henry at fourteen

Over the summer, Liam and Max both told me in separate conversations that all of the sudden, Henry "got funny." What they meant, of course, is that he's caught up to them enough in maturity level and sophistication that they're all basically on the same level now and can really appreciate each other. I mean, we all know that our Henry has been hilarious all along! But now it's like a switch has flipped, and they would all rather spend time with each other than separately. They're truly friends, which makes my heart so so happy. (And as a side note because someday Adult Henry will read this: Feels pretty great to have your older brothers quoting your jokes and funny sayings with their friends, doesn't it?)

Liam and Max aren't entirely wrong, though: Henry has changed a lot this year. He's grown a ton and can look Mike in the eye (and is almost as tall as Max now!). And after a few years of preferring to just hang out at home playing video games in the basement (I truly blame the pandemic for this), he has once again embraced social events. Now he's eager to go to school dances, concerts in the park, the Blueberry Festival ... basically anywhere he can hang out with his friends. He also dipped his toe for the first time into the waters of boy+girl interactions ... but that's not my story to tell, so I'll just note it here for posterity and move on. 

Henry has always been a hard worker, and he spent his summer helping with Mike's plants at home plus spending a day every week at my mom's house entertaining my nephew Jack and niece Elsie (both of whom adore him). He's always willing to lend a hand, and sometimes I think we don't express our appreciation enough, but it's there. And listen, any 13-year-old who is willing to spend a whole day every single week with his grandmother, his 7-year-old cousin, and his baby cousin is a Good Kid in my book. 

Henry wanted (and got!) a pretty low-key birthday weekend. On Friday, my parents took him to Bonefish Grill for dinner, where he enjoyed the many "Bang Bang" menu options on offer (and came home with leftover Bang Bang Shrimp tacos!). On Saturday, he was very excited to open his gift from Barb and Kevin, who sent frozen deep-dish pizzas from Lou Malnati's. He made the pepperoni one for dinner, and grudgingly shared the tiniest sliver with me but ate the rest all by himself. On Sunday, he came with me and Max to take Liam out to lunch, then the brothers all hung out in Liam's apartment for a little while, and when we got home, Mike made (at Henry's request) pasta forticus, his favorite special occasion meal. In between, he built Legos and played late-night video games online with Liam. It's easy to see why we could label this Henry's Perfect Weekend, right?

The truth is that sometimes (ok, a lot of the time) I have to remind myself that Henry is still a kid. He fits in perfectly with the older boys, and he's so mature and responsible, but he also knows how to have fun. It really is a house filled with laughter, and a lot of that is because of Henry's quips and his quick wit. 

Happy birthday, Henry! We love you, and we are so looking forward to another year of laughing with you.