Look who's sitting now!

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a busy but awesome Memorial Day weekend. We went to the Fairhope park, played in the fountains, visited the train museum, headed to the beach for a picnic, enjoyed waterfront dining, grilled out with family, worked the nursery at church, and lots, lots more! Here are a couple of photos from all the fun....enjoy!

For more Memorial Day photos, click HERE.

Week In Review

This week:

Harrison started solid foods

Hampton had a day out to the zoo with Granddaddy

We had a poolside BBQ with our friends the Bodifords

Harrison played in his  door bouncer for the first time

We celebrated the beginning of summer at S'Mores on the Shores

Brotherly Love

Hampton is an amazing big brother. He loves "brother", as we call Harrison, and gives him the biggest hugs. He always wants to "Share with Harrison?"...offering Harrison his trains or other toys. Here, Hampton is offering Harrison a pacifier. Not sure how much Harrison actually wanted it, but Hamp was happy to help nonetheless!

Dinner with Family

Tanner's Uncle Richard, Aunt Liz, and cousin Becky came down to Pensacola last week, and since that's just a hop-skip-and-a-jump away from us, we were able to meet them in the middle for dinner at The Crab Trap, one of our favorite waterfront eateries. They have a wonderful playground area for littles, and they even give out sand pails with their kids menus. Hampton was exhausted when we first got there, which led to a mini-meltdown, but once we got him calmed down with a stroll on the beach, we were good to go. We enjoyed catching up with them and hearing all about Uncle Richard's new grandbaby. We finished a yummy meal with a family stroll on the beach, hunting for seashells that would head to TN. It was a short visit, but any time spent with family is good time!

Little Drummer Boy

Yesterday we mentioned that Hampton might become a drummer. Well, at The Hangout Music Fest this weekend, he really showed off his talents! We took him there to watch a favorite band of his (and ours), and after that concert, we headed over to the kids stage. They were busy setting up for the next band, but there was a circle of musicians & non-musicians playing drums and various percussion instruments. It was a blast...the director would lead the group, pointing to different areas for different things. Even though there were lots of people who really didn't know what they were doing, it sounded awesome.

Anyway, of course Hampton wanted to get in on the action. Once a drum freed up, he got to going on the bongo. Then, he got really inspired. He at first just stood up to dance while drumming, but then the director encouraged him to "feel the beat". Long story short...Hampton ended up leading the drum circle. He was leading everyone by playing a cow bell. There were people cheering him and taking pictures...it was hilarious! Honestly, the music festival was lots of fun, but nothing can top seeing that. It's one of those things we hope to remember forever!

beating on the bongos with Daddy

Hampton leading the drum circle, wearing the director's ball cap

We mentioned Hampton's drumming

5 Month Photo

Harrison turned 5 months old at the first of the month, and of course we're just now getting around to sharing his photo. He's getting way too big...he's in 9-12 month clothes, and has blown through the same things Hampton wore when he was that age. He's actually less chunky than Hamp was, but he has a very long torso. We had to go out and buy the poor baby new pjs over the weekend, because apparently Hampton skipped 12-month jammies and the 18-month ones we have are fleece. Probably not what this hot-natured baby is going to want to wear in the summer!

Harrison is ready to move, too...he's all over the place in his exersaucer and he has just started creeping on his belly to get around. He has also come up with this odd backstroke move when you lay him on his back that is very effective for giving his mommy a heart attack when he's on the changing table!

He's such a pleasant little boy...he really only fusses when he's hungry or in the seconds before he falls asleep, kind of like a last hurrah. His only true dislike is loud, unexpected noises. We're hoping he grows out of that one fast, seeing as how Hampton may be destined to be a drummer!

A Few Changes

When we started this blog, we wanted to document what was going on in our lives. At the time, we had no children, and just thought it would be fun to share all the exciting things about our new hometown. Along came babies, and we realized what a great way the blog was to keep all our family & friends up on the goings-on of our family. What we didn't expect was how much time the blog would take to keep up! Since we have our hands extremely full with our "real" lives, we've decided it's time to make some changes to our blog as well.

Now, don't worry....we're not abandoning the blog! We love it! It's just that we may not post as often. Or, maybe we'll post more photos & less commentary...you'd like that, wouldn't you? :) We're planning on trying mobile blogging, too, so that might even mean more than one post a day. Who knows?

At the end of the day, this blog is the digital scrapbook of our lives, and how the boys are growing. What we want to remember might be funny, obnoxious, or boring to you, but it's everything to us. So keep reading, even if the posts become a little sporadic, because there's never a dull moment around here, and we're trying to capture it all!

Friday Photo

Beachy Keen

Late Sunday afternoon, we headed down to the beach for awhile. The weather was awesome, especially since it was supposed to rain all weekend! Happily, we only saw a few drops for 2 days. Hampton had a blast playing with Daddy, while Mommy & Harrison hung out under the umbrella.

Pool Boys

On Sunday, we decided to take the boys to our neighborhood pool. The water was still a little cool, but that didn't stop us from getting in & having fun! Hamp loved kicking & splashing, and Harrison loved relaxing in his little float. We see lots more pool time in our summer plans!

Day Out With Thomas

Thomas the Train came to Wales West Railway for a 2-weekend run, and we had to take Hampton since he is obsessed with all things Thomas. We went last year & he had a great time, but he was just starting to get into the trains then. Now, he plays with them non-stop every day, even taking naps with one or two, so we knew it would be even better. It definitely did NOT disappoint! Here are a few photos from the day. You can see the rest here.

Busy, Busy Week!

Last week was such a busy week around here, which is the main reason we didn't blog too much! We had a teacher's dinner at church, went to a concert in the park, and headed over to Destin to play. The weekend brought a visit to the park, a birthday get-together with friends, Harrison's first visit to the pool, and a trip to the beach. Add in tons & tons of orders for The Monogrammed Monkey to all this fun, and there has been no time for anything! We're so thankful for every bit of it, but it does mean that sometimes things just don't get done. We're hoping to be good and caught up before all the craziness starts for this week!

Harrison relaxing at the park concert while Hampton & Tanner played on the playground

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day from the Howard Family!

We hope everyone has a wonderful day!

Bo's Bday

Bo's birthday was Saturday, and the day was packed full of stuff to do. We woke up, packed up both boys, and met up with Grandpa & Grannie for a yummy lunch (it was Cinco de Mayo, after all). Afterwards, we left the boys with them for the evening, and ran a few errands before getting ready for our Supper Club group. We had a large turnout and shut the party down at almost 11pm, which is an unheard of time for us nowdays! It was so nice to have a night out that we didn't have to worry about the boys! Of course, we had to go home and get lots of sleep because we were seeing Thomas the Train bright & early Sunday morning!

 The birthday boy, with a mouth full of yummy mexican goodness!

Harrison with his feet crossed on the table. Don't worry..we won't let him do this when he gets older!

Bands, Barks & Brews

Last weekend, we headed down to The Wharf for the Bands, Barks & Brews event. The Tip Tops were playing, and since Hampton LOVED them at the Shrimp Festival, we knew he'd have a great time. Neither set of Grandparents had seen the Tip Tops before, so we invited them along for the fun. Hampton was already in the groove as we made our way in the stroller. He was hamming it up so much that people were taking his picture in the stroller! Once we got him down, the dancing revved up and he busted a move. It's always so much fun to watch him dance...we love it as much as he does!

Happy Birthday, Bo!

Happy Birthday to the best friend, husband, and father ever! 

We love you!

Bo, proudly sporting his Leprechaun shirt that he got for his birthday. So silly!

Friday Photo & Week In Review

Well, it's been one of THOSE weeks, so we're just happy to have made it through! We've also done lots & lots this week. We spent the whole day Tuesday at Grandi & Granddaddy's house, Wednesday night was our last night of teaching for the year, we've met up with monogramming customers, been to the beach, and dined al fresco at a new pizza joint (shown above).

This weekend is going to be crazy-busy, too! Not only is it Bo's birthday tomorrow, but we've got lots & lots going on. Hopefully we'll just have a great time and let all the wildness of this week disappear!

Parking It

 While Hampton was at Grandpa & Grannie's house, we headed out with Harrison to a little tucked away park that Bo had stumbled upon one day at work. It was so nice and shady, with a perfect ramp to launch a canoe or kayak into Wolf Bay. We spent a little time checking it out and snapping photos of Harrison. Bo has already planned a return trip involving Bob, Hampton, and the canoe. We'll definitely make sure to get pictures when that day comes!