the beginning of a beautiful adventure



Yes, Henry's daddy has big plans for this truck. Mostly, plans that include a daddy and his boy side by side fishing, camping, and exploring. Just spending time together. With lots of stops for ice cream, I'm sure. Yes, big plans indeed. Plans that Henry's daddy has been dreaming of for a long, long time. Henry doesn't know it yet, but the memories made along the way in this truck will be treasures to him when he's all grown up.

in appreciation

The other day I was talking to my friend Hayley, who is a mother of five, about parenting and she said that whenever she gets stressed out about mothering her five little ones she just watches an episode of 16 and Pregnant and she feels much better about her own day-to-day. True story. The other day I was watching such smut (as my husband likes to call it ;)) and was stunned by one particular scene. In it, the young mom had been on the rocks with the father of the baby throughout the whole episode. When they got home from the hospital she was overwhelmed with joy and appreciation toward this guy for "rearranging the room so the baby's bassinet could fit." She was literally brought to tears because of this one "generous" gesture from the father of the child she had just given birth to. Without him. Alone in the hospital. Not trying to take anything away from that situation, but it stunned me because of all the many MANY things my husband/Henry's daddy does for us on a daily basis. Sliding a dresser over to make room for a bassinet wouldn't even make the list. Man, I'm so thankful for Dameon. He was there every second in the hospital, taking complete care of Henry while I was recovering from surgery. He had never taken care of a newborn before and he handled it with patience and ease. He skipped his band concert on the third day of our stay. And then there was the time he took a whole day off during his busiest season of work last summer to paint two of the nursery walls blue because I decided I really wanted them blue. And how about the night that I couldn't get a fussing Henry to go to sleep and, knowing there wasn't much he could do for a nursing baby at midnight, just came and laid on the floor of the nursery while I rocked Henry in the chair so that I wouldn't feel like I was up all alone. And let's not forget the fact that this guy works his tail off year-round including nights and weekends so that I can stay home full-time with our son. He even picked up extra work this summer so that we can feel a little more comfortable heading into year two of being a single-income family. Sheesh. Moving a dresser? I've got it sooooooo good. And this short list doesn't even begin to scratch the surface. Especially since I didn't mention anything about the pre-Henry days.

With that said, Henry and I are so blessed to have the husband/daddy/leader that we have. WE LOVE YOU, DAMEON!!  Happy (belated) Father's Day.

owies, caving, and funnies

I think it's safe to say that 17 months is my favorite age so far. Without a doubt, every age and stage has been memorable and special but this...this might just be the best. He is saying (or at least attempting to say) pretty much everything, he's becoming less baby and more little boy (sad and happy all rolled into one for Mom and Dad), and has the best personality ever.

Oh, how we love this kid...

 Here are some of his latest funnies:

• He recently learned, completely unprompted, how to walk backward. It's so precious because you can tell he is just so proud of himself.
• He almost never says the word, "Yes." Instead, he says, "sure!" But it comes out more like, "Soooo-uh"  And then I could basically cry tears of cuteness.
• He doesn't forget much. Example: a couple weeks ago I was getting ready to help him go down the slide and I realized I was stepping in a spot by the base of the slide where the dog had just peed. Now every time we go out in the yard, Henry points to that spot and says, "Pee!"
• He loves having company and goes nuts when people come over. Between him and Rufus, it's just crazy hot laps around here when a guest arrives.
• He tends to announce things. Example: Every time he sneezes (which is every time sunlight hits him...like father, like son...) he says, "Cough."
• He currently finds the following things absolutely terrifying: Monkey Joe's, bubble machines, and sprinklers. Funny story about the sprinkler: I sent Dameon to the store to pick one out, thinking this would be great backyard fun. He came home with this crazy hose-like thing with many smaller hoses that branch off of it. When turned on, this thing shoots water in every direction all at once and the water pressure is intense. It was literally spraying water across the entire width of our yard. Plus we made the mistake of turning it on when Henry was somewhat nearby. Game over.

And now for the caving. There are a few things I've really stuck to my guns on when it comes to parenting decisions. Exclusive breastfeeding, no fruit juice, and cloth diapers just to name a few...them all. Here is an example of something I have completely caved on. First we bought our van and our van has a dvd player. I think my exact statement was: "Let's not even use it, so he'll never know it's there." Then, of course, we had to test it out so we could see how it worked. Then one time he started freaking out when we still had an hour left in the van, so we turned it on. Then I figured, heck I'd get him a Sesame Street dvd in his Easter basket for moments of desperation. And then my excitement about him loving Sesame Street (because he NEEDS to) took over and was fueled by the fact that he is half me and he DOES have an inability to resist that which is the gold standard in children's programming. Thus, I caved. And I took Dameon down with me. Now, every weekday from 9 - 10 you can find Henry in one of his two perches. Sitting in his bag chair or standing by his toy box. Not blinking.

The way I see it...er, the way I justify it to myself...is that I supply his entertainment for the other 13 hours of the day, so one hour "in the zone" can't be that damaging, right?? Please don't judge me.;)

And, last but not least, now that it's summer and shorts weather is in full swing, Henry has decided that walking on concrete is very challenging. Aw, his very first skinned knee. And the same day that I snapped this photo, he skinned the other one even worse! Poor kid. Nevermind that the next day I took him to the shoe store and discovered his 5.5 extra wides were no longer doing the trick. Nope. He's now the proud owner of size 7 extra wides. "When a kid's shoes get too small, you'll know it because he'll have a hard time staying on his feet," said Barry the shoe guy. You don't say.