Two month check-up

Shots! We hate shots! Henry had his 2 month appointment on Monday. He passed with flying colors but also left with a few scars. My poor little man had to have 3 shots... the start of his vaccinations. He tried to be a tough guy, but the shots defeated him. He cried his little heart out and mommy shed a tear too. It broke my heart into a million pieces, but I know its the best thing for him in the long run.

Henry also got weighed in and measured:

Weight: 12.8 lbs (69%)

Height: 23.5 inches (41%)

Short and round, just how I like 'em. Dr. P said this is fine... we want our babies to be fat at 6 months and lean at 6 years.

At the end of Henry's appointment he got to pick out one prize from the prize basket. Mommy helped with his selection and we tried it on for fit at bath time...

Our Jersey Boy

Happy 2 month birthday!

We celebrated Henry's two month birthday at the shore, with daddy, grandma and grandpa Holzapfel and delicious chocolate brownies.

Singing happy birthday...

Mommy, don't blow out my candle!


So mad at you for blowing out my birthday candle

I sorry for punching you mommy. I still love you.

Happy 8 Week Birthday, Henry!

I have mixed emotions about today's milestone. In some ways it has flown by and in others it hasn't. Bottom line, it's been the best eight weeks of my life. Now, please allow me to pause time so I can keep my little baby a baby forever.

We had another great week. Henry is growing like a weed (both in length and width). I'd say he's probably 12 - 13 pounds by now. He has his 2 months check up next Monday so we'll know for sure.

We moved Henry out of his swing and into his bassinet this week. He's been such a great sleeper that in addition to that change, we thought we'd also put him down for an earlier bed time. He was showing all the "sleepy signs" around 7:30, so we took advantage. But, it wasn't that easy. We tried for two nights and Henry was up several times through out the night. What happened to my good sleeper? We stuck to the bassinet, but didn't stick to the early bed time. We are back to our 7-8 hour nights. Whew.

I put Henry down in his pack n' play around 7:00 one night while I made dinner. I thought for sure this was the start of an earlier bed time.

Aside from night time sleeping, I am also starting to recognize a pattern in Henry's morning naps. He usually falls asleep 1 to 2 hours after he wakes up. I am trying to get him to sleep in his crib for these naps... we've done this a few times and are still working on it. I have to admit, his non-commitment to this is partially my fault. I hate to put him down. There is nothing better than having my little snuggle bug sleeping in my arms. And sometimes, I sleep with him.

We do tummy time in the morning. I waited a little too late on this particular morning. Instead of his normal crying during time, he showed me what he thought about tummy time and passed out.

We had a play date with Uncle Alex this week including lunch and a movie at his place. While at Uncle Al's, Henry met his first cat, Leo. Henry slept threw the introduction, but this didn't stop Leo.

On Thursday, grandma and grandpa Holzapfel arrived from Florida. Yay! They stayed for the weekend and will return again next weekend after a trip up to New England. Grandma Donna is then going to stay until July 13 and fly with Henry and I to St. Louis for a 2 week visit! We had a great time while they were here and can't wait for them to come back!

Henry takes his first "walk" across a bridge from Lambertville, NJ to New Hope, PA.

He checks out his first "choo" with grandpa.

He spent a lot of time hanging out with grandpa. One of his favorite positions was lounging on his knees.

I wish I knew what he was thinking about.

After Henry's bath, grandma combed his hair back and made it all spiky and fuzzy. She said his hair looked like Kim Jong-il! We cracked up. Dad wasn't thrilled with the comparison, but we assured him the only resemblance was his hair!

On Saturday night we went to Uncle Dale and Aunt Alisabeth's engagement party. It was such a great night and we are so happy for them! (Henry is particularly happy because he wants some cousins ASAP!) Henry got passed around for most of the evening and was such a good boy!

Uncle Dale and Aunt "Beps"


Henry enjoys a ride on his grandma Sue's shoulder.
Then a nap with his daddy.

Henry met his a potential future girlfriend, Brooke! (Love the name!)

Meeting Great-grandma "G"

This past weekend Henry met his great-grandma, Pauline, for the first time (Grandpa Skip's mother). Great-grandma "G" is 96 years old. For her age she's as sharp as a tack. Ever sense we told her we were expecting she made certain to share her deep thoughts on the miracle of life. When we asked her if she thought we were having a boy or a girl, she would respond with "I do not like to speculate." When she saw Henry for the first time she was thrilled. She commented on his 10 fingers and toes, his little outfit, his smiles and asked if we had a pillow for his head. She held him and blew him kisses. You could tell this little visit brought her so much joy. While Henry probably won't remember these visits with his great-grandmother, he should know that she was a kind and loving soul with a real zest for life and had tremendous love for her family.

Successful week six

The men in my life.

Every week gets better and better. My little newborn is quickly turning into a baby - a solid baby boy. Henry is becoming so strong and so much more alert. I just can't get enough of him.

We stay busy each day doing all kinds of things, from running errands, to visiting friends, to just hanging around the house. The days are flying by... before I know it my little boy won't be so little anymore. Henry spent some time at Liz's again this week while I treated myself to a mani/pedi. It was really nice to get out for a couple hours and be pampered, but I missed my little guy. I missed him a lot and couldn't wait to get back to him. (Even though I know he was excellent hands with Liz!). We spent one afternoon running errands together to Target and the grocery store. I put Henry in my baby Bjorn and carried him through the stores. When he wasn't sleeping he was staring bright eyed at all the merchandise on the shelves and the bright lights in the ceiling. He had many admirers at each stop.

Henry loves napping on daddy.

On Saturday Henry went to his first BBQ and met many of Brian's high school friends. He was such a good boy, as usual. He was passed around to person after person and never raised a fuss. He also got to watch Sam and Chase play on the slip and slide. We would've let him play too, but he was far too tired.

Aunt Tina and Henry. He was the life of the party, as you can see.
Sam and Chase showed Henry what he has to look forward to.

On Friday night Rebecca, Erin and the hubbies came over for dinner. Rebecca hadn't seen Henry in a few weeks and couldn't believe how much he had grown/changed. And Erin was thrilled to meet the little guy. Henry did great. He slept most of the time, as usual! Thanks for making the trip, gals!

Erin and Henry

Rebecca keeps the little guy entertained.

Some of Henry's big developments this week is his "cooing". He loves to have conversations with my during his feedings and after bath time. He's also starting to bat at objects during play time. (Trying to upload a video of of him, but having technical difficulties... stay tuned.)

Stud muffin

I couldn't resist... I got a little camera happy this week. I dress Henry up in some cute duds and sans duds and snapped a lot of pictures. I couldn't get the stinker to smile for me though. Stingy bugger.

...the last picture of this photo session. Still cute, I think.

Henry's favorite babysitter, Liz, got him to smile for her photo session! Love these pictures!

Post-bath photo session.

I gave birth to my husband....

Here's proof.

Brian W. Garlits, February 1979

Family outing

Yesterday we had a family outing at the shore... just dad, mom and Henry. It was a beautiful day, so we thought we'd add to Henry's "firsts" list. From the shore house, we drove over to the island of SeaSide. We had lunch on the ocean at Ortley Beach and Henry enjoyed the view from the table.

After lunch, we walked the boards. Too bad Henry slept through this too... because there sure is a LOT too look at!!!

P.S. Henry slept 7.5 hours on Saturday night and 4 hours on Sundsy night....go figure.

Play Date!

On Friday, Christina had us and a few other moms and kids over for a play date. Henry slept the entire time, but I got to hang out and socialize with some friends for a few hours (and watch what my life is going to be like in a few short months). It was really an entertaining afternoon all around, not sure who napped more afterwards, the kids or the moms.

Chase greeted Luke with a huge hug when he arrived.

Then Chase and Jackson petted Luke in the kitchen.

Courtney kept a close eye on Henry... he was a handful. I was so embarrassed!
(kidding, he slept the entire 3 hours we were there, except for one feeding).

Lunch time!

Chase tackled Grace and some how, even though I was taking a picture of it while it happened, I missed Jackson pouring a container of bubble soap all over his sisters back and floor. Oy, I'm going to be a great mom!

After all that playing, Henry rested in Linda's (Christina's mom-in-law) arms.