My new favorite pictures

It doesn't get better than this.


Beethoven's 5th anyone?



Hmm, what can I get into now?


Isn't it naptime yet mom?

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Fun in the Sun

Opening a belated Easter Basket in Florida

Our boy is pulling up on everything!



The coffee table, the couch, the sliding glass doors....


Fun new pool toy!


Henry has been having a blast in the warm Florida weather. We've enjoyed taking a walk everyday and going in the pool everyday. He starts smiling now as soon as his toes get wet. This boy definitely loves being outside; from day one, we would take him outside and instantly he would calm down. Now, when I open the door to come back in, he starts to cry because he loves it outside. We've been reading books on the porch, watching the fish jump in the lake, and looking at cars and plants. It has been beautiful every day that we've been here - in the low 80s, blue skys, and a nice breeze. Can't beat that! Unfortunatley, I took a peek at the weather when we return home - dreary and 60s. Yuck. Poor Gabe - I go through sun withdrawl the day I get back and can be whinier than Henry. I'll have to keep that in check I guess, and pray for some warm weather to hit Indiana soon.

In true Henry fashion, he learned some new skills to show off to the grandparents. If there is something a foot off the ground, guaranteed that he'll be trying to pull up on it now! He's so proud of himself - looks over at me and just beams. It's so fun to watch his determination at getting his feet under him and struggle to a stand. He's so exicted to have discovered a new level of the world. Crawling is now more effective on his hands than forearms, and he even balances on his hands and pushes up on his feet in gorilla fashion on hard surfaces. After struggling on his side for almost two months, he figured out how to get his butt down and push up from a crawl to a sit, which makes playing with toys much easier.

We also spent time with the great grandparents, went out to dinner, went shopping and had a family get-together with his cousins and great aunts and uncles. Henry loved having his little cousins swim with him. read to him in the bath, help rinse the water out of his hair, and read a bedtime story to him. He even got a sweet little good night kiss from his cousin who is three. So cute.

Henry did so well on the plane coming down - he slept for an hour and then was awake and interactive with other people on the plane for the second half of the trip. I can only hope that his return trip is as good. So far, flying with him by myself has been trouble-free - I hope that doesn't jinx me though!

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Row Row Row Your Boat :)

Henry and I are in Florida this week to visit the grandparents. We saw a sign advertising the Florida High School Rowing State Championships this weekend and since it was close, we decided to have an early morning adventure.

Watching the race with Grandpa

Watching the race brought back lots of memories from my two year stint rowing in college, quite nostaligic to see the rowing shells and races. Fun to share that with Henry! The course ran right by a viewing dock at the 500 meter mark where we got to hear the coxswain calls and really see the racers close up, which was interesting. We were able to see the women's freshmen 4s, men's freshmen 4s, singles and doubles, so we saw quite a few races. They were rowing into a very strong wind so they had to be on the rudder a lot to stear straight, meaning more drag and difficulty keeping balance. Lots of backsplash too! Today was pretty sunny also, so we kept running back to the pavillion between races to keep Henry in the shade. He loved every minute of it, including walking the 2000 meter course! After a big morning rowing, time for a nap in the stroller!

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Go Irish!

Dad's 2 favorites - Henry and Irish football

I found my seat!




When we were in the student section of the stadium senior year, who would have thought we'd return six years later with our son to watch his first Irish game at eight months?!? The Blue and Gold game was this weekend, and since the weather was beautiful, we decided to introduce Henry to all the traditions of Irish football. He really did well - was somewhat interested in the game, but more interested in chewing on his shoes. I guess there's still plenty of time for him to learn his cheers. Mom and Dad enjoyed hot dogs and a coke, Henry enjoyed puffs and a bottle! We probably didn't see many more than 10 plays total, but we had a fun time and Henry did too. And the Irish won!

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Happy Easter!

Smart boy - go for the candy first!

Easter in Oklahoma included all the traditionals - Easter baskets, bunny ears and a carrot to chew on, church and a delicious dinner. Henry loved diving into his Easter basket, and the highlight was bubbles for this summer! Hard to catch, but fun to watch. We celebrated Passover the day before with a Seder dinner. Actually, the first time I went to Oklahoma with Gabe was our senior year for Easter/Passover celebrations. Henry also enjoyed swimming at a fun pool at the YMCA, got to watch some track and plenty of crawling around in his own playroom. In fact, the first time he took some crawling "steps" on his hands was at the airport. We spread out a sheet, and luckily, had the video camera ready. Henry and I stayed a few extra days to enjoy the Okahoma weather while dad went back to work, but mostly for the grandparents to enjoy him a little longer. True to form, Henry showed off with a few more tricks, including pushing up on his hands on a small box and then pushing up to a stand while holding on. Way to go!

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Such a happy boy who loves the pool!

It's never to early to start working on your kick


All great swimmers eat their kickboards


I love flying with daddy in the pool!


This weekend the Brown family went swimming again, mostly because Henry loves it so much. We're happy to take him and spend time together as a family, and to find an activity that he loves. He warmed up to the pool and water much quicker this time, and loved it again. He even moved his arms and legs like he was paddling through the water towards us. I'm excited to really teach him to swim in a couple of years. But practicing floating and splashing and adjusting to the water is so much fun now! Even if Henry doesn't want to be a competitive swimmer when he gets to be a bigger boy, I hope he continues to enjoy playing in the water as he grows. I spent my entire high school career with wet hair, dry skin, smelling like chlorine and loving every minute of it; I can only hope Henry enjoys some activity as much - and he can do whatever makes him happy! Although so far, all signs point to a water baby..... :)

This weekend, Gabe was busy with work again, so Henry and I found some additional activities to keep us busy. Downtown, the city had all kinds of activities for kids for Easter, including sack races, Easter egg decorating, basket decorating, wagon rides, making bunnies. And of course, pictures with the Easter bunny. So, Henry and I loaded up, went to the South Bend Chocoloate Company, and had our picture taken with the Easter bunny! Actually, it was pretty hectic, and we stood in line for 40 minutes! I seriously debated when I saw the line - especially since Henry doesn't know the difference - but we needed something to do so why not? I was thinking as we stood there that this would probably be the easiest time, since when he is older and running around it will be more difficult to entertain him. Henry was great. although a little leary of the Easter bunny, so we took the picture together (not that I really wanted my picture taken with the Easter bunny, but anything for Henry!)


This weekend, we're looking forward to celebrating Easter in Oklahoma - decorating eggs, eating lots of yummy food, celebrating Passover, watching Henry eat matza, and spending time with family, who can't wait to see Henry!

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Baby's First Dentist Appointment!

Henry's first tooth came in around the end of January, at 5 1/2 months, followed a week later by two more bottom teeth, the two right next to it. I originally thought that it was one tooth with an indentation in the middle, since there were two points sticking up. Then, we realized it was actually two teeth, just not square at the top, but angled and jagged. Interesting and different I thought, but nothing to worry about. In fact, I was glad that the two teeth erupted at the same time, since it saved me some teething issues! But, now that the teeth are fully emerged, a week ago or so I took a real close look and noticed that the two teeth are fused. So they are the width of two teeth, with a V in the middle. I called the pediatrician, who recommended a dentist, who wanted to see Henry. Thus, the dentist visit at only 7 months, not 2 years!

Henry was a great patient. He smiled a little for the dentist, let him poke around in his mouth. Basically, the dentist went over all the possible options for the two teeth. Fusion (two become one), gemination (one becomes two), supernumerary tooth (extra), or angenesis (missing) and the possibility of this happening to permanent teeth, which he said isn't necessarily a given. The whole issue is just wait and see what happens, since I decided not to have him x-rayed. We just have to pay extra special attention to cleaning the teeth, since the groove between the two fused teeth is prone to more decay. If it does become decayed, he says it might need to be filled with plastic, but hopefully that won't happen. I can bring Henry in and have the sharp ridge filled down if I want, but unless it becomes a problem cutting him, then I'm going to have the dentist leave it alone for now. And check-ups every six months starting now, not waiting until 2 years or so. So that is al pretty easy, I'm just very curious as to what the situation is under the gums! What will it mean for his permanent teeth and also for more baby teeth to emerge? I did a lot of research before I went, being the geek that I am, so pretty much everything Dr. Johns said was what I expected to hear. It is very reasurring though to have it checked out, and now I don't have to worry at least. Who knew that the girl who did her fifth grade science project on teeth and was a tech for a dentist in high school and started college with a pre-dental focus, would one day have a baby with some interesting teeth issues?

Henry's still working on the army crawl, although now he can hold his arms up for a little bit. Its hard for him to transfer his weight though, so when he tries to move forward, he falls down on his forearms. He's working on dadada - and lots of other baby sounds. I swear the other day he said "ta-pa" when I said tape (as I was taking it away from him so he didn't chew on it), and "ah" when I said apple (which he doesn't think taste all that wonderful yet). It might be coincidence, but we'll take it. At the very least, he's trying out all kinds of sounds and mouth configurations. Sometimes sound comes out, sometimes it doesn't. It's pretty funny when he moves his mouth but nothing comes out! His talking comes and goes, and right now, he's full of things to say.

Henry doesn't care too much for apples, he'll eat them but makes some funny grimaces. But, he does like avocados! Smooth, mild, soft, and another green we can add to the list. He makes a huge mess eating toast as well, which ends up in a gooey, sticky mushy mess. Gross. But cute! Next up on the list - pears, oat cereal, bananas, and prunes.

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