Henry Turns Two!

We celebrated Henry's 2nd birthday a day early, since the day of would be packed with working on the floor. While Henry napped after church we got the party ready. Balloons on the doorways, Dora hats and Princess plates (his choice at the store, what can we say? He has an older sister?!?) and made the cake. We were a little short on time though and should've made the cake the night before, so it was still cooling when the party was ready to start. So rather then kick-off with the cake, we started with presents, then pinata and ended with the cake.



Henry is such a cutey. He basks in being the center of attention with a shy little smile and bow of the head. It's amazing how much they change in their 2nd year. While he still isn't saying a lot of words (that darn paci!) he communicates pretty well. His usual technique is grabbing you by the hand or finger and quite forcefully pulling you to whatever or wherever the thing is he wants. Nothing like a beckoning pull while at the computer or sink to get your attention, especially the way he looks at you with an entreating smile.

At his 2 year checkup this week he weighed 33 lbs and is 35 inches tall. While he can sometimes be quite destructive in an innocent or bored way, he is usually very mellow and eager to please. He loves to clean up and help set the table. After he's done eating he will put all his scattered food bits on his plate and give it to me. Then he will usually want to wipe the table off after his hands and face are clean. He loves the vacuum cleaner and broom too. Let's hope it stays that way!



Henry is obsessed with water. He would play in the bathroom all day, filling and pouring and splashing. His latest craze is filling a cup from the fridge door water dispenser, taking a sip and pouring the rest in the sink and repeating until the floor and his clothes are sopping wet. Sigh. Thus the constant towel on the floor. After I've had enough I'll lock the water dispenser, but I try to leave it on in hopes that he'll outgrow it eventually.



He loves playing with his sisters and they love playing with him. When he's napping Evalyn can't wait until he's awake again (usually). And I think Henry gets the biggest smiles from Linnea.



His favorite game to play with Mommy is "Tickle Monster". This is where I "rawr" at the kids and tickle them to pieces (obviously). It often involves me pretending to sleep and then waking up to rawr some more, or hiding behind furniture and jumping out. After a long session of this he'll keep coming up to me "rawring" so I'll tickle him even more. His favorite game to play with Daddy is "Pile on Daddy" which is pretty self explanatory and is usually played right when Matt walks in the door. It often evolves into Horsie Rides to the dinner table.

Lately he's started playing with cars and trains more. His favorite movie is The Polar Express. He gets so excited about the train that he will drag me into the room whenever the train is doing something neat. Pooh Bear, Tigger and Curious George are his other favorite characters right now.

We love our little boy and the joy he brings to our family. And before we know it he'll only play with cars and legos and shun all the girly stuff!