Christmas!

Christmas at our house was pretty exciting this year. Henry has no concept of Santa or Baby Jesus or anything else related to Christmas, but he certainly knew something special was in the air.

We had lots of time with both families, we had a great Christmas breakfast and dinner, lots of roaring fires, games of Yahtzee and SNOW! It was Henry's first white Christmas and mama's, too!

And now we are blessed to have Barry home all week...I certainly wouldn't mind living like this all year long!

Merry Christmas!

Welcome, Fall!

Today we kicked off our Fall family festivities by visiting Gentry's Farm in Franklin, along with our good friends, Puck and Melanie and their beautiful children, Calvin and Evelyn.

It was a picture-perfect Fall day.

Henry's pretty mobile and antsy these days, so this is as close as we ever get lately to a family picture:

He had a great time with the pumpkins....he kept poking at them, and I think he was expecting them to sing and light up like most of his toys do.

I'm not sure if Evelyn let out a burp or a curse, but whatever it was seems to have really offended Henry!

We had a fabulous time--Henry is at an age where he really enjoys outings like this. We finished up the day at Pie in the Sky pizza where Henry promptly ate part of his paper straw wrapper. He wouldn't touch his food, but he ate that. Kids are strange.

I'm not ready yet!!

This week I've been researching and visiting Mother's Day Out programs with the intention of enrolling Henry somewhere in the fall. It will only be a day or two a week, and I know it's will be good both for him and for me....but I'm not ready yet!

I visited a program yesterday and found out that the first day of their fall term is August 30. Henry's first birthday! The idea of facing the fact that my baby is a whole year old AND sending him of to "school" for the first time is enough to send me over the emotional edge! I think if we choose that program he'll be skipping the first day.

But he loves being around other children and Lucy's just not cutting it. I know he will love, love, love MDO, and I also know that I'll eventually love having time to myself.

One of my neighbors told me a story about a friend of hers who enrolled her baby in a MDO program for one day a week, because she just couldn't bear the thought of sending him "away" for two whole days. About a month into the term she walked into the office and said, "Can I sign up for that other day now?"

Ha! I'm sure the extra time will be nice, but I have a feeling I'll be spending it folding laundry.

And, he's off!

Henry is crawling! I have a feelng a mobile baby means life in the Lancaster household has changed forever. Especially Lucy's life.

9 MONTHS OLD!

Dear Henry,

Last Sunday you turned nine months old! You are still our baby, but the time is slipping by fast and I know your first birthday will be here before we know it.

Here are some of the things your Dad ane I would like to remember about you at this age:

• You recently learned to "pattycake."
• You are sleeping so well at night, about 11 hours straight, but you like to wake with the sun at 5:30am (OY!).
• Your naps are still iffy, but we usually get three or four days of good naps every week.
• You went on your first real family vacation this month, and we took along both your grannies and Aunt Lisa. We all had a great time in Seagrove Bch...it was your first time to stick your feet in the Gulf and also your first time in the pool. You loved the beach sand, but weren't too sure about the waves and water. You LOVED the pool! You instinctively started to paddle with your little feet...I think we may have a little water lover on our hands!
• You are still not crawling but you are oh-so-mobile and by rolling can get anywhere in any room in a flash. We cannot turn our backs on you for a second.
• You started throwing temper trantrums when you get frustrated. You are one strong-willed little boy!
• You still love your jumperoo. You will play for a bit on your own in your playpen. We had to pack up the bouncy seat as you've completely outgrown it.
• We don't let you watch much television, but you are entertained by it for a few minutes if we need it to occupy you from time to time. You like anything on Sprout.
• You are turning out to be a very, very good eater and will eat just about anything we give you. You started to self-feed very well this month and prefer this to our feeding you.
• You learned to use the sippy cup on your own.
  

Our little bitty baby is still changing at a breakneck speed. Every day is something new and you are getting more and more independent. We know this coming month is going to be one of big changes, since you seem to be just on the cusp of so many new developments.

We can't wait to see what the next few weeks brings!

All our love,
Mom & Dad

The Happiness Project

I was inspired by an old high school classmate to run out and pick up the book The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. I should point out that I am NOT normally a fan of self-help books at all, but given that many reviewers classified this more as a memoir I decided to give it a try. There is no genre I love more than a good biography or memoir.

So far, it's a hit. This woman could not be more like me if she tried. We have a lot of the same personality traits and characteristics, including the ugly ones. I think there was a bit of Providence in my deciding to read this book, and hopefully there is something for me to learn in those pages.

Two of my favorite sayings about happiness:

"If you really want to be happy, no one can stop you."

"The days are long, but the years are short."

Note: I have tried to attribute these two quotes, but can't seem to find their source. Anyone have a clue?

Florida!

I'm a little late in posting these, but I wanted to share some photos our recent and fabulous trip to Florida. We rented a house in Seagrove Beach and dragged along both our mothers, as well as Barry's sister, Lisa. It was a wonderful, quiet, relaxing, completely unproductive holiday. The best kind (and the only kind when you have an infant!).

Memorial Day

We have been enjoying a relaxing weekend with Barry's family...and today we're having a low-key day of remembrance for all those who have given their lives in service to our country.

Yesterday marked nine months since our baby boy was born...I don't know where the time has gone, but we are having the time of our lives! Who knew life could be so good?

8 MONTHS OLD!

Dear Henry,

All of a sudden, in what seems like the blink of an eye, you are 8 MONTHS OLD!

It was a busy month and you are getting to be one busy little boy.

• The biggest physical milestone this month was that you FINALLY learned to roll to your belly!! This has greatly improved your daytime napping.
  
• There was one HUGE sleep milestone, as you started to consistently sleep through the night with no wakings!
  
• You are officially a completely formula-fed baby now.
  
• You have started eating LOTS of table food and you absolutely do not discriminate. We have yet to find a food you won't eat.
  
• You are now wearing size 18-24 month clothes!

You are growing so much, both physically and developmentally. You are just on the verge of crawling, but you can already get anywhere you want in a room by rolling. When you are finally fully mobile Mom is going to be in t-r-o-u-b-l-e.

The countdown to your first birthday (and the party planning) seems to have begun, although we are in absolutely no hurry to get there. We want to savor every, single second of this beautiful summer with our baby boy.

All our love,

Mom & Dad

Saturday Morning

Typical Saturday morning in the Lancaster household. Lots of lying around, drinking coffee and pulling the dog's hair. And today Henry had his first taste of Dad's waffles. They were a hit!

Henry's First Easter

Too pooped out to write much, but it was a gloriously beautiful day here in Nashville to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord! We enjoyed a beautiful worship service and capped it off with an amazing afternoon, during which Henry got his first ride in a swing!

Here's a peek at Henry's first Easter!

7 MONTHS!

6 MONTHS





7 MONTHS




Dear Henry,

You are seven months old! And since Mom skipped last month's post (oops!) we have a lot of catching up to do.

I really don't know where to start. Sometime in the last few weeks it was like we woke up one day and someone had replaced our itty bitty baby with a bright, curious, super-active little guy. You have changed so much in the last two months that it's hard to put into words how different you are and our life is now.

Here are a few of the things we want to remember about you at this age:

• The week you turned six months old we moved you into your nursery!! We were sad, but you have loved being in your own room and you sleep wonderfully in there at night. Naps are a different story. We'll just leave it at that!



• Right around the time you turned six months old, you started sitting on your own! This was a huge milestone and it seemed to change the way you looked at the world. Now you hate lying on your back. For this reason, I assume, you still can't roll from your back to your belly.



• You've started babbling a lot, both talking to us and "fussing" at us. You've learned to make all sort of sounds with your mouth and you like to practice all day long. You screech a lot, at the top of your lungs, often in the direction of Lucy because she's not paying attention to you.



• You started eating solids about a week before you were six months old. You started with rice cereal, but quickly moved on to fruits and veggies. Your favorite food from the beginning was carrots. Other foods you're fond of: sweet potatoes, blueberries, apples, yogurt, oatmeal, avocado. Foods you're not fond of (but you still eat them): sweet peas, green beans, banana. You've also had a few tastes of our table food, like roasted carrots, hummus (loved!), bread and cheese. Currently you normally eat oatmeal w/fruit for breakfast; a veggie and fruit for lunch; a veggie mixed with cereal + sometimes a fruit for dinner. You love to eat!



• You're still a breastfed baby but we're slowly switching over to formula. Currently you nurse three times a day and get a bottle two times a day.



• About a week before you turned seven months old you pulled up to standing for the first time, but you haven't done it again since.



• You very actively play with your toys now. You still love Sophie, but now you also really love interactive toys that sing or play music.



• You still love to be read to, but mostly you just want to eat the books.



• You have started to really notice when we're gone and seem overjoyed when we return to you. It's so amazing to see your face light up when we walk into a room!

Life with a baby is getting much easier for us now. You are sleeping better, you're much more flexible and easier to handle. We feel like we're really getting the hang of this parent thing now.

Spring has come to Nashville, our long winter indoors is over, and we're so looking forward to the coming months!


All our love,




Mom & Dad

SNOW!

This weekend we had the biggest snow of Henry's short life...and his mom's long one!

Unfortunately we've both been under the weather, so we weren't able to really get out and enjoy it, but we did manage to snap a few pictures.

5 Months Old!

Dear Henry,

Today you are five months old!

You are changing at warp speed these days--just today we were thinking back to Christmas and realizing how much you have changed even since then. Every day is something new.

Here are a few of the things we want to remember about you at this stage:

• You are trying so very hard to roll from your back to your belly. It frustrates you, but you keep trying, and any day now you'll do it!
• A couple of times you've been able to sit for a few seconds unassisted.
• You have FINALLY started napping in your crib. Sometimes it's for 30 mins, sometimes an hour, but whatever it is we'll take it! This is a monumental achievement for you and we worked very hard to get here.
• Instead of nursing or being rocked to sleep, we now put you down to bed awake and you go to sleep on your own.
• You now have your very own "chair" at the table. You love your highchair and being able to join mom and dad for mealtime.
• You recently got sick for the first time. :( We took you to the doctor and you were diagnosed with RSV. Although you were very sick you were such a little trooper and maintained your good nature. We are glad that's over!
• You had your first--and second!--snowstorms. The second one was a good one, but, unfortunately, you were still not fully recovered from being sick so you didn't get to check out the snow in person.
• Your new favorite thing to do is to touch our faces...sometimes not so gently.
• Sophie is still your favorite toy...you love to chew her legs and nose.
• You are getting more active by the day. You've really learned to love your toys and you love to play interactively with us, but you also love to play independently and can do so for 15-20 mins.

It's so hard to believe that soon you will have been with us for six months. Our lives have changed so much since you arrived and just when we think we've all settled into a new routine, you go and change on us! But we're learning to adjust quickly and to be flexible. We're also learning to enjoy the simple things in life. You may be little, but you're teaching us a lot.

We can't wait to see what the next month brings!

All our love,

Mom & Dad

4 Months Old!

Dear Henry,

I'm a little late with this entry, but you're getting older and a little more demanding of my time!

It's so incredibly hard to believe that you've been with us for four months already. I feel like this first year is flying by, and although I'm always excited for the next milestone, I sometimes wish we could freeze time and keep you just as you are right now. You are so adorable and your little personality is really shining. We love you so much and cherish every single hour with you (even in the middle of the night!).

Here are some things we want to remember about you at this age:

• Your head and neck control is now very, very good. You sit in your Bumbo a lot and love it.
• You sit very well assisted, but aren't ready to sit on your own yet.
• You put full weight on your legs now and love to "stand" with our help.
• You still occasionally roll from your belly to back, but not consistently. You haven't yet rolled from your back to your belly.
• You giggle a lot...and you think your Dad is very silly.
• You sleep very well at night. You eat your last meal around 7pm and are usually asleep by 7:30pm...you usually wake up once overnight to eat and then sleep until 6:30-7am. You still nurse to sleep and go down in your crib asleep.
• On the other hand, you do NOT nap well. You won't nap in your crib at all--only on Mom 0r Dad or in the bouncy seat. We're working on it.
• You ran your first fever after getting your 4-month shots. :(
• You spent your first night away from home on Dec 18 when we stayed with Granny Diane at her house to celebrate Christmas. You did very well and slept just like you do at home.
• You took your first road trip when we went to visit Granny Margaret in Florida for Christmas. You did very well until the last hour, when you decided you'd had enough of that car seat. Understandable.

It's been a very eventful month...you are getting so much more active and doing so many new things all at once. We can't wait to see what next month brings!

All our love,

Mom & Dad