Weekend Visit

Alexis' first cousin Aliza made her first trip to the Deep South to meet her new cousin Henry and the two really hit it off. In fact, Henry already misses her playing with his feet while he rides in his car seat.

Aliza took in all the sites, including Elvis' birthplace. (Yep, that's not a Katrina cottage...it's actually Elvis' first house. Don't worry though, the gift shop is much bigger.)

We also spent some time in Oxford where Henry sported his new bib...thanks Gran Gran.

After Julep had an entertaining morning watching bison walk across the TV screen, we decided to go for a walk with Henry and take in some culture...

...so we strolled over to ol' Bill Faulkner's house and hung out there for a while. Then we went to enjoy culture of a different sort...

Believe it or not, there are no Sonics in New Jersey, or anywhere else in the north for that matter. But there are Sonic commercials. So Aliza was very excited to actually see a Sonic for the first time ever. This is one of about six pictures commemorating that event. Here, we attempt to engage in some witty dialogue about the Sonic breakfast menu (served all day!) before the narrator interrupts us to give more details.

So Close...

Henry went to the doctor today and weighs in at a cool 17 pounds, one ounce and is 26 1/2 inches long. This picture shows how close he is to crawling. He now gets on his hands and knees, rocks back and forth and occasionally lunges forward as if he's trying to shoot himself in the direction he wants to go. This does seem to get him places, but it's a slow process. We think full-fledged crawling is right around the corner.

S-I-X Months

Today was Henry's six month birthday! Unbelievable that he has been with us for six months. In some ways it's flown by and in other ways it's been a loooong time. But it's certainly been fun every step of the way.

Here, Henry shows off his three-point stance. In spite of this picture though, I'm afraid the offensive line is not in his future. No matter: we already have him penciled in to start game one of the 2030 World Series.

I know what you're thinking: Sugar Babies for only 99 cents? Yes, it's true. It's also true that Henry LOVES the grocery store. Most of the time, he walks up and down the aisles in his Baby Bjorn, but today he wanted to share the Kroger experience with his Baby Neptune. So he stayed in his carrier (leaving little room for groceries). It kept him happy, even though it was getting close to his dinner time.

Time for the whites load.

Henry and Victoria

We realized that we have never posted a picture of Henry's babysitter and good friend, Victoria. She watches Henry every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday when Alexis goes to work. She has been a real lifesaver to us, and Henry is always happy to see her in the morning. But never quite as happy as Julep who usually runs in circles when she walks in the door.

Tummy Time

Henry's new preference is to be on his tummy while having his diaper changed. As you may imagine, changing a diaper like that is not an easy task, and we are forced to hold him down with one hand and attempt diaper application with the other. We are hoping this is just a (brief) phase. These pictures show what happens when we let Henry get his way and roll over on his changing table. Apparently, part of his motivation is to stare at his toys...

First Fourth

Henry spent his first 4th of July with his buddy, Ford Lewis.

After hanging out inside for a while, the boys wanted to go for a dip in the pool...

...but that got old after a while so they came back in to play on the play mat, where Henry decided to give Ford's hand a taste.

Mmmm, who knew a poly/cotton blend could taste so good?

A-T-L

Last weekend, we traveled to Atlanta to visit family and friends. And lots of babies...

Including Baby Riley, the newest member of the Kaplan family!

Natalie and Suzi give Henry his nighttime bottle.

Henry met Zachary Rindsberg, who tried to teach him how to use a pair of pliers.

He also got to visit Ryan Cohen...and Nathan poked his head in to say hello.

On Sunday, we had brunch at Eric and Erica's house. Here, Julie, Darren, Erica and Ryan (and Charlie) hang out while Alexis and Eric were in the kitchen cooking 2 pounds of bacon. Jealous?


Evan and Sydney got down on Henry's level...and Henry finally found someone with his own attention span and maturity level.