Thankful: Day 13 [Picture Posts/Silly Toddler]

I've said it before, I'll say it again.  This thankfulness series is ambitious.  And it's starting to get brutal because, quite honestly, I don't like to "hear" myself "talk" this much.  Plus it's a big jump to go from two to three posts a week to posting every single day.  And, as a blog reader, I'm sure you feel the pressure.  I can only assume "readership" (is that a word?) has dropped off, and I can't blame you because I'd be overwhelmed too.

So, to keep you from reading your brain out, I'll make this post a picture post.  Now that I'm thinking about it, maybe I'll make the rest of the thankfulness posts filled with pictures.  Much more pleasing to the eyes. (And it will give me a reason to take pictures of something other than Henry.)

Henry has been sleeping great in his "bih-buh-beh" (translation: big boy bed).  He went from 10.5 hours a night to 12 hours a night! That probably has more to do with daylight savings/less sunlight, but I am very thankful for it regardless!  I took this picture one morning this week when he literally would not wake up, even after I went in his room and tried to wake him.

I know I already posted one in his Halloween costume, but I feel as though this is justified since this picture was actually taken on the night of Halloween and the other one was not.  Plus I do think he might be the cutest penguin on the planet.

Henry LOVES to steal my camera and take pictures with it.  Normally we get blurry pictures of nothing, but with a little help from mommy, he actually got a decent self-pic in this one.

And then he snapped a pic of his feet.  Also with mommy's help.  They kind of look swollen, don't they?  You could have confused them for my feet!!

There you go. Day 13 - Thankful for picture posts and a silly toddler named Henry.

Thankful: Day 12 [Staycations and Babysitters]

Matt's parents are watching Henry this weekend, which I am so thankful for!  They are such great grandparents - they babysit weekly, and then they act like we are doing them a favor.  It really is dreamy.

So Matt and I were going to go out to the lake, but plans changed, and we are staying at home without the little guy.  I've decided I'm also thankful for this last minute change of plans because I am in serious nesting mode, and unless I make myself think differently, all I think about all day long is getting stuff done around the house.  So being "stuck" 45 minutes away from home and not taking an opportunity without child to actually accomplish something this weekend would have been brutal for me.

Thankful for staycations and babysitters!

Oh, and of course, the one day that Henry is not sleeping with us, I wake up totally restless at 4:45 am.

Thankful: Day 3 [Big Boy Bed]

I like this series because I literally spent the whole day today thinking of things and trying to think of things that I am thankful for... so that's good.

I've thought of quite a few, but for today, I am going to say that I am thankful that Henry has officially switched to a big boy bed.  And, to add onto that, I am thankful that it doesn't so much seem like he realizes that he can get out of it by himself.

And, even though initially I don't feel particularly thankful that we have to re-endure him crying before he falls asleep (you all may remember I don't handle that well), I am going to choose to be thankful for it.  At least he has vocal chords that work, he loves us and misses us, he understands transition, he's growing up!  And, I'm sure enduring those tears does something else good in me, Matt, and Henry - though I can't say exactly what that is. :)

Here's a picture of his unfinished big boy room.  We just need to hang a few pictures on the wall and he will be set!

P.S. Today we are going to the annual follow up appointment for Henry's craniosynostosis. FOUR HOURS LONG! I will be sure to post an update. :)

Some September Pictures

Henry turned 19 months yesterday!  Here are a few iphone pics from the last month. :)

Aren't these just the sweetest cousins ever!  This is Henry and Benny in the hospital room when we went to see my new NIECE!

Matt and his brother, Mitchell, took Henry to play frisbee golf two Saturdays in a row!

He's so proud of this big stick he found!

This was a couple of minutes after he had fallen out of his stroller and hit his head.  Apparently it made him feel better for Matt to pour water all over his head.

Sad, but this isn't the iphone camera... this is my camera.  Henry's building towers with his blocks... one of his new most favorite things to do.

five mini posts in one big post

The following five items may not be blog worthy, but ready or not, here they are...

1. Yesterday at Costco, I literally watched a woman take three cartons of eggs (w/ 18 eggs each) and swap out all of the bad and cracked ones into a single carton... she then returned the carton with the bad eggs back to the shelf and kept the other two cartons with the good eggs.  I literally sat there, watched her do it, and then stared at her as she took the eggs back to the shelf.  She was not phased. I guess I'm not very intimidating. I was totally appalled.
2. Last night, Matt and I were on our way to a dinner date, and Matt sarcastically said to another driver (who obviously could not hear him), "Nice lights buddy" because this particular car had not yet turned on his lights.  It was about 7:30 pm, definitely dark enough to require headlights. At this point I realized our car felt a little dim and asked Matt, "Do you have your lights on?"  Nope, he didn't.  Oops.  We got a nice laugh out of that.
3. Another thought - ACL(Austin City Limits) is SO not my thing and never will be.  I know, I am not cool.  I went ONE time, and I don't know, something about a lot of drunk, smelly people and 100 degree temperatures surrounded by port-a-potties just doesn't appeal to me.  I didn't handle it well when I was 24 and not pregnant, so now that I am 27 and officially in my third trimester, I'm pretty sure I'd like it even less.  And my friends, who still consider themselves young and cool enough to go to such a festival, know that I hate it and know better than to ever try to bring me along. ;)  But more power to you if it's your thing!
4. The reason I am up right now is because I slept with Henry in the guest bed last night.  We have spoiled him recently, letting him sleep in big beds - something he's going to learn have to do on his own pretty soon anyway - but he's got about a 100% chance of falling about three feet to the floor at this point, so I decided I'd share the guest bed with him.  When I wake up in the middle of the night and look at Henry, he looks EXACTLY like Matt... so I guess there's not much of a difference which one I sleep with.  Except that Henry sleeps diagonally across the bed with his arms spread out, taking up at least three feet of space, and he tries to nestle his head into my armpit while pushing me further and further to the edge of the bed.  Matt, on the other hand, knows that cuddling and sleep do not go together in my book, so he lies perfectly still on the edge of the bed and gives me all the room.  Thanks babe.
5. Yesterday I officially reached the THIRD TRIMESTER!  I am 28 weeks! YIKES!  We tried to take a belly picture, but vain Leah kept me from liking any of the ones we took, so maybe I'll try again today.  In the meantime, our kiddo still has no room and no name.

my brain can't think of a title so deal with it.

Deceptively Delicious FAIL.  This morning, I used steamed, pureed cauliflower in a Jessica Seinfeld recipe for peanut butter and banana muffins.  Sounds delicious, right?  Oh my goodness.  They were bearable right out of the oven- Henry had half of one- but I came home this afternoon and after one bite I couldn't have forced myself to finish it if I had wanted to.  Matt actually thinks they are good, which only tells me one thing... they must really be healthy.  (I must admit that the recipe called for an egg, which I didn't have, so Google told me to use mayo instead. Sick out. I still think it's the cauliflower that makes them disgusting though.)  This recipe was neither deceptive or delicious.

How bad would it be?  Would it be wrong if I just hid all of the toys that have a gazillion parts - even though Henry LOVES them - so that I don't have to get my pregnant self down on my hands and knees to fish them out from underneath the couch, the table, the bed, etc.?  I mean, Henry loves himself some mega blocks, but I seriously find blocks hiding in every corner of the house!  If mean mom emerges, she might hide all toys that have removable pieces.

Foot in Mouth.  In the 18 month update, I mentioned that I don't really have to chase Henry all day. Maybe that's because until this week, he never actually RAN.  Today at Target, he ran away from me, and he ran FAST!  Pregnant mommy chasing toddler = laughable.

I am beyond exhausted, so this post is over.

18 month old!

I can't believe my sweet baby boy is 18 months old today!  He is so much fun, and makes us laugh every single day.  "What is he doing these days?" you ask.  I will tell you... (The categories are more for me, so I can try not to miss anything, though I am sure I will.)  And I know that only a handful of you will sit through and read this, but it's really more for me than for you anyway. :) To the others of you who are keeping up with Henry through my blog, fair warning - it's long!


Talking
He has so many words, and he's started to put a few words together (but mainly only if he is repeating us).  He tries to say pretty much everything, but some of his new words include...

chocolate milk (pronounced, a-muh-a-milk) - he actually asks for chocolate milk whenever we open the fridge.
orange - he loves himself some clementine oranges.  he tries to peel them himself, but to no avail.  but his favorite fruit of all time is watermelon.  he might turn into one.
bubbles - because he LOVES his bubble bath, and he will say "bubble bath."
fountain (pronounced "ba-deen") - there is a fountain at the pool we go to, and he very much loves to go swimming.
sleep and sleepy (pronounces "heeps")- when he first wakes up, sometimes Matt and I bring him into our bedroom and close our eyes and he'll point at us and say "heeps" or "daddy heeps"
teeth- this kid is obsessed with brushing his teeth.  he asks to do it as soon as he gets out of the bathtub.  i think he just likes the way the toothpaste tastes.  (and, he's recently decided he really likes how tylenol tastes too.)
again (pronounced "adin") - he asks to do EVERYTHING again... and again, and again and again.
Matt (pronounced "batt") - He has heard me calling to Matt across the house, and he does the same!

He has repeated a few things that are super cute too.  He will say, "Oh no!"  And when I say, "Let's go," He will repeat "Hets go."  If he is trying to get up onto something, I ask him if he wants to "hop up" or if he is getting out of the bath, I ask if he wants to "hop out" and he repeats both of those.  He has started to say, "Hi [insert name here]."  So if I am on the phone with his Mimi or his Honey, he'll say, "Hi mimi" or "Hi Hah."

He is getting better at saying his OWN name, but we are still a little off.  He says, "Heh-hee."


Interests
Well, the kiddo is obsessed with balls.  He thinks every piece of fruit in the grocery store is a ball. He loves to "slam dunk."  He tries to shoot the ball from far away like he sees Matt do, but he often ends up just dropping it behind his head.  He has started throwing the ball more often.  Matt has taught him to kick the soccer ball, and we've bought him a little baseball tee and bat, so he's started to practice taking cuts, too.

He also likes cars and trucks (both are still "ducks").  My mom got him a little tractor while we were at the beach, and he was obsessed with that for a little while... I take him to play with the train set at Barnes and Noble sometimes, and it will keep his attention for a good 30-40 minutes.

He also is fascinated with basically ALL animals. Dogs, ducks, birds, cats... The kid is afraid of people (more on that in a second) but he waves at birds.  He kisses and hugs his stuffed animals, which I think is so sweet!  I always say, "Awwww," when he hugs or kisses the animals, and he has started to say it too.

Favorite toys?  Henry's always been good about playing with his toys.  Besides balls and water, I can't tell that he really favors any toys over the other.  He sleeps with Scout "Howk" and Glowworm "Go gum," so those are the only toys he really mentions by name.

He LOVES himself some Veggietales, which he pronounces, "De-Di-Da."  And he asks to watch it almost EVERY TIME we get in the car, even if we have gone for a week without any Veggietales.  And of course he still loves Elmo.


Eating
Henry is finicky when it comes to food.  First of all, he will not eat NEARLY as much if I feed him as he will if Matt feeds him.  Do not know why this is, but he will refuse things from me and take them from Matt.  As far as variety, I can't say that he has TONS of variety.  He will pretty much eat every kind of fruit.  But I broke down and bought the Jessica Seinfeld cookbook "Deceptively Delicious" because I am nervous that he doesn't get enough veggies.  That cookbook sneaks pureed veggies into all sorts of normal foods, so that the kids don't know they are eating them.  Since Henry doesn't like to try anything new, and since texture seems to bother him w/ some foods, I am hoping this book will help.

Unfortunately, he hangs out with ME all day (as opposed to his healthy-eating Father, Matt).  So he has tried his fair share of candy and chocolate.  This is actually good for me, though, because I know if he sees me eating candy, he will ask for some, so I've had to show some restraint so that he's not also eating candy all day. :)

His favorite foods are: spaghetti, watermelon, grapes, chicken nuggets and mac n cheese.

Some of the stuff he used to love, like yogurt, he will now turn down sometimes.  I think this is mainly because he wants to feed himself with the spoon, which we allow about 50% of the time, but the other 50% of the time, I just cannot emotionally deal with the mess he will make, so I don't let him.

Social
Sweet man has been having what I am calling "stranger anxiety" (not to mention, separation anxiety) for about two months now.  What I mean by that is that if someone says "hello" to him in the grocery store or tries to talk to him, he starts to throw his head back and fuss.  He is very dramatic in his facial expressions and body language.  Example?  We were walking through the mall earlier this week, and a sweet old man smiled and said hi to him, and Henry collapsed to the floor and started whining/crying.  It's nothing TOO loud or obnoxious, but it's definitely DRAMATIC.

Sometimes he does the same thing to other kids, but "secretly" he really is interested in what those people are doing... he tries to watch them, but doesn't really want eye contact.  He does like to be around people though.

As with most kids, he is most himself at home or when we are with his aunts and uncles who will get down on the floor and play all sorts of games with him.  He spends a lot of time with Matt's family, so he is pretty much himself around all of them.  And he seems pretty much himself when we are at my dad's too.

I was shy as a kiddo, but I gave people the cold shoulder.  I am hoping that Henry is a LITTLE more social and outgoing than his momma was.

We are also still working on getting him comfortable being dropped off at church, gym, mom's group etc.  Sometimes he will fuss the whole time - but like I said, he's not too loud or obnoxious when he fusses.

Physical
Henry is not so active that I have to chase him all day, which I am thankful for (though I'm sure the next one will make up for that).

He can climb pretty well (he started climbing way before he started walking), and goes down the big boy slide by himself at the park.  (Not gonna lie, I haven't seen this because I don't go outside in this heat, but Matt has assured me it is true.)

He does his fair share of "push ups" and "sit ups."  After watching Matt complete the 100 pushup challenge and do his crunches, Henry has started to do them himself. So cute!

His favorite games are "peek a boo" under the pillows on the bed, and he loves to sit on Matt's back while Matt does push ups.

As of today, he is officially...
Height - 34.5 inches (95th %)
Weight- 27 lbs, 14 oz (75th %)

And as usual, his head is gigantic!

Because he is so tall, he is CONSTANTLY reaching onto counter tops and into drawers to see what treasures he can find.  (I'm sure that this will result in something dangerous or scary taking place in the future, but so far we've avoided catastrophe!)  He wants to get a spoon out of the silverware drawer almost every time I open it. He is always reaching in my bathroom drawers, etc.

He can open the kind of doors that have pull down handles, which is really fun when we are in the dressing room at the gym because that's the kind of handles that are there.  Usually I am in the middle of changing out of my swimsuit, and Henry is trying to open the door.  It's lovely.


Behavior/Temperament
You can probably gather this by the other information in this post, but Henry has a very mild temperament.  When he wants to cry or be dramatic, he can totally turn it on, but generally he is very laid back.


Something new he has started doing... tonight at dinner he accidentally hit his head on the table, which resulted in water works.  He apparently LOVED the attention he got as a result because later on during the meal, he started PRETENDING to hit his head on the table, and then he would cry (like real, crocodile tears) to try and get our sympathy and attention.  We just laughed at him, which made him cry a little more.  Then Matt and I started pretending to hit our heads on the table and pretending to cry, and he thought that was hilarious and started laughing a lot.

I'm sure I have missed a ton, but I figured I would hate myself in 10 years if I never recorded some of these sweet things about my baby!  We are getting some 18 month professional pics taken next Wednesday (which also happens to be the anniversary of his surgery), so hopefully I can find a way to share those with you when we are done!

"duck"

Henry has some trouble pronouncing a few words.  As a result, he uses the word "duck" for the following words:

-car
-cow
-dog
-duck
-dark
-truck

(On top of that, he thinks everything with wheels is a car or truck, so trains, tractors, airplanes are all also "ducks.")

The other day we were at Barnes N' Noble and there was a picture of Lightning McQueen on the cover of a book, and he was really excited about it.  So he pointed and exclaimed, "A DUCK!  A DUCK!" (Car.)  The ~8 year old next to us thought it was really funny, but it got funnier when two seconds later, Henry spotted a stuffed puppy and pointed and exclaimed, "A DUCK!"

I love this sweet shirt.  It is Paul Frank and it says, "Chicks Dig Scars," and it has a band-aid on the monkey's head.  It was a gift from a little boy who had the same surgery as Henry about a year before Henry did. :)

Henry is obsessed with his "Belly Butt."  He LOVES to show people his belly button.

 I love being that little man's official translator.

15 month stats

Henry had his 15 month check up today.

He is greater than 95th percentile for height (don't remember the measurement).  He is 75th percentile for weight (26 lbs, 7oz).  And, as per usual, his head is gigantic (40 cm)- also greater than the 95th percentile.  (And it grew one cm since the last appointment, so now I know his brain is not crammed in there.)

He's going to be a great big brother!

Plans to post a video of his new walking skills soon. :)

a little Hank update

I keep thinking about my first year as a parent, and how much of a typical first time parent I was - thinking my kid would do everything earlier or better than every other kid out there- only to come to each milestone EXACTLY at the "average" time.

Henry is now about 14.5 months, and he has just started taking a few steps here and there!  Today was the most - about four consecutive steps.  A physical therapist friend in my Bible Study said that 15 months was average to start walking, so once again, Henry hits the average mark!

It also occurred to me today that my sweet boy forgot how to drink through a straw.  He used to be able to do it.  But now he just pokes the back of his throat with the straw, bites the straw - totally doesn't get it.

The only thing that Henry probably does really early is talk.  He says and repeats so many words.  I am his official translator because most people don't get "glasses" when they hear the sound "yayes."  They definitely don't get "phone" when they hear the sound "ho."

Anyway, mainly just for my benefit and the benefit of the grandparents and great grandparents who read this blog, I want to list some of the stuff he is doing and saying.

-He climbs on furniture and can get down the right way.
-He has learned to climb into the glider and start rocking.  He also likes to sit in the glider and point the remote control at the TV, which I promise he learned from his daddy.
-He slam dunks ("DA-DU") his basketball, which he LOVES.
-He LOVES to read.  He grabs book after book and crawls into our laps with them saying "booh, booh."
-He thinks DVDs are books and gets really upset when we cannot read them.
-He still loves to do the laundry ("the dark").
-Loves to turn off light switches.
-LOVES to look at himself in the mirror.  (Also something he learned from his daddy. ;) jk)
-He likes to sing.  His teachers at church have told us that he sings along when they sing to him, and we have a couple of CDs in my car that he will sing to.  (This he probably does actually get from Matt.)
-He still won't really feed himself - much more interested in playing with his food.  So if we put one bite in his mouth at a time, he eats.  But if we put his food on his plate, he plays with it, drops it on the floor, etc.  The other day I gave him two crackers, and the next thing I knew, the crumbs were all over his hair, his shirt, the floor... we need a roomba!
-He can do the following animal noises - cow, dog, duck, monkey, lion, frog, sheep and we are working on pig, but for some reason oink oink is pretty tough for the dude.
-And, he tries to say his name.  So if we ask him "Henry, what's your name?" He says, "Hahee." (Very difficult to understand, and he only cooperates abut 25% of the time.)

Here are a list of his words.  (Like I said, he repeats tons of words, so this is just off the top of my head... and I am not going to write them in Henry language.  And I will try not to repeat from last time.)
-Jesus!
-book
-necklace
-glasses
-water
-eggs
-strawberry
-Elmo
-horse
-bar (like for granola bar)
-grass
-potty
-light
-dark (for laundry)
-cheese
-juice
-toes
-this
-pig
-basketball
-slam dunk
-phone
-diaper
-butt (yes, I am responsible for teaching him that.)
-belly button
-eyes
-nose
-mouth (he can also point to all of those)
-bath
-boo boo
-bear
-Bennett and Peter (his cousins... although his "Peter" really isn't intelligible)
-Pops
-Boss
-Mimi
-Honey
-Aunt Brooke
-and I haven't heard him, but my in-laws promise that he has attempted to say Mary, Maddie and Mitchell (the aunts and uncles that are still living at home w/ them)

(Disclaimer: I am trying to teach him all the other family members who don't live here - both who they are and how to say their names, but that's a little harder.)

I'm SURE I am forgetting some, but BY FAR, Henry's FAVORITE word is "NO."  He's really good at that one, and since he doesn't really understand how to answer "yes," the answer to every question is "no."  He also adds the head shake for emphasis.


Henry, do you want to go on a walk?
Nuh.
Do you want ice cream?
Nuh.
Did you have fun swimming today?
Nuh.
Do you want Daddy to hold you?
Nuh... and on and on.


The only question we have never had a "NO" response to is, "Do you want to take a bath?"


I think that's it for now.

laundry time

A couple of weeks ago, I was sorting the laundry in front of little Henry.  "Dark, Light, Dark, Light, Dark, Light."  He caught on really fast, and now whenever he finds a piece of laundry, he calls it "da" for "dark."  I also made the quasi-mistake of letting him "help" me throw the laundry into the washing machine, which he thinks is fabulous.  He loves it.  Only there's a problem.

Now, pretty much EVERY TIME we change him, he gets his hands on a piece of clothing, and he starts saying, "Da, da, daaaaaaa," while pointing towards the laundry room.  And mom don't you DARE try to put those clothes back on me!  How do you explain to a 14 month old that we can't always put all clothes in the washer?  You can't.

Another funny thing.  He recently learned the word "baby."  And now he LOVES to say baby.  Only he thinks that all kids are babies.  He doesn't know the name for "kid" or "big kid" so a lot of times we will be out and he'll point to a kid that's older than him and say, "BABY!"  Most of the time he actually is pointing at babies, but I know that there's probably some 4-5 yr olds out there who haven't appreciated this sweet little 1 yr old calling them "baby."

He's SUCH a sweetie!  The ladies who watch him every Thursday during my Bible Study told me today that he has a really sweet, tender heart.  They said that he is really independent and plays by himself well... and that a lot of times other kids will come up and steal his toys from him, and he'll just smile at them or laugh.  Love that baby!

This was taken probably a month or so ago... he climbed up on Matt's briefcase so he could stand next to Daddy while he worked!  Precious!

melts my heart...

Henry and Matt are both asleep, semi-snoring (we'll call it breathing heavy).  Matt is on his back, Henry is on his tummy on Matt's tummy, if that makes sense.  It's the SWEETEST THING EVER.  I don't have a picture uploaded but maybe I'll post one later.

Anyway, they fell back asleep after Henry smacked his head against our iron bed this morning.  :(  He was bleeding and may end up with a swollen eye, but for now he's happy and safe with daddy. :)