2nd Birthday

Henry's second birthday was a great day. Just about all the KC-area family was able to make it over for a party. Henry wore the lion costume that Laura had made for him, and looked awfully cute, even if he wouldn't wear the hat much. He got lots of great gifts, including a camera from Mom & Dad, and a Rangers jersey that I made for him. Grammy & Poppy gave him an easel with paper on one side and a chalkboard on the other that has gotten a lot of use. Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt 'Nae and cousin Malcolm came down for a visit soon after his birthday. G-ma & G-pa gave him a trike, which he loves to ride around the house. Aunts, uncles, cousins and friends all did a great job of picking toys and clothes to enjoy. (Sorry we never got thank-you cards out...we really did appreciate everyone coming out and getting gifts for him.) After the party, we went trick-or-treating for the first time, up and down our block. Henry took his lion hat off between every house, but we told him he had to put it back on at each house if he wanted candy. He thought it was pretty cool that everybody was giving him candy just for saying "trick-or-treat." Mom and Dad liked getting to meet some neighbors. October 31st might be my favorite new day.

He had his 2-year check-up on November 2nd. He did not enjoy that all. I think he must have remembered getting shots before, because he was pretty upset. Luckily, Mom had planned ahead and brought a Halloween sucker, which he got right after his shots, and was fine once he had that. He's still a giant, weighing in at 36 lbs and a height of 36", which puts him over the 95th percentile for both.

-Aaron

Wii & TV

Henry loves to play the Wii. He asks to play either by saying "box?" (which means he wants to play Wii Sports) or "drive?" (which means Mario Kart). It's a little scary how proficient he's gotten at it. He can maneuver his way around menus to get to exactly what he wants. I'm a little embarrassed to say he actually beat me at boxing once when I was trying my hardest. I probably give in to letting him play too much...but at least he's jumping around and somewhat active while he plays, as opposed to just vegging out to the TV. Of course, we like to veg out sometimes too. His favorite shows right now are Little Einsteins on Disney, and Yo Gabba Gabba! on DVDs from the library or online. Dad thinks Yo Gabba Gabba! is pretty awesome too. Toodee is very clearly Henry's favorite character on Yo Gabba Gabba!

Toilet Training

Hello all, sorry we've been totally ignoring this blog.

Henry has never shown any interest in learning to use the toilet. He's never cared about having a dirty diaper, and would happily sit in a big load of poop all day if we let him. But Laura and I are definitely ready for him to learn to use the toilet. So we started putting him on his little toilet every night as part of his bedtime routine about a week ago. The first few nights he fought it, and cried, and we'd only make him stay on it for a short time. After a couple nights, he was used to it and sat there happily for a bit. On Monday the 7th, we could tell that he was really concentrating on trying to actually go to the bathroom, but nothing happened. The next night, he made his concentrating face again, and made his first pee in the toilet. Laura and I of course made a big deal out of it, which made him excited. Unfortunately, four days later, he hasn't had a second successful stay on the toilet. But now he loves to sit on it, and I pretty much have to force him to get off after awhile. I should probably read up on toilet training, 'cause I really have no idea if there are things I should be doing differently. I bet a consistent schedule of several times on the toilet throughout the day would be a good idea. If anybody has any tips, we'd love to hear them!

-Aaron

Cousin Anna

Henry's new cousin Anna is blogging here.

Check out this post for some great pictures and a video of Henry and Anna together.

update at work

Things are a little slow at work right now, so I thought I would post an update, even though I'm working over 70 hours a week and Aaron is really the one who spends most of the time with Henry, yet I'm the one who actually writes these. hmmmmm

Ok, enough passive aggression. Henry is doing great. It's really interesting seeing him with all of these little babies around and seeing how he interacts. Instinctually he seems to know that he has to be gentle and I really think he likes babies, or at least is curious about them. It's so cute hearing him say "baby Anna" or "baby Malcolm" or "baby Luke." So many babies! This has also really shown me how much he has grown. We've moved on from the baby sitting portion of our lives to the interaction segment. We're all about doing, and these are the things he likes:

1. Piano playing- okay I'm partial here, but when ever I play piano he comes running. Usually he'll sit on my lap and with perfect hand curvature and pound on the piano. Sometimes he'll say "A B C," and then I'll hold his finger and we'll play the alphabet song together. My mother's Raffi book has been a staple at our household. He loves "Their Came a Girl From France" and "Here Sits a Monkey." If I'm luckily I'll get him to sing and dance. If I'm unlikely, he'll say "I do I do" and pull my hands off the piano and play his version of the song.

2. Try to get the tv- Henry is pretty smart. His favorite thing is the TV and unfortunately for him (but not for us) it is a little too high for him to easily press. He puts all his stuffed animals, pillows and now couch cushions in front of the tv so he can climb up and push a button. It's a long process and usually he slides down the mountain before achieving his goal, but it's still fun. I'm not so sure I like this game. One night when he was tired, he hit his head on the entertainment center door nobs TWICE. Right in the same spot! For a few days you could see the knob's leafy imprint on his forehead.

3. Books -he still can't get enough of them. Sometimes I catch him reading to himself. It's just so cute. I especially like reading the Elmo doctor book to hom. He likes the parts where Elmo gets examined from head to toe. Sometimes I'll bring out my stethoscope and make things even more real.

4. Wii sports- So now that he is almost 2 he is really starting to want things his way. What he always wants now is wii sports (bowling and boxing). He just carries the wii remote all over the house and keeps trying to get us to play until we are warn down. I admit, after being with him for a full day, I did give in. The funny thing is that once we start playing, he doesn't even seem that into it. Oh well, his insistence reminds me that more temper tantrums are coming up. Right now they are still very cute. He usually whines and puts his head in his hands. I'm sure that'll change.

5. Waking up with mama - I'm on impatient which means I'm supposed to be in the hospital at 6:30. I've been waking up every day from 5:20-5:40 and almost every day little Henry wakes up with me. He's so cute with his messy hair and his eyes straining as he says "mommy?" I guess this is our time together. Today he woke up 10 minutes before my alarm. I'm a little worried about next month when I don't have to be at work until 9. Sounds like a job for Aaron, doesn't it?

So those are the things he likes. He still isn't liking the potty or diaper changes or things like that. I was hoping for that stuff sooner rather than later, but I shouldn't complain, he's a pretty great kid.

Ok, maybe next time Aaron will update everyone.

-Laura

Time for Updates

Ok Ok,

I'm finally back in good old KC and ready to write. My husband has encouraged some writings form MN, but I think I will start with the most recent and work back. I know everyone who is following the blog is dying to figure out how Henry is doing (all 2 of you). First off, he is doing great.

I've been saying this since he was 9 months or so, but really the present is a great age to be. Right now he understands everything and is able to communicate so much. We actually play together (as apposed to waving things around). Right now we love coloring together, playing superman and practicing the letters.

Just last night Aaron, Henry and I got to see a brand new baby, baby Luke. Henry kept saying "baby uuk" over and over. It was pretty cute. When I showed Henry the little guy he was very interested and very gentle. I don't know how he figures out when he can be rough and when he needs to be nice, but he does it. All the while when we were in Minnesota and with all of our Malcolm interactions, he did really really well. There was only one time in particular when Henry was holding Malcolm and we were taking a picture. Once the flash went off he tossed Malcolm aside and ran to see the picture. Don't worry folk, the baby is all right.

About three days ago Aaron changed Henry's diaper and Henry would not allow Aaron to put on his pants. Aaron gave up and let Henry down. Henry grabbed the pants and put them on himself. Afterwards he was so proud and said "I do I do." Really from then on he has wanted to put his own pants on. A lot of times he puts two legs in one hole or doesn't pull them up all the way, but it's a great start.

So, lets see. We've been back to KC now for at least a couple weeks now. Before we came back Aaron adjusted Henry's bed to the toddler form where one side of the crib is completely open and the mattress is close to the floor. He had no problem with this transition. Well, maybe that is not completely fair, because he does not even know that the transition occurs. Still after every nap and every morning he will cry until we pick him up. We can come in, sit right next to him in bed, yet he will still cling to us. He has even rolled out of bed two times. I'm pretty amused by the whole thing. I am still waiting for his moment in the middle of the night where I hear "ooh" and the patter of little feet. We'll have to be even more careful now that he has learned to open doors.

I'll post more about the fun time in MN, but for now you can see all the pictures on Flickr.

Later,

Laura

Henry likes injuries

I think about 1 week ago I was upstairs and Aaron was downstairs. Apparently Aaron put a "lil swimmers" on Henry's head and then told him to show me. He started going upstairs and I heard "thud, thud, thud, thud" and then crying. I ran as fast as I could down the stairs. Aaron was holding him and then I took over. He was still crying pretty hard but I did a quick survey looking for limb abnormalities or bumps or bruises. When I looked in his little mouth I could tell he was bleeding. Poor little guy. I've seen bleeding kids before, but things are very different when it's your own. I just held him until he calmed down. The bleeding stopped pretty quickly and I could see he bit his tongue on both sides. It was his incisors and they made little puncture marks. We gave him Motrin and Popsicles that night and he seemed to do fine. The next day he didn't complain at all, even though I could still see the tongue marks.

Then, a few days ago we went to a new park where is there is a nice paved trail and a park. He started running on the trail with his new Nike shoes. I think those shoes are a tad big and have really good traction. Anyway, he biffed it and scraped his nose and upper lip. It bled a little, but not too bad. By the time we got back to the play ground he was fine and ready to play some more. Still, his nose was red for a while and still has a scab on it. Aaron took a picture, so maybe we'll post it soon.

I guess this means Henry is getting more adventurous or just more clumsy. I suppose this is a good thing, but I wouldn't say I especially like it.

What I do like is that Henry is talking more and more. Right now I don't understand most of what he says, but I know I will soon. How exciting! I told him I loved him this morning and I clearly understand he said I love you back. Isn't that great?

Laura