An unscheduled hiatus...

Well, well, well. Too bad the author of this blog has been too busy to bother informing any of her devoted readers (choke) why she's been M.I.A. or when she planned to return. Hmm! The nerve!

I'm truly sorry. A sort of life-changing thing has occurred and I'm almost ready to share with you all. I've been away from both of my blogs for the better part of two weeks now to a) keep myself from spilling the beans prematurely and b) because this life-changing thing has just kind of consumed me.

I have about three posts I'm crafting in my mind and am needing to get down in writing soon because between these posts and the life-changing-thing there isn't any more room in the limited capacity of my brain for simple things like breathing. I apologize in advance for the onslaught of information and updates to come.

I hate that I've missed my regular posts like my devotionals, Fertilizer Friday (on my other blog) and Make Your Home Sing Monday. And Henry's been busy so I have lots to report about him as well. I'm so behind and can't wait to get back in the swing of things. Oh, and this life-changing thing will certainly have its place here too. *wink*

Stand by for news.

Bling for my Blog

I just wanted to take a short moment to thank my friend and fellow blogger, Mandy, for giving my blog a little face-lift. If you'll notice, the labels in my side bar are new. She custom-designed these for me. She has a real flair for creative and unique digital handiwork. She has just started selling her designs at her Etsy shop where she's offering a grand opening sale. Her blog is listed in my blogroll, but you can also click here - go on over and check out her beautiful blog!

Nine Months

Henry is nine months old today. He's been here longer now than he was in my womb. That is astounding and yet sobering for me because it means he is growing just so much faster than I can stand. We have a well-baby visit coming up next week where we'll get weight and length stats, but we did make a doctor's visit early this week for an ear infection, and he weighed in at 24.5lbs. He has almost tripled his birth weight. I am anxious to know his length (or can we call it height yet?) too, but not so much that I'm going to try to figure it out on my own before his appointment. I'm going to guess as much as 30 inches - he was almost 28 at six months.

My blog is young - I so wish I had started the first time I thought about doing this - so it hasn't recorded each of his milestones as he's hit them over the past nine months, so I'll do my best to list the big ones.

*He blessed us with first smiles at around 6 weeks.
*He started sleeping through the night at 8 weeks, then regressed at 11 weeks and hasn't consistently done it since. YAWN.....
*He could hold up his head for periods of time without support at around 8 weeks.
*He started to imitate some letter sounds at 3 months.
*He stopped night feedings between 3 and 4 months.
*He could roll from back to belly at 3.5 months.
*He could bear weight on his legs at 4 months.
*He could sit assisted at about 4 months.
*He started rice cereal at 4 months.
*He could roll both ways by 4 months, but only did so rarely.
*He could sit unassisted at 5 months for periods of time - unlimited by 6 months.
*He weaned from the swaddle at 6 months.
*He found his feet at 6 months. :)
*He was a babbler by 6 months.
*He was eating pureed veggies and fruits by 6 months.
*He started saying "mama" and "dada" at around 7 months.
*He started finger foods at 7.5 months, but is still very picky about them.
*He could put in his paci at 7 .5 months.
*He cut his first two teeth at 7.5 months.
*He started rolling for fun and mobility just before 8 months.
*He started showing readiness to start crawling at 8.5 months - pushing up on hands, scooting back end, pushing up on toes, and occasionally getting both front and rear ends off the ground at the same time...
*He could hold his own bottle at 8.5 months.
*He could sit up from a laying position just before 9 months.

I take pictures of him each month on his "month-day", and they're posted over in the sidebar - be sure to check them out and see how he's grown. Here's a few more I took this morning:

Playing catch-up...

I haven't blogged in about 5 days - that may be a record for me in my brief blogging lifetime. I guess I have occupied myself otherwise, though, because I can't remember any time when I sat around with nothing to do but twiddle my thumbs.

I'll start playing catch-up with a report about a dinner meeting with family. Last Sunday evening (a week ago) Henry, Daddy and I traveled about an hour to what is about the half-way point between our home and my Dad's. We met at a favorite restaurant to partake of fried chicken and chicken-fried steak, served family-style with all you can eat side dishes. I'm certain I ate all I could. ;)

We met my Dad (Grandpa) and my brother (Uncle Mike), as well as Debbie and her daughter Paige. Though this eating establishment boasts line-dancing waitresses, Henry was entertainment enough. He was passed around, charming any who noticed him - including everyone at our table and many of the patrons at neighboring tables.

Debbie, Grandpa, and Henry

Paige and Henry

Uncle Mike and Henry

Blog Make-over

No need to adjust your monitor - I've just made some cosmetic changes to my blog. A mommy friend of mine made a beautiful header for me, so I needed to change templates so it would fit better. Thanks to Sara for helping me out! Hope you all like it!

Giving it a go!

Okay - here I am in my maiden voyage as a blogger. I have been trying to format and personalize my blog with limited success so far. I will eventually work out the little details, but I rationalized that I had to start somewhere.

So, I'm taking this opportunity to invite you all to follow this blog and be witness to the way Henry blesses us every day. I hope to update regularly, but forgive my growing pains as I'm figuring out the world of blogging.

In lieu of an official post, here is at least a recent picture of our little tank. Let's ponder what he's saying...