Very BIG Boy

People had been telling me recently that Henry seems really big for his age. I thought they had meant he acts older, which is does, with his long hair and all his climbing and running. He's so sure on his feet and isn't afraid of anything. This week I took him to his new pediatrician, Dr. Butler,who I adore, and he did his checkup. Henry weighs almost 30 lbs and is just under 36 inches tall which means that he's off the chart(99th percentile) for height and at the top for weight (95th percentile). His head, however is only in the 50th percentile. haha! Poor little guy. He is excelling in every area, especially verbally and physically. For a boy, he is very verbal, follows directions, and even sings a little bit. He climbs, runs, hops, jumps, goes down huge slides and is very independent. His social skills have always been advanced and children younger and especially older than him have always loved interacting with him because of his contagious personality and sweet character.

He is so eager to please and is obedient to the point that it blows my mind. One of his new things is to help me throw everything away. As soon as he finds a wrapper on the ground, even outside on the street, he wants to pick it up and put in the garbage. He's so proud of himself when he understands instructions and does what I ask him to do. Henry is also one of the friendliest kids ever. Everywhere he goes, he waves at people, especially kids, and people can't help but react with a smile and and swooning.

His expressions are getting even more extreme as he learns to talk. He is signing over 75 words and when we go into the city or a new environment, he tries to name everything, and the things he can't name, he signs. He notices everything and never holds back his joy and excitement for the world around him.

Just the other day Henry, Justin and I were doing a little yard work and Justin took Henry to the front yard for a couple minutes and when he saw me in the back yard watering the garden, he ran toward me exclaiming, "woh dad, mommy!, mommy!, mommy!"

Yesterday we went to a Pittsburgh Pirates(I know you've never heard of them) baseball game. He loved the crowd, the jumbo screen cartoons and all the clapping. After a while, he decided to go on an adventure, so we headed out to walk around. He made a bunch of friends, got some free popcorn which he fed to a seeing eye dog. He also danced with a young disabled boy in a wheelchair and they even signed to each other. As he hopped, skipped, and ran down the ramps, he would periodically stop to dance the the music. Whenever he did, a crowd would start to congregate until he decided it was time to move on.

One of Henry's favorite things to do is to go visit Justin down at the hospital and walk around outside. There are always a variety of buses, motorcycles, the trauma helicopter coming and leaving. He gets a lot of stimulation from the diversity of people walking around and all the traffic on the street.

Well, this is Henry! He is the most lovable boy around!