mustache bash

our birthday boy!

preview of hank's 1yr photos taken by denise chambers

we had a mustache bash today in honor of our little man turning one. his stache lasted all of 5 seconds but his daddy's is the real deal.

 

we had dear friends join us in celebrating. 

henry's girlfriend, evelyn.

 

the kids got to make their own pizza, dressing it with sauce, cheese, and pepperoni. henry was hungry so he snacked on his toppings.

marianne chose the stache for me...i look borderline pervy dude.

we played "pin the stache on hank"

let them eat cake. and he did. henry had some good practice with this on wednesday and his chocolate cupcake made him one happy boy...he ate the entire thing.

 

my mustache brings all the girls to the yard

thanks to everyone who came, it was a special day for henry and for us.

baby-no-more

our hank turned one today.

we had such a fun day! started with Cheerios and pbs in bed. after a long morning nap we had lunch with daddy at one of our favorite burger joints. then, one-year photos with my dear and talented friend Denise Chambers. the kids had such a great time and we got so very many shots. i can't wait to see them. birthday dinner, cupcakes, and opening presents. oh, and pooping in the bathtub...because there's no better time than on your birthday!

our sweet baby is becoming a little boy.

boo

for the record, i'm not a fan of store-bought halloween costumes. growing up, my sisters and i always had costumes hand-crafted by our mom, with very few exceptions. our favorite for many years was to be punk-rockers. oh yeah!!! so i've made it my mission to do homemade costumes for my little babes. the last couple of years i just added hand-sewn details to a lion and bumblebee costumes but this year i got myself in deep. marianne wanted to be twilight sparkle from my little pony and wanted henry to be twilight's dragon, spike. so i brought my sewing machine out of it's 6-year hiatus and called upon my 4-H skills instilled by the incredible carol k. the twilight costume was complete with unicorn and cutie mark (star on her hip) and i made a dragon-tail for spike from this fantastic pattern from jessica at running with scissors. the best part of the tail was completely unplanned but with henry's lopsided crawl, the tail just flopped around behind him. stinkin' adorable.

it was a fun halloween between a donut eating contest at a local high school trick or treat event, the annual costume parade at marianne's school, trick-or-treating with dear friends, and our traditional last trick-or-treating stop at brian and brianna's doorstep. as we were trick-or-ttreating, marianne was always the last to leave each porch. i couldn't figure out why she was keeping to the back when at one house i heard her wishing the homeowner a good evening, which she continued to do at every home. such a proud moment. unfortunately for her, the poor little thing realized halfway through our route that she had to potty. with no facilities available, she had to hold it until we could get to brian and brianna's. henry had a great time riding along in the wagon. his little friend, evelyn (dressed as a pea), joined him for a bit. she's a doll...always a happy girl. marianne really liked the kit kat candy bars and when we were all out of them, she asked for more of the kitty cats. but i'm trying to convince her it's almost time to eat lots of turkey and be incredibly thankful. let us all give thanks. xo

from the reel

unfortunately i clipped half of henry's precious, smiling face out of some of the shots but self-filming while playing puppeteer proved challenging i suppose. some great baby laughs, though.

he also thinks it's hilarious when i say "aaachoooo!" he seriously has the best laugh-out-loud baby giggle.

he is really starting to move with purpose...seeing something/somewhere he wants to be and crawling to get there. sometimes i can even get him to follow me into a room just by voice. he's getting a little workout here in this clip, the last 20 seconds is the payoff.

great grandma minnie

my grandma.

it has been two years now, to the day, since my grandma's departure from this earth. there's so much more i want to share about her than what i'm able to post tonight but i couldn't let the day pass without a remembrance.

grandma in her kitchen...i loved that old wood stove.

my grandma was strong.

my grandma's laugh was a cackle.

my grandma was a fine cook and baker.

my grandma was particular.

my grandma was diligent.

my grandma was a quilter.

my grandma loved.

my grandma is loved.

my grandma played scrabble with me.

my grandma said divan instead of couch.

my grandma showed me the boonies.

my grandma taught me to make cinnamon rolls.

my grandma adored babies.

my grandma was ornery.

my grandma was vivacious.

my grandma called the cows by yelling soo-wee

my grandma had grapevines.

my grandma grew peonies and roses.

i remember easter egg hunts at my grandma's house with all of my many cousins.

i remember big family christmases at grandma's.

i remember grape soda and bugles. 

i remember dress-up.

i remember sleeping on the cot.

i remember showers in the carport.

i don't know why this is such a vivid memory for me with my grandma but i distinctly remember an overnight visit at my grandma's house...it was just me without my sisters or cousins. my grandma and i were taking a walk down her country road and she asked me what i wanted to be when i grew up. at the time (i think i was approx 10) it was a lawyer. she asked me if i wanted to be a good lawyer or a bad lawyer. i was confused by here question and answered, "good," of course. it wasn't until years later that i realized she was likely asking me whether i wanted to be a prosecutor or a defense attorney.

there was at least 10-15 years throughout my teens and twenties where i failed at maintaining a relationship with my grandma. i took her time for granted and wasted too many years and opportunities to spend time with her to get to know her as an adult. but i am so grateful that i woke up and made the effort during her last few years. yes, i could have done more and wish that i had but i made some precious memories with her. i loved visiting her in the morning...she was so full of life early in the day. i spent a day baking with her...we had planned to make cinnamon rolls and butterscotch pie. i remember getting to her house by 8am and she had already started on the dough because daylight was wasting...i guess i should've gotten there by 6am. ha ha ha

marianne and her great grandma minnie.