Animal Lover

We had our first trip to the zoo this past weekend, Hank very much enjoyed the petting zoo...

uhhh..Dad? What is this thing?
hmmmmm...maybe we can be friends
Good ears for pulling
Loved the wooly lambs
He has had lots of practice petting big furry animals at home...Hank and Grady have become great buddies recently.

Road Trip 2010 Part 2

We decided to take the scenic route home from DC and drive through the mountains on the Blue Ridge Parkway and escape from the brutal summer heat we've been experiencing. Before we made it to the mountains we made a lunch stop at Great Aunt Susan's house in Charlottesville (not to be confused with Aunt Susie!). She had a fantastic lunch for us, and Hank enjoyed the break from the carseat for a while!

This trip was Hank's first true hiking/mountain experience, and I've never seen the boy laugh so hard as when he was riding in his backpack carrier with his Dad. We stayed the night at a fantastic lodge, the Bluffs Lodge high on the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina. It was a rustic lodge, with huge views of the mountains and the weather was amazing. It got down in the 60s at night, and we actually had to pull out some long sleeves! The best part of the lodge was the restaurant that had amazing southern cooking. Hank stuffed himself silly with corncakes and biscuits! A close second favorite to the backpack and corncakes was the wagon they had at the lodge. Johnny had Hank tearing around the parking lot at speeds that made mom very nervous. Nonetheless, Hank was belly laughing the entire time, so how could you say no?

We took a few short hikes along the way home, one to a waterfall (any falling water absolutely blows Hank's mind), and one to the highest point east of the Mississippi, Mt. Mitchell-Hank's first high point!! For a few moments he was the highest baby on the whole east coast! Next stop Mt. Rainier in September!

Hank ready to hike!
Flying down the hill in the wagon
First of many waterfall hikes

Hank's first high point!!

Checking out the waterfall with Dada

I love this shot of our family
Engrossed in the waterfall
Belly laughed the entire hike
Mama trying out the backpack! He's heavy!

Whew, that was a whirlwind trip for sure! But as everything is now, certainly a memorable one.

Road Trip 2010 Part 1

The first weekend of August we packed up the car and headed up to Washington DC for cousin Liz's wedding weekend. This was Hank's 3rd wedding in his 9 short months, so he's really getting to be an old pro on the wedding circut! We split the drive up into two days and spent time on the Blue Ridge Parkway on the way back. Hank is such a great traveler, he sleeps a good bit of the time, and spends the rest of his time playing with his toys, eating snacks, and looking out the windows chattering away in the backseat. We spent some time visiting the monuments in DC and looking for the president (no such luck :)). We got to ride the metro, a trolley, and a river boat (the reception was on a boat in the Potomac River). It was a great family gathering, and while Hank was initially a little weary of all the new faces, he quickly warmed up to everyone and was flashing his big smile and waving to anyone who was watching.

Hank on the riverboat at the reception
Our road warrior with all his car ride essentials!
No road trip is complete without a pit stop for dinner at the Cracker Barrell! Hank enjoyed his mashed potatoes, biscuits and green beans!
Trolley Ride in Alexandria

The Riverboat Hank's first train ride on the Metro Snack break! Checking out the grass on the National Lawn At the Lincoln Memorial reading the Gettysburg Address with Dad Washington Monument

Dancing with Aunt Susie at the reception

Dancing with Mom

Stay tuned for part 2-our trip home through the mountains and down the Blue Ridge Pkwy!

9 months old

This little man is keeping us busy these days. He's turned into a very efficient crawler, and can zip around the house and get into something faster than I can catch him! No matter how much I try to keep out of his reach, he still manages to find something new to tear apart! He crawls after the cats (mostly Grady cause he's the slowest) and gets to them, pulls their tail till they run away and the cycle continues. Poor kitties! He loves taking books, magazines, or any papers and spreading them out all over the place. Also a new trick is pulling to stand, and the beginnings of taking a few steps while standing. Luckilly, he is very chatty and is hardly ever quiet so I always know where he is even if I can't see him. I will hear him babbling away while investigating a cell phone or the remote. His favorite word is Dada, and it now officially means Dada. He will yell it with authority "DADA!!" if Johnny doesn't immediately acknowledge him. Mama is less common, but we tend to hear that one much more when he is tired or cranky (go figure). He will wave hello and byebye now, and a new favorite is "high fives". I've been introducing sign language to him and he pretty consistently does "all done" and "up" for me. I am thrilled that he is starting to communicate with us! His favorite song is still "Wheels on the Bus" and he immediately starts with the hand motions once we start singing. Not only does Hank enjoy singing about wheels, he is very intrigued with any toy that has wheels on it right now. He will push his stroller over just so he can investigate the wheels.

We've been having a great summer, lots of trips to the pool which include the splash fountains-a huge hit! He will stick his whole head in the middle of a sprinkler and just laugh and laugh. He's certainly not afraid to get his head wet! It's been a very hot summer ( as you can see from the pictures we have lots of "diaper days").

Hank has 4 teeth now-2 on top and 2 on bottom. He still eats some baby food, but really eats mostly table foods now. We've been working hard to get him to eat some of what we eat each night. We all sit at the table every night now for dinner together. He's a huge fan of cheerios, green beans, and oyster crackers right now :) He loves feeding himself (which is clear from the state of affairs on the floor under the kitchen table).

Never a dull moment in our lives! Happy 9 months little man!

Hankey Doodle Dandy

We had a festive 4th of July weekend this year! We took a trip down to Eatonton to visit Mel and Emily's house. They have an amazing house and property out in the country complete with chicken's, dogs, a fish pond, and best of all a tractor! Of course Hank got his first tractor ride with his dad-I'm not sure who enjoyed it more actually :) The next day we had another party to attend at Nate and Lauren's house. Hank enjoyed all the attention, the dogs, and the live band that played. We topped the weekend off with a trip to the splashground to cool off!!

8 months old

This month I feel like we've turned the corner from baby and are well on the way to little boy! It almost feels like we have a completely different child in the house now! The biggest change in our lives is that Hank is now on the move! He started crawling and pulling up to stand within 2 days and everyday he gets a little stronger and a little bolder. He's into everything he can get hands on, and you can't take your eyes off of him for a second! I walked out of the room for 3 seconds yesterday and heard a loud crash. I came running back in the room to find the coffee table turned over and all its contents spread across the floor. Hank was sitting in the middle of the mess happy as a clam because he had found his prize-the remote (his favorite toy at the moment). He's figured out how to pull himself to standing in his crib and I find him standing, chewing on the rail every morning.

One of my favorite new activites that he enjoys is reading books with me. This is surprising given that he's so mobile now, but just recently he has started sitting quietly with me while we read books. I'm so glad he's still interested in cuddling in my lap.

Hank just cut one of his top teeth which gives him a grand total of 3 teeth! This should help with some of the foods we're trying with him. I'm trying to introduce lots of new flavors and textures to him-trying to move away from baby foods and add more table foods. He loves sweet potatoes, yogurt, cheerios, bananas, puffs, and his cookies!

Our lives have become VERY busy with our active little boy, and I'm typically exhausted after a day full of playing and chasing him around making sure he's not injuring himself (not to mention working). However it is so worth it because he's such a happy boy all the time and just plain fun!

Happy Father's Day

Hank's first father's day weekend was a bit of a blur. We were in Alabama for a wedding all weekend at an environmental camp (Camp McDowell). It was also our anniversary, we had just returned from the beach a few days prior, and Johnny was crazy busy at work-working reallylong hours and traveling. Whew, I'm glad things have calmed down a bit!

Hank had a great time at "camp" despite the fact that it was no less than 98 degrees with about 120% humidity all weekend (did I mention the whole affair was outdoors? with the exception of the wedding ceremony, but Hank decided we needed to spend more time in the heat and chatted his way through the ceremony and then dropped his toy, loudly, on the floor thus banishing us to the outdoors for the remainder of the ceremony!). Nonetheless, it was a beautiful wedding-congrats to Jon and Sarah!

To mark Hank and Johnny's first father's day, we will be planting a tree in our yard-his "gift" to his Dad. Oh-and to mark our 5 year anniversary, Johnny and I are getting iphones!!! (I know, aren't we romantic?? although, it's hard to top the steam mop from last year, and no I'm not kidding, I LOVE that thing!)

Some pictures from the weekend...