Three…..and Three Weeks!

Henry turned three earlier this month and I really wanted to post a blog before September runs out!!  Yep, cutting it a little close.

You know, year two was rough for many reasons.  About two weeks before his second birthday, Henry had (what we now know) was his first seizure.  He would have 10 more between September and December.  He had 5 ER trips.  Tons of Doctors appointments.  Henry was sick basically from his second birthday through May of this year every few weeks.  He had croup 4 times, among just a constant cold.  His temperature regularly hit 103-104 degrees during these illnesses.  Oh, and he was diagnosedwith epilepsy.  Sigh.

Not to mention Terry and I had an unusual amount of sickness which led to 6 urgent care appointments between the two of us and numerous doctor visits.

For this, and many other reasons it was a rough year and I am excited for three to be here.  Through it all we stuck together as a family and got to see this little boy shine and grow and fill our lives with more love than we knew was possible!

Henry - July 2014

I can’t even believe how much he has changed.  This personality he has.  This little three year old seems so much older than most three year olds.  I believe he is an old soul :-) 

Three started well and I am hoping it continues. (he is now 9 months seizure free)

Here is Henry today….our THREE year old!!!

Henry is:

- Kind.  He shows a concern for others (and his stuffed animals or Godzilla) that is so sweet.

- Polite. He is excellent at saying please and thank you.

- Silly.  Oh my gosh, he has my slapstick, goofy sense of humor.  I LOVE IT.  He cracks me up all the time.  From pretending to walk into walls (and really walking into walls) to Saying “Hi everyone, my name is Henry Donald and I am a silly boy” in a funny voice….he cracks me up!

- Clumsy. See above.

- Loving.  He always gives hugs and kisses.  Smooches are big in our house.  And he loves to cuddle with me as much as I love to cuddle with him.

- Independent.  He wants to do everything on his own.  There are pros and cons to this with a toddler, but I love the independence he has.

- Stubborn. T & I are stubborn people.  This didn’t surprise any of us that Henry would be too.  It is a battle of wills and the thing is, T & I have had more practice at being stubborn…good luck my son.

- Potty trained. Except for night time, he is potty trained which is awesome!!  Well except when you are out in public and he has to go NOW and you are running to the bathroom.  Always know where the restrooms are.

- Short tempered. This is from me.  Oops. We are both working on this.

- Expressive. Or some may say dramatic like his mother. Whatever!

- Style. He has his own style and it is fantastic.

- Imaginative.  I LOVE how imaginative he is.  He will make up stories all the time.  It is so fun to watch and see where his imagination takes him! (Thanks Daniel Tiger.)

- Curious & Adventurous. What three year old boy isn’t curious?!  They pretty much go hand in hand.  He is his father’s son.

- Well spoken.  From going to a speech therapist once at 18 months to now saying words like intuition, counting to 27 and speaking non-stop throughout a day….oh what a difference a year and a half has made!  Seriously, the other day Henry said he wanted to be a bug scientist.  Terry said, that is an entomologist.  Henry repeated it nearly perfect (for a kid).  He repeats everything, trying all the big words.  We may have a game of seeing which big words we can get him to say with the most accuracy!

- Cooking.  He loves to cook.  I love that he loves to cook with me.  It is this special bonding thing we have that gives us both patience and memories….and good food after, of course.

- A Friend.  This past year he has really taken to friends.  He loves his friends or “my kids” as he calls them.  He is always asking to play with his kids.  As an only child, I love seeing these friendships he is forming at an early age.

- All About Family.  He loves family and is always asking for them.  Oh how he adores Poppi and JoJo and Aunt K and Josh.  This makes my heart so happy seeing how they all interact.

- A Dancer.  The. Boy. Gots. Moves!!! HERE. HERE.

- A Cleaner.  He actually loves to clean!  Well adult cleaning, but still…the boy has chores.

- Technology. He is ALL about technology and actually really good at using it. 

- Laugh.  His laugh.  Oh his laugh.  I have no words, I just love it so much.  Thank goodness he loves to laugh as much as I love to hear him laugh.

- "Reads"  I am not a reader and I wish I was, but this kid LOVES to read.  Every night it is 3-4 books and we have to ask him to stop reading, or he will just keep going.

- Makes our hearts full.  

And he is so very much more.....

Here is to THREE!!!!

Henry STATS: 3 year check up.  39.5 lbs 40.5" tall.

8 Years.

Today Yesterday* marks our 8th year wedding anniversary.

Eight.

I am glad to be in year eight, year seven was rough.  Really rough.  But after 8 years of marriage and 14 years together, you are bound to have “off” years and some rough times.  It is all about how you work through those rough times together that builds more strength and love in a relationship....so I am figuring out.

Marriage is a funny thing.  You meet someone and you decide to spend the rest of your life with that person.  ONE PERSON! You have faith in your relationship and that this person will be the right one for you, even through all the ups and downs.  You are taking a leap of faith that they will catch you when you fall and lift you up when you need support.  That they will know when to say something and when only a hug is needed.  And that a “perfect” relationship doesn't exist, but that giving yourself to someone 100% does.

I never doubted my choice, but I know now, more than ever, our relationship and love for one another has proven to be very strong and is continuing to grow.  That alone, gives me comfort that things will be OK….we will be OK. I know I am also learning.  Learning what it takes to make a marriage work.  Learning about myself as a wife and a mother.  Learning how strong I really am and how much stronger we are together.  Learning I cannot control everything…..oh how I cannot control things. Learning we are a team.  (No Jenn, you do NOT have to do it all alone.)  Learning how to compromise.  Learning how to not take the other for granted.  Learning that even though we are comfortable with each other, we can’t get too comfortable that our relationship is affected.

These are all things the past few years that seem to have come to light far more than before.  Yes, much of it is because having a child changes the dynamic of a relationship.  Some of it is because we see each other so much less now because our schedules are opposite.  And some of it has been because of the stresses we are going through.  But we are still working on us, our marriage and this life we have and are creating together.  Not always agreeing, but always supporting.

Terry,

I know things haven’t always been easy and perhaps we are not always at our best when the stresses of life take over.  But one thing that is for certain, that has never come into question, and that has only gotten stronger over our 14 years together, is my love for you.  And I know the same is true in return.  Through all our ups and downs I can count on you to be there for me, for our family.  I am thankful EVERY day that you are the person by my side as we go together on this journey.  No matter what life throws at us, I know that we are definitely stronger together and we will never let each other go.  I love you.   Happy 8th Anniversary!  

*Note: This was going to post yesterday…I guess I haven’t blogged much lately as I forgot to hit publish!  In the words of my son “Silly Jennie”.