Cooing

Henry started cooing around 5 weeks. And with each week he is cooing more and more. It is SO cute. His favorite word is ahgoo. Luckily, I speak a little baby and ahgoo roughly translates to "Mommy, I love you so so much!". Sometimes among his cooing, Kyle and I swear we've heard a real word or two in there, not just baby talk. The other day we were eating dinner and Henry clear as day said, "Kyle". Kyle and I both looked at each other and said, "Woah, he just said Kyle!". Its possible we have some kind of baby genius on our hands:) Other non-baby words we swear we've heard Henry say, "hi", "I do", "oh" "mom" "help" and "sure". Talking so much at 7 weeks old - the Irish, gift of the gab! He must be my baby:)

Henry's first love

The Nuk: Henry's first love. It was our go to for any and all fussing. He loved his nuk. It worked like a charm every time. I'm sad to report that he has lost that loving feeling for his nuk. He'll still take it sometimes but only briefly. And sometimes he'll refuse it all together.
In its place, a far less portable and less convenient soother, the baby swing. The baby swing is Henry's new love. Once we've exhausted all the other possibilities, he's hungry, sleepy, needs a diaper change, ect., we put fussing Henry in the baby swing and Hallelujah! He's happy and content and quiet:) Now if only we could put the baby swing in his diaper bag and carry it around with us.

Henry meets Santa

Gigi and I took Henry to meet Santa. Henry is too young to have the stranger danger cry but he certainly was unsure about this Santa fellow. The better picture which I wish I had gotten was Henry with his mouth wide open screaming and his fist pulled back like he was going to punch Santa. After I put his nuk in we got this picture with the scowling eyebrows. After taking the picture with Santa the plan was to do some shopping but things didn't go as planned. Henry had a major diaper blow out. Santa literally scared the poop out of him! Good thing Henry didn't getting any on Santa. He would've been on the naughty list for sure!

Spit up

For the first few weeks of Henry's life, he was not a spit up baby. Kyle and I could count on one hand the number of times he spit up. This has unfortunately changed. He's not a big spitter upper but its definitely more frequent these days. Its like he's found his puking reflex! And he uses the few neck muscles he has to pick his head up and get my hair every time! It doesn't matter if my hair is up, down, or to the side, he finds it! Ugh! And his grip on my hair is getting stronger and stronger. He likes to hold on to it when I'm holding him. Perhaps he thinks I might drop him and wants some insurance? Taking matters into his own hands! Don't worry baby, I would never drop you. And you can spit up on me all you want and I'll still think you are the cutest baby ever:)

Muscle Man

Henry does the cutest thing (well, he does LOTS of cute things...). Kyle and I call it his muscle man move or his he-man. He makes fists and flex his arms as if to show off his biceps. Every time he does it Kyle and I ooh and ahh over him. We, like most parents, thought that this was some unique thing that only our unique lil man did. And then...he did it in front of the pediatrician (ooooh and ahhhhh). The pediatrician informed us that this is a newborn reflex. A reflex that occurs when their nervous system isn't quite mature yet. WHAT?! ITS NOT JUST HENRY'S SUPER CUTE THING? Nope, apparently not and he will soon be outgrowing it. So my goal this week is to catch it on video before it disappears!

My Future MU Alum!

Its fun to imagine who Henry will be when he grows up. Although I want to keep him my little baby forever! Kyle and I like to imagine Henry's future. We talked about what job he'll have and the college he'll go to. We imagine that like his mommy and daddy he will go to Marquette but decided that their are a few Ivy league schools that would also be ok:) And of course we imagine that he will be attending college on a full academic scholarship! Our lil genius:) Possibly an athlete scholarship...maybe but only for non-contact sports like track or cross country or swimming. Nothing where he could get hurt. I spent way too long making him!
Above is Henry's first MU outfit! First of many:)
Thanks for the hat Mrs. Schliecher!

Henry's First St. Nick's Day

Henry's 1st Saint Nick's day! He was so excited that he woke everyone up at 3:30AM to see what St.Nick left in his shoe:) He was then so excited by his new toy that he stayed up for another two hours...It's ok though. Henry is the only person in the whole world that I would be happy to wake up for at that hour:)

Henry and Jacob's 1st Thanksgiving!

For Henry's first Thanksgiving we went to Uncle James and Aunt July's. My brother Tim and his family and my brother Mike all flew in. Henry got to meet his cousins and Aunt and Uncles. James and July did a great job hosting and I think Henry really enjoyed his first holiday.
It was fun watching my three little nephews playing and I could only imagine that next year, Henry will be right in the mix, wrestling and rough housing with them!
Happy First Thanksgiving to my son Henry and my godson, Jacob!

One Month Old

Henry is one month old! My chunky monkey has already grown so much. He now weighs 10lbs 7oz and is almost 23 inches long. His weight is now in the 70th percentile and his height remains in the 90th percentile. At his one month doctor appointment his doctor commented on what a calm baby he was. I know we are truly lucky to have a little man with such a good temperament. But I don't want to jinx it. I know that at any moment it could all change.
On the day he turned one month I found myself looking at the clock all day and thinking, "what was I doing this time last month..." It's still all very fresh in my mind. I remember how when my water broke, I didn't believe it and had to google it for confirmation. I remember how excited Kyle was on the car ride to the hospital. I remember those first few contraction that Kyle could make me laugh through. And I remember that turning point when the contractions went from laughable to down right crushing. I remember the first moment I saw my baby and the over whelming feeling that came over me and I remember watching Kyle hold our son for the very first time. It was surreal. The whole experience was truly a miracle. Sometimes I look at Henry and think, WOW, I made that. That's my son. And I feel like the most blessed person in the world.