out and about

Preschool continues to go very well. Henry is starting to express himself better and is showing even more confidence in himself as he goes about the day at home and with other kids at the playground. We are working on having him ask for things instead of pointing at them or taking them away from others. We say "use your words" and when we want him to listen we say "turn on your ears". He's now very good at saying "it's mine" or "no way" when another child tries to take something out of his hands.

We went to the park a few times this week. One day we met up with friends Kelly and Madison and made some new friends, too. The fire department was holding some drills down the street so we walked down to watch. The kids loved looking at the trucks!


Yesterday we met Justin at the park. The boys had a good time riding the giant dinosaur and running around the grass.


how cute is this shirt?


After Henry takes his nap we like to walk around campus and sometimes visit Dada. We stop at the K-3 playground to swing, play on the bikes, and sometimes play in the block room if it's open. It's so nice having all of this in our backyard.







Henry is getting into using his tools to fix things around the house. He's even tried to drill my teeth...maybe Henry will be following in his Grandpa's footsteps.

Tonight Henry was mad after we said goodnight and left his room. He stood by the door and complained for a bit before going back into his bed. Then he talked to his dogs for awhile before finally falling asleep. I wonder what he was saying to them. I just went in to check on him and noticed that he had taken off his pajama pants and thrown them over the gate into the hallway. So... funny!

After school today I asked him what he ate for snack...he said: fish and milk! fish?
After his nap I told him it was raining again, his response: no way!
He still runs to the door to give me big hugs whenever I return home...makes me melt!

"no way"

Yesterday Henry started saying "no way" with a bit of expression instead of saying his usual "no". It's very funny...he has really good timing!

We're both fighting an infection...something we picked up at preschool. The doctor said to expect many more over the next months. Poor guy!


We had a long night last night. Henry continually woke up, turned on his bedroom light and called out "mama". Sometimes he was crying and other times he was just calling out my name. It seemed as if there was nothing we could do to calm him down. He wanted to be held, but he would cry because he wanted to be down. He wanted to have milk, but he didn't want it in any of his cups, he wanted the light on, but then off...you get the picture. Finally after about 2 hrs of this (at 6 am) it magically stopped! He's been back to himself since...I'm thinking this is what it means to be two and sick!

We had a very rainy week last week so we spent lots of time indoors. The rain was intense and the streets were flash flooding so we didn't venture out much. Plus Henry was beginning to get sick. He was so tired and would fall asleep rather quickly, before making it into his bed.




He sent me out to save one of his doggies that got caught in the storm. Henry wrapped it up and made sure it was getting warm and dry. Sweet!




Feel better soon, dear Henry!

2.1

That's two years and one month...
Henry has been taking it easy the past few days. He woke up yesterday with a cough and runny nose, but I can't say that I'm surprised. I've heard this happens once in school.
Henry has been talking non-stop this week. I love hearing his attempts at every word.
Here is what Henry is up to in his 25th month:
Henry's bath time routine: He plays in the water but when it's time to get out of the tub, he wants to put all the toys back into the net. He puts a few in, then grabs his washcloth and looks at me as if to ask, "should this go in the net, too?" Once all of the toys are safe, he gets out and watches the water go down the drain until it's all gone.
Favorite book: Thomas the Train Tales from the Track
Favorite show: Dora the Explorer
When we read some of his books he says the words before I do sometimes.
Henry can ride a tricycle by himself now, and he loves the big plastic playhouse at school.
Henry is wearing size eight shoes!
When I ask him an open ended question like what do you want to eat?, Henry places his index finger on his chin and says "hmmm..."
He's taken the rubber tires off of all his toy cars...he likes them better this way.
Henry loves drinking apple/grape juice out of a box with a straw. He does really well, too. (I'm the one that usually spills it when I hold the box too tightly.)
He is quick to throw any trash he creates or finds around the house (wrappers or things like that...I really don't have much trash laying around the house: ) ) into the trashcan, this includes his shaking out the sand from his tennis shoes.
The windowsill in my kitchen has two small vases on it to hold all the flowers Henry continually picks for me from our garden or other parts of campus. After he picks them he tells me that they need water. He supervises how much water is in each vase, often telling me they need more.


He is such a sweetie!!!

He now has a certified copy of his California birth certificate! It arrived in the mail a few days ago.

Day 2

Henry had another wonderful day at preschool. It was PJ and stuffed animal day. Henry wore the birthday pajamas he got from Aunt Kit, and he took the stuffed dog he got for Christmas from Grace.(Here is a picture of Henry with Grace. She comes over to be my "mother's helper" every now and then. Henry adores her, and Grace feels the same.)


I stayed within sight for the first hour but then waited in another area, where he couldn't see me, for the rest of the morning. His teacher, Miss Sue, stopped in to give me updates a few times...they were all positive. I was able to listen during the last half hour of class. Henry participated in the "what color is your bear" activity, he listened to the story, and he actually stayed sitting on his square rug for most of the time.
What can I say except that I am one proud mama.
It's so much fun to display the work Henry brings home...just look at our door!

Henry's first day of...

PRESCHOOL!!!!
Can you believe it??? I was originally looking for a program for the fall, but by surprise, we found a program for two year old kids that meets for three hours a day, twice a week. Henry is SO ready! The main goals are: good self esteem, getting along with others, and comfortable separation from parents. Works for us!
His teacher's name is Miss Sue, and he'll be with seven other kiddos in the class, plus an assistant teacher, Miss Nancy. There are six boys and two girls.

Henry had a very good morning. I stayed there with him today to help with any separation issues. He really only had one, and it happened during the first transition from classroom to sand. He must have really wondered where he was. The rest of the morning I notice that he looked around for me a few times but then continued playing. The day looked like this: first they had classroom playtime followed by sand playtime, playground playing, painting and snack, music, and finally, more playtime in the room. Half of the moring is inside and half is out...we love that. Henry's biggest challenge will be sitting for short chunks of time...he just wants to keep exploring. Thursday is pj and bear day...can't wait!
Next Thursday is snow play day. A truckload of snow will become a hill in the parking lot for sledding and making snowmen! Stay tuned for more...

he could not wait to get started

here's the classroom








lining up in the hall getting ready to go out to the sand...they are talking about the different colored shoes


walking to the sand area


snack, paint and playground time








tried the helmet but not a big fan...
he has learned: no helmet, no bike

getting on the bus to go to music time...
Henry wasn't quite sure what to think about this
(click on the picture to get a close look at that expression)



back to the classroom for more playtime and storytime