H. Hughes, M.D.

We made a visit to Surfside to help Henry's Granddad recover from recent surgery since we believe Henry's laughter to be the best medicine.  We arrived late last Friday evening and quickly realized that we were the tired ones. Henry's Granddad seemed be doing quite well and made our dinner on Saturday evening.

Being somewhat biased, I happen to think Henry's pending visit contributed to some speedy recovery.  Perhaps his hugs provided maintenance, too.

We had a busy weekend.  The Cherinkos and an abundance on no-see-ums joined us for some playtime at Huntington State Park. 

Penny has a new BFF.

No trip to Surfside would be complete without a Murrells Inlet marsh walk--especially since Henry loves boats, bikes (there was one), and birds.  It was perfect Sunday stroll for him.

We left Surfside feeling pretty confident that Henry's visit offered the right medicine.    

Momentous!

We just got back from a trip to Surfside, and Henry, despite the lack of a nap, stayed awake for almost the entire trip.  Of course, he fell asleep right as we passed the first Simpsonville exit.

He always falls asleep just before we get home, and he never, ever stays asleep during the transfer from car to house.

Guess what.

He stayed asleep!  I unlocked the house, Daddy gingerly lifted the little guy out of the car seat, and I tip-toed behind with the blankets.  He has a wet diaper, sticky hair, and fuzzy teeth.  But he stayed asleep, people!

Motor Mouth

Yesterday's daily log from school included a note from Mrs. Jennifer saying, "Henry talked a lot about his new shoes today!" She said that he talked to her about his "new shoes" all day and woke from his nap talking about his shoes and socks. Today, she and I agreed that he pretty much says whatever he needs or wants to say at this point and clearly understands most of what we say.


He also repeats just about everything he hears, so we are trying to check ourselves before saying a few of our seldom thought about but less than appropriate words like "stupid." I actually find myself selecting more appropriate words in all settings now, but it's just a matter of time...


Some of our favorites lately are:

• "Bush a bees!" (Brush your teeth)
• "No, David!" "Be ki-ette, David!" (He's a huge "No, David" fan and randomly quotes it.)
• "Poop a poddy!" (Usually just after a messy diaper but before running towards his bathroom)
• "Don' 'ike" (Usually heard at any meal and just before he drops some morsel of food on my arm, refusing to even try it)
• "H-E-fii-sis-semmen!" (spelling "Henry" mixed with some numbers)
• "Monster shirr, monster pans!" (Requesting his "Monster Party" pajamas)
• "More hand?" (Requesting some more deli ham)
• "Mama's at race!" (I went grocery shopping last night, and Henry apparently thought I went to a race since I wasn't there to kiss him good night.)
• "Where arrr uuu?" (Where are you, followed by the person or object in question. For instance, "Where arrr uuu, soap?")
• "Hursh, Penny!" (He thinks it's his job to get Penny to stop barking now.)
• "Henry do it."
• "Mama do it."
• "Daddy do it."

Actually, a lot of his sentences and phrases begin with "Henry" now. Here is his recount of our vacation:

• "Henry ride a bike." (Not true)
• "Henry ride a hair-mane." (Referring to the airplane)
• "Henry ride a boat!"
• "Henry frow a-norns in a wadder!" (We did a ton of acorn throwing.)

He has lots of short commands that we follow without question:

• "Fu-ball!" (Pointing to the TV-he likes to watch it.)
• "Wheels!" (We're to immediately start singing "The wheels on the bus go round and round...
• "P-ple say?" (We're to immediately start singing "The people on the bus say shhhhhh... )
• "Milk say?" (We're to immediately start singing "The milk on the bus goes... " Yes. That's right. Milk. But you better start singing, no matter the oddity, be it milk, hats, cats, dogs, cars, trucks, or we do not have a happy kid in the backseat!)
• "Babbits!" (The Annie's brand snacks mostly come in the shape of rabbits, and he loves the snack mix. We do, too, actually.)
• "Out-sii?" (He does NOT want to come back inside. I'm sort of happy that Mrs. Jennifer has to also practically drag him inside from playing outside. Sometimes I think it's just me.)
• "Les'go fas!" (He can really be slow walking sometimes, so it's nice when he picks up the pace.)
• "Help?" (I'm so glad he asks.)
• "Nudder book." (Henry, Daddy, and I read a lot of books each night. A lot.)
• "One, Two!" (He tricked me into thinking that he and Daddy gave Penny two treats each morning, but we just discovered that it's just me letting him give her more than one.)

Wow. I'm reading this abbreviated list and wondering how we knew what to do with ourselves before Henry came along.

Foul Mouth

Henry's teacher told me this afternoon that he was cracking her up and that she hoped not to offend me but wanted to describe the situation. I assured her that I wasn't easily offended so long as it was funny.

Henry was standing atop the the classroom slide, pointing out the window and telling his buddy Sadie about the truck outside just beyond the playground. Sadie was apparently not paying quite enough attention for Henry repeated "Truck! See it?" Sadie, still not understanding the value of Henry's observations warranted several more excited repeats of "Truck! See it? See it?"

Henry can't pronounce the "tr" sound. He replaces it with the "f," or, if we're lucky, the "fr" sound. Henry also sometimes combines words, slurring them together when he gets emphatic. The word "see" can sometimes sound like "she" quickly followed by "it."

Let's hope that Sadie didn't do any of her own repeating at dinner tonight.

Night at the Museum

Tonight, Henry hauled rocks in a wheelbarrow, dumped some more of them out of the tractor bucket, then supervised a major brick transfer.
He also brushed some giant teeth, helped milk a cow, stood inside a tree trunk, and cooked a meal to delight the taste buds.Henry had just enough time to complete the grocery shopping, remembering to pick up apple juice, salad dressing, and sugar before managing to get in some water recreation.

Outdoor living

We are taking advantage of the beautiful weather and hanging out in our yard and on the porch whenever possible.

Cory had to clean out the tent after some damp camping last weekend, so Henry got a chance to try it out for the first time.
He loved it.
I came home with the goods to grill, and Henry found a new use for the grocery bag.
He walked to the tent this way...... then went down for "night night." Silly, silly ham! It was the cutest walking bag I ever saw in my entire life!We also figured out that Henry eats pretty well outside, so we had a simple picnic in the front yard tonight. It gave Henry a chance to just take some bites in the midst of running around and picking up leaves and sticks.
I am grateful for these simple times with my fellas.

Penny's turn

We left Penny at a doggie day care/ kennel while we were in Maine, so when we were reunited, we decided to take her to the dog park to treat her to some additional play time that she surely got used to while we were gone. It also gave me a chance to photograph her.

I think I forgot how beautiful she is.The quirks? I could never forget them. She did her usual emptying of the doggie water fountain to the delight and puzzlement of other people in the park. She ignored other dogs so that she could concentrate on catching the rain drops.
We also took Penny to Legacy Park last night to join us for a picnic and some running around. I didn't realize that there were going to be some water attractions which made for some massive leash negotiations.
Which also got her nice and worn out.
Of course, we got pictures of Henry, too.I just find my whole family to be so captivating and am glad that Penny gets her moments to shine, too. She's an important part of Henry's life, and I think he might learn some rather strange tricks from her. It's good that you all will know from whom he learned to love water drops.

The stats

Henry had his well visit today which he actually walked away from with a prescription to clear a minor sinus infection.  He was well enough, though, for a flu vaccination, so we are feeling a little less worried about that creepy germ we are hearing so much about these days.

Henry's still, yes, you guessed it... skinny.  He topped the scale at just over 23 pounds, less than a one pound gain from the last checkup.  He's still tall, but his length growth is slowing, so he's now at 33 1/4 inches and in the 68th percentile.  The pediatrician says he's still just tracking long and thin, and I sure wish I could hear the same from my doctor!

Now, if anyone has any ideas about how we might get the world's pickiest eater to eat something besides fruit, we are open to suggestions.  It's too bad we aren't in Surfside eating some birthday cake with Nana.  Happy Birthday, Nana!  

Sick = Lax

Daddy is in Atlanta for the race while Henry and I stayed home today. I must admit that I enjoyed having a day to spend entirely with and focused on Henry. We're both under the weather, so I think we were warranted some perks otherwise totally not allowed.

TV time? Of course! We're sick! (It also gave me a chance to just hold him on the couch for a while.)
Eating snacks right out of the bag? Shoot, yeah!  It's something he'll actually eat!
There are some rules that can bend for the sake of snuggles, grins, and full, adorable bellies.

Are you ready for some football, family?

Today was special.  It was Furman's first football game, and it was a good one.  Well, at least we know for sure that the first half went well against PC's Blue Hose.  We caught the rest of it via moments on television since Henry, who managed to stay through the thrilling  half time show, isn't feeling too great due to a bad cold.  We knew it was in his best interest to get him home in time for an as-close-as-possible-to-normal-bedtime.  

Today was also special because Aunt Kayce drove to spend it with us and even kindly attended the Furman game sans Wofford attire.  The above picture looks like we're sitting in a park or something, but it's just the beautiful and shaded family lawn section in Paladin Stadium.  We were there early to make sure we heard Grandjoe's Invocation before the game.  

Here's a picture of the new score board projecting Grandjoe's prayer.  Yes, I took a picture during the prayer. 

We didn't tailgate this time, but Henry made sure we were well fed during the game.  Resistance was futile.  Germs were spread.  Kayce will probably be sick very soon.  Oh, well.  What's family for if not to take random photos and spread germs?

Whaaat?

I met Cory in the parking lot of the YW so that I could whisk Henry away to attend a Homes of Hope groundbreaking this afternoon.  The first thing I noticed as they approached the car was that Henry was wearing his backup outfit.  

Did he get wet during water play?  Did he have an especially messy lunch... or diaper?

Nope, he broke the metal portion on the strap of his adorable overalls during nap time.  Only one piece of the missing two were found.

Seriously?  Who breaks their clothes?