ELMO

Over the last few weeks we have noticed Henry's increasing interest in Elmo. I'm not sure why toddlers fall in love with this character, but it definitely has some super natural powers. Let me back up, Henry has been extremely attached to his precious pacifier (aka paa). Each day he looked forward to reuniting with his paa during nap and bedtime. Some days he had a hard time parting with his favorite thing on earth, but the paa always stayed in the crib. Our goal was for the paa to be gone by 18 months and as we quickly approach that milestone, we decided to take the plunge and start the torture of sleeping without the paa. I pictured days, even weeks of crying and no sleeping, but thanks to Elmo our reality is a much different story. As I write this, I'm thinking for most people this is not a very thrilling post, but I'm just in such amazement. And for those of you who are ready to get rid of the pacifier, this might be helpful.
First, Henry was given a small Elmo plush toy/doll. He didn't show much interest in it until just recently. I think a big factor in his new love is Todd's nearly perfect impersonation of Elmo. Over several nights, Henry and Todd would play with Elmo and their fun sessions would always ended in the best belly laughs by all. Next, Henry and I would pretend to put Elmo to sleep by rocking him, covering him with a blanket, and giving him hugs and kisses. Yesterday, Henry brought Elmo upstairs and even put him in his crib. When I saw that I knew it the perfect time to switch the paa for Elmo.
Last night instead of Todd reading Henry good night books, Elmo did the reading. Then we asked Elmo if he wanted to sleep with Henry. Of course, he signed "yes" and then we asked Henry if he wanted Elmo to sleep with him. As we held our breath and hoped for the answer we were looking for Henry signed "yes"!
We waited and waited for the screams, but all we heard was silence! As I went to bed I was ready to be woken up in the middle of the night, but again nothing! So we made it through the night, but the next obstacle was nap. I'm so incredibly happy to report that right now Henry is sleeping (with Elmo and without his paa). Elmo (not sounding as great as when daddy does his voice) read books to Henry before his nap.

Now my only hope is that Elmo's magic can continue and Henry will soon forget about his first true love.

Blizzard 2010

What a difference a day makes! Yesterday was dark, windy, and snowing most of the day and night. Today the sun is out and hopefully melting away some of the 20 plus inches of snow that's covering the ground. Feeling a little cabin feverish, Henry and I decided to get outside and enjoy the snow. As usual, getting him ready and then taking off all of his layers took about the same amount of time that we spent outside, but nevertheless it was worth it. At some points during our travels through the yard, the snow reached past my knees (that's a lot of snow!). Every so often I would stop to ask Henry if he was "all done" or wanted "more" and each time he signed "more." So cute. He just loves to be pushed around on the sled and he really loves to go down hills. Each time he would go down he would end his trip with a little chuckle. Here are a few pictures of our winter wonderland and our little man enjoying all that white stuff!

Time to Talk

As I mentioned in my earlier post, Henry LOVES to play with cell phones. Ones that actually work are his fav. He can unlock mine and turn on the music in about 2.2 seconds. Here is a video from a few weeks ago. Since this was taken Henry has started to say "AAPPPP" when talking on the phone. I think it's his way of saying "Hi" (obviously). From this video I have learned that 1. Henry is always teething, notice the drool. 2. We need to invest in a chair for him (or at least a more comfortable basket) and the big shocker 3. Henry likes having his drawer closed, even more than talking on the phone.

Henry's First Production

Like his dad, Henry is very into his technology. His favorite "toys" to play with are cell phones, the PS3 controller, cameras, and t.v. remotes. He loves to see videos of himself and look through pictures on my phone and the computer. Recently, he even took up video production. Here is his first attempt at a home video. Try not to blink or you may miss his big moment.

Sounds and Signing

Warning: proud parent moment about to begin...

Everyday we are amazed at how much Henry understands. Although he is only saying a few words or at least sounds that resemble words, he can sign over twenty words and understands even more. We are so proud that he can tell us sounds that animals make like a cow, owl, and chicken. He can even tell us the sound a rooster says (minus the a-doodle-do part). You'll hear how close Henry's version of the animal sounds/signs are to the real thing in the video for all except one. Henry thinks (way) out of the box for his duck sound.