Hking

It was such a beautiful day yesterday we decided to load up and go for a hike. We all put our hats on- even Hogan. When we got there Hogan started out in the pack and he did great. Then he got out to walk for a little bit and this is when the hike really became an adventure because hiking with Hogan is all about process. Everything is interesting and he has to touch it all. We collected rocks, twigs, and acorns in his hat (which he decided he didn't want to wear after all). He climbed on rocks, laid in dirt to go, "night night" and got over his fear of bark (and this is when we had to stop and touch EVERY tree!) After about 15 minutes of having to stop after every 2-3 steps and getting practically nowhere, we lured him back into the pack with the promise of Spiderman treats (thanks Oma!!!).






























Leaving the park is so hard to do! Look at that lower lip!!!

Quotes

Hogan has been putting together some funny sentences lately and I thought I'd share some of them on the blog.

The other day he was in deep thought while feeling his belly button. He turned to me and said, "Belly Button. I broke it." He was very concerned about it. We're not sure if he had it confused with another body part only 6 inches down (and in that case it would seem broken and be cause for concern) or if he was just noticing the features of his belly button. Either way, it was a very funny conversation.

Hogan was messing around in the bathroom with his Duck, opening cabinets and touching things he probably shouldn't be. When I walked in to the bathroom, I heard Hogan say to his Duck, "Why'd you do it Duck?" as if it were Duck responsible for making the mess and not Hogan.

Last, Hogan has been telling all of his favorite toys and things that he loves him. So far we've heard: "I love you Duck." "I love you puppy." "I love you vaccuum." "I love you Christmas tree."

Oma/Opa's Christmas

Our final Christmas celebration- and boy- by this point Hogan knew the drill. He helped pass out presents and once we pried him away from the toy vaccuum he settled in to open his presents. Two things Hogan especially enjoyed were the huge box of Spiderman Treats and the cool train from Aunt Allison and Uncle Chris. The train works by remote control and thanks to Uncle Colin the track got put together in record time! The cool thing about this train is that you can really set it anywhere and it will still work. Hogan is really putting it through the rigors of toddler experimentation. For example, the train will still move forward or backwards on someone's leg, on the kitchen floor, on tables, and on carpet. You can find Hogan's final results in the next issue of Scientific American.

On the way to Oma/Opa's

Video is over, car toys are boring, there's over an hour left to Oma/Opa's house. How many times can we sing This Little Piggy went to Market..... and still stay sane? Over and over we went through each toe- excrucatingly boring by the fifth time, and yet each time when I got to the "wee wee wee" part Hogan laughed like it was the first time.

Lunch Date

Hogan had a playdate this past week with his friend. He was so excited to have a friend over that he could barely contain himself. He ran and jumped, ran and slid, ran and fell, ran and yelled- such showing off. He was also very funny at the lunch table with his friend. He was okay with her eating any of his food, except the strawberries. And when she took the last of his strawberries off of his plate, he put his hand on hers and said in his most mothering voice, "Oh no." This didn't stop her. It was the funniest interaction- you could tell Hogan didn't want her to take it, but he was still trying to be polite. Then, when Hogan was done eating (but his friend was not), he kept telling her, "All done. Room?" Trying to get her up and off the chair so they could go play. Eventually they made it in the room to play and had a lovely afternoon checking out all of Hogan's Christmas bounty.