It's a hard knock life for Henry

Watching Henry continue to attempt pulling himself up on every imaginable surface (for example, a shadow on the wall) makes me wonder: How do any of us survive our early attempts to be mobile? By the early hour of 9:30 am I would need both hands to count Henry's daily tally of crashes, bumps, and collisions. But make no mistake, Henry shows absolutely no signs of being deterred from further attempts to stand. So how do I keep him safe? Pad every single hard surface? Catch every fall? Or just keep an eye on him and try to prevent the biggest crashes? It's difficult knowing how to approach this latest phase, which surely portends a lifetime of things to come. I realize with increasing clarity how it's every parents' job to weigh out when to cushion their child's life experiences, and when to let a few bumps and bruises lead the way to learning about life. I guess I should sit back and enjoy this phase of parenting, where these decisions are about as straight-forward and simple as they'll ever be.

Thankfully, we have a new space where Henry can bonk his head in relative safety. At long last, the playroom is complete. Henry and his momma thank Brian for all his hard work on making this finally come to completion! No easy task with a six month old in the house. We're very happy with it, and have been spending lots of time there so far. As a bonus, guests are also welcome to spend lots of time in the playroom--since it doubles as a guest room with futon.

We also took our first family vacation to Cape Cod earlier this week. We had a great time, and I think we learned a great deal about how to vacation with children. Some things I gleaned from the experience:

• Time spent prepping for the trip roughly equals time spent actually vacationing. Planning, packing, doing laundry, etc take on dimensions previously unknown to single travelers. Two day trip, two day prep.
  
• A vehicle that has been otherwise suitable for travel no longer suffices. You need a bus. With extra storage. Maybe a trailer. Seriously, how can a person so small require so much space?
• All those great restaurants on which you used to splurge? Well, most are not so kid friendly. Captain Frosty's, anyone? (really, that's where we went. but believe it or not, it's Zagat rated!)
• Vacation does not equal sleeping in and getting extra rest. Try to explain that one to a six month old.
• And finally, you will have more fun on this vacation than any previous trip. A different kind of fun. A better kind of fun.

Henry's first trip to the beach. For sunset, no less.
Tub time at the house on the Cape, following an especially messy breakfast.
Hanging out with new pal Dora.
Taking a break during a walk on the Cape Cod Rail Trail.
Dining al fresco. Mmmm, squash on the beach.