The Hank Show

March was fantastic – full of changes, relaxation, family and fun. We kicked off the month with the North Texas Irish Festival. Sarah and her band were performing there and while the festival was a blast and Sarah’s shows were wonderful, it was also a rather bittersweet weekend. After quite a bit of prayer and deliberation, Sarah is taking a break (with an unspecified end date) from performing to spend more time with our family and focus on other things. Her shows at the North Texas Irish Festival were her last shows with her band for a long time, if not her last shows altogether (we’re not sure right now). It was a great weekend full of fun and music and friends and many, many sentimental moments and encounters. Everyone had a great time. Sarah isn’t announcing to the world her break, she’s just letting things be as they will and seeing what comes when it does. Its an interesting place for her to be and another adventure for our family – but wonderful all the same.

Right after the festival, we visited the cabin in New Mexico. We absolutely love it there and it was lovely to be there during the snow season. We took so many photos at the cabin, it will have its own entry so be on the lookout for that one!

After our cabin trip, we got back into the swing of life at home and spent a good deal of time playing with some of our friends and cousins. We took advantage of the mild Texas winter-into-spring weather and visited parks quite often. James and Paul came over one day and we baked bread together. That was an absolute blast and an incredible mess all at once. We are sure to do it again sometime!

Easter was great fun for Hank this year with all his younger cousins available. Hank got to bake Easter cookies with Grandma, James and Paul and then decorate them with Uncle Ben. We asked the boys what Easter cookies are and they told us they are crosses and bunnies and stuff. They had fun cutting out the cookies with Grandma and then using copious amounts of icing and sprinkles with Uncle Ben later. Hank enjoyed dying eggs too. He got to dye eggs with his pals, Marylin and Andrew and then another day he dyed eggs with his cousins, James and Paul and his Uncle Ben. We hosted an Easter gathering and while we missed Uncle Josh and Aunt Dayna’s family and Aunt Laura and Uncle Jon’s family, we had a fabulous time with Aunt Donna, Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle Ben and Aunt Nancy, Uncle Amos and Aunt Shannon and all thier children. We had an egg hunt in our backyard and everyone enjoyed themselves. Ben and Amos had fun finding creative hiding places for some of the eggs. The children had a blast finding all of them. Caesar (the dog) enjoyed having so many people around to play with and we had a great game of tee ball in the backyard.

March was a rather pleasant month and we’re grateful for all the adventures we shared this month. Here are some photos in no particular order, enjoy!

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February is a short month. We packed February full of fun with friends and family! We had fun on so many playdates with friends and cousins. The weather was lovely, especially for winter in Texas, and we enjoyed going to parks and playing outdoors.

At the beginning of the month, Tyler took photos for the Father-Daughter Dance at church, they turned out great! Sarah was very ill and the doctor put her on vocal rest. Neither Hank or Caesar can read well so there was quite a lot of confusion at our house with her not being able to speak. Tyler recorded several commands (“Sit”, “Leave it”, “Place”, etc.) for Caesar and Caesar got very excited whenever he heard Tyler’s voice but couldn’t see Tyler. Caesar would run around the house at top speed bounding about trying to find Tyler – who was at work. Sarah used our iPad’s text-to-voice feature to try communicating to Hank, and recieved gales of laughter in return. While she did her best Stephen Hawking impersonation, it was clear it would be a *very* long week without help. GG and Grandad played the big heros and came to stay for a few days and take care of Hank and Caesar while Sarah was sick and couldn’t speak (Thanks again GG and Grandad!!) Still, even with no voice, Sarah and Hank had fun making Valentine treats. Hank wanted to make “Red Hot Cupcakes”. They were pretty fun to make.

We had fun at the park in Frebruary with cousins, we took Caesar with us on a picnic and everyone had a great time! We also had a belated Christmas gift exchange with some friends in February. The children chose gifts from the dollar store for each other and had a wonderful time exchanging gifts and playing together. Presents are always fun no matter what time of year it is!!

Hank loves to play his violin. This month, he got his very first official shoulder rest. Up until now, he’d been using a sponge as a shoulder rest but now he is the right size for a very small one. He was thrilled to get his very own shoulder rest. Hank is fascinated by music and was really excited to learn that his violin teacher (and godmother), Alexis, was playing in a local symphony’s show. As it turns out, she’s actually one of the Principal Violinists in the symphony and Hank had a great time watching her play. The show was Peter and The Wolf, one of Hank’s favorites. He loves Peter’s theme (played by violins) and he really likes the wolf (french horns), but wasn’t very keen on the wolf or the hunters when the timpani played. He likes it on the recording but live, it was a bit intense for him. Still, he really enjoyed the show. The symphony opened with Mozart’s “Ein kleine Nauchtmusik”, which Hank thoroughly enjoyed, exclaiming, “I know this one!! I like this one!!”. Our friend, Caroline, and her mother, Jean, joined us for the show and a late lunch and Hank had a blast with them. He really likes them and loves to say Jean’s name – its French and now he says he can speak French because he can say her name. Its sweet.

Preschool is going well and our family is enjoying our time together. We hope you’re well too!

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January was a blast! Full of fun and family and lots of great adventures!

We’re excited to have a new member in our family, Caesar! Caesar is a 3 year old, 100 pound German Shepherd we adopted at the beginning of the month. He came to live with us on New Year’s day and he and Hank have become fast friends. Its been an adjustment getting used to having a dog again (Cody died last February and we’ve gone nearly a year without a dog), cleaning up land mines from the yard, being more vigilant with the front door, making extra plans when we travel, protecting Hank’s stuffed animals, even cooking has become an adventure. We’ve become rather good at hip-checks while cooking, Caesar is very curious and he’s tall so he doesn’t have to work hard to check out whatever is on the counter or stove. Its been wonderful having him join our family! He has his own little quirks, like his ears, they touch together like a little hat on top of his head when he’s very excited or interested in something. And he loves to bark at squirrels and birds. We go through far less birdseed now that Caesar has joined our family. The birds still visit, but they tend to hide or fly away when Caesar goes in the backyard. We love taking him on walks (and he loves them too!), going to the park together and playing at home. Hank is enjoying t-ball right now and its been fun for him to have Caesar field the balls. Sometimes Caesar even tags Hank out on the way to home plate! Its really fun. 

Hank’s cousins, Ainsley and Dalton, have birthdays in January (different days/years) and they had a birthday carnival at their house to celebrate both of their birthdays. GG and Grandad took Hank to the party and everyone had a blast! Hank has had a great time with all the treasures and prizes he won at the carnival (thanks, Aunt Traci & Uncle Geoff!!). Hank spent some special time all by himself at GG and Grandad’s house this month and we also took GG and Grandad to the Houston Museum of Natural Science. None of us had visited that museum before and it was fantastic! We loved how the dinosaur bones were displayed in the Hall of Paleontology and were fascinated by quite a few of the artifacts in the Hall of Americas. Hank wasn’t sure what to make of the sarcophagus in the Hall of Egypt. We (Sarah and Tyler) were perplexed that the “Hall of Egypt” was actually just a corner in the basement but we were pleased to learn they were in the process of getting a full exhibit prepared and the real Hall of Egypt opens in May. We’ll be making a return visit as Sarah is fascinated with Egyptian artifacts and tales. We caught a live science show (on density) in the Chemistry Hall and were awed at the beauty in the Hall of Minerals. Hank enjoyd the African Wildlife and the Texas Wildlife exhibits and had a blast “experiencing an earthquake” and exploring clouds in the Earth Forum. One of our family’s favorite places by far was the Cockrell Butterfly Center. Once we stepped through the doors into the butterfly habitat, it was as though we weren’t even in Houston anymore. It really took Tyler and me back to our honeymoon in Aruba with all the beautiful flowers and butterflies. They even had a Green Iguana there! The iguana was actually colored orange and his name is Charro. Hank thought Charro was very funny! Hank got to touch real butterfly wings and see a waterfall. It was a wonderful family trip!

We also visited the Texas Sports Hall of fame in January. We met Grandad there and Hank had a great time checking things out and playing football with Daddy. There were lots of fun times with cousins in January as well. We played with cousins at parks, at our house, at Grandma and Grandpa’s house, we made art together, and shared lots of fun times. Hank is still enjoying playing violin. He was thrilled to return to his lessons after the break for the holidays and is stoked to be learning to play new notes on his violin. He loves playing whole songs and says he wants to “be a real violinist one day!”. This was a fun month. Here are some photos in no particular order, enjoy!

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Hank’s great aunt and uncle, Joan and Melvin, celebrated 50 years of marriage at the end of December. Hank calls Joan, “Auntie Joan” or “Aunt Joanie” and Melvin is “Uncle Melvin” or occasionally, just “Melvin”. They had a lovely party and it was a blast getting to spend the evening with so many wonderful people! We had a great time visiting with family, seeing old photos we’ve never seen before, enjoying delicious food, fantastic company and lots of dancing. At one point during the night, Hank declared “This is a really great party because people are taking their shoes off!!” He thought the cakes were delicious (we also celebrated Melvin’s birthday so there was one cake for the anniversary and another cake for Melvin’s birthday) and he really loved the chocolates Melvin and Joan passed out at the end of the party. We’re so happy for Joan and Melvin and thankful for their union and all the wonderful cousins we have because of them! Congratulations Joan and Melvin!!

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Christmas was an absolute blast. We had fun going to our own church this year on Christmas Eve. Sarah read some Scripture and sang with the choir during the services. We were glad our church did a candlelight service this year. We have fond memories of going to a candle light service with Grandpa and Grandma on Christmas Eve in the past. After church, Hank and Sarah made cookies for Santa and Hank peeled some carrots for the reindeer. Hank chose to make chocolate chip cookies for Santa because he (Hank) declared they are the best cookies ever aside from ginger cookies – and he thought Santa might like some chocolate the best. Hank had to test the cookies before he put them on a tray for Santa. He didn’t test the carrots…

Christmas mornings was fantastic! It was wonderful waking up in our own home and hanging out in pajamas as we exchanged, discovered and unwrapped out gifts. It was so pleasant! Hank enjoyed all his gifts and was especially excited to learn our family would be getting a dog (our dog Cody, died last February). We’re all looking forward to choosing our dog together. That afternoon, we had lunch at Threadgills with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Donna and Uncle Dick. Lunch at Threadgills on Christmas day may just become a family tradition for us. We did it last year and it was so great not cooking a large dinner (and doing dishes), we decided to do it again this year. Good choice. Everyone got to choose the dishes they preferred and none of us had to do the dishes!

The day after Christmas, we had a blast at Grandma and Grandpa’s house exchanging gifts and eating delicious food with Sarah’s side of the family. Hank loved getting to spend special time with all his cousins at once. It was very busy and full of laughter! Hank (and the other cousins) kept sneaking nibbles of Aunt Donna’s fudge and snagging cookies every time they walked past the table. Delicious food and great company made for a wonderful gathering!

The next day, we went to the metroplex to spend time with Tyler’s family. We had fun visiting with everyone and Hank had a great time with his cousins there. We spent one day at Uncle Geoff and Aunt Traci’s house playing with Ainsley and Dalton. Hank had a blast! That weekend, there was a wonderful anniversary party for Aunt Joanie and Uncle Melvin. We got to spend a fun-filled evening with extended family, cousins, Tyler grew up with, celebrating Joan and Melvin. It was lovely. We took so many photos at that party, it will have its own blog entry coming soon. In the meantime, here are photos from our various family Christmas celebrations in no particular order. Enjoy!

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December was the month of museums I think. Hank really enjoys museums and we visited several (one of them twice) in December.

We had the opportunity to visit the Perot Museum of Nature and Science just a few days after its grand opening in Dallas. The building itself is remarkable, with an escalator on the outside of the building (enclosed in glass) overlooking angular rooftops outfitted with solar panels, rain capturing devices and even a few plants. We went with GG and Grandad. Hank had a blast and it was even a great place for adults (none of us were bored). Some of Hank’s favorite things about the museum were the hall of sports where he got to race a T-Rex and a cheetah, the children’s area where he learned a about pulleys, played with water, made a snowflake, played in snow, heard a story, and pretended to camp out, and the robots and vacuum/air tunnels. We spent the entire day there and Hank fell asleep in the car on the way home. It was a blast!

We also visited one of our favorites, the Mayborn Museum in Waco. This one we went to twice in December. Once with Grandad and once with some friends, Hank’s pal, Kadynce her parents (our friends), Jonathan and Kacie and her baby sister, Lydia (who slept most of the time). Hank had fun playing in the musical hall with Grandad and showing Kadynce all his favorite parts of the museum, including the historic village and the bubble and water room. After exploring the museum with Kadynce and her family, they showed us the bears on the Baylor campus. All these years of going to the Mayborn and we never knew there were actual, live bears on the Baylor campus. Hank had fun checking out the bears in their enclosure. It was a great trip!

Uncle Ben, Aunt Nancy, James and Paul came to visit from Florida and we went with them to the Memorial Museum on the UT campus in Austin. Hank really likes that museum because of the dinosaur bones and the meteorites they have on display. He also really enjoys the discovery drawers and the entire level full of taxidermy (everything from Bison to sea birds). Hank had a blast exploring the museum with his cousins, James and Paul and was SO pleased to get to play with them again. He really missed his cousins (we missed Ben and Nancy too)!

Hank has his very first violin recital at the beginning of the month. He was fantastic and had a great time playing his violin for everyone. He said he really liked when everyone clapped because it let him know they enjoyed his music. Tyler and I got to experience that parent nervousness for your child. You want them to do well and have fun but you’re not at all in control of the outcome of things. It was exhilarating for us watching Hank play for everyone – and having him do so well and have fun. Grandma, Grandpa, Patrick and Steven were there to support Hank with us. It was a great day!

This year, Hank also participated in the Christmas Program at church. He sang three songs along with the rest of the preschool Sunday school and it was adorable! Tyler tried to take video and of course when dealing with children, the outcome was less than Emmy worthy. But it was still a fun day and made an excellent memory.

Hank was thrilled about Christmas this year! He could hardly contain his excitement and had a blast opening each day’s bag on our Advent Calendar. Every day in December we did a fun activity or read a Christmas story. Hank watched “White Christmas” for the first time this year and loved it! We had lots of baking and cookie decorating in December. Hank decorated cookies at preschool, at friends’ houses, and even hosted a cookie decorating party with a few friends at our house. He also had fun decorating cookies with some of his cousins. Our friends, the Lavinder family, hosted a great event called Bags of Grace, filling bags with food for the homeless. Hank invited his friend JenJen to join us and she and her mom (our friend), WooYoung had a blast with our family filling bags with food for the homeless. While Hank and JenJen didn’t go downtown to help pass out the bags, they were happy “packing snacks for people who don’t have food or a house” (as Hank put it) and spending time together. It was a perfect service event for young 4 year olds to participate in. Together with the Lavinder family, friends and neighbors, we packed 200 bags!

December was a very full and busy month and we had a blast together as a family (and with extended family and friends). Here are some photos from December in no particular order. Christmas celebration photos in the next blog entry…

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