Two years with Henry came and went on Sept. 2, 2011. I again have neglected the updates and the photography. I'm mother of the year! Henry did not end up with a haircut in Milwaukee, hence the dearth of first haircut photos. He became very frightened of even the sight of the apron my friend attempted to put on him. It was child-sized and covered in friendly animal print; Henry would have none of it. He screamed as if he were about to have surgery and clung to me. Haircut attempt 1: fail. I am not sure where the fear originates since he's neither been in a hair salon nor been threatened or injured in one, so the panic is a mystery.
I did trim his long hair myself in St. Louis during a visit in August. I took about 4 inches off and saved many little curly pony tail locks because that is what Mothers of the Year do. The hair is still long, and all strangers think Henry is a girl. Rob and I do not care a bit and never correct them; it only gets awkward when strangers learn his name is Henry and fall all over themselves trying to explain how he really DOESN'T look like a girl after all. We don't care. Henry is awesome and would be if he were a she too. She would probably also dress and look the same.
The vocabulary expansion is epic. I would guess Henry has 500 words or so and regularly speaks in long sentences. He even jokes with words now. Even with all of his words, I still love when he's missing a term he needs and says things like, "Mommy, put the 'this' on the bread for Henry". That would be butter; but he's missing that one word. At night, when he's dozing off and still resisting being carried to bed, he'll call out, "No Daddy, I wanna have THIS!" and he means please take me back into your room where I can finish the nursing that I wanted before my sleep. He knows that we know what he wants, so why waste words when you're tired??
That is funny, too, because Henry is freaking VERBOSE. Constant chatter comes from that little mouth. Sometimes it is songs or rhymes, sometimes narrating what he's doing or planning a day of adventure (Henry go swimming with Papa Joe!), sometimes talking to his toys or "reading" his books. He's sweet to us; asks now nightly for "family hugs" and also when out walking, will reach for one of us and demand a hug or a kiss even if we're crossing Main street with its notorious walk sign ignorers.
Two is the best age ever. Neither Rob nor I would choose the early days over this, not even with tantrums and strong preferences on what he wears, reads, or eats. I think Rob has Green Eggs and Ham memorized but still reads it with gusto nightly because Henry loves it so. Maddie is his best buddy and the two of them give each other awkward, mauling hugs at the end of each day.
My work is fine. I have ups and downs, some weeks feel like I should be looking at other jobs and the next week feel that we're gaining some stability. I am not a big fan of how my offices are run; by higher ups who all work out of town and treat us as an afterthought- if that. I get little feedback and while I appreciate non-hovering supervisory styles, I have no idea WTF I am doing or what will be next. Some days I spend 4 hours online playing on my message boards and then the entire next week I'll have so much work that I never even get a lunch break. It is feast or famine and it confuses me.
Rob is doing fantastically. He is busy in his first semester of teaching and reports that Bradley is treating him well and that his department is very supportive and stable. We discovered in mid-September that he'd very unexpectedly won a prestigious award for his dissertation. The award is the highest honor in the country for someone earning an American Studies degree. It opens up some new opportunities for Rob and possibly for us but the concensus in this family is that we're staying in Peoria and near Bradley for a long time. All opportunities will be reviewed and hopefully at the least Rob gets a book out of the deal. We're both going to Baltimare later in October where he'll accept his award and also presumably be wooed by academic presses. I will spend some times with a nearby ninja and also enjoy a nice, toddler free dinner with Rob and our friends Suki and Betsy because my mother-in-law has again come to our rescue and will keep Henry for a few days while we travel. I am excited!
Photos to come, the house has not changed much since I returned to work. I have some plans but nothing really exciting to report...yet. It is livable and we like the space, but I think we could live here 10 years and still not shake the feel of students lingering in the old house. Henry does bring life and excitement to everything, though.
