A Big Day

Our sweet little baby has become our sweet little boy. Today we celebrated Henry's first birthday with Great Grandma Shamel's homemade pumpkin bread for breakfast, a couple of fun birthday presents, a first haircut, a first taste of candy, and a trip to the basketball court...and the Cowboy Birthday Party isn't until tomorrow! We had a wonderful day celebrating with MooMoo and Grandpa Hacker. Henry showed everyone we met how old he was by pointing his finger at them when asked. He was a very good boy while our favorite Charlotte trimmed his hair. He really looks like a big boy with his new haircut. He was very excited to receive a green little kawasaki four wheeler from the McCarthys. He loved riding around the house today, and was not happy when it was time to get off. The box in which it came, however, proved to be almost as much fun.

We continue to marvel at this little boy of ours. His smile is contagious and his funny little personality melts our hearts on a daily basis. We love the sounds he makes, and the way he walks. We love the gap between his front teeth and his strong, sturdy little legs. We love everything about him, and look forward to all that is to come in year two.

Tonight, the balloons and streamers are hung, the cake is decorated and the cowboy hats are ready...tomorrow we are having a Birthday Party for Cowboy Henry...stay tuned...

Happy Birthday sweet Henry.

Easter Egg Hunt

I just realized I forgot to post pictures from our very first Easter Egg hunt at the park. It was cold and drizzly, but still super fun as MooMoo, Grandpa and Uncle John joined us. Henry really didn't care much about the eggs, but loved the Easter Bunny.

We've had great fun with MooMoo all week. We've been to library class and on several long walks. Henry's favorite place is the kitchen. He loves to explore all of the shelves and cabinets. This morning he learned that he is almost 1 year old. When asked, he will sometimes show one finger. We're going to try to perfect it by Saturday. The Big Birthday is almost here!!

Henry's new cousin Koleton is home, and behaving beautifully. For pictures of the beautiful baby, check out their blog: http://web.mac.com/ericpfaff

A Happy Easter!

What a fun week we've had! Grandpa Hacker, MooMoo and Uncle John and Grandpa Beckman came last weekend to play, and when Grandpa and Uncle John left on Sunday, MooMoo stayed! She is here to play for two weeks, until we go to Bolivar for Henry's Big Cowboy Birthday Party. We've had such an exciting week. Henry has a cousin! Koleton Merick Pfaff was born on March 21, very early in the morning to proud parents Kim and Eric. We are anxiously awaiting pictures, but hear he is a beautiful and perfect baby. And, the Easter Bunny came this morning. Though Henry was not real excited about finding the Easter eggs hidden in his bedroom, he was very excited to find a basket of goodies waiting on the breakfast table. Among them, the miniature Tonka firetruck was the favorite...of course. As the weather improves, we are able to take more walks outside, which is a very good thing. As we approached our house this afternoon, Henry reached his hand high into the air to greet it. He loves to wave. He is really into dancing right now, and playing games. He loves peek-a-boo, and will hide behind corners, chairs, walls, whatever he can find, to initiate a game of "where's Henry?" He had his first taste of Indian food on Saturday, and seemed to love the naan and curried apples. We are looking forward to another exciting week as we count down to Henry's first birthday on Saturday!

Hissss, Moooo and Mama

We've enjoyed an easy weekend at home, just the three of us. Henry "hisssssed" like a snake, "moooooed" like a cow and shouted "Mama-Mama-Mama" all weekend long. Last weekend we were able to play at the park as the weather was spring-like and gorgeous. This weekend was not quite so nice, so we played with lots of other kids at "Incredible Kids Day" at a local community center. While the other kids played with balls and crawled through tunnels, Henry was most happy walking from one end of the gym to the other, hands straight in the air. His attempts to dodge the older kids, the balls, and assistance from mama and daddy were quite successful...he is very independent, and likes to do things on his own. Tonight he managed to climb up onto his Big Boy chair by himself, sitting quite proudly as daddy applauded. Each day brings a new adventure, truly. He eats pot roast, drinks from big boy sippy cups points to our eyes, ears, noses and mouths. He loves his toes. He laughs and laughs as he lifts his legs into the air, wiggling his toes and encourages us to lift our wiggling toes into the air too. As we approach Cowboy Henry's first birthday we are in awe at the little man he has so quickly become. He is such fun. New videos to come soon...