Fun times in Stilly

When we got home from work, Henry and I made camp on the living room floor. We played all evening.

Henry loves being outdoors. It was too cold to go out today, but Henry and I looked out the window and counted trees, birds...you name it, we counted it.








After his bath, Henry practiced the piano.






Mom: "Okay, Henry. This time, smile with your eyes."


Check out those buns! Ruff, ruff!!


Can you see my dimples? Do you think I need a longer robe?


The fun continued the following morning while Henry and I waited for Candice. Henry's favorite book right now is Ten Chuckling Ducklings. Most days, he chooses it over his toys.

"Ten chuckling ducklings, waddling in a line. One made a fun new friend, so that left..."


It's early, but this cowboy is raring to go!

News Flash

Henry made his crawling debut this morning during GMA. Jane Fonda actually paid off! Henry and I were in the living room watching Good Morning America and having breakfast. I was having a biscuit w/ grape jelly, and Henry thought that looked far better than his rice cereal. He locked in on my biscuit like dad's german short hairs lock in on birds. I could hardly believe my eyes...just to make sure I hadn't imagined it, I moved the biscuit across the living room and watched Henry crawl like a champ straight to it. He then proceeded to enjoy his first biscuit and jelly...well, at least a bite.

Crawling practice

One thing the Healthy Steps nurse told us at our last appointment was that Henry should be crawling by now. If she knew Henry, and how laid back he is, I doubt this would have concerned her. Our Henry is in absolutely no rush...I mean, why crawl when you can get everywhere you want to go already? I'm convinced we may skip crawling altogether and go straight to walking.

Henry doing Jane Fonda and working his crawling muscles. The only thing missing - leg warmers, a head band, and high top sneakers. Oh, and big hair...but he's working on that too.


Whew...I can really feel this in my abs! S-t-r-e-t-c-h


More moves with Jane








Yowzers...now that, I can feel!

Henry's Well Child Check & February Birthdays

On January 29, Henry had his nine month Well Child Check with Dr. Wilsey. He was 30.5 inches long (95th percentile), 23 lbs and 5.2 oz (75th percentile), and his little, make that big, head was 19 inches around (95th percentile). We actually left the doctor's office with an appointment the following Monday at Stillwater Medical Center. Dr. Wilsey ordered an ultrasound of Henry's brain! She said there was a .0001% chance anything was wrong, but wanted to rule out all problems (the word "hydrocephalus" was mentioned). Because Henry's head was at 50% when he was born, and had jumped to 95% just nine months later, Dr. Wilsey was concerned not with the size of his head, but with how quickly it had grown. She actually measured my head, and Wade's. Apparently, I have a HUGE head...in the 98th percentile. Wade was well over 90%, so his brain isn't small either. Who knew we were such a big headed family?! We laugh about it now, but we were pretty uptight during the time between our first doctor's appointment (Thursday) and the afternoon the nurse called us with a good ultrasound report (Wednesday). What a week!

Me and my big head make dirt look good


On the 1st, the Shaw's went to Blackwell to celebrate all the Riseling February birthdays - Grandmother Happy, Mom/Grandma, Ann, Creyton and Lily. Did I miss anyone? Henry and Lily gave kisses and read books together...adorable. They're just three months apart...Henry's the biggest, and Lily is the oldest.






Lily and Grandmother Happy


Henry and Aunt Ann




Back at Grandma's house, Grandpa tried to tickle my face to get me to fall asleep. Works everytime.

Henry's 9 month pictures

We were blessed with nice weather (the temp was above 70) for Henry's 9 month pictures. The Botanical Gardens at OSU were busy with activity and Henry was busy watching and learning. We had a hard time getting him to smile, something that almost never happens, but left with some great pictures regardless. To see all of Henry's 9 month pictures, go to www.willisphotography.photostockplus.com.


He's getting excited...hold on to your horses, everyone!






If you're happy and you know it...


A pinecone, eh? I've never seen a pinecone before.


"Mmmm"...if only you could hear the noise he was making. This face makes a frequent appearence during feeding. Especially when its peas or prune night. Or in this case, pinecone night.


Ah, we finally caught a smile.


Mad he forgot he wasn't smiling for pictures today.




To heck with no smiling, I've got seven teeth to show off!

Video montage

Because I haven't picked up the camera all week, and because I recently learned how to post videos, I thought it was high time to dig through the folders for some video highlights. Enjoy!

Age: 6 months
Activity: Henry loves to imitate...especially when it involves goofy faces or noises.



Age: 6 months
Activity: Don't ask why we taught him this...I think it was Daddy's idea.



Age: 7 months
Activity: Bath time splashing and our first cold. We took lots of warm baths during December while Henry battled his first (and only) cold. A warm soak and a squeeze or two of the nasal syringe became our bedtime ritual. That and the Vicks humidifier - a lifesaver.

So, this video apparently takes FOREVER to download, and I finally had to give up and go to work. I will try again later...check back tomorrow for bath time coverage.



Age: 7 months
Activity: Henry, telling me all about it.



Age: 8 months
Activity: Prunes. And you wonder why we strip Henry at dinner time?

(If you listen closely, you'll hear our dryer screeching in the background...the sound was awful...clearly, the dryer was kaput. We retired the washer and dryer on Sunday and replaced them w/ a Lowe's bargain. I've never enjoyed laundry so much! And thank you Carissa and Michael...the old $50 pair we stole from your back porch five years ago have been good to us.)

Who'd have thought...

...just two years ago as Wade and I were walking down the aisle that we'd be blessed so soon with Henry. Well, other than Grandmother Happy, who I'm told swore at our wedding "it was only a matter of time" until we would be expecting numero uno.

I couldn't help myself. Henry's absolute favorite animal is his brown pony Grandma got him in KC. I had searched high and low for another animal like it, and just when I thought my luck had run dry, I spotted the last toy (a giraffe) in a local Stillwater boutique. According to the store owner, this is the number one brand in Europe (Henry must have good taste...after his mom of course.) As you can clearly see from his grin, the giraffe was a hit.


Red wagon circles around the living room while a cold front blew through Stillwater


Every where we go the ladies love to comment on Henry's long eye lashes. And I'd like to know why God chooses to frequently bless men with this trait?!? What about the gals, God? I also read in my babycenter.com weekly newsletter that Henry's eyes are most likely their permanent color now - dark blue/gray. Thanks for passing along, Grandpa.


One of Henry's favorite foods is prunes. Yikes! And you think his face is messy...


We laugh now...12 hours later it's a different story.


Henry loves his blocks - thanks Mamaw and Papaw!




Prunes aren't the only vegetable Henry enjoys. He likes all his veggies, even peas! Dad is still trying to grasp how this is possible.




Don't forget, Lallie Beth - prom dates 2024






Promise!


Nothing beats 60 degree plus weather in January. We decided to take advantage of the nice day and make camp (after a ride in the wagon, of course) in the front yard. We enjoyed so much sunshine I was worried Henry's bald head might actually get sunburned, so we opted for a cap for coverage.




Have I mentioned Henry learned to clap last week? His favorite song is "If You're Happy and You Know It". He also has a new tooth. That makes three on bottom and a snaggle tooth on top.