20 MONTHS!

Another month flashed before our eyes.  We now have a 20 month old on our hands and he's a blast.

At 20 Months Old...

-This has honestly been such an awesome stage in our little mans' life (Do I say that every month?!).  He's talking up a storm!! It's insane how many new words he's using and how he can use them in the correct context. I think he's a little bit of a smarty pants.

-He also copies everything we say and do.  Especially when it comes to Daddy.  One day, Cody stubbed his toe on a chair and said "ouch". Hanley witnessed the whole thing then walked down the hall, purposely kicked the chair and said "ouch" just like Daddy!

-We really have to start watching what we say around him because he dropped his first F Bomb around the campfire 4th of July weekend.  Oops! That was a little bit of an eye opener for us.

-One of he new words is "hot dog!".  He actually uses the term when he wants to watch Micky Mouse Clubhouse. At the end of each show they play the "hot dog" song and he loves it! It's so cute but we don't encourage too much TV around this house so we strictly limit his screen time.

-We gathered with family to help Easton celebrate his birthday.  Easton had a Duck Dynasty themed party which was super fun. Plus we loved spending the extra time with family.

-My absolute favorite time of the day is just before bed.  We brush his teeth then have family snuggles on our bed.  Sometimes we spend the evening tickling him and laughing. On rambunctious nights he tries to wrestle us or we play "dog pile on Daddy!". Other nights we just cuddle up and watch the ceiling fan (for whatever reason he really likes the ceiling fan). Some nights we quiz him and he points and says "eye", "nose", "mouth", "ear", "hands", "feet". Some nights we read.  Whatever we do its fun, relaxing, we put all the worries of the day are behind us, and we just focus on family time.

-He loves his Baby Bogs Meme bought him. Rain or shine he wants to wear them...

-His last day with April was just before the 4th of July Holiday weekend.  He started at his new day school and the transition was horrible.  For the first 3 days he cried all day.  When I picked him up at the end of the day, his eyes were red and swollen from all the tears.  It absolutely broke my heart. He acted as if I was going to drop him off and never come back. I always stayed strong and positive around him but behind doors, I cried myself.  Yesterday was the beginning of week 2 and he had a great day! His teacher said he only cried for about a minute after I left and was great the rest of the day! What a relief! I actually really like his day school and I want him to like it too.  I think the interaction with other children and the structure will be great for him.

-Cody was in Seattle over the weekend so Hanley and I had the weekend to our self. To get out of the house and beat the heat, I took him to the Portland Aquarium.  We went with low expectations and ended up having a total blast. Now I really can't wait to take him to the Newport Aquarium next month with my Mom and Brooke (while the guys go tuna fishing).

-He finally got his 2nd haircut. His locks were getting pretty out of control. He looks like such a big guy now!

-He shot his first gun camping over Father's Day weekend in Eastern Oregon.

-Due to our buyers financing issues, our house went back on the market.  We went pending (again) after 14 days. So, we have been busy looking for our dream house (again).  So, far no luck in that department but at least the sale of our house is going good this time around.

-The most exciting thing that happened this month is that we found out Wayne and Brooke are expecting in January! That means Hanley is going to have a COUSIN!!!!!!!!!!! As you can tell, I am just a little excited! I look forward to Hanley growing up with his cousin and having a little buddy to play with during family gatherings.

19 Months Old

It's been another great month with our growing boy! It's hard to believe he will be 19 months next week.

At 19 Months Old..

-This month has been a pretty big turning point for Cody and Hanley.  Hanley has always been a little bit of a Mama's boy which has always been hard on Cody. There have been many nights in the past year when Cody comes home after a long, hard day from work and then Hanley acts like he wants nothing to do with Daddy. It would absolutely crush Cody. We thought we were getting past this stage a couple months ago then Cody left for St. Louis for work for a couple days.  After his return, they were back to square one. We hope those days are past us now because Hanley is finally starting to ask for Daddy for certain things or pass right by Mama to grab Daddy's hand to go play. Probably one of my favorite moments earlier this week was as soon as Hanley heard the garage door open, he screamed DADDY!!!! (and I mean, screamed with more excitement than I have ever heard from that boy!). Then he started dancing around, calling for Daddy. I ran to grab the video camera it was so cute. No video though.  The camera shyness kicked in apparently.


-We have been enjoying the sun to the fullest this month. We bought one of those little blue kiddy pools-best $10 bucks we have ever spent. Hanley's favorite evening activity is playing Ring Around the Rosie in the pool, holding both Mama and Daddy's hands (he insists we both be in the pool). His excitement leading up to the "....ashes, ashes, we all fall DOWN" is contagious. And clearly, the bigger the splash, the better in his eyes.


-We have tried really hard to teach Hanley proper manners. So, he's really good at saying "please", however he seems to think its the magic word.  He tends to assume by saying "please" you 1)know exactly what he is asking for, 2)will respond in milliseconds to his request, and 3)thinks that even if its something he knows he can't have, you will change your mind if he asks for it nicely.


-We kicked off the camping season with another great trip to Crescent Lake for Memorial Day Weekend. Hanley absolutely loved it.  He loved the dirt, the rocks, the water, the food, the friends, family and all the dogs (seven dogs, if I am counting correctly). He played hard all weekend. We ended up being blessed with a beautiful weekend. God knows, we were due for some sunshine after the past couple years we have had up there! Of course we set up the wall tent for the weekend.  Cody was able to keep it plenty warm for both Hanley and I each night. So, we all slept well...well, everyone except Cody who was up in the middle of the night keeping the fire going!

-The sale of our house isn't going as ideal as we hoped for.  The buyers ran into a financing issue and everything is up in the air at this point.  It's really disappointing.  Things were going so well right up until the end. We hope to have more information next week but lets just say I am not holding my breath.


-Hanley has one month left with April. Researching new childcare has been very emotional for me. So emotional, that I even cried on the way to one of our scheduled tours! I know, I am ridiculous. As a parent though, you always want to make the right decisions for your kids and deciding when, where and how he will spend the majority of the week is hard. Weighing out the costs, convenience of location, quality of care, interaction with other children, etc. can be overwhelming at times.

18 Month Well Baby Check Up

I realized when I posted Hanley's 18 month update, it was the day before his Dr.'s appointment so I didn't post his stats.


Weight: 30% (22lbs, 10oz)
Height: 20%
Head Circumference: 50%


His Dr. thinks his height measurement is off because he didn't seem to want to fully stretch out when they recorded his length. Either way, he's still small.  Small but mighty.


In preparation for his appointment, I dressed him in his "Texas Tough" shirt. He had 2 vaccinations at this appointment.  He sat on my lap and while we read a book, the nurse gave him the shots, one in each leg.  Not a single tear.  He lived up to Texas Tough status. Way to go boy!

18 MONTHS

At 18 Months Old...

-The biggest thing I noticed this month is Hanley's vocabulary really picking up. And let me tell you, he is a little chatter box! New words: Bubbles, Sissy (he refers to Roxy and Sophia both as Sissy), Apple, Outside, Help, Where it go? (and throws his arms up in question).  Book, Hat, Blanket, Duck. He's starting to put 2 words together like "Help Please", "Sissy Outside", etc. He also sings "Let it Gooooooo, Let it Goooooo" from Frozen. It's even more adorable than you can imagine.


-We were at a party last weekend celebrating our friend Rachael's 30th birthday.  Hanley apparently wanted to make it very clear to EVERYONE at the party that Cody was HIS Daddy.  He would tap on Cody and say "My Daddy".  He didn't bother to tell anyone I was his Mama though.... Little stinker!


-That same party Hanley drank juice (which we don't ever really give him juice), ate all kinds of snacks and birthday cake.  He was pretty much bouncing off the walls when we got home.  He went to bed late that night and was up at 1:30 in the morning.  When I went in to check on him, he was talking to me and wanting to read books. Ha! Nice try kid. Back to bed he went. Don't worry, I took notes: NO MORE birthday cake and goodies at 7pm!


-Nutrigrain bars are out the door. Cliff Z Bar's for Kids are in.


-He is now wearing size 5 shoes.


-The first day of nice weather we had here, April got out the kids pool.  Hanley loved it soooo much that he refused to nap that day.  When Cody picked him up from daycare, he fell asleep in the car.  He didn't wake up when Cody brought him into the house so after indulging in his cuddles on the couch, Cody put him in bed so he could start dinner.  Thinking, Hanley would wake up since it was 2 hours before his bedtime, Cody put him down as is- fully dressed, shoes and coat on and all.  We weren't sure what to expect out of the night but the boy slept all night.  Apparently wearing your shoes and coat to bed when your 1 1/2 ain't no problem.  However, going to bed 2 hours early meant he was ready to rock and roll bright and early the next morning.


-He loves bubbles! Thanks Josh! His bubble gun has been a blast.


-Sleeps from 8:15pm-6:30am.


-My brother Wayne is here this week for work.  It's been fun to watch him and Hanley play together. Hanley absolutely loves Uncle Wayne!


-He has 2 upper teeth coming in. They should be his canines coming in but we have some concerns about the upper right one (it's coming in right next to his central) Either his canine came before his lateral (which is unlikely) or he has an extra tooth (which is also unlikely)....but it has to be one of the two!


I have been really enjoying this age.  He is old enough to communicate his wants/needs in his own way and really be interactive and playful.  It seems like the older he gets, the more rewarding parenting is. Cody was out of town the other weekend. I put Hanley down for bed, enjoyed a glass of wine and looked through his "baby" pics.  I almost started crying, wondering where my baby went? Then the next day, him and I had so much fun. Tickling. Bubbles. Outdoor fun. I don't think I have ever seen him laugh as much as he did that day. Then I thought to myself, this is so much more fun than the baby stage!

Sold in 7!

My post have been few and far between.  We have been so busy that there is just no way blogging has been able to fit in my schedule.


We decided its time to upgrade. Time for a new casa, something with more space. After Hanley came along, it seems as though we quickly outgrew this house. So, we decided to put our house on the market earlier this month.  Thank goodness, our beautiful home sold in 7 days! Keeping this place spic and span with a one year old is darn near impossible.  As I would clean up one mess, he would be in the other room making another mess! It didn't help that Cody was out of town too so all the mess management was on me.


The thought of leaving this place in 7 weeks is just heart wrenching.  We gave this house so much character and personal touch that part of me can't imagine not living here.  I guess its pretty natural to fall in love and have an emotional attachment to your first home though.


After making it past the inspection period, it's become more real to me that we will be leaving here for good which means we will be leaving behind so many great memories.  I often find myself pulling out my camera, feeling the need to capture the last memories we will ever make in our first home.  

17 MONTHS

This past month flew by in a flash.  Life has seriously been beyond crazy here.

At 17 Months Old...

-Cody has had to do some traveling for work lately...everything from driving to the Canada border, nearing the Idaho border, and flying halfway across the country to Fort Lewis, Missouri. It's made for some lonely nights around here and exhausting days for him.
-Hanley took his first big tumble the other day.  He tripped outside and fell face first onto the concrete. His poor decision not to break his fall with his hands lead to one messed up little face.  Poor kid.  Of course it happened when Daddy was out of state.
-Drop off's for daycare have been especially hard on Hanley lately.  I think it's related to Cody being gone so much.
-Words he has added to his vocabulary: Bite, Please (which sounds more like peeeeease), Shoe, Hot and Puppy.
-He still loves bath time.  As soon as you turn on the bath water, he comes running. He will try to crawl into the tub fully clothed and everything, he's gets that excited.

A Spring Break Tradition

My first day back to work post maternity leave was Spring Break last year.  My Mom was here to watch Hanley that week and help us adjust back into our new routine.  Well, that started the tradition-The Hanley and Meme Spring Break Tradition.


My Mom was here the whole week....we ALL got spoiled. 


My Mom helped around the house, prepped dinners for us and would do dishes after dinner to give us time to play with Hanley. 


Hanley and Meme played outside as much as possible.  Most the days were raining but Hanley didn't care.  He still tried to convince Meme to take him outside...and he usually got his way.


We attempted potty training.  Hanley started out doing great the first half of the first day.  I was sooo impressed with him! About mid-day though, he decided he wanted nothing to do with the potty. So, most of the week was trying to get him back on track with being okay with sitting on the potty.  Needless to say, its still a work in progress.


We took advantage of having a free babysitter which means Cody and I got a date night! We had a gift certificate to Cinetopia from our friends Cam and Sarah from Christmas that we made sure to put to good use! Cody must love me a lot because he let me pick the movie...again! He took me to see the Veronica Mars movie (which totally brought back so many fun memories from college!).

The week was extra busy because we are getting ready to put our house on the market, search for a new home and Cody had a last minute business trip to Boise.  I don't know if my Mom fully understands how much help she was with all we had going on. It was a great week for all.