The Howards

Friday Photo

2012-02-03T01:18:00.000-06:00

Senior Bowl 2012

2012-02-02T08:30:00.000-06:00

On Saturday, Bo & Hampton went with our friends Dane & Lucas to the Senior Bowl in Mobile. If you aren't familiar with the game, it's where the best seniors from colleges around the country come to play a game (north versus south) and meet NFL recruiters. There are scouts from pretty much every team, plus all the big college coaches (Nick Saban, etc), and the best players. They come for about a week to practice, meet fans and scouts, and they play on Saturday.

Since Bo & Dane were able to get free tickets, they decided to let the boys see what they thought about their first football game. Lucas, who is a year older than Hamp, LOVES football, and Hampton loves an adventure, so off they went.

Hampton was quite the entertainment at the game, dancing wildly while saying "I can't stop!" and "Go crazy!" Who would've thought other people would find that amusing?

Even though they didn't make it through the whole game, it was definitely worth taking the boys to, and most definitely an experience!

Work & Play

2012-02-01T04:02:00.000-06:00

Well, today's the big day.......The Monogrammed Monkey is back in business! Tanner had been taking time off from orders for "maternity leave" (which is so funny to say since she stays at home all day), but now she's back open. She's been working hard coming up with new ideas and has lots of new things to offer over the next little bit, which is a good thing since she's already had several people contact her about orders! The most important thing to remember, though, is that monogramming is secondary at best. Job number one is these 2 adorable boys, so if that means we only have time to monogram once a day, or once a month, that's how it has to be! Because there's no way we're missing out on moments like these!

"...when in doubt, choose the kids. There will be plenty of time later to choose work..."
--Anna Quindlen

Ink'd

2012-01-31T03:05:00.000-06:00

So, one of the cutest ideas that Tanner has seen on Pinterest lately is home-made stamps. Since we're doing crafts with Hampton, we thought we'd give these a try. They turned out so cute! You need the bigger bottle caps, like from Powerade bottles, but thanks to Grandpa, we have tons of these. Then, you get the foam stickers, slap them on the caps, and voila! Instant stamps! The best thing is that they work great and clean up easily. And we used washable ink, because we knew Hamp would get it everywhere. We were right about that, of course!

Foam stickers, available at the Dollar Tree in lots of styles. We bought transportation ones.

The finished stamps, which took 2 seconds to make. Cute, huh?

Hampton enjoying himself while stamping away. Please notice how he artfully stamped his mouth. Which is why we bought the washable ink pads!

Weekend Update

2012-01-30T02:42:00.000-06:00

This past week was the semi-annual consignment sale that we participate in, so we've been busy driving back and forth to Fairhope dropping off, picking up, and shopping. Harrison has tons of clothes, but somehow we only had a few things in a size 3-6, so we were thrilled to get him some super-cute things for cheap. We also picked Hampton up some play clothes, since he's quickly outgrowing the ones he has.

Hampton had his weekly slumber-party with P&J, so he got to eat at his favorite dining place twice this week....Sam's Club. Yes, that's right, Sam's the warehouse club. Our child ADORES eating there, because he gets both pizza & a hot dog. He asks for it regularly, and since we live a little ways from there, it's a big treat for him. Of course, when 3 of us can eat for $6.66, our bank account likes it as much as he does! :)

Speaking of food, we've been enjoying Bo's delicious smoked chicken salad this week. It was his first attempt at a chicken in his new smoker, and he's stumbled upon a winner. It's absolutely delicious! It's Outpost 72 good, and if you know what that means, you know we're in chicken salad heaven!

Well, that was a little more than a weekend update, but you get the point! We also played in the park & then went out for ice cream, and Hampton went to his first football game. We'll save those pics for another day. So, until tomorrow, have a great day!

Our Hamp-er

2012-01-26T05:56:00.000-06:00

When Grandi got us this hamper to use for the boys, we're not sure that she meant for it to be used like this! Hampton loves to take the hamper, which is in his room holding stuffed animals, and dump them out. Then he parades around the house with it on his head. It makes a good costume, and for a great laugh, but it isn't helping us keep the toys put away!

The Good Morning Game

2012-01-25T05:55:00.000-06:00

Hampton has this game that he loves to play. First, he pretends to go to sleep. So we all say "Night, night. Sweet Dreams". Then, he lays down and goes to "sleep", complete with snoring, covering up his face with his blanket. Then he wakes up. "Good Morning!" he says. "How are you today? Did you sleep good?" which completely cracks us up. To Hampton, this game never gets old and everyone must play along. His Grandpa is especially good at this game, so whenever he's here, we let him take over snoring duties!

Baby Talk

2012-01-24T05:43:00.000-06:00

Harrison hasn't gotten much press lately, mostly because he's so laid-back that when he's not sleeping, he's just hanging out in his bouncy chair. He's really quite a hoot, so we wanted to talk a little about him today!

First, his big new thing is sleeping through the night (knock on wood!). He started last week, and has done it several times since then, so we're hoping he's finding how nice it is not to get up. Honestly, we thought it was amazing when Hampton started sleeping through the night at 2 months, so sleeping through the night at 6 weeks is blowing our minds! We're thinking he must just be an overachiever!

He does the funniest thing when he sneezes. After sneezing once, he sometimes loses the next one, and makes the most hilarious honking noise. It is Tanner's favorite thing because it's just so cute and funny! He also makes this humming noise while falling asleep. It's so sweet sounding, and it's nice to hear on the monitor because we know he's ok!

He's started smiling these big gummy grins way more often. He's also got a very serious look that he uses while studying his fish mobile and other interesting things. You can just see the wheels turning in his little mind, taking in every little detail.

Harrison puts up with a lot from his very affectionate big brother! Hampton loves this little boy, and shows it often by pulling on his feet and laying on him (his way of trying to hug him). Hampton also gives him lots and lots of kisses. Harrison doesn't seem to mind, though.......wonder how long that will last?

Play Dates

2012-01-23T08:46:00.000-06:00

We've had a couple of play dates recently, which have been a great way for Hampton to get a little energy out. We've been out to play, but we also had Hamp's little friend Conner over to our house. He is going to have a baby sister in a few months, so the moms talked baby talk while the boys just ran around and had a blast. When they left, though, there was not a single toy that hadn't been pulled out and played with! Of course, that's the sign of a fun play date!

Friday Photo

2012-01-20T08:08:00.000-06:00

the mystery of how the cat food ends up in the floor has been solved

Feelin' Crafty

2012-01-19T01:48:00.000-06:00

Since so much of our time is taken up with Harrison during the day, we wanted to make sure that Hampton wasn't feeling left out, or worse, left to just watch TV on his own all day. So, we've been making sure to have lots of one-on-one time with him, including craft time. Thanks to Tanner's obsession with Pinterest, we've come across tons of fun activities to do with toddlers that incorporate household items & simple craft supplies. It's been fun to watch him explore these new things, but we'll be honest.....we've also been having too much fun painting, stickering, coloring, and playing with the play-doh! If Hampton ends up hating these activities, you might just find us doing them anyway!

Playing with stickers and colors

Hampton's first attempt at water painting, which he really seemed to like!

Weekend Update

2012-01-18T07:19:00.001-06:00

This weekend, we took advantage of the warmer weather by getting out a little bit. Saturday, we ran errands all morning, then on Sunday, Bo took Hampton to the zoo for a little fun. They even tried out the reptile exhibit, which we'd never tried before. Hampton had fun seeing the frogs, lizards, and such, but Bo did NOT enjoy facing the snakes!

Hampton also got to have even more fun by spending the night with Paul & Jan. We took him up there early in the afternoon, so he'd have plenty of time to play before dark, then he came home yesterday in time for dinner. He always enjoys spending time with his friends (as he calls them), Lucy the dog & Tigger the cat.

Hampton's adventure gave Tanner a little time to love on Harrison, as well as start getting her act together for The Monogrammed Monkey, which will be starting up again soon. Of course, as crazy as things are around here these days, we may be only monogramming once a month. But then again, isn't keeping up with these adorable boys what it's all about?

Newborn Photo Shoot

2012-01-16T08:53:00.000-06:00

The week after Harrison was born, our very good friend Mandy of Haber Photography came over to take some photos of him. She is a wonderful photographer, and it was so much fun watching her work! She was here for over 3 hours working with a sometimes uncooperative newborn and his crazy parents & brother. We finally found a time to meet up with her last week to get our photos, and we couldn't be more thrilled with how they turned out. We hope you enjoy....each one is our favorite!

Friday Photo

2012-01-13T02:18:00.001-06:00

Polar Bear Swim

2012-01-12T04:36:00.001-06:00

On New Year's Day, Gulf Shores had a polar bear swim at the main beach, where everyone & anyone was encouraged to come brave the cold water via slip & side....preferably in costume. Well, the thought of crazies running into the ocean all decked out was too much to pass up, so we headed down there to see what all the fuss was about. The weather ended up being overcast & a little cool that day, so Tanner & Harrison chose to watch from our front-row parking space. Hampton, however, LOVES going to the beach, so Bo and Hamp went to get a better view. Hampton had a blast running around and playing on the beach, with only a few attempts to break up a volleyball game & run into the gulf. We had a great time watching him play & have fun, but what we were most amazed at were all the people we knew that had actually participated in the swim!

Bo & Hampton on their way towards the fun

Noon Year's Eve

2012-01-11T03:09:00.000-06:00

On New Year's Eve, we headed down to LuLu's for their annual "Noon Year's Eve" celebration. Instead of counting down at midnight, they countdown at noon and have a HUGE party for the littles. There was face painting, clowns, several craft & coloring stations, a magician, a booth filled with animals to pet from the zoo, and way more. At noon, they drop beach balls from the rafters, then roll out a huge piece of bubble wrap for everyone to jump up and down on, which sounds just like a fireworks show. It was really cute! The place was absolutely packed, too. You almost couldn't walk, there were so many people there.

The massive crowds sure didn't stop Hampton from having a blast! He played in the sand piles, made some crafts, and just had fun running around. We spent most of the morning there, and Hampton probably would've stayed forever if we had let him. We'll definitely come back next year....we'll just get there a little earlier next time!

Slater Visit

2012-01-10T02:40:00.000-06:00

Remember us mentioning that Bo's mom, sister, and stepdad came to visit us right after Christmas? Well, here are some photos from their trip. We had a nice time visiting & mostly just hanging out....which is why you'll notice all of these pics are taken on our couch!

Harrison's 1-Month Birthday

2012-01-09T13:20:00.003-06:00

Harrison celebrated his one-month birthday on Saturday, although we can't believe the time has gone by so fast! Today was his 1-month checkup. He weighed 1o lbs, 14 oz and measured 22 inches long. His little legs and arms are starting to get chubby & we even saw a little bit of a belly roll today, which we think is adorable. He's doing great & is perfectly healthy, even though he got the maddest we've ever seen him today while getting his shots! He's such a sweet, laid-back baby. He doesn't really get upset, sleeps great for a newborn, and eats lots. He's got all of us wrapped around his finger, that's for sure....even big-brother Hampton, who loves "baby Harrison", as he calls him. We can't imagine what it would be like without him, and we're so looking forward to all the fun we're going to have with him!

Friday Photo

2012-01-06T03:35:00.000-06:00

More Christmas Photos

2012-01-05T01:39:00.000-06:00

Here are a few more photos from the Christmas season......enjoy!

Christmas Brunch

2012-01-04T00:44:00.000-06:00

Last year, we went to IHOP for Christmas brunch, and it was so easy & good that we decided to go again this year. So after opening gifts, we headed to meet Grandpa & Grannie. Hampton LOVES pancakes once his Granddaddy told him it was "cake", so he was thrilled to eat lots of them. We had a great time visiting & playing with Hampton before the meal arrived. It was in no way fancy or fussy, which was great with us!

Christmas morning

2012-01-03T01:22:00.000-06:00

Everyone had been telling us that this would be a fun Christmas for Hampton, because he'd really start to understand it this year. So we were really excited about Christmas morning and to see how he'd react. He's such a grateful child and just loves anything & everything you give him. He'd been practicing "Merry Christmas" and had been saying it to just about everyone!

Anyway, we had fun setting up the gifts for both boys on Christmas Eve (yes, we bought the same amount of stuff for Harrison because we don't ever want it to be said that we don't treat them equally). After reading the Christmas story from the Bible, we went out to see the gifts and Hampton didn't disappoint! He loved looking at his new picture Bible with Bo and playing with the Pillow Pets that both he and Harrison received. Of course, he has been loving on both of them, so we may owe Harrison a new one by the time he's ready to play with it!

The hardest part of Christmas morning was getting Hampton to hurry up.....every gift he wanted to stop & play with, but we were in a bit of a rush to get to brunch! As for Harrison, we opened gifts with him once Hampton went down for his nap. He wasn't too interested.....we were just hoping he'd stay awake long enough to get finished. It was a fabulous Christmas morning, and we loved being a family of 4!

A Henson Christmas

2012-01-02T09:04:00.004-06:00

Now that the new year is upon us, we thought we'd go back and recap our Christmas celebrations. We started with Christmas dinner at Grandi & Granddaddy's house the Friday before, since they were going to TN for the holiday.

We had a delicious dinner of breakfast foods, including the famous tenderloin & gravy that Tanner"s grandmother makes on Christmas morning. We love breakfast for dinner.....we get to have some of our favorite foods while being awake enough to enjoy them. Not to mention that after you eat, you're supposed to go to sleep!

We also exchanged gifts, and Hampton got what ended up being THE Christmas gift this year. They bought him a pretend fish tank that plugs in and looks like an illuminated reef with fish swimming by. It's hard to explain, but trust us, it's cool. You can see it in the picture below. Hampton is completely obsessed with it, wanting to watch it pretty much non-stop. That definitely makes a hit gift in our book!

Friday Photo and Week In Review

2011-12-30T14:10:00.002-06:00

Well, this week has been a busy one! Christmas was Sunday (in case you've already forgotten...we almost have!), and we had a wonderful day. On Monday, Boba (Bo's mom), Grandpa Andy, and Bo's sister Alyson came to town to see the baby and visit for a day. It was a quick trip for them, but we were very happy to see them and had a great visit. Bo's been part-time at work this week, and it was great to have him home a little more. We've been busy trying to get the Christmas stuff put away and to get the house in some sort of order. Hampton got to spend the night with his Grandparents while we enjoy some quality time with Harrison today. And don't worry.....we have pictures of all these things to share with you next week! (Well, almost everything. We will NOT be showing you the disaster zone that is our house at the moment!)

Of course, the week isn't over just yet. Tomorrow is a big day.....it's our 12-year wedding anniversary! So, while everyone is celebrating New Year's Eve, we'll also be celebrating the beginning of our journey. With 2 precious boys and 12 wonderful years of marriage under our belt, we've got all we could ask for!

the cutest brothers ever

the perfect Christmas present, all wrapped up

One happy boy!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T00:17:00.000-06:00

Happy Holidays from our family to yours!

"For unto you is born this day......a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord"
-Luke 2:11

Friday Photo

2011-12-23T11:53:00.001-06:00

Christmas Lights

2011-12-22T01:19:00.000-06:00

One fun holiday tradition for us is to go look at the Christmas lights. We love seeing the houses decked out...the tackier, the better! So over the weekend, we all got in our pjs and piled in to the car. Hampton was so cute...he really enjoyed seeing the inflatable Santas, snowmen, and especially the Mickey Mouse on our road. Every time we came up to a big light display, he'd say "Christmas!". Harrison didn't seem too excited by it all, but we're holding out hope for next year!

Cookie Time!

2011-12-21T04:53:00.000-06:00

We want to make sure that we get lots of fun time with Hampton & Harrison separately, so we decided to bake cookies with Hampton while Harrison was napping. It was the first time we'd attempted something like this, and it went way better than we'd hoped. Hampton loved stirring the eggs and cookie mix, but since he HATES having stuff on his hands, he did not like rolling the dough at all! We made a huge mess of dry ingredients, washed our hands several times (Hampton loves washing his hands!), and laughed bunches. Of course, the hardest part was getting Hampton to wait patiently for his beloved cookies to be ready to eat!

....Hampton beating the eggs......

...Harrison patiently waiting for us to be finished.....

.....mixing the ingredients together.....

Harrison's 1st Bath

2011-12-20T06:21:00.000-06:00

Harrison's belly button fell off last week, so you know what that means.....bath time! He doesn't love being stripped down out of his warm clothes, so we weren't sure if he'd like a bath or not. He did great, though, and really seemed to like being in the warm water. He just looked around and took it all in. Hopefully, all future baths will go this smoothly.........yeah, right!

Santa at the Zoo

2011-12-19T01:53:00.001-06:00

On Saturday, we took Hampton to see Santa at the zoo, while Grandi came and stayed with Harrison. We knew Hamp would love it because he loves both Santa & the animals, so it was definitely a must-do for him! The weather was great, and the zoo wasn't very crowded, which meant that Hampton got to spend good quality time with Santa. He also enjoyed petting the donkey and goat, and he got up close and personal with the local bunny that roams the park. Next year, the new zoo should be open, and hopefully we'll have 2 that are excited to see Santa!

Friday Photo and Week In Review

2011-12-16T00:49:00.000-06:00

Hampton listening to the "SpongeBob SquarePants" theme song intently on iTunes

So, this has been our first full week home with Harrison. It's been a little easier than we thought, but we also forgot how much a baby likes to eat during the middle of the night!

Bo was home most of the week, working afternoons during Hampton's nap time until yesterday when he went back full-time. We've been to the Doctor for a new baby checkup and also to have a rash on Hamp looked at, which our Doctor thinks may be an allergy to our laundry detergent. (Great.) Let's just say that it was very interesting trying to wrangle a toddler and a squirmy baby in one exam room....especially when Harrison peed ALL OVER the exam room walls, table, and floor!

We've had to change our schedules a bit and miss a few things, like church events and a couple of Christmas parties, but we've really enjoyed being at home with our new family of 4!

Big Brother

2011-12-15T04:59:00.002-06:00

Hampton has taken to his role of Big Brother quite well. He says "Harrison" and also tells the baby "good night" & "I love you". He's been helping in his own way, too, by holding the diaper cream and bottles for us. He even asked to hold Harrison, so we let him. Of course, once we got Harrison in his lap, he wasn't so sure he wanted to do that after all!

There have been some challenges, too, and we're sure there will be many more, but as a new big brother, we think Hampton couldn't be doing a better job!

More Harrison pics

2011-12-14T04:40:00.000-06:00

Harrison's Birthday

2011-12-13T08:01:00.003-06:00

We're back! We're home from the hospital now, and everyone is doing great adjusting to being a family of 4. Harrison was born on Wednesday at 1:43pm, and we couldn't have had an easier delivery if we tried! The only rough spot was the nurses had to try 3 times to find a vein for Tanner's IV, since she has about the worst veins ever. And even that wasn't bad, since they numbed the area first!

Of course, all this was thanks to the wonderful staff at Thomas Hospital and our amazing OB doctor, Dr. Shoemaker, and our pediatrician, Dr. Wiggins. They all couldn't have been more awesome. Our morning check-in nurse on Wednesday even came back that night just to see Harrison once he arrived! Plus, they gave us the corner suite, which was great and really roomy. We can't say enough about our hospital experience and our Doctors....no wonder Thomas Hospital is a Top 100 Hospital in the country!

So anyway, here's what you really care about...pictures of Harrison! We think he's pretty awesome, and we're thrilled to have him here!

The Tale of the Reappearing Tree

2011-12-09T07:22:00.000-06:00

Shortly after we were married, we picked out the perfect Christmas tree at the Gift Mart in Atlanta. We knew we wanted a really nice one that would hold tons of ornaments and last forever. So, when we moved, it was devastating when we realized that we'd somehow lost it. We looked through all of our boxes, but could never find it. Every year since we've been in Alabama, Tanner has mourned it at Christmastime, and looked in vain for it again.

Until this year, when we decided to pull every last bit of Christmas decor out of the attic. We needed to go through our ornaments and get rid of lots of the breakables, so we took the opportunity to also sort and weed out a few other things that had broken. In the meantime, we also pulled down the multiple trees. We knew there was one tree that we were wanting to get rid of, but as we looked at the trees standing in the garage, there was an extra one. Lo and behold, it was our lost tree! We weren't sure at first, until we saw the tell-tale sign.....the loose bottom branch that our tree had gotten while we still lived in TN.

We know that it is silly to get so attached to an inanimate object....it's just an old fake tree, after all. But finding our lost tree has really just made our hearts smile. Tanner is thrilled to have it back, and Bo is happy to never have to hear about it again!

Tree Lighting at The Wharf

2011-12-08T07:33:00.000-06:00

The other night, we headed down to the Wharf for the lighting of their tree. It ended up being WAY colder than we thought, so we didn't stay very long. We still had some fun & were there long enough for Hampton to see Santa, sing some Christmas carols, see the lighting of the tree, and even sit in the Orange Beach firetruck, which he loved!

driving the firetruck

the Wharf's huge tree

Sometimes this is the only way you can catch the speeding bullet before he gets away!

happily singing along to a Christmas carol

The Big Day

2011-12-07T08:02:00.000-06:00

It's finally here! Harrison will hopefully be here soon, and we'll get to add another blessing to our family. Today we're praying for a quick & easy labor, a healthy mommy & baby, and an excited new big brother. We have ultimate trust in our Doctor, our hospital, and God for everything to work out perfectly. We've been so blessed to have so many friends & family already call or email to wish us all the best, and we're hoping to report good news to everyone very soon! We don't plan to post on the blog for a few days, but we do already have some things lined up for the rest of the week. So for the last time from our family of 3, we thank each of you for your thoughts, prayers, and support. We love you all!

The Plan

2011-12-06T07:45:00.002-06:00

We visited our Doctor one last time yesterday, and now we know what to expect for Harrison's arrival. If everything goes according to plan, we'll check in at the hospital tomorrow morning at 5:30. Dr. Shoemaker is predicting that Harrison will be here by lunchtime, and we sure do hope he's right.....we'd hate to miss a meal! Hahaha!

Hampton is spending tonight with Grandpa & Grannie, and they'll all come visit us at the hospital once baby brother is here. Then, Hamp will go back to our house with Grandi until we come home. We just thought it would be better for him to be at his own house, especially since this will be the longest he's spent away from us. Plus, the weather is supposed to be too cold for him to play outside, and that's exactly what he wants to do when he's at both sets of grandparents' houses!

Big Weekend

2011-12-05T03:58:00.000-06:00

This weekend was full of stuff to do! We had our friend Dylan's birthday party, the Angel Breakfast at church, the Gulf Shores Christmas parade, and the Gulf Shores tree lighting celebration. We also had another party and our monthly Supper Club to attend, but unfortunately, we didn't make it to the last two. It's just tough to get everything done with a toddler and a very pregnant lady....both of who need naps! We did manage to get most of our last-minute things done, too, like mailing off holiday gifts, cleaning & doing laundry, picking up a few groceries, and even taking inventory of the freezer. If you can't tell, we want to do as few errands as possible after the baby arrives!

Here's Dylan, the birthday boy, along with his big brother Garrett.
Hampton loves playing with these two!

Hampton was way more into running around and checking out everything than actually eating at the Angel Breakfast. We enjoyed our breakfasts, though, and loved getting to see several friends that we hadn't seen in awhile.

Hampton & Grandpa checking out the floats during the Christmas parade. Both local sets of grandparents met up with us to enjoy the parade, which was cute! We also picked a great spot to stand and be able to head right to the lighting ceremony.

Friday Photo and Week In Review

2011-12-02T12:09:00.003-06:00

Well, this week has been our last as a family of three. That's pretty unbelievable, if you ask us! We've seen the Doctor again, and we see him one last time on Monday before "the big day". He told us that he wouldn't be surprised if Harrison just arrived at any time. However, since Dr. Shoemaker isn't on call this weekend, and we have TONS to do, that just really can't happen! Of course, we all know that babies are on their own timetable, but we're REALLY hoping that Harrison wants to be cooperative!

Wednesday night was our last night of helping out with the kiddos, and they couldn't understand why Tanner couldn't just bring the baby with her next week. Of course, Tanner's co-teacher also only gave her a week off (she was only sort-of kidding), so we may end up back before we know it!

Hampton has had lots of fun this week, getting to spend a day with both Tanner & Bo's parents. He especially loves that Grandi gives him unlimited fresh-baked cookies & that Grandpa always treats him to pizza & a hot dog at Sam's. And yes.....Hampton eats both! Can you tell that the boy gets no attention? Bless his heart!

Other Weekend Fun

2011-12-01T08:28:00.000-06:00

It seems as soon as the holidays arrive, it's non-stop hustle & bustle around our house. Especially since we're trying to get as much done as possible before Harrison arrives next week! We had put off the Christmas decorating until after we hosted Thanksgiving, but we kicked it into high gear this weekend and got the whole house finished. We spent a little time shopping, and got all of our gifts wrapped. We've only got just a couple of things left to do before we're finished with all the holiday prep, but some of it we can't do until the baby arrives.

One of the most fun things we did over the weekend, though, was go to Hampton's little friend Lucas's birthday party. He had a cars theme, and his mom even made cute "box cars" for them to race. Hampton had a great time playing, and we had even more fun visiting with the other parents!

Hampton sitting by the Birthday Boy, excitedly waiting for cupcakes.

The car races......apparently our little friend Kai's car was going in reverse!

North Pole Breakfast

2011-11-30T08:54:00.000-06:00

For anyone who hasn't heard of it, the Elf on the Shelf has become a big holiday tradition in the last several years. A family adopts an elf, and the elf stays during the Christmas season, watching the children and reporting each night back to Santa on how they acted that day. Since the elf goes back to the North Pole each night, every morning he's in a different place....sometimes even being a little silly on the way. We've only heard good things from our friends about the elf, so we decided to start the tradition this year, even though Hampton is a little young to grasp the whole concept.

We welcomed our elf, who we've named Telly, Sunday morning with a North Pole breakfast. We never miss an opportunity to go a little overboard, and we thought it would be a cute way to kick off the Christmas season. It was simple, but we really had fun showing Hampton his new elf, reading him the story, and letting him try powdered (we mean snow-dusted) doughnuts for the first time.

We're looking forward to our new tradition & seeing what all Telly will be up to this year and for many years to come!

The breakfast table, where Telly was front & center.

Hampton enjoying some snow-dusted doughnuts and his new Dora coloring book that Telly left for him.

Black Friday Fiasco

2011-11-29T08:01:00.000-06:00

On Black Friday, we didn't go out shopping, but we did head down to The Hangout to try and score Bo some cheap festival tickets. They were having a raffle starting at 11am, so we decided we'd go down there & have lunch while waiting to see if we'd won. Well, it turned in to the biggest ordeal EVER! There were baby & mommy meltdowns, unhappy would-be concert goers, and more. Luckily, when the dust settled hours later, Bo did end up with his tickets, so all's well that ends well!

Hampton playing in the sand while waiting on our numbers to be called

Thanksgiving

2011-11-28T07:24:00.002-06:00

Since we couldn't travel to TN for Thanksgiving this year, we celebrated at our house. Paul, Jan, Bob, and Randi all celebrated with us, and even better....they brought several yummy dishes each! Lunch was absolutely delicious, especially since we made sure to request all our favorite foods. Tanner even attempted her Grandmother's famous macaroni & cheese, which got the ultimate compliment of being "Fayetteville worthy". We had a great time visiting, browsing the Black Friday ads, and just enjoying each others' company. Hampton loved all the attention from his grandparents, and Tanner loved the fact that we got to keep all the leftovers from her favorite meal of the year!

our crafty Thanksgiving banner

posing for a Thanksgiving photo

our holiday table

Hampton making good use of the Thanksgiving craft table, aka the way to keep him out of the kitchen!

Friday Photo

2011-11-25T05:47:00.000-06:00

We just came across this photo from the summer and thought it was hysterical, so we wanted to share. Hampton was at Grannie & Grandpa's house, and decided that a bucket would make a great one-man pool. Looks like he was right, huh?

Happy Turkey Day!

2011-11-24T06:50:00.001-06:00

We hope everyone has a safe & wonderful Thanksgiving filled with family, friends, and yummy food!

Giving Thanks

2011-11-23T07:37:00.000-06:00

We all have so much to be thankful for. Some things are serious, some are trivial, but they all make our lives better, easier, and happier. In honor of the holiday tomorrow, here are some things that we are grateful for:

Our Families. We wouldn't be who we are without them, and we can always count on them to be there when it matters.

Our DVR. How else could we watch 8 episodes of Super Why! back-to-back and also keep up with the shows we can no longer stay awake long enough to watch?

Having everything we need. We may not have everything we want, but our needs are always met. And can you really ask for anything else?

Washable, non-toxic crayons. They are a miracle. Just this week they've been washed off the walls, the floor, clothes, and Hampton's face & teeth.

Our health. You never think about it until you hear stories of others. We are blessed to have a healthy child, our health, and another healthy one on the way.

Pizza. It's the world's most perfect food, and has just been classified as a vegetable. Now we can eat it and feel even better about ourselves!

New friends that are like old ones and old friends that are like family.

The internet. It allows us to stay up on current events, find new recipes, shop at our leisure, keep in touch with loved ones, and helps us waste endless hours.

Our faith. It has gotten us through some tough times, and it has given us something to be thankful for every day. This is what we want to pass on to our children the most.

A sense of humor. Because with a toddler, we need it!

Baby Boy

2011-11-22T09:19:00.002-06:00

Ok, since we're having the new baby in 2 weeks and 1 day (not that we're counting down!), we didn't want anyone to think we aren't excited. Truth is, we're thrilled and can't wait for him to get here! Here are a few things about this little boy....

His name will be Harrison Rolly Howard. We're going to call him Harrison, which is Bo's middle name. This will be the 5th generation of Harrisons in Bo's family, which we think is pretty awesome. Also, Hampton & Harrison will have the same initials, which means we get to re-use all of Hampton's cute monogrammed stuff! (Guess who thought of that idea?)

He is a big boy! Our Doctor said last week that he's already 6.5 pounds, and will be bigger than Hampton, who was 7lbs 11oz. Of course, babies usually gain about a pound a week the last month, so that means he's going to be a lot bigger! Right now, Tanner is choosing not to focus on that last fact! He's also really funny at the Doctor's office. They can rarely find his heartbeat, but he always kicks them while they try! We must have a prankster on our hands.

He's also just as wild as Hampton was. He gets hiccups all the time, and you can watch him move from across the room. Loud noises don't seem to bother him, though, which is wonderful since he's going to around a lot of them! He seems to really like fruit tea, which Tanner loves. It's way easier to justify having it around the house when more than one person drinks it! Tanner has had non-stop heartburn this time, so we can't wait to see if the old wives' tale is true. If so, this little boy is going to have one head FULL of hair!

Even though he'll get to re-use most of Hampton's baby stuff, we've been busy making sure he's got plenty of his own cute stuff. Bibs, burps, outfits, and toys.....we don't want him to feel neglected, now do we? (Not that we're just using that as an excuse to shop!)

Our Doctor also said that there's a good chance that Harrison will arrive before the 7th, but we're determined to make him wait. We've still got too much to do before then! We guess we'll just see who is stronger-willed, Tanner or Harrison........

a baby must-have.....multiple holiday burp cloths

an outfit to match his big brother's

Weekend Update

2011-11-21T09:04:00.002-06:00

Well, we had a "to-do" packed weekend these last few days! On Friday, Hampton spent the day and night with Grandpa & Grannie. That gave Tanner & Grandi the chance to finish up some monogramming projects of our own (now that we're done with customers, it's time to kick it into gear for these boys!). It took all day, and we're still not finished, but we made TONS of progress. Then, Bo and Tanner were able to try a local restaurant that we'd been wanting to go to for awhile. It was delicious, and the best part is that it's right at the end of our road! We'll definitely be going back.....we're dying to try their breakfast now!

Saturday was filled with grocery & gift shopping errands before picking up Hampton. We also succeeded in getting all the Christmas decorations out of the attic. We aren't really going to decorate until after Thanksgiving, but we did haul the tree inside so Hampton could get used to it. We're hoping that will keep him from messing with it too much once it's decorated (yeah, right!). He has found it to be a great place to hide his crayons, though, so we'll see. We did manage to sort through all the Christmas stuff, and have found lots of stuff to give away. We also tackled wrapping the gifts, which Tanner has almost finished. Add in some craft projects that got started, and we were quite productive this weekend!

Oh, and we almost forgot......we made time to turn the living room into a temporary dance floor for Hampton. Here's a shot of one of his signature moves. This boy loves to dance!

Friday Photo and Week In Review

2011-11-18T08:15:00.003-06:00

Some other random events from the week....

Our normal 20-minute Doctor's appointment took 1.5 hours yesterday, making both of us thankful that Hampton was NOT with us! We did laugh about the fact that a few minutes of his antics in the office would be great birth-control for others!

Tanner had her November Junior Women's Club meeting Tuesday night. It was fun catching up with old friends and meeting some new ones. However, she realized that eating a meal while a Doctor is talking about health issues is a bad combo!

FINALLY.....the last order from The Monogrammed Monkey has been finished and delivered! Yes, we know that it's like 6 weeks after we quit taking orders, but we had quite the backlog of last-minute needs. What a relief it is to be done with all that....now, on to doing some stuff for the boys!

Bo has been having major computer issues at work, but this week one of his tech buddies finally came to the shop to fix all the bugs. Bo is much happier now that he can get on Facebook check his work emails.

Wednesday night church this week was great fun, seeing as how we didn't have to teach! The kids all made Advent Wreaths, and they turned out great. Add in a little game of "cookie, cookie, brownie" (which is just duck, duck, goose renamed), some homemade snacks, and it was a great night! We only have 1 more week working with them on Wednesday nights before we both go on Maternity Leave through the winter.....that is, if Tanner's co-teacher lets us leave her alone with all those kiddos!

Christmas Village at Bass Pro Shops

2011-11-16T08:22:00.002-06:00

Upon the advice of our friend who is the event planner at Bass Pro, we decided to visit the Christmas Village early this year. For one, who knows what we'll be able to get done after the baby arrives, and second, we were hoping to miss the crowds and the breakdown that was Santa last year!

Well, this year couldn't have been more different than last! We pretty much had the place to ourselves, and Hampton loved getting to play with the motorized train set and the remote-controlled cars. He also loved Santa. He talked to him, smiled at him, and even tried to visit him again while he was visiting with other children!

Petting Zoo

2011-11-15T08:04:00.000-06:00

Hampton LOVES animals of all kinds, so when we saw the one at Heritage Harbor Days, we knew we had to let him visit the animals. He loved chasing the ducks around, feeding the goats, and trying to coax a bunny out from under his hiding place. As much as Hampton loves the animals, we may have to move to a farm!

Thomas the Train

2011-11-14T07:55:00.003-06:00

The annual Heritage Harbor Days festival in Foley had a special guest this year, Thomas the Train. Since Hampton LOVES trains, we definitely thought he'd love seeing him. We were right, however, we didn't really consider how much Hampton does not like waiting in line! He had no patience for waiting his turn in the VERY long line, but he was quite happy to see Thomas once it was his turn. So much so that he didn't want to leave! Luckily, there were lots of other interesting things at the festival to distract him, or we might still be standing there with Thomas!

Friday Photo

2011-11-11T09:23:00.001-06:00

This week we've also....

been back to the Doctor and found out just how early we're going to have to be at the hospital on December 7th!
battled a cold with Hampton
met some new friends at Bunco night
enjoyed the drop in temperature
almost finished our Christmas list..with plans to complete it this weekend
met P&J for dinner a visit to the Christmas Village at Bass Pro (more on that later)

Tonight is Supper Club at our house, so Hampton is spending the day with Grandpa & Grannie while Tanner cleans, then spending the night with Grandi & Granddaddy while the company is here. He's going to have a blast with all that non-stop attention!

Boo at the Zoo

2011-11-10T02:39:00.001-06:00

Boo at the Zoo is one of our favorite fall activities. The zoo puts on a big to-do, with games, contests, and more, but Hampton just loves going to see all the animals. Our zoo is just big enough that a lap around it wears him (and us!) out, so we mainly do that instead of all the other activities. Hampton was in full character that night, crawling and rolling around on the ground just like any good dog would do! Grandi & Granddaddy joined in the fun, too, so that was an added bonus to an already fun night!

Do you remember us posting about the crafts we did in VBS this year? Well, here is one of the toys for the tigers that the kids painted. See, we didn't forget to come back and post a pic!

Family Fun Day

2011-11-09T02:24:00.000-06:00

Our church held it's annual Family Fun day this year at a local park. The weather was amazing (unlike last year in the rain) and so was the turnout! There was a band, a huge bounce house, someone making balloon animals, and all the existing playground equipment for the little ones to climb all over. Tanner is on the committee that plans this event, so she was busy making snow cones (which happen to be delicious!) for all to enjoy, but Hampton and Bo stayed busy roaming the park. We met some new friends and got to catch up with old ones. We only wish it would have lasted longer so we could have chatted with everyone!

Trunk or Treat

2011-11-08T01:41:00.000-06:00

One of the local churches hosted Trunk or Treat down at The Wharf, so we met up with our friends Kelly & Conner to check it out. There were TONS of people there, decked out in every kind of costume you could imagine (some appropriate for a church function, some notsomuch). They had bounce houses, booths of games and other activities, and of course, candy! Hampton was way more interested in running around than waiting in line, so we ended up cutting the festivities short. We were glad we went, though, especially to get to hang out with some of our favorite friends (one of whom makes an adorable zebra, don't you think?).

Halloween Night

2011-11-07T01:19:00.000-06:00

On Halloween night, we joined up with 2 other couples and their kids to go trick-or-treating. We had a yummy dinner of pizza (yes, again!), hotdogs, brownies, and nachos made with Doritos that were awesome! Then after all that health food, we headed out to frighten the town as several superheros and their trusty dog. Hampton LOVED being with the bigger kids....of course, we definitely had to use his harness to keep him from completely running away! After collecting too many treats, we headed back to the Bodifords to play card games while the little ones ate way too much candy! It was a great night with friends filled with lots of laughter, including a good bit at our children's expense!

Trick or treat!

All the super heroes and Hampton

getting energized to go collect candy

Hampton running while Bo chased him...which was the theme of the night!

Friday Photo and Week In Review

2011-11-04T03:06:00.000-05:00

Here are some other random tidbits from our lives right now.....

We've been back to the Doctor's office this week. We're now going every week for checkups....it's almost impossible to believe we'll have a new baby in just over 1 month!

And speaking of doctors, Hampton had his 2-year checkup this week. It went great, and he even got a cute new book from the staff. He's now had his flu shot, so now that just leaves us......

We are trying to get the house clean & ready for our upcoming Supper Club. Around here, that's a major undertaking, especially since Hampton has managed to color on almost every surface in this house. Thank goodness for washable crayons!

Hampton spent the night away from home for the first time last weekend. We know, it's kind of pitiful that we waited this long, but it went great! Did we do anything fun and exciting on our first night alone in 2 years? Only if you count ice cream for dinner and Tanner going to bed at 6:30 exciting!

Birthday Fun

2011-11-03T02:36:00.000-05:00

Since we had plans Halloween night with some friends, we decided to get the Grandparents together early in the day to celebrate with Hampton. Bo took the morning off from work, and we headed over to Fairhope to feed the ducks. Hampton loves to be outside & run like a wild man, plus he adores animals, so we knew he'd love to go see them.

We fed the ducks until they got a little too greedy (these ducks have NO problem invading your personal space!), then headed to another part of the park to walk down the pier. Afterward, we headed to lunch to eat Hampton's #1 favorite food...pizza! When we told him we were going to have pizza, he said "Pizza, pizza, I LOVE pizza! Umm...yummy pizza!". This child is definitely Tanner's all the way! We ate pizza and cupcakes with Grandi, Granddaddy, Grannie, & Grandpa, then headed home for a nap. It was the perfect way to celebrate being 2!

Worn Slap Out!

2011-11-02T08:25:00.002-05:00

Well, after all the Halloween & birthday celebrations, the Howard family is worn out! We've had a great time, though. Hampton had 3 occasions to wear his very cute (if we do say so ourselves!) puppy costume, and we got to spend time with lots of friends & family over the weekend. We've eaten way too many sweets & celebrated way too much, but isn't that part of the fun?

We're going to overload you with photos from all the fun over the next few days, but here's a peek at Hampton's new love, the "train tracks" as he calls them. This was his birthday gift from us, and we've been holding on to it patiently since last year when we found it on a mega-sale. It's been very hard not giving it to him before now, but we knew he'd love it once we did!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T07:55:00.001-05:00

...and the happiest 2nd birthday to our beloved "pumpkin" Hampton!

Birthday Boy

2011-10-28T07:47:00.000-05:00

Birthday Party Fun

2011-10-27T11:26:00.002-05:00

Birthday Party Decorations

2011-10-25T15:46:00.003-05:00

This past weekend was Hampton's 2nd birthday party. We had a great time and the weather was wonderful, however, we didn't get as many pictures as we'd wanted. So most of Tanner's insane adorable crafts didn't get documented. Oh, well! Here are some views of the one thing we did get a photo of (and the most important), the food table.

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-20T09:03:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday, we headed to the pumpkin patch to pick out a couple of pumpkins and let Hampton run around. We went to this same patch last year, and he loved it, so we wanted to go back. The people that run the patch are so nice, and the prices for the pumpkins are awesome! We got 2 good-sized pumpkins for $4, which was well worth it for just the enjoyment Hampton got from touching most of the pumpkins and running around enjoying the weather!

Down on the Farm

2011-10-19T08:44:00.000-05:00

We recently went to Brantley Farms for Hampton's friend Addison's birthday party. We'd never been there before, so we were really excited for Hampton to see the animals and run around outside in the beautiful weather! They had lots of animals to see, but Hampton was most interested in the tractor. He liked being able to turn the wheel and sit up high. We're sure that his Grandpa is going to be thrilled about this!

40th Annual Shrimp Festival

2011-10-18T08:24:00.002-05:00

This weekend was the 40th Annual Shrimp Festival, so we had to join our 300,000 closest friends and check it out! We went down on Thursday night, which is known as Locals Night, because the crowds aren't quite as bad, but also because every year the Tip Tops play. We've heard about the Tip Tops since we first moved here, but have missed them for some reason or another every time they've played. Well, we finally got to see them, and they did NOT disappoint! They were awesome!

The person who loved them the most, though, was Hampton. He was all about dancing to the music, and was getting lots of smiles and laughs due to his "unique" dancing ability (he inherited his moves from Bo, if that tells you anything!). Luckily, we ran into Jeff & Jessica Hudson, so they got lots of amusement out of watching Hampton show off his moves, too. Here are a couple of photos that try to capture his routine....they don't quite do it justice, but trust us, this boy is a dancing machine!

Friday Photo

2011-10-14T04:08:00.000-05:00

Lulu's and boo-boos

2011-10-13T03:32:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, we went to dinner with our friends the Bodifords. They have three children, and the 2 older ones had an evening play date, so they wanted to take advantage of only having Lucas with them and invited us to come with them. We thought the boys would have a great time playing in the sand, and the weather was wonderful, so we headed to Lulu's. We had a great time with them, and it was funny to find out how much Krystal & Tanner have in common! Of course, Hampton and Lucas had fun running around......that is, until a big kid accidentally hit Hampton in the face with his hula-hoop! It swelled up so big and fast that it split his skin. So, of course, Hampton now has another big boo-boo right on his head. At least it's usually in the same place!

Dinner with the Hudsons

2011-10-12T00:31:00.000-05:00

So, like we mentioned yesterday, it's Fall Break time! This past weekend, we got to meet up with our extended family Jeff & Kay Hudson, along with their daughters and Kay's sister. We had a great time visiting with them and laughing a lot, especially while Bo told the story of the practical joke he played on Jeff last year! Hampton loved playing and making faces with Jeff at dinner, so we were all well entertained. Kay is down here for a month (so lucky!) and Jeff, Katie & Jessica are coming back and forth, so we're hoping they get to come to Hampton's birthday party in a few weeks!

Dinner with the Hensons

2011-10-11T12:13:00.002-05:00

As you know, we love the fall around here. One of the best things about this time of year is we have visitors for Fall Break! We recently got to catch up with Tanner's Uncle David, Aunt Melissa, and cousin Katie while they were down for a long weekend. We met them for dinner at the newest Tacky Jacks and had a great time. Hampton especially loved the attention and getting to play outside with his Grandi. It was so great to see them, especially since we won't be making it to TN for the holidays this year.

the family, along with Katie's boyfriend Devin

Hampton enjoying the outdoor play area with Grandi

Friday Photo and Week In Review

2011-10-07T08:04:00.003-05:00

This has been one wild week! We've been to the hospital to fill out all of our paperwork, and we've been back to the Doctor for our routine checkups. We're now going every 2 weeks, and we've picked our induction date. So, unless he arrives rather early, we'll be having this little boy 2 months from today! We can't believe it's gone by so fast and so slowly at the same time. This new countdown has definitely kicked all of our to-dos into high gear!

We've also had dinner with Granddaddy, since he's in TN for 2 weeks helping Tanner's Grandmother recuperate from eye surgery. Hampton has hung out with Grandi & Grandpa & Grannie while we've done a little Christmas shopping, monogramming, and picking up a few more goodies for Hampton's upcoming birthday party (including the actual invitations!). We've taught both Sunday School and Wednesday night classes, and Tanner isn't sure she's ready to have her own 5th & 6th grade boys just yet!

This weekend is going to be a packed one, but hopefully at some point during the next few days, we'll be able to mark a couple more to-dos off those 8 never-ending lists!

Bass Pro

2011-10-05T08:56:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, we were on the Eastern Shore running some errands, so we decided to make a stop at Bass Pro Shops to let Hampton see the fish. Well, it just so happened that Grandpa & Grannie were right up the road, so they came over to join us. Hampton got to see the fish, wander to the top of the waterfall area, and had his photo taken during the football event they were having for the children. He even left with his own football. It's funny how much better this photo turned out than the one last year with Santa!

always ready for some football

looking down into the fish tank with Grannie & Grandpa

Big Shoes To Fill

2011-10-04T08:33:00.000-05:00

Hampton LOVES to walk around in our shoes. His favorites are Bo's tennis shoes and a pair of Tanner's flats with little baubles on the toes (which he attempts to pull off, much to Tanner's dismay). He'll walk all around the house in them, no matter if the shoe is on the correct foot or even if it's pointing the right direction. Which is why, if you come to our house, you may find random single shoes anywhere you look!

Hampton's First Haircut

2011-10-03T08:13:00.001-05:00

Ok, yes we know that the child is almost 2 and he hasn't had an "official" haircut before now. However, we have tried to take him to the salon, but Tanner's girl refused to do it after Hampton pitched a royal fit before she snipped the first piece. So, since then, we've been taking random swipes at his hair ourselves when it gets too unmanageable. However, his hair was looking quite unkempt and since he IS about to be 2, we decided it was time to brave the salon again....this time with Bo's girl.

First, we did lots of research online of what worked for other people. Armed with our info, we came prepared with suckers (which Hampton had never had before), songs, and cartoons on TV. We even had Bo get his hair cut first, to make Hampton see that it wasn't scary. At first, it didn't look like any of that was going to work......especially since Hampton didn't care for the suckers. We just knew we were going to be told that this was a bad idea (again), but the very brave stylist took over. She ended up having to cut Hampton's hair by looking in the mirror while holding him on one hip. She was so patient and wonderful.....let's just say that she got a big tip from us!

So, to make a long story short, Hampton now has his first big-boy haircut. We think it looks very cute! He also looks very classic little boy....his Grandi says he looks like he could be June Cleaver's son, which we think is a big compliment!

getting ready for the big moment....with his cape on and sucker in hand

the finished 'do

Friday Photo

2011-09-30T01:48:00.000-05:00

Festival Time

2011-09-29T01:34:00.000-05:00

Around here, one of the first signs of Fall is that area festivals start back up. We love going to these things, if for no other reason than to just get out and enjoy the fresh air. We headed to the first one of the season last weekend, the 23rd Annual Jubilee Festival in Daphne. It's definitely one of the smaller of the season, but it was just nice to get out and walk around. Plus, we got to hear a little of one of Bo's favorite local bands, so it was worth the trip!

a small peek at some of the booths

Hampton rides in style....leg propped up, paci in one hand and sippy cup in the other!

It's All Fun and Games Until Somebody....

2011-09-28T11:09:00.002-05:00

We headed to the Fairhope park this weekend to feed the ducks with Hampton.
He had a great time climbing on the bridge....

....running around squealing.....

...and chasing the ducks. That is, until...

...he ran straight into one of the ponds and got soaking wet! Ahh...little boys!

Pirates Cove

2011-09-26T13:40:00.002-05:00

Friday night, we decided to treat Tanner's parents to dinner since Bob had just totally refurbished a dresser for us that we found on the side of the road. It was so ugly, but with lots of wood glue and some really pretty paint, it now looks like a million bucks and is storing all the Monogrammed Monkey's accessories. Anyway, we decided to head out to Pirate's Cove and enjoy burgers on the water. Hampton loved wandering down the dock and loved the dogs that roam freely all over the place. He did tell one dog to "wake up!", though, since it wasn't in the mood for playing with him!

walking down the pier with Granddaddy

Hampton inspecting the sand in his shoes

Happy Fall, Y'all!

2011-09-23T06:16:00.000-05:00

It's finally here....our favorite time of year! The weather is cooler, the crowds are gone, and there are tons of activities to enjoy. Here are just a few of the things we're looking forward to this year...

cardigans and furry slippers
seasonal drinks at Starbucks like Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate & Pumpkin Spice Latte
visiting the pumpkin patch
new fall TV shows (even though we have no time to watch them!)
chili and homemade soups
the Shrimp Festival
Hampton's birthday
feeding the ducks in Fairhope
changing leaves
fall scented candles
football, football, and more football
cute fall appliques
Supper Club
fall decorations
our 1st Thanksgiving at home

We hope everyone has a wonderfully fun Fall, filled with all the sights and smells of the season!

Happy Birthdays!

2011-09-22T08:02:00.002-05:00

Today is cousin Jack's 3rd birthday and Saturday is his mom's (ahem) 30th.

We wish them both very happy days!

Hampton's reaction to singing the birthday song to Jack

The little birthday boy and his mommy, with his daddy thrown in for good measure!

Hampton's Favorite Game

2011-09-21T09:38:00.000-05:00

Hampton's new fave "game" is making the music play on his activity table, then running around in circles while the music plays. He especially likes to have people join in the fun, even though it tends to make adults quite dizzy running in circles. The funniest part is, if you aren't going fast enough for his liking, he'll push you and say "Go! Go!".

More From Sesame Street

2011-09-20T09:22:00.000-05:00

Friday Photo and Week In Review

2011-09-16T02:16:00.000-05:00

This has been a whirlwind week! We didn't make it home from Birmingham until almost 11pm on Sunday night, thanks to getting stuck behind an accident on I-65. Luckily, no one had life-threatening injuries, but we did watch the LifeFlight helicopter land & the Homeland Security trucks whiz past us.

Monday, Tanner woke up sick and spent all day trying to get over it. Wednesday, we headed to Mobile for Sesame Street Live, which was really cute. Hampton LOVED it! We'll share more photos of it next week. Hopefully after this week, we'll be back to our regular Wednesday night church schedule.

Monogramming has been crazy this week, with lots of orders, pick-ups, and drop-offs. Not to mention that at some point, we're going to have to find a place for and learn to use our new 6-needle machine that is sitting in our bedroom! We've also done story time at the library, play time at Grandi's house, Tanner had her first fall Junior Womens' Club meeting, and Bo has been super-busy trying to figure out all the new stuff about the new commercial machine his shop purchased. Right now, it's looking like a trip to Atlanta and Virginia are in his future!

We're looking forward to a weekend of great football, nice weather, and getting stuff together for our neighborhood yard sale coming up later in the fall. Oh, and maybe some time to rest, too!

Park Fun

2011-09-15T13:56:00.002-05:00

While we were in Birmingham for Hampton's cousin Jack's birthday party, we had to make a park pit stop. We tried going on Saturday night, but there were so many other people already there playing that there were literally no parking spots available. So we tried again Sunday morning with much better luck. Hampton had tons of fun playing on all the equipment and he loved having his Grandi & Grandaddy there with him, too!

Play Tent

2011-09-14T03:43:00.000-05:00

What's more fun than a play tent? One flipped on it's side, of course!

Dora, Dora, Dora the Explorer

2011-09-13T15:38:00.003-05:00

This kid LOVES him some Dora...and Boots, too (the little monkey on the screen).

Don't you just wish little things like this would make adults this happy?

Friday Photo

2011-09-09T07:32:00.001-05:00

Let Him Eat Cake

2011-09-07T07:48:00.003-05:00

Well, this past Labor Day was one of the strangest we've had in awhile! First, it POURED down rain due to Tropical Storm Lee (we got almost 10 inches), so we mostly stayed indoors. We did keep checking weather.com to see when our breaks would be, and we'd run out and do some errands during those brief dry spells!

The worst part was that Hampton got sick on Saturday. It started with him just not feeling that great and having a little bit of a fever, which we thought was due to teething. Then, the runny nose and cough showed up, so we decided he must have a little bit of a cold. Yesterday, however, when he woke up with a full-body rash, we KNEW this was more than just a cold! So, off to the Dr. we went. We left with a prescription for Zyrtec for the rash and something for the ear infection he'd developed, but we still don't know what caused that ugly rash. Plus, it kept spreading, so like any good first-time parents, we've been doing our share of freaking out! Of course, we can't get the poor boy to eat or drink anything or take his medicine well, which is definitely not helping. Right now, we're in the bribery stage, which is why yesterday he ate potato chips, pickles, pizza, and cake! We're just happy if he actually eats it!

The Doc said he'll be contagious through today, so no church for us tonight, even though it's the first week back. Luckily, Tanner has a tough co-teacher who is going to brave tons of 1st & 2nd graders on her own! We're just hoping Hampton gets well very soon, since we've got lots of big plans coming up!

One cake-covered boy. We definitely didn't mind, since he actually ate this stuff! If you look closely, you can see some of the rash on his belly & arm. It's very ugly and whelped, and we're hoping it goes away very, very soon!

Friday Photo

2011-09-02T03:22:00.000-05:00

We're sorry, but this is just about the cutest little boy ever!

Are You Ready For Some Football?

2011-09-01T12:49:00.002-05:00

Some people look at Labor Day weekend as the last big summer event. This family, however, sees it as the beginning of something waaayyy better.....college football! That's right, football starts tonight with our kickoff of pizza & wings watching, well, whoever is on TV. Because it doesn't matter what college team is playing, if it's on, we're watching (or at least Bo is)! Of course, we do have our favorite team, so Go Gators! And Roll Tide.....And War Eagle.....And Yea for anyone else that's not Michigan or Ohio State!

coloring outside

2011-08-31T07:36:00.000-05:00

Since Hampton enjoys coloring so much, we thought we'd take him outside to play with chalk. That way, he could color all over the driveway with no worries about getting it other places. Of course, he was covered in it, too! He had a great time playing with the chalk, and then playing with our neighbors who came over to visit. We liked it, too, especially since the cleanup was so easy!

Color! Color!

2011-08-30T07:27:00.002-05:00

"Color! Color!" is what Hampton says when he wants to do one of his favorite new pastimes. He'll usually play with his crayons and coloring books for a good while. We are trying to keep him seated and coloring in only one place, at his little table. That's because he hasn't quite learned that the only acceptable place for crayon marks is on paper. Just ask our tile floors and bedroom wall......thank goodness for washable crayons!

The Busiest of Bees

2011-08-29T09:12:00.004-05:00

If you've wondered if we've abandoned the blog, the answer is no. It just seems that way because we've been so busy lately!

Last week was the semi-annual consignment sale, so that meant 4 trips back and forth to Fairhope ( a 30-minute drive each way) dropping off clothes, picking stuff up, and shopping a lot! Luckily, we found several things on our list, including an adorable baby outfit for only $1! Can't beat that! We also went to Family Fun Night at church. It's always fun, and we got to catch up with some friends that we hadn't seen all summer. That's about to change, though, since Fall church activities start again next week. Both of us will be working with the kiddies, and we're really looking forward to it! On Sunday, we had a luncheon at church that was really fun, too. We got to meet lots of new people and got to know some others a little better. Hampton had fun showing off before deciding that playing with all the toys in the nursery would be more fun!

Speaking of Hampton, don't worry...he's been having lots of fun, too! He's had several playdates with friends, as well as getting to play at Granddaddy's house while Tanner is busy monogramming away. We had a "great" idea of putting a cutoff for monogramming orders as of Oct. 1st, so we can get ready for the baby. Well, it's kind of backfired! For some reason, people have been coming out of the woodwork to order, so even though we are still planning to stop taking orders then, it may be Dec. 1st before we get done making all this stuff! It's definitely a good problem to have, though, and we're not complaining (well....not TOO much, anyway!).

Hampton also got to play with Grandpa & Grannie at their house, which means lots of running around outside while we had our first date night ever! Kind of pathetic, we know, but at least we got around to getting out by ourselves before #2 gets here!

Fall is usually when things get crazy around here, but if these past couple of weeks are any indication, we're already in the middle of it!

Friday Photo

2011-08-12T01:27:00.000-05:00

Another photo of the pirates, because it's just too funny!

Jan's Birthday

2011-08-11T01:16:00.000-05:00

Monday was Jan's birthday, so we celebrated with dinner at the Shrimp Basket, which is one of her favorite restaurants. We enjoyed a yummy meal and even yummier cupcakes that we smuggled in for dessert! Afterwards, we walked over to Souvenir City where Tanner snapped a hilarious photo of the crew. What's a birthday without a pirate picture, right?

The Beach

2011-08-10T01:59:00.000-05:00

All cousin Jack wanted to do during his visit was go to the beach. He said it over and over, so we couldn't keep him from it! So while Bob & John went fishing, Bo, Tanner & Amy took the boys to the beach. We decided that it was probably best to wait until it got a bit cooler to go, so we headed down right after dinner. What a good decision! The weather felt amazing and Jack just kept saying "I'm so excited!" over and over. It was too cute. We did have to avoid the jellyfish and fish heads that were washing up on the beach, but these cousins probably would've stayed all night if we'd let them!

working together building a sandcastle

Henry just happily watched the big boys play

Bo stayed busy keeping Hampton from running into the water

Jack escaping from the sand we buried him in

Fun Family Weekend

2011-08-09T12:39:00.005-05:00

This weekend, Tanner's brother John & his family came down from Birmingham to visit. They have 2 boys, one is a year older than Hampton and the other is a year younger. Hampton LOVES his big cousin Jack and does everything he can to keep up with him! We all had a blast enjoying warm weather activities and each others' company. The best part was seeing how worn out the boys were after all the playing and non-stop running! Luckily, Hampton won't have to wait too long to play with cousin Jack again, since we'll be seeing them next month for Jack's birthday.

baby Henry being entertained by Granddaddy during lunch at The Pink Pony

Hampton decked out in all his swimming gear at the pool

Jack & Hampton having way too much fun on the water slide

Into Everything

2011-08-02T12:40:00.003-05:00

This past week has been an interesting one with Hampton, to say the least! First, he managed to dump out an entire container of baby powder in the floor & play with it like it was sand. Then, he made a trail to the front door & back, where he smeared it all over the front door (it's still there). It took 2 sweepings, the vacuum, and the mop to get it all up. The next day, he recreated the powder with black pepper, which sent him into a sneezing fit! Of course, it didn't seem to bother him that bad, because the day after that, we caught him climbing on top of the dining room table trying to grab the pepper again. Tanner has suggested that we move everything up to a height of at least our chins, but Bo doesn't think that will stop him for long enough!