Every day Henry

Henry is still Henry.  He is a menace with little impulse control and limited ability to express himself when necessary.  Don't get me wrong, he has a huge vocabulary and can speak well, but when it comes to telling other people what he wants, he just freezes up, which translates into him hitting a lot of people and pushing Zora around a lot.  I've noticed that if I give him explicit rules for each activity, he does much better.  When he wants to play in the flour (one of his favorite activities), I tell him, Rule number 1: no dumping.  Rule number 2: the flour has to stay in the box.  Rule number 3: no throwing.  Rule number 4: Have fun.  Then he does much better.  He just needs explicit instructions.  I'm trying to get him to stop hitting by giving him other strategies when he's upset--mostly, instead of hitting, he's supposed to say, "Mom, I need help."  He has yet to actually use this strategy when upset.  He also doesn't pee independently in the potty.  I know he's got two more years, but I really hope they let him into kindergarten.

Despite all his hitting and pushing and hair-pulling, he is pretty adorable.  

He likes to play by himself a lot--I think he gets over-stimulated by people.

 I'm working on his fine motor skills, which are a bit behind since I can't leave him alone with a crayon.  He really likes painting with water color so we do that at least once a week.

Last weekend, Greg took the big kids to Carowinds with their friends, so I got a sitter for Zora and went on a date with Henry.  We almost didn't get to go due to his peeing on the floor and then on me 4 times in 15 minutes (he really looses control when he's tired), but he cleaned his mess up just in time to go.  First we went to Chuck E. Cheese where we ate pizza and drank soda to our heart's content, then played all the games we wanted.  Then we went to the mall to spend his birthday money.  He was going to get a Lego firetruck but he didn't have enough money so we went to the Disney store and found a shiny, clearance Mater instead.  He also picked out a Lego train for Zora for her birthday, but I'm pretty sure he really picked it out for himself.

I'm pretty sure Henry is just about the sweetest boy ever.  He gets to be my buddy a lot since he can't be left alone. But he is so adorable that despite dumping out the seeds he and I planted before our date, I still just love him.  That mischievous smile and slobbery kiss gets me every time.