Sun's out, guns out.

Summertime with a baby is the greatest time of year. You have a great excuse to do all the fun summer things just because you have someone new to share them with. So far, Hank has been to the beach twice, the pool, a few farmers markets, lots of parks, and birthday party after birthday party. He loves splashing in his baby pool and playing on the slide and in his swing. This weekend we're planning a trip to the zoo and he still has one more big beach trip to go.

As far as his everyday activities, he is crawling like a maniac but doesn't have an interest in walking yet (it's too slow!). He's finally figured out the sippy cup and is eating everything under the sun. He's drawn too books and little plastic balls. He loves playing any little game we make up for him. Especially, finding JJ hiding around a corner. He's also starting to master hiding his own face for peek a boo. The other day he was trying to find the little Daddy hiding behind his musical mirror. He's some pictures to help me explain.

JJ's standing behind him and Hank can see him in the mirror.

Peeking over to see if Daddy is on the other side.

Checking back with the mirror. Yep, still there. How's he doing that?

Of course, once I grab my camera that's the end of the game. So these are the best I could get. Trust me, it was absolutely adorable.

He's just a month and a week shy of his first birthday. I can't believe we are planning his birthday party already. It seems like just a few days ago we were bringing him home for the first time.

On the move...

Hank has officially started to crawl! And we are officially unable to relax. His most desired objects are, of course, dog toys. We're doing our best to keep them from him but I think it's going to boil down to washing the toys and brushing Puz's teeth a lot more often.

He's 4 days away from his 8 month birthday and I can't believe it. A year ago today we found out we were getting a little boy and now he's here and crawling! You can't understand how fast they grow up until you have one and you really can't understand what "You can never go back" means either ;)

Happy Cinco de Mayo. We'll be celebrating with baby blue margaritas, just like last year!

I suck at blogging.

I am notorious for starting projects and not finishing them. Apparently, blogging is no exception. I have to apologize, especially to those of you who don't get to see Hank all that often, for not keeping you up to date on all his comings and goings. I guess I should change the name of the blog. I promise to make a valiant effort to update at least monthly going forward.

Over the past two months Hank has become a totally different baby. He is babbling all the time and blowing raspberries like a professional raspberry blower. Recently, he has been practicing getting on his hands a knees and rocking back and forth. He's not crazy about it but I think he knows crawling is one of the only ways he is going to get into any trouble. So, he's determined. He also got his first tooth the day after he turned 7 months. And I got my first baby bite the day after that. Our schedule has been packed with baby activities, like playdates and library trips. He is growing so fast I can't keep up. I can't believe he's already in the second half of his first year!

My Little Valentine

The day before Hank, Puz and I drove to Virginia to pick up JJ from the Dulles Airport. He was just returning from 10 days in Thailand. JJ was pretty exhausted so we decided to keep Valentine's Day low key. We went out to breakfast at Bob Evans :) Hank sat in a high chair for a change, it was his second time and he's becoming an old pro. However, after his bottle he was too tired to sit up so JJ went out to the car and got the car seat and he slept through the rest of breakfast (Hank not JJ). The rest of the day was spent napping and vegging out.

Hank is also venturing into the world of real food. What a mess! So far he has tried rice cereal, oatmeal, prunes, sweet potatoes, and peas. He's not a big fan of peas but he'll eat them and it's fun to watch him try to get them down.

Snow Day!

Here are some pictures of Hank in the snow we had a few weeks back. I'm not sure how he felt about it. As you can see there was only one expression the whole time we were outside. Puz had a great time though.

Terry Dactle

Hank has discovered that he can squeal. On one hand it's adorable because he gets so excited and laughs and smiles at himself and on the other hand it is very loud and incredibly high pitched. I just hope he discovers a new noise soon. Here are some pics of him Terry Dactle-ing it up in the kitchen.

playing around

Tomorrow Hank will be 4 months old. It's hard to believe he has grown so fast. Right now he is working on grabbing things and trying to put them in his mouth. It seems like he figured it out over night. He is laughing like crazy and loves to water ski on Dad's lap. It seems like he figured it out over night. We also had to raise his exersaucer a notch because his knees were bent so much. It seems like just a few days ago he couldn't see over the seat!

October 30, 2008

December 17, 2008

January 7, 2009
In a few days we have his next check-up. I can't wait to see how tall he is and how much he weighs. Place your bets now. I'm guessing 27" and 18 pounds.