We took Henry shopping yesterday afternoon for a new bed. He was entertained at first but a bit put out that we didn't let him run out the door into the parking lot. We are such tyrants about the rules. The shopping expedition was brought on by our desire to get one of the spare bedrooms ready for potential placements. We have all of the pieces for a placement (hence we passed the inspection), but we'd like to get a single bed and take down the double in the spare bedroom. Our bedrooms are small, and it would be good to give a child some extra space. We are also thinking of getting Henry a toddler bed in some interesting theme. Haven't looked for a Sponge Bob bed yet, but I suspect that would rank high on his list. He got bored by the showroom fairly quickly and wanted to "Go home!"
We ended up going to Toys R Us to see what kinds of beds they had. They do have a Thomas the Tank Engine bed. We ended up buying him some markers to start our arts and crafts projects. We need to get him a table sometime soon. We ate dinner at Jason's Deli. Obama was on their TV. When Henry saw him, he shouted out "Obama!"
When we got home, we let Henry watch Robin Hood. He managed to say Friar Tuck as opposed to yesterday's Triar Fruck. Henry had his bath. He likes these suction cup frogs that are supposed to prevent slipping in the bath tub. He was very into hanging them on the side of the tub "up-down" or "eye-down" (we think that means "upside down"). I believe that it was last night that he told us he was "Happy Baby" at the end of the bath.
The word list continues to get bigger. He's said some of the words before. It's just that we don't remember until he has said them more recently.
283. Friar Tuck
284. Lady Cluck
285. Dinosaur
286. Shake
287. Umbrella
288. Wash cloth
289. Swing
290. Slide
291. Shopping
Dinosaur was a surprise from the toy story. He has dinosaur magnets on the refrigerator, but we were impressed by him figuring out that a foot tall dinosaur toy was also a "dinosaur" given that we don't use the word much.
Henry woke up this morning around 7AM. He always wakes up refreshed and ready to start his day. I'm a bit slower about the whole wake up thing. He is currently playing in the living room with Alica and Henry. I just heard him outside my door saying "See mommy." I wish that I could see him now, but it is now time to get back to work.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
"Turkey Bummy"
Henry was difficult during dinner (or anti-dinner). Jeff and I are trying to come up with a new game plan to get Henry to eat. I think that we are going to make mashed potatoes tomorrow. Hopefully, that will stimulate his appetite.
We let him watch "Robin Hood" during dinner. Toward the end, we got ready for his bath. Henry ran out of the bathroom to the living room before we could get him in the tub. He yelled "Marian...pretty!"
281. Pretty
282. Ice
Here is Henry counting in the tub...
After his bath, Bitsy walked into the bathroom while we were dressing him. He said "Bitsy...turkey bummy!" He must have picked up on that from me. My sister Carolyn used to run around and call people or animals "turkey bummies" when she was a toddler. I'm quite sure that I've referred to Bitsy as a "turkey bummy" because she can be just that. I haven't used it often and don't recall using it on Bitsy in a long time. Bitsy has actually behaved herself lately. Just goes to show that one has to watch everything one says around Mr. H.
Henry fell asleep within a couple minutes of Jeff taking him to the bedroom. He is exhausted.
We let him watch "Robin Hood" during dinner. Toward the end, we got ready for his bath. Henry ran out of the bathroom to the living room before we could get him in the tub. He yelled "Marian...pretty!"
281. Pretty
282. Ice
Here is Henry counting in the tub...
After his bath, Bitsy walked into the bathroom while we were dressing him. He said "Bitsy...turkey bummy!" He must have picked up on that from me. My sister Carolyn used to run around and call people or animals "turkey bummies" when she was a toddler. I'm quite sure that I've referred to Bitsy as a "turkey bummy" because she can be just that. I haven't used it often and don't recall using it on Bitsy in a long time. Bitsy has actually behaved herself lately. Just goes to show that one has to watch everything one says around Mr. H.
Henry fell asleep within a couple minutes of Jeff taking him to the bedroom. He is exhausted.
Holy Cow!
Jeff just took a call from A Place to Call Home a few moments ago. They were looking for a foster home for two girls, 5 and 7 years old. No other information available. Jeff came to my office and asked me. We unfortunately had to turn the agency down. We think that it is important to stick to our tight screen for Henry's sake. We are stunned. Guess that means that the state has certified us. Our application was submitted early last week. Wow.
"Catching Up" to Actual Age
The past few days have been a bit of a blur. All in all, it has been filled with lots of family time. I don't remember much about Friday. We went on a walk in the evening as usual.
On Saturday, Henry woke up wanting "pancakes." I asked him if he wanted to go to Tohono Chul Park or Joel's. He wanted to go to "Joel's." As soon as we sat down at Joel's, he demanded "pancakes." He ate a lot. Probably had 3/4 of a decent sized Joel's pancake. Joel, the owner and chef, came out to our table as he sometimes does. He asked about syrup b/c Henry was eating it plain. We explained that the pancakes were tasty enough w/o the embellishment, which he was pleased to hear. Hands down, they are the best pancakes in town (probably the best that we've ever eaten). Afterward, we played on the grass. Walked and rolled down hills. Visited the turtle pond, which was fully stocked with turtles. Then, we went to the Kids Center, a medium-small toy store. Lots of books. We bought Henry a book and then a tee-ball set. Came home. Henry took a long nap. Poppy visited him after he woke up. Grammy was still sick. After Poppy left, we played tee-ball. He was entranced with the parts of the tee-ball stand for whatever reason.
We spent Sunday morning at home. We went for a walk. The Wildcats played at 11:40AM. They won! We were supposed to attend a wedding in the afternoon and Alicia was supposed to come over to babysit. She called about three hours before the wedding to cancel b/c Karina was sick and said her husband who had surgery 2 weeks early was unable to look after her. So I ended up going w/o Jeff. I'm pretty miffed about the situation b/c it isn't like our friends get married every day. It was a lovely wedding. I didn't get home until 9:45PM. The Doodle Bug was sound asleep.
We've noticed the past week that Henry's play skills have progressed in the bathroom. We've noticed that he has imaginative play with his bathtub toys. He makes Pete and Sam "lean back" on the edge of the bathtub or "dive" into the water to go "swimming." Very cute.
Here are additions to our word list as far as we can remember:
254. Fire pit
255. Water spout
256. Bike
257. Golf swing
258. Soccer ball
259. Arm circles
260. "Stand head" (as in "stand on your head")
261. Sink
262. Camera
263. Cheese
264. Soy bacon
265. Asparagus
266. Snowman
267. Gorilla
268. Polar bear
269. Kangaroo
270. Sheep
271. Robin Hood
272. Marian
273. Tiger Woods
274. "Back!" (as in "get back" to the dogs)
275. "Turn it on" (in reference to the television)
276. Sleep
277. "Turn around"
278. Bank robbers (characters in "The Haunted House)
279. Money bags (objects in "The Haunted House")
280. Again
At one point over the weekend, we turned off the TV. Henry then reached for the remote and said "turn it on." Jeff was walking golf at one point. Henry saw Tiger Woods on the screen. The commentators made reference to "Tiger" and Henry responded "Tiger Woods."
This morning, Henry said "Javelina!" in his sleep. Must have been an interesting dream. We had an appointment with Cuyler for an OT evaluation. She said that DES has again reversed its decision and will be paying for services b/c there are some law suits in the works if they don't. So, it looks like today's session will be covered. But who knows. The decisions for DES to pay seem to switch every couple days. If DES doesn't pay, we were willing to do so, because we believe that these evaluations are very important.
Cuyler had Henry do several tasks. She was impressed by his attention span and verbal abilities. Basically, she was testing two things with the Peabody scale: grasping and visual-motor integration. She said that the grasping scale stops at 15 months and doesn't resume until 42 months b/c the basic grasping skills don't change all of that much during that time span. The changes that do take place are very subtle. Henry tested at the 50th percentile for adjusted and actual age on grasping.
Visual-motor integration was the other area tested. He was at the 35th percentile for his actual age and the 75th percentile for his adjusted age. She said that he basically looked like a 21 month old on those skills. She says that at 2 years old, we can start thinking about him by his actual age. This is when kids often "catch up." I won't rehash our perspective on "catching up," other than to say that "catching up" implies that he was behind and we don't know why anyone would expect a preemie to "catch up" b/c development starts when sperm meets egg not when someone happens to come out of the womb. But, his legal birthday is April 30. That's the day that society recognizes. And given that he is "advanced" for his "adjusted" age, it doesn't really matter.
The places where Henry did not perform as well with test tasks were the areas that we didn't expect him to do particularly well. He gets frustrated fairly easily with puzzles. Shape matching and fitting was where he got some points off. But he did really well with drawing, which surprised us a bit b/c we haven't done a whole lot of drawing. And he was awesome with block building, which is something that we only do occasionally. He managed to stack six blocks, which is something that we hadn't seen before. Again, this begs the question: Have we held him back? He can obviously do things that we haven't done with him.
Cuyler said that Henry has now entered the arts and crafts phase. She said that construction will help build those visual-motor integration skills. That means that I get to go to the crafts store in the near future. I also want us to get Henry a table appropriate for his size.
When the test was over, Henry announced that he wanted to "Go home!" He wasn't very patient during Cuyler's discussion of the test with us. We went to Trader Joe's afterward. Then home. Henry took at 10 minute nap in the car, but wouldn't sleep when we got home. I suppose that means he'll be going to bed earlier than usual tonight.
After having a couple bites of macaroni and one bite of pizza, Henry left the kitchen. We read "The Haunted House." I asked him questions about what was going to happen next, and he answered them. I was stunned. Mickey, Donald, and Pluto are in a passageway at one point in the story. The ghosts are coming toward them. I asked Henry, "What did the ghosts say?" He said, "Go away!" That was the right answer. At another point, I asked him "What did Mickey, Donald, and Pluto trip over?" His answer: "Money bags." Again, the right answer. Not bad for a 19 month old/22.5 month old.
On Saturday, Henry woke up wanting "pancakes." I asked him if he wanted to go to Tohono Chul Park or Joel's. He wanted to go to "Joel's." As soon as we sat down at Joel's, he demanded "pancakes." He ate a lot. Probably had 3/4 of a decent sized Joel's pancake. Joel, the owner and chef, came out to our table as he sometimes does. He asked about syrup b/c Henry was eating it plain. We explained that the pancakes were tasty enough w/o the embellishment, which he was pleased to hear. Hands down, they are the best pancakes in town (probably the best that we've ever eaten). Afterward, we played on the grass. Walked and rolled down hills. Visited the turtle pond, which was fully stocked with turtles. Then, we went to the Kids Center, a medium-small toy store. Lots of books. We bought Henry a book and then a tee-ball set. Came home. Henry took a long nap. Poppy visited him after he woke up. Grammy was still sick. After Poppy left, we played tee-ball. He was entranced with the parts of the tee-ball stand for whatever reason.
We spent Sunday morning at home. We went for a walk. The Wildcats played at 11:40AM. They won! We were supposed to attend a wedding in the afternoon and Alicia was supposed to come over to babysit. She called about three hours before the wedding to cancel b/c Karina was sick and said her husband who had surgery 2 weeks early was unable to look after her. So I ended up going w/o Jeff. I'm pretty miffed about the situation b/c it isn't like our friends get married every day. It was a lovely wedding. I didn't get home until 9:45PM. The Doodle Bug was sound asleep.
We've noticed the past week that Henry's play skills have progressed in the bathroom. We've noticed that he has imaginative play with his bathtub toys. He makes Pete and Sam "lean back" on the edge of the bathtub or "dive" into the water to go "swimming." Very cute.
Here are additions to our word list as far as we can remember:
254. Fire pit
255. Water spout
256. Bike
257. Golf swing
258. Soccer ball
259. Arm circles
260. "Stand head" (as in "stand on your head")
261. Sink
262. Camera
263. Cheese
264. Soy bacon
265. Asparagus
266. Snowman
267. Gorilla
268. Polar bear
269. Kangaroo
270. Sheep
271. Robin Hood
272. Marian
273. Tiger Woods
274. "Back!" (as in "get back" to the dogs)
275. "Turn it on" (in reference to the television)
276. Sleep
277. "Turn around"
278. Bank robbers (characters in "The Haunted House)
279. Money bags (objects in "The Haunted House")
280. Again
At one point over the weekend, we turned off the TV. Henry then reached for the remote and said "turn it on." Jeff was walking golf at one point. Henry saw Tiger Woods on the screen. The commentators made reference to "Tiger" and Henry responded "Tiger Woods."
This morning, Henry said "Javelina!" in his sleep. Must have been an interesting dream. We had an appointment with Cuyler for an OT evaluation. She said that DES has again reversed its decision and will be paying for services b/c there are some law suits in the works if they don't. So, it looks like today's session will be covered. But who knows. The decisions for DES to pay seem to switch every couple days. If DES doesn't pay, we were willing to do so, because we believe that these evaluations are very important.
Cuyler had Henry do several tasks. She was impressed by his attention span and verbal abilities. Basically, she was testing two things with the Peabody scale: grasping and visual-motor integration. She said that the grasping scale stops at 15 months and doesn't resume until 42 months b/c the basic grasping skills don't change all of that much during that time span. The changes that do take place are very subtle. Henry tested at the 50th percentile for adjusted and actual age on grasping.
Visual-motor integration was the other area tested. He was at the 35th percentile for his actual age and the 75th percentile for his adjusted age. She said that he basically looked like a 21 month old on those skills. She says that at 2 years old, we can start thinking about him by his actual age. This is when kids often "catch up." I won't rehash our perspective on "catching up," other than to say that "catching up" implies that he was behind and we don't know why anyone would expect a preemie to "catch up" b/c development starts when sperm meets egg not when someone happens to come out of the womb. But, his legal birthday is April 30. That's the day that society recognizes. And given that he is "advanced" for his "adjusted" age, it doesn't really matter.
The places where Henry did not perform as well with test tasks were the areas that we didn't expect him to do particularly well. He gets frustrated fairly easily with puzzles. Shape matching and fitting was where he got some points off. But he did really well with drawing, which surprised us a bit b/c we haven't done a whole lot of drawing. And he was awesome with block building, which is something that we only do occasionally. He managed to stack six blocks, which is something that we hadn't seen before. Again, this begs the question: Have we held him back? He can obviously do things that we haven't done with him.
Cuyler said that Henry has now entered the arts and crafts phase. She said that construction will help build those visual-motor integration skills. That means that I get to go to the crafts store in the near future. I also want us to get Henry a table appropriate for his size.
When the test was over, Henry announced that he wanted to "Go home!" He wasn't very patient during Cuyler's discussion of the test with us. We went to Trader Joe's afterward. Then home. Henry took at 10 minute nap in the car, but wouldn't sleep when we got home. I suppose that means he'll be going to bed earlier than usual tonight.
After having a couple bites of macaroni and one bite of pizza, Henry left the kitchen. We read "The Haunted House." I asked him questions about what was going to happen next, and he answered them. I was stunned. Mickey, Donald, and Pluto are in a passageway at one point in the story. The ghosts are coming toward them. I asked Henry, "What did the ghosts say?" He said, "Go away!" That was the right answer. At another point, I asked him "What did Mickey, Donald, and Pluto trip over?" His answer: "Money bags." Again, the right answer. Not bad for a 19 month old/22.5 month old.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
A Beautiful Day for Golf
This morning, Henry said "stretch" as he saw Roger stretching as he got up from his slumber. Another word to add to Henry's list.
Henry got Alicia to make pancakes for him this morning. His pancake obsession continues. He has been soaking his diaper thoroughly after his breakfast since Monday. We've been quite fortunate on the diaper front. He really hasn't been a leaky baby all in all. Alicia mentioned that he must be holding it and then releasing. That's actually a good thing, I suppose, in preparation for potty training. I don't know when that will be. We haven't really done anything on the potty training front b/c we've been waiting for Henry to show some sign that he wants to be potty trained. This could prove problematic b/c with Henry's Herculean pain threshold, a mere wet diaper isn't going to motivate him to action. I suspect that motivation will come from a more deliberative, cognitive route rather than a physical one. I suspect that once he realizes other kids use the potty, he'll want to use one as well.
In the afternoon, we decided to go to Funtasticks and play putt putt. We hadn't been there in a long time and the day was beautiful. There were several families there but it wasn't overly crowded by any stretch. Henry noticed the bumper boats and mentioned "swimming." Henry watched the kids on the mini go-cart course and shouted out "Kids!" Henry was fascinated by the carousel and liked the "ponies." Jeff got three golf balls and two clubs (one large and one small). He brought our disinfectant hand spray and cleaned them before letting Henry touch them. We didn't bother trying to keep score on the putt putt course. Henry would run after our balls, pick them up, and put them in the hole by hand. Turns out he knows the word "hole." For whatever reason, Henry preferred the big club, so Jeff and I took our shots with the small one most of the time. He enjoyed jumping off the obstacles on the various holes as they were a perfectly climbing and jumping level (about 6" from the ground). Henry took a pretty good tumble and roll on one of the holes but he didn't cry. I'm quite sure it would have sent any other kid into hysterics. We brushed him off, and he was ready for the next challenge. His favorite holes were the ones where he could send the ball through a hole at the top of a hill and then watch it roll onto another green.
We had to get Henry shoes. Shirley (PT) mentioned at his last visit that she thought shoes with a hard back might help to discourage the toe walking. After putt putt, we went to Stride Rite at the mall. We weren't keen on going to the mall during RSV season, but we knew that was the place to go for his shoes. It was a focused mall visit. The salesperson was surprised to hear that Henry was 19 months. She thought he looked big for a 19 month old and said that his feet wear big for that age. I confess that I was pleased to hear someone say that he was big for his age. That was a first. She measured him at a 7 1/2 shoe size. She recommended getting a 1/2 size up b/c she said that he's going to grow out of the size 7 1/2 within 2 months. They were having a sale (buy one, get the second pair 1/2 off). We ended up getting a size 7 1/2 pair and a size 8 pair. Normally, we would have just gotten the 8. But given that the shoes were being purchased for a therapeutic purpose, I wanted to make sure that they fit well...even if they only last 2 months or less.
We came home. Had dinner, which we picked up on our way out of the food court. Given the germy nature of public areas, we didn't want to sit at the public tables in the food court. Henry somehow new that Jeff had gotten him fries. How he knew is a mystery.
Henry is getting very good at splashing water out of the bath tub. We watched pics for a few minutes after the bath. And then he was off to bed.
Jeff and I have come up with a few word additions to our list. My mom also alerted us to some as well. Henry has been saying "Margaret" in reference to writing on the pad with a pen. My mom always has a pad and pen near her. I suspect that he has heard Poppy say "Margaret" several times while my mom was writing out lists or cross things off lists. Because I'm not confident that "Margaret" is being used in reference to Grammy, it hasn't yet made the list.
239. Yogurt
240. Pen
241. Stretch
242. Hank (apparently, he sometimes calls Poppy "Hank")
243. Tim
244. Clean
245. Broom
246. Remote
247. Help
248. Kids
249. Dive
250. Swimming
251. Hole
252. Glasses
253. Nickelodeon
The last one on the list took us by surprise tonight. Henry took the remote from Jeff who had just turned off the TV (we allowed Henry to watch the last 5 minutes of Sponge Bob). Henry pointed the remote at the TV and said "Nickelodeon." I don't mean to point an accusing finger, but I think that the grandparents have some explaining to do.
Henry got Alicia to make pancakes for him this morning. His pancake obsession continues. He has been soaking his diaper thoroughly after his breakfast since Monday. We've been quite fortunate on the diaper front. He really hasn't been a leaky baby all in all. Alicia mentioned that he must be holding it and then releasing. That's actually a good thing, I suppose, in preparation for potty training. I don't know when that will be. We haven't really done anything on the potty training front b/c we've been waiting for Henry to show some sign that he wants to be potty trained. This could prove problematic b/c with Henry's Herculean pain threshold, a mere wet diaper isn't going to motivate him to action. I suspect that motivation will come from a more deliberative, cognitive route rather than a physical one. I suspect that once he realizes other kids use the potty, he'll want to use one as well.
In the afternoon, we decided to go to Funtasticks and play putt putt. We hadn't been there in a long time and the day was beautiful. There were several families there but it wasn't overly crowded by any stretch. Henry noticed the bumper boats and mentioned "swimming." Henry watched the kids on the mini go-cart course and shouted out "Kids!" Henry was fascinated by the carousel and liked the "ponies." Jeff got three golf balls and two clubs (one large and one small). He brought our disinfectant hand spray and cleaned them before letting Henry touch them. We didn't bother trying to keep score on the putt putt course. Henry would run after our balls, pick them up, and put them in the hole by hand. Turns out he knows the word "hole." For whatever reason, Henry preferred the big club, so Jeff and I took our shots with the small one most of the time. He enjoyed jumping off the obstacles on the various holes as they were a perfectly climbing and jumping level (about 6" from the ground). Henry took a pretty good tumble and roll on one of the holes but he didn't cry. I'm quite sure it would have sent any other kid into hysterics. We brushed him off, and he was ready for the next challenge. His favorite holes were the ones where he could send the ball through a hole at the top of a hill and then watch it roll onto another green.We had to get Henry shoes. Shirley (PT) mentioned at his last visit that she thought shoes with a hard back might help to discourage the toe walking. After putt putt, we went to Stride Rite at the mall. We weren't keen on going to the mall during RSV season, but we knew that was the place to go for his shoes. It was a focused mall visit. The salesperson was surprised to hear that Henry was 19 months. She thought he looked big for a 19 month old and said that his feet wear big for that age. I confess that I was pleased to hear someone say that he was big for his age. That was a first. She measured him at a 7 1/2 shoe size. She recommended getting a 1/2 size up b/c she said that he's going to grow out of the size 7 1/2 within 2 months. They were having a sale (buy one, get the second pair 1/2 off). We ended up getting a size 7 1/2 pair and a size 8 pair. Normally, we would have just gotten the 8. But given that the shoes were being purchased for a therapeutic purpose, I wanted to make sure that they fit well...even if they only last 2 months or less.
We came home. Had dinner, which we picked up on our way out of the food court. Given the germy nature of public areas, we didn't want to sit at the public tables in the food court. Henry somehow new that Jeff had gotten him fries. How he knew is a mystery.
Henry is getting very good at splashing water out of the bath tub. We watched pics for a few minutes after the bath. And then he was off to bed.
Jeff and I have come up with a few word additions to our list. My mom also alerted us to some as well. Henry has been saying "Margaret" in reference to writing on the pad with a pen. My mom always has a pad and pen near her. I suspect that he has heard Poppy say "Margaret" several times while my mom was writing out lists or cross things off lists. Because I'm not confident that "Margaret" is being used in reference to Grammy, it hasn't yet made the list.
239. Yogurt
240. Pen
241. Stretch
242. Hank (apparently, he sometimes calls Poppy "Hank")
243. Tim
244. Clean
245. Broom
246. Remote
247. Help
248. Kids
249. Dive
250. Swimming
251. Hole
252. Glasses
253. Nickelodeon
The last one on the list took us by surprise tonight. Henry took the remote from Jeff who had just turned off the TV (we allowed Henry to watch the last 5 minutes of Sponge Bob). Henry pointed the remote at the TV and said "Nickelodeon." I don't mean to point an accusing finger, but I think that the grandparents have some explaining to do.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Words that Henry Knows
Henry decided to eat before I came home again. He insisted on pancakes again, so Jeff whipped out some potato pancakes for him. I got home by 6PM. We went on our family walk with the dogs. As we walked out of the garage, Henry turned around, walked back in the garage, and then closed the door. He popped his head out the door a few second later after Jeff called to him; he had a huge grin on his face. I put him in his wagon. Jeff remembered to bring Henry's newspaper. He requested the "comics." He enjoyed his wagon ride with comics and bottle in hand.
Jeff reported that while reading the Pokey Little Puppy, which Jeff hadn't read to him in awhile, Henry filled in some of the words. There's a part where the puppies are being counted. Henry filled in "1-2-3-4." He is doing more filling in these days. Last week, I believe it was, he started responding with "Manha Manha" at the right part of the song. I would sing the main part, and he'd do the "Manha Manha" part.
He was pleased when we got home b/c I let him watch Sponge Bob on the computer. I have got to find a different episode. I could only find one full episode on youtube. I really don't understand why people post clips of Sponge Bob with things like music from Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" as the backdrop. Very annoying.
We gave Henry a bath. Yesterday, I suggested to him that he have two of his bath toys give each other a kiss. He did that again today. The octopus kissed the sea horse as Henry was playing with them. So cute.
We are certainly letting Henry watch TV now. We sit with him while he watches and make comment b/c I don't want him turning into a zombie. Frankly, I still wish that we had never let him see the TV until 2. But once the floodgates were opened, it is nearly impossible to go back. He certainly takes a lot in from the TV. I gave him the choice of Aladdin, Thomas, or Robin Hood. He chose Robin Hood. Rather than picking up where we left off the other day, we started at the beginning b/c kids like repetition. We watched Robin Hood and Little John escape and Sheriff (again) and trick Prince John (again). It was nice having Henry snuggle with me on the couch.
Jeff put him down w/o incident. Didn't take long. Henry appears to be going to bed a little earlier these days BUT he has also reset his wake up time to 6AM.
Last night, Jeff and I decided to attempt to create a list of the words Henry knows and says. It reflects what we can recall, although on the walk tonight, we came up with another 10, so the list is far from complete. It doesn't include animal sounds or words he knows but doesn't say (e.g., "lips"...he knows where they are but hasn't said the word, except when mimicking us, but that doesn't qualify as really using the word in context).
Here's what we came up with...
Jeff reported that while reading the Pokey Little Puppy, which Jeff hadn't read to him in awhile, Henry filled in some of the words. There's a part where the puppies are being counted. Henry filled in "1-2-3-4." He is doing more filling in these days. Last week, I believe it was, he started responding with "Manha Manha" at the right part of the song. I would sing the main part, and he'd do the "Manha Manha" part.
He was pleased when we got home b/c I let him watch Sponge Bob on the computer. I have got to find a different episode. I could only find one full episode on youtube. I really don't understand why people post clips of Sponge Bob with things like music from Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" as the backdrop. Very annoying.
We gave Henry a bath. Yesterday, I suggested to him that he have two of his bath toys give each other a kiss. He did that again today. The octopus kissed the sea horse as Henry was playing with them. So cute.
We are certainly letting Henry watch TV now. We sit with him while he watches and make comment b/c I don't want him turning into a zombie. Frankly, I still wish that we had never let him see the TV until 2. But once the floodgates were opened, it is nearly impossible to go back. He certainly takes a lot in from the TV. I gave him the choice of Aladdin, Thomas, or Robin Hood. He chose Robin Hood. Rather than picking up where we left off the other day, we started at the beginning b/c kids like repetition. We watched Robin Hood and Little John escape and Sheriff (again) and trick Prince John (again). It was nice having Henry snuggle with me on the couch.
Jeff put him down w/o incident. Didn't take long. Henry appears to be going to bed a little earlier these days BUT he has also reset his wake up time to 6AM.
Last night, Jeff and I decided to attempt to create a list of the words Henry knows and says. It reflects what we can recall, although on the walk tonight, we came up with another 10, so the list is far from complete. It doesn't include animal sounds or words he knows but doesn't say (e.g., "lips"...he knows where they are but hasn't said the word, except when mimicking us, but that doesn't qualify as really using the word in context).
Here's what we came up with...
- Daddy
- Mommy
- Poppy
- Grammy
- Roger
- Marley
- Bitsy
- Princess
- Jackson
- Erin
- Brian
- Alica
- Karina
- Ramses
- Indy
- Precious
- Choco(late)
- Banjo
- Brandy
- Luke
- Annie
- Izzy
- Aucky (Austin)
- Joe
- Patty
- Kyle Fogg
- Nic Wise
- Barack Obama
- Joe Biden
- Shinseki
- Harry Potter
- Snoopy
- Lucy
- Charlie Brown
- Thomas (the Tank Engine)
- Henry (train and self)
- Edward
- Gordon
- Toby
- Rob (as in Rainbow Rob)
- Sponge Bob
- Patrick
- Squidward
- Fresh Prince
- Gonzo
- Animal
- Piggy
- Elmo
- Cookie (Monster)
- Oscar
- Mickey (Mouse)
- Minnie
- Donald (Duck)
- Winnie (the) Pooh
- Tigger
- Scooby
- Reader (as in the Story Reader)
- "Be Happy" (Story Reader book)
- "Snack Day" (Story Ready book)
- House (as in the book "The Haunted House")
- Grinder (as in the book "The Magic Grinder")
- Cat
- Kitten
- Dog
- Puppy
- Bunny
- Rabbit
- Snake
- Cow
- Horse
- Goat
- Frog
- Lion
- Tiger
- Giraffe
- Javelina
- Coyote
- Spider
- Bat
- Owl
- Turtle
- Zebra
- Bird
- Bird seed
- Mouse
- Fish
- Duck
- Monkey
- Hippo
- Sea horse
- Zoo
- Cayman (the turtle...his toy)
- Sam (the snail...toy)
- Pete (the pirate...toy)
- Eyes
- Ears
- Head
- Bonk!
- Hair
- Tummy
- Teeth
- Toes
- Knees
- Nose
- Finger
- Penis
- Butt
- Hi
- Bye
- Good night
- Go home
- OK
- Uh-huh
- No!
- Sit down
- Lie down
- Lean back
- More
- Please
- Thank you
- This one
- Hot
- Ouch!
- Purse
- Balloon
- Clock
- Plate
- Sock
- Light
- Run
- Jump
- Walk
- Block
- Potty seat
- Camera
- Hurt
- Huggies (hug)
- Office
- Hat
- Drum
- CD
- Cell phone
- Knife
- Moon
- Kite
- Bottle
- Cup
- Eat
- Milk
- Tea
- Pepsi (grandparents claim that he hasn't tried it, he just knows what it is)
- Water
- Chicken
- Turkey
- Pancake
- Banana
- Dolmas
- Fruit
- Coffee
- Cheerios
- Crackers
- Noodles
- Crunchies
- Strawberries
- Black beans
- Peas
- Melts (as in yogurt melts)
- Red
- Blue
- Circle
- Drawing
- Crayon
- Picture
- Comb
- Brush
- Shoes
- Playground
- Slide
- Ball pit
- Computer
- Newspaper
- Comics
- O-tube (he means youtube but it has stuck in his mind as o-tube)
- TV
- Calculator
- Ball
- Putt putt
- Golf
- Golf club
- Golf ball
- Basketball
- Hoop
- Hockey
- Baseball
- Eagles
- Cardinals
- Backpack
- March
- Tree
- Bush (plant not the ex-president)
- Cactus
- Leaf
- Flower
- Rock
- Boat
- Poop
- Pool
- Sink
- Books
- Music
- Window
- Seat
- Chair
- Table
- Ring
- Shampoo
- Bath
- Bubbles
- Towel
- Up
- Down
- Outside
- Pillow
- Bed
- Crib
- Sleep
- Blanket
- Wagon
- Airplane
- Train
- Truck
- Car
- Helicopter
- Keys
- Door
- Puddle
- Ocean (in reference to the waves sound on our sound machine alarm clock)
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Pancakes!
Henry is on the pancake diet. Last night before I got home with dinner from Sinbad's, Jeff reported that Henry marched into the kitchen, climbed into his high chair, looked at Jeff, and demanded "Pancakes!"
This morning, Henry also wanted "pancakes!" Alicia said that he ate better today than he has been eating overall.
We told Alicia about our foster plans today. She is amenable to the situation. I'm not sure how that would realistically work out with three kids in the house, but that's certainly a lower caregiver-child ratio than daycare. We received an email from Alison today. Our paperwork was officially submitted to the state, so now we just have to wait for certification and for a call.
Henry got put in "time out" by Jeff. I suspect that it lasted about 30 seconds. The infraction: throwing the couch pillow at Bitsy several times after being told "no." Bitsy is fine. If she had more sense, she would have left the living room after the first pillow toss. Still, we are trying to teach Henry to play but respect the animals...so throwing things at the animals or trying to stand on them is a no-no.
During our walk tonight, Henry was perturbed that he didn't have a "newspaper" to read while riding in his wagon. Nice to see a youngster interested in the newspaper. Now only if my undergraduates would start reading one!
Henry demanded "pancakes!" for dinner. We gave him some lentil soup and dolmas for a start. Then, Jeff made him a waffle (next best thing to a pancake). Henry also had banana. After eating about half of the waffle, he wanted more "dolmas!" He has unique and cultured taste buds for a 19 month old (adjusted).
We gave him a bath, watched some pics, and now Jeff's putting him to bed. It is only 7:40PM, a very early bedtime for our young man (although probably the norm for most kids his age).
This morning, Henry also wanted "pancakes!" Alicia said that he ate better today than he has been eating overall.
We told Alicia about our foster plans today. She is amenable to the situation. I'm not sure how that would realistically work out with three kids in the house, but that's certainly a lower caregiver-child ratio than daycare. We received an email from Alison today. Our paperwork was officially submitted to the state, so now we just have to wait for certification and for a call.
Henry got put in "time out" by Jeff. I suspect that it lasted about 30 seconds. The infraction: throwing the couch pillow at Bitsy several times after being told "no." Bitsy is fine. If she had more sense, she would have left the living room after the first pillow toss. Still, we are trying to teach Henry to play but respect the animals...so throwing things at the animals or trying to stand on them is a no-no.
During our walk tonight, Henry was perturbed that he didn't have a "newspaper" to read while riding in his wagon. Nice to see a youngster interested in the newspaper. Now only if my undergraduates would start reading one!
Henry demanded "pancakes!" for dinner. We gave him some lentil soup and dolmas for a start. Then, Jeff made him a waffle (next best thing to a pancake). Henry also had banana. After eating about half of the waffle, he wanted more "dolmas!" He has unique and cultured taste buds for a 19 month old (adjusted).
We gave him a bath, watched some pics, and now Jeff's putting him to bed. It is only 7:40PM, a very early bedtime for our young man (although probably the norm for most kids his age).
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Jump!
We had a quiet Saturday morning. Because I didn't work on Friday during the day, I ended up staying up until 5AM finishing a manuscript that got off to the editors. I slept in until 9AM. Henry didn't eat much, but he was in good spirits. He chased Bitsy around the house with the comics. I can't remember when it was (maybe Friday evening or Saturday morning) but Jeff had taken Henry for a walk. Henry read the newspaper (which of course he can identify and say) as Jeff pulled him in the wagon.
Henry took a nap around 11AM. We got him up around 12:20PM because we had a birthday party to attend. My friend Carolyn's daughter, Adelyn, had turned 1 year old. Carolyn lives on our side of town. There were five other children there ranging from 9 months to 3.5 years old at the party. It was a nice mix. Henry enjoyed watching the other children. The children were pretty much at the age where they all played side-by-side but weren't really playing together per se. Henry loved their lab Cassi. She was a big hit. Henry also enjoyed cake and ice cream. He only had a few bites, but we could see the sugar effects right away. He got hyper and then rather tired.
After the party, we headed to Grandma and Grandpa's house. They missed their boy. Jeff and I sneaked off to see "He's Just Not That Into You." It was funny but had a lot more drama than we anticipated. We enjoyed it though. We went to Trader Joe's and then picked up Henry. Henry didn't eat much, but he ate better for the grandparents than he does for us. When we arrived, he was reading books with Grammy. He sat in my lap and read The Nose Book by Dr. Seuss. When we were done, he said "Go home." So go home we did.
He fell asleep in the car on the way home, but of course woke up as soon as we tried to get him to bed. He was obviously tired but stubborn. He then tried to play us by saying he wanted in the "crib." We'd put him in the crib, but then he wanted "bed." We'd put him in bed, and then he wanted "crib." As we put him in the crib, he'd say "bed." We put him in the crib anyway and told him it was bedtime. He got very upset and angry. And he then had the vomit tantrum. Not fun. Really, really not fun. Puked on the crib sheet. So I lifted him out of the crib while Jeff went go get the paper towels. I put him on our bed. He proceeded to be upset and vomit all over me, himself, the carpet, and the sheets. Lovely. So I ended up giving him a bath while Jeff changed both the crib and bed sheets. Afterward, I tried getting Henry to bed but he wanted to watch pics. I wouldn't let him. I don't want him to think that he can get whatever he wants by vomiting. He was mad but Jeff somehow managed to get Henry to sleep in the crib. He slept there until 3AM at which point he made his way back to the bed.
We had a nice day today. We went to Joel's Bistro for pancakes. Henry usually plays once we get there, but today he sat at the table, looked at the waitress, and demanded "pancakes." Nice to see that his appetite had returned a bit. He ate a lot of french bread while waiting for the pancakes. Jeff read a new Thomas the Tank Engine book to him while we waited for the food to arrive. Henry had fun putting the bread basket on his head when it was empty.
After breakfast, we found hills to walk up and down. We found several neat trees and benches to climb. We made our way to the turtle pond. And the headed home. Henry fell asleep. As I took him to the bedroom when we got home, I laid down with him on top of me. He was sleeping soundly...snoring in fact. I was afraid to put him directly on the bed and have him wake up. I laid there awake with him snoring on me for about 2 hours and then tried to artfully get him onto the bed. That worked in part. He was on the bed but he was using my arm as a hand weight (see previous entry about Henry's sensory issues with his hands and sleep). So I laid there another hour. But at least in this position, I nodded off to sleep as well. Some time after 3PM, Henry popped his head up and said "Grammy!" several times.
Unfortunately, Grammy wasn't feeling well today. She thought it best not to see Henry today, but Poppy visited us b/c he and Grammy are busy on Monday. He couldn't go for more than two days w/o seeing his grandson.
Poppy and Henry played outside for awhile. After Poppy left, Jeff made dinner. While in the kitchen, Henry managed to perform his first real jump. He has jumped holding onto stuff before (e.g., the bars of the crib at the grandparents' house) and has jumped off the stairs. Lately, he has been sliding off the couch or museum bench w/o turning his body and lowering himself ; he just goes for it forward and lands on his feet. Well, tonight he actually got some genuine lift off. We clapped, and he clapped. I'm not sure if he really understood how what he was doing tonight was different.
We watched a Sponge Bob episode during dinner. That made Henry happy. His face lights up when he gets to see Sponge Bob. I truly don't get the appeal but that's OK. It suspect that Sponge Bob is kind of like Teletubbies. There's just no point trying to "get" them. Tonight's episode was about "imagination." Henry came close to saying the word. We had planned to let Henry play until 8:30PM given his long nap, but at 8PM he was ready for his "bath." Afterward, he mentioned wanting Harry Potter but really wanted Thomas the Tank Engine. I ended up putting Disney's Robin Hood in the DVD player. We watched the Oodalalie song and Robin Hood and Little John robbing Prince John. That was it. Henry wanted more, but I said that Robin Hood had to go to bed. So that's where Henry and Jeff went.
I forgot to mention on earlier posts that Henry is beginning to climb steps by alternating his feet with one foot per step (rather than step and bring feet together). When the home inspector came on Tuesday, Jeff pulled out the step latter to test the alarms. Henry demonstrated his climb skills by climbing the latter with alternating feet. Then on Thursday, when he came to school with me, he climbed the steps alternating feet on some of the parts. Way to go, Henry! Big stuff.
Verbally, he is learning new words. He is putting more thoughts in sentence form. He is responding with "OK" if I make a suggestion that meets his approval. If I ask him if he likes something, he'll nod or say "Uh-huh" if he likes it. He has been doing some long babbles with distinct syllables (kind of sounds like sentences), but we aren't quite sure what he means. We are confident that he knows what he means. And I really wish that we could figure out what "mogurt" means. I suspect that he thinks we are slow on the uptake.
If I give him a forced choice offering and he doesn't like the choices, he won't respond. "Do you want to read 'The Haunted House' or 'The Magic Grinder'?" No response if he really wants pics. "Do you want to go to the crib or the bed?" No response and he'll head right to the bedroom door and open it if he wants to play. He is able to see beyond the choices offered.
He doesn't lie. If I say, "We don't choke in this family, do we?" He'll say "no!" and shake his head (something that we've been doing since he was first drinking water). If I say, "We don't touch cactus in this family, do we?" He'll say "no!" But if there is something that he really wants to do, he won't respond. For example, if I say, "We don't climb on tables in this family, do we?," he'll go silent. At least he isn't lying, I suppose.
That's all from the Wild Kingdom. Incidentally, Jeff saw a rattlesnake in the road last night, so creepy critter season is upon us.
Henry took a nap around 11AM. We got him up around 12:20PM because we had a birthday party to attend. My friend Carolyn's daughter, Adelyn, had turned 1 year old. Carolyn lives on our side of town. There were five other children there ranging from 9 months to 3.5 years old at the party. It was a nice mix. Henry enjoyed watching the other children. The children were pretty much at the age where they all played side-by-side but weren't really playing together per se. Henry loved their lab Cassi. She was a big hit. Henry also enjoyed cake and ice cream. He only had a few bites, but we could see the sugar effects right away. He got hyper and then rather tired.After the party, we headed to Grandma and Grandpa's house. They missed their boy. Jeff and I sneaked off to see "He's Just Not That Into You." It was funny but had a lot more drama than we anticipated. We enjoyed it though. We went to Trader Joe's and then picked up Henry. Henry didn't eat much, but he ate better for the grandparents than he does for us. When we arrived, he was reading books with Grammy. He sat in my lap and read The Nose Book by Dr. Seuss. When we were done, he said "Go home." So go home we did.
He fell asleep in the car on the way home, but of course woke up as soon as we tried to get him to bed. He was obviously tired but stubborn. He then tried to play us by saying he wanted in the "crib." We'd put him in the crib, but then he wanted "bed." We'd put him in bed, and then he wanted "crib." As we put him in the crib, he'd say "bed." We put him in the crib anyway and told him it was bedtime. He got very upset and angry. And he then had the vomit tantrum. Not fun. Really, really not fun. Puked on the crib sheet. So I lifted him out of the crib while Jeff went go get the paper towels. I put him on our bed. He proceeded to be upset and vomit all over me, himself, the carpet, and the sheets. Lovely. So I ended up giving him a bath while Jeff changed both the crib and bed sheets. Afterward, I tried getting Henry to bed but he wanted to watch pics. I wouldn't let him. I don't want him to think that he can get whatever he wants by vomiting. He was mad but Jeff somehow managed to get Henry to sleep in the crib. He slept there until 3AM at which point he made his way back to the bed.
We had a nice day today. We went to Joel's Bistro for pancakes. Henry usually plays once we get there, but today he sat at the table, looked at the waitress, and demanded "pancakes." Nice to see that his appetite had returned a bit. He ate a lot of french bread while waiting for the pancakes. Jeff read a new Thomas the Tank Engine book to him while we waited for the food to arrive. Henry had fun putting the bread basket on his head when it was empty.
After breakfast, we found hills to walk up and down. We found several neat trees and benches to climb. We made our way to the turtle pond. And the headed home. Henry fell asleep. As I took him to the bedroom when we got home, I laid down with him on top of me. He was sleeping soundly...snoring in fact. I was afraid to put him directly on the bed and have him wake up. I laid there awake with him snoring on me for about 2 hours and then tried to artfully get him onto the bed. That worked in part. He was on the bed but he was using my arm as a hand weight (see previous entry about Henry's sensory issues with his hands and sleep). So I laid there another hour. But at least in this position, I nodded off to sleep as well. Some time after 3PM, Henry popped his head up and said "Grammy!" several times.Unfortunately, Grammy wasn't feeling well today. She thought it best not to see Henry today, but Poppy visited us b/c he and Grammy are busy on Monday. He couldn't go for more than two days w/o seeing his grandson.
Poppy and Henry played outside for awhile. After Poppy left, Jeff made dinner. While in the kitchen, Henry managed to perform his first real jump. He has jumped holding onto stuff before (e.g., the bars of the crib at the grandparents' house) and has jumped off the stairs. Lately, he has been sliding off the couch or museum bench w/o turning his body and lowering himself ; he just goes for it forward and lands on his feet. Well, tonight he actually got some genuine lift off. We clapped, and he clapped. I'm not sure if he really understood how what he was doing tonight was different.
We watched a Sponge Bob episode during dinner. That made Henry happy. His face lights up when he gets to see Sponge Bob. I truly don't get the appeal but that's OK. It suspect that Sponge Bob is kind of like Teletubbies. There's just no point trying to "get" them. Tonight's episode was about "imagination." Henry came close to saying the word. We had planned to let Henry play until 8:30PM given his long nap, but at 8PM he was ready for his "bath." Afterward, he mentioned wanting Harry Potter but really wanted Thomas the Tank Engine. I ended up putting Disney's Robin Hood in the DVD player. We watched the Oodalalie song and Robin Hood and Little John robbing Prince John. That was it. Henry wanted more, but I said that Robin Hood had to go to bed. So that's where Henry and Jeff went.
I forgot to mention on earlier posts that Henry is beginning to climb steps by alternating his feet with one foot per step (rather than step and bring feet together). When the home inspector came on Tuesday, Jeff pulled out the step latter to test the alarms. Henry demonstrated his climb skills by climbing the latter with alternating feet. Then on Thursday, when he came to school with me, he climbed the steps alternating feet on some of the parts. Way to go, Henry! Big stuff.
Verbally, he is learning new words. He is putting more thoughts in sentence form. He is responding with "OK" if I make a suggestion that meets his approval. If I ask him if he likes something, he'll nod or say "Uh-huh" if he likes it. He has been doing some long babbles with distinct syllables (kind of sounds like sentences), but we aren't quite sure what he means. We are confident that he knows what he means. And I really wish that we could figure out what "mogurt" means. I suspect that he thinks we are slow on the uptake.
If I give him a forced choice offering and he doesn't like the choices, he won't respond. "Do you want to read 'The Haunted House' or 'The Magic Grinder'?" No response if he really wants pics. "Do you want to go to the crib or the bed?" No response and he'll head right to the bedroom door and open it if he wants to play. He is able to see beyond the choices offered.
He doesn't lie. If I say, "We don't choke in this family, do we?" He'll say "no!" and shake his head (something that we've been doing since he was first drinking water). If I say, "We don't touch cactus in this family, do we?" He'll say "no!" But if there is something that he really wants to do, he won't respond. For example, if I say, "We don't climb on tables in this family, do we?," he'll go silent. At least he isn't lying, I suppose.
That's all from the Wild Kingdom. Incidentally, Jeff saw a rattlesnake in the road last night, so creepy critter season is upon us.
Friday, March 13, 2009
A Day with the Doodle Bug
Henry woke up in relatively good spirits this morning. He didn't feel hot at all. He said he wanted an egg for breakfast. I made him one, and he probably had one bite of it. Plus one bite of pancake and then he was "all done." Sigh.
We had canceled with the nanny the night before. So it was just me and the Doodle Bug today. I decided to take him to the zoo.
I forgot that it was spring break for many kids, and the zoo was pretty crowded. But we had a relatively quiet time in the South America section, which many people seem to skip for whatever reason. The animal highlight for me was watching the two jaguars wrestle in a hammock and get a little testy with one another. But Henry was much more interested in walking around than staring at them.
We made it over to the giraffes before they closed the feedings. For $2, you can purchase 2 biscuits. We bought four. Henry marched onto the feeding deck ahead of me while I waited for change. The zoo keeper on the deck was impressed by his enunciation of the word "giraffe" unprompted given that I was about 8 feet behind him. A little girl about 3 years old was ahead of us. She was scared of the giraffe and dropped the biscuit before the giraffe's tongue could touch her. Henry had a different approach. He held the biscuit out and let the giraffe's tongue wrap around his wrist and then move over his hand to extract the biscuit. No fear whatsoever. I was glad that we bought the four biscuits b/c Henry had a good time.
Henry watched a boy about 8 yrs old (I'm guessing) climb on a rock and say "I'm king of the world!" So Henry marched over to the rock and said "King! King!" By this time, the boy had jumped off. I let Henry climb the rock and jump from it too. And then we did it "again," and "again," and "again."
Henry mentioned Grammy several times throughout our zoo visit. Once in the car, Henry said "Grammy." So I asked him, "Do you want to go to Grammy's house?" His response, "Uh-huh" while nodding. We decided to pop by Grammy's. She offered Henry lunch and he had 1/3 of a pancake. He was pleased to be allowed to watch Sponge Bob during lunch. We then went with Grammy to the townhouse to meet Tim, the painter. Henry and I ran around the townhouse while Tim and Grammy talked. We then dropped Grammy back at her house. Said a quick "hi" to Poppy who stopped by as we were leaving. Then home.
Henry was asleep when we got home, so I took him to the bedroom where he fell asleep snoring in my arms. That lasted about an hour.
Jeff took over from there. That's all for now.
We had canceled with the nanny the night before. So it was just me and the Doodle Bug today. I decided to take him to the zoo.
I forgot that it was spring break for many kids, and the zoo was pretty crowded. But we had a relatively quiet time in the South America section, which many people seem to skip for whatever reason. The animal highlight for me was watching the two jaguars wrestle in a hammock and get a little testy with one another. But Henry was much more interested in walking around than staring at them.
We made it over to the giraffes before they closed the feedings. For $2, you can purchase 2 biscuits. We bought four. Henry marched onto the feeding deck ahead of me while I waited for change. The zoo keeper on the deck was impressed by his enunciation of the word "giraffe" unprompted given that I was about 8 feet behind him. A little girl about 3 years old was ahead of us. She was scared of the giraffe and dropped the biscuit before the giraffe's tongue could touch her. Henry had a different approach. He held the biscuit out and let the giraffe's tongue wrap around his wrist and then move over his hand to extract the biscuit. No fear whatsoever. I was glad that we bought the four biscuits b/c Henry had a good time.
Henry watched a boy about 8 yrs old (I'm guessing) climb on a rock and say "I'm king of the world!" So Henry marched over to the rock and said "King! King!" By this time, the boy had jumped off. I let Henry climb the rock and jump from it too. And then we did it "again," and "again," and "again."Henry mentioned Grammy several times throughout our zoo visit. Once in the car, Henry said "Grammy." So I asked him, "Do you want to go to Grammy's house?" His response, "Uh-huh" while nodding. We decided to pop by Grammy's. She offered Henry lunch and he had 1/3 of a pancake. He was pleased to be allowed to watch Sponge Bob during lunch. We then went with Grammy to the townhouse to meet Tim, the painter. Henry and I ran around the townhouse while Tim and Grammy talked. We then dropped Grammy back at her house. Said a quick "hi" to Poppy who stopped by as we were leaving. Then home.
Henry was asleep when we got home, so I took him to the bedroom where he fell asleep snoring in my arms. That lasted about an hour.
Jeff took over from there. That's all for now.
Henry is Sick Again
We started off Thursday morning fairly optimistic. We canceled with Alicia b/c we weren't 100% about Henry being sick or not. But the more we thought about it, it seemed likely that his symptoms were consistent with teething. He has had a low grade fever, but he is still his usual interactive self. A diaper rash appeared a couple days ago, and that's consistent with teething. When babies teeth, they swallow a lot of saliva. That goes through their systems and causes some redness on the backside.
My mom was going to take Henry in the morning, but between me needing to drive across town to A Place To Call Home and needing to pick him up by 2PM b/c she had a project coming in, I decided to take Henry with me b/c it was clear that data analysis just wasn't going to happen. I had a 10:15AM meeting with my research assistant, but I knew that meeting would be a quick one.
Henry and I headed off to school. I stopped by my colleague Kevin's office so that Henry could show off his political knowledge skills. He answered my president, veep, and Secretary of Veterans Affairs questions correctly. Kevin rightly pointed out that it was more than many of our students know. So true. We saw Nancy and Tina, two members of the staff, in the hallway as well. We headed over to my lab where all was quiet. I set up Henry at a computer to watch Sponge Bob Square Pants on o-tube, as Henry calls it. Sarah, my research assistant, was taken with Henry. She takes care of kids and apparently knew what Henry was saying when he kept repeating a word that I didn't understand. Turned out it was a Sponge Bob character. Henry was very good throughout the meeting. Around 10:50AM, we headed to Poppy's office as his class had ended. He was surprised but pleased to see Henry. We ended up walking back to the car together.
Henry and I went to A Place To Call Home to drop off the home inspection forms. Alison was in the main lobby when we arrived and pleased to see Henry. She showed his political skills off to the receptionist by asking him who the president was. The receptionist was impressed. It looks like Alison will have our packet sent to the state next week.
Henry pointed at several strip malls on the way home and apparently had some shopping in mind. I told him that we would stop by Eegee's to get him some fries. He then said the word "fries" about a bazillion times repeatedly until I had the fries in hand 20 minutes later. Henry ate several fries. On our way back home from Eegee's, however, he ended up throwing most of them up. So it appeared he was sick after all.
He wouldn't take a nap when we got home. Very frustrating. After Jeff got off work, we watched the Wildcats vs. ASU (they ended up losing). We tried to put him down at half-time b/c Henry wasn't that interested in the game and needed his nap. It was a losing proposition. I ended up falling asleep though. So Jeff let me nap. When I arose, I found Henry and Jeff in the living room. Jeff was watching golf, and Henry was sound asleep on him. When Henry woke up, Jeff got him some noodles. Henry took one bite and then proceed to vomit it all up. Sigh.
We gave him a bath. It wasn't a particularly long one. He was shivering quite a bit after the bath. We got him in his PJs, spent some time at the computer, and then to bed, which is where he and Jeff are now. Before he went to bed, we took his temperature. I think that it was 100 or 101. I just sneaked into the bedroom a couple minutes ago. Henry is laying with Jeff. He isn't hot to the touch right now.
I suspect that since we don't know what's going on, tomorrow is another no-nanny day. Looks like me and Henry will be spending the day together. I hope that he gets well soon. It makes me nervous when he is sick, especially given that it is still RSV season. And, I am feeling a bit guilty that he's gotten sick again and has none of my antibodies via breast milk to protect him. I wish that I had managed to pump through RSV season.
My mom was going to take Henry in the morning, but between me needing to drive across town to A Place To Call Home and needing to pick him up by 2PM b/c she had a project coming in, I decided to take Henry with me b/c it was clear that data analysis just wasn't going to happen. I had a 10:15AM meeting with my research assistant, but I knew that meeting would be a quick one.
Henry and I headed off to school. I stopped by my colleague Kevin's office so that Henry could show off his political knowledge skills. He answered my president, veep, and Secretary of Veterans Affairs questions correctly. Kevin rightly pointed out that it was more than many of our students know. So true. We saw Nancy and Tina, two members of the staff, in the hallway as well. We headed over to my lab where all was quiet. I set up Henry at a computer to watch Sponge Bob Square Pants on o-tube, as Henry calls it. Sarah, my research assistant, was taken with Henry. She takes care of kids and apparently knew what Henry was saying when he kept repeating a word that I didn't understand. Turned out it was a Sponge Bob character. Henry was very good throughout the meeting. Around 10:50AM, we headed to Poppy's office as his class had ended. He was surprised but pleased to see Henry. We ended up walking back to the car together.
Henry and I went to A Place To Call Home to drop off the home inspection forms. Alison was in the main lobby when we arrived and pleased to see Henry. She showed his political skills off to the receptionist by asking him who the president was. The receptionist was impressed. It looks like Alison will have our packet sent to the state next week.
Henry pointed at several strip malls on the way home and apparently had some shopping in mind. I told him that we would stop by Eegee's to get him some fries. He then said the word "fries" about a bazillion times repeatedly until I had the fries in hand 20 minutes later. Henry ate several fries. On our way back home from Eegee's, however, he ended up throwing most of them up. So it appeared he was sick after all.
He wouldn't take a nap when we got home. Very frustrating. After Jeff got off work, we watched the Wildcats vs. ASU (they ended up losing). We tried to put him down at half-time b/c Henry wasn't that interested in the game and needed his nap. It was a losing proposition. I ended up falling asleep though. So Jeff let me nap. When I arose, I found Henry and Jeff in the living room. Jeff was watching golf, and Henry was sound asleep on him. When Henry woke up, Jeff got him some noodles. Henry took one bite and then proceed to vomit it all up. Sigh.
We gave him a bath. It wasn't a particularly long one. He was shivering quite a bit after the bath. We got him in his PJs, spent some time at the computer, and then to bed, which is where he and Jeff are now. Before he went to bed, we took his temperature. I think that it was 100 or 101. I just sneaked into the bedroom a couple minutes ago. Henry is laying with Jeff. He isn't hot to the touch right now.
I suspect that since we don't know what's going on, tomorrow is another no-nanny day. Looks like me and Henry will be spending the day together. I hope that he gets well soon. It makes me nervous when he is sick, especially given that it is still RSV season. And, I am feeling a bit guilty that he's gotten sick again and has none of my antibodies via breast milk to protect him. I wish that I had managed to pump through RSV season.
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