Crappaw

Dear Henry,

Last week Crappaw and Grandma P came over to help Mommy get the grass cut and to clean the fall leaves off of the pool cover. Grandma P watched you inside, occasionally coming to the window to taunt me with your cute little face at the window. We ate at a local joint called The Cloverleaf. Great food!

Crappaw held on to you most of lunch, even making Grandma P cut his roast beef Manhattan so he didn't have to put you down. It is good to be loved!

They love you!
Me too!
Love, Mommy

Mornings are Hard for More than One Reason

Dear Henry,

Every morning Daddy gets up for work and goes off and it is HARD for us both. We wish he could spend the day with us givin' cuddles and smoochies all those hours he isn't here. If you should ever think that Daddy would not rather be with us too, look at these photos from when you are just 8 weeks 3 days old and you can see how much he loves you. He goes to work so we can live in our nice home, have good transportation and food in our tummies. He goes to work because he is a good man that provides for his family. He goes to work because he loves us.





These photos are a gift to you so you can see how hard it was for Daddy to leave in the mornings. This post is a gift for Daddy so he knows how much we appreciate the long days he puts in for us.

Love,
Mommy/ Wifey

Goin' Visitin'

Dear Henry,

On Monday you turned 8 weeks old! Mommy thought it was about time to visit with J and her boys again. We talk to J every week but it is nice to get over to her town for lunch and a visit. We arrived at her house around 12:00 and I gave her the photos I had printed for her. She loved them.


We decided to get some chicken and take a little picnic to a local park that has a lot of water and a play ground to hang out on. J couldn't believe how big you've gotten and said she needed to dig up one of her baby photos because you look so much like she did. Tommy and Uriah played while we visited with J. As we made our way back to town J spotted some of her friends at another playground and I asked if she wanted to stop by and see them and she said, "yes!" She was excited to show us off and her friends were so nice. They talked about how good lookin' you are, complementing you on your green shirt. They told Mommy how excited J was when she found Mommy and Daddy for you and that she was excited to make us a family. There is that thing where people can tell you things directly but when you hear it from a third party it somehow seems more true. It was nice to hear it again because we are so excited to be your Mommy and Daddy.

J had a good time holdin' you at the edge of the sandbox with me as you smiled and made your noises. wish that I had J's friends take a photo of the three of us because I don't have any pictures with J, you and me, or even of Me and J! It was a good visit and I was happy to see all of the new good things happening in J's life. We gave hugs and kisses because after the playground her two boys were covered in dirt and sand and already jumpin' in the tub themselves and we came back home to meet Daddy.

It was a fun day with beautiful weather.
I'm glad J is in our lives.

Love, Mommy

Henry's Fashion Corner

Dear Friends,

HI!
I wanted to take the opportunity to share with you my thanks for all of the wonderful gifts people have sent and given me to really make my welcome into the world easy and fun.

I wanted to feature a couple of my stylish gifts.

On my recent trip to Atlanta to visit cousins Mommy and Daddy created a new collection for me of state magnets, for a young man I've already been to 5 states! My shirt is a fun gift from good friends Kevin and Stacy from Chicago. They have a good sense of humor and also sent me some pee pee tents but Mommy promised she would not post the pictures of me using those after the poop post sent me into a shame spiral. I hate to tell Kevin and Stacy that like Mommy and Daddy I will be a Cubs fan so don't be fooled by those black sock/shoes from Daddy's cousin Jenny. Mommy's cousin Nora sent me the really cool toy. It has a mirror, crunches and has lots of wonderful textures but for now I like shaking it to hear the bell ring. She also sent me a zip up sleep with cute duckies and a super absorbent bib for when I'm feeling sloppy.

Finally, I am really excited about my new quilt from our Ohio friends, Tim and Aimee. It is warm and cuddly and I love laying it on the counter when Daddy comes home from work to talk to me. I can catch up with him in comfort and style.






Thanks again,
Love, Henry T.

Warning!!! This Blog May Cause Whiplash from Your Disbelief

Dear Henry,

First of all, people reading this will think I'm crazy. They are also likely to not believe me, maybe even e-mail me to let me know that I have become completely delusional and am spending too much time by myself during the day and may even recommend people I could see for help. I promise you! Mommy is telling the truth! Grandma can back me up on this. She is my witness.

Here we go...

A couple of weeks ago Mommy started making lots of sounds at you, and from time to time you'd repeat back an "ah" or "eee." This weekend on the long ride to Atlanta and back Grandma P and I made lots of noises with you. Near the end of our ride home, somewhere in Kentucky, just after dark, my smart boy was starin' me down as usual and I was lookin' like a fool, sounding like Nemo talkin' to the whales in "Finding Nemo" and about three times I said, "I love you! I love you! I love you!" You smiled at me, worked your mouth around and looked into my eyes and as clear as day you said, "I love you!" Yes you did! No joke! I paused, grandma paused, we looked at each other with that look that peels into the others brain and we both freaked out at the same time! It was incredible! Now, Daddy and Crappaw, sitting in the front listening to the radio and chatting did not hear you and we tried to make it happen again but it did not, until later that night but it was still only Grandma P and me and not as crisp.


Today you said, "HI."

Now Henry, Mommy isn't an idiot, she knows that you do not know what words go with all the feedin' and cuddlin' I've been giving you so that you spontaneously decided, "I must tell Mommy I love her." I know that you were only repeating sounds, but damn! you put three sounds together and you were SO clear the first time. This is still a milestone. I'm so proud of you! ... and shocked! It doesn't matter to me if you know what you're doing, just yet. I waited my entire life to hear my very own sweet boy say those words while looking into my eyes and I'll take it.

I love you too baby.

Love, Mommy

People, Hold On!

Dear Henry,
As you know, your mommy & I love music. Even as kids we loved buying records and seeing bands live. Your mom's brother (Uncle Gary) makes his living selling records & CDs, and due to his contacts in "the biz" occasionally stumbles upon some really awesome music related memorabilia.

Case in point: A few years ago he was contacted by someone who had come to own a bunch of Eddie Kendricks' possesions after he died. Eddie Kendricks sang in a group called The Temptations in the 60's, and then later released several solo albums. One of the items he had was the chair that had been used on the album cover of Eddie Kendricks' second solo record. Though some people might dismiss this as a minor prop and one that has little value, these are the kind of things that I find priceless and luckily Uncle Gary felt the same way and bought it.

There's not much more to this story, except that I was really excited to have you sit in this chair (that now resides in a corner of their basement) and get a photo of you.

Love you, buddy!!
Love, Daddy.

He's a Travelin' Man, Go Hot-Lanta

Dear Henry,


I'm so behind on posting due to our first long trip to Atlanta to visit your cousin Johnny who was celebrating his 3rd birthday.


I mentioned before that cousin Johnny was a bit apprehensive about you making your way into his corner of the world. He still isn't super firm about how much he can share the spotlight. A good example of this is when Grandma P asked if you could borrow his little tub for a much needed bath. Johnny tried to tell us how it was his tub. Uncle Gary told Johnny that he has not used this little tub for over a year and it would be okay to let cousin Henry use it. Grandma P asked if cousin Henry could just borrow it to which even little Johnny struggled to find a reasonable response and it all came out, "well, I, uh, no, uh, well, my, uh... sigh." and he sat down on the other side of the stairs and opened a Batman novel and tried to act like his little three year old peepers could read it in order to block out the entire situation altogether. I started with this because the rest of the weekend he showed you lots of love by giggling with delight when your foot accidentally touched you, creepin' into our room in the


morning to come and see you and trying to comfort you when you were crying while I was preparing your bottle. (yes, my camera is always pretty much by my side, even while I sleep.)


Our trip to Atlanta was a comedy of errors. Daddy still doesn't have his van so we rented a UHAUL to carry his chair in and we all rode in Crappaw and Grandma P's truck.

It was fun and as there were lots of things that could go wrong with this it worked out perfectly. You rode in the truck like a champ and it was a pleasant trip. In Atlanta Daddy's wisdom tooth started to come in and the ora-gel I forced into his mouth made him sick. When Daddy felt better Crappaw, Johnny and Roxy the beagle wanted to go for a walk and Daddy wanted to take you too. You got in your carrier on Daddy's chest and as the two of you went through the doorway Daddy's tire popped. Auntie Michele jumped into action to find Daddy a place that would have a tire. Crappaw, Uncle Gary and I drove around town looking for a tire and you stayed with Daddy. Auntie Michele found a tire, the only one they had, and we picked it up. We went to the swap meet and it started pouring rain, we decided to go to a restaurant and as we were leaving I looked down to see that Daddy's other tire was flat! Luckily we bought an air pump from the WalMart up the street and that did the trick. None of this phased you and you smiled at everyone throughout the weekend because you're an easy goin' dude.

Daddy and Mommy had a fun time dancing in the basement with Tony and Jelani. Daddy played "Cobra Grip" with Johnny for a long time. Johnny puts his hand on Daddy's neck and says "cobot" and Daddy plays dead then he does it again, "cobat," and Daddy reanimates. It is soooo cute, except at one point Johnny left Johnny playing dead for a while before he came back to reanimate. So funny!


We are grateful, despite the set backs, that you are with us and we got to hear Johnny's giggles and squeals of excitement as he skitted around the house when we arrived on Friday night. We can't wait until your first birthday!

Here are some other photos to remember our trip by.


Leaving can be hard!
Love, Mommy