Christmas

Our week-long Christmas celebrations began in Kansas City with a fun visit with Uncle Scott, Aunt Adrienne and our dear friend back from Ethiopia, Kim Flowers and ended with a cozy and delicious night at Great Grandma and Grandpa Shamels. In between at home in Bolivar Henry was lively with Christmas spirit uttering "bye-byes" and "book" while waving to everyone and everything. It was such fun watching him open his presents because he truly loves his toys and books. During play time he concentrates on each toy, pointing to different shapes and parts. When it is time to read, he listens carefully while pointing to the different pictures. He is really into pointing. And, for Christmas Henry really did get his two front teeth! We now have four pearly whites visible with a smile.

The toys are such fun, and the food was delicious, but the best part of this special Christmas was just being together with family. It is so nice to set all other things aside and just enjoy being with, thinking about and remembering those we love. And, a special thanks to Scott and Adrienne for having us as guests in their home and to MooMoo and Grandpa for hosting such a special Christmas for Henry, and everyone.

First Christmas, First Babysitter!

Over the weekend we celebrated a White Christmas here with Grandma and Grandpa Beckman. Snowed in all day Saturday, we ate ourselves silly, warmed up to a roaring fire in the fireplace, viewed old slides projected on the family room wall, and opened presents. Skeptical at first, Henry is warming up to his new rocking horse from Grandma and Grandpa. And with his new cowboy pajamas, he is really ready to ride. Great Grandpa Shamel, Great Grandpa Hacker and Uncle Jim will be proud. After a wonderful weekend, we had another first on Tuesday - Henry's first babysitter! Sophie came to meet us on Monday and we loved her. I felt completely comfortable leaving Henry with her for a few hours Tuesday afternoon. He didn't even look up as I left, which was great, and was all smiles when I returned. Sophie reported a fun time was had by all...and Henry seemed to agree. We are off to Missouri tomorrow...Happy Holidays everyone!!

Snow Day!

Our first snow fell this week and we couldn't wait to take Henry out to play. We bundled him up and took him on a sled ride, hoping he would squeal and giggle with delight. He didn't. He did, however, master "DA-DA" over the weekend - horray!

First Christmas Party!

Henry was still going strong at 10:00 after his first Christmas party Saturday night. More than three hours past his bedtime, he finally crashed after an evening of festivities which included opening his first Christmas present ever! There were three other babies in attendance, all born in the spring. On Sunday Grandpa Beckman came to spend the whole day with us. Henry loved reading books, playing with his toys and showing Grandpa all of his new tricks. He even played patty cake on his own for the first time just for Grandpa. He loves to clap as we sing. His "Mama" is quite deliberate now, and sometimes we even get a "bye-bye." Now we're working on "Daddy"...maybe for Christmas.

House Full of Turkeys

Grandpa Hacker, MooMoo and Uncle John arrived Wednesday evening to a very excited and awake Henry. Without fail he is in bed and sound asleep by 7:15 every night. And, Wednesday night was no different... until 7:45. Fifteen minutes before everyone was supposed to arrive Henry was awake and ready to play...and play he did for the next 2 hours. It was a fun way to kick off the Holiday weekend. We had such a great time with everyone. We gobbled our feast on Thursday afternoon, followed by football, fires in the fireplace, re-runs of The Office and more feasting. On Friday night we all ventured to our favorite Cajun place, Yatz, in downtown Indy - yum. And Saturday night was a first...Tim and I attended a reunion in Cincinnati while Henry stayed at home with the three turkeys - all night long! We all did well for our first night apart...I think Henry loved every minute of it...he had some stories to tell after everyone left yesterday. Thanks Grandpa, MooMoo and Uncle John...we miss you already.

Fun with Ralph

Henry had such a fun day Saturday playing with his new friend Ralph. Thanks Ruth, Aaron and Ralph for making the long drive to play with us for the day. We had a great time, and look forward to meeting in your neck of the woods very soon.

Climbing, Climbing...

We have enjoyed a relaxing week and weekend at home with not much new except for our little climber. Henry climbs on everything all the time. Before and after his naps he tries to climb up the sides of his crib. When crawling around the floor he pulls himself up on everything...chairs, toys, mirrors, file cabinets, piles of books, and a plethora of tables that are now fastened securely to beds and walls. He is constantly on the move. He continues to love his food and has added cheerios and biter biscuits to the menu. He is working on "mama"...we hear it often though we are still unsure if he knows exactly to whom he is referring. He loves his Wednesdays with Grandma Carol and his favorite part of everyday is when daddy walks in the door after work. He flaps his arms and legs and squeals with excitement every time. I'm determined to get it on video, and when I do, I'm going to try to post it here. Hope everyone is super...have a wonderful weekend!! PS - thanks Grandpa Dan for my basket of puppies!