Just a few new pictures. Click on each picture to see a larger view.
My husband is so awesome, but y’all already know that. This Christmas he gave me a plethora of David Bowie items.
First I got Hugo Wilcken’s Low: 33 1/3. I am very eager to read this!
Then he got me the Criterion Collection of The Man Who Fell To Earth. I have been wanting and coveting this disc since Cristin got hers. Now I’ve got mine!!!
Last but certainly not least, he got me this fabulous Heddon Street wall calendar. It’s very spot-on because of my trek to Heddon Street the last time I was in London. It’s all the alternate shots that were taken the night they took the photograph that wound up on the cover of “The Rise and Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.”
It includes David’s birthday clearly marked on January 8th!
And best of all, it’s not for sale in the states! Please don’t send my hubby to jail! 🙂
I got on it today and finished a crafty project I’d been neglecting – baby bracelets.
I got new beads in the middle of the day so I had new colors to play with for some of the bracelets.
Have a baby or two? Maybe considering acquiring one? Or maybe you just know someone who has a baby that you really like and care about. If you are any of these people, I can’t strongly enough recommend this book:
You may recognize Thomas from a recent article in Cookie magazine or from her other reporting work. Here’s a description of the book from the publisher’s website:
“An investigative journalist examines how marketers exploit infants and toddlers and the broad, often shocking impact of that exploitation on our society
It’s no secret that toy and media corporations manipulate the insecurities of parents to move their products, but Buy, Buy Baby unveils the chilling fact that these corporations are using — and often funding — the latest research in child development to sell directly to babies and toddlers. Susan Gregory Thomas offers even more unnerving epiphanies: the lack of evidence that “educational” shows and toys provide any educational benefit at all for young children and the growing evidence that some of these products actually impair early development and could harm our kids socially and cognitively for life.Underlying these revelations is a dangerous economic and cultural shift: our kids are becoming consumers at alarmingly young ages and suffering all the ills that rampant materialism used to visit only on adults — from anxiety to hypercompetitiveness to depression.
Thomas blends prodigious reportage with an empathetic voice. Her two daughters were toddlers while she wrote this book, and she never loses sight of the temporal and emotional challenges that parents face. She shows how we can help our kids live at their natural pace, not the frenetic clip that serves only the toddler-industrial complex. Buy, Buy Baby helps us fight the power marketers wield by exposing the false fears they spread.”
Go get this book and read it. My copy will be back at the library in about a week.
We celebrated Christmas again after we got home from Granma’s. It was a beautiful tree full of presents! So much for restraining ourselves this year.
We started with Henry’s stocking, which Granma made for him. Isn’t it cute? It was filled with a few of his toys and some clementines. He was not enthusiastic. Perhaps next year.
Then we got into the serious business of opening presents. Luckily, we had help.
A fun gift from the T’s, this puppy handpuppet was promptly given the name of “Falkor.”
Monica’s gift to us included these handmade gift tags featuring our very likeness!
And his gift from his cousins was this little Taggie blanket, a perfect gift for my little tag-chewer.
Henry was helpful, all the while, creating chaos and destruction.
So we eventually put him in his crate so we could finish opening all the presents.
The end result? A huge mess and some tired cats!
I decided to wean Henry this week. We were down to only one nursing a day, in the mornings, and I’d been feeding him a real breakfast afterwards anyways. I just decided I was tired of having to get up at 6 AM everyday without a break. It was also starting to feel more uncomfortable. (He’s got eight teeth now and seems to be cutting more.) He’s been eating more and more solids and he’s doing really well with the sippy cup so it seemed like a good time.
So, one day this week I got him out of his crib, changed him and then brought him right downstairs for breakfast rather than nursing him. He did just fine. It’s been three days now and I feel good. I was glad that I made the decision without being under pressure or duress. I’m a little sad that it’s over, but overall I’ve achieved more than I thought I would in this arena.
On Christmas Eve we went to the Virginia Aquarium. When I was in college, it was called the Virginia Marine Science Museum and I worked there every summer as part of my Bonner Scholar work requirements.
I loved being there. I love the fishes and the wildlife. And I was nearly brought to tears in a fit of sentimentality when I saw Henry gazing with wonder into the tanks. I really hope to pass on my love of science and fishes to the little guy.
Here he is getting eaten by a shark. Doesn’t he look surprised?
These egrets, along with a host of other interesting birds, were in the aviary.
At the Norfolk Canyon tank, taking in the sharks.
Watching the giant sea turtles with Daddy. I think we could have sat there all day.
Walking to the South Building.
In the Marsh Pavilion we found this fun stuffed otter. The real ones were all asleep in a pile, so they weren’t that much fun to look at.
After a hard day of sitting in his stroller and being carried, Henry needed a breather. The kids play area was perfect!
Our best find of the day, however, was a stuffed “turkey buzzard,” which is what his Granma Jo calls him all the time. Must get photo!
Cristin made Henry this Hank the Tank shirt. He was kind enough to model it.
Henry recently celebrated his ten month birthday!
Here’s where he is now. At his nine month checkup, he weighed 20 pounds, 13 oz and was 28″ long. His head was 17 7/8th” around. I assume he’s just gotten bigger since then. He has four teeth on the bottom and four teeth on the top, and we’re pretty sure he’s cutting more on the bottom, too.
He’s a real good eater and eats three solid food meals a day, along with a few bottles. He still nurses with me every morning, which I’m very proud of. I didn’t think that I would last this long. He does really good with solid foods and can usually eat whatever we’re having for dinner, though I try to load up his plate with vegetables and fruit. He eats the school lunch at daycare most days. He’s started a sippy cup and can drink out of it, but he spends most of his time throwing it around. Sometimes he hides his food in his high chair.
We’re pretty sure his first official word is “kitty”. He also says “da” and “ada” and “dii” but we’re not sure what those mean yet. He’s also been gurgling a lot, too, “glub glub glub.”
He takes two naps a day and sleeps from 8 PM to 6 AM, usually without incident.
He crawls fast as lightning, and pulls up on everything. He stands independently, without support, more and more frequently. He can climb a few stairs given the opportunity. He likes to give you things to hold, then take them back. He loves nesting toys and little rolling balls. He delights in peek-a-boo and giggles tremendously with “This little piggy.” He loves bath time and has a great time playing in the water. He likes to look at himself in the mirror and stare out the window. The cats are his favorite toy, and sometimes Cayce even lets him pet him. And he really likes socks, too.
All in all, he’s just adorable and so much fun to be around. Dave and I are both so thankful that we chose to have a family. It certainly has changed the dynamic of our relationship and the way we live our life, but we think it’s worth it. He is really my little son-shine. I can’t believe he’s almost one year old!!! 
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