Memphis Matthews

Trains 102

Found this tonight...we'll continue to work on "not on Henry's face, Pierce."

Trains 101

Before Henry was born, Pierce was already talking about "teaching" baby Henry to play trains.  He wants so badly for Henry to be able to play with him now!  I have to explain that Henry isn't quite big enough to play.  Pierce also talks about teaching him his letters and numbers and how to throw a ball and about our dogs.  I caught these sweet moments this morning...and, for the record, the book was actually ON Henry's head at one point...still sweet, nonetheless.  For those of you unfamiliar with Thomas, this "book" is actually the brochure of current Thomas products on the market.  Pierce frequently studies this brochure and pretty much knows every train or product in it.  He also requested "Thomas the Train" from Santa when asked at school recently, and I've got to put Santa on alert, as Mommy and Daddy steered away from Thomas stuff for Christmas! 

You astute observers out there will note that Pierce got a haircut courtesy of yours truly.  And, as with prior haircuts, you can certainly tell it's not a professional job.  I'll continue to trim it up over the next few weeks so that it looks somewhat decent.   That is if I can get him to sit still for more than 10 seconds.

 
  

Happenings

Whew.  I'm behind.  Again.  Between trying to work a bit from home and onsite in my office (yes, I've been in to my office several times in the past few weeks), tackling domestic duties, carpooling Pierce here and yonder, prepping for Christmas, and, oh yeah, caring for a newborn, I am having a hard time finding the time to blog!  I'm guessing I will not ever get around to posting about our Thanksgiving.  It was happy.  Anyway, here is a bit of what we've been up to...

Pierce continues to be a great little helper with Henry.  He's loving all of the Christmas hoopla.  He's enjoying the tiny Christmas tree we got for his room.  To be specific, he enjoys decorating it and re-decorating it and carrying it around the house.  I'm hoping he won't make similar attempts with the big tree (that we haven't gotten yet).  FYI - I found the tiny tree and cute garland at Target.  Glad I went "minimal" with regard to the decorations given Pierce's re-decorating frenzy.

 
We've also been getting creative with activities given the weather.  Painting at the easel and playing in boxes have been big hits.

 

 
Moving on to this little guy...

 
He sleeps a lot.  A whole lot.  And he had his first bottle earlier this week.  (And, yes, this is pretty much the only picture of the two boys together as getting Pierce to pose for a picture is impossible.)

 
Oh, and he's 1-month old, as of yesterday.  Hard to believe!  Yesterday's photo session for his 1-month pic went like this:

 
Today went a little better.

 

3.5 Weeks Already!

Guess who is already more than 3 weeks old?  Yep, our sweet Henry.

 

Happy Turkey Day!

Pierce brought this adorable turkey home from school earlier this week.  Gobble gobble!

Awake!

A rare moment...Henry is awake (and with hiccups).  Captured this a few days ago...

Zoo Lights

After a fun-filled morning at Reagan's 2nd birthday party and a much-needed afternoon nap, we met up with the Newbys again last night for Zoo Lights.  It was a perfect night weather-wise and I knew we might not have another mild evening.  Pierce is definitely already into the holiday spirit as he keeps saying "buy Christmas tree" and "Christmas time."  We keep telling him that Thanksgiving comes first, but he's clearly rooting for Christmas.  We've wimped out on the Christmas tree the past couple of years, but this year we'll get a bigger one and break out the bins of Christmas decorations.  Should be fun!  Not many good pics from yesterday's activities but here are a few from Zoo Lights last night (complete with another "leaf" picture courtesy of Pierce).  Henry slept until time to leave and, magically, I captured a picture of his eyes OPEN!  We enjoyed seeing all of the kiddos enjoy the lights and decorations - how much fun it is to witness your children really having a good time.  Random tidbit:  Pierce ate a few bites of a banana this morning...hurray (it's been months and months since he tasted a banana).  This is progress, albeit slow, but I am so happy!

 

 
 
 

Little Brother

Henry is two weeks old (tomorrow)!  My goodness how the time has flown by!  He is pretty easy to please these days and is just too sweet.  I am certainly more relaxed with this kiddo than I was with Pierce, which I'm sure somehow indirectly affects Henry's demeanor.  I'm trying so hard to savor every moment given that I was a super-stressed mom with Pierce.  Henry is proving to be a pretty laid back little guy, but we'll see how that changes as he ages and isn't snoozing so much.  At his 2-week check-up yesterday (two days early), he weighed in at 8 pounds 2 ounces (for a total weight gain of 10 ounces since birth and measuring in at the 42nd percentile).  He hadn't gained any length, measuring 21 inches (79%), and his little head was 36 centimers (43%).  We love you little guy!

Pics from Henry's second bath (yes, his second)...rest assured, #2 wasn't much different from #1!

 
 

Big Brother

Pierce, my strong-willed, independent, cautious, shy, sensitive, curious, quick-learning son, is also an excellent big brother.  I am so proud of him.  Although he still does not want to hold Henry, he does help me burp and change him and push the stroller, and he gives him hugs, pats him on the head, and still fetches his paci (even though Henry still isn't really into it).  Pierce makes sure to tell me when Henry is crying and tells him "it's okay."  So sweet.  I took the boys to the Zoo this morning, and we had a great time.  Zoo Lights starts tonight, and the Zoo is certainly looking festive!  At one point, Pierce found a big leaf to "show" to baby Henry, and the pics below document his gesture.  Henry was unphased, which speaks to his more laid back personality that seems to already be emerging.  Toward the end of our visit, a young girl came up and asked me about the baby.  Pierce turned to her and said "baby Henry name" at least three times.  Clearly he was trying to tell her his name!  After a rocky hospital visit, I'm relieved to see such sweetness between big and little brother.  I love these boys! 

 

   

Baby, Back Home, Birthday, Booboo...I'm so behind!

We're home...obviously.  We got home Tuesday night.  After a rough hospital visit Sunday afternoon (which was sort of expected but nonethless upsetting), Pierce came home Wednesday morning - he has been such a good big brother!  He is helpful and very concerned when Henry cries.  He has learned to "check on baby Henry" for me and assists with diaper changes and paci finding.  Speaking of paci...funny that with Pierce I held off for 2 weeks on the paci (following all of the "rules" per the lactation consultants)...well, I gave in earlier with this kiddo.  He really isn't that into it though - go figure.  So far, we're doing pretty well, and things have actually been easier than I thought they would be (although I've already learned that it's sort of inevitable that when something needs to get done, i.e. cooking dinner or putting down for naps or managing a booboo, one (or both) of them is upset). 

About the booboo...Pierce got a pretty nasty cut by bumping his eye on the soap dish in the bathtub last night.  After some initial concerns about possibly needing a stitch or two, Peter and I decided a butterfly bandaid would probably do (gosh do we hope it doesn't leave a bad scar though).  Didn't help any that the minor med was already closed.  He was a very big boy about the situation and didn't fight the bandaid TOO much.  In breaking news, Pierce has been such a good eater the last couple of days and I'm praying it continues.  He has eaten applesauce, chicken nuggets, and sweet potato fries.  Folks, this is big news as our little guy basically lives off of milk and peanut butter.  Confessing here that M&M bribery has helped... 

Jumping around even more with this post -- today is Peter's 32nd birthday!  Happy birthday Peter!  We love you!

Alright - on to some pictures...guess who is 1 week old now?  Kind of crazy.  He does a lot of this (thank goodness):

 

I really think he looks like Pierce did as a baby...I do...I'll have to dig in the archives to find some good evidence.

From the hospital...Pierce and Henry meet:

The hospital phone proved much more interesting...

Daddy reading (Wall Street Journal) with Henry (and, I caught him teaching Pierce how to push buttons on his HP-12C financial calculator earlier this week...watch out world)...

Leaving the hospital (not quite sure what the photographer was focusing on but it's documentation nonetheless):

Bundled up and ready to go:

 

Adorable flowers waiting at home (sent by my office)...and, add in all of the good food and treats that family and friends have brought by...we are feeling the love.  A huge, big, ginormous thank you to all of you!

 

At least someone is getting some really good sleep around here...

 

More later...