I've been having so much fun at home with Henry this summer. We have gotten to slow down and spend a lot of time just playing. He turned 17 months old today which I find so hard to believe. Anyway, here are a few highlights from his little world right now.
When we say, "splash" it has come to mean "let's go swimming" at our house (or "let's take a bath"). So when we say, "Do you want to splash?" we better be ready to take him! He runs to the door and says, "splash, splash" and makes the splash motions with his arms. If I am still gathering up towels and sun screen, he gets very upset very quickly! He also knows his swim gear, so when his sun had and shirt go on, that's his first clue! Our baby pool has been well worth the trouble this year. We have gotten lots of use out of it. I take him daily.
He's also gotten to swim in several "big" pools this summer and loves it. Once he gets warmed up, he is kind of a dare devil and I have to be right with him so that he doesn't jump to his death.:)
New words he's been saying:
"yes" (sometimes-I'd like for this one to become more frequent!)
"out" (he voluntarily says it when he is done with the pool, bath, high chair, etc. for example)
"up, please" (I make him do this one when he wants to be held!)
"help, please" (I make him say this if he is "stuck" somewhere and fussing about it or can't get something open, etc.)
"sawbabies" or "strawbabies" for strawberries, "apple" for any round fruit
"Mabbie" or "Abbie" for our Maggie dog (although as this month has progressed, I've heard some actual "Maggie" come out, too)
"all done" (A LOT-before he was just signing it)
"honey" (My favorite! This is thanks to the Winnie the Pooh CD we play in the car, he says it SO clearly)
tractor sounds just like cracker:) He knows the difference between the two, though, for sure.
"he doe" (here you go)
"thank you" (he sometimes uses this appropriately, but he also says it when he is handing stuff to us)
"moot" or "mitch" or "mik" for milk
"ribbit, ribbit" as he is running around the house pushing his wooden frog on a stick
"cheese" (not exact, but some sound comes out that is similar to cheese, "eees" maybe?)
"Nan Net" for our neighbor Bennett
"flower" (then immediately he sniffs, sniffs)
"rock" when he points to his kid sized rocking chair
"amen" (repeats us after we've said it after prayer)
"SNACK!!"-I think this one is from last month, too, but it continues to be a biggie. He goes to his highchair and requests, "SNACK, SNACK, SNACK" while he attempts to get in his seat (which he can't do yet, thank goodness).
Reading Bear Wants More where it says, "Bear was stuck, stuck, stuck in his own front door" and right after, Henry said, "stuck, stuck, stuck"!
Mosquito magnet!!Poor guy. He takes after his dada here. He always has a bite or two, and for some reason they love his FACE. Ugg! It is so funny when we whisper to Henry. He always whispers back exactly what we have just said to him. He is getting his eye teeth in and has been drooling some (he's never been much of a drooler). When he is playing and he drools like on his leg for example, he looks down like, "Where did that come from?" Then he says, "uh, oh!" and wipes it away! He always knows when we are leaving somewhere (maybe it is that I get my purse or something?) and he always yells really loud, "Bye!" and waves. It is kind of in a demanding way, but I don't think others pick up on that and everyone always loves it:) If we don't walk out right away, he will say it over and over again until we leave. It's like he's already picked up on social ques, but he's way too sensitive to them already!
He's wanting to walk on his own, if he's headed somewhere dangerous and we try to turn him around or take his hand and lead him elsewhere, we usually get a baby sized fit (ie-fuss/sit down on his bottom). In fact, the fit thing has been a running theme this month that we haven't seen before. He is very opinionated and has no trouble telling us "no" or having a mini-melt down if things aren't going quite his way. He has also done the back arching/cry fit when we try to put him in his car seat several times. Given, this is almost always when he is super sleepy, but still.
As the month has progressed, he's gotten better about holding hands and letting us lead him. I've "practiced" this by taking walks down the sidewalk in our neighborhood. He doesn't resist when he's getting to go somewhere new!:)
Winnie the Pooh CD in the car is a HUGE deal right now. He absolutely LOVES it. He sings along, asks for more before the song is even over, and squeals with delight over parts that he knows well. It is adorable! As soon as we get in the car and I am buckling him in, he starts asking, "Ahhh Pooh?" None of us have even seen the movie, but we all know the words! (disclaimer-the CD is from the NEW Pooh movie. I have certainly seen the old school Pooh, and it will probably be Henry's first TV viewing once we start letting him watch TV-it is such a great classic!).
We've been doing a lot of puzzles this month. We've inherited several from the cousins, so I sit with him and do one or two a day. He is getting pretty good at them! He has also been very into books lately, although he's always liked to read, and will voluntarily get into his book basket and pull them out. I will find him just sitting and looking through them:) Our night time book reading is still a favorite for both Steven and for me. Henry is so willing to talk during this time and could just read and read if we'd let him!
He's gotten good at not only going up stairs, but is going down them now, too. He scoots down on his knees and is quite careful. If we are holding his hand he will attempt them going forward, too. And, as I mentioned in a previous post, he is climbing on everything...chairs then up to the table, onto the sofas, into his rocker...he hasn't climbed up onto an end table or anything yet, but I am sure it is not far behind. Henry also loves to get into "secret" places like a corner, under a table or end table, behind a door.
Henry is loving playing chase with dada when he gets home. It is so cute to watch Henry attempt to run...he squeals with delight as Steven chases him and cuts his eyes back to see how close Steven is to him with a big grin, then attempts to speed up, gets off balance...anyway, I guess I should take a video:)
He had a several days this month where he acted scared of loud noises (like an airplane overhead or a loud bus going by out front) and would startle and say, "mama? mama? mama?" and come over fussing for me to pick him up. I tried not to make a big deal out of it, and, knock on wood, it seems to have passed. We also brought back one of those toys from Europe that you turn over, then when you turn it right side up it mooos, and he hated it. He would play with it and as soon as a mooo came out he would startle and throw it down and start to fuss. We have put it away for now!:)
Food is still not great....I have stopped purchasing the actual "meal" type pouches, though, and am only using the snack applesauce type ones now when we are out or just need a quick fruit for a meal that I know he'll eat. I know I am creating a bad habit, but I have been having a lot better success feeding Henry "on the run"...he seems to eat better anywhere but in his high chair, and I am so focused on getting nutrition in him that I don't really care! I try to take what I can with me to feed him in his car seat (ie-he will never eat a cheese stick in his high chair but will in his car seat!), his stroller, or even while he's running around the house (like I said, not the best habit). Today he ate great (for him) while sitting on the hearth and looking through a book. I sat beside him and fed him bites of different things. He's distracted and rather than all of his energy being on rejecting food, it is on something else. So, it works for now. Some regular foods this month are: strawberries, watermelon,pretzels, raisins, corn on the cob, spaghetti with meat sauce (yes!), mac/cheese, and he even ate some BBQ pork the other night. And we've had success with with frozen peas this month! And when I say frozen, I mean literally. Not like frozen that you boil or microwave. I mean like take them out of the freezer and put them frozen on his tray. He was exposed to this while staying with family, and I was shocked to see him accept it at home, too! So weird. Yogurt, the old staple, has lost its appeal for whatever reason, so after about half of a container of it, he is, "all done".
Sleep is great. I love the one nap a day thing, and he has even been sleeping in some this month in the morning. His general schedule is awake around 7:30, nap 12:30 til 3:00ish, then bed at 7:30 (although this sometimes gets pushed til 8:00 with summertime). We would still take a morning nap if I laid him down, but I really like that chunk of time in the afternoon, so I hold him off and he does great with just one nap a day.
We have had a very healthy month, too, which I am so thankful for. Henry had ear infections strung out for months, so to be free of that for the month of June AND July is amazing! I think the tubes were a good decision.
There is so much more going on with him, but I will stop. All these details seem silly, but they are important to me and I want to remember them! I can't believe what I've already forgotten from just last month!
We love you, sweet Henry. You are so much fun and such a joy to us. Can't wait to see what next month holds!
