Henri at 9 months

Henri at 9 months…

He is 22 pounds and getting heavy to carry around. I’ve started wearing him on my back in the ergo more around the house, when doing laundry/dishes. He scoots on his bottom and does a great army crawl wherever he wants to go. He has gotten up on all fours but then it seems his tummy hits the floor and he resumes an army crawl instead of becoming an actual crawler. And while we do our best to encourage him crawling, we are all quite fine with his lack of strong mobility. He likes Eli’s toys and his big brother is doing a better job sharing and handing Henri toys when he doesn’t want the baby to disturb his play. Henri loves to eat. He likes apple, pear, hard boiled egg yolk, sweet potato, squash, carrot, avocado, and trying just about anything we let him taste. He has enjoyed water for the past couple months and will take big sips and then make a very funny expression as most of it dribbles onto his shirt. He loves standing and has a very strong stance. He pulls himself up onto anything he can. He has eight teeth, all four of his front top and bottom. He loves bathtime with Eli. In general he is Eli’s biggest fan and will watch him and laugh. Eli has started asking Henri to “come on and pway” with him. This does not usually end to Eli’s liking (Henri grabs at Eli’s toys) but if it involves wrestling they both erupt in giggles and have a great time (adult supervision required!). I can tell these two will be very physical and before long will be tackling each other and having a great time doing it. Thankfully Henri is sturdy and Eli has learned that only sometimes can we “play rough” but otherwise we have to be “gentle” with Henri. He’s a good sleeper though as babies go he has his nights/naps/moments when he seems mediocre in that department. We are learning. He has moved into Eli’s room which is now theirs to share. He can sleep all night but often nurses before we go to bed and sometimes in the night, of late that is beginning to be more like 5am, then he’ll go back to sleep for a couple hours. He comes in our bed sometimes but he needs room to move in his sleep so the crib works best. He is a sweet, sweet boy and has added such joy to this family. Oh how we love you baby Henri!

Eli at 3

Back in January we celebrated the anniversary of Eli’s baptism, 3 years prior. In an effort to create more family traditions, Moon and I decided we would give our kids “special days” annually, two at the moment—their birthday and their baptism day. So while he didn’t get presents, he gets a special dinner that he enjoys and a special dessert. Then we watch the ten minute video on the computer of his baptism which he was really excited by. Now that Henri has been around a while I think Eli is taken by seeing pictures of when he was a baby. It’s also a special time to remember—reminding him, as best a three year old can grasp, that he was baptized and why that is important to us.

He still loves his dirt digging. And his trucks. The sweet boys who live behind us come out and play with him or entertain him sometimes. It’s nice to let him putter around out there without worrying what he’s getting into as he’s really at a good age for understanding what he can and can’t get into, where he’s allowed to go, etc. He mostly stays right outside and digs. The overalls help with my wash load!

Stroller naps happen from time to time, especially on preschool days. But mostly no naps for that boy. Eli plays hard and goes to bed early, 6:30 most nights. If he naps we push it back an hour or so. He does do his “quiet time” very well, stays in his bed, mostly plays with blankets and pillows making forts, occasionally reading books, sometimes a truck or two end up in bed with him. Last week we found him multiple times asleep with his little head peaking through a mound of blankets and pillows (he seems to accumulate the bedding from all around our house into his bed during his quiet time). He doesn’t like pants around the house so we’ve resorted to shorts and socks most days. He wears pants willingly to go out but will promptly disrobe when we get back home (we always take shoes off, which he does on his own and the pants quickly follow the shoes). He can now get his coat on and off and we chuckle at the three year old version of the inside out coat being hung on the hook upside down by one arm or such, but it’s great—progress from the days of flinging the coat on the floor. Three has been good to us with Eli… there’s so much we can do with him now and we are enjoying his vocabulary, his stories and explanations, and his love of reading. He will notice if you’ve skipped a page, he will also let you know when he wants to turn the page. He absorbs books very methodically and seems to have a strong memory of the images and words. We are realizing that most of his complete sentences are actually recited by memory from books we’ve read. He also loves songs. His favorite is jingle bells which he will burst into at the “let’s sing a song” prompt. He also enjoys twinkle twinkle little star, itsy bitsy spider, Jesus loves me, 5 little monkeys. The hand motions are there too. He’s become a fun tag along to whatever errands we are running and loves his solo time with mama or daddy. He is ready for just about any task when we’re out and about and I find him increasingly helpful… he clearly enjoys feeling important. He loves stroller rides and will often want to bring some huge toy truck or such with him, planting it squarely on his lap. He counts well, counts a bit in French, has learned his letters, and loves puzzles!

Music and dancing are clear loves of his. He really enjoys mimicking dance moves and we have discovered the brilliance of the post-dinner family dance party. Even Henri can get in on it. This has been a really fun and exciting stage with Eli. He still gives great hugs and kisses!