And the winner is..................

an upper lateral incisor! Henri's first tooth has finally busted through the gums, and we are sooooooooo excited. We hope some longer sleep is in store for our boy and the pair of us. Babies will end up with 20 primary or "baby" teeth and as usual, Henri is doing things his own way. Most babies first teeth are one of the lower teeth in the front middle of the mouth. Henri picked the upper left side to start with! Since our last update Henri has had some other firsts. His first trip to the doctor for a sick visit :( He ended up with a virus for a few days. He has had his first trip to the big boy pool where we have a membership and has already talked it up with the lady lifeguards. He turned 10 months old, and drumroll please.....he has FINALLY started to eat his pureed solids with consistency and no tears!




Henri loves books, loves to read them, throw them, bang them, flip them, and most of all.....attempt to eat them!



Henri is mobile now, really mobile....and that means everything that isn't baby friendly is being found...rather efficiently.

Mobility

So it is true in fact, that over night babies grow up. Henri started to get a "little" mobile on his belly the last week in May. I will remind everyone that it is May 8th. He is now crawling off his belly, commando crawling, pulling to a stand himself, and generally exploring every crack and crevice in our house....we LOVE it! Here are some of his latest action shots.

First Day of School

Today was a BIG day, more for Mom and Dad than Henri. Not surprisingly, Henri took everything in stride. Henri started school today! Everyone in his room (the Beach Bears) welcomed us and knew him by name on the first day. We filled out the needed paperwork and I discussed with his teacher Rochelle how his day normally goes. We discussed his feedings, sleeping habits, and how he plays. By the time I unloaded all his things and filled his cubby with diapers, he was playing on the floor and smiling. As I was ready to leave, he was being fed by another teacher and didn't shed a single tear as I left. I was able to make it to the car before I had to shed a few tears myself. I made it 2.5 hours before calling the first time to check on him and he was doing fine. He had been outside playing at the water table and sand table and had taken an entire jar of food for breakfast! Henri's report card for the day when I arrived......A+. He was nice to the other kids, played hard, and napped well. He even did a paint project that I am anxious to see later in the week! All in all a great success. Now, let's see how day two goes. Enjoy Henri's first day of school pictures!



Momma sitting by waiting to see how Henri would do....he looked at me....looked at a toy, and off he crawled. See ya later momma.



Henri's first friend at school...the first toy he chose to play with.










Henri was genuinely all smiles even as I was leaving....made me feel a little better.

From the Computer of H.W. Byrge

Announcement, announcement, announcement....clack clack clack.....This just in.....clack clack clack. My Mom has been moody, a bit off, exceptionally tired, away for hours at a time for unknown reasons. My Dad has been moody, a bit off, exceptionally tired, and away for hours at a time for unknown reasons. Then they take me for a trip to the library and pick the following book for me. After I read the book, it all makes sense.....three plus one makes four. Or in other words, ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY. My little brother or sister will arrive sometime in early December...and that means I only have six more months to prepare for utter and complete havoc.




SURPRISE

DC

Henri officially took his first vacation and that included his first plane trip! We flew to Washington D.C. to spend time with his Aunt Grace, Uncle Paul, and their two amazing boys Ben and Nick. It was probably one of the greatest trips I have ever had. Very simple, no agenda, no big plans....just family time! Josh's Aunt and Uncle were so inviting and the trip was sooooo relaxing. I even got in like three naps! That is a success anytime! We want to send a BIG shout out to all four of them for their effort in making us feel at home, because we certainly did! Saw all the monuments, slept, had family time, and ate ice cream from a street vendor.....it ruled! I really enjoyed that Ben! Here are a few pics from our trip...hope to return the favor sometime REAL soon.




Henri on his first plane ride looking out the window with mama!



Aunt Grace enjoying feeding duty!



Laundry duty is not on hold even on vacation....Henri giving mama a hand.



Henri at the Lincoln memorial with all the boys...handsome eh?



A great family shot at the Washington monument.

Nine Months

The big 09.....9 months have flown by for our little man. So much has happened and he has progressed so much. His nine month appointment was a clean bill of health and the pediatrician was thrilled at his developmental progress! Josh and I couldn't be more happy about that. Henri is pulling to a stand and crawling all over the house. Well, it's and unsophisticated army crawl, but he is officially mobile. He is getting more verbal every day and has a little attitude brewing under the surface.....it's a Byrge thing! He would never get that from his mama. He is beginning to enjoy swimming in his baby pool and loves stroller walks and being outside. On another note the house is still for sale, good thoughts on that front are something we could really use! Josh is studying hard core so that he can sit for the first exam in December to become a Certified Financial Analyst, so hopefully that will go smoothly for him. All else is great and we hope you enjoy the pics.

March of Dimes

Henri and I recently went to Cincinnati for a visit and to complete Henri's first March of Dimes walk. We are going to make it an annual tradition in the family and try and raise lots of money each year. This year we had short notice and didn't get to raise as much as we would have liked, but we still made it and completed the walk. We did the walk with my brother, sister-in-law, and friend Andrea. Emma joined Henri in her stroller as well. We hope to have a whole clan next year! Henri and Emma spent some quality time together and were able to play for the first time ever. This time around they realized one another was there. Henri goes for his nine month check up on the 11th with Dr. Kruesser and we can't wait to see all of his progress. Stay tuned for more updates




Henri and Emma....tuckered out from the walk!



Henri and Mommy gearing up for the walk.



Beautiful Emma and my brother and Katie...the whole team minus Aunt Andrea....we had a blast.



Aunt Andrea pushing Henri during the walk...she was sooooo happpy to see H man....twice in one month.


.