Little H

Breadstuffs

Henry is quickly approaching the six-month mark, and Josh and I decided that today would be the day that we would try to give him his first solid foods. The following video sums up the experience much better than any description could. Enjoy.

By the way, before we threw out the goop, I bravely (?) decided to take one for the team and taste a little bit of the cereal to see what all the commotion was about. It was the the worst thing I have ever tasted (well definitely in the top 3 worst things I have ever tasted, next to drinking milk from the bug glass growing up whenever I got in trouble and the cento pelle that they serve as street food in Palermo). Poor guy. I think we'll try again once he's old enough to handle a McFlurry.

Together At Last

April in Arizona

Henry and I spent the past three weeks in Arizona. A lot happened while we were there.

First and foremost, Charlie and Cassie's little girl, Jaynee, was born on May 1st. Oma, Sydney, Mia, Kendall, Aunt Aly, and I threw little JD a birthday party to celebrate her big day.

I also got to go to the wedding of an old mission companion of mine, which was twice the fun because I got to see a couple of the other girls from my mission whom I hadn't seen in years. It was really great. Catania bus station on transfer day great. (The bride and I served here together.)

We also were lucky enough to have a quick visit from Dad in the middle of our trip. He was in town long enough for a quick game of golf with Opa and a trip to our favorite gelato shop with our buddy, Meghan. Seeing him for such a short time made us miss him even more.

Henry made a lot of progress during this trip, and had a blast playing each day with Oma and Opa. No one on earth smells as good as Oma or has acquired her skills at toasty hugs, and Henry already knows that any time spent with Opa is sure to be filled with fun, and that he needs to have his laughs ready. He already misses those two.

We always have a great time in Arizona and this trip was no exception, but we really missed Dad and can't believe how long we have been away from him. We are thrilled to be home with him again. We love that guy.

Happy Birthday Tea Party

In honor of baby J, Oma and I decided to throw a birthday tea party. We invited Syd, Mia, Kendall, and Aunt Aly. We all dressed up and had cucumber sandwiches, fruit, heart-shaped cheese slices, and strawberry cupcakes. We sang Happy Birthday to Jaynee, drank pink tea with our pinkies up, and made toasts to the birthday girl. Sydney, Mia, and Kendall spent most of the time making trips to the bathroom (was it my cucumber sandwiches, or just a heart-felt effort to keep their hands extra clean so they could hold Henry? We'll never know for sure.), Kendall added an impromptu game of golf/cricket -- which went along great with the tea party theme, and Opa and Henry ended up crashing the girls-only festivities just as we were finishing our first round of finger sandwiches. Overall, it was a success, and we heard a rumor that the girls requested another tea party the very next morning. Welcome to the world, little Jaynee!