So Much Excitement ...

Well, what an exciting weekend. Henry and I experienced our first professional soccer game together on Saturday night. We were in Houston for what turned out to be a mini family reunion, and my uncle had bought tickets to the Dynamo game for everyone in his company. Since some people were unable to make it to the game, it turned into a family outing! I was a bit nervous about how little Henry would react in a stadium, but everyone agreed that we'd just leave if he started fussing. So we packed up and - after an incredibly delicious dinner at Don Carlos - made our way to the stadium.

I am not really a big fan of soccer (Baseball is the first love of my father AND my husband, so it's always been pretty much The Sport in my family), but we sure did have a blast at that game! First off, the BBVA Compass Stadium was ridiculous. I've been to a fair number of professional sports venues, and this was by far the nicest. Obviously it was new, but it was also a comfortable place to sit and enjoy a game, despite being open-air (in Houston in July). Our seats caught a nice breeze, and there was - get this! - actually a bit of space between the seats! Glorious. Even Henry enjoyed himself. There were so many lights and people for him to watch that he was constantly entertained, and (somewhat to my consternation) he even enjoyed the Dynamo Girls nearly as much as Uncle Taylor. In fact, the only problem he did have was when the Dynamo scored. The crowd and the fireworks were so loud that they just terrified my poor Lovebug, and he burst into tears each time. Lucky for me, he's so easygoing and happy that his fits never lasted long, and he would quickly move on to the next game of Peekaboo or a new lap.

After our first professional soccer game

Oh, yes. The gloves. Well, Uncle Virgil thought it would be fun if all the people from the company wore orange gloves to support the team (team colors: orange & white). So we all donned these vinyl gloves and proceeded to wave many, many spirit sprinkles toward the field. I'm pretty sure it worked, as the Dynamo beat the other guys (Montreal) 3-0. USA!

The rest of the weekend was fun but pretty uneventful. We went swimming for a little bit, but mostly we all laughed and ate all weekend, catching up with one another, laughing at Henry's adorable antics, and celebrating Grampa's 77th birthday. It was such a great weekend, and it made me feel so lucky to be a part of such a fun, sweet, loving family.

My sweet, goofy boy

Things have rocked along swimmingly this week as well, with small bursts of excitement. On Tuesday evening I was taking a quick potty break when I heard the dreaded bonk and wail from the living room, followed by a frantic flurry of motion. By the time I made my way to the nursery, things had spiraled out of control. Henry was shrieking (in panic more than pain) and thrashing about in Elvis' arms as he tried to assess the damage and contain the blood (!!!). Our little monkey had tripped and fallen, biting his tongue in the process. Combined with the excessive teething-related drooling, the blood just got dripped everywhere. We finally got the bleeding contained, but then there was another problem. Since Henry had bitten his tongue, it had swollen up considerably and any time he moved it too much (like say ... for talking or eating) it would scrape against his teeth and start bleeding again. Oh, my poor baby. Elvis gave him a bit of medicine for the pain, but it was obvious the bleeding was freaking him out. It took almost an hour to calm Henry down. He couldn't eat so I nursed and rocked him to sleep, which was very bittersweet. It's been awhile since I nursed period, and it was so very sweet to hold my son and comfort him as he nodded off to sleep. What an absolute joy he is, every minute of the day. Elvis and I checked on him every hour or so until we went to bed, to make sure he was still doing fine. Sweet Henry slept peacefully through the night with no more bleeding, and has been in fine spirits ever since. He was pretty funny on Wednesday, with that swollen tongue. It looked silly all flopped out of his mouth but it did encourage him to try making new sounds, so that's a win in my book.

And the last bit of excitement has nothing to do with my own precious family at all: a very old friend of mine joyfully announced her pregnancy yesterday. She and her husband have wanted a baby so badly, and finally - after years of tears, disappointments and prayers - she was overjoyed to share her happy news. I am so overjoyed for Sarah & her husband, and for her parents who must be beside themselves. What a lucky baby, to be coming into the world so beloved already. And what an incredible lady; her faith and her patience throught the last few painful years have been so inspiring.

And now, I hope it's not too much to ask for a few days of nice boring quiet. I just don't know how much more excitement I can take this week!