Copycat en Espanol

Henry is such a copycat these days.  I can get him to say just about anything.  Apologies for the terrible video - he doesn't perform if he sees the camera.  This one is more for sound than sight.  Although from the looks of things, the video is focused on my bald spot.  Why do I have a bald spot?  Don't let these questions distract you from Henry's perfect recitation of "1-2-3-4" en espanol.  ;)

Who Has a Bigger Head? Me or My 20 Month Old?

Henry's Jersey style poof gives his head another inch on top, but seriously, I think his head is still bigger than mine.

Video: Pure Joy from a Cardboard Box

Kids:  they really don't need much to make them happy, do they?  And then there are the other moments when nothing makes them happy.  I try to focus on great moments like this one.  Henry is in his mismatched pj's (Chris' doing of course).  He's playing in the basement where he has strewn all his toys about.  And despite all the toys at his disposal, he is thrilled with his matchbox car and the old printer box.  The latter remained in our basement for about a month before I dragged it out for recycling.

Video: Independent Climbing at the Playground

I love this video, because it shows how a 19 month can do things unassisted.   One day I showed Henry how to climb the rungs by putting his feet up one at a time, and a week later he was climbing like a banshee.  It takes a lot of will power to stand there and let him figure it out on his own (you can see Chris' hand almost give him a boost at the top of the ladder), but in the end Henry got up on his own.

I LOVE that he can finally play on the jungle gym all by himself.  So proud.  *tear* *sigh*

Stumpy Farmer = Ahcong (Grandpa)?

Henry thinks this John Deer farmer is a mini-Ahcong (my dad).  One day he started asking for Ahcong over and over again until he found JD the farmer.  I continue to find this hilarious as he seems to have made this connection on his own without any direction from an adult.

Keeping Him Awake in the Car!

I know I already used his photo, but I love it so much and it's perfect for the subject of today's post.  He's still holding his cars, bottom lip pouting, sweaty hair touseled, etc.

Sometimes we're en route home for a nap and Henry will fall asleep in the car.  The car nap (even if for just 5 minutes) translates into:  get home; I put him in the crib; he sleeps for an hour; he wakes up and screams for 30 min to an hour; and then sleeps for 2 hours.  It's challenging.  Of course, ideally we would be home before he's tired, but life is too short to be completely and totally wed to an exact time table.  The trick is preventing him from falling asleep in the car.  Unfortunately, singing, yelling, reaching back every 5 minutes, etc. doesn't work - AND it translates into reckless driving.

Last week, I found something that did work!  I handed him my iPhone, which is something he never gets to touch otherwise.  He randomly turned on the ipod app, and we listened to an assortment of Jay Z, Eminem and kids songs.  He held the iPhone as if he was watching a show on it and he stayed up the entire 15 minute ride home.  Eureka!  Now I open up the Cars Memory game (free app), and he'll play with it for 10-15 minutes, which is usually all I need to get him home for his nap.  If I need more than that, I try using a combination of cars, books, iPhone, singing, shouting, etc.  After the "safe driving" class I had to take for my new job, I've resolved to be a less distracted driver.  No more iPhone checking while driving...I hope you'll all join me in my crusade to stop cell phone talking and texting while driving.  ARGH!

The Goofy Face

When Henry wants to crack someone up he makes this face.