Two Year Old Party

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Hunter and his friends had a blast at Jumpin Jungle! He didn't walk a single step. He ran the whole time we were in the jump room. Thank you friends for coming and celebrating with my precious boy. We felt so blessed to have each and every one of you there with us.

Hunter is 26 lbs. 2 oz. (As best we can tell, he was very busy on the scale!). He is 34 inches tall. Growing so fast. He's working on his 2-year molars which isn't much fun. He loves to talk, climb, play with his tractors and choo-choos. He can spot them a mile away while driving down the road. He is our precious boy and we fall more in love with him every day. He makes us laugh all of the time. He is silly as a goose and loves attention. We can't believe how big he is. We are about to get him a big boy bed since his crib no longer holds him if he wants out. He wants grilled cheese for every meal but still loves his veggies. Wow! I can't believe it has been 2 years since he was born. We are so thankful to God for giving us such an amazing kiddo.

Hunter's Christmas Program

Hunter got all dressed up for his Christmas PDO program. He was the most handsome one there (and I'm not at all biased, I promise!) He didn't sing a word or do any of the motions, but he sat in his chair which is saying something for my busy boy. He was very serious through all of the songs. At one point, he slouched down and rested his head on the back of his chair and looked at the ceiling like he was just bored out of his mind. So funny. I couldn't help but laugh a little.




Thank you God for this handsome boy.

Coming Soon!

The Holloways will become a family of 4 in July!

We are so excited! I some how forgot to update the blog with this information! Hunter will be a big brother, and what a great big brother he will be. I guess we will have to change the name of this thing, or I can just start another blog devoted to #2! Ha! I can't seem to keep up with this one any more.

I am 10 weeks along and feeling good, just very tired, but that's to be expected. We are so excited and thankful for the things God is doing in our family!

More blogs to come on the happenings in Hunter's life: school program, birthday party, etc.

Catching Up

Well, I realized recently that it has been a very long time since I wrote anything about the happenings in Hunter's life. Hopefully I can get caught up!

Halloween (I told you it's been a long time!)
Hunter's Mimi and Papa came to Lubbock. Jimmy and I went to a Tech football game while the three of them played, and played, and played. We took Hunter to our church's festival. He l-o-v-e-d the bounce house. I had to grab him by the ankle to pull him out. As I was putting his shoes back on, he tried to run away and get back in to jump some more. He also had fun on the tricycle course. That weekend, Hunter also discovered that he can crawl out of his crib. That made for a long Sunday with no nap for Momma. Thankfully, after about a week of letting himself out of bed and turning off his monitor, he decided it wasn't really worth the effort and has stopped climbing out. I guess it's time to start looking at big boy beds.


Polar Express
Hunter's most recent obsession is "choo-choos". We recorded Mickey Mouse Clubhouse's Choo-Choo Express. He asks to watch it 20 times a day. He watches Polar Express all day at Granna's. Surprisingly, he even sits still for a little while when watching! We heard that the Polar Express Train was coming to town, so we decided to make it a family outing. Sadly, Hunter decided at that time to cut 4 teeth at the same time, so he was not the happiest of riders on the train. We had a great time though! Hunter wore his Christmas pajamas. We had hot cocoa (which got spilled on Jimmy), sugar cookies, sang Christmas carols, danced, and had lots of fun riding on the train. We rode all the way to the North Pole where we found Santa and his elves dancing. They joined us on the train and talked to all of the little boys and girls and Santa gave Hunter a bell. We will definitely put this on our holiday to-do list again!

Thanksgiving
We went to Arlington for Thanksgiving this year. Jimmy's Nanny was in from Miami so that made the holiday special. Hunter and Joshua had a great time playing in the cul-de-sac, as always. I had to be a mean momma and bring Hunter in from the fun to take a nap. Hunter got to spend a day with Mimi and Papa without mom and dad around, which is always fun. We went to the Tech/Baylor game. The stadium is amazing! We are sure thankful this year for all that God has blessed us with. I just stand amazed at His goodness to us!

Hunter's vocabulary has just exploded over the last few weeks. He surprises every day with new words and new terms. Today's new word was cheese toast (clear as day). He has said it before, but it was in no way clear enough for most people to understand. H asks for grilled cheese for almost every meal. He loves his juice. He loves his puppies (Wyatt (Yie) and Dixie (Dictie) and Tucker, Toby, and Moo Moo (Maggie). Today, he was trying to put a hat on each of them and told them repeatedly to "meer" (come here). Very cute!

Hunter has also started using the potty. He will occasionally tell us when he needs to go. We are not rushing him to potty train in any way. He is doing this mostly on his own. He likes to sit on the potty. He gets fruit tractor chews when he goes. Great motivator for this boy!
This kid has my heart. I just melt every day. He is full of hugs and kisses and laughter. He is a clown that has his momma and daddy wrapped around his little finger. We can't believe he is almost 2! Where has the time gone!?

We are so blessed!

My Punkin at the Pumpkin Patch

Hunter has been intrigued by the pumpkin patch near our house. Everytime we drive by, he points out the window. We took him on Halloween to see the pumpkins and take some pictures. Well, Mr. H is one busy fella and taking pictures is not always easy. I seem to end up with lots of pictures of the back of his head as he is moving away to his next destination. I got some great shots. Here are just a few.

H loved the tiny pumpkins. Of course, he thought the were balls and needed to be thrown, so we had to move away from them quickly.

Hunter repeatedly tried to pick up the pumpkins. He was drawn to the largest pumpkins in a pile. So strong!

A sweet family photo.

Momma and Hunter. I love this kid and his "cheese" face.

Wreck Em Tech!

Hunter went to his second Tech football game when Tech played A&M. He did pretty good for all of the pre-game excitement. He loved looking for the horse (of course!). There were so many things to see. He was passed around our group and seemed to have a good time. Right about the time the game started, he decided he was done with football. Momma and Hunter walked around for most of the first half until Aunt Sassy could come pick the stinker up. So, maybe Hunter is not quite old enough to enjoy a football game. Hopefully next year.

"Get your guns up!"

State Fair 2009

We have made our annual trip to the Texas State Fair! I say annual, but we haven't been able to go the last two years because of problems with my pregnancy in 2007, then Jim, Hunter's Papa had heart surgery last year. There was no way that we were going to miss it this year!

We decided to fly to Dallas at the last minute. We have traveled so much recently that we just weren't look forward to five more hours in the car. We packed our suitcases and headed to the airport. Hunter loved watching the planes take off. He did a great job spotting them. He was so cute sitting on the air vents by the window letting his curly hair blow in all directions! He did great on the flight. For such a busy kid, he has always done well on planes. He loves pushing the window shade up and down.

Getting Ready to Board the Plane

Hunter has recently started saying "cheeeese" and smiling big when we get the camera out. No one is sure where he learned this. In the above picture, as you can probably tell, he is right in the middle of saying "cheese" quite loudly!

Watching for the planes. He was fascinated.

Saturday morning, we got up and got ready to go to the State Fair. I think I was more excited than anyone. Uncle Nathan, Uncle Jared, Maci, and the boys (Joshua, Landen, and Peyton) met us at Mimi and Papa's house so we could head out to the fair.

Our first stop was the petting zoo. We weren't sure how Hunt would do after his refusal to enter any of the animal buildings at the Lubbock fair earlier in the week. Jimmy carried him in. Hunter was intrigued by the many animals, but did not want to be put down. He even pet several animals. The baby goats were especially cute. Hunter also pet the donkey. He was a big boy! So brave!

Since our kid loves horses so much, our next stop was the horse house. Hunter said hi to all of the horses in the stalls. Two horses were out walking. Hunter watched them for awhile. He made sure his daddy saw them too. Jimmy was holding Hunt, but Hunter repeatedly turned his face to make sure that he was looking at the "sorses". I too like the horse house, especially the police horses. They are so beautiful!
We set off into the fair park. Hunter and Joshua rode in the wagon, most of the time. The boys were fascinated by the water fountain. They both watched it intently. Hunter even tried to climb in. The kid loves bathtime, what can I say?!

Uncle Nathan helped Hunter climb a pole while some of the other family were getting food. Yummy! State Fair food! It's tough to beat it!
Once we all had our food, we found a picnic table and sat down. Most of us ate Fletcher's Corn Dogs. Delicious and fried! All of the boys had a great time running around the open space. Hunter chased Joshua all over. They screamed and screamed! Fun times for cousins. It is fun to see Joshua and Hunter playing together now that they are closer to the same size. They don't quite get the sharing thing, but it will come.
There was a great train exhibit. Hunter, being a lover of all things "choo-choo" was in heaven! Everytime one of the trains would come by, he would get very excited, make his train noise, then make sure we all saw the train too. He could have stayed and watched the trains all day.
Another of our regular stops is the car building. It is always fun to see the new cars and new features. Cars are another of Hunter's favorite things. He loves to drive our cars and often has a meltdown when we let him "drive" and it's time to get out. There were so many cars that this kid could drive! Hunter "drove" several cars. He kept pointing to Nate and telling him to get in and close the door. He wanted to take Uncle Nate for a drive! So cute! He is serious about the car business! His daddy couldn't stay away from the new Cameros. Hmm. . . I wonder where Hunter gets it?!
We made another stop on the other side of the train exhibit. This time Papa showed Hunter the sites.
One of our favorite stops this year was the Science Building. They have a great area for little guys. They have science experiments like bubbles, and noise makers and dinosaurs. One floor was designed just for little guys.
They had a great play area for children under two to play. Hunter preferred to play on the big boy side with Joshua and Daddy and Uncle Jared. No one else was around, but us, so we had a great time! Hunter (with Daddy's help) climbed a rockwall. There was a big rock that the kids crawled through. We stayed there for awhile. There was also a farm exhibit with trikes and rocking horses. One of Hunter's favorite parts of this area was a fire truck with a slide. He went up and down the slide. He wanted all of us to go with him. He did not want to leave the Science building. He was having way too much fun!
It was time for more food. I decided on a spiral yam (a curly sweet potato on a stick covered with cinnamon. Quite delicious!). We wandered around for awhile, looking at the sites. It rained for a few minutes so we sought shelter in one of the craft buildings. We all shared some popcorn. I then had a chocolate dipped nutty ice cream bar. Hunter sacked out about 2:00 and slept in his stroller for a good while. A drum line marched by while H was sleeping. He didn't even stir! We made our way through the Midway, seeing the new rides and crazy people. I had a funnel cake, which is a State Fair essential food. It's a miracle I don't tip the scales after this trip! It's a good thing we walk so much and burn a few of those calories!
We were all pretty pooped and the rain was coming in so we decided to head home. It was a great day! I think Hunter's first Texas State Fair was a success!

We woke up early early Sunday morning to head home. H was a trooper! We had two rows to ourselves for the flight home so we could spread out. Hunter had two seats so he could move around, which kept him quiet. He had a good time listening to music with Dad and playing with his phone. We got home, took a good long nap, and rested up.

Thank you God for sweet times with my boys and special memories.

South Plains Fair 2009

We have made our annual trip to the fair. This was Hunter's second year to go. I left the good camera at home in my rush out the door. We were so excited to get there! Seriously, you can't beat free tickets. I took a few pictures with my phone so the pictures aren't great quality.

My first stop as we walk in the gate is always the fried pie booth. I get two apricot fried pies. It is best to eat one immediately and save one for breakfast the next day. It was delicious this morning, by the way. Our next stop was corn dogs. Hunter and Momma shared a corn dog. We consider South Plains Fair corn dogs our warm-up for Fletchers corn dogs at the State Fair, which we will be going to on Saturday! Lemonades (regular for me, strawberry for Jimmy), roasted corn for Jimmy (and a cup of roasted corn for Hunter, see, I'm a good momma and make sure he has veggies, even at the fair.), finally, carmel apples for dessert. We were stuffed to the core.

Our two goals, besides eating, were seeing the tractors and horses. We visited the tractors three times and let Hunter "drive" them. Hunter has become fascinated with keys, but only keys with remotes on them. No baby keys for my boy. He held Jimmy's keys and tried to start the tractors. He turned all of the knobs and levers and steering wheels. He "drove" probably a dozen tractors.

As you know, horses are one of Hunter's favorite things in the world, except last night. He was not a happy camper in the petting zoo, which we figured he would love. His little lip started trembling and he was holding tight to mom and dad. He wasn't even happy looking at the chickens. We couldn't even walk into the cow's and horses' barn. Oh well. Hopefully this fear will pass before Saturday. I will not forget my camera then and will share that experience with you in my next post.

Thank you God for time with my boys and for yummy yummy food.

Horses and Hunter

This picture pretty much sums up our Saturday. What a fun day we had, despite the rain.

Jimmy went to Wyoming/South Dakota for a Texas football game and some incredible sightseeing. Hunter and I stayed at Granna and Poppa's house Friday night. Saturday morning, we got up early and took Hunter to see one of his favorite things in the entire world. . . horses. Since going to the races last Memorial Day, H has loved the "sorce" or, more recently, the "ho-wus". The Cowboy Symposium was in town and they were doing a horse parade. We just couldn't pass up the chance to take H to see the horses. We weren't exactly sure where to go, so we drove through downtown. Just as I was about to turn onto Main Street, we looked to our left and the horses were about a block away. We parked and jumped out of the car. We had the whole parade almost to ourselves. The cowboys and cowgirls all waved at Hunter and said, "good morning!" He smiled and waved the whole time. I love that he held onto his little horse the whole time. What a blessing to share this time with my kid seeing the excitement and joy on his tiny face!

After the parade, we drove to the Civic Center and ran into the parade again. We watched it for a second time. He loved it just as much then! My silly goose found a coil of bright orange tube that was running near the street we were sitting on. He climbed on it and started riding it like a horse. So smart! That picture will have to come later. I didn't get it on my camera. I think Granna got it though. There is nothing like seeing my kiddo smile and laugh and enjoy the world!

Sitting on the curb watching the horses.

H holding his ho-wus and watching all of the big horses. He looks too big here!

I love the look on his face!

Momma, Hunter, and Granna at the horse parade. (Look carefully at Hunter's face. What a clown!)

After the horse parade, we headed out to Idalou for the Apple Butter Festival. It rained on the drive out, but we hoped the rain was heading away from us. As we paid and walked it, in started pouring!! Not just a little sprinkle, but the sky opened up. We made our way over the petting zoo, umbrellas in hand. There were rabbits and sheep. Hunter had no fear as he stuck his little hand in the pen. We ate a yummy lunch of BBQ sandwiches, potato salad, and beans. We had some apple turnovers, which would have been better warm, but were still "num" as Hunter says. As the rain stopped, we walked around a little more. There wasn't just a ton to see, but we got to experience it, mud and all. Again, Granna got some good pictures that I didn't get. I've already drowned one camera this year. I kept mine in a nice dry place this time it rained!

We headed home after a full morning of fun and took a nice long nap. Granna, Poppa, and I headed to the Tech game while our sweet Aunt Jody watched Hunter. She thinks he is pretty smart. She said he talked all night, which is no surprises to any of us! (I think he gets it from his daddy!) They had a fun time!

Jimmy is home now and we have had a restful Sunday. All three of us took 2 naps today. That doesn't happen very often! We are glad to be back together again for many many more adventures.