Henry can stand for a few moments with confidence and even appears to take a few steps before remembering that crawling is easier. He inevitably flops to the floor and crawls along. He's physically ready to walk but mentally cannot visualize it. This has not stopped him from smiling, yelping, and pushing his plastic lawnmower around the house. He's mobile and wants everyone to know it. This confidence flowed right into his first birthday on Saturday.

Our townhouse is a bit tight for parties so we loaded up the 4Runner and Ranger with food, balloons,  a high chair, pack n' play, and the plethora of gear that Hank needs to get it done and headed for Randy and Kelly's in Chugiak. He does not travel lightly on big days like this.

The Italian Beef (as close to Chicago style as I could approximate in a crock pot) and cole slaw were gobbled up and soon we were off to the big show, which is also known as the ceremonial placing of the cake in front of the birthday boy. The red velvet cake and cream cheese frosting was a bit firm due to its refrigeration, but you can plainly see that Henry muscled through it.

He ended up with plenty of wonderful gifts and the big plastic dump truck was the star. Plenty of photos are here.