Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving at Jerry & Betsy's house this year. Betsy did a beautiful job with everything, and we all enjoyed being thankful together. Henry was especially thankful for the vast amounts of spoiling that he received this year.

Henry with Nana, Grandma, and Grandma Rosie. Nana proudly showing off her delicious pumpkin pie. Look how pretty she smiles as she sabotages my baby weight diet.

Grandpa put Henry right to sleep for his afternoon nap. So sweet.

Nana and Henry share so many secrets.

Henry loved Grandma Rosie's scrunchie shirt...such pretty colors and bumpy texture...4 month old DE-light.

Henry and his daddy!

Henry and Santa Claus (minus the beard)....just kidding...that's Uncle Charlie.

Henry chillin' in Anthony's big boy chair

Henry and his mamamamamamamama...

After the feast, all the Chessers slipped into something a little more comfortable...for H, this always means almost nekked.

With the coming and going of Thanksgiving, the holiday season feels officially upon us. This time of year always reminds me of one of my very best friends, Charity. I don't think I've mentioned her on our blog yet, so here's a little shout to my homegirl. She just finished up a 3-year stint with the U.S. Army JAG in El Paso, Texas, and is (hopefully) enjoying a little time off before the humdrum of civilian life sets in. Chair is engaged to be married to a real gem of a guy, Randy, and I am proud to take as much credit as possible for the setting up of the two. Their wedding is this coming March, and we are so excited to pump it up for her big day. When I think of the holiday glee that is upon us, my mind goes straight to Chair because she and I share a mutual appreciation for all things Christmas. From the hot beverages to the beautiful music to the theological contemplation to the presents to the smell of fresh pine to the spirit of giving, sharing, love, and brotherhood...I guess this makes her my kindred Christmas spirit. Love & miss ya, girl.

4 months old!

I forgot to post official 4-month photos. So, here they are...

Sad to say, the mobile comes down this week...and we're moving the mattress down a notch or two as well. My baby is turning into a big boy way too fast. :(

North Carolina...raise up...take your...errr, nevermind

This past weekend, we flew to Raleigh for Henry's first wedding!! My cousin, Rachelle, married her long-time sweetheart, Keith, in a gorgeous nuptial mass inside of the prettiest chapel I've ever seen. It was a family weekend to remember...

Here's Henry on the airplane making his pissy face. Just prior to this picture being taken, he had his cheeks puffed all the way out...so cute...

Jared and the baby take Rehearsal Dinners very seriously. Here's Daddy teaching Henry good table-manners.My sweet boys cheek-to-cheek.The bride and groom busting a move!My dad, Lande, teaching my cousin, Ashley, how to dance. This was hilarious...especially when she was better than him after 5 seconds of learning.My musically-gifted cousin, Miles, took to the stage to sing a few for Rachelle's reception!! The cousins (+Renee's fun friend who didn't get the memo that it was a family pic!) standing front row for Miles' performance - clockwise from top left - Michelle, Rachelle, Renee, Elizabeth, Ashley, and Hailey.Ashley and me....I remember racing to New Orleans to see her the day she was born...now, she's a supermodel with a boyfriend of 2 years. Crazy.Ashley, Hailey, & me - if you add their ages together, I'm still more. By the way, it was Hailey's big 9th birthday on the day of the wedding!!! Sooooooo, a BIG PINK HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Hailey....one of the sweetest cousins and cutest flowergirls in the history of the world!Just for funsies, here are a few photos of Hailey as a flowergirl in my wedding...BEAUTIFUL!

The Chesser family!! I know I look slightly preggers in that dress...but trust me, it's just the dress...we're crazy, but not THAT crazy.Daddy and Henry at the wedding.Jared and me in a rare pic of just the two of us. Amy, I hope you like our matchy outfits...Grammie and Henry at the wedding. Notice the baby's red chin...he got a little dry and patchy in the cold NC air despite being perfectly dressed for the weather. If anyone knows the remedy for chapped baby skin, mine has patches all over and could use some TLC. The morning after the wedding, Henry got to meet my cousin Renee's 6-month old baby boy, Brayden!! In the first photo, you can see me and NayNay with my mom, her dad, and their mom(our grandmother, Maw Maw, and the babies' great grandmother!!). The second photo is just the cousins with the babies and Maw Maw.Henry and Brayden sizing each other up. Brayden smiled big at the H-man, but Henry just wanted to grab at him (we're in a grabbing phase these days).Hi baby!!Crappy picture of the two breads (bad angle)...but the meat of this sandwich is looking pretty cute! My mom's cousin Alice with Henry and me!!Henry saying bye-bye to his Grammie and Grumpy at the hotel. aww, he's about to cry because he's so sad to see them go back to their house...Uncle Joey with Henry! Henry and me with my Great Aunt Nancy.Henry and me with my Great Auntie Norma.Maw Maw holding Henry just before we had to leave for the airport. All in all, it was a fabulous weekend in Raleigh. We were so happy to be able to share in Rachelle and Keith's special day, and we loved seeing so many family members in the same place. We can't wait to see everyone again in June for Jonathan & Stephanie's parrrr-tay!!

Next up, though, Thanksgiving!! Yippee!!

...and the 5th Baby Burgess is on the scene!!

So, evidently, I have the magic mojo when it comes to predicting early babies and water breakage. Our dear friend, Amy, just couldn't wait until her scheduled induction this Thursday...her water broke last night and Baby Elizabeth was born this morning at 6:09 a.m. Eyewitness reports tell us that she is 8 pounds 8 ounces and 22 inches long and that mom and baby are doing great and resting after their long night.

Congratulations on Numero Cinco, Burgess family!!

The Daddy

This morning, during Henry's nap, I read back over all of my blog posts. I don't know, I guess I just wanted to look them over as a whole and think about whether they are a true reflection of what we're up to on a daily basis. For the most part, I think they are, but after reading all of them, I feel like I haven't said enough about Jared. Since the blog is my outlet during the hours that I am at home with Henry housewifin', I guess it makes sense that I don't write very much about what happens after my fellow grown-up returns home...or before he leaves for that matter. But, those times are some of the most precious that our family has, so I want to be sure they are, at least, acknowledged here.

So, today, this little bloggy blog is devoted to the man of our house -- the hubs, if you will -- Jared.

Every day during the week, Jared is up with the sun. About half of the mornings in any given week, I am still catching zzzz's when his alarm goes off, so he is an extra quiet waker-upper...and most days, he is showered, ready, and leaving for work before I even realize he's awake. On the days that I am up before he is, I stay out in the living room with the baby until he comes out so he can have a few extra minutes of sleep. When he wakes up, if I'm not in the bed, he knows where I am....but almost always comes to 'find' us anyway. I hear his footsteps behind me, and suddenly he'll say in a silly voice (kind of in the rhythm of fee-fi-foe-fum), "Who's out here makin' all this noise???" It is at this point, that Henry will begin smiling. If he's nursing, I can just forget about it....he yanks his face away, toothless grin in all its glory, and starts peering behind me to look for his dad. The moment that their eyes meet, a symphony of giggles and snorts erupt from the baby....as Jared begins asking him about his morning, telling him that he's his little "Henry-bug," oh, and of course, reminding him that he is "Daddy's Baby." That last part he throws in just to tease me. Joke is on him though...we all know whose baby Henry is. heehee...just kidding Jared. :)

After he leaves for work, Henry and I resume our normal schedule for the day. He eats every three hours, sometimes he takes naps - most days he doesn't go more than 10 or 15 minutes for every 2 1/2 hours he's awake. At some point in the morning, Jared will call us to see how we are doing. I put him on to "talk" with the H-man, and usually Henry just listens to Daddy talk in his silly daddy voice...sometimes he smiles, sometimes he babbles back, but always, he is HAPPIER having heard his dad.

Jared usually gets home around 6...but sometimes a little later, especially lately with all the transition of moving. As soon as Henry spots him walk in the door, he starts smiling and hiding his face in my shoulder and his body gets all tense and wiggly with excitement. The "who's-in-here-makin'-all-this-noise" game begins again. Eruptions of laughter and snorts are abundant, and all is well with the world. Lately, Jared's been throwing in a new game...same tone of voice, he asks Henry, "What is that I smell in here?" Then, as he keeps saying it, he gets closer and closer to Henry and finally, as he buries his face down in his neck, he says "It's SUGAR...SUGAR!!!" The squeals that he can provoke with that game are absolutely priceless. After they play awhile, Henry sits on his dad's lap and they watch a little football together. It's truly heartmelting, as the mom of this family, to watch our sweet baby boy and his dad together.

When bedtime finally arrives, Jared loves to rock Henry in the man-chair and sing him old church hymns until he's out. I admit, I don't know the words to ANY of the songs he sings to that baby, but I think Henry knows them all by heart now...and just about every night, the last thing he sees before he goes to sleep is one of his favorite faces in all the world singing him a beautiful song that only they know.

We're taking to the skies...

Jared has to go back to Houston for work this week, so we're going along to keep him company! I am going house-looking while we're there...so cross those fingers, maybe we'll find something great. Have a fabulous week, and we'll be back to normal posting when we return on Wednesday.

Amy, hold that baby in, girl. Just a few more days - you can do it!!! Uncle Jedded and I are so excited to meet her when we get back.

Our week in pictures

When Henry wakes up, he looks like this! He is always happiest after a good snooze...these pics were taken on his 4-month birthday.
When Henry heard we were moving to Texas, he got out all of his Texas stuff to play with...no worries, the star was taken away after 1 second (way too sharp). Here he is contemplating what he is going to do first once we get there. Henry loves playtime in Mommy and Daddy's room. He feels like king of the world when he is propped on mommy's pillow right in the middle of our big bed.Here's my sleepy boy...don't you love how his tummy hangs down onto his leg!! So sweet.Today, we tried sweet potatoes. Henry likey. All that mess on his shoulder is there because as soon as he takes a bite, he turns his head really fast to look at his high chair. He LOVES the bright colors!!

Happy Friday! Have a great weekend!!