The Hank Show

Hank is a blessed boy! He has now been to two 90th birthday parties – very cool! At the beginning of April, we went to the Metroplex to celebrate the milestone with Granny (Hank’s great-grandmother on Tyler’s mom’s side). It was a fun event. The was a parade led by all the great-grandchildren, a variety show featuring several of Granny’s grandchildren and her two daughters, Joan and Gwen. Tyler made an awesome slideshow celebrating Granny’s 90 years and we all had a wonderful time! While we were in town, we took Hank to the museum with GG and Grandad (Grandad injured his foot before we arrived so he was in a wheelchair which Hank thought was great fun to push around) and we met with some friends for a picnic in the park (loads of fun!). It was a full and busy weekend, but an excellent one as well. Here are some photos from that weekend – enjoy!

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March was hands down our busiest month so far this year. We were in and out of town, Sarah had 10 shows in less than 3 weeks, Hank had several play dates and story times and music classes and visits to GG and Grandad’s and Tyler was super busy with work and editing together 90 years worth of photographs for a special family project (as well as taking loads of beautiful new photos). Cody (our dog) had surgery to remove some major tumors from his chest. We’re honestly not sure how long he is for this world, but he seems to feel much better since the surgery and is back to more of his usual antics than he was before.

Hank enjoyed icing this cake, and then licking the utensils

Hank is hilarious and every day is a new adventure with him! He’s still really into cooking and loves to make quiche in particular. I think we ate quiche about once a week last month. Hank is taking after his dad with a love for meat (when we ask him what he wants for dinner, he often says “I’d like cow, please.”) and last time he put bacon in the quiche, it was so densely packed that the eggs never actually made it to the bottom of the crust. There was a complete layer of bacon – Hank loved it! We celebrated a few birthdays in March. Hank really enjoyed having a special steak dinner with his Uncle Josh and helping to make a cake for Patrick (his godfather) – the icing was his favorite part (everyone loves chocolate, right?). He also really liked going to a Celtic festival for GG’s birthday and playing in his sandbox with Megan (it wasn’t her actual birthday that day though). Unfortunately, his cousin, Mia Hope, ended up getting injured on a playground and her birthday party (which was to involve a bouncy house – a big hit with Hank) was cancelled so we didn’t get to celebrate in person with her. We did a bunch of planting in late March and Hank has really enjoyed checking on all the plants to see how much they’ve grown and if there are any buds or blossoms yet. We never knew gardening with a toddler could be so much fun!

Hank has fun painting on his easel

Games are a big deal at our house now. Hank is *very* into playing games. His current favorites are Candy Land, Hulabaloo, Hi Ho Cherry-O, Sum Swamp, Picture Link and memory matching games. We play several of these games each day (sometimes all of them!) – Hank just loves to play his games! We don’t really think he knows what it is yet, but he’s been asking us about Chutes and Ladders (he heard  us talking about how we used to plat that game when we were little) so we have a feeling we’ll be adding that one to Hank’s game collection soon. Hank got a lesson in painting on the easel and he’s been having lots of fun with that. Its fascinating watching him paint and then he announces what his painting is called or what its about – he really likes creating. Reading is still Hank’s all time favorite activity. He loves to read with us and thanks to BSF (a Bible study Hank and Sarah attend), Hank is perfectly content to sit beside us rather than in our laps (the children sit in a semi-circle during story time at BSF so everyone can see, no one sits in laps). Its kind of bittersweet watching his little vestiges of babyhood slowly phase out. But its so much fun to see him growing in his independence and he still loves hugs and kisses so we won’t be too sad about not cuddling to read together anymore. When we go to the library to pick out books, Hank is usually more interested in the computers there now than the books, but he is always pleased when we get home and he gets to read all the books together. Its fun!

Hank fills up Henry's car

We’ve been enjoying the lovely weather and Hank even went to a garden party at his friend, Henry’s house. The boys were less interested in planting the garden than they were in digging up the newly planted vegetables. Hank and Henry always have so much fun together and it makes me happy to see Hank interact with his friends. Hank is still enjoying music class and we just started a new session near the end of March. We moved to a different day due to a schedule conflict, and Hank is having a good time making new friends – which is also nice to see. Hank went to his very first play in March. He saw his cousin, Michael, perform in a production of  “Beauty and the Beast”. Hank was a little frightened by the beast (whose entrance was announced by a fierce growl) but decided he wanted to stay for the entire play. He said his favorite part of the play was the music. We’ve had a blast visiting the library, parks and playgrounds, exploring and hiking, seeing loved ones and special friends, making music and laughing a lot. While March was crazy busy for us, we’ve been having the best time and here are photos from some of our adventures.

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Here it is March and we haven’t even told you about February yet! We had an absolute blast that month! We kicked it off with a birthday dinner for Grandpa at our house. Tyler made not one, but two delicious desserts for Grandpa! Ty baked a pan of brownies as well as one of his awesome home-made apple pies along his mother’s famous apple dumpling sauce (a recipe passed down to her from her grandmother, Tyler’s great grandmother). Joshua brought some ice cream and we all decided we love the apple dumpling sauce on the ice cream too!

Grandpa's birthday pie

We experienced our first real snow at home since Hank was born. Of course, living where we do, the snow doesn’t stay overly long, but Hank was delighted to see his lawn and garden completely covered in white. He tried running out in his pajamas and we managed to get a coat and hat on him… later, after the snow made his pajamas wet, he was keen on the idea of putting on appropriate gear so he could play outdoors longer. It was so pleasant having Tyler home from work and playing in the snow. Hank made us laugh when he insisted on playing “baseball” in the snow and then had trouble finding his ball.

February was a very busy month for our family. Hank had several play dates and events, Tyler was incredibly busy at work with important projects for various clients and Sarah was busy preparing with her band to return to performing after a long break for the holidays. We managed to have lots of fun within and between all the commitments. We went to the metroplex where Sarah had some rehearsals prepping for a showcase she was asked to be a part of for the North Texas Irish Festival and while we were there, we had lots of fun with GG, Grandad, Aunt Traci, Uncle Geoff and Ainsely. We played at the park, visited Granny, Hank learned to play basketball and we even made a trip to the zoo!

Hank makes a bird feeder

Shortly after that super full and fun weekend, we all came down with something unpleasant. It was interesting taking a week off from our various commitments due to illness. On some level, it was actually a bit refreshing to simply stay home by ourselves, but it would have been much more fun if we hadn’t felt terrible. Thank goodness for excellent doctors and medication and rest and hydration – we were back in action after a few days. I guess in some ways it was a real blessing to all be ill at the same time rather than passing it from one person to the next – this way we got it over with.

Hank has really been enjoying helping in the kitchen and playing outdoors. He has lots of fun cutting fruit (strawberries and bananas are his favorites to cut right now) and helping prepare our meals. He’s also very interested in the birds. Since it was so cold last month, we made a point of putting out extra food for the birds. Hank had a blast making bird feeders from pinecones, peanut butter and bird seed. After we hung them outside, Hank would check several times a day to see if any of the birds had visited. Whenever he’d see a bird eating some of the seeds he’d put out, he would jump up and down excitedly – so much fun! Let’s see, what else… oh yes, Hank played soccer in an organized fashion for the first time in his life in February. We’ve played with him at home, kicking a soccer ball back and forth, but never actually shooting on a goal. Hank loved it! Sometimes when he wakes up in the morning, the first thing he asks to do is go “play soccerball?”. Its so fun to see his what his interests are. He still enjoys reading and often tells us what letters he sees while we’re out and about and he’s very into counting and gears lately too. He likes to see how things fit together and work and its such a pleasure seeing him figure things out and explore his surroundings. We’re having lots of fun together! Here are some photos from our adventures in February in no particular order:

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What a great month January was! We had so much fun with friends and family and all sorts of adventures. James and Paul, Hank’s cousins from Ohio, stayed in town for a few days after Christmas and Hank had a great time playing with them. He’s been asking us to “fly in airplane” to Ohio to “go to James’ house” fairly regularly lately. We think we’ll be waiting until the spring/summer when the snow and cold there have subsided a bit. The weather here was sporadic as its wont to do in Texas so Hank got to enjoy several fires in the fire place in January. Hank was so pleased to resume music classes. He’s gone from being excited about seeing his teacher, Ms. Carey (which he’s still excited about, but doesn’t mention as much) to seeing his friends. When I tell him we’re going to go to music class, he gets excited and starts naming the friends he’ll see there – it always makes us smile.

We’re so glad Hank enjoys being with his friends – we’re rather social people ourselves and its wonderful to see him happily hanging out and playing with others. We enjoyed several play dates, snacks and story times with friends in January. We’ve also had lots of fun cooking with Hank – he really is an excellent helper and seems to really enjoy cooking with us. Let’s see, what else did we do in January? We went to parks, fed ducks, played with friends, went on a picnic, played in a big sand box, played at home and in the back yard, did lots of cooking and painting and coloring and reading, spent time with neighbors and family and friends and just had a wonderful January. We hope you did too. Here are some photos from various adventures in January in no particular order:

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Christmas was so fun! (Yes, I know its officially February – but better late than never, right?) We had a blast with all our family. We basically celebrated Christmas for about five days with various family members. We went to the metroplex and stayed with GG and Grandad (Tyler’s parents). The day we arrived, they were having an open house to celebrate the completion of their home renovation. Everything is beautiful and the party was lots of fun! The afternoon of the party, while Hank was supposed to be napping, he had fun with an entire bottle of baby powder, dusting not only himself, but the room. There was powder everywhere and it took quite a while to clean up. Hank had a blast and was so proud of himself, it was difficult to be annoyed – it was a pretty funny situation after all. We got everything cleaned in time for the party and everyone loved that room!

We went to Traci and Geoff’s house (Tyler’s sister and our brother-in-law) to celebrate Christmas the morning of Christmas Eve. We had a lovely breakfast with them, Ainsley, Grandad and Warren and Dorothy (Geoff’s parents in from VA). Actually, we had a lovely lunch with them too (GG joined us for lunch) and a wonderful time in between exchanging gifts, visiting and watching Hank and Ainsley play. In the evening, we went to church with cousins (and friends) Christiane, Monty, Micah and Johanna. We had a great time at Christmas Eve service. Its been a tradition in Sarah’s family to go to a candlelight service on Christmas Eve and we’ve been enjoying keeping that tradition in our own family. So no matter where we are on Christmas Eve, we try to find a candlelight service to go to as a family. When it came time for the candles, we let Hank have his new duck flashlight. We had no idea it would be so bright (ah, LEDs)! He shone his beam around and lit up the pastor and the walls. He thought it was so much fun! When it came time to lift our lights high in the air during “Silent Night”, Hank held up his little duck flashlight as high as he could reach and it made so many people smile seeing the little glowing duck face in the hands of a 2 year old earnestly holding it high and singing Silent Night. A wonderful memory for sure.

On Christmas Day, we hung out in pajamas with GG and Grandad exchanging gifts, visiting and playing with Hank. It was so wonderful and a rather refreshing change being so low-key (of course, all the photos from Christmas morning are of Hank since we weren’t interested in having pajama shots of ourselves for posterity). Grandad made a fabulous breakfast, as usual – Grandad makes really great breakfast – and we just enjoyed being together with no real schedule or demands on our time. That afternoon, we went to visit Granny and celebrate with her. Hank liked helping her open her presents. Tyler and I liked seeing her face light up with her beautiful smile. In the evening, Traci, Geoff and Ainsley came over to play. Hank just loves playing with his cousins which makes us very happy.

On Boxing Day, we left the metroplex for home and after a little nap for Hank, we went to Grandpa and Grandma’s (Sarah’s parents) house to celebrate with Sarah’s side of the family. It was wonderful seeing everyone there – Aunt Donna, Uncle Dick, Aunt Laura, Uncle Jon, Uncle Josh, Aunt Dayna, Uncle Ben, Aunt Nancy, Uncle Amos, Aunt Shannon, Tori, Alyssa, Michael, Megan, David, Christopher, Kai, James, Connor, Mia and Paul – Grandpa and Grandma had a full house! We had fun exchanging gifts and visiting with everyone. Hank had a blast playing with all his cousins. They played outside, they played inside – games, magic tricks, camping under the bed, playing with toys, telling jokes, reading stories, climbing the bunk bed in the kids room, riding new tricycles, eating lots of cookies, singing songs, taking photos – Hank slept *very* well that night. We had such a great time with all our family and love seeing the photos taken from Hank’s camera. Some were taken by his cousins, some Hank took himself. We think we’ll do that every year now because they’re so much fun!

Speaking of photos, here are photos from our various Christmas celebrations in no particular order. This is our largest gallery yet and we hope you enjoy it!

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Happy New Year!

Its hard to believe its already 2011, my how time has flown! We’ve been having a great time and enjoying life, and we hope you have too. The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas simply flew by for us (isn’t that how it is for so many people?). We had fun with lots of friends and family. Hank’s GG and Grandad came for a visit in early December. Sarah had a show that weekend, her last performance of the season (much later than usual) at a holiday event in the heart of downtown Elgin. Hank had a blast listening to the music and exploring all the vendors, keeping Dad on his toes for sure! Happily, our cousins, Jessica, Kurt and Colby came out for the show, fun times! GG and Grandad arrived the following day, in time for our neighborhood’s annual luminary night. We got together with all the neighbors on our street for a little party. It was fun and wonderful to have an excuse to use one of our fire pits. The night turned out more cold and windy than any of anticipated so we ended up hanging out in the garage and on the driveway instead of out in the cul de sac. Everyone had a good time. After the party, we took Hank on a wagon ride to look at Christmas lights.

Hank has fun "hanging around" with Grandad

Hank really enjoyed looking at all the lights this Christmas season and we’re totally bummed that the local trail of lights was cancelled this year. We can always hope it’ll be open again next year…. Hank had fun decorating our Christmas tree and we celebrated Advent this year with him. He delighted in reading a Bible story every morning after we’d lit the candles on our Advent wreath and then opening one of the doors on his Advent calendar. We’re not sure what he’ll do when put everything away. We went to church a few time with Sarah’s parents for Advent as well.

Ben and Nancy came into town from Ohio for the holidays and James, Paul and Hank got to have a few play dates together. Tori’s marching band marched in a local parade so we all went out to the parade to support her. It was lots of fun catching the parade and sharing kettle corn with everyone. Hank always loves seeing his cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents and this time was no exception!

Cooking is one of Hank’s current favorite activities and we’ve been finding ways he can help prepare most of our meals. Hank is really into using the food processor. He laughs and laughs as the food whirs around inside it. We’ve been blessed to have such a great garden this season, despite all the weird weather shifts (it *is* Texas after all). We’ve been enjoying going out to the garden to cut herbs or tomatoes (just picked our last crop the other day) or lemons to use in whatever we’re cooking – its really nice.

Tyler and Hank at the parade

Let’s see, what else…. oh, Hank had a blast playing in the leaves while our neighbors were raking one afternoon. He even tried to help rake the leaves (and immediately jumped right into the pile he’d just made). When GG and Grandad were here, they went to music class with Hank. He really liked having them there and kept bringing them instruments to play along with the songs, it was sweet. We didn’t make it to the library as often as we usually do this month, but we did manage to go a few times and meet up with some of our friends for tea afterward (its become our tradition, return and select books, then walk down the street to the tea shop for a cup of tea and a snack). Hank also had the flu for the first time in his life this month…I’m sure there are many adventures I’m leaving out at the moment, but here are some photos of the fun we had between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

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Thanksgiving was so much fun! We had a great time visiting with so much family. This year we celebrated with Sarah’s side of the family. Her grandfather drove down from Washington to visit and her sister and her family came in from Houston. Sarah’s aunt, Kathy, and her cousin, Olivia, flew in from Colorado. It was definitely a full house. We had dinner together at Sarah’s parents’ (Hank’s Grandpa and Grandma) house. Everyone but her brother Ben and his family (who were still in Ohio at the time) was there. Hank has so much fun playing with his cousins and aunts, uncles and grandparents. He didn’t want to leave!

We really enjoyed having Thanksgiving day to ourselves. Sarah’s side of the family gets together the day after Thanksgiving to accommodate all the travelers. So Tyler had Thanksgiving day off and we had no set plans, it was lovely. We had a leisurely breakfast out together with Hank, fed the ducks, explored, played in the yard, watched football, took a nap – all in all, a lovely day! Sarah made a cherry bakewell cake while Hank was napping and when he awoke and saw it, he said “WOW! Wow, Mommy!”.

Hank really likes to help in the kitchen. Cooking is one of his current favorite activities. He enjoys learning new skills and helped us make a wonderful shepherd’s pie that weekend. He had so much fun peeling the carrots, he looks for any opportunity. He was disappointed one afternoon when he woke from his nap to find that Sarah had already peeled the parsnips. He likes to help mash potatoes, loves to use the whisk in anything he can and seems to like the dishes he helped prepare the best. Just wait until its time for Christmas cookies….

Here are some photos from Thanksgiving weekend in no particular order. Enjoy!

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November has been a very, very full month for us so far. We’ve had so much fun seeing friends and family and had many adventures. Hank began going to BSF (Bible Study Fellowship International) the week of his birthday. He really enjoys it and comes home telling me stories and singing songs every time we go. Tyler and I got him a Bible for preschoolers and Hank just loves it! He calls it his “treasure book” and asks us to read him Bible stories every day, its so precious!

Hank is always surprising us with new things. We learned recently that he likes curry (not as much as he likes cheese, but its still wonderful to know his palate is always expanding). He’s been interested in using chopsticks on almost anything he can (pasta, cashews, etc.) but especially any time we have Asian food. He loves to paint and draw and has recently begun telling us what he is drawing or painting (train, dog, fireworks, rainbow, book) and we really like that. Last weekend, he astonished us by saying words from signs. We’re not sure on some of them how he knew what they were (aside from the obvious word recognition) but he told us about haircuts (from a sign we passed that looked nothing like a barbershop and we’ve never visited), Christmas trees (from an empty lot with a sign that said “Christmas Trees coming soon!” but had no trees or even pictures of the trees) and Lemon (from a photo of Captain America on an ATV in front of a Lemon Freeze sign that was written in blue letters and had no actual lemons anywhere). Its been surprising to say the least the leaps and bounds Hank is making in all areas, but especially language. He loves to sing, he loves to read and make art and music. Our home is very fun right now.

We went to several parties this month. Among other events, we went to celebrations for Hank’s cousin, Connor’s 3rd birthday, our friend (and Hank’s godmother’s husband) Steven’s 30th birthday and a birthdays/anniversary party for our friends Gene and Tracy. Hank had a blast at all of them and now has “Happy Birthday To You” down very well. Last weekend, my grandfather came to visit. Hank decided to give Grampie a piano recital and played the piano and sang for half an hour. He likes to point to the notes in the music books and play the piano (not really matching to the notes on the page yet) and sing, its so much fun. He’ll announce the song and then sing it, too cute!

There were so many fun things this month, I can’t write about them all… this is what we get for not updating more regularly I suppose, lots of photos, not a lot of detail in the writing, but its all good. 🙂 Below you’ll find photos from our various adventures since the last entry including some shots from Tyler’s time at the Cowboys game and the World Series as well as a recent hunting trip. We hope you enjoy them!

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The weather has been lovely and we’ve been enjoying our time together outside as much as possible. Hank has had a few play dates and picnics with some friends at a few parks and we’ve also gone to a few fall festivals over the past week. Last weekend, we had our nephew, Michael, over for a sleepover. He and Hank had a great time watching, “Its the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” and eating pizza and popcorn. After Hank went to bed, Tyler and I took turns playing, “Batman the Brave and the Bold” on the Wii with Michael. At one point (after I’d punched out several evil gorillas and robots), Michael declared, “Wow! – I will never underestimate a female gamer again!”.  And my first Facebook wall post was born…

boys night in

We took Michael and Hank to a fall festival put on by our church and they had a blast! It was a lovely surprise having some of the horses from Northwind Farm there. Northwind Farm is a non profit organization that has therapeutic activities with miniature horses for various clients. I was told they do a lot of work with autistic people and children’s grief therapy. How cool is that? Hank and Michael really enjoyed getting to brush some of the horses. The boys consumed all sorts of fabulous junk food, cotton candy, popcorn, snow cones and of course, candy. Hank didn’t want to try the cotton candy, but he did have his first lollipop and his first snow cone at the festival and he approved of both of them. Michael had fun in the bounce house (Hank was more interested in the games and the band so he didn’t visit the bounce house for his age group) and on the cakewalk. We took a relaxing hayride part way through the festival, it was all a really fun time!

Hank is ready to put some treats in his bag

A few days, prior to that, I took Hank to a fall festival put on by the parks and recreation department in conjunction with the library. It was an Old MacDonald’s Farm theme and was super cute. Hank enjoyed playing the games and going on a hayride with some of his pals. Hank really enjoyed doing the bowling and throwing games. Maybe we’ll have to take him to the bowling alley sometime… Hank had a special dinner with his Grandma and Grandpa last week to celebrate his birthday (they weren’t available to come to his party so we celebrated with them later). Hank ate all the icing off his cupcake and then asked Grandpa for his. Hank went to the doctor for his 2 year check up and the doctor said all is well. He seemed very impressed with Hank, but I think that may have more to do with the fact that Hank said, “Hi Dr. Travis!” when he came in the room and shook his hand when it was time to say goodbye than his weight (26 lb, 8 oz) or height (34 3/4 inches) or anything like that. It was very cute and it always makes us proud when Hank chooses to use his good manners. We’ve played at various parks with friends over the past week or so and that’s been so fun, watching the kids play together and discover their worlds.

Hank gives Cody a hug

On Saturday night, Tyler and Hank took a special trip to Arlington to catch part of the World Series. Hank hung out with his GG while Tyler and his dad (Hank’s Grandad) went to a Cowboys and a Rangers game in the same day. While the Rangers didn’t win the World Series, Tyler and his dad had a wonderful time and it was so cool for them to be there for the final game in the series and to see the Giants first World Series win for San Francisco. Pretty cool. I’m sure we’ll put some photos from that adventure up later, but for now, here are some photos from various park outings and fall festivals. Enjoy!

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Hank turned 2 on Monday, October 25. It really is amazing how swiftly time has passed, it seems like just yesterday we were waiting to meet him… Hank had an absolute blast over his birthday weekend. He enjoyed getting to see family and friends and having birthday cake. He danced with glee most of the weekend (think Snoopy dance).

Hank and Michael paint together

On Friday, Hank’s cousins, Ainsley and Cameron came over to play (along with Ainsley’s parents, Traci and Geoff). The children really seemed to enjoy each other’s company, which is always a good thing. We met Tyler and Matt (Cameron’s dad) for lunch at one of our favorite local Mexican/Tex-Mex eateries. I have to say, its great hearing your child order his own food (Quesadilla! Rice! Beans!) and the servers there have watch Hank grow up so they’re very patient (thankfully) and wonderful with him. We were going to go watch Tori march with her school band that night, but decided against going to make sure Hank had a good night’s sleep before his party. (Its a good thing we didn’t end up going too, as it turned out, it was homecoming for her school so she didn’t end up marching until close to 11pm!)

David, Hank and Michael rock the house

Saturday morning, we had a birthday party for Hank. We’d planned to have several activities available in the back yard, but as it turned out it was a rainy morning (I guess we shouldn’t have watered our lawn the day before an outdoor party). By the time we moved the tables and got everything set up in the garage, the sun was out and it had stopped raining. As some of the guests had already arrived, we decided to leave things where they were. The children had a great time painting and playing with playdough in the garage! Among Hank’s guests at the party were several of our friends (who we call Hank’s village), some of Hank’s family along with some of Hank’s buddies. This year was remarkably different than last year’s celebration. At Hank’s first birthday party, he was teething and not feeling stellar so he wasn’t interested in his presents, guests or pie and seemed to only want Mom and Dad. This year, Hank had a blast with his guests, really enjoyed opening presents and telling people thank you and he was all about the birthday cake and blowing out the candles! Among his birthday presents, Hank received a toy microphone. He spent the majority of the rest of the party singing into it to anyone who would listen and even sometimes sitting by himself on the couch. Hank’s cousins, Michael and David joined him in performing, “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” (several times). It was quite charming. At one point in the party, one of our friends arrived and we took a break from present opening to make sure appropriate introductions were made so everyone knew each other. Hank then took a turn introducing everyone going around the room and gesturing as he said each person’s name (Daddy, Mommy, Traci, Geoff, Dayna, Josshh). Everyone really enjoyed it (so cute!) and we were wishing we’d had our video camera out, but we didn’t so we missed having that for posterity. Sometimes we’ll find Hank introducing his toys now (Bear, Train, Doggie) and its so endearing. We think Hank will make an excellent host one day….

Ainsley waits for Hank to join her at the top of the slide

Sunday morning, after church (where Hank met his new Sunday school teacher, he moved into a new class), we met Geoff, Traci, Ainsley and Tyler’s cousin, Jessica for barbeque. After lunch we went to a nearby park where Ainsley and Hank had a great time playing together. Ainsley seemed to enjoy showing Hank the path to the entrance for one of the slides. I think she’ll make an excellent big sister or teacher one day, she’s very nurturing. Hank just loves his family and friends. At night, he’s begun thanking God for them which is incredibly sweet to hear. Sometimes, if he feels he forgot a particular family member or thing he’d like to thank God for, he’ll call it out as we are leaving (or after we’ve left) the room (and Geoff! and Megan! and airplanes!) Its wonderful having him share what he enjoys and thinks about.

On Monday, Hank’s actual birthday, Hank went to a friend’s house to make a Halloween craft and play. He really seemed to enjoy himself there. This was the first time he used glue from a bottle instead of a stick and I think he rather enjoyed pouring the glue more than the actual glueing of items. He made a pumpkin collage on a paper plate (we call it a monster though because it has several eyes) and he also made a spider using a cutout of his hand (lots of googly eyes there too). Hank really loves to create, to draw, color and paint. Its so marvelous watching him do his art, he can be so focused. We met Tyler for Asian food (one of Hank’s favorites) for lunch and later that evening, we had a celebration with Hank for his birthday. He completely enjoyed getting to have birthday cake again, complete with blowing out the candles. He loves blowing out the candles so much, we actually put them back on the cake and relit them partway through dessert (several times actually). If it was against all the good parenting and safety guidelines, we’d probably make candle lighting (and blowing out) one of Hank’s available activities (right there with pouring, scooping and sorting). I think that lighting a match and/or a candle is excellent for hand/eye coordination. I also think that Hank has a fire safety merit badge in his future.

Here are some photos from Hank’s super fun birthday weekend in no particular order:

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