Henry: 11 months

Oh my word. 11 months. It's so hard to believe that our little guy will be ONE on November 22nd.  This past month has been the most fun yet. His personality is shining through and everyday I fall a little more in love with him.

Henry loves to laugh and smile, and he is a total goof ball. Right now he's very into building things (then knocking them down), the color yellow, reading so many books, Yo Gabba Gabba and Sesame Street, toys where he has to match things (like colors or shapes), standing on his own, and I'd say his current favorite meal is either sweet potatoes with organic cheese or pinto beans and avocado. A boy after my own heart and stomach!



And...BIG NEWS...Henry took his very first steps this past weekend, on Saturday, October 29th to be exact. He was holding onto the side of the couch, then let go, then decided to take three shaky steps all on his own. I squealed and scared him, so he fell and started crying. Silly mama. But it was so awesome to see it happen, and it was equal parts exciting and nerve-wracking thinking that he will be super mobile so soon.

Another neat thing he does now is recognize objects or people by their names. We play the name game, and I'll say "banana" and he can point to it in a book, or go get it across the room. Other things he knows: football, light, fan, baby, teddy bear, water, mama, and dada. He's been pointing up at the fan whenever we say "Henry, where's the fan?" for a couple of months but now he's starting to really understand other words too. He will also "high five" or "double high five" when we prompt him to. The cutest thing ever is when he grabs the football and we say "spike it!" He'll throw it down on the ground. Kills me every time.



This month Henry:

• is so, so chatty and "talks" to everyone and everything, all day long. It almost sounds like he's speaking a foreign language with the inflections and pauses. So neat.
• points at everything
• is very, very curious about how things work
• is still breastfeeding but down to about three times a day, sometimes more or less depending on him
• naps twice a day
• sleeps 12-14 hours through the night
• experienced his first Halloween
• has been an eating machine!
• has very cranky, crying, screamy days when he is teething
• likes to feed himself- trying with a spoon but he definitely hasn't mastered that
• is very cuddly, even more so than usual

Overall it's just so exciting to know that in a few weeks Henry will be a year old. I've been thinking a lot about this past year, and how lucky I feel to be this little boy's mama. I can't even put into words the way he's enriched our lives and everything he taught us. It's amazing. His first birthday party is coming up soon too, so I've been focused on getting ready for that, I think it's going to be a ton of fun.  I really enjoy throwing parties and entertaining, so it's been exciting thinking of how I want to celebrate Henry and this past year. I can't wait!

Happy 11 months Henry, we love you!

Our Town's Halloween Festival

This weekend was full of family time and Autumn fun! Saturday we headed downtown to our town's Halloween Festival and checked out all of the fun costumes, fall holiday booths, and spooky games. It's so small town and so, so cute. Henry was wide-eyed the entire time and we had a great time looking at all of the older kids and all of the super creative outfits everyone had on. I can't wait until next year when Henry will be walking and talking with the best of 'em. Exciting.

This year Henry is a monster, and he pretty much hates wearing the hat of his costume (as shown below!). Tomorrow we are going trick-or-treating, so I'm going to attempt to somehow grab a photo of his whole outfit, but if yesterday was an indication the odds are not in our favor. We shall see though!

Here are some photos of our fun day:

Nothing is better...

I'm not really sure what it is, but as soon as October rolls around I'm filled with this feeling. I can't even put my finger on it, but it's part happiness, part inspiration...and part everything feeling so new.

Seven years ago in October I went up to visit Hank for the first time. I'll never forget what it was like seeing what I now call "my town" with fresh eyes that Autumn. I thought it was the most charming place I'd ever visited; the downtown square was covered by leaves in every color, and the crisp, just cold-enough air made it possible for me to wear the winter clothes I'd tucked away since college. That fall was the best of my life up until that point, and I can still remember that feeling of "new" as I explored this new place, met new people, and most of all, started this new chapter in my life with this new guy. I found myself up there so often that first fall, and these were the months I fell in love for the first time. Hank and I would take long walks and stop for tea and coffee, drive around at night with the windows down and the heater up, listening to music. We'd rent movies late at night, then rush home to watch them while eating ice cream in bed with socks on, half watching and half talking the whole time. The Weakerthans "Everything Must Go" will forever remind me of that fall- it was the alarm music we'd wake up to on those chilly mornings and I'd try to make him stay in bed for just one more minute before he had to go to work.

Fall was always my most favorite season growing up too. Halloween was a big deal in our house, and my sister and I lived for the decorations and all things spooky. We'd trick-or-treat with our friends through the biggest development in town, using pillow cases for treat bags so we could fit all of the candy. I'd barter my Reese's for as many Snickers as I could collect, and we'd always get stomachaches that first night. My Dad would make real scarecrows for the front yard, we'd fill pumpkin bags up with leaves, and we'd draw pictures on the windows with our fingers when that first fall frost arrived in the early morning. It was magical.

And some of that magic still exists now. My childhood memories, paired with that Autumn I fell in love, make up the basis for what is my most beloved time of the year. And now with Henry I have yet another reason to get excited.  Nothing is better than seeing things through the eyes of a child, and I feel so lucky that this year we'll be able to do just that. I'm looking forward to making memories and starting traditions with our little guy- everything from pumpkin picking to trick or treating, costumes and candy.

This morning as I got ready I looked outside and saw the pumpkins on our front porch. I noticed the weather was a little colder than yesterday, and realized it will be a little colder tomorrow too. This weekend we'll get taking Henry to the pumpkin patch for the first time, and we'll go on a hay ride around the farm. Fall is absolutely here, and I couldn't be happier.