Henry is 21 months!

Henry's surgery has been rescheduled for Tuesday October 5th. So keep our little man in your thoughts/prayers that day. We will continue to try and keep him germ free until that time (we'll need some good thoughts and prayers for that as well:)

Henry has made it ON the weight portion of the growth chart!!!! Until now we were around 15% for height and head circumference, but still lagging in the weight department, so this is HUGE (pun intended)! Where most kiddos are experiencing a slow gain during these months, Henry keeps plugging away at adding those lbs. And these are some hard earned pounds with as much as his heart works these days walking, climbing, talking, etc! Henry is definitely more eager to eat these days, but trying to get Henry to eat well balanced meals when he would much rather a diet that consists of crackers and cookies (who wouldn't!) is a challenge. But, from what I hear, this is a normal child phenomenon so we won't stress too much about it! Henry's dietitian has encouraged us to transition him to eating what we eat for dinner (as opposed to the short order cooking we've been doing), so we'll be making some minor changes in hopes Henry will experience new foods and keep on gaining.

Henry's language is booming and we continue to hear new words week to week. The other day he walked up on a neighbor's lawn (unfortunately not out of the ordinary:) and was pointing to a sign in their yard. Initially I thought it just a politician's advertisement, though I later realized it was an advertisement for the Irishfest this weekend and had a cow on it that Henry was showing/telling me about! Awesome! Just wait until our next visit to Iowa- I bet they're cooler in person:) We've been working on animal puzzles, shapes, colors, parts of the face... all the usual... so don't be too offended if he points to your ears/nose/eyes in public. It's definitely a compliment!

Henry continues to walk all over the place and at times is marching! Marching accompanied with music will always get a smile on his face (not sure if he is laughing at how silly we look marching with him or if he's just really enjoying himself- likely both!). Henry climbs everything he possibly can, and is now tall enough that he can reach things on most of our tables and countertops. So you'll understand when you see everything in our house that is not "Henry proof" strategically placed sometimes not in the most design-sensible places. Toys continue to take over what used to be our dining room, but it's a very loved space.

Henry is sleeping wonderfully these days. We've got a good nighttime routine/combo of 1) cookies and milk with 2) some TV show of Henry's liking, then 3) bin"kiki"s time while we 4) read 3 books of Henry's choice while 5) rocking in his rocking chair... seems like I'm usually nodding off by the end of the books too:) One of my most favorite times of the day, that's for sure.

Wishing you lots of relaxation and time with family/friends on this holiday weekend.

-Kate, Julie and Henry