Halloween 2007

We had a blast at the mall trick or treating from store to store. About half way through Hogan got the idea and realized that the treats in his pumpkin were edible. This is when Halloween really became fun for him. He was all about chocolate, cookies, and candy and left no candy untasted. Once warmed up to the idea of this sweet holiday he started scampering through the mall just like the little puppy he was dressed up as.

Carving Pumpkins

We carved pumpkins at Mary Beth's house (that's Hogan's teacher) today. As usual, Hogan dove right in touching, eating, and (unfortunately) throwing seeds. His blonde headed friend is Logan. Logan and Hogan together define the word 'boy' and had great fun examining their glowing finished product!

Library

Tuesdays are our library day and Hogan has become quite popular with all the little girls in the children's section. Two of them today were vying for his attention and trying to entice him with books to read. He had no problem plopping on their laps to enjoy a book.

Licking the Spoon

I have to say I remember this growing up and it's still true today- there is nothing tastier than licking the beaters while your mom is cooking. These were mashed potatoes that we made for a little potluck dinner with friends. Can I also say that I mashed 5 lbs of potatoes not knowing how much that would make???? So...anyone is welcome to stop by this week. We'll be having mashed potatoes at just about every meal.

Pumpkin Patch

A toddler's delight- pumpkins, spiders, trains, slides, and plenty of space to run and see it all!

Kitty Love

Hogan is a dog, cat, bird, any animal person. He knows that when we go to Nana and Papa's house there is a puppy at the next door neighbors and he asks to see it. He remembers that at Oma and Opa's house there are two dogs next door and as soon as we walk in he's off to see the puppies. So far, he hasn't met a pet he doesn't like. He met this cat while we were visiting Plainview and they hit it off right away.

State Fair 2

The State Fair is known for its fried delicacies like fried cookie dough, fried guacamole, fried coke, fried latte, fried Snickers bar, fried peach cobbler (I think you get the point). It was as if our family had to make this fried journey to this Fried Mecca so that Hogan could be baptized into all things 'fried' in Texas. He's now a true Texan!

State Fair of Texas

Despite the crowds, lines, and heat there were some delightful moments, like seeing Hogan get so excited about all the animals!

Helper?

It was my turn to host book club and Hogan and I spent Wednesday afternoon getting the house ready for guests. Cleaning the house with a duststorm of a toddler on your trail is a little defeating and twice the work. Despite having to redo several things around the house, we finished just in the nick of time thanks to Hogan's impressive Swiffer action!

Communication

As much as communicating with a toddler can be full of excitement, it can also be full of frustration. For example, yesterday Hogan wanted me to "open" his apple. I tried cutting it in half. "NOOOO! Open it!" I tried slicing it. "NOOOOOO! Open it!" I tried mincing it. "NOOOOO! Open it!" Finally, after careful observation (and much exasperated sighing), I noticed that he was trying to eat the apple without the skin and if he got skin in his mouth he was spitting it out. Finally, I got it. "Open" the apple means to peel the skin off. Breakthrough. Snacktime could happily resume.

Lowly Worm

The spider may be gone, but new friends arrive daily at our house. Today a long worm met us at the door. It inched along, curling frantically when any of us tried to touch it. And, of course, we all had to touch it.

Hogan's World

We went to this little Fall Festival in town this weekend. It was like they created it with Hogan in mind. They had trains, pumpkins, animals, swings, slides. Perfect place and perfect size for a Saturday afternoon outing.

Basses

He's gone from saying "Beye" to "Basses" for sunglasses. Significant improvement. I know you've seen pictures of sunglasses on Hogan before, but come on- he's just so darn cute! :)