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