My Beautiful Family

Haircut

Just posting a pic of HG's new haircut.

Kazoo Lessons (Thanks Barbara and Gabe)

You'd think it'd be me who'd get sick of it.

Stoney Point

Pictures from a few weeks ago when KG took Henry to Stoney Point. Now when he sees these pictures he says, "Tooka time (climb) inna rocks!"

Nasty Fall

HG really banged his head tonight. Scary. We were having a crazy game of hide and go seek, running into his room and out, when he toppled over simply turning a corner. I didn't see the moment of impact but I sure heard it - thwack! KG did too. I knew from the direction he'd been heading that he'd hit his forehead on the doorway to the bathroom.

This was the first time in my experience that he'd fallen in a way that worried me. Fortunately, his responses were what passes for good in these kinds of situations: crying (means he's alert), a big knot forming (injury located on surface, not beneath), and no blood. We decided to keep him up a little longer than usual to make sure he didn't get wobbly, nauseous, or abnormally groggy, which he didn't.

Poor little guy. The bump looks awful. He was a trooper, of course. Within a minute or two he was back to normal, playing games and having fun. If anything was unusual, it was that he seemed curious as to why we were behaving strangely toward him.

I put him to sleep a few minutes ago. We'll wake him up a time or two tonight to make sure it's nothing serious, like a concussion. Other than that, there's not much we can do except keep an eye on him for a while.

Okay, I've got to admit, I'm buzzing a bit. It's hard to shake the worry. Logically, I know it's fine, but my body's not ready to settle down.

In Case You Missed It

HG's acting debut, a promo video shot several months ago for my theatre company's play Land Of The Tigers...

Tough Guy

Where's Henry?

Beans and Rice Is Not A Finger Food

Claremont Visit

With our friends Steve and Michelle in Claremont visiting Michelle's family this past weekend, we took a trip out on Saturday. HG played with their 2 and a half year-old son Morgan, and KG and I got a peek at their month-old daughter Emily. (Pictures by Darrett Sanders)

Abacus At The Park

Playing Outside

Soccer Video

Nice Outfit!

Stress Face

Don't ask me how this came to be a thing...

Ready For His Close-Up

To Dos

KG and I are about to take a child-free 24 hours so my sister is taking over HG through Sunday afternoon or so. I'm writing up a little cheat-sheet for her and suddenly thought it would be worth posting. Perhaps years from now I'll read it and see how crazy I was (as my wife was just telling me). Or loving. You be the judge:

------

Hey Gelle,

Again, thanks and thanks and thanks for doing this. KG and I are so excited for our day.

Below is an outline of my typical day with HG. Obviously, it’s nothing you need to follow to the letter. When in doubt, trust the ol’ instincts. Regardless, I expect HG will want to move in with you when you’re done.

Alright, here goes…

MORNING:

He’s been waking up lately at 5:45 AM, but it could be 8:00 or even later if you luck the hell out. He’s never woken up without immediately nursing, so you’re in uncharted waters there. If he’s upset by that or something, maybe try a bottle. Otherwise…

Once he’s up and has shaken off his sleep, change his diaper and put him in some regular day clothes. Then give him breakfast. Typical breakfast is oatmealy cereal with milk (whole, if you got it) and thawed-out frozen blueberries or peaches or strawberries or something like that. If you want, give him his own spoon and let him try to eat it “himself”. This approach is MESSY.

Eggs will work too (tell him you’re making them - he’ll be stoked) with toast (whole wheat, no butter). This he can eat with his hands. Or you can improvise breakfast.

After breakfast, I typically take him for a walk in his stroller. You can do this too if you feel like it, but only if you want (I know you’ve been walking in the mornings). I’ll often go for as long an hour and he’s used to it, so you have room to make it as short or long as you like. He might complain right when you strap him in but he settles down right quick.

Once we’re back, I try to let him run around somehow or do something physical. Outside is best (he loves to play “kick ball” and “pick flowers” or sometimes we go to the park) but if outside’s not feasible, don’t worry. In or out, this usually goes on for maybe an hour. When he’s finished, give him water and a snack, perhaps a banana. After that, you can read or play with toys (blocks are good). This is a good stretch of “whatever-the-hell-he-wants” time. It’s fun.

At 11:00 or 11:30, give him lunch. Afterward, change his diaper (he’ll probably have left you a present). Sometime between 11:30 and 12:30 put him down for a nap.

AFTERNOON:

(This is where KG’s instructions take over. To make a point about how crazy [thorough] I am, she's made them ridiculously simple):

Wake him up by 2:30, if he hasn’t already done it himself.

Give him a bottle.

At 3:00 - snack time.

Between 6:00 and 6:30 give him dinner.

At around 7:00, give him a bath.

Put him in his feety pyjamas.

Give him a bottle.

Put him down around 7:30.

Leaving Grandma's House (A Couple Weeks Ago)

My mother's doing better today after a successful angioplasty. To celebrate, I thought I'd post some pictures I took to after a recent visit to see her (before the trouble). We were headed out when I snapped these. Henry surely loves his Grandma:

Bathtime

Henry In The Morning

He's starting to look more grown up:

Message For Grandma

My mom's in the hospital with more heart issues. Angiogram Scheduled for today. Thought I'd send a little digital cheer from HG.

Goofy In The Morning

Some bonus sillyness:

"Ungh!"

Showing off for the camera, Henry does the Pratfall of the Day...

Gratuitous Vocab Video

Recorded at my mother's house:

HG's First Romp In The Rain

While I was in San Diego today, KG took HG out in the rain...

HG's 2009 Literary Review

At the end of every year, KG and I make a list of the books we each read over the past 12 months. It's mostly just to keep track. We were doing it tonight and decided to make a list of Henry's favorite books from 2009. As I'm sure the parents out there are aware, we've both probably read every single one of these books over 100 times. So here it is, our (very incomplete) list:

"Hug" - Jez Alborough

"I Like Stars" - Margaret Wise Brown

"Goodnight Moon" - Margaret Wise Brown

"Goodnight Gorilla" - Peggy Rathmann

"Colors" - Sami

"Colors/Colores" - Bright Baby

"When The Elephant Walks" - Keika Kasza

"The Very Hungry Caterpillar" - Eric Carle

"Guess How Much I Love You" - Sam McBratney

"My Peekaboo Book" - Big Box Entertainment

"Oh David! - David Shannon

"I Love You, Stinky Face" - Lisa McCourt

"Wild Animals" - Jo Joof

"Petting Farm" - Little Scholastic

"Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?" - Bill Martin Jr./Eric Cale

"Caps For Sale" - Esphyr Slobodkina

"I Love You Through And Through" - Bernadette Rosetti Shustak

"Animal Kisses" - Barney Saltzberg

"The Going To Bed Book" - Sandra Boynton

"Doggies" - Sandra Boynton

"Hey! Wake Up!" - Sandra Boynton

"Blue Hat, Green Hat" - Sandra Boynton

"But Not The Hippopotamus" - Sandra Boynton

"Moo Baa La La La" - Sandra Boynton

"Pajama Time" - Sandra Boynton

"Chicka Chicka ABC" - Bill Martin Jr.

"Where Is Baby's Belly Button" - Karen Katz

"Just Like Daddy" - Cecilia Johansson

"Olivia's Opposites" - Ian Falconer

"Baby Faces" - DK Publishing

"Fire Engines"

"My First Book Of ABCs" - Baby Einstein

"Tails" - Matthew Van Fleet

"The Little Engine That Could" - Watty Piper

"10 Apples Up On Top" - Theo Lesieg

"Daddy Cuddles" - Anne Gutman

"Kiss Kiss" - Margaret Wild

"Hug Hug" - Lorie Ann Grover

"Pat The Bunny" - Dorothy Kunhartdt

"The City"

"Bing: Swing" - Ted Dewan

"Non, Titus, Non!" - C. Masurel

Hallo, From Berkeley!

17 Months

Day At The Park

Rock Climber In Training

Ducks!

Exploring

Newport Beach

A couple weeks ago, HG, KG and I spent the weekend at a time-share in Newport Beach that her dad and Debbie had arranged. In addition to the five of us, KG's brother Bob and his daughter Ana were also there. A nice time was had by all.

Check out this awesome family photo (look how sly HG looks):

Perfunctory Update

Okay, the rash is gone. It was an allergy to an anti-biotic.

This whole rash thing just sucked. Seeing him with it for so long, even when we knew it wasn't bothering him very much, even when it was fading and we were relatively certain it'd be completely gone soon, totally sucked. May none of you have children with rashes.

The Rash

Just to keep everyone up to date, HG has been suffering from some kind of mystery rash for a couple of weeks now. We finally got him to the allergist the other day and they gave him something that's keeping the symptoms at bay. The Dr. believes the rash was a reaction to some antibiotics HG was taking for an ear infection.

The above picture, as bad as it looks, doesn't do the thing the least bit of justice. For a while Henry's whole body was covered in raised welts. I can't tell you how hard it is as a parent to observe something like that and not be able to do anything to make your child feel better.

Of course HG's been a trooper as usual, even when it got so itchy that he was scratching himself like an addict kicking dope. Hopefully the worst is over. The Dr. told us that if it's what he thinks it is, it should go away within a couple of weeks or so. Keep your fingers crossed.