Growing up and finding out that 8 is great

We have this little man in our house. He is pretty much the twin of his father. It's pretty hilarious, actually, how similar they are. 

It's hard for either of them to be serious, especially when you want them to be. 

And especially when you take Henry's picture, he either is totally goofy, or he won't smile at all. There is no in between.

So when you have just turned 8, and the cameras are all on you, then bring out the cheese!

Henry was really into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles a few months ago(when his birthday was, Not as much now. Yes Mom, I know how long it's been since I posted! :)

And rather than try and match icing colors to that of a turtle shell, I decided to just buy a mask that he could wear and play with later and make that the cake topper.

I thought it was genius. UNTIL Henry saw it and then incessantly asked to be able to wear the mask for the next hour until he blew out his candles. 

Lesson learned:If the cake topper is something especially awesome, hide the cake until its time to eat it!

Finally! He can become one with the Turtles. And a little frosting on it is just a bonus. 

If you don't know by now, we are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the Mormons. So when our children are 8, they have the choice to be baptized. Most kids choose to be baptized and Henry was very excited for this special day.

It is always an emotional time for me. I love my children, and more than anything else I desire for their spiritual welfare and their salvation. So watching them enter the waters of baptism makes this mama exceptionally happy.

Henry asked me to talk about the Holy Ghost, and he asked his grandpa Granger to talk about baptism. It was a great day and most of our family came and celebrated this beautiful day with us, which meant a lot to Henry.

All 3 of Jeff's sisters were there, and my brother and sister and their families were there, but sadly we had the thought to take pictures after they had all gone on ahead to grab food for the luncheon afterwards.

But it meant a lot to us and to Henry that they were there for his special day.

Henry is a squishy, squashy little love. And we are so thankful for him.

Some great things to know about Henry:

1. The kid can dance! I am signing him up for hip hop classes. Seriously. He has moves.
2. I honestly don't think he knows how to say anything mean. He is kind to everyone, and even if you are mean to him, instead of lashing out, he will just walk away from you and those big eyes of his will well up and he will NOT understand how someone could be unkind.
3. He is a super picky eater! I list this because, while it can be frustrating, I know that it will be a fond memory about him. He is the Mikey of our house. (If you know who that is, then you are as old as me;). We introduced some new yummy and healthy berry syrup and he actually liked it. The fact that Henry would eat it got the other kids to try it because they KNOW he hardly eats anything.
4. He LOVES, LOVES, LOVEs playing with his sisters. Anne Marie and Nora are his best friends and he will gladly play with stuffed animals, barbies, whatever, just to hang with them. They also play legos and boy stuff with him. They love each other.
5. He loves his dad and his big brother and they love their little buddy.
6. He is my miracle child. Henry was born with a double knot in his umbilical chord-the nurse told us she had never seen that in a live birth before. Then, when he was 9 months old, he fell through the railing of the top floor in our rental house and landed 9 feet below on his head. And he was totally fine. I wasn't, I was a wreck. But he was ok.
7. He can read like nobody's business. His teacher talks to me about it all the time because he is so beyond grade level. Which is great because at the beginning of last year he couldn't read yet and it really bothered him. But he caught up quickly and its amazing.
8. All of the girls in his grade and the grade above him LOVE Henry. We walked into the school one day and a particular little girl that especially likes Henry was standing there. He saw her and put his hand out and just said, "Stop!". When I asked him about it, he said that she ALWAYS tries to hug him. And whenever he is sick, a bunch of little girls ask me where he is. It's pretty cute. And it reminds me of someone I am married too;)

Henry is such a blessing to our family. He is our barometer for niceness, being sensitive and kind, and for using soft voices even when we are upset. It's a gift he has. He helps other people see the consequences for how they react to things, and hopefully change because of it.

I love this little boy, so much. And I am so eternally grateful that he joined our family 8 years ago. Happy Birthday Henry!