Don't mess with Texas....

Jeff had a conference to attend in San Antonio. When we first talked about him going away...it was when Henri was a mere twinkle in our eye. As the date approached...and as I started to panic as I imagined multiple days at home by myself with Henri and no Jeff to help...I begged him not to leave me. So...as a compromise...Henri and I packed up and traveled with Jeff. :)

Some of you might think we are crazy...but Henri was a great traveler. Here are a few photos from our trip...

Henri at the Alamo...for those of you who know my husband...you know that he loves to take photos...and can take up to 500 in a weekend. When it was just the two of us...I was his main model...now that Henrik is here...we have a new focal point! Yay!

Henri and his kicks at the Alamo.

Ah...our family....

San Antonio...the view from our hotel.

Who wouldn't smile waking up with this little one to brighten your day...

Contemplative Henri on the Riverwalk....

Still working on the tongue....

The Riverwalk...absolutely gorgeous...makes San Antonio such an attractive city...

A little out of order....back at the Alamo...Henri kicking off his boots...37 times...we finally gave up...but they are very cute!

Jeff and Henri on the Riverwalk boat cruise...

Our family...

Following the cruise...a very sleepy Henri as we walked to the Tower of the Americas...aka the Faux Space Needle...

The great public art in the city. Loved it!

Ah...the Tower...or the Face Needle as I call it. Being loyal to Seattle...no one wanted to talk to us about how it compared...someone did say this is a little taller....hmm.....

The view from the top...

You have a baby...in a bar. :) The restaurant was booked...so we treated Henri to his first happy hour for dinner. The best story of the night...Jeff was carrying Henri in the Baby Bjorn...and in the elevator on the way down...a gentleman...who had obviously had a little too much happy during happy hour...turns to Jeff and says, "well you sure can appreciate what she went through carrying him for nine months." Hmmm.....

I tried to post these last night on the flight home. Jeff and Henri were both asleep...and I decided to splurge for the in-flight wi-fi. When do I ever have two hours of uninterrupted internet time?! Just my luck...the photos wouldn't upload. :) So...a day late...I'll try to post more photos later this week. I go back to work part-time...can't believe it is already March...Jeff graduates in early May...yay!

Our first trip to Disney...and the Clapper!

Here are our latest photos of our sweet little Henrik. We took him to Disney for his first Epcot experience. He did great! Other than it was so sunny and hot...and we did not prepare for that. It's been so cold in Florida...who knew. :)



Here is Henri in China...someday he'll have a little brother or sister from here! :) Henri was born in the year of the ox...


Our favorite little Troll in Norway.....

And..in honor of my mom and dad, and the Sons of Norway...it's Henrik the Great! :)

Sometimes I wonder what he must be thinking. We bring him all the way across the globe...to see this? Hmmm.....

We talked about his eating. This photo was not staged...it is an actual event. I was talking to his Aunt Dort on the phone...and this is how his dinner went. See why we need the pillowcase?

Playing at the counter...so sweet....

If there was an award/certification for being a professional clapper...Henri would win hands down. Thanks to Auntie Toots...she taught him to clap...we wake up every morning and sing "If you're happy and you know it..."

Henri is so proud to clap at the right time. And...every time he claps...he has this great crooked smile.The next picture shows off his new teeth...the last...is his clapping finale!

More pictures to come...we'll post from the Alamo! :)

My messy little eater...

Many of you might not know this...but there is a long history of creativity in our family. My grandmother Dorothy was an accomplished painter (latex--she painted her husband's truck with a brush--no kidding) and my dad was the owner of American Handicrafts in Missoula, MT. He single-handedly taught all of Western MT to macrame in the 70s.

Well...lately I've been thinking of what I could do to make Henri's mealtimes less messy. For him, eating is a full contact sport...with his clothes completely covered by the time he is finished. I have seen the plastic shirt bibs...but the problem is they are plastic. There is no where for the food to absorb...meaning it will drip off onto the high-chair and eventually to my floor. Some of you may remember the doggie booties I tried to make Oreo wear when we first renovated our home...so you know that I do have a bit of a hang-up with floors. Today...on our morning walk...I had a brainstorm...here it is...

One old pillow-case with arm and head holes cut:



Roll-up sleeves for complete meal-time enjoyment (bib still necessary):


Applaud when we finally hit our mouth (vs. the floor or our dog):

Remove pillow-case when complete and voila...clothes are saved (minus drool from teething :)):

What the pillowcase was able to catch:

A smashing success! However for future product development...will add back snap/tie closure. :)

Dance Party USA!

Henri loves to dance. Here he is...grooving with his daddy. Enjoy!

I can pull myself up...all by myself...

I am a very messy eater...(see previous posts)...so afterdinner...I am usually stripped down to my diaper and new bib for a little play time. Tonight...I tried a new trick...I pulled myself up to a standing position using my toy box as a help. Yikes! He's growing so fast...I'll add more photos this weekend.

Yogurt yogurt yogurt and grits...

So...the great news about Henri. He loves to feed himself! The bad news...he really hasn't had much food. Basically...he is skipping most of the baby food phase...and going right for bite size solids. It's great that he is interested and trying...but he hasn't had anyone feed him, so he wants to do everything himself...including feeding himself with a spoon. Yikes.


Yogurt bites and puffs. I love them!


Yum...teething biscuits. Very delicious...but absolutely disgusting to clean up. :) Thank goodness for the plastic IKEA high-chair. It can be hosed off if necessary.

I even try to drink from a big-boy cup. Not always successful...but I try.

Ah...a face only a mother could love. Yogurt face!

Happy Valentine's Day!

One of our favorite Valentines invited us to the park to play for the afternoon. It was really really cold...and the pictures are posted out of order...but here is a re-cap of our day. We had a great time! :)

Sadie is such a good friend. She fed me some of her puffs as we rode in the wagon back from the park. True love! She knows that the way to my heart is through my tummy....

I love the swings...

A kiss goodbye for my sweetheart...

My partner in crime...

Yes! The swing again....

I really dig the swing....

I love to go super high on the swing...more pics to come soon....

Auntie Dort is here!

We have been a little behind in our postings of late...while Henri catches an afternoon cat nap...emphasis on the cat nap...I'll try to catch up:


Hi first day at school. He went for the morning...just to check everything out. He was a little crabby...little did we know...he cut both of his front teeth the next morning! :)

Our first family phoot back in the States. Thanks Auntie Dort for taking....

Auntie Dort (aka Kristin) came to visit. She taught us all sorts of great new tricks: shaking our head "no", brought out the ball-blower game, and helped me clean out the pantry. Yay!

We also went for lots of walks...even in the Florida cold weather....more photos to come...

Papa and Grandma Schultz in town....

Jeff's mom and dad are here visiting our little Henri. A special thank you to Melissa and Jeff for the fantastic duck. Henri took his first bath in the big tub...thanks to this fine feathered friend. We couldn't help but sing "Rubber Ducky...You're the One" while he enjoyed his bath.

Today...we decided we need to buy a new shed. We didn't make any purchases...but we did spend time checking out the inventory at Lowes, Home Depot, and Costco. With the cool air blowing our way...here's a little picture of Henri in his hoodie.

Today is Papa Schultz's 65th birthday. Henri is clapping (his latest trick) in celebration.

Our sweet little Henri...

A Henri Sandwich...more pictures to come.

Jeff just purchased a new phone...the Google Droid...it's fabulous. We'll have many more as we are out and about...