Happy Birthday, Sweet Henry!

Oh, Henry. You add so much to our lives. We are so incredibly grateful for everything you bring to our family.   

You’ve grown so much as a kindergartener this year. You wake yourself up, get dressed, and make your breakfast. You help Tate all the time.   

You are constantly generating ideas: like the time you wanted to go to Terra Toys to buy stuff so you hatched a plan to raise money with a pecan stand. I came home and saw you standing at the corner with Dad and Tate, holding a sign that read “Pecans.” You made $11 and bought yourself (and Tate) several toys. You are a generous person.   

You like to use screwdrivers to take things apart. You like to use string to put things together. You like to flip over chairs and stack up couch cushions to invent all sorts of things. You have never once in your life said, “I’m bored.”   

You know how to read and write in cursive. You continue to be a phenomenal swimmer. You love the water! You love adventures–going to new places. This year we went to Flagstaff for Spring Break, the San Juan Islands for Summer Break, and Los Angeles for Fall Break.   

And you love having friends over. You continue to love eating meat, and you talk frequently about things like hunting, guns, and archery. You’re getting better and better at aikido every week, and you started playing soccer during the after care program at school.   

You care deeply about other people. When we went shopping for birthday presents for twin girls, you knew which one would want a dog toy and which one would want a cat toy. Your gifts were their favorite. You knew exactly what they would like. When one of the little girls was sick, you wanted to make her a card and give her a dollar bill. I suggested that we make her something instead, and you said, “She really just wants money.” You pay attention to others, and you read them well.   

You love to hear make-believe stories about pirates attacking a ship you’re on and me coming to your rescue in a helicopter. We then travel to the island of our dreams and spend our days eating mangoes. We still cuddle together every night and almost every morning. We love to wrestle as a family. You and I are on the same team against Dad. You are a master at tickling. You can maneuver your body very quickly and get your small hands in all the right places.   

You bring so much joy, creativity, and curiosity into our family. Thank you for sharing your light with us and making our lives brighter.