Boo to You!

Henrik Is One

Tomorrow will mark the end of Henrik's first month as a 1 year old. 

The last couple of years have been really tough ones for some of our closest friends.  With that as a point of perspective I don't even feel like I have the right to say that Henrik has had a bit of a rough first year; but, I feel like I'd be lying if I didn't admit that it has had it's ups and downs.  I think back to the day I found out that he had hip dysplasia, and as a new mom the disappointment I felt in him not being "perfect".  Honestly my disappointment was selfishness -- selfishness that I couldn't cuddle him the way I wanted to when he wore his harness or that half of his adorable newborn clothes went unused because they didn't fit underneath.  I felt the same way when he received his helmet -- sad that when I snuggled him at night before bed, it was with a hard, cold helmet next to my cheek instead of his warm little head, slightly self conscious of all of the looks and comments we received when out in public.  The truth of the matter is that I've always cared more than Henrik.   He is the happiest, most contented kid I've ever met and he has a grin that lights up his entire face.  It's hard to imagine our family without him and I treasure every moment of watching a friendship develop between he and Annika.   HAPPY 13 MONTHS HENRIK.  We love you!

This month has been full of milestones (for example his first tentative steps last week)...yet another reminder of what a big kid he'll be at the end of this year.  Here are some highlights:

First Birthday Party

Just over 2 weeks ago we received the fantastic news that Henrik no longer needs to wear his helmet 23 hrs a day.  He has tapered to nights and naps only - a testament to the fantastic progress he's made.  Here's a pic to show how far he's come!

First Haircut!

May, June, July...Catching Up

WOW.  I knew I had fallen behind with my blogging (I'll blame it on work craziness and summer evenings spent outdoors), but I didn't quite realize that it has been three months.  I have some definite catching up to do, so here is a synopsis of the 10 highlights of our last quarter of life...

1) The Six Pack Reunited for Kristel's Wedding

2) Another 1/2 Marathon...Thanks to the Wonderful Girls I Run with in the Wee Hours of the Morning

3) Second Cousins Annika & Linnea Bonding at my cousin Tim & Rebecca's Wedding

4) Spending as Much Time as Possible at the Beach

5) Henrik Still Rocking his Helmet 23hrs (most) days...Making Fabulous Progress, but MAN does it make his Head Stinky!

6)A Fantastic 4th of July at Pine Lake with the Johnsons

7) Our Inquisitive Three-Year-Old.  The question "Why?" is uttered AT LEAST 50 times Daily

8) Being Done with Bottles...LOVE IT!

9) Celebrating Aunt Jacki's Graduation, New Job and New Place in the City.  YEAH!

10)  Henrik's 1st Birthday Party (more to come on him turning one)...Love our Little Blond Buddy

Henrik's 9th Month

I really can't believe that Henrik is 3/4 of the way through his first year.  His 9th month has sure has been a busy one.  He's a growing boy, topping the charts at 20lbs 5oz and sporting 5 teeth, including his two front chompers.  My favorite part of this month has been watching the relationship between he and Annika grow.  Their favorite activity together is bath time and he now cries hysterically every time I pull him out.

Though Henrik has an extremely easygoing personality, it seems that this month everything else about him has been high-maintenance.  We've discovered that the poor little guy was suffering from both environmental allergies as well as excema.  Now that he is on meds for both, he is a happy camper.  His other notable issues are a fall-out from the time spent in his harness the first couple months of his life.  First, we realized that his torso movement wasn't quite progressing like it should, and as a result have been taking Henrik to physical therapy once a week.  It is making a HUGE difference and he's getting closer to crawling every day.  Secondly, because of the amount of time spent lying on his back while in the harness, he got used to sleeping straight on his head; and, as a result, developed an extremely flat spot on the back of his head.  After seeing a few specialists, we decided the best bet for correcting the issue was a helmet.  Until it corrects (an estimated 4-6 months) Henrik will be wearing his sporty new helmet 23 hours a day.

  

Despite dealing with all of Henrik's ailments, we've had a lot of fun.  Two weekends were spent at the Peckenpaugh cottage relaxing and enjoying valuable time with Nana and Papa as well as with Great Grandparents.

Easter was spent in Kalamazoo.  We enjoyed being at our home church for a lovely Easter service and spirited egg hunt.  We also had a lot of fun with Grammy, Grampy and Auntie Jenna, going out to dinner and eating our Easter candy!

 I knew from experience with Annika that Henrik's first year would fly by, but I can't believe how weeks and months disappear without any warning.  As the weather gets warmer and we look forward to evening walks and weekends at the beach and lake, I hope things slow down a bit. 

 XOXO.  We love you Henrik!

HAPPY EASTER!

Spring is here?

We know better than to assume that spring is here to stay, but we made the most of the warm weather this weekend, spending as much time outside as possible. We can't wait for summer!

A Special Day

Sunday was an extremely special day for our family. We started the day with both Annika and Henrik being baptized. Both of our families joined us as we dedicated our children to Christ and promised to bring them up in His Word.

After the baptism, we headed home to celebrate Annika's third Birthday. She requested a PINK party, so we brought in as much pink as we could: cupcakes, cookies, decorations, balloons and wrapping paper. Since Annika was sick for Christmas this year, it was SO fun to see her be well and excited to enjoy her special day. Some of her special gifts included LOTS of puzzles, a bunny pillow pal, an adorable shopping cart, books and adorable clothes. I can't believe my baby girl is three. Wow.

How Did We Get Here?

This past week my Mom drove up to Michigan with her friend Nancy who is the mother of one of my best childhood friends, Allison. Allison came over to our house to pick up her mom and brought with her Paige, Will & Annie, her three beautiful children. It was a bit surreal to see our 5 kids playing together. Life moves so fast!

It is hard to believe that Henrik is already in his 6th month, but I have to say that I LOVE this phase. He is so easy to entertain, whether in his jump-a-roo or sitting with some toys, and he is happy and content 90% of the time. I'm relishing every moment before he decides that he wants to start moving.

Winter is Here

This past weekend winter finally decided to arrive. Over the course of Thursday and Friday we received over a foot of snow. Of course that meant that Branden got a snow day on Friday :) Saturday and Sunday were beautiful sunny days, perfect for playing in the snow, so we took full advantage.

Saturday we bundled the kids up and tested out the snow shoes we had gotten for each other last Christmas. There is a forest preserve right behind our neighborhood and it was the perfect place to enjoy the fresh powder.

Annika ready to go. She loved the goggles because they made everything look pink :)

This helped satisfy my desire to go skiing

After church on Sunday, all of the families with kids decided to hit the sledding hill. Annika was a little nervous to go down the hill, but the couple times we made her go down with us, she smiled the entire time.

Branden and the new sled he received for Christmas.

Ready to take a trip down the hill!

The group from 2nd Reformed

New Years in Charlotte

Since Branden had the week after New Years off of work this year, we decided to fly with both kids down to Charlotte, NC for a week to visit Aunt Jody, Uncle Rick and cousin Will. Aunt Jenna came along too!

We kicked off our week by attending a "Mad Hatter" New Year party. We shared a babysitter for Will, Annika and Henrik and rang in the new year with style.

For most of the rest of the trip, we just had a lot of fun planning outings with the kids and watching them play. Each time Annika and Will are together it gets more and more fun. Here were some highlights:

THE CHILDREN'S MUSEUM

PIZZA NIGHT!

iPad TIME!

WATCHING PEPPA PIG IN OUR PJ'S

We are always sad to say goodbye after our visits, but are already looking forward to the next one. Thanks for having us Tureks!