Birthday Boy!

I had every intention of updating the blog on Henry's actual birthday but time got away from me so here I am catching up...

Henry's birth day last year was a long day....labor last through the day (again!) and never got to the point where I wanted to give up, mostly thanks to the lovely gentleman that gave me my epidural. I know some women are anti-epidural but it was a great experience. I wasn't pain-free by any means but it made it bearable and I was able to focus on what I had to do instead of how much it all hurt. I can't remember what time the pushing started or exactly how long it lasted but (I think) that I stayed pretty focused and did what I was told by the doctor. Eddie was a great support, fed me ice chips, helped me stay focused, etc. So after some pushing we finally had our little Henry James. He was beautiful and so alert from the beginning. Eddie and I took some family time before we invited my parents and Ellen in to meet him. It was a very special time for everyone.

Over the last year we have gone through so many changes. I remember seeing a list of stressers on marriages and they included new job, moving and children. We've had all three in the last year but I've got to say we're doing great. We've really managed to keep things pretty normal despite all of the changes. I think our keeping Henry on the go and not really changing how we operate has helped him to be a flexible and fairly easy-going kid.



At a year old this is what Henry is like:

-Very curious about everything. He loves to point at things and have us tell him what he is seeing or what is going on. Favorite things to point at: planes, photographs on the wall and ceiling fans.

-He loves monkeys and calls them "ahh-ahhs", which we think comes from the "ahh-ahh" part of "ooh-ooh-ahh-ahh" that we use for our monkey sounds.

-He says Pop-Pop and Pout-Pout (Fish) the same way and it's like a little puff of air saying "pa-pa". Very cute.

-He signs "food", "more" and "all done"....when he feels like it.

-He crawls up stairs quickly and is getting better at coming down then.

-He loves books and many times prefers them over his other toys.

-He likes to dance to music and likes it when I sing to him, especially in the car.

-He really is a very happy baby for the most part. His fussy moods are rarely very severe and rarely last long. He is pretty flexible and deals well with being taken places and having his schedule varied.

-He likes swimming and being in water. We'll be starting up swim classes at the Y again this fall, which will be fun.

-He seems to like to make people laugh and will repeat actions that get a laugh out of people.

-He is just a generally amazing little boy, of course I'm a little biased.

A friend of Eddie's once told me that having a child was hard and better than she thought it would be...and it is so true. It's been an amazing year and while I'm not wishing time away, I am really looking forward to see what kind of kid Henry turns into. I feel very lucky that I can be at home with him during the day to watch him learn and grow each day. (Thanks Eddie for working so hard!)

We had the opportunity to have a photo shoot with the three of us a few weeks ago and we just got the slideshow of some of the images from that shoot. It's a perfect way to wrap up this Year Old post.