Yeah... we just did one of these. But it was just his second birthday and Henry's so great that I have more things to love about him.
1. He is very meticulous. He asks to color all day every day and then he sits very still and moves very carefully to make Os and Hs and other letters, or letter-like drawings that he always says are Es. It reminds me of Henry's namesake, his uncle Chad (Charles Campbell), who used to sit and patiently draw each individual stone of a castle. That same kind of patience and attention to detail is already apparent in Henry, and I really, really hope it sticks around.
2. He's meticulous and particular about his clothes, which is hilarious. I can't just dress him in anything anymore. He has strong opinions about what his vestments for the day are. His favorites are boots, of course, and his pilot's jacket. And other jackets with hoods. And sometimes hats. When I dressed him for this little photo op he got pretty excited about his bowtie.
3. This meticulousness is apparent in his speaking, too. Oh he definitely babbles on like a baby, but when he knows he can't say something, he refuses. Take the girls for instance. He knows their names are Ellie and Olivia, but those are hard to say with all those Ls. So he usually calls them "girl-girl". Both of them. Ellie is Girl-Girl. Olivia is Girl-Girl. Only when he is too frustrated to remember that he can't fully pronounce their names does he say something close to "Ellie."
4. He has really started to echo his sisters lately. He wants to be a part of everything they are a part of. But he still has his own thoughts. And as his language develops, we get to see more and more his personality. He's all boy, but he's also so calm and steady. Don't get me wrong, he can whine like the best of them. But he has this kind of temperance. When things are crazy all around him, he is a fortitude of peace. This "eye of a storm" presence.
5. He does this little run that is so funny. He is sort of bouncing from side to side when he is very happily going about his day. It's pretty hilarious because he will sometimes bump into walls or people and get knocked over. And then he just hops up and continues on his merry little way, bobbing from side to side as he goes.
6. He thinks his belly his hilarious. I don't know why. If you even mention his belly he cracks up. I guess it is pretty funny. 
7. He was a little bit late to the talking game, but now that he's all-in, he is catching on like crazy. Everyday he surprises us by saying something we didn't expect. "Don't spill shirt, dada." // And when he heard some kids playing in the park by our house, "Babies swinging!" // "I want (to) help!" // "See you later, dada."
8. Every form of transportation is a "-car". An airplane is a "plane-car," a train is a "train-car" and, to avoid confusion, a car is a "car-car." And he likes to lay around and play with these modes of transportation so quietly and lazily.
9. He can really sing. He is often found humming the theme songs to our favorite movies, like "How To Train Your Dragon" or "Frozen". And he loves to be silly and change the lyrics of songs like, "The Farmer in the Dell." There seems to be a lot of singing that happens in this family, so I love it when his little voice chimes in so well.
9. He can really sing. He is often found humming the theme songs to our favorite movies, like "How To Train Your Dragon" or "Frozen". And he loves to be silly and change the lyrics of songs like, "The Farmer in the Dell." There seems to be a lot of singing that happens in this family, so I love it when his little voice chimes in so well.
10. He is very affectionate. He is always running up to the girls and squeezing them tight saying, "Hug and kiss!" The girls said this is their favorite thing about him.
11. He's a little bit of a social introvert. He loves people and having friends over, but big groups of people are usually not his favorite. So for his birthday, instead of having a party, we celebrated by going to dinner at American Dream Pizza, which is the pizza Steve and I had delivered to our hospital room the night of his birth. His Aunt Jaci and Auntie Mal were there, and so were Grandma and Papa Waters, so he had a great time, being the center of attention and getting to play with his new cars at the dinner table. And, per his request, we had some delicious cupcakes. (Which Jaci and I almost failed at by forgetting the sugar... yikes!)
We have a tradition in our family that on your birthday you get a treat for breakfast. (His was a chocolate chip cookie bar.) We light candles and sing and then the birthday kid gets to take the first bite and then share if they want to. Even though he is only two, he was expecting this tradition and sat very proudly, reveling in how much he is loved, while we sang to him. And he shared his first bite with his sister.
We have a tradition in our family that on your birthday you get a treat for breakfast. (His was a chocolate chip cookie bar.) We light candles and sing and then the birthday kid gets to take the first bite and then share if they want to. Even though he is only two, he was expecting this tradition and sat very proudly, reveling in how much he is loved, while we sang to him. And he shared his first bite with his sister.
12. Remember how I told you Liv has established "Keep you forever" as a way to express love in our family? Well, shortly after that, Henry kept coming up to me and hugging my leg and leaning in to say, "A EPPPER, MAMA!" in a loud, sing-songy way. It took me a little while to realize that he is saying, "FOREVER, MAMA!" as in, "I'll keep you forever." I'll keep you, too, Henry Bear. Forever and ever.
Basically, we think he's a marvelous boy and we're so glad he's a part of our little family.
