For the Love of Reading

Henry loves to read books.  He now will bring you book after book after book to read to him.  If he likes a book in particular, he will get excited and hand you the book again after you have finished reading it to him so that you can read it again (yes, I have read a book literally 12 times in a row, took a 5 minute break, and then read it 5 more times...repeat).  If you don't begin reading it again, he voices his objection.  Amazing how he is already training me.  I love that he has developed my love for books though, so I'll continue reading to him until he stops asking (and then I'll still read to him).  Pictured above are two of his current favorite books, Colors and Have You Ever Tickled a Tiger?, which are both full of bright colorful pictures.  

A blog post about Henry just wouldn't be complete without a big smiley picture.  His smile still makes my heart melt.  Probably always will.

Henry much prefers being outside over being inside.  He recently discovered the windows.  He particularly likes it if you raise the blinds and open the window to let the fresh air from outside hit his face.  If there is a breeze, he'll take a deep breath in and then grin.

Henry's favorite source of indoor entertainment these days are cars, trucks, trains, and basically anything with wheels.  These little cars are just the right size for his hands.  Daddy taught him how to make "vroom" sounds and now most times he plays with cars, he makes those sounds.  So cute!

By way of other updates, he got his 9th tooth a couple of weeks ago.  Rounding out four front top teeth, four front bottom teeth and one molar.  Today, tooth number 10 finally popped through the gums, another molar that has been giving Henry the fits for at least 3 weeks.  He developed a bump, in his mouth where the molar is now about 6 weeks ago.  I wondered if he was getting another tooth, but then nothing came, so I figured it wasn't going to happen.  But then, about a week ago I could see the top of the bump changing color (to white), so I knew a tooth was indeed going to arrive soon.  Thank goodness because cutting molars are no fun!  Although, I do have to admit, Henry's a trooper.  He's really not that fussy for someone who has been uncomfortable.  There was only a couple nights that his sleep has been disrupted and he really isn't that drooly, so I don't have much to complain about regarding teething.

Henry has become increasingly picky about veggies.  He usually will only eat cooked veggies the night they are roasted or grilled (no leftovers).  He'll only eat cucumbers and carrots at Grandma O's, not at home.  He doesn't like plain avocados anymore, but LOVES guacamole (I made some this weekend from scratch...really just a mushed up avocado salad...so no guilt here serving it to Little Man).  The crazy thing is that the guacamole has lots of lime, raw onion, fresh cilantro and a fair amount of cayenne pepper.  All strong flavors and a bit spicy, but I guess I already knew my son likes bold flavors, just like his Mama and Papa.

We continue to attend swim classes on Saturday mornings.  Henry REALLY enjoys the water, however, he really DOES NOT like to be held still.  He wants to MOVE.  He wants to climb OUT of the pool, just so he can jump (or should I say flop) back into the pool.  The drains on the side the pool are super entertaining.  Splashing is awesome!  All the meanwhile I get stared at by the instructor for not participating in circle songs.  If only she knew how disruptive Henry would be if I forced Henry to participate in circle time the entire 30 minute class.  At some point I know I will need to encourage participation and obedience, but for now, I relish in Henry's joy of simply being in the water with Mama. 

Now that Henry is walking really well, he's like a wrecking ball.  His poor forehead looks like a war zone.  He took a MAJOR digger on Sunday when we were playing outside.  He doesn't yet grasp the idea that he has to look down to survey the changes in ground elevation.  He toppled over and his forehead hit the edge of the sidewalk and left a large silver dollar sized PURPLE bruise.  I felt bad for him, more because he seemed so frustrated and defeated, rather than physically hurt.  Three minutes later (after a requisite cuddle and kiss from Mama) he was back to running around and getting into stuff.  I figured he wasn't damaged for life.  But, gosh I do wish I could bubble wrap him sometimes.