Back to work....

Enjoying an evening stroll down Commercial Street

I love sitting in my Bumbo seat while mommy and daddy eat their dinner

I'm keeping an eye (barely) on you!

Well today is officially my first day on my new job as a stay at home mommy! Today would've been the first day of school with students for me, but instead I traded in my pencils, chalk and whistle for baby Henry!! I am excited about the opportunity to spend everyday with my little guy watching him change and grow. We have something planned for each day of the week (to keep mommy sane!) so we will stay busy. Tomorrow Henry and I will head up to Damariscotta, ME to the Maine Cloth Diaper Co. so we can begin the search for cloth diapers. We will transition to all cloth by the end of the month. We have also begun to shop the farmer's market for fresh veggies which I am steaming and pureeing for Henry to eat at six months. We froze pureed green beans and carrots yesterday. I can't wait for him to try all the wonderful veggies that were grown right here in Maine!

I hope everyone is enjoying this last bit of summer heat! Stay cool and check back often:)

End of Summer Fun!

Henry's new thing..sticking out his tongue!

Trying out some of our fall clothes:)

We are enjoying a beautiful stretch of late summer weather up here in Maine. Matt went "back to school" yesterday with teacher meetings, etc. and his students will start next Wednesday. I have a week before I start up my afternoon tutoring. Henry will be with me all day and then he will spend the afternoons and early evenings with Matt. Hopefully Matt and I will enjoy some nice, quiet dinners together when Henry goes to bed and when I come home from tutoring...We are excited about the fact that Henry won't be going to any daycare and that we will be with him 24/7. He is one lucky boy and we are lucky parents too:) Here are the latest pics of our little guy. He is growing, growing, growing. We are hoping the outfit we picked out for him a few months ago for the Ernst/Mulholland wedding will still fit him next weekend! We have our dancing shoes ready for that one....

Maine Wildlife Park and more...

It's been a bit chilly here for our morning walks...

Mommy and Henry at Maine Wildlife Park

Are you having fun yet Henry?

Hello everyone...we've been out of the "blogging" loop for a few days because we're all recovering from having colds. Our little Henry had some sniffles and a bit of a cough, but the doctor assured us it was just a touch of a cold. So, we kept him home and made sure he had lots of fluids and rest! He is almost back to his normal, perky self. Today was the first day we have been out and about since last week. This morning we met up with some other moms and babies at the Maine Wildlife Park in Gray, Maine. Henry was awake to see the deer, wild turkeys, bobcats, porcupine, moose and a few others. He slept through the end of the tour which included the raptors and the bear. All of the animals in the park have been rescued due to injuries and probably are better off in the park than out in the wild. It was a beautiful morning out and we had fun walking around in the sunshine. Hopefully next time Henry will be able to enjoy the full tour! This afternoon we returned to our mothering group and saw some of Henry's good pals. It was a full day and so our little cherub is tired and heading towards sleep (with the help of daddy!). We are happy that we are all feeling better and back at it! Next week Daddy starts school, so we will enjoy a few more days of having him around:)

PS: Notice Henry has his fleece on in one of the pics...early morning walks are getting a bit chillier these days as fall approaches:)

Cute picture of the day

I take lots of photos of our little Henry every day, but some are just really special...like these two! I put Henry in his bouncy seat in the bathroom while I take my showers and he entertains himself quite well. These are some good shots I got of him today in his seat.

We had a very busy week...playgroups, story hour, library visit, lunch dates with other moms and babies and many walks here and there. Henry is wiped out tonight (as is Mom!) and we are planning on having a low-key weekend. But, I am sure we will have some good pics to share with you.

And, by the way...Henry rolled from back to belly (first time going this way!) today during yoga. The yoga teacher was quite impressed with his skills!

Henry loves to EAT!

Thumbs up for rice cereal!

Happy boy during play time

What a smile:)

I love to talk, talk, talk!!

Well, it's only been a day, but Henry seems to love rice cereal already. He wasn't quite sure about it yesterday morning but when we tried it again yesterday afternoon he seemed to enjoy it a bit more. This morning he absolutely LOVES it! He ate an entire (small!) bowl of it with Daddy's help. He is going to be an eater, that's for sure! Here are some more good pics of our little man enjoying his first real meal.

By the way, Henry rolled the other day for the first time as well. He rolled from his tummy onto his back. He is also really into making high-pitched squealing noises currently. We're not sure what he is trying to communicate. Any guesses?

Rainy morning here in Portland..first rain we've had in a while. Our flowers will be happy.

Fun Family Weekend

I'm not sure any of the rice got IN the mouth....

Swimming with Daddy

Oooh..this water feels nice

Hike by the ocean

Mommy and I love to hike!

Nice local farm fresh tomatoes and flowers

Daddy and Henry taking a nap-ortunity

Henry and I at Mommy and Me Yoga

The Welch family had a fun filled weekend. On Friday night we took a trip up to Wolfes Neck State Park in Freeport and had a lovely hike by the ocean. The trails run right along the coast line and it is a beautiful spot. Henry loves nature already! Of course we couldn't head home without stopping at Harraseeket Lobster in South Freeport for dinner. On Saturday we headed out to Sebago Lake to spend the day with our friends Shelby and Dan. Henry loved dipping in the lake as it was nice and warm in comparison to Casco Bay! We had a great time hanging out with everyone. Sunday was a quiet day but we did make it out to the beach for a walk and to the farm stand for some lovely fresh tomatoes and flowers that we picked ourselves. Sunday night we had a bbq with friends so all in all it was a great summer weekend here in Maine! Henry is having quite the summer!

PS: Henry tried rice cereal for the first time today too:) See above for his reaction.

Henry is 4 Months!

I am a big boy!

"Hmmm, mom, why do you keep taking pictures of me?"

Yay for tummy time!

Henry is four months old today. Hard to believe.

Here are some good shots from today's adventures. Henry is really working hard on his tummy time skills. He is very close to rolling over and is sitting up in his "Bumbo" chair all by himself. He is a happy guy today after a nice, long nap and lots of hugs and kisses from mommy and daddy.

Off to the library to pick up some more books for Henry.....

Henry's Stats

Daddy was hoping Henry's shoes would help his beloved team the other night...

We are working on liking tummy time a little more

It looks like I am giving you a thumbs up

Happy boy after bath time

Daddy and I spending some time before bed

Well Henry went to the doctor today and had 3 shots, poor guy! He was so brave and did so well. Dr. Phan said Henry is doing great and that he looks very healthy.

Here are the stats:

Height: 25 inches

Weight: 13.5 lbs.

Head circumference: ? Big!

Dr. Phan also gave us the green light to go ahead and start introducing solids. This should be a very fun phase! So, tomorrow we will begin with rice cereal. I am sure Henry will love food as he is already looking at us curiously when we eat our meals. I think he is going to like fruit because that's all I craved for while pregnant. We just hope Henry will be an adventurous eater and try lots of different things...we'll see!

Tomorrow Henry will be 4 months old. Hard to believe how fast the time has gone. It seems like just yesterday that our little angel was born. We are enjoying every day as we watch him grow into his own little person. He is a really neat fellow.

It is hot here today as I am sure it is everywhere else...we are looking forward to some fall crisp air soon....okay, time to tuck our Henry in.

Goodnight everyone.

GRB

The dogs loved the beach

Rainy day lunch at The Ramp

Date night (sans Henry)

Happy Anniversary!

Auntie Lauren is the best!

Someone is making me laugh:)

Momo and I love to read together.

We spent the last week at the best place on earth, Goose Rocks Beach. Henry is such a lucky boy to have spent many weeks at GRB this summer. The Welch family has been going to Goose Rocks since Matt was 2 years old. So, we spent time with the Welch clan earlier in the summer and then last week Momo, Uncle and both Aunties came up to spend a week in paradise as well. We had a blast playing games, Bocce ball and taking the dogs for walks on the beach. Henry loves sleeping to the sounds of the ocean. All of this activity made Henry grow! He is getting quite big:) and tomorrow Dr. Phan will fill us in on just how much he has grown. Our little man also began to "talk" by making lots of cooing noises at us. We also discovered his ticklish spots and got quite the little giggle out of him. He hit lots of milestones this week!

Today is a special day for the Welch tribe as it is our wedding anniversary. We have been married for two wonderful years. We feel so lucky to have found each other and to be creating such a great life and family together. Tonight we will toast to good health, love, peace and many more years of happiness together! We hope you are all enjoying this beautiful summer as much as we are.

Peace to you all.