Pancakes, Flowies, Ties, and Whack Whacks

As we get closer to Brute 2 joining our family, I'm shocked at how grown up Henry is getting. I know it will be even worse once Little Brother actually joins the family, but in the mean time--holy cow, where did my baby go?

Henry is talking SO much. Full sentences, changing tenses, and he's learning how to use first person. Which kills me, because sometimes he gets it totally wrong but it's adorable.

One of my favorite things, is when he asks to be held. "Mommy hold you?" he says. I love it. Derek asked him to say "Mommy hold me" the other day and I quickly shot him down--he'll learn soon enough! I don't need him to grow up that fast!

Henry, as usual, is totally in to helping with everything. He likes to help Daddy get dressed, especially for church on Sunday. This week, he helped Daddy tie his tie. He likes to help cook, and his favorite thing to do is make pancakes or french toast with Derek. There are many a Saturday morning (when Derek gets up with Henry so I can sleep in) when I get woken up by my happy little boy saying "Henry, Daddy make Mommy Break-ast!" Love it. Derek let's him mix, turn the pancakes, and carry them to the table. Also, he actually eats pancakes and french toast, which is a bonus. :)

I love their bed heads. :)

We went to the library this last week, where Henry helped me pick out some new books to bring home. A lot of the ones he insisted we check out have a lot of words on each page--too many for his patience right now, but it was still fun to let him help choose. If there were books with multiple copies, he pulled them all off the shelf and asked me to get them all. We didn't, of course, as I explained that we only need one of those books and other kids might want to take them home. He was mostly ok with that.

He's still really in to playing choo choo, tools, cars, and with his dinosaurs. Lately, he and Derek build dinosaur houses out of the Duplos. It's great fun, and they sit on the hearth for a day or two while as Henry plays with them each morning.

We've been helping Nana and Papa in the yard a lot lately, as their yard is in a Secret Garden tour on the 5th and 6th of June. The biggest project has been the play house, which is a reconstructed old barn that they tore down last summer. It's gorgeous and still a work in progress (more pictures later) but Henry absolutely loves helping build it. He brings out a handful of his tools and assists in any way he is allowed. Like measuring the floor boards, using his "whack whack" to hit the walls (over and over again!), and using his saw to help cut the cardboard tubes for the footings. I love that he likes to help, and even more important, I love that Nana and Papa include him in everything they can.

using his  saw to help with the footings for the playhouse

whack whack!

helping at the green dump. Nana yelled "hiya!" and he yelled "owie ya!" every time he threw a piece of wood out of the truck. 

Speaking of which, Henry is quite obsessed with watering the "flowies" in Nana's garden. I think we've about drowned a few of them because he wants to water them several times a day. I've tried to find dry patches in the yard, but with the incredibly unusual amount of rain lately, the mushrooms in the grass indicate there just isn't a dry patch to be found. But Henry loves it! He likes to hold the hose and the last week or so he's been sticking his hand in it and licking the water off, "get a drink, Mommy?" he'll say. He likes to help me get a drink by sticking his wet hand up to my mouth for me to suck off the water. Very helpful. :)

We've also been battling a lot of sickness around our house. Henry and I both were sick a couple weeks ago, and now I am just about all the way better and Henry developed a cough this week accompanied by a terrible fever today. Ugh. The worst. But at the same time, I've had more snuggles from him in the last 24 hours than in the last year and half. Seriously. Like, actual lay his head on my shoulder snuggles! It's been awesome, but so sad because I know he just doesn't feel well at all. Poor dude.

Oh, another thing we do just about every day, which I may have written about before, is waiting for Daddy to come home. After Henry's nap, we take blank (his blanket) and a story (usually Harry Potter) out to the swing and "watch-a-Daddy." Sometimes it's his blank and his tools, like yesterday. It's my favorite when Derek pulls up in his red truck, as Henry immediately yells "Daddy!" and hurries up the stairs and across the driveway to give his Daddy a big hug. He loves it when Daddy gets home, and usually has a long list of things for them to do. I love watching those two together. They're the best.

Anyway, that's what we're up to lately. Derek's working hard, so am I, and we're getting more and more excited for this baby to come. Ok, mostly I am excited to not be pregnant anymore, Henry is excited to have his Mama back to crawling on the floor and picking him up whenever he wants, and Derek is excited to have me not be miserable and hurting all the time. But either way--we're looking forward to our Brute 2 coming in the next few weeks! YAY!

Phineas

One of the things Henry loves the most are the bells. The BYU Carillon Bells, to be exact. Most days, he says "Go a walk, see a bells?" And so after dinner, just before bedtime usually, we load him, his "blank," some juice, some goldfish, and a water bottle for us up on the buggy and head down to campus to visit the bells. We try to plan our excursion so we arrive at the base of the bells just a few minutes before they go off. Which means, most of the time, we hear the bells toll for 8 o'clock. We go rain, snow, sunshine--whenever we feel like going for a walk, we just go.

Some time, a few years ago, Derek and I decided to name the largest bell on the tower. I'm sure the actual bell ringer people have a name for it, but we chose the name Phineas. Why that name, you ask? Well, if you know anything about Brigham Young, you know that his brother's name was Phineas. And that Phineas was pretty instrumental in getting Brigham to read the Book of Mormon and join the Church. We decided Brigham would be pretty happy about us naming such an important piece of BYU property after his brother. So there you go.

Over the last month or so, Henry has picked up on the name. He asks to go hear Phineas quite a bit, and gets really excited when he can hear him. "Phin-eee-as!" he says, as though it were three short words. Sometimes, instead of asking to go walk by the bells, he will ask if we can go hear Phineas. It makes us smile, every time.

Once, we were walking by the base of the bells before dinner. I was really hungry (surprise surprise) but Henry just didn't want to leave. We were trying to convince him to go with us to get food from the Creamery, but he was not about to leave the bells and the ducklings that live there. Suddenly, the bells went off "Oh," Derek said, "Phineas said it's time for Mommy to go eat! We better go."

"Ok," Henry said, "Phin-ee-as, said, Mommy eat. Time a go." And he was happy with that.

Now, if you ask Henry what Phineas said, he will usually say "Time Mommy to eat." It makes me laugh, because about every hour, it is time for Mommy to eat.

With all the baby ducklings at the waterfall/pond at the base of the bell tower, Henry has an added measure of excitement when we arrive. He loves to chase them around, clutching his blanket and speaking to them in the sweetest little baby voice. He gets very excited when they go in to the water, as they always "take a bath" when we are there. He has chased a mother and her ducklings from one side of the lawn all the way to the other, hoping he could catch them just for a second! Derek and I have to keep pretty close tabs on him, because sometimes the mama ducks get a bit defensive of their babies. Luckily no duck bites yet!

Most evenings, we make the trek down to campus and walk by the bells. It's so relaxing, Henry loves it, and we love spending time just the three of us. We sometimes take food for the ducklings, which Henry ends up eating and not feeding them, but usually we just go and wander around until the bells ring. I love how big his smile gets when the bells go off and how he always says "Bye bells! See ya later!" whenever we leave. I love that when he hears the bells from our house that he gets excited and almost immediately asks to go for a walk to see them. They've become part of our family, really, and I'm grateful we live close enough to make these memories with him.

I can't wait for him to show Little Brother the bells--something we've been talking about lately. I'm sure it will continue to be a fun family walk for us for months to come.



**these photos are from a few weeks ago, taken with my phone.

"That Boy Spill"

Now that Henry is talking all the time, we've entered the realm of the unfiltered comments. You know, the ones where your face turns red and your neck hot as your toddler tells everyone on the street that "Mommy shower nakey!" or runs around the backyard while you are cleaning up doggie do-dos yelling "Mommy clean up poops! Yay!"--both true stories. Of course they're more funny than embarrassing, more adorable than shameful, and definitely more hilarious than aggravating. But I think more than the embarrassing moment, more than the funny words, is the realization of just how much Henry is taking in, observing, and remembering.

This Sunday, we had a semi-awkward but mostly wonderful unfiltered comment from Henry in the middle of Sacrament Meeting. Henry loves to watch the young men pass the sacrament. He's particularly interested in the deacons, it seems, and follows them with his eyes as he stands on the pew, leaning against his Daddy. This week, one of our newest deacons was standing in the very front of the chapel, hefting two trays of tiny cups of water, watching as the Bishop partook of the sacrament. Poor boy tipped one of the trays, and spilled just a tiny bit from one or two of the cups; I'm not sure he even noticed he did it. But Henry did.

In full voice, Henry pointed at him and said "That boy spill! That boy spill!" Of course Derek and I shushed him, asked him to whisper and said, "yeah, he spilled, but that's ok."  "That boy spill!" Henry announced again, turning as the offending deacon walked down the aisle and pointing at him again. For the rest of the meeting, Henry kept reminding us that "that boy" (who also happened to sit directly in front of us) had spilled a little bit.

Of course I was embarrassed, not only because Henry was talking loudly during the sacrament, but because that poor deacon had done nothing wrong and might have been a little embarrassed by a two-year-old announcing his blunder in front of the whole ward (though really, it was probably only a couple people that heard Henry).

His observation kept coming back to me (whether I wanted it to or not) throughout the meeting, and I couldn't help but think about how Henry is watching and listening to all that goes on around him. From the names of flowers, to the kind of lotion I rub on my legs, to the boys that pass the sacrament each Sunday. I wonder if those deacons and teachers know that he watches them every week, his eyes scanning the room, pointing at their ties and white shirts. I wonder if they know that he whispers "yeah" when Derek asks him if he's going to pass the sacrament one day, then says "watch boys, one day."

Henry picks up on so much and I love watching him learn. And I do love the subsequent announcements of what he has learned, too. He is so clever and quick--sometimes frighteningly so. As he learns, I find myself watching what I say, what I do, and how I react to difficult situations. I want him to learn only the best of habits and become the best he can be. Hopefully, he can learn to whisper at church, too.

Two Words

I've always been amazed at the power words can have on a person. They can bring you to tears or make you feel incredible joy. Sometimes, it is the simple words that have the most impact.

With Henry in our house the last two years, I've seen the power VERY simple words can have on a person, particularly my little person. Even just "no" and "yes" can take move him to tears or giggles! But I think two of the most powerful words for Henry are "Mama's here."

My poor little guy has nightmares sometimes. He wakes up crying, calling out for Mama to come and help him feel better. And I am constantly amazing at how kneeling by his bedside and saying "Mama's here" can help him calm down and fall back to sleep. Sometimes, that's really all it takes.

I'm so grateful that Henry knows how much he is loved and that just knowing that Mama is there makes him feel safer. He is such a joy in my life and helps lighten even the darkest clouds that come.

Henry-isms

Henry says some of the most hilarious things. He also makes connections from one thing to another that astound me. So, I thought I'd better write some of these things down before I forget. Some of them are things he's been saying for months (which is years in toddler time) and others he's just recently started saying.


Henry Words:

butt = blanket
boots = Buco (pronounced "Boot-so" the penguin)
choc = chocolate
choo choo choo = train. there must be 3 choo's for it to be right, though!
cri-cri-er = Little Critter
Helloooo = he always says it in the funniest voice
Mick = Mickey Mouse
Non = Shaun (the Sheep)
Vac = Vacuum
Meow = Kitty
nin = Again
Da-Ee = Daddy
Whack-Whack = Hammer
Dill = Drill



Funny Things/Connections

The other day I told him it looked like it was going to rain. He said "rain off, Mama," as it wasn't raining yet.

Henry hates having the sun in his eyes, and he's convinced I can make it move or get rid of it without much effort. While we were driving in the car, we stopped at a stop light at the sun was right in his eyes. "Mama, sun off! Sun off!" he demanded. "Mama can't turn the sun off, baby, it doesn't work like that." "Yes, Mama sun off!"

We're trying to teach Henry about his little brother and that he will be joining the family soon. Along with that, we're trying to teach him not to crawl all over Mama's tummy. If you ask him where little brother is, he points at his own tummy. Then he lifts up his shirt to see if he's there and says "nope."

Running. When Henry runs he says "run, run, run!" When he's trying to run fast, he moves his arms back and forth, usually making his body twist.

Henry is always so excited when Daddy gets home from work. "Da-ee!!" He says, and then runs to give him a hug. But first, he says "Jack, off!" Telling Daddy to take his jacket off. It's the signal that Daddy won't be leaving again.


Things Henry Loves

He still loves sweeping. He quite often takes Nana by the hand and takes her over to where she keeps her broom and her swiffer. Henry always takes the swiffer. He wants to sweep every day, usually more than once. Nana is awesome and lets him help. But when it's time to use the dustpan, Henry frequently takes the swiffer right into the middle of the pile and spreads it around.

Henry loves to read. Lately, he's been asking to have the books we read before sleep right by his pillow. He has a stuffed animal Sully from Monsters, Inc. who "holds" the books for him while he's sleeping. After each book he says "nother, book?" or "more stories?" it's so hard for me to tell him no more stories, because I LOVE that he loves to read!

Speaking of stories: his current favorites are Little Critter, Go Dog Go, and There's an Alligator Under My Bed. He also really likes his Thomas the Tank Engine books and Each Peach, Pear Plum.

French fries. Oh how this boy loves fries. He is SUPER picky lately, but fries are something he will always eat. Whenever we go to a restaurant, he asks for fries and has started "fries, please" to whoever is at the window at the drive up or at the till inside the fast food restaurant. It's super cute and SO frustrating, all at the same time.

Cords. Henry has had this thing with power cords since the autumn, and wants to carry them around all the time. He likes extension cords with heavy multiple outlets on one end, and drives that end around like a car.

Henry likes to listen to the same song over and over. Usually each trip we have a new song. His favorites lately are: "Ob-La-Di" by The Beatles, Trashin' the Camp from Tarzan, Club Can't Handle Me by Flo Rida, Shake it Off by Taylor Swift, When Can I see You Again? by Owl City, Haven't Met You Yet by Michael Buble

Henry loves tools. He got some from Nana and Papa for Christmas and then some more from us for his birthday. He likes to bring them outside to help Nana work on projects all the time. He always wants to help in any way possible, like holding screws, placing the level.




Note--these are just a few I've thought of. I'll probably add to the list when I think of more. :)

Birthday Boy

The day before Henry's birthday (yes, Valentine's Day) we took a picnic up the canyon and took some birthday pictures of him. He kept telling me "all done Mama," and trying to get away from the Camera. But after I started acting like a crazy person he started laughing and we got some sweet pictures.

I just can't believe how much he has grown up in the last year. I looked back at the photos we took in the Botanic Gardens the week he turned one and man! I thought he was grown up then!

Henry loves to be with his family. He gets excited when any of his aunts or uncles are in town and asks every day to go up and visit Nana and Papa. When he climbs up the stairs he shouts "Hello!" and gets really excited again when Nana and Papa say hello back. When Daddy gets home, he immediately shouts "Da-ee!" and "off!" to get Daddy to take his coat off (that means he will be staying, I guess.) He loves to say my name, so I hear "Mama" about a million times every day. It's how he gets my attention when he's ready to get out of bed, and I've found he even says it in his sleep.

Henry loves juice, chocolate, fries, toast, Cheetos, fruit snacks, bread with oil/vinegar, peas, and corn. He really is a super picky eater, which drives me to distraction. He doesn't want to eat much besides what I just listed--here and there he'll eat whatever chicken we have for dinner, particularly if it is spicy (especially Chinese spices). He loves to help, and wants to sit up on the counter while I make anything. He likes to put the bread in the toaster, and says "POP!" when it is done. We have to cut the top crust off the toast, or he won't eat it.

Henry is definitely our little helper still. He wants to help Nana sweep and vacuum several times a day and LOVES to help me clean the house. Now that he has his own tools, he insists on helping Daddy, Papa, and Nana any time they are working on a project. His drill is already one of his favorite toys (which we bought for his birthday) and he wants to help Nana sew, too.

Reading is probably one of Henry's favorite activities. He's learned how to say "another book" and so getting him to bed can sometimes take a long time. He likes to have his books in his bed with him, and he often grabs one as we walk out of the room to look at it before he goes to sleep.

Oh, Henry's bed! He is still a great sleeper and goes down so easy, but his bed has become quite the crowded place. He insists on having all of his pillows (around 10 or so), his penguin, his hedgehog, Duxford, Shaun the Sheep, his Mickey, Sully (from Monsters, Inc.), his bus, a sippy cup of juice, plus whatever books we read right before going to sleep. One night he even asked if he could have his vacuum in the bed! All of this plus his two blankets. Sometimes, he adds one or two things to the mix--like one of his other stuffed animals or a car or his little London snowglobe. It cracks me up--I have no idea how he sleeps with all that in his bed!

Henry is incredibly verbal and loves to play pretend. I swear he learns a new word every two days and surprises me with how quickly he catches on when we teach him a new word. Nana recently taught him "Bomb diggity" and he loves to say "pretty cool," something I say all the time. He loves to play cars and "choo choo choo" and he makes up great little stories every time. He loves to take baths and showers, and likes to play in the water for a long time.

One of my favorite things about Henry is how loving he is. He loves to give hugs and kisses. He smiles all the time and says "hi" and "bye" to everyone and every thing (including the house every time we drive away). Henry isn't much of a cuddler, but he does want everyone to know how much he loves them by smiling and saying hello.

Sometimes, I can't believe how lucky I am to be Henry's Mama. Even as I write down things he likes to do, what he says, and some of his funny little quirks, I realize it is difficult to capture the essence of Henry in words. I feel like some of these pictures show how happy and sweet he really is. He wants to be happy all the time and tries to share that happiness with everyone around him.

Happy Birthday, Little Brute. You make me be so much more and I am so proud to be your Mama.

I LOVE YOU!!

Second Birthday!

Today, I turned two. Mama and Daddy woke me up by singing Happy Birthday and giving me lots of hugs and kisses. I wasn't too interested in that--I care a lot more about getting "Brek" (breakfast), so Mama helped me get my bowl and spoon, the milk, and my favorite cereal (Marshmellow Mateys) while Daddy finished getting ready for church.

I was so excited, because I got to wear my new vest and bowtie that Nana made me! Mama and I picked the fabric out, and Nana whipped it out in time for me to wear to church today. I was so excited that I got to wear "Mick" to church! I also went in to Nursery all by myself today! I almost made it all two hours by myself, too (I saw Mama and then Nana in the hallway, so Nana came in for a few minutes).

After church, I got to eat one of the cupcakes Mama took for her Primary class. She said since it was my birthday I could eat whatever I wanted--sounds good to me!

While I took a nap, Mama and Daddy got the house all ready for my birthday party. The very best part was when Daddy woke me up, he told me to go out in the living room to find Mama and a surprise. Oh, it was an awesome surprise! Daddy had blown up more than 50 balloons all by himself for me to run through. At first, I wasn't sure if I was allowed to, so I inched my way to Mama on the chair. But then she said I could hit them--and that was so fun! Daddy and I played in the balloons together for almost twenty minutes after that--they were so fun!

Mama had made me a special birthday banner last night. I got to help staple it this morning, but she was so excited for me to see it. We had Mickey plates (that I picked out!) and birthday hats, too. Mama put out a bunch of pictures of me for people to see from my birthday photo shoot yesterday. She even put one out of me when I was born and then one of me when I turned one. She says I'm growing way too fast.

I was so excited to have all of the Bruton family at my party and also Papa and Uncle Dallon (Nana wasn't feeling well). We ate tacos for dinner, then I got to open my presents. I was so spoiled!

I opened Uncle Dallon's present first. He got me the COOLEST toy ever--it's a dump truck, with a drill that I can use to take it apart! I am so excited. I wanted to open it right away and play with it, but Mama said I had to open my other presents.

Nana and Papa gave me a new book, but the best part was the card--it said I get to have a day at the zoo with Nana and Papa! I am so excited! They also got me a subscription for the zoo magazine. I'm excited to see the pictures of all the animals.

Grandpa and Grandma gave me a box of Duplos--I'm so glad! We had to leave my Duplos in Cambridge, so it was nice to get some more to play with.

Oh--and Aunt Corinne and her family sent me a Duplo train in the mail! I'm excited to play with the train and all the new blocks!

Aunt Chelsey also brought me a new book, a big doggie that I already like to play with, and some new silverware. She brought it to me yesterday because she couldn't come to my party.

Mama and Daddy got me some new tools. I got a drill, a whack-whack (hammer), another saw, and a tape measure. I was so excited to get them out. The drill spins around and makes the coolest noise! They also got me a new cup for my juice: a BYU one with a straw! I wanted to use it right away, so Mama put some juice in there for me.

After I opened my presents, everybody sang to me and we had cake. Mama bought me my favorite ice cream (Neapolitan) and made me a cake in the shape of Mickey Mouse's head! There was a Mickey, a Pluto, and a Chip and Dale were on the cake along with two candles. I blew the candles out all by myself! One at a time, just to make sure. Mama was so proud of me.

I had such a great birthday. Everybody left just before bed time, and I was so tired from all the birthday celebrations that I just fell right asleep after reading stories--even with my floating balloons in my bed with me.

--Little Brute