Henry Turns 5

Henry turned 5 on Saturday! I broke down Friday afternoon when I realized it was his last day being 4. Weird how the days go by so slow but the years fly by.

The day Henry was born was one of the scariest days of my life and his first week was one of the most heart-wrenching and trying times. I am so happy we are 5-years removed from that time. But I am grateful I learned how strong we both are.

We were up way too late the night before so he slept later than usual and was really sad and grumpy that morning. We tried saying "Surprise!" to cheer him up when he came down but that only made things worse. Justin held him on the couch while we listened to his favorite songs (Story of My Life, Say Geronimo and Burning Bridges) then I coaxed him into seeing what was in some of his presents.

He was super funny and hugged just about every present.

Actually it was just the food ones he hugged. This is a fruit roll up.

Yes, he is kissing a can of sweetened condensed milk. He's my treat twin.

Sarah bought him this book with her own money at the bookfair.

He also got a crazy sprinkler, big water gun, playground ball, some books, UNO, and some clothes. Nana and Papa got him a new scooter while they were here a few weeks ago, Nate and Cassandra got him some Batman/Superman pajamas that he's worn just about every night for two weeks.

And he got this:

For breakfast, we went to the Mapleton Fire station for their fireman's breakfast. We had a pancake breakfast and Sarah won a Coldstone giftcard in a drawing. Then the kids got to explore several firetrucks and ambulances. I forgot to bring my camera. It was pretty much 5-year-old boy heaven.

Then the kids played with his new chalk, bubbles and squirt gun. After lunch they played in the sprinklers. I didn't plan a friend party because I figured a sprinkler on the front lawn on a Saturday afternoon would attract his friends and it did. After they cleaned it all up, I gave everyone a cupcake and sent them home.

While the kids were outside, I worked on his birthday cake. He wanted a basketball again. This year I flavored the frosting with pureed strawberries and dyed it orange and used chocolate sprinkles for the lines.

Then we got pizza and met my family at the park. Gotta love his baseball hat, football shirt and basketball cake.

Oh my heart.

He got a toy car from Rachel's family, a set of balls from Meredith's family and a card with some birthday money from my parents. And more candy. And he got to play on a playground with a bunch of cousins which was all he wanted that day anyway.

On the way home we stopped to get the mail and lucky for us, his Dumbo DVD finally arrived! He loves his stuffed Dumbo but had never seen the movie. They've watched it every day since.

Here are his 5-year-old pictures. These are just some of my favorites.

 "Here's some shade, Mom!" Darn it if he gave his best smile in the ugly pine branches.

 This pose he came up with all on his own.

 Can you tell he needs to use the bathroom?

 How bout now?

My favorite things about Henry

1. He hated preschool and it took all my powers of persuasion and many bribery doughnuts to get him to go in on his own but for the last couple of months, he didn't fight one bit.

2. He's very good at playing with Erica. He keeps her occupied by making hideouts, pretend birthday parties, coloring projects, jumping on his bed, and playing Legos with her.

3. He still loves fruit and vegetables. We have to make sure to pass the fruit or vegetable plate to him last at dinner or no one else will get any.

4. He is very interested in reading. He asks me to tell him what things say and how to spell words. Erica has caught on with the requests too so I have to be on my spelling bee toes.

5. His best friend is Dexter. He spends a good part of an afternoon at his house a couple of times a week. (Dexter is the youngest in his family so I think (hope) his mom enjoys a playmate to keep Dexter busy) If he's over there during Erica's nap (like now) double score for me. 

6. He wants to be a farmer when he grows up and wants to grow everything: Cows, corn, chickens, grapes, watermelon, sheep.

7. He is very particular about what we listen to in the car. "Yuck" he'll say to any song he doesn't like.

8. He rarely throws tantrums now but he gets put into timeout for just not doing what he's supposed to like just lying on the floor when he should be cleaning up.

9. His favorite shows and movies: Big Hero 6, Dumbo, Fievel Goes West, Toy Story, Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, Wild Kratts, Fireman Sam

10. he is the first one to sleep and the first one up. Some mornings after Justin has left for work he'll come lay by me in my bed and won't move even the tiniest bit. I think he's fallen asleep but then he'll suddenly get up and go to the basement to watch TV until everyone else is up.

Happy Birthday Henry. You are still my teeny little super guy.