What's Henry up to these days?

Our happy kid is quite pleased with himself and his accomplishments.  We find him clapping and cheering, "Yea!" for himself when he completes a task like nesting his blocks or putting away a toy.  

He is taking an especial liking to sitting in rocking and stationary chairs as well as any available step or ledge lately, and I imagine him saying, just like my mom's mom used to say, "It sits well."He continues to love to be read to and to read us, citing "moon," "duck," "dog," "bubbles," and other frequently seen illustrations.  His love of books also includes their uncanny ability to be scattered about in random places such as our garden tub or in Penny's box.
He is still getting bit far too often in daycare, and we know exactly which child is biting him. Yet, he still seems very happy with his teachers and classmates and recently began talking about them at home. We frequently hear about "Mia, Zach, Wawa." (Jeremiah, Zack, and Laura) We met with the YW director last week and know that they are doing their best to thwart the bites as well as teach the habitual biter to cope in other ways. We were asked if we have any ideas, and for some reason, the director shot down all of my suggestions.

Henry is also fairly proficient in clothing removal and can also put clothes in his hamper.  (This accomplishment can bring on a cheer, too.)  He continues a love affair with shoes, and he is now attempting to put them on all by himself.  It's a little frustrating for him, though, that he has no real success at it yet.  

Walking is definitely secondary to running for Henry these days.  He runs inside and out and had a supremely good time running around with his cousins last week.  

It's no wonder he gets really, really tired sometimes.  

Our boy is growing so fast that it can feel like we can't keep up with him.  This catch up post was fun for me.  Henry is a neat kid, and I love looking back on and  looking forward to good times with him.

High Expectations

No pressure, Chippie, but you have a really fun brother and sister... good luck keeping up! Henry cannot wait to meet you!

Reunion by the lake

There is a theme lately--family, unions, and reunions. Not a bad theme!

We spent a delectable and pleasant July 4th at lake Marion with family. We don't see Cory's Aunt Walton and family nearly enough, so it was nice to spend an afternoon eating, chatting, and getting in a little swimming with our family. Henry and I also worked in a nap. I can think of no better way to celebrate the birth of a nation!

We are looking forward to the next reunion and feel certain that Marie will except no excuses for non-attendance next year. Be forewarned!

This reunion specifically gave Henry a chance to spend a little bit of time with his Granddad...
... and some more special time with Nana.

Nana?

It sure has been a long time since my last post, and it's certainly not because we haven't been doing anything. Actually it's quite the contrary. We have been super busy, starting with a fun-filled long July 4th weekend.

We were invited to attend Brad and Kelly Northington's wedding, and since we were excited to be there to witness the union, we asked Nana if she would mind including a little babysitting in her holiday weekend.

She accepted, and we are grateful! So is Henry. He loved having Nana here for a weekend.

They had a lazy Friday on July 3rd...
complete with some picking and grinning...
a trip to Whole Foods for some gelato...

Then it was time for Mama and Daddy to go to the church to listen to my brother perform a beautiful wedding ceremony in which Stacy looked equally beautiful as a bridesmaid while Evan and Anna made every single witness "awwwww" when Evan tried to hand David the ring pillow and Anna offered her flower basket. Who knows what went on at our house! We do know that Henry woke up on the July 4th asking for "Nana." He still will ask for "Nana?" when either seeing her picture or gatching glimpse of a woman with similar hair who we seem to spot from time to time downtown. Nana certainly made an impression!

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.