Henry's First Trip to the ER

Henry and the coffee table went to battle and unfortunately Henry lost the battle.  On Tuesday, we took our first trip to the ER to get Henry's face glued back together. Modern medicine is awesome.  They make this magic glue (Dermabond) now that can be used on certain types of cuts instead of traditional sutures.  It dries as fast a super glue and is relatively flush to the skin, so it is less apt to irritate and create a temptation to scratch/pick.  The hardest part of the whole trip was trying to keep Henry occupied in a hospital room for 2 hours. Mommy did make an exception and let him have his beloved binkie.  You know your son has as binkie addiction when the ER doc comes in and says "you're workin' that binkie like it's your day job!"

All is right in the world again, glued back together and eating a big pile of grapes!!!

Friday Thanks

Five things I am grateful for this week:

1.  PTO.  I am taking the afternoon off today to spend it with my AWESOME family. 

2.  Clean bill of health.  I am SOOOOOO very grateful that my son is healthy and developing as expected.  Health isn't something we can take for granted, so I cherish the fact that Henry is healthy and happy.

3.  Air conditioning.  It has been in the 90s this week.  Air conditioning allows us all to still sleep comfortably at night.

4.  Friday morning coffee.  In law school I started a tradition of treating myself to a fancy coffee on Friday mornings.  I admit I treat myself to fancy coffee more often now that I am gainfully employed (but not everyday), but often I still go to the coffee shop on Friday mornings.  It is a nice way to recognize another week of hard work.  Plus, coffee is scrumptious!

5.  Sunshine.  Although I don't like to be hot and sweaty, the sun generally makes people happy.  I enjoy the lighted mood in the office, on the streets and at home.  Plus, the sunshine is a great excuse to eat ice cream.  Yum!

18 Months!!!

Henry is a serious water baby!  This is his ALL TIME favorite toy - the hose sprayer.  He never tires of playing with the hose.  On a hot summer day, this is Mommy's best friend too. : )

Henry likes to fill up containers full of water (with the hose sprayer of course, not from the water table or a bucket) and then pour it over his head.  He'll do this over and over again, or try to drink the entire container of water while it spills down the front of him.

Henry got thirsty and wanted to drink from the hose.  It took him awhile before he got the hang of spraying the nozzle close to his mouth.  He was quite satisfied with himself once he succeeded. 

 Daddy taught Henry a new trick, sticking his tongue out.  He only sticks it out half way when I stick my tongue out at him, as pictured, but when Daddy does it, his entire pointy tongue comes out and reaches almost the bottom of his chin.  Hilarious!

Henry's rockin a new crew cut.  Although I've trimmed his hair with scissors for the last 4 months, in particular around his ears, I have noticed in recent days that the hair on the back of his head was getting a little crazy.  So, Mama took out the clippers today to see how Henry would react.  Much to my surprise, he enjoyed the haircut, and the buzzing noise didn't bother him one bit.  He actually giggled most the time and even sat down on the ground so that I could finish up.  So very handsome now (as if there was ever a question). 

Saturday marked another milestone.  We retired the bottles.  He's stubborn like both his parents, so he refuses to drink as much milk as Mama would like him to, but it hasn't effected his sleep or mood, so I am trying to take it in stride and let him adjust at his own pace. 

Henry visited Dr. E today for his 18 month check-up.  Dr. E said he was very pleased at his development and that he is right on track in every category they monitor.  He said he saw no signs of autism - thank goodness.  He told me to stop worrying about his verbal communication, that he is "normal" in that category too, even though he may have a few less words than other kids his age.  He ended our visit by saying, "Henry seems VERY healthy.  See you in 6 months."  Mama was a happy camper.  Henry was a stellar shot taker as well.  He of course cried when the nurse poked him, but after I picked him up, he calmed down almost instantly, smiled and waved to the nurse. He's such a lady's man, even in the uncomfortable moments.  : )

18 month stats:

Height: 34 inches (90th percentile)
Weight: 29.5 pounds (90th percentile)
Head: 48 cm (70th percentile)

Yes, it was confirmed that he indeed is still Mama's BIG bundle of joy.

Infectious Laughter

Laughter is infectious.  Henry's giggle and belly laugh are particularly infectious.  Hard to stay mad at this face for any length of time! He thinks Mama's dance moves are super funny.  He'll laugh so hard he gets the hiccups.

Man of few words. Henry isn't super anxious to speak much English. He definitely has his own Henry language, but English is not all that interesting to Henry at this point. He will occasionally say new words, but then they don't return for many days (if ever). He does consistently say dad, dog, dada, mama, mom, daboo (garbage). He on occasion will say no (in particular if Soph tries to steal one of his toys) and yeah. Other words he's said but won't repeat include bye-bye, shut (which he said when we were shutting the refrigerator door), and diaper. Speech will come in due time. I'm really only anxious for him to start talking because I think he's going to be funny like his dad and I look forward to the added humor in the house.

Quick learner.  As I've mentioned in the past, Henry is very inquisitive about how things work.  He picks new skills up pretty quick if you show him how to do it.  He has become very proficient at buckling and unbuckling waist straps, stacking rings on his ring stackers, and playing with his puzzles.  I love the fact that he enjoys learning new things, however, with new found skills comes independence, which Henry is quick to assert.

Reader.  Henry still loves to read.  It's thrilling to me.  His current favorites include Richard Scarry's Longest Book Ever, Down by the Station, Tractor, and pretty much all the Dr. Seuss books (especially the board book versions because they are abridged). 

Climber.  Henry is trying to climb everything now.  The funniest thing is to watch him try to climb into his little toy dump truck.  He'll get both feet in the bed of the dump truck but not realize there isn't room for him to actually sit down.  It doesn't stop him from trying though. 

Henry likes to play telephone whenever he can.  Here he is using a stereo remote as his telephone.  His favorite call to make is to Grandma.  This is the expression Henry makes if you ask him "Heeellloooo, is Grandma there?!"

Other recent Henry observations:

He has 16 teeth now!

Quizzical expressions. If you ask him to go find something, he'll look up at you, cock his head to one side and lift one or both arms, hands toward the ceiling as if shrugging to communicate "I don't know."

Cars, Trucks and Tractors. Oh goodness. Cars, trucks and tractors are so very, very exciting to Henry. Ryan took Henry to the park yesterday to kick/throw the soccer ball around and play on the swing set, but there was an excavator working near by. For 30+ minutes straight, Henry was mesmerized. He had absolutely no interest in running around, playing with the ball, or swinging. What is it about boys and things that move!?!

Garbage Cans. Yes indeed, garbage cans are probably tied for being Henry's favorite worldly object (next to large wheeled objects). Grandma Sherry recently purchased a small play garbage can for Henry, which he thinks is AWESOME. One of Henry's favorite things to do is throw garbage in the real garbage can. I can't say that I mind because it keeps things tidier, but I admit it is kind of a strange fascination.

Squirt bottles and hoses.  Funny little dude thinks it is great fun to spray himself in the face.  His new trick though is chasing Mommy to spray her.

Ticklish feet.  Henry has always been ticklish, but his feet are SUPER ticklish. 

Mommy's little helper.  Henry loves to "help."  He follows directions pretty well.  Most nights he helps me feed Sophie by climbing the stairs, opening the cabinet where we keep Sophie's food, and then running over to Sophie's food dish to show me precisely where I am suppose to dump her food.  He also likes to help flush the toilet, turn lights on/off, close and open doors, throw garbage away, pick out books to read, sort laundry and he will even usually help pick up his toys (just to take them out again in about 10 seconds). 

I know I say this most posts, but it truly is AMAZING how fast kids grow up!!!

Friday Thanks

Five things I am grateful for this week:

1. Playing hide and seek with Henry and Stella.  My niece Stella came over last Sunday and encouraged Henry and I to play hide and seek, so we obliged.  She is almost 4 now and has a great little personality.  Every time I would ask her how high I should count she would pick an arbitrary number, like "Aunt Crystal, count to 16!"  Not 5, not 10, but 16.  She also drew me a picture with several blotches of different colors.  When I thanked her for the picture I told her it was just like the rainbow.  She informed me that "black is NOT in the rainbow!!!" 

2. My mom.  My mom is a phenomenal grandmother.  It is so touching to see how she interacts with Henry.  Henry is likely the center of her universe, much like he is the center of my universe.  But, what is most amazing to me about my mom is that she is still a phenomenal mom.  Although I know Henry is very, very, very special to her (e.g., there are significantly more pictures of Henry hanging on her wall than pictures of me), she still finds ways to make me feel special .  I'm still her baby. She continues to provide words of encouragement at the right moment and provide space at other times.  She makes my favorite foods because she knows there are my favorite. She offers unconditional love and support.  What I love and respect most about mom though is that she leads by example through hard work, commitment, loyalty, love and compassion.  When I was growing up I dreaded it when people would say "wow, you are just like your mom."  But NOW, I take great pride in the fact I'm much like my mom in many ways.  Thank you mom for simply being you.

3.  iPad.  In celebration of my 31 years on this earth (tomorrow), Ryan bought me an iPad for my birthday.  I have wanted one for some time now, but thought it was a waste of money.  I have a laptop, so why do I need another electronic gadget.  Even if the iPad is not an essential electronic tool, I LOVE my new iPad.  It's just cool.  : )

4. Carrot Cake.  One of the personality traits that I love about my husband is that he is thoughtful.  Yesterday, despite Henry having a rough (i.e. cranky) day, Ryan ventured out to my favorite little pastry shop and purchased a slice of my very favorite cake (carrot cake from Dessert Tray).  It is out of this world scrumptious.  I think it tastes better because it was obtained with love.

5.  Olympics.  I'm not that big of a sports fan typically, but the Olympics are GREAT fun to watch.  I admit I haven't got more than 6 hours of sleep any night for the last week because I stay up and watch them, but I really enjoy the competition and patriotism.  Go Team USA!!!!!!!

Park Fun

I love how expressive Henry has become.  His nonverbal communication is often much more telling than this verbal communication. 

Hmmmmmm....maybe this button will do what I want it to!?!

Henry is quite inquisitive.  He is always trying to figure out how things work.  His tractor is no exception.

Last weekend Henry and I went to the park with our neighbor friends: Annie (mommy's friend), Wyatt (pictured...almost 3 years old) and Addy (8 months old).  Henry was completely fascinated with everything Wyatt did and wanted to do everything Wyatt did.  Here they are trying to ride the horse on a spring together.  Too precious!

Wyatt tried his best to teach Henry how to play soccer.  Henry doesn't quite know how to kick a ball yet.  He would try his best by getting about 2 feet from the soccer ball, swinging his leg and then falling on his rump.  He eventually would give up and just pick up the ball and throw it.  Wyatt would proceed to instruct Henry that he was doing it wrong. 

Henry lost interest in playing soccer with Wyatt pretty quick, but stealing his hat and running off never got old.  Not sure Wyatt thought this game was as much fun as Henry.  Hehehehehehe.