Boo!

Henry with his peeps. This was among the best photos of the party. Let's just say the poor kiddos were less than thrilled to be in their costumes. But they were so cute!

Taking some photos outside in our yard.

Getting ready to trick or treat with Henry's cousins, Evan (the knight) and Liam (also a dragon).

Fall Fun

Things have been busy in the G house lately. Brian and I celebrated our second wedding anniversary last week with a special dinner out at Bocado Tapas Bar in Worcester, and it was deliciously wonderful. Leisurely dining at a trendy restaurant, sans Henry, and voila---we felt almost like our formerly single, Boston-residing selves! I also enjoyed another local restaurant for my Mommies Night Out last week. Add a night out to my Book Club on Sunday and it seems like I've hardly been home. The nights out were definitely welcome, and needed, but by tonight I felt very happy to have dinner with my guys and put Henry to bed myself as per our usual routine.

In other good news, Henry has been helping out a lot more around the house. In fact, pretty soon I'm sure I won't have to do any chores myself. Just look at his initiative.

Doing the laundry...

Loading the dishwasher...
And re-organizing the bookshelf...
Henry's not an all-work-and-no-play kind of a guy, though. He also enjoyed a trip to Tougas Farm this weekend for some pumpkin picking and goat petting.



And finally, we are just dying to dress Henry up for Halloween. In the meantime, here he is in a cute little shirt his Nonnie gave him. Stay tuned for pics of the cutest little dragon on the block later this week.

"You look like you need a hand"

Thus spoke the kind and perceptive woman who held the door open for me this afternoon. Did I? What was it that clued her in? The hysterically screaming child in my stroller? The coffee splashing up and out of the cup onto my stroller (note: coffee was not spilled onto said screaming child. the two incidents were unrelated. or at least the causality didn't work in that direction.)? The coffee stains all over the front of my pants? The fact that I had maneuvered through one door into the incredibly small vestibule of the town hall, but had no foreseeable way to maneuver through the second door without retracing my path back through the first door (who designs these things? clearly, no one who's ever navigated a stroller. or worse yet, a wheelchair.)? I started to tell this woman that it was okay, I didn't need help, but given the facts listed above, it was clear that yes, I needed a hand.

Accepting a helping hand has always been something of a challenge for me. It's also something of a goal for me these days. If there's one thing that makes you realize there are times when you need a little help, it's having a baby. And so, I'm working on it. And Brian and I are working on it. Or at least we're trying to remind ourselves to work on it. Because it's becoming more and more clear that accepting, or (gasp!) asking for, a little more help might make our quality of life as parents a lot better. And happy parents=happy child. This weekend Henry spent a bit of time with his Nanna and Grampa, while Brian and I had some alone time. Alone, apart time. Alone, together time is also a goal these days. I think the last time Brian went to the coin store was surely before Henry was born. And I'm not sure of the last time I had a few hours alone in the house. The time flew by, and I confess, I did housework. But it was quiet, and the housework sure goes a lot faster when you're not simultaneously caring for a mobile, adventurous little baby. Small things? Sure, but they make a big difference. I think leaving Henry with other caregivers is probably a good thing for him as well. As he's entering the separation anxiety phase, I can see the importance of getting him used to being apart from me and Brian. At this point, we could nearly count on two hands the waking hours that I've spent away from Henry. Yikes! But, it feels like a dilemma sometimes when it's possible I could sneak out. On the weekends, I love spending time with my two favorite guys. Sure, I could leave Henry with Brian. But then I'd miss out on spending time with Brian. How does one balance these needs? I guess it's something that might become more clear with time. Maybe? Luckily, I do have a mommies night out planned with some friends next week. And Brian and I have some excellent sitters lined up for a night out for our wedding anniversary (thanks Nonnie and Pops!). Oh, and book club is coming up soon. So good stuff is on the horizon. Meanwhile, the rest of you readers out there, watch out, because I'm going to keep trying hard to accept and solicit some help--who wants to babysit Henry first?!

If you weren't already enticed to have some quality time with Henry, here are some new pics to further seal the deal. Note Henry's new favorite smile, the mouth-wide-open, I-can-hardly-contain-myself grin. It's pretty cute.





And here's a video of Henry coming in close to say hello to all of his fans. Or to eat my camera. Whatever.

Will you be my friend?

Henry's now at an age where he actually notices and interacts with other children. As I've noted previously, he especially adores his two cousins, but he's also quite enamored with other little faces, and loves watching any young children. A trip to the grocery store becomes that much more fun when he spots other parents toting tots. And during some crankiness at a restaurant this weekend he became downright cheery when an 11 month-old little girl sat in a high chair at the adjacent booth. I wish she could've been there for the duration of our whole meal--it would have been much more pleasant! I chatted a bit with this little girl's mom while the babies babbled at one another, and couldn't help but wonder: is it appropriate to pick-up parent pals? What sort of line would you use, something like: "Hey baby, who's your daddy?" I didn't wind up asking for this momma's number, but they seemed like a lovely couple with a cute baby, and I always think it would be nice to have more potential play dates. Maybe we'll run into one another again on the playground some day.

Henry's been working on his social skills with the buddies he's known since being just a few weeks old. It would be an understatement to say that these skills could use a little refining. Here's what Henry knows about being a good friend:

1) Friends share common interests. We're working on the sharing part. In Henry's world this means: "Oh, you like that toy? I like it too. I want it now! Can I have it now? No, you want it too? Sorry, buddy, but it's mine!" And then Henry swipes another toy out of his friend's grasp.

2) Friends lean on one another during good times and bad. Henry's meaning: "Hey, you look sturdy. Maybe I can stand up using you to push off of. I mean, you're just sitting there and all, make yourself useful." Henry's poor friends aren't quite as sturdy as he might think. Then again, neither are many of the things he tries to use for standing leverage.

3) A good friend let's you know when you're having a bad hair day. Henry's technique for this is pretty straightforward. Approach your friend like you just want to say hi. Then reach out, grab some locks, and hang on for dear life.

Henry's friends are pretty patient little fellas. Or maybe just less mobile. Play dates continue to become more and more interesting, and fun, as the kids get bigger. It's already hard to believe that they can at least engage in some parallel play when they're around one another. As it happens, play dates are now for actual playing--not just for the still important mommy socializing time!

Embracing his spiky hair to the fullest during a little post-lunch photo session. Henry's styling product of choice today: applesauce.
"Come on Mom, let me help cook! I've even got a whisk that's just my size."

Sleepless in Shrewsbury

The g-unit appears to have stumbled upon the perfect storm of sleeplessness. Teething + cough and cold + new developmental skills = no sleep for anyone. This is the most tired I've felt since the first days and weeks after Henry was born. The poor kid has been a mess with feeling yucky, though he seems to be feeling a little better today and did manage a few consecutive hours of sleep last night. Now we just need to get Henry's daddy feeling better too.

Sleep or no sleep, we did manage to have a fun-filled weekend. Our excursions started on Friday, when Henry and I had a park playdate with our friends.

Four swings, and four little kiddos (Henry's furthest to the left):
On Saturday we went apple picking with friends:
And on Sunday Henry got all dressed up to go to a party. Henry wore his preppy onesie that matches Brian's many striped button-downs. Like father, like son.

Seven months

Here we are, marking another month's passage. During this month, Henry has continued his explosion of development. Every day it seems like he's able to put more and more together cognitively. His physical development also continues to expand rapidly. Some of the things that have amazed me recently include...

Henry's recognition of every day sights and sounds, and their causes/effects. This morning, when there was a commercial for T-Mobile on the radio, he perked up and looked at me expectantly. I have a cell phone with the T-Mobile ring. When he heard the ring on the commercial, he thought it was my phone. Or so it seemed, anyhow. The most touching recognition, however, has to be when Henry hears Brian's keys in the door at the end of the day. He clearly knows that when the door opens, he'll see his daddy. And he gets very, very excited about this. Henry's recognition also includes familiar faces. He especially loves his cousins, Evan and Liam, and reacts to seeing them with a lot of excitement as well.

Henry's developing awareness of the relationship between cause and effect continues to impress me in other ways, too. A few days ago when he was in his exersaucer, he made a very cute discovery. There is a mirror on the exersaucer that was pointed toward the window. Light coming through the window was reflected from the mirror onto the floor in front of Henry. To Henry's delight, he realized that when he jumped and jiggled in the exersaucer he could make the light on the floor move. He had a great time continuing this little game of jumping, watching the light move, smiling, pausing and then repeating it.

As far as physical changes in the past month or so, Henry's continuing to grow bigger and stronger every day. I'm not sure of his height or weight measurements, but when carrying him around he sure feels bigger. And he's moving, moving, moving all day long. As I've written before, Henry now crawls with ease and pulls himself up to standing very frequently. In the past few days he's also begun to show an interest in climbing. He can make it up a few stairs by himself (with parental spotting, of course), and has attempted to climb over his standing block in the playroom a few times. This has happened when Henry peeked over the other side of the block (really a big plastic container we used for clothes) and saw something he wanted. Rather than cruise around to the other side, he's taken the most direct route and proceeded to climb onto the top of the block. We do our best to stop him from plunging headfirst off the other end. So far, so good. Henry's fine motor skills are also developing nicely. We've begun giving him cereal puffs to work on his pincer grasp. He's got a ways to go before he really gets the hang of it, but at least he gets the idea, and he usually finds some technique to get the puffs into his mouth.

Finally, to (coincidentally) mark his 7-month birthday tomorrow, Henry will be transitioning to a big boy car seat. Exciting! It's hard to believe now that Henry ever looked tiny in his first car seat. But he did. All 10 pounds and 4 ounces of him.

Here's another cute pic of the adventures in finger foods. You can see the sheer excitement on Henry's face at the scattering of star-shaped puffs on his tray. And in his hair.
And now, up, up...
And busted in the act!