My mom's banana bread...bittersweet

We had yet another wedding this past weekend, so my parents came to our place so that we could make the drive and stay over instead of having to rush home. It was a nice little date night, however I'll admit I can't sleep in anymore. I was up at 6am like clock work!

The wedding was beautiful and they could not have wished for better weather (especially since it was an outdoor wedding)! It was also a mini college reunion! Four of my closer friends from nursing school were there, 1 being the groom. We truly had such an amazing time!

My mom decided to take Monday off so that she could spend the day with Henry and I. It worked out great since (big) Henry had to leave for business Sunday night. My mom decided to bake me banana bread since I've had a huge craving for it lately (or always :)). I say it was 'bittersweet' just because for those of you that know my mom's baking abilities, "you can't just have one (slice)!" That being said, I ate the entire loaf (minus the 2 pieces my mom ate) in 1 day, yes, ONE day! With all this nausea I'm experiencing, in Henry's words: "At least you got your caloric intake for the day." Let's just say it was that good and I didn't feel the slightest bit guilty for doing it :) The worst part, I woke up today and could have really used a piece or 3 of it!

After saying that, I should probably go downstairs and run a few calories off, but I've opted to sit here and blog instead!

The Real Deal

Our family of 3 has recently become a family of 4. It was confirmed yesterday by ultrasound! Baby #2 is expected to arrive somewhere around January 27, 2012!

Henry saying 'hi' to his brother or sister!

We will post pics and updates from this past weekend soon!!! It was an awesome weekend and we're still winding down from it!

Our lil cowboy

Henry received a rocking horse as a gift a while back, however I never put batteries in it...until last night! I'm not really sure where he got his moves from, but I'd say he's a natural! Enjoy!

Our lil peanut

We had our (delayed, because Henry's doc was on vaca) 9 month appointment on Tuesday and here are the numbers:

Weight: 18lbs 6oz (11.41%)

Height: 27.75 in (21.81%)

So he's gained about a pound since his 6 month appointment and grown an inch. I blame the weight on the fact that he seriously can't sit still. We're almost out of his 9 month clothes and I really don't like the fact that a lot of companies do 0-3 month, 3-6 month and then 6-12 months. I mean, they grow a lot in that time period. We've been wearing a lot of rompers just because they are a no hassle way of getting dressed each day and it keeps him cool in this heat wave we're experiencing.

New milestones; more cruising around the furniture, more standing without holding onto anything and he keeps practicing standing solo from his knees/sitting position, but we're not quite there yet. He LOVES pulling all his toys out of his basket and taking each book out of the basket while looking at me and then dropping it on the ground and laughing! He LOVES feeding himself and has become quite independent. We're saying dada a lot, however we keep practicing mama and he continues to say dada and smiles.

Feeding; he will eat anything and he really is the greatest eater. We're still on our non-soy/non-milk based formula, however I got the ok to start weaning him onto a milk-based formula to see if he tolerates it. I'm going to wait until we get back from NE to start that just because I don't want him to have tummy aches there! Once he's tolerating the new formula, we can introduce him to foods with milk in them and then hopefully (crossing my fingers) we can start whole milk at 12 months. They won't send us for testing unless by 15 months he's still not tolerating milk. I have to admit that's the hardest part right now with feeding him. I can't just give him anything, I have to read each ingredient to make sure it doesn't contain any milk or soy or any of their proteins. That REALLY limits our variety so I just make everything myself for now.

We are really looking forward to next week! Henry's getting on his first big plane and visiting all the family in Nebraska. Henry's super excited to see all the puppies and cousins...and of course wear his tux!!

"Look no hands!"

A very HOT Memorial Day weekend...

So why not take a swim!! On Monday while daddy golfed, Henry and I enjoyed his new pool! He cracks me up, he played in the water for a little more than an hour and the entire time he was trying to catch the water in his hands...well that and drink it! It's such a great pool because it only gets a few inches deep and he LOVES the sprinklers! Needless to say, he took a very long nap!

We had a very busy weekend! We had 3 couples over Saturday, 2 of them also have babies (5 months old) so we played all afternoon while the guys golfed. We cooked a big dinner for everyone Saturday night and 2 of the couples (with their babies) stayed over! What fun it is to wake up to a house full of babies! Everyone left Sunday around 10:30 am and we went to church. After church we hit the grocery store once again, because my hubby decided to invite all of our neighbors over for a BBQ Sunday evening! We had a great turn out with about 20 people. We just did Beer, Brats and Burgers...and a few salads and such. Sunday night I was exhausted from our weekend!

Love his laughs...they are so contagious

Henry's newest love; washing his own hands after he eats! He gets so excited when I'm carrying him over to the sink, feet kicking and all! It's so much easier than having to torture him with wiping his face and hands with a washcloth, especially since he's Mr. Independent and LOVES to be able to feed himself, he gets quite sticky!

My mom's off of work tomorrow so we're making a trip to see her. Henry's super excited since Grandma said she has a treat for him...can't wait to see what it is this time :)

Have a great week!!

Big week here at the Charltons

We hit some big milestones this week!! On Tuesday, Henry showed off his skills by going up the stairs all by himself for the first time. It's amazing to me how they just know what to do! Also on Tuesday, Henry was playing with his LeapFrog musical table and he leg go and stood up all by himself. He has started to do this more and more for longer periods of time!

As you can see in the photos, we also had our first 'big' tumble. I was watching my friends 4 month old and I was sitting on the couch feeding her when Henry went over to his work bench toy and it tipped over and his face hit the basket where all of his toys are. I think I was more scared than he was. He cried for a second and then continued to play. I felt so badly. When I told my mom, she just said, "Get used to it!"

One more for the week...we officially have our bottom 2 teeth coming in...FINALLY!

(My lil ham)

What a big boy!

Happy 9 months lil guy!! We missed you!

(Spending his 9 month birthday with Grandma...doesn't get much better!)

It always feels great to be home from vacation in a way, however this time I just couldn't wait to get home. Not because it wasn't an amazing time (because it was absolutely amazing and relaxing) but I missed out little man SO much! It's so hard to leave him behind, he's my life! We left our house Wednesday morning at 2 am (we flew out of New Yorks JFK so that we could have a direct flight both ways) so we said our goodbyes Tuesday night. We made it home safely Sunday night, but didn't get to our house until 10:30/11pm ish. I couldn't resist the urge, so I went up and just rocked Henry for a couple of minutes. He's such a snugglebug and I can never get enough. What made it even harder was that I had to be a work this morning for a class, so I left the house before he wakes up. He's a smart kiddo because just as I was getting ready to head out the door, he started to whine/cry so I had to give him a hug. Thesmile on his face when he saw me just made me melt!

Luckily we got out of class 2 hours early so I rushed home to be with my mom and lil Henry! I swear he got so much longer since I left! I was so afraid that he was going to sprout his first tooth when we were gone, but he didn't! He must have listened to me, I mean I stay home with him all day so that I don't miss anything! I did feel his gums this afternoon and sure enough....it's FINALLY coming through!

If that isn't enough, today marks Henry's 9 month birthday!! How

crazy is that?!?! As far as milestones go;

• he is a speed crawler...seriously fast,
• he is pulling himself up on everything and cruising around while standing,
• he is a nonstop talker and I love it when we giggle together,
• he has the best appetite I've ever seen and will eat anything, and
• he will chase his soccer ball for hours around the house

I'm sure there are many things I've forgotten, but you get the point, I'm one busy momma!!

Back to our trip.

I can't even describe in words how wonderful it was. We hiked the mountain, relaxed on the beach with our cool mint towels and lemongrass water :), we ate at places that were no more than shacks with some of the greatest food I've ever indulged in, we snorkeled in the middle of the ocean, we visited 2 original sugar mills of the island and slept almost 10 hours each night! It was much needed and only healthy for us to get away for a vaca!

(Dinner at Mangos)

(Enjoying a cocktail on the Catamaran before we snorkel)

Back to unpacking and laundry, always the worst part of a vacation!