Pages

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Coming Home







Thankfully, the ride home proved less eventful than the ride there. We learned from our past and chose to break the trip up in two days on the way back. We left shortly after Great Grandpa "Arson's" party and arrived in St. Louis utterly exhausted. In fact, I've never see Gwant so tired. He remained snuggled with his blankie and thumb in mouth while Mommy changed him into his pjs. I was quite tired myself. In fact, I was so tired I didn't feel myself nearing the edge of the bed in the middle of the night. It wasn't until I hit the ground that I realized what had happened. I then screamed so loudly that Mommy thought I had broken my arm. But, like I said, Gwant was really tired and didn't even realized my dilemma. After much reassurance from Mommy, I realized my arm, was, in fact, in tact and that I could resume sleeping. I learned a valuable lesson that night: that bed rail on my bed at home, it's worth every penny. But other than that, our stay was restful.


The next day we loaded BACK up for another 8 hour drive home. A few minor mishaps: dropping my overalls in my pee pee on the potty and since I had had accidents in about every other article of clothing Mommy brought for me on this trip I had nothing else to wear (hence why I have no pants on in one picture) and Gwant having one of his normal blowouts (hence why he doesn't have pants on in his picture), we made it home. Gwant's face says it all in these pictures. Though we had a good time, we were exhausted and glad to be back...in Birmingham.

The EXTENDED Fam









So, at Great Grandpa "Arson's" birthday party we got some family pictures. Gwant and I were, of course, in the great granchildren picture. Gwant was showing of his true colors with his high pitched scream that can pierce through anyone's ears. Then, they took a grandchildren picture...that's where Mommy came in and there was much less drama in that picture. And then, they took a picture of each of Grandpa Larson's children's families. There we all are.

Uh...


Uh, Kyle, don't mean to embarrass you, but you've got a little something exuding from your mouth and running down your chin.

Laughing it Off


Papa and I found humor in remembering our ride up to Kansas City. Here I'm saying: Remember when I diarrheaed all over in the car and we were stuck in the middle of St. Louis? Papa just laughed and laughed.

While in Kansas City...




While in Kansas City, I also got to catch up on some of my email and inspect some new toys laying around. I think I'd like one of these, Mommy, for Christmas.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Vote for Me!


Can you believe it, Mommy entered me into a Fresh Faces photo contest through one of her college friends and I have made it to the top ten! Now, if I get the most votes I'll win a free photo session valued at $200! My last photo session was when I was 8 months (oops). Here's where you come in...go to: www.berrytreephotography.blogspot.com and click beside my name...make sure you do click. I'm in fourth place right now. I need your help. I'm begging you, from the tops of my pants. Come on, who can resist this face? By the way, I pulled my pants up all by myself in this shot. Can you tell?

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Oh the Funny Things I Say




We interrupt our current Kansas City series, to bring you these funny words and pictures:

Mommy: Hannah, what do you want for your birthday?
Me: "wocks (rocks)." (yes I love, love, love rocks as I've noted in the past. Mommy says we'll have to make some pet rocks soon so stayed tuned for those babies).


Daddy: Hannah do you know where angels live?
Hannah: Alabama.


And, the other day Daddy brought this raccoon home for me to see. I LOVE animals. . .any kind...stuffed, cartoon, real, ones in books. . .so this was a special treat (and stayed tuned for an even greater treat...a baby raccoon...more of her to come later!) I used my modeling skills to pose in one photo and in the other I was waving (my favorite thing) to my new friend. However, she did not wave back. Sad. She now lives in the house with us. I feed her, hold her, and sleep with her.




JUST KIDDING.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

My Turn














It's time I got a few words in. Hannah has been hogging the whole thing! Did she mention how good I was for most of the car ride? Because I was...until hour 10. And, did she mention how well I slept at the hotel? Because I did. In fact, most would say I was a pleasure to be around unless it involved sitting at the table to eat breakfast or if it involved behaving at Great Grandpa Larson's birthday party. Other than that, I was a saint. I got to meet Mommy's cousin's daughter, Journey, who was right about my size. Finally, a playmate for me! However, I don't think she shared the same enthusiasm. Some say I'm a little overwhelming with my forwardness. Journey, well, she most be one of them. But she's a nice gal! Too bad we don't live closer so we can play together more. I'm sure she'd warm up to me after awhile. I decided to give her some space and enjoyed some great time with the universal playmate, Ashey. She showed me how to kick the ball and she walked me around to explore the courtyard around us. Thanks, Ashey for remembering little ol' me and for bringing me into the circle of fun!

Things are Looking Up...





And then, after our playtime in the pool, we had more playtime outside. Things were looking up and my tummy was going down. Ashey was the designated playmate of all of us kids. She kept us busy with all sorts of games like soccer and hide and go seek! Hide and go seek was particularly my favorite, maybe it was because I was so good at it. I mean, just look at me, who would ever find me in these places.

FINALLY.....













After a GOOD night's rest, a deflated tummy, and some long, deep breaths....the promise of the pool finally arrived! Yes, sir. There's nothing like a cool dip in the pool to refresh oneself after a miserable 15 hours in the car. This is actually the second time we went. The first time, Mommy got in with me and Grant but found it to be a logistical nightmare as she tried to keep us both non-swimmers afloat and happy. Thankfully, the second time Papa went with me while Mommy kept an eye on a sleeping Grant. And, frankly, it was a lot more fun with Papa. He knows how to have a good time. Cousin Allie and Sean came too! And that other fella, well, he's my...second cousin? His name is King. He's Mommy's cousin's son. . .we're not too sure what that makes him in relation to me. . .maybe it's that cousin once removed thing? Because, as I'm writing this I believe King may be Mommy's second cousin. So complicated, these things. All I know is that he's a cool dude!

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Oh Kansas City, Where Do I Begin?


You might want to sit down for this one...or grab a drink. This could take awhile. You see, it all started several weeks ago when Mommy said Grant and I were going on a trip to Kansas City. We were going to meet my Great Grandpa "Arson (Larson)" and my great aunts and uncles and Mommy's cousins. It sounded like a great plan!

So, after our car was jam-packed full of all our necessities, we were on our way to Birmingham to meet up with Grandma, Papa, Ashey, and the Sandersons. . .or so I thought. We weren't in the car but for 2 minutes when Mommy stopped at the neighborhood clubhouse.
"I wanna go on our trip," I whimpered. To which Mommy replied that we were, we just had to run a couple of more errands before we started. So, about an hour or so later and a stop at the post office and the bank, we were really on our way to Birmingham.
The ride was smooth sailing for about an hour and then, well, you'll see. Mommy had thought she had gotten some funny whiffs of something during the ride but since Gwant was fast asleep, she didn't want to disrupt the peace, so she had ignored it. Well, we made a stop in Anniston so Mommy could take a potty break. As she unbuckled Gwant, she noticed a nice layer of poo exuding from his pants and onto the carseat. Apparently Gwant needed a potty break too. . .just thirty minutes prior to when Mommy needed one. Things were about to get messy. Mommy tried to turn on her MacGuyver instincts. She layed the front passenger seat flat. Pulled the grocery cart cover off of the floor (see, a messy car can come in handy) and laid it out on the seat. Gwant had his own changing table in the car. About a million wet wipes later, Gwant was shiney clean. Now, I had to go. So, while Mommy continued to clean up the rest of the mess, there I sat, on my "travel potty" in between our two carseats in the back seat. And, being the good gurl I am, I pee-peed into my potty so as not to create a new mess for Mommy to clean (although she did have to clean the potty out). After Mommy wiped me and put my pants back on, cleaned the carseat of poop from Gwant, and threw away all the poopey wipes, it was her turn. So, she toted us into the women's bathroom and finally, she had relief.
We were back on the road. Gwant wasn't the happiest camper. We had short repreaves from his high pitched, blood curdling squeals. Those were nice. But only another hour or so later, we arrived at Grandma and Papa's. All was good. For that night at least.
We woke up early the next morning to hit the road for what was supposed to be a 12 hour car ride. We were excited, optimistic, enthusiastic about this great adventure that lay before us. Mommy, Gwant, and I rode with Grandma and Papa while Ashey rode with the Sandersons. Gwant and I were cozy in the back of the Pilot, while Mommy sat cozy in the middle row with the bags and cooler. Finally, we were officially starting our trip and I was happy, well, until about an hour down the road.
We stopped at McDonald's for breakfast. However, I wasn't feeling so hot. My stomach began bulging out, much like you see in the chosen picture above, except, well, it was bigger. If I were older, you would have thought I may be pregnant. Or, if I were from another country you may have thought I had a disease. All I know is that I couldn't eat and I had to poop. And poop I did, thankfully in our travel potty. But, that didn't spell relief. Despite my whimpers and lack of appetite the trip continued. I "cwied" a lot and told Mommy I wanted to go outside. Thankfully, during this troubling period, Gwant was as good as gold.
Well, it hit lunchtime and we stopped in Paducah, KY. Grandma had planned a lovely picnic for us all to enjoy at a rather nice rest area. By this time, my stomach had increased in size while my enthusiastic attitude had all but diminished. We all walked to the bathroom for a potty break. As I sat perched on the potty, I lost it. Those who weren't in our caravan may have thought Mommy was beating me the way I screamed in the stall. I would not relieve that pressure in my tummy due to the intense, raw pain in my behind. And, for the next hour, I screamed, I cried, I refused to eat and I repeated the phrase "Mommy, I wanna go home," several times. To which Mommy always oddly answered, "Hannah, do you want to go swimming? We're going to go to a swimming pool tonight." To which I always replied, "Yes, Mommy." It did give me hope. And finally, it calmed me a bit as I envisioned myself splashing wildly in the cool refreshment of the pool.But, more hours passed, and there was still no pool. However, everytime I cried there was that promise of a pool...somewhere.
Around 4:00 pm there was still no pool, but there was a great thing called The Arch to look at. And look at it we did, for a long time, as we sat in bumper to bumper traffic in St. Louis. That's when the trip really took a turn for the worse. I felt a sudden urge in my stomach. I screamed to Mommy, "I've gotta go poo-poo!" and started crying. Mommy jerked me out of my carseat, but it was too late. I had lost control and I was covered in diarrhea. Mommy sat me on the travel potty to finish the job I started. So, there we all sat, in dead still traffic, in the middle of Saint Louis, I was covered in poo-poo, Gwant was losing his mind, Mommy was holding me steadily on the potty, Papa was on the verge of cussing, and Grandma was trying to help in whatever way possible as the stench of diarrhea filled the small enclosed space. This wasn't the trip I had envisioned.
Not long after that, we decided to take a break from the traffic and eat some dinner at, none other than, McDonald's. It wasn't a happy time for me. . .even though Mommy ordered me a Happy Meal. I didn't touch it. Instead, I cwied the whole time we sat there as I repeated, "I wanna go home." And poor Gwant. Mommy was so consumed with me that he was overlooked some. Grandma tried to feed him his baby food but it was then and there he decided he would never eat baby food again. He did eat some french fries. For this time and place, that would have to suffice. Mommy grew more greatly concerned about my condition. She called After Hours who informed her their nurses could not give her advice since we were several hours away. So, after a nightmarish dinner at McDonald's we got back in the car to continue this so exciting journey.
The next 3-4 hours (it's all a blur) was just icing on the cake. . .we'll just call it delirium. The only antidote for this madness was Baby Einstein. Had you seen me and Gwant, you would have thought we had been brainwashed. By 8:00 pm, as we were still driving, our eyes stayed transfixed on the flashing screen before us. We were silent, I occassionally nodded off, but kept coming back to that flashing screen. The promises of the pool had faded into the darkness.
Lo and Behold, at 9:20 pm...after leaving at 6:20 am...we arrived at our destination. As for the rest of our trip, I will be documenting that as we post more pictures. Thankfully, the beginning of our trip was the worst part. Stayed tuned as we post more about our trip!

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

My New Favorite Dress and a Funny Story


Grandmama got me this cute ladybug dress. It's mine and Mommy's favorite! It fits me perfectly!
And, for a laugh, here's a conversation Mommy and I had today:
Mommy: Your friends, Sarah and Elizabeth, are coming to play today.
Me: Emily Elizabeth? (with much enthusiasm because for those of you who don't know, Emily Elizabeth is none other than Clifford's owner. I thought, maybe, just maybe, if Emily Elizabeth come over to play, so will Clifford).
Mommy: No, not Emily Elizabeth, Sarah and Elizabeth.
Me: (still not catching on) Is Calliou coming too? (and for those non-PBS watchers, Calliou is another character on my favorite show, Calliou).
Even though Emily Elizabeth and Calliou did not come over to play today, I had a fantastic time with Sarah and Elizabeth. I hope I can play again with them too...and if they want they can bring Emily Elizabeth and Calliou along too!

Saturday, June 13, 2009

More Swagbucks!

Mommy just earned $5 more toward Hannah's tricycle. And more good news: When she checked in at Amazon this baby has been reduced to $47.99! So now she can take $20 off of that to make it $27.99 right now! But we've got 3 more months to knock that price down! So maybe, just maybe, we can get it for FREE! And, we put up the wrong picture in the last post. This is the one we want...really because of the streamers and bell. Hannah will be riding in style.

Want to sign up for Swagbucks and get gift cards for searching the internet? Click on the button below to get started. And for the first 100 points you earn, we earn too! So get friends to sign up under you and you'll get their first 100 points! It's a great way to get those extras without paying for them!!



Search & Win

Friday, June 12, 2009

Gift Time!







I wasn't too much into the whole gift thing. Sources tell me, I will be when I'm a bit older. But for now, I had no problem letting all the little mommies help out (and there were A LOT of little mommies). As for me, I enjoyed mingling with the guests as my presents were being opened. And once Mommy and Daddy finally unwrapped, unboxed, untied, and pulled out all of my new toys, I was a bit more interested. Here's one of my favorite gifts, my big dump truck from Aunt Ash. I like it because I sit in it and Hannah pushes me around the house in it (more pictures on that coming later).


And, if you haven't guessed, we're in super blogging mode right now. . .because, well, we're close to a month behind on our pictures and Mommy would like to stay up to date. So, if you feel overwhelmed by the number of posts we're putting up, don't fret. This will only last for a short while. Hopefully we'll catch back up soon!

Yep, Those are Mine


I don't know why Mommy takes pictures of our feet, but she does. Here are mine. At my birthday party. For all to see. Not much else to say here. Speechless.

Cake Time!












At first, I wasn't so sure about this cake. What is this stuff? I thought. And why is Mommy insisting that I eat it? I wasn't sure. However, after watching Hannah and my friends gobble it down and with a little coaxing from Allie, I decided to try it. WHOA. What was I thinking just letting it sit there? I had to have more! So, I really dug in. I couldn't get enough of this chocolately delight! Before I knew it, I was covered in cake! It was worth it!

They Say It's My Birthday!







With May, also came none other than my first birthday! I finally was going to see what all this talk was about and who this John Deere fella was. I think his name came up more than mine when Mommy talked about my big day. I came to find out there was noone I was competing against for the birthday love. No! It was the name of a tractor. I was having a tractor party! And Mommy even made me a tractor cake! It was touch and go there for awhile with the cake as she had to come up with it on her own. But, as long as it resembled a tractor, I was fine with it.

This is the Life


There's nothing like having a chair that fits you. When Mommy plopped me in this chair one warm afternoon I was satisfied. Paired with the shade of the garage, I was one happy fella. Mommy and I just sat back in our chairs and watched Hannah run all over the place. This is the life, you know? Just relaxin' in the shade in your favorite chair with your favorite peeps. THIS IS THE LIFE.

On the Go!


I'm officially an old man. I have a walker to assist me to get around. However, this won't be permanent. No, don't you worry. I've already taken my first step. I won't be trailing behind this contraption much longer (but, between you and me, I actually like it...my heart squeals with delight each time I get behind it and occassionaly my mouth echos). I've got places to go and people to see, so until I can get a few more steps together alone, I'll be getting around with my trusty walker.

Grandma's Park









While at Grandma's and Papa's house, we went to the park with the Sandersons. I got to "wide" in the wagon with "my cousin Allie." After eating out picnic lunch we were off to play. The boys enjoyed swinging while Allie and I played princesses. While Kyle taught me how to sing "Goin' Country" Allie schooled me in the art of princess playing. She was Aurora or as I say "Rarura" and she named me Cinderella. It was fantastic. In fact, I still play by myself. Although, it's a little confusing at times. Allie's direction would be much appreciated. I forget some of the princesses' names and I really don't remember any of the princes. But I'll learn.








All in all, we had a great time in Birmingham. I can't wait to go back again!

Tuesday, June 09, 2009

I Love My Cousin Allie


Hannah: I want my cousin Allie to come to my house.

Mommy: Well, we'll go see Allie next month when Aunt Melissa has her baby.

Hannah: But I want you to have a baby too Mommy.

Mommy: Hopefully someday I will.

Hannah: I want you to have a girl. I want her after my nap.

Mommy: Well, it doesn't happen that quick.

That's the conversation I just had with Mommy. Three things you can take away from this conversation (well four):
1. I love my cousin Allie and yes, I call her "my cousin Allie."
2. I want Mommy to have another baby.
3. I want a girl baby.
4. Allie is NOT naked...she is in her panties. However, like most of us, she enjoys the freedom of minimal restriction.

Hangin' With Kyle




Kyle and I had a lot of fun "to-gedder." Kyle is a year younger than me but you wouldn't be able to tell it by our sizes. We're about the same height and Kyle definitely has some more chub on him. But, most people do when compared to me. Kyle showed me how to live it up a little not only by teaching me how to sing "Goin' Country," but also by showing me how to jump off of a trunk. He's a blast to be around.