Happy First, Henry!!!

 Today is Henry William's first birthday! It's so cliche, I know, but I really can't believe my little Henry is one. He makes me crazy happy. I remember we struggled at first with sleep issues and the normal newborn chaos, but we are quite the duo now. I can't seem to get enough of him. I am trying so hard to burn little Henry moments into my brain, so afraid that I won't remember the little things. I want to remember his feet and his little toes and how they curl and grip the floor as he tries to balance. And how they smell like sweaty little boy feet at the end of the day. How can a one year old's feet smell already?! I want to remember how he crosses his little feet and rubs them together while eating his meals in the highchair. I want to remember how he waves 'bye, bye' or 'hi' with his chubby little hand awkwardly from side to side. I want to remember the way he stops in the middle of breastfeeding to flash me a great big smile with those four little teeth. Or when he smiles while biting his bottom lip. His laugh is awesome. I want to remember that. I am so happy and grateful that we have reached this milestone, but I really am kind of panicked. I want to slam on the brakes and make time stop. It's going by too fast. I cried last night thinking about my boys getting too big to hold in my arms. It breaks my heart.

But, Henry is awesome right now. He is sitting at the table in Harrison's old booster seat (Harrison is now sitting at the table in a grown up chair), feeding himself fistfuls of food, and drinking from a sippy cup. He is a very messy eater. He literally shoves fistfuls of food in his mouth in record time. I can barely get to my seat for dinner before he is done with the food on his plate. He loves to push cars around the playroom occasionally making 'vroom, vroom' sounds. And just like Harrison, he loves to drum! I love love love to pick him up from daycare. As soon as he notices me, he drops what he's doing, flashes that huge smile, crawls warp speed across the floor, climbs up my leg and gives me a hug. A real hug. Arms around me, head dropped onto my shoulder and in my neck kind of hug. And then he will do it over and over again, like we have just reunited in the airport after being apart for years. He is super cuddly and loving. I realize that I sound very needy, but I love it. Harrison did not do this, not until he was much older. I love Henry hugs. He is also doing this thing where he dramatically lowers himself to the floor and puts his head flat on the ground like he his is exhausted or maybe just frustrated and is making a dramatic statement. We can't quite figure it out, but it's cute.

Henry, I love you beyond measure. Happy Birthday to you, my sweet little boy.