Green Bean Catastrophe

Yesterday I was feeding Hank his dinner, strained green beans and banana/apple/strawberry, but he didn't have much of an appetite. I took him out of the high chair so he could play and I left the unfinished food on the table so I could try feeding it to him later. I turned my back to start clearing the dishes when Hank comes toddling up to me with green, goopy hands. It took me a second to register what he had done: he'd grabbed the green beans from off the table and was using it to paint all over himself, my walls, my furniture, and my carpet. It was really quite remarkable how he was able to make one can of green beans spread over so much space. Needless to say, I was less than happy about his artistic accomplishment. I should have taken a picture to preserve his work of art but I was too worried about the stains setting so I got to work right away scrubbing the carpet. I didn't lose my temper but I wanted Hank to know that he had done something wrong so I told him "no" in a lowered voice. It almost broke my heart--he's so sensitive that he just burst out crying to see me upset with him. We made up once I got everything clean--I couldn't stay mad at him for long.

Vinyl Lettering

I love vinyl lettering! Its such a cool way to customize your house. It may seem like overkill, but all of the lettering is spread out over my whole house so it doesn't look like a bunch of graffiti. My sister just got a vinly lettering maching so she made me a few signs that I just put up the other day. I put "buon appetito!" (the Italian spelling, of course) over my pantry and Hank's full name over his crib. I also finished a project thats taken me awhile to complete--I put my favorite scripture in my bathroom. I also have a few signs around the house: Grovers and Aaron's favorite motto from his mission. I have a tile with a saying on it and a saying about Home in the family room. My last project will be putting a welcome sign on the front door. What do you think?

Best Buddies

As soon as Hank hears the noise of the garage door opening, he runs to the door and waits for "Dat" to come in and play with him.

Cookie Monster

Today I made some chocolate chip cookies and I gave Hank a little peice to sample. Generally, if the food doesn't have a "Gerber" label, Hank turns his face away and covers his mouth with his fists and refuses to try the food offered. So I was surprised when he didn't hesitate to accept a cookie. Its like kids inherently know that a cookie is good. Well, he's no dummy. He ate the peice I gave him and then begged for more. In the first picture he is making this face where he closes his eyes, scrunches his nose, and then snuffs in and out with his nose. He knows it always makes me laugh so he does it often. Later yesterday afternoon, I made the mistake of leaving the pantry door open and Hank made a beeline for his treats. Before I could catch him, he'd emptied half the box of Teddy Puffs. Its funny because I always thought that I would have my kids be super disciplined and well trained to obey my every order but how are you supposed to get mad when they look so cute? Laughing at him when he misbehaves is probably not the best way to teach him proper conduct.

Good Morning!

The best part of my day is when Hanky wakes up and I get to play with him first thing in the morning. He redeems himself by sleeping like a champ at night because the good night sleep makes me miss him a little bit and I always forget about any of the frustrations of the day before.

Splish-Splash

I decided to try and beat the heat yesterday by taking Hank swimming. He didn't enjoy swimming in the pool much due to the group of hooligans splashing nearby and his apparent phobia of floaties. We decided to give swimming one more try using a little kiddie blow-up pool in the backyard and that turned out to be much more Hanky's speed. He loved splashing and getting splashed, trying to drink the pool water from a cup, and screaming (in a happy way) at the top of his lungs.

Buckets of Fun

With the weather in the 90s here, our house feels like an oven. We do what we can to cool off. Sure, its no fancy pool, but Hank and Ally seem to be happy just splashing in a bucket of water.

Summertime

Here is Hank enjoying the summer weather, playing with the rocks in our front yard. I read that the definition of a boy is a noise with dirt on it. That is definately true for Hank. A little dirt can't hurt, right?

Zollinger family vacation

This is a family picture taken during our Sunriver vacation over the 4th of July. From left to right, starting from the top: Aaron, Hank, grandma, grandpa, Juliet, Bobbi, Josh, Courtney, Brittany, Adam, Alex, Genevieve, and Aleah.

Playtime at the Playground

These pictures were taken at the little park in our neighborhood. Hank loves to play peek-a-boo on the play structure and pretend like he is driving with the play steering wheel. Like a true boy, he likes to dig in the dirt and play with the little rocks.

Sleepyhead

I can't help but smile when I go to wake Hank up in the morning and this is what I find...

Go Team!

Aaron insisted that Hank sport his team pride to the Mariner's game for Ken Griffey, Jr. night. Hank really liked it when all the fans clapped. We had to leave the game early though because Hank's no fun when he's up past his bedtime.

Bath Time

What could be cuter than two little cousins splashing in the tub? Hank and Ally love to play with the cups and the squirt toys in the tub together.

1 Year Old!

Hankie celebrated his birthday with a Hawaiian "luau." We invited his Grandmas and Grandpas, his Auntie Wobyn, "auntie" Mindy, and his best cousin, Ally. We watched a video of Hank when he was only 1 day old. Its amazing how much he's grown and learned in just one year. Hanky loved ripping open the wrapping paper on his presents. He got lots of toy cars, a swimming pool, a tonka truck, a hammer set, and some new clothes. After we opened presents, we stripped him down to his skivvies and let him enjoy his first cake. He loved the attention of having all eyes on him, but he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do with the cake. After some prodding, he finally stuck one tentative finger into the frosting. We couldn't get him to try the cake though...oh well, easy clean-up for me!