Henry is 7 Months!

Well, here we are- 6 days past Henry's 7 month birthday! I have another good excuse for not posting on time- WE MOVED!! Just on base, but hey-when you have as much stuff as we do PLUS a baby, it's a really big deal to move anywhere! ;)

Sooo…let's just pretend that I wasn't inundated with moving…and watching Henry…and LIFE and that I got this post in on time!

Henry the Great is now 7 months and, boy, is this baby busy now! I can't get him to sit still for pictures anymore and his legs are almost always up in the air.

He's started crawling- or scooting, rather. Matt says it's a solid low Army crawl. He gets up on knees, though, and rocks back and then attempts to "crawl" forward, but ends up face-planting instead. It's really sad to watch, but I know he has to learn somehow. His biggest motivation to crawl is Bella, the dog. Bella's biggest motivation to go back to bed is Henry! It's kinda funny, and yet kinda sad-for Bella. She has NO idea what's in her future!

Henry loves Loves LOVES the guitar! I'm pretty sure that'll be his first word! I said this last month too, but this month his love has really flourished! Daddy lets him strum the guitar…or beat in Henry's case! He has even started "dancing" to music too. It's precious!

And yes, he plays guitar nakie!

Sharky...errr…I mean Henry, has 3 teeth on the bottom, 2 teeth on top and 1 more starting to come in on top! Hopefully this baby doesn't start biting when he gets a couple that are in line. uh oh!

Henry loves to be near either Daddy or momma all.the.time. Like, always! I leave the room for 5 seconds and he starts crying, or whining rather. I take it as he just loves his momma. :)

Henry also LOVES to go for stroller rides! He falls asleep nearly every time, but at least I know how to easily put him down for a nap!

And he took his first ride in the front seat of the cart! My big boy!

This baby already has quite a personality! He HATES to be restricted in anyway, he gives kisses, and he plays 'shy guy'. He also like sucking his pointer finger and middle finger, both at the same time. He's getting so big now. It's had to believe that 7 months has flown right by and that what I have to show for it is a not so little baby boy! I love watching him grow and learn new things!

……….

Onto the moving bit- If you read this blog often, you know that we were living in a gapt- garage apartment. That was such an awesome experience and we really enjoyed living there the past 1 year and 8 months, but now that we have Henry, we really needed the extra space. So, we held out long enough to get a brand new house on post, which is a blessing considering what they offered us initially! It's so new that it was just finished last week and no one else has ever sat on the toilets or rubbed their butt in the tub! Woohoo!! :)

We started moving on the 9th and got all in by the 11th. Yep, we spent my first Mother's Day moving. But that's alright- we're gonna have a late celebration at a later time. Plus, the best gift I could get for Mother's Day is a healthy, happy baby!

It took Henry a bit to get adjusted because this house has all wood floors throughout the main level and plush carpet on the upper level where the bedrooms are. He really likes the carpet, notsomuch the wood! He keeps hitting his little noggin on them when he flops from sitting to belly position. :(

All in all, we've had a VERY busy past couple months, and I'm praying that it'll settle down a bit. For now, I'll enjoy walks, playing at the park with Henry and the pool that is across the street that'll be opening very soon!! :)

Heisel Rules!

Henry is 6 Months and his 1st Easter

We've had a busy couple of weeks (see previous post) so I'm just now getting to post Henry's 6 month photos and update.

He's grown so much over the last month. When people ask how old he is, they're usually surprised at how big he is! His stats: 20 lbs. and 27 1/4 inches long.

He now has 4 teeth and another one coming in on top- 3 on the bottom and 1.5 on top. This partially explains the recent fussy bouts he's been having. That, and all the traveling he's done the past month. He's such a champ though.

He can sit up unassisted. He can also get up on his hands and knees for a brief moment, rock, and scoot backward, but no official crawling yet. Although, he still manages to get around just fine by rolling EVERYWHERE! He's actually very quick at it. You turn away for one second and he has rolled himself out of sight!

He has tried many foods/fruits and veggies, and so far loves whole wheat cereal, prunes, sweet potatoes and squash. He does not like peaches or apples. Must be a texture thing.

He sure does love his momma! If I so much as walk out of his site, he's making some sort of noise to show that he is not pleased. Reminds me of the song for the "My Buddy" doll from the 80's- "My Buddy, my buddy, wherever I go, he's gotta go. My Buddy, my buddy and me." :) It's tiring, but I try to bring it all back to one thing- a day will come, maybe too soon, when he won't care if I'm in the room anymore.

His favorite toy right now: these soft, squeaky blocks his Aunt Courtney gave him!

Henry's First Easter

We celebrated Henry's first Easter in Illinois. My sisters, Cherie and Scarlett, and nephews Noah and Peyton all joined us there as well! We were sad that Banana (my mom) and sister Shelby were sick and couldn't come.

He got this toy chick that peeps when you hold it in your palm. He loved this toy! :)

Another successful "first" holiday with our lil big guy! :)

Heisel Rules!

Remembering Pop

We've had a rough past couple of weeks. We're just now getting settled back home after 3 visits to Illinois in 4 weeks' time. Matt's father had a heart attack a couple weeks ago. When we got the call, we drove there the next morning. At the time we thought we were just going to be there to check on Andy and keep him company, and any reason to bring Henry to visit his grandparents, right?! Andy was readmitted into the hospital the next week due to symptoms of what seemed to be a blood clot. He passed away unexpectedly hours later, on April 3. Heaven welcomed another "Big Chief".

For reasons we will never know, the Lord knew it was Andy's time to go. That last week we got to spend with him in the hospital now has new meaning. Things we brushed off as just keeping him company now mean so much more- random chatting in between visits from friends and family, quiet moments of solitude, the visit of the Chaplin where Andy reassured him {and us} that if anything were to happen he'd be going to heaven. Those moments that seemed routine- his fountain soda sitting on the table, enjoying his hospital meal, and holding his bouncing grandson on his knee, trying to keep Henry from pulling his IV out of his hand, I'll now hold these memories close to my heart. We casually took pictures during that week, and now I'm so glad we did. I cannot get myself to delete even the blurry ones. Those mark the last time we hugged him and saw his smile. I swear he could light up a room. It'll be tough to move on with life without this remarkable man, but I knew he'd want everyone to do just that.

We are so blessed to have gotten to have Andy for our little family's special moments- he got to be there for Matt's military moments, Matt's first house in KY, our wedding, and our first baby. We are so thankful for all that time we got to spend with him. His last week of life was spent with people he loves and I'm pretty sure that he would't have had it any other way. He haphazardly made a comment that last week in the hospital, "All these visitors coming to see me, you'd think it was my funeral." That's where he was wrong-there were MANY more visitors at his funeral. He was well loved, and it showed.

My heart breaks for the people he left behind, and a great deal for my son. Henry will never know the man that helped shape his father, the man that influenced so many people. But I'm sure Matt will be able to pass on all things he learned from his father, interjecting those Andy-moments, keeping his memory alive. Henry, even though you will never know your Poppa, he loved you SO SO much and it showed at the visitation when people came up to me asking if this was the infamous Henry that his proud Poppa talked about.

Matt said it right- "It's not about quantity, it's about quality", referring to his father's life. Andy lived a full life even though he was only afforded a short amount of years.

We love you, Andy, and you are greatly missed. Our life was better because you were in it. While you're in heaven, say hello to my dad. It's been a long time, but I'm sure he'd love your company. And if you get a moment in your busy day hanging out with your loved ones there, can you send a few spirit hugs to your son? I'm sure he'll need those from time to time.

Heisel Rules!

Taco Chicken Lettuce Wraps

I love chicken. I love chicken cooked different ways. However, I sometimes feel like I run out of ways to prepare it, it gets boring. Know what I mean? I made Skillet Enchiladas the other night and happened to have leftover seasoning, which prompted this yummy chicken recipe! :)

This recipe is so easy and tastes so yummy, and the best part? It's really good for you!

What you need:

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp taco seasoning

1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced

1/4 cup onion, sliced

2 lettuce leaves (I used green leaf lettuce, but you can use any kind)

1 chicken breast, sliced against the grain

1 piece of provolone cheese, optional

Prepare:

Heat oil in pan on medium heat. Sprinkle 1/2 of the taco seasoning on the chicken and add to pan once the oil is hot. Cook chicken until just about done. Add mushrooms and onions, and cook for about 3-5 minutes. You don't want the mushrooms to get soggy looking. Sprinkle remaining taco seasoning over the contents of the pan, stir, and cook additional 2 minutes. Turn off heat, add cheese on top.

Wash lettuce leaves and dry. Add 1/2 of the chicken/veg to each lettuce leaf. And enjoy! 

Heisel Rules! {the Kitchen}