Summer Vacation. Part 2: Mike's parents' house

Henry and his Uncle Tim. Because the weather was so mild, Henry was able to wear long sleeves and long pants for the first time since he was about 4 months old.

(Yes, this really is an actual puppy. Not a toy. They are just that cute.)

Every summer, we look forward to our visit with Mike's family in the beautiful rolling hills of Southern Wisconsin. This summer, Henry enjoyed meeting and spending time with his cousins, and aunt and uncles, his Grandma and Grandpa, and, of course, puppies!!!

Henry loves dogs of all ages and sizes. This puppy is only 8 weeks old, and he and Henry became instant friends. Henry also became instant friends with Sophie, the Great Dane, Fred, the rat terrier, Maggie, the Scottish terrier, Lucy, the West Highland Terrier, and Jake, the Collie mix.

The weather in Wisconsin was cool and light, almost autumnal. During our visit, we were able to celebrate cousin Isaac's 10th birthday and meet new cousin William.

It was a rare treat to see the three brothers - Pat, Mike, and Tim - together at the same time. Seeing Henry brought back a lot of memories of baby Mike for the family. Apparently, Henry is a mini-Mike with regards to physical traits and personality (i.e., a lot of ENERGY).

During our visit, Mike was able to enjoy his favorites like brats, chicken wings, and Pat's Huli huli chicken (a family favorite from their time in Hawaii).

9 Month Stats

Henry is an Elton John fan.

Last Thursday, Henry had his 9 month well check. He weighs 20 lbs and 4 oz, which places him in exactly in the 50th percentile for weight. He is 29 inches tall, which means that he is in the 75th percentile for height (an increase in percentile from his last visit). His head circumference is in the 90th percentile. ("Big brains" the doctor always says).

Henry is teething. His lower two front teeth emerged a few weeks ago, and he has 7 teeth on the upper deck ready to pop - poor guy, that cannot be fun.

On Thursday night, H's Aunt Amy came for a quick weekend visit. Henry really enjoyed spending time with his Aunt Amy. She took him in the pool, she played with him on the floor, and she brought him lots of cool new outfits. And she let him wear her glamorous sunglasses (see above). If you ask Amy what the highlight of her trip was, she would probably say watching me change H's diaper in the trunk of the car in the Walmart parking lot. It was not a proud moment for me, but I stand by my decision. Car trunk vs. public restroom in Walmart? I think you would do the same. I was worried that the other Walmart shoppers would become alarmed when they saw a baby in the trunk of the car. Oddly, no one seemed to bat an eye.

When we told Mike of the car trunk diaper change in the Walmart parking lot he said, in a ceremonious tone, "Ah yes. We have arrived."

Visit from Bisabuela Maru and Prima Veronica -Part I

Henry had two very special guests this past weekend. His great-grandmother Maru and his cousin Veronica from Texas came to meet him! Henry and Maru have an accumulated 94.5 years of life experience so we have a lot to learn from them. Here, we are watching the manatees at the canal by our house.


In this picture, you can see a mama manatee and a baby manatee swimming side by side. The baby manatee is sticking its nose out of the water. It was the first time that Henry and Maru had seen manatees. Later that night, Maru and Veronica saw their first rocket launch. We watched it from our front yard - it was magnificent!

Visit from Bisabuela Maru and Prima Veronica - Part II

Henry and Maru join the other surfers for some burritos at DaKine's after catchin' some waves at the beach.


Maru is teaching me how to sing and play "Rocotin" - a game from her childhood in Quito.
Chatting after our early morning laps in the pool. Maru taught Veronica and I some new jokes that would make a sailor blush.
Maru was continually impressed by Veronica's strength. Henry loved playing the monkey game with Veronica and Maru. The rules of the monkey game are simple to learn - hold a monkey in front of Henry and say "Monkey!!!" He loves this game and laughed and laughed.