Our Little Monkey and His Big Sister

Henry is 11 months and 8 days old!  He's quite the little monkey.  He loves to crawl superfast everywhere.  He also likes to climb on anything and everything.  This weekend he used the toys to get himself up onto Romber's coffee table ottoman.  He also had fun climbing in the big-girl doll pink jeep and through the end table legs.  At home he climbs the mountain of cushions and scales the easel that's been tipped over onto the walker toy for quite a while now.  Whenever Henry is missing (don't worry, only for a few seconds) I hurry to the stairs.  He's usually already half way up and looooveeees when I come to get him and chew him out in a fun little 'just joking' voice.  Here are some other Henry updates...

• He understands 'no' - we tell him this mostly in context of touching electrical outlets.
• LOVES the stairs and railings at Omi and Opa's and Grandma and Grandpa's!  Both sets have recently watched the kids for a couple hours in the evening and Henry thoroughly wore Opa and Grandpa out.  Somehow they both got the job of following him?! ;)  He and Opa climbed the stairs a dozen times.  Henry is really good at knowing that he needs to climb down 'backwards.'  When Matt and I got back to Mark and Brenda's after our dinner out, Mark's words were "you take over now!" in an exhausted and relieved tone.
• Steps!  Henry has been taking some steps when he slows down enough to try.  His record is eight!  It won't be long until he's walking if he decides it.  Right now he's so much faster crawling that he really prefers that.
• Language!  He still says Dada and once in a while, Claire, and we have added Riley and Grandpa into the mix.  Grandpa is a tough two syllable word, but he makes the sounds consistently when he's excited to see Grandpa out the window.  I'm sure he's learned it so well since Grandpa is always out here and we talk a lot about what he's doing outside. 
• Books!  We are doing a better job of listening to them and looking at the pictures instead of just chewing on them.  Though it's still difficult to get Henry to sit still long enough to listen to even a short board book.
• Henry is going to be a tough little boy!  When Claire trys to 'help' with him or take over, she often grabs him in the most awkward ways to move him.  He's really tolerant of her most of the time!
• Food - he loves trying new foods and has only made a face a couple times when trying something.  He is totally feeding himself, so sometimes we have quite a bit of food that he drops, but he has fun trying and gets some in!  He likes to nurse still throughout the day and usually once at night.
• Naps are not very routine because we are out and about three days a week.  We always make it home for an afternoon nap for both the kids and he naps in the morning for a couple hours if we are home, but if we're running errands or going to preschool or Kindermusik then he catches a catnap in the car to or from.

ClaireClaire is such a spunky little three year old girl.  It's amazing how one minute she can be a perfect little angel, making all the right choices and being so polite and sweet, and the next minute we can have a sharing or obeying problem.  She can be a little stinker and knows how to passively 'push buttons.'  With consistent reinforcement, I'm sure she will learn to share and obey.  And it's such a great responsibility (and exhausting!) that we've been entrusted to teach her.  Good thing God will grant us wisdom in raising his children!

I love our little monkey and his big sister and their papa so much.  I cannot imagine our life together any other way.  Lately I've been feeling incredibly blessed, for reasons that I've taken for granted.  I love when God uses someone else's story to inspire us or in this case to remind me to have an attitude of gratitude and leave my critical tendencies behind.  I can hear "don't sweat the small stuff" a hundred times, but until my heart is ready to hear it, it doesn't click.  Praise be to God for making it 'click' for me this week and for using other people's stories to bless my life.