiling (all the time now, it doesn't take much work to get one out of him!) -Hiking (he's quite the little hiker, I believe we've taken him on 4 different hikes now, and can't wait for warmer weather to go on more) -Talking (boy does he love to jibber, jabber!) -Giggling (can we say, adorable!! His most recent thing is giggling while playing peek-a-boo!!! That is so cute!) -TV (he loves Baby Einstein, Veggie Tales, and basically everything playing on the tv...though mommy doesn't allow it all) -Sleep (boy can this boy sleep!!! Recently he hasn't want to be held or anything while falling asleep so he has been crying it out...breaks my heart but he sleeps SO much better now, and is much happier) -Discovering new things (most recently inside his diaper...he is a little boy!) -Rolling (he can tuck those legs in, and gets on his side, but can not quite yet finish the flip!) Carl starts a new class tomorrow night, so it's back to business in this household. Carl's been cleaning like mad organizing cabinets, and trying to maximize space in this little place (not really tiny, just lacking good storage area). Tonight, I am hoping to let Henry fuss a bit before seeing if he wants to nurse in the middle of the night (around 4-5am usually)...last night I got him up and he never opened his eyes, and definitely didn't eat much because I was left feeling FULL! So, I do believe he was just waking up (kind of) to check back in and make sure we are there...I'll let you know how that goes!

Thanksgiving Week

We have had a crazy week!!! Starting last Tuesday, the out of town family started coming in! Cory came from Greensboro first, but we did not see her until Wednesday. Aunt Jessie came and met Henry on Tuesday, and we had my siblings and parents over for dinner! It was so nice to have them over here! They have been here only twice, so it was good to get them out to Booneville again...! Wednesday, found us going to Fairview early in the morning (we got there by 8:30!). We brought Carl's turkey over to Tannenbaum's and visited with them for awhile before I went to get my haircut with Jess!!! It feels so good to have it short again!!! Who would have thought?? Henry was a good boy, and chilled with his Auntie in the car! We also went by Lulu's consignment shop, on the hunt for a black onesie for the Christmas picture...we didn't have any success!! The afternoon found us getting ready for Thanksgiving dinner for Thursday (we got everything prepped for stuffing, cooked 4 pies, made green bean bake, sweet potatoes, and turnips!!! For as productive as we were, we were still very busy on Thursday! Thursday morning found us waking up early! We spent from Wednesday night- Sunday night at mom and dad's, so we weren't driving back and forth to Mars Hill constantly! It was nice to get to see everybody a lot! Mom made sticky buns (which were oh so good) and Henry and I dropped off Carl to work on his clutch over at a friend's in Fairview. We picked him up at 2:00, and had our first Thanksgiving dinner at 3. Henry decided he wanted to eat at the same time as everybody else, so we joined in on the meal mid-way. We hung out with the family, and played some matches in Ping-pong and air hockey until 5:00, when we headed over to Grandpa and Grandma T's. Dinner at the Tannenbaum's was at 6:30ish, and left us feeling very sluggish and full!! Henry was so cute playing with his toy in his car seat for all of dinner! We hung out until it was time for the little man to hit the sack...which is usually between 9:30 and 10:00. I tried to go out Black Friday shopping (at 10:00pm on Thursday) with Aunt Bexy, but after walking around Wal-mart for a few minutes, decided it was not worth the effort put forth! Carl gave Henry a bottle to top him off while I was gone--and he drank it! Friday morning while feeding Henry at 4, I decided to heck with it, I'm going shopping! It started with Oldnavy.com, where I ordered 4 new pairs of jeans for Carl- for $15 each! Shipping was free too- since we spent more than $50. Next up on my holiday to buy list, was a pair of trees in urns with lights on them, to put on either side of our door on our porch...they were being sold at JCPenney for $20. I didn't really want to go to Penney's, and decided to check it out online! Sure enough--there they were, with free to store shipping! I crossed them off my list too! Feeling pretty good with myself, and the items I scored without having to go anywhere, I thought, what the heck! I'll leave Henry with Carl, and go do some Black Friday shopping! I left the house at 4:45am, and went to Home Depot where I scored some fresh wreaths, and poinsettia's. Off I then went to A.C. Moore, where I got: jar candles, wreaths for our windows, candles for the windows, and garland and bows for outside. Mental note to self: the only thing that was a GREAT deal at A.C. Moore was the candles...the rest of the stuff is on sale for the same price this week! Bummer...but oh well! I came home to find Carl up with Henry...he wasn't too happy! Henry just grinned at me and started talking! I think he missed his mommy! He met his Uncle Ray-Ray who had come in at 1:00ish on Friday morning (he had to work Thanksgiving day). I brought him upstairs and caught mom and dad as they were getting ready to leave to go Black Friday shopping. Henry chilled with me until 9:00 when Carl woke up. We brought him over to work on the truck some more, and went back home. A little before noon, Aunt Jessie, myself, and Henry went to Old Navy to get Jess a pea coat, and World Market to score on some pashmina scarves (for $5!!). I collected quite a few for myself, and have been enjoying wearing them! They help hide these few pounds that I want GONE! Henry and I drove with Aunt Cory to Piazza for lunch with Grandpa and Grandma T, Brian, and Carl. After lunch, we came back to mom and dad's where Henry chowed down (he hadn't eaten in quite a while). By 4:00 we were picking Carl up from working on the truck, and showering getting ready for our family picture that had to take place on Friday, the only day we were all together! We then had a second Thanksgiving dinner (I guess really 3rd, since we had two in one day!). This one was even better than the one on Thanksgiving because everybody was there! We have so much to be thankful for! After dinner, was the finishing of the air hockey ping pong tourney! The winners were: Air Hockey: 1st- Ray 2nd- TJ 3rd- Jessica Ping pong: 1st- Carl 2nd- TJ 3rd- Dad We then went upstairs and played some Catch Phrase...all except for Gammie, who insisted upon Henry duty while everyone else played. Of course, Henry is such a good baby, and didn't give her much trouble at all! After catch phrase was pie and ice cream time, and before we knew it, Henry was telling us it was already time for bed. Saturday morning, we got up early and saw Jessie off around 9. Henry, Abby, and I brought Carl to work on the truck (noticing a trend yet?) and on the way there fooled Carl into thinking there was an electrical problem with the car. Really, it was just a fizzing half filled soda bottle!! Pretty comical to say the least! Henry and I went to visit with the Tannenbaum's and went with Aunt Cory to pick Carl up at 12:30ish. We then went back to the house, and left to go hiking in Hot Springs at around 1:30ish. Talk about a hike! Boy did it leave me exhausted! We picnicked before we climbed up, and I carried Henry on the way up! At the top, Henry took his eating break, and Carl then carried him all the way down! There was no way I was going down carrying him, that is for sure! We started heading home around 5:00...and stopped for a dinner break at Vinnie's. We ended up getting home at 7, and headed back to mom and dad's for the night around 9. We hung out for a little while with Uncle Ray-Ray, and then hit the sack by 10. Sunday morning we got up to go to church. We went to the early service which begins at 9. I met this really nice lady who has 4 children and home schools. Her youngest is one, and it was nice to connect with somebody. I feel like once you have a baby, you find where you really belong, and people are a lot more welcoming...maybe it's because it's an easy conversation starter! Who knows! Carl went mountain biking with Lenny once we got home, and I hung out at the Tannenbaum's and went to visit at the Jones' too. Mom and dad came home, and we went to visit and say bye to Ray. We went back to hang out over at Tannenbaum's until Cory left at 6:30ish. We decided to go ahead and spend Sunday night, since Carl shoots on Monday nights anyways, and we end up practically in Fairview again. Plus, it gave me an opportunity to start getting stuff together with mom for her sale at Curves. We came home Monday night, after spending the day making orange marmalade, getting Christmas gifts ready to ship, and putting together canned goods to sell. It was so nice to be able to spend so much time with family over the holiday...if you thought Thanksgiving was crazy--check back in with us to see how Christmas goes! :)

So much has been going on...can you tell we are a little behind on the blogging front?? Henry is such a good baby, and has been regularly sleeping between 4-6 hours at night!! What a blessing!!! We can't complain about it a bit!!! Today, we went hiking with the little man, along with Katie, Brian, Justin, and their dogs Maggie and Nacho! Henry was such a good boy (of course!) and we are looking forward to spending more and more time with him in the outdoors. Henry is sporting his new cloth diapers too...and they are, of course, too cute on him!!! I don't think we are going to use them at night yet, since he is sleeping for 6 hours at a time, we don't want to wake up to a huge mess! Today, the little man got his first bottle!! And, he took it from his mommy!!! I don't believe we are going to get into the practice of giving him to many of them...it's so much easier just to nurse him! Felicia and Mason came over on Saturday, along with Grandma T. Mommy was so happy that Henry was finally able to meet Mason! They are going to be great friends! Henry is so lucky to know so many wonderful boys that are around his age! Convenient for his mommy and daddy too, because we love hanging out with all of them! Last Monday, Henry and I had a playdate with Audrey and Stephanie! The kids were so cute together, and the mommies dyed onesies and burp cloths! Fun times! Tomorrow we are going to get together again, and sew pee cones (they go over to help with the "spraying" that might occur when changing a little boy diaper). Tuesday, Henry finally gets to meet his Aunt Jessie!!! He is so excited!! We are so thankful for our little man who keeps us busy, that is for sure! On Wednesday, we are heading to Fairview to spend Thanksgiving with all of the family! A fun time will be had by all I am sure!