Our Mute Boy

Henry uttered his first word- Caesar- seemingly forever ago. His vocabulary has been very slow to grow. He will say momma and dadda when prompted, but he doesn't initiate it. There is a particular grunt that I usually recognize as he wants whatever it is that I have. He yells "Dee!" whenever he does something like a body-slam or tackle. Everything else he needs or wants is covered with a generic grunt that's like saying "uh" over and over again. He's not exactly the most verbal child ever.

So Nick was surprised last week when Henry saw a picture of a flower and said "flower" clearly enough that it could be understood as an English word by a casual listener. Nick wondered why would that be the new word he would add to his vocabulary when he still doesn't say things that he wants all the time like milk or ball or car. I had a simple explanation. All summer I've tried to keep Henry from picking the flowers in the yard, or more accurately, pulling the petals off the flowers. Thousands of times this summer he has heard "Be nice to the flowers," or "Don't touch the flowers," or "Stop killing the flowers please." We've gone over what to do and not to do to the flowers a lot.

He may have learned to identify them, but he still hasn't learned not to touch them. We were outside today, and it was if he made a bee-line to pull the petals off the one flowering plant we have left. I guess we'll try again this spring.

He Seems So Serious

His last canine has finally broken through his gums. I'm hoping to have a much happier kid now. He's been Dr. Toddler/Mr. Hyde the last week, so I'm excited to have a happy Henry return.

A Return to Real Life

Nick is on call right now, which means by the time he gets home tomorrow he will have worked for thirty hours, likely without any sleep.  He returned to work Monday after two-weeks of vacation.  We spent the first week in Utah with our families.  Highlights included the annual Ashworth Halloween party, shooting handguns at the Lion's Club Range, sleeping in every morning, and lots of cold diet coke.  I took pictures, but then left them in Utah, so just imagine that we were having a great time and looked like we stepped out of a Banana Republic catalog.  Cause, that's how we usually look.

We came home with a sick baby and a very relaxed dog.  The baby had a bit of a meltdown on the plane- hey guy with the C boarding pass sitting next to us- you got an aisle seat- that's worth something, but was it worth this??  You could have chosen a center seat somewhere else.  Just saying.

We spent the second week of vacation continuing to sleep in, taking naps, watching a couple of movies, and doing a few local fun things.  Most importantly we celebrated my birthday by painting our family room.  We started wall prep the night before and continued in the morning after a leisurely breakfast.  We had everything ready so as soon as Henry was napping our first coat was going on the wall.  It was our first time using Behr's new paint and primer-in-one.  Considering we were covering green sponge painting (blech!) it did a fantastic job.  The second coat was needed to get rid of visible brush strokes.  I no longer walk into our living room finding myself overwhelmed with its hideousness.  Instead, the walls are a beautiful light beige that will be a nice backdrop for the things we will put on and in front of the walls.  Pictures to come.  I'm in a photo rut and haven't taken any pictures I like recently, I'll work on trying harder.

On a side note- I've started a "Bad Picture a Day" blog.  Most of the pictures are phone pictures, featuring Henry as the main subject.  There is a link on the side of the blog to the most recent pictures.

What Happened Here?

Very sorry to tell you kid, this basket is a little out of your reach.
I'm pretty sure that's mud on your bottom, which is a relief.

A Favorite Painting

It's a portrait by John Singer Sargent, at the Art Institute of Chicago. It's one of the many beautiful things I saw when I visited there with my St. Louis friend Bonnie on Tuesday. She and her family spent Monday and Tuesday night with us, so Tuesday we went out on the town.

Our beautiful day was slightly marred when we returned to my car after visiting the museum. The parking enforcer had left a ticket on my windshield-not for being illegally parked, but for having tinted windows. The fine is $250, which hurts. So today, I hate the city of Chicago and Richard M. Daley, Mayor.

For Nick

Utah Highlights

W, my nephew

Henry, Caesar and I went to Utah for a week. Here are some of the highlights:

We visited all first degree relatives, saw a few second degree ones too.

Had lunch with a few friends, including Jessica R. S. and Christy R. C. There are lots of friends I'm hoping to catch in the next visit or two (for example, Sarah and Sara.) We did catch my mom's quarterly luncheon with her childhood friends, which is always too much fun.

We went to the Utah State Fair. I hadn't been in years. Henry had his first trip down the big yellow slide. Nick said he doesn't get emotional over many things, but he was very sad to have missed the first yellow slide experience. Henry's favorite thing at the fair was the chapstick I bought. He took the lid off and put it back on repeatedly, until he finally lost the lid, then he focused on eating the chapstick.

Had a sweet pork burrito from Costa Vida, but someone stole my leftovers which put on damper on the experience. Also, I ate one of their delicious coconut Popsicles.

Shopped at NPS, where I bought Henry a jacket for $3.50. Henry had a haircut by his aunt Samantha at her beauty college. He basically took it like a boss. She also straightened my hair, which made me realize how much my current haircut is not working. I haven't done anything to change it yet, other than find a barrette.

I used my mom's "On Demand" to watch an episode of "Burn Notice," which naturally makes me think of my grandma. Oddly enough, it was her favorite show (what can I say, she was very modern.)

I am now scared to drive on Utah freeways at night. People are going upwards of 70mph, and in Utah County, the freeway is pitch black. That's so different than it is here, where 55 mph feels like speeding and everything's bright.

Of course, there were lots of things I wanted to do that we didn't. Hopefully we'll get them done soon.