Happy 11th Birthday, Henry!

Sweet Henry’s birthday is coming up this February 28th. I’m continuing my annual tradition of reading him a letter on his birthday and hanging up pictures from his year (as well as one photo from each of his previous years).

Here’s his letter for the year:

Dearest Henry,

I can’t believe you are 11 already. You are growing into a young man so quickly! I cherish the time that we get together as a family. I love our little unit of four, and you are an important part of our family. 

Here are some of the things we have enjoyed together as a family this year:

• We camped for your 10th birthday party, and we camped one more time with friends during the year. You are always so comfortable in nature, and you are so good at leading your friends in games and activities. 
• We spent a lot of time in Bastrop at our vacation house. I love watching you swim in the lake.
• We traveled all the way to Hawai’i for our summer vacation! You are so good at boogie boarding!

You also learned and grew a lot this year, like when you took scuba diving lessons and started American Ninja Warrior classes.

And it seems like you took hoverboard classes because you are so good at it, but you taught yourself! You are so comfortable and quick on that thing! You always find your own way in the world and don’t feel stuck doing things the way other people do them. For example, you ride your hoverboard on your knees instead of with your feet. You are also constantly coming up with new ideas about what to build or how to do things, like when you built friction-resistant pads for your hands while hoverboarding. Your mind is so strong and smart, and you are incredibly creative. 

You continue to be such a generous human being. The same little boy who offered up the last mango popsicle to his mother all those years ago is still at it! You are always thinking about your friends, your parents, your brother and what you can do or give to help them feel good. You even wrote a really kind Google review for the man who works at Pokemaniacs. Your kindness inspires us all. 

And when things are hard for you, you don’t give up. You go to school every day, focus and concentrate to get a lot of work done, and are comfortable raising up issues and problems so we can work together to solve them. 

And you are so good at making plans and thinking through ideas. Just recently, you came into our room and said, “There’s a 55% chance of rain today, so how about we do an inside adventure like the ninja gym?”

It is such an honor to be on this journey of life alongside you. You say you’re going to call me a couple of times a week when you move out of the house, and I sure hope that’s true! You are such an important part of my life. One of my favorite things to do is snuggle with you under a blanket during our Friday Movie Nights. 

You bring so much light into our lives, Henry!

Love always,

Your Mama