Chocolatey goodness.

We went to eat out the a couple weeks ago to Famous Dave's BBQ. It one of our favorite places to go. Anyway the point of this post is that Hank got some Oreo's with his kids meal. He didn't eat them at the restaurant because he was full, so I brought them home for lunch the next day. Neither Tyson or I like Oreos so I never buy them but Hank loved it.

A day at the Coast

Alright so this post is mostly just a picture overload but I really wanted to document our day at the coast. Tyson had a Spring Break from March 26th to April 3rd. Most of that break was spent moving from our old apartment to the managers apartment and cleaning both apartments. (We started managing the apartments we are living in on March 25th. We are very excited about this, plus we'll save on rent!) All of the craziness ended and we really wanted to do something fun for Spring Break. We got some discount tickets to the Newport Aquarium and decided to drive out to the coast and make a day of it.

Hank and Daddy with the starfish.

These sardines can open there mouths really far and while we were talking about how far their mouths open we looked over and Hank and he was doing this. It was super funny.

Hank and Daddy looking at the sea lions.

There were lot of these art sculptures through out the aquarium. They were all made from stuff that had washed up on the shore. It was crazy looking at the kind of stuff that washes up.

Hank and Daddy with the turtle.

Hank and Mommy with the jelly fish.

Hank and Mommy in a walk-through tank of fish.

Outside the shark tanks.

Hank at the kids play area with a turtle. He liked the turtle's eyes.

Mommy and Hank on a dolphin.

Another "trash" sculpture.

All three of us outside of the Tillamook Cheese Factory.

Hank and Daddy with the Tillamook Cows.

Hank and Daddy driving the Baby Loaf.

Hank thought it was really fun to turn the steering wheel.

Mommy and Hank at Cannon Beach. It was very windy and cold.

Mommy and Hank with a better view of Cannon Beach.

Hank and Daddy at Cannon Beach.

Hank's first time walking barefoot on the beach. He liked the squishy feeling of wet sand in between his toes.

Hank and Mommy outside of the Astoria Column.

Mommy and Hank on top of Astoria Column. It was super windy up there. Hank wasn't a fan and didn't last long. It was a great view but I don't think it was worth packing an extra 20+ pounds up almost 200 stairs just to turn around and walk back down.

A bunch of sea lions chilling on the docks. They were super loud and Hank thought it was hilarious.

Hank and Daddy checking out the sea lions.

This little guy was the loudest.

Picnic at the Park

We got to have a little picnic at the park today and Tyson was able to come with us. Tyson had finals this last week and now he has a week off, so no homework or tests to study for. Yippee! The weather has been getting a little bit better so we decided to get out of the house and play at the park. Hank loved it because he got to play outside and Dad was with us.

Here are some photos to document the event:

The wind came out and it got a little chilly so we packed up and went home. After we got home the sun was back out so Tyson put Hank in his little red car. Tyson would just put Hank in the middle of the parking lot and Hank would bounce up and down until the car would start rolling. Then Hank would smile really big and get so excited. The little red car picks up speed pretty fast so then Tyson would stop the car and the whole process would start over again. He was so happy outside it was hard to get him inside.

My little guy is 11 months old

Yesterday Hank turned 11 months old. He's getting so big. He started walking a few days ago. He's still really wobbly and likes to hold someones hand while he walks but he's getting better at walking by himself. He is such a fun little guy and is always smiling. He loves his Daddy and will spend every waking moment with him. His whole face lights up when he hears the front door open and Tyson walk in the door. I can't believe that in just a short month away my little baby will be a year old. Time goes by so fast.

Here's my little guy standing all by himself

He kept crawling inside the box to get the toys, it was really funny.

Happy little guy

This is Hanks favorite spot to sit. If you are ever laying down he'll climb on top of your face and sit down.

Hank Is 10 months old

My little baby is 10 months old today. I can't believe how fast the few months have gone. It seems like just yesterday I was trying to help him sit up on his own and now all he wants me to do is help him walk around the house. This kid has so much energy, I can barely keep up with him. He is constantly moving from one thing to another leaving a wake of distraction behind him. He's getting more and more brave at how he gets around the house. I don't think I have to much longer before I have a walker on my hands. He has such a cute personality and is always super happy. He loves his daddy very much. If Tyson hasn't left for school before Hank wakes up, Hank will follow him around the house crying until Tyson picks him up. The second Tyson picks him up he is just fine and stops crying. Then when the time comes that Tyson has to leave he passes Hank to me and says goodbye. Hank then has a totally break down. It takes me at least a half hour, if not longer, to calm him down. I'm so glad that he loves his daddy but seriously it breaks my heart that he doesn't want me. I guess it's understandable since he sees me all day everyday.

Hank loves this rug. There are many times during the day that I find Hank just sitting there. Every once in awhile he'll even be laying down. It makes me think of a little puppy curled up on the rug.

A couple days ago Hank found this fly-tying book of Tyson's on the floor. He slowly opened it and very delicately turned the pages. It was really cute. I told Tyson about it and he said, "Well it IS in his blood." Ha ha! Hank is destined to be a fisherman.



I tried post the video of this but I couldn't get it to work. Hank climbed up on to the couch then crawled over to the shopping cart and climbed in. He sat like this for like 20-30 minutes. He lean over and grab a block and play with it for a little bit then lean over and put it back and grab a new one. It was really funny. When he was done he crawled back over the arm of the couch.

I was putting away some of Hank's laundry and when I turned around I found this. He was very carefully pulling out one wipe at a time. He got like 25 wipes out by the time I got the camera and took a picture. He thought it was so much fun. He sneaks back to his room at least once a day to try it out again.

I love this kid and his energy. His little personality it great. I love being a mom and getting to spend my days with Hank. My life couldn't be better.

Hank's first trip to the Zoo

Tyson just finished a very long week of hard midterm tests and wanted a day to relax so this morning he went fishing with some friends, then this afternoon he took me and Hank to the zoo. It was a little colder then we thought it was going to be and it was pretty close to closing time. Most of the animals were in for the day but we still had tons of fun. We bought a year pass so we'll be able to go all year.

Tyson and Hank standing outside the fish habitat.

Hank and I with the elephants. This one saw us standing there and slowing walked over, raised his trunk and then walked away. It was really cute, like he was coming over to say hi.

After the elephant walked away.

Outside the lion habitat. It must have been to cold for the lions because we didn't see any but we had to take a picture on the cool statues.

This picture is for Grandma Merrill and Aunt Makell. They are always calling Hank "chunky monkey" so we had to take a picture with the only monkey still outside.

It was so much fun watching Tyson take Hank from one place to another explaining what things were and what sound they made. Hank had a blast doing his two favorite things: playing with Daddy and being outside.

Brendie's Birthday

So this last week was a very busy, very stressful week for Tyson, which in turn made it a very lonely week for Hank and I. When Tyson has a busy week at school we don't see much of him. It was midterm week for Tyson which meant he had a test everyday this last week and he has one this coming Tuesday. This normally wouldn't be a huge deal worth blogging about but this last week was both Valentine's Day and my birthday. We knew that we wouldn't be able to celebrate either on the actual day. Last Saturday Tyson surprised me by letting me sleep in and watching Hank until I woke up. He also cleaned the kitchen and the front room. On top of that he decorated and baked a cake. It was a great surprise!

The decorations

Hank helping me blow out the many candles on my cake...25!

Hank loved the streamers. He played with them for a long time.

I had to throw them away when he started to eat them.

My visiting teacher/apartment manager and her girls baked me some cupcakes for my birthday. They were really yummy.

I didn't get any pictures of it but I was also surprised by my friends here in Portland. They all came over to my house on my birthday to surprise me. They brought yummy treats and then we went shopping. It was great fun. Thanks again you girls for the wonderful birthday surprise. It made me feel very loved!