Is that a bedtime routine I see? What?

Things are starting to get a little more normal at bedtime. Last night Henry got a bath and pretty much went to sleep right away. Tonight we read some books, walked around a bit, and Henry is peacefully sleeping as we speak. He's been sleeping through the night for about a week, and we're starting to feel out when bedtime should be. It's a wonderful thing to be talking about: "Should we put him down at 10:00? How about 9:30? Yeah, sleep!

In other news, daycare has been a pretty rough morning schedule for us. Sarah wakes up at 4:45 so that she can pump and get herself ready (and do schoolwork ... her addiction). If Henry hasn't woken up by 6:00, she wakes him up. This sometimes slides to 6:30 ... a sleepy baby is a happy baby, after all, and an awoken baby is exactly the opposite. I wake up around 6:00 as well, because Sarah is trying to get out the door by 6:30, which means that I'm in charge. I finish up the loose ends (dressing, feeding, whatever) and whisk him off to day care, usually by 7:00 or so.

The Army says that they do more before 7:00 than you do all day, right? I'm starting to feel like that ... what a loaf I was before! Ah, in 13 years I can do it again! It's a good thing that parents are programmed not to be vindictive, because it would be a ball to start banging pots and pans in the middle of the night when Henry is 13. When he wakes up I'll ask him if remembers the 3:00 feedings, and laugh. Again, good thing that I'm biologically programmed not to act like that.

Another baby, just in case you haven't had your fix yet.

Henry made sure that we told you, our stalwart viewers, that another baby has been blogging and that we should show our support. Ava Elizabeth Crane was born over the weekend to our friends Aaron and Kristie. More info and very cute pictures are at http://allaboutava.blogspot.com.

Don't they look much too happy and well-rested for just having a baby? I'm a bit jealous, I must tell you ... ah, but they won't be sleeping all that well in the near future. Maybe that will make me feel better ... ok no it won't. Congratulations to the Cranes, and welcome, little Ava, to the planet. Hopefully you'll be able to dunk (your Dad sure can't, and it's a waste of his height if you ask me -- the dude is 6'5").

Pictures of the weekend

This is Henry at the UA Arts Festival on Labor Day (today, even). This is him getting his groove on during a reggae set. You see, he's a karate man ... he has to show his groove on the inside.

The other two pictures are at the Thornburg's campsite at Alum creek. Henry's definitely the most photogenic of the three of us.