Chomp Chomp

Man Man got his first tooth! Yahoo! He is 5 months and 1 week! Bottom left is in and he's working on the bottom right.
I will work on getting a picture of his new pearly whites!

Gimme Some REAL FOOD!!!

It's no surprise that my "full figured" baby took to the bowl and spoon like he's been doing it for years. Of course, the first few bites were a bit messy, but once he got the hang of it I couldn't shovel it in fast enough.

I had forgotten how much fun it is to introduce your child to the wonderful world of taste! Our lives really do revolve around food and I love to be able to give him his first experience.

We've just tried rice cereal for a couple days, so I think tonight we'll be giving sweet potatoes a whirl.

And of course big bro had to be right by his side!

Potty Trained!!!!

Well, folks, I think it's safe to say that my boy is potty trained! After MUCH trial and error for several months, Henry just woke up 3 Saturday's ago and decided that that was the day. He has had a total of 4 tee tee accidents since then and I couldn't be happier! I think that's pretty good considering how hard he plays. When I say that potty training was my least favorite part of parenting so far, that is a total understatement! I HATED every minute, but alls well that ends well. We have one happy and independent little boy and a very proud Mama and Daddy.

Several more experienced moms had told me that no amount of pleading, begging, or bribing could make your child decide to do it. They have to decide on their own and boy were they right! He just decided the time was right and hasn't looked back since! Thank God!!!

Walking

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Steps

Henry has officially taken his first steps!

Brad and I have been kneeling down and calling for him to walk between us, but he has been real hesitant. However, on Tuesday when I dropped him off at Mrs. Brenda's he took 4 steps from her to me! And since then he's taken 5 or 6 or 7 randomly b/w us or b/w the table, etc.

So, it won't be long now until he's off and running!

Bye Bye Bottle

Henry has been off the bottle for 2 or 3 months or so, but has been drinking out of the soft spout Nuby sippy cup. In my opinion, this cup is essentially a bottle in that it has a soft spout like a nipple. He has refused all other kinds of sippy cups, until today! I gave him his milk in an Avent hard spout cup today and he loved it. Woo Hoo!!! I'm throwing the others out and we can close the book on that chapter of our lives. Kinda sad really, but big boys need big boy cups! He also drinks really well from a regular cup (with a little help).

No more FORMULA and no more BOTTLES!!!

Vocabulary Explosion

Just this week Henry has really been talking so much and you can see him really studying when you're trying to teach him something. We ask him to repeat us when we say a word OR ask him what sound a certain animal makes. Below are a few examples (some of which I've posted on before):

• Duck (ck ck ck)
• Lion (arrr arrr) (this one Nana and Papa taught him)
• Cow (ooo ooo)
• Doggie (dadoo, uff uff)
• Daddy (datee)
• Uncle Daniel (Dania)
• Thank You (tk u)
• Banana (nana)
• Uh Oh (whilst continuing to drop things just so i'll pick it up...nice!)
• Mama (and not just when sad anymore)

I love that he is such a little sponge right now and is trying so hard to learn new sounds!

Ho Ho Ho and Uh Oh!

Well, it looks like Henry has spoken his first words. Although, i'm not really sure what counts as a baby's first words. But he has turned into a little mimic! Last week we would say "Uh Oh" and he would say it back and has said it on his own a few times. We can thank Mimi for the "Ho Ho Ho". She has a little Santa Claus in her house and would take Henry over and point and say HOHOHO and he began repeating her. He goes "Huh Huh Huh"...so cute! So on Christmas day he was sitting in their living room and started pointing to Santa and saying it! And now he says it all the time!

But really, did we think he wouldn't be a little chatter box? I mean, look at his mom and dad...we're never exactly short for words. And MIMI? The cat's NEVER had her tongue!

Mobility Update

Our days of plopping Henry down on a big blanket are O-V-E-R! He is all over the place and is a master of the "commando crawl". He will literally drag himself with his elbows across the room at warp speed and when he sees something he wants there is no stopping him! His favorite thing to chase after is my flip flop. I walked out of the room for 2 seconds and came back and it was in his mouth. SICK! He also like to try and chew the seagrass rug on occassion. (Any suggestions on how to curb this behavior is welcome.) As of today he has learned how to go from his stomach to a sitting position. He did it once or twice over the weekend and I thought it was just by accident. Nope...he's got it down now. We are in for some fun times now with our little 'mess turkey'!

First Teeth

This week I noticed two little white spots on Henry's bottom gums and as the weekend has progressed so have his little teeth. The one on the left side is totally pushed through and the other is working its way out. I think he's been in the "teething process" for quite a while now, but until now i've seen nothing. He hasn't been terribly fussy, but he's drooling so much lately. I'll try to get a pic as soon as I can....stay tuned!

Official Report

I've just gotten an official report from Mimi and Pops! They are keeping him for us today and have witnessed first hand Henry rolling over from back to front! Woo Hoo! I was told yesterday that if you didn't see it (roll over) then it doesn't count. I disagree, but now its been done in the light of day and its official. I know....I know....I'm a total freak about this rolling over thing and will probably soon be wishing that he would just stay in one place. But its the little things in life that make a parent so proud!

Roll Over!!!

This is how I found Henry this morning when I went in to check on him! He can officially ROLL OVER! When we went to bed last night he was on his side, so I thought he would just roll back to his back. I have been rather obsessed with the fact that he hasn't rolled over yet, even though the Dr. says its TOTALLY normal. So YEA!!! HENRY!!!

He is still asleep right now and its 6:51. Yesterday he slept till almost 7:00. I wonder if this is a new pattern? Usually its between 6:00 and 6:30 that he wakes up. This suits me fine b/c I have a chance to get myself ready for work and then feed him and get him ready for the day.

Sitting Up

Sitting up all by myself! Starting to get tired......
Whoooooaaaaaaa.....
Crash.........
That was hard work!!!!

The past few days Henry has been sitting up for a few seconds at a time and then falling over. Today, when I came home from work, I put him on my bed and he sat up on his own for like 30 seconds or more. Brad was with him all day and said they "practiced" a lot!