mommy needs coffee 2009/11/21

h:  mommy needs coffee

m: yep

h: my* No drahnk coffee

m: Nooooooo. coffee is Yukkie!  (sips coffee loudly)

h: my Yes! DRAHNK coffee

*my = “I” in the henriland language

To Do (with Henri): Read “Important” Books 2009/10/19

I always wanted to read that list of the 100 most important books for a high school student, but never did.  Thus, I will live vicariously through Henri (in this, and in other ways, I’m sure…) by starting on the following list of the “Teacher’s Top 100.”  Actually, we’ve *already* started on it, unbeknownst to me or my future little reader  (see notations below).  We’re just that cool…

p.s. If you’re thinking about Henri’s upcoming birthday, this list might be of help to you!!!

Teacher’s Top 100 Books for Children

The following list was compiled from an online survey in 2007. Parents and teachers will find it useful in selecting quality literature for children.

1. Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
2. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
3. The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
4. Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss (own, but haven’t read yet)
5. Good Night Moon by Margaret Wise Brown  (Check)
6. I Love You Forever by Robert N. Munsch
7. Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
8. Oh! The Places You Will Go by Dr. Seuss (own?)
9. The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton
10. The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
11. Skippyjon Jones by Judy Schachner
12. Thank You Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco
13. The Cat In The Hat by Dr. Seuss (own?)
14. The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
15. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
16. The Mitten by Jan Brett
17. Crunching Carrots, Not Candy by Judy Slack
18. Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willlems (honestly, i’m not a big fan of this book; but we will read it just to check it off the list)
19. Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling (NOT NO, BUT HELL NO. if henri ever wants to read this, he can do it on his own! i refuse!!!)
20. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
21. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst
22. Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman (Check, thanks to Olga!)
23. Corduroy by Don Freeman
24. Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes
25. Stellaluna by Janell Cannon
26. Tacky the Penquin by Helen Lester
27. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
28. The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
29. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr.
30. Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin
31. Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
32. Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr. Seuss
33. Junie B. Jones by Barbara Park
34. Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
35. Make Way For Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
36. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
37. Piggie Pie by Margie Palatini
38. The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper (Check)
39. The Monster at the End of this Book by Jon Stone
40. The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo (own, but not yet age-appropriate)
41. A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon
42. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett
43. From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
44. Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
45. Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
46. Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann
47. Olivia by Ian Falconer
48. The BFG by Roald Dahl
49. The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn
50. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (own, but not yet age-appropriate)
51. The Sneetches by Dr. Seuss
52. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle (check?)
53. Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel
54. A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett (own, but not yet age-appropriate)
55. Bark, George by Jules Feiffer
56. Bunnicula by James Howe
57. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl (own, but not yet age-appropriate)
58. Charlie the Caterpillar by Dom DeLuise
59. Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes
60. Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary
61. Frederick by Leo Lionni
62. Frindle by Andrew Clements
63. Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel
64. Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney (check)
65. Harris and Me by Gary Paulsen
66. Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion
67. Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss
68. How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
69. I Love You, Stinky Face by Lisa McCourt
70. Is Your Mama A Llama? by Deborah Guarino
71. Jan Brett’s books
72. Knots on a Counting Rope by Bill Martin Jr.
73. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (own, but not yet age-appropriate)
74. Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton
75. Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
76. My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett
77. My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss (check, thanks to K-Frayz!)
78. My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
79. No David! by David Shannon (check)
80. One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss (own, but i don’t think he’s read it yet?)
81. Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
82. Stephanie’s Ponytail by Robert Munsch
83. Swimmy by Leo Lionni
84. The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes
85. The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Warner
86. The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper
87. The Empty Pot by Demi
88. The Five Chinese Brothers by Claire Huchet Bishop
89. The Giver by Lois Lowr
90. The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle
91. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (something tells me we own this…)
92. The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown
93. The Last Holiday Concert by Andrew Clements
94. The Napping House by Audrey Wood
95. The Quiltmaker’s Gift by Jeff Brumbeau
96. The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
97. The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack
98. The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka
99. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
100. The Wide-Mouthed Frog: A Pop-Up Book by Keith Faulkner

Once we get done with these, the NEA also has a list of 50 Multicultural Books and 50 State Booklist.  Oh man… I’m glad Henri likes to read!

born into it 2009/10/18

it’s official (as if it wasn’t already…): henri truly is my mini-me.

we went shoe shopping, which was (more) stressful (then it had to be) because i suggested henri “try out” each pair of shoes he tried on–ended up being like 12 or so–and he took that to mean he could run away from us in each pair of shoes he tried on.  whoop-ee!

he ended up getting, yes–you guessed it–Pink Tennis Shoes.  now, either this is God’s way of reaffirming my decision to have a kid in the first place, OR, more likely, henri doesn’t yet realize that pink is for “little ladies,” as this website so kindly points out, and just really really really really REALLY loves his mom-mom who really really really REALLY loves pink, therefore…well, you get the argument i’m making. right?

Kicks

now, i know what you’re thinking: that i Encouraged him to get pink tennis shoes.  and i swear on the tattoo on my left wrist that i did no such thing.  however, i certainly showed them to him, kind of as a joke.*  the first pair of pink tennis shoes i showed him were not anywhere near as gender-neutral and he liked them but absolutely did not say he wanted to buy them like he did the converse ones.  (yes, he speaks in sentences and yes, gender-neutral is a term that applies to pink things, in my world).  i also know the other thing you’re thinking, mainly because i thought it, too, by which i mean, i said it out loud:  poor da-da.  as with all other things me & the h-man throw at mcknight, though, he took it just fine.  sure, he rolled his eyes.  but if any father can handle his 2-year-old running around in pink kicks, it’s this one.

to answer your other questions: yes, henri has been called a girl several times since this shoe-buying incident.  i have no words.  (he doesn’t even LOOK feminine!!!).  and yes, henri and mom-mom have had several well-meaning “older” women–at least 4-year-olds, if not older–explain to us that “pink” is for “girls.”  REALLY? i had no idea.  it’s not like i’ve never passed Victoria’s Secret or The Limited Too.  it’s not like i’ve tried to buy clothes for my son that aren’t blue.  it’s not like i started wearing pink the day my niece was born 9 years ago and haven’t stopped since.  i *know* pink is for girls, you little bitches/future sarah palin supporters!!!  but, guess what?  pink is also the color of Power.  in this case, the willpower not to introduce you to the powerful feeling of putting someone much smaller and much less experienced than you are in their rightful place: namely, on the ground.

but i digress.  the moral of the story is that  the first pair of tennis shoes henri picked out himself is pink.  we tried on adidas.  we ran around the store in new balance. we knocked over shoe salesman in elmo-light-up-blinky-blinky high traction/low impact etc.-etc. shoes.  i even forced his foot into a black & flame version of the very same shoe he ended up buying.  but, none of them got the elicited reaction, which went something like this.

mom-mom: (after picking up pink converse shoes that she in no way thought would ever be liked, let alone bought, by her son, who is a boy and not a “little lady”)  these are AWESOME.  don’t you LOVE them?????

da-da: rolls eyes.

henri: uh-huh.

mom-mom: (puts them on henri’s foot, despite his squirming and losing interest upon realizing they’re *very* hard shoes to put on) WOW. i LOVE them. don’t you LOVE them, buddy???

da-da: rolls eyes, begins to walk away.

henri: uh-huh.

mom-mom: are THESE the ones you want to BUY?????

henri: (after a very long hour to hour-and-a-half of trying on shoes, running around the store, and begging to ride in a tractor) Uh-Huh!

mom-mom: (says privately to da-da) wow–i can’t believe he wants pink shoes. that’s so cute. don’t you think that’s so cute? i didn’t force him into them. you saw it. he wanted them. he said he liked them.  right?

da-da: um…

*

*the reader will note that henri has been trying on my pink high-heeled shoes and prancing around the house in them, quite capably, for a few months now

it’s never too early to start planning a party 2009/09/01

as if i don’t have enough things to do, i’ve been staying up late at night planning what will, i hope, be the 3rd best party ever.  (wait–4th, if you count my 30th b-day bar crawl.  and i {kind of} do.)  first, there was the greatest baby shower of all (!) and, then, the 1st birthday party of all 1st birthday parties (theme? Henri!) and, now, there will be an alphabetilicious party, better than your most committed abecederian could plan.

okay. having looked that up. that word does NOT mean what i thought it meant. and it definitely doesn’t mean what most people today think it means, otherwise i never would’ve heard of it.

yes, that’s right.  your ears are not fooling you.  this year’s theme will be (of course!): The Alphabet.

you're invited!

believe it or not, this isn’t actually a radical idea for a toddler’s birthday party.  i’ve already found cake designs, meal plans, pre-school appropriate activities, AND about a billion color sheets.  um, no.  we will *not* be coloring.  this isn’t pre-school, goddamnit.  it’s a friggin’ party, for God’s sake!!!

so, get your game on.  practice your cursive letters.  and make sure you know which smalls go with which bigs.  because in less than 3 months, a showcase of the world’s smartest 2-year-old’s alphabet knowledge will be on display.  join us.  if you dare.

p.s. i {additionally} challenge you to bring an alphabet-inspired, if not outright intellectually stimulating, gift.  handmade is A-Okay.

Feeling Nostalgic for Vacation 2009/08/27

henri's first "truck" coaster

carrrrrrrrrrrrrrs

he's a natural

TRASH! (yuk!) 2009/02/11

after teaching henri a couple signs that ended up being not-actually-sign-language, mark & i visited a baby signing class at the local library.  we learned 10 *real* signs, plus words/signs to a new song (more milk…more milk…please may i have more milk…) and signs to “twinkle, twinkle little star.”  other than acquiring a surefire method to torture henri while he’s in his delicate teenage angst-years (more milk…more milk…please may i have more milk…), it was a neat experience, which affirmed for me, yet again, that mark and i are alone in our fight against a world of overly-weird parents.  well, i guess i did get a little teary-eyed when the teacher told us the story of how her partially deaf son finally signed “more” for the first time–not in response to food, as they had hoped and expected, but after an exhilarating throw, up in the air, by his daddy *sniff sniff.

despite the teacher telling us to introduce “maybe one or two signs a week,” we were eager beavers and started laying them on thick as buttuh on a grilled english muffin.  and, of course, we’ve sung the song at least a thousand times (more milk…more milk…please can i have more milk…).  poor henri was so overwhelmed that he just started making the “mixing” motion for patty-cake anytime mark and i would start signing.  he halfheartedly signed “more” once, before acquiring his newest bit of language–unh, unh, unh–which, similar to his previous favorite word THAT, can basically take the place of all signing/language put together.

but–finally–(yes this posting has a point, thank you)–this week, he signed his first true sign!  it’s TRASH!.  yes, i know the sign for trash, because i asked our teacher during Q&A.  and, boy am i glad i did.  henri cannot only sign TRASH!, he signs it with gusto!!  he signs it like there’s no tomorrow!!  he absolutely loves signing TRASH! (now a synonym for yuk!).  best of all, seeing henri sign TRASH! more than makes up for the odd look on the teacher’s face when i asked her what the sign was, not to mention all of the other parents trying to pretend like they hadn’t heard what i said, or that i hadn’t said it all.  hey, a mother knows her son, okay?  somehow, i must’ve known that henri would l-o-v-e to sign TRASH!  so there.

makes me want to say/sing/sign: More Trash! More Trash! Please can I have More Trash??? Mine’s All Gone…! I Want More Trash!!!

dog! 2008/11/06

we’ve officially called it. henri’s first word is “dog.”  he has a little trouble with the gutteral ending, so–instead–he says something akin to “daw.”  but we know what he means.

some time ago, we all agreed that his first word would be not just when he says something that sounds like a word we say, but when he says something and he knows what is that he’s saying (i’d say this is a pretty standard definition of “first word,” but there was some disagreement in the family-of-henri household…).  so, yes…he definitely knows that “daw” is dog.  when he sees a dog, he says “daw”–excitedly, i might add.  AND, to one up that, he also does a cute little barking sound, if prompted.  okay, it’s actually Wicked Cute.

of course, this is his one and only word, so it also has to suffice for all of the other animals he sees (or sees a picture of), including cat, horse, pig, sheep, etc.  you get the idea!  everything is “daw.”  sometimes even da-da is “daw.”  but, it’s so darn cute, nobody minds.  say it all you want, h-man. you have a beautiful voice.