Henry's Third Birthday

We had fun celebrating Henry's birthday with presents, dinner, and cupcakes!  He was tickled to receive the one gift he had been asking for- blue pliers :)  I think my favorite part of the whole night was at dinner when he was so overcome with emotion that he walked around the table, gave each of us a big hug, and said "you're the best mommy (daddy, baby, Tommy) ever."  It's his little way that he always tells us he loves us, but it was cute to see him go around the table and tell each of us since we were all celebrating him.  We love our little three year old!

 

New Michigan hat from big brother!

Blue Pliers!

At Logans- the birthday boy was NOT shy- he stood up there and danced for the entire restaurant!  Hip wiggles and all :)  I should have taken video rather than a picture. 

Henry loves birthday cake!!  Especially chocolate!

 

Henry's Party- Plaisier Side

I love the third birthday!  They are old enough to be excited and understand what is going on, but still too little to have huge expectations or to get disappointed.  Henry loved his birthday and was just so very tickled that we were all there to celebrate him.  It took him FOREVER to open his gifts- each one had to be completely opened and played with before he would move on to the next one.  It was adorable.  We had a great time celebrating our Henry with the Plaisier side the Sunday before his birthday!

 

Henry loves tools and had been asking for blue tools as his only birthday request.  Great Grandpa got him a blue toolbox filled with tools and Henry was absolutely thrilled!  He carries the toolbox around everywhere and loves to fix things for us!

Some of the new things from the toolbox!

I think the toolbox is bigger than he is!

A new jacket from Nonnie and Papa!

Henry really wanted a cake with tools on it!  Thankfully the bakery was able to do it!

Henry Christopher- 3 years old

Henry got a toy grill that has been played with tons!  He played with it for hours the day after his party!  We've all eaten lots of burgers and hot dogs!

 

Henry's Party Details

For Henry's third birthday I decided to have an outdoor picnic party.  I wanted to do something completely different than Caroline's party since the two are so close and the guests were all the same.  It ended up being a really fun idea!  We had fun hanging out in the back yard and we were blessed at both of his parties with gorgeous late summer weather.  Here are some pictures of the little details!

 

Go Blue!

A couple of weeks ago we were able to attend the Michigan vs. Air Force game in Ann Arbor.  It was a gorgeous day and we had a wonderful time!

 

 

We left Henry and Caroline behind.  It doesn't look like Henry was too sad without us, does it? :)

 

Merry-go-Round

This is a little out of order too-  more phone pics!

 

After Henry's first day of school we met my mom at the mall for a celebratory lunch at Auntie Anne's (Henry's favorite!).  After lunch we took him and Caroline on the merry-go-round.  It was Caroline's first time and it must have been the first time in a long time for Henry.  They both loved it!

 

Henry was so intrigued with how the animal went up and down!

Henry rode the gorilla

Caroline LOVED it!  She squealed the entire time!

So much fun!

 

Build-a-Bear for Caroline's Birthday

Sorry- these are a little out of order because I just realized I had al ot of pictures on my phone! 

 

 For the kids' birthdays my mom always takes the cousins all to Build-a-Bear.  They love going and it's always nice for me since when they beg to go I can just remind them that we'll go when it is some one's birthday :)  Henry is at the perfect age for it- he takes the entire experience very seriously!

 

Henry stuffing his bear

Tommy stuffing his bear

Henry helped stuff Caroline's bear, but she was mesmerized by the stuffing machine!

Henry's favorite part is brushing and drying the bears!

The birthday girl with her bear!

Best attempt at a group picture!  We had fun- thanks Nonnie!

 

Twelve Months Old!!

Caroline Jean- 12 months old!

 

One short year ago we received the surprise of a lifetime!!  She arrived with a BANG and hasn't slowed down too much since!  Caroline is a happy, content little girl who is quick to smile and laugh.  She absolutely adores her big brothers (and they adore her in return) and is pretty good about riding here, there, and everywhere in the car to get them where they need to be.  She is on the slow side of average for alot of developmental milestones, but it is nice to have our baby still be a baby :)  That being said, she knows what she wants and is perfectly capable of getting her point across.  We laugh because once we found out that she was a girl Nathan began to pray that she would have some spunk.  I'd say that his prayers were answered!  She is sugar with just a dash of spice and we wouldn't have her any other way.  It's hard to imagine our family without her.  We're glad that her first birthday was MUCH calmer than her actual birth-day :)  Happy birthday sweet Caroline- we all love you so much!! 

At 12 months Caroline weighs 21lbs, 14oz (75%) and is 29" long (39%).  At the same age Tommy weighed 27lbs, 9oz and Henry weighed 23lbs, 8oz.  Tommy was 32.25" long and Henry was 30" long at one year. 

 

Just for fun- Nathan was 26lbs, 3oz and 33" long.  I don't have my exact measurements from one year, but based on my 10 month and 15 month measurements I was probably around 21lbs and 31" long.  It's fun to see how we all compare!

What is Caroline up to at 12 months?

 

- She sleeps from 6pm- 7am every night without waking up.  The bed time is pretty non-negotiable for her.

- She is starting to occassionally skip the morning nap and when she takes it is is getting shorter, but for the most part she naps from 9:30am-10:30am and then again from 1:30pm-3:30pm. 

- She drinks about 32oz of formula a day and eats three meals a day- breakfast and dinner are baby food, but lunch is usually some finger foods- cheese, crackers, raisins, granola bar, cereal bar, cut up fruits, etc.

- She is in size 3 diapers and 12 month clothing.

- She crawls and has pulled herself up to standing once or twice on the boys' train table.

- She waves- it's actually more of a salute :), does so big, and plays peek-a-boo.

- She babbles- loudly- but doesn't have any real words yet. 

- She has 4 teeth- two on top and two on the bottom. 

Henry's First Day of School

 

Wow!  This one really snuck up on me.  I'm not sure how my little guy got big enough to go to school, but it happened and today was the big day.  He was so very excited- he's been wanting to go to school since last fall.  There was not one ounce of nerves in his body and he was actually disappointed to hear that I was coming with for the first day.  He picked out his backpack earlier this summer and although I tried my hardest to talk him out of it he was determined.  He is extremely proud of his dinosaur "packpack."  The shoes were another big deal for Henry- he got them a few weeks ago and has been waiting to wear them since I insisted that he save them for school.  He thought he was hot stuff this morning and it was adorable to watch.  We're so very proud of you Henry!

 

 

 

The backpack :)

Outside of the school

His cousin, Andrew, is in his class which will be really fun! 

Silly faces!

Coloring his paper

Sitting in the circle

Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes

Working on a project with Mrs. Hoeksema.  His other teacher is Aunt Rachael.  It should be a fun year!!