Fingerprints Thanksgiving Program

Fingerprints, the daycare the boys go to, had a Thanksgiving Program tonight. It will be a little odd to not have a Christmas program though it will be nice to not be so busy next month. All of the children were on stage together which shortened up the program but also didn't give me a chance to watch the kids in other rooms we know as my eyes were fixed on the boys the whole time . . and luckily they were right by each other.

Henry did great in his 1st program. He did not do much singing or perform many actions but he stayed on stage with a little smile on his face. We were almost directly in front of him. Knowing he saw us and didn't not start crying or trying to run towards us is a big in itself!

Ralph also did well though maybe not as energetic as some of his friends. He had been practicing this song for the past week and kept putting other words in place of the actual words thinking he was being funny.

Henry: Celebrating 23 months!

Henry is enjoying an ice cream cone after getting a haircut this afternoon. I didn't plan on getting a cone this large but couldn't find what I planned on getting. He did really well for his 2nd haircut and 1st time sitting by himself . .too bad the haircut does not illustrate how well he sat. Front looks the best since I hardly let her touch it!

Also taking advantage of one of the last nice days of the year, taking a ride on the barrel train! He can hardly get enough of it!

Has started a few 2-word sentences including "no mommy" and "ralphie night night?" The only 3-word sentence that easily flows out of his mouth is "no mommy no" and a few copy cat phrases "where'd he go" and "I don't know". The 'funniest' Henry-ism that has recently developed is calling GrandPA, GrandMA . . .grandma is still called grandma. If he is coaxed enough he'll usually say 'Grandpa' but his first attempt usually comes out 'Grandma'.

He does not have much interest in telling anyone he is wet or poopy during the day but has already learned to use it as a stalling technique in going to bed. He has also told me "wet . . .diaper" in the middle of the night during one of his insommia nights. Another stalling technique in going to bed is to ask for a tissue . . many, many times. He may ask to "rocky, rocky" (rocking chair) again after lights out.

He will assist in pulling up the front of his pants, does not much care to wear his winter coat nor his winter hat (stocking hat), likes to pull his socks off (or try to), and WILL NOT wear 1-piece zip-up footed jammies - I've tried twice now and he pulls at them until I change him back to 2 piece jammies which could be part of the reason he is waking up since he is not as warm as he could be. Most pullover shirts need to be stretched beyond 'normal' to fit over his head that seems larger than average. He is wearing size 18 mo pants, 24 mo shirts that are still a little big, and size 5 toddler shoes.

Henry goes up the stairs by holding on to the side of the wall or crawling. Never quite liked going down the stairs backwards feet first while on his tummy. Likes to scoot down on his bottom and try to walk down the stairs. He likes to flip light switches up and down but is not tall enough to reach them by himself yet. He also likes to close doors shut.

Last weekend he was diagnosed with an ear infection in one ear, inflamed but not infected ear in the other ear, and possibly the start of pneumonia. Since the treatment is the same for all we avoided the xray for the official pneumonia diagnosis and are hoping the antibiotic does its job. After a few rounds on the antibiotic his sleeping greatly improved . . .for a few days. I'm pretty sure I left him alone wide awake for 2-3 nights and he didn't make a peep when I left. In the last few nights he's regressed back to his old ways at bedtime and the need to have someone lay on his floor at somepoint throughout the night.

The 'terrible twos' have started a little early. His tantrums are really kind of cute as he dramatically lays on his tummy in protest to whatever he does not like. He does like to tell me "no" while hitting me . . and sometimes kicking while he is being changed. He has also gotten into the bad habit of biting to defend himself. Sometimes it could be called a 'love bite' as he routinely bits my should when I pick him up to give him a hug. He seems to be good at saying "sorry" when directed - must have had some practice at 'school'.