Henry's birthday parties

So, here is how Henry's birthday celebration went:

Since we were going to do his big celebration on Sunday with the family, we did our usual small birthday celebration with cupcakes.

He seemed to really like the flaming candle.

A bit too much, actually.  It proved more interesting than eating the cupcake or opening presents...  kinda made me a tad worried about where we kept the matches, actually...

Here are some snapshots of the kids awaiting the start of the birthday singing:

And Dad actually blows the candle out to prevent any ER trips for the night.

But at least the cupcake was fully appreciated.

And followed by some present opening.

For his official birthday party with the family we waited till Sunday:

Henry likes two things these days (besides making lots of trouble...) : Curious George and trains.  So, Thomas and I made him a cake with both. 

Which he seemed to enjoy...

And it didn't take him too long to get the hang of opening presents, either.

Then he got down to the serious business of playing with them all.  Right away!

Happy # 2!

Happy birthday to our two-year old Henry!!

This is how I always think of him - our baby boy.  Adorableness, itself.  Sometimes naughtiness, itself, too...  but mostly adorableness.

Henry is not only adorable, he is the happiest, most enthusiastic kid you will ever meet.  Every morning when he gets up, he throws his arms around you and gives you a big hug.  And randomly throughout the day, he will come charging at you with more enthusiastic embraces.  He is constantly on-the-go and races around the house, causing mayhem or giving hugs or tackling Thomas.  He is the joyful soul of our family.

.

It never ceases to amaze me what just ONE YEAR will change.

From these curls!!  (Oh, I loved them so...)  

To these smiles!

Happy birthday little Henry-man!

Reading in bed

Love it when you catch the kids with this kind of contraband in bed...

The Decennial Mark

 Today marks our Decennial Anniversary!

It's hard to believe this happened a decade ago. It seems both just a short while ago and forever, at the same time.

But in that time, we have added to our family...

 Thomas - in 2005

Mary Alice in 2008

and Henry in 2010

Oh, and these two in 2012.  (Don't let their cuteness fool you, they are as mischievous as the three rugrats above.)

Now its just a regular party at our house!

In all seriousness, John and I have accomplished a lot these last ten years.  We have accumulated seven degrees between the two of us.  We have visited Europe, and most of the Western United States (together, that is). We have moved twice.  Bought a home.  Spent close to a third of our marriage renovating said house.   We are actively raising (and I do emphasize the "active" part) our three wonderful and engaging children.  They have brought so much joy to our lives.  And stolen our sleep.  But we prefer to think about the joy part. We have even managed a mid-life career change that has sent John back to school for yet another degree, this time in a different city away from our little family.   We have dealt with the heartaches of deaths and job losses. And I can't remember a time when John and I have ever been closer than we are now.   Life has been good to us.

Tens years has gone so quickly, and I am sure that 20 years will come before we know it.  But if history has anything to tell us, it's gonna be a hell of a good ride (not to mention scenic... those of you who have ever traveled with John will understand what I mean).

Factoid for today:  The decennial anniversary is marked by a gift of tin or aluminum.  "Whoa... What??" Yeah, that was my reaction, too.  Seriously... tin or aluminum?  I mean, heck - 5 years will get you something made of wood.  You can usually find something pretty classy that is made of wood.  But tin or aluminum?  What are you supposed to do with that?  Random resource around the Internet point out that tin or aluminum can represent strength and flexibility at the same time, which does make it sound a bit better, but doesn't exactly drive away the initial impression of a loving couple exchanging a can of vegetables and a baseball bat.  They just don't scream the anniversary theme of "everlasting devotion" or even a simple "Darling, I am so happy to have spent the last 10 years with you."  I motion that we remove tin/aluminum from the list and make it a "Get 'em the nicest thing you can afford right now" year.  Which, in our case, would probably be some flowers... picked from the neighbors yard.  Simple, inexpensive, and at least it requires some dangerous trespassing as a test of one's devotion.

Smilin' babies

Man, I love me some smilin' babies!