A Few of My Favorite Things... About Henry

Every night, Henry forgets he's expected to go to bed. We haven't figured out if it's a "I don't want to miss out on anything" issue or something else, but every adult in the household has at least one night of pain-in-the-assness each week. This process can become so consuming and embittering. In an effort to celebrate all wonderful, quirky, hilarious, amazing parts of my first-born, I thought it would be good to spend some time on... 

A Few of My Favorite Things About Henry

• The phrases he's picked up and uses often in hilarious ways:
• "Check this out." Often used after the creation of new Mega Bloks vehicle, train track, crayon drawing, or preceding a spastic new gymnastic move. 
• "Can I get a little help here?" Most commonly used after a fall, his tiny hand emerging from behind the couch/chair/table accompanied by his tiny voice and adult inflections. 
• "He's got that head going." Sullivan's favorite new activity involves headbanging and this is Henry's response when he sees it.  
• "What the heck?" Nough said. 

• He loves to be helpful (on his own time). He puts away his laundry. Pours, cracks eggs into and stirs pancake batter. Feeds Sullivan. And loves to help set the table. 
• We now play HideNSeek and it's soooo fun! Henry either stays silent in his hiding spot (which terrifies me) or giggles. He asks me to "squeak" to give him hints where I am so I've renamed it Hide and Go Squeak. 
• He says "I love you" often. Sometimes it may be a procrastination technique to start a conversation before bed, but it works every time. 
• When Sullivan cries, he has a special voice he uses to say, "It's okay, Sully. I'm here." And then sings "Row, row, row your boat." To make matters better, the interaction
  
  usually ends with, "He stopped crying. Now he's smiling at me!" He's also invented a game called "Jhoop!" where he raises and lowers plastic letters on Sullivan's tummy while saying "Jhoop." They both seem to enjoy it. 
• For the past several months, he's gotten attached to a handful of stuffed animals. He carts them around with him and talks with them, generally reassuring them that he'll take care of them. They include a dog (which is actually a purse), a hedgehog the size of a yoga ball, a "winney pig" named Martha, a cheetah that's as long as him, a giraffe from the San Diego Wild Animal Park, and a blue jay. When he can't be with them, he asks us to keep an eye on them.
• How he hates wearing pants. 
• And shoes. 

• After he draws, there is inevitably marker on his hands or crayon underneath his fingernails. The surprising color melts me. 

Adventures of Sullivan & Henry

This should probably be two posts as they are unrelated - but here's two stories. One Sullivan and one Henry.

*******

Last week we experienced a parenting fail. Henry and Sullivan had faucet noses and coughs. We are used to Henry picking up stuff at school. Sullivan, though, has been a pretty healthy kiddo. He started waking up at night (he doesn’t do this) and fussing (he doesn’t do this either).

On the second night, hearing his little sad cough from the crib across the room, I said, “That sounds like it’s moving to his chest.”

“We should probably take him to the doctor,” yawned Jared from next to me in the dark.

He’d had the mildest of fevers when I checked the day before, but otherwise mostly smiles. I’m serious, this is one smiley baby.

The next morning, my mom was staying home with a cold and offered to take him in. I made the appointment and waited to hear.

Croup.

Conjunctivitis.

AND
an ear infection.

I’m honestly surprised they let her bring him home and didn’t just confiscate him. Poor kid. What’s even more surprising knowing this is the amount he didn’t complain. With Henry, that would have been a full-fledged code red, including a Jack Nicholson style “YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH” baby freak-out. Sullivan just expressed genial discomfort. “I don’t prefer this,” he seemed to coo when we leaned over his crib. Which was replaced by a smile when we picked him up.

Jared brought home a chalky, liquid medicine to be taken twice a day for ten days. The first couple of doses went down pretty smooth. Pursed lips and questioning eyes, but still swallowed. After a few days, he started to close his mouth and twist his head, avoiding the plastic tool like… well, like his brother. A couple mini-altercations and forced cheek squeezes, I was perplexed enough to reexamine the bottle.

“Refridgerate.” I read.

D’oh. Had I been slowing poisoning my thrice-sick baby? I called the pharmacy.

After being on hold for 13 minutes and then explaining the situation, “It’s fine.” the pharmacist told me. “It helps make it last longer. And with the taste, of course.”

Of course. So I stuck it in the fridge thinking by the next dosage, we’d be back to miracle baby. Not so much. In fact, he developed a lovely blowing technique which shot any medicine that had made it inside through his sputtering lips to a sprayed pattern on the closest object, generally the medicine administrator's face. And then he’d smile.

********

Yesterday, Henry started our day asking me about death and marriage. In that order. When I told him he was at Daddy’s and my wedding, he liked that. Later on his new favorite show (a super disturbing cartoon where animated Russian nesting dolls pop open and tuck things into their bodies - no joke!!), one of the characters said he was going to “Pop the question” to the kids teacher and showed them a ring. Henry liked this phrase (there was a song that went along with it) and asked if Daddy had popped the question.

Fast forward six hours later, after no more discussion of marriage or rings, Daddy comes home. (Jared had been gone for the weekend so this was one of their first interactions in a couple days.)

Henry: “Daddy, Mommy told me how you got married. I was there and then you shared the problem.”

Jared looks at me in horror with the What have you been telling our son??? eyes.

“Popped the question,” I stage-whispered to Henry.

“Oh right,” he nods. “Popped the question. [Pause]  Daddy, want to play Mega Bloks with me?”