2 days...2 years.

It's hard to imagine that this little peanut who came into our lives at a mere 6 pounds 10 ounces and 19 inches long.

Has grown into this beast of a child weighing somewhere around thirty pounds and at least five feet tall (or maybe he just has the reach of someone that height).

This time there was sugar.

While I may have given him a sugar free banana loaf at his first birthday party (man, what a lucky guy) the kid definitely got sugar this time.

Jake had some serious doubts that I could pull of Elmo and Cookie Monster cupcakes, I'd say they are pretty recognizable.

A little unsure that all the sugar and white flour was really for him.

And the sugar did hit.

Henry, you are a wild ball of energy that never ceases to amaze, or tire us out. You are far from perfect, but such a delight and most days we wouldn't change a single thing about you. Although if I could make one small request...please oh please stop waking up at 530 AM!!

"It's fun! It's fun!"

Some little boy was thrilled to wake up this morning and find Mimi and Papa's birthday present waiting for him in the basement.

Between ragged breaths (we may need to up his cardio) he just kept repeating, "it's fun, it's fun, fun!"

The perfect inside toy for our very long winter!

Sheesh, Jake, I thought you were a professional. :)

Closing in on the big 2!

Seeing as how big boy will be TWO in just a few weeks, I thought I better post a picture of him at 23 months next to the ever shrinking shoe. No white onesie with the month sticker on it this month because Henry now believes sticking one's head in a shirt hole is the highest form of torture. And those socks he's wearing? Yeah, they were too small about six months ago...who wants to send us new OSU socks? And please do notice the lovely red artistic sharpie marks he has added to our comforter- makes me smile every time I see it, especially because now when Henry walks by he says, "no no color on bed."

This boy of ours is every bit as sweet and devilish as he looks.

Field of Pumpkins

It is very true that last year when we took Henry to this pumpkin "patch" we were slightly disappointed. Last year, we believed one needed to go to a place where pumpkins were actually grown and hot cider and fall harvest goodies were plentiful. This year, we were just excited that Henry got to pick a pumpkin from a place other than bin at Walmart.

Truthfully, Henry was more about running around like a crazy man than actually picking out a pumpkin.

For a cookie, I shall sit semi-still and let you take my picture. I will then demand another cookie and try to sneak a sip of another child's hot chocolate.

So cute and sooo much trouble!

Just like all the big boys.

I finally did it. At 22 months and 10 days, we turned our formally rear-facing 28 pound and a million inches tall child forward facing. I had hoped to keep him rear facing til he was two but somebody decided that he likes to climb into the car and into his seat all by himself ("Me do it! Me do it!") and it was just a little too hard for him to squish his own legs into the car seat.

He was yelling, "no pictures!"

Being the safety conscious (that might be putting it lightly) person that I am, having Henry face forward does raise my blood pressure a bit, but he did get over 22 months of good solid rear facing safety so I'll just say a little extra prayer and move on. And in case any safety nuts are looking at his photo with a sharp eye...yes I did move his chest strap buckle thing up before we started driving. :)

Think I'm totally nuts for keeping my boy rear facing for so long? Do a little google search, watch a few youtube videos (actually don't) and you'll probably keep your sweet child rear facing until they're fifteen.

Fall

While I may have been desperately jealous of everyone's facebook photos of happy munchkins at pumpkin patches when we have no such thing here, I am quite happy that winter has decided to not fall on our little section of Wyoming for at least another week.

Jake took these shots about an hour from our house. Such a great reminder of the beauty that surrounds us.

This cute guy was with us. Don't mind his post picnic dinner/snot face.

And my very, very favorite one- it is definitely going up in our house.

One last one of my favorite 22 month old who is now saying things such as, "Hey, I found a rock", "I help mama?" and "It's spicy." 

And I present to you...

HAIR! Yeah, yeah, I know your newborn probably had this much hair at birth, but check it out!

The hair doesn't quite keep the head warm yet, thus the hood in September. And speaking of not warm Septembers, rumor has it that we may see snow this week. Nothing makes me want to swear more than snow in September.

A coloring menace these days. With all the jokes about his hair, I'm surprised he hasn't colored on his big old (and cute) noggin.

And  a nice view of Dada's  hair. This is how Jake gets to eat all his meals...with a little beggar by his side. I'm pretty sure at one point Henry had a plate, or maybe not. That would solve the "why does he beg for food so much" mystery.

21 months!

Oh, Sir Henry, my how you've grown! At his most recent appointment our man-child measured in at 35 1/2 freaking inches! He's huge! Up until this point he has always hovered around the 60th percentile, but he is now in the 90th and I'm guessing will soon be off the charts. He's a whopping 27 lbs (around 50-75th percentile) and the greatest news of all is that his noggin has not seen much growth since his last appointment. I'm not sure his neck could support much more up top.

This time last year you hadn't figured out how to crawl. It was glorious. What did I do with all my free time back then? These days in the blink of an eye you are opening the fridge and helping yourself to whatever you can find. You are also a menace in the bathroom. You have figured out how to crawl up on the counter and have been found many times with the q-tips and a tube of toothpaste..and sink full of water. How does that door not stay closed?!

You love to play outside and would ride your bike to the next town if we were willing to let you. Thankfully you are starting to realize that the roads are in fact made for cars and not little boys...not that it necessarily keeps you out of them.

You also have a strange obsession with spoons and must rescue them from the drawer any chance you get.

You at times make me want to pull my hair out, but we love you dearly little man.

A Dancing Fool

We posted this video on Facebook a few weeks ago, but I know a few of our family members aren't on FB, so here you go!

Oregon, my love.

School is coming, school is coming. Noooooo. Summer is quickly coming to a close for the teacher in our family and the grad student as well. Our summer in Oregon is one we will always treasure. Thanks to everyone who housed us, fed us, and made time to see us. I horrifically didn't get pictures of all of the dear friends we saw, so I guess those of you who don't see yourself posted below (or rather your property as I tend to focus on just Henry!) will just have to come visit Wyoming and we shall document our adventures together properly.

Visiting friends who also have small children is a bit wild and makes for fragmented conversations. Catching moments like this sure makes it sweet.

Story time at the Richard's gets pretty intense.

4th of July parade in "our" 55 + neighborhood.

Sharing a popsicle with puppy.

Nice one, Hank.

We always love to see this special Grandma.

Picking berries at Granny and Papa's.

Loving the water at Omi and Poopah's.

Strider/balance bikes are the best!

Giving Opapa a guitar lesson.

Parenting at its finest.

It's true. The two in helmets rode 180 miles in two days. On mountain bikes. No thanks.

These two are trouble. It's probably a good thing we live a thousand miles away.

Baby jacuzzi.

My favorite duo.

25 years of friendship.

Thanks for all the memories. And I was serious about visiting us. Rumor has it that we now have a guest bed.

Barbies for All

This guy could not be convinced that he was just a wee bit too big to be trying to drive the Barbie RV.

Look at his little hand trying to steer the wheel.

That is one happy boy! He didn't seem to mind one bit that he couldn't actually get his vehicle to move.

Zoo Hair

One might think that the best part of the zoo was seeing the bears wrestle.

Or maybe it was watching the elephants fling dirt everywhere.

Or even introducing Henry to his ancestors.

Nope. The best part of the zoo was definitely seeing those shiny golden locks. Looks like we'll be gearing up for haircut in 2016.

A Hiking We Will Go...

Natural disasters fascinate us. I once bought a four pack of natural disasters movies from Wal-Mart for $5. By far the best purchase I have ever made. With Mt. St. Helens being only a two hour drive away, we had to take advantage of this spectacular creation.

We caught the very end of the wildflowers.

Please picture Jake crouching down with Henry on his back and his two trekking poles squeezed in between his knees while he snapped this beauty.

 We've been on a lot of hikes. This one was one of the most beautiful. See that big old backpack? Somehow we deemed it necessary to bring 15 pounds of food for an eight mile hike.

We call this "set the baby down and run away while trying to make him laugh." The baby does not seem one bit amused by my antics.

His smile had absolutely nothing to do with me.

A toddler with a trekking pole is a bit terrifying. 

View from the top of Harry's Ridge..Spirit Lake, St. Helens and Mt. Hood are in the background.