Let Me Tell You About . . .

I cannot believe that summer is over. It just flew by. We have had so many fun days and many restful, hang around the house days. I have two amazing boys that I just drink in everyday. My heart overflows every time I look at them. Finally, I am sitting down to catch up my Holloway Boys fan club on the happenings of Hunter and Tanner.

Hunter:

This precious two and a half year old steals my heart everyday. He is full of imagination and joy. He enjoys "cooking" which often consists of moving his hands around on the hearth and moving his "food" to his rocking chair to "cook" then bringing his creation to mom and dad. Most often, he cooks peanut butter and jelly, cheeseburgers, or grilled cheese.

He loves to build with his blocks and makes cars and boats for mom to ride in. Sometimes, he sits on top of his tiny creation and goes for a ride. This summer he learned to pedal his bike and spends lots of time riding around Granna's house on the tile floor.

He is full of attitude, both good and not so good. He is independent and often refuses any help. His flip flops end up on the wrong feet or his shorts on backward, but he does it himself. He has a mind of his own. Earlier this week, we were at the pool. He and Granna were playing with a tennis ball, which he continued to call a baseball. Granna would correct him. Finally, he got tired of her calling the ball a tennis ball and said, "Granna, call it a baseball." Alrighty then Big Shot.

He spells his name, "Hmper, no P, T." He sings lots of songs including "Jesus loves me" and is working on the alphabet but gets stuck at Q often. He gets stuck in repeat often. We probably hear, "What doin?" a hundred times a day. We even asks, "What man doin?" of complete strangers. He asks us everyday, "You happy?" Another saying we hear often is, "Where'd _____ go?" of anything he likes or was looking at. One of my favorite things right now is that he randomly cheers, "H-S-H-S-U-U!" He's a Cowboy at heart already. It's just in his blood. :)

Everyone asks how Hunter is doing with the new baby in the house. Well, he loves him. I often find him inches from Tanner's face talking to him or putting his pacifier in his mouth. He periodically tells people that brother came out of mommy's tummy. He is such a huge helper too. He carries his stool around so he can watch and help with diaper changes. He helps throw away diapers and puts laundry in the dirty clothes basket. Tanner gets all kinds of kisses from his big brother. Hunter calls Tanner "Brother" most of the time, which I love.

The biggest news from this summer is that Hunter is potty trained! It took him 9 days to get it down. Yesterday, he went all day without an accident so he got to pick out a new toy. He likes picking out his undies from his favorite characters (Thomas the Train, Toy Story, and other Disney Movies). We spent almost a week in Ruidoso so I decided it was time to get this boy potty trained. We didn't have anywhere to go so it was the perfect time. We set a timer and everytime it barked, Hunter had to go potty. He fought it a little. He often tells me, "I don't want to go potty," in which I respond, "I didn't ask if you want to go potty, do you NEED to go?" See, attitude! I cannot describe how proud I am of my big boy.

Hunter is an amazing, loving son, a great big brother and a fun kid all around. God truly blessed us with him.

Daddy took Hunter to "Critter Fest" at the Science Spectrum. He got to ride a horse and see tigers. What a fun day those 2 had. We often hear, "Hold you". I love it!
We went to the Children's Museum in Fort Worth. My little chef went shopping in the grocery store, which he enjoys doing with Momma at home. Sometimes, he puts on his shoes, grabs his backpacks and says, "Bye Momma." When I ask where he is going, he tells me he is going to the grocery store."Sleeping" in a dinosaur track at the FW Museum.

Momma and Hunter at the park in Ruidoso.

TANNER:
Well, what can you say about a 7 week old baby boy? He is perfect. He sleeps wonderfully, eats great, and loves to cuddle. What more could you ask for? He makes the funniest faces. He has great big eyes and his tongue is out a lot of the time. We just laugh at his faces. He stretches big (which I love watching because he has done that since before he was born). He is just an easy baby. We can't decide who he looks like. I guess he just looks like Tiny Tanner. He has all sorts of names from Tiny to Teniny to Brother and Tanner Man and many more. He is pretty quiet. He grunts and squeaks mostly but occasionally he gets mad, mainly when he's hungry. He's really working hard on holding his head up. He has just slid right into our family without much disruption or difficulty. Now that I'm back at work, my prayer is that I don't miss any of his major milestones. God was so faithful to answer that prayer with Hunter, I'm believing He is faithful to answer it with Tanner. We just adore this tiny boy and are so thankful that God added him to our family.