so proud

first, a short video of henry’s new talent, smackin’ his lips. it’s just too cute not to share.

second, LOOK WHO IS WALKING. sorry to shout, but what?!

he’s not, like, walking walking, but he is soooo close! just in the last couple weeks he started to be brave and take maybe one or two steps, and recently he’s gotten so good and going from one person to another. he just has to stop lunging at the end. the most recent development is him taking a few steps on his own from one thing to another, with no prompting from us. someone is getting brave! and we are so proud.

{justine}

happy mother’s day

happy mother’s day to all the moms out there. this is my very first one (of the rest of my life) and i can’t even begin to describe how special this day is. i’ve wanted to be a mom my whole life and this past year i became one. being a mom is hands down the best experience of my entire life. yes, it’s hard. yes, babies cry. a lot. yes, there’s lots of poop. a lot. yes, you sacrifice. a lot. but it’s all worth it. to see their face. to hear their voice. to feel their (slobbery) kisses. to hear their laugh. you can never quite know what it’s like to be a mom, to feel that full-body-heart-is-going-to-burst-all-encompassing love, until you are one. it’s indescribable. it’s amazing. thank you henry james, for making me a mom (omg i just teared up a little writing that). and thank you to my mom, for i truly now understand what a job you had (have), and how well you’ve done it.

{justine}

weekend recap

this past weekend ryan’s mom was in town visiting, so we hit up ikea (so much great stuff there right now…i need my new house to put things in!), the zoo, and a great italian place for dinner, and of course she got her share of henry cuddles in and watched him practice walking (i think he made it up to five quick steps!).

sunday i met up with my mom’s side of the family to make droby, a family slovak recipe of potato sausage, that my grandpa used to make. we made a double batch since it’s so much work, and there was several people to split it between. it was epic – 40 pounds of potatoes (that were peeled for an hour straight between four people) + 8 pounds of bacon + pork shoulder + onions. it all had to be ground together and mixed, then stuffed into casings (plus cooking). leave it to the men on hand to turn the hand crank grinder into electric with the help of a drill – probably saved us hours and bicep muscles.

that night henry had his leftover pasta, and let’s just say while he loved (like can’t stop laughing loved) making a huge mess, and it was adorable, he won’t be having spaghetti often because no thanks on the clean-up.

(all pictures unedited, as much as it pains me, since i’m trying to squeeze in a quick pinterest challenge project due wednesday).

did you have a good one? can you believe it’s may already?

{justine}

ten months

ten. months. old. w.t.f.

on one hand, i hate that time is going so fast, that i don’t have the power to slow it down, for more time to savor my little baby that is growing into a not-so-little baby every day. but on the other hand, it is so exciting to see him grow every day, to see him learn every day. and i also love seeing his personality come out more and more. he’s so sweet. so funny. so weird. a little rebellious.  so henry.

this month has brought a lot of noise. banging. shaking. talking. yelling. but by far my favorite new skill is henry saying “mamama” (or “momomom”?) and “dadada”. he said momma first (because he is a momma’s boy after all) and dada followed. he doesn’t say them in reference to us yet, but it does make your heart burst when you hear it. though sometimes he says “momomom” in a tone and volume that doesn’t not sound like a good thing, then next he says “dadada” in the sweetest, softest, littlest voice and for sure, then, i know he’s saying my name as a bad word.

{justine}