Curiosity

This last weekend the family went to the coast. We totally lucked out weather-wise, it was dry and the winds were calm. Henry loves to watch Soph chase after her floaty toy and go swimming in the ocean. He is super focused on whatever she is doing. It is fun to watch him take in his surroundings. Taking recliner photos of him is getting more and more challenging as he tries to instantly escape the chair as soon as I sit him down. However, he figured out that the recliner rocks back and forth on this trip, which he thought was great fun. I am looking forward to summer and frequenting our local park's swing set, I'm fairly confident he will love the swings (just as his Mama did as a kid).

Henry is curious about anything that is not his (well, perhaps he's curious about everything, but his toys are much more familiar, so not nearly as interesting). He wants to touch everything he sets his eye on, including things he can't reach, like the ceiling fan or street light. Okay, so sure, I try to be a good Mommy and teach Henry boundaries, but sometimes, I just need to cook dinner. So, the other night (when Ryan was a work, so it was just Henry and I) I decided not to attend to Henry's constant need for redirection when he's getting into stuff. While I was chopping veggies, he proceeded to take EVERYTHING out of the lowest available drawer one item at a time (pausing to inspect each item before tossing it to the side) and then climbed inside the drawer, giggling to declare victory. Rather than do the "right" thing and redirect Henry out of the drawer, I decided to grab my camera instead to take a few shots. How do you really teach a one year old boundaries anyway!?! Life's too short to constantly be up-tight about doing things "right" all the time time.

This has been an exciting milestone week for Henry. He took two-three consecutive independent steps, multiple times today. He has started to steer his walker a lot better this week too. I am always amazed at how strong he is. He just picks up the walker and places it in the direction he wishes to go (sure it is a bit clunky, but he still can do it on his own). Over the weekend we discovered that Henry LOVES smoked salmon...well, at least Carla's Red Chinook salmon right out of the smoker. Really, who doesn't like smoked salmon right out of the smoker!?! He has also started to tip his head back when he drinks out of his sippy cup so I don't have to always hold it up for him. Crazy how fast kids pick up new skills. Funny how mundane, everyday tasks that I used to take for granted are now completely fascinating to me (that is if Henry is doing them).