Our 18-Month-Old Henry

I'm a little late, as Henry was been 18-months-old for two weeks now. Henry's nap time--my free time--consists of sleeping (usually) and cleaning (sometimes). I love this stage. Love it. Fell in love with it when Brendon and I were nursery leaders. Now, as a parent, it is even more fun. Hard and demanding, but fun and rewarding.

Thoughts from his mother:

I always feel sad when I think of how little time I have left with just me and my buddy, but Henry always reassures me when he hugs the babies and the girls his age at the park that he will be a great brother. He is such a sweet, sweet boy. I love his tender heart. I have always had high expectations for my oldest child and am so pleased with Henry and absolutely thrilled that he is the oldest sibling.

Henry continues to be the happiest boy I've met and has recently started to increase his number of tantrums (complete with throwing himself down on the floor) each day. And we are all learning together. Poor guinea pig child. My dad always told me that those who are not mild in nature generally experience "high highs" and "low lows." Henry isn't any exception.

After all my time the past year making animal noises while playing together on the carpet, Henry can now tell us a number of animals sounds, including dog, fish, duck, chicken, cow, bird, cat, goat, sheep, owl, and snake. He typically tells me what the animals say when I quiz him, but he has surprised us a few times: while eating dinner one night, I asked if he wanted some chicken, to which he responded, "Bawk! Bawk! Bawk!" When we went to the beach last month, Henry chased after the seagulls, yelling, "Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack!" And just yesterday we were playing with play dough and we practiced snake. When I asked, "What does a snake say?" He put his tongue against his teeth for the "sssss" sound. Every day he picks up on a new animal.

Henry absolutely loves the beach. I, myself, wouldn't really care for it, but my boys love it. Henry's first time on the beach was in June. He wasn't so sure about walking in the sand at first: he picked up his foot right after it touched the sand, wondering if he could step on it. Now Henry could run in the sand, throw it, play in it, chase the seagulls in it and then go stand in the waves for hours on end. Seeing how happy he is in the sand makes me enjoy the beach.

Someday I just might have a running buddy. Henry can run and run and run and run....and he does, every day. We have always chased him around our couch, but now he will run laps by himself. And lately, if someone is chasing him, he will run for ten solid minutes around the couch. Huffing and puffing, he runs. He runs around the couch. He runs in the grass. He runs when he's eating something he knows he shouldn't. He runs...and runs...and runs...and runs. He even has good form, making sure to pump his arms.

A new discovery this month was spinning. One night Henry was spinning so much he fell over, stood up, fell over, stood up, and fell over. He has yet to repeat the same episode, making sure to control his speed and frequency. He has always loved being spun in the swing set and now he will spin anytime we say, "Spin, spin, spin!" He loves getting dizzy.

Henry was blessed with the Holmes dancing gene. He loves to dance, but I especially love it when he dances to the washing machine. He can be so entertaining!

All in all, Henry is happy, sweet, kind, and is all boy. He loves trucks, dirt, cars, building and crashing things, and animals. He usually says "momma" when we wants something but has picked up on cracker ("cacka"), yogurt, please and thank you (both of which he uses sparingly), movie, ball, baby, hot, milk ("meme"), and dog. He loves to show off his belly button and knows where his eyes, ears, nose and tongue are located. He understands so much now and is truly a joy to have around our home.