My boys

Henry asked me if he could hold William this morning. He took it very seriously and hardly moved at all when William was resting on him!

Surprise

The other night I got William undressed, put him in his crib and ran to get his bathwater ready. When I returned to his room, this is what I found:



He had an unexpected visitor and they were having a little party. Henry is really taking a liking to this sweet little brother of his. Even though I freaked out a little bit because of the dangers of two boys - one being a very active almost 3-year old-in the same small crib, it was very sweet. And I'm sure only a taste of the trouble these two will get into together...

Memorial Day getaway

Happy Memorial Day everyone! We decided to take the boys to Chicago this weekend for a little getaway. Since Patrick started his new job he's been working long hours and has had some late nights. I think both of the boys really miss him and we all loved spending the weekend together. We got to Chicago early Saturday afternoon and started our day at the Shedd Aquarium.
Henry was fascinated by the fish in the various tanks. One of his favorite things was watching this lobster crawl around this tank.
I carried William in the Snugli so he could see everything up close. He was mostly intrigued with all of the people there. (note to self: a Baby Bjorn would have been a very wise investment)
After leaving the aquarium we walked around by the lake and then decided to check into our hotel downtown. Due to an overbooking we ended up getting a "presidential suite". It was definitely more luxury than we planned - we had a kitchen, dining room, living room with a flat screen and a large bedroom. It worked out perfectly; Henry had lots of room to run around and play and we were able to put the boys to bed in the bedroom and still be awake without bothering them. It was a corner room with windows all around, so we had a nice view of the city--seen in the picture below. The boys slept great despite our hotel being located next to a very busy fire station. When we checked in Henry had only two questions for the concierge. 1., Where is the pool? and 2., How do I open this? Referring to the apple that he snatched from the decorative display at the entrance. Since he was so anxious to swim we decided to take the boys to the pool once we got settled into our room.

Henry loved the pool. He loved splashing. He loved being held and pulled around fast. He didn't love the water he accidentally gulped when his foot slipped on the stairs walking in; but he stayed in and kept on swimming until he was shivering.
The water was just a little bit too chilly for William to swim in, but he loved sitting on the side of the pool and splashing his feet. He was enthralled with the water; I couldn't get him to look up!
The boys took a bath to warm up when we got back to our room. Henry was first fascinated with the jets in the tub, but when one of them started spraying everywhere and I got a little bit frantic, he was terrified and wanted out!

On Sunday morning we got up early and Henry and I were at the pool by 7:00! He really loved swimming. Then we walked around downtown a bit and then went to Lincoln Park Zoo where we met Dan, Sara, Gabe and Caleb. It was so much fun spending the afternoon there with them.

There is a farm exhibit and guess who waited in line for 15 minutes to sit on a tractor? The cows were one of his favorite animals to see there. He did not want to leave the dairy barn.

Gabe and Henry rode the train together.
We had lunch together at the zoo.

Then it was off to see more animals. Gabe and Henry holding Uncle Dan's hands. Gabe climbed over this little chain link and pretended to be an animal at the zoo.

Dan told us about this polar bear exhibit where you stand at a large window and can watch the polar bears swim by. It's amazing to see them so close up and it's so fascinating to watch. There are two of them in there and they would swim the same path over and over again. They would come so close you could see their fur blowing in the water. After we'd stood there and watched for a few minutes I told Henry that we'd watch them swim by "one more time" and he asked me, "can we watch them a lot more times?" I think the polar bears might have tied with the cows for Henry's favorite animals at the zoo.
To sum up the way Henry felt about the weekend ---errr, mostly the hotel---his words as we were pulling into our driveway yesterday evening:

"No, I don't want to go to this house. I want to go to our new house with the pool."

William is 7 months

William taking an unexpected late afternoon nap. He was especially sleepy one day and fell asleep when we were outside. I brought him inside and put him down on the couch thinking he'd wake up, but he stayed asleep. I love a sleeping baby. So sweet.
His hair is really growing - it's getting longer, but it's not long enough to lay flat, so it sticks straight up. Remember when Henry went through that phase? I posted a picture below of Henry and his crazy hair days. William's hair is much lighter than Henry's - he may be a blondie.

He loves to swing. It's fun to have he and Henry in the swings side-by-side at the park.

I put an ice cube in this mesh food bag and he loves chewing/sucking on it. It also keeps him occupied for a few minutes while I make breakfast or lunch.
He is officially rolling over. His first (intentional) roll from his tummy to back: 5.15.08

He is still happiest either sitting up or laying on his back.

We think he makes the "excited face". We've noticed it a few times. In the picture below he was watching Henry drive his tractors around the floor. William turned 7 months old on Monday. It's been an exciting month with a few big firsts.

• He is officially rolling over. He rolls from his tummy to his back and from his back to his tummy. Now that he can do it, he makes it look so easy. He still sleeps mostly on his back, but sometimes prefers his side. A few times I've gone in to pick him up after his nap and found him on his tummy.
• He is constantly chewing on something: his hands, a toy, my necklaces, anything (and everything) within reach and he is constantly drooling; the fronts of his poor shirts are always wet.
• He has his first teeth! His first tooth (the bottom L) came through on Monday, 5.19.08 and his second (the bottom R) came through on Thursday, 5. 22.08. He had a few harder nights a few days before the first tooth popped through, he woke up crying and was content only when I held him. After some rocking and some Tylenol he did ok and he's been fine since that first tooth came. They are still very small, but so cute when I catch glimpses of them.
• He is sitting really well. He seems to mostly fall forward when he's reaching for a toy in front of him. He prefers to sit up and loves reaching for and grabbing his toys. My favorite thing is when he's playing with something and then sees another toy he wants to get. He will put one toy in his mouth to hold on to it and then reach for another one. He's also really quick and will grab anything: tonight at dinner Patrick had William on his lap and he turned to get a toy for him and when he looked back William was holding Patrick's chicken breast and just staring at it!
• He is eating nearly all of the "Stage 2" foods. Green beans, squash, sweet potatoes, peas, garden vegetables, mixed vegetables, applesauce, bananas, pears, along with rice cereal and oatmeal. He has three full meals a day. The only food he's not crazy about is peas.
• His newest sound is an excited, high-pitched scream. It's actually sweet. He does it when he's excited and happy. He has really been using his voice.
• He still likes faces, but has really been liking animal books. We have a book about dogs, "Puppy Love" with real puppy pictures that he loves and also a farm animal book that he likes. Reading to him is tough though, he tries to grab the book while I'm reading and eat the corners. He gets upset if I hold it away from him and he can't reach it.
• His naps are getting established. His morning nap usually starts between 8:30 -9:00 and lasts for 1 1/2 - 2 hours. His afternoon nap is usually around 1:00 and can last up to 3 hours, although 2 is more normal. Most days he and Henry nap around the same time in the afternoon which is a nice break!
• He loves his pacifier and is getting attached to having one for his nap/bedtimes. I also just learned this week that he is particular about the brand. Several of them have disappeared, so I tried another brand that I have lots of and he was not happy. I may have to buy more. I wonder if I will regret this?
• He loves bathtime. This month we started putting his baby bath tub in the big bath and giving both boys baths at the same time. William loves watching Henry and enjoys all of the splashing action. Henry usually requests William to be in his bath with him now.
• He is very amused by Henry who has turned into quite the entertainer. Now that William is at the table for all of our meals, Henry takes it upon himself to entertain him if he starts to get fussy. He mostly makes funny faces and noises. He also makes up lots of nonsense words to say to William. Henry is not so obliging when it comes to toys. He definitely does not want to share any of his own toys with William and lately he's been snatching even William's baby toys away from him. He'll say very adamantly, "no, you can't have that Wee-yum." We're definitely working on this.

Henry's last day of school and parade

Monday was Henry's last day of school! He has really grown and changed so much in the past several months. He started school last October, just a few weeks before William was born. He still seemed so little so me then. I definitely still felt like he was my baby. When I dropped him off at school that first Monday, my eyes were filling with tears before I even left the building; once I got into my car and closed the door I burst into tears. I composed myself enough to go to Wal-Mart to do some grocery shopping but got teary again watching other mothers shop with their children in their carts. I counted down the minutes until I could pick Henry up and when I went into his classroom to get him, he was smiling, happy and so proud to show me the picture he made. We decided to try it another week and even though the first few Mondays Henry had a hard time saying "goodbye" to me too as I dropped him off, he was always so happy when we picked him up and was so excited to tell us about school. He's grown so much and is such a big boy. Now when I drop him off, he hugs me and walks into his classroom carrying his backpack usually greeting his teachers and settling into a center. He especially loved playing with the rice/water table. He talks about his "friends" at school and usually says "hello" to them, too when we walk into his classroom. Several times over the past few months he will start singing different songs that I haven't ever sung to him and I know he must have learned them at school. He beams with pride when I ask him about them! His hands-down favorite song is "The Wheels on the Bus". We sing that at home, too but I know it's a classroom fave. We have been really happy with the program that he's in and I think it has been perfect for him.

Henry on his first day of school - 10.1.07Henry before his school parade. Henry on his last day of school - 5.19.08 He has definitely changed so much! Henry in his classroom on his last day. It was "Beach Day" and the children got to wear their swimsuits. Since it was raining that morning his teachers brought the pool and a beach umbrella inside and they filled the pool with a little bit of water. When I picked up Henry his teacher told me that he was in the pool the very longest of anyone and that he didn't get out until he absolutely had to get out. He loved it! My mom was visiting us and after school we took Henry to Culver's to celebrate his last day. He loves going to this particular Culver's because they have a huge aquarium in the dining room.
Henry and Oma checking out the fish. William just hanging out in between bites of green beans.

On Thursday Henry's school had a last day parade and all of the children paraded around the school on the sidewalk. Henry seemed thoroughly confused and unenthusiastic about the whole thing, but he was a good sport and went along with it. Here is he parading, holding Miss. Jennifer's hand (she was one of Henry's two teachers). Each class has a matching t-shirt that their teacher's decorated for them. It's very cute: tye-dyed yellow with a sponge-painted sunshine. They also gave all of the children matching star sunglasses and he chose green, but he decided not to wear his.

Open Gym

A few months ago my friend Lori who has a son, Joey, that is Henry's age invited us to open gym at a nearby gymnastics academy. Henry absolutely loved it and spent most of his time bouncing on one of the many trampolines. Since then we've gone back several times, and Henry has progressively gotten braver and braver. There's a big pit with foam blocks that children can jump into, several large trampolines, a long running trampoline, a rope for climbing or swinging, hula hoops, huge balls and lots of other things. The floors are all cushioned and soft. Still Henry's favorite thing to is to bounce on the trampoline, although now he will jump from something on to the trampoline below. He also will jump from different platforms (all different heights) into the foam block pit. The trickiest part is helping him get out - I'm usually holding William and Henry gets stuck in there. I'm excited to see William play there once he starts moving some more. It only lasts an hour and initially I thought that wasn't very long, but I'll assure you that it is plenty of time. Henry is always sweating and worn out when it's time to go. I wish I'd discovered it sooner; it would have been a perfect way to break up the winter. I think I'm going to enroll Henry into a beginning gymnastics class this summer. I think he would love it.

Henry jumping from a big block on to the trampoline.

Crumpets and birdhouses

The weekend before Mother's Day we went to Rockford to celebrate with my Grandma. The ladies in our family took her to lunch at one of her favorite places, a restaurant called Crumpets in Genoa. It was an adorable restaurant that served different soups, sandwiches on croissants, muffins, and fruit among other things and had delicious desserts. We ordered a few and shared them! I liked the cozy, Victorian atmosphere and loved having lunch with my Grandma, a few aunts and Sara and Sandi. After lunch we went to Steve and Barry's and did some shopping - everything was $8.98! It was my first time there and I had lots of fun and tried on lots of clothes! I got a few things that I really like. One of them being a SJP "Bitten" brand dress that I love. And for $8.98, such a deal!

My Grandma

Meanwhile the boys went to my Grandma and Grandpa's house with Patrick, Dan and my dad where my grandpa had arranged for them to build birdhouses and had all of the supplies cut and ready to go. I love the pictures of the boys with Great Grandpa working on these birdhouses. They both turned out great and are so adorable. Henry is waiting for a wren to come live in his house.

Henry and Great Grandpa working on Henry's birdhouse.Gabe building his birdhouse with Great Grandpa.Gabe showing off his finished product. It sounds like the boys had a great time being in Great Grandpa's basement. It's like man's land down there!We think Henry looks alot like Grandpa Hogan. It's the shape of his face, I think. You can kind of see it in this picture.

We all gathered at Grandma and Grandpa's house for pizza after the ladies got back from lunch and shopping. It was delicious! Then we surprised my dad with a belated birthday celebration complete with cake and gifts. Gabe and Henry helped blow out the birthday candles and open the presents!

That night Patrick, Henry, William and I spent the night at my dad and Sandi's house. Henry loved waking up there on Sunday morning and was anxious to play with Papa Bug at 6 a.m. when he woke up! He was sad to say goodbye and when we got home on Sunday evening he said, "no, I don't want to go home. I want to go to Papa and Grandma Bug's house!" (very adamantly) He definitely has a special bond with his grandparents.

Henry, Papa Bug and William blowing bubbles on the front porch. Notice all of the other toys - Henry loves to take out everything.

*Note: I borrowed the pictures taken Saturday from Sara. Patrick had our camera but he used the video camera to tape the birdhouse building extravaganza instead. And I'm glad he did, it's a great video and I'm thankful to have those memories. Thank you Sara for these pics!