Happy 2nd Birthday, Henry!

All pictures courtesy of Uncle Andrew (or just Drew as Henry likes to call him).

I can't believe our boy is already 2! I remember so vividly the night he was born that it hardly seems possible that 2 years have already passed. Sigh...story of a mother's life, I guess :)

2-year highlights:

• Henry is adding new words to his vocabulary daily. His words predominantly consist of the beginning sound of the word that he is attempting to say. For example, apple = ap, hay = ha, ant = ah, etc. He also likes to use sounds to identify things instead of words. For example, any truck or construction vehicle = vroom-vroom, cows = moo, horses = neigh, etc.
• As far as extended family members go, the only people that he identifies by name are: Bob, Drew, G.G, Gaa (Aunt Jill), and Olive (Andrew & Denise's dog). He knows and loves all of his grandparents & aunts & uncles, but he is only able to call a few of them by name.
• Henry loves matchbox cars! He especially loves the vehicles that aren't the typical cars & trucks. He likes construction vehicles, tractors, and emergency vehicles, and airplanes & helicopters the best. This is always the toy that he pulls out first in the morning.
• Henry loves to play outside. He currently splits his backyard time between hitting golfballs into a net with daddy and digging in the garden. He would stay outside all day if I'd let him.
• Henry is beginning to eat more vegetables! Last week John told him he had to eat his vegetables before he got more strawberries, and miraculously he did it! He seems to be most open to eating cooked carrots & broccoli.
• Favorite foods: strawberries, dessert, turkey (when he wants me to put more turkey on his plate he walks up to me and says "gobble, gobble". Pretty funny!), meat, yogurt & granola, canned peaches, crackers, nuts, raisins, smoothies, and juice.
• Henry gets juice twice every day. We give him juice when he wakes up (it's the first thing he asks for) and right before he takes a nap. Giving him juice at these times has been a huge help in establishing his morning & nap routines!
• Henry slept through the night pretty much this entire month, even while we were on vacation which is a complete miracle!
• Henry had his second double ear infection this month. We've learned that Henry likes the pink medicine, but the white medicine is not his favorite.
• Potty training is over for awhile. We started out strong, but since then Henry has had 2 ear infections, I got sick, and then after we got our illnesses taken care of, we went out of town far more often than is preferable for anyone wanting to see potty training progress. Now when I try to put underwear on Henry he screams, "NO!" and won't let me put them on. I suspect some of his resistance is due to the fact that there are so many changes to be endured in the upcoming weeks that he's probably feeling a bit overwhelmed by it all. I can relate. Change isn't my forte either. We'll pick up the potty training again when he's ready.
• Henry likes to swing his arm back and forth when he is trying to communicate the words golf or tennis. It's cute.
• Whenever Henry sees something that he likes (usually cows, horses, tractors, or construction vehicles) he screams, "Wow!" really loudly. I love his enthusiasm.
• Henry took his first amtrak trip to Fresno this week and loved it. Sharon, Henry, and I traveled visit Aunt Jill and enjoy a day at the zoo together. It was so much fun!
• Henry can hardly wait for John to get home from work. Now that the weather is warmer they play outside together for as long as possible.
• Henry loves to read Sports Illustrated magazine. He likes to read it in the car while we drive and before bed with daddy.
• I feel like I can reason with Henry (not always, of course, but often). He likes it when I explain what's going on, rather than just telling him what to do. For example, if I tell him he can have one more cracker he usually melts down and throws a fit, but if I tell him that he can only have one more cracker because we will be eating dinner soon, he usually seems to accept this much more easily.
• Henry understands a lot. When I walk with him in a parking lot I always tell him to hold my hand and not let go so that he can be safe. He always shakes his head and responds with "vroom-vroom" meaning that there are cars in the parking lot that are dangerous to be around.
  
• Henry can start attending Sunday School now that he is 2. He will have the same teacher that John had when he was 2!
• Henry is just plain delightful. He has his moments of tantrums & fits, of course, but he is really a joy to be around. He brings a lot of joy to a lot of people and I pray that he will always be such a blessing to others.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HENRY!