Henry at 16 months

Here's what Henry is up to these days:

• He's getting really good at using baby sign language. He's been doing signs for things, especially animals (dog, duck, cat, frog, etc.) for a couple months, but now he's learning signs for more abstract concepts ("more," "all done") and actions (eat, drink).
• He finally has some hair. It's still very thin, but it's there. I call the colour "ginger." If you say something to him like "I like your hair, Henry", he will stroke his head proudly.
  
• His favourite hobbies include chasing ducks (he makes the hand sign for duck and quacks as he runs after them), dragging rakes and brooms down the sidewalk, and emptying drawers, especially the kitchen drawers. This has complicated our efforts to get everything put away.
• Any progress we'd made in getting him to sleep better collapsed after the move. He's been a bad sleeper from Day One, but in Richmond we had reached the point where he'd sleep 6 hours straight most nights, and some nights even longer. No more. Ugh. None of the techniques we read about make a difference. The kid just does not like to sleep or nap.
• He doesn't use many spoken words yet, and he calls both me and Tom "Mu-ma." We're working on that one. . .
• We've been exploring all the great playgrounds and parks in Ottawa. I took this picture today at Mooney's Bay, which is beside the Rideau River--about a seven minute drive from our house.