Henry's 1st Xmas

Yep, it was full of flashing lights, noisy toys with no off switches, lots of food, late nights (past 8 i mean) and tons of people. It was really fun. And, I know Henry enjoyed it b/c he's been buzzing ever since. He can hardly calm down from all of it. He got SO many new toys. We're on a rotation schedule with them now, too many all at once! I think his favorite is the giant blue tube that he can crawl through, the full size train and the spanish speaking maraccas. It's pretty funny to watch him chase the cats through the blue tube. He also really likes the awesome Snail rocking "horse" from the pickle grandparents. It's so adorable (see below). Santa brought him the woodsies which his mom had when she was little. If you know what the woodsies are you should email me b/c I can't find anyone else to date who remembers them. They've been out of production since the mid-late 70's. Santa won it on e-bay. He's pretty e-talented like that.

Our parents all had a portrait of henry painted by our friend Maggie Phillips. She is an awesome artist and the painting is amazing. I couldn't even hold it together when they surprised us with it. I fell apart. It's so perfect.. totally captures his sweet little personality. There's a picture of it below.

Anyways, thanks to our family and friends for such a great holiday. We look forward to 2007 and all that stuff. Here are some pics from the weekend---

Henry makes Headlines!

Henry and his granddad were featured in a story in the Temple Daily Telegram. The story is below. We were all there for a dedication ceremony for a bronze statue my parents had made for the new children's hospital at Scott and White hospital. The whole day was very special. When henry was playing with the statue the reporters were taking tons of photos. He was also a hit at the gala - baby's first gala - with his little suit and tie. He also recently had his first spin under the Zilker Christmas tree along with his friend Everett...

gobble

henry enjoyed his first turkey day with his grandparents and great grandmom. he had his first game of golf and also his first taste of real turkey, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes and all the sides. we missed the rest of the family, but it was really relaxing and fun!

Time flies

Henry is almost 9 months old now. I can't even believe how fast time goes these days. He gets into everything. It's crazy how fast he is. We've been very busy with family, weddings, friends and work. Henry moved into his new room yesterday and he has lots more space. I think he really likes it. Although he seemed pretty confused when he woke up this morning. He's finally sleeping through the night most nights. Here are some pics from the last couple of weeks.

It's a baby dinosaur...

Yes, Henry was a dinosaur for halloween. I don't know that he knew any different, except that everyone was giving him lots of oo's and goo's. The little tail seemed appropriate for him. He participated in a neighborhood parade with all of the other little kidos. There are tons of other little kids around here for him to play with which is cool. Henry is crawling very fast and is pulling up on things to stand. He even let go yesterday and stood briefly without help! He'll be walking in no time! He's growing up SO fast.... He's also saying "mama" but it's indiscriminate, so he looks at Sophie and says "mama" and Gary and says "mama.." hmm. Hopefully he'll grow out of that..

Pickle Love

Here are some recent shots of Henry enjoying his Pickle side of the family. He loved meeting Wig and Linda a few weeks ago and will meet Tom and Sheri pretty soon. I love this first picture. Jan took it when I arrived to pick up Henry after being away from him for the first night ever! It was a special little moment. Also to note... He looks pretty cute napping under his Aunt Lori's Emory sweatshirt... If you are wondering, he is going to be a green dinosaur with orange spots for halloween.. pictures to come. Oh, and Hank's new favorite thing is to try to eat the dog food right out of the bowl. Yes, mobility has its perks.

Hank in the Great Outdoors

A couple of weeks ago we went hiking and cave-exploring. Henry had a great time and was his usual charming self. He met Jordan and Janet for the first time this week. I think they liked him quite a bit. They are expecting in a few weeks! He was also a hit at Vickie Jubang's wedding. He was great during the ceremony, except he kept making "happy" sounds, so Ben had to take him to hang out elsewhere. He is becoming an expert crawler and is pulling up to stand! Tonight will be my first night away from him. I'm going to give a speech in Mississippi and will not be bringing him with me for the first time. I'm sad, but also kind of excited to have a whole night to myself- the first in many many months...