Henry's 4th Birthday

It's really hard to believe, but Henry came home 3 years ago and is now 4 years old! He is growing up quickly and has turned into such a little boy.

So what is Henry doing these days? He keeps us laughing with his unexpected commentary and uncensored thoughts. I'll be posting one of those funny little comments later. One thing he started doing this past year (which is one of my favorite things) is walking in a room and calling, "Mom/Dad?" and when we answer he responds with, "I love you," before walking out. Definitely a sweet gift.

Henry enjoyed going to Bible Study Fellowship with Mama L this year. He ate up that alone time with grandma and being able to, "Bible Study School." He has told me that Walter can't go with them next year because he's not big enough - "It's only for big boys, like me." It was exciting to see his interest in the Bible and Jesus grow this year. Over the last month, he has started asking if he can pray before dinner, "Dear Jesus, thank you for this food,..." and then we can never understand the second sentence!

He continues to love reading books and playing with puzzles, cars, and tools. Of course, he's still just as fast as ever! Another thing that cracks us up is that he understands sarcasm - he looks at you carefully and then smiles, "You're just teasing me!" I think Nate will have a hunting buddy in a few years - he loves talking about birds and guns ("Mom, I think you should get a pistol.")

Believe it or not, Henry does have quite the stubborn streak and a touch of a temper...I'm positive he has not picked that up from me! I'm praying that eventually, he'll use the stubbornness in a positive way...So that's a glimpse of Henry from 3 years old to 4. He is an amazing gift and blessing to us. Each day, we are thankful that we share the honor of being Henry's parents with his first mom and dad, and Omma and Appa in Korea.

We celebrated his birthday over a weekend at the lake.

Making chocolate sodas with Grandpa L has become a bit of a tradition. Henry is especially fond of making this special treat with Boppa.




Opening presents...He had quite few big smiles!





Opening Thomas and the Jet Engine: "I've wanted this for so long! Mommy said 'No.'"






Walter was very interested in the red bike. It was difficult to pry him off it - even for cake!



Going on a golf cart ride with Mimi.


Mama L made this amazing Mickey Mouse cake...definitely way better than the tractor cake I once attempted!



Looks like good cake is his weakness when it comes to table manners!


Then we celebrated at home.

Henry went through a number of ideas for decorating his cake before settling on red hots, which he and Walter personally placed on the frosting.


Blowing out the candles.


"I'm four!"


Enjoying a piece of cake.

Rodeo

While Nate was fishing for a few days, Grandma A asked if the boys and I would like to go to the Rodeo that was being held a few towns over. So on June 23 we spent the evening watching mutton bustin', saddle Bronc riding, and lots of other events. Henry and Walter really enjoyed themselves (especially the hot dog dinner with Cheetos's that Grandma treated us to). We went home around 8:30 p.m. and slept soundly!



Henry wasn't interested in taking a spin on the horses, so he watched from behind the fence. We ran into some church friends so they kept him company while Walter had his first "horse ride." Walter insisted that I ride with him...poor horse!






After supper, we watched the mutton bustin' - young kids riding sheep bareback. These were some tough kids!




Oh my sweet boys...pretty soon they won't look like little boys any more so I love pictures like these.






With Grandma


With Mom


The Flag Ceremony




Saddle Bronc riding. These are some tough cowboys! It really was amazing to watch in person.



Henry getting a little silly...


Enjoying the last few minutes before we left. They were busy the whole time. We even gave them some time to run up and down the big hills by the bleachers and they still kept going and going and going!


We walked out to the car and while I was getting Walter in his seat, Henry ventured out a little too far and got his shoe stuck in the mud. He struggled for a few minutes before managing to pull his foot out of the shoe, but the shoe was definitely in there! We did manage to retrieve it before driving to DQ for a bedtime treat. Grandma was kind enough to help me get the boys into bed once we got home. What a day!

On the Porch

Nate found these two enjoying suckers on the porch one afternoon...I just love them!

Busy Weekend

The second week of June, Nate went on his annual fishing "trip" at the lake for a few days with his brothers and friend. Henry, Walter and I spent a few hours with our friends at Green Lake the day he left. The kids had fun playing in the sand and water, running, and hiding a small super ball. My friend, Jessica, and I had to laugh as we watched them because each of them always hid the ball under the same toy in the sand and the others would watch from a distance with one eye open and one eye closed, pretending they weren't peaking. When it was time, the "searcher" didn't even try to hide the fact that they knew where it was hidden - they just went straight to it!

Henry successfully floated in an inner tube all by himself for the first time. He used it to kick quite a ways out and after a little help from Josie, made it back to the beach. The younger boys enjoyed throwing rocks in the lake and following the big kids around. It was a full morning - we even had a run in with a leach! After lunch and a little baseball, we hopped in the car and headed to Grandma and Grandpa L's house to see a special visitor.

Our family friend, Dave was in town from Great Britain and brought some special toys for H & W. As you can see, they fully enjoyed breaking in their water guns! It's probably not hard to believe that the camera and I got hit during target practice - the dangers of being a mom!



















We were grateful to spend some time with Dave and hear how his family was doing. The next day we drove with Grandma L to Mama Bakkel's house in Wisconsin. Henry and Walter couldn't wait to see Mama Bakkel again. we spent quite a bit of time at the park near her house. They loved walking in the woods and exploring, even in the rain.

Obviously, not my best hair day, but these pictures were taken after a few eventful (and humid) days. Walter ended up getting sick during our visit, but thankfully my aunt and uncle took Henry on a Wal-mart outing so my mom and I could take Walter to the doctor. This was taken 2 hours after normal nap time so we were all running on empty!

Everyday Stuff

Walter's favorite items right now are batteries and screwdrivers. Nate put this together so the boys can practice using screws and screwdrivers - now it has been ramped up to include 10 screws, which keeps them busy for quite awhile.



Henry still loves to do puzzles - he has a sharp mind!


The "Mimi Cousins" (Henry also calls them the "small or short mimis") spent one evening with us while their mom and dad were at their church cleaning night. It was a very hot and humid day (we really did have a few hot, sunny days) so after going to a few parks, we headed to DQ for some cool treats and then home again.

Memorial Day

We spent Memorial Day weekend at the lakes with our families. Walter got his first fishing rod (he chose the spiderman look) and had his first fishing lesson with dad.

Spring Picnic

The last full week of May, the boys and I decided to have a picnic at the park. A few days earlier, we saw another family having a lunch picnic, which looked like a lot of fun to H & W. One Tuesday morning, we found out that Daddy wasn't going to be able to come home for lunch like he usually does (we're very spoiled) so we tried to come up with something fun that would make the day go a little faster. The boys loved the picnic idea, so we called Grandma A and invited her to come with us. She brought fruit and we packed sandwiches, yogurt drink, chips and even stopped at the store to get some cookies (they were excited to tell everybody who would listen that they were going on a picnic with grandma). At first it was sunny, but after we sat down to eat some clouds hid the sun and it got a little windy...a little chilly in my book...but we still had a great time.


Walking across the bridge...


Riding the motorcycle...


Walter is happy to just sit in the swing and take in the scenery.


The actual picnic


After lunch, Walter and Henry picked old "Mother's Day Flowers" (dandelions). As you can see there were plenty to be picked.