Eight is Great

Shhhhhh....don't look now, but I'm posting about Henry's being 8 months on the actual day he's turning 8 months.  I doubt this will ever happen again.  I even took pictures of him in the chair today.  I missed the chair pictures for both 6 & 7 months.  Oops.

It was 88 degrees here this afternoon so he's wearing summer clothes that show off his figure.

A few thoughts about my baby being 8 months old:

Four months ago he was still very much a newborn.

Four months in the future he will be one.

Eight months is 2/3 of a year old!!!!

One year ago right now I was five months pregnant and he was not very big.

 This guy is also eight--eight years, that is.  He loves his baby brother and his baby brother loves him!  May it always be so, Amen.

Henry also loves his Daddy.

 Last weekend we took him for his first  bike trailer ride.  He looks happy in this picture, but it didn't last real long.  We're going to have to work on endurance.  I took him out again on Tuesday and he did better.  He even fell asleep and stayed asleep for a while.

 Henry still does not like to eat many things.  He likes to chew on things.  He has two upper teeth now to go with his two bottom teeth.  He has two more upper teeth that are currently giving him fits and should be through soon.  I'm a little sad that he won't eat pureed baby food.  I have all these little helpers willing to feed him and he just won't have it.  He likes to finger feed himself cheerios and crackers but won't do much with cooked veggie or fruit pieces.  Guess it's all a texture thing.

 He took a nice oatmeal bath this evening to ease his eczema and cool himself off after the hot afternoon.  He likes baths now that he can sit up and play...and splash.

 It's been an amazingly fun eight months, Henry boy!

Catch Up

Things have been happ,  happ, happenin' around these parts.  I rarely photograph or document the fun anymore, it seems.  For the sake of looking back on this twenty years from now, it's time to play catch up!  Nora mastered the monkey bars a few weeks ago and now we can't get her to come down from them.  She monkeys around as often as she can. 

This sport (basketball) has already ended.  We had a fun season and the boys learned a lot more about passing and passing before shooting.  Ezra learned to loooooook down court and pass to your open man before the D has a chance to get down there.  It was fun to watch the boys develop.  During several games it looked like real basketball!

 And we are now into this sport. 

 And now our boy does this!

Yep, kid pitch this year.  Scary!  No more machines.

The kids had their spring concert.  Thankfully the 1st and 2nd graders perform together--that means one busy night instead of two.  It was fun to see them enjoy singing. 

And last week as one last final blast of spring break fun, we ventured down to the Pacific Science Center.  Henry loved the butterfly house.  He didn't know where to look--so many colorful flying things.  A few flew right for his face and that really startled him.  I wish that I could handle video taping while holding him, because I would have loved to watch his face again and again.  I could have stayed in that exhibit all day just watching him.  However, my girls get hot easily and the 85 degrees was bothering them after just a few minutes.

 Daddy met us after lunch time and joined in on the fun. 

 The sky looks foreboding, but it actually stayed dry all day.

 And on Sunday, we enjoyed Easter.  He IS risen!   I am so thankful for a living, loving Saviour.  The kids are old enough to discuss the meaning of Christ's death and resurrection and we enjoyed talking about it with them all weekend.  Sunday we were privileged to drive down to Grandma's house for Easter dinner.  Lots of aunts, uncles and cousins were able to make it out and it was a full house. 

 Grandma provided an egg hunt for the kids again.  Thanks Great Grandma!

 Henry was plum tuckered after an already full day and decided he had found a nice cozy place for a nap.

 While he napped and Nora played with the others, Tadd and I took a walk with our oldest.  It was strange to be just four of us--it was kind of fun. 

 And finally....Henry tried calamari--I don't think he liked it.

 Then again, maybe he did.

Until next time, folks!

Toursits for a Day

 This week has been spring break from school for the kids.  It's been lovely to be off of routine for a while!  Last Saturday we wanted to start break off with a fun family day.  We headed out to breakfast at a local cafe and then hit down town Seattle to play tourists.  We happened to have a visitor at our house that we wanted to bring along.  She has been napping in a manila envelope ever since she came home with us from San Diego in February.  I think she was happy to get out and breathe the fresh air of Seattle--her name is Flat Jill.  We took a picture with her at Ivar's seafood restaurant--one of Seattle's more famous eateries.  Then we took her on a ferry ride to Bainbridge Island.  A picture on the ferry with the Seattle skyline in the background is about as local as it gets! 

 Just the day before Tadd had seen a pod of Orcas while on a ferry.  We were hopeful that maybe we could see them as well.  Didn't happen, though.

 These two are practicing for when they get to be flower girl and ring bearer together later this summer.  It's a good look, right?

 After some lunch and walking around on Bainbridge, we ferried back and walked up the Harbor Steps.  We actually spent a long time playing in the fountains on the Steps.  I was glad for the chance to sit down and watch the others as Henry was napping in my arms.  He was a very good little tourist baby.

 At the top of the Steps we headed to The Market.  We thought that Flat Jill would want to see Pike Place for sure!

 The Market was very crowded, so we didn't walk around and check things out as much as we thought we might.  Instead, we headed off to find an ice cream treat.  During our search we saw Seahawk Micheal Bennett at Beecher's Handmade Cheese.  He sort of stuck out in the crowd.  He was with his wife and little girls, so we decided not to be classless and ask for an autograph or picture.  After a lot of ice cream, it was back down the steps.

 Our last stop of the day was at The Great Wheel.  Caroline has taken a ride before with Daddy--but for the other three and Mommy this was a first.  Last time we tried to ride The Wheel, Ezra and Nora were too nervous to give it a try.  Today they wanted to conquer their fear.  They did great.  But I have to admit that when I leaned against the door I suddenly got a bit freaked out.  The thought of how I would hold on to all four kids by myself if something happened was overwhelming.  Being a Mom changes your sense of adventure, I've found.

 There is Daddy, waaaaaaay down below.

 The stadium on the left is where the Seahawks and Sounders play football (American and European, respectively)  and the stadium on the right is where the Mariners play baseball.  The football stadium was being used as a motocross track for that day, however. 

 By the time the Wheel stopped turning for us, the day had gotten very long.  We packed up and headed for home.  Everyone was tired after all the walking around in the fresh air and sunshine.  We couldn't have had a nicer day, weather wise and all in all it was a ton of fun. 

Monday, the kids and I headed to Gig Harbor to enjoy a couple of days with Grandpa and Grandma.  We took Flat Jill to the beach to snap a quick shot with the Narrow's Bridge. 

 Poor Flat Jill has been re-stuffed in her envelope and dropped in a postal mail box to go back to California where she can tell the rest of her family about her adventures.  We hope she had fun and that she is kept safe on her journey!

 And now spring break is nearly at an end.  This is so sad!  This means that we have to last out the rest of the school year without any more big breaks before summer.  I hope we can all muster up the energy and enthusiasm that will be needed!