Like Mommy Like Son

Everyone that meets Henry has always said that he looks just like Ben. That's great and all, but half my reason for procreating was to get some mini-me's. And despite what other people say, I see a lot of similarities between Henry and me. So here is my argument that he does not only have Ben's features:

I'm not saying we're twins, but come on. Those are some similarly chubby-cheeked, button-nosed babies. After all, Henry didn't get his blonde hair from Ben.

Napping

Following Megan's list of places that she has nursed Henry, I thought I would contribute the interesting places that I've been able to fall asleep. Rachel has suggested that I make it into a coffee table book, but in order to do that I'd have to spend less time sleeping and more time taking pictures of places I've slept. To make more sense of it, I've arranged them by categories.

• Geography: In 18 Countries (United States, Germany, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Thailand, Cambodia, Italy, United Kingdom, Taiwan, Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Palestine [Controversial Political Statement], , Austria, Estonia, Latvia,  Hong Kong [China?]) and I don't know how many states.
• Nature: On top of the Grand Canyon, in front of Big Ben, in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, underneath a waterfall, in at least 14 different trees, while rappelling (waiting to rappel but still on the rope), and in plenty of caves, including three snow caves, and the red double-decker buses in New York and London.
• Transportation: In a car, on a train, on a plane, in a bus, on a boat, in a canoe, on a raft, on a bike (not driving the bike), on an inner-tube, on the subway (at least five times standing up).
• Tourist locations: In front of Big Ben, in the Metropolitan Art Museum, in the Getty Art Museum, Disneyland, in front of the Last Supper, inside the Pyramids in Egypt, at Petra in Jordan (ref: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade), in Red Square, atop the Taipei 101 (the world's second tallest building), on a zip line in Thailand (I think, I'm not sure about that one), the British Museum, and downtown Tallin.
• Religion: The West Wall in Jerusalem (Judaism), two mosques (Islam), the Duomo di Milano (Catholic), too many temples (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints), Shrine and Gardens in Haifa (Baha'i), Ankor Wat (Hindu?), Temple of the Emerald Buddha (Buddism), other Christian churches, and in the Garden of Gethsemane.
• Furniture: beds, couches, kitchen table, counter tops, floors, bathtub, shower, rocking chair, Laz-E-Boy, bar stool, barber's chair, dentist's chair, waiting room, piano bench (curled up), airport seats, park bench, bleachers, auditorium seats (for operas, ballets, plays, and General Conference), and every work chair I've ever had.

I don't think most of those would have made very nice entries into a coffee table, but at least it's a list. 

Nursing?

Henry flew again yesterday--though I never know how to count how many flights he's been on. He's been on two separate trips, one roundtrip and one only a one-way flight as of today. Each leg had a layover, so in total he has been on 6 separate planes.

He's not bad to fly with, but he gets quite antsy and the change in air pressure hurts his ears. Since he won't take a bottle or pacifier, I've realized that the only way to alleviate the pain is to nurse. At first I was too afraid of breastfeeding while in such close quarters with other people, who are often men. But after the flight last month, when he cried for almost an hour straight (which is a lot for him), I decided to go for it. Who cares if other people are slightly uncomfortable, right? I'm completely covered and it keeps him from screaming. Plus, women bare more by wearing low cut tops all the time.

I think there are definitely times when nursing in public is not appropriate (like in church--just go to the mother's room, they have comfy chairs). But sometimes you just have to do what you have to do. After all, breastfeeding mothers have rights. So I've made a list of some of the places I've nursed.

• Detroit Tigers baseball game
• 3 separate airplanes
• Corner booth in a Cheesecake Factory (I was desparate and hidden from view)
• Starbuck's bathroom
• Kansas City and O'hare airport bathrooms
• Bathroom at Greenfield Village
• Deserted eating area at Greenfield Village
• Detroit Institute of Arts bathroom
• Car (many locations, both front seat and back seat)
• Holland Tulip Time Festival

Growing Boy

Today Henry is 5 months old. And the more I hold/carry him, the more I realize how he is growing. I'm pretty sure he eats straight butter when my back is turned.

Speaking of eating, he has eaten rice cereal a couple of times. He seems to enjoy solid food better than a bottle (thank goodness). Sometimes we let him lick/suck on a fruit or vegetable we are eating. His favorite so far has been watermelon.

We haven't gotten a high chair yet, so we had to improvise....

Henry has also gotten rather mobile. Relatively speaking. He scoots around (though only backwards and to the left). He's also getting better at sitting up and is rolling over more (kind of-ish). However, his favorite thing to do is what we call the superman.

We also recently (finally) got a crib for him. This means moving out of the co-sleeper in Mom and Dad's room and into his very own big boy room. It was a bit difficult for me the first night, but now I love it. He sleeps much better through the night.

We have also been very busy having fun. We have had many visitors in the past couple of weeks including Ben's sister Kelly, Ben's parents and his high school football coach.

On the steam-powered train at Greenfield Village

With Kelly in front of Grandpa Bernie Fisher's airplane at the National Air Force Museum. The cutest part was when Henry saw his great-grandpa's picture. There were many giggles and big smiles

After Henry's first baseball game, the Tigers versus the Royals. He even got a certificate celebrating his first game.

Year Two

Another year has passed and Ben and I have now been married for two years. Is it too cliche to say, "my how time flies"? Let's see if anything has changed in the past year....

• Ben graduated from BYU
• We moved to Detroit, MI
• We bought our first car together
• After the first car was totaled, we bought a second car
• Ben started a job at KPMG
• Our wonderful son Henry was born

I think I'll be okay if this next year is a bit less eventful. I also think this means we are officially no longer newlyweds. But I am so grateful for my wonderful husband and the blessings of the temple and eternal families.