Henry's First Birthday Party

Happy FIRST Birthday, Henry! 

Henry means the world to us and we are so blessed to have him in our lives. And what a year it has been! Being the second child, I knew this first year would fly by and it did so even faster than I could have imagined. 

We had a fun day celebrating our sweet boy with a small party at home with another special family that is close to us, the Hall family. Ms. Traci has been a huge help to me and the kids since day one of Henry's birth and to top it off, they share the same birthday! It was nice to get to celebrate with her and her kids. 

Henry's party theme was construction since that is also his nursery room theme. Here are some party pics:

 

 Smash cake.

Adorable shirt my MIL made.

He loved the cake!

Traci with her family.

Brother of course had to help.

The birthday folks.

After cake picture. I think he liked it.

Henry's 12 Months Old

We made it to the BIG first birthday! A few tears may have been shed by myself, but mostly it was a happy day full of reminiscing over the past year. And oh what a wonderful, challenging year it was.
Henry taught all of us so much, and hopefully we taught him a thing or two :)

I should have put the sticker on his bottom for this photo shoot.

Other than turning one, another big first for the month was Christmas! He met Santa and did NOT like him, understandable. He opened a present from under the tree all by himself and without me knowing, but great job, bud. He enjoyed celebrating Christmas in Oklahoma with tons of cousins. And he certainly enjoyed opening and playing with all his new toys.

This boy would not sit still!

Here is what all happened this month:

Eating: I started weaning Henry from breast milk. He now only gets breast milk three times a day and gets cows milk with his snacks. He took to cows milk like a champ. He is definitely easier at transitioning to new things, unlike his brother.

Activity: I've noticed Emerson and Henry interacting and "talking" more to each other. I love watching their relationship grow. Henry has started to cruise the furniture and stand up independently, but I still feel like we are still a long ways away from walking. He is also now waves and points to things.

Sleeping: Henry has been hit or miss on naps lately. Some days he takes only one, other days two. It's nice to be able to skip that morning nap and be able to get out and about. But he really needs two naps still. On the days he just takes one, he is cranky and most likely over tired and won't nap well. We are just in the glorious phase of nap transitioning.

Serious...

Smirk...

 

Smile.

Doctor Visit Stats:

• Height: 2 ft, 5 in (75%)
• Weight: 21 lbs (47%)
• Other: We switched pediatricians and I could not be happier! Sometimes the hardest part about moving into a new community is not knowing who and where to go for health care. After living here for over a year, I received lots of good advice about who to go to. Our new pediatrician got lots of great reviews and her husband is a family doctor in the same office, so it's a one stop shop, so to speak.

Likes, Dislikes and Other Milestones:

• Hair is still thin, but it seems to be getting darker and curler in the back, so in other words, he has a mullet.
• Finally seem to be gaining weight. Love seeing rolls on those thighs.
• Said his first word, "Dada."
• Loves giving kisses.
• Has mastered walking in a walker when we play outside. 
• Wears a size 4 diaper.
• Wears 12 month clothing.
• Still working on getting his front tooth in, has 5 teeth total.
• Loves reading his Baby Peek-A-Boo book. 
• Likes bath time with brother, but only for a short amount of time. 
• Does not like being taken in and out of the car seat/stroller.
• Does not like green beans.
• Loves blueberries!

Christmas, 2015

Doesn't Christmas feel like forever ago? Really it was only about 15 days ago, but my neighbors stare at my lingering decorations and outside lights as if 6 months has passed. I'll get them down, eventually. Besides, I can't take it all down without having posted on my blog about Christmas, right?

So here it is...

1) We had some pre-Christmas fun: pancakes with Santa and sugar cookie baking. 

I would cry too, Henry. 

 

2) We opened our family presents. Emerson's big gift this year a tricycle. He loves it! He can't quite reach the pedals (oops), but likes to push off the ground with his feet.

3) We then traveled to Oklahoma to celebrate with my family.

Cousins, cousins everywhere! 

Matching jammie boys.

Cousin picture. The only two not cooperating are mine, of course.

 Merry first Christmas, Henry!

4) We took a cold trip to the mountains on Christmas day. We drove up Mount Scott, fed prairie dogs and then ate Chinese food. You know, like a normal family.

5) Then of course a trip to my family would not be complete without seeing a pet hedgehog (not pictured) and some chickens.

Emerson could not contain his excitement, but was still too afraid to actually touch one.

Henry had no fear : )

 

6) And lastly, we got to make a bonus stop in Dallas to see several of Jesse's family. 

Now that that's done, I can take down my Christmas decorations and focus on my sweet baby turning ONE! Stay tuned for that...