Henry on the Go!

Baby Blue Eyes...

Henry has the most beautiful blue eyes (just like his Yaya and Grandma Cynthie!)

Summer 2010

Silver Strand vacation with the family...

Now I am a Master!

In the NTC rose gardens at my Masters graduation ceremony. Matt gets the best pictures...

Henry in the Nursery!

Here is Henry sitting up in the Boppy at the Flood Nursery. He loves all of the nursery helpers and always seems to have a great time!

Mother's Day 2010

My mommy and I in the backyard on Mother's Day!

Come and Play with Me!

I love playing with all my toys. Here I am with my stuffed animals. I really love my mouse from "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie."

Henry Catching Some Zzzzzzzzzs

Henry is an amazing sleeper. Once he falls asleep for the night, he stays asleep. We are so lucky!

It's a Bird, It's a Plane, Noooo It's--

I am a superhero. I can cry at decibels that will crush your eardrums. I can melt your heart with a smile. I laugh in the face of spit up... Ha! I am Superbaby!

My Personal Favorite...

"This is my first Easter basket."

Another Easter Outfit Shot...

Am I cute or what?

Henry's First Easter

Here is Henry at Harry Griffen Park. We wanted to get some shots of him in his new Easter outfit (I am in love with the hat). Props to Auntie Kellie and Coryann for helping me pick out such a cute outfit... He is holding his very first Easter bunny, Bennett Bunny.

Henry and Mr. Easter Bunny

Here is Henry with the Easter Bunny... He looks so small!

Another Thing I Got From My Mommy... A Lazy Eye!

See my lazy eye? It does this when I yawn and when I am very tired. My mommy has a lazy eye, too.

Henry's a McCutie!

"Happy St. Patrick's Day (again)!"

Henry and the Cowboy Jammie-Jams

"Okay, Daddy-- I am posed and ready. Please take the picture so I can wiggle my arms again."

Henry's First St. Paddy's Day

Here is Henry in his St. Patrick's Day outfit...

A Good Cry...

Life is tough. Sometimes you just need a good cry!

Henry's First Hike!

Here is Henry with Daddy on his very first hike just outside of Canebrake Canyon in the Anza Borrego Desert.

Henry's First Trip to the Desert

Henry and Mommy in the desert at Casa Jaime...

Playtime Pictures

Henry loves playtime with Mommy and Daddy!

Henry the Cat

Here is Henry with his stuffed cat-- also named Henry!

The Happiest Boy on the Planet

 This is Henry 90% of the time. Dang! I love him!

Uncle Brandon's in the CHP!

This is Henry with his Uncle Brandon and Aunt Taryn... Brandon just started his career as a CHP officer. Taryn is pregnant with little Sawyer Anne, so Henry has a new cousin on the way!

My Advice for New Moms

I have at least four close friends who are pregnant. I am so excited for them all! I started to think about what advice I might give new moms to get through the first few months.

Here's my pregnancy/new mom top ten advice list:

1) Accept help. Let your family help as much as possible! Don't feel like you have to do it all yourself. Let other people do the chores and food-- you focus on your baby and husband.
2) Buy a My Brest Friend pillow and go to Breastfeeding classes for at least the first whole month.
3) Buy the most comfortable yoga pants you can afford. You will live in them for the first two months. Nothing else fits and nothing else is as comfortable!
4) Buy two microfiber Bravado nursing bras. They are expensive, but worth it.
5) Bring super cozy socks to the hospital. The coziest socks you can find.
6) Bring bagels for your nursing staff when you check into your birthing suite.
7) Get your hair done one week prior to your due date. Get a pedicure, too!
8) Go back to the hospital and deliver thank you notes to all of your doctors and nurses-- they are truly unsung heroes.
9) Bring a plate of cookies to your last OB/GYN appointment. They have been taking good care of you and the baby for 9 months!
10) Be flexible. Never say never... For example, "I will never ride in the back seat with my baby." That was me before I heard the ear splitting scream that sometimes comes from the mouth of my son during car rides! Have your opinions, that's fine-- just be ready for them to change once your bundle of joy arrives!

Love to you new mommies out there!!!

Henry and His Simer Cousins!

Here is Henry playing the role of Baby Jesus in the Christmas pageant at the Simer Family Christmas. He is laying in swaddling towels!

Henry and his Ledford Cousins (and Blakie!)...

Here is Henry with "Sis," "Coco," and "Cami." They are so good with him! Blake is there holding him, too. He loves Henry... It is so cute to see them together. Blake always asks if he can hold Henry.

More Pictures of Storytime...

Here we are again telling stories to each other. He loves his Saturday mornings with mom and dad!

Henry loves Stories!

Matt took a picture of me while I was telling Henry a story... I was telling him all about Narnia. He was smiling away at me. I love how his little mind works. I can just tell he is trying to make sense of everything in this big world. I love being his mom, and I am so blessed to be Matt's wife. He is such an incredible dad-- always ready with the camera to capture every moment!

Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich...

Here is my sister, Brandie (Henry's Nee Nee), with Henry. Since the first time she held him, she's called him her "peanut butter and banana sandwich." I love peanut butter, Matt loves bananas, get it? It kind of stuck! Now, when I text her about Henry, I just write "PB&BS" instead of Henry. It doesn't really save time, because PB&BS has the same amount of characters as Henry, but it is a fun nickname. 

Henry loves Jesus!

He wore this onesie to church last weekend... No one saw it, though, because he was snuggled up during the whole service. Hopefully, he will be making his debut in the Flood nursery soon! :)

Henry is 3 months old!

This photo perfectly captures Henry's spirit. I love it!

He looks good in hats...

"Hey guys! This is me wearing my woodcutter's hat. What do you think?"

A Throwback Picture...

Brandie, Kellie, and I in Palm Springs for Kellie's 30th... I think I was about 22 weeks pregnant. I loved being pregnant! :)

Here is Henry with Auntie Peck and Auntie Taryn... Auntie Taryn is pregnant with Henry's 2nd cousin, Sawyer Anne! So exciting!

Biggest Yawn in the World...

I love this picture! Henry is only a few weeks old here. The outfit he's wearing in the picture almost doesn't fit him anymore. Time is FLYING by...

Our Little Vampire Baby...

Henry is pale... He can't help it! Matt says that when Henry is sleeping, he looks like a little vampire baby.

Give Me a Hand!

Henry has officially discovered that he can suck on his hands AND his paci... He has both hands in his mouth as I am writing this!

My Human Boy and My Dog Boy

Sleeping In (aka "My husband is the best husband on the planet")

Happy Monday, y'all! I am in a good mood this morning. Matt took the baby early and let me sleep in on my day off. I am so lucky! You may be seeing a theme in this blog so far... I seem to be talking a lot about sleep. I hate it when new parents complain about not getting enough sleep-- I just think that it is kind of part of the gig. Someone told me once, "You will NEVER again sleep like you did before the baby. You will not ever sleep as soundly. Even when the baby is grown and off to college, you still won't sleep like you did."

So far, I have to say that the person was correct. Not that I am complaining-- This is what I signed up for, and it certainly hasn't been as bad as "the man" made it out to be.

If you are pregnant, don't be afraid of the whole lack of sleep thing. You get used to it pretty fast, and you get to catch up on your TiVo watching in the middle of the night, so really it is a win-win.

We took this picture on the way to see Santa in December... Henry is just a few days old here. We put him in a reindeer suit for the picture. Santa seemed to like it. Henry slept through it all.

Our First Valentine's Day...

OUT & ABOUT with THE WARDS

Our first stop of the day was to Claim Jumper for a going away lunch with Court (aka "Auntie Peck"). She leaves tomorrow for Australia to study there until June. Next, I took my two Valentines to Coronado for Henry's first trip to the water. We walked up and down the pier at ferry landing. The weather was perfect. I love looking at the Downtown SD "toolbox" buildings... I am so lucky to be a San Diegan. After that, a short jaunt to Extraordinary Desserts for some V day treats. Then home for a four hour nap (God bless our champion napper). 

I am looking forward to having tomorrow off! Yay!