Happy 1st Birthday Henry!

Whoa...a little late here, considering said Henry is now 15 months old!  
Better late than never?  



Henry's first outfit in the hospital- a newborn sleeper that fit his 9lb 7.9oz body for a whopping week.

 Here's what not-so-baby Henry has been up to:

*New words in April:
Zzzzac (big brother Zach)
Maa (big sis Mara)
Juju (Jonas is his Jojo) 
No, Dritch (in combination, when he didn't want food, he wanted a drink)

*New actions in April:
Blowing kisses
understands burping (and humor in general)- during a conversation between daddy and Zach they were mentioning the word and Henry fake-burped and burst into laughter.
Went down the slide by himself- LOVED it. 

*Loves:
The feeling of different textures on his feet, like grass and concrete. 
Climbing.  Everything.
Books
Watermelon, grapes, strawberries
Dancing, especially to the ABC song, Ke$ha's Blow, Britney Spears (one of her new songs on the radio).  I have a pre-teen that loves that garbage...ugh.

Grew a little taller but didn't gain any weight between 9-12 months.  But he's still a big boy.  Like I promised, there was no 1 year haircut- I must preserve the gorgeous hair!! 

March 30th: Happy first birthday to Henry.  He had plenty of fun and cake at a few laid back parties.  His first party was at the skating rink.  There was a school function there so we partied with a few friends and an adorable cake made by my friend (of course those photos are on the wrong, aka, uncharged laptop) so I'll share those later.  We didn't skate that night but just a few weeks later we gave it a shot and he loved it.  1 year old on skates?  Crazy, right?  Not to him!  He gleefully slipped and slided while death-gripping my hands.  Any attempts to stop resulted in major tears.   




#1 Dude! 
Did you know that typically, 1 year old shirts are only in size 12m?  This shirt didn't last long!


April 3rd: Family birthday party at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  What would a party be without Weebles for a Wobbly Weaver? 

I made the cake this time, one for him to destroy eat and one for the rest of us.

At that point, my ONE YEAR OLD Sony camera decided to crap out, again (on cake 2).  Disappointed Sony...SMH.  The shutter works when it wants, zoom works when it wants and it results in very blurry pictures when they shouldn't be.  My last Sony lasted over 7 years- that's quality.  I don't know what kind of junk cameras they've been creating ever since.   

ANYWAY.  Henry was a very dainty cake eater.  But in keeping with his messy ways, he delicately stuck his whole face and hands in the cake. 

 

All clean!

Stay tuned for more birthday fun and milestones! 

Coundown!

In less than one week this boy...

Will be ONE!

No more baby :(  



The last few weeks have certainly been trying and if I didn't know any better I'd swear I had a child entering the "terrible twos" phase!  It started with mini tantrums.  As far as a tantrum goes, it was absolutely laughable- Henry wanted something and couldn't have it so he would proceed to gently lie his head on the ground then writhe silently on the floor.  This (wonderful) tantrum quickly progressed over the next few days to some loud protesting, head-thumping and throwing his head back so that if no one was there to catch him he ended up on the floor.  Not something I'd expect from an almost-one year old (*sniff*).  He has been sleeping less and clinging more (to me, and sometimes ONLY me).  Which has led to some serious grumpiness (from both mom and babe).  I don't mind cuddling most of the day but when you're trying to cut chicken and stir something on the stove while your child is screaming at your feet with his arms wrapped around your leg...for the THIRD time that day...it starts to get a little frustrating!  And I really really REALLY beg the sleep Gods to please keep him asleep until after I get the kids to school.  And while I enjoy grumpy company, I simply need a few minutes to shower, feed the older two and get at least the oldest out the door.  Wake up then and we can have a super duper happy and calm morning, just the two of us (until the Tasmanian Devil, AKA Jonas wakes up!).  And the hitting thing really needs to be nipped in the bud ASAP.  His brother, the dog, his brother...Jonas can only take so much!    

It hasn't been all bad.  He's been getting really good at talking.  I might be the only one that understands "dud" and "deent" but he's been picking up a few hand gestures and signs to accompany his language so soon others might understand too!  "Mama" is always loud and clear.  When he sees dad he whispers, "dadadada".  If he picks up a ball and starts murmuring- watch out!  He's actually saying, "throw" or "catch" and he likely won't wait for you to be ready!!  He LOOOOVES being outside.  Not being able to go outside elicits some serious tears.  With age he has grown a mega mop of soft hair that curls when it's wet.  There will be no first birthday haircut- I'm enjoying this!  When he's anticipating something like a tickle he giggles like crazy and it's so funny to watch and hear and always makes me laugh too.  When I'm sitting on the floor I'm a target for dive bomb hugs that come with a huge laugh and are always welcome.  

And have you ever seen a baby that loves the Sit 'n' Spin?        

Just shy of 7 months



Weee!



     

This love started at almost 7 months and has continued since.  He visits it on an almost daily basis!

The countdown has begun!  Am I ready?  Yes and no.  This is my last baby and it's just not the same when it's not your own.  I look at my oldest, who will be TEN this year, and wonder where the time went.  But it's going to happen so I might as well enjoy the ride!

Henry's First Birthday Bash

I've been browsing the web drooling over amazingly adorable baby boy clothing that I want Henry to wear on his first birthday.  I've pictured him in dozens of awesome (and expensive) outfits that he would wear as he smashes his first cake and enjoys opening 1st birthday presents.  And of course we'd get a few oh-so adorable and eco-friendly diapers from gDiaper, Kushies or the likes for his chubby baby belly and legs shots.  (He outgrew his old CDs, which we used part-time and I miss using them!)


gDiapers





gDiapers and oh-so chubby legs!




Not-so-little Guy in Kushies



Alas, I'm broke and hoping the thrift store has something great that shows off those gorgeous dark blue eyes.  The diapers are a must- I need to start shopping around asap!   



    

I've heard that some stores offer a FREE baby's 1st cake (but I don't like the cake and the icing- yuck).  Again, I've dreamed of a gorgeous, custom-made fondant-covered blue, green (the colors in his outfit) and white cake but I can settle, right? 

Lastly, I wish I could do all of this under the supervision of an amazing photographer (like my mom!) in a gorgeous location.  But again that money thing.  And mom's flash is broken.  Boo!

This is my LAST baby.  My last First Birthday.  My last chance.  And I want to make it special.  Now...how to do that on a budget of...well, let's just say that free cake is looking better every minute. 

Suggestions on how to make this extra special without selling my soul?!