New Addition to Our Adopted Adoption Family

Dear Henry,
A new friend has arrived!!! I posted about a month ago that Matt and Eunice have brought home their baby boy Keegan.  Like the others he wore the special blue hat made by Heather that first graced your noodle a year and a day ago, Lily's 7 weeks later, and the twins back in November (which I'm not sure why I don't have a photo of them in the hat!)

  Henry

 Lily

 Keegan

We were happy to finally all be able to meet him!  It was a quick meeting for us because Mommy didn't bring the second set of ramps to make sure Daddy could get into their house.  You and I ran in really quickly to say hello.  Doug and Peter, sad about our run in with the fire department, were excited to present you with a little fire truck toy.  So sweet and cute those 

two guys are!  Everyone remarked on your subdued demeanor, little did we know that it was the night the croup crept into your delicate throat.  Lily couldn't make it because she was with Mommy Brook looking after her sick grandma.  Etienne and Sylvie were there cuddling with Keegan though.  It was a beautiful picture!  Keegan's grandma made some traditional Filipino cuisine for the occasion.  Eunice was kind enough to hook us up with some to take with us to share with Daddy.  YOU LOVED IT and shoved it into your mouth as if you were at Nathan's on the 4th of July!  

 Keegan is handsome like the rest of our babies.  Now just Doug and Peter and Nissy and Jim and we will have our family complete, for now!

So happy that you will have another little dude to play with in the years to come! 

Mommy made Keegan a little blanket like Aimee A made for you.  Thanks for the great pattern Aimee!  

I stitched on a felt dinosaur to cover the rip I made when I was turning the quilt...oops but it came out cute with it on the back. ha!
Love, Mommy

Staring at Market Square Arena 5 Nights Only! CROUP with Stridor!

Dear Henry, 
Croup and Stridor are every bit of the the heavy metal one two punch that their names might suggest.  Posts have been slim since the last days of February because with Croup and Stridor in town you needed full attention to details.  Your nose was leakin' like a dam, overflowing with mucus and snot that crusted quickly and heavily as wax on a wick gathering to make a solid booger candle on your baby face.  We frequently squeezed in saline and bulbed out strings 5 feet long of baby nose goo.  The worst was Croup's upper jab to the rib cage that left you coughing in convulsive fits. Every baby muscle in your baby body shook to a seal like tune your infected vocal cords played as gasps of air raked across them.  Fevers shot up and exploded 103.2 red flashes across your face.  You'd cry and cry, and uh, did I mention cry?  Tears flowed.  

 

 

You didn't want to eat.  You had trouble sleeping and you'd rub and rub your red rimmed lids in frustration.  I didn't like these 5 days.  Turns out you were teething molars that would fill a fee fie foe fum giant's mouth at the same time.  Worst yet, there were plans of an early 1st birthday party only 7 days away from your diagnosis and mommy was sweatin' the small stuff already.  Crappaw was scheduled to get his hip replaced on March 3rd and wouldn't be able to attend if we didn't do the party earlier and that would just not be a party without Crappaw.  Luckily you would no longer be infectious if your fevers ceased to spike.  Come Thursday you leveled out to a normal temp.  THANK GOODNESS!  We had you sleep near the humidifier and I spread the obligatory greasy Vicks' Mentholatum deep heat 'em on your neck, chest and under your nose.  At the Croup's worst grip Mommy and Daddy even steamed up the bathroom a la Mr. Mom movie to make those lungs moist again.  

It was hard seeing you sick.  We were sad and exhausted but once again we made it through. Now we have our healthy boy back with two new molars to boot.  This puts the teeth count to 10.  Stay tuned for photos of your cake smeared face from your first birthday...
Love, Mommy
PS I'm not a mean mommy.  I took these photos right before we left to the doctor's office, then I picked you up and cuddled you so tightly.

Read Me a Book Crappaw! What the Heck Are You Doing Gma P?

Dear Henry, 
Next week on the 3rd of March Crappaw will be undergoing his 2nd hip replacement surgery.  It is a pretty gnarly deal.  I will save the details for when you are older.  On his way home from the pre-surgery appointment Crappaw and Gma P stopped for lunch and some play time.  You gave them your handmade Valentine's Day cards before lunch at the Cloverleaf, which we forgot to give to Nana LaJean. Crappaw read to you emphatically The Little Noisy Book.  Sorry, I don't know what in the heck Gma P is doing to you but you didn't seem to mind. Mommy comes by "it", being weird, honestly.

 
Love you, 
Mommy

Handing Over, Passing On

Dear Henry,
Somewhere around the first day you took your first breath Daddy decided that he needed to set you up with a comic book membership. So every coupe of months we go to Vintage Phoenix to pick up a few issues of Green Lantern Blackest Night. Daddy's favorite comic has always been Green Lantern and he wanted you to someday be able to experience the happiness of a Sunday afternoon reading your comics. So, let's hope that you do! You will be very set up by the time you are ready to read such things. Another tradition Daddy and Mommy started for you is buying you a record every week. On Fridays we meet Daddy when he is done with work for dinner downtown. After we feed our faces we walk over to Landlocked Music and let you pick an LP all by yourself. Luckily at Landlock all of the 1-5 buck records are on the floor in crates...Just your height, just your price. Sometimes you're quick about it and sometimes you seem disinterested, wandering around until alas you stop at a crate, flip through it, and pull out a record. Really! At 11 months you do this. You sometimes stop to shake around a little to whatever music is playing in the store.

The last two picks were Herman's Hermits (excellent choice! Mommy listened to this many mornings while getting ready for school and it has the song "Henry XIII" on it)

and Madness with the hit Our House.

After you pick your record we return home to play it and dance together. Such fun family time. I can't wait to see your record collection take shape.

Love, Mommy

The Lord's Been Good To Me, Giving Me The Things I Need

Dear Henry Appleseed, 
Having teeth since you were about 4 months old has created an eating machine.  Apples... your newest favorite, next to your banana stand by.  You can eat an entire banana yourself and if I'd give you another I do believe you'd eat that one too.  In the last two months Mommy and Daddy buy a couple of apples each grocery trip and Mommy starts to eat them and you steal them away.  At first it seems you just want a little nibble so I break you off a piece, NO WAY!  You want to handle the apple yourself and eat it all!  You put your pint size jaws opened as wide as you can on the side and chomp down.  Your eyes get huge!  

Then you chew with such relish and delight, juice soppin' out of your mouth and down your chin.  You smile and smack those pouty lips.  

 

Your rub it around on your face giving it a little hug, or to just keep us from getting it back.  You clap for the apples sweetness and sometime eat it so quickly you forget to chew.  Mommy and Daddy stand by as needed to help fish out pieces of the skin that get caught on your tongue.

 You smile and I can see all the happiness in your heart shoot out through your eyes.  I know you'd eat the core if I didn't snatch it away from you!  

 

 You love apples so much perhaps one day you'll take off where the legend Johnny Appleseed's work left off.   I've seen you with a pan on your head practicing already.  If you could just stay out of the toilets long enough to travel.  So grateful for nature's sweets like apples, bananas, carrots, peas and you!
Love,  Mommy