New Arrival

The baby arrived this morning at 11:43 a.m. and weighed 7 lbs
9 oz. That is 5 oz heavier than Karl and exactly what Henry weighed. Karin actually started labor last night, so they didn't really have to do much to induce her when she arrived this morning at the hospital. Karl had a brief visit with baby brother; he has no idea that his world is about to change! Karin and the baby are doing fine. This is your last chance to contribute to naming the baby, so post your favorite boy name and I will pass it along!

Tomorrow is Baby Day!

Tomorrow my brother's wife will be induced at 6 a.m. We are so excited. She isn't due until January, but they will get a major tax incentive if he is born before January 1, so the doctor decided to schedule her for tomorrow. Can't wait to post pictures of the little guy and hopefully find out his name.

In Henry news, Henry can spell his name all by himself with no help. He can't write it, but he can type it or say the letters without any prompting or cues.

Merry Christmas to All

"Yippee, it's Christmas!"

Henry and Karl had a big day. Henry got so caught up in the toy he had just opened that it took forever to get him to open everything. We had to open in two shifts. He loved all the gifts he got and played with everything equal opportunity. He got Elmo's Pizza Kitchen, an easel for art, a "computer," books and games, and an AquaDoodle. Henry's toy computer has a typing option where he types letters and a voice says them. It has a real screen. Henry is very into typing right now. It is one of his favorite pastimes. He knows and can identify all his capital letters now. He has been able to do that for quite some time. We are very proud of him because his language skills are exploding now. Henry is in speech therapy and has made great progress lately. His pronuncuation is still off, but the other day after Henry's bath I was saying "I need to dry you" and Henry said "Dry me." I thought the use of the pronoun me was a big deal because he didn't just repeat what I said. Pronouns are a big deal to moms. All tiny milestones are.

Back to Christmas, we had lots of fun just hanging out with family and getting fat. There were sixteen people at my parents' house for Christmas dinner. It was a big production and I know we are all worn out, but it was a group effort and it was worth it!

Merry Christmas to All!