Henry is TWO!!!

My little baby boy turned two Saturday.  I was ok when he turned one, because one still sounded little. But two sounds like a big boy. People always tell me how fast it goes, and there are so many little things you think you'll NEVER forget, but you do.  There are stages in Henry's life so far that I don't remember until I see it in pictures.  I'm doing my best to soak in and try to remember every minute with Sawyer, and every moment with Henry from here on, because I know I will never get this time back.  I will never again have a 2 year-old Henry to snuggle with, wrestle with, play cars and trains with, to sing with...it's so sad!  As frustrating and exhausting as he can be sometimes, he brings so much joy to our life.  He is so sweet to Sawyer, and is constantly kissing his head, giving him a pacifier, and sharing his blanket and toys. I love that when he does something kind for Sawyer, he says, "I NIIIIICE!"  He is the first to let me know when Sawyer is crying ("Sawyer sad!"), and the first thing he wants to see in the morning is his baby brother.  He has so many qualities that make him a difficult toddler, but will make him an awesome leader when he is an adult. He is independent, fearless, and does not change his mind easily.  He is not afraid to sing at the top of his lungs.  He has endless energy.  Just this morning Sam said, "How does he have this much energy in the mornings?"  He attacks the day full-force, and does not slow down until we make him go to bed.  Even then, he talks and plays for awhile.  Henry loves to see how things work.  He likes to take apart the vacuum cleaner and put it back together, and see the parts of his toys.  Henry likes to test everything out, which lands him in trouble sometimes :)  He wants to do everything himself ("I do it!").  I am interested to see how our silly, compassionate, strong-willed little boy grows into a man.  I know it will come too soon.  

And now, here are pictures from his party!  He loves trains, so we went with a train theme. 

His cake looked so cute.  It tasted like I imagine a kitchen sponge would taste.

For snacks, we served Henry's favorite foods.  Chick-fil-a nuggets, chips, salsa, fruit, and
pigs in a blanket that we could not serve because I burned them in the oven :)

He ate his weight in nuggets

Blowing out his two candles 

Luckily, it was pretty that day so we could all go outside

I know this is not birthday-related, but this is a rare picture of my whole family!  I have not seen my brother and his wife since August, and they drove all the way from Sonora to come to Henry's party.  

Christmas {Part 2}

A couple of days after Christmas, my parents drove in to celebrate with us.  We sure love our Coach and Sweetie!

Who knew a flashlight was such a big hit with (almost) 2 year old boys!

And Henry got a bubble gun.  Every inch of our house has been covered in bubbles.

I love these people!

Christmas {Part 1}

We spent Christmas this year with the Morgans. It's always a good time in Abilene because there are tons of family, food, and laughs.  I am blessed with in-laws that I love to spend time with.  Here are just a few of the tons of Christmas pictures I took!

This is Henry and Sawyer's beautiful new cousin, Reese

Sawyer and "Possum".  Yes, that's his grandpa name :)

The boys watching Thomas the train

These two played and played until they could play no more!

He was a little excited about opening gifts on Christmas Eve...

...until he got distracted by Grandma's camera.

Aunt Lauren and Cousin Reese

Henry is putting reindeer food in the front yard so the reindeer have something to eat while Santa does his job.  He dumped out all the food, then kept yelling, "Reindeer!!! Come on!!"

I love these guys so much.

And these brothers are already best friends.

Sawyer was pretty pumped about all the Christmas fun

I love this picture of Grandma and Sawyer.  He thinks she is really funny.

Will and Henry patiently waiting to come down stairs to see what Santa brought!

Henry got a little car/train track set!

Santa brought Sawyer a new swing, but he left it in North Richland Hills because there was not room to carry it all the way to Abilene and back.

Ma, Pa, and Sawyer

This is our only family picture.  Sawyer is almost asleep, and Henry is angry.  Oh well, we tried.

Henry's First Haircut

Henry's hair was getting long and out of control.  I was putting off taking him to get his haircut, because I was pretty sure it was going to be an awful experience for us all.  Yesterday I decided to suck it up and just go do it.  We talked all day about how much fun it is to get a haircut, and how big boys get their hair cut.  We talked about how he would get to eat some candy if he sat for his haircut.  

When I took him in, I told the lady we were there to "attempt" a first haircut.  I told her I didn't really think it would happen, but maybe he could just sit in the chair and get used to the idea, and maybe he would be warmed up for it another day.  

He was AWESOME.  He got to sit in a firetruck, watch Thomas the train on a little tv in front of him, and eat a sucker.  Every little boy's dream come true!

 I wasn't expecting how sad I would be to see that shaggy "little boy" mess of hair gone!  She cut more than I really wanted her to, but I know it will grow in just a couple of weeks.  Today I spiked it up with a little gel, and I like it a lot more.  He doesn't look as dorky now.  Our sweet baby is getting so big!

Pre-Christmas Fun

Here are a few pictures of our pre-Christmas festivities:

Helping Dad put up the tree

Decorating Sawyer with Christmas ornaments

Our first attempt at putting the star on the tree

 We had a Christmas party at our house for our little group of play date friends.  The kids decorated cookies, we made ornaments, and they PLAYED, PLAYED, PLAYED until it was naptime and they could play no more.

This picture makes me laugh.  One child was gone, one did not want to be in the picture,
and almost everyone else is having a meltdown.  This is what "past nap time" looks like.  

Sawyer is 2 Months Old!

Sawyer turned 2 months old on Christmas Day.  He is seriously the best baby ever.  He has started smiling and talking to us, and has the sweetest little voice. Sawyer can still sleep through just about anything, and actually sleeps better in chaos.  He must have a noisy big brother :)  Sawyer loves to watch and listen to his big brother, and Henry gives him lots of kisses and hugs.  Henry adores him.  The first thing he says when he gets up in the morning is "Where's Ya-ya?"  I love that these boys already love each other so much.

 Sawyer has his 2 month check-up next week, so I don't know his stats. His face and belly are a little chubby, but he still has long skinny arms and legs.  He has more hair than Henry had at this age, and has a slight mullet in the back.  His eyes have turned dark blue, and I am interested to see if they will stay that dark or turn lighter blue like Henry's.

 Sawyer is extremely laid-back. As long as he is dry, fed, and burped, he's pretty content to just sit around and watch all the action.  He does love to cuddle, and lots of nights he sleeps in bed with us.  After he is fed and all snuggled up on me, I can't make myself put him back in his swing.

This time last year if you told me I would have a 2 month old baby right now, I would not have believed it.  Sawyer is such a wonderful little surprise.  I never thought I could love two little boys as much as I love Henry and Sawyer.  They have very different personalities, but somehow both completely fit with our family.  I am 100% wrapped around their chubby little fingers.