What We’ve Learned: Week 42
A common insult around the rough and surly world of Rogers Park is “You Suck!” What follows is usually a throw down. However, I can say with complete confidence that Henry does not suck. He does, however, blow.
Let me explain.
Henry has several different type of sippy cups. For the most part, he gets the whole sipping process. Sure, there are some dribbles and he’ll toss the cup to and fro with reckless abandon, but when it’s in his hands, there’s a pretty good chance that he’ll actually get some liquid in his mouth.
We also have a couple of sippy cups that have a straw attached. (Like this.) Henry… well… Henry is a little bit confused with what to do.
We’ll give the cup to him, and he’ll wrap his mouth around the straw just like a pro. But instead of taking a big suck to get some of that refreshing water, he’ll blow. And not just a delicate blow. It’s a cheek puffing, lip rattling blow.
And after he exhales, he waits for some water to appear in his mouth, but there’s nothing. So he does it again. And again. And again.
And as much as I’d love to help him, I don’t know what exactly to do, how to show him the proper straw procedure. How do you help him? I know when the time comes, I’ll show him how to hit a baseball or throw a football or how to accurately grade a comic book, but how am I supposed to teach him how to suck?
It’s a good thing that he blows.
So other than Henry struggling with straws, what have we learned this week?
We learned that if Henry doesn’t become a professional hockey player when he grows up, he’ll probably be a botanist. That child loves — loves – any type of flora. Grass, trees, bushes, and especially flowers. For the summer months, our building’s back yard and the back open stairwell is covered with potted plants and blooming bushes. (A quick aside about those stairs: We all love living on the top floor of this building, mostly because we don’t have to listen to anyone clomping above us. But let me tell you, climbing those stairs is not easy, especially when you happen to carry a 20-lb baby. My back and knees are killing me!) Anyway, whenever we pass one of those flowers, Henry will reach out and grab a petal or a leaf or a stem or, if they’re out of arm’s reach, he’ll point to every bloom. Anything. When I’m holding him next to a tree, he’ll grab for the nearest leaf or, more often than not, he’ll rub his hands along the rough bark and squeal with delight. I can only hope it this love for plants will continue into his teen years when he’ll be mowing the lawn.
We learned that Henry continues to mess with our minds when it comes to his overnight sleeping schedule. One night, he’s up every two or three hours; the next, he sleeps all the way through. It’s gotten to the point that I’m waking up at 2:30 and 3:30 and 4:30 and 5:30 — even when he isn’t — because I’m expecting him to. So even when I should’ve gotten seven hours straight, it never works that way because my own body is used to waking up.
And we learned that Henry loves yogurt. Now, I’ve mentioned him eating yogurt before, but I don’t think I’ve ever really talked about how much he enjoys it. When I’m feeding him, he can’t hardly control himself when he sees me opening up the yogurt container. His legs start kicking and his arms start flapping. He leans forward and opens his mouth wide. Then, just after I shovel a spoonful in, he quickly gulps it down, makes a loud “mmmmm” noise, and leans forward and opens wide again. It’s gotten to the point that if I want to feed him something else (some veggies for his iron or prunes for his regularity), I have to intersperse those less appealing foods in between yogurt bites. If I dare to try and give him two spoonfulls of carrots in a row, he will shut his mouth and push the spoon away and will only eat again if he gets the yogurt. I’m fearing that we have a picky eater in our midst.
June 13th, 2009 at 7:47 am
Those pictures of him with the flowers are too precious. My nephew was the opposite–he hated touching grass or trees and would freak out if they set him on the grass. I think the texture felt weird to him. He’s over it now, but it was an odd stage he went through.