Henry Hutchens

• Arghh, Twitter/Word Press integration broke, and in trying to fix it I brought Daddy's public Twitter feed into Henry's blog. It's ok now. #

Henry will be travelling to China soon. We first have to get him a US passport, then a PRC visa. Photos are required for both. I tried to get the prescribed white-background shot, with all the dimensions correct, but getting a two-year-old to stop wiggling and face the camera proved not so easy.

Henry is officially two now. Mommy, Daddy, Henry and new little brother Spencer had a quiet celebration in Seattle on Monday. The party theme was, of course, Thomas the Tank Engine. A Thomas balloon was Henry’s favorite aspect of the whole thing, by far. Lately Henry has been a picky eater, unwilling to try new things. In an act of self-sabotage we may tease him about later, he wouldn’t try his own birthday cake. But he did enjoy playing with it, experimenting with respect to how his “2″ candle could make impressions on the icing and how the icing and cake reacted when mashed together.

It snowed in the afternoon.

With the happy coincidence of Henry’s birthday being near Thanksgiving, we are on Nov. 22 always especially mindful of all we have to be thankful for. Henry has brought Mommy and Daddy inexpressible joy over the last two years.

More photos here. A non-Google-affiliated, China-accessible version is here.

China, non-Google version here.

Henry loves to climb, wiggle, get tossed in the air. All boy.

Henry has grown from an infant to a rambunctious toddler. He still delights us beyond measure, and sometimes utterly exasperates us!

Last week we welcomed Henry’s little brother Spencer into the household. Henry kisses him gently when prompted, but is a bit, well, ambivalent about sharing mommy.

“Gin-Gin” or Grandmother Hutchens sent Henry some cool clothes. Henry models it, next to his Thomas the Tank Engine table, at home in Kirkland, Washington:

Via Craigslist we purchased something we expect to provide Henry with many hours of enjoyment.

The rear-facing car seat we got for bringing Henry home from the hospital and that he’s ridden in ever since (for twenty months now!) is rated for an infant of up to 22 lbs. Henry, though small, is now bumping up near that limit, and his shoulders seem a bit squeezed in his current seat. Thus we’ve been in the market for a new car seat for him, one for larger children.

Last week we drove to Bellevue and went to Babies R Us and a local kids store called Merry Go Round. Babies R Us didn’t have the model we liked in stock (just on display). The stuff at Merry Go Round was overpriced and poorly displayed and the help was not particularly friendly, so we took a pass there.

Before those excursions we had also tried to find a car seat at Fred Meyer. The clerks asserted they had some, but they were hidden too well for us—we gave up after several minutes of trying to find them. Yesterday I went to Target in Woodinville, but I didn’t see anything I liked there, either. Checking Consumer Reports on my iPhone didn’t suggest that something I found unattractive was nonetheless recommended.

Checked the Costco website, but couldn’t tell if what they tried to sell online was in the local store or not.

At home I read the reviews on Consumer Reports website (easier to navigate on the web with a laptop than using the iPhone app!), then searched Wal Mart’s website for their recommended model. The Wal Mart closest to us (not all that close, really—it’s in Lynnwood) seemed to have the recommended model in stock. We drove there today and picked one up. (I had checked Craig’s List, too, but the second-hand models on offer were over priced or pink or both). Glad to finally have this project done!

Henry will now be ensconced in a Graco Nautilus 3-in-1. . . . Once I get it installed. That’s next.

Late in the day on Saturday Henry took a little spin through the backyard. He digs dirt. Literally.

Thanks to a toy cleverly improvised by his Chinese grandparents on their last visit, Henry has wheels. Well, at least a wheel. Click image to see how he rolls.

Henry is still a bit too small for most playground equipment, but increasingly he’s a wiggly, climbing boy. Thinking it might help him (and us!) burn off some of his energy, on Sunday we drove to a nearby park and adjoining elementary school. With us hovering over him, he found several things, including some slides, fun for a moment or two. The thing that most interested him, however, was the gravel underfoot at one of the two playgrounds. Here, looking like a DJ, he offers to rock anyone who’s ready to get down.

On Friday we went to the commencement exercises for St. George’s high school here in Spokane.

Jinny Son, a student who has lived with us for the last two years, is a member of the St. George’s class of 2010. Her family came from Seoul for the ceremonies.

It was quite nice to spend some time with them. Mr. Son and Henry got along famously—it’s really quite unusual for Henry to take so instantly to someone.

We have really enjoyed having Jinny in our household for the last two years. She’s an extremely bright, hard-working young woman. She’s off to Embry Riddle next year to study aeronautical science.

The period that she’s lived with us basically encompasses Henry’s entire life—she actually took some pictures for us the day we brought him home from the hospital.

The graduation ceremony was nice. It was outdoors, and they had a lovely, sunny day for it. There were bagpipers, faculty in regalia and some unusually noteworthy guests—the Gates family was there, yes as in Bill Senior and Junior and Melindia. A grandson/nephew was among the 46 seniors.

Henry was nonplussed by all that. He enjoyed hanging out on some steps, exploring a tub with bottles of water, and finding interesting places to position a little toy train car that Mommy had thoughtfully packed. He coped admirably until towards the end, when all of us were tired (the adults have simply been conditioned to chafe less audibly).

Let’s see, Henry will be in the high school class of . . . 2027? Let’s count it as auspicious that the first high school graduation ceremony that he attended was this one, with its famous attendees and elevated ambiance (even if all that was less interesting to him that hanging out on the steps).

We made an apartment-hunting trip to the Seattle area over the Memorial Day weekend. It’s a long drive, esp. if you are in a rear-facing car seat! But Henry was a trooper. Once we arrived he perked up at every stop, bounding through many apartments, checking out Daddy’s new campus, and exploring the hotel rooms. He liked the food in Chinatown, too. But his favorite activity, hands down, was swimming in the hotel pools!

• PRC blocks Picasa photo sharing web site, so relatives can't see items posted there. Henry, you don't look like a counter revolutionary! #

Henry got two of his battery of 18-month-old vaccinations today. Four are in the normal set, but last time Henry had a nasty reaction after his shots (which included both a normal flu shot and an H1N1 shot), so Mommy and Daddy decided that today we would just do half the set and will go back later for the others.

Henry, after a quick stab in each leg you let out a torrent of cries, but within a minute you were back on Mommy’s lap happily looking at a Thomas book.

Stopped at TJ Maxx and Panda Express on the way home. Henry got more Thomas stuff—videos and another engine—and then at lunch drank most of Dad’s peach tea.

Enjoying the nice (though surprisingly cool) weather, you explored some in the back yard. You delighted in swnging the kennel door open and shut. Fascinated with mechanical things, always.

My colleague at Whitworth Dr. Margie La Shaw kindly invited us down to her family’s wonderful farm. Henry had a blast. “Cow, cow, COW!” was Henry’s main comment. He was also quite taken with this large bulldozer. Maybe it looks like a familiar Bob the Builder character, or maybe just his general fascination with vehicles and machinery.

We had a great time. Thanks, Margie!

Mommy really didn’t want to go to the graduation ceremonies, but Daddy pushed her to. Childcare was provided—so Mommy’s American college graduation was the first time we left Henry with anyone else for more than a minute or two. He did fine. Slept! But Mommy got out of her cap and gown so fast Daddy didn’t get a picture. We’ll have to do that later. By the way, she set a good example for Henry—summa cum laude! Well done, Maggie!

Henry, you’ve changed since last year!

Briefly distracted by a video downloaded from iTunes, Henry was still long enough for Mommy to practice barbering without a license. Dad was next in line but, ah, decided to wait. More.

A few pocket camera snapshots of recent activities.

• Dad's discoveries for today: Henry likes dried cherries. Also likes fish sticks. #

Drinking juice. More here.

We took Henry to a nearby park Saturday. Spokane has had a miraculously mild winter (I think Alabama has had more snow this year than we have had this year!), and spring seems nearly ready to arrive. It was a nice day. Mom, Dad and Henry’s grandparents were all part of the outing.

By the time we got Henry bundled up and all his accessories packed (diaper bag, food, extra clothes), Dad wondered why we didn’t just keep it simple and play in the back yard, but once we got to the park Henry defied Dad’s prediction that he wouldn’t want to be there more than 5 minutes.

He shot off on a trek, quickly moving a football field away from Mommy (with Daddy trailing not too far behind, not that Henry needed that to feel emboldened).  

He was fascinated with the passing cars and needed to be steered back from the (quite distant) road several times.

Walking up and down a hill turns out not to be instinctual.

For a few minutes we watched a German shepard. Some people were trying to train it to fetch. We stayed well away, but observed. The dog needs lots more practice.

Always the little engineer, Henry was fascinated by a parked bike and several other things he encountered.

Peeking out from behind a picnic table, he watched some older kids play on the slides and monkey bars. With Mom holding him, he went down a little slide. He seemed a tad nervous, so we just posed on the bigger, twisting one.

More images from this outing here.

Henry like his bag of Lego-like blocks. He especially likes dumping them out of the bag into a big pile.

Thanks to unseasonably nice weather Henry has been able to waddle around in the back yard some. He seems to have a penchant for straw chewing. Not sure if this is an Alabama thing or a rural China thing.

Henry’s first visit with Santa, River Park Square mall, downtown Spokane.

Henry got an early Christmas gift: a Thomas (and friends) video. “Intense” is a fair description of his level of interest.

More here.

• Henry's 1-year chkup today. Now 18 lbs—3x birth wght. Taller than avg. Got 4 shots incl H1N1. Mom in acctg class; went w/ dad & g'parents. #

After getting three shots and an H1N1 vaccination as part of his one-year-old “well baby” visit, Henry got sick, almost immediately. He vomited everything for 48 hrs. He developed no significant fever, and he had no evident discomfort other than the tummy turbulence. He stayed alert and playful. He sometimes would swallow a few drops of fluid, so we didn’t seem to face any big risk of dehydration. Thankfully he seems all better now.

While he was ill we called doctor’s office. We’ve had a quite positive experience with our pediatrician thus far, and they responded promptly to our call. But when we talked I was surprised how quickly the nurse asserted that there’s “no connection,” that they feel certain Henry’s illness is not a reaction to the vaccinations.

Huh? Well, I suppose he could have contracted a virus while in their office because of some infected surface that hadn’t been sanitized! There is at least an absolute correlation between the illness and vaccinations, if not clear causation! Since the H1N1 shot is a brand new vaccination, it strikes me that if we automatically assume there’s no causation, then data won’t be reported, possibly falsely reinforcing the presumption that there’s no adverse reactions in infants to the H1N1 vaccination, without even gathering data because the data is contrary to assumptions!

I’ve not been one of those parents unduly worried that vaccinations cause autism or some other horror that makes me opt out of consenting to the recommended shots at the recommended intervals, but this incident has given me pause. Clearly, medical pros can think in ways that bolster existing paradigms, and that could obscure new realities.

Henry “watched” the Alabama – Auburn football game, and, thankfully, like last year, Alabama won!

;

A few more from the 2009 Iron Bowl here.

Last year on Thanksgiving day we brought Henry home for the first time. What a busy, wonderful year it’s been!

Our little boy is growing up, on the cusp of changing from infant to toddler. He tries to talk. He can stagger around on two legs, if we hold his hands above his head (and for a few steps on his own, sometimes). He can clap his two hands together (“huanying, huanying” is the trigger). He can put his index finger in the palm of his opposite hand (“dian, dian”). He can “take a picture” by putting a hand over each eye, then removing them to play “peak a boo.” He’s even learned to turn the TV on with the remote (and likes to play on/off with the humidifier button!). When eating or drinking he offers to share with those around him. He’s so happy we wonder if he’s ours.  

Assorted images from the last week or so here. Stepping outside today here. Performance here.

More here.

From the living room, Henry watched his granddad work in the front yard. Meanwhile Henry’s dad watched Henry’s reflection in the furniture and snapped a few photos. More here.

• Yesterday Henry thoroughly enjoyed our party—very social w/guests. Smiled at everybody. Is this really my child? #
• Mom gave Henry his first haircut yest. whiled he napped so he'd look nice for party. Going to let her practice more before she cuts mine. #

Nice fall weather in Spokane today. Henry visited a couple of nearby parks with his Chinese grandparents.

More from park 1 here. More from park 2 here.

Today we took Henry, now more than ten months old, to an event organized by some members of the local Chinese community for the Mid Autumn Festival.

Henry’s maternal grandparents, who have been here for two weeks now, accompanied us. At the event they met another couple from rural Shandong, a couple which like them is outside of China for their first time, and who also are the parents of a child who married a foreigner (their son married a woman from Wisconsin).

The Chinese teacher from St. George’s School, Tang Laoshi, was also there.

Lots of cute kids who participate in the local Chinese school on weekends were there, including many children adopted from China by non-Chinese families.

We enjoyed being on Gonzaga University’s campus.

Among the melancholy signs summer is waning: pine needles have started to fall. The yard will soon be carpet bombed, repeatedly.

This year Henry will be too young to help rake. Alas.

. . . Upon discovering pine straw Henry tried, of course, to eat it.

Dad wishes he could delight in a pine needle the way Henry does.

More here.

“This is MY table. You got a problem with that?”

Having made a pilgrimage to his ancestral home of Alabama, Henry is now qualified to wear overalls.

Henry returned from Alabama with a new skill—blowing raspberries. Picked it up from his grandfather. Now back home, he practices often, including at mealtimes.

• Henry back after 1st Sweet Home Alabama tour. Met tons of relatives, smiled a LOT. Happy, friendly—seems to take after his grandfather. #
• Nine month well-baby checkup today. Taller, head circumference bigger, but not much heavier. Going to eat more often, check again in 6 weeks #
• Got high chair today. HCH enjoyed playing in its box, then, after Mom assembled it, banging keys, cups & etc. on its tray. #

We’ve bought Henry his first highchair. He enjoyed playing with the box.

He took special note of the baby pictured on it.