3.5 Years Old

Henry has become a Lego kid.  He LOVES, LOVES, LOVES Legos.  Grandma Sherry recently purchased him a new Gold Mine Lego set, which has provided hours and hours of entertainment.  The Gold Mine set is extra special because it was purchased in honor of Great-Grandma Lindquist who passed about 8 years ago.  After recently selling the family home that Grandpa Keith grew up in, they used a bit of the proceeds to take each of the grandchildren shopping for an extra special toy.  Great-Grandma Lindquist was known for spoiling her grandkids so the shopping trip for this Lego was a nice tribute.  THANK YOU to both Grandma Sherry and Great-Grandma Lindquist.

Henry is a gentle, loving big brother.  Here, he's giving Russ a kiss on the forehead.  So sweet.  I am sure once Russ can touch/steal Henry's toys he might not always be so kind, but I'll cherish these sweet moments for the time being.

 Over the last year or so, Henry has become an increasingly picky eater.  I think this is pretty normal for toddlers/pre-schoolers.  The boy would eat anything (except raw tomatoes) as a baby, but those days are long gone.  I have been trying to come up with ways to encourage him to try new foods. But everything I have tried has been fought with resistance.  So, I have resorted to bribery...or I mean incentives...to get him to try new foods.  I figured it worked for potty training, so it could work here too. The "incentive" is a new toy (of his choosing) once he tries 20 new foods.  This picture is of banana stackers (Ritz crackers with peanut butter, bananas, and a few mini chocolate chips).  He actually really liked it, he even asked me to make them again the next day.  The next day I made homemade mini meatballs with marinara sauce and he asked for more, eight times!  He ate more than 40 marble sized meatballs, which is a huge success because there are very few meats that he will consume.  Hoping it continues to go well and he will be more open to trying new foods after this exercise.  It has been fun for me to come up with some new recipes too. 

We have been enjoying the summer together. I am so grateful that I have had the last eight weeks off from work to play full-time mom.  I have four more weeks off until I return to work and I intend to take full advantage.  Today, I armed Henry with a squirt gun. He thought it was great fun to squirt me, but even more fun to get squirted.  Silly boy.