In a Pinch!

Henry had a fever last night, and we wanted to make sure that he didn't have to go to daycare, so Grandjane graciously called a substitute teacher to fill in for her today.  Of course, Grandjane still had to be at school this morning for her 7:15 kids, but she still seemed OK with hanging out with Henry for the rest of the day.  What would we do without her?  Well, either I would miss internship hours and not graduate, or Cory would have to disappoint a client.  Thanks, Grandjane, for helping me to graduate and Cory to keep his job!

Henry, of course, had no fever today.  I think it was all a ruse so that he could enjoy a day playing with Grandjane.

Pinchy, pinchy

I tried to rock Henry to sleep tonight since it's the fastest way to get him to snooze, and he pinched and pinched and pinched me! He always starts pinching me when he gets sleepy, but I think he was just trying to get me tonight. So, I had to put him in the crib to slowly fall asleep while I held his hand.

The pinching has me thinking that, if he should get bit again, perhaps he can quickly pinch back. I know it's not exactly an eye for an eye, but it's less germy.

Another day, please?

We started off a great weekend with some delicious grilling and playing in the front yard, which has become somewhat a regular weekend kick off for us. Henry loves our Friday evenings and seems to quickly drift off to sleep after lots of playin' and some good eatin'.

It's a good thing he got some nice rest, too, since he and Daddy headed out to the Johnson Family reunion the next day. Henry got to see some of his namesakes , but the most important thing is that he got to spend a little bit of time with his Nana and Granddad. Unfortunately, Henry wasn't feeling very well, so I think he spent most of the time clinging to Daddy, who he already sees pretty often.

I got a paper and a project done while Daddy and Henry were away, and Henry took a nice, long nap on their ride home, so we decided to treat ourselves to Music in the Woods at Paris Mountain. Henry loved his first real concert and had a great time in the casual atmosphere. He was so kind to collect all the gumballs from the surrounding Sweetgum trees and offer them to us and the nearby concert goers. No one on the front row was exempt from his generosity.

Henry worked up quite a thirst hanging out and flirting with the hula hoopers!





And, of course, he was a major flirt! He followed a couple of the girls around for a little while.

Today, he got to spend some quality time with his Grandjane and Grandjoe, who brought Henry a new book with a moon theme. Henry really loves books with or about moons. He also likes flowers, and he seemed to enjoy his afternoon rose bush transplanting mission.


I loved this weekend. I just want one more day of it!

A good day!

Henry didn't get bit today!

... and again

Henry got bit again by the same classmate on the same spot on his arm today.  It's a good thing we aren't told which kid is the biter.  My poor little guy!

Our mature little guy got bit.

Yes, Henry got bit by a classmate today.  Boooooo....

Our Mature Little Guy

Henry changed rooms at the YWCA last week so that he could have three classmates closer to his age.  Typically, kids stay with the same teacher for three years, but since Henry's classmates got younger on him (The two new babies were around 14 weeks old.), we decided to take advantage of an open spot in a room down the hall.  

We are seeing a real difference in Henry since he switched.  It's obvious that he still loves his former teacher, Ms. Tammy, who continues to keep close tabs on him, but he also quickly accepted Ms. Candace and really, really seems to enjoy being around kids who are also running around and acting silly.  He is as happy as ever to see me when I pick him up, but he seems even more playful, and Cory reports that dropping him off is getting a little less traumatic, too.

We wrestled with the decision for a while, but we are so thankful that it's working out.

Easter 2009

We had such a wonderful Easter this year! It all started by a visit with Mema and Granddaddy on Saturday, which set the tone for Henry's eagerness to collect, throw, share, and re-collect Easter eggs.

Henry did a fabulous job finding the eggs that the Easter Bunny left all about our house on Sunday morning and then, later, at Grandjane and Grandjoe's house. We were a little concerned that Henry was getting a little too attached the the eggs, so it was a relief that the Easter Bunny came back last night to take his eggs back down the bunny trail so that he can reuse them next year. I think he's going green--reusing this year's eggs for next year.

Of course, no celebration would be complete without Henry putting something on his head.

I say, Ooooooooooo

We gave Henry "Snuggle Puppy" for Valentine's Day, and it recently became one of his favorite books, especially since we always start the reading/ singing by waving through the heart-shaped cut out on the cover.

The song goes, "Oooooo snuggle puppy of mine, everything about you is especially fine. I love what you are, I love what you do. Fuzzy little snuggle puppy, I love you." And then, the best part comes at the end when you give a "big smooch." (Daddy insists on singing, "Big Smooch," while I actually give Henry a big, loud kiss.)

Today, after we got home from a delicious lunch and lots of egg hunting at Grandjane and Grandjoe's house, Henry kept handing me the book to read, and it took me a few times to discern that he was singing to me each time that he handed it to me. He would sing in that sweet singing voice of his, "Ooooooo..." Then, perhaps even a little cuter, he started singing, "Ooooooo.... " followed by a big smooching noise!

Ooooooo... I sure do love my little snuggle puppy!

Creating a Cookie Monster

Today was my last day as Development Director for Homes of Hope. It was a bittersweet day as I was sad to leave, but my always thoughtful coworkers presented me with a beautiful custom cookie bouquet. They know that I love, love cookies!

We received a similar bouquet from my Homes of Hope friends when Henry was born, and some of you got to sample the cookies. I remember thinking that Henry got to enjoy them, too, as those cookies were my main sustenance on the day we came home from the hospital.

Well, he must have some memory of their taste. He caught one glimpse of the cellophane wrapped arrangement and immediately began his frantic, "more, more!" that he uses for periods of extreme hunger.

I couldn't resist... we are creating a cookie monster, I'm sure--especially since the cookies are as big as his face!

Speckled Hen-ry

The spots just kept on coming. We were giving Henry benadryl to ward off further outbreak, but it just wasn't working. By Saturday afternoon, his arms, hands, legs, feet, and face were very swollen, and the spots were growing in size and number, so the pediatrician called in a prescription for prednisone since the reaction was getting progressively worse.

We are so careful about his diet and nutrition--eating organic whenever possible and avoiding milk and meat with added hormones. Now... we are giving him steroids. So, to heck with nutrition!

Any 14 month old going through this nastiness deserves his very own strawberry ice cream cone. (Followed by a bath.  Ahhhh... aveeno.)

Of course, Henry is a trooper and is handling it all with his typical smile. We love this boy and can't wait until he is all better. He is definitely looking better today than yesterday...

Spots and Labels

Henry is going to go through life with a label now--Allergic to Penicillin. 

We got a call from the daycare today, and they let us know that Henry had some strange red spots coming up on his back, diaper area, and torso but that they didn't seem to be bothering him.  I picked him up to take him to the pediatrician since, as the nurse was kind enough to point out, it's difficult to diagnose a rash over the phone.  By the time we got him to his appointment, the spots were growing in number, were larger, and spread to his legs and face.  It turns out that Henry was reacting to the augmentin prescribed for his ear infection.  Dr. Song checked out his ears, and the infection is completely cleared, so, thankfully, he did not have to switch to another antibiotic.  

We didn't know what to think when she was talking about what a cute and fun guy Henry is and asked, "How did you two end up with such a sweet boy?"  Was she implying that we aren't sweet?  How well does she know us?  What does she know that made her ask the same question we have been asking ourselves?