Greek Festival

St. Louis hasn't disappointed yet with all the things to do. This weekend we went to the St. Nicholas Greek Festival. We had Greek food, gyros and ice cream with baklava, which was delicious! Then we watched a  traditional Greek dancing performance. Henry was really into the music and dancing.

Opa!

Music in the air

I recently bought a metal bowl because I always seem to be in need of another mixing bowl. However, Henry has become very attached to it. He is occupied for quite a while if I give him a drum stick, xylophone and a bowl. It has been fun watching him experiment with them and make noise. He will tap on the xylophone, smile and then look at me to see if I liked it too. Sometimes household items are more entertaining than baby toys.

This past week has been a rough one.Teething, crying, tantrums, clingy, cranky. Henry just cut his 6th tooth. So now he has 4 on the top and 2 on bottom. Only 14 more baby teeth to go!!

This picture describes the week pretty well. Henry is thinking, "Mom, you can't get me to smile. It doesn't matter what you do. I'm not going to be happy. All week."

We gave him rides in a box around the house. No smiles. 

We read books. No smiles. 

We go shopping. No smiles. 

I have to remind myself that being a mom isn't always easy. There are wonderful days, ok days, and days you can't wait to crawl into bed under the covers. But I know that being a mom is such an important role. It's a role that I love and would never trade for anything.

It reminds me of the quote by Mother Teresa "Do small things with great love."

Saturday Mornings

Saturday morning is a special time. Time for Sam and I to play with Henry. No interruptions. No errands to run. No chores yet.

Story time.

 Henry LOVES books. Given the choice Henry would spend more time looking at books than playing with toys. He loves turning the pages by himself and has a collection of favorites. We go to the library each week to check out new ones. 

Play time. 

Bubbles. Blocks. Rings. Musical toys. Toys w/ buttons. Pop-up toys. Shakers. Pots and pans. Balls. Cars. 

These are his favorites. 

Activity time. 

New sensory experiences. This one is jello with toys inside. He really liked squeezing the jello in his hands and smearing it everywhere. 

A walk in the park

I've been told repeatedly that this Missouri summer has been really mild. I agree that it hasn't been too hot, but it more humid and rainy than Kansas. When it doesn't rain, Henry and I like to go for walks in the park. He has always enjoyed the stroller rides, even when he was little. When he was teething, it was the only way to help him take his mind off the pain.

On this walk, I had given him a leaf (under close supervision because he still loves to put things in his mouth). He looked at it, turned it over a couple of times, stared at it, looked at me and then slowly started putting it in his mouth. He understands the word "no" and after he took it out of his mouth he mischievously giggled. I love this little guy.

He loves grass and has no fear of getting a little dirty.  At this park, there were only a few shady grassy areas and most of them were sloped. I set him down on top of a sloped area and he immediately started crawling as fast as he could down the slope. He keeps me on my toes!

At the park there aren't many things that Henry can do, except for swinging. I can't tell if Henry enjoys swinging or not. He seems very serious whenever he swings. I wonder what is on his mind...