Henry is Five

After reading through some old blog posts, I realized that my sweet, happy, loving baby Henry is the same today: sweet, happy, and loving. 

Henry still has one of the best laughs, the kind of belly laugh that makes you laugh or smile when you hear it. And his squinty face/eyes are so cute when he smiles or laughs, just like his dad's.

Henry has always been very affectionate. When he was little, he used to go up to small babies and rub their cheek. Now, he loves our babies. He squeezes Hazel a little too hard, but I love that he always asks to hug and kiss Hazel every time he sees her. He loves squeezing Maggie, too, and is the first to offer a hug to me or Dad. 

Henry still has a lot of energy and loves to run and play. Running is something he has always done well. Instead of running laps around our couch like he used to, he runs around in the backyard "like a cheetah" or "like a roadrunner." He will sit still to do some tasks and is better about sitting in church, but sometimes it is such a hassle to get him to sit (especially to eat dinner). 

He still has a happy countenance. As Grandpa Aaron recently wrote, "Henry has a fun outlook on life and is such a happy boy." The tone of our household is largely set by Henry. Maybe we can call it joyful energy and I'm grateful that we has been blessed with his happy countenance.

And Henry is still heart-melting cute.

Henry has also grown so much. He talks well, helps me with simple requests, and gets himself ready for the day (maybe with a lot of nagging and direction, but he can do it). 

Despite being a busy boy, Henry is very cautious. We have gone to the ER once in his five years of life. While watching Dad play in a volleyball tournament, he fell off the bleachers and cracked his head open but was a good sport. He has always been very tough. (Tough with others, but also able to handle scrapes and bonks and physical pain in general.)

His ability to be aware of and think of others is growing and "thoughtful" is a good word to describe him. There is one friend of his who has a little sister who Henry adores. He is always hugging her when he sees her. When we made his friend a Christmas gift, he requested pink candy canes because, "I think Grace will like pink candy canes."
This past week Henry has been all about making surprises for our family that include princess or pirate hats along with a dictated letter. 

I adore Henry and Maggie together. Henry helps Maggie feel more comfortable and come out of her shell. They fight a lot but they play even more. They love to play pretend and in the backyard. 

Henry loves to play with Hazel, too (even though she doesn't really enjoy it most of the time). Maggie used to be the same so I'm sure Hazel will come around and adore Henry, although I'm not sure if she'll adore Henry quite like Maggie. Maggie wants to do everything Henry does. But there are times when Hazel laughs and laughs at Henry and it is pretty adorable that he loves to make her laugh and play with her as much as he does.

 I love that he wants a hug when he's sad or first wakes up in the morning, that he loves his grandparents the way he does, and that he loves nature (he is always asking to go hiking when we're driving in the mountains). He makes friends easily and is strong-willed. Being the mom of a headstrong boy, I am learning a lot, and I know he has attributes to make a great leader.

And he will make a great leader:

(If I were the President I would...

"tell everyone to be nice")

It's interesting to see that while things he can do have changed, he is still the same Henry from four years ago. His gifts remain but he now has a bigger circle of influence than he did as a baby.

* * * * *

Henry convinced Grandpa and Grandma Gibson to visit us in Texas for his birthday. Because Henry wakes up at 6:00 am these days, we had some time to open presents before Dad went to work. He said the presents were his favorite part of his birthday. He requested a remote control car, which Grandma Sheryl bought and a "Spiderman shooting toy," which Grandma Sue found. He got soccer gear from me, Dad, and Hazel and an electric toothbrush from Maggie. His grandparents also spoiled him with a movie and a walking/flipping puppy, which he loved. 

Henry brought treats to school and got to wear a birthday crown. 

He loved his birthday card from his Great Grandma Carol (which inspired his crowns/pirate hats for the rest of the family).

We went to Chick-fil-A for dinner and then celebrated with a homemade Batman cake.