Update from Abram Lake
Posted on June 8, 2015
by lifeonabramlake
1 Comment
Since my last series of posts, a month has sped by and I can’t believe how fast it has gone! Henry keeps changing all of the time and is a lot of fun these days. Over the past few weeks, his personality has really started to shine through. He is a very determined little guy and likes to have control over what is going on. He is very busy and is moving CONSTANTLY. The only way I can get him to eat is by distracting him with a toy or book. He laughs easily, especially when you nibble his toes or his hands, or throw him about but when he gets mad, man oh man, he’s a red-head through and through!
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| Happy 6 months Henry! |
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| Having dinner with Brooks, Karla & Hunter back in early May |
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| Beach day, but still cool enough to need a hat! |
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| Brooks, Blake’s right hand man, helping him with ‘chores’ around the house |
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| The boys all playing on the couch |
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| Snow storm in May! |
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| This was the next day! Blake and I enjoyed some wine on the beach after Henry had gone to sleep. So peaceful! |
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| First day of fishing Victoria Day weekend (Blake caught two big Walleye) |
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| At almost 7 months old |
What strikes me the most about Henry’s personality, is that for the most part, he is incredibly easy going. We have been travelling quite a bit with him lately, from trips North to visiting our family in Southern Ontario. I am always so anxious about his naps and him sleeping in different environments. He continually surprises me with how adaptable he is. As long as he has his lambskin, he will sleep through the night wherever he is.
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| I just love seeing him sleep. So cute! |
A few weeks ago, Henry and I went to Southern Ontario for my grandfather’s internment. Despite the sad occasion of our visit, it was a delight to show him off to my family. To my relief, he was great and laughed and smiled while being passed around to all of the loving arms. Henry particularly loved my Dad and regardless of his mood, if my Dad showed up, Henry would light up in a huge grin.
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| In the park in Dundas. It was SO HOT out that day. I had forgotten what the heat was like in Southern Ontario. Anyway, this was after Henry had a giant poop that spilled out of his diaper, up his back and all in his stroller AND I had forgotten his diaper bag! So, he had a bath under the hose at the park and was much happier, and cooler without his clothes! |
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| Auntie Leah and her puppy Tess |
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| Mom and Henry at the park |
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| During an early morning stroll in Dundas before everyone else woke up. Henry just loves waking up at the crack of dawn! Good thing I’m a morning person 🙂 |
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| Auntie Leah & Henry at Grandpa’s internment |
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| Henry and his adorable second cousins |
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| With Auntie Leah |
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| So much fun! |
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| John, Mom & Dad after Grandpa’s internment |
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| With Uncle John |
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| With my Nana |
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| Offering Nana his stuffie |
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| Henry in Grandpa Henry’s bed – the bed that he had slept in as a child almost 100 years ago! |
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| Visiting with Nana in Dundas |
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| Nana, Henry & I |
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| Grandpa Steve & Henry |
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| Visting my grandpa Joe in St Catharines |
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| Enjoying a visit in the garden |
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| Henry screeching with delight in the high chair at my parent’s in Bracebridge |
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| Going for a walk in Muskoka |
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| Hanging out with Grandpa Steve |
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| On a not so relaxing stroll where Henry was only happy if he could lean over and watch the road and the wheels. This meant that I had to push the stroller with one hand and hold onto his leg with the other! Geez. |
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| In Muskoka |
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| On our terrible Porter flight home – we were delayed on the tarmac for a hour during which Henry screamed and flailed. He finally fell asleep BRIEFLY, only to wake up as soon as we were in the air. He then had a giant poop that of course went all over his shirt and pants. It was then that I realized that Porter doesn’t have change tables in their bathrooms!!!! I then had to change Henry holding him in the air with one arm while cleaning him with the other… We also ran out of wipes. It was terrible! Hahah When we emerged from the tiny bathroom, I must have looked like the parent of the year! I was all sweaty and Henry only had a diaper on haha What a nightmare. |
One of my favourite parts of waking up in the morning these days is hearing Henry babble. No need for an alarm clock around here! Usually around 6am, I will start to hear a little voice squawking away. He is so chatty and has lots to say about everything. Best of all, when he gets excited, he balls his hands into fists, waves his arms around and screeches! It’s hilarious 🙂
Henry has been trying since 5 months to get moving and finally has has figured it out (somewhat)! At 6 months, he started to ‘army crawl’ where he drags himself across the floor and will get up on all fours, rock back and forth then launch himself onto his face. He’ll get the hang of it soon enough 🙂
Since learning to crawl, Henry’s main objective is to crawl towards the edge of whatever he can get to (i.e. bed, couch, etc.)… A hint of things to come for this adrenaline junkie?!
On the eating front, in the past month, we’ve really started to consistently give him ‘meals’. At first, getting him to eat was a struggle and I found it incredibly frustrating to try to get anything into his mouth. He would clamp his little lips shut and 90% of the food ended up all over the place. It was so time consuming that I stopped feeding him baby food and started just giving him bits of what we were eating. This was equally as messy and I’m sure not very much ended up in his tummy, but over the past few weeks he has really improved with this. I found that if I just left him alone and sat down to eat beside him, he was more likely to pick what he wanted to eat rather than me trying to get him to open his mouth and shovel it in! Now, he will easily pick food up with a pincer grip and get it (mostly) into his mouth. He definitely likes to have control of the spoon which I usually let him have, especially at dinner when we’re about to get right into the tub because it gets MESSY! He has eaten all sorts of foods but his favourites are yogurt, smoothy, any kind of meat and peanut butter on toast 🙂
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| Yogurt everywhere! |
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| Eating avocado, a lamb burger and pita for dinner |
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| Post yoga snack with Auntie Cat |
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| Cucumber and cheese for lunch on the deck |
Over the past few weeks, I have gradually been pumping less and less. With longer shifts at work, it had become so arduous to fit in pumping sessions and I found that when I finally got home, I just wanted to play with Henry, hold him or take him for a walk, not sit down and pump. Additionally, with all of our travel, it was really challenging to keep the pump parts clean and sterilized on the road. Worse yet, after 30 min of pumping, I was only getting a few ounces. Last night, I pumped for the VERY LAST TIME. I cleaned all the parts for once and for all and happily packed the pump away for good. I already feel so much happier that I am not strapped to that pump while writing this blog!
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| Drinking his bottle on the lawn watching the water and the trees |
As the weather has been getting warmer and warmer, we have been enjoying our days at home on Abram Lake. When I’m not at work, our days are filled with walks or bike rides in the Chariot, hanging out on the beach with the boys next door, playing outside on the lawn or in the playpen, etc. Recently, I tackled the overgrown garden out front and planted a vegetable garden as Henry supervised nearby. We planted a bunch of veggies so hopefully something will grow!
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| Who needs toys on a walk when you have pine cones and cedar branches! |
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| Enjoying some warm weather on the deck |
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| Hunter pushing Henry in the swing |
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| Loves it! |
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| What a cute little bum!!! |
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| Henry playing in the playpen while I garden |
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| The garden that I dug the grass out of and prepped for planting… |
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| The finished product! |
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| Lounging on the lawn |
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| Blake coming in from an evening sail |
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| Playing in the nursery after coming home from an overnight ER shift |
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| dipping our toes into the lake – it’s still pretty cold! |
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| Beaching! |
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| Watching Brooks & Hunter intently |
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| So much excitement at the boys’ house! |
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| Very interested in grass… |
Next week, we are heading North again and I will hopefully post pictures of our northern adventures when we get home!
Much love and so sorry for the long hiatus since my last post.
P.S. I finally got around to taking pictures of Henry’s room!
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| The rocker that Grandpa Steve made, with the owl that Charlotte & Jon sewed and the quilt that Grandma Joey crafted |
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| Eating the stuffie bear that Auntie Leah made |
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| It’s so hard to get him to stay still for a picture these days! |
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Life on Abram Lake 
As always, thanks for sharing. That sweet little guy is so lucky to have you and Blake for parents. And we are lucky to have Henry to love. Love you all.
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