Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold or any of the characters. Hey Arnold is the property of Nickelodeon and Craig Bartlett.
Henry's First Birthday
Chapter 2: The Guests Arrive
Some time has passed and The Shortman's began putting the decorations for the party.
Arnold blew up and placed the balloons, Helga did the streamers, Andy set up the pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey game and Megan was told to put away any toys that were in the living room.
During this time, Baby Henry was in his little playpen, observing their movements with mild curiosity.
"Haven't they invented something for this?..."Arnold muttered after blowing up the balloons.
"They have, it's called a "Daddy"..."Helga joked.
"Haha..."Arnold said before going back to blowing up the balloons.
Baby Henry saw all of this and looked bored. He didn't understand what was going on, it was all so new to him.
"What are Mommy and Daddy doing? Why is daddy making so many bubbles on the ground? And why are Andy and Megan wearing pointy hats?..."The baby thought, watching them for a moment.
He then noticed the things that caught his attention earlier.
The shiny thing.
What he didn't know is that the shiny thing was a drone that his daddy had gotten from the university that he works at, it could fly and take pictures in places that were too dangerous for humans.
Arnold had it powered down and charging in the room. He couldn't have it fall during flight or worse, end up in the wrong hands.
Speaking of wrong hands, Baby Henry was mesmerized by the shiny thing. It was amazing.
"I wonder if daddy's going to play with his shiny toy thingy again today? I want to find out what it's like..."The baby thought curiously as he looked at the strange item.
It's been around the house for awhile and his daddy seems to really like it as he uses it a lot but the little baby wondered what the shiny thing did (what he didn't known is that it's his father's work drone and his father was only using it for looking over pictures from work). All he knew is that it was so shiny and new, it also looked so fun that he wanted to grab it, hold and play with.
"Shiny..."The little baby thought as he tried to get out of his playpen.
While only a small obstacle, it would take him a bit to get over to the other side but it was doable as he tried to get out on his own. The little baby began rocking back and forth, tilting the pen more and more. He was about to climb out and escape, only for his mother to get to him.
"Not so fast, Little Man. Time for your mid-morning bottle..."Helga said as she had it, already warmed and ready for her baby.
Henry, however, got fussy and squirmed in his mommy's arms.
"Gaga...Gaga!..."He tried to talk but it only came out as baby gibberish.
His mommy didn't understand him, thinking he was hungry.
"Here you go, Little Guy..."Helga said as she began feeding him.
Henry wasn't actually hungry. He wanted to play with the shiny thing or maybe put it in his mouth to see what it tastes like. He wasn't sure yet since Andy, Megan, Mommy and Daddy wouldn't let him have it. He didn't know why but he still wanted it.
It was like the ultimate prize to him. Why couldn't grown ups understand him?
He tried to tell his mommy that he wasn't hungry, that he wanted to play with the shiny thinking but she kept trying to feed him.
"No mommy! No want bottle! My shiny thing. I want the shiny thing!..."The baby thought as he reached for the drone.
The boy used the bottle like a pointer, hoping his mother would understand.
Unfortunately, Henry, being a baby shaking a bottle of liquids, accidentally squirted the milk on his mother's dress, much to her dismay.
"Oh no, my favorite dress!..."Helga exclaimed.
"Oh dear..."Arnold said as he tried to help his wife.
"This dress is a Nancy Spumoni original, it's irreplaceable!..."Helga said, looking mad but not directing at her baby boy, whom she knew didn't mean it.
"I know, Honey..."Arnold said as he tried to calm her down.
"Help me get the stain out..."She ordered after placing Henry on the ground.
Her husband obeyed and tried to help her.
With his parents distracted, Baby Henry decided to crawl over to the shiny thing, that was by the big picture box that always had the little flat people inside of it. He looked at the item with awe and fascination. The little baby was about to grab it...only for someone to pick him up.
It's his brother, Andy.
"Whoa there, little bro..."Andy said after picking him up. "That's dad's drone from work...you don't want that..."He said before taking his brother back to the living room.
Their parents, who noticed his absence, were relieved to see that he was okay.
"Henry, don't scare us like that again!..."Helga lectured.
"Mom, he just crawled to the TV for a minute. He didn't climb a mountain..."Andy couldn't help but point out.
Before his mother could say something or check Henry over for "boo boos", the doorbell was heard and since Helga was still trying to get the stain off her dress, the other grownup in the house went to it.
"I'll get it..."Arnold said as he went to answer the door.
It was Gerald and Phoebe, along with their two girls: Kiara and Akiko "Kiki" Johanssen.
"Hi Gerald, Hi Phoebe..."Arnold greeted his old friends. "How are you guys?..."He asked politely.
"Swell, Arnold..."Gerald said before Arnold turned to his god-kids.
"Hey there, kids..."The oblong headed man greeted.
"Hi, Uncle Arnold..."Kiara said with a smile.
"Hi..."Kiki said sweetly.
As Arnold escorted the family inside, his elder kids were happy to see their friends.
"Hey Kiara..."Andy said upon seeing her.
"Hey Andy..."Kiara greeted back.
"Kiki..."Megan exclaimed happily, hugging her.
"Hi Megan..."Kiki said, hugging her back.
"So, how's the birthday boy?..."Gerald asked, after placing his and his family gifts on the present table.
"See for yourself..."Helga said as she grabbed her straying baby one more and brought him to them.
After Henry endured a few minutes of his god parents cooing and cuddling, he was placed back onto the ground. He pouted since he still hasn't gotten the shiny thing that he wanted most.
Unfortunately for him, being fawned over and cooed at was nowhere near over as more guests were due to arrive.
A little later
After Gerald and Phoebe, more guests showed up.
Right after them, Sid showed up with his two year old daughter Sadie and after him, Stinky showed up with his two kids, Sammy and his one year old son, Stinky Jr.
"Time to put on their little party hats..."Arnold said after placing the colorful head-wear on his son's head.
The other parents followed. Helga even made the older kids put them on too. Once the kids all had them on, Gerald couldn't help but make comments.
"Well, those should stay on for...three minutes tops..."He commented to Sid while Helga pulled out her camera and began taking pictures.
Phoebe did the same, nearly blinding her children with the flash.
"Do they have to do this every party?..."Andy complained to Kiara.
"I think it's a rule somewhere..."Kiara muttered to him as the mothers snapped more pictures.
"Smile..."Helga ordered as she took more pictures.
During this time, Gerald noticed the birthday cake. It was a big, tasty, banana-chocolate cake with one candle on it.
"Now that is one hunk of cake..."He commented while Arnold showed his other guests the snack table.
"Thanks, Arnold..."Sid said, before taking some chips.
"Yeah, much obliged..."Stinky said, still using his southern drawl.
"No problem..."Arnold told his friend.
As the kids played, the adults talked and Henry still wasn't paying them much attention to all the grown ups as he stared at the shiny thing.
The adults wondered if it was time to bring out one of the favorite parts of a birthday party.
"So, is it time to bust out the piñata?..."Gerald asked.
"Let's wait until all of the kids get here..."Arnold said.
"Who's missing?..."His best friend asked.
"The kid's cousin, AJ..."Arnold explained.
That caught the attention of the kids, and not in a good way.
"AJ!..."Andy, Megan, Kiara, Kiki, Sammy and the others all exclaimed in shock and maybe dismay.
"None of that, he's family!..."Arnold said sternly to the kids, who still looked upset.
"That means Arnie and Lila are coming too..."Gerald said and Arnold nodded.
"Unfortunately..."Helga muttered under her breath and got a lecturing look from her husband.
"Are you saying that about Arnie or Lila?..." Gerald asked, knowing Helga wasn't a fan of either of Arnold's relatives, outside his parents and grandparents.
"Both..." Helga said before placing Henry down in his playpen. "One is so perky and the other still boring and dull..."She muttered as she rubbed her temples.
Baby Henry noticed the mood change but didn't understand it.
"Why are the grownups so weird?..."The baby thought but couldn't comprehend.
He just crawled over to his friends Sadie and Stinky Jr, who were both playing with the other toys in the play pen but not Henry.
He couldn't take his eyes away from the shiny thing.
"Shiny thing there...I gotta figure out how to get to the shiny thing..."Baby Henry thought as he kept staring at the object.
The adults were all busy catching up with each other, talking about current events in their lives along with their family lives.
"What time is that puppet show supposed to arrive, again?..."Helga asked, noticing the time.
"Around 11, don't worry..."Arnold said to his impatient wife.
It was already 10:50, so they should be here soon.
"They'd better get here soon..."Helga said before going back to entertaining her guests.
All the while, her little Henry was passed around like a football, with everyone wanting to wish the littlest Shortman a happy birthday.
The whole time his eyes kept going to the shiny thing, thinking about how much he really wanted to play with it.
-To be continued-
Next time on Henry's First Birthday
The Guests Arrive Part 2
A/N(1): Special thanks to 61394, Beconfuzzled Writer and Jay The Average Fan boy for their assistance . You rock :)
A/N(2):This is dedicated to my family, my friends and my love for God! Enjoy :)
REPLIES to my loyal and totally awesome reviewer:
Boris Yeltsin: No, but they have a drone.
Invader Johnny: Well, the "memorable birthday" is only just beginning.
RoseGirlXS: Megan is afraid of them for the same reason most little kids have a fear of clowns, she thinks they are creepy.
RonaldM40196867: In the words of Helga: Doi ;)
Rosali Leon Huamani: Hola.
Primero, gracias y segundo, pronto llegaré a "Un Corazon Roto".
Esmeralda: Thank you :)
Enrozx20: Gracias :)
LapisDIDNOTHINGwrong101: Actually, I forgot all about that episode. I just picked Henry because I thought it be a nice name.
:) Till next time beautiful people, remember to read and review :)