Henry is 9 months!

Nine months ago, I had been up for nearly 2 days…exhausted and eagerly awaiting the arrival our dear Henry. He took his sweet time getting here, but he sure isn't taking that liberty when growing. I look at him each morning and swear he's grown an inch overnight. I have to constantly remind myself that he, in fact, used to be little, despite his strong stature (for a baby). Today, at the grocery store, we met a sweet baby that was smaller than Henry and a month older than he is! Henry looked like a giant next to that lil guy! Oh, Dear Baby Boy, slooooow down. I'm not sure my fragile Mommy Heart can keep up with this pace.

*** Today's photoshoot was brought to you by the letter "N" for Naptime…because that's the only time he'd manage to sit still long enough for a photo! I actually enjoyed studying and admiring his every roll and eyelash. My beautiful boy!

Henry has 8 teeth- 4 on top and 4 on the bottom. He infrequently exercises his jaw muscles while nursing. Ouch! Luckily, it's not too often!

Henry eats solid foods a little more now- he likes Gerber "Puffies", animal crackers, fishie crackers, and he even had a few bites of rice. He'll eat steamed sweet potato, but refuses it when pureed. His gag reflex is getting less sensitive now so he rarely throws up when presented with new solids/strange textures. Although he loves all the above foods, he still prefers Momma's Milk. I've been giving it to him in his zippy cup and he's been very responsive to that. He prefers the straw sippy cups, though.

Henry said his first word- ma-ma, followed by da-da a few days later. He babbles a lot now and makes new sounds everyday…baba, and a sssss noise are a few he enjoys.

Henry is pulling up on anything and everything and has been for several weeks….but now he likes to walk holding onto whatever it is he manages to pull up on. He'll walk and nearly run assisted! It's not long now! Oh, and Henry LOVES power cords. We have to constantly pull him away from them!

Henry crawls up the stairs. This is cute aaaaaand notsocute! He crawls so fast that if I turn my head for one second, he'll have scurried to the stairs and looks at me, daring me to take one more step so he has a reason to start the climb. Baby gates are our best friends now. I swore I'd never need those….now we have 3! ha!

Henry LOVES the lower cupboards in the kitchen! I'm going to have to move some stuff around so that the Fiesta serving ware doesn't suffer a casualty!

He's still sporting those arm rolls muscles, which I adore! :)

His hair is getting longer and lighter. I can barely notice those 6 super long hairs that used to blow in the wind!

Henry took his first train ride to visit my Aunt in Illinois, who had just had a baby. He did rather well, to my surprise! I was scared he wouldn't like it.

He's still a very happy guy, which I'm thankful for! He "makes" friends, aka flirts with very girl he sees! And he still things every uniformed man is daddy!

Playtime is so much fun now! Henry mimics some noises that we make.

I love this stage in his life, even if it is brief. Soon he'll be running and won't stop! Sooo, I'll enjoy my baby boy…while he's still a baby.

I mean, would you look at this "smies" (smile with your eyes)…melts me into a puddle!

His current favorite toy- wooden truck.

I frequently find him here…gazing out the window…mostly looking for puppy.

Happy 9 months, son. Momma and Dadda sure do love you! But seriously, let me catch my breath before you start walking/falling…and giving me a heart attack! It's bad enough that my heart skips a beat now when you bump your head or pinch your finger.

Heisel Rules!

Henry's 1st Independence Day!

Another "first" for Henry has come and went- his first 4th of July! This year we had a cookout with some people from our neighborhood and then we walked to the fireworks show on post, which was nothing short of spectacular! It was near the pond on the base and they had a great, long show! Henry watched in amazement and he even stayed awake for most of the show! I'm so impressed that he wasn't scared of the loud BOOMS and even more impressed that he could fall asleep during that as well! :) I wonder if he'll be scared of them next year? Hopefully not because I love fireworks!

In true mom-tog fashion, I took a few pics of this lil man to mark his very first 4th! Juuuust a few! :)

I hope everyone had a safe and happy 4th!

Happy 4th from the Heisels!

Heisel Rules!

Father's Day 2014

This has been quite the year of firsts- some happy and some sad. This holiday is bittersweet as it's Matt's first official Father's Day and also the first Father's Day without his Dad, Andy. In honor of both men, I'll be sharing Henry's birth story as that was a very happy time- the day Matt became a Dad.

I was 13 days past my EDD. I woke up early on that morning, Oct. 8 to start my 2nd try of castor oil (highly recommend by the birth center as I was nearly 14 days past due). I felt something was different as I woke up and decided to give it a bit before I actually put myself through that again, and now looking back, I'm glad I did! I started having contractions around 4:45am and they got consistently closer together and stronger. We labored at home until contractions were about 4 minutes apart lasting for a very looooong, strenuous minute (mine actually were longer than 1 minute). Matt labored with me the entire time.

We headed out to the birth center around 4pm, excited and nervous all at once. When we arrived, I was checked and they said I was 4 cm dilated and partially effaced. They kicked us out to go eat dinner and walk myself further into labor. And Matt was by my side the entire time.

We got back around 7pm where the midwife reluctantly allowed us to a room where we spent the next 18 hours laboring in which I reached 7 cm dilated- unmedicated. My water broke sometime in the wee hours that morning and it was suggested that I wasn't progressing as quickly as they'd hoped, and Henry wasn't engaged like he should be, so we took our show to the hospital around 2pm on Oct. 9. Despite my reluctance, Matt was by my side.

When I got there and in a room, I needed some relief and rest having been up for around 38 hours laboring so I got an epidural and we waited for mister Henry to drop his head down into the birth canal. After about 5 more hours of laboring at the hospital and hearing from the Dr that Henry was probably just too big to fit, and Henry's heart rate had started to drop (though not drastically) at this point, we decided that what was most important was to deliver a healthy baby, and how he gets here wasn't as important. I wanted an unmedicated, vaginal delivery so badly. I wanted to be able to pull my own baby out of me and deliver him to his father. But those feelings were soon trumped with thoughts of just getting Henry out-safely. And Matt was by my side.

They wheeled me back into surgery and prepped me before they let Matt in. I can honestly say that I was not scared. All those feelings of prior fear had left me and I had made peace with the cesarean that was about to commence. Plus, I had Matt there cheering me on. Matt and I waited in anticipation for the Dr to tell us that Henry had arrived. Matt peaked over the blue curtain and at 1:46am he announced that Henry was here! In the end he got to see his son be born and take his first breath. Although it wasn't the method that we had planned for, it was still a beautiful moment- all 9 lbs, 7 oz, 22.5 inches long. Perfectly happy; perfectly huge! He did not come out crying, he came into the world peacefully. And Matt was by my side.

Eventually Henry discovered his well-developed lungs and started to cry. Matt walked over to him and spoke to him, and Henry immediately calmed down. He knew who his daddy was just by hearing his voice. Daddy's voice was now his comfort outside of the womb; I was no longer the only one that provided that comfort to him. Daddy became his hero right then. And Matt was by his side.

I got to nurse Henry about 15 minutes or so after the delivery and Henry took right to it. We joked that he came out begging for a cheeseburger! ;) We welcomed our eagerly awaiting parents in to introduce them to their grandson- first my mom and Matt's mom and then Matt's Dad and step mom. We were two proud, new parents, now connected by this sweet, tiny human life we made-together.

Matt,
You were by my side through the countless hours of labor and finally the delivery. I couldn't have gotten through that without you encouraging me and giving me all the love and support! But my fondest memory will always be when you introduced Henry to your dad- father to father.
It was a beautiful moment to see the look on your face and with tears in your eyes, as you silently confirmed to your dad that you now "get it", you understand the overwhelmingly scary, yet wonderfully emotional feeling of becoming a father for the first time. The hug that followed that inducted you into the New Dad Club: where there's no rules- only what works for you, no membership fees- there's not enough money in the world that can come close to buying this feeling, and certainly no judgment- only love and support. Beautiful moment between Father and Son; 3 generations. And I was by your side.

We didn't leave that hospital room for 4 WONDERDUL days. We just sat there and basked in the beauty of parenthood, both admiring each other for the roles we had played in the birth of our perfect son. I didn't have a to change a diaper for the first 2 weeks because you jumped in there and got your hands dirty. I was amazed and thankful. You never stopped saying how proud you were of me…of Henry, but I was soo proud of you. You climbed right into your fatherly role without skipping a beat. And I got to be by your side.

When we arrived home, it was the 3 of us enjoying our exended honeymoon for another week. It was an amazing bonding experience that I'll always be thankful for. We got to be by your side.

I'm so proud of you as a father. You had a wonderful example and that's one of the reasons that I fell in love with you- I knew you'd be a great father one day. And now, my thoughts are confirmed when you hold our baby boy or introduce him proudly to someone new, or just sit there and stare at him in awe. I look forward to watching your relationship with Henry grow, and I'll be so proud to be standing by your side.

Happy Father's Day, Sweetheart. I love you, and Henry does too!

To the man that helped raise my son's father- thank you. You passed down characteristics of a true man-one who is generous, loving, and compassionate. Henry is blessed to have a father who had a wonderful father. You are truly missed and we think about you all the time. Happy Father's Day in heaven.

Heisel Rules!