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...

Henry's 11 Months Old

Watching Henry's personality develop has been such a cool thing. He is going to be our "funny" kid. There's one in every family. The one that is outgoing and always telling jokes. That's going to be our Henry. He's always happy to make someone else happy.

He's also such a sweet snuggler. He will just melt into your shoulder and make you never want to let go. Sigh, I know it won't last forever, but I hope his snuggliness is something that is a part of him always.

Also this month, "Henry, you are such a mess!" He probably hears that from me several times a day. He is into EVERYTHING! I don't ever remember Emerson being likes this. I mean, I turn my back for two seconds and I find him in the toilet with toilet paper everywhere. He cannot be trusted. He's also unwrapped a few presents now and eaten several pine needles. And I thought having a Christmas tree this year would be hard because of my toddler, ha, nope. Henry is the ornery one.

Speaking of Christmas tree, this was Henry's first year to pick one out and "help" decorate. It was also his first Thanksgiving. So fun watching these firsts.

Here is what's new this month:

Eating: Henry is a small fry, but he is an eating machine! Loves to eat most everything. A definite dislike would be green beans.

Being a second child has its downsides, but it has its upsides as well! He's been introduced to cookies and milk shakes already (just a few bites). Oh boy, he is going to have a sweet tooth like his momma and brother. If this had been Emerson, I would have killed over dead if he had sugar before his first birthday, ha. Like I said, there are upsides, Henry. Remember that.

Henry is now consistently nursing four times a day, with three meals. He is still biting me! So glad (and kind of sad) that our breastfeeding journey is coming to an end soon. And so proud that we made it this far. 

"This pose is new, mom."

Activity: He is getting more coordinated in pulling up and crawling so therefore we don't have as many bumps. He loves to pull up on everything, even when there is nothing to hang on to, like the wall. He has attempted to just stand up all alone, but has yet to master it.

"We meet again, sticker."

Sleeping: We are back on a really good sleep schedule. Goes to bed anytime between 7-8 p.m. and wakes very consistently around 7 a.m. Sometimes he will sleep in as late as 7:30 (yay!). An even greater sleep accomplishment this month has been Henry waking up happy. He used to always wake up in the morning with tears, now he wakes up happy and can just play with his toes until I come get him. It's blissful.

Doctor Visit Stats:

*No doctors visit this month

Baby yoga pose?

Likes, Dislikes and Other Milestones:

• Saw Santa Clause for the first time.
• Does not like Santa Clause.
• Cutting a new tooth, we are now up to four.
• Drinks from a straw and loves to have a cup with meals.
• Loves to high five daddy. Momma, not so much. 
• Loves to be chased around the house.
• Started playing peek-a-boo by himself.
• Loves to pull books off of shelves. 
• Shake his head no. 
• Has the sweetest curls behind his ears and on the back of his head. I'm not afraid to have him rock a curly mullet for a while. I don't want those curls to ever leave!

O Christmas Tree, 2015

It's that time of year! Time for my favorite Christmas tradition, picking out our Christmas tree. This year was extra special because it was Henry's first time to "help" pick a tree.

The hunt begins.

 

 The winner!

Emerson was just happy to run around.

"I'm freeeee!"

Traditional Jesse's-bringing-in-the-tree photo.

 And now I get to enjoy the wonderful fresh pine smell...and dig pine needles out of Henry's mouth : )

Our Family Thanksgiving, 2015

Leaves, matching shirts, beautiful weather, LOTS of wonderful food, and family...yep, that sums our family Thanksgiving. 

We had lots of fun traveling to Nashville to spend Thanksgiving with Jesse's family. 

The boys did great on the car ride, had fun playing with their cousins (first, second, once removed...whatever), and slept like champs despite all the chaos. All around great trip! 

Our best attempt at a family photo.

So much fun in the leaves!

 

Henry's first Thanksgiving!

"Grrr, I'm going to crush these leaves"

Brother photos may be my new favorite thing. They are so awkward and so sweet.

 

Going in for a kiss! 

Play time at the park with the adults and kids.

All those cousins (first, second, once removed...whatever).

 

The second day we went to Jesse's grandparents farm and spent the day with family. Emerson had the time of his life riding on the back of a pick up truck through the pasture and climbing up into BIG tractors. Wish I would have taken more of this day, but somehow only found ONE picture (which I stole from my MILs Facebook page. Thanks, Kim).

Emerson was in heaven riding on the back of the truck. He was especially tickled when he saw a cow poop. *sorry for the gross image

So many blessings this Thanksgiving. Hope you all were able to count yours.