Boy oh boy, has our little Henry started to bloom! Before I get to the good part, I will back up a little bit…For the past few weeks he’s been one heck of a cranky tot–crying and shrieking at the drop of a hat, even throwing himself on the floor, prostrate, kicking his feet about the most minor incidents. He’s always been a little, shall we say, demanding, but he’d really been taking it to a new level.
Now, I am happy to report, we can see that our little G-Man has really turned a corner, and maybe all the drama and cranking around was just a way for him to show his frustration about what he wanted to be doing and saying but couldn’t quite put together yet. He’s really talking up a storm these days, using nouns, verbs, and even adjectives and adverbs! A few weeks ago, if he wanted something, he might have just said “Ollie!” and started crying. Now, he says “Dad-o get Ollie, please!” or “Get Ollie now?*” This is so exciting for us, and I can’t adequately convey just how much. The fact that he’s able to string words together and express himself is so much nicer than the constant whining and crying that we’d been dealing with. Henry seems to be so much happier, too. He’s smiling a lot more, he’s noticeably more relaxed, and he’s enjoying communicating with his big brother (exclaiming “Toe Party!!!” in the bathtub as he grabs Finny’s toes).
Another fun development is that of Henry entering the realm of the abstract. His little imagination is starting to fire up, and results in him claiming “I’m a squirrel! I’m Thomas! I’m Penny (the Pig character in one of his books)!” Even when Finny’s trying to get him to play along with one of his games, Henry stands up for himself. For instance, Finny will try to make us all quails, and give us quail names**, and when he says to Henry “You’re Chump (the quail)”, Henry replies “I’m a squirrel!”
Regarding Henry’s latest achievements, as Finny might say, “Hooray for Henry! Extra huggies and smooches!”
[* It’s so helpful that he’s started clarifying things by adding “Now.” Oh really, Hen? Your flopping down & screeching were so ambiguous. 😉
** For posterity: The quails are Pump, Dump, and Chump. Chump is the welder who has a little mask & torch. (Yes, there’s a *very* elaborate backstory there…) –J.]