Today's Top Ten List

Top Ten Reasons NOT to let your one year old run around diaperless...

10. He will probably pee on the floor

9. Your dog will probably lick up the pee- GROSS!

8. He may poop on the floor

7. He may even poop on his play laptop

6.He may also smear the poop on every other toy in the room

5. He will probably smear the poop all over himself

4. He will definitely smear the poop all over the carpeting in your bedroom

3. Your dog may come "help" with the clean up process- GROSSER!

2. You will probably be out of resolve

1. The poop will probably end up in his mouth....

JK- Number one did not happen....but 2-10 did

Everett's First Year

Here it is...the long awited photo montage of Ev's first big year! I tried to cut it down, but man it's difficult. So many things have happened and he has grown so much. He is Mr. sweetheart and brings amazing joy and happiness to all of our lives. . .I think that is clear while watching this video!

Dear Everett,

My Dear Son,

You are one year old. What an amazing accomplishment! And I mean that sincerely because there were times I wondered if your sister might accidentally kill you. However, you are almost as big as her now and I think secretly plotting a cou d'eta. I am looking forward to the shift of power and will watch with amusement as Holden stares at all of us in disbelief when you become the King! Her reign has been long enough...I think we all agree.

When I think of you the first word that pops in my head is smushy. You have these full smushy cheeks which I could kiss all day. You have a big smushy belly which is super duper ticklish. And, your smushy little toes make me smile every time I look a them. You even pull off your shoes and socks every chance you get just so you can gaze at your smushy toes!

I want you to know who you were at one, so here is my list of important facts about one year old Everett.

You love to run and don't mind falling on your face. You have lots of bruises to prove your ambition.

You just learned to "dance." You start bopping up and down and banging your hands on your lap when a tune strikes you.

Holden makes you laugh more than anything or anyone else in the world. So while she can be rough, she is your prime entertainment and she LOVES to see you smile.

Speaking of your sister, when you cry, she gives you her baby and tells me, " he wants you to pick him up and he needs his milk!" When I am changing your diaper and you get mad at me and start squirming and screaming she sings to you. Usually Mary Had a Little Lamb. She always wants to sit next to you and "pet"you. She rubs your hair, kisses you on top your head, and says, "I love you Ev-E." She only calls you Ev-E.

Your favorite books are Where is Spot and Peek-a-Baby. You lift the flaps and turn the pages by yourself. You know which direction to hold the book and to "read" it left to right. Makes your teacher mom very proud!

You are not speaking at all! No words yet! I could really use a "momma." The Dr. assures me that you are so all consumed with your physical accomplishments that you have no energy left to waste on learning to talk.

You eat a lot...like three times more than Holden. Grapes, applesauce, cream cheese, graham and animal crackers are your favorite things.

You do not like the car, you won't sleep and mostly complain. After about 40 minutes the complaints turn into screams. You will have to learn to be a car person since Dad and I are!

Mostly you are silly, sweet, rolly polly, loving, and happy. A complete miracle and joy every single day! I couldn't love you one ounce more...xoxo Mommy

Rituals

A few weeks ago, Ian's dad asked me, "why have a first birthday party, he won't even remember?"

It really got me thinking as to why this first birthday party was so important to me. Truthfully, he won't remember it, but that's not really the point is it?

The point is having friends and family gather to celebrate life! One beautiful year with a miraculous baby. Sleepless nights, ear infections, first smiles, diaper explosions, learning to walk, ...all of it. The point is Ian and I survived!!

It is the rituals of our lives which make life wonderful, special, and memorable. Everett will look back at pictures of this party and listen to us tell stories of all the silly, sweet, and crazy things he did during his first year. Through those pictures and stories he will see and feel the love and happiness that all of our loved ones feel towards him. He (and maybe more so we) deserves a celebration and our loved ones wanted to be included in that celebration.

Now is the time for us to begin OUR traditions. Start new ones, uphold old ones, and change ones we didn't like from our childhoods. This is our chance to start building the memories that our children will hold dear.

So here it is...the party....


I was mildly excited with my cake success. I may move to NY and try out for Cake Boss!

Everett was in a fantastic mood and loved running around all of the people and chasing all of the kids.


I took old moving boxes and turned them into race cars.


I was pretty excited that the kids actually ran around pretending to race.

Ev was super excited to dig into the cake and ate it like a machine again. He does like to eat....



The party was amazing, crazy, fun, and everything we hoped it would be. And yes, Everett will not remember it, but I will always remember him smiling, laughing, hugging me, and dripping his slobbery kisses all over me.

This is the point....



Here are the rest of our pictures
http://picasaweb.google.com/KimHanou/EverettSSecondFirstBirthdayParty?authkey=Gv1sRgCNOprcOAq8HnnAE#

Seriously?

How in the world are these kids ALWAYS sick?
I haven't even had the chance to tell the world about Holden's bout with pneumonia and two ER visits while we were in PA or Everett's double ear infection right when we got back from PA. And here we are with an as yet undiagnosed rash COVERING this boy's body. At first I thought it was a food allergy, then a reaction to the MMR vaccine. Now, the Dr. thinks it is an "nonallergic reaction to antibiotics." If he still has the rash tomorrow the last diagnosis is wrong and we will have to go in for further investigation. These pictures do not even do justice to this rash. It is everywhere! Raised blotchy bumps. Luckily, it doesn't seem to be bothering him. I am jst hoping it isn't some contagious evil disease.

Everett's First-First Birthday Party Weekend

Who gets TWO first birthday parties? Everett does! And boy does he deserve them-he is such a happy, cute, loving baby. We were back in PA for a visit with my family and Bobby (Ian's best friend from high school) and Meagan's wedding. While we were there Ev celebrated his big first birthday. SO of course we had to take the opportunity to have a big party with all of my family there to help eat the cake.

Which my mom so generously made! All of the party success goes to my mom, because while we were in Pittsburgh (more on that later), she was home babysitting the kiddies, baking, and cooking for the shindig. There were probably 25 people singing to Ev and he just smiled the whole time. He was super duper excited for the cupcake!

Once he shoved it into his mouth, he did not let go. He just kept shoving and shoving. I think he was afraid he would lose it if he took a breath, so he just ate it like he was in a contest.



Miss Holden was a bit out of sorts because (unknown to us) she had pneumonia.



On Monday, Ian and I took her to the ER where they realized her Oxygen levels were low, she received a breathing treatment, a chest x-ray, was diagnosed with viral pneumonia and they released us on good behavior. Seriously, the Dr. said, "we would usually admit a child with O2 levels this low, but you guys look responsible, so we will let you take her home. Just bring her back if she gets worse." Huh? How am I supposed to tell if her O2 level drops again? I may look responsible, but I am no Dr. So of course I was terrified and slept with her, or didn't sleep with her I should say. She was a mess. Then all day Tuesday she was still a wreck with a fever and we ended up back in the emergency room that afternoon. I was petrified she was dehydrated (reliving the good old hand, foot, and mouth drama) and I wanted her O2 level checked again. She checked out fine and I would only leave with an inhaler (thanks to Aunt Karen's past experiences with her kids). Then on Wed morning we all woke up, Holden was still sick and Everett had a wretched cough and uncontrollable snot pouring out of him. AND, we got to fly home that afternoon. The flight actually was fine, but I am definitely done flying with kids for a while.

The nice news is we had a fabulous time in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh...who knew? It is a totally cute, clean, and friendly city. I loved everything, except the gray sky. We got to spend one night at Bobby and Meagan's house and enjoy their renovations and some quiet time prior to wedding festivities. The rehearsal dinner was the most delicious italian food EVER and the wedding was unbelievable! The reception was in a conservatory and it was a winding maze through a rainforrest to get to cocktail hour. We were surrounded with ponds, waterfalls, lush tropical trees and plants. It was probably the coolest wedding venue I have ever been to. And the cookies! There must have been 2000 cookies. And the candy! A gigantic candy table. I am definitely a sweets person and I was in heaven. Bobby and Meagan are the sweetest couple and Ian was completely honored to be one of the best men and took his speech VERY seriously. The co-best men were e-mailing for weeks to orchestrate their joint speech. The did a great job, and I hope Bobby and Meagan know how much they mean to us!!!! It was such a nice adult get away and mini vaca from parent duties. We need to do that more often!

Oh Christmas Tree

A few years ago we went to this great Christmas Tree place in Evergreen and now that we are back in Denver, we were on a mission to find it again. Lucky Lure Christmas Extravaganza was so much fun! There was a sleigh, music, free "warmers" (apple cider spiked with your choice of liquor),a walking path along a frozen creek, huge inflated Christmas decorations, and ....oh yeah trees. The kids were so good and had a blast on their first tree hunt together. Everett was constrained to the backpack since he is still a little wobbly with the walking, but Holden ran all over the place. We didn't get to cut it ourselves, but the whole experience was easy and fun(with free drinks)-so we will take it!

For some reason blogspot is being difficult and will not upload my pics...so here is the link to a web album with our tree hunting pics!

http://picasaweb.google.com/KimHanou/2009Nov15?authkey=Gv1sRgCIeUjbDztoC_XQ#

Happy Thanksgiving

We had such a nice Thanksgiving and a relaxing long weekend. It is so nice when we have "our daddy" all to ourselves for a few days of relaxing and fun. The weather has been fantastic so we got to take long walks, go to a new playground, and play in the sandbox.

Here are some pictures from our Thanksgiving photo shoot. Thank goodness Holden is finally being mildly cooperative for a camera.


Notice I said mildly, we have no pictures of her with Ian or myself, but at least we got a few of her and Everett!


And of course Ev is happy to ham it up for the camera every chance he gets!


We went to Uncle Rob's brother's house for dinner and it was an adventure. Neither of the kids wanted to eat at dinner time, so Ian and I took turns eating and entertaining them. There were three dogs, 12 adults, and three toddlers, so there was plenty of excitement to keep everyone busy. Dinner was delicious, even cold, but when you go out for Thanksgiving you have no leftovers...bummer. So, Holden and I went to the store yesterday and bought ourselves a turkey and everything we needed to make a second feast. I am smelling the delicious scents pouring out of our kitchen as I write this entry.

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And Now For My Final Trick...

That's it....the new blog name!

andnowformyfinaltrick.blogspot.com

I am going to officially change it in a few days and send out the new title in our Christmas letter too.
I don't want to wait and have someone else snag it.

Some other contenders were:

I should be folding laundry
Delirious and devilish in Denver (Marsha)
Take a H.I.K.E. (Holden, Ian, Kim, Everett) (Mom)
No further inquiries
No appropriate behavior (my fave but it was already taken)
No lifeguard on duty
Broadcast Hanou (sounds like a band, no?)

Holdenisms

This little girl kills me. She comes out with some pretty funny comments and pronunciations. Just wanted to capture a few for everyone:

"That's NOT good!"- When I close a drawer and the corner of a shirt is sticking out, or her Dora pillow isn't facing the correct way and lined up with her blanket, or one of Ev's pant legs is rolled up and the other isn't

"TV for girls"- I usually hear this a 7:15 when I am watching the Today show, trying to wake up, trying to drink a cup of coffee, and trying to get Everett fed. She is referring to cartoons

She has trouble saying the "t" sound, so we hear a lot of Prelly (pretty), Polly (potty), and Scoulie (Scoutie)

"I have full hands" instead of "my hands are full"

She also has trouble with the "th" sound. So when she is trying to say, "one, two three, throw!" It sounds like,"one, two, flee, flow."

"That's not fair!" Accompanied by a huff with her arms crossed and a big frown. Where she heard it, I don not know. She says it at completely inappropriate times. I asked her what she thinks it means and she said, "I don't like it." So she says it whenever she doesn't like something we say, something she eats, something Everett does.

"Mommy has a big but." Let me explain....We were in the family restroom at the zoo. I sat Holden on the big toilet and told her to hold on to me. I said, "you have a little but and if you don't hold on you might fall in." Then I had to go and she looked at me and said, "you don't have to hold on. You have a big but."

Brilliant

My son is brilliant.

Over the past three days he has been wowing us with his amazing abilities.

First of all, he has finally started, "talking"...alot. Constant babbling. Along with this he now points at things and looks to me like I should know exactly what he is saying.

I swear he says "ma" and points when he wants me.

Then two nights ago we were reading, Barnyard Dance, a classic that Holden loved. I was pointing to the different animals and saying their names. I turned a page and Ev pointed to three cows among a mix of farm animals. Then I turned again and said, "where is the cow?" He pointed to the cow and said, "ca." Then he did it like three more times. And there were actually other animals mixed on all the pages.

AND, just when I though I couldn't walk one more circle around my house, buddy started really walking on his own...everywhere. It's actually kind of scary. I leave him playing at the car garage and then I hear,"boom, boom, boom" (not pitter patter, he walks tough) and I turn around to see him lurching across the dining room. He can walk one whole lap around the first floor without holding on, bend over to pick up a toy, stand back up, and keep going. However, he is very happy with this new independence. He actually entertains himself for 10 minutes at a time. The past few weeks have been rough, he refused to let me do ANYTHING other than hold his hand and walk.

Today, I cleaned up the breakfast dishes, with both hands because I wasn't holding him, and it was pretty nice. I usually get 3-4 minutes at a time, so I do everything in fast forward. I move so fast, I scare myself. But, today, I finished cleaning up and looked around....Ev was playing ...by himself...and not crying! I frantically looked around for the next thing to clean up and...nothing. Hmmm, took a sip of coffee and scoured my brain, what do I need to do, I have more time!!! And nothing, I actually sipped my coffee in peace and stillness. It lasted for about 3 1/2 minutes, but it was good, very very good. My life will settle down a little bit a some point in the future. I have tasted the freedom and I want more!

Naked Time

So Ev has this intense diaper rash, and I have heard that going commando can help clear it up. So he ran around after his bath enjoying the freedom!


However, naked time with an 11 month old comes with it's risks.... Ian got a little messy...


Everett is becoming a great walker. I am ready for him to master this skill and get my own freedom back. He is a demanding monster right now. All he wants to do is walk...all day...holding my finger and leading me around and around and around the house. I am glad all of this "practice" is giving him confidence, but it is nerve wracking. I will leave him at the play kitchen and I turn around to see him "running" across the kitchen wildly careening towards the corner of the table. I drop whatever I am doing and dash over to save him before he gouges his eye out.... I am rethinking the purchase of a toddler helmet...haha

My three zoo cuties...

Crack

This evening, as Everett was strolling around, he walked up to Holden and slapped her, HARD, across the face. No apparent reason ...is it bad that Ian and I immediately started cracking up?

Today's Top Ten List

The top ten reasons I stay home with my kids:

10. I am the first one to them when they fall.

9. My daily chores involve going to the zoo, library, story time, playground, pool, and play dates.

8. We get to spend hours in a toy store exploring every toy known to man.

7. I actually have time to cook healthy and homemade meals for all of us.

6. I am the one to listen to all of the whining when they have a bad day, and I am the one who can turn that bad day around.

5. I kiss all of the boo boos

4. I am the one to foster and see their first smiles, steps, and giggles.

3. I can let Everett unroll entire rolls of toilet paper, because I have the time to roll each one back up again. Over...and over...and over...

2. Holden and I get to do extravagantly messy arts and crafts projects every day while Ev takes his morning nap.

1. I get to give them millions of kisses and hugs and listen to their beautiful voices all day long.

Mommy!!!!!

"Mommy, he got my oatmeal!" (Ev was covered in her oatmeal is more like it)
"Mommy, Ev's grabbin my hair!"
"Mommy, Ev took baby!"
"Mommy, Ev's touchin me!"

I wasn't expecting all of this quite so soon. But, it is kind of cute to see them interacting and watch him get under her skin a little bit. He is so pushy with her and she is in shock every time. He grabs her clothes, hair, toys, cups, and food.

By the way, shouldn't we have at least a 2 week reprieve from illness? Both of the kids are runny, stuffy, and coughing. Everett woke up at 4:30 today because he couldn't breathe. UGH

Happy Halloween

What a fun and easy Halloween we had! A laid back day with two happy and healthy kids!



Holden and Everett spent some time cooking dinner for us.


The snow fairy had fun playing outside all afternoon with the knight in shining armor (our neighbor, Zander).


Holden also decided it was much easier to eat our candy than to walk around and knock on other people's doors.



She did finally go to a few houses with our neighbor, Abby. But mostly the girls took turns going to each other's front porches and sharing tons of candy. Holden would get so preoccupied with one piece of candy, she couldn't focus on going to more doors to get more. She just wanted her one lollipop and was good. Until she finished it, and then she wanted Skittles, and then chocolate. UGH.

Everett was a very cooperative and jolly puppy dog. He hung out with Ian giving out candy. Although, we got bombarded and ran out within an hour. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.


I know the kids had fun, but I feel ripped off. Holden was supposed to score tons of candy and I was supposed to be able to steal it without her realizing it. She got like 3 tootsie rolls and a pencil, bummer. Luckily, I hid away a small bowl of our candy for just such an emergency! I am off to eat some peanut butter cups and watch the Phillies win game 3!!

GO PHILLIES!

Winter Wonderland

We got hit with an awesome snow storm On Wednesday and Thursday. Of course, that was right about when Holden was feeling better and we could have left the house, but oh well. She got to play in the snow which was some welcome fun after the miserable past week she had.

Everett got his first chance in the snow. He was excited in the beginning.

He kinda looked like Randy from A Christmas Story.


But, he was finished with the whole experience pretty quickly.


We are getting back to normal around here. Holden is now eating and drinking normally. Although, she now thinks chocolate milk and juice boxes should be the norm. Ugh And, while she was so sick, we were sleeping with her and letting her sleep with us since she was waking and crying every hour all night long. Now, she will NOT fall asleep on her own in her own bed. Last night from 8:20 until 9:30 she cried and screamed. She would get out of bed, walk to the door, peek out, and I would put her back in bed. This happened like 39 times. During this production she was wailing, "mommy, sleep in my bed....I am hungry for lunch...I have to pee... I have to poop...I sleep mommy's bed..."

Meanwhile, Ian was in Everett's room holding him because the yelling and banging kept waking him up. I think I am going to put him to bed in the basement with the monitor for the next few days until this little issue clears itself up. God, we are tired.

New Blog Title

So, we aren't living in Colorado Springs anymore, so we definitely need a new name for the blog. Denver Hanous sounds so, well, blah. My creative bone is a bit stunted at he moment. I know there are a few people who actually look at this, so I am open to suggestions. I want something funny, sharp, and reflective of this family of mine. Like, my friend Amy, named her blog, "turkey sandwich for lunch," because it was what she was eating when she wrote her first post. LOVE IT! I want to rechristen the blog and send out the new name with our Christmas cards, so we have a little bit of time.

Help Me!

Just when you think....

all hope is lost and life is a temporary mess, your ill daughter remembers how to speak and your son takes his FIRST STEPS!!!

Holden started talking this afternoon and is acting normal other than not eating. SUPER!!! She is drinking gallons of strawberry milk and I couldn't be happier. (I am eating the chocolate cupcakes-haha). Check out the pic from before the fluid intake....


Her mouth looked all weird like that for four days.


Everett waited until Ian got home and decided he was ready to walk. Not like one wobbly step at a time, but like eight or nine steps, practically running and over and over. He had done it 4 times and I finally ran and got the camera and he did it some more!







Ev is also enjoying more and more regular food. He is ready to be like 16 and eats almost as much as I do. Here he was having fun with some pasta. Do you think he could open his mouth any bigger?



Uncle Pete stopped in for a quick one night visit while he passed through Colorado...prior to Holden getting sick. He got to draw with her on the Magna Doodle.

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P.S. Everett is wearing his amber teething necklace. Heard about it from some crunchy girls at a playgroup. It is AWESOME. He doesn't chew on it. The amber contains some miniscule amount of some chemical thatt seeps into his skin and acts as a natural pain reliever. After his first four teeth came in we were desperate for something and I figured this was worth a try. It is really working. He got another tooth and we did not hear a peep about it and we didn't have to use any meds at all.