Sunday, September 27, 2009

Hank's First Field Trip!

On Friday Hank's preschool group took a field trip to a local fish hatchery where the kids toured the ponds and fish runs, fed the fish, and learned all about the life span of a fish.
Hank loves his preschool class and was excited to play with all his friends (notice the hand-holding).

I could not believe how well the kids all paid attention to our guide. They listened attentively, they followed closely, and they even asked great questions about the fish. They had such a fun time!

Caught in the Act

I take responsibility, as a novice potty-trainer, for apparently teaching Hank to loathe potty-time. Hank doesn't want anything to do with the potty--obviously not a condusive attitude towards potty-training. Therefore, Hank has taken to doing his duty while we are outside the house, running errands or whatnot. I find it frustrating that he messes his diaper when I am least in a position to change it, so I have been telling him before we go anywhere, that I don't want him to do a poop while we are gone. Mean, I know. Anyways, knowing that we had a full morning of activities, I gave Hank notice that he needed to take care of his job, or else wait until we got back home--there would be no time to change his dirty diaper once we left the house. He chose to wait. Some time later, we were back at the house, and Hank asks me, "Mom, is it okay if I do a poop?" Sensing the opportunity, I convinced Hank to just sit on the potty by bribing him with a treat. Well, when I returned to the bathroom from retrieving the treat, I smelled success! I asked Hank if he dad done the duty, we both took a peak in the potty, and he was just as surprised as I was to see a little poo in the basin!


We wasted no time celebrating, aka reinforcing, this accomplishment. As soon as Aaron got home, we headed straight to the yard where Hank got to take a ride in a pump as a special treat!



Hank was just speechless with excitement. Now if I can just get him to do it again!

Scrub-a-Dub-Dub...

....two little cuties playing in the tub!


Pokey Little Puppy

Max is so happy to be on the move! I call him my little puppy because he follows along behind me wherever I go, just wagging his little bum from side to side. I love that cutie pie!

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Odds 'n Ends

Just a few random bits going on with us:

* Max is crawling! He started army crawling about a month ago, then a few days after his birthday he started actual cross-pattern crawling. Watching him crawl is the cutest thing I've ever seen--he looks just like a cute little puppy:) So far he's staying out of trouble but I know my days are numbered before he decides to attack the stairs.

* The other day I caught Hank sitting on the pantry floor with a open jar of Nutella in his lap, a spoon in his hand, and a giant grin on his face. I can't blame him because I use every excuse I can to slather Nutella on just about everything, I was just upset he didn't get a spoon for me!

* Max had his one-year check-up the other day and it seems that his recent crawling has already started to slim him down some. He weighed 25.2lbs (80%) and measured 33 inches (just off the charts) and his head measured 18.5 inches (80%). I think its safe to say Max is just a big kid!

* Hank is loving preschool (and I love the 2 1/2 hours that it gives me to play one-on-one with Max or run my errands!). This morning Hank brought his favorite John Deere fruit snacks to preschool to share with his friends. On the way home, Hank was singing a song I'd never heard. I'm so excited for everything that he's learning.

* Liz and I are furiously working to put together a "Super Saturday" type event and have been busy all week getting our craft projects ready to display. I'll have pictures of our cute craft soon:)

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Our Stay-cation

Aaron had a couple vacation days left over that he had to use or lose, so he decided to take this past week off and enjoy a stay-cation. It was awesome to have Aaron home all week long and just spend time together. Aaron had a long list of projects and activities that he wanted to get done, and I think he is a little disappointed that he wasn't able to do more. He had planned on fishing, golfing, and sleeping and we were just too busy to fit it it. We just ran out of time! We'll miss Aaron when he has to go back to work tomorrow, but we had a great week playing together. Aside from the items pictures in the posts below, here are a few of the things we did:

* shopped
* ate yummy hamburgers and home-made onion rings on Labor Day at the Grovers'
* painted with our toes, sang silly songs, and learned about bodies with our crazy preschoolers at our house this week
* coached soccer
* yardwork
* made a quick trip to Portland
* babysat our friends' kids
* YW/missionary splits
* watched silly movies
* stayed up at nigth with a sick baby

Project: Complete

With the help of his dad, Aaron organized the chaos that was our garage and built some fantastic garage shelving. I love having my food storage in one accessible place, lined up all nice and pretty.

Party Time!

On Thursday we celebrated Max's first birthday with cake and presents. Max wasn't feeling so good so he wasn't his usual happy self, but he still had a good time.
Hank "helped" Max open his presents and "helped" him play with his new toys.


Since Max is such a good eater, I really thought he would devour his birthday cake. Not so much. He accidently brushed the cake with his hand, getting frosting on his finger. He got upset about having frosting on his finger and, rather than lick it off, he tried to fling it off and then got bugged when he couldn't get it off.

We love you Max! Happy Birthday!

We DID the Puyallup

Next to Christmas, fair-day is probably my favorite day of the year. This year was no disappointment. We took the kids to the fair on opening day, covered every square inch of the fairgrounds, did everything there was to do, and had a blast!
In the morning, we gathered along the street to watch the cowboys drive the cattle to the fairgrounds. It got a little exciting when the cattle decided to take a detour at a nearby gas station.



Hank lo-o-oved the firetrucks. He even got to try on the fireman's heavy coat!


If he could, Hank would probably ride the little rides all day and all night.

Last year, we tried to put Hank on this ride and when he discovered that dad wasn't riding with him, he freaked out and they had to stop the ride and remove him. This year, Hank loved every second.



As soon as we got through the gates I made a bee-line for the scone vendor--YUM! What can I say about fair food? I just love the fried, sugar-y deliciousness!


Poor Max wasn't feeling the best but he perked right up when we gave him a little taste of cotton candy.


Aaron's favorite part of the fair is the exhibition hall where you can find all sorts of gadgets and inventions. This year I was able to successfully hold him off from buying more shoe polish.Hank had fun at the petting zoo, and of course the John Deere display was a big hit.


At the end of a world culture display a small band was playing drums and Hank walked right up, grabbed some maracas and started rocking out.

I took 124 pictures of our fair fun and in every single picture, but this one, Hank is grinning from ear to ear. Hank had so so much fun at the fair and only complained once...when it was time to leave. The whole way back home Hank said, "I'm not ready to go bye-bye yet."

Go Cards!

After a full day at the fair, we took the kiddos to watch our local football team play under the lights on their brand-new field. It was such a beautiful night! It was fun to be be among our little community and support some of the youth from our ward who play on the football team and in the band.

Super Saturday

Saturday morning we went to Hank's final T-ball game. Incidentally, the game was cancelled. I don't think Hank minded one bit, he probably preferred playing at the playground anyways.
I had to include this picture because I thought it just embodied Hank playing at the playground--while Aaron was taking the above picture of Max bouncing on a little toy, Hank comes flying across the playground full-speed and happens to run in front of the camera just as the picture was taken.

Later in the afternoon, we met up with Hank's T-ball team for the end-of-the-season party at the bouncy place.

One More Thing...

Oh ya, I forgot the best part.........WE'RE HAVING A BABY!!! On Friday we went to my first doctor's appointment and got to take a sneak peek at this little baby:


To be cautious, we didn't want to say anything to our friends and family until we got confirmation from my doctor that everything looked good, but it hasn't been easy to keep this little bump a secret!

I must be a freak of nature because I honestly popped out at only six weeks. This is me at 10 1/2 weeks. Crazy! We're so excited to add a new baby to our family!

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Happy Birthday Max!

Before Max was born, I never would have believed that there could be room in our family or room in my heart for any baby besides Hank. Without diminishing anything from Hank, from the moment Max was born, he instantly carved out his own place in my heart. Our family and my life would not be the same without Max. I am so grateful that Max is a part of our family. It has been a privilege and a joy to have spent the last year getting to know him and love him and be his mom. Happy Birthday Max!

Fun things about Max:
* He can say Mama, Dada, Nana, doggie, and more
* Max loves to eat. His favorites are strawberries, yogurt, and all types of bread. He also loves his sippy cup and whenever he catches someone drinking something, he complains until some of the beverage is poured into his sippy cup.
* Max just cut down to one nap per day: He sleeps about 11 hours at night and takes a two - three hour nap in the afternoon.
* Max loves his Daddy. Whenever Dad comes home, Max holds his arms out to Dad to be picked up.
* Max only has two teeth, bottom center.
* Max likes to dance to music and make his own music on the pots and pans
* Just a week and a half ago Max started army crawling - he's moving at his own pace and thats fine with me.
* Max is a big kid. I won't have his official stats until his appointment next week, but he's weighing upwards of 26.5 pounds.
* Max can wave and give kisses
* Max loves the bathtub, throwing balls, swinging, hunting for bits on the carpet
* Max thinks its hysterical when Hank plays boo with him or chases him on his knees.
I love you Max!


Saturday, September 5, 2009

Max's First Haircut

With a few quick passes of the clippers, Max went from my cute little cherub-baby to a handsome little man! The other night I finally decided it was time to cut Max's surfer curls but I didn't imagine how much a haircut would change his whole looks!
the "before"

Liz was nice enough to do the honors and gave Max an adorable little haircut.


Poor little Max was terrified of the clippers.


Ta-Da! The "after." I love it!



When Max woke up the next morning, I barely recognized him laying in his crib! I just want to squish my cute little man!

Yes, Its Official...

I am a proud soccer mom! Actually, I'm not just an ordinary soccer mom, I'm the soccer coach! After signing Hank up for his first season of soccer, I got a phone call from the soccer league asking if I would coach his team. Lets see...I haven't played in years and I've never coached before--why not?? So far, I've had fun coaching the six little rascals on Hank's team during our weekly practices. I figure if I can teach them all to keep their hands off of the ball, run in the direction of the right goal, and have a little fun, then I'll be a success.
Hank's low center of gravity makes him quite a little threat dribbling the ball.


Oh the attention span of three year olds! Here Hank is waiting patiently for practice to end so he can run and play on the playground equipment.



I have to admit, kicking around the soccer ball on a beautiful summer evening on a perfectly cut field, made me a little nostolgic of my old soccer days. I hope Hank has as much fun playing soccer as I did.