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. 

Greek Festival

St. Louis hasn't disappointed yet with all the things to do. This weekend we went to the St. Nicholas Greek Festival. We had Greek food, gyros and ice cream with baklava, which was delicious! Then we watched a  traditional Greek dancing performance. Henry was really into the music and dancing.

Opa!

Music in the air

I recently bought a metal bowl because I always seem to be in need of another mixing bowl. However, Henry has become very attached to it. He is occupied for quite a while if I give him a drum stick, xylophone and a bowl. It has been fun watching him experiment with them and make noise. He will tap on the xylophone, smile and then look at me to see if I liked it too. Sometimes household items are more entertaining than baby toys.

This past week has been a rough one.Teething, crying, tantrums, clingy, cranky. Henry just cut his 6th tooth. So now he has 4 on the top and 2 on bottom. Only 14 more baby teeth to go!!

This picture describes the week pretty well. Henry is thinking, "Mom, you can't get me to smile. It doesn't matter what you do. I'm not going to be happy. All week."

We gave him rides in a box around the house. No smiles. 

We read books. No smiles. 

We go shopping. No smiles. 

I have to remind myself that being a mom isn't always easy. There are wonderful days, ok days, and days you can't wait to crawl into bed under the covers. But I know that being a mom is such an important role. It's a role that I love and would never trade for anything.

It reminds me of the quote by Mother Teresa "Do small things with great love."

Saturday Mornings

Saturday morning is a special time. Time for Sam and I to play with Henry. No interruptions. No errands to run. No chores yet.

Story time.

 Henry LOVES books. Given the choice Henry would spend more time looking at books than playing with toys. He loves turning the pages by himself and has a collection of favorites. We go to the library each week to check out new ones. 

Play time. 

Bubbles. Blocks. Rings. Musical toys. Toys w/ buttons. Pop-up toys. Shakers. Pots and pans. Balls. Cars. 

These are his favorites. 

Activity time. 

New sensory experiences. This one is jello with toys inside. He really liked squeezing the jello in his hands and smearing it everywhere. 

A walk in the park

I've been told repeatedly that this Missouri summer has been really mild. I agree that it hasn't been too hot, but it more humid and rainy than Kansas. When it doesn't rain, Henry and I like to go for walks in the park. He has always enjoyed the stroller rides, even when he was little. When he was teething, it was the only way to help him take his mind off the pain.

On this walk, I had given him a leaf (under close supervision because he still loves to put things in his mouth). He looked at it, turned it over a couple of times, stared at it, looked at me and then slowly started putting it in his mouth. He understands the word "no" and after he took it out of his mouth he mischievously giggled. I love this little guy.

He loves grass and has no fear of getting a little dirty.  At this park, there were only a few shady grassy areas and most of them were sloped. I set him down on top of a sloped area and he immediately started crawling as fast as he could down the slope. He keeps me on my toes!

At the park there aren't many things that Henry can do, except for swinging. I can't tell if Henry enjoys swinging or not. He seems very serious whenever he swings. I wonder what is on his mind...