Happy Halloween from Henry!

Make your own digital greeting card

Play time all the time!

I couldn't possibly hug you enough, my little Henry

Daddy giving me water from my big boy cup

Can I fit this train into my mouth?

Yah! I love jumping!

I am a happy guy when I am playing

My new favorite thing..sticking out my tongue!

Look at me sitting up ALL by myself!!

I guess we've been busy...because I haven't been on here to blog in the last few days! We are having a nice, easygoing weekend and hope you are too! As I was going through Henry's bureau the other day and putting away clothes that are too small for him (he's growing like a weed!) I came across something that a friend had given me a year ago...a Johnny Jump Up! At the time I had no idea what a Johnny Jump up was. Now, being an "experienced" parent I know that these nifty little things can be mom or dad's saving grace (for a few minutes to make a cup of tea or so). Well, this is Henry's new favorite thing to do..jump!! So, up it went. For those of you who have been to our condo you know that we have tons of exposed beams which are perfect for hanging just about anything...including the new Johnny Jump Up. Enjoy the picture of Henry doing his new "thing". Yesterday we went to a bowling birthday party at a new bowling alley in our neighborhood. It was tons of fun and very loud and action packed....just the perfect place for a little baby to fall fast asleep, which is what Henry did! He was snoozing away as kids and adults were screaming, striking out and walking all around him. It was quite amusing to see! Henry is also sitting up these days for a few minutes unassisted. This is a huge milestone and one that will be very exciting for Henry as he will have a new view of the world as he is playing around. We got the train out of the closet for him to play with when he is sitting down...he still thinks he can put it in his mouth, we'll see about that! He seems much more interested in independent play which is really nice for us. He's reaching for objects, switching them from one hand to the other and of course taste testing them all. Henry has been so busy playing, changing, learning and working that he has been quite the good sleeper and napper too in the last few days. We are all happy about that considering we had a couple of months of rough sleeping!

My little baby is growing up....time to stop the clock! Parenting is challenging and can sometimes be monotonous with an infant, but one day you look up and see your little guy sitting up by himself playing and ask, where has the time gone? I can't believe all the changes and growth he has made since he came into this world six months ago.....the world is a better place because of Henry Quinn.

"To-Do"

Beautiful plants at the nursery..going to build a greenhouse in our next home so we can have lemon trees year round!

Do you like this pumpkin Henry?

Henry and Mommy hanging out

Two peas in a pod

3 bean chili cooking in the new crock pot...yum!

I am really on the move these days...look out!

Hello all...this weekend Matt and I tackled our "to do" list which of course is ninety pages long, but that's okay! We took Henry all around town to Home Depot, the nursery, grocery shopping, Target, etc, etc. It was a busy day, but we felt like we accomplished a lot! Henry was such a trooper. On our outing I picked up a crock pot, something I have been meaning to get for a while now. Wow, is it convenient!? I can put dinner in the pot at noon and we are ready to go by dinner time...works very well for our schedule around here. Henry is enjoying his food too. So far he seems to really like pears, apples, sweet potatoes, rice cereal and rice cake thingies. He doesn't care for avocado or bananas. Oh well! I went to a baby food making "party" the other night and made a bunch of good things for him to try in the coming weeks. It has been fun, but it does take effort! The next big item on the "to do" list is going to be to baby-proof our home. This is no easy task! We are going to have to buy lots of sturdy gates and rearrange half our house. If anyone has any advice or helpful tips, please let us know! For not being able to crawl or walk yet, Henry is getting around very well these days and it won't be long until he discovers the pantry or the steep stairs, so we are going to need to get on it! We've been enjoying these beautiful fall days full of sunshine and nice cool temps. We even turned on our gas stove a few times for early mornings. I have been having problems with my back since Henry was born (imagine that!) so walking and running have been put on hold for a few days now...bummer! But, we'll get back to our daily jaunts soon enough. Hope everyone is well! Enjoy some photos from the last few days.

Douglas Mountain

View from the top..this doesn't quite capture it!

The group

Henry loving his pears

Yesterday was a perfect fall day here in Maine and Henry and I took advantage of it! We headed out to Sebago (hour drive from Portland) and met three other moms and their babies to hike Douglas Mountain. It was great! We hiked up and reached the summit at noon in time to have lunch! The views from the top were gorgeous as the foliage is at its peak. The babes had so much fun looking at all the beautiful leaves and trees and the moms got to chat about "mommy" things. We are going to make it a weekly thing, choosing a different hike for each time. Should be a good way to stay active and out and about even as the temperatures get chillier.

Henry is eating lots of solids these days...pears are a hit! He liked the lentils and rice we gave him the other night, and didn't like his bananas this morning as much. Enjoy the photos from the hike yesterday!

Henry is 6 months!

Happy six month Birthday (yesterday) to my little angel Henry! I feel so fortunate to have Matt and Henry in my life...I love them both beyond words. Today we visited Dr. Phan, Henry's pediatrician and he said Henry looks great! He was impressed with Henry's long legs and smiley nature. Here are his six month stats:

Height: 27 inches (50th percentile)

Weight: 15 pounds 12 ounces (25th percentile)

Head circumference: 17. 25 inches

After the visit I ran to the ladies room and the nurse offered to hold Henry. When I got out of the restroom the entire staff of nurses was huddled around Henry and he was flirting with each and every one of them..they thought he was quite something! He was just smiling and cooing and they were in heaven.

Henry had a couple of shots, but handled them very well. We came home, rested and Henry had pears for lunch..yumyum!

Fun Weekend with Family!

Beautiful couple!

My new bomber hat...I can be twins with Daddy now!

Yummy lobster lunch

Mommy and Momo love Henry

QT with Momo

"You are my good boy, Henry!"

I love my aunties!

I don't know what to think about this whole "fiesta" thing

Mexican Fiesta!

Thank you Auntie for coming!!

In my new high chair that Auntie put together

On Saturday morning Momo and Auntie Robin arrived in town. This was Auntie Robin's first trip to Maine so we had lots of fun taking her to all of our favorite spots. On Saturday afternoon, after a lovely lunch at one of our favorite spots on Commercial Street, we walked around the Old Port and went in all the neat little shops. Saturday evening we cooked a Mexican Fiesta and had yummy homemade sangria! Henry stayed awake for half of the party! Yesterday we went up to Freeport and had lobster at Harraseeket Lobster Co. and then hit up the outlets. We had such a good time with everyone and were sad to say goodbye this morning. Henry is looking around the house wondering where everyone has gone and why it is so quiet and boring! It was a perfect fall weekend and we are looking forward to seeing Aunties and Momo again in a few weeks. Thank you for visiting and we love you!

Auntie comes to town!

Mmmm..Auntie feeding me rice cereal for dinner

Auntie and I at story hour

Trying on my new boots that Auntie gave me

Playtime..

Auntie arrived last night right before Henry's bedtime. He was so happy to greet her! We put Henry to bed and had a nice salmon dinner here at 239. Henry had a good, full night of sleep, probably because he was so worn out with excitement! This morning Auntie and I took him to the story hour at the library. After the library we decided to head to the mall because it was raining cats and dogs. It was such a pleasure to actually try some things on while Auntie watched Henry! It's been a while since I was able to go shopping:) We ended our shopping excursion with a nice lunch out. This afternoon Henry has been fighting his nap and more interested in playing and smiling at Auntie. Hopefully he'll sleep well tonight. Matt and I are going out for a "date night" while Auntie puts Henry to sleep. We are going to see a movie, something we haven't done since Henry was born! It will be a nice rainy night out. Thanks to Auntie for all of her help today! So glad she is here.

Bananas and Blankets

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ...we sang!!

"Hey mom, I like this blanket!"

Yum for bananas

Taking a break from chewing on the spoon to smile for the camera

Big boy!

Happy Monday! As I was cleaning this morning upstairs in our living room/Matt's studio space/storage, I came across something I had been thinking about for a while now....the ABC blanket that my dear grandmother Cordelia made for me when I was probably Henry's age. Minus a few little stains and spots, it looks great. I immediately put Henry on it and told him all about his great grandmother Cordelia and how wonderful of a person she was. I told him how when I was little I used to teach my "students" the alphabet by pointing (of course using a teacher's pointer!) to the letters on the blanket as I read them aloud. I think he likes his new blanket and I certainly enjoyed seeing something so sacred to me being passed on to my son. I hope he teaches his little friends using it as well. I also came across my childhood collections of little china tea sets and miniature figurines. I don't know how excited Henry will be about those, but you never know! A few more years before I pull those out.

Henry was eyeing me this morning as I sat down to have my coffee and bagel (post-run carbo loading-ha!) so I decided he should eat while I ate. I gave him some yummy banana and before I knew it he was taking the spoon out of my hand and practically feeding himself. He's really into spoons! The banana ended up all over him and his seat but he had fun eating his breakfast and I had fun watching him.

Tomorrow Auntie Lauren arrives. We can't wait! I keep telling Henry that tomorrow "Auntie comes" and he smiles. Auntie is so good to come all the way up here on her vacation...we will have a fun time! Hopefully she won't mind waking up a little on the early side, since Henry has been an early bird lately.

I am a huge fan of Asian anything... I love Chinese, Japanese and Thai food. So, I am sharing my recipe for my homemade Pad Thai..that Matt swears is better than the restaurant version (he's a nice guy!) No picture, but enjoy!

Quick and Light Pad Thai

8 oz. rice-flour noodles

1/4 c reduced sodium fish sauce

3 tbsp. brown sugar

2 1/2 tbsp. reduced sodium soy sauce

juice of 1 lime

1 tbsp. rice wine vinegar

1/2 tsp ground red pepper

1 tbsp. sesame oil, divided

4 oz. firm tofu, cubed

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 egg+2 egg whites, lightly beaten

4 c bean sprouts

4 med scallions including green tops, thinly sliced

1 c. cilantro leaves

(optional 2 tbsp. chopped unsalted peanuts)

Soak noodles and set aside

Whisk together the fish sauce, sugar, soy sauce, lime juice, vinegar, pepper and 1 tbsp.of oil in a small bowl-set aside

Heat remaining 2 tsp. of oil in wok over medium heat. Add tofu and cook, turning once until light brown-add garlic and cook 1 to 2 minutes. Add eggs. When just set, stir and gently push to side of pan.

Add sprouts and stir gently. Stir in drained noodles, scallions, fish sauce mixture and simmer just until liquid thickens slightly-5 to 10 minutes.

Serve garnished with peanuts and cilantro. Enjoy!!

Good day for a run...

It was a great morning to run the Portland 1/2 marathon. This was my fifth time completing the Portland 1/2 and I love it every time! Henry and Matt woke up early with me and walked me down to the start. It was a chilly 44 degrees when we started, but I warmed up quickly. Matt and Henry cheered me on as I came through the finish. It was a fun day! I am sure we will all sleep well tonight.

Beautiful view of back cove..where we started and finished

My number 1 fan!!

The start...