Henry's Repetoire

Henry turns one this Saturday! I cannot believe how quickly his first year passed, but even more so, I sometimes cannot believe that my little boy is that same tiny little baby who came home with us from the hospital. He made us beam from the start, but, oh how he makes us laugh now! He is especially entertaining since he regularly adds little words to his vocabulary.

I decided to start a week of celebrating Henry, and to kick it off, here's a list of his intentional word wealth.

In order of appearance:

Heeeeeeeey!
Da Da
Bye!
Ma Ma
Yeah
Uh Oh
Book
More
Ee i ee i (Old McDonald had a farm... )
Bowl
Ball
Block
Daddy
Penny (more like "Wlenny")
Bird
Thank you
Moon
Monkey
Dog
Moo
Light
Thereamoo (Here a moo, there a moo... )

It's fun to see what words he can learn, and it is especially neat to have him suddenly say a new word without our prompting. Interestingly, Grandjane seems to be the best interpreter. He must be so grateful to have someone who understands.

Full Measure of Happiness

The first black President of the United States (with a Muslim-Swahili name) was just inaugurated, and it suddenly feels very real that this country can, indeed, be a land of opportunity for everyone--that anyone can reach their "full measure of happiness."  I am filled with emotions but mostly find myself grateful for this day and for what it means to my son who knows very little unhappiness, save for some teething that sometimes wakes him at night.  I pray that today marks a road to repair for this country--his home where he will grow into adulthood and keep that amazing smile.

Daddy and I will talk to him about this day and tell him how it made us feel--how it made our friends and the whole world feel.  We will tell him about how we snuggled with him in our bed and watched as Barack Obama, son of an immigrant from Africa and product of a mixed-race marriage, made his acceptance speech, emphasizing hope, unity, and responsibility, on Election night.  We will tell him that he has a responsibility to love and accept everyone as we encounter God in each of his creatures.  It is our dream that we will work to be better people and that, in doing so, our son will be  one of "the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things."  

I love my God, my family, my world, and my country.  It is a GREAT day, even if the snow skipped Greenville!  

Get in the box, Henry!

My classes started back this week, and I find myself in a familiar place--struggling to keep up with classes, work, and family.  This time, though, it's a little different.  Not only am I getting home just as classes start, but I am chasing a VERY active Henry while waiting for Daddy to come home.  Henry crawls all over the place and is into everything--Penny's box included!  He thinks it's hilarious to get in there then squeal to get me to reach in and grab him.  I must admit that I only lock the door to keep him out after a couple of grabs. 

Actually, I'm wondering if I should lock the door while he is in the box.  He might not mind, and I could pay attention to class.  (See below guardian ad litem post.)

It's fun to stay at the Y.W.C.A.

Today was Henry's first day at his new, full time daycare program at the Greenville YWCA. Henry sported his new outfit from his Grandma Hughes, and he looked sharp as he plunged into the stacks of books, offering to read to me, the teacher, and even little Liam who lay quietly on his Boppy.

Henry is in a class with three other children, and I think that he is going to love it there. Josh and Caleb may be interested to know that two of his classmates are twin girls. They are also 11 months old, but Henry is the oldest by just a few days.

It was difficult to leave him, but it looked like he was about to enjoy some delicious yogurt snack and then plunge back into the books. Daddy and I went to pick him up this afternoon, and he was still busy reading and playing with other toys. He was exhausted but seemed quite content. So far, so good!

My Little Man

I recently read a baby.com or babycenter.com or baby something or another.com article that described an eleven month old's development as the beginning of seeing himself as a separate being.  This brief, matter-of-fact description somewhat fits our Henry for we are seeing his burgeoning independence and self-identity coupled with his strong personality.  It thrills me to watch Henry explore his world and to let us know with his one word commands what he wants.  "Book."  "More."  These days of shaky one and two steps make my heart jump with joy for my little man who is striving for more freedom from the constraints of floor crawling and furniture cruising.  At the same time, though, his efforts for independence tug at my heart, leaving me with visions of a kindergartner, driver, college student... the visions get out of hand! 

Henry's desire for independence must leave him with conflicting feelings much like my own, for he is clearly going through separation anxiety these days, wanting only his Mama, especially at nap and bed time.   It isn't easy, but I must admit some pleasure in being the preferred parent.  Tonight, I had to capture a photo of my sleeping baby who must still dream of me, right? 

WANTED: Guardian Ad Litem

Look at this poor boy with two bruised cheeks and a cut between his eyebrows!  We aren't sure how he got the original, smaller cut.  It was apparently worsened overnight, though, since I discovered an alarmingly larger cut this morning.  His fingernails were promptly clipped.  We hope for less than daily cuts and bruises going forward.

Bath Time Perils

What will 2009 hold for The Hughes Family?  What will we report as we track Henry's milestones?  Well, I have a feeling that we will be talking about falls, crashes, and bruises.  It only took a couple of days for Henry to experience his first face bruises--one obtained while on Christmas vacation and one, large cheek bruise from a cheek-first fall into the bath tub faucet while Mama and Daddy talked about the DSLR camera over which I continue to lust.  We acted quickly and wrapped him in his towel and held him while he cried very briefly until Mother Penny entered the room to make him giggle.  From that point on, however, he would not let go of me.  You can imagine Daddy's trials of diapering and dressing him while he clung to me and the quiet comedy of Daddy's Goodnight Moon narration from the ottoman as I rocked Henry in the glider.  

Despite the pending danger, Henry continues to love his bath time and having free range of the entire tub now.  He treats it like a small water park in which he is not obligated to follow the rules--especially the one about not standing so as to avoid injury.  (We also know that he pees in the tub as he stood to do so in his Grandma Hughes' bathtub.  Sorry!) 

This video clip is from Monday night, pre-fall.  It captures the typical after-bath Henry.  It does not, however, capture his newly acquired clapping skills as he seems to get very camera shy about it.  We'll keep trying to catch it!