A Star Wars Birthday

Henry had a great day and a great celebration. He couldn't seem to think of anything he wanted for his birthday and his main response was, "Maybe Star Wars stuff, like a movie or a poster." So that is what he got, Star Wars stuff, and even some legos and a couple super heros from his friends. He kept looking at his presents and saying, "Best Birthday Ever." It was quite hilarious.

It is safe to say that I don't have a lot of cake decorating skills, but when we went to get decorations, Henry chose a white cake and white frosting. He did agree that it should probably have sprinkles. I added the transformer to spice things up just a little.

We had dinner as a family at Red Robin. We were laughing about taking Henry there with a bunch of friends and family for his first birthday. And now that he is five, he chooses it as his favorite place to eat. Perhaps we brainwashed him at an early age, but he eats a lot of food without complaining about anything, so that must means he likes it.

All three boys were hamming it up for the restaurant photos.

Happy 5th Birthday Henry!

I can not believe that it has been 5 years since we had our little Henry. He is such a grown up man now. He pretty much keeps things jumping around here. He manages to handle the role of middle child with quite a bit of ease.

A few things that I know we will want to remember about Henry today-

He loves to eat candy and more candy and will ask for a "lunch dessert" as soon as he tells you what he wants for lunch.

His friends and brother like to say that he is "addicted" to playing Super Mario on the Wii. As his mother, I have a hate-hate relationship with this game now, but am still convinced to let him play it and pass more and more levels on a regular basis.

When we ask Henry what he did at school or what he learned at school, he always says, "Not much." or "I can't remember." Even if we just walked out of the classroom. Luckily, he gives a more thorough answer when asked about his class at church, so we can be grateful he is willing to talk about his spiritual education.

He is well known among his peers for two appearance attributes- "his dimples and his swirl on his forehead" (otherwise known as cow-lick).

When we ask Henry to get ready to go somewhere, whether it be getting dressed or putting on shoes and a jacket, he takes that as his cue to move slowly and distractedly and sometimes just pretends that he can't hear us at all... He has even gone as far as pretending to read a copy of "The Economist." Keeping in mind that he has no interested in world politics and also that he can't read.

This guy is really such a ball of energy and love. He is so open with compliments and such a caring a cuddly fellow. He was the first one to teach me the all important parenting lesson that even though a child of the same gender comes to the same parents, it doesn't mean he will be anything at all like the ones who come before or after him. He is only himself, and I love that about him.

Our Valentine's Fun

We have a great and fun Valentine's Day. With 2 boys in school, it was even more fun for them to exchange Valentines with all of their friends. They really enjoyed writing them up for each class member and even some neighbors, and then sorting out all of the loot and checking out the goodies when they got home.

We also continued our tradition of having some delicious red and heart-shaped food for dinner.

Wyatt loves to watch things cook in the oven, so he even got Gavin to come over and see the pizza and get excited about dinner.

Here is our first tastey creation. Thanks to Stacy for suggesting the use of parchment paper to get the pizza easily on and off the baking stone. It made the whole event much less stressful for me, since no pizzas got stuck to the peel and not a bit of cheese or toppings ended up on the bottom of my oven. Fabulous.

The boys gathered around with their new Valentine animals and some great cards and treats.

We opted for red creme soda this year. Gavin even enjoyed his with the heart silly straw from Nana and Vatti.

Henry loved his new super soft dog.

Wyatt was excited about everything and has loved carrying around his little bear for the last couple of days.

This guy was there too. We had a great night hanging out and enjoying being together.

Some jumping around

This winter business has started to feel pretty long to us, so we have started to plan some outings to get us out of the house and give us a chance to socialize with friends.

A couple of weeks ago we headed to Jump Around Utah, a big warehouse someone has converted into and indoor play area. It has all kinds of bouncey houses, a big play structure and a giant pillow that you can jump on. The boys really love this place, and I love when we can find half off coupons to go.

Josh and Henry getting some serious ups.

I wasn't quite ready for how high Henry jumped this time, so he is missing the top of his head.

Josh showing off his skills, these two were the only ones that would pose for me.

Gavin and Noah in the play structure.

Wyatt loved this place when we went this summer, but of course his older and wiser self was a little nervous this time. He spent the first hour walking around with the moms and pointing and people and smiling. Finally he found this tiny slide and after some coaching had a lot of fun going up and down it, until Gavin came over and coaxed him on to bigger and better play areas. It is fun to watch what he is convinced to do when he has a big brother to follow.

One crazy guy

This little Wyatt is turning out to be one crazy guy. Spending our mornings together without the distraction of brothers has really brought out his wild and silly side. Just a few fun shots of some of the things he gets into now that he is 18 months going on 12. What a blast.