turning six months old in the state of florida

last friday we left for our third annual beach trip to Siesta Key (Sarasota), FL, with suzanne and kevin. we had a really nice time . . . keep reading for details. while in FL, Henry reached the six month old mark. how bizarre that six months has already passed!

argh, what a load
let's go!
on our way down, we stopped in Orlando to visit Melinda and Chompers (and the kitties although they are not pictured). it was great to see them - baby olver will be here in two months (more or less)! we can't wait to meet little Will. we are at the greatest dog park ever by the way . . . it was HUGE. had shaded areas, picnic tables, dog washing stations, a beach for swimming, hiking trails, you name it. it was incredible!
driving to the airport to pick up the perlins is hard work
uncle kevin holds mr. H for the first time
first time out to the beach - relaxing against the ghetto blaster. what is the ghetto blaster you ask? well, it is a functional contraption made by gary. he disassembled an old boom box, put the speakers and "guts" in a bag cooler so you can have a portable, compact radio in a lightweight cooler. he also made it where you can plug an iPod into it and play music from that. I am very impressed with his handiwork - it was used a lot!


um, henry likes to eat everything if you haven't noticed

ready for a dip in the ocean. he liked it . . . we sat on the beach one day (in the water) and he really liked kicking his feet around in the sand/puddle of water. he also liked grabbing the sand and surprisingly did not try to eat it.
nap time

diner at captain curt's - home of the "world's best" clam chowder

it was very bright outside all the time . . . henry was squinting non-stop so we decided to look for some infant sunglasses. we found some (purple ones, no less) that wrapped around his head like goggle. how funny does he look? too cute. and, they didn't bother him-not once did he try to pull them off.


more nap time

love this picture (below)
we did not get any family pictures on the beach because we waited until the last night to take them and it was monsoon like outside. and, congratulations to the perlins! baby perlin is due december 28th! they are not going to find out the sex of the baby - fun fun!



play time with aunt suzanne

last night when we got home we gave henry rice cereal for the first time. he loved it! we were shcoked to watch him gobble it up and take to the spoon so well - it was like he had been using a spoon for years, not for the first time. anyway, it was exciting to see his reaction. but, moving to babys foods . . . does this mean he isn't a baby anymore?! it made my heart twinge a little.

as for baby foods, I have decided to give it a try to make them on my own. our friend jessica introduced me to the "So Easy Baby Food Kit" - it's fabulous. prior to reading this book, I had no intention of trying to make my own food. it lays everything out for you age by age, food by food, quantities, mixtures, you name it. it really does make it seem easy. I've spent a great deal of time nursing henry so my reasoning is, why not spend the time to make his food healthy, fresh and preservative free? I made my first two batches last week and froze them. it truly was simple - green peas and butternut squash. we will see how it goes . . . if it gets too be too much I can always switch to jarred food, but I thought it was worth a try. those of you that know me well have seem me get fired up about an idea or two, some that have succeeded and some that have failed. so, cast your vote on the new poll whether you think the notion of making henry's food will succeed or fail . . . ha!