Our little guy is turning 1 on Wednesday! It's so cliche to say this, but it's amazing how quickly this year has gone by. I'm trying to remember the night that we swung by McDonald's at midnight to get fries on the way to the hospital -- it seems so long ago! 
Just for fun, I thought I'd share a few pictures of him over this past year.Needless to say, Henry has blessed our lives in more ways than we can ever share and we are so in love with him. Happy birthday, Henry!!!
We had our first snow fall on Sunday. It's hard to believe that winter is around the corner.... We were able to go to the apple orchard again this past weekend - this time with Daddy and some friends. We're on a roll with the family pictures - two in one month is a miracle and here is the proof. (I didn't say they were *good* pictures. Just *family* pictures!)
Pretty easy to figure out that Madeline needs her own kid-friendly camera for Christmas this year.
What a great fall day! Our local fire station gives away pumpkins in the fall, so we thought it'd be fun to get a pumpkin for the kids and check out the fire trucks. Grandma Bev and Grandpa Bob also stopped by for most of the day, and it was fun to have them join us. We even met up with our friends Alicia and Nick. Madeline and Alicia were more than happy to pose for us on the fire trucks. 
So we've updated you that Madeline has huge tights and doesn't listen at school. But "what about Henry?" you may be asking...
He's keeping busy by ripping down Madeline's pumpkins and crushing them in his vice-like grip. The sheer energy exertion it takes to do all of this is evident.... 
He likes pudding. mmm... pudding. And he likes to be held. It's almost like you can hear him say, "pick me up now, woman!" 
He's sick of the being in jail all of the time. He's climbing over and into everything. And he's growing up way too fast!! 
The family made a quick trip to Sam's Club after dinner tonight, and we spent the time making up random imaginary stories. After receiving our 2nd note from Madeline's teacher in less than a week, I thought I'd try to weave in a lesson to my make-believe story. So, taking inspiration from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, I told a story about a girl that visits the soap factory (to pick out a pretty smelling soap for her teacher to say "I'm sorry" for being such a naughty girl at school today)... And one of the rules of the soap factory is that you have to be a good listener and you aren't allowed to touch anything. But the naughty girl did touch a button --even though she wasn't supposed to-- and ended up getting caught in a giant bubble that floated her up and up. She only got down once she listened to her teachers in the factory. Right on the topic--listening. Good moral, right?
It was Madeline's turn next. She started out her story. "There once was a girl who visited a book factory... and there aren't any rules in this factory and you can touch anything you want to."
What am I going to do with this girl!?
I have a ton of friends who have little girls, so I feel like it's my responsibility to provide a review (and warning perhaps?) of Strawberry Shortcake....
and so on and so on.... Do they need this many characters in one series? Nathan has refused to read these books to her and saves them for Mommy to read. I don't mind as much, because Madeline likes the stories, but I agree that they are a pain to read!
