Metal Meredith

I am not sure how this happened, but he truly is the cutest child on the planet. He makes my whole world smile on a daily basis. In the morning, even after waking up 2 or 3 times that night, screaming in my ears when I am half awake, pulling my hair with his flailing hands, he always manages to win me over in a matter of seconds. I walk in, he turns his head and in one sideways look, I am smiling.

I don’t remember Vivienne being this sweet or precious. Of course, there were many other factors going on then. I was trying to work from home and take care of her at the same time. I was suffering from a pretty bad bought of post partum depression but hadn’t quite realized it yet. She would screech ad cry when you placed her in the carseat. Traveling made my blood pressure rise so much I stopped going out altogether if I had to take her along. It was a good 6 months before I started taking Zoloft and felt normal again. I actually remember her being cute around 6 months. Before that, I was too hard on myself and her to enjoy it.

But Henry, he is a peach. I wanted to enjoy this experience fully, seeing as it is obvious we won’t have another. I started on Zoloft 6 weeks after giving birth to ward off any possible depression. I simply didn’t want to take the chance. We can go out and do pretty regularly. Vivienne is helpful for the most part which makes this time a bit easier, even if I have another child to take care of.

Henry likes to smile and talk. He has giggled a few times, but his happiness is evident without it. He turns his head, looks up at you from the corner of his eye and gives a wide, sideways grin. He is such a flirt. He somehow manages to look surprised when you walk over to him, as if to say “Hey! Its you! I like you!”

I haven’t written a lot about him because there isn’t much more to say. For those with kids, you know the milestones that he is hitting; clutching something in a fist, kicking things with his foot, recognizing faces and sounds. Looking around and scooting on his back. Those things thrill me but aren’t such a big deal to those without kids. Phil and I clapped and laughed ourselves silly when he first made a giggle sound. Vivienne was startled and didn’t understand the fun of it all.

But here are some recent photos. He is a huge boy, weighing in at 15lbs at his last doctor visit. We have another in a week, so I can only imagine he is 17-18 now, if not more. In fact, we just started him in size 3 diapers, which are for 6 month old babies...good grief.

Phil called me at midnight Sunday to tell me that his friend, who he had been hanging out with, had just been shot. Just to clarify, this isn’t an everyday occurance for either Phil or this friend. We are both a little freaked out, very sleepy (as Phil didn’t get home until almost 3am) and concerned for the friend and the friend’s child.

Both friend and child are ok. Friend is still in the hospital recovering but doing well. It saddens both Phil and I that someone who was just trying to help a neighbor ended up taking a bullet for his good deed, but I am more impressed that this person was so quick to disregard his own safety to help someone in need. Lord only knows what might have happened to the woman who was being mugged if he hadn’t startled them. Still, we are all thankful this was as bad as it got.

If anyone knows something in regard to this crime, please contact the authorities. *Updated on the website with photo of suspect*

Richmond police seek suspects in overnight shooting

From NBC12 News

The suspects are still on the run.

Just to prove to you all how crafty I have become, below are the various ways we prepare pancakes on weekend mornings.

Mickey Mouse:

Snowman:

Caterpillar:

I have now run out of ideas, however, on things to construct with round objects. Anyone have another?

Vivienne was doing a little watercolor yesterday in her playroom. She walked into the living room and exclaimed, “I painted a beard so I could look like Daddy!” What do you think?