Birthday Celebration

Thanks to grandmas and grandpas, Henry received a number of gifts on his birthday.  To this day, we play with those toys daily and are grateful for the added variety to our toy collection.

To celebrate our Henry, we held a small birthday party with close family and friends.  I am generally not one to "get into" this sort of thing, knowing that Henry is so very young, it costs money, and I am not a decorator.  But for once, I couldn't resist and had so much fun planning and carrying out our simple party.

In order to get Henry's birthday decorations hung before his birthday (a couple days before his party), I stayed up a little late to finish and hang a few things.  When Henry woke up, I walked around to show him his "Happy Birthday" sign, a picture garland, and a birthday wreath, saying, "Happy Birthday, Henry!" while pointing to each item.  Henry loved everything.  He smiled every time I pointed and said, "This is for you...Happy Birthday, Henry."  I couldn't believe how much he seemed to appreciate everything.  His happy face occurring several times throughout the days leading up to his party while looking at all the decorations made every ounce of effort worthwhile.

My favorite part was definitely baking.  I've been wanting to make cake pops and this was the perfect excuse to do just that.  I probably definitely consumed more than my fair share of cake (and cake mix) in the two days leading up to the party.  Decorating the cakes, though definitely not up to par with the professionals, was right up my alley of "fun."  Floods of memories from working at the BYU pastry kitchen came to mind as I frosted cakes.  I'm looking forward to a lifetime of cake baking and decorating.

Just like I knew he would, Henry devoured his cake.  He dove right in and ate and ate and ate.  Thank goodness Grandma Sue was here to tell me to take the cake away after 15 minutes or Henry just may have consumed his entire cake, which was quite large for a little boy (or an adult, for that matter).  While getting Henry ready for his after-cake bath, cake was falling off of Henry and landing on the sink counter.  Henry was quick to snatch up anything he could find, even returning to his high chair for remaining crumbs after his bath.  Ooo, I just love my little eater.

After experiencing his first jet stream of sugar in his body, Henry was first exhausted and took a small nap.  When he woke up, he was wired and talked and jabbered like never before.  Dad & I couldn't quit laughing with our little man.  It was hilarious!

One

Has it really been one whole year since I gave birth to my beautiful baby boy?  I still remember everything so clearly...I just had a one-year review in my mind of all my feelings and experiences.  Not only is it a miracle to periodically see the growth of a baby from inception to delivery, but also to see the growth of a baby from one minute old to one year old.

This is so bittersweet.

Henry was grown from a baby to a toddler this year, experiencing everything from love and laughter to tantrums and tears.  Brendon and I have been very grateful and amazed at Henry's gift to love, laugh, and bring happiness to others.  Henry radiates when he is with people.  We know this will be a lifelong gift that will bless the lives of many others.  Henry has already brought so much joy into our lives and our love grows for him daily.

Within the past month, Henry started doing the following:

• Saying "gog" or "gie" when he sees a dog
• Scaring us, just like we scare him
• Crying...a lot (maybe because of teeth coming in? maybe because he knows what he wants but can't tell me what he wants?)
• Throwing tantrums when I take something away, complete with his head lying on the floor, tears, and his little bum up in the air while he lays on his stomach
• Feeding himself with a spoon (or maybe I should say making big messes with spoons)
• Mimicking words and sounds, including "Bbb" for "Baaaaa" (like a sheep), "hi," and "hey" 

We love you so much, little Henry!  Happy Birthday to you!