Henry learns to talk...sort of.

Henry after a bath 2

Henry After a Bath!

A busy week...

Henry is a pretty portable baby (as most are), though he does have his days! Since last week we have taken him to two parties in the Baby Bjorn and he has taken it all in stride. We have been slowly introducing him to friends, even at 4 weeks old (today) he still has a lot of folks to meet!

He's also been getting out on regular stroller walks nearly every day. In case you are wondering why we are walking in the street, the corner ramps are under construction and were blocked off.

Henry in the mountains

Family picnic day! We took Henry up to Hyalite Reservoir for his first real outing today. He slept most of the time, but was awake long enough to give the place an unapproving gaze.

Here's 'Henry in the forest'Hyalite Creek with Dad, who forgot the stroller? Doh.

Mom at the reservoir, Henry wanted back in the car seat.
Dad with Henry, before the pacifier fell on the ground and upset the little guy.
Conclusion? Picnics are great, and so are the mountains.

Magnum or Blue Steel?

Zoolander is one of my favorite movies. I think it will be one of Henry's too... Why? because he is already practicing his pose.

Here's Ben Stiller:

Here are Henry's best shots:

What do you think, is he showing us Blue Steel or Magnum?

Parenting award for the day goes to...

Joe!

Henry has been a little adverse to sleeping on his own. Today was a big day, Henry got his first bath and I don't think he disliked it as much as it took him out of his familiar routine of sleeping, eating, getting changed and trying to figure out the blurry images surrounding him. After his bath he ate then was seriously ready for a nap. On the changing table he let us know that he had had it! Joe immediately went into action! He put a new diaper on in record time, grabbed the swaddle and popped in a pacifier and carefully place a rolled receiving blanket to touch the top of his head (he won't fall asleep without something touching his head). Henry didn't even know what happened before his eyes rolled back and he conked out. Joe put him down in the co-sleeper and Viola! Success! A multi-hour nap alone... leaving mom and dad to BBQ dinner and eat together. Such a treat. I have eaten alone several times this week already, so it was nice!

Generations

1977...2010... Some things never change.

I've waited way too long for this...

So, those of you with some internet culture under your belt may know what I'm doing here. Now, I'm talking real internet culture... you've seen all the silly videos, photos and other nonsense the net has to offer, but the following stands out:

http://www.myinterestingfiles.com/2008/02/when-dad-is-a-graphic-designer.html

Ever since I saw that years ago I've been waiting to do something similar. Tonight with Henry on my chest I snapped the perfect photo and rather than re create the wheel, I just used Photoshop to edit Henry in.
Here's the original from the net:
Here's Henry's take on the theme. While he doesn't meet the true blood lust of the army baby above, he certainly does come out on top for a wincing open mouth battle cry. We should have named him Duke after all!

What's up G?

This is Henry flashing his signs. No, it's not 'West Side', it's actually an 'M' for Montana. He is a Montana native you know.
In other news, Henry sleeps... a lot. Here are a couple of his notable unconscious poses from yesterday.

Sleep expressions.mov

At home...

We came home from the hospital on Monday and have been gradually settling back into normal life... with 'normal' being an adjustment. Our first night we quickly realized that if we were going to get any sleep at all, we were going to have to go the family bed route. Henry sure likes to feel body heat nearby and the co-sleeper just wasn't keeping him asleep. The last couple of nights have been pretty good overall.
Henry has also been eating outside with us the last three meals, the wind and outdoor noises haven't bothered him in the slightest.Everyone is doing great, we'll post more videos soon.

Day 3

Here are the stats for the 2nd and 3rd of July... Henry takes the heavyweight champ title!

Here we are on day three and I can say that Henry is a real treat. He has far surpassed all of our expectations and assumptions heading into parenthood. He is alert and interactive when awake, hardly ever cries, and sleeps like a polar bear. We are keeping our fingers crossed that this is the norm from here on out (even though we really know better).

4th of July today, we'll check him into the nursery and watch the fireworks from the 4th floor windows.

Enjoy some more photos.

Henry may have red hair, perhaps too early to tell yet.

We had a percription for a little sunbathing today to give him some vitimin D.

Look out ladies... Dimples.

Day 2

Henry's proven what a adaptable and sturdy little guy he is. Our doctor was shocked today to see some of what he can already do. He can do a push up and raise his head several inches. it's not super controllable, but that's a skill that is supposed to take several months to acquire. When he is fully awake (not all that often as he sleeps so much) he is very lucid and can track objects with his eyes.

Here's Henry in one of his favorite sleeping postions... Anyone else wonder how the heck he fit in there?

The Grandparents stop by to meet Hank.

Hank "The Tank"

wide awake.mov

Henry's weigh in.mov

No more Duke, meet Henry...

At 3:15 am on July 2nd Henry Eugene Gilpin was welcomed into the world. He is a HUGE kid! He weighed in at 8 pounds 13.5 ounces and measured 22 inches long! This was remarkable for a five foot one petite blond from Petaluma!





Here we are in the delivery room:
Here he is just a few minutes old!Henry gives me the raspberry.