The Hank Show

A few weeks ago, we went to the metroplex to throw a baby shower for Christiane and visit family. We stayed at Geoff , Traci and Ainsley’s beautiful new house and Hank had an absolute blast there. He was thrilled with the fountain in the pool, two of his favorites combined!

Hank and Ainsley had lots of adventures together swimming, drawing, playing with toys, blowing bubbles, having picnics, “helping cook”, etc.. Christiane had a great time at her baby shower and received many wonderful things for her new daughter (who will arrive shortly). She and Micah came over for a swimming play date to help celebrate Traci’s birthday. Hank really liked drawing on Ainsley’s easel, we’re thinking we should get one for him soon. And he had his very first ice cream cone. He’s had ice cream before, just not in a cone. It was so cute to watch him, he began eating it with a spoon, scooping it out of the cone and before long, he just dove right in and had it all over his face. We had a very full and fun weekend. Here are some photos of the fun in no particular order:

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Another month has come and gone. May was so much fun!! We celebrated birthdays with some cousins (Michael and David), had GG and Grandad visit, got a new (to us) car, Sarah had 2 shows, Tyler had a golf tournament, we had lots of fun outdoors and Hank had a blast with water (among other things). Hank had lots of fun helping Grandma water her plants and he seems to love spraying himself in the face while washing windows (one of his favorite activities right now). He also enjoyed having tea time (afternoon snack, usually with chocolate milk or smoothies) with some of his favorite grown ups. This month, Hank prefers the inside of a taco to its shell/tortilla, and he loves music (which we already knew), especially singing “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”. Of course, books are Hank’s all time favorite and we continue to read voraciously with him. He’s even getting into “reading” magazines right now. He seems to like  Smithsonian and Photo magazines the best presently… Its starting to get hot here in Texas, but we had a lovely long and wet spring (which was unusual, but completely welcome) so the mosquitoes are high in population at the moment. We learned that Hank is evidently allergic to them and are grateful for the wonders of medicine (benadryl especially). Hank was attacked by mosquitoes while helping plant new flowers in his garden, one stung him near his eye and he could hardly see out of it for at least a day. That was frightening, but he was such a trooper. Tyler took some “Rocky”  kind of photos of Hank, I’m not overly a fan so we’re not posting them here, but if you’d like to see one (they may make you sad, he has a big swollen eye), feel free to email and I’m sure Ty will share with you (I will say they are rather artistic). The good news is all is well now and we are happy and having a blast at life. We hope you are too!  Here are several photos from our adventures in May, hope you enjoy them!

Once again its been a few weeks since my last update so you get a plethora of photos from various events all lumped together. Since Easter, we’ve had many adventures. We went to our niece, Tori’s band concert. Hank loved it! He was absolutely transfixed by the horn section and at the end of each piece, he clapped and heartily shouted “yay!!” and proceeded to ask for more. We’re now on the lookout for more Hank-friendly live music events. Hank’s GG and Grandad came for a visit. Everyone had a great time. Since that weekend was so busy for me (with a show and lots of studio time), GG and Grandad stayed a few more days to visit and we enjoyed hanging out with them and checking out a (new to GG) toy store. There was an enormous teddy bear there that Hank enjoyed hugging and showing all the toys to.

Hank liked "hugging" this big bear

Tyler with a beard

One of our friends, Meredith’s, clients  requested “during” photos of Meredith applying facial hair. As she didn’t have any during shots, just before and after, Tyler helped her out and got a beard. Meredith is quite talented and her client is pleased, she got the job! (the Coen brothers’ new film, a remake of True Grit, starring Jeff Bridges)  🙂  Tyler also had eye surgery a few weeks ago. He’s doing really well and is so excited that he doesn’t have to wear glasses or put in contact lenses to see. It really is quite amazing! Less than 24 hours after his surgery, he was already seeing with 20/15 vision! His softball season is about to start up and he’s thrilled to not have to worry about glasses and contacts, I am too!

Hank is very interested in animals right now. His primary favorites being elephants and ducks. We haven’t seen an elephant in person for a while so we’ll be heading to the zoo soon. But Hank enjoys making his elephant sound complete with his arm in the air like a raised trunk. Its quite adorable. He points out elephants wherever we see them. Ducks are more readily accessible to us. We feed the ducks at least once a week and we read books on ducks at least once a day. He actually woke up a sleeping duck the other day to give it some bread. Once the duck awoke and started following Hank, however, he wasn’t as excited about it. On Wednesday we went to a local ranch to visit some farm animals. Hank had a blast feeding the goats and petting the rabbits. He was quite taken with the donkey (his donkey noise is really cute) but less enthused about the chickens. Hank loved feeding the chickens, but didn’t like it when they followed him around (I’m seeing a pattern here). Hank also had his very first experience with a pony. He rode a small pony, went on a ride in a horse-drawn wagon and then rode a large pony. I was impressed with his seeming lack of fear. His friends who joined us for the outing were less adventurous and ended up in tears, having not taken any rides. Hank rode by himself in the wagon because his friends were frightened and didn’t want to join him. I’m so proud of him for trying new things!

Hank's first time on a pony

We’re spending as much time outdoors as we can before the weather becomes too warm to be bearable. I tried taking Hank to the pool the other day, but when it came time to get into the water, he wouldn’t have it. I’m sure that has something to do with his falling into our pond not too long ago so once Tyler is cleared for swimming, we’re going to have a family outing to the pool to help Hank remember his love of swimming (baths are no problem in case you were wondering). While he wasn’t so keen on the actual pool, Hank very much enjoyed the journey to and from the pool in his new wagon. We’ve been enjoying watching the birds and butterflies (a new word for Hank) in our yard and checking on our plants in the garden every day to see what is new. Hank especially enjoys watering his garden. He’s really been working on pouring a lot lately. He seems very interested in it. Tuesday, he put Mr. Bear in a chair and poured him some water. I got Mr. Bear his own glass so Hank could enjoy some water too. So Tyler is making jokes now about my letting our son have a tea party…

I’m sure I’ve forgotten several things here… so I’ll have to try harder to update more frequently. Until the next update, please enjoy these photos from Hank’s various adventures (in no particular order. click on the photo to see the full image) and have a wonderful Mother’s Day weekend!

We had such a blast Easter weekend. On Saturday, we took Hank to get some new shoes. His old ones seemed a bit snug so we had him re-sized and were stunned to learn he wears a 6w now! He had fun choosing some sandals and wore them out of the store, always a good sign. Hank has been working on walking independently, which has been lots of fun to witness. He still likes to hold hands sometimes, but he is so proud of himself when he walks and has the biggest smiles! Tyler built an arbor for the entry to Hank’s garden. I’m so proud of him and think its beautiful! Hank had a lot of fun helping Daddy on the project. When Hank first walked under the arbor, he looked up and said, “Wow!”. He really likes it and I think it seems more like he has his own secret garden now (even though its not really a secret at all).

Hank has been working on independent walking

On Sunday, we went to church with Grandpa and Grandma. Hank was excited to see them and kept trying to walk to them when they were singing with the choir. We ended up leaving just before the sermon because it was evident Hank just wanted to explore. In other circumstances, we would have happily let him explore the church, but not during a service. He was fascinated by the piano and the organ. Then we went to a patch of bluebonnets to take some photos. The ones we got of Hank are very similar to the ones we took last year…. Note to self, take Hank for bluebonnet photos sometime when he’s not super tired. We had a good time, but he was pretty tired by the time we tried taking his photos, so not very many smiles at that time. We’ll try again another time. Later that afternoon, after Hank had a nap, we went to Grandma and Grandpa’s house for dinner and an egg hunt with his cousins. Hank was too funny. He opened the very first egg he found and proceeded to sit down and eat the jellybeans inside. He was much more interested in what was inside the eggs than picking them up. Luckily, his cousins were kind enough to share and make sure he had plenty of eggs. We think the malted-milk balls were his favorite candy that day and he found a little duck in one of his eggs and wouldn’t put it down for a very long time. He was so cute and we had such a blast!  We hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend too. Here are some photos from the weekend in no particular order:

My guys are so stellar, I have to say…. Tyler recently learned that several of his photos made First Selection in European PHOTO Magazine’s “Grand Concours Photo 2009”. Its been a while since he put is work out in the public sphere and I’m so proud of him for submitting some of his photography to this prestigious contest. An exciting thing for us is that Tyler submitted 12 photos and of them, 8 made First Selection and one of those was selected as a finalist!  Hank also is getting out in the world. A few months ago, he had a photo shoot to help promote recycling and we learned that he will be featured on a corporate website soon. (we’ll share more details with you when we have them). He’s also now in his first official print add for State Farm Insurance. Very exciting times where photography is concerned at our house, I’m so proud of Tyler and Hank! (to view the full frame, click on the image you would like to see)

first selection in the "Portrait" category

first selection in the "Mouvement" category

first selection in the "L'environnement" category

first selection in the "Portrait" category

first selection in the "Mouvement" category

first selection in the "L'environnement" category

first selection in the "Portrait" category

"Finaliste"

Now that spring has arrived in Texas, we’ve been spending as much time outdoors as we can. Hank has made several trips to various parks, had a few play dates and a picnic in the past week or so and has had an absolute blast. We’re so happy to be able to play outside with him. I hope this lovely weather holds a bit longer, we’re not ready for the summer heat just yet… although we hear the pool opens soon! Hope you enjoy these photos:

Spring is officially here! The weather has turned lovely and we’ve been spending lots of time outdoors. A few weeks ago, Tyler built a raised bed for Hank’s garden. We actually purchased a skill saw for the project and now feel like official Do-It-Yourself-ers! We’ve done many projects on our own before, but this was the first time Tyler actually designed and built something from wood (unless you count one of the packs he designed a few years ago for work, but that wasn’t all wood). It was such fun planning and going to the store to get lumber and plants. Hank’s GG and Grandad were visiting that weekend and it was so much fun having Grandad help on the project.

didn't Tyler do an awesome job?

Hank checks out the new veg garden

After the bed went in, I planted flowers and plants for Hank to enjoy. Hopefully some butterflies and hummingbirds will enjoy them as well. We are so pleased with how it turned out and Hank really seems to enjoy checking on his plants. We’ve been blessed with lots of rain since we put in the garden and everything is growing beautifully! I received some Earth Boxes for Christmas to make a container garden since our ground is so hard (we actually had to use a pick-axe to plant our trees). Yesterday, we set them up and planted some vegetables and herbs.

Hank especially enjoyed helping to water the plants. He really likes water (should be fun when the pool opens!). Now we’ll see if the Earth Boxes live up to their claims.

We’re so pleased with all the new living things, its so beautiful and makes us want to be outside in our yard even more!  We purchased a spinning compost bin yesterday and Tyler put it together while Hank enjoyed playing in the empty box. I’m so happy to finally have a compost bin! I can’t tell you how long I’ve wanted us to have one and how sad it made me tossing egg shells and coffee grounds and fruit peels and such in the garbage. I think renaming our garbage bin, “landfill” helped make the compost bin purchase easier. That and there is a perfectly unused corner of our yard for it. It certainly has made us think more about what we actually throw away and what can truly be re-purposed. Here are some photos of our newest backyard adventures and gardens in no particular order:

What can we say, our son loves music! While Tyler was away on a ski trip, I took Hank to a toy store. The very first thing he went to (after the books) was this little red piano. He sat playing it for a while and I was tempted to put out a tip jar. After the piano, he focused on the guitar. He drew quite an audience and everyone thought he was adorable. We love that Hank enjoys exploring his world so much and feel so blessed to live in a kid-friendly town so we can encourage him in his exploration no matter where we are.

Hank really likes the piano

We got Hank a sandbox and he’s asked to play in it almost every day since. He is so focused when he plays in the sandbox… well for a while anyway, then he likes to try throwing the sand, which we, in turn, promptly discourage. We love how his sandbox fits perfectly in his garden and once the honeysuckle takes over the fence again, he’ll have even more shade. We just love how his garden is coming along. Soon we hope to put in a flower bed for him and plant things that will attract hummingbirds and butterflies. All in good time. So many outdoor projects now that the weather is finally turning warmer. I have to say though, how cool is it that we actually had a winter in Texas? A real season of cold weather for more than two days at a time (followed by 80 degree weather). It was actually nice wearing scarves and jackets and I never thought I would say that because I’m not usually one for loads of cold weather. But it does make the spring seem much more like spring rather than merely a few weeks between winter and summer….

with Aunt Traci and Daddy at the NTIF

A few days after Tyler returned from his ski trip (which he said was great fun, by the way), we headed to Dallas for the North Texas Irish Festival. It was so fun and such an honor getting to perform there again. This year’s festival was exceptionally busy for me as it was the first time Hank had been to a big festival and I was also performing with two bands. My band did 3 sets over the course of the weekend and I did 2 sets with the band I started out in this genre with several years ago, Poor Man’s Fortune. It was fun singing with those guys again and of course I just love working with my band mates. Fun times all around!

Hank really seemed to enjoy himself at the festival. He loved seeing all the dogs. Gwen and Walter took some really cute photos of him that weekend but we don’t have any of them yet so I’ll have to post them later. My parents and my best friend, Christiane, and her son, Micah, came out on Saturday along with Tyler’s Aunt, Uncle, sister, brother-in-law, our niece, some cousins, a Great Aunt and his parents. So Saturday was super busy (in a good way) with my shows and all the family. We had a picnic together by  the big fountain in the middle of the festival grounds and it was just so pleasant. The fountain went off (there was a show with music and lights and everything) and Hank and Grandad enjoyed watching it. We never made it over to the kids section of the festival, but Hank had fun meeting all the dogs he could wherever we went.

watching the water show with Grandad

When we returned home, Hank was so happy to see his Cody, he crawled right onto the dog’s bed and gave him the biggest hug. Recently, Hank set his own table. I asked him if he was ready to eat and he went and got a placemat and put it on the (big boy) table, followed by a plate (I got the glass). He’s growing so fast and learning new things all the time and sometimes, its just so surprising what he comes up with or does. We’re having the best time together!

We had the best time at the cabin in February! Tyler, Hank and I flew into Albuquerque where Hank’s Grandad and GG picked us up and we rode with them the rest of the way to the cabin. Hank had so much fun in the snow and was very happy to be reunited with the deer. Hank had GG and Grandad all to himself for a few days, then  Traci, Geoff and Ainsley arrived and Hank was happy to have his cousin to play with as well. We did so many things, feeding the deer, sitting by the fire, baking with the children. Geoff and Traci went cross country skiing, Tyler and Walter went out on the snow mobiles. We took a day trip to Pagosa Springs where we saw the cutest little black bunnies and a group of turkeys… I never knew this, but when they puff out their feathers, it has this sort of electric sound, like a crackle of lightning or something. Hard to explain and kind of spooky really.

I shoveled paths in the snow for the first time in my life (I haven’t lived in snow since I was 4 years old), that was actually lots of fun and a great workout! We spent so much time outside which was nice (but cold). Its hard to tell if Hank just loved the snow that much or if its just that he enjoys being outdoors, but he had a great time! He especially enjoyed riding in the sled, climbing on the playscape and sliding down the slide, our little daredevil. When we were indoors, he had fun playing with Ainsley, baking cookies with Uncle Geoff, Aunt Traci and Daddy and working on his forward roll. Tyler made a snow house for the kids and that was a hit. After we left, Ainsley had GG and Grandad all to herself for a few days and they had several inches of snow, the snow house was super cool then! We had fun watching the winter Olympics while we were surrounded by so much snow. Hank spent a lot of time working on standing by himself, I think his snow boots helped a lot there. We kept joking that all he needs is a snowboard.

Anyway, SO many great times and much too much to share presently so here are some photos from our trip in no particular order, enjoy!