month seventeen: in review

This past Thursday, my baby Henry turned 17 months old.


I started this blog when our triplets were 17 months old. But for whatever reason, Henry seems so much younger than his siblings were at the same age. Yet, he seems so much older. And I'm sure that makes no sense at all.

Perhaps it's because I've so carefully documented Henry's life since he has arrived on the scene and it is unfathomable the huge strides that he has made in such a seemingly short period of time. And yet, he is doing things at this young age that it took his siblings a few years to master.


Of course his siblings didn't have older siblings to emulate.

For instance, our triplets didn't eat cereal with milk and a spoon until they were at least two and a half.

But Henry absolutely must do everything that they are doing.


Henry must play with them ...


... and ransack their toys whenever they go to school.


He must get in to whatever it is that they get in to.

And although Henry gets in to a lot, he doesn't get in to nearly as much as the triplets did when they were his age. For instance, our floor lamps are safe. As are our blinds, plants and rolls of toilet paper.


I don't remember exactly when the triplets were talking up a blue streak, but I know it wasn't a day before their second birthday. But Henry?

He is jabbering words like "HI!" and "BYE!" and "JUICE!" and "ICE WAWA!" and "UP!" and "AW DONE!" and "DOWN!" and "WOODY!" and "DaDa!!" (but that last one refers to either his father or me.) Although he can not yet say Mama, he can say "BUZZ WIGHTYEAR!"


He also knows how to say, "CHEESE!"


And "NO ELMO!!!"


But in the course of trying to keep up with his siblings, he has fallen down and skinned his knees more than once. These accidents always elicit a show of support from his doting sisters.

His big brother it appears isn't nearly as compassionate.


This month, Henry accompanied Carolyn on her "special day" to The Zoo and William and Elizabeth (on their respective "special days") to Sea World.


He went on various rides and sat in on a 4-D animation show.


He walked and walked and walked...

And was EXTREMELY TICKED OFF when his father and I decided that if we were going to get back to the car before Spring, we might want to consider carrying our zigzagging toddler the last 200 feet.


Henry is still nursing and I see no sign of him giving that up anytime soon. But between nursing on-demand and allowing him to have a pacifier and eat ice cream at least twice a week and lollipops whenever he has a haircut (at the rate his beautiful locks grow it works out to once every four weeks), I am doing a whole lot of things with Henry that I never did with his siblings. This time around, I see how fast it goes and I'm just enjoying him completely. The nursing and pacifier will go away when it's time. And we haven't yet decided that it's time or when that time will be. But I'm sure we'll know.

He is typically in bed between 6:30 and 7:30 at night and will generally sleep until at least 5:00 in the morning. Although, he has been known to wake up at 11:00.

Or 2:00.

Or 3:00.

Or sometimes even 4:00.

And all I can do is laugh and laugh because I had TRIPLETS sleeping 12-hours through the night when they were around four-months old, but in 17-months, I have yet to get a SINGLETON to sleep more than eight hours without waking.


And naps? Once a day for an hour and a half.


If I'm lucky.

But I'll tell you what ... even though I haven't had a decent sleep in almost two years, I wouldn't want my life any other way. This baby fills my heart.

He touches my soul.

And when he throws his little arms around my neck and gives me huge baby hugs, or he cuddles up next to my face and rubs my cheek, I just cannot believe that I have been blessed so richly.

I am putty in his hands.


And he knows it.