Someone's Got a Bellybutton

This past week has been a series of incremental changes for Henrik, physically and developmentally, with one minor benchmark.  First off, like all babies, li'l h's short quiet awake times, as mentioned in the previous post, have been getting longer and longer.  During these periods of open-eyed alertness Henrik's personality has been coming out more and more, and he gets cuter and cuter.  A few early smile reflexes have even been appearing, giving a sneak peek at what he'll be like in a few months when he's smiling with intent... boy oh boy are we in for it then.

Friday we went to the doctor's for Henrik's 7-10 day check-up, which he passed with flying colors.  We found that he grew a 1/4 of an inch (19.5") and gained a few more ounces (8lbs) - he's almost back up to his birth weight of 8lbs 3oz, which usually takes about 2 weeks.  He also seems to have shed most of the slight, but normal, baby jaundice he had during his first few days.  Along with these measurable differencess, his hair seems to be growing into a great looking mullet and his features are becoming a little more defined.

Henrik had a few visitors this week.  Our good friend Michelle was in the neighborhood and dropped by early in the week for a visit...

and his cousins Lorraine and Robin dropped by later in the week to see the little one, bring over some delicious homemade chile, and return Allee the one-eyed cat back home (Lorraine's apartment has become Allee's indispensable home away from home whenever we're out of town, or having a baby).  Allee's appearance marked the last member of the furry 5 to meet the newest little member of the Farm, and with her approval Henrik's acceptance into the pack is officially unanimous.  All three cats and both pooches have made their exploratory sniffs and inquiries and deemed the HOF worthy of inclusion.

Finally, the benchmark.  Last night, while changing Henrik's diaper, he surprised me, again, with what we like to call an 'air pee'.  I quickly reacted by covering his midsection with a clean cloth diaper to contain the fountain, and when I removed it I saw that what was left of his dried up umbilical cord had fallen off and Henrik officially had a bellybutton.  From early indications it looks to be an 'inny'.  Early signs are also indicating an affinity for Kansas Jayhawks sports...

and for doing the handjive...

Good bye...