All about Henley...

I thought I would take a few photos, write a few words, to share a little more about my son who just turned one. Officially he is Henley Roland. He can also be...

Little Man
Mr. Man
Henley Mc. Fenley
Fenley
Bud
Bud Bud
Buddy
Budsies
Pookie Poo
Chunky Monkey
Chunk Chunk
oh, and BROTHER!

Henley loves adventures. He especially loves adventures with his family. He is slow to show emotion at times, but we know he is soaking it all in. He is a thoughtful little guy.

Oh, boy can we get this boy to smile. He smiles most often when someone smiles at him. Such a charmer. Most recently he is all about DA DA! He looks for Beau to arrive home and does a little Henley dance (be bopping up and down while leaning on the window next to our front door) when he spies his DA DA!

Henley is adored by a big sister named Hazel. She has had 12 months to learn to be gentle. We are still working on that one. Such an intense little girl when it comes to her baby brother! Henley quickly learned to toughen up and tolerates her teeth clenched "gentle" squeezes quite well. Lately, the person in our family that makes Henley laugh the loudest is his goofy sister Hazel. Join the club buddy.

Henley is a sentimental little boy. He loves his mommy and seems much less independent than his sister. Hazel has always been a child who can sit and read a book on her own start to finish. Henley will play, but typically he prefers to have a hand on someone dear to his heart. He follows me everywhere! He is a cuddler and his morning snuggles are priceless.

As mentioned earlier, Henley has become quite a fan of his dad. Beau has loved seeing Henley change quite drastically over the past month. He is so much more interactive in his play and communication. His little personality is starting to really come out in spades. I had thought he was going to a quiet, soft spoken and thoughtful guy like his dad. By the way he SCREACHES for things he wants...I think he may take after our pterodactyl relatives?

This picture was taken as Henley watched Bella retrieve another ball. Bella is an energetic weimaranar that outweighs him by about 45 lbs. He isn't intimidated in the least. (We kinda wish he was a little.) No fear of large canines. For the most part, Bella doesn't mind the extra attention. Henley shows a lot more interest in Bella than Hazel ever has. A boy and his dog. It will be fun to watch their relationship grow.

Bella shows off her stealth moves. Henley watched her intently. I wonder if he will walk so stealthly? He has to figure out the balance thing a little more first. Henley has just started to stand up and let go. He stands a few seconds before losing balance and grabbing back on. He smiles so big. Proud of his new skills. We are too.

Henley sees his future! Wrestling with DADDY! Henley has started working on this at home. Beau will lie on the floor and Henley scurries on over. I like to call one of his moves the bulldozer. He leads with his noggin and crashes into you. He also loves climbing up and over daddy. Time and again. He laughs. He sqeals. Such fun. Simple pleasures!

Henley wants to do what the big kids do. He is such a follower. He was intent to get the wagon to move. He tried with all his might!

Again, he attempts to pull the wagon. He was fascinated by the handle and how high in the sky it could go. Soon enough he will be pulling his sister around the field.

This little boy's wheels are always turning. The rest of the gang continued to wrestle on the big mat nearby. Henley was content to sit alongside his beloved wagon and study the tires and their valves. He is intersted in the function of things. He has one of those shape sorter toys (square box that has holes of different shapes). He loves the toy. He fits the shapes in, tries to at least. Then he moves on and finds other small items in the house to shove in the toy.

Henley is a great little brother. Richie had never had a sibling, let along a baby brother, before moving into our house. He adores Henley. The feeling is mutual. Hazel is starting to discover that having a baby brother means she has a playmate. As Henley starts to do more, her interest has increased. Of course he can frustrate her more now too! But, isn't that what a little brother is supposed to do??

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Much love to the little man. I have a hard time fathoming that you are already a one year old. Such joy you bring our family. I look so forward to watching you grow into the boy and young man you are destined to be. xoxo