HENRY'S FIRST BIRTHDAY!!!!

"High Stepper"

Who did he get this from?

Henry talked the whole way home from Gigi and Grandpa's tonight...about 10 minutes straight. I wonder where he gets that from????? -L

Warp speed...

When I used to hear parents say, "Enjoy it because it happens so fast" it sounded true to me, but I think I always felt like when it was my turn to be a parent I would magically slow down time and savor every moment of my kid's development. Well, that is of course impossible, but I think I am beginning to know where that feeling of accelerated time comes from and have a few thoughts on it.

Tonight while we were taking a bath, after a healthy round of Row Row Row Your Boat using the visual aid of a pasta spoon as the oar, I was talking to Henry about things. I was explaining fingers and toes, full versus empty, things like that. I was asking him if he could say certain words back to me like Mama, Papa, Gigi, Grandpa, Nana, Gramalex, etc. Then I had an idea to try the names of animals. I naturally started with cat. I said, "Henry, can you say cat?" and he said back to me sort of matter-of-factly, "Meow". I was very surprised and very pleased.

So that got me thinking about the element of surprise, and I have concluded that part of what parents are talking about when they say it happens so fast is that it happens almost despite anything you are even doing; when your back is turned even. That magic of this person becoming who they are without any prompting from you is really amazing. It is happening fast, but more than that I think it is just happening in every direction at once and the moment you focus on one thing and think you are contributing and you are awaiting the result of your excellent tutelage, something else is happening that is just as or even more interesting that has little to do with you. My little guy is constantly learning with or without me. Crazy. Awesome.

It's kind of like when the grand finale starts at a fireworks show. Sometimes you see a burst so beautiful that you want to keep watching the entirety of it from the explosion to the trickle of sparkle and flames diving toward the earth, but if you do, you will inevitably miss the next one which is just as amazing but in a completely different way. That's why as a kid you would yell, "Ooohh! That was my favorite! Ohhh, no that one was my favorite! Wooooah! Okay that one was my favorite!" That's how it feels. Every day with Henry is my favorite. -W

Today after lunch at Winsteads I took Henry out of the high chair and he took off running down the isle. He got going so fast that when he tripped over his feet, which he does every time, he fell forward, did sort of a sideways 1 and 1/2 forward roll and then laid out flat on the floor. He didn't cry because he wasn't hurt, actually the look on his face was more a look of exhilaration. I don't know if it was the thrill of the speed, the excitement of the dive-bomb acrobatics or the fact that 10 women sitting in the restaurant gasped and ran over to him. Whatever it was it was clear at that moment that I was going to see this maneuver again, probably this evening in my living room on the hard wood floor but with very different results.

Getting to know my son is really an amazing experience. I think sometimes I tend to think of him sort of like a puppy. I repeat the same thing over and over and have pretty much no expectation that any of what I am repeating will stick. But over the past couple of weeks it has started to stick and it surprises me every time. Today in the car he was copying me. I would whisper "Papa" and he would do the same. I would say it really loud and he would belt it out. He sticks out his tongue, mimics my facial expressions and sometimes repeats the sounds that I am saying and when he can't get the sounds he makes his own noises with the same inflection. He is very good about letting us know what he wants. He points at things and has different sounds for "I want that", "Pick me up", "Play with me" and the cutest ever "Read to me". Yesterday he was sitting on the floor looking at the book "Mama Mama" and he saw me sit down in the chair next to him so he stood up, picked up his book and his blanket and walked over to me and then made the sweetest little squeak I have every heard. Oh, and I almost forgot, he dances now. It's a sort of bounce with failing arms move, super cute. Wade and I have both noticed that his bounces are usually right with the beat. What fun this is! -L

Jumping the Gun

We went ahead this weekend and turned Henry's car seat. Yes, it is two weeks until his first birthday, but he is way over the height and weight limit and his poor little legs were all squished up against the back seat. So here are some pictures of Henry's first car ride in a forward facing car seat. He watched Papa drive very closely and for the first time since he realized he could protest about 4 months ago, he didn't protest getting in the car seat. Road trip here we come! -L

A Jayhawk & a Lion