Henry the kid

On May 14th Henry turned 5; I am informed that means he is a 'kid' now. If I had been asked, I'd have said he's a 40 year old trapped in a 5 year old's body. 

To celebrate we decided to forgo the hassle and expense of a party and see how we liked the hassle and expense of taking him to Disneyland. I'm still not sure which I would prefer to do in the future but I can say that he had a great time and it was fun to see him beaming whenever one of the workers said, "Hey Henry! Happy Birthday!" 

It was more crowded than we expected it to be on a Tuesday but we still managed to hit most of the rides Henry wanted to go on: Buzz Lightyear, Autotopia, Nemo Sub, It's a Small World, The Tea Cups, Alice in Wonderland, Dumbo, Peter Pan, Pinocchio, Snow White, Disney Railroad, Jungle Cruise and Pirates of the Caribbean. In addition to the rides we got to meet Mickey Mouse, have lunch at the Rainforest Cafe see some really fun exhibits with Ironman and Asimo , have some Dole Whips, churros and peek around the shops. 

Henry still loves to tell people he got to go to Disneyland for his birthday and says his favorite thing was getting to be like Ironman and riding Peter Pan. 

I also took a leaf out of pinterest's book and decided to do a little birthday survey for Henry: 

My name is: Henry

I live: on earth

My favorite color is: black

My favorite TV show is: Mickey Mouse Club House and Monster Snakes

My favorite sport is: tball

When I grow up I want to be: A Disney imagineer

My Favorite book is: A Day In The Life Of Oscar The Grouch

My Favorite food is: cereal

My Favorite Song is: I’m a Cuckoo by Belle and Sebastian

I am really good at: playing jungle cruise and making puzzles

I need to work on: having good discipline at karate

These are three words that describe me: cool, fishy and gorilla-man

Something that makes me happy is: going to peoples’ houses and playing with them nicely

Something I like to do: draw monsters, skeletons and stuff

My favorite place to go is: Disneyland

As a five year old I will: dress up, draw stuff with my mom, listen to her, go fishing with my dad, play outside and I will start school.

Advice I would give to 4 year olds: have fun at fun places and be more like the Lord

It took all my self control not to laugh as he said the last one with such a serious face.

We have definitely had an interesting five years with this little boy. I am pretty sure he sees himself more as part of a triumvirate than anything else, even with a sibling here now. He can be incredibly stubborn and drive me up a wall faster than almost anyone else but he is getting better, really trying to do his best to be good and "not listen to satan" as he says. He can also be so genuinely compassionate at times that it makes me proud and feel a little ashamed of myself at the same time, probably a good thing. As he gets ready to start his first year of school I can only hope and pray that those good traits and inclinations will continue to grow and he'll continue to learn and grow as he has the past five years. 

We love you! Happy Birthday, Henry Dean!