Zoo story

I've been asking Mom to take me back to the zoo ever since I went recently with Bobbi and Dido. So last weekend, Mom, Dad, Henry and I drove into the city (Henry's first trip to NYC!) and we all went to the Central Park Zoo.

I went last year and saw the penguins, polar bears and sea lions. It was fun seeing them all again this year (along with the snow leopard), but the big thrill this time around was going to the Tisch Children's Zoo next door, which is a petting zoo with all my favorite animals from Pauline's farm, like goats and sheep!


I had a blast feeding them. Notice how my mouth is open wide? I unconsciously made that face every time I fed one of them. Here's a video of all the feeding fun:



The fun didn't stop there. I also got to see what I'd look like as a turtle...



And a bunny rabbit!


Pretty cute, right?

Henry didn't have as much fun as I did, but he was very good most of the day there. Either Mom or Dad would take me around to see the animals, and the other one would stay with Henry. I think he'll like the zoo a lot more next summer!

I should also mention that Dad took me to my first baseball game last night (no pictures, unfortunately). We saw the New Jersey Jackals, who play a few minutes away from home. What a great night! I was semi-interested in the game and watching the men hit the ball and run around, but I absolutely loved all the fun stuff they did between innings, like group dances and on-field races between the ketchup and mustard. I ate a soft pretzel and best of all, saw the Jackal mascot and gave him five! I hope we go back again soon.

I'm super-excited that it's Friday, because Grandma and Grandpa are coming to visit all weekend. Hope your weekend is great too!

State of the baby: July 30

Julia has been hogging most of the updates, so I wanted to check in with a quick State of the Baby. I've been visiting lots of places for the first time recently, like the mall (above), church and Tinga. And for the first time, I've fallen into a bit of a routine at night. I usually go to sleep around 8 or so. After my last bottle, Mom or Dad put me in my crib and leave me be. Often I'm wide awake, but I don't mind. I stare at the ceiling fan and fall asleep over the next 30 minutes or so. Then I usually sleep until around 4 am when I'm up for a bottle, then it's back to sleep until 7 or 8. Sometimes I'll sleep briefly after that; other times I'm up for the day.


While I'm a terrific sleeper at night, I'm awful at it during the day. I rarely nap, and hardly ever for longer than 15 minutes or so at a time. Blame Julia for some of that, because whenever I doze off, she does her best to bother me until I wake up.

Julia says when she was a little baby, she had a habit of porking up, then having a growth spurt and slimming out a bit, then porking up again. Well, just like her, I'm starting to put on a little weight, as you can see.


I might not have quite as many rolls at Julia did at my age, but I have plenty!

Scoot over!

It's been more than a week since Dad first showed me that pretty Princess scooter and told me that I could have it only if I went to sleep by myself, with no tears, and stayed in my bend without getting out or throwing anything. So how did things turn out? Well, take a look for yourself:


I did it! Yes, I did finally get the scooter, but it was easier said than done. The first couple of nights were horrific, with hours of crying, screaming and throwing the contents of my bed (pillows and stuffed animals) around the bedroom. By Thursday night, I was tearfully allowing Dad to go out in the hall, but I still wasn't letting him close the door. Finally, on Saturday night I was so exhausted from my day at the Central Park Zoo that I was too tired to protest when he left the room and closed the door. The next day, true to his word, he let me have the scooter.


I was so happy! And while I had fun riding on the scooter while Dad pushed me, I really enjoyed playing on and around the scooter with my princesses, putting them into the scooter's front bag and lining them up nearby.


In this photo, I'm carefully placing each of them over their corresponding picture on the scooter. But there was no Mulan picture. What gives? While I don't have a video of me in action on the scooter, here's a look at how I spend the bulk of scooter time: playing around it.



And by the way, Dad says the scooter is not yet mine permanently. Each night, he reminds me that if I backslide and start crying, then the scooter will hear me cry and go bye-bye. But ever since Saturday night, I've been going to sleep really well. Yes, the whole bedtime routine is a bit more emotional than it was a few weeks ago before everything suddenly went south, but we've made huge strides. There's still one area I need to work on: putting myself back to sleep when I wake up in the middle of the night. Every night for the past couple weeks, I'd been getting out of bed and trying to find Mom and Dad; more recently I've just been screaming for them until someone came to put me back to sleep.

But last night I made a huge breakthrough: I slept all the way to 7:30 without getting up or calling from Mom and Dad once! Plus, Henry also slept all night long (until 5:30) without getting up. Mom and Dad are completely shocked that we both pulled it off. You're welcome!

In other news, I have decided that I'm done using my highchair during meals. "That's Henry's highchair," I told Mom. So I'm only using my booster seat from now on!

Ask Henry: 7/28/09

My sister did a great job tackling the first half of the Ask Julia & Henry questions. Now I'm going to take care of the rest. Let's start, as we did yesterday, with Grandma:

Just wanted to know how it's coming along with your parents trying to tilt your head more to the left to create a more even-rounded head?
It's going pretty well I think, as I'm now comfortable looking in both directions (as you can see in the above photo). Mom and Dad always make sure I sleep facing toward my right. But we'll have to see what the doctor says. Hopefully we fixed it all up, and I won't need physical therapy.

Also, have you begun the drooling process yet (and the inevitable constant bib-wearing)?
It's funny you should mention that, because Mom has been noticing that the drooling seems to be on its way. So I'll probably be sporting bibs very soon!

Are you still swaddled at night or do you kick the covers off now?
Not only am I still swaddled, but Dad discovered these great super-sized swaddles (he's reviewing them as part of some baby blog his company owns; I don't company understand), so I won't be busting out of his swaddles for a long time. As for Mom's swaddling attempts; well, that's a different story completely!

Did you know Heidi Klum & Seal's son is named Henry also?
There are lots of kids with my name, including one of Julia Roberts' kids. (Hmmm...Julia and Henry, very interesting!) See, I told you it was a great name.

And now, let's hear from Audrey:

Do you prefer any particular kinds of clothing yet (or have any extreme clothing dislikes)? When my brother was your age, he had a preference for sniffing clean socks right out the dryer. I am going through a “dresses only” phase right now myself.
Sorry to disappoint you, but I don't have much of an opinion about clothes, except that I get annoyed when Mom and Dad put my clothes on me and take them off. Can't they just leave well enough alone?


Aunt Rebecca had lots of questions for me:

Are you already making chants of JOBA, JOBA, JOBA when you watch the Yankees play? Or do the Yankees put you to sleep?
I'm not into the Yankees yet. I know that's sacrilege in my house, but I just haven't watched them much yet.

Do you have aspirations of playing professional baseball?
If Mom and Dido have any say, I'll have a tennis racket in my hands before a baseball.

Are you a southpaw?
Good question. It's too soon to tell. I've only started to grab things recently, so the jury's still out.

Any comments on A-ROID?
As Bobbi would say, Oy-oy-oy.

Do Julia's nocturnal antics wake you up, or are you more likely to wake her up?
At night, neither of us wakes the other up (so far). But during the day, if she sees me sleeping she cannot resist waking me up. On the other hand, she has an uncanny ability to tune my cries out if she's watching TV or playing. She just goes about her business without losing a step.

When are you going to be baptized?
September. In fact, I made my first visit to church over the weekend.

Does Grandma Ginny think you remind her of your daddy when he was your age?
I don't know. She's going to spend a lot of time with me this coming weekend, so we'll see what she says then.

Have you attended any playdates yet that you know of, or have you slept through all of them?
I have met some kids, but no one my age yet. The closest were Jonathan and Saffron, the twins, but that's been it. Otherwise I'm dragged along like a third-wheel to some of Julia's playdates.

Would people be more likely to characterize you as a screamer or a sleeper?
During the day: screamer. At night: sleeper.

Who reads to you more, mom or dad?
They don't read to me yet. Mom talks to me more though. During the week, I only see my Dad at night and first thing in the morning.

And finally, here are a few questions from Aunt Paula:

Thank you for letting all of us see you SMILE. You are beautiful (or I should say handsome). Are you smiling alot these days?
Yes, and laughing too!

It was sure nice that you slept through the night. Do you think that you could give Julia some pointers? Then may she'll take you for a ride on her scooter.
There's no helping her. She has to (re)learn to go to bed on her own, like I do!

I like that activity gym. I really like the lights that flash. What part to you like the best?
The part where Julia goes away and leaves me alone. Aside from that, I do like the flashing lights, and swatting the ladybug.

When do you get to start eating cereal or some other foods?
Sooner than my sister did, I'm sure, which was at the four-month mark. I'd say give me another month or so. But my formula is rice-based so I'm already there.

And we're finally at the finish line! Julia and I have to thank everyone for sending along such great questions. If there's anything we left out, send us questions here, but I don't think we need to do another mailbag for at least a month!

Ask Julia: 7/27/09

As we mentioned last week, we had so many Ask Julia & Henry questions sent in after last Monday's blog boycott, that Henry and I are going to need two days to answer them all. Today I'll tackle all the Julia questions, and Henry will handle his mail tomorrow. First up is a question from Grandpa:

We heard from your mother that you had juice for the 1st time at camp. Did you like it? Have you asked for it at home?
I did indeed have it, but when Mom asked me how it was, I didn't say much (which Mom would say is a very good thing, as it obviously didn't make much of an impression). And no, I have yet to ask for it at home.

Now that it is more than halfway through 2009, how are you doing with your New Year's Resolutions? If you have even 1 checked off, you are doing better than 99% of us.
I haven't even looked at them, to be honest. That's probably for the best, because that way we can all look back and be surprised when December rolls around. I will say that if I made a resolution to be the best big sister ever, then I'm doing pretty well, but if I made a resolution to not throw a tantrum every day, then I'm probably in trouble!

Next up, fittingly, is Grandma:

Tell us a little more about camp. Do you sing songs; play games; have a snack time?
Every day is a little different and has its own theme. Today's theme, for example, is "Ice Cream." But they usually involve playtime, crafts and snacks. I love being there (I did cry a bit when Mom dropped me off one day last week, but otherwise it's been smooth sailing), but when the morning is over I'm always happy to have Mom pick me up.

Also, other than being on the beach, have you ever played in a sandbox at the park?
Our parks don't have sandboxes. I think they've gone the way of metal slides; you just don't see them anymore in many public playgrounds. I thought I spotted a combination sand and water play table in the garage, but Dad hasn't taken it out yet. I'll have to start whining about that!

What is your favorite TV program right now?
At this moment, it's Angelina Ballerina. There are a few new Angelina episodes I started watching, and I make Mom and Dad put them on over and over. I should also mention that I watched my first Dora the Explorer a couple weeks ago, and while I'm starting to like Dora as a "person," I'm not sure I'm ready to watch her on TV yet.

What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
Banana, the same as it's always been. If there's no banana, then I like vanilla. But I also like tasting Dad's ice cream, like when he gets chocolate peanut butter (which by the way was my first exposure to peanuts, and it looks like I'm in the clear as far as any peanut allergies!).

How in the world do you know the word "conundrum"???? I'm old, and I had to look it up! Never heard it before . . . never saw it before!! You are VERY smart!!
I know, I've very smart. And don't forget, I know two languages! I keep forgetting to make a video that shows off my Ukrainian speaking skills; I'll have to remember to do that.


Next up is my old friend Audrey:

Do you have any specific BFFs at camp yet? I know you just started, so there’s time for that. Do you have a favorite camp activity yet?
I don't have any new BFFs there. My friend Isabella is there much of the time, but we don't always interact that much (which I guess is common for kids my age; even when they're "friends" they don't always interact). But my favorite camp activity is making pipe cleaner bracelets with Fruit Loops charms...and then eating them off! Yum!

Aunt Rebecca also checked in, with a ton of great questions (as always):

Did the bribe your parents offered you work? Are you now going to sleep without causing a ruckus?
I'm going to blog about this later in the week. All I'll say for right now is that I have indeed ridden the scooter in question. (But when and for how long? Stay tuned....)

With which of your friends do you have the most playdates?
That would be my friend Nia. It's a little harder these days because her mom has a new job and she's now watched by her grandparents, who only speak Bulgarian, but I still do see her.

Are you excited about going to preschool in the fall?
It's technically nursery school (preschool isn't until next year, even though it's at the exact same place). I haven't really thought about it much, but as long as I get to do a lot of the same thing I do there at camp, then I think I'm going to love it.

Do you have a boyfriend yet?
Only the "bad boys" from my TV shows that I've discussed before, like Sammy (from Angelina Ballerina). As far as "real" people go, I still really like Isabella's brother Alec, although I don't carry his picture around quite as much as I used to (I do ask for it from time to time, however).

What is your favorite outfit? Besides, of course, your Yankees outfit.
I don't have a favorite outfit, although lately I've been telling Mom "no dresses!" when she tries to put them on. But then once they're on, I talk about how pretty they look on me.

Have you considered playing softball or baseball when you're older?
I do have that tee-ball set I showed off earlier in the summer, so far no, I haven't expressed an interest in playing ball. Give me a couple more years!

Do you watch the Yankees on TV?
Not nearly as much as I used to, but Dad does turn them on once in a while. If you ask me who my favorite Yankees are, I say "Joba and Derek Jeter." Dad might also have to teach me how to say "Phil Hughes," given how well he's been pitching out of the bullpen, but I think "Mark Texiera" is too much for me to handle.

Are you keeping your playroom clean and well-organized?
Well, someone is, but not me (oops, I forgot I'm talking to an English teacher. I meant to say, not I). I like to make as big of a mess as possible, and I only help clean up if I'm absolutely forced to.

Have you experimented much with your mommy's makeup yet? I'm sure she would LOVE it if you got into it when she wasn't around.
I like nothing more than to use Mom's makeup and make my face and arms all sticky and shiny. Mom is good about letting me play with her makeup occasionally, so I haven't had to go behind her back and use it...yet.

Is it still raining much there? If so, please send us some rain. We need it.
Are you kidding? Not only it is raining, it's pouring! We keep having these torrential downpours and thunderstorms that blow through. Please do take some of it, because every day it rains is a day that I'm forced to spend indoors.


And last but certainly not least, let's welcome back Aunt Paula to the mailbag:

I really like your new scooter. It is so pretty. I hope that you're staying in bed so that you can ride it. Does the scooter have a motor? Will you be wearing your helmet when you ride it?
No, the scooter doesn't have a motor (unless Dad counts as the motor). And yes, I will be wearing my helmet all the time when I ride it. As I blogged a few weeks ago, I like wearing the helmet all the time, so getting me to wear it while I'm on the scooter isn't going to be hard at all.

I really enjoyed the video of your mom and you running through the sprinker. Who had more fun, you or your mom? Has your dad ever run through it with you? Does your swimming pool at home have a slide like the one at grandma's?
I had more fun than Mom did. And my Dad ran through it with me long before Mom did. In fact, I like running through with him more because he picks me up so I can "fly" through the sprinkler. Yes, my pool at home does have a slide, because Mom and Dido moved my little slide over and put it so it goes into the pool. So technically, my pool has a slide!

I think that you would make a fine doctor. Maybe you and Aunt Jess could set up an office in the same building. It looks like Henry checked out okay after the examination you gave him. Did you have to give him a shot? Did he cry?
I did give him a shot, and yes he did cry. Not because of the shot, but because I won't leave him alone! Mom and Dad are always telling me things like "Leave Henry alone" and "Let him sleep" and "Don't touch Henry, you're going to make him cry." I'm sorry, but I need to constantly touch and cuddle my baby brother! I don't care if he cries; he needs to know that I love him.

Thank you for being so gentle to Henry. I can sure tell that you love him and he loves you. Have you changed a diaper lately?
Sometimes I change one of my doll's diapers. Does that count?

Phew! I feel like I just ran a marathon. More like a relay race, because now I'm passing the baton to Henry, who will answer the rest of your questions tomorrow!

Home sleep home

Now that I've gotten older — I'm two months old now, after all! — it was time for me to get a place of my own. My bassinet had grown way too confining. I didn't even have room to stretch my legs anymore!


So Tuesday night, I left my bassinet behind for good and moved into my own room (what used to be Julia's nursery and is now all mine!) and my own crib. (For comparison's sake, Julia made the transition a week before her second-month birthday.)


Ahhh...that's much better! So how did I do in my new home? Well, the first night I was thrown off a bit by the new surroundings (and the fact that I fell asleep an hour earlier than usual, closer to 7 than to 8) so I got up three times at night instead of my usual two times. But that all changed Wednesday night, when I went to sleep around 8:30...and woke up a little before 6 the next morning! That's right, I slept through the night for the first time ever! I hope Mom and Dad don't expect that to happen again anytime soon, but at least we all know that it's possible. I think I'm going to like sleeping in my crib! (And in case you're wondering, I did pretty good last night too, sleeping from 8 until almost 4 a.m.)

Julia told me that Mom cried the first night that she moved over the crib. That's odd, because I don't think she was sad at all to have me leave! In fact, I heard her tell Dad she was excited to have her bedroom back because now she didn't have to tiptoe around me anymore at night. What a difference a second kid makes, eh?

And that marks the end of another eventful week. I'm happy to say that Monday's blog boycott worked wonders, because we've been flooded with tons of Ask Julia and Henry questions ever since. In fact, we received so many that we're going to split them into two separate posts next week, one with all the Henry questions and one with all the Julia questions. If you want to add yours to the mix, please do so asap; otherwise, have a great weekend!

Gym workout

I know it seems like all my posts these days are about my activity gym, but cut me some slack — I spend a lot of time there! And on those rare occasions where Julia actually leaves me alone and doesn't wedge herself beside me, I've been making real strides with it, as I've been swatting the hanging toys like they are tiny punching bags. Then Mom and Dad switch me onto my stomach for some tummy time...


That's not quite as successful, although I'm much more tolerant of it than Julia was at my age, and even lift my head up from time to time. Here's a look at me in action:

Doctor in the house

I'm sure you're wondering how last night's scooter bribe went. Let's just say that I didn't get to play with it today, so you know what that means! In fact, I'm guessing that I won't be getting to use it anytime soon the way I've been acting (and acting up) at night, but I'll certainly let you know if and when that changes, and the scooter is finally mine.

What I have been doing is following up on my recent declarations that I want to become a nurse or doctor when I grow up. So I've been practicing with my doctor kit on Henry, who makes a perfect (i.e. immobile) patient. Of course, I tend to get sidetracked, especially when Mom says funny things...

Smile for the camera

I'm two months old today! And to celebrate, I have a present for you. As I've mentioned before, I've been smiling a lot ever since I figured out how to do it. And while some of those grins have showed up on video, Dad hadn't yet succeeded in getting a picture of me smiling. Until now:


Couldn't you just look at that all day?

There's other big changes afoot now that I'm getting older, but I'll fill you in later this week.

Let's make a deal

Isn't this the best scooter ever? It's a pretty color and has all my favorite Disney Princesses on it. But it's not mine yet. Dad says that if I want it, all I have to do is go to sleep all by myself tonight, with no tears and no drama. (You know, like I was doing for four months straight — until about two weeks ago.) I'd love to have the scooter, but I also really enjoy crying at night when Dad or Mom tries to leave my room. So it's quite the conundrum! I'll let you know tomorrow what I ended up doing!

No questions...no blog!

My sister and I were planning on sharing lots of fun stuff with you today, but we decided that since no one has sent us any Ask Julia & Henry questions for an entire month — despite us asking nicely several times — we're going to take the day off instead. See you back here tomorrow.

Chance of sprinklers

Now that we finally have some real summer weather, I've been cooling off outside in the toy sprinkler. Last weekend, Alec and Isabella came over to get wet along with me, with a little help from our moms.

And considering that Dad was taking photos with his left hand while he fed Henry at the same time, the pictures turned out pretty good, eh?





Let's go to the video!



Meanwhile, what was Henry doing during all of this sprinkler fun?


Well, he was enjoying himself, too.

And another week comes to a close. Henry and I are both sad that no one has seen fit to send us ask Ask Julia & Henry questions, so how about getting on that?

Happy camper

I might be regressing a bit at night, but the rest of the day I'm growing by leaps and bounds. Last week I started wearing size 5 diapers (and Mom and Dad hope that's the last size I ever wear). But the biggest news is that I went to camp this week, all by myself! Mom dropped me off on Tuesday morning for the three-hour session, and I was a tiny bit shell-shocked but went right in, with no tears (the same can't be said for Mom, who got a little weepy after I was inside).


Well, I loved it! That first day I made a butterfly and got a butterfly tattoo. And I had such a terrific time that Mom had me go back on Wednesday, and then again today. Since this is the same place I'll be going to nursery school five mornings a week in the fall, Mom and Dad are very happy to hear how much I like it there!

On Monday, before I discovered how much fun camp was, I went with Mom and Dido to the beach at Sandy Hook.


I had a great time, and loved making "cakes" in the sand.


I heard we're going to be spending a lot of time at the beach next month, which makes me very happy!

Family meeting

My sister wasn't the only one who had fun at Grandma and Grandpa's house. First off, I survived my first big car trips (both to and from their house). Driving down there, I was great until the last mile, when I started crying. And on the drive back, I slept the whole way up and another four hours afterwards for good measure (about six hours in total, meaning that I went a whopping seven hours between feedings!). I got to finally meet my Uncle Ryan...


And my Aunt Paula...


As well as spend more time with Aunt Jess..


And Grandpa too (Grandma as well, but I guess someone forgot to take our picture!)...


Unfortunately, they didn't see my at my best for much of the afternoon, which I mostly spent fussing and crying (hmmm, do you think that had something to do with the fact that due to my switch in formulas, I hadn't had a dirty diaper in more than 2 days at that point?). But in the evening, soon before we left, I was doing much better and treated everyone to my impressive feats during tummy time. You can see a portion of it in the video here, but overall I ended up rotating 180 degrees! Not bad for a seven-week-old, huh?

Pool party

Mom, Dad, Henry and I all piled into the car on Saturday to spend the day at Grandma and Grandpa's and celebrate Grandma's birthday. This was the first trip to see them where I was awake in the car almost the whole time, in both directions. I never realized how long it took to get down there because I'm usually asleep, but I had no problems keeping myself occupied (largely by taking to Mom and Dad about Angelina Ballerina). While I loved spending time with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Jess, Uncle Ryan and Aunt Paula, the highlight of the day for me was going in the swimming pool.


This is the very same pool that Dad, Aunt Jess and Uncle Ryan used when they were little! I spent more than two hours in here, and didn't even miss Mom and Dad, who were upstairs taking a three-hour nap. Here's what my first moments in the pool were like:



Thanks for holding on to the pool all these years, Grandma, because it was well worth it!

After I got out of the pool and dried off, there was plenty of other fun stuff to do, like go through the box of costume jewelry...


And hang out with Uncle Ryan...


Uncle Ryan also helped me go a little crazy with my princess stickers.


He told me when I turn 21, he'll take me to a tattoo parlor and make these things permanent, whatever that means. I did a lot of fun stuff with Uncle Ryan that day, from putting together a puzzle that Aunt Paula got me (with my name on it!) to my favorite activity with him: having him throw me up in the air. Take a look:



After all that excitement, it's no surprise that I conked out right before dinner.


You're probably wondering what Henry was up to all day while I was having all that fun. Well he had his own adventures, which he'll tell you all about tomorrow!

Two bad

Hi all. Henry and I will spend much of the week talking about the wonderful weekend we had, but there is also some unpleasantness to discuss, so let's get that out of the way upfront, shall we? I've tried to shield you guys from this news until now, but it is now unavoidable: I have succumbed to the dreaded Terrible Twos. It's been going on for a few months now, where once a day I turn on a dime and have a full-on meltdown — often for no good reason — which leaves me inconsolable for up to an hour. Screaming, shrieking, going limp, flopping around violently, and even kicking and biting...it's all par for the course.


It's not pretty. Here's a watered-down version of what a typical tantrum is like. Dad got the camera because I was acting supercute in my closet, but without warning I turned nasty. On a scale of 1 to 10, this outburst is only a 4, so keep in mind that it often gets much worse than this:



The reason I bring this up now is that last week I kicked things into a new gear by completely forgetting how to get myself to sleep. The months and months of work that Dad spent transitioning me to falling asleep by myself with the door closed...all forgotten overnight. (For the record, we had four months of bliss, including six weeks in my big girl bed.) Now I start shrieking and crying in terror whenever he threatens to leave, and try to negotiate just "one more story" or "one more Barney song." And then one more after that, and so on. While I promise that I won't cry and I'll let him go outside after just "one more" story or song, that's never the case. And to make matters worse, I refuse to stay in bed, so if Dad does leave the room then I climb out out of bed and chase after him (did I mention I can open doors now?). It's all typical Terrible Two behavior, but that doesn't make it any easier for my parents, or for me.

Hand in hand with that, I've also gotten into the nightly habit of getting up around 4 am, freaking out that no one else is in the room with me, and instead of crying out for Mom or Dad like they always tell me to so, I silently get out of bed — wide awake — and start to wander around the second floor looking for them. That forces one of them to get in bed with me for the rest of the night.

Meanwhile, just as I've begun backsliding, Henry has started to routinely sleep for 6 hours or so between feedings at night: after his 8 pm feeding he's usually asleep until 2 or 3 am, which means that my seven-week-old brother is currently sleeping better than his 2-year-old sister! What's wrong with this picture?

Dad is hopeful that I'll get back on track before long, but for now, we're all resigned to tears and melodrama each night at bedtime.

Like I said up top, there's plenty of good news the rest of the week, I promise.

Brotherly love

Henry is seven weeks old today, and to the surprise of everyone I still love him just as much as I did the first time I saw him. Several times a day, I ask Mom and Dad if I can hold him, and I'm always going up to him and kissing him or putting my head on him.


Every once in a while, he doesn't like the attention...


But the rest of the time, I think he really loves being close to his big sister!



And here's a video you'll definitely want to watch, because it shows what our interactions are like these days. But best of all, you'll see a genuine smile from Henry, who started smiling for real (as opposed to just having gas) this week. The smile comes around the 1:30 mark.



That's it for this week. Tomorrow we're off to celebrate Grandma's birthday. I hope you all have a great weekend!