Henry's First Christmas

Christmas is just around the corner. Henry may still be too young to get anything out of it - other than an appreciation for little colored lights - but it's still our First Christmas with him. In the finest tradition of torturing those you love, especially when they are too young to fight back, we took him went to see Santa Claus.

Not that it was all that much torture for him. As you can see, he really just didn't care.

Is this another one of those things I'll understand when I'm older? Whatever, I'm bored already.

It was part of a larger get-together, an opportunity to allow Henry and Austin to share their complete boredom with the man in the big red suit. You can't see it, but they are wearing nearly-matching outfits. Wuwu/Mimi/Grandma seems to think they are twins, and every major and minor holiday so far has featured some sort of matched outfit.

Props to the most photogenic Santa I've ever seen, btw.

The picture taking didn't stop at Santa's Photo Booth, Mom had to snap a couple of the little tyke under the Christmas tree. Below, the best of the bunch:

Henry's First Solid Food

At five and a half months, Henry has reached another milestone - today he ate solid food for the first time.

Though solid is a bit of a misnomer, as I've had tomato soups with more structural integrity than his rice cereal: one part powder to three parts liquid.

Pics below are from the second feeding of the day, where Henry is starting to get the hang of the experience, if not yet actually enjoying it.

Halloween

Seriously, who has the time to actually write posts anymore?

Mom and Dad and Henry on Halloween night:

Henry at his first Halloween party (at least, his first "kids" Halloween party):

Prepare yourself for, perhaps, the cutest photo of Henry yet:

A Day at the Pumpkin Patch

Late pictures from the day we spent at the Pumpkin Patch a few weeks ago. I'll keep the verbosity to a minimum (It was a farm, with lots of farm...stuff? That's really about all I could say.) and get straight to the pictures.

Dad and Henry's first time in a corn maze. Little known fact: even corn mazes get boring after a while.

Seriously, more corn? Whatever.

Lots of good pictures at the actual pumpkin patch.

Mom was more concerned with getting a picture than getting this mutant soul-sucking monster off of my back:

Henry and Dad chill on the hay ride back.

A Day at the Museum

Who knew? September 27th was National Museum Day, and the Carnegie Museums participated. Total Culbertson family savings: 30 bucks! That's practically a case of beer (Dad buys expensive beer).

It was our first opportunity to see the recently redone dinosaur exhibit. Not only is it really beautiful, its as educational (museums educational? - news at 11:00!) as you want it to be: if you just want to walk through and look at the reconstructed skeletons, you'll be happy. On the other hand, if you have the time and inclination to use the interactive exhibits, you'll be rewarded with a great deal of pretty cool information. Henry is on the far side of the first category (and Mom might have an even shorter attention span), so I didn't get to dig very deep, but I did get to watch one cool little video about how paleontologist use the shape of the bones in the legs to figure out the gait. It would be cool to go back and spend some time exploring.

Henry, mildly amused

One of the coolest things about the refurb is how well it uses the space. The exhibit butts up against the Carnegie Library, and the windows of the library offer an unobstructed view onto the exhibit.

For the record, Henry made it through about half the museum - but that's still better than Mom usually does.

Mom, Dad, and Henry

First Night Out

Warning, this post contains no pictures of Henry.

A friend and co-worker (same person!) invited us to his wedding, so Mom and Dad had an opportunity to go out on our own. We've been out without Henry a few times previous, to see a movie or have dinner, but this was the first outing of any real consequence. It was an especially big deal for Mom, because while Dad is forced to spend 8 or 9 hours a day with his nose to the grindstone, she's never really spent that much time away from the little tyke.

The ceremony was nice, but the reception, held at the Green Gables Restaurant, was simply amazing. The restaurant and surrounding lands were simply beautiful, featuring a rustic building paired with a perfectly manicured lakefront lawn. Besides being beautiful everywhere you looked, the food was delicious, and the open bar was...open.

Though the only people we had more than a passing acquaintance with were coworkers, it was no problem because Bon and I generally get along really well with all of them. In short, we had a really great time.

'Tis the Season

Are you ready for some football?

In one of the defining events of any child growing up in the 'Burgh, Henry watched his first Steelers game.

Henry managed to grip the terrible towel, but he's going to need some more practice before he's able to twirl it correctly. He did get in on the touchdown celebrations though - during each touchdown Dad would jump around the room singing the touchdown song, and help Henry pump his fist into the air.

The Blessing and Curse of the Baby Bjorn

Since before Henry was born Mom and I have shared a vision of how he and I would interact during his first few months. We knew that he'd be building a strong bond with his Mom, and that we would need to set aside activities that Henry would associate with his Dad. One idea was to use the Baby Bjorn, a front-carrier that's all the rage these days.

I had this vision that the Bjorn would be the sole province of Dad, and that Henry and I would use the Baby Bjorn all the time. (Secretly, I hoped that I could use it to play video games while he slept.)

Henry does love his Bjorn...


...and he often falls asleep in it...


...but he only sleeps as long as he's moving, so you've got to keep walking. And, to be honest, he prefers that you have a little bounce to your walk, so you'd best hop to it.

Also, it turns out that he now only likes his Bjorn; Now that he's used to seeing the world when he's out and about, he's spoiled, and neither Mom nor Dad can get him to stay in his stroller.

Daily walks in the Bjorn are now required.

Sunday Stroll

Not a big post, just a quick photo.

Dad is attempting to get back on to the blogging bandwagon, and the resolution is to post more often, even if the posts are a little lighter on content.

Sunday marked our return to brunch at Piper's Pub. Piper's is, hands down, our favorite Sunday brunch, but Bon and I hadn't been there since about a month before Henry was born. The food was as good as we remembered, but we couldn't help but be a little bit miffed that our "regular" waiter, a guy who as recently as 3 months ago was seeing us every Sunday, couldn't be bothered to say "Hey guys, haven't seen you in a while!" or "Congratulations on the new edition to your family!" or even "Wow, you're a lot less fat than the last time I saw you!".

Anyways, after brunch, a leisurely stroll along the trail with some friends. Enough about them though (other than to mention that their daughter is cute-as-a-button, and is first in line to be Henry's girlfriend), look at the cute picture they took of us!

Henry's Diverse Smiles

Hello, is this thing on?

Sorry, again, for the lack of updates. I'm sure our millions (billions?) of fans have been checking daily, sometimes hourly, for updates, and I'm sorry to have let you all down. My excuse? I'm lazy.

Anyways, just a short update.

The internet says that babies often have distinct smiles for the different people in their lives, and Henry is no different. Though they are similar, he has developed subtly different smiles for his Mom and his Dad. We've been lucky enough to capture some examples.

This is a picture of Henry's special smile for his mom:

And this is a picture of the special smile Henry seen only by his dad:

The differences are so subtle that I think even regular readers might have trouble telling them apart, so here are two more examples.

Mom's special smile:

The special smile Henry saves for Dad:

Mom's Singularly Necessary Position

It's impossible to overestimate Mom's importance in the regulation and optimal running of our little family - she does so much in our household! Sure, Dad gets all the glory, but without the thorough attention to detail that Mom provides, The Culbertson Family would fall apart in minutes.

The best example of Mom's behind the scene's importance is bath time. At first glance, bath time seems to be equal duty. Mom is in charge of the washing, and Dad is in charge of keeping Henry calm. I spend most of bath time holding Henry's hands and telling him that things are going to be OK, occasionally warning Bonnie if the bath water is too warm.

Not shown: Henry's Rod and Tackle

But bathtime, absolutely the most important part of our bedtime ritual, wouldn't work without Bonnie's "behind the scenes work" - most of which I only become aware of later, if at all. Before bathtime even begins, Mom is at work in Henry's room, lowering the blinds (enabling the little tyke to sleep in later), getting his nightime outfit ready (he's started sleeping in just a shirt and diapers, which allevates worries about overheating and makes it easier to change him in the middle of the night), and tidying the room so that Dad can find everything during nighttime diaper changes. She even covers his sleeping blanket with another blanket, so that when he gets put down for the night, his sleeping blanket isn't too cold. Before we get to the actual bath, she calls out to make sure that I've got a binky (pacifier) ready for him.

And if it's not already obvious, Mom is the one who actually gives Henry his bath. She makes sure that it is a successful part of putting him to sleep every night. Dad just holds his hands and reassures him. (She's also in charge of most of the picture taking.)

And after the bath is finished? It's Mom who is ready to put him in his towel before he begins to cry from the cold.

Truly, without Mom's persistent and perceptive help, our whole world would fall apart. Without her help, it wouldn't be...well, I won't say easy, but it sure wouldn't be as not hard.

As may be apparent already, this particular post is less for the wider audience, and more specifically for my wife - I'm constantly reminded of how wonderful she is, both as a wife, and as the mother of our child. (It also provided an opportunity to publish some photos of Henry in the bath, useful for blackmail later on in his life, but that's really a secondary benefit).

Thanks, Bon, I love you and Henry both, and couldn't dream of a better family than ours.>

Weekends and Other Special Moments

Mornings always seem to be Henry's best time. Given how much and how well Henry sleeps, we can't really complain, but if pressed, we might admit that perhaps he's a little fussy during the afternoons and evenings. However, he usually wakes up in a pretty good mood, and you can get a good hour or so of awake and alert time. Mom fills me in every day regarding his daily progress on the first big milestone: smiling. He's starting to get the hang of it, but going to work means that I don't usually get to experience these sunny moments.

Of course Henry and I spend time together during the week, but I'm usually tired before I even leave for work; by the time I get back I'm pretty exhausted. In addition to my tiredness, Henry's usually lost his good mood by the time I get home - possibly because his Mother beats him all day while I'm at work.

Weekends are different, though; they are special. Henry and I usually get up a little earlier than Mom, which lets Mom catch up on some much needed rest. We spend our time on a variety of activities - we play on his playmat, we walk around, Henry sits on my lap and we hold hands and talk. I love this time with him, even if it does only last for an hour or two.

After that, we usually take a little nap. Repeat readers will recognize the foreshadowing; another picture of Henry asleep on Dad's chest is coming. This one, however, features a little something for the ladies.

Sorry ladies, I'm taken.

Our other special bonding involves calm-down time. When Henry gets really upset, it seems that the only thing that will calm him down is to slip out back, where we dance and sing on the patio. Like any baby, Henry responds to bouncing, and loves to be sung to, but it's no secret that in the Culbertson household, Dad does it the best. I do have a couple nursery rhymes, courtesy of my mom, but those secret weapons are used only in the most dire of circumstances (e.g. after a 4:30 a.m. feeding, when Henry isn't really interested in going back to sleep, but Mom and Dad can't really think of anything but).

Why it's necessary for us to go in the back probably depends on who you're asking. If you ask Henry, he'd probably say "bob booboo glag" - because he's a baby. What he would mean, of course, is that the change in scenery, especially the warm air is necessary to get him out of the crying mood. Dad knows that the real reason we hide is so that the whole world doesn't laugh and point at the spectacle; not only is Dad gyrating like a madman in order to provide the rhythmic bouncing Henry needs, but Dad is also practically a human beatbox - the beeps, doo-dahs, clicks, and lalalas coming out of him are beautiful music to Henry's ears.

A week of firsts

Sorry for the light posting, but all I've really been able to say, lately, is how tired I am. From what I understand, that's going to be normal for the next 18 or so years, so I thought I'd not harp on it too much right now. There will be plenty of time for "Guess how tired I am?" posts.

This was a week of firsts for Henry.

Henry's first outdoor concert (The Old 97's).Henry got to meet his newborn cousin Austin, for the first time:Henry found his thumb for the first time:

He even watched his first Bike Race - the Tour of Pennsylvania bike race went right past our house:

Completely enthralled...by Mom's Milk Machines!

Also, his umbilical cord fell off. Or at least, most of it did. There's still a sort of umbilical stump. The kid had a honker of a cord, at least as big around as my little finger, I'm guessing the healing for something that big has to occur in stages. I tried to convince Mom to keep it, in a baggy, as something we could use to embarass him or gross him out as he got older. She used her amazing powers of better judgement to overrule me.

Even with all of the excitement of sharing in Henry's many firsts, Dad and Mom both have their favorite moments:

I am Cornholio!!!

I need TP for my bunghole!

Parenting is not sleeping

And now, the real tiredness sets in.

Really, we can't complain, because Henry is a pretty good sleeper. He's already "sleeping through the night" - which sounds really awesome until you find out that "sleeping through the night" is usually defined as three or four hours at a time. Factoring in feeding, changing, and then rocking back to sleep, it's not unheard of to get 3 hours of sleep at a time. Doing the math, that means in order to get 9 hours of sleep - status quo for Dad - it's at least a 12 hour cycle.

I'm learning, slowly, to deal with less than 9 hours of sleep.

Anyways, usually Henry sleeps pretty well. I say usually, because sometimes Henry has a different routine he'd like to try. On those particular days and nights, Henry is like this during the day:


And like this at night:


Babies, says the book, are used to sleeping all day and partying all night, because they got rocked to sleep in the womb when the mom moved around.

Bonus Picture:

Surprise! Attack Baby!

First Father's Day

Luckily for Dad, Mom popped the little one out in time to celebrate Father's Day. Henry (with a little help from Mom, I suspect) picked out the cutest card. Less than 10 days old, and he already knows exactly how to tug at Dad's heartstrings. I mean it when I say that I'm keeping this card forever. Inside, it reads, "I'd follow you anywhere!"


Mom and I are trying to get in the swing of things early on, taking the little one out with us to do the things we would normally do. Today we went to the Arts Festival. Along for the ride, Henry's grandparents - my Mom, Lorrie, and my Stepfather, Alvin (the "Chinese Pierce Brosnan"). We found some cute things, but with the arrival of Henry, the price point at which we are willing to pull the trigger has receded. Greg Stones was there, who painted the two "Zombie Romance" watercolors for our anniversary a few years ago; We've now had two people suggest that we consider asking him to explore the idea of a zombie family.




While today's activities were fun, my overall mood is bittersweet; I'll be returning to work tomorrow. A week ago, time was at a standstill, and it felt like the days lasted forever. With the clock running out, I'm already sad for the time that I won't be able to spend with Henry. I've never noticed it before, but damn it, the days are just too short.

Henry, you've changed so much in just the few days you've been here. I can see the changes in you, especially in how you react to me and your Mom. You know our sound and our feel (Can you smell us, I wonder? You like it so warm in the house, is your little baby nose able to distinguish Mom's sweat from mine?). Dad's touch on your head and cheek is often enough to calm you down at night. The other day, you were inconsolable in your uncle's arms, but quieted almost immediately once I held you.

Son, I'm working to provide a life for you and your mother. It's a necessary evil, trading hours of time that I could be spending with you for the means to support our family. I hope that, as you grow older, you understand the reason I can't be with you all the time.

The Circle of Life

Siyo Nqoba
Ingonyama
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala

From the day we arrive on the planet
And blinking, step into the sun
There's more to see than can ever be seen
More to do than can ever be done
There's far too much to take in here
More to find than can ever be found
But the sun rolling high
Through the sapphire sky
Keeps great and small on the endless round

It's the Circle of Life
And it moves us all
Through despair and hope
Through faith and love
Till we find our place
On the path unwinding
In the Circle
The Circle of Life

It's the Circle of Life
And it moves us all
Through despair and hope
Through faith and love
Till we find our place
On the path unwinding
In the Circle
The Circle of Life

Fade to Black