First Haircut

On Friday we gave Henri his first haircut. I wasn't loving the monk look and since we are supposed to smother him from head to toe in aquaphor twice a day I thought this would be easier.

Before

At first I felt sad to see my little bald Henri, but now I am glad that we did it. It does make taking care of his skin easier. It is also fun for me to look at his cute little round head.

Two Months Old!

Cute smile

I love my boys!

Big Brown Eyes

Shopping Shock

Beautiful McCall, Idaho

As promised here is my McCall shopping story: Charles and I went on a walk around the lake on New Year's day and visited some cute little shops around McCall. I saw the cutest red coat (except and even cuter red than the one in this picture!!!) in one of the shops. I looked at the price and said to Charles, "It is only $55." He smiled. I smiled. And we walked out. When we got back to the condo I told Isabelle about the coat and she said, "You should get it! Let's go!" It was almost five so we rushed back to the store. It was so fun because I felt like the coat was already mine and I knew I would love it forever. When we got there it was just as cute as I remembered. I looked at the price tag again: $54.90.... wait... why is there another 0? $549.00? No! It can't be! I looked around at some other items to see how they were priced. I knew that the last 0 was meant to be there when some hats that were on a nearby table were $49.00. Well, I knew that I would feel silly, but I had to ask the lady at the cash register. Yep: $549.00. But, she informed me that it would last forever. Really? Do I look like a person that will be convinced by that? Anyway, I couldn't get over it. I am still not over it: thus, the blog post. It has been nice to comfort myself by wearing my red high heels and using my red kitchenaid.

Last picture of McCall

Why am I not surprised...

*during their (Jane and Charles) intramural tennis match Jane calls to me, "Em, I can literally see Charles' skin on the court!"

*later that night after I share some hesitation as he is tending his wound with toilet paper and masking tape Charles informs me, "It's just like a Band-aid, but cheaper."

Christmas in Idaho

Look for my favorite Christmas present.

Wow! We have had a busy month! Henri is seven weeks today and we have officially been back in Provo since last Sunday. We left Houston on the 17th of December... so what have we been doing since then? We spent a fun week on Greer Lane. I was mostly trying to get some rest, organize baby clothes and make desperate (and pretty unsuccessful) attempts at Christmas shopping. Then we headed up to Idaho City for Christmas. This was the first time the Hopes got to see their first grandson so Henri was the focus of the holidays.

Grandmaman and Grandpapa Hope

Aunt Annabelle

Fondu night

Charles with his neighbor Tyler. Tyler and Katie got married a week after we did and had their little boy Lincoln three days before Henri was born.

Henri smiling with Grandmaman Isabelle

Hope Family Picture

A few days later we packed up again to head up north to the beautiful town of McCall. It was really a winter wonderland. The trees were frosted in ice and there was enough snow on the ground to make you just want to curl up by the fire with some hot chocolate. The important events in McCall consisted of skiing, sledding, Settlers, Empire Earth, carac, raclette, and, of course, Henri.

Henri is a very serious baby

My doctor told me that it is important for babies to cry. They need to work out their lungs.

Settlers is better than of Empire Earth

Empire Earth is not as good as Settlers

Hanging out with Uncle Daniel

I had the best New Year's Day. For the first half of the day I slept. In the middle of my nap I fed Henri and when Charles came to get him he brought me in a hot cup of cocoa. Later in the afternoon Charles and I left Henri with Grandmaman Isabelle and took a walk by the lake. We had some fun shopping adventures (see later posts) and then I got to go back to the condo and cuddle with Henri. It was a great way to start the New Year!

My Favorite Christmas Present

We hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Growing Up! Three Weeks

In the words of his Aunt Laura and Uncle Nelson: He is very advanced for his age!

It is pretty amazing to think that in three weeks he went from THIS:

to THIS:

Our little Henri is growing up so fast! He is the best baby ever. He has been really easy to keep on a schedule and he only gets up once at night. If he is crying it is easy to figure out what he wants. He is so sweet and we think he is the cutest thing we have ever seen.

I have meant to update the blog more frequently since there are family members who haven't met him yet so I am sorry. Today Jane texted me and told me to update the blog since she checks it every day. So, here are some more pictures of our darling little (getting bigger!) Henri.

Houston Snow Day. Charles got to come home early and they shut down the schools because there was a chance of snow.

Henri in his coming home outfit a week later: It is getting a little tight on him!

Hanging out with Daddy

There is one part of Charles that I hate: his elbows. This is why: because he sleeps with them sticking out and is always elbowing my head. I guess Henri takes after his Dad.

Henri with Aunt Janie

This picture is for you Megan and Andrew: Henri's first game of Settlers. I love the expression on his face. He looks very into the game!

I just like this picture.

Henri's face is getting more and more chubby:

Getting ready for church

Henri is very good at looking up at whoever is talking to him. I just love it when he does that!

For the past few days Henri has been smiling more and more. I am convinced they are real smiles.

The above picture is when he is three weeks old. We are loving having Henri in our family and excited to come home and introduce him to the rest of our family!

The Last 5 Days

The last five days have been quite the adventure. Here is the rundown: Tuesday night came home from the hospital:

Henri ready to go home:

His going home outfit:

Just leaving the hospital. These are the flowers that Exxonmobil sent:

Arriving at our apartment:

Charles showing Henri the moon on the way in:

In the middle of the night on Tuesday night I developed an epidural headache. These headaches are caused by a nick in your spinal column that allows spinal fluid to leak out. Getting my epidural took so long because the doctor couldn't find a good space, so he had to go in several times which is probably why I got the headache. These headaches are not uncommon, but the chances of getting one are small. I was asked if I would get an epidural again and the answer is yes. The hardest part was that on Tuesday I wasn't really able to take care of myself or of Henri. I think I had to kind of start the recovery process over and Henri got his first taste of formula. I am happy to report that since then Henri is doing a great job with his feedings.

My dad, Papa Lon, and sister Jane came in on Wednesday so we have had fun just hanging out and relaxing. Papa Lon noticed that Henri wasn't getting a lot of time in his basinet since there are so many admiring fans around to hold him. A few minutes later Charles put Henri into the basinet and moments after that Henri was then in my dad's arms. There is no damage done there as well since he is a great sleeper! I have been up with him twice during the past two nights and he has slept through the rest of the night.

We also had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with the Jones' in our ward. Their family used to live in our stake, so it was fun to talk about all of the connections that we have. One of the sisters, Lisa, was even in several classes with Michael and Jeffrey at Oakdale Elementary.

Here are some more cute pictures of Henri:

He really is a great baby! He doesn't cry very much and likes to just look around when he is awake. We can put him in his crib at night when he is awake and he will just look around and eventually go to sleep.

Charles is half Swiss so he is speaking to Henri in French while I speak to him in English. It is fun for me to hear what Charles talks about to Henri (like the World Cup) and it is helping my French out a lot as well.

Our cute baby Henri: