childhood excitement

M, i hope you read all of these posts one day but this one especially is for you. i hope you never lose your precious zeal for adventure. you get so excited when we have something special planned for you—which, by the way, could be anything from a playdate with a friend to going to a ballgame. tonight you went with your daddy to see the dancing horses at the stock show. you're particularly into horses right now (my little ponies, unicorns, winged horses) so as soon as i told you that you were going your eyes lit up and you drew your hands to your mouth with a gasp. since the horses are going to be dressed up in their performance bling, you wanted to be particularly "fancy" for the show. you chose a dress and your fancy shoes with pink sparklies. you were hopping around the house, all dressed up waiting for daddy to get home. the littlest things were getting you so excited. as soon as daddy walked in you were chattering nonstop. you blew me a thousand kisses on your way out the door and when you saw the shining full moon you got so excited you exclaimed "i see the moon, momma, it's so bright and shiny. you have to come look. you have to come see." you waved and waved, beckoning me outside to see the glorious moon. i confirmed your reason for glee and as i closed the door and you went skipping off to the garage, i caught your daddy's glance and we were both grinning from ear to ear. we love you precious baby girl. i hope these memories leave a lasting impression on me. 

a year

this past year has been incredible. it feels like it went by at warp speed. my mind is mush. my patience...frazzled. and my heart is swelling. before adding baby no. 2 to our family, i thought "how is this baby boy going to find a way into my heart?" i have this unbounded love for marianne and our family of three felt so right and comfortable and untouchable. no doubt i wanted to grow our family but it was hard to imagine the capacity of my heart allowing for so much more love and amazement. but henry has grown into our hearts and had made our family all the better. his milestones have been just as special. his open-mouth kisses and nuzzly hugs just as precious. but he has certainly made his mark. he does things only when he is good and ready and he does them his way.

henry didn't start rolling over until 4.5 mos but when he did he would only roll one direction. so we had a few months where he constantly got himself pinned up against one side of the crib. his first time sitting up was in his crib, all alone in his room without anyone there to see. the day he figured out how to crawl, he did it on one knee with the other foot propped up and he never bothered to try a traditional crawl, NEVER. he could crawl so quickly that he looked a little creepy—like a possessed baby you see in one of those weird horror movies. he's been saying dada for a good 6+ months but has only muttered  "muhmmm muhmmm" once or twice in the midst of sobs. in the past couple of days he's uttered "mamamama" a couple of times so i'm praying that he won't hold out on me too much longer. seriously, i day dream about the moment when he reaches for me and says "ma ma." i have waited what feels like an eternity!

hank doesn't always have a smile on his face but when he lights up, he is a charmer. strangers comment on his adorable smile. as walking has been his new favorite pastime for the last month, he is usually grinning ear-to-ear when he's buzzing about...especially if it's somewhere out in public.  oh, henry's laugh. he started laughing so early...at just a few weeks old, i think. he has such a coy little laugh. i love it so much i want to bottle it up to save it forever. his giggles seriously make me feel special. almost as special as when he snuggles into me when i sing to him before nap/bed. he hasn't always been snugly. in fact, it was only a couple of months ago that he really started getting cuddly at all. he likes to be held but doesn't want to be held too close...he wants to see where the action is and what's going on. i always sing two songs before putting him down to fall asleep and he used to, literally, push away from me as i held him and tried to rock him. but now, as soon as we walk into the nursery, turn off the lights, and start the white noise he wraps his legs up around me, tucks his arms between his chest and mine, and lays his head into the crook of my neck. i ADORE it. i live for it.

our henry is one! by his first birthday he was mostly crawling everywhere but had started taking a few steps here and there a few weeks before. he could say "dada," "uh-oh," and "ball." he loves playing with balls...definitely his favorite toy. he has so much fun tossing/rolling a ball back and forth, playing fetch with himself or marianne, throwing, and carrying a ball around. henry spends a lot of time playing with marianne. as soon as he became mobile he follows her around and plays what she wants him to—usually kitchen, farm, cars, princesses, doll house, or dress up—and by her rules. he loves his big sister and she loves him. they are a great pair together (well, as long as henry shares whatever marianne wants and doesn't take what she has). henry hasn't really had any interest in books or being read to until just after christmas. it happened practically overnight. he went from squirming and trying to chew every book i read to him...to sitting on my lap, listening, looking and turning pages. he is a great eater and eats just about everything you give him. he feeds himself bites of food  and has been trying to use a spoon all by himself. his favorite snack is a graham cracker. favorite foods are beans and blueberries. he loves water but doesn't care so much for cows milk yet. this kids loves music. he lights up when music is playing and almost always starts be-bopping to the tune. he has a ball at music class and digs playing the instruments.

henry. persistent. sweet. independent. strong. wiggly. adventurous. silly. beautiful.

newborn henry getting phototherapy treatment.

 

henry at exactly one year old

 

i took a series of photos of henry throughout his first year. snapped a photo in the chair in our reading corner every month.

jan 2012: 1 mo

 

 feb 2012 : 2 mos

(my favorite of the series)

 

mar 2012 : 3 mos

 

apr 2012 : 4 mos

(chunking up)

 

may 2012 : 5 mos

 

jun 2012 : 6 mos

 

jul 2012 : 7 mos

 

aug 2012 : 8 mos

(slimming down)

 

sep 2012 : 9 mos

 

oct 2012 : 10 mos

 

nov 2012 : 11 mos

 

 dec 2012 : 12 mos

 

newborn

 

baptism

 

birthday

what could be more amazing than the immense love i have for my babies? 

the love that they have for each other.

 

 

 

 

henry, getting to know you has been amusing, baffling, incredible, hard and easy at the same time. as we spend this next year watching you grow out of your infancy into a toddler, i can't wait to hear all the things that you will have to tell us.

jedi master

what could be more awesome than playing with a light saber?

...well, he is a boy after all.