26 Things about Henry

1. My most beloved thing in the world (besides mama, dada, and Kitty) is my sheet. I sleep with it, I walk around with it after I wake up in the morning , I take it to school with me, I need it when I’m tired, sick or sad. When I was a baby my mama and dada used to swaddle me in this sheet (when I became too fat for my miracle blanket swaddle). Out of desperation my mom created my sheet swaddle from their very own bed sheets—the ones they’d been sleeping in since they were married. When I no longer needed to be swaddled, my parents discovered how much I really liked to touch the fringes and strands of fabric at the ends of my sheet…and it just became a thing. I never sleep without it and I usually have it with me in the car.
2. I’ve been eating a giant vat of oatmeal every other morning since I was about 11 months old. My mom cooks the oats on the stove and adds berries, seeds and recently she’s begun to let me put in the cinnamon and honey. I eat eggs, toast and/or cereal on the off mornings.
3. I am a people watcher. If I am out somewhere with lots of people (restaurants usually) I prefer to just watch people rather than play with toys.
4. I like to talk a lot. When I don’t know the words to something I just make them up. I can converse for long periods of time and throw out recognizable but out of context words. I also like to copy what I hear around me. Yesterday I said, “Dammit!” just like dada.
5. I like to make my parents laugh. If this means putting my entire mouth over mom’s nose, that’s what I’ll do.
6. Sometimes I get really excited and clock my mom or dad in the face, just out of sheer joy. Then I see how upset they are and so I put my head down and pat, very gently with my hand, the spot that is ouchy. Then I kiss it.
7. I give lots of kisses. Sometimes just out of the blue when I’m walking by or happily playing. I also give big hugs.
8. When I’m tired I will say, “Bed” and point to the direction of my crib.
9. Pretty much everyday now I like to surprise my parents but saying a complete sentence using words they’ve never heard me say. Like, “Dada’s washing dishes.”
10. I don’t like car washes, diaper changes or vacuum cleaners.
11. After I’ve been sleeping 9 or 10 hours, I really like mama or dada to sleep with me a couple more. They don’t mind.
12. The absolute longest I can be awake is 6 hours…and it’s not pretty if I’m forced to go longer. I do not like to be up past 7:30 PM and I WILL NOT sleep past 7:15 in the AM.
13. Kitty makes me very happy.
14. I love to play trains. If I have trains/table I’m good for 45 min.
15. I like running. I frequently invite my parents and my friends to run with me.
16. I will eat cherry tomatoes like it’s my job.
17. I love to read. I know “How do dinosaurs say goodnight?” by heart. I can say the words and do the motions…it must be read to me every night, sometimes more than once. The Napping House is another favorite. Mom and Dad have hid it from me though.
18. My favorite song is the Wheels on the Bus. I know the words and motions. My second favorite is the ABC song. I also like Pop Goes the Weasel.
19. I take a bath with dada every night.
20. On the weekends my dada and I play early in the morning and mama is not allowed to play with us. I tell her, “No mama!” because I want dada all to myself. She begrudgingly goes back to sleep.
21. I love to dance. I have some pretty smooth moves where I bend down really low and flail my arms up and down. My favorite though is when mama spins me around in her arms.
22. My favorite thing to do outside is throw rocks in the water. We collect the rocks in the field across from my house and then throw them over the bridge into the creek below.
23. I do not like rough-housing. I don’t like to be tossed in the air. I like to be stable and upright at all times (except when I’m in the downward dog position, peeking upside down between my legs). I especially hate those motion rides that you can put quarters in at the mall. I don’t like to be in front of mom and dad and never stray from them in public.
24. If given a choice of sweet Danish with sugar dripping off the sides or a bran muffin that tastes like the bark off a tree, I will eat the bran muffin.
25. I am a straggler. I have to stop and examine every little thing when we’re out walking.
26. My favorite things to watch are Thomas the Train, a Mavericks basketball video for babies, Cars, and Sesame Street. My parents will not let me watch as much as I want to though.