Elephant Rock

We're trying to squeeze in as many nice-weather activities as possible before summer ends so we went on a hike to Elephant Rock State Park. It took about 1.5 hours to get there but it was well worth the drive. There are so many of these huge, red granite rocks scattered all around this area. The area was partially mined in the early 1900's. Red granite from this area was used to build the St. Louis City Hall. 

The Big 1.0

Henry had a birthday

Shout hurray!

We're going to sing to him today.

One year older and wiser too.

Happy Birthday to you!

It's hard to believe that this little boy has been in our family for a whole year already. He is such a happy boy and puts a smile on everyone's face. 

Here are some of his favorite things:

Playing in grass

Reading books

Ripping paper

Clapping

Pat-a-cake

Popcorn Popping

Going on walks

Playing in water

Bubbles

Flipping switches

Bob to music

We've been working on baby sign language with Henry and he is starting to pick it up now. He can sign "milk", "food", "more" and "bye-bye". This is such a fun age! He is so proud of himself when he accomplishes something and he'll clap and smile. He snuggles right before we put him in bed. He plays chase with us and tries to catch us as we crawl. He loves being vocal and there is rarely a quiet moment when he' s awake. He likes to bang on pots and make music. He crawls really fast and loves to pull himself up to standing. He isn't afraid of anything (that we're aware of). He is really close to standing unsupported and walking. 

Here are some cake smash pictures. I don't think it would be necessary to say that Henry thoroughly enjoyed himself.

Pearly Whites

Now that Henry has teeth our pediatrician has told us that we need to brush them. First, we bought one of the little brushes that you can wear on your finger, but we quickly realized it wouldn't work because Henry would just bite our finger. And it hurts really bad!

So we got him a real toothbrush. He loves brushing his teeth, or more correctly chewing on the toothbrush with his gums. If he had a choice he would carry that toothbrush around all day. Brushing teeth always ends with tears as we take the toothbrush away. I guess it's a good thing that he likes it. But it is a guaranteed tantrum everyday.

Summer Storms

Summer is going out with a bang. There has been a LOT of bad weather, namely thunderstorms, downpours, tornado watches and tornado warnings. We've been caught a few times without an umbrella after shopping and had to get soaked getting to the car. Fun times.

In an effort not to go stir-crazy with Henry we've tried to explore some indoor activities. We went to the mall and played at the playground area. Henry had so much fun and even made some friends.

One little girl adopted Henry as her little baby friend. She played with him, patted him on the head and even wanted to hold him. She was only 3. It was pretty cute.