Life Is Art Is Life

24 Week Update

julialifeisart — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:24:07 +0000

On MLK Day Henry turned twenty-four weeks old.

And since Cumbie had the day off, we spent it like this:

We spent the rest of the week out and about like we usually do– walking to Mom Group, some lunches out with friends, storytime at the library, running errands, hanging out outside on the deck, grocery shopping, and visiting Venus and Baby Miles.

Developmentally, Henry ate his first solid food, suddenly went from a multiple-short-naps-per-day baby to a two-long(er)-naps-per-day baby, and looks like he’s about to sprout two bottom teeth. It was a big week for us!

On Saturday we went to the Saturday Market:

And on Sunday we went to the Sunken Gardens (which I have posted about before here).

Henry’s First Solid Food Adventure!

julialifeisart — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:06:46 +0000

Like most aspects of parenting, the introduction of solid food seems to be a hot-button issue– when to start, what to start with, what method to use, etc. As a sidenote, I have to admit, I don’t really understand why every aspect of childbirth and parenting seems to be mired in such controversy. Can’t we all just mind our own business and ruin our children’s lives in our own way? Anywho… Cumbie and I are taking the same approach to introducing solid food as we have with most other parenting decisions: We read the research and listen to the advice, but ultimately we let our instincts guide us. Since breastfeeding has been going great (i.e. it’s free, Henry is growing like a chubby weed, it’s always available without any prep work or cleanup, and did I mention it’s free?), we decided to wait until Henry was six months old before introducing solid foods.

However, we got about a week’s early start this weekend when we found some really well-priced organic avocados. We’re taking a very laissez-faire approach to food at this point because we’re not reducing breastfeeding yet so he’ll still be getting everything he needs from that. So basically we’re just going to offer him food and he can eat it or not. Some of it, all of it, or none of it. No big deal.

We were Skyping with Grammy on Saturday just after we had bought the avocados, so she got a sneak preview of his actual first bites (or first face smooshes, really), but here he is on Sunday when we set him up in his booster seat at the table and put a few chunks in front of him:

The verdict? Really fun to grab, squish, smear, and smash into his mouth, but the taste? Not so much. Every time he “accidentally” took a bite, he would go “bbbbbbbbbb” until it spilled out of his mouth and down his chin and chest.

Cumbie and I were convinced he hadn’t swallowed a single bit until about an hour later when we were greeted by a small stream of pea soup-green spit-up. So, I guess he did swallow a little!

Overall, it was a fun and hilarious little adventure. Henry really seemed to enjoy himself, even if the taste wasn’t the best.

Henry Splashing

julialifeisart — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 21:46:57 +0000

Here’s a video we took of Henry splashing in his bathtub last week. But actually my favorite thing that he does is point his toes up into the stream of water when I pour some out. It’s so cute!

Look What We Set Up Yesterday…

julialifeisart — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 18:38:38 +0000

Booster seat!

Oh yes, the time of REAL FOOD is nigh!

After Henry Goes to Bed…

julialifeisart — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 22:54:31 +0000

Otis is our baby once again.

23 Week Update

julialifeisart — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 23:17:01 +0000

Two Mondays ago Henry turned twenty-three weeks old.

We had a very busy and very exciting week! I already blogged about our lunch date with Daddy on Monday. On Tuesday we walked to Mom Group, ate lunch with some mamas afterward, and walked home. On Wednesday we had a playdate with my friend, Lauren, and her nine month-old, Keegan. On Thursday we went to storytime at the library, ate lunch with some mamas afterward, and went for a long stroller walk at sunset along the bay with some moms. We saw several dolphins playing, which always makes my day. On Friday we walked up to the hospital to visit Venus and her newborn, Miles, who was born on Thursday (and we didn’t know it at the time, but our friend Kate was there giving birth to her beautiful baby girl, Ruby, too!). Miles is such a beautiful little tiny guy! On Saturday we did some chores around the house and then went to a cookout at our friend, Ben’s, house. Then on Sunday we went to the zoo with Tootie, Laura, and Liam. It was a gorgeous day and we had a blast, even though Henry was more interested than the water features, plants, and Daddy’s ice cream than any of the animals.

When we weren’t out and about doing all those activities or napping, we were outside on the deck. Henry is such a little nature boy, so we spend as much time enjoying the fresh air as possible. Every morning I put down a couple of quilts in a spot that stays shady all day and bring out some toys and diaper changing necessities and we set up camp for the day.

That was our exciting week.

Double Chins & Overalls

julialifeisart — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 23:32:24 +0000

Two of my favorite things!

Inflatable Ducky, You’re the One!

julialifeisart — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 23:11:25 +0000

Until recently we had been bathing Henry either in the kitchen sink or in the bathtub with Cumbie or me. It was a quick and strictly business sort of chore, but now that he can sit up better, bathtime is much more fun! We got this inflatable duck tub that is perfect for our wobbly little sitter.

We scrub him down while he plays with some rubber boat toys.

And he helps out a little too– I guess he’s making sure the inside of his mouth is clean:

And of course he loves to stand up and stomp around with a little support from Daddy.

We love bathtime!

Lunch Dates with Daddy

julialifeisart — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 23:28:13 +0000

Henry and I pick up Cumbie from work for a lunch date about once a week.

On Monday we ate at Lonni’s Deli. We’re exclusively breastfeeding Henry until he’s six months old, which is only a few weeks away. Lately it’s obvious he’s becoming interested in “real” food.

But for the next few weeks he’ll just have to find acceptable alternatives… like turtle finger puppets.

22 Week Update

julialifeisart — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 00:06:03 +0000

Last Monday Henry turned 22 weeks old!

On Thursday Henry had his five month pediatrician visit. The best part was– NO SHOTS! Yay! The second-best part was finding out he’s still growing and thriving exactly as he should. We’re so proud of our beautiful, healthy boy.

We had a good week and an even better weekend. One of our fun outings included a stop by Ikea to pick up some finger puppets for Henry and eat a quick lunch.

(Here’s Henry trying out one of the many toys I restrained myself from buying him:)

We stopped by Ikea because it was on our way to the Manatee Viewing Center at the power plant across the bay from us in Apollo Beach. During the winter months, the manatees flock to the near-bathwater-temperature water there. Not only did we see dozens of manatees, but we also saw polka-dotted eagle sting-rays, plenty of other huge and tiny fish, and even a spinner shark (!!!) jumping out of the water several times. That is the first time we had ever seen a shark in the wild! The viewing center provides several fabulous decks from which to view the wildlife, plus a cool boardwalk way out over the water through a mangrove tunnel.

The juxtaposition between the industrial smokestacks and the amazing wildlife was very cool!

Because we had a little cold snap earlier in the week, the manatees had flocked to the power plant in huge numbers. The glare on the water makes it hard to photograph, but in this photo, each of the dark lumps in the water is a manatee:

We watched them swim around, stick their snouts above water for air, flip their tails and flippers, and splash around. Probably the best part was watching a mama manatee with her calf. They were so sweet!

And that was our week!