5-Month Birthday

Today is Hampton's 5-month birthday!
He is getting more and more active & fun each day, and we couldn't imagine life without him.
Here's what he's up to now....

Current Likes
his toes
faces
playing with pieces of paper
"talking" and squealing constantly
sitting up

Current Dislikes
johnny jump-up (even though we try almost daily!)
not eating what we're eating
wearing the same size for any length of time
not getting to sit outside all day
laying down for too long....he wants to see what's going on!

Pj Day

Today the weather was yucky & rainy here, so it was declared a pj day! Hampton & Tanner spent the day in their jammies napping, playing, and catching up on a few favorite shows while it poured. Once the rain ended, Hamp still got to play, but it was back to chores for Tanner!

Tummy Time

We're still working on tummy time around here, especially since Hampton can now roll completely over. Our pediatrician said that time on the stomach isn't important, but we want him to enjoy playing on his belly when he flips himself over. Therefore, we put him down for a few minutes each day to build up his tolerance! He can completely push up with his arms, and he even tries to scoot. We may have a little mover before we know it!

We Heart Our Exersaucer!

Hampton is loving his exersaucer! We had put him in it several times before, but he just didn't seem that into it. Until recently, that is! He loves playing with all the fun things to do, and it's so funny to hear him babble to the different objects. His favorite "toy" is the little fish that spins and rattles, below. He LOVES that noise! Now if we could just get him to like the johnny jump up......

Weekend Update

This weekend we were quite busy! First thing Saturday, we had our annual homeowners' association meeting. We wanted to go because we really hadn't met a ton of people in our neighborhood, and we also wanted to make sure we knew all the rules & regulations of our subdivision. It was a very interesting meeting, and we left with several new friends as well as positions on the HOA board! That's right...Bo is the new Vice President, and Tanner is the new Sunshine Committee person. Who says we don't have community spirit? :)

After our meeting, we headed to Fairhope for the 58th Annual Arts & Crafts Festival. This event draws hundreds of thousands of visitors, and it is a juried festival, so the crafts are outstanding. We enjoyed walking around and looking at the booths as well as the people! Afterward, we headed to our favorite BBQ joint for dinner.

On Sunday, the weather was quite chilly, so we ran some errands before coming home and working in the garage. Not very exciting, but it was great to get some of the stuff organized that we hadn't had a chance to do yet!

the popular painted wall in downtown Fairhope

just some of the booths and people at the Arts & Crafts festival

Busy at The Monogrammed Monkey

The Monogrammed Monkey has been quite busy lately! Here are just a few of our newest items. Check out our other blog for more photos.

Enjoying The View

The weather has started to be very nice here, and we decided that Hampton could use a change of scenery. We planted him in his new bouncy chair (thanks Nachod family!) on our covered porch and let him watch the world go by. Hampton loved being outside, and he gave Tanner something fun to watch while she ironed! He never made a peep, and he might still be out there if it weren't for the fact that the sun shifted and we didn't want him to get sunburned!

Question of the Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Forget the Blarney Stone....we'll just kiss on Hampton!

Tuesday Travels

Tulum, Mexico----January 2005

We fell in love with Mexico on this trip. The weather was amazing, the water was beautiful, the shopping was cheap, and the authentic Mexican food put any in America to shame. We took an adventure-filled ferry ride and bus trip to see these Mayan ruins, and they did not disappoint. We saw lots of awesome stuff. We even had the unique-to-us experience of paying for toilet paper at the public restroom. "Roughing it" came to mind! It was a great trip, and we've been back to Mexico since. It's a great place and we hope to go again!

Weekend Update

This weekend, Paul & Jan came down to visit and enjoy the awesome 77 degree weather. We had a great time visiting, wandering the shops, and checking out different areas of the county. We also squeezed in a meal with Bob & Randi, and a trip to Pensacola to hit up Sam's and Best Buy. We had a great time, and we're looking forward to seeing them again next month!

enjoying the outdoor dining at Marble Slab Creamery

dancing on the table at dinner

ready to stroll!

Kim Jong Il

For some reason, Bo thinks this particular outfit of Hampton's makes him look like Kim Jong Il, the North Korean leader. Bo said Hampton could wear the outfit only if he could take comparison photos and post them online for you to decide. So here Hampton is, with his outfit & Tanner's sunglasses. Do you see a resemblance? Tanner does not!

Park Fun

4-Month Checkup

Yesterday, Hampton had his 4-month doctor's visit. It went great, and here's where we stand...

He's 17 lbs 5 oz and 25.5 inches long

He's in the 75th percentile for height and the 90th for weight (He's a Howard, what can we say?!)

He has a few very dry patches on his skin, and the Dr. thinks he has sensitive skin.
She wasn't worried, but recommended a new lotion to try.

She recommended waiting until he's 5 1/2 months old to introduce solids, so it will be just a little while before he gets to try something new. Tanner is happy that he's still little enough to be strictly bottle-fed!

Weekend Update

This weekend was a very fun one, since we got to enjoy the 70 degree weather!

Friday night, Bo had to make a trip to the Urgent Care clinic to see if he needed stitches after a workplace "oops". Luckily, he didn't need them, and instead came home with a bandaged leg and dinner from a new place in town called Mojos.

On Saturday, we rounded up Bob & Randi and headed to Mobile. We ran some errands, went to the Mobile Homebuilder's Show, and stopped at a great farmer's market called Rick's Produce where we got 10 pounds of potatoes for 99 cents! We had lunch at Five Guys, home of maybe the best burger ever, before heading home.

While Bo had a work function on Sunday, Tanner & Hampton headed to the fabric store and TJ Maxx to pick up some stuff for guess who? That's right, the king of the house! We rounded out the weekend by catching up on some TV shows we hadn't had a chance to see yet. It was a beautiful weekend, and we're looking forward to many more of wonderful weather!

Hampton Hang Out

Hampton doesn't quite get the appeal of the johnny jump up yet. He loves to bounce, so we thought he'd love to do it on his own. So far, he's just "hanging out" in it.....sucking on the top & spinning himself in a circle. As soon as he figures it out, though, we know there will be no stopping him!

Whatever You Call It......

...Binky, Fooler, Paci, or Plug......

.....We Likey!!!

Happy 4-Month Birthday!

We can't believe it's already been another month! Where is time going? Hampton is getting bigger, cuter, and more fun by the day. We love watching him playing with his toys, and we love how he's interacting with us. Mostly, we just love him!

Current Likes:

Toys, toys, toys!
Sitting in his Bumbo
Squealing as loud as possible
Watching everything that is going on
Putting anything & everything into his mouth


Current Dislikes:

Waiting on his bottle....when he's ready to eat, he's ready to eat!
Taking a nap
His door jumper. He just doesn't quite understand it yet.
Not being able to eat the yummy-looking stuff we do.
Not being able to wear all his cute spring clothes because it's so darn cold!

Happy Everything!

Today is a big day! Not only is it Tanner's mom's birthday, but it's also Tanner's brother & sister-in-law's anniversary. We wish a happy day of celebrations to everyone! Have a great day Randi, John, & Amy!

John & Amy at our wedding in 1999....they've been together a long time!

Randi at Christmas in 2008.....she's been on the planet a long time! Ha ha ha!

Who Says Naptime Isn't Fun?

Hampton is starting to really be interested in some of his toys, so this week, we decided to get out a new one.

One of Bo's co-workers gave Hampton a toy that has toys hanging from it, so we decided to try it out. First, we sat Hampton in his bumbo seat, and he played and giggled with it for a good bit.

After a little while, he got frustrated, so Tanner decided to make him a pallet in the living room to lay on and play with other toys. She added the fisher-price thing, too, in case he wanted to play with it again later.

Hampton went straight back for that toy, kicking and grabbing at it. The next time she looked over, Hampton was asleep! He had fallen asleep while playing with it. 20 minutes later, he was back awake and back to playing with the toy....like he'd never stopped!