Scaling a ladder (he can do it all by himself!):
Going down a slide (please note that he is gazing at himself in the mirror as he goes down - the boy loves his reflection):
On the trampoline:
And the parallel bars:
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Getting ready for Beijing
Here are some photos of our future Olympian enjoying some gymnastics.
Scaling a ladder (he can do it all by himself!):
Going down a slide (please note that he is gazing at himself in the mirror as he goes down - the boy loves his reflection):
On the trampoline:
And the parallel bars:
Scaling a ladder (he can do it all by himself!):
Going down a slide (please note that he is gazing at himself in the mirror as he goes down - the boy loves his reflection):
On the trampoline:
And the parallel bars:
Friday, July 25, 2008
Make Way for Ducklings...
We had beautiful weather today (after several days of not so nice weather including a truly insane torrential downpour that Henry and I were caught in yesterday - not fun) so Henry and his friend Kate decided to take a trip to the Boston Public Gardens to see the ducks - both live and the "Make Way for Ducklings" sculpture. Henry has yet to read "Make Way for Ducklings" so he does not yet know the story of Mr. and Mrs. Mallard making their way though Boston, but he enjoyed the statues!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Happy 15 months!
Henry is 15 months old today!!!
We have been neglecting photos of Mr. Goof for a few weeks now. Part is due to a crazy schedule recently, and part due to the dreaded molars, which are progressing sloooooooowly and alas are causing Henry to not be his usual sunny self most days. We have had some days that are best NOT captured on film for all eternity lately. The good news is that the past few days he seems to be on the upswing (although I swear those teeth have not budged). Here he is today playing with his FAVORITE thing in the world - a play kitchen:
His new trick is to hang out in the play kitchen and continually poke the buttons on the microwave while saying "beep, beep". Is this a sign we microwave WAY too much in the Powell home??? Perhaps.
Henry continues to amaze us with the new things he does every day. He has added a few words - "baby" and "yes". He has mastered climbing onto the couch and is now attempting to fling himself off of it with running leaps. He can easily climb stairs - BACKWARDS - as long as he is holding your hand. He has perfected the tantrum, complete with collapsing on the floor in a puddle of wailing. His new favorite activity is stealing the towel after his bath and running naked through the house with it. He is keeping us on our toes!
We have been neglecting photos of Mr. Goof for a few weeks now. Part is due to a crazy schedule recently, and part due to the dreaded molars, which are progressing sloooooooowly and alas are causing Henry to not be his usual sunny self most days. We have had some days that are best NOT captured on film for all eternity lately. The good news is that the past few days he seems to be on the upswing (although I swear those teeth have not budged). Here he is today playing with his FAVORITE thing in the world - a play kitchen:
His new trick is to hang out in the play kitchen and continually poke the buttons on the microwave while saying "beep, beep". Is this a sign we microwave WAY too much in the Powell home??? Perhaps.
Henry continues to amaze us with the new things he does every day. He has added a few words - "baby" and "yes". He has mastered climbing onto the couch and is now attempting to fling himself off of it with running leaps. He can easily climb stairs - BACKWARDS - as long as he is holding your hand. He has perfected the tantrum, complete with collapsing on the floor in a puddle of wailing. His new favorite activity is stealing the towel after his bath and running naked through the house with it. He is keeping us on our toes!
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Updates
Just a few updates for your Henry-reading pleasure...
Henry has now -
- Received his first marriage proposal (from a woman in Panera)
- Learned to open the freezer drawer, fridge doors, and oven door (research is currently being done on how to child proof these...)
- Almost managed to turn on the stove-top burners (problem solved by taking the knobs off entirely)
- We received confirmation during his Early Intervention session today that Henry is also saying the word "this" (he points to something and says "this" so that we will identify it for him). This makes THREE words for Henry - "Down", "This" and (in sign language)"More" (We are now working on trying to teach him the sign for "help", hoping it relieves some frustration for him when he is trying to do something. Every time I make the sign, I can only think of poor Virgil the monkey from "Project X". You know what I am talking about, admit it.)
- His top 2 one year molars are on the move and poking out, explaining the severe lack of sleeping, tantrums, and general hysteria of the past week or so.
Mike and Devon are currently accepting donations of Valium. Or beer.
Henry has now -
- Received his first marriage proposal (from a woman in Panera)
- Learned to open the freezer drawer, fridge doors, and oven door (research is currently being done on how to child proof these...)
- Almost managed to turn on the stove-top burners (problem solved by taking the knobs off entirely)
- We received confirmation during his Early Intervention session today that Henry is also saying the word "this" (he points to something and says "this" so that we will identify it for him). This makes THREE words for Henry - "Down", "This" and (in sign language)"More" (We are now working on trying to teach him the sign for "help", hoping it relieves some frustration for him when he is trying to do something. Every time I make the sign, I can only think of poor Virgil the monkey from "Project X". You know what I am talking about, admit it.)
- His top 2 one year molars are on the move and poking out, explaining the severe lack of sleeping, tantrums, and general hysteria of the past week or so.
Mike and Devon are currently accepting donations of Valium. Or beer.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
FIRST WORD!
I had confirmation from a friend today and I am calling it. Henry has a 1st word!!!!!!!!!!!!
"Down"
Woo hoo!!!! This is only spoken when he is walking down stairs and admittedly is not crystal clear (more of a "Dow") but it is there! Anyone who has seen his obsession with climbing up and down stairs would not be surprised to have this as his first word.
In other exciting verbal news - Henry did his first sign language sign today! After MONTHS of showing him, he started making the sign for "more" today! He is doing it all over the place - he kept signing "more" in the bathtub tonight....not sure what that was for.
This was a very exciting day for our little guy - as we know he is behind on his expressive communication skills (and advanced on his motor skills) and he has been working very hard in his Early Intervention sessions each week. We are so proud of him!
We had a fun day today - we took him way out in Western MA to a place called Davis' Farmland where we met up with his friend Griffin. The place was great - very large petting zoo, a fabulous toddler water park, playgrounds galore...Henry has a great time. Here are some pictures of him enjoying the day:
"Down"
Woo hoo!!!! This is only spoken when he is walking down stairs and admittedly is not crystal clear (more of a "Dow") but it is there! Anyone who has seen his obsession with climbing up and down stairs would not be surprised to have this as his first word.
In other exciting verbal news - Henry did his first sign language sign today! After MONTHS of showing him, he started making the sign for "more" today! He is doing it all over the place - he kept signing "more" in the bathtub tonight....not sure what that was for.
This was a very exciting day for our little guy - as we know he is behind on his expressive communication skills (and advanced on his motor skills) and he has been working very hard in his Early Intervention sessions each week. We are so proud of him!
We had a fun day today - we took him way out in Western MA to a place called Davis' Farmland where we met up with his friend Griffin. The place was great - very large petting zoo, a fabulous toddler water park, playgrounds galore...Henry has a great time. Here are some pictures of him enjoying the day:
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Back in Beantown
First, the good news - we had a great trip. Henry had a wonderful time hanging out with Mark and Gayle, Mike and I had a fun time in Chicago and the wedding we went to was very fun. All in all, a good trip.
The bad news - we have decided to NEVER fly with Henry again. The next time we take a family trip will be when Henry is 7. At that point we will take separate flights and have him be on his own flight in the "unaccompanied minors" program watched over by loving flight attendants and airline personnel. Mike and I will take our own flight and read.
I joke, I joke. Maybe.
Seriously though, flying with an extraordinarily active 15 month old may be one of the hardest thing ever done. Our fellow passengers were alerted to the fact that it would be a looooong flight when Henry reached decibel levels I previously thought could only be heard by dogs as we attempted to put him in his car seat. He just was NOT a happy kid - the only thing he wanted to do (walk and explore) was the only thing he couldn't do. There were varying degrees of tantrums throughout the flights, one of which involved the lovely experience of Henry throwing his sippy cup at me. Nice. We also had the parenting joy of a diaper blowout in the Detroit airport (glad I packed him an extra outfit!)
I can't blame him for being cranky - both days we flew were long days involving him being in a stroller or car seat 90% of the time (attempts to let him burn off energy in the airport were not that successful, due to his obsession with trying to get on the escalators), and not really being able to nap. Who wouldn't be cranky??? I am assuming (hoping) that flying gets easier once he is able to do more "sit down" activities like coloring or watching DVDs (the DVD Player was a bust on this occasion - Henry apparently doesn't care one whit about Barney or Baby Einstein. This is probably a good thing...)
But, other than the flights it was a great trip. Thanks again to Gayle and Mark for watching Henry while Mike and I were at the wedding!
Here is a picture of Mr. Porkchop enjoying the 4th of July parade in Grand Rapids:
The bad news - we have decided to NEVER fly with Henry again. The next time we take a family trip will be when Henry is 7. At that point we will take separate flights and have him be on his own flight in the "unaccompanied minors" program watched over by loving flight attendants and airline personnel. Mike and I will take our own flight and read.
I joke, I joke. Maybe.
Seriously though, flying with an extraordinarily active 15 month old may be one of the hardest thing ever done. Our fellow passengers were alerted to the fact that it would be a looooong flight when Henry reached decibel levels I previously thought could only be heard by dogs as we attempted to put him in his car seat. He just was NOT a happy kid - the only thing he wanted to do (walk and explore) was the only thing he couldn't do. There were varying degrees of tantrums throughout the flights, one of which involved the lovely experience of Henry throwing his sippy cup at me. Nice. We also had the parenting joy of a diaper blowout in the Detroit airport (glad I packed him an extra outfit!)
I can't blame him for being cranky - both days we flew were long days involving him being in a stroller or car seat 90% of the time (attempts to let him burn off energy in the airport were not that successful, due to his obsession with trying to get on the escalators), and not really being able to nap. Who wouldn't be cranky??? I am assuming (hoping) that flying gets easier once he is able to do more "sit down" activities like coloring or watching DVDs (the DVD Player was a bust on this occasion - Henry apparently doesn't care one whit about Barney or Baby Einstein. This is probably a good thing...)
But, other than the flights it was a great trip. Thanks again to Gayle and Mark for watching Henry while Mike and I were at the wedding!
Here is a picture of Mr. Porkchop enjoying the 4th of July parade in Grand Rapids:
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Over the River, and Through the Woods...
We head out tomorrow to Grand Rapids, where we will be dropping Henry off with Mark and Gayle and then heading into Chicago for a wedding over the weekend. While we are all very excited to see Gayle, Mark, and many of Mike's friends, we admit to a bit of apprehension over the flight. Our last plane ride with Henry was in March, when he was still pre-walking (and pre-temper tantrum over the inability to walk whenever he wants). So, this will be an interesting trip. We have loaded up enough snacks to keep the entire plane alive for about 4 weeks, and were lent a portable DVD player, a Barney DVD, and a Baby Einstein DVD (shudder). As you may know, we have been keeping Henry away from TV as much as possible - in part because we don't want him watching much, but also so we could "save it" as a treat for things like flights and long car trips. Tomorrow we will see if this plan has backfired on us - his lack of exposure to TV could just mean he could care less about Barney.
Wish us luck!
Wish us luck!
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