Old News

Merry Christmas! We have been moving to Wisconsin during the Holiday season so I have no new pictures of our adventures. So mom, here is a post about old news. I will try to catch everyone up in the next post, but for now -please enjoy some photography from HENRY'S BIRTHDAY back in November (its like watching an old movie on tv...still entertaining if you like the movie).

The whole night Henry had this proud look on his face like he had done something right. It was hilarious. Although, one whole year of life is an accomplishment, so he should be proud. We were quite proud of ourselves too for getting to this point. Raising a kid is a TRIP! We have loved having Henry around. He is such a cool little guy.

Once again, look at that face! He knew that candle was something special.

Oh, the Carousel -one of Salem, Oregon's finest forms of entertainment. For a $1.50 you can take a ride of your life :) Henry had actually never been on any kind of amusement ride. He took it very seriously and held onto his horse like it was his job. We only took two rides though because it was making me sick going around and around.

Halloween Hal

Time again for a post that sums up the last month or two. Or maybe I'll just skip it for now and talk about Halloween. Henry wore his scrubs/doctor outfit all day. Why you ask? Well, I put it on him in the morning to see if the top would fit and his HUGE head had the darnest time fitting into the hole. Hence, he wore the stuff all day long. Hopefully Henry having a huge head means there are some huge brains in there too. I for one have a pin head...

Such a concerned doctor...always willing to listen to a patient that has candy.

Willy and I...looking scary enough without costumes.

Our big boy getting ready to go trick or treating. And yes we understood that he is too young to even get what one does on Halloween, but he was upset every time the door opened for trick or treaters and he couldn't go outside. So we took him out to one house, Aunt Betsy's, and then let him run around.

A picture is worth a thousand words

CORN!!!

HAPPY!

SILLY-LITTLE-GUY!

Before...After

Crawling...

Walking!
He took his first steps at about 7 months and one week and now Henry's got it down pretty well. He's almost 9 months (I've been a tad tardy on getting a new post up). Now if only he could learn how to potty train early.

Blondie....

Brownie.

Although I'm having a bad hair day...but 5 out of 7 days are bad hair days so I just thought I should go ahead and post it anyway.

No baby....
Mommy arms!

And mommy clothes and mommy everything. Gross...I mean, motherhood is a beautiful thing.

CHICAGO

About two weekends ago. Matt and I decided to buy a car...on ebay...in Chicago. We were nervous about buying a car without seeing it first, but the price was right and it added a little needed adventure to our lives. Some bike around China, we buy a station wagon. Whoo, what a rush!

Here's Halbert in our rental car we got for the trip. He loves 'driving' but can't stand his car seat...probably cuz he didn't have one for four months in the Bahamas. This was his first road trip and he did alright for a kid who can't sit still.

Here we are in the exotic state of Indiana at the tourist headquarters. We had no idea this existed until we happened to need a bathroom break. Indiana is quite hospitable.

And they, the state of indiana, like big ducks.

Once we bought our car, we had a few hours to look around Chicago before heading home. We didn't know how the city would be with parking, so we hopped on the Blue Line for an easy ride to the downtown area.

Here's the boys in front of a sculpture, doin there thang. While we were there, an urban marathon and a huge partner scavenger hunt was going on. I guess I should've asked someone about this sculpture. Next time.

Barack to the future (that was for you Double Bear)!! Chicago is cuckoo for President Obama. He was all over the Sears Tower. Henry was not impressed, but we probably have eight more years to teach him about the Yes We Can President.

We had a Chicago style hot dog and deep dish pizza for lunch. Very good. Me likey Chicago cuisine.

And here is a pic of our new wheels. We are VERY happy with the purchase. It was a bargain and a sweet ride. We grew fond of Chi-town and may go back there for some clinical rotations. Yipee!

Night Time with Henry

For the past week, Halbert has been stayin up late to party. This is around 10:30 pm. We put him down with his sleepy eyes and then about five minutes later, we'll here him talking to himself. He must know that school is out for the summer.

Over a half an hour at the Bank!!!!

You deserve this Mommacita. Pictures you request, pictures you shall get. I work fastest with guilt hovering over my shoulder.

Sorry it took so long at the bank. How dare Wells Fargo. How dare they!

But here's a little boy who wants to smile at you and all his other grandparents too. Wouldn't had it been nice if he had been your bank teller instead of that suspicious 19-year-old?!

And here he is again. Different day...same outfit. It's his favorite (actually its just one of the only outfits he has that is good for this cooler weather). What is truthfully his favorite are the things in his hands: a green highlighter and a folded sticker that he found. He just learned how to crawl and keep things in his hands at the same time. So of course now he has to do it ALL THE TIME. And these items are his most favorites. They are in his hands until we trick them away from him. We are still afraid Henry will poke his eye out and swallow the sticker.

Here Halbert is watching a Yankee baseball game on the computer. Matt has set a good example on what it means to NEVER miss a NY Yankee's game.

Last one for the post. This is Henry in his room with his learning table. The kid is in a diaper because sometime we have to put his clothes on in stages. He bolts almost every time we try to put clothes or a diaper on him. And although he's skinny, this little man is stronger than an ox. Henry is able to walk around and around the table now without assistance. He quite possibly might be smarter than the Wells Fargo branch you were dealing with Mommacita.

MICH-I-GAN

Well, here's our latest update from Saginasty, Michigan. We packed up all our belongings in the Bahamas, which was quite a talent on our part. We only had three bags and a pack n' play that we could check. If any of the bags were over 50 lbs or if we had an extra bag, it would've cost us $200 extra dollars. That is ridiculous! So we did what any cheap-o person would do and brought like five carry-on items. Each checked bag was around 48 lbs each. Instead of putting Henry in the stroller, we used it to cart our baggage around and just held him. That was ridiculous too. Matt was such a MAN the whole trip and pushed all the luggage around like a true pro. I love being married to a muscle man.

Our belongings....most of the stuff is Henry's things.When we got to Detroit, it was around 6pm and we had bought tickets to go see the Yankee and Tigers play. Two problems: 1. We bought tickets for the wrong day and 2. It was FREEZING. After pleading with the ticket dudes to let us in, we didn't stay long since our 'warm' clothes were no match for the 40 degree weather. People were also giving us dirty looks for bringing a baby out into that frigid cold. One guy that worked there said five months was the youngest he'd met during the cold months. Whoopsies.Here's our new place for the next three months. (Don't mind the overly tired girl in the corner of the picture. Her baby still doesn't like to sleep through the night.) We really appreciate our friends for setting up this place for us. Its perfect and our landlord is great.

Just for a comparison. The picture above is Halbert on his third night alive. The picture below is him at six months. He loves the nude.
As you can see, he's changed size and color. Henry's been a real trooper these past six months. So far, he's spent time in Oregon, Utah, Grand Bahamas and now MICH-I-GAN. That sure is a lot for a little guy!

Last of the Bahamians

Things we will miss in the Bahamas: the beautiful weather and the people...sigh....

Goodbye tennis courts and Eric and Knema.

Goodbye Restaurants and Tommy Carter.

Goodbye all you great baby lovers and Aileen.

Goodbye little Bahama's Branch and Henry's Bahamian Grandma Paddy.

Goodbye Rides to Church and live long friends Sister Cash and Smith. We will miss you and your families sooooo much.

And Goodbye Scooter and Kellie. Henry misses you like crazy on Sundays (Kellie, not the scooter).

Kellie, I couldn't find a picture with you so I had to steal one off of facebook because I had to

include you in the things we will miss DEEPLY in the bahamas.

Jennifer the Great

This is my beautiful cousin Jennifer. And this is her day in the blogging world.

Every member of Team Williams is thinking about you today. We pray for you nightly too. And you are just so fantastic. Thanks for all the meals through out the years. Thanks for all of the relationship talks when I (leigh) was single. Thanks for being such a great example of someone who gives service to others so willingly. You are also a great example on how someone should be a mother, wife and friend.

Please get better -all the way better- soon.

Five and a Half Months

Hey everybody...its Halbert. Seeing that my mother has deeply neglected blogging about my milestones in life, I've decided to once again take over and toot toot my own horn about what I've been up to as of late. Let me tell you -it is not easy being a baby. Infancy was cake compared to what I go through now....

My mom keeps the harnesses extra tight on my stroller, cuz I am a wiggly worm. I also have to always wear a hat and blankets to keep the UVs off my delicate skin. I always kick off those darn blankets when we take walks, so my mom just circles around the shady parts...talk about paranoid...its not like I am the whitest baby ever. I'm a close second, but I'm not the whitest.
Here's a nice shot of me sitting with my toys. Aren't I a happy baby?! This is where I use to have my play area, but I kept on trying to eat the DVD/VCR machine so now I'm in a different spot. I liked those wires in the background a lot too. Maybe one day I'll have a true interest in techy stuff and become the first boy with Garlock blood to be able to fix things. Thanks again Williams family for your great 'can do' genes.

Now you grandmas out there, DON'T PANIC. Yes, I did hurt myself, but I'm okay now. This is my first earth wound and it was a good one. I was crawling around on the bed and hit my nose on the corner of the bedstand. My mom watched me do the whole thing. She actually saved me from more damage because I was headed off the bed too and she caught me before I hit the ground. I don't get to play on the beds as much as I use to anymore. Not a big deal though...I've learned something new that will keep my parents on their toes...

Standing. Yep, I can pull myself up on just about anything. I don't know how to fall correctly yet, so my mom has to follow me around everywhere I go before I hit my head on the tile floors. She thinks it is very tiring, but hey, she signed up for this and I'm cute.

So thats what's been going on for the past week or two. I, I mean my mom still has to post pictures of when we had visitors here on the island. Thanks for looking. Henry, the baby, out.

La la la la This is a Blog Post

La la la la...this is a blog post. Do da da da...here are some random pictures.

This was all the tin foil I found in the Reynolds Wrap container when I went to fetch it to make BBQ chicken. Who leaves barely an inch of foil left in the cupboard!?! I don't know who it was (it was probably me), but I got such a kick out of it. Sometimes you can find empty water bottles in our fridge too.

Here's a picture of Hal-bert. It was before we dropped him off at a babysitter's house for the first time. Our little guys spreading his wings...single tear. Thanks again Kellie for watching him.

A view of the sun rising in the wee morning hours. I, of course, did not take this. It was Willy. He gets up and takes care of Henry while I try to catch up on sleep for an hour or two. In all reality, I lay in bed and try to fall asleep for an hour or two and then get up feeling defeated. However, I still enjoy his help every morning.

Here's Matt and I at the fancy Ross University Fourth Semester Banquet. We got dressed up, left the babe with a sitter and enjoyed a great meal with some fellow students. The highlight of the night wasn't actually the banquet or dressing up - It was taking our teeny tiny little rental car over some speed bumps at about 40 kmph. Whoo hoo!! We got some fat air. I wish I had a picture of that.

One more month in the Bahamas...sigh. I'm already missing it.

Henry's Second Time Laughing

Here is an old video that was taken in January of Henry laughing for the second time (we got the first on video but this one is better). Willy's friend, Matt C, is the one making him laugh. It cracks us up because at times it looked like he either was going to laugh or get really scared. We are mainly posting it for all of our family who can't see him while we are out of the country. Even looking back on this video, Henry has grown drastically. He is our little man.

Visitors Part One

For two and a half glorious weeks, we had a well needed visitor. Good ol' Grandma Mary came out to play and boy did we have a good time. Henry especially loved (or maybe it was me who loved it) grandma holding him all day long. Hooray for extra hands.

This was the last day she was in town. Sigh. I was secretly hoping that security would reject her re-entry into the states and that she would stay.
Although the company was great, Henry has started to need a daily can of 'liquid darkness' (its an inside joke everyone) just like his grandma and father.


Here are my two favorite boys together. Both are looking very grown-up in their big boy/adult clothes.