Hank's big boy underwear

This past week, my mom and I flew to D.C. to take Merli and Hank to see the Galloways and the Merli's. We had an absolutely wonderful time and it was really good to see everyone. Aunt Cynthia went all out with play-doh, bubbles, a kiddie pool, books, and lots of fun activities to keep Hank busy. The Letsche's drove down to see us for an overnight, which was so fun and crazy since Danielle is heading off to college (she was 12 when I got married- are you kidding me????). Then we got to spend a few days with the Galloways and we hit it right because Uncle Gerry was in town the entire time. Too funny. He and Hank walked around with their imaginary baby wombats and Uncle Gerry might actually have convinced Hank that the Cookie Monster is not bad, but very nice indeed. (I was worried about Hank having an imaginary baby wombat, until I found out that Uncle Gerry also has one, and he didn't turn out so bad, so I am no longer worried).

Anyway, funny story to share: Laurie Chadwell had all the local Galloways over for a BBQ on Sunday afternoon, which was really nice. Well, Hillary's daughter, Tess, is a month younger than Hank and so cute. She and Hank were buds, following each other around all day and playing. So all the ladies and Hank were sitting around the dining room table eating ice cream and discussing the fact that Tess wears Dora the Explorer big girl panties since she's almost potty-trained. And Kathy Galloway turned to Hank and asked him what kind of panties he wears. And Hank looked up from his ice cream and very indignantly declared to the room, "I not wear panties! I have a penis!" And then he returned to the important job of eating his ice cream.

sleeping merli

The Zoo of Acadiana

We have a good little zoo here that Hank really enjoys. So the last time Lynden was here, she bought us a membership and now we can go whenever we want. Since we were tired of the pool, we got up one morning and headed over to the zoo (have to get there early- the only time you can do anything outside all day in August!) As far as zoos go, I think this is a really good one. The animals all look really healthy and the zoo is built into and around all the natural landscaping of the area- lots of trails and trees and stuff. There's also a train that takes you through a "safari", which of course, Hank loves. There are also new babies, which are fun to see. Last time we went, the emu had just had babies and they were pretty cute. There also always seem to be lemur babies. My favorite animals are the giraffe and the vietnamese pot belly pig, which is in the petting zoo. The giraffe has the most beautiful face! And, he's so graceful. The pig is not beautiful or graceful, but pretty funny and very friendly- like a dog. I'd actually love to have one in my backyard to run around and keep out the critters.

August has been a busy month! Let's catch up!

So this month's goal was to get Hank to poop in the potty. He's been peeing in the potty (or if outside, on whatever tree is closest, whether we're in the privacy of our backyard or in the middle of downtown- thanks a lot Jason) for a while now, but we just couldn't get him to poop in the potty. Then a few weeks ago, we discovered Thomas the Train. They're like Jimmy Choo's for little boys. Irresistible and ridiculously expensive. Hank LOVES Thomas the Train. He plays with them for hours. He makes intricate huge tracks and then builds all kinds of buildings around the tracks with his legos and lincoln logs and then puts together all kinds of combinations of engines and coaches and freight cars to go around the track. And because I discovered that bribing my child is the only way to get him to do anything, I began bribing him with Thomas the Train to poop in the potty. And, it worked. Of course, it cost us about $200 in Thomas the Train, but I guess it's worth it to not have to handle poop anymore.

The other positive in all this is that I discovered a previously unknown passion for train sets. They are SO MUCH FUN. There are all kinds of cool sets with drawbridges and boats and even an airport with a helicopter!!!! And of course, there is construction equipment- cranes, and dumptrucks, and backhoes- which Hank is passionate about.

Hank is back....this time with a sister!

Hello all! Well, I have a perfectly good excuse for stopping the blog. Pregnancy, Jason's new job, closing my business, moving across the country, and having a baby. However, we are now settled and I'm going to make an attempt to go at it again. There are just so many good stories to share with the family. I can't stand to lose these memories. I hadn't thought about the blog in months and then two days ago, Hank started walking around with his imaginary baby wombat. He pets it and when he's busy with his trains, he hands it to me and says, "mommy, hold my baby wombat, DON'T DROP HIM." I wasn't sure whether I should be worried about this interesting turn of events or laugh, but either way, I thought that it was a story worth sharing! So we're back. With lots of excitement, adventure, and laughs. And, now with the addition of Merli, we're having twice the fun!

The little helper

In the last post, I told you all about the negative helper. Well, he was in his prime this week since we had a big project going on that involved lots of tools, noise, and men. We built a deck. Boy, was he involved and in the middle of it all!

Here is a picture of the deck project:

And here are a few videos of the negative helper:

So deck building went late into the night and around 7:30, I made the mistake of attempting to take Hank inside for a bath, dinner, and bedtime. This did not work. Hank became completely hysterical when I brought him inside. He wouldn't eat. He fought me on the bath and he kept crying and pointing to the back door. So I did what any good mother would do...I gave in. No bath. No bedtime. And Hank ate Dino Buddies outside in the backyard between hammering and measuring the deck.

fun with Uncle John

Today Hank and I made chocolate chip cookies and as if he has some kind of super nose, Uncle John walked in just as they were coming out of the oven. Amazing. Anyway, Uncle John lets Hank get away with all kinds of stuff, like sitting up on the counter and eating too many chocolate chip cookies. Here is some video of Hank and Uncle John playing a really fun game that never seems to get old. You may need to turn down your volume because Hank hits some high notes on one of these!