Philadelphia Princess

Last weekend Brant and I went up to Philadelphia and stayed overnight. We went to the Princess Di exhibit that is currently going on at the Constitution Center. It was my birthday gift, which we had to reschedule from the week before due to the big snowstorm. I was really glad I got to see it and it was not crowded when we went through. I think my favorite thing was being able to see her Wedding Dress. My parents watched Hank while we were away, which was his first overnight. He did well and slept all night and then went to church with them the next day.
I was not able to take any photos in the exhibit, but we could in the rest of the museum. The photos of us are from the signing of the Constitution.

Hank is currently getting through his third cold. He did not sleep well the night before last, so yesterday I stayed home with him, so he would not have to leave the house. Today Grammy came and stayed with him. Tonight we are staying in and ringing in the New Year just the three of us!

And now the rest of the Story...

Yesterday after Hank opened his gifts from Santa and took a nap we went to my parents and then to Brant's parents in the evening. We enjoyed lots of good food and time with family, as well as more gifts.

Merry Christmas!

Enjoy the photos and video from this morning. Hank could not wait to get to the tree and see what was under it!

The Stockings Were Hung...

I hung up Hank's stocking yesterday. Mom just finished it for him this week. She made mine too when I was little. I think the stocking was always my favorite thing to go through on Christmas morning. There was always all kinds of goodies in there.

St. Nick has been here and left Hank's gifts under the tree and filled his stocking too. Now it's time for me to settle in for a Long Winter's Nap.
Merry Christmas!

Hank & Ho Ho

About two weeks ago we took Hank to see Santa, or Ho Ho as he knows him by. He was so easy going with the whole experience and did not get upset at all. I think he looks like such a big boy in this photo!

That's What it's All about!

I just told Brant I updated my Blog with a video of Hank in the sled. He got upset and said I should have put the video of him and Hank on the four-wheeler. "That's what it's all about. Go and put that video on." I guess now he is the producer of my Blog. Anyhow to make him happy here it is. Also the County Executive just called and told us to stay off the roads. Maryland is in a state of emergency. I told Brant he is not allowed to go four wheeling - you don't want to know what he had to say to that!

Mush Daddy!

Birthdays, Blizzards, & Boots.

Today is my Birthday, and it is not often that we get snow on my birthday. The last time I remember was 1995, I think. Well we are in the midst of a Blizzard, or at least a possible Blizzard. So far there is about a foot of snow on the ground.
We had fun this morning going out and playing in it. Yesterday Hank and I went to several places looking for Boots, but could not find any. Brant's Mom was in the Shrewsbury Walmart and found a pair of Spiderman boots in Hank's size. She also got him some cowboy / work boots. Brant met her last night and picked them up from her so we would have them this weekend for the big snow. Hank has a love of shoes and boots. He is always carrying his and ours around. He also brings me mine and puts them on me. Yesterday when we were in the Doctor's office he was walking around and went up and touched the Doctor's shoe. I told Brant he might be a shoe salesman. Brant says a Cobbler! I'll quote old Abe Lincoln and say: "Whatever you are be a Good One."

Shop Til You Drop!

Today I took the day off because Hank had his 15 month check up. He did well at the Doctors, even though he had to get three needles. He is 27.2 lbs and 32 1/2 inches. He is still in the 90th percentile for his height and in the 80 - 85th percentile for weight. He continues to eat very well and loves everything. Some of his new words are socks, which he always takes off as soon as he can. He says hot and blows on his food and now says Ho Ho, for Santa.
He also says night night and outside. He knows everything we say to him and is a total Ham now.

After his appointment today he went to Target with me and fell asleep in the cart. We ended up going on other errands also and ate lunch at Uno's with Brant, who was also off today. He was such a good boy and did so well. At the grocery store we tried on a Santa hat. He really liked that Ho Ho hat, so I bought it for him!
We were in there stocking up for the BIG snow storm that we are supposed to get this weekend.

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!

Today we are getting our first snow of the season. A good day to relax and put up Christmas decorations. Later we will go outside and let Hank play!

Sick but no loss of Appetite.

Hank has his second cold. It started sometime during Saturday night and has consisted of a runny nose. He is handling it well with no changes in his playing or appetite. He LOVES to eat. Some of his current favorites are Goldfish crackers, green beans, cantaloupe, apples, bananas, or nanners as he calls them. He also enjoys chicken nuggets. cheese and bread. This is a photo from tonight as he was getting ready to eat his alphabet tator tots - notice how they spell Hank!

The Countdown Begins.

Can you believe it's December?
Here is a photo from last December, when Hank was a little baby sitting on Santa's lap. He was so good and laughed at Santa, who tickled him with his beard. I am wondering how he will react this year - maybe by grabbing that beard!

Rock On!

Yes - Days without Rain!

Crunch Crunch through the leaves!




This is pretty cool!



So nice to be outside!



Let's go get my wagon!



I don't want the other big boys to see me with Mittens!



Do another wheely Mommy!


Doo Doo Doo Doo!



Don't Stop Mommy!

Happy tHANKsgiving!

I am tHANKful for this little turkey!

What about Hank?

It's been a while since I have posted any photos of Hank, so here is a video. This was yesterday morning and he was playing in his pack-n-play while Brant and I were cleaning and getting ready. If you listen you will hear him say "Duck" one of his newer words. There are several words that he says now. You can also see where he busted his lip. He did that last week getting into his dresser drawers.
This morning I noticed that he has a new tooth coming through on the bottom - it's about time because the other bottom two were getting lonely. Now he has a grand total of 7!

Room with a View.

This past week (Sunday - Wednesday) I had to go to Ocean City for work. It was a state wide training, which left no free time. I did have time at night in my room, where I worked on filling in Hank's baby book. I was happy to get that accomplished. This was the first time I had ever been away from Hank overnight. It was hard leaving and I missed him and Brant while I was away, but he did very well, thanks to Brant and our Mothers who came to our house to watch him during the day. The hotel was on the beach so twice I was able to go out during breaks. A storm had just passed a couple days before, which caused some beach erosion. There was a big drop off from the sand dunes to the beach, where normally there is a nice path from the hotel to the beach.

Dinner with the Deen Brothers

Yesterday I, along with my mother-in-law and friend Lori went to a cooking show in Washington D.C. We walked around the different vendors and sampled a lot of foods. I also saw a nice kitchen I would love to have. In the evening we had tickets to have dinner with Paula Deen's sons. The meal was prepared by the convention center staff and served while the boys talked. We think it was turkey chili (my mother-in-law called it slop). It was served with broccoli and bread. The first course was an onion soup and dessert was a raspberry mouse. It was not a bad meal but for the money could have been better. We did have a lot of fun and were able to have our photo taken with them. Unfortunately Paula was scheduled to stop in but she never made it.

Third Time's A Charm.

Today Carrie and I made our third annual shopping (and eating trip) to Lancaster. We take off of work one Friday in November (before Black Friday. We hit some country stores and go to Kitchen Kettle Village, where we have a light lunch and get a bag of kettle corn. From there we go to the outlet stores and end the day at Texas Roadhouse, where they have the BEST rolls and cinnamon butter.

Duck, Duck, Goose!

On Sunday Hank and I went up to my parents. I had not been there for a while and I thought they would like to see Hank in his Halloween costume. We had some yummy beef stew for supper (such a good Fall meal). I got a cute photo of Hank playing Mom's piano in his Lion outfit, but it's on Mom's camera (will have to get a copy of that). On our way up to my parents we stopped at Bynum Run and fed the Ducks and Geese. Hank has been saying Duck now, so I thought he would enjoy the stop. As soon as we pulled in the parking lot and I opened the door he heard the Ducks and got excited. He also says Banana now, and knows and can point to most body parts. He has also started giving us kisses when we ask him to.
He is now weaned off of the breast, since last week. He has been drinking cow's milk since he turned a year old, as well as some formula that we still have left. Thankfully we only had to supplement a little bit with the formula, and we did not have to buy any - it was all the freebies that the formula companies sent.
Speaking of formula I took Hank to a "casting call" yesterday for a Similac Ad campaign. It was held at the studio where Hank had his photos when he was two weeks old. The photographer had it advertised on her blog. Hank was baby #94. Apparently they are looking for a few babies at various stages. I thought what the heck - it's worth a shot, plus it gave me an excuse to leave work early:-)

P.S. - The "towel" Hank is holding is what I call his "Taggie." He likes to hold blankets or towels that have silk tags on them, so he can rub the tags - it's very soothing to him, and he has done this since he was a tiny baby.

King of the Jungle!

Hank was a Lion for Halloween (and a mighty fine one!) Hank had some gift cards at Target so we got him a nice wagon that he could go trick-or-treating in. We went up to Brant's parents again this year, because their neighborhood goes all out - the fire company comes and sets up with lights and the neighbors really get into it and set up in their driveways. Unfortunately it started raining as we were rolling around the neighborhood, but by that time Hank was ready to go back to Grammy and Gramps to eat.