Henry is One!

 Our sweet baby is officially a toddler.  He's not a tiny, precious little baby any longer.  Well, he's still a baby and I suppose he was never truly tiny.  But, you understand the sentiment.  AND--this year for Labor Day weekend I did not have to go through labor!!!!  Praise the Lord!  Instead we spent time with family and had a birthday party.  Much more fun.  And a lot less painful.
Cooking for a summertime birthday is so fun.

 Henry doesn't like to eat a lot of foods--but chicken is one thing he has enjoyed--so we grilled some chicken for his birthday party.  Watermelon is also on his list of faves and lucky for him, August is a great month for watermelon.

 Mostly he ate watermelon.  And even though Henry can't enjoy summery drinks like iced tea, lemonade and limeade, the girls and I had a blast setting up a cute drink station.  The girls love to juice citrus fruit, which saves me from that time consuming job.

 His cousin Ollie came over to help him celebrate.  Oliver just had his 1st birthday back in April, so he was able to fill Henry in on how it would go down. 

 They might look nothing alike--but I think they are already forming a friendship. 

 Ollie brought his parents with him.  It took them about 65 hours to get here in that little red car.

 Caroline and Ezra had both purchased Henry gifts with their own funds and were very eager for him to open them. 

 Henry ate a lot of wrapping paper.  That was his favorite part of opening gifts.  He might not like food--but boy does he love to eat paper, rocks, pieces of bark and little toys.

 Grandpa and Grandma Idaho sent a dump truck for Henry to use in the sandbox that Mommy and Daddy are supposed to be building as his gift from us.

 Grandpa and Grandma Tractor got Henry a new jersey for the season. 

 In case there was any question how old he was turning.

 As per typical he burst into tears while we all stood around and sang to him.

 He was able to pull it together and stare in bewilderment while listening to the cacophony around him.  And apparently Tadd thinks I should remain headless in all photos.

 Finally!  He got to dig into his cake.  I found myself wondering why I had used so much food coloring on that frosting!

 I think he made a better mess than any of our others did on their first birthdays.  That high chair has seen a few birthday celebrations. 

We had Henry's one year appointment today and other than another ear infection, he's healthy . He ended his first year at 25 pounds and 32 inches.  He has 8 teeth and is working very hard on his first set of molars as we speak.  He started walking about a month ago--one to two months earlier than his older siblings.  He jabbers a lot--but no real words other than "boo!" and an occasional "bonk" while he bonks his forehead into one of us.  He has semi-curly strawberry blond hair just like Ezra did at this age.  He is precious.  And he is loved.  So very loved.