The Hank Show

Last week while Tyler was working, Hank and Sarah took a trip to visit family and friends in the metroplex. Hank had a blast hanging out with GG and Grandad (Sarah had a good time too in case you’re wondering). Hank had his first bubble bath while we were there. At home we don’t normally do bubbles in the water, but I think we may start. He had a great time playing with them. We visited Granny, Hank’s great-grandmother, and Hank had a lot to tell her!

Hank and Granny

He’s becoming rather loquacious, chatting up toys, “reading” books, talking about food…. of course he only has 3 actual words at the moment (Mama, Dada and Yeah) but he’s working hard on growing his vocabulary. He also seems to be working hard this week on dropping his morning nap, but that’s another story altogether…

Hank’s visit to Granny really brightened her day, and ours.  Later that day, we went over to Christiane and Micah’s house so the boys could play together. Micah is 3 weeks older than Hank and it really is amazing how 3 weeks age difference is so apparent with babies. Micah is all over the place, as is Hank, but he’s walking and crawling and pulling up everywhere…. I’ll bet his mommy has her hands full! But SO much fun!! Hank has just begun trying to pull up to stand, at the moment, he still seems to much prefer crawling about. He’s got the commando crawling down and is literally all over the house! Last weekend, he wanted to see Daddy and Cody at the top of the stairs, so he just climbed up the stairs…. all 18 of them, straight up! We’re so proud. Hank was proud too, and super tired when he finished. I was right behind him in case he fell (which he didn’t). He’d never done all the stairs before, the most he’d done prior to that day was 4.

Sheri and Hank

Anyway, back to our week. Micah and Hank had an excellent time playing together. Actually they’re both still into parallel play which is technically next to, not with, but they did enjoy the same toys. We had dinner with Sheri, one of Tyler’s cousins. Sheri was actually instrumental in introducing Tyler and me. She’s a wonderful woman and we really enjoy her company. Hank liked her hugs and her earrings (which she had to remove while holding him to save her earlobes). He seemed right at home with her which is good. He hadn’t seen her since Christmas…The next day, we went to the Dallas World Aquarium with Christiane and Micah and Traci and Ainsely. If you’ve never been there, you should definitely try to some time. That place rocks! Hank really seemed to enjoy it. He absolutely loved all the fish, which is no surprise as he loves ours at home. The fish at the aquarium are for the most part much bigger and prettier than ours at home.  Hank was mesmerized by the sharks, I think he could have sat in that tunnel most of the morning if there was no one else about (it got loud when more people arrived). He was also thoroughly engrossed in the octopus’ activities and kept trying to touch its tentacles through the glass.  And he really seemed to like the jaguar. He didn’t take his eyes off it until we walked away from the enclosure. I think Hank will really like the zoo next time we go. Its just been too hot to spend a day at the zoo, perhaps in the fall….

Hank likes the bubbles

in the shark tunnel with Micah

checking out the octopus

What a fun cabin trip! July and August weather in Texas can be brutal so it was wonderful to escape the heat if even for a week or so. The weather in New Mexico was delightful, warm enough for short sleeves during the day, yet also cool enough for sweaters at night. Hank did well on his first long road trip. We’ve driven to Houston or Dallas with him in the past, but those were only a few hours drive. The drive to Chama was closer to 14 hours. That’s right, 14 hours in a car with a baby…. Hank was a trooper and we had a fabulous time! One great thing about driving is having the luxury to over pack, something we’ve gotten very good at doing since having a child. It really is amazing how much luggage one little being can amass.

There was so much to do at the cabin, or not do as the case may be, and we took many many photos. Here are some photos from Hank’s first trip to the cabin, in no particular order. Enjoy!

July is a fun month. Yes, its summer and we get to go swimming, but its also our birthday month! Our niece, Tori, celebrates her birthday in July as well so we got to go to her birthday party. Hank had fun trying to play Jenga at Tori’s party. Its a good thing he can’t stand yet or the whole tower would have been knocked down!

Hank plays Jenga

We had our annual “day-in-between-birthdays party” two weekends ago. It was so much fun! This was our first time having the party begin in the afternoon. In the past we always kicked off our shindig in the evening. Now that we have a little one though, things have changed. It was actually pretty cool having it begin earlier. In a way, it felt like 3 different parties all in one day due to how the guests came and went. Some of our friends and family who don’t normally make it out to our parties were able to be there this time around with the earlier start time, and we had several children there as well which was loads of fun.

Sawyer, Sarah and Hank play DDR

We played Dance Dance Revolution in the garage, Rock Band in the movie room and it seemed like the pool table always had a game going. Hank had a great time playing with his cousins and other new friends and it was wonderful having a house full of people. So great to spend time with friends and celebrate our birthdays. This was our first big party since Hank was born and it was refreshing to discover that we still know how to throw a good bash and that having a house full of guests didn’t really infringe on Hank’s bedtime or anything like that.

Ty’s parents, sister and our niece, Ainsley, came into town for our party and Sarah’s mom made a delicious German chocolate cake for Tyler, from scratch! Sarah made 5 spice angel food cake (also from scratch but whipping egg whites is much easier than putting together and entire chocolate cake and icing), and there wasn’t a bit of either cake left by the end of things. It was such a stellar weekend and we are so blessed by our awesome friends and family!

enjoying the music with Grandma and Grandpa

We began our birthday celebration day by running a 5k. Since GG and Grandad were in town, Hank stayed home with them while we did the race. It is much easier to run a race when you’re not pushing a stroller. We had a good time. After completing the 5k, the race organizers gave us breakfast tacos and cup cakes, an interesting and tasty combination. We had fun swimming with Ainsley and Traci while they were here too. Hank just loves being in the water and swimming was a fun thing to do together.  Last weekend Sarah had a show and Hank enjoyed it with Grandpa and Grandma. He just loves his family (and they love him) and we think that’s wonderful.

before our 5k

watching the birds and squirrels outside

with Grandpa

watching Tori blow out the candles on her cake

Ainsley eating watermelon

playing with Grandpa

with Aunt Dayna before his nap

Ainsley checks out Hank's hat rack before heading to the pool

Hank is ready to go

Tori gets ready to blow out her candles

hanging out with Grandpa

We hope everyone had a happy Independence Day weekend!  We began our July 4th getting up earlier than usual (especially for a weekend) so we could go do a 5k. We actually had to wake Hank up (which is a sign of how early it was because he’s turning into quite the early riser). We made it to the race with what we thought was plenty of time to get our timing chips and line up for the start…

at the 5k

However, just as we approached the table to get our chips, someone crossed the finish line. What a disappointment for us, the race began half an hour earlier than we thought it did! So we hung around and waited for a few friends (who only signed up for this 5K because we were doing it) to cross the finish line and then we headed home for breakfast and a workout… so sad to have missed that race….

check out my tooth!

Saturday afternoon, we drove to Comanche to celebrate the 4th of July at Hardinview Farm with our friend Patrick and his family (and their friends). It was a lot of fun. Such a lovely place, and we didn’t even see most of it! Since we arrived in the early evening, we stuck pretty close to the house. We did however visit the lambs. We think Hank was more fascinated with the grass than the lambs, but we can’t be sure. Hank got to stay up past his bedtime to see the fireworks. We were able to see a great display from the front lawn of the ranch. It was lovely because we had a magnificent view but none of the sulfur and smoke and since we were farther away from the blasts, it wasn’t very loud. Once the fireworks got into full swing, Hank was simply mesmerized by them. I’m really glad he got to enjoy them without being scared by the sound of their explosions. Shortly after the fireworks were over, we drove home. We had a very busy Sunday working around the house, but it was still pleasant and we had a fantastic weekend.

4th of July

On Monday we had someone from the Texas Forestry Service come inspect our oak trees. We learned that the area we live in is now an oak wilt sensitive area and some of our neighbors (a few blocks away) are dealing with infected trees presently. So we wanted to make sure ours were healthy and have a plan in place to protect them. We have one mature oak in particular that we are especially attached to. In fact, when our house was built, Tyler had to do extra work and alter our floor plan just to save that tree. We certainly don’t want it to become infected with oak wilt. Fortunately, our trees are all healthy and we have a few more growth cycles before we need to take any action. Hopefully we won’t have to take action at all and the oak wilt in our greater neighborhood won’t impact our trees or those right around us. Ah, the joys of home-ownership. Really though, we are very blessed and we love our home!

Tyler’s and my birthdays are coming up. This weekend we’ll be having family and friends over for our annual day-in-between-birthdays-party. It should be a great time…

this was Patrick's toy when he was little

Hank really liked the sunflowers

he especially enjoyed trying to tear the petals off

with Patrick

watching the lambs

watching the fireworks

This has been a very fun summer so far. Hank finished his swim class at the end of June. We go to the pool a few times a week now and he really seems to love it. Its quite a remarkable change from the first time he went swimming when we had to give him his soother. Now he just kicks and laughs. Its great fun.

swimming with Dad

At the end of June, Sarah helped with vacation Bible school at our church. She worked as the music teacher for the first and second graders. She wasn’t sure how things would go, but they ended up being great and everyone had a good time. The kids really seemed to love the songs Sarah taught them which is excellent. It was interesting how some of the songs Sarah found the most cheesy turned out to be the best loved by the children.

Hank with Uncle Jon

Also at the end of June, we all went to Sarah’s parents’ house for dinner. Her sister, Laura and her family were in town from Houston and two of her brothers, Josh and Amos and their families were there as well. 10 adults and 10 children, it was loud, but so much fun to see all the children playing together or near one another. And it was great to see almost all of Sarah’s immediate family at once. We sure missed Ben, Nancy and James….

We can’t believe its already July. Its rather astonishing how swiftly time seems to be passing. Hank is growing growing every day and is already 8 months old. Unbelievable! He cut his first tooth this week. Its so cute. This tiny white thing just barely sticking up above his gum in the bottom (front) of his mouth. There’s another right next to it that I expect will come above the gum soon. Hank is putting everything he can in his mouth presently trying to help the teeth along. He’s also been enjoying feeding himself a bit here and there. He really likes these little bites called puffs. They’re like Cheerios, only they dissolve easier which is perfect as he only has one tooth and its in the front of his mouth. His palate is expanding and we’ve learned that he is a big fan of meat, just like his Dad!

parachute time at the library

Let’s see, what else…Hank has been practicing his sitting. He still seems to prefer rolling about to play rather than sitting to play and he’s recently begun commando crawling which is fun to watch. He’s been enjoying going to story time at the library and has actually made it to parachute time! At story time, we all sit on a large parachute and listen to/watch Miss Virginia read stories. We sing some songs, then Miss Virginia brings out a bunch of toys and all the children play on the parachute with the toys. After we put all the toys away, the children sit or lay in the middle of the parachute and the adults shake it. Hank really likes that part. Sometimes we don’t get to go to story time or if we go we have to leave before its over because Hank is just too tired. I am grateful though that he still takes a morning nap. He’s one active baby and certainly keeps us busy!  We hope everyone is having a splendid summer so far!

Hank loves grabbing his Dad's hair

this toy belonged to Tyler when he was a baby and Hank just loves it!

feeding himself

Mia and her Aunt Laura

climbing off his bed

peek-a-boo!

Hank's legs are getting so tan this summer

focused play

he's got the world...

We took a trip to New Mexico to celebrate Hank’s Great Grandmother’s 90th birthday. It was so fun to see all the family there and visit the farm where Tyler used to play with his Grandfather. Hank had his very first flight on an airplane and he did very well. He’s a good little traveler, something we are very grateful for.

airline seatbelts are so much fun!

We flew into El Paso where we met Tyler’s parents and proceeded with them in their RV. Those things are great, especially if you have kids. We took a day trip to Cloudcroft. It was so beautiful and we found ourselves picking up quite a few treasures there. Then it was on to Deming to catch up with the family and celebrate Fawn’s 90th birthday. Everyone had a great time.

Grandma (Fawn) is 90 years old!

Tyler screened a documentary he’d been working on about some of his Grandfather’s experiences during WWII. It was fascinating, – especially on this end of things, knowing the history – to hear his Grandad tell stories of being on a boat during a “real bad storm” and knowing it was a hurricane, or of how he broke his back and just wore a corset (whale bone mind you) for a few months so he could keep driving his tank. He drove the lead tank into Rome when the allies liberated it in WWII. Such an unassuming man, so jovial and often mischievous and he experienced so many amazing things but shared them like it was just another thing, like us going to the grocery store or something. Honestly, he reminded me a bit of Forrest Gump in that he was a part of SO many important historical moments but didn’t seem to realize the significance. To him, he was just doing his job. But he always said, “you just do what’s right”. He was also a big proponent of living life to the fullest. His saying was “Get after it”. I’m sad I never got to meet him, but I’m so glad I got to know him a bit more through Tyler’s documentary. Fawn, Ty’s Grandma (Hank’s Great-Grandma) said that film was the best present anyone could have given her. She and Carl were married 62 and a half years before he died and she misses him every single day. She thought it was so great to hear his voice again and to hear his stories presented in the way Tyler did it, it helped her understand more of what her husband did and went through. It was so sweet, from time to time she’d say, “what was that you said?” to Carl on the TV or she would start chiming in with a part of the story, just like she was doing on the TV (she was in the background when Ty filmed his Grandad telling these stories several years ago).  The film was a big hit, everyone there wanted a copy. Fawn had a wonderful birthday party and a great time visiting with us. We had a fabulous time too. On Father’s day we went to La Posta to eat lunch. It was so much fun. There was a group of musicians who really held Hank’s attention. We’re so happy he seems to enjoy music so much. We had a great trip and are looking forward to our next one….

at the Mexican Canyon Trestle in the Lincoln National Forest

Hank enjoyed the view of the clouds

Happy Birthday (Great) Grandma!

hanging out with Michelle (one of Ty's cousins)

Tyler played under this same pecan tree when he was a little boy

with Mom at the trestle

White Sands

in flight refreshment

Grandad tells a story

poppies in Cloudcroft

Hank was drawn to Great-Grandma's Bible

in Fawn's room

Hank's bed away from home

Happy Father's Day photo

Hank checks out a sombrero

the Mexican Canyon Trestle

tired baby

on the plane

eating his book on the plane

La Posta

smile!

Right. So I’ve been remiss about updates of late….

Hank loves his "puppy"!

Cody seems pretty fond of Hank too

Hank has really been enjoying his time with Cody and simply lights up whenever the dog enters the same room. Cody has been a great motivator for Hank’s mobility and Hank can now traverse entire rooms with ease. He’s really mastered the rolling… We had brunch the other day with Amos and his family. It was the first time we’d seen our newest niece, Mia, since we saw her in the hospital when she was born. It was a special time. This week we’re getting ready for a family trip. It will be the first time Hank flies in a plane and Ty’s and my first time flying with a little one, so new experiences all around. I’m sure we’ll share later, but for now its onward to more photos…

when he heard Dad got 4th place in his golf tournament

with Uncle Amos

the force is strong with this one (at David's bday party)

Cody kisses

Cody hugs

Tyler and Mia

tasty bath duck

good friends

Hank *loves* books!

Sarah and Mia

Hank on the "big" couch

we saw this baby bunny at Grandpa and Grandma's house

Amos and Mia

Hank loves his Uncle Amos

Hank is a happy baby!

Hank began swim class this week. I know, I know, he’s only 7 months old! So even though its called swim class, he’s really just getting used to the water and learning pre-swimming skills.

Hank loves the water!

We have 2, 30 minute sessions a week. The cool thing about his class is that it will never have more than 4 students in it (all accompanied by an adult). Right now, Hank is the only student in his class so we are getting private swim lessons for a group rate, fantastic! Hank especially enjoys “gliding” on his tummy, but hasn’t been a big fan of floating on his back so far. His teacher, Mr. Blake, said most babies dislike that at first. In Hank’s first session, we actually had to give him his soother at one point and it really was a humorous sight seeing a baby with a pacifier in a pool…. He had a much better go of things in his second session and really seems to enjoy the water and being in his swim suit. We think he’s adorable in it!

Its hard to believe that 7 months have gone by since Hank was born. He’s growing so fast! This weekend we’ve been transitioning our house to meet his growing mobility and curiosity. We’ve updated his spaces adding toys and books that are more attractive to him and putting away things like the nursing chair, some mobiles and his swing. I have to say that we just love Hank’s spaces (especially his play room). Its so wonderful having  place that is just for him and his things. So far he seems to be a big fan of the changes and spends long periods of time exploring and playing.

One of his favorite activities at the moment is going to each shelf, dumping every toy out and tasting their baskets.

Hank loves taking every toy out of its basket...

Oh and he loves balls… what baby doesn’t love balls at some point, I wonder? Hank is fascinated by them, all shapes and sizes. He’s a particular fan of the whiffle balls presently because he can pick them up by putting his fingers into some of the holes. He is rolling everywhere! He’s actually traversing entire rooms by rolling now. Cody doesn’t seem to know what to think about this little boy. Sometimes he’ll go lay down near Hank and other times when Hank rolls over to him, Cody will just get up and walk away (which frustrates Hank, who then tries to roll to wherever Cody is). Cody is doing well, back to his usual doggy self since his ear surgery and his hair is growing back rather nicely.

Cody says hola

We’re having an excellent time at our house! Its also been rather busy of late… that’s not a bad thing though as we’re doing things we really enjoy. Recently Hank and I have been going for walks with some of my friends from my Turkish cooking class. Its so lovely to meet in the morning and walk together whilst chatting and catching up. One of my friends has a young son who really seems to enjoy Hank, especially his feet (too cute). This morning I did my very first ever 5k. I walked it with some of my friends… but I did run at the end, across the finish line and it was very gratifying. Tyler and I will run a 5k together (with Hank in the stroller) in a few weeks. This afternoon, Tyler played in a charity golf tournament. He placed 4th. Hank and I went to the golf course for the closing events and that was a lot of fun. We hope our friends and family are having a great time at life too!

Yusuf and Hank on one of our walks

Rolling is Hank's preferred mode of transportation at the moment and he's become quite good at it!

First of all, let me just tell you that Hank *loves* being outside! I seriously think he would take a nap under the large oak tree in our backyard every day if he could get away with it.

Hank loves being outside

Of course, Hank doesn’t usually want to nap when we’re outside, he’s all about playing and exploration at the moment. We take him on walks with us all the time and I have to say that while it’ll be great fun for him once he’s not in his infant carrier in the stroller and can sit facing forward, it’ll be a somewhat sad day for us as we won’t be able to make eye contact without stopping the stroller or to see his face light up as we pass under trees or he spies a bird or what have you… So we’re enjoying those moments to their fullest right now. On Thursday we went for a jog with Hank, who, by the way, is a major fan of speed. Sometimes, particularly when he’s tired, he’ll actually fuss if we’re going slowly and laugh delightedly when we start running again. Anyway, we ran/walked at a vast park and ended up stopping for a break near some swings. Hank swung in a “big” swing for the first time and he loved it! He was all smiles. Ty took this photo with his cell phone, so its not the best quality, but you can see that Hank is definitely enjoying himself!

Hank swings in a "big" swing

Our backyard is presently in full bloom and we’re trying to enjoy as much time there as we can before the summer heat makes hanging out in the yard unbearable and dries everything out. We were thrilled to discover that our blackberry bush is *finally* yielding fruit and we happened to beat the birds to it. Today, Hank and I harvested some blackberries. He was quite taken with the texture and Tyler and I are very happy that we decided not to use chemicals in our garden as Hank wanted to eat the berries directly.

Hank's first blackberry harvest

Of course, he’s not up for that much texture yet (he’s still mostly eating stage 2 texture foods which are fairly well pureed) but he did enjoy licking the juice off his fingers… There is something so satisfying about going into your yard and picking some produce. We aren’t growing much at the moment, but hopefully in the future we will have more of a veg garden. We’re also hoping to put in an area just for the butterflies and hummingbirds. It’ll be fun to sit and observe them. Presently, Hank’s favorite bird is the cardinal, perhaps because it is red. He’s very drawn to red these days. We often sit and observe the birds and squirrels.

The blackberries Hank picked

Sometimes he’ll stare out of the window while he’s supposed to be eating, watching the jays and cardinals eating sunflower seeds from one of our feeders and seeing the squirrels attempt to eat from the feeder and plummet to the ground (that’s hilarious if you’ve never seen it). Our family is so blessed to have so much nature right outside our door. And Tyler and I are blessed to have a son who seems to enjoy nature as much as we do. He has been perfectly content to play on a blanket on the grass while we work near him in the yard. Its so pleasant and I hope something he will never grow out of.

Swinging

Yum!

We went to visit some of our family and friends in Arlington last weekend. Its so wonderful that Hank doesn’t freak out on long car rides anymore. Of course, its been a great thing leaving right after a meal or around one of his nap times… Once again we had a stellar time with everyone, despite some of our best laid plans changing in an instant…

Grandad & Ainsley (Hank and Micah are in the strollers)

Last time we went to the zoo with Micah and Christiane, we had such a great experience, we thought we’d do it again. So we agreed to meet at the zoo on Friday morning, right when it opens. We did that last time and the only people we encountered were some parents pushing strollers (like us, I guess we’re in a new sort of unnamed, yet understood universal club now, kind of like Jeep people). We invited Ainsley and her parents (Geoff and Traci) to join us as well as Grandad (Ty’s father) this time around. Much to our chagrin, when we arrived, the main parking lot was closed to the public and school bus after school bus was parking there and unloading hordes of children in brightly colored t-shirts.

Look, a turtle!

Evidently, the Friday we chose to go happened to be the same day almost every school district in the Metroplex chose to visit the zoo… it was a nightmare, a sea of young (and some rather ill-mannered) humanity ushered by teachers and soccer parents, all of whom were shouting to be heard over the din. Not our idea of a good time at all! So we left and went to the botanical garden instead. Ainsley had an excellent time there as did the adults (many beautiful photo opportunities for Tyler and Geoff). Hank and Micah spent most of our time there taking naps in their strollers, while Christiane and I chatted, just like (most of) their first trip to the zoo! We’ll have to try the zoo again another time.

The botanical gardens were lovely! We had such a good time there that after a break for lunch, Tyler, Walter, Hank and I returned for further exploration. Hank decided to take another nap and Grandad happily volunteered to hold and sit with him while he slept so Tyler and I could visit the Japanese gardens. SO beautiful! They made me want to go straight home and renovate our backyard. Then I realized that planting non-native species there would be a bad idea and best left to professionals (but oh, how I adore the Japanese maple with its burnt umber foliage), so we just bought a bonsai for Hank. What amazed us about the bonsai we purchased is that it not only came with instructions, but also a phone number to contact the person who cultivated it in case we had any questions or needed help caring for our tree. Now that’s pretty cool!

A bee gathering pollen

Hank is a messy eater when he feeds himself

Later that weekend, we had a gathering with some of our family and friends. Happily, everyone enjoyed the Turkish food I prepared! I say everyone, there were 3 children under the age of 5 who preferred chicken nuggets (thanks to Traci for preparing those) to lentil koftas, but they all enjoyed the baklava, of course, who wouldn’t? I find it amusing how it never even occurred to me that the children present might not appreciate lentils or hummus or any of the other food available that night. I guess its because most of my Turkish friends have small children and they love the food. Seeing American children’s culinary preferences has given Tyler and me much to think about in regard to what we offer Hank as he improves his eating skills…

Speaking of that, Hank is *really* enjoying eating! He’s very interested in feeding himself these days, which is fantastic and also incredibly messy. His new current favorite food is mango. He actually kicks his feet with glee with each bite, which is so fun to watch. Hank had a wonderful visit with Granny (Hank’s Great-Grandmother) over the weekend and we enjoyed a lovely lunch with our friends Clint and Dennis on Sunday, then we had to head home. It was a very busy weekend, but loads of fun.

Hank shares his maraca with Granny

Hank loves his Grandma!

We’re so glad so many people were able to make time to visit with us while we were in town! Its always wonderful to see people you care about… Last night we had dinner with my parents at their beautiful new house. Hank was fascinated with Grandpa’s grill and loved watching the flames as Grandpa turned the meat. We didn’t get very close as the grill was pretty warm. Its really fun having Hank eat meals with us now (even though it means I usually alternate between feeding myself and my son). He showed Grandpa and Grandma his recently improved drinking skills. He drank from a glass while sitting in Grandma’s lap and didn’t spill a drop, it was most impressive! On Tuesday morning, Cody gets the stitches taken out of his ear and hopefully that means we can take his cone off. Its been interesting having a 90 pound dog with a cone on trying to navigate a baby friendly house. I’m sure Cody is looking forward to getting it off as well, except, I’ll bet he’s enjoyed not having had a proper bath in weeks. I don’t think he especially enjoys baths, but he’ll be getting a good one soon!

Hank enjoys green beans (notice how tidy he is when an adult helps him)