Berry Picking

For the third year in a row, we headed out to Wind Ridge Farm to pick blueberries. We got in on the blueberry action early this year and picked a prime day to go. The blueberries were so abundant (as were the pickers)! This was the first year that we didn't have to remind Amelia to only pick the blue ones. She told us actually! Which might be what she is doing in the above picture. (Someone has gotten quite bossy in her 4 year old state).

We picked 5.5 pounds this year which took us a little under an hour. One of the main reasons I like to pick blueberries is because it actually takes more than 5 minutes to do--unlike peaches or apples. We promptly ate about 3 pounds of them and froze the rest. They are great to quickly cool down Amelia's oatmeal. She also loves them in her yogurt and smoothies.

Henry hung in there during the picking, although he was less than enthused. He's all about food these days, but only if he can get a little taste too.

Going, Going, Gone

It seems like everyday Henry is getting more and more active. He isn't exactly crawling on hands and knees, but he definitely has a modified army crawl thing going on. If he sees something he is interested in across the room, he will get there--eventually.

The other day, Amelia and I were building with blocks and we noticed Henry's eyes light up each time he got close to one of our towers. So, we got the idea to build towers solely for him to knock down and he LOVED it!


Thanks to an idea I picked up on another site, Amelia has already learned how to spell Henry's name. We replaced the words to BINGO with "There was a boy who was so sweet and Henry was his name-o. H-E-N-R-Y". Amelia giggles everytime!

Going,

Going,

Gone!

Half Way There

I guess I'll start with the stats this month since that is probably the most impressive information:

Weight: 20 lbs., 10 oz. (91st percentile)
Length: 29.5 inches (> 99th percentile--the X on the computer was not touching the graph!)
H.C.: 86th percentile


The doctor thought Henry looked quite healthy! She checked him all out and was impressed that he already seemed to recognize his name when it is spoken. (I explained that that is because there is someone saying it in his face 12 hours a day). She was hoping for him to be saying "mamamama" and "dadadada" as well, but at the time we was only really saying "babababa". He has since added "mamamama" to the list which is pretty exciting for me!


After stating that at times Henry doesn't seem satisfied after 2 packs of baby food AND nursing, she suggested it may be time to start serving him chunkier food and gave us the go ahead for Cheerios and Puffs.

Other than the doctor appointment, it was a busy sixth month for Mr. Henry! It was parties GALORE around here! I think Henry went to 3 birthday parties this past month, as well as two graduation parties and a party with Jason's co-workers. Luckily he is so go-with-the-flow that he loved every minute.

He also got to meet several extended family members who were in from the East and West coasts.

Henry has definitely been to the pool more in his short life than Amelia was in probably her first three years. He LOVES to sit (or stand) and splash. The wetter he gets the better. And its best if he gets whoever is holding him wet too!

Note: When I say "been to the pool", I actually mean a real pool. At a park. Near our house. Not the blow up pool pictured below. He doesn't seem to enjoy that one quite as much. Maybe its the frigid temperature or, perhaps, its just the close proximity to his sister.


We've had to retire the bumbo and bouncer. We are very near the end of our time with the swing. Henry is always, always on the go. He has mastered a modified army crawl and can easily (and rather quickly!) make it all the way across the room.

Yes, Henry did this on his own. And, yes, I grabbed my camera before helping him out.

On a more sappy note, it is hard to believe that Henry is now closer to his first birthday than to the day he was born. I remember thinking the second half of Amelia's first year FLEW by, but it didn't go half as fast as these last 6 months with Henry. Yes, I'm a broken record I know.....

6 Months!

No matter how you spell it, Henry is six months old!

Pudding Pops

I got some fancy new popsicle molds during my last Ikea trip and have been eager to try them out. Up until this point, I've been pretty boring with what I've put in them. Mostly just lemonade or Kool-Aid. Yawn.

I had some chocolate pudding in the pantry and since I had no plans for it, I thought I might give it a try in the molds. Turns out they are yummy! And as an added bonus, there is no dripping! (Of course, that doesn't mean it still doesn't get ALL over faces and things).

Regardless, they were good and we all enjoyed a few! We will definitely be making these again!

Night Owl Book Worm

I sneaked into Amelia's room the other evening and captured this fuzzy picture with my iPhone to give my blog readers a glimpse of my little girl's nightly routine. Jason and I have long ago stopped trying to get her to stay in bed and immediately go to sleep. The girl loves to read and will do it by sunlight during the day and nightlight in the evening.

She finished reading her 40th library book tonight which completes the summer library reading program. It took her exactly one month--and I only counted NEW books that we had never read before.

But perhaps the summer reading highlight for her is the group of chapter books we picked up at Target for only $1 each. Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, The Secret Garden, and the Wizard of Oz to name a few. These are shorter versions of the original with a picture on nearly every page, but have still taken us several days to read. At the end of each chapter, she begs to hear another. In fact, in the picture above, she had been thumbing through these very chapter books for the past 40 minutes.

We have finished her first choice (Peter Pan) and only have a couple of chapters left in The Wizard of Oz. I can't wait to see what she picks next!

Sissy Strikes Again!

Same thing, different day.

Doll, Schmoll

I am not sure what my preoccupation is with placing my baby in various unsafe, wheeled toys that are specifically stamped with the words "FOR DOLL USE ONLY".

But, I do. Often.

And it's fun.

Sink or Float

"Sink or Float" is an activity that I've seen around the internets too many times to count. It is also an activity that doesn't need much of an explanation and something I have been wanting to do with Amelia for a long time now. It would be better as an outdoor activity, but indoor works too.

Its funny that this is been in the back of my mind for at least 6 months and the day that I decided to do it was also the day that Jason was fixing the shower in our bathroom. You know, the same day that he turned off the water and then left to go to Home Depot for like an hour--right after I said to Amelia, "Let's play a new game called Sink or Float!".

But, she is a resourceful girl and was patient enough to let the trickling water left in the pipes fill up a small bucket. We gathered items around the house and predicted whether we thought they would sink or float. Then, we tested our hypothesis and put the object in the correct column. So simple, but popular nonetheless!

Joseph Had A Little Overcoat

Well, our summer reading is off to a quick start. Seems like once the warm weather hits, I cannot be without a good book to read. Seems as though Amelia is following suit. We've been hitting the library up every week and recently re-checked out an old favorite--Joseph Had a Little Overcoat.

We've borrowed this book at least twice before. Amelia likes the story (and the song we also have) and I like the pictures. There is one page in particular that I've always been quite fond of and every time we came to that page, I would say, "We should make a building like that sometime". The page shows a drawing of several buildings with windows and in each window is a real picture of a person. I like the contrast between the drawing and the real pictures. I am also sure there is a term for this type of art, but I am too naive to know it.

So, apparently, I had said that enough on that particular page that when we checked the book out this time, Amelia started saying, "We should make a building like that sometime" each time we would get to this particular page.

So, we did! Yet, another project that was perfect for her new easel! I cut out some quick rectangles from construction paper and added some magic marker windows. Then, I gave Amelia some old magazines and her scissors and watched her go to town filling her buildings with faces. I even found some old pictures of her, Henry, and other family members that made it into the windows as well.
Not the best picture, I realize. But, the project kept her busy for HOURS on MULTIPLE DAYS. I will definitely be storing this one away to do again!!