2 1/2 years

Henry is 2 1/2 years old today. Oh my goodness. Could he possibly be a sweeter, more lovable little guy? No. The answer is no. He is the most delicious little boy on the planet.

Stats: Henry weighed 29 pounds at the doctor yesterday. No wonder he's been feeling heavy lately. He wears toddler size 7 1/2 shoes, and a mix of 24 month and 2T clothes. 

Schedule: Henry's schedule is still the same. He still naps very well, from about 1:30 to 3 or 3:30 each day.

Language and Cognitive: Henry's language is just amazing these days. He speaks like an adult. He uses complex sentences and crazy vocabulary. He uses the word "otherwise" correctly in sentences, for goodness' sake. He understands everything we say. He now picks up on subtle conversations between adults, so we have to be careful if we don't want him hearing about something. He is always pretending. Every day he wants to be either a monkey, or some sort of baby animal. (I have to be the Mommy animal, so basically it's an excuse for him to get me to hold him and treat him like a baby.) Aside from that, Henry likes to dress up and pretend to be all kinds of things. He likes playing with his trucks, blocks, and little people and animals. I never thought trucks could be all that interesting, but he comes up with all kinds of stories and pretends with them.

Every day is a good hair day for this guy.

Social, Emotional, Behavioral: Henry is such a little character. He is very kind and gentle with other kids. He uses social language really well. He has the cutest little voice, sort of low-pitched and serious sounding. He likes to be a clown and make people laugh, and then he will say "I'm just being funny." Henry is still having tantrums and clashing with Celia quite a bit. Hopefully this will diminish as we head toward his next birthday. Even when he's giving us a hard time, he still behaves very well at daycare and in public. He loves going to the doctor and charms the staff there. He really likes to be independent with things, and can get very annoyed when someone tries to help or do something for him. At the same time, he is also extremely attached to me. He wants Mommy all the time, and when he wants me I am expected to hold him. He is the most ridiculous Mama's boy. He even has advanced tactics designed to maximize my pity for and attention to him. A couple of recent interactions:

Me: "Did you have a good time with Daddy?" 

Henry: (Leaning in to me with his best innocent puppy dog expression) "Yeah. But I'm happy to see you, Mommy."

Me: "I'm going to go in the kitchen for a minute."
Henry: (With great feeling) "No, stay here with me. I'm scared."

Henry isn't at all interested in potty training. I'm guessing he will be three before he potty trains. He does now prefer to hide or be left alone when he poops. He will tell me to go away, or say "I want to be alone". Today he just stayed right near me, but covered his face with his arm.

Henry is such a lovable and delightful little guy. Nothing could be better than seeing him, hearing his little voice, smelling and hugging and playing with him every day. Now we carry on toward his third birthday!