Twenty Months on Tuesday

Henry's language has exploded in the past month and he's constantly surprising me with words I had no idea he knew. I guess he really does listen to me.

He's also started telling me "stories" about experiences he's had, which I then translate into the long version for him. For example:

Henry: "Stow! Daw! Stih! Mau! Puhpah!"

Translation: One day, while Mama was pushing Henry in the stroller and Henry was holding a stick in his hand, a dog came along and grabbed the stick with its mouth. The girl walking the dog said, "Copper! You silly dog!"

Henry: "Puh-poe! Boom! Pop! Moh!"

Translation: The purple balloon Henry had been enjoying for weeks popped. He was upset and asked for another one, but Mama said there weren't any more balloons in the house.

These are the stories that make up the fabric of a toddler's life.


He loves being outside ("side!") now, dragging things out of the garage and hunting for sticks. I showed him a worm the other day, suppressing my urge to tell him it was icky and instead letting him carry it around until it was lost.

We washed hands especially well after coming inside that day.


The park is a popular outdoor destination, too, what with the swings and slides and pretend car and sandbox and other fun stuff. It's only a few blocks from our new house and it's pretty hoppin' when the weather is nice.

Henry has also been very into drawing lately, as evidenced by the ink on his clothes and occasionally, his body.


I hear a desperately shouted "DAW!" multiple times a day. His preferred writing implements are pens (he's too mature for crayons) and while he will scribble on his own, he'd rather I sit with him and draw instead. He loves to recognize my squiggles -- bikes, hammers, garages, stop signs, etc. Essentially anything in his world that I can draw he finds fascinating.

And while my artistic ability is lacking, I try very hard not to say anything negative about it. I've noticed other people making self-deprecating remarks when they sit down to draw with Henry and I find it sort of sad. Yeah, even my stop signs are all out of proportion, but it's art, and anyway, Henry doesn't care.

I mean, have they seen how he draws?


Finally, my smart little boy is learning his colors, letters and shapes. I don't know if this is unusually early or right on track, but I find it amazing. I've been spelling out "stop," "dada" and "mama" and he seems to recognize the words. He sees the letters he knows everywhere we go. He also knows a square and a triangle when he sees them, though he calls a circle (and the letter "o") a moon. And I think he's gotten most of the basic colors down, too, though he likes to say "boo" first before settling on the correct color.

Just to keep Mama guessing.