8 months!

This past month was full of excitement for Henry (and thus all of us) - he started rolling every which way, started commando crawling a few days ago, and we got a visit from Aunty Kristin! She made Henry a stuffed bunny with an "H" on the pocket when he was born, and then Ross got a yellow one at Christmas (which he named Hug-a-rrific), and on this visit, Madeleine was thrilled to get one with a rosy pink cover, and a flower embroidered on the pocket. She's named it Lily and snuggles with it every night.

We went to the Aquatic Park in Berkeley on the day Kristin arrived to take advantage of the sunny day.

Except that there was a chilly wind and my sensitive Californian children got cold - lucky for them Kristin shed all her layers to keep them cozy!

We all enjoyed some frozen yogurt one afternoon.

We tried to do a hike in Tennessee Valley that ended at a beach, but heavy rain was forecast for the following day, so they had closed the trail to the beach! We were disappointed, but went on to San Francisco and had fun at the beach by Crissy Fields.

Henry and Kristin share the same vibrant blue eyes!

I finally got around to taking some pictures of Henry and his 8 month sticker - but he just wanted to crumple and eat it.

He doesn't stay on his blankets for long anymore - now that he can roll off of them and scoot along our slippery tile and wood floors!

He loves holding this hockey stick and waving it around. It won't be long until he's getting in on the hallway hockey games here!

On an unrelated note, Steve had a busy month giving talks about the instrument his team is working on. He gave one talk to the Astronomy Department at Caltech (a private university in Southern California), pictured below. The other talk was to Madeleine's first grade class as this month they were learning about scientists. Her teacher invited a few scientist parents to talk about their work. Both talks were well-received, and Madeleine was very proud to have her Daddy come to her class.

7 months!

Henry is 7 months old now, and has mastered sitting up by himself. He is quite happy sitting where he can see us with a box of toys within reach, and often babbles or squawks away. 

He's a pretty content and easy-going baby, which is good since we are on the go a lot between school for M, errands, and fun outings with Ross. When we do have a day at home, he does often have a good morning nap and then a shorter afternoon nap. He's happy in the car or baby carrier too though.

Although he loves sitting, he's still only rolling front to back, and manages to get to out-of-reach toys pretty well by scooting around on his back.  He's enjoying having meals with us now, and has tried all sort of new foods. His favorites so far are cheesy toast fingers, strawberries and blueberries, avocado, and sweet potato fingers. Madeleine loved feeding herself from day one, Ross loved being fed, and Henry is a bit of both - he loves holding onto some things, but is happy to be spoon-fed as well. All the food seems to be helping his night sleeping - he is finally getting back to sleeping longer stretches (which he hadn't been doing for a few months).

Ross is VERY ready for kindergarten this coming August, and enjoys doing day trips or park dates with friends more than staying home and letting Henry have a solid nap. Here was one of our days out together - at a science centre near Steve's work, that has a gorgeous view of the bay.

Henry got to have some garage time with Daddy and try on one of the big kids old hats!

We celebrated my birthday with a yummy Angel Food cake, made by Steve.

A Henry-boo sandwich!

Henry is keeping the tradition of pudgy Gibson babies, and I think he's taller than either of the others, just based on which of their sleepers he's wearing already.

Madeleine had a week off of school last week for President's Day, so we had fun with her around more. Both big kids are very helpful with Henry, and M enjoyed having more time with him. Ross loved having her around more too and they played all sorts of role play/imaginary games. We did a couple of outings - to a Space Center and to a zoo, but otherwise just enjoyed being home and not having to get ready for school each day.

Ross is 5!

We celebrated Ross's 5th birthday in January, and he was very excited to have Grammie and Grandpa come visit. He is going to start kindergarten in August and is really looking forward to it. These days he really loves building Lego, baseball, soccer, riding his bike and scooter, helping me cook, working in the garage with Daddy, and playing with Henry. He is full of goofy songs, dances and noises and Henry thinks he is hilarious. Ross is always full of questions - about weather, the world, how things work, outer space, and heaven.

The day before Ross's birthday was Martin Luther King Day here, and since Madeleine didn't have school, they went mini-golfing. Ross has been wanting to go for a long time, so he was pretty excited. 

Henry helped celebrate in style, and didn't seem to mind sharing his half-birthday.

The day after Ross's birthday, I started feeling unwell, and suspected I might have appendicitis. By the next day I was feeling worse, and went to see a doctor, who said that although I didn't look sick enough to have appendicitis, I could have a CT scan to check if I wanted. I said I did, since I was pretty sure that's what it was! A few hours later I was in surgery to have my inflamed appendix removed, and I was home later that evening. I was incredibly thankful that my parents were here to help, especially since Steve was just getting over the flu. I was not supposed to lift anything (including Henry) for a week, so the extra sets of arms were very helpful. Here I am recovering the day after surgery, cozy with Henry.

After my parents left and I started feeling back to normal, I finally got around to taking some 6 month pictures of Henry.

He is sitting quite well on his own now, and although he's not yet rolling over, he does manage to scoot around a bit when he's lying on the floor. He weighed in at nearly 21 pounds last week, and is longer than either of the other two at this age. He has started eating with us at dinner, and has tried a variety of fruits and vegetables, although most of it ends up smeared all over rather than in his mouth.  Lately he has been waking up 1-2 times a night, but is also getting a second tooth and fighting a cold, so I am somewhat sympathetic. He naps morning and afternoon, and often has a short third nap too in the late afternoon. He has gotten quite vocal lately, and loves watching Ross and Madeleine.

5 months and Christmas in Canada

Henry turned 5 months old a few days after we flew to Toronto to spend Christmas with Steve's family in Listowel, Ontario. He did really well on the flights, and despite all the traveling he stayed healthy the whole time we were away.

He has lots of chubby rolls, but isn't in any rush to roll himself! He is pretty content being on the floor, either on front or back. He loved having lots of cuddles with everyone.

We were all happy to have lots of snow while visiting - the kids are starting to think it snows every Christmas! We played outside every day - making snowmen, sledding down the back deck, and shoveling.

Henry and I drove a couple of hours to spend a few days with my friend Henrietta, while Steve, Julie, and the kids took advantage of the free skate sessions in Listowel.

Another skating day at the local rink - we were happy to see Chris and his family a lot over the holidays.

We are glad that living in California hasn't made them soft when it comes to spending time in the cold outdoors!

Henry with his stocking, and hanging out with cousin Theodore, who is 6 months older than him. This visit was our first time meeting Theodore in person!

The neighbours built a rink in their front yard again this year, so the kids got to use it a few times.

Henry got to try out the jolly jumper, which he thought was lots of fun.

We visited with Great Grandma Doris, who is 99 now. Henry tried to eat her fingers.

We visited with Kristin twice - once in London when we got to hear her community orchestra perform, and another day in Listowel when she drove out to see us.

Steve got to re-live his youth on the family's old snowmobile, and took the kids for rides around John and Julie's new house.

It was a wonderful trip, and lots of fun for the whole family to meet Henry. We are so thankful that the kids all travelled so well, and enjoyed the snow so much.