Three months

Just an adorable giggling baby...

Happy Wednesday!

The Other Hap

Many of you reading this know that my grandpa, Hap, recently passed away. Now I regret not taking Henry home sooner...we were two weeks too late for Grandpa to meet his namesake. I'm heartbroken about it, but I have to take comfort in the fact that Grandpa knew, and he was proud, even if he never said it out loud.

When I told Grandma and Grandpa that we intended to give our son 'Hap' as a middle name, they laughed, thinking it was a joke. But there’s no one else I’d rather Henry take after. At his funeral I said, "There will only ever be one Hap Slaughenhoupt, but my prayer is that Henry will grow up to be a man like him. He was strong, generous, hard-working, dependable, honest, and kind."

My Grandpa was unchangeable. Year in and year out, he wore the same clothes (pants year round), sat in the same chair in the same place, and asked you the same thing ("Tell me everything you know."). Something about this reliability was so comforting as a child...and even as an adult. I always knew what to expect from Grandpa, and he was always there.

My grandparents have many Amish neighbors, and one of the things that struck me was how highly the Amish spoke of him, before and after his passing. He was cut from the same cloth...hard-working, uncomplaining, and friendly  - but not too chatty. Most days, he would sit on the porch and greet everyone who passed by.

One man (not Amish) at the viewing said, 'Hap was the nicest man I ever had the pleasure of knowing, and I know a lot of men. And that ain't no bull****!'

My Grandpa famously had a short-temper when he was younger. One oft-recounted incident was when my brother got Grandpa to play Risk, almost certainly against his will. At some point in the game, Grandpa had had enough. He put his arm down and swept all the pieces off the board (my brother says, "displaying his own form of world domination'). 

By the time I arrived - the youngest grandchild by seven years and the only granddaughter - he had mellowed out. He never once yelled at me, though one time I’m sure he came close. I was maybe 4 or 5 and playing in their terrifying basement. I had fun spinning the lock to the safe...not knowing that it had been set perfectly to open. And that the combination was on the INSIDE. Grandpa silently tromped down the steps and finally got it to open, while I sat at the kitchen table, wringing my hands. I was sure I'd finally see his infamous temper, but he came silently back up the stairs and went back to his chair. I never touched the safe again.

Grandpa was a man of few words, but when he spoke, it was always something worth saying. When he spoke, you listened. He was also really funny and quick-witted. At the funeral, several people mentioned his 'one-liners.' Grandpa would be sitting quietly at the table while everyone else on the family jabbered loudly on...then he would jump in out of nowhere with something surprising and hilarious.

Grandpa was one of the hardest workers I ever knew. He worked for years in a glass factory, as a bus driver, as a dispatcher for an electric company and as a 'sexton' taking care of a cemetery. He worked nights and holidays for the electric company, and never once did I hear him complain when his Thanksgiving dinner was interrupted by a call. One of my Grandpa’s sayings for someone leaving for work was, "Give 'em a good day." With Hap Slaughenhoupt, you do the job you agreed to do, and you do it well.

In my mind’s eye, I will always see Grandpa mowing the acres and acres of land behind their house and at the cemetery, wearing his long pants and straw hat. After he finished, he would sit on the rickety old green swing in the back yard and rest. Jeff has said a few times that he's up in heaven, mowing the lawn, but I picture him on his swing, enjoying the summer air, enjoying the rest that he has earned.

Tummy time champ

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter from Henry and the Dudzicks!

(which I was just told would make a good band name)

Henry's favorite song

Every time I sing this song, he smiles and coos. 

(And it's funny, because the song is terribly sad if you listen to the words!)

Some iPhone pics

A friend pointed out some similarities...

Jeff is like the Henry Whisperer. He can get him to calm down when it seems like nothing will work. Here are some shots I captured over the weekend when Henry was having a total meltdown and Jeff worked his magic (with help from the soothing bathroom fan).

Fun with grandma and grandpa

One month

Picture post!

Sometimes photo shoots are fun.

Sometimes they are not.

It's true. I am and he does.

Cutest sound in the world

Henry 1) snuggled up with his dad and 2) supervising my birthday festivities (Jeff secretly made cookie dough in lieu of cake and used tea lights to make a '31').

Jeff and I had not planned on keeping a blog, but with all our amazing pics of Henry, we changed our minds pretty quickly. We'll probably use this as a way to document funny things he does, new experiences, and pictures for our families and friends to see (If you're on Facebook, most of the pictures will be old news to you).

Most new parents would probably agree (unless they're liars) that having a newborn is about 1000x harder than anticipated. But after the dark days at the beginning when we were severely sleep-deprived and less adept at quickly meeting Henry's needs, things are looking up!

He's sleeping for several 3-hour stretches at night and we've developed a good routine. He also has more frequent periods of quiet alertness, when he's taking in everything around him, and he's started to make "ooooh" and "ahhhh" noises in response to us (especially when he's in his new swing and we're reading books to him).

One thing that always makes us laugh: his wake-up routine. He stretches for what seems like 5 minutes and then farts/poops. Jeff has dubbed him "Farty McStretcherson."

Welcome to the world, Henry Hap!