Metal Meredith

When I first bought things for Henry, when he was about 3 months shy of making his appearance, Vivienne had to open and play with each item. I specifically remember her curled up on the sofa with the Rainforest Crib Toy that plays music, lights up and makes bubbles. She must have ran down the first set of batteries in a matter of days.

When Henry arrived, she started feeling the need to show him (at 3 days, 2 months, 4 months, etc) how each toy worked and was properly played with. He doesn’t care.....yet. But I am waiting for the day of the scream that shakes Vivienne to her core. For I know it is slowly on its way. The first time that Vivienne takes a toy out of Henry’s hands and he decides that this time, it isn’t okay. Vivienne will cry, mark my words.

Last week, I picked up a toy I found on Craigslist that has no lights, no plastic and no sounds. Imagine that! It is also not made in China! We brought it home and the scene looked like this:

Today, I found a rocker for Henry because under his 23 lb frame, the bouncy seat isn't so bouncy. We got home, Henry took a nap and the chair looks like this:

I worry for him the one day he decides to try and play with one of her toys. 

Damn straight.

Can you believe that came forth from my loins?

Henry is 7 months old. It seems that we went through a long, drawn out slug stage with him but now he is finally beginning to do something.

This week, he learned to hold his own bottle. He started to pivot around in his crib. Believe it or not, he has not moved more than a few inches in his crib in 7 months. In fact, the only physical activity he has done was roll over one time...ONE TIME!

With his 6 teeth, he is eating all kinds of things. He can’t wait to eat anything that is put in front of him, or me, or Phil. He has a great smile, a sweet laugh and a fondness for his sister. When we go to the mall, all kinds of people stop to say hello, smile or stop me to talk to him. It is just nuts!

My little baby is 6 months old. How did that happen? It seems like Vivienne’s first year lasted forever. I couldn’t wait for her to crawl and walk, say something recognizable, get teeth and hold her own bottle. With this one, he is taking his own sweet time with many milestones and I am thankful. It is making the time slow a bit from the breakneck speed at which it seems to pass now.

Henry is still the cutest baby on the planet. Promise. He has almost mastered sitting up. He likes to grab for anything and everything in his reach. When he finally gets something in his grasp, you can see his little brain working to figure out what to do with it. Typically, it goes right into his mouth. Other times, he holds it at arm’s length and ‘talks’ to it, which sounds more like a serious of grunts.

He is working on the ‘TH’ sound. Mostly to see how much drool he can force onto his chin and shirt and anything else in the immediate vicinity. I suspect he is adding another tooth to his current 3 tooth arsenal. He better be, at least. There has to be something to account for the superwhiny attitude we have been getting the last few days.

His little face just gets 1000 times brighter when his sister enters his field of vision. When she shows him some attention, he smiles and coos and starts to kick his legs. I know when she is in the room with him because he gets quiet and is content just watching her do things.

We haven’t quite found a food rountine yet. I suppose that should happen soon. He likes applesauce, pears and peas. He isn’t so fond of peaches, carrots and yogurt. Knowing how cute he is, I entered him into the HappyBaby Food photo contest. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Well, here is our first big milestone, right? 5 months old almost to the day and the big lug has his first tooth. Next.....off to college.