Chief Poopy Pants

Long time, no post. Mainly because I left our camera in Tennessee last weekend and my cousin, Jamie, is shipping it back. Yeah, she called to let me know I'd left it on her Foosball table and I hadn't even realized it was gone. That is how things are going these days.

For starters, we made a whirlwind trip to Bristol, TN for my great-uncle's and my aunt's birthdays. Henry talked the WHOLE trip to and from TN without stopping. He slept for about an hour on the way there but, otherwise, he clucked, chortled, giggled, and basically spoke Cling-on for five hours straight. It was very sweet: I about went crazy. (As I type this I am listening to him summon aliens over the monitor as I just put him down to bed.) I told Sloan that it would be even more annoying in a couple of years when he was actually speaking to us and expecting us to respond to him. I am sure this is of my mother's doing as she claims she prayed I'd have a child like me.

Sloan has been traveling a lot lately with work so it has just been the Pickle and me. During this time, we are beginning to wave. Mainly, I wave at Henry and he raises his hand to me as if to say "How." When he does this, I call him Chief Poopy Pants. Sometimes he'll wiggle a finger or two when waved at, but the only person he really waves to is the weatherman on TV. So apparently, he wants nothing to do with Mommy or Daddy, but he must tell Andrew Freiden hello.

He also enjoys driving his little toy car. He loves honking the horn, making the lights flash, and once again, basically making as much noise as possible. This should not be a surprise as he is the son of two noisy people. He is also beginning to pull up to his knees using the sides of his corral (the PC name we've given his prison). I am trying to thwart this at all costs as I'm sure this will lead to standing and standing leads to walking and then I am totally lost. He also has begun to attempt the sippy cup (but never tilts his head back enough so he just sucks air) and to try to feed himself. This is messy and also brings new meaning to the phrase "Gag me with a spoon". We are also adding some things to the things Henry does not like list--grits from Cracker Barrel and avocado. He does, surprisingly, like spinach and just can't get enough of pears.

Also, I think he is working on getting his third tooth as he is a slobber factory and coughs a lot. This cough sometimes wakes him up and pretty much always wakes me up, so it has been a long couple of days. We have his 9-month check-up on Friday and I am interested to see how much this chubber weighs as he has been eating a lot lately. He is now wearing 18 month clothing. He used to be so tiny!