Henrik's January

Henrik is talking to himself as he falls asleep for his nap. Lately he has been eating A LOT, which must mean he is growing, been pretty independent of his pacifier and started to mimic more of what we say. He doesn't make use of the words he knows all that often, but he'll pull out "da-dee," "baby," "ba" (ball), "seess" (this? please? it's definitly used when he wants something), "buuuh" for peek-a-boo, "ah," "moo," "ooo," and "rahhh" for puppy, cow, owl and lion sounds, respectively. And he is very helpfully signing "please," "all done" and "diaper." It's fun to see him gaining and using language!

Last night as I was folding and putting clothes away he observed that it was really funny to flop clothing onto his head and walk around like that. I tried to get one expressive picture, but got about 50 blurry or super-bright photos of the side of his head instead. Sigh.
Here's something, anyway:

Snow in the Cove!

We love you, Henrik.

Table Talk

Ok, so who is the funnier guy, my dad or my son?

Makin' Cute Stuff for Kiddos!

Ashlee just sent this to me, and I'm hoping to get busy sewing, and I bet some of you all would like to, too! In the past she's also mentioned a need for pillowcases (standard size) sewn from kid-print fabrics.
Also, I'll be seeing Ashlee at Thanksgiving and Christmas, so I can deliver them right to her if you don't know her.

From Ashlee:
"My little hospital depends on the work of volunteers to make our kids blankets, laundry & wheelchair bags and we have been in serious short supply of them (laundry bags, specifically) the past few months. Today, when I heard my patients were losing clothes because of this lack of organization, it motivated me to do something. I, unfortunately, don't have a sewing machine, so I'm calling in support - you! The bags are super basic and can be made out of whatever sort of material (they're hardly ever "kid themed" so if you have an old flat sheet covered in roses that you don't use, it will be perfect for this job). They tend to be about the size of a king sized pillow case and some have a very basic draw string at the top (this is helpful, but not necessary). If you are interested in helping out, let me know! I can take them directly to the hospital or you can contact the volunteer office if you'd rather do it that way: Paula Cronquist (Volunteer Services manager)651-229-3937 pcronquist@gillettechildrens.com If you know of anyone else who might be interested in helping, please feel free to pass this along. Please don't feel obligated, I just thought it might be a fun thing that would help out some really cute kids I know :-)"

Last Week in Photos

Henrik fits in the 5-gallon pot! Last year he fit in a pumpkin...

The view of Snow Falls Pocket Wilderness from Buzzard's Point. Ben and I hiked this as a date!

Sunday afternoon playing in the leaves. I took a LOT of photos and couldn't get him to look at the camera.

Ben painting the house. It might be a while before the final unveiling...

Happy First Birthday, Henrik!

Your birth-day seems a world away, and yet each day from that one to this is so dear. Watching you grow this year and loving you more and more all along the way has been fascinating and joyous. We love you, Henrik! Happy first birthday.

September 22

October


November 14


December


January 1


January 16

March 10

April 24

June 1

July

September 17

September 19

Its been a great year, Baby!

Welcome, Phoebe and Welcome, Jordan

Presenting the newest babies in the family:

Phoebe Bella, born September 5



Jordan Xavier, born September 14


Dear little ones and your sweet mommies,
We love you all so much (the rest of your family, too!) and are so grateful for the joy that you are in this world. And now, may you all sleep well.

Yay, Garden!

Having a productive vegetable garden is really important to me. Despite a good amount of effort on the part of myself, Ben and even Jim and Becky (who dug out a new bed in the spring), I have felt pretty disappointed by the results. The ENTIRE spring crop failed, and my carefully cultivated summer crop has only yielded herbs and half a handful of green beans. Until this morning. I have just harvested a good handful and a half of green beans and even a zucchini, which, I might add, grew in spite of the fact that I have no male plant growing. Perhaps a really helpful bee visited the neighbor's garden first. And there is hope for more fresh produce! The herbs are really taking off, the tomato plants are bowing over with huge fruit, the bell peppers are blimping, and the huckleberries are ripening. Yay!
Also, Ben comes home tonight. And so far, no call about a missed or delayed flight. Yay!

Click, Click, Smack, Smack

Henrik is getting the hang of some responsive games. He (sometimes) waves when someone waves at him, shakes his head back and forth in response to Ben doing the same thing (will this cause some confusion with Noooo?) and likes to throw toys down over and over with someone else fetching and returning the object to him. Yesterday at lunch we discovered the clicking game. Which sometimes becomes the lip-smacking game. Guess he doesn't differentiate those two sounds yet. Here it is.

At Breakfast.

A: I think the main ingredient in Swedish Pancakes ends up being butter. I basically fry them in butter, then butter them again when I eat.

B: That's what makes them good. You're like Paula Deen from the North. A Swedish Paula Deen. Whoo tee whoo tee who. Ya, and a stick of butter. Whoo tee who tee who.