What We’ve Learned: Month 23
I’ve mentioned in the past that Henry’s talking up a storm, and that’s really great because it has made for a smooth transition between baby-hood and toddler-hood. Many a tantrum has been nipped in the bud because we’ve been able to ask Henry what was wrong or what did he need or whether or not he wanted yet another sausage link. (He usually does.)
And, of course, every time he starts to talk, he usually says something pretty hilarious (causing Kristen and I to have to stifle our laughter).
But the craziest thing that he’s been doing of late is telling us exactly what he wants to eat. No, not asking for tacos or spaghetti or ice cream. He’s been doing that for months.
What he does is ask for specific pieces of food on his plate.
You see, we’ll have a bowl of ravioli sitting in front of him, and after he’s done feeding himself and wants some help, he’ll direct us to feed him that-one-right-there-no-Daddy-the-other-one-yes-Daddy-that-one pasta.
“That one!” he’ll say, pointing to something that’s hidden under cheese and sauce.
“This one?” I’ll ask.
“No, daddy, that one!”
And so on and so on until the bowl is empty. And then he’ll ask for the pasta on my plate, and when that’s all done with, he’ll go after Kristen’s. (We think he’s going through another growth spurt.)
It’s not just pasta. It’s soup, it’s hot dogs, it’s ice cream (do you know how difficult it is to figure out exactly which part of the scoop he’s talking about?).
But at least he’s eating (and eating a lot) and he’s talking. We’ll gladly put up with the specificities.
So, other than Henry directing his every move, what else have we learned this month?
We learned that Henry can count up to twelve. Sure, he really doesn’t understand the concept of the numbers up that high, but it’s cute and wonderful and every time he does it, we all clap and give him hugs and kisses.
We learned that Henry’s hair is getting curlier and curlier. I don’t know where he’s got it from, but his hair is just going wild of late. When it’s humid out — and this summer has been brutally humid — it curls up like he just got out of the salon with a perm. His blond hair we can explain — both Kristen and I were blonds when we were really young — but neither of us had hair like that. Because of these remarkable curls (which at first were just in the back but now are at top of his head), Kristen has not allowed for scissors to come near his head. It will happen soon — maybe before he turns two — but for now, he’s still wonderfully shaggy.
We learned that Henry likes ice in his water. In fact, he demands it. He’ll grab a cup of water, look inside, and if he doesn’t see an ice cube floating, he’ll toddle over to the freezer and try to open it up. This really isn’t a problem — ice is plentiful around here — but it can get a bit rough when were outside or in the car and there’s no ice to be found.
We learned that sometimes Henry can say things and be cute and charming that would otherwise be a little bit… strange… if an adult said it. For example, he was on the potty and had a poop. It was a little poop, so when he stood up and looked at what was in the potty, he said, “Ladybug.” That was funny for hours.
And we learned that Henry’s idea of a perfect morning is to get on the CTA elevated train with Mommy or Daddy and just ride for about an hour or so. He loves everything about the train — the tracks, the stations, the people coming in and going out of the cars — and it’s inevitable that as we’re heading home, 10 minutes or so from our stop, Henry will put his arm around one of our necks, lay his head on our shoulders, and fall asleep. That’s when Kristen and I like the train.
