Saturday, February 20, 2010

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!"

Thursday, February 18, 2010

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!

Sunday, February 14, 2010

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!

Saturday, February 13, 2010

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.

Monday, February 8, 2010

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."

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

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!