Thanksgiving and Post-Thanksgiving: Quiet Days

On Thursday, we made breakfast. Henry was hungry, so we ended up eating in the kitchen and serving Henry as things were ready. I took Henry to Trader Joe's but the store was closed, so we turned around and headed back home b/c Henry was asleep. Jeff did most of the cooking (pumpkin pie, vegetable jalousie, peeled potatoes). I made a salad (candied the pecans myself, made fresh salad dressing, whipped up the potatoes). Headed to may parents' house where we met up with our friends, Nikki and Dana. It was fun showing Henry off. When we walked into the family room, Henry walked right up to Dana, which he usually does not do. He normally sizes people up when he first sees them. Interestingly, he gave Dana a huge smile when he first met her a couple months ago. So, he doesn't appear to have his usual cautious guard up with her. Later in the evening, Dana asked about Henry, "I know that you are worried about his cognitive development, but is he advanced?" I suspect that he is on his verbal/communication skills, which is not typical for a boy baby (they usually lag behind girls a little bit). And Henry does seem mechanically inclined.

On Friday, Henry got up around 7AM. We wished that he'd slept in, but once he's up, he's up. We had breakfast and played. Henry helped his Dad take the dogs for a walk in the morning. Around 10AM or so, I took him to Trader Joe's for a quick stop. It wasn't crowded at all, which was nice. When we got back from the store, he looked sleepy. I had no success getting him to take a nap that he sorely needed, but Jeff got him to sleep. They snoozed for 2 hours 45 minutes. I tried to switch with Jeff but Henry woke up as soon as Jeff had left. He has a Daddy sensor that let's him know when Jeff is 5 feet away from him or something.

My Dad called in the afternoon to arrange a Henry visit, but we decided to just hang out with Henry rather than go anywhere. But we'll make sure that Henry gets to see Grandpa tomorrow. Jeff, Henry, and I took the dogs for a walk in the early evening. It was cool but nice. I set up some reindeer figures that Grammy gave us. She normally puts them in her front yard but thought that Henry would like him. He does.

He had dinner and a bath. His big thing during meals is to pretend that he is going to share his food but then pop the morsel in his own mouth instead. He "tricked" me several times into thinking that I was going to get some of his strawberries. The "trickster" game has turned out to be a good way to get him to eat. Before his bath, I asked him about body parts. Turns out that he can point to eyes, nose, and feet. We haven't really worked on them actively, so I was impressed. Played in the closet for awhile after the bath. We then played in the living room for a little while, and I read "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" aloud.

His vocabulary is pretty big, and he understands a lot. I asked him a question, can't remember what it was, but his answer was "I know," which was appropriate. Jeff heard it too. I was probably asking him if he knew he was handsome or smart or something like that.

Here's a list of some of the things we know he knows...
He can say the following words:
Mama, Mommy
Dada, Daddy
Boo (as in Bitsy Boo the Cat)
Ball
Bye Bye
Hi
Pool
Book
Tea
Poop/Pee
Turkey
Hat
Bath
Keys
Hot
Dog (comes out as Daw)
Cat
Bot (bottle)
Duck
Up
Car
Truck
Pics (pictures)
Teeth
Black beans
Peas (as in Pea Crisps from Trader Joe's)
Putt putt
Tree
Backpack
Bonk
Rocks
Dis (this)
Milk
Uh-huh (yes)
Poppy (Grandpa)
Mimi (Grandma)
Pepsi ("Pepi" is what Grandpa drinks)
Baby
Happy
Clock
TD (TV)
Eat
Treat (for the dogs)
Done (as in “all done”)
Plate
Eye
Sock (sounds like hock)
Shoe (sounds like hoo)
Uh-Oh
No
Light (sounds like ite)
OK (usually sounds like K)
He is in the process of learning “Please” (sounds like “pee”).

He can identify the following body parts:
Tummy
Ears
Teeth
Head
Feet
Eyes
Nose

He can make the following animal sounds:
Lion
Dog
Cat
Chicken
Monkey
Cow

I'm sure that I'm missing a lot, but that's all I can remember right now. Signing off...