Barnabas Monkeypants

Last year I had most of December off from work. This meant that I took care of Henry while Kristen had fun at her job (oh, yes… fun). And while I love that boy more than anything, I have to admit that watching a 4-month-old for 12 straight hours isn’t that exciting.
There were a lot [...]

Henry’s cold is a bit better now. While he was really sick, he wasn’t very interested in eating much, but now that he’s on the mend, he’s been eating like a sumo wrestler in training. In a single day, he’ll eat yogurt, oat meal, fistfulls of Froot Loops (I can’t believe I’m publicly admitting we’ve [...]

We couldn’t be sicker (Raphe’s still hacking away, I’ve got awful nasal congestion, and Henry’s pediatrician diagnosed him with his first ear infection this morning), but we are still in good spirits. We wish you all the very best this Christmas. And may 2010 be largely snot-free!

While Henry has a pretty robust vocabulary, if push came to shove, he could go through his days saying only three different words: up, open, and apple.
Up is, of course, the signal for one of us to pick him up. But it also means put me down. Or carry me over there. Or let me [...]

Last year, the Cheli family Christmas card featured Henry screaming on Santa Claus’s lap. Remember this?

This year we were hoping for something a little less teary. We took Henry to see to different Santas and staged photo shoots in places with lots of holiday decorations and came up with nothing suitable for our Christmas card. [...]

So, I’ve been sick.
Still am, in fact.
It’s the sickest I’ve been since I can remember. On Saturday, I started to feel a bit out of sorts. Sunday, I was worse. By Sunday night, I was shivering and feverish, and I was worse Monday morning.
I stayed home from work on Monday, of course. And Tuesday. And [...]

We were too harried last year to even attempt a Christmas tree, so this year is Henry’s first Christmas with an actual tree. This also marks the first Christmas the cats are experiencing a Christmas tree, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous about that. I’ve had nightmares about Cecil knocking the [...]

We are at a point in Henry’s life that a big — HUGE — decision is looming.
That is, of course, when will he get his first haircut.
Now, Henry has wonderful hair. It’s wonderfully blond and fine and after a bath or a particularly sweaty nap (the boy sweats like his father), it curls up into [...]