Henri at Two

Henri is becoming such a little boy. I guess he has always been a little boy but he just amazes me with what he is capable of and I realize now that I need to sit back a little more and just let him do his thing.

Since his birthday Henri demands daily that I sing happy birthday to him. He also points at the picture in his room of the alphabet so we sing the ABC song, as well. He often demands that I "SING!"

I feel like Henri has become this little dictator who barks one word demands at me all day. I hear "EAT!" and "ATTO!" (water) first thing in the morning. His next request is "DIEGO!" which means he wants to watch Dora and/or Diego as he dines. He favors one episode which is about Dora bringing home a present to her puppy and this episode (to Hen) is called "PUPPY!" so if I try to sneak a different episode on for the sake of my sanity I get to hear "PUPPY!" until I turn it back. When I put him in his stroller he shrieks "WALK!" When I tell him I need to make his lunch or dinner he shrieks "PITA!" (his favorite thing to eat at the moment). He actually added a "Please" after "Pita" once... When I put him in the bath he barks "GUY!" (which is what he calls his little bath toy figurines of little people which I called little guys hence the name). One of the more frustrating demands is when I try to take a picture or video the instant he notices he wants to "SEE!" So if you didn't believe me that he makes his little pushy demands I have proof (see below video entitled "SEE!!).

One of Henri's recent accomplishments include counting (1-6, he repeats after me, loses interest or gets intimated by 7 - the first two-syllable number). He brushes his teeth, washes his face and hands (sort of...), gets his own diapers and throws them away, takes off his shoes and socks which isn't fun for me, pulls his pants down to his ankles publicly and privately (at the park the other day right after sitting in water he stands up and pulls his pants down around his ankles and just stands there in the middle of a bunch of giggling moms). He is great at giving kisses. He's jumping like a pro and still loves dancing. He loves it when I give him a piggy back ride around the house. His favorite book is Pout Pout Fish which he requests every, single time. It's my fault for reading it so theatrically... now I'm paying for my enthusiasm. He loves having his hands full - at the store he insisted on walking around with a small ball in one hand and his coat in the other - and he tried to leave the house with three blankets in hand the other day.

What I love about Hen is he just seems to have a positive outlook on life. He finds so many random things hilarious. So we have lots of laughter at home. So as difficult as the "terrible two's" are, so far, Henri evens out the annoying battles with just being his sweet, loving, funny little self.