A man and his snack

A real, live, honest-to-goodness kid

This is still confusing to me, but at some point in the past six to twelve months, Henry stopped being a baby and is now what you'd call a "kid". Now, that's not to say he doesn't ACT like a baby sometimes, but that's another subject entirely.

We do things like talking to each other. I'll ask him if he wants X, and he'll either reply with a drawn-out "nooooo..." (as if he feels bad saying so), or an exited "hehhhhhh!", which I can only interpret as "yes". All in all, communication is really nice, and it beats what previously passed for mind-reading.

So, I look at pictures like this one and, naturally, think "Holy cow, what happened to him?" But, mostly I'm excited for the person he has become. Which is a great way to describe it, a person with quirks, foibles, personality traits, things he's great at, things he needs to work on (sleeping); things that make him unique and who he is. Which isn't me, isn't Kelsey, but Henry.

I really enjoy getting to know this person that is developing right in front of our eyes. He's funny, bold, kind, anal-retentive, independent, stubborn, and happy.

Scratchin'

Thanks to Aunt Jen and Uncle Mårten, Henry's got a new toy to work on his sweet beats.

He's big into Euro dance music these days. Doctor says it's a phase, but if it's anything like the way I feel about classic country music (pre-1985, thank you), I doubt there's a cure.

Mooks

Going through a little bit of a milk obsession lately, which he refers to as "Mooks" approximately every 15 minutes.

Lonesome, On'ry and Sweet

Thank You

to the neighbors down the street that are keeping Christmas alive with their elaborate display of lights, yard decor, and lit tree in window. Henry, especially, appreciates your enthusiasm.

You're Welcome

to the neighbors behind that got to witness my naked self chasing Henry (also naked) through the kitchen when he escaped from the bathroom right before bath time.

It's not fair

I hate when Henry is not feeling well and Greg and I have to have morning negotiations about whether he can go to daycare, and if not, which one of us will be the one to tell our employer that we will be taking yet another day off to tend to a sick baby. I would love it if every single time he was not feeling 100%, we could just keep him home. Sadly, that is not the case, and according to the general state of heath in his classroom, we are not the only parents in this predicament. I envy parents that do not have to deal with this. If Henry did not absolutely love going to his school, It would be enough to make me quit my job and have him live in a plastic bubble.

After two days of sending Henry when I would have liked to keep him here, I took off work, let him sleep late, took him to the doctor (on top of the little cold, another ear infection), gave him Motrin, built a fort, drank lots of water, read lots of books and gave lots of hugs. On Friday morning, we both felt much better and had very good days at work and school.

So I keep clinging to the knowledge that by building his immune system now, he will miss less time when he starts elementary school. Please don't tell me otherwise.

New Coffee Table = New Fort

Yes, you were good. Yes, Santa came.

Here are some random Althoff holiday pics

chillaxin'

Ready for the Big Game

Both Poppy and Henry are excited about the Buckeyes' chances in tonight's title game.