The Birds and the Bees

We trusted my parents to keep Henry for a whole weekend, believing that they would care for their precious grandson as if he was their own. Surely they would teach him all that they love about this world--well, the age appropriate stuff.

Now he's obsessed with the birds and the bees.

Today, on the way home from school, he pointed out and exclaimed, "Byrr!" for every bird that flew over us. And then he began to frantically cry for "Bee! Bee!" this evening after his bath, only settling down after I took him outside to look for bees. Sadly, our yard simply doesn't have the same level of attraction for insects and birds that Grandjane's flower-filled yard does.

Thanks, I guess, for teaching Henry about birds and bees. One less thing to worry about.

United and Reunited

We headed to Columbia this weekend for an amazingly joyful time of celebration for Shawn and his new wife Elizabeth. Congratulations Shawn and Elizabeth Willis!!! (This picture is from the week before Shawn asked Elizabeth to marry him. Doesn't it look like Henry was already congratulating Shawn--baby Sixth Sense?)

It was also a time of reunion with friends we haven't seen in quite a while--several years for a few. It did both Cory and me a lot of good to get out and play for an entire weekend and even stay out late for two nights in a row. But by Sunday morning, both of us were ready to hit the highway and head to Grandjane and Grandjoe's house to scoop up Henry and take him back to our house. It's good to be back together.

So sick, right?

Henry insisted that we all wear hats for our hot dog party tonight.

Then he did some daredevil stuff.

You give me fever

We are keeping a close eye on Henry this week. It seems that he picked up yet another virus, and this time he is running very high temperatures. The highest so far is 104.7. Yikes! Dr.Song wants us to return to her office if the fever doesn't go away in five days, but she does believe it's a virus that is apprently having similar effects on lots of kids around his age. So far, it seems that he is working on getting a very bad cold.

Thankfully, Grandjane is able to keep Henry while Daddy and I work. It really stinks to not get to be his caregiver during the day, especially since Henry's a really funny patient, but we are making the best out of the situation. Plus, I think Henry is enjoying his time with Grandjane--watching the birds, talking about the flowers, and keeping a close eye on one particular bumble bee.

Meet the Farrys

First, the Hendricks family, and then the Johnson family.  He had his namesakes covered.  Now Henry's in the process of spending time with and meeting some more of his extended family, and he added a Farry family reunion to his repertoire.  We were very, very late getting there on Saturday afternoon due to one of my professor's riveting assessments class, but we enjoyed our time at Nancy's house and with our Farry family.  I loved seeing everyone and am once again reminded that we come from some neat people.  He also had Elizabeth to ride in the back seat with him who picked up his pacifier over and over and over and over again.  Hendricks Johnson Hughes, you are a lucky boy!  

Play it again, Henry

Henry offers endless entertainment for us, and lately, it's in the form of piano music--that he plays with his butt. It's oddly melodious!

We Love Him!

Daddy took a couple of naps today in honor of Father's Day. Henry and I played when he wasn't sleeping, too, and we had a pretty good time. However, he made it very clear that I wasn't sufficient entertainment when he would look over at his slumbering Daddy and say, "Daddy night night?" Then he would whimper a little. Eventually, he just started playing with Daddy while Daddy snoozed.

Then, Daddy woke up, so Henry gave him a big kiss. (He leaned in for one, I should say. Henry's kissing lately consists of either an open mouth slobbery mess, a lean in with a lip smack somewhere in the air, or just a soft nestle of his forehead somewhere on your upper body.)

Daddy, we are glad you got to nap today! You do so much for our family, but it's not why we love you. We love you because you love us, and it's a lot more fun having you around than not.
Happy Father's Day!

Now back to Mama

Yea!  Henry is officially calling me "Mama" again!  He said it several times today, starting with when I got him out of his crib this morning.  He made it very clear, though, when I asked him whose picture was on my work ID badge, and he looked at me, grinned, and said, "Mama."  (Yesterday, he referred to the person in the photo as Daddy.  Truly, it's not my best picture, but, still...)  

He's also collecting a lot of random phrases.  Random, of course, makes them extra cute.  Here are a few garnered from last night's kitchen session.  You can tell he was "helping me" as I tried to pull together a weeknight meal.

"Hep me" (Help me)

"See... wha nes?"  (Let's see... what's next?)

"Where's ba?"  (Where's the box? ...

 of instant organic macaroni and cheese that tastes no better than the other nasty kind, which he hid in one of the kitchen drawers but wholeheartedly searched for when I couldn't find it.)

"Ss haa" (It's hot)

Daddy?

The doctors warned us... Henry might switch between Mama and Daddy as to who he insists holds him and be by his side as he grows nearer and nearer to the separation anxiety phase.  Henry chose Daddy about three weeks ago, and he hasn't turned back to Mama since.  However, we are a little confused and think that Henry might also be a little mixed up as to who's who.  He wants Daddy to hold him but often gestures for me while still desperately saying, "Daddy, Daddy."  We don't know if he really intends for Daddy to be the preferred holder, or if he just suddenly decided it was easier to call us both Daddy.  I haven't heard "Mama" in a really long time.  Admittedly, it's sort of nice to get a break, but I miss hearing him say my name--especially when I pick him up from the YW and he runs over to me only to begin to sob, "Daddy..."

No problem...

Henry went to sleep very easily tonight.  Of course, he was exhausted from playing outside for much of the day.

Good/ Bad

I rocked Henry to sleep tonight.  He was having a hard time falling asleep, so I had to intervene.  It was wonderful.  I love snuggling him in my arms and breathing in the smell of the top of his head.  But, was it a big mistake?  Will Henry fall asleep on his own tomorrow night, or will we pay for my indulgence?  Stay tuned...

Lay off the Juice

Henry had his well visit today, and it's confirmed that he remains overall healthy (despite his current sniffles) and developmentally sound. His vocabulary exceeds expectations, and his weight remains at a plateau of about 22 pounds. He's in the 11th percentile for weight and the 88th percentile for height. His weight is fine, but Dr. Song does want us to make sure Henry is getting enough milk each day. He already drinks a good bit, but we are going to cut out the watered down apple juice he gets almost each day and replace it with another milk serving. I can already imagine how very pleased he will be to return from some hard playing in the hot sun to take a big gulp of milk. Yum.

Fish and Friends

Debs flew in from Miami to Atlanta, which is reason enough alone for a road trip, but Gilmore also got us some tickets to go to the amazing Georgia Aquarium.  I love aquariums and am grateful that Henry got to visit such a rich and fascinating venue for his first aquarium occasion.  I'm also thankful that I got to spend some time with my good friends who were also super at entertaining Henry when manta rays and beluga whales just weren't quite enough.  

Thank you, Gilmore, for hosting such a superb Sunday and for a delicious brunch.  Thank you, Debs, for fetching Henry's pacifier over and over and for being on the watch just in case you needed to suddenly tickle his feet.  

Pool Time!

We took our first summer stroll to the neighborhood pool on Saturday morning.  Henry liked it but didn't love it.  We are going to take it slow so as to not scare our little guy.  He's surprisingly careful and becomes super concerned if Daddy goes under water.

Rolling down to the pool

Henry's eyeing the chick across the pool.

Belly Twitch

We headed to Music in the Woods last Saturday night for another evening of good music and got a special treat when the third act included a belly dancer who danced along to the somewhat haunting tunes of Wasted Wine.  The dancer mesmerized the otherwise very active children, and Henry was no exception.  He kept getting closer and closer until he stopped several feet away to watch the dancer.  Then, after staring at her for most of the song, he began to stick out this belly and twitch it from side to side!  This kid never ceases to make us laugh!  We are reminded, again, that he's watching our every move.  Daddy and I probably can't take him much further in his belly dancing skills, though.

We really enjoyed the whole evening, especially getting to share it with our friends and family.  Trail mix sharing Grandjane and Grandjoe were there, along with Christine, Darion, and Alexis, who Henry seemed to think came from Denver to hold his water bottles.  We also got to catch up with Linsey, Chris, and Niklas.  Niklas and Henry did a great job eating pita chips together.  My camera battery was dying, but I got a few good pictures that are posted under the "16 Months" album.

Chippie's a GIRL!

David, Stacy, Evan, and Anna are going to have a baby girl!  Anna got her wish for a sister.  Evan says he will be fine.  

Where to start?

Ugh.  Classes started back, but I just want to blog, blog, blog!  We had a very good weekend with family and friends, including another fun night at Music in the Woods and a last minute trip to Atlanta to see Gilmore, Debs, manta rays, and whale sharks.  I have to do classwork, though... will start back with some real blogging tomorrow evening.  For now, it's back to the DSM IV.