Close your Eyes

Friday night, we headed to Arlington. Hunter talked non-stop for the first 3 hours of the trip. He got louder and louder. After we put in "Na-No" (Nemo) he settled down but did not want to go to sleep, even though it was getting late. One of us suggested that H close his eyes for a little bit. Well, Mr. Smarty-pants, dropped his head to the side, closed his eyes, then popped right back up and started laughing his head off. Of course, Jimmy and I were laughing just as hard! He did the same thing every time we asked him to close his eyes! This kid cracks us up! His laugh is so contagious! I want to get a bottle and grab some of it up and just open it when I need a smile. I wish I had my camera in my hand so I could have gotten video. Maybe he will do it again soon.

Thank you God for my kiddo's laughter and smiles!

Big Enough for Nap Mat

I truly can't believe that Hunter is big enough to sleep on a nap mat when he goes to "school" in a few weeks. Hunter is a super busy kid who has a hard time sitting still for a few seconds. He only sleeps in his crib, not in bed with mom and dad for a nap or anything, only in his bed. This momma got a little anxious when I found out that we needed to buy our big boy a nap mat for nap time. There is no way that my child will sleep on the floor! Everyone assures me that peer pressure is a great thing, even in Hunter's class. His teacher tells me she will sit on the floor next to him to help him, but I'm still a little nervous. He is such an amazing, great kid! Super flexible, surely he will catch on to this quickly too. He does love his nap mat. He gets very upset when it is put away (I have to keep it nice and new for school, of course!). I love the mat too! I think it is great! Nice and thick and cute as can be! I really can't believe how big Mr. H is getting!

I go back to work on Friday so blog posts may not come as often! I apologize in advance.

Thank you God for health and growth for my sweet baby boy and for a great "school" for him to go to on Tuesdays/Thursdays so he can be close to Momma.

***I need to give credit where credit is due. I found this mat at www.napmatsandmore.com. I'm very impressed with their stuff!!

Mr. Putt-Putt

A few weekends ago, we decided to do something fun with Hunter, so we decided to take the kiddo to Putt Putt. He likes hitting balls here at home, why not there, with the greens and animals. Sounds like fun! Well, it was a hot, still day. Surprisingly, there was little wind so it was HOT! We had a great time on the first 4 holes. Daddy showed H how to hold the club and swing. Hunter ran after his ball and picked it up and put it in the hole. All great fun! Then, Mr. H had a meltdown about hole 5 and he didn't want to play any more. Our Putt Putt adventure turned into a game. What can we do to make this fun for Hunt? He loves throwing balls so let's try to roll/throw the ball toward the hole. It worked for awhile. Thankfully there weren't many people there so we could take our time or hurry. I love any time that I can spend with my boys, fussy or not (Hunter that is, not Jimmy of course!) I'm pretty sure that I would have won if we had kept track of our strokes. I had mostly holes in 2, but I believe I did have a hole-in-one. (Don't tell Jimmy. He might think he won, but I'm pretty sure it was me!)

Daddy showing Hunter how to golf.

Hunter sitting in front of the pretty waterfall.

I loved this picture. They did this on their own. My precious boys.

Push Toy Goes for a Swim

(Mama Bonk, this post may be too much for you and other germaphobe friends. . . just a warning!)

Hunter has a new fascination with the toilet. We have caught him several times opening the lid and trying to touch the water, or putting the toilet brush in the water, once he even put his juice cup in (it went straight to the dishwasher, no worries). Today, I found him with his singing push toy coming out of the toilet. What am I going to do with this kid?!

A Fun Weekend in Arlington

We just got home from a visit to Arlington. We had lots of fun. Of course, everything is more fun with Mr. H around! Friday night, we drove in and had dinner with ALL of the Holloways. It has been awhile since all of Hunter's uncles have been together. Someone always has to work or has a softball game. Hunter and Joshua swam and had a great time in their matching swim trunks (sorry, the camera didn't make it out of the bag for this photo op).

Saturday, Jimmy played in the annual BEGE poker tournament with his college fraternity brothers. He came in 2nd for Player of the Year! Way to go! Aunt Maci and Joshua, Peyton, and Landen, came over for awhile and the boys had a fun playing together and practicing sharing. They really like to yell together. It was quite funny! My favorite part of the day was naptime. Always a favorite, but Hunter actually laid on the couch with me while "Cars" was on and fell asleep. Such a sweet cuddle time! We went to IHOP with Mimi and Papa for dinner and then came home and played a little more. Since dad got home late, Hunt was already in bed, but I did catch a picture of him waiting for daddy to come home. (He is standing in the window. He is a little climbing monkey!)Sunday, Jimmy drove home with Dixie and Wyatt while H and I stayed to play a little longer. We went swimming at Mimi's friend Teresa's house. He is just a little fish. I love that he has no fear of water. Sunday night I met my college roommate Sara for dinner. H was a little worn out at this point, but we had a great time catching up anyway.

Monday, H and I drove over to Frisco to see Becky and Jorja, Alysia and Holly. (I only got lost once on the way there, but Daniel set me straight, and thank goodness for my Iphone!) We went to the mall for Chic-fil-A and rode the carousel. I tell you what, H can't get enough of the "sorses". He loves them!! We rode three times and he was still upset when we had to get off because we were out of tokens. Hunter waved at Alysia, Becky, and Jorja everytime we passed them. After naptime, we went for a walk, then Holly came over. What fun to be with my girlfriends! It has been way too long. I love these girls! We spent more time talking than taking pictures, sadly.

(Is this blackmail worthy or what?!)

Tuesday, Hunter and I got up extra early to fly home. I was a little nervous to fly with such a busy boy, but he did great! Mimi helped get our luggage checked. She sure was sad to see H go home. We had the last row on the plane to ourselves, which was such a blessing! The man across the aisle had three kids, so he said listening to Hunter was music to his ears. Hunter spent most of the flight in his own seat wearing his big boy seatbelt. He got a little restless because he was so sleepy. It's hardwork keeping a 19 month old kiddo quiet on an airplane! Daddy was at the baggage claim to pick us up! What a fun thing to see my boys welcoming each other! It made my heart swell! We stopped for lunch and Granna just happened to be at the same restaurant! She had been missing her girl and baby boy! Then we came home and took a nice long nap.

Hunter in his own seat on the airplane

Thank you God for such a great weekend with friends and family and for safe travel home!

Summer Fun at Joyland

We have been serving lunch to a group of middle school kids who are in Lubbock this week working with World Changers. Wednesday night, the city hosted an appreciation night at Joyland Amusement Park, so we and some of our friends, the Wolfs, decided to take our boys. I never could have imagined how much fun Mr. H would have. I tell you, he is a true dare devil! He especially loved riding with Daddy. Hunter loves horses ("sorse") so we guessed that he would enjoy the merry-go-round. Boy did he! He smiled his huge smile and laughed the entire ride! Hunter looked for Dad every time we went around and waved and laughed everytime he saw him (see video below). He rode several rides without mom or dad, just him and his friend Weston. He sat very still while the ride was going. Hunter especially loved the train around the park, which we all got to ride. He repeatedly said "choo-choo" the whole ride and laughed! He rode in a fire engine, a car, a spinny thing (of course, it is Joyland and everything spins!), and a helicopter. The kid even rode on a mini-roller coaster with Dad! I could barely see him, but Daddy held on tight. He signed "more" after the roller coaster. He did not want to get off of any of the rides. We will definitely have to go back again.

How cute is that little head sticking out of the window?

Despite the bored look, he loved the choo-choo

This smile is priceless.

No Dad, don't make me get off!


Thank you God for my boys, smiles, and laughter.

Mommy and Me Swim Class

Hunter and I have been taking Mommy and Me swim classes at Tech the last two weeks and we loved it! Hunter learned how to kick, kick, kick, scoop his arms, and blow bubbles in the water. Well, actually, he just opened his mouth and put it in the water most of the time, but he's a little guy so it's okay. Swim class was at Tech's new leisure pool which is very nice and fun with a lazy river, fountains, a diving board and slide, and much more! Very cool! The weather was beautiful every morning, except one, but we still got to swim. Hunter got to to off the diving board two days. His teacher was waiting in the water as I dropped him slowly into the water. Hunter liked to jump off the ledge. . . one, two, three, JUMP! He was pretty good at this one! They gave us little bath toys everyday. One of our favorite things was to throw the toy and then swim over to it, with mom holding on to him. The last day was free swim. The current was turned on in the river, the fountains were all on, and we got to do whatever we wanted. We got to go early and we had a great time! We are sad that class is over. We loved swimming everyday and met some really nice people. Of course, we knew Belle and her mom. Also, one of my very good friends since 2nd grade, Averi, and her son were in our class. It was nice catching up with her. Thank you God for my son, beautiful weather, and swimming!



**This blog was edited with bigger pictures. Somehow I figured it out. Duh! :)