Big Boy

Hank is at the stage where he likes to copy everything mom and dad do. For example, last night, Hank saw that dad was wearing a hat, so Hank decided he wanted to wear it too.

Potty Time

Realistically, I know that I will be changing poopie diapers for another solid year, but it doesn't hurt to start encouraging a friendly relationship with the potty at an early age, right? Hank says the word "poop" and is beginning to take an interest in the goings-on in the bathroom, so the other night I let Hank practice sitting on the potty. I think I accomplished my goal of having Hank make friends with the potty because now, if I don't watch him like a hawk, he'll run off into the bathroom, lift the lid, and climb up on the seat and hang out there on all fours.

Thanksgiving

I think everyone had to undue a few buttons to accodomate all the food this year. We had a 25lb turkey with all the trimmings, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, homemade rolls, salads and appetizers, green bean casserole, broccoli casserole, and three kinds of homemade pie. It was a feast! We hosted the event at our house but everyone brought a dish so the food was a group effort. Besides Aaron, Hank and I, my mom and dad, my brother and sister-in-law, Aaron's mom and dad, Aaron's sister and brother-in-law and baby, and Aaron's brother-in-law's parents all joined us. I wish I had taken more pictures but everyone was too busy getting their grub on to pause for a picture. We had leftovers for days and days. As fun as it was, I don't want to see stuffing and sweet potatoes for another year.

Jabber-Box

Words Hank says:

Dada - his favorite
Mama
Hi Dad
Grandma thinks that he says 'Grandma'
I've heard him articulate 'Grandpa' perfectly, but only once
Ya ('Da')
Uh-oh
Water ('wa-wa')
Ball ('ba')
woof-woof ('fffff')
baabaa - what does a sheep say?
moo - what does a cow say?
Love you ('yav yu')
Bottle - ('baba')
Got you - ('Da-chu')
Burp - ('bup')
Poop - (pup)
Up
Hot - ('dot')
That - ('dat')
More ('ma')
Flower (aw-a)
Soap (ope)

Hank also waves, shakes his head "no", does the sign for 'all gone', 'milk', and 'more'. Hank is not the most verbal of babies, but he doesn't let his small vocabulary stop him from making his wants and wishes known. Hank points, pushes and pulls you in the direction of the object of his desire, and grunts until he gets what he wants. In addition to real words, Hank has developed his own language consisting of guteral grunts and inward noises. Sometimes Hank will sit in his carseat and carry on a beat of "doom-doom-da, doom-doom-da" for thirty minutes at a time!

New Cousin!

Yesterday we got to visit Macie Lynn Robison, Aaron's little sister, Robyn's new baby girl. Macie was so small and light! Its amazing to compare the growth and development between a newborn and a toddler. All day long I reminded Hank that soon we would get to go see the baby so when we got to the hospital, I think he was pretty excited to find out what all the excitement was about. We have been working with Hank on learning various body parts, so when we sat Hank near Macie, Hank immediately poked her in the eye, thinking he had just made a big accomplishment to find her eye. Macie seemed to tolerate his abuse - I'm sure in no time she'll learn to defend herself from her curious cousin.

Lookin' Sharp

This morning I took Hank to a Kiddie Cuts place to get his shaggy hair in for a trim. Since Hank is deathly afraid of the clippers, the experience proved to be quite traumatic. I offered him all his favorites: chocolate chips, my keys, and my phone but he was too upset to be amused. The hairdresser let him sit in the airplane chair, gave him a toy to hold, and put on an Elmo movie but Hank just sat and sobbed. I felt like a rotten mother holding my son down while he got his hair cut, but, in the end, I think the result was worth it.

Jack-o-lantern

For family night this week we rolled up our sleeves and carved our pumpkin. Hank got to help by scooping out the guts. He liked stirring with the spoon but couldn't bring himself to actually touch the pumpkin innards. He's always been fascinated by opening and closing objects so he especially liked taking the lid on and off the pumpkin. Check out the last picture in the sequence. Notice any resemblence? Big eyes? Button nose? Big grin? Two teeth?

Bubbles

I recently taught Hank how to blow so I thought he'd enjoy trying to blow bubbles in the backyard. Hank had fun trying to catch the elusive bubbles, but he actually seemed slightly more interested in playing with the soap solution than with the bubbles themselves.