Cliff Jumping at Casa Grande

I didn’t know yesterday morning when I woke up that my entire world was about to be turned upside down.  I was just sad that my extra hour of sleep didn’t mean that I awoke refreshed.  Nope.  Extra hour and still exhausted.  But I was excited that it would be a casual day of church.  Yes, yes, my church isn’t a fancy church, but it is the one day a week I have a reason to not wear shirts crusted with boogers, so I usually try to dress up.  But today was Orphan Sunday and our Orphan Care Group was hosting an Orphan’s Breakfast of porridge and water and also a panel regarding all things orphan care related—mission trips, fostering, adopting, praying, and coming alongside those doing all those.  And we made T-shirts for our ministry so that if any folks had questions, they could just grab someone in a navy Love on a Mission shirt.  (And yes, our kids have them too and they are super super cute.  Ali Fogarty designed them.  Because she’s awesomely talented like that.)  Anywho…

So I’m sitting at my table, next to Sloan, stirring up my watery porridge and feeling bad that I’m also drinking a hot cocoa which I’m certain orphans don’t get, when during the panel discussion  Sloan leans over and says, “Hey, what do you think about adopting a special needs kid from China?”  In my mind, I thought, really?  Really?  All this time Sloan has talked about how he had talked to Jesus and that we were done and I got on board with that.  And unlike before Gracie, I don’t have this ache for another kid.  We’re done.  Instead I just said, “Shhhh…Cindy is talking.”  And then minutes later I whispered back to him, “What the hell are you talking about?  Are you for freaking real?”  He nodded that yes, he was for real.  

I rolled my eyes.  Because that’s what faithful Christians do when their husbands say crazy things like “Hey, let’s adopt internationally” on a random Sunday morning like it was a suggestion for a new place to eat lunch.  How about Ruby Tuesdays?  How about a Chinese kid?

So after the service, you know, right after I’d heard all these people talk about how God had blessed them overwhelmingly through their adoptions, right after I’d heard a teenage girl talk about how the sacrifices she had to make to bring home her two Ethiopian little brothers were nothing in comparison to how she has seen God work in her life, right after I’d stood up and talked about how most corporations have adoption subsidies and the $13,000 government adoption tax credit, I was still laughing at how ridiculous Sloan was.  Ha, ha.  Chinese baby.

So I went to my sister and told her how funny Sloan was.  She didn’t laugh.  She told me to prayerfully consider what my husband said, seeing as how God had obviously done a 180 in his heart.  Meanwhile, Sloan was talking to a woman who brought her daughter home from China about 18 months ago. 

Fast forward to lunch.  On the way to our usual Sunday spot, Casa Grande, Sloan and I talked about the possibility of adoption.  I felt like we had a girl and a boy and that we were done.  That I didn’t have the urge like before Gracie.  I wasn’t yearning for another child.  That I wanted to replace the rotting siding on our house and get some landscaping instead of just a mudpit for a backyard.  But that I also couldn’t honestly say I was opposed to the idea.  And still Sloan said, “Please pray about it.  I’m confident this is what God has for us.  We can wait until you’re off the Bethany board.”  To which I said, “Well, if we are doing it, we are doing it now.  International adoptions can take forever, so I wouldn’t want to put it off any longer.  So I could defer my position on the board while we went through the process and then once our child was home, I could rejoin the board. But I just honestly don’t know what to say.  Most days I can’t even take care of the two we have.  Hello?  Did you read my blog post the other day?  We never have milk.  I’m not saying no, but I can’t make this decision today.  I feel a bit blindsided by this.”  So we decided to both continue praying about it and then revisit the conversation at the end of the month when we went out on a date for my birthday.

And then, out of the blue, or possibly because he overheard us talking, Henry said, “We need 4.”  “Four what?” I asked.  “Four kids.  You know, another brother and sister.  I want to get bunk beds and share a room with a brother who doesn’t have a Mommy and Daddy.”  

I looked at Sloan.  “Did you do this?”  He smirked and assured me that no, he did not prompt Henry to tell me he needed more siblings.  Again I said, “Give me until the end of the month.  Can you do that?”  

But then something odd happened.  Sloan took Henry to go to the bathroom and it was just Grace and me.  I watched her as she dipped her chips in the salsa and then licked it off—never really eating the chips, and yet, requiring a new chip for each dip.  There was a mountain of cast offs next to her that had piled up while her Daddy wasn’t there to eat them.  And I saw that if I had stalled in my fears of the unknown the last time Sloan was prepared to jump off a cliff at God’s urging, I’d be missing out on her.  And all the countless ways God has shown up in our lives because of that one tiny measure of obedience.  I thought about how we initially only wanted to show our profile to white birthmothers and how God kept pursuing my fearful heart.  Wouldn’t it just be easier if I just heeded His call the first time?  Isn’t first time obedience what I keep having meetings on the steps with Henry about?  Do I really have the energy to keep running from God when it is so clear what He has for us?  And then I thought about how special needs orphan means everything from eczema to spina bifida to birthmarks to clef pallets to being born addicted to drugs.  That special needs in China was not the same thing as special needs in the US.  And that I'd never met a parent of a special needs kid who regretted loving their child.  

Then, suddenly, I could vividly envision a little Asian boy with glasses running through my kitchen.  

And an orphan with a face is hard to ignore.

As Sloan slid back into our booth, I said, “I’m on board.  Let’s do this.”

“Are you sure?”

“No.  Yes.  Well, I’m scared.  Mainly of losing sleep and what it’ll mean to add to this family and how I really did want some landscaping.  I mean, we are done.  But there is room.  We can provide a family to an orphan.  Of that I’m sure.  And I’m sure of you.  And I’m sure of God.”

“We’re really doing this aren’t we?” Sloan smiled.

“Yes, I guess we are.”

And then I grabbed my husband’s hand and jumped.  Join us in prayer as we free fall into God’s next journey for our family. 

2 One months

Today it has been one month since Grace has been ours.  One month ago, we sat in the Bethany office in Richmond and signed papers confirming the great work God had done--Grace was ours and we were hers.  For keeps. 

When loopy from being tired with Henry, I crafted.  I made what has become known in some circles as "The Ambien Toy".  This time, when loopy from exhaustion with Gracie, I've written a poem. 

(There is part of me that wants to explain to you that writing poetry isn't my bag and beg you not to laugh.  But my 11th grade Creative Writing proffesor always told us never to begin a presentation of our work with the disclaimer "This isn't good."  Rather, he made us slap our desks and exclaim "Damn!  I'm good!"  And nothing makes you seem cooler to high schoolers than telling them to cuss in class.) 

I will simply explain that this came about when I was reflecting on our discussion of what to name our daughter.  We knew it needed to be something that accurately reflected God's heart towards us.  I proposed Mercy Margaret, Margaret Grace, and even, laughingly, Glory Grace.  (Margaret, thinking we'd use the nickname Meg, had always been our "after Emma" baby name.)   So, without further ado, I give you the poem I wrote for Grace.

Out of the darkness we prayed

for you.

Love ripped from our hearts.

A gaping grave.

We begged for Faith.

We needed Mercy.

Joy unnattainable.

Hope beyond our grasp.

Glory unfound.

But Grace. 

Sweet, surprising Grace.

Pouring down; spilling over.

Finding and filling our lowest points.

Lifting our heads.

Raising our voices.

And because the title is "2 one months", I will post Grace's one month "Pose with Baby P" pictures.

Sleeping Beauty.

Holla!

Oh, Mommy.  I can see why you sleep with this bear, Baby P. 

He is fantastic.  Maybe you could give this one to me and have Henry make you a new one?

You need to be sitting down

So, as we're grieving the loss of the little girl who was to be Emma but turned out to not be our daughter, God was being sneaky.  No means to be disrepectful, but the story I'm about to tell is a little creepy.  I think the churchy way to talk about this is to say God is mysterious.  But people, hold onto your hats, because God has gotten all kinds of crazy good.

SOOOOOO....we were picked again!  And this time, I can tell you now, that the biological Mom's rights are over with.  Her rights were teminated today at 5pm.  We have signed paperwork.  We are, indeed, this child's legal guardians and in about 6 months or so we are going to petition the Commonwealth of Virginia for her new birth certificate.

As a friend said, this is faster than Brad and Angelina.  Our case worker has never in her life seen something like this--that this is not normal and is kind of ridiculously gracious, even for God.  To have the mom's rights end on the same day and all.  Most people's response has been simply to say "OH MY GOSH!" a bunch of times.  Or my dear bestie Robin's response was perfect--"Oh EJ, you're life is such a movie!"  (Her saying this only confirms why we are friends.)

I'll tell more of the whole story, but to be short--MARGARET GRACE was born on October 22nd.  There have been some medical complications due to the birthmom's poor prenatal care and the like, and she has been in the NICU at UVA in Charlottesville since birth.  She is thriving!  In fact, the doctor's said they would've discharged her last week, but as of last week, she had nowhere to go.  She was 5 lbs, 13 oz and 18 inches long. 

We did not name her Emma Sloan, because well, we cannot grieve an Emma if we are raising an Emma.  But this little girl is pure GRACE to us.  And I'd go on and on about how much we love her and how we are stoked to be bringing her home from the hospital tomorrow, but let's face it.  You just want to see cute baby pictures.

Moving (or One time... at Band Practice)

So....in the next week or so, ejandhenry.com will be moving. I haven't yet decided where she will be moving to. But we'll be undergoing a pretty major renovation and changing blog names. But never fear, I'm sure I can figure out a way that if you come to ejandhenry.com, it'll will bounce you to our new home. At the very least, I'll simply post a link and you can click off to my new blog.

Why the big change? Thank you for asking. I could jump to the punch line, but like Maria said, Let's start at the very beginning. It's a very good place to start.

Last Thursday, I had taken Henry to watch the marching band practice at the high school down the street. He loves to march and run around the fields while they play and circle the high school. On this particular day, Henry had decided to "ride" his bike the half mile or so to the school. And by ride, I mean occasionally pedal while I use the parent push bar. So we're running around, enjoying life without a cast, trying not to interfere with the JV field hockey practice, when I get a call from Sloan.

"Where are you?" he asks. "Um, at band practice." "Oh, no wonder they called me. I just got a cryptic call from Bethany, but my phone is about to die so I told her I'd call her when I got to the hotel." (He's on a business trip.) "What did she want? Was it Valerie?" (our usual case worker) "No. It wasn't Valerie. And I'm not sure what she wanted," Sloan said.

Oh. My. Gosh.

Never before have I noticed how long a half mile really is when attempting to speed up a toddler who is OVER riding his bike. Half the time I was pushing the empty bike while jogging and simply holding him by his waist sideways at my hip. He did not like this. I know this because he was screaming and crying to go back and "See da band." But Mommy had to get home to call the adoption agency. I thought it was probably because I'd emailed our case worker about feedback in regards to our profile. I wanted to know if it was being shown and what birthmoms were saying about it. This is not what the call was about. It was THE CALL. You know, the call where someone says, "Elizabeth, you have been selected by a birthmother and she would like to meet you."

And, oh yeah, by the way, the little girl who may or may not be your daughter was born yesterday and could be resting in your home on November 2nd. WHAT?!? Or as my pastor put it, "Someone greased the wheels of your roller coaster."

We met the birthmother yesterday. (Was it yesterday? It is now 3:50am. I cannot sleep from sheer excitement. Note to self--buy Tylenol PM tomorrow. Today.) Well, in the words of our daughter's birthmom, "She has been your daughter always. Since before I gave birth to her."

We also got to meet our daughter, Emma Sloan Denise, at her interim care Mommy's house. (She'll be taking care of Emma until the birthmom's rights have been legally terminated.) We will be bringing Emma home on Monday, November 2nd. We chose the name Emma because a) I love love love that name and b) my grandmother's names were Elizabeth and Margaret and it combines the beginnings of both their names. We chose to keep the middle name her birthmom gave her, Denise, because Denise is the name of Emma's biological grandmother as well. If Emma complains about having too many names, I'll understand, having grown up Elizabeth Jean Ann. I'll simply tell her the same thing my mom told me, "Sorry you're loved by so many people. When you get married, you can change it."

It has been a whirlwind at our house. Painters began yesterday in both kids rooms. (We've had the redo of Henry's room on the docket for awhile. New ceilings, trim, the works for him as his room once was black and the white ceiling looks more like a cow.) Emma's room will have three lime green walls and one pink wall. We got her a new crib this past weekend (Henry broke his crib and Pottery Barn replaced it!), along with pink crib sheets and other yummy pink things. Now that I know for sure she is ours, I have been given the go ahead by Sloan to make a trip to Babies R Us. I am just supposed to remember that we already have a lot of stuff and that she doesn't have to wear all pink all the time.

But yes she does. Because I have a beautiful baby girl. I am hers and she is mine.

This is only a test...

My shirt is soaked. To be more specific, I am covered in drool. And nothing could be better.

Can you tell that Henry is saying "CHEEEEEESE"?

Today we had the pleasure of watching my friend's baby, Grayson. "G$" is his street name--Henry is "Big H". G$ is a 6 or 7 month old chunk of sweetness. Very chill. He arrived this morning while Henry and I were watching Henry's BFF, Nathan, so spent his morning with Sloan. He napped and when I arrived home around 10:30, Gray and Sloan were sitting on the floor in the family room playing with trains. (Ok, Sloan was playing, Gray was gumming.)

Henry was very excited to come home to a baby. "Baby! Baby!" which would then lead to him singing the "Babies on the bus say waa waa waa" of course followed by the shushing Mommies. He also just had to teach Gray about all the toys on the exersaucer. "BEE says Buh. Buh" "Um, Henry, that Bee actually says 'Buzz Buzz." "No no. A ah. B buh. C cuh. BEEE BUH! BEEE BUH!" "Fine. The B says Buh. You're right." (You're just also kind of wrong. And shouldn't you be able to speak in sentences and use verbs properly before you can correctly identify all your letters and know their phonetic sounds. Isn't that the way it normally goes?)

I learned through this experience that I will be able to handle 2. It won't be easy, but I won't fall apart completely. Note the word completely. It took me awhile to regain my baby food feeding skills. This wasn't helped by the fact that Gray is teething and I had to dodge snot as I spooned food off his face. And it was lovely to feed a child a bottle again. Henry would come count Gray's toes while I fed him his bottle. Henry also shared his toys rather well. Gray would be chewing on one train and when Henry wanted to play with that train, he made sure to bring Gray another one to drool on. At one point, Henry tried to bottle feed Gray with his doll's bottle. Gray obliged him by gumming it for awhile too.

Hey, Henry. Let's start a band with the Reppard boys. I'll play drums.

First of all, Gray, in the immortal words of Montel Jordan--This is how you do it.

If you want to start a band, fine. But I'm playing the drums. And oh yeah, did I mention that since I'm oldest, I'll also be the band leader? Think Genesis--but cooler.

Mom is going to have to shred this pic when we really get the band going good. 'Cause I'm only being in a band for the ladies: this might send the wrong message.

It only got harried at Gray's nap time. In the morning, Gray napped in the pack and play in Henry's room, which is relatively dark. In the afternoon, I had to move the bed to my room, which is not as dark. (Note to self--get black out curtains for ALL bedrooms.) We tried everything and Gray was not about to go to sleep. Perhaps it was the teething. Perhaps it was that he knew his buddy Henry was still awake and playing. Perhaps I'd pressed "rain" sounds on the sound machine his Mommy packed him when he usually listens to babbling brook. Perhaps it was that I've lost my ability to let a child 'cry it out'.

Henry was upset by Gray's crying. "No no, baby. No ky-ing. Shhh. Shh. Night Night, baby. I here. I here." And then he began to go into his room and bring Gray all of his stuffed animals that he sleeps with. He began with the peripheral pillows and such. First up, his decorative pillow that looks like a steering wheel. "Here, baby, wheel. Vroom Vroom." Then, a giant Thomas pillow. "Choo! Choo! Baby, choo choo." A giraffe. "Raff, baby. Wook, raffe." At this point, I am touched by my son's compassion, am laughing, and Gray is crying even louder. He is being crowded out of the pack and play. And then, I knew that my son either was really sick of the crying or really loved Gray--he brought in Hop Hop and Dog Dog. "Here, baby. Hop Hop. Baby, Dog Dog. Woof Woof, (followed by heavy panting). Night night, baby."

I let my son believe that Gray settled down because of all the toys. I shushed Henry out of the room and set to de-Henryizing the bed, thinking I'd just put the toys back in Henry's room once Gray was asleep. But I had to rock Gray to sleep in Henry's room. Needless to say, Henry got to watch a little more TV today than usual. Probably why he loves Gray so much.

But after about 20 minutes of sleep, Gray was up again. Poor guy. Basically, he just needed to be near me. His mom tells me she told him how I needed baby cuddles and for him to be needy. What bliss! Every time I settled him down, I'd try to give him a bottle or play with some toys for him. But no, he needed to be near me. So I ended up just strapping him on and wearing him around for the rest of my day. Hence, the soaked shirt. He even accompanied me to put Henry down to his nap time.

About thirty minutes before his mom arrived, he finally gave in and fell asleep--which is good, because I'd hate it my friends thought I broke their baby. I did wreck his schedule, but oh well, that's life.

When Henry woke up from his nap, he immediately began asking for "baby". We told him that Gray went home. Henry's face fell. "Oh no, bye bye baby." At dinner, he couldn't sit in his high chair (which we're using simply as a booster seat now b/c it is sans tray), because that was for the baby.

All in all, I think it was a good baby training day in the Phillips household. Henry was sweet and gentle and only mildly jealous. Only trouble is, I'm too well rested and seeing as it is now back to just the three of us, I'm not having to have endurance. But I don't think you can train for that. I think you just walk around like a zombie for a couple of months, bathe when you can, pray you don't break your leg on the scattered toys, and trust that God can redeem anything.

Babies, Beans, and Beats

Henry enjoys a little "baby training" with cousin Matthew. It's a good thing Sloan was quick with the camera as this lasted all of three seconds.

Oh no! Anderson and Caleb realize that they've both purchased the same pair of jeans from Hollister. What to do, what to do! (And yes, like the water gun, these ripped up jeans were purchased by Gigi and Papa. Who else?)

Henry, Mommy, and Daddy discover that eating the corn on the cob is not as messy as they'd imagined. Of course, this photo was taken prior to him using the cob as a brush.

Henry's BFF, Nathan, has just recently become a big brother. Most people are cooking the family a meal. I hate cooking, so I'm giving a little childcare. And what is most easy is that Nathan narrates the entire playdate, so I'm actually able to get 4 loads of laundry washed, dried, and folded, my menu for next week planned, and lunch made! Thanks Nathan for babysitting my son!

Because one 2 year old playing the drums was not loud enough.

Matthew Gunning Pusey

Matthew Gunning Pusey,

aka "The Ocho".

He arrived at 2:25 am on Friday, June 19, 2009. He came quickly, with my sister progressing from 3 cm to 10 cm in an hour. Luckily the progression did not occur prior to receiving an epidural. He weighed 8 pounds and no one seems to be able to tell me how long he is. According to my dad, "long enough". According to his big brother Caleb, he will be a vampire, because he is "squishy, red, and has really long finger and toes and is kind of weird looking." According to his Gigi (my mother), he is "beautiful and cuddly."



Henry is no longer the youngest grandchild on my side, thereby no longer receiving the title of cutest grandchild by default. He will pass the torch to his yet to be disobedient cousin. We've labeled bunches of Henry's clothes, gathered up the swing and the Bumpo, and will be heading off to meet the little muchkin this afternoon at my sister's house. Yes, my sister has figured out that after her eighth kid, she really only needs to stay in the hospital one night.

Henry's Merry Godbrothers

Welcome to the world, Hudson and Will! If Henry were awake he would squeal with delight and probably try to stick his finger in your sweet tiny noses!

I'm so glad you decided to wait to join us outside your Mommy's tummy, although I'm still lamenting y'all not being born on my birthday. I was planning on having a joint 35th/4th birthday party with y'all at Chuck E Cheese's. Maybe we can still share a laser tag party sometime?

And to Shannon, one of Henry's Fairy Godmothers and an original founder of the Henry Marshall Phillips Fan Club and Facebook group, you ROCK!!!! Way to make it past 36 weeks carrying over 12 pounds of baby. No wonder that beach ball you swallowed was so danged big!

I guess Henry will have to find some other blonde cougar to cuddle up to as your lap will now be taken...

Any takers?

At the Gun Show

It is crazy hot here. Our AC is on the fritz and I'm dying--it is 85 degrees in our condo. We may begin making pottery. The AC guy is supposed to be here between 2 and 4. But in the meantime, we are trying to dress appropriately. Unfortunately, Henry has outgrown most of his summer clothes and the clothes that I purchased for fall are too warm. So he has been reduced to what I've come to call his "Mansie." I first made the Mansie on the day he was christened as the gown was linen and itchy, but I needed something with no sleeves, so we just chopped the sleeves off of a onesie. It is a bit of a wife beater and a bit south beach drag queen and 100% hot!! Check out those muscles on my son!!! Is he a plumber? Cause the boy's got some pipes? That's right, ladies--he's the main attraction at the gun show. We're thinking about getting him a barbed wire bicep tatoo.

God Bless Henry

I have decided that Henry is the cutest baby on the planet. Seriously. He has long eyelashes, big eyes, a single dimple in his right cheek that shows up whenever he's laughing hard, and the perfect amount of hair. I have also decided that not only is Henry the cutest baby, but that every other baby by comparison is just plain ugly. If you have a baby, then of course I don't mean your baby. I look at all of these baby catalogs, particularly now that they are full of babies in Halloween costumes and I think, "My God, where did they find all of these ugly babies? Henry could make a fortune were he to model!" Sometimes I feel bad about this, that I'm being petty and judgmental, but then I realize that no, I'm right, and you can't feel guilty about the truth.

He also is the most well behaved baby ever. He slept through his entire Baptism. Even when Pastor Shelby put the cold water on his head and kissed him on the cheek. I like to think that he wasn't asleep, but deep in prayer. That we have a deeply spiritual baby.

But I'm not so sure. This morning was the first day of my Bible Study at church where I am a leader and just as we were about to pray, Henry let out a loud belch. Not a cute baby burp, but a man-sized beer guzzling, wing eatin' burp. I, of course, proceeded to laugh throughout the entire prayer so we may be hopeless for the deeply spiritual baby.

We had a big weekend with Henry's baptism on Sunday. It was a good time and reminded me of how far we have come in a year. September 15th of last year I had my embryo transfer, so I can honestly say that he was baptized about a year to the day from when God first made him. It has been humbling to reflect on how much God has done for us and the many people who have helped bring Henry into this world. At one point, I think I counted up something like 120 people who were praying for him, and this was before he was even conceived! I'm sure my stint in the hospital bumped it up to around 200. What a treat it will be to tell Henry of how he has been loved for so long by so many.

It was also my niece Isabel's first birthday on Sunday. I wanted to get her an airbrushed onesie with Henry's face on it since he is her favorite, but opted for board books instead. It was a madhouse at her birthday party since so many were in town also for H's baptism, but it was fun. Isabel shrieked at the top of her ample lungs each time she was within reach of Henry. At one point I thought she was going to rip off his nose. I had to make sure she didn't see him during the church service of his baptism for fear of her blood curdling screams of love for him.

But as much fun as this past weekend was, it was also tiring. Even for Henry. Yesterday morning we woke up as usual around 8 for his first bottle. He took 6 oz and then fell back to sleep around 8:45. So I put him back in his crib and crawled back into bed thinking, I'll just sleep until he wakes up, which will probably be around 10 or so. No. Henry and I slept until NOON. What?! That's right. I felt like such a slob, but apparently we needed it.

What a wonderful baby. God Bless Henry.

LL Cool H (Ladies Love Cool Henry)

Labor Day? Not for Henry. Sloan and I went out to the Pusey Country Club (aka my sister's house) to hang out for the day with her three youngest, Joshua (6), Jonathan (4), and Isabel (12 months). We lolled about the pool, watched cartoons, and Henry even slept with his first girl. We may have to move to West Virginia, however, as it was his cousin, Isabel. I have spoken before of their love for one another. But is really is sweet. He fell asleep in her crib first and then we she dozed off, we put her in. They are the ones that decided to hold hands.

Summertime and the living is easy...

We took our first official family vacation last week. Along the way, we saw family and took bunches of pictures.

First we went to Greensboro and ate dinner with Gigi and Papa and the Johnson cousins. Henry's cousin Caroline told us all about how she was heading off to Kindergarten and his cousin Natalie, aged 3, informed us at dinner that if you get seconds, you will throw up. Actually it went something like this....Natalie: Where's Gigi? Aunt Elizabeth: Getting seconds. Natalie: That's too much food. If you eat too much, you throw up. (Mind you, we were at the Country Club buffet, so my mother was actually just getting her main course after having finished her salad. It also should be noted that despite seconds being had by many, no one vomited.)

Friday morning, we woke up at the crack of dawn and headed to Davidson, NC to visit Grandma and Grandpa Phillips, along with Great-Grandma Violet. We were excited to get to see her as it has been a year since we went out West with her. She turned 99 this past summer. Upon going to the hospital to get pictures of her heart taken recently, she told the radiologist--"It may be difficult for you as I gave my heart to Chet Whittaker over 70 years ago."

Friday night we spent the night with Uncle Marshall (Sloan's big brother, as in Henry "Marshall") and Aunt Holly and the Phillips cousins, Violet (6), Bo (4), and Gigi (11 months). Bo didn't feel like having anything to do with Henry, even when I told him he wouldn't have to wash his hands. Violet and Gigi (whose thighs are adorably huge) gave him lots of cuddles and kisses. Bo did, however, hand down loads of cute smocked outfits. (Thanks Holly!)

From Charlotte, we headed down to my parents' condo at Litchfield by the Sea. We lolled about, floated along in the lazy river, rode around in the golf cart (which Henry adored!), and even rode waves in the ocean. He slept late in his pack n play, and even took naps in the sand. He was wonderful as we went out to dinner for our third anniversary. Henry began giggling this week and continues to carry on his reign of cutest boy baby on the planet! Mommy has also learned to feed him on the go. Many a trucker along 95 got to watch me climb from the front seat into the back to shove a bottle in Henry's mouth. We are so blessed to have such an easy going baby.

Rollin, Rollin, Rollin, Rawhide

August 21, 2007. 5:45 pm
HENRY ROLLS OVER FOR THE FIRST TIME!!!!


He is now rolling over from back to front. I think most babies roll over tummy to back first, but apparently no one told Henry this. He loves to roll over to see himself better in the mirror while playing in his gym. The only problem with this is that Henry is not a fan of "tummy time," yet he keeps finding himself on his tummy. I tried explaining that this would happen every time he rolled from his back to his front, but he doesn't listen. Since this time, he has also started sleeping curled up on his side. It is very sweet to watch.

Watermelon Festival and Matthew McConaughey

My good friend Carol Chalk was in town this weekend and we got to do some crafting. I showed her how to make French memo boards and she showed me how to make those fleece knot blankets.

We also took Henry to his first Richmond Watermelon Festival in Carytown. We discovered that pushing a stroller actually makes things easier as people get out of the way for you. Henry was a little angel even at lunch, probably because Auntie Carol cuddled him and let him watch the ceiling fan.

In addition to ceiling fans, he also loves taking baths. We spray the wand and he just laughs and coos. You would think that the water in his face would make him unhappy, but he just loves it. He also enjoys watching television. He was fussing a bit this morning and so I put him in his Bumbo seat while I made him a bottle and turned on the TV. It was the movie Sahara and immediately he calmed down and smiled. I tried changing the channel so I could watch something else and he whimpered. So, like his father, the boy loves the movie Sahara. Which is good as it seems like it is always on TV.

Spoiled by an Angel

I am overwhelmed by what a good baby Henry is. He is sick and he still is smiley. He rarely cries, mainly just a few yelps to let me know I need to hurry up with that bottle. He doesn't even cry when I cut his fingernails (although he does squirm like a fish out of water.) He slept through the night last night and Sloan fed him his morning bottle, so I was able to sleep to around 8am. You know you are old when sleeping until 8 counts as "sleeping in."

2 month check up and you're putting a camera where?

Henry had his 2 month check up on the 5th (when he was actually 10 weeks old). He weighed 12 lbs 2 oz and was 22 1/2 inches long! He is in the 75% for weight and 25% for height. The doctor said that it takes longer for preemies to catch up in height and not to worry--his feet and hands are still good indicators that he will show off his dad's Swedish heritage. The doctor was very pleased with his progress!

He also has slept through the night once. But the next day I bragged about it and so he hasn't done it since. I am hoping he will tonight as he was awake from 7:30 am to around 3:30pm today. But fortunately, he isn't screaming when he is awake so he remains a relatively easy baby. I suppose he figures I put up with enough while I was pregnant.

My pregnancy bed rest is still haunting me as I'm having some GI trouble and get to have a flexible sigmoidoscopy in a week and a half. Sigmoidoscopy is a fancy way of saying "butt-scope." Awesome!! Thankfully, the gastrointerologist's office is literally around the corner from my room at the hospital, so it will be a bit of a homecoming for me.

Very Young Sweet Peas

Here are my two Baby Ps. When Sloan and I first started trying for Henry, we made the original Baby P at Build A Bear and then I've been sleeping with him ever since. He even came with me to the hospital, which made the doctors and nurses laugh. The idea behind it was that the bear would smell like me and then we'd give it to our child to soothe him or her in their crib.

We are going to take a picture of Henry each month next to Baby P so that we can see how much he is growing. We watched our DVD footage of him in the hospital and his first bath and it was incredible to see how much he has grown. I swear he is larger today than yesterday when this picture was taken.

He has his 2 month check up next week (although he'll be 10 weeks), so we will see exactly how much he has grown then. He will be getting lots of shots, so please keep him in your prayers next Thursday.

He's going to need therapy...

Sometimes I worry that I may inadvertently be turning my son gay. I like to dress him in his fancy clothes with collars (which Sloan, in turn, makes into a vampire costume) and I just LOVE to sing him show tunes. He particularly loves "Somewhere over the Rainbow," "My Favorite Things," and "No Day but Today (from Rent). We also dance around to Stevie Wonder a lot, but I'm not sure this is helping much. This morning I introduced Johnny Cash, and yet, I can still envision this backfiring on us as well. Maybe I shouldn't discourage Sloan from singing the Rolling Stones and drinking songs to him. Poor Henry. Mom's go to songs will make him gay and Dad's go to songs are "Handsome Molly" and "Sympathy for the Devil."

Donations for Henry's future therapy are accepted.

Isabel and Henry

Just when I think Henry is getting big, we go visit his cousins and he is dwarfed by his 9 month old cousin Isabel. He is more than twice the size he was at birth, weighing in at 11 lbs, 5 oz on the June 20th.

His cousin Isabel sure loves Henry. She gets very upset when we try to keep her hands off of him, and enjoys playing with the jiggly elephant on his car seat. She loves having her hands washed off so she can investigate the only person she has ever seen smaller than her. They are becoming fast friends.

Henry doesn't seem to mind his cousins attention. Mainly he enjoys her hand me down swing and loves snoozing poolside in her Ambibaby hammock. His Aunt Sonya even rigged fans to the hammock so he can snooze and sway in style.

Last night was his first night sleeping in his crib in his room. He had been sleeping in a bassinet in our room, but Henry is a noisy sleeper and I've spent many a night with him on my chest on the living room couch so that Sloan could get a full night's sleep. I got a wonderful night of sleep, but I did miss him a bit.

We are very excited about this weekend as my college friend Jackie and her husband Cary are coming down from Baltimore. They are expecting a little girl, Natalie, in September. Henry is going to love getting together with all of my sorority sisters at New Year's every year as they all keep having girls.

Thank God he was early...

So at his 6 week check up, 2 days after his June 5th due date, Henry weighed 9 lbs, 11 oz and is 21 inches long. Yeah, we're thankful that the chunkster came early. He is gaining weight regularly. He is certainly a Phillips. He loves to eat and to sleep and has quickly grown out of anything labeled newborn. We had hoped that this sweet Feltman bros. outfit he came home from the hospital in would be his first outing to church outfit too, but alas, as soon as he filled up his diaper, the snaps on the crotch popped. He did wonderful in church. He is a definite Presbyterian--he slept through the whole sermon!

Grandma Phillips came in town this weekend. What a treat! I've never enjoyed running errands by myself so much in my entire life. I went shopping, got a pedicure, and on Saturday, Sloan and I went on a date. We went to see Ocean's 13 and then to Kabuto. Henry seems a bit spoiled after Grandma Phillips' stay as this morning he required being held to go down for his morning nap. (Are they called naps when all you do is sleep?)