Henry 300

Henry - 300 days old

1. Monsieur Henry was born 300 days ago.
2. Henry weighs approximately 17 pounds, in his diapers.
3. And measures nearly 29 inches tall.
4. Henry is still quite loquacious.
5. He's increased his vocabulary to include "ma ma".
6. And something that sounds suspiciously like "ball".
7. He is also starting to wave.
8. Minus any actual waving - he just puts his hand up in acknowledgment.
9. Henry grows more charming every day.
10. He has really long eyelashes.
11. And a great smile.
12. But his laugh is a favorite of mine.
13. Because it's all tinkly and cute.
14. He is quite ticklish if you get him at the right time.
15. Under his armpits is a prime tickle spot.
16. So is near the inside of his thighs.
17. He often makes up his own mind about whether or not something is funny.
18. You can almost see him thinking things over.
19. Henry's gaze is intense.
20. When he wants to look at something, he really studies it.
21. He's been the star of several home movies.
22. One of them features his new best bud, Miss Avery.
23. He still enjoys a good ride in the sling.
24. For hanging out at the house, he prefers the Peanut Shell sling.
25. Where you can sit on his mom's hip and be a part of the action.
26. He loves to hang out with mom.
27. Sometimes his mom lets him play in the kitchen cupboards.
28. Particularly the one where the plastic stuff is contained.
29. He will go into the cupboard and pull out the stuff.
30. He can open drawers, too.
31. Which means he can also close said drawers unexpectedly on his little fingers.
32. He hates drawers when they pinch his fingers.
33. His little fingers can grab things.
34. Most things they grab end up in his mouth.
35. The most fun thing to pick up with his fingers are Hippie-Os.
36. Those taste good.
37. He has tried all sorts of foods.
38. Including combined foods like cheesy potatoes with leeks and peas and yams in chicken broth.
39. If he had to pick a favorite, it'd probably be apple and pear sauce with cinnamon and raisins.
40. But he loves blueberries and nectarines.
41. He's eating more cheese and yogurt to try and bulk up.
42. He thinks string cheese is fun.
43. And tasty.
44. Which makes it a pretty good food to consume as far as Henry is concerned.
45. Henry has even tried fish.
46. Walleye from Corbett Fish House.
47. And sole cooked at home.
48. Henry loves fish because it is tasty.
49. He's too skinny so he's eating a lot.
50. Henry is still a breast-fed baby.
51. But he drinks water.
52. He's almost got the sippy cup figured out.
53. But sometimes he tips the cup back too far and too fast.
54. And water floods the front of his shirt and makes him sputter.
55. He's much better drinking through a straw.
56. He learned this skill while on vacation in southern Utah.
57. Henry slept through his first plane ride.
58. He was nursing as the plane taxied down the runway.
59. And snoozing by the time the plane left the ground.
60. He woke up rather refreshed and in another state.
61. Henry does not appreciate rental car infant seats.
62. He particularly dislikes them after a long day in one.
63. He thinks rental car infant seats are better when you can eat string cheese while you sit in them.
64. Henry doesn't mind eating in the car.
65. He's not messy unless he tries to feed himself.
66. He likes to make unexpected grabs for the spoon.
67. Henry is now a champion sitter.
68. He can roll.
69. And flip over.
70. And pull himself up.
71. And crawl.
72. And discover.
73. He likes to eat flowers at the park.
74. And he likes to eat rocks.
75. He tried to eat many rocks while on vacation.
76. He was unhappy every time his mom fished a rock out from his mouth.
77. So he complained.
78. Luckily his attention is still easily diverted.
79. So he doesn't stay mad for long.
80. Henry has touched petrified wood.
81. And gone for a wee hike in the Zion Narrows.
82. Henry appears to like rivers very much.
83. He was very happy while hiking in the water at Zion National Park.
84. But his mom was wary of getting too close to the cliffs at Bryce Canyon.
85. Henry is called an organic baby at daycare.
86. Because he wears brown diapers sans cartoon drawings.
87. And because his mom provides his food.
88. And because he uses hippie bottles.
89. His daycare color is light blue.
90. So all of his things are marked with that color.
91. Including the little Tupperware bowls for his food.
92. He likes to play with his food bowls when the lids are on tight.
93. Henry has finished three paintings at daycare.
94. His mom thinks they are masterpieces but they aren't for sale.
95. Henry has his own blog.
96. And he can turn the pages of books.
97. But he doesn't always turn them in the right order.
98. For Henry, this does not affect the outcome of the story too much.
99. Henry's currently listening to Rufus M. before bedtime, if his mom is reading.
100. If dad is reading, Henry's listening to Proust.
101. Henry is wearing nine month clothes.
102. And some twelve months clothes.
103. And a few rather large six months pieces.
104. His feet are growing.
105. Henry is crawling so much he is scuffing his knees.
106. His mom wishes they made baby knee pads.
107. He is also bruising his legs.
108. His doctor said this is normal.
109. Henry loves his doctor.
110. His doctor may be his first older woman crush.
111. He likes to reach out to touch her hair.
112. Henry has his feet and hand prints taken when he was six months old.
113. His hands and feet are bigger now.
114. Henry likes to go to the park.
115. And he doesn't mind picking up Beaut's slobbery dog ball.
116. Henry had his first stew the other day.
117. And he appears to like beef.
118. So now his parents are sure that he is theirs.
119. But they weren't seriously doubting it after the whole birth experience.
120. Henry switched daycare and now gets to see Miss Erin B. every day.
121. Miss E.B. was the first baby to see Henry after he was born.
122. Henry is getting better at going to bed. <insert knock on wood here>
123. His parents hope this trend continues.
124. Sometimes he still wakes up to have some milks in the nighttime.
125. His parents don't mind giving him some.
126. Because, again, he is very skinny.
127. One those nights if he doesn't go right back to sleep, his mom will sometimes bring him into bed.
128. Henry still enjoys cosleeping with his parents.
129. He's good at sharing the bed.
130. He has a few toys in his crib - his doll, two dinosaurs, a lamb, and his woobie.
131. Henry is drawn to balls and cars.
132. His parents aren't sure where this interest comes from.
133. He also is very interested in technologies.
134. Like his parents' cell phones.
135. And his mom's iPod.
136. He has watched a cartoon on the iPod while getting his diaper changed.
137. But he didn't use headphones and couldn't hear anything.
138. Distracting Henry with technological toys is a way to keep him still long enough to fasten a clean diaper.
139. So Henry doesn't go racing through the condo with an exposed bottom.
140. Henry believes it is fun to pull on the leaves of the plant in the living room.
141. His mom does not find this behavior to be funny.
142. But he laughs at her when she tells him so.
143. And then tries to pull different leaves.
144. This may be an indication of what is coming as Henry gets older.
145. But Henry's parents hope for the best.
146. Pretty soon, Henry will be dropped off and picked up from daycare by his pops.
147. This will make Henry's mom sad but he'll get to see her when she gets home from school.
148. Henry has three pairs of shoes.
149. The other day he met his shoe twin at a store called Little Urbanites in the Pearl.
150. A younger baby was in a store wearing the same Resident Alien shoes that Henry was wearing.
151. Henry knows his shoes are cool because they sport an alien and a spaceship.
152. His other shoes have velcro bottoms and came from Noodle's mom.
153. These are Henry's "hippie" shoes.
154. His trendy shoes are called Oliver and are brown with green and yellow stripes.
155. But he won't be able to wear these much longer as his feet are growing.
156. Seemingly larger every day.
157. Which means that Henry's parents should expect a rather healthy shoe bill in the future.
158. Or they should just consider letting him run barefoot everywhere.
159. Henry has taken swimming lessons.
160. He didn't mind the water so much.
161. Or the other babies in his class.
162. But he disliked going under water.
163. And being handed off to the instructor.
164. Who always put him under water.
165. Henry left the country once to visit his father's homeland, downtown Canada.
166. Someday Henry will realize his mom is making fun of his pops when she says "downtown Canada."
167. Henry loves the animals in his house.
168. And Mabel loves him.
169. But Ellie keeps her distance.
170. And Beauty ignores him completely whenever possible.
171. Henry crawls on Beauty's bed to say 'hi'.
172. This action usually causes Beauty to get up and leave.
173. Unless Henry's parents force her to stay and be subjected to his petting.
174. Which is really more like an out of control slapping.
175. That is relatively harmless given Henry's size.
176. Henry has had his picture taken at least once a day every day since he was born.
177. His parents plan on continuing this for as long as they can.
178. Often they forget until Henry has gone to bed, so they have to get a shot of him sleeping.
179. Henry does not normally wake up at the sound of the camera.
180. And he doesn't usually wake up from the flash either.
181. When he is awake and his parents are holding a camera, Henry will often reach for the camera.
182. He's very comfortable having his picture taken.
183. There are more pictures of Henry around the house than anyone else.
184. Henry likes to look at the pictures.
185. He also likes to read books.
186. His unique way of reading books involves turning the book upside down.
187. He's learning how to turn the pages all on his own.
188. And he's starting to study the illustrations.
189. He's interested in the sign books that have pictures of other babies.
190. Henry loves the Mona Lisa art we have in the bathroom.
191. If you say "Where's Mona?", Henry will reach his arm out in her direction.
192. And when he sees Mona, he gets a huge grin on his face.
193. Henry has had several colds.
194. And a couple of fevers.
195. And he once had to get a shot of steroids to help with his cough.
196. Henry doesn't watch a lot of t.v.
197. Henry goes to sleep on his back but usually turns over to sleep on his stomach.
198. He also likes to sleep on his side.
199. Henry sits at the table to eat dinner with his parents nearly every night.
200. Henry is a sloppy eater.
201. Henry enjoys picking blackberries with his pops.
202. Because his pops feeds him berries.
203. And he thinks berries taste good.
204. Sometimes those berries miss Henry's mouth and end up staining the front of his shirt.
205. Henry likes water.
206. He's never had juice.
207. He takes fluoride to help prevent cavities.
208. Henry has gone to the zoo.
209. And the Bridgeport Village theatres.
210. And downtown Canada.
211. And southern Utah.
212. He likes to travel.
213. He still enjoys going for rides in his stroller.
214. And playing with Beauty the wonder dog at the park next door.
215. His mom occasionally talks to Henry in French.
216. And that makes him laugh.
217. Because her French isn't very good and Henry thinks the accent is funny.
218. Henry takes his old clothes to a local consignment shop.
219. And his mom puts the money he makes into his piggy bank.
220. So far he's earned nearly $100.
221. Henry is saving for college.
222. Because Henry's parents hope he will go to college someday.
223. They plan on helping him pay.
224. As long as he keeps his grades up.
225. Henry laughs at his dad's funny noises.
226. He thinks his pops is a comedian.
227. He bats away the spoon when he's done eating.
228. He isn't signing yet but his parents expect him to start soon.
229. Henry's mom still thinks his first sign will be the sign for kitty.
230. Henry often falls asleep with Mabel in the crib.
231. He's getting better at going to sleep by himself.
232. But sometimes he still cries.
233. And he definitely prefers to have milk before bedtime.
234. His mom sings 'You are my Sunshine' to him as a lullaby.
235. Henry listened to 'The Tale of Despereaux' and 'My Side of the Mountain' and 'The End of the Beginning'.
236. Henry's next bedtime story will be 'Beyond the Deepwoods'.
237. And after that he'll get to listen to his first Hardy Boys book.
238. Henry can crawl very fast.
239. He likes to stop and check to make sure you are either watching him.
240. Or following him.
241. He moves with purpose, particularly when he sees something he wants to get.
242. Like the dog's water bowl.
243. Or the cat's tail.
244. Henry occasionally helps his mom in the kitchen.
245. Most of his help centers around emptying out the cupboard containing the plastic dishes.
246. He also enjoys the loud sounds he can make by banging lids he finds in the lids drawer.
247. But Henry is removed from the kitchen whenever his parents need to open the oven.
248. Henry has his own Chuckit dog toy.
249. Because the dog's toy was too gross for him to play with.
250. He even has his own tennis ball that goes with it.
251. Henry doesn't realize why this is confusing to the dog because he thinks pretty much everything is his.
252. Henry has gone on a couple of rides in the Burley trailer.
253. He hates his helmet.
254. And always tries to take it off.
255. So his parents only ride on the trail by their house because there is no danger of meeting cars on it.
256. Henry is old enough to sit on his retro chair.
257. And he also sits in his Adirondack chair.
258. His parents plan on buying him a beanbag chair next.
259. Henry is getting stronger every day.
260. His mom is teaching him to brush his teeth.
261. Although he doesn't quite understand the concept of brushing.
262. He normally just chews on the toothbrush bristles.
263. Henry would sleep sideways on the bed if his parents would let him.
264. Henry likes music.
265. And sometimes will smile when his parents dance with him.
266. Henry prefers to stand in his highchair.
267. When he's done eating his Hippie-Os he often scoots them onto the floor where the dog can get them.
268. Henry is not afraid to give Beauty a treat.
269. But he only does it when his parents are nearby.
270. When Henry has a cold, his parents call him a 'snot rocket'.
271. Henry gets to see his doc next week to check his weight.
272. He appears to be gaining weight.
273. But it's hard to know for sure until his weight is actually taken.
274. Henry gets to look at stars beamed on the ceiling at night.
275. He takes baths more than showers.
276. His favorite bath toy right now is the watering can his grandparents from Montana got him.
277. He learned how to blow bubbles with a straw.
278. And he's recently started dipping his face into the bath water to blow bubbles.
279. Henry uses Burt's Bees bubble bath.
280. It makes him smell good.
281. Henry doesn't mind shopping with his mom as long as she keeps moving at a reasonable pace.
282. He doesn't like to stand still for too long.
283. Henry kicks off his blankets at night.
284. Henry can be very loud.
285. Or very quiet.
286. He likes to babble in the car.
287. Occasionally he can see his mom through the mirror in the backseat.
288. This makes him smile.
289. Henry thinks keys are yummy.
290. He also likes whipped cream and ice cream - pretty much the entire cream family.
291. Henry finds freeze-dried fruit to be weird but tasty.
292. Henry needs a haircut.
293. Henry wears a lot of orange and brown clothing.
294. Henry likes the house to be set at 73 degrees Fahrenheit.
295. Otherwise it's too hot for him.
296. And being too hot makes Henry cranky.
297. He enjoys unrolling rolls of toilet paper.
298. Henry loves his pops.
299. And his mom.
300. And he is loved by them.