Henry's 9 Month Update

This big boy is so much fun! 

I am amazed he is already 9 months old. He has been in this world for longer than he was in my belly which is just nuts. Can you tell his dad picked out his clothes? :)

This baby boy has been scooting around for the past month and he is really quick at it! However he is also starting to get in the "real" crawling position a lot, and he'll even crawl a few steps before he goes back to scooting. I think he'll be crawling for reals really soon! Because he's so mobile he's lost a little weight it seems, but I think we have a long way to go before I feel concerned about how much he weighs. :) Kyler jokes that its time to feed him straight butter! blech. 

He can pull himself into a sitting position these days too, which I think is pretty cute. He can also pull himself up into a standing position for a few seconds before falling down. There has been many a nap where I'll hear him making noises 20 minutes after I put him down and there he is, sitting up in his crib just playing away. He also likes to pull himself up with things around him. Cute little scoundrel. :) 

We have been putting him to bed around 8:30/9pm and miraculously this little dude sleeps until 8:30/9am. Woot woot! 

He has started eating people food that is soft like mangoes or cooked potatoes (along with his purees) and he seems to like those both. He doesn't ever seem too thrilled when trying new foods, but we are slowly trying to expand his horizons. :)

He has been saying "da-da" for about a month now and will occassionally say "na-na" and will make various other sounds and squawks. I'm excited to one day hear him say mama, but seeing Kyler's face light up when Henry says his name is pretty wonderful too. :)

Henry is in this weird stage where he wants me to hold him, yet not hold him, 24/7. If I put him down he'll fuss and cry until I pick him up, and once I pick him up he'll fuss and cry until I put him down. And we do that all. day. long. 

He often disappears and I will find him quietly tinkering away with something random like a garbage can or purse strap. He can be amused by something small for a long time. I like that he seems to pay attention to details, and it's like he is trying to figure out how things work. 

His favorite toys are the tail to his Eeyore stuffed animal, this cute soft black and white giraffe a friend sewed for us, a tube of mascara (Mom of the year right? But he likes to gnaw on it and it's perfect for teething I tell you!) and necklaces. Boy does he love to suck on people's necklaces. Sorry to all of my lady friends! I have now put my own old necklaces in the diaper bag for him to chomp away on in order to save all of yours. :) 

He loves story time and gets so happy and calm when we pull out a book. Our favorite book right now is Mary Engelbreit's Mother Goose rhymes. He also really loves the pictures in Dr. Seuss' The Lorax. 

He has had his first experiences with kiddie pools and sand this past month, and he is a regular old champion! I have been impressed with how little he complains when it comes to water, no matter how cold it is or if he gets splashed in the face. He is too busy playing or figuring out what the wet stuff is to care. :) 

I am amazed at how much he is learning and how cute he is. I love his little personality and the funny faces he makes. At times I still can't believe Kyler and I created him, and that he is all ours. :) Henry Joseph you are such a light in our lives! 

Sorry for all of my fuzzy pictures- still trying to figure things out camera wise! 

Something New

Well, about a month ago something came over me. I kept having this nagging feeling that I needed to cut my hair. There were oodles of split ends, and I just didn't think my hair looked very healthy.

However, I was petrified to actually cut it. I hadn't had short hair since I was in Elementary school. I know perfectly well that I look best with long hair. I just do. And I LOVE having long hair. I think it's so easy to maintain and it's easy to make it look good without doing a whole lot. So... I really didn't want to cut it. But I just kept feeling like I needed to do it. I wanted healthy hair! I was stewing about it for awhile, and noticing every girl with cute, short hair. It's like they were stalking me. I even had dreams about it people! I asked Kyler (who also loves my long hair) if he'd be okay if I chopped it, and he said he would be happy if I was happy and to do what I wanted to do. Well, that sealed the deal.

One Wednesday morning after Henry went down for a nap, I was looking at my hair in the mirror and trying to picture what it would look like shorter and then all of a sudden, something came over me, I grabbed my scissors, and boom. Short hair.  And yep, I cut it myself.  (I know I know, I'm a hairdresser's worst nightmare. :) ) 

It only took minutes to cut it up to my collar bone, but it took a few hours (yep, hours) to actually make it even and look good. Don't worry, I realize I could have gone to a hair salon and had it done in less than an hour, but I guess I wanted to finish what I had started. I didn't want to find a sitter for Henry and I kinda wanted to be able to say that I cut it myself. For some reason I have never been too worried about my hair. Of course it isn't perfect, although I tried my darndest, but I think for doing it myself, it turned out pretty well!  Henry seems to like it, Kyler likes it, and most importantly I like it, so I am feeling pretty good about things. :)

Do I miss my long hair? Um... of course! :) You can't have long hair for 14 years and not miss it. Do I like my short hair? Yeah, I really do. I think it's fun and perfect for summer and now Henry can't yank it. :) Will I cut it short in the future? Probably only if I have to in order to keep it healthy. Or in another 14 years. Or maybe in 5. I don't know. :)  Like I said before, I'm a girl who loves her long hair, but I may or may not switch it up every once in a while.  

It's funny that something so simple like cutting your hair can make you feel crazy and excited and scared. I'm excited for my hair to grow in healthier and I am excited for it to be long again. But I also really love how it's looking these days too. And besides, even if I didn't, there's no point in crying over cut hair. :)