Walk this way

As a birthday treat, Brian took the day off of work today and spent it with me and Henry. We started the day with a relaxing breakfast out together. Later we went to the open gym time at Gymboree. Brian was able to capture a few of Henry's steps on camera!

Will walk for food

A baby's first steps must be a scary thing. Venturing out on your own, unsteady and unknowing, doing this thing you've only watched the big people do. So what did it take for Henry to gather his courage and take his first wobbly steps? Hunger. This is true to form for our dear little boy with the big appetite. And I have never been so thankful for his appetite in all his ten and a half months. Not because it motivated him to walk, but because we've had a few unsettling days of Henry eating and drinking very little. Naive, new mother that I am, I never thought I would see a day where Henry wasn't interested in food; but now I've seen three days of no interest in eating. Henry's on the heels (I hope!) of a nasty cold, throat, ear infection combo that left him a shadow of his healthy self. This afternoon Henry began to rebound from his sickness, and finally ate some lunch. I'd offered him bananas, thinking they were a bland, inoffensive food for an unhappy little tummy. Did Henry want bananas? No, he wanted my lunch, which was a pungent garlic and spinach pasta dish. So, garlic pasta it was. Later in the afternoon I grabbed a few cheddar flavored rice crackers for a snack while I watched Henry play. Not one to miss a snack, Henry picked right up on the sound of the crinkling bag and came to investigate. Since I had spent the past three days fearing that Henry would starve and whither away to nothingness, I couldn't turn down his pleading glances toward the crackers. Yes, I'm a sucker. I squatted down and gave him one small piece. And then another and another. Eventually he was standing up before me grabbing the pieces faster than I could break them off. Seeing my opportunity, I backed away a few steps, and the hungry babe slowly creeped one foot forward in my direction. He fell on this attempt. But a few minutes later, success! Henry took four tentative little steps toward me (okay, toward the rice crackers that I happened to be holding)! He repeated this feat a few more times before satisfying his hunger and wandering off to climb the stairs. Watch out world, here comes Henry!

Around and around

Henry has never met a set of wheels he didn't like. He loves to overturn his toy buses and cars to spin the wheels. Sometimes he even enjoys rolling them back and forth right-side-up on the wheels. He loves to ride in or on wheeled vehicles. And he loves to listen to and accompany the classic "Wheels on the Bus" song with his own crazy wheeling motion. Let's just say, it looks like the axel's busted on that bus, but Henry enjoys his attempts at the motion. And so do we, of course.

Here Henry is at Noodle Noggin n Bean, looking very much the little boy, and trying his hand at a small riding car.

NNnB was a fun-filled adventure with cousins Liam and Evan. Henry had a great time finding lots of another fave, balls. Among other themed rooms, he spent a little time in what would have been my favorite room as a child (okay, it's still my favorite room there as a grown up, too). As you can see below, this room is mini diner and kitchen, complete with seating, a stocked fridge, grocery carts, and much more. Cousin Evan treated me and Henry to a gourmet meal of asparagus and lemon cookies. Mmmm.
Though it's a little pricey, NNnB does deliver when it comes to providing something for everyone. Even the hallways had toys hanging from the walls.
Our trip to NNnB followed a big "first" for us. While I attended a meeting of a local child development committee, I left Henry with a babysitter who was provided for meeting attendees. Believe it or not, this was the first time I have left Henry with a non-family member. And it only took 10 months to do it! As with pretty much every major change or development so far, I worried much more than necessary. Henry survived. Phew! In fact, Henry did more than survive. From the report of the babysitter, he was happy as a clam. A busy, non-stop clam. I'm pretty sure the woman who watched him needed to go home and take a nap after her time with Henry. She greeted me with "Wow, you have your hands full with that one! He gets into everything!" That's my son.

In other Henry news, we had a great time returning to another session of the Baby and Toddler story time. Henry was at his most charming, energetic, and friendly self. His attention span for the stories was on the short side, but that was fine since the "story time" is also comprised of songs, parachute play, and free play time. Henry showed off his new skills by clapping at the end of each story and song. He bopped up and down on his knees during the reprisal of the "Chicken Dance" song (Why the chicken dance at story time? I don't know. It was a little weird, frankly.). He smiled, waved, and babbled to the other kids. It was lovely. Until the parachute. I'm not sure what it is, but my dear son does not like the parachute. Not one bit. We needed to take a short time out while the other kiddos had fun waving the parachute around, hiding under it, and bouncing balls on top of it. All in all, though, it was one of the most fun times I've had with Henry. I'm looking forward to six more weeks of stories, songs, and play with the little guy at this fun opportunity.

Top Ten

In honor of Henry's ten-month "birthday" yesterday and the New Year tendency to reflect and make lists, here is a list of my top ten Henry moments/memories/themes (in no particular order):

1) The first time Henry cooed back at me. Henry was sitting on my lap one day when he began to make little sounds back in response to my own. It was a remarkable moment, recognizing that he was able to communicate in this new (non-crying) way.

2) The first time Henry crawled to Brian after work. Henry became very excited when he saw Brian walk into the room at the end of the day, and crawled over to say hello. Now most days he's waiting eagerly for Brian. I see the connection between Henry and his dad in many ways, but this memory signifies it in a very special way.

3) Sitting in the early spring sunshine with Henry napping on me. Most mornings in the month or two after Henry was born, I would spend a few hours with Henry in the rocking chair in our sunroom. At that time of day and year, the sun would warmly filter through and remind me that summer was on the way. Henry was most content napping on me in those days, so I would sit with him curled against me, drinking my morning coffee and reading a book. I miss those cozy little moments.

4) Tiramisu. It is a little weird, but yes, tiramisu. I had tiramisu every night for dessert when I was in the hospital recovering from the c-section. I'll always associate tiramisu with being taken care of in the hospital, getting to know Henry, and having lots of visits from family. It's all a little hazy due to the combined effect of hormones/pain killers, but the tiramisu and the Henry, I remember.

5) Watching Henry reach for toys on his play mat. He had such focus and intensity as he tried to bat at his toys. Sometimes the effort just wasn't enough to get his wobbly little arm up to the toy, and he would start all over again, reaching, reaching, reaching. Henry's been a determined little boy from the start.

6) Henry's crazy happy face. You know it if you've seen it. And you've seen it in photos here. The wide-open mouth, now with top two teeth showing. Usually this face is accompanied by a breathless sort of "ha ha ha" sound. It makes me laugh every time.

7) Henry's increasingly social nature, and his ability to recognize friends and family. I love watching Henry see a person or even photo of someone he knows. His face lights up, he reaches his arms out, and he recently began doing a cute squeal of happiness when he sees a familiar person. This is especially true for children. Henry loves seeing little kids, including children he doesn't know. When we're around other kids, Henry will smile, reach out, and start babbling at them.

8) The first time Henry pulled up to standing, using me for support. For some reason, this milestone really hit home as far as my continuing awareness of and acceptance for Henry's individuality. He's a little person who can stand on his own two feet.

9) Introducing Henry to new people. I'm a proud mom. I love showing him off. Always have, always will.

10) Taking Henry out in the jogging stroller. Running while pushing Henry in the stroller made me feel like my old self again, with the added bonus of having Henry with me. We got sidelined with my injury, but I'm sure we'll be out there again in the spring. Me and my buddy getting some exercise together.

Bonus item: The first time Henry slept through the night. I remember feeling like a new person. Today, it feels like a distant memory. We're in an ugly sleep phase right now. Very ugly. Like, Henry--and by extension, mommy--was up most of the night between 10 pm and 2 am last night. He was doing what can best be described as shouting. No, not crying or screaming, but shouting. Like his cute babbling, except with the volume turned up to a not-so-cute level. I believe there was also some excited jumping up and down from the sound of the squeaky crib mattress.The good news is, usually these disrupted phases of sleep precede or accompany Henry's big developmental milestones. Since he looks like he's getting very close to walking, I have a sneaking suspicion that we'll see his first steps soon! He also seems very intent in making sentence-like sounds and gesturing while vocalizing, so I think he's working on putting together the mechanics of recognizable speech. That will sure be exciting!

Happy ten months, Henry!

Happy New Year!