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!!!