Cheerios and Vomit

Some things you may not know about the small Hansons (unless you live with them):

• Greta's thumb and index finger are tiny oat-seeking missiles. She is perfecting her pincer.
• She hums while she eats.
• She always wakes up smiling. Even when she sleeps only 4 nanoseconds at night, like she did last night.
• She has a cry identical to her brother's. It can be hard to tell over the baby monitor which of them is up.
  

Greta on Father's Day

• Noah is developing his saucy side. He can say, "No! I climb on the counter!" so loudly that the neighbors stop to listen.
• He has started talking about the things he did yesterday. I'm not sure if this means he has just recently learned the word "yesterday" or he's newly able to think in the past tense. Experimentation to follow.
• He puked for the first time today, at daycare. The nanny search continues.

Noah "Yesterday" (June 2007)

Just Like On HGTV

Lindsey and Kesava hooked us up with this excellent craft project: Pinecone Peanut Butter Birdfeeders.

I'll be honest, Lindsey, Noah only got to do two. I finished the rest and hung them up during his nap. There is peanut butter and birdseed all over the lawn. Greta has become one with the ball of hemp twine.

All that's left is to sit back and await the flurry of gorgeous song birds to our deck.

Love and Marriage

Nearly four full days with no kids. Horrifying. But fully necessary, right?

I'm a big enough person to admit that you were right, Kevin, I was wrong. I'm glad we didn't take the kids. We needed some time. I had fun without them. I slept so, so late. It was glorious.

There were even moments that I spent not thinking about them. Like, for example, those spent yelling (slurring?) to Nick that he should get married every weekend.

Also, notoriously, those in the Taco Bell drive through, listening to an amazingly coherent Ryan place his order: Chili cheese burrito. Two hard shell tacos, no lettuce. Fire sauce. Not bad for a guy who was moments away from letting us all know that he was going to puke. How could I forget?

We came home with almost no ability to communicate. I could barely manage single-word answers to simple questions like, How was the drive? How was the wedding? How did the kids do? How did Grandma manage? Nebraska was breathtaking, as always. Super, super fun. Missed us almost not at all. Just fine, I think.

Spluttering

As a former member of the swim team, it's a little embarrassing how few hours of pool time my kid has logged in his two years. Apparently the chlorine is bad for him anyway.

No worries, though. The boy who takes extensive coaching to lie back in the bathtub to have his hair washed has absolutely no fear of water outside the bathroom. Not even a little healthy fear. I pulled him up out of the lake by an arm four times yesterday. He had the look of full on terror every time. Twenty-seven seconds later, he was halfway up the beach again, preparing for his next run to the just-a-little-too-deep end.

He has finally taken to sandals, but evidently is not allowed to wear them to daycare. Grandma took our scolding for that one.

He's still not down with swim trunks, though. I'm not pushing it. He just needs a bit more sunscreen.

Mother, Father, Daughter, Son

The day before Father's Day is supposed to be about radio comedy and a picnic of far too many delicious foods and drinks. This year, PHC opted for a pre-Father's Day show in Michigan over Ravinia. We took our splendorous picnic to Sheboygan instead.

Catch you next year, Garrison?

Speed Racer's Retirement

I had the most excellent tire swing when I was a kid. Someday I hope to at least have a tree big enough for a tire swing for these kids. Til then, there's Grandma & Grandpa's.

Whirl

And just like that, the summer solstice has passed.

Please Leave A Message

Morning Person

The blog has taken a backseat in recent weeks. We have been traveling fools and have far too many cute pictures to choose just a few for posting here.

Will return soon.

Dad Copycat

Aunt Shelley, if you're out there, you"ll never guess where I found Noah this morning. He promised not to wake her.

Daughters Are Delightful

It seemed like it took Noah forever to get the Mmm sound just right. I thought it was so unfair of fate to make Mom such a hard word to say. Greta still mastered Da-da-da first (she's really into The Police), but she now knows exactly what to say to answer the question, Will this girl sit down and play quietly by herself for a few minutes so I can get one stupid thing done around here today?

MomMomMom
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(insert squeal of delight here).

Maybe this is what that lady meant about eight months being the ultimate in adorable.