huck blog

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back from la la land

June 29, 2006, 6:08 pm

We have just returned from a trip to Los Angeles and I've got some pictures to prove it. Here's Huck at the Santa Monica Pier!

Here's Huck and Daddy on Malibu Beach!

Why, here's Huck at the Austin Film Society party, a perfect place for one year olds!

Here's Huck at yet another party he was dragged to (and this one in his pajamas), being admired by his friends Mike ("MACK") and Shannon ("SHA").

And here's Huck playing with his wonderful friend and babysitter Cassie, who came and sat in our little tiny hotel room for SIX HOURS so that we could go off and enjoy our movie and a fancy pool side party afterwards. OH, THANK YOU, CASSIE!

Huck did great on this very non-baby-friendly trip. He sweetly put up with many long airplane rides, allowed us to take him into bars and parties when it was very past his bed time, and even napped on a couch next door to one of the screenings. While in California he mastered "HI!" He knows just how to look a person right in the eyes, smile very politely and shout "HI!" in an extremely friendly, high pitched voice. He said this to the nice people sitting behind us on all of our flights over and over again. I kept hearing this quiet man right behind us saying, "Well, hello again. How are you?" Huck even stopped nursing the other day with his charming greeting.

Now we would like to stay put for a while. We're really, really tired. Lucky for all of us we have Grandmama Judy and Aunt Tina here with us now! Lots of playing going on and lots of Mommy and Daddy naps to be had.

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happy pappy

June 17, 2006, 11:47 pm

As everyone can imagine, Troy is an incredible daddy. When I was pregnant he was constantly told by people that he would be a great father, and the pressure kind of got to him. He needn't have worried. I watch him with Huck and think to myself a thousand times a day, if only every child were so lucky.

My nieces and nephew have been so lucky to have Troy as their uncle. Unlike most adults, Troy never gets tired of playing with kids. Every time we're at the playground together some mom or dad or nanny comments on how good he is with children. While the rest of us sit near our babies or gently push them in the swings or slowly follow them around, Troy is literally running through the place hollering, giggling, drawing gigantic murals with sidewalk chalk and inventing crazy games that make all the children flock to him. His number one game these days is letting some kid take his hat and run. Troy acts real goofy and screams, "WHERE'S MY HAT?!" Then in slow motion he chases the children till he finally gets his hat on again. Kids almost lose their minds over this.

But Troy doesn't just play wonderfully with Huck (and every other child in the neighborhood), he's also constantly teaching him. Because Troy gets up with Huck in the morning and lets Princess Mommy sleep in till 8:00, they get lots of alone time together. Apparently during this time they are studying for the SATs, because inevitably during the day Huck will say some new word that I've never heard him say or do some new trick that I've never seen. Today Troy pointed to the letter "A" on a block and asked Huck what it was. "A!" he shouted proudly. It was creepy.

Lately Troy has spent many hours making amazing slide shows on our computer of Huck's favorite things. There's an APPLE slide show, a BUTTERFLY slide show, a FLY slide show, a LADYBUG slide show, a 9 slide show, a 2 slide show, a GRASSHOPPER slide show and an ELEPHANT slide show. And he's taught Huck how to tell us which one he is in the mood to watch. Again, creepy.

So Pappy T, Happy Father's Day! Thank you for giving our son such a fun and happy life.

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awkward photo shoot

June 9, 2006, 9:23 pm

Back when Huck was less energetic we used to do sweet photo shoots where all three of us would lie down on the ground and Troy would hold the camera up and take bunches of pictures of our little family. We tried to do that again today. It's not so easy when one of your subjects can't sit still and certainly can't lie still. (I'm not naming names.)

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huck's an alien!

June 7, 2006, 9:30 am

Happy 15 month birthday, Huck!!!

[ 2 comments ] ( 30 views )

june bugs & june play

June 4, 2006, 2:56 pm

Happy Summer, everyone!

Lately Huck has been holding random objects up to us and saying very matter of factly: "Poop." He also says Shoes, Boat, Bug, Book, More and Nighty Night. When Huck wants to go to sleep he becomes very urgent and borderline panicky with his "Milk" and "Nighty Night" signs. He's constantly surprising us with the things he knows. For instance, on a page full of bugs he will point to whatever you ask him to. I'm so grossed out that he knows his grasshoppers, flies, beetles, cockroaches, ladybugs and worms.

Recently Huck's beloved friend Abbie gave him her childhood ragdoll to hold. Because he loves cuddling with his stuffed animals and because he loves Abbie, we expected him to be very sweet with the Abbie Doll. Instead he punched it several times in the face and then threw it roughly across the room. A few days later he stuck his finger so far up my nostril that he gave me a bloody nose. We're working on the word "gentle" now. Lord have mercy!

We keep finding Huck's toys and clothes in the trash can. This weekend Troy discovered three pairs of my shoes in our laundry hamper and asked me if I needed them washed. I then reminded him that we have a strange little one year old living with us.

This strange little one year old has decided he no longer needs his morning nap, allowing him much more time to play. The sprinklers are on at our neighborhood parks, and he loves to get wet. Then he loves to get Mommy wet by climbing into her arms. It's fun to play in the summer!

And speaking of plays in the summer... this weekend I was in one. It's the first acting I've done since having Huck, which means it's the first acting I've done as a mom. And as if to ease me into this transition, my character's name was "Mom." There were only a handful of rehearsals and one performance, so it was good for me to quietly sneak back into the crazy world of theatre without disrupting my nice lazy life too much. It was sad to say goodbye to Huck and Pappy T and know that when I got home they would both be asleep, but come morning the fun would begin all over again!

Sometimes I miss that morning nap.

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