Month Sixteen

Dear Henry,

Happy sixteen months, little man. It should be noted that you are a mere twelve days away from being 500 days old. And also that as I write this I am sipping my second half glass of wine. (This means I've only had one glass of wine. Consider this your introduction to fractions.) I have to say that your pops and I couldn't be prouder of the person you are becoming. At every opportunity you completely win us over. And here we thought it was almost the end of our baby test drive and time to return you to the dealership.In some respects life is much easier now that you are signing. When you're hungry, you point to your mouth. When you find a particular food you enjoy, you sign "more" until you get your fill. When you want down, you point to the floor. But now there is an expectation that we'll understand everything you say, a feat that is not yet possible because we are not always able to decipher your various hand gestures, some of which are remarkably similar. Truthfully, we're just happy none of your signs include the middle finger. It's this expectation that gets us into trouble, though, because it does irritate you a bit when we seem confused and unresponsive while you are trying to communicate. Perhaps you'll be a bit more forgiving when you have a greater understanding of how many words there are in the world. We have noticed a dramatic increase in your food intake the past week or so. It's fantastic. The weirdest item on your list of preferred foods - frozen puréed broccoli. I kid you not. You'd be amazed the concessions we are willing to make as parents just to get you to eat. The new bed time game you created goes like this - 1. We put you to bed; 2. You throw your binky on the floor and when we come in to retrieve it, you sign "eat"; 3. We bring you out to the kitchen and offer you whatever food is handy; 4. You eat and get to stay up longer or you don't eat and we take you back to bed; 5. Repeat. You enjoy both milk and dark chocolate. I'll take responsibility for the milk chocolate if your pops will take responsibility for the dark. Since we don't always make the best parenting choices, we let you try a potato chip but it made you choke. Needless to say, you won't be getting those again until we can be assured you aren't going to retch when you attempt to eat them.You're gunning to have us change your middle name to "Danger". I have come to this conclusion after watching you with Beauty the wonder dog for several days. You are still helping pops with the chore of feeding her. In fact, you initiate the process by grabbing the dog bowl whenever you think she might be hungry. But now, once the bowl is filled and set down, you get super close, reach your hand in, grab a kernel of dog food, and offer it to Beaut. This is the very definition of brave, my son. There are a plenty of dogs who would bite your hand without hesitating. And then they'd take off part of your arm for good measure. It proves that you have managed to win over the heart of the dog. You love to go outdoors. As parents, we are both making a concerted effort to see that you get enough time outside the condo. I'm sure the novelty of the nearly 1300 square feet in which you live has worn off. We don't even have to mention going anywhere and you'll head towards the front door trailing your shoes. The best part is when you sit down and attempt to put them on yourself. Someday soon you'll be able to do all of these things yourself and then what are you going to need us for? You are due for another haircut already. And you've almost outgrown your first pair of toddling shoes. Just the other day we dressed you in your first bona fide 18 month sized clothing. You are learning shapes and colors. You have survived your first visit to the dentist. You love bath time but are less fond of having your hair washed and rinsed. Your reaction to the water I pour over your head is what keeps me from signing you up for another round of swimming lessons. The trauma of the first lessons hasn't dissipated despite all of the time that has passed. One of the absolute greatest things about having you with us is that you let us experience the novelty of this world with you. It's easy to overlook the wonder when you're an adult but it's wondrous to view it through your eyes. Thanks for sharing, bean.

Love,
Mom