2008 was Great!

Cory and I are stuffed from our traditional New Year's Eve lobster dinner, and I am recovering on the couch with the MacBook in my lap, attempting to upload photos so that I can start 2009 with an empty camera.  The crazy thing is that I exceeded my free Google account storage and am in the process of upgrading right now.  Once the upgrade is processed, I will upload photos along with a video that should satisfy your Henry appetite at least for a while.

 

The lack of adequate storage isn't surprising.  2008 was an amazing year for us, and the massive amounts of photos, emails, blogs, and videos are only representative of the fun, excitement, and sheer joy of this year.  Cory and I both were hit with the funny "feels like just a couple of months ago" feeling as we prepared our 2008 lobster dinner.  It seems like not long ago that Cory was sticking lobsters in the pot while I covered my ears but kept my eyes on my pregnancy crossword puzzle, which, I might add, was completed rather quickly due to my extensive prenatal care knowledge.  Henry was still known as "Totch," and we were mixing yummy mocktails of ginger ale, cranberry, pineapple, and orange juice.  We were just one month away from the arrival of a life-changing cell mass turned little boy.

Henry made 2008 the best year that we ever had and better than we ever imagined a year could be.  We are delighting in being Henry's parents and getting to know this amazing boy who can capture an entire room with his uninhibited smiles and outcries.  Who knew that his first, brief, wide smile would make us grin for hours and his first words would make us talk about them for weeks?  He makes each day an adventure, and each week and month an epic journey worthy of a $20 storage upgrade!

Getting there...

I think that the best one word description for me lately is "behind."  However, I am working hard to change that description and am uploading photos from November and December to Picasa and will do a more detailed blog post soon... hopefully before Christmas.  This blog and the photos are a great joy of mine.  A tough semester, a really active Henry, and the approaching holidays forced me to delay partaking in these indulgences.  It is going to be so nice to delve into the latest photos and to relay our lives to you.  Thanks to our family and friends for wanting to keep up with us!

Breaking news, Breaking news!

I must pause from writing my research paper to let you all know that Henry took his first step today! Henry and I were playing on the living room floor after he and Daddy returned from Christmas shopping. My macbook was sitting on the love seat, so Henry crawled over, pulled up, reached for it, and then realized that he wouldn't be able to reach its intentionally selected placement. So he turned to face me and my beckoning for him to step into my arms. He let go of the couch, stood for a moment, then gave a giant smile and stepped into my arms!

Oh, what a feeling! One small step for Henry, one giant leap for our hearts!

Quick Update

We are busy, busy, busy here at the Hughes house! Henry is now standing for lengthy periods on his own and can even eat Purely-O's while standing and without holding onto something! He also now freely exclaims, "Mama!" whenever he is asked to do so or whenever he does not want to take a nap. He continues to add to his word repertoire, and his latest and most rapidly repeated is, "yeah." We are considering changing our own vocabulary to include more of "yes" as it seems less rude.

The funniest and perhaps the favorite trick of late is his head nodding. Henry gets a real kick out of shaking his head back and forth in the disagreement gesture. He first began doing it while staring at himself in the car mirror on the way home from the beach after Thanksgiving weekend. It was a treat to actually observe his learning and his enjoyment in a new skill. Of course, it's still funny to watch, but it is less funny when it comes after we are forced to say something like, "No spitting, Henry." He just shakes that head and laughs.

You probably noticed that I am failing to upload photos lately. Don't worry. I will upload and blog with a furry once I finish this semester and Henry's sinus infection clears!

He Talks!

Henry actually started his first words already, but I simply have been wrapped up with illnesses, schoolwork, etc... and haven't shared them with everyone yet.

Last week, I thought that Henry was intentionally saying "DaDa," to his Daddy or at least when  looking for his Daddy.  It became crystal clear that he was referring to Daddy when Cory walked into the nursery on Wednesday morning, and upon his entry, Henry said a very clear, "Heeeeeey!" from the crib.  Then, just before I nursed him that same morning, Daddy walked into the room, and Henry said, "DaDa!"  Then, believe it or not, Henry repeated my prompting of, "Hey, Dada!"

What a smart boy we have... his first intentional words and even a first phrase at 9 months!

He also started saying "Bye Bye!"  There was no doubt about his "Bye Bye!" that he exclaimed while waving as I took him from his classroom last Thursday.  Now, though, he shortened the phrase to simply, "Bye," and he says it, along with the waving, quite frequently.  He also shortened ,"Hey, DaDa!" to just, "Hey, Da!"  He is pressed for time and can't manage wasting breath on double syllables when it's not completely necessary, you know.

Henry is a fun chatterer, and I love his growing range of expressions--facial and verbal.  I am, however, anxiously waiting for intentional "Mama."

He Sleeps!

Henry slept all night last night!  He woke in a good mood, which really was nothing new since his mood, save for a rough Sunday night, has been pretty much happy throughout this illness ordeal.  

Dr. Song gave Henry a good report, too, and he remains free of ear or sinus infection and is cleared for travel.  He also managed to put on a few ounces despite his lack of appetite.  We are guessing that he is going to put on several more ounces over the Thanksgiving holiday.  I sure do hope his appetite is back in full swing in time to taste all the yummy food!  

He Eats!

Henry ate some yogurt and Purely-O's this morning, and best of all, he ate lots of applesauce and sweet potato this evening!  We are so happy that he seems to be regaining his appetite.  In fact, we are all getting used to eating again.  

Just to be safe, I scheduled a pediatrician's appointment for tomorrow to make sure Henry doesn't have any issues to worry about before we head out of town.  I have high hopes that he's just fine and will be over his cold in time for his first Thanksgiving!  

News from the trenches

Henry, Cory, and I are on the mend from yet another stomach virus that first attacked Mama then Daddy, and finally, Henry.  Of course, Henry had his own cold to share, too, so it will probably be some time before we are over it and fully well.

Poor Henry was whisked away from his incapable-of-quality-care parents by Grandjoe on Thursday night for a premature first night away from his Mama and Daddy.  Grandjane cared for Henry at her house but noted that Henry wouldn't touch his food and only took his bottles.  Her suspicions were confirmed when he puked and had a very messy diaper the following morning.  Henry was promptly returned to us.

The on-call pediatric nurse advised putting Henry on stomach rest, but our little guy seemed desperate to nurse, so I let him.  It's counter-intuitive to not nurse your sick child who can obviously benefit from the anti-bodies and rich nutrients.  He only had one more messy diaper that day, and only one small spit-up.  

I had to spend the next day in Columbia for my group counseling class, and after nursing Henry around 7:30 AM, Henry puked again.  This time, I could not stick around to care for him.   Daddy put him on stomach rest and fed him water every 45 minutes.  By the time I got home, Henry made it clear that he wanted and needed to nurse, and Cory reported that Henry had only one very small wet diaper--not a good sign.  This time, the on-call pediatric nurse commended me for sticking with my instincts to nurse and said that he will, indeed, benefit from it. So far, Henry had only two more messy diapers and a couple of small spit-ups.  It is very possible that his stomach troubles are now related to his cold and the accompanying nose and sinus drainage.  

Saturday evening was supposed to be our first real date night.  We were planning to attend Art and Soul, YouthBASE's charity art show which Cory and I helped to sponsor, and then maybe dinner and drinks afterwards.  Henry was going to spend a fun-filled evening and restful overnight with his Grandjane and Grandjoe.  I was already feeling slight apprehension about the evening, so you can imagine how very sad I felt about having to call for help in caring for Henry two nights in advance.  I was sobbing when Henry left, but thankfully, I was not aware that he was not feeling well, and my own exhaustion allowed me to fall asleep even before 30 Rock was over.  (I did not stay asleep... the body aches kept me up for about 3 nights strait.)  

Henry's caretakers are doing much better today and managed to eat some real food.  Henry is still sticking with only a few Purely-O's and nursing.  He has the snottiest nose I ever saw, so we each have mucus tracks on our shirt sleeves and pants legs.  We are also taking turns holding him in the hot shower to make sure that his nose continues to run so that he can breathe and possibly avoid any infections.

Obviously, parenting brings about a body fluid/ waste obsession and missed date nights.  It's still pretty enjoyable, though!

Henry, Meet Meat

Things are progressing rather quickly for Henry--crawling, pulling up, cruising, chatting--he's getting to be a big little boy!  It seems almost silly to keep feeding him like a baby, so we made a decision to go ahead and fast track him to table food to hedge against his baby food weariness. After all, baby can't live on Purely-O's alone!  (I also took a bite of the stage 3 jar of food that we bought him, and even though Henry wasn't going to eat a lot of jar food, there is no way that I want him to develop a taste for that stuff.  Blech!)  

We started with the delicious chicken pot pie that we bought from one of our church's circles, and he seemed to enjoy his first foray into meat and mild seasoning.  We followed the chicken path again this evening, and Henry appreciated the shredded and sliced roasted chicken and carrots.  We also have the go-ahead to start introducing some dairy, and he is letting us feed him yogurt, even though it requires a spoon.

Henry is going to MMO tomorrow with shredded chicken, steamed peas, diced pears, and banana yogurt.  Sounds pretty good, doesn't it?  Trust me, even if it all got combined, it would be better than that jar stuff I tried.  

More Than Just a Diaper Change!

Look at our little future voter!  

Henry was, as you can tell from the photo, eager to help his Mama and Daddy cast their votes this morning.  He recognizes the importance of every single vote, even in South Carolina.  

We waited in line for only about half an hour, so I thought that no one would be bothered if we took the time for a photo!  

Change of Plans

Henry admitted late Friday afternoon that Mama's insanely rough stomach virus was going to ruin the weekend plans to take a road trip to visit his favorite cousins, go trunk or treating and not to some weird judgement house, dress like a pumpkin, eat some Alabama barbeque, wear his custom royal purple longalls, and tease Stacy while watching the Paladins narrowly beat the Bulldogs.  A responsive and eager-to-leave-the-house Daddy took Henry on a whirlwind Target trip where they rescued a lonely sock monkey costume just waiting for the perfect super duo to swoop in and save it from spooky clearance land.  You can see that, while we were very sad and disappointed to miss out on our family fun weekend in Chelsea, Alabama, we got plenty of cuteness.  

Daddy did a superb job of playing Mr. Mom from Thursday to Sunday, and he is slowly relinquishing his responsibilities as Mama recovers.  Thankfully, Daddy and Henry remain healthy and happy!  Our theory is that Henry is spreading the MMO germs from which he is immunized and/ or receiving milk-based antibodies.  

Take a Hike!

Henry got to experience his first hike last Saturday, and it was made even better by the presence of his aunt Kayce who did not complain one bit!  We hit the road approximately 1.5 hours later than planned, so we ditched the Dupont State Forest plans for more local Caesar's Head plans.  Our picnic, lookout, and hike were all beautiful and made for some great picture taking and memories.  Henry says he is now ready for higher level hiking. 

Perfect Pumpkin Picking

The "first pumpkin" isn't technically a developmental milestone, but nonetheless, it is a cute first!  We had a great trip to Mini Miracles Farm in Taylors with Jeff, Jenn, and Charles Braeunig on Sunday.  Henry really liked having his friend there to help pick out perfect first pumpkins, and he especially liked hanging out in the pumpkin barrow with Charles.  Make sure you look at the 8 1/2 Month album to see all the images from the trip.  

Henry selected a modest but perfectly formed pumpkin after tasting the skins and stems of several pumpkins of varying shapes and sizes.  He also pointed out that the small pumpkin will be easily transported to Chelsea, Alabama for Halloween--smart kid!  

Henry also got to add on another first on last Saturday evening--his first bonfire!  My old friend from LDHS, Jeff Haney, was kind enough to invite us to his parent's big party.  We got to meet Jeff's beautiful wife, Nancy, and his adorable kids, Cooper and Eliza.  It was a good night full of delicious barbecue with LOTS of sides and desserts, and it was so nice to see Jeff after so many years.

This picture is of Jeff and his beautiful daughter Eliza.  You can't see the bonfire that had Henry's attention and caused him to ignore his daddy's calls to look at the camera.

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow...

Henry's hair is looking a little tidier as he peacefully snoozes this evening.  He decided to take control of his increasingly messy head, so we took him to visit Amanda at The Spa at 310.  It was quite fitting as Amanda not only has a long history of styling his mom's, Grandjane's, Grandjoe's, and Elizabeth's hair, she also did Mama's hair the day before Henry was born!  The first haircut went quite well.  He looks good, and he doesn't look a lot older as Mama and Daddy feared.  Henry looks like the very cute and sweet 8 1/2 month old baby that he is--just a bit more handsome.

The Wave!

Henry waved at Mama, Daddy, and himself today!  I suspected that he was doing some subtle practice waving into his car seat mirror on the way to MMO this morning.  When I asked Henry if he was waving, he just put his hand down and gave me a sly smile.  Now I know that he was practicing, and he did, indeed, make it perfect!  Henry was later playing at the leap pad station while I was in class this evening, and I waved at him like we do from time-to-time. This time, he lifted his right arm, opened his fist, and started slowly turning his hand in a sort of parade wave.  The style then changed to a more traditional up and down motion with a big Henry smile included.  Daddy came home soon after, and Henry greeted him with a welcome home wave!  We are so thrilled with this fun new interaction and especially love when he turns his hand towards himself to wave and study the motion.  He is so cute!  

Crawl Rite

Henry got his first pair of real shoes today!  We braved Haywood Mall this afternoon after a delicious Sunday lunch at Grandjane and Grandjoe's house, and we picked out a pair of size 4 beginning shoes--all white and all cute!  These shoes are supposed to be the best for Henry's crawling, pulling up, and pulling along the furniture stage.  Stride Rite is the only place I know to shoe shop, but we are hoping to figure out another place to go as it was rather packed and rather expensive.  Of course, Henry's worth it.  We are hopeful that these shoes last the promised three months!

This picture is from the Stride Rite store.  Henry had to wake from a car nap to try on shoes, but the sippy cup made it OK.

Weekend Rebound!

Our weekend got off to a slow start since Cory drove home from Columbia on Friday evening, and I was just plain exhausted from trying to keep/ catch up with my classes (and son) all week.  Suffice it to say that we couldn't even bring ourselves to go rent a movie.  We did get some wonderful news on Friday night, though, and are so happy that Will and Elizabeth got to welcome their little boy to the world.  We hated to bow out of Mema's birthday party, but surely this news of a healthy great grandchild was the best birthday gift possible!

The slow Friday night start was not indicative of our Saturday, though, and I am extremely impressed with us as we started out Saturday morning by sticking with a commitment to attend the Furman Alumni Breakfast at 9 AM.  Henry sported his new royal purple longall made by my friend and coworker Cyndi.  We extended our homecoming celebration by coming home to play with Penny then having a chance lunch with Linsey, Chris, and Niklas at the always mouthwatering Pita House.  Henry enjoyed sprinkling their floor with Purely-O's and watching his conscientious mother, who still remembers parents who let their kids soil my section of the restaurant, politely pick them up off the floor.

Elizabeth rode with us to the football game, and we actually hung around until the end of the 3rd Quarter. Then, as if homecoming breakfast and football weren't enough, we headed to Henry's first Fall for Greenville downtown!  We had to pass on the homecoming party at Fluor field, but I think Henry was game.  He was such a great sport and seemed filled with gratitude for our schedule deviation that left little time for naps or the accompanying nap objections. 

Henry turned in late for bed tonight--around 8:45.  He gave us lots of smiles, face pinches, and knuckle pop-digs before drifting off.  I am guessing that his dreams are filled with purple touchdowns and lobster cigars.

Having Henry Back

Our little virus carrier is now back to being the smiling, squealing, and laughing Henry that we are used to having around the house!  He ate cereal yesterday morning and ate his cereal, veggies, and even tried banana pieces today.  It was nice to know that he was getting the best sustenance for him, complete with the antibodies associated with whatever virus I had, but we are glad that his appetite returned.  Maybe he will not wake to nurse tonight!  (Probably just jinxed myself.)

Sadly, we had to miss out on our friend Christine's 30th birthday party on Saturday night.  Happy Birthday, Christine!  We will help you celebrate in a belated manner soon. 

We are realizing more and more that Henry is quite a flirt.  We went to Midtown Deli for lunch today where Henry got the attention of a lady sitting at the next table by flashing his dazzling smile and coy grin.  After a group of young girls sat at another table, he turned his charm to draw their undivided attention and lavishing compliments.  Later, at my friend Carla's baby shower, he focused his charm across the room to convince a lady to come over only for Henry to then manage to have a circle of little girls surround him!  Clearly, trouble is ahead since he is displaying a pattern of trading in for younger girls.

This video is from after this afternoon's banana snack time.  He's a bit sleepy here, but there is no question... Henry is back!

One more because he's so cute!

Roseola and the Tooth

We decided that Henry's temperature was climbing back to fever level, so we went to the pediatrician last night.  It turns out that Henry has Roseola, which is common for the first year of life and typically not too serious.  

Oddly, it was almost a relief to find out that there was an actual virus and to know what to expect.  Henry's two previous "sick" checks resulted in first a teething diagnosis and then a slight possibility of a small cold virus or, again, teething symptoms.  We don't want him to be sick, but at least we know how to help now!

The funny thing is that I finally found Henry's first tooth last night after we got home from the doctor!  It only took five months of some serious teething, but there it was on the bottom gum!  It's no wonder our little guy was less smiley--a protruding tooth coupled with a virus.   We are taking good care of him, and Daddy is working from home today to help since I seem to have some sort of virus, too.

I think that you can sort of see his little bit of tooth (bottom right) in this picture that I took today.  Henry is such a good sport and is much better at handling being sick than I am.  I love him.

101.8... 98.9...101.7... 99.8

Henry had his first official "fever" of 101.8 on Tuesday, and we are still home in an attempt to contain whatever is causing the fever and to keep an eye on him.  I noticed he was hot to the touch when I picked him up from Mother's Morning Out, and the teacher reported that he didn't eat his food--just took his bottle.  It was odd since I made him zucchini and some cereal for his lunch, and I fully expected him to at least gobble up his zucchini, a favorite.  Henry was also very quiet and didn't smile at me, which most people who spend any time with Henry would immediately recognize as a problem.  Henry smiles a lot... a whole lot!  I checked his temp at home, and it was 101.8. He also went easily down for and took a long afternoon nap, another sign that something was wrong!

Since then, his temperature fluctuated from 101.8 to 98.9 the next morning to 101.7 last evening.  It is staying steady at 99.9 today, so after speaking with the nurses again today, I am just watching him and making sure it doesn't get back into fever realm.  So far, his additional symptoms are that he doesn't want to eat--just nurse--and he has some killer gas.  One nurse mentioned that it may be teething related!  Teething.  What a pain!

Here's a video of Henry crawling and being inventive.  He's a little sluggish today but still super cute!

Our crawler

We are very pleased (and a little nervous) to announce that Henry started crawling on the evening of Thursday, September 25th.  The video camera was, of course, dead, but I managed to capture some crawling footage on our digital camera the next day.  It was actually my first time to see him crawl forwards instead of scoot, roll, and push.  Daddy got to witness the very first spurt of crawling.

We already began some child proofing efforts, but it's clear that we need to do more.  Henry seems to want to especially crawl right towards the brick hearth, so we will be shopping for padding very soon!

This little video is actually from his third day of crawling as Penny managed to stay out of this one.  Note that it is cut short since I had to quickly grab him right after he started really crawling so that I could intercept his hearth beeline! 

We broke down...

It's official... there are way too many exciting milestones in Henry's life to save them for an update email at his 9-Month checkup.  This indulgent blog will allow us to quickly update Henry's friends and family and will serve as small appetizers while you wait for the main course update email.

We created this blog to share videos, too.  In-person-showing-off of Henry's newly obtained crawling and chatting skills would be better, but video is pretty good!

Here's to hoping that blogger has spellcheck!  

Ginny