One Trip Around the Sun

How? How? How?  Isn't that the tune I always sing?!  It has been a year.  And, what a sweet one!  This little guy...he lights up our lives.  He just is the sweetest thing.  So, so good.

We had flu for his birthday, but we still had such a special, little day.  

I made this cake.

It was fun, but it wasn't my favorite one we've made/tried.

Jeremy made pasta to go with our meatballs and braciole (yes, with his fun new Italian cooking interest), and I think Henry loved every bit of it.

He watched his siblings open and put together his gifts.

And, he was so proud of them singing to him.

 He ate every last bite of the cake...in true Fisk/Carter family fashion.

Then, he tried out his new set of wheels.

Oh, Henry.  You are so loved.  As our family has gotten larger over the (short!) years, I am sure some have wondered how we can love each of you enough when we are pulled in so many different directions...when each of you still needs us on a very basic level.  The truth is, I've wondered the same thing right before each of you were born.  It has kept me up at night.  The fear of the unknown (even though I should know very well how instantly I fall so deeply in love with each of you as soon as you're in my arms), coupled with the hundred other thoughts running through the mind of a soon-to-be momma again can oftentimes be paralyzing.  But the truth is, you were made for us.  

You were given to us as a gift...one that we borrow until we can get you back safely into the arms of the Giver.  And as we receive you, our hearts wonder where you ever were.  

I couldn't love any of you more than I already do.  Although, at times, with my failings and yellings, I'm sure you question that.  

What I mean to say is, you all are loved.  Beyond measure.  And, with each little one of you that comes along, our hearts are stretched more.  You have helped us to realize there truly is go greater gift than life.  While we have made so many mistakes, you are teaching us what is important, what can be let go, and how to grow in patience (sorry I need a daily lesson).

I worry I will mess up.  I worry that I will parent you in the wrong way.  I sometimes go to bed at night praying that you know I love you because of the difficulty of the day.  

I do.  Each of you.  And, I always, always will.

Happy birthday, sweet boy.

The Baby

These photos are a few months old...as is anything I'm posting lately.  Why do I feel I need to catch up instead of just skip those months?  Who knows.  Anyway, it's what I'm doing.  

I am so.in.love.with.this.child.  I know, I know, I'm in love with every one of my babies, but this one really loves me right now, and there is nothing quite like that feeling.  He laughs when I walk into a room and crawls at fast baby speed to get to me.  He smiles when he catches my eye.  And, right before he lays down for naps or night, he lays his head on my shoulder just for about a minute.  It doesn't happen any other time of day, but it's like he knows I need that, even for a brief minute!

He's a smiler, and he brings so much joy to a room...and to our family.  I've heard that his namesake (my great-grandfather I never knew) was a wonderful man full of so much love.  I have a feeling this little Henry is following right in his footsteps.

He brightens our days.  He makes us laugh.  He reminds us to slow down.  

And, he is exactly what the miracle of life is...a gift...of the very best kind. 

Henry Joseph

I just thought this little guy needed an update.  

He is:

6 months

18.75 pounds

He has:

two teeth

and rolls over

And he might be the happiest, sweetest baby on the planet (do I say that about everyone of my babies?  I think so).  But, truly, he is!

Oh, Henry

There are not a lot of moments in the day when I get to just relish in Henry's newborn-ness - the way he smells, breathes, nuzzles into my neck and all of the sweet noises he makes.  Sometimes he is awake when the others are sleeping, and this was one of those days.  So, I soaked it all in.

Baths still are not his favorite, so we make them quick!

He is one sweet little boy!

Bathtime

Henry's favorite time...not really.

This little guy fits right in.  He sleeps though all the noise, gave us a seven hour stretch last night and eats like a champ.

He is growing soooo fast...gaining unlike any of my others, so he looks a bit fuller than these week-old pictures, but he is doing great, so that is good.  

Sophie calls him John Henry - after the the folk hero - I think it might stick.  It's what the boys called him in utero, too!  So, we shall see.

He's a month old tomorrow, and what a glorious month it has been.  

His Name

I am typically the person who has to have my baby's name picked out way before he/she is born. With the first few babies, we didn't have a problem with that.  With the last two...it's been a different story. I am not exactly sure why, but it's just been more difficult to decide.  The night before this little one was born, we were basically down to two names.  With both, the middle name was Joseph.  He's a saint I have always greatly admired for his selflessness and humility.  So, I knew I would like that as a middle name.  The first name was the hard part.  This baby had been Henry Joseph in my mind for so long, since that was the name for Genevieve if she had been a boy.  So, when we found out this little guy was a boy, it just seemed that this name would be his.

Then, the name discussion was opened back up, and we re-thought names we had loved in the past. We looked over the list of family names we had compiled.  We tried to find saints who we might have overlooked.  There wasn't anything we were just set on.

And, poor Jeremy could not really talk to me about it, because it stressed me out.  For some reason, I just thought I would really "mess up" and miss a great name.  Sometimes my pregnant mind is one of great worry and anxiety as well.  The night before his birth, Jeremy made a comment about a name he liked (one that maybe we had kind of agreed on) and said, "I can get behind that name."  He did not say, "This is it!" or "I've just loved this name for a long time."  Instead, "I can get behind it."  In my crazy state, I started crying and saying I couldn't name our child something he wasn't in love with...something he had to just get used to.

See why it's hard to live with me sometimes?

So, that conversation quickly ended.  And, it wasn't brought up again, until Jeremy walked into the delivery room to find the baby had already been born.  He took one look at him and said, "He looks like Henry Joseph to me."

And, that was that.

Henry was the name of my great-grandfather - one I never knew but whom my daddy loved dearly. Henry is also the name of a saint or two whose stories we love.  Joseph, of course, was Jesus' earthly father.  I love the strength of the name.  I love the timelessness of it.  I love the examples he has to look to as he grows into a man.

May these saints who have gone before us always guide you, little one!

Newborn Photos

I decided to do Henry's newborn photos.  And, I wanted to try out more of a lifestyle approach to them.  So, over the course of a morning or two, I took photos of Henry with the family.  It was Jeremy, the tripod and me.  So, some of the angles are not the best.  And, they're not quite what they would have been had I hired someone else.  Nevertheless, here we are as a family of eight.  Eight!