Baby Henry is Finally Here!

It's hard to believe that he's finally here, but on December 5, 2008 we welcomed our son, Henry Patrick Spratt into the world. I wanted to say "we welcomed our little boy" but to call him little would be quite a misstatement. Hank weighed in at a hefty 9 lbs 6 oz or for the metrically-minded, 4275 g. His massive girth came as quite a surprise and unfortunately gave rise to some delivery-related complications. But after a long stretch of labour followed by a quicky quick surgery baby Henry emerged happy as a clam and has been that way ever since.

Charlie LOVES being a big sister. She has been as helpful as a two year old can and smothers the little bugger with hugs and kisses at ever possible opportunity. We figure it's good for his immune system (?)...

Christmas came and went in a haze of diaper changes, late nights and, for me (Emilie) the slow and gradual recovery from the C-section. Things are slowly getting back to normal and we're all having fun adjusting to our new life together. Sorry for the delay in posting but I'll try to get more out soon. Happy New Year everyone - we look forward to seeing you and introducing you to baby H in the coming months.

Where Did the Lazy Days of Summer Go?

It is the middle of August. Summer is almost over. I know this because the Blue Jays' hopes of a playoff spot are growing ever dimmer. As the summer draws to a close Emilie and I cannot help but dread the craziness that will engulf us in the very near future.

We are in the process of doing renovations to accommodate baby number 2 (unlike Charlie who had a cute in utero nickname, our second child is known simply by the number two). There is much work to be done to prepare for #2's arrival. We are turning the office into Charlie's room so #2 can move into the baby's room. This sounds easier on paper than it is in reality. This simple change required new master bedroom furniture so the office could be moved into our room. And why do one reno when you can do two - I also thought it a good time to paint all the molding in the kitchen. Currently the kitchen molding is half sanded, Ikea only delivered half of our new furniture, and the office is a disaster.

I wonder if we will be ready for #2's arrival. Emilie and I both have large trials over the next two months. Charlie is not much help with sand paper or that little Ikea wrench. I expect that #2 will end up sleeping in an unfinished room. I guess this is typical for a second child - my younger brother always complained that he suffered from the 'hand me down' plight of being second born.

We did find time to take a trip to B.C. to visit Em's brother. It was a fantastic. I would write about the great weather, the beautiful scenery, spending time with Pat.... but I have to go sand molding.... and the pictures tell it all.

Stanley Park

Pat and Charlie on one of our many hikes

Almost at our destination - A private beach




Pat singing Charlie to sleep

Charlie at the Goat Zoo in Victoria

Charlie loved the fish at the Vancouver Aquarium (so did Bear)

Charlie's Sand Castle

Charlie's Engineering Lesson

Charlie learned that a tower built on a shaky foundation - when intentionally pushed - will fall. She was not too impressed.

Look Who's Walking and Talking

It seems like only yesterday when I resolved to post more. Since then, in typical resolution fashion, I have not posted at all. I take this to be not a measure of laziness, but of how busy we all have been. Work was (and is) very busy, the winter was long, and as usual time is short.





Charlie has also kept us busy. She has finally learned how to walk. According to the doctor 99% of kids learned to walk before she did. This means that Charlie beat only legless babies to bipedal locomotion. She has come to love the freedom and terror that walking brings and so have we. Charlie seems like more of a little kid.

Charlie has also had a vocabulary explosion. She know too many words to count. She even learned an x-rated word from her mom (for once I am not the irresponsible parent, woohoo)

Instead of posting a ten page update I resolve to start fresh and post more often. Here is the pictorial version of the last few months:

Charlie and I play in the park a lot. I wish she weighed more.

Charlie was the impromptu flower girl at Julie's Wedding.

We hung out as a family at the Tulip festival.

Charlie took us to the zoo. She loved it. It was after the zoo trip that she started to walk. I think the monkeys made her a bit jealous.

Charlie has maintained her relationships with her close friends.