Henry's swim class ended the other week, and we decided for the next go-round we would sign Henry up for some private lessons instead of another class. The thought is that he will learn a bit more than in a class where he thinks it is fun to goof off with mom or dad in the water with him, or the non parent in the water classes where more than half his class time would be spent with him hanging on the edge of the pool waiting his turn. (plus, I am not complaining about not getting in the pool for class anymore - they made me wear a swim cap)
So, today was Henry's first private lesson. I was a little worried he would be scared, especially because Mike and I had to sit and watch from the other side of the center (also the reason for the bad photos), but Henry got right in and we could hear him laughing, yelling things like "1,2,3 BLAST OFF!" and generally having a great time throughout the lesson.
In other news, Henry had his last day at his old "school" this past week, and starts transition days for pre-school next week. I can't believe it!
We had a really good time this past weekend when we travelled to Mike's hometown of Champaign Illinois to visit with family and friends. We had an uneventful trip their on Friday morning, and spent then next two days visiting with Nana and Papa, Uncle Dave, Aunt Jen, Cousin Evan, G Pa, and some of Mike's friends.
Henry thoroughly enjoyed playing with all of Evan's toys:
And we enjoyed watching Evan learn to walk:
Evan is pretty cute:
Henry had a great time blowing bubbles:
doing some serious climbing in the backyard:
and hanging with Nana:
The next day we hung out for a bit at G Pa's house, where Henry surveyed the lay of the land:
Chipped in with some repairs:
And admired his 6 pack:
After lunch with a group of friends, it was time to say good-bye to the family:
And head to the airport.
Now, we had a 2 hour drive to Indianapolis to catch a 7 PM flight. Poor Henry had been a bit out of sorts with sleep the entire weekend - not a single decent nap since Thursday, up way too late Friday night, etc. We were hoping that he would fall asleep on the trip to the airport, but no such luck. Once we arrived at the airport, we received the unfortunate news that our plane would be delayed and not taking off until 9:30 PM.
If you know Henry, you know he is NOT a flexible sleeper. Although he does sleep in the car in extreme circumstances, generally he won't sleep anywhere but in his bed under optimal conditions of darkness, white noise, etc. Taking a nap at the airport or on a plane is laughable for him. We knew we were in trouble.
While we waited at the airport, he did this for about an hour:
(we were vainly hoping he would wear himself out and miraculously pass out).
Our plane left at 9:30 PM and he held it together until about a half hour before landing. At that point, he lost his marbles. A tantrum the likes of which you have never seen suddenly began - full on screaming at the top of his lungs, rigid body, kicking, hitting, attempting to take off his seat belt...the works. It was epic. Keep in mind this was a very small plane - and basically the entire plane was asleep when he started (not after he started!). He was SO TIRED and was completely beyond any type of reasoning (or bribing). It lasted all the way through landing, and the poor passengers around us were so anxious for us to get the heck off the plane that they were grabbing our bags and handing them to us and no one else got up until we bolted off the plane.
His tantrum lasted all the way through the airport and to the car. He calmed down in the car - because he fell asleep. As soon as we arrived home and had to take him out (the kid has never transitioned from the car while asleep in his life) he immediately started it up again. Once inside, he added to the tantrum, screaming that he didn't want to go to bed...he wanted to play.
He finally passed out at about 1 AM. The good news is that he slept until past 9:30 this morning and took a 2 hour nap today, so hopefully he is recovering from his sleep deficit. However, I have now decided to drive for all future trips. Seeing as how that is California in a few weeks, I guess we had better get in the car now.
Thanks to everyone we got to see while in Illinois - we had a great time!
Henry has been doing pretty well post-lovey. He occasionally asks for Bear and Monkey and gives a sad little sigh when reminded that they are gone, but overall he has been a big trooper. The stuffed giraffe that he selected as his new lovey has been traveling about with him:
The gift the "lovey fairy" brought for him in exchange for the loveys (a giant toy garbage truck) has been a HUGE hit, and Henry has now decided that he no longer wants to be a conductor, but wants to drive a garbage truck when he grows up.
At night and nap time he is doing really well. The only "side effect" thus far is that it has been taking him a lot longer to fall asleep for naps and bedtime, so his sleep schedule is completely out of whack, but I am hopeful that will adjust soon.
And, just for fun, here is a picture of Henry wearing his new tool belt and "fixing" his train table:
As you may know, Henry has some loveys that he is VERY attached to. They are little blankets with animal heads on them - Bear and Monkey. He started sleeping with them when he was 4 months old (I strongly encouraged this use of a "transitional object" for him, because he was an atrocious sleeper for a long time). They worked very well - he slept much better with them, they calmed him down and comforted him when he was upset, and they pretty much went everywhere with him.
The trouble is that Henry sucks on them, and essentially uses them as a pacifier. If he has Bear or Monkey with him, it is in his mouth. They get really gross easily (necessitating frequent washing, and the reason we have so many of them), he tries to talk with them in his mouth (doesn't work), and it was just a problem in general. At his first dentist appointment the dentist told us he could already tell Henry's teeth are shifting because of the habit. If Henry had used an actual pacifier, there is no way I would have let him get to almost 3 and half still using it. So, we knew we had to lose the lovey, as hard as it is (for all of us!)
I took a wimpy way out. Instead of a cut and dried "you are a big kid now and don't need to suck on a lovey" tactic, I went with the "Lovey Fairy". Yes, I am THAT mom. A few weeks ago we went and had Henry pick out a new lovey, one that he couldn't suck on (he picked a stuffed giraffe), and today we went for it.
Henry spent some time decorating the package to the Lovey Fairy:
Then, he gave a last hug to his Bears and Monkeys:
Packed them up:
And put them in the mailbox to be delivered to the Lovey Fairy (Henry wasn't keen on the idea of a fairy coming to our house, so we mutually decided that the postal system was the way to go):
I told him I was very proud of him and what a big boy he is, and took him for cupcakes (can you tell I am feeling REALLY guilty???)
Then, we played at the playground for a bit and jumped off a lot of things.
The idea is that the loveys will go live with the Lovey Fairy, and once a few nights have gone by of Henry sleeping without Bear and Monkey, she will give him a gift in exchange for the Loveys (I didn't make this up - people do it. Guilty people)
So far it is almost 9:30....and Henry is not yet asleep. Wish us luck!
Henry has a new, burning obsession with his backpack. He insists on wearing it everywhere we go, and won't take it off no matter what. He wears it on the slide, the jungle gym, in the sandbox, while running around....
Be prepared for many, many pictures of Henry and his backpack...
