Grandma picked him up in the afternoon and took him to her place. Jeff and I went toy shopping. We ended up buying lots of toys, but not for Henry. We got a stash for Toys for Tots, which we contributed to a lot when we were in Philly. Jeff and I had a weakness for going to Dave & Buster's. We used our points from the arcade to buy lots of toys every year and would drop them off at a collection site at Jeff's work. We felt that it was important to get a lot of toys for them this year b/c Toys for Tots is hurting as is the Salvation Army, which we have given to as well. They have drop offs at Walgreen's, so it is very easy to pick up a few toys and donate.
I'm sure everyone will be surprised to hear that Henry has a lot of toys. Between generous gifts from family and friends and our penchant for picking things up at Children's Orchard, we give him new and used toys throughout the year. I'm of the opinion that toys are really important for good development. Even "non-educational" toys have their place because they contribute to a child's creativity. Dolls can teach children nurturing skills, for example, through role play. Anyway, we had some specific ideas about what we wanted to get Henry for Christmas, and we couldn't find them at K.B. Toys or Toys R Us, so Jeff ended up doing some online purchasing. I've been pushing for us to get Henry a drum set. I want it to be acoustic not electronic. There was one that would have been perfect for him at K. B. that I saw before Thanksgiving, but it doesn't look like they have it anymore. The ones at Toys R Us are just a little "too big" for him. Jeff hasn't been keen on the drum set idea, but he has negotiated a deal whereby we wait on the drum set until next year. I've also negotiated the idea of getting a jumping castle, but that will wait until next year as well.
Jeff ended up ordering what I hope Henry will find a very cool gift. We'll wait until Christmas to say what it is. My one hint is that our dining room area is soon to be converted into Henry's Playland Zone II (Zone I being the living room). Frankly, we have only used the dining room twice since we've moved here. We'll use it for Christmas Eve dinner with the family. After that, our dining room table will be taking a vacation to the garage for the next several months. Jeff has been contemplating getting a train set for the inset in the dining room ceiling. I'm all for the idea (provided that Jeff gets the Hogwarts Express train that blows steam as the train moves).
Henry was busy at Grandma and Grandpa's house. We met up with them at Swenson's for dinner. Henry pretty much stuck to eating french fries with a couple bites of hamburger. He liked the frozen yogurt for dessert. When we got home, Henry was exhausted, so I took him to bed and snuggled for a couple hours before getting up to do data analysis. I love my Henry snuggle time.
On Wednesday, Grandma came over in the afternoon. They played in her truck. Jeff went out for Toys for Tots and Salvation Army purchases Round II. While he was gone, I took Henry for a walk with the dogs. Normally, when we go for a walk, Jeff is the one who holds Henry in the backpack. But as of late, Henry has been trying to climb out of the backpack on the walks. He gets indignant b/c he can walk himself. Of course, he often goes in the opposite direction. I figured that the backpack would turn into a disaster, so I let him walk. He felt down a couple times, but dusted off his hands and kept going. He called the cacti "cac," which I think he knows not to touch (not that I'd leave him to his own devices). We only went about half the normal distance on today's walk. Our new word today was "yicky!" I was afraid that he'd try to pick up the dog poop that is on the dirt road. In our area, the norm is to not pick up one's dog droppings (or horse droppings for that matter). It's a dirt road. It's dry. The stools disintegrate fairly quickly. There are so many coyotes who often leave their belongings behind that there doesn't seem a whole lot of point to running around trying to pick up the dog poop. We live in an area where each house is on 3.3 acres minimum. But when one has a 16 month old who likes to pick up "rocks," it is something to watch. So, I identified the "poop" and then repeatedly said "Eeeeeew! That's icky! Yuck! Yicky!" On the way back, Henry would point out the various droppings and say "Yicky!" As we passed Hal and Swanee's house, Annie (the boxer mix) came barreling down the drive way. She runs Roger around, which is great. Henry had fun watching the dogs play. He repeated Annie's name. Then, I pointed out Luke, who is a huge Ridgeback. Henry said "Luke!" Luke was a little nervous around Henry for about 2 minutes but then realized that he was a human. Swanee had never seen Henry walk before. She was surprised and impressed. Henry pointed out some "Yicky!" on her driveway for her. Henry squealed with delight as Annie and Roger ran around and chased each other. As we parted ways with Swanee, Luck, and Annie, Henry yelled out "Bye Bye Doggies!"It was almost dark when we got back home. I downloaded some pictures that I took on the walk. Henry wanted to look at pics. He was doing a great job of identifying people in the pictures. At one point, I went through a series of pictures, and Henry identified the "baby," which doesn't always happen. Sometimes, he is willing to identify everyone but himself. The funny part was that I went through a couple Henry pictures. Henry identified the baby. Then, I came across a picture of Henry in the buff. Jeff had snapped a shot when Henry was running around before his bath. Anyway, the picture is of Henry from the back. We come across this picture, and I say to Henry "Who's that?" Henry replies "butt." I laughed. What a smart boy.
Jeff returned home shortly thereafter. Jeff at first didn't believe me on the buttocks identification, but I pulled up the picture and asked Henry what it was. He knew exactly what it was. We had dinner. Henry practically fell asleep at the table, so I took him to the back for another evening snuggle. I'm now going to get some grading done, so I'd better sign off.
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