Henry, you are ONE! We brought a tiny baby boy home from the hospital this very time last year but that same tiny baby no longer lives here. You are a curious, thoughtful and funny little boy.

You weigh 22 pounds, 6 ounces and are 29 ¾ inches tall. We get a lot of “big boy!” comments but we know that you’re the perfect size. You’re just starting to fit into your 12 – 18 month clothes but are still able to wear lots of your 6-12 month things.

You love to stack and sort things! We have several sets of stacking cups and you love to figure out how to make the cups fit inside each other. At our weekly Music Together classes, you will often turn the bongo drum upside down during music time and find smaller instruments to put inside of it.

You take a while to warm up to new people and situations, which is just fine with us. We often hear, “he’s so QUIET!” when we’re out and about. We can tell when you’re feeling comfortable with something or someone as you’ll usually start jabbering.

You recently learned to point and it is just fantastic. On Friday while you napped, I hung some of your party decorations up and when you came downstairs you quickly pointed at all the new things in the room. I love that you are so observant.

You are funny, Henry. If you hear the word “hat” you will put whatever you are holding onto your head. A sock, a book, Baby Bear, anything. The other day, you were standing at the end of the chaise in the TV room and you kneeled down to pick something up. When your head popped back up, I said “peek a boo!” and you giggled and then knelt down for me several more times, giggling more and more each time.

You know several of your toys by name and will find Baby Bear, Ollie the Owl and your football for us. You clap when we say “Yay!” and wave hello and goodbye. When you’re playing and I call your name, you quickly grab a couple toys and then crawl over and raise your arms for me to pick you up. You are always prepared!

You are fascinated by the cars that drive by, the landscapers and the garbage man. When you hear something of interest outside, you quickly crawl to the window and pull yourself up on the window sill. If the landscapers are out there, you bang your little hands on the window as if to say, “Hey guys! I’m here!”

Your favorite foods are hummus and pita, Annie’s spinach pizza rolls, roasted pear, waffles and oatmeal. You’re still cautious about trying new things, but after the first bite you’ll usually dig right in. You tried sausage and mushroom deep dish pizza in Chicago and you loved it! You are still nursing and I am so thankful that we’ve made it this far.

You say Mama, Dada, ball and cat. For some reason, when you say “cat,” you whisper it, which is just the cutest thing. You are working on lots of new sounds and your favorite right now is “GEE,” which you yell very loudly when you’re excited.

You are HANDSOME, my love. Your doughy little cheeks and big brown eyes seem to attract lots of comments. Your hair grows so quickly and you are well on your way to your third haircut! You are starting to look a little bit like Mama and that is kind of exciting for me.

I love how you’ll lay your head on my shoulder right when I scoop you out of your crib in the morning and after naps. You are so very busy these days, but you indulge me in a snuggle sometimes and I am so thankful for that. I love the look of concentration on your face when you are trying to figure something out. I love how you smile when we bring out your favorite book. I love how you say “Da! Da!” when I tell you Daddy is home and we head out to the front porch to wave at him.

Henry, you are the very best. You are sweet and affectionate, funny and curious, smart and strong-willed. Being your mama is the best thing I’ve ever done and I hope you will always know how much I love you. Every day is an adventure with you and I am so excited to see what you’ll do next.

Love,

Mama