Two

Henry had another birthday this week. Geez kid. To celebrate, we had some friends and cousins over. I made him a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and trucks. His reaction: "coooooool!" And then he proceeded to eat 3 pieces. So I think it went over well.

This picture perfectly captures his attitude towards presents when cake is around. "More choc-o pease."

 

All of the choc-o and attention made him a bit goofy. I had to capture this moment because it reminded me of a photo of me when I was about 1.

He did enjoy his presents (mostly trucks and cars, which he was thrilled about). He got a musical guitar from Ben's mom that he strapped on and started rocking out to. He even used some of the cardboard it came in as an arm band.

The minute everyone left, Henry crashed. Ben did too. I love Henry's ability to entertain and interact with other people. He usually saves his exhaustion for us, which I like, because then everyone can think our child is perfect.

A few unorganized thoughts and facts about Henry:

He talks all the time, though a lot of it is still babble, especially when he gets excited. But he does often narrate his playing ("zooom, airplane, I fly, oh no!")

He absolutely loves his dog, even if he is a bit rough with Albee at times. He is always trying to get Albee to sleep with him in his bed.

He is a really good helper. He is good at picking up his toys, unloading the dishes, putting clothes in the dryer, and any time he sees garbage, he says "trash!" and has to throw it away.

His favorite foods (other than chocolate) include most kinds of soup, blueberries, bread, peanut butter and mac and cheese.

He loves church. All week he asks for church and nursery and, occasionally, even the sacrament.

He is very good at entertaining himself, but he loves to play with others. He'll often grab my hand, say "come" and then drag me out to the living room where he points to the ground near his toys and says, "sit."

His favorite song right now is "I'm so glad when Daddy comes home" complete with actions (my favorite is when he pumps his fist in the air and says "joy!").

He loves to brush his teeth. Throughout the day, he'll bring me to the bathroom, point at his toothbrush and say, "teeth!"

He's really awesome.

Елка

One of my favorite Christmas memories from growing up is when we would go to the Mule Tree Farm and cut down our own tree. Then afterwards, while my dad was paying and helping wrap up the tree, we'd have hot chocolate and candy canes in the little shop.

This year was the first time since we've been married that we've lived somewhere that doesn't ban live Christmas trees. I dislike fake Christmas trees and we only own one because it's better than nothing.  For the past year I've been talking about cutting down our own tree, even though we won't actually be spending Christmas here (because Geoff is coming home from his mission!!!). Luckily I have a husband who likes to indulge me.

So the day after Thanksgiving, we drove with visiting family (my parents and brother, Ben's sister and brother-in-law, plus Ben's brother and his family from Canton) about an hour north to a cider mill/tree farm and picked out a beauty that Ben cut down all by himself.  This place was quite large and very efficient. We were pulled around by a tractor and they hauled our tree back for us. Ben's favorite part was probably watching them shake out the needles and wrap the tree up. 

I enjoyed the cider and stuffing my face with doughnuts, which have been a craving of mine that I haven't indulged (I tend to get a sweet tooth during pregnancies, and I swear I'd be happy eating nothing but sugar for the next few months. Happy and large).

We decorated our tree this weekend, after all of our visiting family left. In other words, Ben put up the tree and helped me with the lights and then I put on the decorations while he guided from the couch. Everyone has their traditions. 

Henry loves the tree, especially the lights. We're teaching him to call it a елка, pronounced "yolka," which is Russian for Christmas tree. His favorite ornament is the one pictured below. I explained to him who it is, so now he runs up to it and yells, "Dad!" and giggles. I giggle too, but for different reasons. Just look at that face.