Big Day... Huge Day!

The Law Office of W. Cory Hughes, LLC officially opened its doors today!  (The closet/ home office doors)

Henry is the proud son of a Daddy who decided to step out and make it on his own.  Sure, things didn't happen the way we always talked about, but Cory's decision isn't just based on circumstances but knowledge, experience, and planning put on fast forward.

It's a good fit.  I think Henry and I have long imagined Daddy as his own boss.

We appreciate the prayers and support of our friends and family.  This waiting and weighing time was pretty stressful, and there's no way that the coming weeks and months won't contain its own stress, so please continue to keep us in your prayers... and thoughts... for referrals.

Yes, M'am

Henry says, "I m'am" for "I am."

"Yes!  I m'am!"

We love it.

Checking Up

Daddy took Henry to his 2 year checkup today where he was, once again, pronounced long and skinny.  He now weighs 24.5 pounds (a pound and a half less than we were expecting based on visit less than two weeks ago) and is 36 inches tall.

Where does he chart?  He's in the 11th percentile for weight and 88th percentile for height.

Dr. Song told Daddy that Henry needs only annual checkups at this point, so she gave him a list of things that he should be developing over his third year.  We could already check off every one except for being able to count to 20.  Henry counts to 13 then goes to 16, 18, 11, 13, 16, 19, 17, 20!

Sooooo... Henry excels in everything except for weight gain.  We'll take it!  Plus, as you can see from his above photo, he's currently enamored with eating at his table with the chair under the kitchen table.  Maybe it will increase his appetite.

And maybe we should make him sweat less.

There will be poop. Eventually.

Here's an unintended consequence of Henry wearing his big boy underwear... he hasn't pooped since Saturday morning.

Good luck, Henry.  You did great today with only one accident just before bath time.  You gotta poop soon, though, kid.

** On a side note, we did offer him a diaper to help take care of business, and he warned us that, "I will poop in it.  It will be dirty."  He didn't make good on his threat, though. **

***** On a side, side note, I do apologize for the potty talk, both to our current readers and our future literate Henry. *****

Under where?

 

Here's Henry in his first pair of underwear, one of the 7-pack we purchased from Target this evening.  He picked the Mickey Mouse variety.

We are very nervous about this step.  His teachers have been hinting that he's ready for underwear only to be met with our blank stares.  We'll see how it goes.  And, no, he's not sleeping in his new underwear tonight.  There are diapers under his pajamas.

First Frisbee Foray

Today was beautiful, so Henry joined us for his first frisbee golf match this afternoon at Timmons Park.  Daddy and I used to play this game almost every afternoon, weather permitting, when we lived in Chapin.

We're older now.  We needed a caddy.

 He helped Daddy and me get our groove back.

There was no doubt that Henry loved this chance to be outdoors and getting the frisbee, or all the frisbees, in the basket.

Here's his face after tossing a couple of frisbees in the basket and saying, "I'm so happy!  Here's my silly face!"

 

We found his sport.  It allows him to talk the whole time, throw something, and run around creeks, leaves, and mud.  Are there frisbee golf scholarships?   

Backfire Words

We try to encourage Henry to "use your words" when we note the beginnings of an escalated and frustrated pitch in his cry or repeated "No!"  It sometimes helps him to remember to explain what's making him upset before it turns into a full on melt down.

Yesterday morning, Cory emailed me to tell me that Henry was in a very good mood and that he kept bringing him books to read and toys to play.  Daddy explained to Henry that he had to finish getting ready for work but that Henry could read and play by himself.

A minute later, he came running back to Daddy and said, "I want Daddy to read book RIGHT NOW!" Then, he got a very serious look on his face and sternly said, "I made words to you, Daddy!"

Early to bed...

Henry's bedtime used to be at 7:30, but our schedules and the time Henry spends sitting on the potty reading the Geotrax flyer pushed it out to around 7:45 for the past week or so.

Tonight, Henry requested his bi around 6:00.  I advised him that he could only have it if he was going night night.  He elected night night and went to sleep around 6:15.  An hour later, I heard him talking and detected "Mama" and "get my."  I assumed he dropped his bi and either wanted me to find it or to get out of bed.

I went in his room and was gladly about to scoop up my sleepy little guy when he thrust a dry diaper towards my face and said, "I took my diaper off."  His comforter was wet, but, thankfully, the sheet was dry.

I'm pretty sure that he was deliriously sleepy and only half awake.  I hope he gets the rest he needs and leaves his "different diaper" on the rest of his long night of rest!

This is the race that doesn't end. It just goes on and on my friend.

Some people started it watching it not knowing what it was, and they'll continue watching it forever just because...

 This is the race that doesn't end.

It just goes on and on my friend.

Some people started watching it not knowing what it was.

 And they'll continue watching it forever just because...

Happy Valentine's Day and Congratulations to whoever finally won the Daytona 500!

The Snowy Day(s)

Friday afternoon's snowfall and outdoor play promised a fun-filled Saturday morning.

The snow continued to fall as we ate candy leftover from Henry's school Valentine's party and snow cream safely made from the second snow of the season.

The snow was beautiful and soft this morning, but Henry was OK with just letting me attempt to pack the powdery snow into what turned into just the bottom portion of our intended snowman. 

And since he was talking and talking about making a snow angel (an idea from "A Snowy Day"), he was also happy to watch me show him how to do it.

He was not so happy when the snow fell in his face while trying to manuever his arms to make his own angel.

Retreat!

The resulting angel was less than perfect as was our outdoor play.

We were content to sit around, snuggle, watch movies, and read books, which I found Henry doing all by himself.  I never get enough video and wish that I did today when I heard him reading parts of some of his favorite books.

So Proud!

Henry does famously with potty time just before his nightly bath, but he wasn't yet showing off his peeing prowess at school.  It was beginning to seem like he never would and that his teachers probably thought we were embellishing his potty skill set.

Today, wonder of wonders, he had a gold potty sticker when I picked him up!  When Ms. Nicole set the stage by asking Henry what he did today, he said, "I made a heart!"  When I asked if he also peed in the potty, he said yes but didn't seem to take much note of how proud I was.

Fast forward to bedtime when he employed a new and highly effective stalling technique--singing made up songs.  He first sang "Airplane in the Water" followed by "Heart is a Heart" then "Plane, Plane, Plane."

Daddy and I attempted to join in the song play and ended up making a few clever lines, and at the ending note, Henry said, "That's a good song, guys.  I so proud'you."

The Great Debate

Henry has a few bedtime stalling tactics, and one of the most successful ones is simply the conversation starter.

Last night, while Cory and I were trying to sing one last song with him, he blurted out, "Diesels are better."

Daddy and I disagree and almost slipped into a debate about steamers being better.  Interestingly, we think Thomas the Tank Engine would be appalled if he knew that Henry was siding with diesel engines!