the henig herd

big boy undies

2012-01-25T19:56:00.001-08:00

Behold, a true man. Pollard Henig is now sporting big boy undies and guess who is proud with a capital P....HE IS! And so is his Mama. What you see here is buzz light year however the themes of the undies range from woody and buzz, to Nemo, to robots and trucks. You get the drift. A few

pee clean ups here and there but otherwise I'm so proud of the big brother.

In other news I come to you this evening from my handy dandy iPad. BPH, senior purchased me this bad boy for Christmas. Can you say love affair...

More to come as I figure out what in the world i'm doing with this thing. Meanwhile i will be propped up here in bed on my heating pad like the 80 year old that I am.

3 Year old Pollard!!!

2012-01-16T09:24:00.000-08:00

HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY POLLARD!!!!

Pollard Henig turned 3 years old on January 3rd....I still can't believe it!

We celebrated at Dede and Big John's house and then with a backyard Outer Space/Rocketship throwdown.

GOOD TIMES!

And here you have his 2 most favorite gifts EVER. A talking storm trooper helmet from Mommy and Daddy and a "real" shotgun from Barnes and Emmie. Anything can really be a helmet to Pollard (a box, a bucket...Penn...you name it. The obsession grows more and more every day), so this talking helmet was a massive hit.

We blasted off in our backyard with a little par-tay including Pollard's new astronaut inflatable bounce-house. Here are a few of my fave pics from that sunny afternoon.

Pollard's 2 best friends, Chappell and Barnes playing in the playhouse :)

The birthday boy in his space outfit (thanks Sissy!) on the swings.

Blowing out the candles on his cupcake cake!

All of P's buds chowing down on cupcakes and popcorn in the backyard...SO MUCH FUN!

Me and Peanut Butter hanging out in the sunshine. This baby is just an absolute DREAM of a child.

Our attempt at a picture of the brothers in their matching outfits. As a mother you dream of dressing your kids alike and sitting them on a green grassy patch while they for the camera hugging each other. The truth of it is, you're lucky if they'll sit on a tacky Auburn blanket eating 2 suckers at once and looking at you like you have 2 heads.

And here is P serving popcorn from the popcorn machine. I had so much fun with that thing, and since popcorn is his favorite food, it was a shoe-in!

The party was a hit, and i'll leave you with my 2 favorite pictures from our week long celebration...

Happy Birthday to the best little boy I could ever ask for! You are sweet, funny, caring, sensitive, hilarious, extremely smart, spunky and LOADS of fun to be around. I can't imagine a better YOU! WE LOVE YOU, BUD!!!

Picnik

2011-12-13T13:48:00.000-08:00

No not that kind of Picnic, I said Picnik.

Although doesn't an actual picnic sound so nice? I wish I could take my well behaved children to a park with a basket full of PBJ and cheetos and act like Penn wouldn't crawl up a tree and bust a lip and Pollard would dart over to the first inanimate object he sees and act like it's a rocket ship and try to blast off.

I digress. I love Picnik, a free photo editing tool that's part of Google. I have no time for anything except for eat, sleep, feed children, work. However one of my New Years Resolutions is to come back to the Henig Herd. So hopefully you'll be hearing from us more regularly.

For now I show you a picture of my Peanut Butter on his daddy's lap, in something Picnik did to him. Doesn't he look dreamy and kind of old school-ish? I love his baby-man boobs and little fat feet. I know you do too.

I would like to think...

2011-12-11T18:17:00.000-08:00

That this was the most handsome 2.75 year old to grace the doors of First Baptist Church this morning.

It's true, he actually is THAT skinny. That's what happens when you survive solely on peanut butter and jelly Uncrustables, Gogurt, and cheese hot dogs.

"Should I go on this diet?" I wonder to myself quiet often...

But doesn't he look a DREAM in his Christmas outfit? I bravely went where I had not gone before and ordered this from one of those facebook bid thingies like 5 Little Monkeys or Smockadot or something to that effect. Anywhoodles, 3 days later this little pearl showed up for a fraction of the cost it would be retail and I was ever-so-ever-so happy.

Friday afternoon we met my goddaughter Mary Clark and Pollard's Fairy Godmother, Meghan at the McWane Center in Birmingham.

Here is P squishing his face in the biggest face squisher ever. You remember those things you could put your hand in and it would show through on the other side? Let's not talk about germs people, it was all just in good fun and I sanitized his nostrils when we were done.

And here are these 2 pals just hanging out at mission control by one of the fun exhibits.

Mary Clark loved seeing what little Penn was up to. You can't tell really in this picture but they're twinkies in their outfits. LOVE.

And here are the RASCALS, crawling out of the Santa Express. How cute is my goddaughter, people???

And, in the culmination of his life thus far, Pollard got to hug a real live rocket ship. What a happy day.

I will leave you with this naked baby and his Daddy. This was BEFORE he tried to pull up on the entertainment center tonight and busted his top gum completely open and was gushing blood for 20 minutes.

CHEERS!

Attempts at family photos

2011-12-07T19:39:00.000-08:00

THIS is a stick up.

I just had to start with that. My nephew Johnny (4.5yrs) came over to play tonight and when I came home from yoga this is what I found. A complete bank robbery, Pampers Pull Up style.

And next I give you Mr. Sitter Upper Who Crawls at the Speed of Light and Pulls Up on Everything.

This is a long title but he wears it well. Could someone PLEASE for the love, remind this child he is not even close to 9 months old??? Aren't these tricks for like 10 and 11 month olds?? I love the 2nd picture because it shows his Snuffalufagus snaggle tooth. Yes, the other tooth finally popped through, but here for a while it's been pretty side splitting hilarious that the cutest baby on the face of the planet has a snaggle tooth.

Next up we have the LOVES of my life. Pollard's hair continues to just get fluffier, and longer, and wavier and sticky-upier. It's so great. This morning was so cute, Pollard was just loving his little heart out on his little bro.

And here we have our attempts at Christmas card pictures. The good news is, we did this in under 30 minutes. The bad news is we used NONE of the 87 pictures we took. These were really the front runners but in the first one, poor Angel Penn is in the bright light, and not looking, but Pollard's face is so darn good.

And in this one Pollard's face is so awkward and it was all we could do to get him to take his hands off his crotch for 2 seconds, but we still got the tongue out.

Couldn't do either, so I went with one from Penn's dedication. I'll scan her in for the next post.

Fun things about the boys...

Penn at 8 months:

1) 3.5 teeth

2) Down to 2 naps a day...hallelujah!

3) Still gets pretty constipated from time to time (TMI?)
4) Has the best laugh EVER!

5) Find him standing completely up in his crib, changing the song on the mobile, laughing to himself

6) Obsessed with his big brother

7) Loves it when you sing Twinkle Twinkle

Pollard at 2.75 years:

1) Is so obsessed with outer space and rocket ships that it has become a full on job to blast off every day, 18 times/day

2) Can be so sweet to Penn. Just the other day he said "You're the best, Penn!" and then later on that day said "I'm so glad you're here, Penn..."

3) Can be so terrorizing to Penn. Found him trying to sit on the baby, smother the baby, you name it.

4) Says anything and everything including "Santa's gonna bring me a jumpy, Mom. What do you fink about dat?" (I think that sounds pricey, son)

5) For the longest time has thought that Santa Claus was called Christmas. He saw a stuffed Santa, nelt down to hug it and said "I wuv you, Christmas"

6) LOVES the city of Huntsville, even though we've never been. Britton goes there for work so he thinks it must be cool. The other day he and Britton were playing pretend like they were injured and Britton said "What should we do?!?" and Pollard replied "Call Ronnie! In Huntsbille!" Whaaaa?

Ladies...

2011-11-07T19:29:00.000-08:00

Strike a pose.

I'm available!

This is 20.8 lbs of lovin'.

I'm an aries. I like pureed squash and I enjoy a good paci.

I'm not taken yet, just FYI.

Good night from the the big brother...

Penn's Dedication and Halloween

2011-11-03T14:05:00.000-07:00

Behold the wee one, a vision in white if I do say so. This past Sunday was Penn's very special day at our church, he was dedicated! Growing up Methodist it's been hard for me to grasp the fact that as a Baptist I don't baptize my babies. But seeing as I loooooove our church, and our pastor does a beautiful job of explaning why we don't baptize until the younggun decides themselves, it makes it easier for me. This gown you see above was hand made (and I do mean every last stitch, people) by Britton's Aunt Judy. She is the best kind of Aunt as she's not really your Aunt, she's just your Mom's best friend that acts as such. Gift bearing, hand stitching, passing down heirlooms for your children to use...that kind. She has been so gracious as to let all of us use this for our babes and this picture does it no justice. Thank you, Aunt Judy!

The above is our best attempt at a family picture. Who loves Pollard's new smile as much as I do?? That kid is side splitting hilarious.

The day would never have been complete without Mimi and Papa, and DeDe and Big John! Is it just me or are our parents rather good-looking? Thanks be to LITTLE BABY JESUS for my Mom's cooking skills, or else we would have had nothing for brunch. She only whipped up 4 casseroles, 2 pitchers of Prosecco Mimosas, a whole crystal bowl full-o-fruit, set the table, took down the table and cleaned the dishes. Oh, and got up with my coughing baby all night. Thank goodness she drinks coffee.

And lo and behold we have our astronaut. FUNNIEST.THING.EVER. That is a NASA certified suit and talking helmet you see, and if you were in spittin' distance, you were trying on the helmet, and you WERE blasting off to outer space.

Daddy took our space explorer door to door while Penn snoozed in the Baby Bjorn.

Another attempt at a family picture when the monkey woke up.

Looks like that cocktail may have helped Britton survive the hayride. Pollard totally geeked at getting on and off the hayride and going door to door, it was serious fun to watch.

And here are a few other cute pictures from the weekend for your viewing pleasure. Ahhhh. What a great few days.

A few other notes about life:
1) At random times Pollard will walk up to me and say "If you do that again, you're gettin a spankin and you're goin to TIME OUT!". Ok then...loud and clear.
2) Penn still has his 2 bottom teeth and I'm still obsessed with his tiny cuteness. I don't want him to grow.
3) I have re-done my dining room, painted a few things around this house of ours, and about have each room furnished for now. Schuyler's baby shower is only 2 weeks away so I'm getting prepped and ready.
4) Pollard said to Penn "Thanks for coming to my house, Penn! I sure am proud of you!"
5) Penn can reach up and steal Pollard's paci right out of his mouth and stick it in his. I love how mad it makes Pollard!
6) Pollard is potty training himself and mighty well I might add. We're about a month in and he's in straight pull ups during the day. He does a great job but is entirely too obsessed with watching the poop hit the water.
7) Pollards best girl friend Chappell just moved in right across the street. The dream has come true!

Have a great rest of your week and weekend!

6 Month stats

2011-09-27T15:53:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it either! This right here is 19 lbs and 27 1/4" of pure baby love. Just look at that FACE. I can't even deal.
He is in the 80% for weight, and 75% for height, so we're catching up to big brother, folks. I still call him peanut because he is a peanut to me, so there. He had 3 shots in his thunder thighs but he's been good today. A little fussy but geez I would be too.
Anywho just a quick update from over yonder.
Don't get used to this 2 posts in less than a week business. My Tasmanian Devil (big P) is at Johnny's soccer game and Peanut Butter is taking a small nappy-nap.

Oh my gosh...HOW do people have time to update blogs?

2011-09-22T15:17:00.000-07:00

I feel like I need to start this blog like a confessional. "It's been almost 2 months since my last post..."

People I fear I do not have time for this lovely blog anymore. I used to be so on the up-and-up with my posts and now I find myself in a state of confusion. How on earth do all you people with 1+ children frolic with your camera and update your blog like...twice a week? Seriously I need your advice.

Anywhoodles, it's 5:02 pm on a Thursday, I'm in a pair of pajama shorts with my hair in its ever-present ponytail. Today I have 1) taken one very angry 2 year old to preschool 2) worked 3) bought a door hanger 4) taken a nap for the first time in weeks 5) gotten peed on and farted on. Twice. By the same angry 2 year old.

That's pretty much status quo around here.

Here are a few fun tidbits from our life recently, which seems to never stop. These boys are so darn great though.

[sidenote: my text is center aligned and I don't know why??]
My friend Rachel makes angel paintings and she made the below especially for my roly poly Penn. When someone paints guardian angels for your child, you're GONNA cry.

Mimi bought Pollard Henig (angry 2 year old) these monster legos and taught him how to build a tower. OBSESSED. Also obsessed with these Thomas the Train jammies but is extremely bored by the show.

We went to the Georgia Aquarium and all packed into one hotel room. You can tell by how good I look at the fishy tanks (concealer please). Pollard had a big, fat time and the animals were beautiful. He even got to eat ice cream in bed with Daddy.

At first we weren't sure about the dolphin. But then as we left, couldn't stop talking about him and had to buy a stuffed one. You know that story.

We had to do no flash at the aquarium and I couldn't get my camera to adjust. I needed Holland (photog friend) but she was nowhere in sight.

Petting the stingrays, makes Mommy very nervous (um...what was the Australian guy? Yeah.)

And lastly, these 2 are becoming close buddies. Penn will literally crane his neck when he hears Britton's voice to try and find him. Reaches for him, makes googly eyes, it's so cute.

Pollard still thinks everything Penn does is side-splitting hilarious..."Wook at Penn! He rolled over!" "Oh Penn you're makin' that funny noise again! You so silly!!" The funniest thing is when Pollard is in his angry state throwing a fit and Penn just looks at him and starts dying out laughing. Good timing! I've nicknamed Penn "roly poly" because he has a big ol baby tummy and fat thighs and I just love the way he grabs his little feet and roly-poly-ies himself around. I can honestly say I am trying to hold him longer, enjoy every little thing about him because I know how fast he is going to grow up. He's so yummy.

Pollard is going to school Mon-Thurs now and loves it. He says the darnest things. For example last night at the dinner table he said "Ok Mom, I am the customer, I would just like some more pizza please". He is OBSESSIVE about rocket ships, and really in case you didn't know, you can turn just about anything into one. We "blast off" A LOT. He is pure entertainment.

Well, see y'all in 2 months.

What's going on with Penn and Pollard?

2011-07-12T13:07:00.000-07:00

Oh, a little of this, a little of that. Here's some cute pictures from the last month or so to make your day.

Would you look at these two? Best friends already. Everyone loves Papa, but for whatever reason Penn reeeeaaaallllyyy loves Papa. I mean I could think of a whole mess of reasons but this blog ain't long enough.

All this should tell you we've been to Nashville...TWICE! I took the boys when Britton had a 4 night stay away from home for work. Call me a weenie but I didn't even want to attempt that. So, Mimi and Papa to the rescue for a week long relaxing vacay in Candyland (aka Nashville).

We swam...a LOT! Britton and Pollard were staples in the pool before and after nap time.

Mom keeps an amazing yard. Around the pool it's just flowers galore of every shape and color. The lady has a natural green thumb, which I did not inherit. We helped Mimi water her flowers, which just resulted in naked hose time. SUCH fun!

Daddy also is an avid tomato-grower and Pollard spent a lot of time picking 'em. They had a ball.

And I'll leave you with the last 2 things that make my heart super-happy (thanks Kai-Lan for that lovely phrase). Penn rolled over! I put him on his back, ran to stop Pollard from whatever mess he was getting himself into and when I came back I found a little iguana popped up on his belly. I want to eat this baby up. He is 3 1/2 months old and weighs what seems like a ton.

The 2nd thing is that they now look at each other and smile and laugh. Kinda makes it all worth it, right?

What Pollard is up to...

1) Obsessed with the whereabouts of his little brother at ALL times, and talks to him like he's his age..."Penn, stay wight dere, I go get your juice, otay??"

2) Talks to Penn on the video monitor if he's waking up from a nap "Don't wowwy Penn! Your Mommy's comin' to getchu!"

3) LOVES TV! Favorite shows are Super Why, Caillou (horrid), Yo Gabba Gabba and Bubble Guppies (so cute)

4) Counts to 20...or "20-teen" as he calls it

5) Speaks in full sentences saying things like "Hey Mom, I have a question...have you seen my paci?" Hilarious.

6) Obsessed with his cousins Johnny, Barnes and Emilyn

7) Has started to play hide and go seek with Norman

What Penn is up to....

1) Just chatting it up, laughing and smiling at everyone and everything!

2) Loves his activity mat

3) Horrible constipation

4) LOVES his bath

5) Rolled over!!!!

6) Loves to watch golf on Daddy's lap

7) Takes the shortest naps on earth

8) Is probably sick of his Mommy kissing him

Good bye for now from the paci addict...

Life with Two

2011-05-15T14:22:00.001-07:00

Is much busier than anyone can prepare you for! Phew. I am T-I-R-E-D. Being the Mom is kind of exhasting...know what I mean? I wish I had time to blog...and be able to eat lunch. My free 10 minutes here or there are spent shoving a sandwich down my throat or doing something really crazy like brushing my teeth.

The boys are great, though, and I can't complain. They are healthy, hilarious, and they really love each other. Well Penn loves Pollard as much as an almost 8 week old can love a 2 year old that is all over him at all times.
Speaking of which...look who's smiling BIG TIME! (as in alllll the time)

Baby Pumpkin Penn...6 weeks old in this picture...

It is hard describe, the fact that you love your 2nd just as much as your first. But you do, you really really really do.

Also loving a good stretch on the floor...

(could you EAT him with a spoon?)

Easter this year was uber-cool since Pollard was jazzed up about the bunny visiting "Powward's New House". We dressed in our Easter best and went to meet this bunny, but of course when it was his turn to sit on the bunny's knee, he wasn't so sure. In addition, the hunting of eggs caused

a meltdown. Of course it did, someone was trying to give you free candy, why not throw a fit?

Last weekend the 4 of us took our first family road trip to the beach for Mother's Day. Ahhhhh. It was just the change of scenery I needed. We figured we were gonna be worn out no matter where we were, so may as well be somewhere sandy where I can get fried shrimp. Lots of fun ensued...

What Pollard is up to:

1) Definitely a boy because he's OBSESSED with trucks, school "bussies", air-pwanes, pick up trucks, vans, Montgomery city buses (that's a good one), tractors...if it goes, we want to find it.

2) If Penn is crying, you can catch him over by the swing or wherever he is, patting his head saying "It's ok buddy, it's ok, it's ok", over and over and over again.

3) If Penn is crying, you can catch him pulling Penn's tiny baby hair as hard as he possibly can.

4) Is obsessed with his swingset in the back yard. He will run halfway out to it, stop, turn around and yell "Mama!! You wannt swing wif Powward??"

5) Still insane about the daggum Fresh Beat Band. I have memorized every episode and so has he.

What Penn is up to:

1) Sleeps when he wants, but does longer stretches here or there for me at night

2) Really easy to nurse, thank you Lord Jesus

3) LOVES taking a bath

4) Coos, oohs, ahhs, gurgles...LOVE it.

5) Loves to stretch out on the floor and his eyes always turn toward the colors on the TV.

6) Is probably sick of me kissing his cheeks off.

We are so blessed, and our life is great. We'll rest one day...I hope!

It's a BOY!

2011-03-27T09:07:00.001-07:00

On March 21st at 1:37 pm our newest little one, Wade Pennington ("Penn") Henig was born! He came one day early and we were so excited. He was 8 lbs even, and 20.5 inches long. He is an absolute joy to us, and the best addition to our family that we could have imagined. His big brother LOVES him so much and is always asking where he is and what he's doing!

We are so blessed and have thanked God every day for this precious child!

Just waiting around...

2011-03-16T13:13:00.000-07:00

For this littlest one to arrive...

I am almost 39 weeks preg today and feeling the burn. I went to the doctor Tuesday morning and am 2 cm dilated (sorry if that's TMI for the blog but oh well). So the great news is that I get to have the baby next Tuesday March 22nd! Great birthday, right?? I will go in at 5 am to get the drip to induce labor and hope to have a baby not long after that. I have to say I'm really just so excited this time around since I know what to expect. With Pollard I was more nervous, but I feel like an expert now!
I kid, I kid. I am not an expert.
In the mean time it's spring break for Mother's Day Out and P and I have been spending some time outside.
I was really excited to see these pop up in our side yard ! (The little surprises of a new house)

We've been blowing a lot of bubbles (severe obsession...all day and all night)

Sharing goldfish with Allie...

And taking pictures of what I will (thank you sweet baby Jesus) not look like anymore after Tuesday.

Better go throw my tiny onesies in the dryer!

Decorating an entire house...

2011-02-23T18:23:00.000-08:00

How do you do that??

Our last house was a mish-mash of Britton's things and my things before we got married, combined with some things that we bought together that we could afford at the time.

It was super cute and cottage-y (on hole #6 of the MCC golf course). I miss coming through that front door every day. Britton proposed to me in the dining room, we brought Pollard home to that house...all the things that make ya tear up in life.

Our new house I am really trying to get into the decorate mode with. But when you're 9 months pregnant and have a 2 year old, have just spend an UNGODLY amount of money on 2 new couches and appliances...well you get the drift.

But since this is my blog I can say that I want...

1) Pops of color but have only gotten to my neutral bases so far

2) An even mix of traditional and contemporary accent pieces

3) About $20,000 to buy everything I want :)

Instead of buying and collecting things for the house before we moved in, I decided that in my current large state, and in Pollard's current fit-throwing food-flinging state, it would be best for my blood pressure to just decorate as I go. Hopefully that will make me appreciate it? All these dang empty corners and empty rooms are taking my OCD and Type A to a whole new level...2 glasses of wine/night would really help the situation but for now I'll just dip 2 Chips Ahoy in some milk and forget about it.
I digress.

I found a few decorating blogs that make me drool while I watch Pollard roll around trying to go to sleep from about 8:15-8:45 at night... Can I just say...HOW did I get by without a video monitor for the last 2 years?? Thanks Allison for the great suggestion on the Summer Monitor!

This is what I have been reading the past 2 nights...

http://www.cozycoco.com/

http://blog.urbangrace.com/

I came across Urban Grace because I'm kind of obsessing over the Best Slipcover Company's "Rachel" chairs. My dear friend Ashley Gilbreath who owns a beautiful store here in Montgomery called "Parish" had one in her store. Most comfortable, best looking chair I've ever put my butt in.

These are Urban Grace's Rachel chairs....

Slipcovered, skirted, brightly colored....love love love.

Anyone else know of some fun decorating blogs that I can salivate over/get ideas?

For now I'm taking a shower because it's 8:38 and I think Mr. Thomas the Train Jammies may be finally dozing off...

Beautiful weather!

2011-02-21T14:09:00.000-08:00

The last 2 weekends have been absolutely gorgeous. It's a good thing because if I had to sit inside and think about how the LARGENESS has set in, it would not be pretty. It's one thing to be 8.5 months pregnant, but quite another to be 8.5 months pregnant, stuck inside with a 2 year old. This baby in the tummy has gone straight into my ribs in a quick and violent way. I find myself waddling quite a bit at this point and it just ain't attractive. I've been making valliant efforts to walk in a normal fashion realizing in a few weeks I actually won't have a choice but to walk like a duck. As a general update I'll be 36 weeks on Friday. As of my 33 week ultrasound, the baby already weighed in at 4 lbs 11 ounces. As many of you know, Pollard was a full 10 pound baby. I'm kinda looking not to do that twice so we'll see how far I get with my full on sales-convincing capabilities with the doctor next week. Maybe I should show up with no make up on, looking as bad as I feel?

Here are some pics of what we've been up to lately...

With our new house came a rockin' playset that has become the center of Pollard's world. It has also become the main part of the day where I almost lose bladder control watching his hair static up like he just stuck his finger in a plug.

(PS Pollard just walked up and said "WHOA! Wook at Powward! He can swide down!" Love this kid).

I realized on this Sunday when we skipped church (tisk tisk) and I had no make up on that we had NO pregnant pictures of me (poor 2nd child). Here I am, 34 weeks.

I am also spoiled enough to have had both of my sisters-in-law and Britton's cousin Alex throw me a dutch treat diaper shower at my favorite restaurant, Michael's Table. It was so perfect, a LOAD of fun and I got diapers galore! (poor Jenn had the nasty cold-thingy that's going around...boy did I miss her...)

Here I am with Britton's grandmother and my Mom (doesn't Gigi look dynomite?), Julia and Alex, and a group shot! Also I thought a good pic of me and the grandmommas :)

And because I look for any excuse to invite my parents in town, they came for the entire weekend after the Thursday night shower. Dad had a FULL knee replacement just 6 weeks ago...can't tell, can ya? We went to the park and enjoyed the bubbles they brought for my little Tasmanian Devil. He looooooves Mimi and Papa...

And today was President's Day so we went to the zoo. After purchasing an annual pass, we took full advantage. The entire ride over Pollard was geeking about seeing "Baby animals!"

Here he is looking for the turtles and the...eh...monkeys, was it? Can't remember, saw so many animals...

And here are the twinkies looking at the Bison, and a shot of the LARGENESS, complete with my outtie. Se tiger behind us...yowza she was a biggun.

The other day I was changing clothes and all of a sudden Pollard ran in the room, stopped where he was and started dying out laughing. I quickly realized he was looking at my belly button after he started trying to push it back in as hard as he could. I couldnt' blame him, it does look pretty darn hilarious if it's not YOU...

Pollard's awesome sayings:

1) Will run into a room and say "Hey! What are youuuuuu doin there?"

2) Loves to cover your eyes for you and say "Hey! I got a supwise, nooo peeking!" Then when he lifts his hands away he yells "PEEKABOO!" So we're guessing he is the surprise...

3) Gives a two thumbs up and says "This is GREAT!"

We are constantly surprised by his vocabulary. What a smarty pants.

Adios for now!

Remember us??

2011-02-13T12:59:00.000-08:00

In a fog of the holidays, moving, trying to get settled in our new house, and being 8 months pregnant, I have once again proceeded to neglect the poor blog.

There is someone who wants to say hi...

Remember me??? I'm Pollard and I really hate that all the pictures of me have been stuck on Mom and Dad's hard drive. Here are some highlights from my ever-exciting life!

I got to go to Mimi and Papa's house over Christmas and help say goodbye to the Christmas tree. Man I really miss that thing!

Also, I'm kind of a Christmas Baby (Mom says, whatever that means). I turned TWO on January 3rd...it was so awesome! Cupcakes galore at Mimi's...

And Aunt Leslie gave me my first guitar. How appropriate :)

In addition Papa helped me with my new boots, which give me super powers (a lot of climbing...)

And when we got back to Montgomery, DeDe and Big John helped me keep on celebrating at their house!

There was also a really cool joint bday party that I had at Pump It Up with Oliver Steen, pictures of that slammin' night to come...

Also, in case you missed it, Auburn won the National Championship!!!! I'm a huge fan of the Tigers. Every time I see an "AU" I yell "Hey! Its a waaaar eagle!"

As for the new house, we'll be doing another post on that separately in the next week or so, but let's just say I looooooove it. Every time we drive up the driveway I can't help but yell "Powwad's new houuuuuse!" Also, I have a great new bathtub and big boy jammies (Thomas the Train) to match my new big boy bed. Soooooo cool.

And for now I'll leave you with this picture that my best friend Chappell's mom took of me the day after her birthday party.

Thanks for hearing me out! I'll give my Mom a stern talking to about the lack of updates. She'll be back!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-18T07:51:00.000-08:00

Christmas day is ONE week away...crazy to think about! We took some cute pictures last night, here are the 3 favorites.

Also last weekend we went to a pajama breakfast for the kiddos at a friends house. Pollard and Barnes had the BEST time, and Pollard totally OD'd on mini-marshmellows. Who knew he even liked those? (note to self, must have marshmellows on bday cake...)

(Is that 2nd one not hilarious? Jenn took that, mid-tumble)

After that it was off to Riley's 2nd birthday party, which was a vintage circus theme. Cutest thing I've EVER seen, and Allison went all the way with the decor. There was a jumpy outside

as well as the Big Green Bus. If you don't knwo about the BGB, it's a traveling school bus that is a jungle gym inside. There is a slide, mats to climb on , bars to swing on....amazing. This was P's favorite activity...

(Second to eating 3 chocolate mustaches. I found him alone in Riley's room covered in chocolate just dying out laughing. That's when we left...)

And last but not least, here we are with the Eddins after Auburn won the SEC title....WHOO-HOO!!!

This week:
1) I found Pollard on his knees with his hands folded singing "God our fadder, God our fadder...AMEN!"
2) He grabbed Brittons hand and started shaking it and saying "Nice to meet you, Daddy!"

I'm glad this week is over, it's been SO LONG and SO STRESSFUL! Here's to hoping next week is breezy :) We're so looking forward to heading to Nashville on Christmas day for some QT!

I'm back!

2010-12-11T12:36:00.000-08:00

I'm baaaaack! We have been sooooo out of pocket since we sold our house and we finally got the computer hooked up at my in laws! I feel like this is a total homecoming. All my pictures...all my videos....ahhhh. Nice to be back.

Well, we've moved out of our house on Country Club Drive (tear) and in with Britton's parents until mid-January. We bought a house here in Montgomery that we're in love with! We can't wait to move in.

Meanwhile it's Christmas, and I'm rocking one heck of a 6-month baby bump. Looks like we've got another biggun brewing, folks.

Pollard is just getting more and more hilarious as the days go by. Here's what we've been doing.

We went to the beach with Mimi...

To the pumpkin patch with Barnes Trott and some buddies...

And to an Auburn football game with cousins! Is this the greatest picture EVER?

He was both a golfer and a giraffe for Halloween...

And ate a good bit of Halloween candy. Big John even taught him to say "Trick or Treat!" (Twicker Tweeeeet!)

We went home to Nashville for Thanksgiving and Dad trimmed up the bird for us. The guys also enjoyed some time at Club Larry with Dad's new space heater...

(I think I see a snuggie in each of their futures....)

Some awesome Pollard stuff:
1) Knows all the words to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

2) Can count from 1-15 and backwards from 5-1 (then says "BLAST-OFF!")

3) Every morning he says "Mama, do you have the milk?" (pronounced "mulk")

4) Calls most things by a plural--"pacis", "movies", "blankies"

5) CANNOT live without "Green", his bright green Little Giraffe blanket

6)Obsessed with Norman and Allie

7) When I pick him up from school and say "Did you have fun?", often replies with "Of course, mama". Oh...OK!

8) Obsessed with slides

9) Favorite shows in the world-Blues Clues and The Frest Beat Band

Pretty darn funny kid.

What's going on around here...

2010-09-18T14:17:00.000-07:00

It's been over a month since I posted last so I thought I'd give you a picture OD. We've been quite busy and are glad to be slowing down a little.
First off, my little man is going to be a big brother! I am due March 25th! We are so excited. And to answer the question that I seem to get asked every day about 11 times, no we are not going to find out what we're having. These kids will be 26 months apart so someone say a prayer for my sanity.

And with that said, we've had lots of family time because I don't have the energy I once had to make up songs and game and roll around on the floor.
Jenn (sis in law) monogrammed these rompers for the boys and they looked like precious angels in them when Barnes came over to play. Of course you can forget trying to get both to smile at the same time!
Aren't they edible?

Barnes gets really hopped up and excited when it's time to PLAY!

And check out P going in for the love and Barnes hiding for cover!

Later on, Chappell came over to hang with the boys.

We also went to the beach for Labor Day with the Trott's and the Heath Henig's....

Bye for now!

First French Kiss

2010-08-05T18:33:00.000-07:00

Britton stopped by the house one afternoon last week to grab a quick lunch, as he does sometimes. Half the time we're here, half the time I'm at work...you just never know where the heck we all are at any given time. But on this day, thank heavens we were here because Pollard was feeling frisky. When Britton started to leave, he grabbed him to get a hug and kiss. Instead he got about 8 french kisses. I kid you not when I tell you, my baby turned his head to the side, opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue, all the while going straight for Britton's mouth.

Greatest.Thing.Ever.

Britton was crying he was laughing so hard, and I could hardly hold the camera straight.

As you can see, these two really crack each other up.

Sidewalk Chalk

2010-07-27T15:17:00.000-07:00

Today was not terribly miserable outside, so we opted for one outdoor activity until I started sweating on the back of my knees. Usually it take about 15 seconds for that to happen, but it has rained a little bit and mildly cooled things off. I had gotten P some sidewalk chalk for Easter but he hasn't really shown much interest in it. Until today! We learned the color blue. I figured better to not overwhelm the guy, he's just learned to count to 10 so let's let that soak in, right?

Here are some highlights. Enjoy my little love nugget and his sassy attitude.

[and yes, I was trying to write his name but his butt was sitting right where the D would go. Hopefully this does not confuse him in kindergarten]
[also, feel free to comment on his mullet. I just LOVE it!]

And last but not least, I found this scenario when I arrived home late Saturday afternoon. Just Pollard was supposed to be napping. Hmmmmm. Look at these twinkies....

With that said I will be eating dinner and putting myself to bed early tonight. Contemplating watching the Tony Robbins reality show. His hands are really big, though, kind of weird.

Turks and Caicos

2010-07-25T18:05:00.000-07:00

Every summer my parents take us on a wonderful vacation. Last summer we stayed closer to home and just headed to Destin since P was only 6 months old. But this summer we were treated to Turks and Caicos....HOLLA! Here are some highlights. And may I just say before you begin the drooling that I truly cannot remember having more fun. Usually at the end of vacation you sort of think "Oh, OK, I was ready to go home anyway". This place made me yearn to be a full European and take a month long holiday in this tropical paradise. I have no more words. See for yourself.

They had beach tents. Perfect for bay-bays. And Papas.

The pool was complete with a water fall, floats, balls, and yes--water guns.

Most restaurants were outdoor seating, and we just prayed for a nice breeze. Or a fountain.

We went on a snorkeling excursion the day before we left. Seriously awesome!

I found the night setting on my camera!

P looking for our friends, the lizards. Also this was our view out the back door of our condo.

And here are just a few more fun snapshots !

So we are back from vacay and wishing we were still there.

Other than that, all is well! We had Pollard's 18 month check up and he is 95% for weight, 70% for height. Way to go , buddy. That's what happens when you down an entire jar of meat sticks in 2 minutes flat.

The nurse came in to give him his shot this time and the strangest thing happened. She stuck the fat thigh and he winced and let out a yelp. I was waiting for the tears, but alas...none ever came. No...he sat up, looked at his leg, looked at Sheree (my fave nurse) and when I said "Tell her thank you and give her a high five", he just stuck his hand straight up in the air with a smile on his face and went "HIGH FIVE!" And then when she was walking out he waved and went "Bye bye Sheeee!" Greatest thing ever!

He also says "thank you" after you pull him out of his high chair, as well as "you're welcome" when you say thanks. He is obsessed with giving things to people, especially if it's unauthorized. He'll find Britton's phone and go running and say "here, Daddy". His voice is just so tiny and cute, it's the funniest thing. He also says "some more?" and "bye bye toodles" (the character from Mickey Mouse).

He's a chatty little thing.

Mini B

2010-06-13T13:17:00.000-07:00

My brother and Justine got Pollard this visor with a lobster on it. It's so stinking cute. Strangely, however, when I put it on the bay-bay, he looks like a mini-Britton. This afternoon we were just keeping it classy in the front yard. To match his lack of clothing and overly soaked diaper, I was wearing a really old ( read: too tight) pair of Harpeth Hall P.E. shorts and a ripped tank top. Hey, neighbors!

Also, Friday night Jenn and Bob had us over for these homemade pizzas that she makes. I ate too much. But the boys shared Farmie's Winnie the Pooh car very sweetly. (Johnny called Barnes "Farms" when he was born...it just stuck!)

Summer is here and there's lots to catch up on!

2010-06-06T08:47:00.000-07:00

In case you didn't notice, I haven't updated this poor blog in over a month. Poor, pitiful Henig Herd. And boy have I gotten the pouty lip from some unnamed friends. So here we are.

Just in case you missed it....

Yes indeed our little cousin Rudy-Roo Barnes Trott is ONE YEAR OLD! Jenn and Bob threw him a slammin' good splish-slash duckie bash. The above custom fans are just one of the many cute details at his party.

[I couldn't believe he kept his birthday hat on, what a man!] And I have to say, I've NEVER seen a 1 year old that knew it was his birthday. He was so on his game, waving and smiling at everyone, waving bye-bye to those that were leaving, swimming and splashing to his little hearts content, digging hard core into his cake and opening presents like he knew just what to do! Oh, Rudy, you bring me great joy.

We also have been hanging out with our other cousin Mary Clark, who is getting bigger and more beautiful every time we see that sweet face! P wanted to reminisce about the old days in the infant carrier.

And here are just a few other fun ones. The summer has started out wonderfully ( a wee hot), and Pollard is SO DARN BIG. He says moo, meow, outside, paci, no no, Mommy, Daddy, Sissy (Jennifer...or sometimes Barnes' name), Let's Go, Let's See, Mimi, Dede, Papa....I could keep on going!

Until next time (I promise it won't be a month), Happy Summer!

Easter and a playdate

2010-04-24T09:53:00.000-07:00

Hmmm...lots to catch up on!

I'll get right down to it. Easter pics and a very fun playdate at the park. We're busy and TIRED around here!!!

This is my lil' boo in an outfit that Britton's Mom made for him when HE was a baby. Is it not just AMAZING?!? We went to the Easter Egg Hunt at the club and he looked like a sweet angel. Until he tried to bust up in the hunt-zone before any of the other kids. Not cute.

BIG FAN of the firetruck that brought the Easter Bunny...

Scared to death of Santa Claus but when the bunny came out, he was so excited!!

We hav made every Tuesday our playdate day with Addison and Oliver. We went to the park a few weeks ago and it was a hilariously dirty and sweaty time. They all shared sippy cups, and Ollie took a sand bath. Pretty darn great.

And 2 more just for good measure. See all his shiny teeth?

What to do when you've got croupe...

2010-03-26T11:23:00.000-07:00

Stick your kiddo in the freezer.
OK not all the way in, but you get the drift. The cold air helps their teensy-tinsy windpipes spread back out again. I never thought I'd say this but I do wish it were a cold wintry day and we could just go out for a bit. Nonetheless, punkin had fun playing in Mommy's newly organized freezer this morning.

[it might not look organized to you, but you should have seen it before. And yes, that is Publix brand premium yogurt, mint something-or-other. Do not get it or you will find yourself making specials trips at 7:30 on a Tuesday night because you've run out. Talk about embarassing when you go to the counter and all you have it that and some Tylenol Cold and Sinus.]

Don't forget to warn your wittle one that ice is...BRRRR! Cold!

After a steroid shot yesterday he's on the mend. But when he tried to do a high-pitched "Bye-bye!" this morning, and nothing came out, we knew we needed a weekend at home.

Missed me?

2010-03-21T08:30:00.000-07:00

It's been so long since I've updated the blog that I thought I'd just post a bunch of pictures in case you missed my main man. We've been quite busy, but mostly it's with boring stuff like work and spring cleaning (a necessary evil). I decided, though, that you must have been missing Pollard, so here are some good ones for ya :)

The other day after his nap, I took this picture just because it was hilarious. If you'll notice it looks like his diaper is unusally full of tinkle. When he stood up, the whole thing just came sliding down his leg. Oopsie!

Uncle T got us a really cool double seater wagon for Christmas and since the weather has been somewhat nice on random days, we broke it out. Pollard loves it, and we usually try our best to have a friend strapped in on the other side to share Cheerios and juice.

Yesterday was an absolutely beautiful day, so outside we went. Pollard is OBSESSED with being outside, and every time we bring him in he flails himself on the ground and starts crying and heaving. You can't help but laugh, although most times he does produce actual tears.

And the majority of my pictures these days look very similar to this. If not this, than the back of his head and blurry. The kid is on the MOVE!

He is still BFF's with the dogs, and loves to go "Ooooo!" It's so cute.

He also loves his bath and consequently any water. When he figured out that this contraption next door spurts out water, he was trying to turn it on with everything he had.

Pretty cute kid, huh?

SNOW!!!

2010-02-21T05:56:00.000-08:00

We somehow managed to miss the snow we got here in Montgomery by driving up to Nashville for President's Day weekend, but it followed us north. Monday morning we woke up to a blizzard! It was really pretty, and not too terribly dangerous on the roads. We were trying to wait to take P out there when it finally stopped snowing but it literally snowed all day long. So I suited him up (over his pajamas) and out we went!

Most of the pictures were like this:

Then I finally got a little ahead of the game and started walking in front of him. He wouldn't turn around for his life! He was walking around going "Ooooo!"

Snow smells funny apparently.

And this one was gonna be my favorite until a stinkin' snowflake got on my lens! Cute anyways :)

Later that night it was so chilly we decided to stay in, and Pollard and Papa put together a puzzle

CCE and sorry about the background...

2010-02-09T18:14:00.000-08:00

I just got back from the Children's Clothing Exchange and O.M.G. at the cutest outfits I got for next to NOTHING! Montgomery really knows how to do it, it is a well oiled machine. Jenn and I showed up at 6 pm promptly with our kindly donated night-before passes (thanks to Joelle and Jodie!) The line was all the way out the door and down the sidewalk, and there was a cop there making sure no one got seriously injured. At a few points when people said "excuse me" or "I'm sorry", I knew they really didn't mean it. They had it at an old Goody's store, and the entire store from front to back, side to side was perfectly organized with smocked outfits, playclothes, shoes, strollers, a wall of Boppy's...you name it, they had it. And for UNBELIEVABLE steals! I got 6 spring outfits, one precious pair of shoes and a little something for my neice-to-be, Miss Mary Clark :) [oh, ignore the other 2 random items on our bed]

Also, sorry about this whack background. I haven't had time to shop for another one, but does anyone know how I can get my type to stay within the background so it's all readable? I'm not as savvy as I seem...but I really do like this background.

Also, here are 2 cute pictures of my little ball of fire just to get you smiling.

He loves to attack that octopus. And the other is pre-hair cut. This hat was made by my dear life long friend Lindsay's Mom, Elise. This picture is my ode to hand made baby items. They are glorious. It's the perfect hat in so many ways. It fits perfectly but stretches a little and it covers all the important spots! And it makes my kiddo look very boho chic, which I dig. And Elise better get to work because her Lindsay is now el preggo!!! Yea!!

My first haircut!

2010-02-02T13:11:00.000-08:00

Today was Pollard's first time at the Barber Shop!!! There is a very special one in the Baptist Hospital Tower that Britton and Trey have been coming to since they were Pollard's age. Johnny got his first cut here, and lots of Pollard's friends have too. There are only 2 chairs in the whole shop, and Patty and Karen have been there for as long as anyone can remember! Pollard was not nervous at all and he did a great job. There were cookies, toys and a sucker involved so things were pretty good for him today.

Who's next? ME!!!

And here are some cute videos. Sorry for my annoying voice, I just get so excited on momentous occasions!!!

All boy

2010-01-31T09:56:00.000-08:00

Lately Pollard has shown a keen interest in cars and trucks. Well really anything that rolls and makes noise, but he happened to get 3 cars for Christmas and his birthday and let's just say, he's obsessed. He finally figured out how to hoist one tiny foot up over the seat and take a ride, but he can only go backwards. Until he figured out how to pull one foot off and land safely on the ground, each hoist onto said truck ended in a bonk of the head. But all is going smoothly now!
He also loves putting his blocks, phone, crackers, etc. into the tiny compartments of the vehicles.
Whoever makes these cars is really smart, he plays with them for hours! (I do know the Winnie the Pooh car was made somewhere called "KiddieLand" in China which sounds really scary)

Here he is with his fire truck that Lola gave him for his birthday. The sirens confused us at first but now we're used to it.

And this is the tractor that Johnny gave him for his birthday. Bottom right has to be one of my favorite pictures I've taken in a while!

And of course the Winnie the Pooh car. When you hit the horn, the wheel in front lights up and spins. THANK YOU, KiddieLand!

And of course if it's NOT a car, he will try and make it one. This is his VTech learning walker flipped over. Can you tell he'd been up since 5:41 am? This is also a display of how badly this poor child needs a good trip to the salon.

Bye for now from the bug man. See you guys at the monster truck show.

Absolute Pandemonium

2010-01-26T10:29:00.000-08:00

Since Pollard has started walking as his main mode of transportation (videos to come), it's a whole new ballgame. I find myself with one foot on the toilet lid and one knee against the bathroom cabinets all while putting on mascara. He has an obsession with the toilet water (well any water really) and we just can't keep him away. I really need to go get those toilet lid lock thingies....

In the mean time, here is what my tornado has been doing...

His favorite spot to pull things out of: Underneath the guest bathroom sink:

The 2nd nastiest place he is obsessed with (2nd to the toilet of course), the Diaper Champ. Also a big fan of pulling every book off the shelf only to be distracted by another toy.

In addition to tearing up the house, he's also in big favor of being naked. He grabbed his Auburn 101 book last night to read up before bed and took a laughing stroll around the house. How much do you love it?! This will show you quite well that he is up to 24.5 lbs (75 %) and 31 3/4" tall (98%) and loving life.

And I will leave you with this, just to make your day a little brighter. Britton decided to try out my Snuggie (yes, they were part of my work Christmas gift, and I know you're jealous). He also found a great way to wrangle your child while enjoying the football game. Look how happy they both look!

Oh Happy Day!!!

2010-01-09T18:50:00.000-08:00

Today was Pollard's first birthday "pawty" at Dede and Big John's house....it was a BLAST! The theme was dogs since he is so obsessed with our 2 dogs Norman and Allie. No actual dogs made appearances, but there were lots of fun dog-themed decorations and treats for he and all his buds. The great folks at Liger's Bakery here in Montgomery made this doggie cake based off a stuffed dog I brought them....that's talent!

Here is his birthday boy hat and his big doggie cake!

This is his smash cake...you'll see that black icing again...and he was so intrigued by his balloons!

Here is sweet Barnes hanging out in the dog house, a massive playpen we set in the den for all the kiddos to hang out in (thanks Scott and Heather!).

We had "dog food" (cocoa puffs), "Mini Dogs" (tiny hot dogs), "Puppy chow" (thanks Rach!), "Chew Toys" (large pretzels), "Milk Bones" (sugar cookies in the shape of a bone), and animal crackers. I may have had a liiiitle too much fun with the theme :)

I think we had 10 kids total...whew! We had a BLAST watching all of them play together!

When it came time for cake, Johnny was just the man for the job on helping blow out the candle. Then, he DUG IN!

Allison took a ton more pictures so I'll have more to share, but this should get us thorough until she sends me those (no pressure, Allison).

What a HAPPY, HAPPY DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pollard's First Day of School and Christmas!

2010-01-05T12:11:00.000-08:00

This has been quite a whirlwind with Christmas and Pollard's birthday, and to top it all off, Pollard started Mother's Morning Out at First Methodist yesterday! I dressed him up and before we got ready to go, I thought it only appropriate we do a little photo opp.

Pollard, how old are you???

WOW! I'm really ONE!

I'm really not nervous at all about school. I feel pretty casual about the whole thing.

I snapped a few pictures as I dropped him off at the early room before school actually starts at 9:30. He was having waaaaay too much fun to even look at me! Do you recongnize the little tootsie roll in the blue corduroy outfit? Yes indeed, Barnes is in Pollard's class!!! With Barnes-man there it sure made the transition easy :)

And last but not least, here he is giving pretty Nancy Bradford the eye. Good choice, buddy!

When I went back to pick him up at 1:15 they said he had not napped all morning, but had been so sweet and in such a great mood. BIG SHOCKER! When I peeked into his room he and Barnes were playing together on the floor! Melt my heart. We hardly got buckled into the car seat and out he went for 2 1/2 hours. I could TOTALLY get used to that!

I also wanted to post a few pictures from Christmas since I'm acting like that didn't even happen! It was a fabulous Christmas and Pollard totally racked up.

We spent Christmas morning in Montgomery hanging out with all our family here and opening up gifts, and then headed to Nashville Christmas afternoon. We spent an entire week in Nashville and it was GLORIOUS!

So with all that said, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Happy Birthday to Pollard!!!

Happy 1st Birthday my sweet baby boy!!!

2010-01-03T20:03:00.000-08:00

Today is the day that I met Pollard and it goes down as the greatest day of my life!

Happy Birthday to the LIGHT OF OUR LIVES!!!

We have a party planned for next weekend but we got started tonight...as you can see, the cake is a hit!

Pollard, Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you and we love you more than words can say!

A visit with Santa

2009-12-21T09:23:00.000-08:00

This weekend Allison was kind enough to inform us that Santa himself would be at the Renaissance Hotel this weekend letting the kiddos sit on his lap. So we dressed the boys up and took 'em on down!

At first, it was going surprisingly well. Allison was snapping these pictures below as Pollard kind of half-smiled and tried to pull up his pants leg. I was really impressed he wasn't even crying!!!

This is about where it all got nasty. He figured out he was on some fat guys lap, and turned around to see who it might be. WHOA! STRANGER!!!!

Well buddy would it help if Riley was up there with you?

Um, let me think....NO. This is so scary!!

I love the way Riley is looking at him in the one above, as if to say "Dude, cool it or you won't get your presents".

So that lasted about 30 seconds and we all got a good laugh. I snatched Pollard up pretty quickly, and right when I did he saw Riley take off, started laughing, and it was like nothing bad had ever happened. Gotta love that.

Here they are wrestling around, being boys.

Pure Exhaustion

2009-11-17T18:28:00.000-08:00

Yesterday goes down in history as one of the most tiring days of my life. And to top it all off, I have no idea what I even did.

I don't know what it is about Sunday nights but I just flat out do not sleep. (note: I really don't sleep much anyway, even on the rare occasion that Pollard is not sprawled out on top of me or Britton). I can't figure out if it's because of Brothers and Sisters (I cry every time I see Kitty, I still can't believe she has cancer), or if it's just that day. I just loooooove Sunday, and somehow I can't come down from my bliss and I'm up every daggum 2 hours.

I woke up Monday morning and I think ate breakfast, but I can't be certain. Then I somehow managed my way out of the house and to the gym, letting Pollard play in the play room with another baby. I'm sure he stole this kid's paci, but that's another saga.

Monday is a very busy day for me since I don't go into the office. I feel like I have to get every errand I have on my list done by the end of the day, all while getting 2 naps in for the baby. It's a lot for just one Mommy.

The rest of the day is a blur. All I remember is that my arms were trembling. Pollard feels like he weighs about 180 pounds and his new move is dive bombing out of my arms as fast as he can to try and get down. I don't know how to explain it except that when I go to put him on my hip, instead of resting quietly and taking in the scene, he throws his back arm forward and reaches for the ground. No son, you cannot crawl around in the Dollar Tree parking lot.

He continues to do this wherever we go. Doesn't matter if I'm filling out my new patient form at Adams Drugs (I swore they had buggies in there to set him in, but NO buggy to be found), walking from car to Dollar Tree, or while sitting in the grocery cart. I turn around for one second to pick out my marinara and my 180-lb kid is half way out of the cart smiling all the way down. That's always when an older lady passes you and silently critizes your mothering capabilities.
The ladies at Adams were just giggling and said "He is so cute!" That was the first time in my child's life when I said "Sometimes" instead of "I KNOW!"

At 4:30 we met Britton at the house to go on a walk. After that walk (a total blur), we went to his parents for a delish dinner. I crawled around behind him because he eats everything, and pulls up on objects that are not stable. After about an hour, and one cry later (the baby, although I probably could have used a good one), I lay on the floor with my arms on both of his ankles as he tried to swim across the hardwoods and yelled "BRITTON CAN WE PLEASE GO NOW". He gave me a strange face.

My arms were trembling and my legs had gone rubbery (could be from double workouts).

Then this is what looks up at you and you just have to die out laughing....

(note the toe point)

So what I would like to say is that my hat goes off to all full time stay at home Mom's. How you tote around 1-3 children and make yourself look somewhat presentable 5 days a week I will never know. But I commend you, oh makers of the home. You are my heroes.

Happy Halloween from my Teddy Bear!

2009-10-30T10:08:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween from Pollard, the friendly bear :)

Fall Photo Shoot

2009-10-25T06:34:00.000-07:00

Yesterday afternoon Jennifer and I got into the fall mode and decided to dress the boys up for a photo shoot. It was SO nice outside and they just looked adorable. So we grabbed the Trott's pumpkin and off into the front yard we went. Here is what transpired...

Pollard and the pumpkin.

Pollard, Barnes and the pumpkin.

The boys having fun!

And the now famous BITE. Barnes never saw it coming. From what he could tell, this was reeeally fun. "Maybe he's letting me feel his teeth?", thought innocent Barnes.

Until...CHOMP.

My kid bit his 5 1/2 month old cousin like he was tearing into a piece of beef jerky.

Poor innocent Barnes man!

He recovered but it was a rough moment.

And THAT was where the photo shoot ended.

9 months old!

2009-10-15T19:31:00.000-07:00

It's been so long since I've posted that I thought I'd appease you with a video. Here is Pollard and his new best friend Norman. For whatever reason, the thinks Norm is just absolutely hilarious. This video pretty much sums it up!

Here is what else has been going on in the life of Pollard:

-After an outbreak of hives all over his face, neck and arms we found out he is allergic to eggs. 2 shots in the thunder thighs and 2 oral doses of Benadryl later, we were on our way. I had a strange way of controlling myself (thank God my Mom was in town to help me with that), and then was able to laugh about it once I realized his throat wasn't closing up. He can eat things that have had egg baked in them, just no scrambled eggs for breakfast :( The sad part is, he LOVES them!

-He pulls up on EVERYTHING, crawls everywhere in his signature crab crawl (seen in video above), and loves the dogs or any animal.

-He loooooves to eat! He doesn't really like to be fed anymore, so I try and cook things he will like too. So far his faves are spaghetti, chicken pot pie, red grapes and pancakes on Saturdays.

-He is a big fan of the sippy cup, but the only problem there is that he will really only drink out of one kind (the Nuk) and I can't find them ANYWHERE right now to grab extras!

-He goes to bed between 7:15-8:00 and sleeps until whenever he wants to. Could be 5:30, could be 6:30 (on a very, very lucky morning when God knows I might blow a gasket if I hear him at 5:30 one more time...).

-He always, always, always wakes up happy.

-He is loving being with Ms. Dorothy every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and we're pretty sure she loves him right back :) We don't know what we would do without her!

And lastly, he still has really good hair.

Waaaay better than Gerber, and 2 videos

2009-09-23T18:14:00.000-07:00

I want you all to know that as of late, I do realize I've been slacking. So, I thought I would surprise you all and post videos (I know...amazing). One is P playing on the floor with his fave new toy, Ziploc containers. The other is of his favorite new perch, right on the baby gate where the dogs hang out. This one has a happy ending in the diaper.

Also, tonight, I made the big man some big boy spaghetti. It sounded good to me, so I made it with rotini noodles, which I thought would be easier for him to pick up and eat. I just used a mild tomato sauce and some ground beef. It was like the kid had never eaten in his life. The sucking and grunting sound he made when a noodle hit his tougue was priceless. I really couldn't get him to look up and smile because he was too busy shoveling.

This was waaaaay better than Gerber.

No, he didn't eat that entire bowl of spaghetti, some of that was for his Mommy.

I highly recommend going with the rotini noodles for all you Momma's wanting to try spaghetti with the kiddos! It was so easy for him to pick up and put in his mouth as quickly as he possibly could :)

What has Pollard been up to?!?!

2009-09-12T08:20:00.000-07:00

I know this will come as a shock but we've been at the beach! We went back for Labor day and had a blast. We also found this cute vintage-inspired baby boat hat in the front closet at the Henig's condo. How could I resist?

By the time he was done crawling from the beach chairs down to the water, he had said in every tiny crease of his body.

And he now crawls at the speed of light, so why not give it a go on the sand?

He got a little rashy (but everything makes him rashy), but it was no biggie. He ate so much sand, it was just out of control. Every time I would wash away the handful in his left hand, I'd turn to wipe it off and his right hand would be full of it and already in his mouth.

A little too much sand, buddy?

And why not just stick it in your ear while you're at it...

And with all this, his hair has gotten a little...unruly. Well YOU see, it look at it blowing in the wind in the beach pics above. It's uncontrollable. We even had to bobby pin it for him to eat. What a pretty little girl!

Which leads me into THIS.

His first at home haircut. Ehhh, it didn't quite turn out like we'd planned. Is it just us, or has he taken a liking to Lloyd Christmas?

But, when you sweep it to the side, he looks ADORABLE!!!

Just another Tuesday

2009-08-13T13:02:00.001-07:00

This past Tuesday was helacious. Is that how you spell it??

Start me off with another looooong day at work, problem after problem, no solution after no solution. Awesome!

Norm headed to the vet at about 8 am for a day of vaccinnes. At about 11:30 I called and the vet tech told me he was ready to be picked up. About 15 minutes later I get a call on my office phone from Josh (vet tech). "Yeahhhh, um, if you could just leave Mr. Norman here until after you get off work, that would probably be best. He's had a bit of an anaphlactic reaction to the vaccinnes and he's swollen all over." Oh my. After being assured that the baby pug is ok, I showed up, as requested, about 5:30 to retrieve mr. puffy. He charges out, excited as ever, looking really good (he got a complimentary bath since they had to douse him in cold water to ward off the hives....comforting). When I get him home, he goes racing through the house, running into walls, snorting like never before. Obviously it's been a really bad day and he's glad to be home. Pollard is there, sweet as ever, and off goes Ms. Dorothy.

About half way through his dinner, Norm goes postal. He's left his food in the bowl (never before seen) and is dive-bombing into Allie's bed. Runs as fast as he can (which is not very fast) to the couch, throws off all the pillows, runs underneath a circular glass table that I have and will NOT emerge from beneath the table cloth. Not even for a milkbone. Bad sign.

I finally pull the pug out from under the table (baby is cooing sweetly in pack-n-play) and his face looks like a balloon. His fur is standing on end, hives everywhere, and he is having trouble breathing. He looked exactly like a Char-pei.

Suddenly, I too am having trouble breathing. Baby is laughing at his toys.

I grab the phone and the pug, throw him in the bath tub and douse him with cold water. I hit a picture frame and knock it off my shelf, it goes crashing to the floor. Pillow are everywhere.

I desperately call the vet praying that someone is still in the office. Thank you LORD, Dr. Rogers is still there. When I tell him it's another flare up, he says "Are you sure??" AM I SURE?!?!?

After he believes me he tells me to get him to the office ASAP. I am sweating profusely. Baby still cooing and laughing.

I grab my purse, throw it over my neck (literally), grab a paci, throw it in the purse. Get a towel. Get Norm in the towel, put pug in right arm. Reach into pack-n-play and put baby in left arm. All while looking at the baby saying cheerfully "It's OK! This is fun! This is not an emergency!"

This is SO an emergency.

After getting another IV of some sort of doggie-benadryl, Big Norm was back to his curly-tailed usual self. Pollard was an angel, didn't make a peep. I was sweating like never before, and somehow my right foot was bleeding.

After a few hours in our bedroom by the air vent, and 2 anti-histamines, Norman Wayne Henig is baaaaaaack.

Water, water, everywhere!

2009-08-09T07:37:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Pollard was invited to Ellie Callahan's 1st birthday party! It was a "Splash Bash" and there were mini-pools GALORE in their backyard. I sat Pollard in this one just to see how he would like it, and 30 minutes later I had to pull him out of it when all the other kids were leaving!

He was obsessed with the water that sprayed up...where was it coming from?!?!

And this is the most I could get him to look up. Not only would he not look up for a picture, he didn't even look up to see if we were still there, and didn't care about any of the other kids. Too funny!!!

A video!

2009-08-08T11:10:00.000-07:00

Good Lordy, I hope this thing works. Our baby is now 7 months old and guess who just got around to uploading the software for the video camera!?!? That's right, all the millions of videos we've taken were stuck in Sony-land. But not anymoooooorrreee.

We have a blog friend named Blair Verdiget who P is secretly in love with (even though we've never met). She is Pollard but in a beautiful, chubby little girl-baby. Anyways, the other day I was about to DIE watching a video of Blair laughing at Tara going "BOO!". Greatest laugh ever! And then I realized that P thinks that's hilarous too, so I caught him the other day laughing at it. Yet another reason why they are destined to be. It's not his very best belly laugh, but it's pretty darn good. Nothing compares to Blair, but this is close!

Wrestlemania

2009-08-07T13:30:00.000-07:00

It's no secret: Our kid doesn't sleep. I mean that in the most literal form. From the day he was born, he was up and at 'em every 2 hours all day, all night....driving us dangerously close to oblivion. Thinking back on it, neither one of us should have been operating motor vehicles. Many of our friends/family/doctors have shared their secrets and bragged about their children being fabulous sleepers. We like to think that Pollard has many talents, and staying asleep is not one of them.

As he has matured into quite a large 7 month old...mmm...eh...things have slightly improved. Going to bed at night is a breeze. It's GLORIOUS. The baby loves to go night-night. Nap time, a wee different. The only way we can describe what has to be done to get this baby to nap is Wrestlemania. It starts with him grunting. Then we pick up the baby, try all the "usual" positions to try and rock him to sleep. He grunts, spits out his paci, starts dying out laughing. Oh my gosh kid you've been up for SIX HOURS.

We try all the stations: our bed, the den couch with Noggin, the rocker, the stroller. Nothing. Not even a sign of eyes closing, just straight up Wrestlemania.

This term involves, but is not limited to, an overload of grunting, many kicks and punches (usually to said parents face and gut), crawling while being held, divebombing into pillows/covers/my boobs, laughing, and crying. All while we try our hardest to wrap our arms around him and make him surrender.

This afternoon I have spent an hour and a half trying to get this baby to take a nap. Since he woke up at 8 this morning (after a bottle at 6 and falling back asleep with me while hitting me in his sleep), he has slept for a total of about 35 minutes all day. What?!

Afternoon of wrestling baby into submission equals this...

And now...I go shower.

Wallace Family Beach Week

2009-08-03T13:05:00.000-07:00

Britton's family was very sweet and let the Wallace's do our summer vacay at their place in Destin this year. It was so nice... a whole week at the beach!

Most of our days started out like this...
Poor P, he's the kid at the beach whose Mom didn't rub all the sunscreen in. Do you know, despite all this rubbin', the kid still got a tan?

And here are some shots of my angel on the beach.

Look at that belly, ugh, I just wanna kiss it all over.

This baby pool was a fabulous idea, but it didn't last too long once he found the sand...

And here we are thinking something is absolutely hilarious... (have no idea what it could be but kudos to Debbie for taking this) The Townsends and the Kevers were in Destin at the same time, we had a ball seeing each other almost EVERY day...so fun!!! (Lizzie, send me some pics!)

Also, I mean not to ruin it, but do we see the Christmas card before us???

And my 2 favorites from the entire week. Pollard and Papa outside Graffiti (highly delicious), and Pollard and Mimi enjoying looking at the seagulls. Is it just me or do Dad and Pollard look JUST ALIKE in that picture???

Ahhhh, the beach is GOOD.

Bath baby and other glamour shots

2009-07-15T18:48:00.000-07:00

Bath time has become quite a fun play time now that Pollard can sit up really well on his own. He splishes and splashes (and yes, we sing the song), and bites his duckies.

Here he is showing us just how well he can sit up! I call these his "You Are My Sunshine" jammies...doesn't he just look like a little ray of happiness?

And a few other items of interest to all Pollard fans:

Helloooo sippie cup. Although he doesn't really get the whole deal where you have to turn it up for something to come out, he stinking LOVES grabbing the handles and going to town on the rubber tip. We'll get there.

He also grabbed this lovely orange peel at Mimi's Cafe (shout out to Mimi!!) and went to town. He somehow managed to use his 2.5 teeth to rip away a piece of rind that we later had to fish out of his cheek. Suffice it to say that lovely 4th of July outfit (oh yes, we're celebrating all month, those outfits ain't cheap) got a nice dose of Oxiclean later (RIP Billy Mays).

And lastly, how cute is my baby????? I can't stop posting pictures, my kid is so cute.

You've earned it, buddy

2009-07-12T14:02:00.000-07:00

After a long, long week of napping, pooping, hanging out at home, taking baths and sleeping, Pollard was exhausted. He couldn't quite seem to shake those nasty shots so we took him to the Trott's for a dip. And that's where he put on this show.

"Ahhhh, this is the life."

"That's the spirit, Mom! Thanks for the cold brew."

"Mmm, Corona Light...this is great..."

"Foamy and delish. Thanks for holding out on me, this tastes delightful"

Naturally Pollard had his first beer at the Trott's.

Not long after that he took an afternoon siesta.

6 Month Check-up!

2009-07-10T11:22:00.000-07:00

The answer to your looming question is NO! We can't believe it's been 6 months already, either!

We had Pollard's check up Friday morning, and as usual we have quite a bruiser on our hands! He is 19 lbs 5 ounces (85%) and 28 1/4" long (95%) with an 18" head circumference (95%). WHOA!

Basically he's tall and thin with a very large brain. I like what I see here.

He got 2 shots, which was quite dramatic. The crocodile tears are in full force. He would cry, then stop, then remember and start crying again. It was awful!

Here he is before the appt in my fave jammies that my Aunt Kellie sent him (more on Baby Zutano clothing obsession later). See how clueless he is about thethe nasty shots in a mere few hours?

That little smirk he's wearing is our new favorite look. He usually does that when he's about to full on grin, but it's so dang cute.

Here he is with HIS new obsession, the dogs. Everytime he sees them he starts dying out laughing and doing that labored short breathing that babies do when they get so excited they can't stand themselves. He also jumps up and down in your arms (great bicep workout).

After the doc it was no more smiles, no more giggles. More like a "What did I do to deserve that" look on the face. After we got home he was in this position for hours and hours...

Patriotic Pollard

2009-07-05T18:41:00.001-07:00

We headed to Destin with Britton's family for the 4th of July this year...it was a blast!

I have to start with this money shot of P. Can you say HANDSOME?!?!?! Dede helped me pose him at sunset ever so inconspicuously on the dunes (I think there it was a no-cross zone...good thing I stuck my kid in there....ah, the things we do for a good picture). Basically he was the best looking baby on the beach.
(we couldn't get a no-arm shot because he was obsessed with the sand)

Also, Mother of the Year over here ran out of fruit for him when we got down there, so I decided he could use some antioxidants and stuck some blueberries in the blender. THAT went over well!

We sure did spend a lot of time at the pool, and baby boy was loving every minute. But it exhausted him, and did not do good things for his 'do...(although Britton and I were LOVING that hair)

We went down and spent a little time on the beach as well, and P made himself at home on one of the lounge chairs. I also caught him sitting up in his pack-n-play...what are you doing?!?! He also (as you see from the pack-n-play pic) has gotten some really bad rashey areas around his cheeks, neck and feet. His feet have always been bad but I think the heat got him. I don't want him to be the rashey kid at school...any tips?

Here he is canoodling with Daddy, and...wait...did you guys plan that?!?! Gigi and Pollard are dressed alike!!

And of course here are my favorites of cousin Barnes, who is getting SO BIG and smiled at me a million times. Basically, he told me he loves me with his big BLUE eyes.

Shutterfly | Shared Picture Detail

2009-06-27T09:48:00.000-07:00

Shutterfly Shared Picture Detail

6 Pack and Guys + 5!!!

2009-06-27T09:37:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went to Dallas for the MOST FUN WEEKEND OF OUR LIVES!!! My 5 best friends along with our hubby's/significant others and kiddos had a reunion there. It was an absolute BALL! Click the above link above on the previous blog to see our Shutterfly show from Liz and Abby's cameras. I just have to warn you...there are almost 500 pictures! But SO worth it.

Here are a few that I took!

My first time in the pool! Just chillin' on a float. I also took my first ride on a swing. The wind in my hair, the sun on my thighs...It was AWESOME.

Here is Hannah splishing and splashing in the kids pool! And of course the 6 of us watching closely! (oh, and William too!)

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, DADDY!!! Britton had a wonderful 1st Father's Day. Pollard and Mommy got him some new luggage and P wore his linen outfit. Some days just call for fancy.

The girls at Mi Cucina!

Look at sweet Presley!! Yes, this baby is only 8 weeks old!
And William and Pollard (yes, sporting matching jumpers) were the best of friends. It was girls outnumbering the boys all weekend, so they had to stick together.

And here we have our Future Tiger just staring thoughtfully out at the pretty pool.

And lastly I just had to post this video of him today in his johnny-jump-up. He freaking LOVES this thing!!! Please ignore my very, very, very obnoxious commentary. Sorry this one is from my camera, once we figure out how to post videos from our actual video camera, maybe they'll be a little better quality :)

Pollard Cram Session

2009-06-11T20:20:00.000-07:00

It's been a loooooong time, I get it. So I feel like I should warp speed everyone to get up to date info on big boy. So, here we have it, I'll do my bestest!

P LOVES him some solid food. All the classics such as sweet potatoes, squash, green beans, peas, applesauce, bananas, etc. This kid can eat. Are we surprised?

We went to the beach for Memorial Day weekend and it rained the whole daggum time. EXCEPT for Thursday afternoon, so out we went. Thanks to the Baugh's we knew to buy this radical pop up tent. As you can see, he was straight chillin', enjoying the ocean sounds.

It was a wee bit sunny (just for like a second), so our sunnies (baby sunglasses) made their debut. Also had a ball meeting Blake and Lauren and the baby in Lauren's belly, Lila.

Saturday evening was beautiful so out we went again. There's just something about your husband in a Baby Bjorn that makes you fall in love with him all over again. And look at Pollard loving the waves!

As we all know he's always been a fan of our bed, especially first thing in the morning. He sometimes stays in it until 10 or 11 am, no joke. But he's mastered the art of cooling his jets on the Boppy that just slays us. I can just hear him saying "Mom, make me some pancakes".

We also took a trip to Nashville to see Mimi and Papa and the gang. We had to get our feet wet out back and by the end of it, all parties involved were soaked because of the violent splashing done by Mr. Thunder Thighs.

And lastly, our baby boy got his first TOOTH, so as you can see it now hurts when he bites. It really hurt coming through the skin but we're all better now. Yesterday I gave him a bite of my sandwich. (I'm KIDDING!!!!!!!!)

And....this one is my favorite. Eat your hearts out, ladies.

SO much has happened in the last week and a half!!!

2009-05-18T13:08:00.000-07:00

I have really neglected The Henig Herd in the past week and a half, so I vow to make up for that. So here we go!

I would like to start with this just because it's hilarious. The hair just gets better and better. It's now a mound of thick, flowing locks on the top and sides, and totally bald in the back. The ladies LOVE IT! He's also been working out with 5 lb dumbells to get those biceps you're looking at

He has begun sleeping like a champ, but when he wakes up it's early. I'm talking 5:30 people. Sometimes he decides to give us a break and it might be 6:00 or even 6:20 if he's feeling really crazy, but usually, the whimpering begins at 5:30. But hey, as long as he stays asleep all night, we'll take it! Below you'll see his new obsession. After getting his bottle and a clean diaper, about 30 minutes later he passes out face down in our bed. Sometimes this resorts in Britton and I huddled up in one corner of our California King just so little man can do this...

Mother's Day weekend was wonderful!! We had a visit from Aunt B (Britton's Aunt Becky) and Uncle Carter, and PaPa. They drove in from Florence to meet Baby Barnes and get some lovin' from Pollard. Here is Dede and Aunt B with the big guy!

Uncle Carter also charmed him with his usual humor...

And these have to be my favorite...Here is Pollard with his great-grandfather, who he is named after! This is Roy Pollard, aka "PaPa", Diane's Dad, loving spending some time with his namesake! As you can see they got along just fine :)

In addition to it being Mother's Day weekend, Pollard was dedicated at our church! It was the best first Mother's Day I could have asked for!!! Saturday night we had a little cookout to celebrate and guess who showed up?!?!.....
COUSIN BARNES!!!

I think the look of pure and utter shock on P's face just says it all. He could not BELIEVE that Barnes' first outing was to HIS HOUSE!!!! He could hardly keep from drooling all over the place, he was so stoked. And would you look at how cute Barnes is?!?! I personally could just kiss him all over. And so sweet to come to his cousin's big celebration. He even brought his Mommy with him :)

Here are the boys with their great-grandmother Gigi and Big John!

On Sunday morning, Pollard was so excited about his dedication, he could hardly contain himself. Maybe it was these dyn-o-mite baby boy bloomers with his initials on it (and a tiny "JR" too!) that made him so giddy!

And here he is, a vision in white. This is a handmade gown from Britton's Aunt Judy that she made with love for her boys to wear when they were babies. She got this gown out of it's preservation box just for our baby boy to wear. It was BEAUTIFUL, and you can tell, every stitch was made with love. Pollard looked like a million bucks.

And here we are with our pastor Jay Wolf as he welcomes Pollard to First Baptist!

We celebrated with brunch at the club and of course took lots of pictures. Here are our families together, and one good shot of P and Papa.

We asked Heath and Meghan if they would be Pollard's godparents, and they were thrilled!

And at the end of the day, Pollard said no more baby dress, hello Auburn tee.

Was this the longest post EVER? Phew, I'm exhausted.

More to come on SOLID FOOD!!!!

Drool Monster

2009-05-14T10:15:00.000-07:00

Last week we went to eat Mexican, and Allison took this fabulous Glamour shot of P. Doesn't he look amazing in mint green? It really is his color. I couldn't help but post this, and please note the drool. He does have ONE TOOTH coming in on the bottom...what a big boy!!

More to come of his dedication and my first Mother's Day...it was great!!!!

I love to steal pictures....

2009-05-06T10:31:00.001-07:00

Our friends Lauren and Joe Baugh came in town for the day and visited with us! Lendon is 2 months old now, and of course P is a big 4 month old. I stole these pictures from Lauren's blog because they are absolutely HYSTERICAL... I will now annoyingly write commentary

Pollard: "Ahhhh!! There's another kid in my house!!"

Lendon: "Do you want to hold hands?"

Lendon: "Has anyone seen my paci?"

Pollard: "I'm poopin' "

And look at those tootsies. Pollard on the left (doing his signature toe spread out) and Lendon on the right. These are going to be some BIG 'OL BOYS!!!

Baby Boot Camp: REPORT

2009-05-06T07:32:00.000-07:00

I just couldn't blog yesterday because I had no idea where I was. I couldn't figure out if I was at work, or was I at home? Did I brush my teeth? Had I fed the dogs? Did I have all my clothes on?
This pure and utter confusion all came from Pollard crying from 4:30-5:30 on Monday night. \
WHAT?!?! He had just gotten it down pat!
In true Hitler form, I waited until 5:00 to go in and soothe him, but he was so MAD that I wasn't picking him up/feeding him/rocking him that he spit his pacifier out and just continued his thrashing around and yelling. I like to call it his swimming because since he's on his tummy he's making these perfect freestyle motions. [Maybe he's the next Michael Phelps? Good thing they have those full body suits now so he won't have to wear just a speedo. I'm gettting off track here...]
Anywho, finally at 5:26 he went back to dream land until 6:30. I however, was so upset and all overstimulated that I couldn't fall back asleep until 6:00. OMG, I was exhaustified.
The same cannot be said for TODAY!!!
Big P went down at 9:15 last night (he was so tired from all that swimming he did, and from the Cinco de Mayo fiesta we took him to at the Hertenstein's) and didn't peep until 6:30!!!!!!
What a man.
I tell ya, I really hope this isn't another tease. He felt SO good this morning, and was just talking and laughing it up. I would too if I were him.
YAY for baby boot camp!!!!

Rites of Spring

2009-05-04T15:08:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was the Rites of Spring golf tournament at the club and we had a ball. Here are my golfers...

And here we are Saturday night at the retro-themed party. The club actually really outdid themselves with these glow necklaces. There's something about those that just take me back to the Hootie and the Blowfish concert...And naturally we're with the Espy's. They're a must-have every time we leave the house.

I didn't stay for too terribly long because Pollard was sharing Dorothy with his new bestest buddy Chapman Baker! Dorothy took care of both of our boys, and this is how we found them when Rebecca and I could no longer stand it and we high-tailed it to my house to pick them up...

Looks like Dorothy, as usual, had it all under control!!!

And Sunday afternoon, all the golf was over (thank the LORD) and we hung out and had some burgers (great for the baby weight). And naturally Heath has taken to the part of the uncle that makes weird faces...

Just a few more snapshots of Baby Barnes!

2009-05-04T09:25:00.000-07:00

Last night Barnes was chillin' out in his Mommy's postpardem room, so the 3 of us made a MAD DASH to get up there and see that pumpkin.

Here I am looking every bit as exhausted as I was....But don't look at me, people, look at that angelic face!!

And then, take a look at the size difference!! Barnes is a perfect size newborn, and look at my chunk. Just so exhausted from all the excitement of a new cousin...

And a proud uncle! Britton could NOT believe how much bigger Pollard was. We both agreed that we're not sure we like it that P is growing up so fast :(

Jennifer, Bobby and Baby Barnes will all go home tomorrow to start their new life together as a family!

Introducing Robert Barnes Trott!!!!!

2009-05-03T10:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning just before 10 a.m. God was again wonderful and blessed Jennifer and Bobby with a beautiful baby BOY!!!!

Robert Barnes Trott (they will call him Barnes) weighs 8 lbs, 7 ounces and is 22 inches long! Mommy, Daddy and Baby are all doing well. It was one of the most exciting things I have ever been a part of, and all day yesterday I did nothing but CRY! Wouldn't you? Look at this angel...

And, of course, nothing is sweeter than a Daddy with his son. Here is Bobby with his Mom Debbie admiring Barnes perfect little features...

Both of Barnes' cousins were SO eager to make his aquaintence. And they were both STOKED it was a boy!!!! Johnny decided the best he could pronouce his name was "Farms", and that was ok with Jenn and Bob :) Pollard was DYING to see him, so he just watched him get cleaned up in the nursery, confused as to how that place looked so familiar...

Jennifer did an exceptional job of bringing Barnes into this world, and Bobby was a wonderful coach. He didn't even pass out--way to go, Bob-o!!!
Barnes is absolutely to die for, I will have some better close ups in a few days when we get to visit with him.
THANKS BE TO GOD for our precious, precious Barnes!!!

Baby Boot Camp, nights 2 and 3

2009-05-03T10:12:00.000-07:00

And the saga continues...with a very HAPPY ENDING!

Friday night was a bit better for Pollard, but not so much for Pollard's Mommy. He fell fast asleep on the sleep positioner and didn't wake until 4 am, an improvement from Thursday night! I however, was a nervous wreck ALL NIGHT because Jennifer(Britton's sister/my sister) and Bobby went in to be induced!!!! I couldn't sleep a wink, which was disastrous. Every time I would wake up (like every hour), I would think "I wonder how Jenn is? I hope she's not in any pain! I wonder if she's gotten her Pitocin...I wonder...blah blah", you get the drift. Worried sick.

When he awoke at 4 am, I was already awake, but bless his sweet heart he cried for 30 minutes straight. This time is was a cry. A sad cry. It was TERRIBLE!!!! But this isn't called "Pick-your baby-up-when-he-cries Camp", this is BOOT CAMP, daggumit. So I let him be.
But at about 4:26 it stopped and when I went in to check on him, tummy time had started. His butt was in the air, it just made me laugh. Looked a LOT like this...

(see, you're laughing aren't you? What a hiney my kid's got!)
Anywho, he then awoke at about 7 and got his bottle. Great job kiddo! I was delusional (sp?) but we RACED to the hospital when Britton's Mom called to say Jenn was 5 cm!!!!
[see next post for whether we had a BOY or a GIRL!]

Last night, night 3 of boot camp, started on time with Britton putting him down at about 10:15. We decided to take him out of the little short-sleeve onesies that he usually sleeps in and put him in some footed PJ's that one of Britton's co-workers gave him. [ Note: It was a 9 month outfit, fit perfectly] He looked so dang cute with his hair all brushed and his little sleep suit on. I was, again, delirious, so I didn't make it to the camera. I'll get one tonight. I digress.
The babe when fast asleep immediately!
And you will never guess what happened...

HE SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[This is not to be confused with I slept through the night]

I got up at 1:30 and 5:30 to check on my tike. At 1:30 he had wiggle-wormed his way half way off the sleep positioner, but I didn't dare touch him. Then at 5:30, he had wiggle-wormed his way all the way off of it, onto his tummy, facing the complete opposite direction!

Back to bed I went with a large grin, and when he awoke at 6:30 Britton popped up to get him and thank him for his good deed. I told him if he were old enough we would have given him a cookie for breakfast.

Then we realized that today is P's 4 month birthday...what a big boy!! I guess he figured it was time to grow up, and set a good example for his new cousin. That, or he realized he could whine all he wanted at 4 am but no one is coming in there.

Yay for my sweet angel!!! Let's hope this wasn't a tease and it will continue this way FOREVER.

I'll report back...

A morning with cousin Johnny

2009-05-01T12:17:00.000-07:00

Johnny's school was closed today for a teacher in-service day, so I got the pleasure of spending the morning with my big buddy. This kid just SLAYS ME!

Somehow, after Britton left for work, my boys ended up in OUR BED, holding hands, watching Playhouse Disney...

Since Pollard's new obsession is his feet, Johnny wanted to show him that he could do it too...

It is amazing to me how much these boys have in common. I mean, I know their Daddy's are brothers, but take a look at these incredible similarities. They just couldn't be more alike!

The profile! (although P's chipmunk-esque cheeks make him stand out)

The Pot Belly!

The famous frog legs!

And of course, the finger-sucking, a true favorite.

We had the BEST morning together until my Johnny headed back to his Daddy's house for a nap. I'm pretty sure I wore him out with the watering of my flowers, picking dandelions, picking up sticks and taking them to the street, rolling back the trash can...whew. All in a morning's work. And all on about 4 hours of sleep.

Baby Boot Camp: Phase 1

2009-05-01T11:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was much too ashamed to post in regards to my previous one about not swaddling the big man. Britton and I totally chickened out. We laid him down, Britton sang him his little song, and after 15 minutes of grunting and whining and whimpering we just gave in.

NOT GOOD.

We put him in his swaddle, we put him on his sleep positioner, exhibit A:

This kind of snugs them in and helps them feel secure. In my case, it helps Pollard not to flip over like the gymnast that he is. When I went to get him at his usual 3 a.m., he was in fact not on his face at all, still miraculously on the sleep positioner. The problem with the previous sentence is the still waking up at 3 am bit.

So last night was THE night. I put him in his night-night onesie, sang him his song, and onto the positioner he went, sans swaddle. Somehow, some way, because of God's great mercy, he fell fast asleep. I prepared myself mentally for the night that was to come.

At midnight he started in. First the grunt, then the whine, then right into the annoyed cry. Not the "oh my gosh help me something is terribly wrong" cry, just the "why is no one coming?" cry. By 12:09 he was back to sleep, hard as a rock. Man, that was awesome!

I crept into his room at about 12:15 and he had somehow pushed the positioner to the bottom of his crib and slid onto his tummy. Amazing.

He stayed this way until 4:00 when he really started in on the howling. I let him do this for 30 minutes...can you believe it?!?!? Me, who can hardly stand to hear him whine a little let alone cry! But it wasn't a sad cry, just an annoyed cry, so that made it a little easier. At 4:30 I went in and gave him his pacifier and rubbed his back for about a minute and he was out like a light until 6:30 when I gave him his bottle.

HE MADE IT!! HE DIDN'T DIE OF HUNGER WITHOUT A BOTTLE!!!!!

I have to admit that Britton is the weak one of the 2 of us, and I totally thought it would be the opposite. He wants to go in and check on him all the time, and open his door, etc. I just wave my finger and say "DON'T move, don't get up, DO NOT GO IN THERE." Who am I?!?!?

He also napped for an hour and a half on his tummy this morning (with about 85 breathing checks from his mother), and that never happens. His naps are so short, and that's what makes him so daggum ornery. But I'm gonna tell you this: After this long morning nap, he was just dreamy.

Tonight marks night number 2. Wish us luck. I'll report back....

Love,

Hitler

Sheer desperation...

2009-04-29T14:51:00.000-07:00

Last night when Pollard woke at 3:15, as he does EVERY BLEEPING NIGHT OF HIS TINY LITTLE LIFE, I had it. I put his macho arms back into his swaddle, vecroe'd that sucker tight and stuck in the paci.
No such luck.
Turns out that now when he's really alert and awake he rolls straight over onto his tummy (more to come on this, pics, etc). So when I am walking out of his nursery, I see him topple over onto his face, right into the bumper. I see SIDS, I go running back. This is exactly what he wants me to do...
I flop him back over, he flops back on his tummy. I flop him, he grunts and flops himself. We do this exercise 3 times, and it's now 3:25. I resort to making a bottle, put it in his mouth, he sucks it down and back to bed he goes, swaddle and all.
In my concerned state about finding him face first 2 nights in a row now, I called Sheree, the all-knowing nurse at Pediatric Healthcare. She told me immediately that I had to take him out of the swaddle. This reduced me to tears. All I know about that is Allison took Riley out of his swaddle and he woke up every hour. Dear God save me from tonight.
Pollard is a beastly little baby, and when he grunts and throws himself around, he's not kidding. I'm terribly sleep deprived and exhausti-fied. HEEELLLPPP UUUSSSS.

A stolen picture...

2009-04-21T19:13:00.001-07:00

I stole this picture from Abby's blog because I loved it SOOOO much...

Hannah was chompin' down on her strawberry ice cream, of course William is smiling it up (as always!) and Baby P, with the yawn. From this picture you can't tell that...

1) Hannah just fell in the hedges (poor angel)

2) We handed William to a stranger while inspecting Hannah for boo-boos

3) I was sweating massively

4) I had forgotten to tell Britton that I was leaving the suite, much less taking the baby and going on the football field...oopsie!

I *heart* the Simmons family :)

Poop, it's what's for breakfast

2009-04-21T18:50:00.000-07:00

We all hear that rumbly in the tumbly at different times of the day, but for our dear son it always seems to be in the morning. God love him, he just has to get it all out to get the day started right.

At first, it was a massive squirt-like explosion that resulted in my whisking him away from whatever piece of furniture he was perched on for fear of leakage. I could hardly get him to the changing table before my robe had fallen victim and had to hit the washing machine. Ahh, those were the days.

Since we've switched from the boob to this...

the consistency of what comes out of his cute little tooshy has changed quite a bit.

You really never know what you're getting after the red-face push. It could look like this...

(except, of course, not this pearly white color...)

Or something like this...

(except not this shiny)

The good thing about Pollard is that he really keeps you guessing. He already knows how to keep us on our toes, and I must admit I do love that about him. I love it so much, I've even contemplated getting him this:

It's strange how your adult conversation falls by the wayside after you have a baby. What once used to be talks about who said what at work, or when Bunco is next week, you are having in-depth late night diatribes about the poo, or lack thereof. Instead of talking about it, we could have invested in one of these...

[and we ain't 'logging' sleep hours if you catch what I'm puttin down]

This way, in an effort to increase once-popular adult conversation, we can simply log the "logs" in this handy book, and refer to it throughout the day.

For now we will stick with what works, and that is communication. After all, if we don't keep up with his poo, who will? That's what parents are for.

War Eagle!

2009-04-19T09:45:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was a red-letter day....Pollard's first visit to Auburn!!!! Abby and Jason and their two kids Hannah and William were there as well, so we coordinated outfits. This one was a little big on the boys, but since they cost an arm and a leg, we figured they could grow into them/wear them every other day through football season. Hannah is 2 1/2 and William is 9 months, but Pollard and William weigh the exact same!!! I guess this is what you do when you and your friends start having children, just start dressing them alike for photo ops!

Here is Big P up in the box, lounging in one of the chairs. He was really showing off his stuff, smiling and cooing for everyone. He was also, as you can see, showing off his thunder thighs.

Then Uncle Heath bribed him with his first taste of ice cream...Pollard was so excited! What are uncles for???

This picture really stands alone. Ladies, eat your hearts out. Big Cat coming in for the kill with the baby, even getting a laugh out of him. How does he do it? And again, Big P with the thighs...Looking good buddy!

After a good trip around the stadium ( I got confused on my lefts and rights and told Abby to go the wrong way. Very thoughtful of me since she was carrying William and Hannah was skipping along all over the place), we finally found the Simmons and headed up to the box for our photo session. When we got there, Mommy's little Tiger was fast asleep.
NO PROBLEM! I just popped him on the floor, and William was just enthralled...

HOW CUTE DO THEY LOOK?!?!?! And oh! Pollard, you woke up! William was really hammin' it up for the camera, just looking and smiling and laughing. What an angel. And look at Hannah-bug, looking so gorgeous in her dress! Couldn't quite pry a smile out of her, but those eyes say it all.

How cute do they look in their matching outfits?!?! Pollard had just woken up, so excuse the pouty lip and the very red face. Surprise in the diaper, bud?

Yes, THIS is how hard it is to get a picture of a 2 1/2 year old...

GOTCHA!

And here is our attempt at a family picture....Maybe it was Heath's monkey face that upset him?

(and no, I couldn't scronge up anything orange or blue...)

Here are Uncle Heath and Aunt Meghan letting him check himself out. He was just yelling and scooting all over the place! When you look good, you know it.

It was a fabulous day on the plains, and we all felt like this by the time we got to the car to head home...

WAR EAGLE!!!!

Pollard's First Easter

2009-04-15T19:19:00.001-07:00

Easter started out on a high note with a few good scratches to the face and leg. Much like NO ONE bothers to warn you about the intense lack of sleep and therefore sub-consious state you go about your life in, no one tells you how hard it is to cut a newborns fingernails. Can't win 'em all folks, and if the kid has to go a few days with long fingernails then so be it.

Anywho, he started nawing on this cute teething bunny and it was just in time for Easter weekend! Here he is doing his thang, watching the tube, and sporting his dinosaur slippers.

Of course Mimi and Papa could not miss Baby's 1st Easter, so they came in town to be with us. Papa left a little early Sunday, but we did manage this great shot of Mimi and Pollard, both in their Sunday best. Pollard is wearing his white day gown and a bonnet from Britton's Aunt Judy that is BEAUTIFUL! It has a monogrammed H and his birth date. To die for. I figure I better get good use of the bonnets while he still has no idea that he's wearing one.

After church it was straight to Dede and Big John's house where we found THIS!!!!

Could you just die? I about cried. This is the cutest darn Easter basket I've ever seen. We would expect no less from Dede, the Queen of holidays. Can't WAIT to put his Easter goodies in this every year!!!!

Between Mimi and Dede Pollard's Easter basket included new bath toys, a nice savings bond (Helloooo Easter Bunny!), and a beautiful ceramic baby cup with bunnies on it. Basically he racked up.

We had a little photo shoot of sorts in the back yard of Britton's parents house, their flowers were blooming and were just screaming for some humans to stand in front of them and flash their pearly whites.

Here are my 2 Britton Pollard Henig's....aren't they dashing?

Mimi, Mommy and Dede with my handsome devil. Those are two very proud grandmommas.

And of course , the boys shot. Somehow we managed to stick them among the pink flowers? Don't they look good?!?!?

We also thought it necessary to catch Hole # 6 of the MCC for at least one picture. It was such a beautiful day, I wanted to stay outside forever!

And the day ended with one very, very sleepy bunny.

Pollard is 3 months old!

2009-04-04T11:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday and today have seen some major action in little Pollard's life, so naturally I had to share. Being a big 3-month old and all, I guess he wanted to show us his stuff.

As if it wasn't enough that all we do is stare and him and try to talk baby talk when he coo's, it seems we also just follow him around with the camera!! (here's to hoping we actually do half this much with our second child...)
Friday Pollard got his Bumbo seat!!!! He was so confused as to how in the world he seemed to be sitting up without someone's hands all over him. His eyes got as big as watermelon's and the drool really kicked in. His face was saying "How did I get here? What is this thing? Where am I? Mommmm???!!!!"

This is the perfect seat for when you start feeding solid food because the tray is removable. So you can use it for meal time and play time!

This morning, he was on his tummy time mat and lifted his head further than I've ever seen! Talk about just plain strong...this boy is something else. I have this great fear of him not reaching the oh-so-important "developmental milestones", so I've become kind of obsessive-complusive about tummy time and making him watch toys move from side to side. I also force him to watch Sesame Street and Clifford the Dog just in case he might have a clue what the big box with all the flashing colors is saying.

[I just got totally off the subject...here is the big head lift....]

AND...LIFTOFF! (what an angelic face...)

And to end on a high note, looks like P has got his MOMMY'S EYES!! Ever since the day he was born he's been Britton in a mini-baby form. But I do believe this precious boy will have my brown eyes. Yesssss!

And this is the face he makes when he's over it. GET OFF ME WITH THE CAMERA, MOM.

A few glamour shots

2009-03-24T07:24:00.000-07:00

Pollard made his debut at church this weekend, and look how darn good he looks! Outfit compliments of Mimi :)

It was the weekend so Pollard requested his duckie robe so he could relax. Looks like it worked!

He is also very advanced and can hold his toys! (really it was an accident that this toy appeared in his hands right in time for the picture...look how big he looks!) Can we just talk about how handy the Boppy is? The ULTIMATE BABY gift!!

And here is Pollard's cousin Johnny showing him all the cool parts of his activity mat at Dede and Big John's. What a good big cousin!

And last but not least here are 2 funny ones. The one on the left is just after bath time in his "muscle tee" [as Britton calls it] and he spiked his hair up (as if he needs it...). And the other one he fell asleep on Britton's legs after his inagural ride in the Baby Bjorn. Looks like wore him out!!!!

Kiss Me, I'm Irish

2009-03-24T07:20:00.000-07:00

Pollard isn't an Irish name, but we pretended it was for a day. And yes, his shirt says "I'm a McCutie". I'm not usually one for message tee's but I couldn't stand it! And for heavens sake I didn't want this baby boy to get pinched. As you can see, he had a great first St. Patrick's day!!

A particularly smiley morning

2009-03-10T07:30:00.000-07:00

P's new favorite trick is propping up on his boppy so he can "sit up". He feels like SUCH a big boy. This morning after a light meal and a good spit up, he was particularly excited to watch the Today Show with me. I just had to catch this dreamy smile on camera! I mean, could you die? His dry skin is, I'm certain, a direct result of my sloppy kisses planted all over him, all day long. I hope this makes you as happy as it made me!!!!

A much-needed visit from Mimi

2009-03-10T07:20:00.000-07:00

Is there something wrong with this picture?

Mimi shows up with all the perks of a wonderful grandmother: Lots of patience, loving arms to rock the baby, a fresh set of hands for diaper changing and bath time...and several bottles of wine. We hope Pollard doesn't take it the wrong way when his neck comfort is sacrificed for a little taste of the vine.

Our weekend together was WONDERFUL, as always! Mimi was the always doting grandmother and had to hold herself back from going in to scoop him out of his crib in the middle of the night to snuggle with him. It was a great weekend, and Pollard sure is pooped from all his play time!

A whopping 14 pounds

2009-03-10T07:15:00.001-07:00

I would like it to be known that Mr. Chunky Pants now weighs 14 lbs 1.6 ounces and is 25 1/4" long!!!! Last week was his 2 month old check up with Dr. Morrison (Pediatrician Extraordinaire) and he really tipped the scales. Who knew?!?! I'll tell you who knew...both of my wrists. Good GLORY. Every time I pick him up they basically scream at me.
He had his first set of shots and yes, it's just as bad as they say it's going to be. As Abby put so well, it's the "silent cry". The one where they rear their tiny little head back (in our case, a 16" head to be exact) and take a big deep breath to just let it all out. It was hands down one of the saddest things I've ever seen. But after holding him and rocking him, he fell asleep on my arm and back home we went to the comforts of our lamb swing. Phew.
He's still keeping me up at about 2:30 every morning to eat, and then wakes up again between 5:30 and 6:30 (usually closer to that 5:30 hour). So we're hoping he'll start sleeping more soon since he's so stinking big.
All in all, this precious boy has still got our hearts!

Oh my gosh....IT'S BEEN TOO LONG!!!

2009-02-28T16:52:00.001-08:00

OK, so I used to be the best blogger in town, and now I'm totally slackin'. To make up for lost time, above are pics of what's been going on in Pollard's life!! Now that he is 8 weeks old (HELLO!) he is just oh-so-busy. We went to Nashville for a week and a half, and by the time we left he was 6 weeks old. SUCH a big boy! We got to see all my friends and family and it was just the best time. This trip also included mine and Britton's first date (Valentine's) since the baby was born. We had dinner at the Wild Iris in Brentwood and it was great, so nice to be out together and have some wine! Pollard was so sneaky, he kept the secret the entire week that he and his Daddy were sending me flowers! (nevermind the delivery guy that hit on me....hysterical) On our way back from Nashville we stopped to visit Uncle Heath and Aunt Meghan in Birmingham so they could get their Pollard fix.

We also had a visit from Abby, Hannah and William (that's William in Pollard's crib with him). It was so wonderful to see all 3 of them, and Hannah had the best time calling him "Collard" instead of Pollard. That girl is such a stitch. And I have to shout her a holla for being potty-trained...go on with it, girl!

As you also see, P and Norman have become the BEST of friends. Norm just loves the little guy, and P seems to be a pretty big fan himself! He is also watching his mobile and smiling at it these days, which is just about the sweetest thing. He is finding his voice and just talks and talks!

It's been an incredible last few weeks with him, he's just changing every day, we can't believe it. We are SO IN LOVE!!! Now, if we could just get him to sleep through the night....[yawn...]

Mimi and Papa come for a visit!

2009-02-04T13:51:00.000-08:00

Mimi and Papa came all the way from Nashville for a visit last weekend to help celebrate Pollard's first month here on planet earth. It was WONDERFUL!!!! As you see they were quite hands on with the big man, and are already smitten (naturally, I mean, just look at him....). They even took the 3 of us out to dinner two nights in a row and P was a real gentleman both nights, sleeping soundly in his infant carrier. What a man! It was a great weekend and all were sad to see the wonderful grandparents go!!

One month old??? ALREADY?!?!

2009-02-04T12:29:00.000-08:00

If you can believe it, yesterday was Pollard's ONE MONTH BIRTHDAY!!!! Above you'll see him with his big-boy hair do, parted on the side, all business. And of course, a naked fist pump as if to say "YESSS!!! VICTORY IS MINE! I MADE IT TO A MONTH!!" Look at that barrel chest....could you just die?!?!

We also took him for his check up yesterday with Dr. Morrison (who we adore) and this chunk is already 11 pounds 12 ounces and almost 24 inches long! This put him in the 90th percentile for weight and the 95th percentile for height. The doc was already recruiting him for his basketball team. We're in talks with quite a few people actually for both basketball and football, so please submit all proposals in writing.

The first month went by both fast and slow, and I know this next month is going to whiz by! We are loving every minute of Pollard, he is just the best thing in the world!!

And the scales say...

2009-01-26T08:32:00.000-08:00

11 lbs, 1 ounce!!

This, my friends, is what a 3 week old 11 pound baby looks like! We went to the pediatrician on Saturday and no one could believe their eyes when the scales read that alarming number! The picture above is him in his crib, airing out his right leg during a morning nap. I guess when you're so chunky you get a little warm under that blankie!

Labor and Delivery: It's just not what you think...

2009-01-26T08:05:00.001-08:00

I have been meaning to write about my labor and delivery experience for some time now, but the pictures of Pollard just have to come first!!! That, and naps take all precendence over blogging...sorry guys....
I wanted to share my experience giving birth for those of you gals out there who have yet to make their way to the labor and delivery floor at Baptist East. Being a first time Mom, I had no idea what to expect, except that of what Mary Jane had taught us in class. I clung to her every word trying to picture what it would be like to finally meet our baby. But admittingly, I thought about myself first, and naturally I thought, "OH DEAR GOD THIS IS GONNA HURT".
Upon our arrival on Friday at 3 pm, Jenni (our nurse, sent from God) showed us to our room and we unloaded all our stuff. After getting my IV all set up and getting uncomfortable in the hospital bed, we sat there. And then we kept sitting there. Oh, and then we sat some more. And then, all my family members kept calling wondering if we'd had the baby. Um, NO. I literally have come into the hospital and am sitting on a bed.
At around 9 pm the on-call doc made his way in, smelling of Doritos. Late dinner, doc? He made the decision to have my Pitocin drip started at midnight, which made me very happy! (Little did I know, that stuff is a KILLER...we'll get to that momentarily). He also felt around on my stomach and commented that we've got a big baby! "Probably around or just under 8 lbs!" We all oo-ed and ahh-ed....we had no idea.
The Pitocin kicked in around 3 am and I was miserable! The contractions were out of control!!!! Martha came in to check on me (night nurse, sent from God) and I was writhing in pain and she said something to the effect of "Why didn't you call for me?!?! I can give you something for that!" Before I knew it she was shooting me up with something that should NOT be legal. Wow. That really helped. Martha to the rescue! I finally got some sleep and felt much better.
Around 9:30 am the anesthesologist showed up for my epidural and it was time for Kristi's shift (7 am-12 pm nurse, she has taken care of me my whole pregnancy and came in just for me! Also, sent from God). He was absoultely huge, and wearing camo under his scrubs: only in Alabama. He sauntered in and as some doctors will be, was quite full of himself. When Britton asked him if he was a hunter he just looked at him with a bewildered face and said "No. I just try to get lost around here, but they usually find me". Oh, good! In that case, get on over here to my spine with that needle, you jokester!! After administering my epidural (which I hardly felt at all!) he took a big deep breath and said "WHEW!!! Man, I did an amazing job with that. That was really good. You know, you can really screw these things up to hell and back". Verbatim, I do not exaggerate. Kristi and I just looked at each other, her eyes were as wide as can be. "No", I replied, "I wasn't aware of that, but I'm so glad you waited to tell me that until after you were done." He was a real pearl.
After that I was cruising right along. Jenni came back to work and around 2:45 she said I was about 9 cm and we should start pushing soon! In my mind, I had 14 nurses in the room, beeping machines, trays of tools everywhere, blood spewing out of my every organ, and sweat pouring down my face. I was bracing myself for pure drama. 15 minutes later in came Jenni. And that was it. I kept looking at the door waiting for everyone to file in. Where was everyone?!?!
Jenni, Britton and I were in my room pushing for about 45 minutes, and I cannot tell you how relaxed the situation was. No drama, no people around, no feeling from the waist down. Glorious!!! Another nurse came in to deliver a blanket and we just all chatted between contractions. I'm so serious when I tell you, I felt like I was dreaming! I'm not gonna lie, pushing is no easy task, but it's so much better when you can't feel it.
Finally at about 3:45 Dr. Waller came in with a few more nurses to help out, and at 3:57 the big boy was born, all 10 lbs and 22 inches of him! It was exactly the outer-body experice Mary Jane said it would be. Except it was soooo much better than anyone could ever tell you (Much of that is thanks to the crazy anesthesiologist and the epidural....glory hallelujah).
When Pollard was born, our lives got richer in a way I can't explain. I pray EVERYONE can experience this feeling!! I also pray everyone can deliver at Baptist East--what a blessing!

The many faces of Pollard

2009-01-26T07:56:00.001-08:00

A few nights ago after his bath (always dramatic), we decided to give the big man a different do. At first we slicked it straight back, only to find he looked somewhat like an 80-year old man. The brush was already tucked away so Britton just mussied it up a bit with his fingers, and we got this amazing rock star hair-do. Doesn't he look absolutely PRECIOUS?!?!?! I could have just cried. Sleeping so sound with a hair do like that just doesn't seem right. He should have been at a concert, however all the music he got that night was the tune of the crazy giraffe in his crib that sings when you pull its tail.

Here he is cracking a coy half-smile for all the girls. Can you believe this personality??? Talk about a lady-killer. Either he just tooted, or my camera got really lucky :)

More Pollard pics!

2009-01-13T10:36:00.001-08:00

As you can see we've been very busy! Lots of playing dress up and catching our precious boy when he's awake. I just had to show you the one where he's doing the Elvis lip, and the one of him in his little lamb swing really shows off his hair 'do. The one of him in the blue outfit is so special because his Daddy (who I'm now referring to as Britton Pollard, Senior and you should too) wore this when he was a baby! And then, naturally, the first time parents took pictures of our first walk. HUGE dorks! This is about as far down the street as I got! But Pollard was so bundled up you could hardly see him, it was hysterical. More to come!

Introducing Britton Pollard Henig, Jr!

2009-01-08T13:09:00.001-08:00

Our sweet baby boy, Pollard!

Proud parents!!

I apologize for the scattered nature of this blog, I can't seem to get the pictures in place with the text! I'm just all frazzled!

But here are a few pictures from Britton Pollard Henig's birthday. He was born on Saturday, January 3rd at 3:57 pm weighing in at a whopping 10 pounds, and 22 inches long!!! Labor was not as bad as I had imagined in my head (of course!), but then again I had no idea he was such a BIG BOY! After he was born and we saw he was a boy, Britton and I could not stop crying! He was just as perfect as we could have ever hoped for. The nurses and doctors at Baptist East were AMAZING, I could not have asked for better care. Dr. Waller was, as usual, a dream come true for us. It is truly a gift from God that he was our doctor throughout my pregnancy. Having him deliver our baby was of the utmost importance, and he brought him into this world safe and sound! We have a few favorite nurses now that I would literally give my right arm for--Thanks a million to Jenni, Kristi, and Martha!!!

Things at home have been a little hectic, as you can imagine. Thank you to EVERYONE for your undying love and support. Pollard is SO lucky to have you as his friends and family!! More to come, but for now, time to go kiss the baby :)

Baby Henig is on his/her way!!

2008-12-31T19:19:00.000-08:00

Today we had our 39.5 week appointment and FINALLY, some promising news!!! We are scheduled to go in to Baptist East this Friday at 3 pm to start inducing!!!!!!! I was still only 1 cm, but I think they could see the desperation in our eyes :) Dr. Waller had been a bit concerned about the size of the baby (being a big 'ol baby, that is) early on, so he decided to just pull the trigger on getting us up to the hospital on Friday. My eyes welled up with tears, it was JUST the news I was hoping for! Especially after the nurse came in to take the doppler heartbeat on my stomach and, after looking at what my tummy has become said, "God help you...." Thanks so much...Like I don't know I'm a planet.
After the great news, Britton and I went to Storkland for a few things and then to lunch. During lunch I started having major contractions, and by 3 pm they were so bad, we headed up to the hospital. I was still only 1 cm, but in a great deal of pain. After about an hour and a half the pain subsided and they sent me packing....straight to Steak Out. Momma was hungry! The contractions started again once we got in the car (of course). After a good meal and a hot shower, I am feeling much better. But, as the doctor on call said, these things do come and go rather quickly. He said he would not be surprised to see me back up there at midnight tonight! I told them that as long as I can watch Ryan Seacrest and the gang countdown in NYC I'll be happy. Totally kidding....
So, for the moment, I wanted to update you all. I'll post again tomorrow (assuming we're not back in labor and delivery just yet...) and let you know how I'm doing.
Keep my family in your thoughts and prayers as they will be driving in from Nashville for the arrival of the wee one.
And of course, please pray for a safe and easy delivery and a chubby (but not too chubby if you know what I'm saying...), healthy, beautiful baby for the new year!!!

38 1/2 Week Appointment

2008-12-27T08:49:00.000-08:00

Last week we had our 38 1/2 week appointment and I can't believe it's already Saturday and I haven't filled you in! With Christmas being this week, and my family having come to see us Christmas Day, it has been a fun-filled week :)

Our appointment was last Tuesday and I was still about 50% effaced and moving on up to 1 cm dialated. Better than nothing! I was hoping for at least 2 cm, but hey, what can you do??? I saw Dr. Waller's partner Dr. Dupre (my doc was on Christmas vacation) and he was so very nice. I had actually seen him on one of my trips to the hospital before, so we were like old friends... ;)

I will go back to see Dr. Waller this Wednesday for my 39 week check up and we'll just have to go from there. I am hoping that he will give me some sort of idea of what is going to happen come next Sunday (my actual due date) if I am still not going into labor on my own. Everyone keep praying for Baby Henig!!!

I will leave you with a 39 1/2 week side view of moi, Big Momma, by the Christmas tree (yes, we opted for a tiny one this year) :

The worst trip to the Dollar Tree EVER

2008-12-19T07:56:00.000-08:00

It was Wednesday of this week and it happened to be the glorious day upon with Verlia comes and cleans our house for 3 hours. There is nothing quite like walking in your front door to the smell of Pine Sol and Clorox, knowing you had absolutely nothing to do with it.
I was trying to make my daily outing (that's about all I can do) to get out of her way for a little while. Naturally, I headed to the Dollar Tree, the greatest store the other side of Ann Street.

Known for their fabulous Christmas gift bags, I wanted to stock up since it's not physically possible for me to sit on the floor with wrapping paper this year. I pulled into a parking space and to my right was a silver Buick. I saw my blackberry blink so I left my car running and starting scrolling through my e-mails when, all of a sudden, WHACK! The little old lady loading up the Buick smacks the crap out of my car door. I uttered a dirty word, and got out of the car to let her know she wasn't getting out of this/to let her see I was preggo and feel sorry for me. The first time I tried to say something to her, she didn't hear a word I said. Finally I yelled, "Ma'am!! YOU'VE JUST HIT MY CAR!" She was clearly over 85 and should not have been operating a motor vehicle. It was just a nasty scratch, no dent, so I didn't have the heart to ask for her insurance information. She apologized profusely and told me she had no idea she had even done it...

So I grab my purse and huff away to get my Christmas bags and end this heinous trip. I go to cross the street and this little black girl in a hoop-dy (sp?) waves me across. I notice she has a concerned look on her face, so I wasn't surprised when she rolled down her window. "Hey girl!", she yelled in her thickest ebonics, "You got twiiiins in theah? You havin' twiiiins, right?" I looked around to see if I was being punked and no, she was serious. "No", I replied politely, "just the one!" She gave me a look of pity and another "Oh girl!" and sped off.

It's gonna be a long time before I go back to the Ann Street shopping center.

A Baby on the Way=Bad News for the Lab and the Pug

2008-12-16T16:26:00.000-08:00

After returning home from work one day last week to find Allie had tried to make herself comfy on the brand new area rug in the baby's room, we have set some different rules for the canines. Said rug had been gleefully torn away from it's plastic for a mere 24 hours when she took her claws to it like a cat on a scratching post. I cried for 2 hours, and THIS is the look she gave me:

One afternoon I also found Big Norm in his bed, chewing quietly and contently on a pair of the baby's newborn slippers. After a swift whack on his curly-tailed butt, this is the face he gave me:

(Don't buy it, he's totally guilty)

Norman and Allie basically run the place over here on Country Club drive, and after these little mishaps we had to put an end to it. They are now confined to the sunroom and back porch only. Animal lovers, don't fret: These dogs are still more spoiled than they should be. The sunroom comes complete with 2 fluffy dog beds, a whole basket full of toys, an ever-full water bowl and afternoon sun. Not half bad, eh? Not according to them.
They are so disgusted by these new rules, when I asked them how they liked their new digs, this is what they did:

I was highly offended at the simultaneous butt-licking.

In conclusion, the dogs are still loved upon on a daily basis, given rawhides when they ask nicely, and never denied their after breakfast and after dinner treats. But for now, they remain in the confines of a sunny room with lots of soft things to lay on. Their lives are very, very hard.