Happy Holidays Everyone

Our trip to Michigan was full of excitement and visits with dear old friends and family. Hamslice was not as loud on the airplane as I'd feared he would be. He went with "creepy" instead. At one point during the flight he stood in his seat and pointed to the young man behind him, shouting "You are NOT my DADDY"

He's just chock full of surprised like that these days.

We also found out at Uncle Curt's house that we have a little musician on our hands. He played piano with perfect hand form, and even a recognizable musicality. Here are some pics...

Gratuitous Hamslice Pics

Happy Holidays everyone. Here are some Hamslice pictures to counterbalance my complaining about the "Terrible Twos" He is still, clearly, the cutest thing alive. And I'm not biased at all!

Wow, these are Terrible Twos

Lately Hamslice has been fighting his nap routine quite a bit. Evidently when he is at home he thinks it's a napless wonderland of cuddling with Mommy. Mommy, of course needs a little break in the afternoons.

Today I put him down for a nap at 12:30. At 1:15 he was still screaming his fool head off and throwing things at the door. When I went in to check on him, I saw a wonderland of destruction:

First step inside the door, I crunch down on his shattered night light. OW.

Second step in the door, I am surprised to see him completely naked.

Third step in the door, I am overwhelmed by the smell of poopy.

Fourth step in the door, I step into the poopy from step 3.

I must admit that I lost my cool a little bit after step 4. We cleaned up and put on a new diaper, I changed my socks, and put him down. Wouldn't you know it, he was snoring in three minutes.

Hmmm. Let's have TWO kids. Yowza.

Jingle Bells

How in the world did Hamslice hear about Christmas so early? I've never seen someone so completely za za over the season in my life. He is in love with the song "Jingle Bells" and sings it constantly. It's to the point now where he sings that song almost as much as he sings the jingle from the Luna Carpet commercial.

He also refuses to drink out of non-Christmas themed cups, and has become infatuated with a Christmas tree ornament he found in the cupboard the other day. All activities are framed with "Can I do this even though it's not Christmas Yet?"

It's cute, but I am starting to wonder if our plane ride to Michigan this December will include rousing choruses of Jingle Bells (One horse open sleigh... HEY!).

Our last ride was a study in how many times he could sing "happy birthday to you" and I'm still a little unsettled by that.

Terrible Twos

So my sweet baby boy has started coming into his own opinions about how the world ought to run. Lately we've started seeing full-on tantrums that include throwing things, and lying facedown on the floor kicking, punching the ground, and screaming.

To counteract this new phase, we have instituted the "naughty chair" which seems to be effective in a random and arbitrary way. Sometimes he sits in there sulking for ten minutes, other times he goes into the chair joyfully, shouting "Sorry" on his way there, so he only needs to touch his bottom in the chair before going back to play.

To further complicate things, he is also starting to potty train. Sometimes we send him to the naughty chair, but he says he needs to go potty. So then what??

Clearly we're out of our depths here...

HappyHalloween

Last weekend we took Hamslice to one of those combination "yuppie overpriced pumpkin patch/cheesy halloween decorations farms. The weather was spitting rain and a little bit below 40 degrees with a lot of wind. Hambone was totally over it, but Hamslice enjoyed the hay ride. They were both a little overwhelmed with trying to find just one pumpkin to buy in the giant field, but eventually the wind prevailed and the just picked whatever was by their feet.

On Sunday we carved the pumpkins and I roasted the seeds in the oven. We had a Walton's moment. Awwww.

Just Like Daddy

We're doing some pretty intense landscaping in the back yard, and of COURSE Hamslice wanted to participate. Here he is "being big like Daddy" on this teeny tiny tractor...

Baseball's newest fan

Hambone was able to score some sweet tickets to the Washington Nationals' game over the weekend. Hamslice had an absolute blast. He was cheering for the teams (both of them) and chanting along with the crowd.

Farmer Hamslice!

We went to Antique Tractor Days in Iowa last weekend and had so much fun with the petting zoo and miniature kid-sized tractor displays. The big tractors were also interesting, because they were remarkably well preserved. Some pics are posted below.

This is also Hamslice's first airplane trip as a 2 year old. He thought it was a great idea to sing "Happy Birthday to You" at the top of his voice for all four hours on the plane. Nicely done, buddy.

Happy Birthday Hamslice

isn't he so cute. Happy birthday man...

FarmerMarket

Here's a cutie little picture of Hamslice for you hopeless addicts out there. He's definitely talking up a storm these days, including some baffling terms. For instance, we're not "mommy" and "daddy" anymore, we're "Mommy HOTA" and "Daddy HOTA" now. Even Maggie has a HOTA after her name. Can't quite figure that one out. . .

SaltNFlour

Last weekend I was baking zucchini bread, and Hamslice wanted to help quite badly. Since the batter for this particular recipe was pretty sloppy, I set him up with Salt N Flour dough instead and let him play with that on the ground. Evidently I didn't have enough salt in the mix, so it was a little more pasty than we had planned.

Oh well. It's easy enough to clean up, right?

HamsliceWithGparents

I am finally getting around to posting this cute picture we got when Grandpa & Grandma came to visit. The trip was fun for all of us, and it was nice for Hamslice to be able to spend time with his G&G. Here's to hoping they come again soon. Hamslice keeps asking when Grandma is coming again, and he enjoys looking at the photo that we have on the counter of G&G when they were dating.

Sorry it took so long, guys...

FromKiddo

Kiddo sent along a video of his little guy that I wanted to share. Kiddo is getting all sophisticated on me with his video editing abilities...

Bubbles

Hambone was off cutting down a tree last weekend, so Hamslice and I had more time for fun stuff like playing with the bubble gun. What sweet little buns...



In other news, we had a potty training breakthrough yesterday, when Hamslice finally started to understand that when he goes poopy on the potty chair, he can stop wearing diapers. (Evidently, diapers are no longer "in vogue" for his set)

As we left Pizza Hut last night, Hamslice started asking for the potty chair in the car. By the time we got home, the urge had passed, but he made some good noises on the chair anyway.

Today I ordered another brick of diapers...

FancyShoes

Hambone and I attended a wedding this weekend, and I left my "fancy" shoes out in the living room. The next morning I found Hamslice walking around in them.

Quite a change from his usual preference... he generally asks for hiking boots.

Everybody gets a day with sparkly shoes, I guess.

LetUsEatCake

It's Rhubarb season in Maryland, and as a tradition, Hambone, Hamslice and I go to the Farmer's Market (conveniently located under the highway 83 ramp) and get some nice, fresh stalks. Then we bake Rhubarb Cake, which is Hambone's all time favorite

Hambone always wants to get twice as much as is needed for the recipe, so we make a superbly rhubarby cake, which I like quite a bit.

This year, Hamslice give me a hand with the batter. He was such a good boy -- he sat on his chair for more than 1/2 hour watching me mix, chop, fold butter and didn't get antsy. As a reward he got to lick the bowl. =)

PottyTrainingAlready

??? Hamslice seems determined to figure out the whole Potty Chair concept. When I brought one home from Target the other day, he sat on it like it was a pony and scooted all over the house and yard on it.

Later that night he wanted to put poopies in the potty, so we tried it, but were both scared and a little traumatized by the event.

Since then he's asked to pee in the potty, but instead of actually Getting On the potty, he crouches next to it and pees on the floor.

To encourage him, I've started announcing when I go to the potty. And, little trouper that he is, when he hears that I have gone to the potty, he points his wiener under the door and pees toward me to show solidarity.

Ahhh. Such wonder.

BoyOhBoh

We've had a few warm days here in MD, so Hamslice has been sporting the "diapers only" look. He thinks it's terrific.



And here he is with Hambone, trying to dial Hambone's blackberry. He's remarkably tech savvy for being such a little guy -- he can work the TV remotes and does some interesting things with our phones.

HamsliceAndConstructionUpdate

Thanks to all of you who have called and emailed over the weekend reminding me that it has been too long since I posted info on this blog. I know you're hanging on my every move, and in the interest of keeping you all from getting your own life, here's a big old posting with lots of pictures.

Below is Hamslice wearing his dad's hat and his swimming suit. Over the weekend we pulled out a small swimming pool for him and he had a lot of fun splashing around in it.



It should be noted that Hamslice is now so cute that random strangers give him presents. When we go to the store (any store) together, people stop us and hand him things like stuffed animals and sunglasses. It's a phenomenon!



Hamslice got distracted from swimming, though, once Hambone started pounding bricks out of the wall between the old house and the new one. He wanted to help very much, but was relegated to simply watching and providing editorial comment here and there.





For Mother's day, Hambone sealed the roof up to keep any future rainstorms from flooding the kitchen, and then pounded out the first hole separating the old house from the Shed. See the light coming through the second floor there? That's our laundry room. This morning there was a bird on the dryer.




We discovered that a family of ROBINS has taken up residence in the rafters here. There are little baby Robins right now, and we're perplexed about whether to continue the construction on schedule or wait for the Robins to take flight. What a dilemma. Right now we've got about 12 weeks to figure it out. Hurry up and grow, Robins!

ThePeacock

Last weekend Hambone and I got a babysitter, and actually went to a party like grownups. It was a strange new experience to be able to go out and ... you know... not have to watch the kid all the time.

At the party, things got a little musical toward the end. The highlight was when "the Peacock" (I have no idea what his real name is) got up and started singing the blues. See the video below and share the joy...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0IQNbD-XJA

YodelingHamslice

This is probably why Hamslice will resent us as a teenager, but we couldn't resist. Grandma T sent over this German costume that Hambone and his brothers wore when they were little kids.

Hamslice seemed to like the outfit just fine, and did some catwalking and posing for us. We couldn't stop taking pictures although we kind of knew the whole time that he'll really hate those pictures later in life.

I guess that's what being a parent is all about. LOL

MayorHamslice

So our little Hamslice has developed the skill known as "Working the Room." These days, every time we go somewhere in public, he stops absolutely everyone and gives them a huge smile, waves and says, "Hello!"

And once they say Hello back, he gives them another wave and says, "Bye-Bye" before moving to the next table or group of people.

We went to Dave & Buster's this weekend (a restaurant) and it took almost 20 minutes to get out the door. And he had a full-on fan club by the end.

=)

MonkeyShirtedHamslice

Our little Hamslice is turning into a little kid now, so I guess I should stop referring to him as our baby.

He's started talking a bit, but doesn't quite get all of the words right yet. More like he'll shout out a syllable from a word instead of saying the whole thing. Right now "Monkey" is "moh moh"

I have discovered, to my chagrin that there are combinations of words that could be misinterpreted during this phase. For instance "Blue Socks" comes out like "Buh Sh**" and so on.

In other news, I've also discovered that chicken nuggets (purchased for Hamslice) are the new bane of my dietary existence. I can eat three platefuls myself before he has even one bite. What is it about the nuggets? Sometimes I dream about their breading and how the chicken grease runs down my chin when I bite into them. I need an intervention.

BuildingOutTheShed

A few of you have been asking how the buildout is coming next door. Here's a picture, we've been able to frame in most of it, and there's siding on two walls so far. I can't complain, really.

Yesterday I came home from work to find Hambone on a ladder in our current kitchen (not part of the build) bashing the ceiling out. Evidently now we are putting in a temporary wall in the existing house so we can cut a giant hole in the wall between the houses. If I understood Hambone correctly, there will be 9 foot holes in our walls open to the other side prior to the construction being finished.

Also, it now turns out we're renovating our current house too.

Stay tuned...

HamsliceEmployee

Hambone couldn't resist getting Hamslice a company jacket. Here he is all decked out as the newest member of Hawkeye Construction. So cute.

HamsliceRodeo

Last weekend, Hambone and I took Hamslice to Port Discovery, a children's museum in Baltimore's Inner Harbor. There were lots of fun climbing toys there and a water display that I'm sure Hamslice would still be playing in if we hadn't dragged him home.

Here's a picture of him in the Cowboy exhibit. It turns out that he likes cows much more than horses. He ran up and hugged the cows and kissed them on the noses, while he seemed skeptical of the horses.

yesSIR

Now that Hamslice is talking more and more, I'm learning that we have, indeed, spawned a little smart alec. For example, yesterday he ate his oatmeal too fast and burned his tongue. After much "To-Do" about it, he looked right at me with real anger and said "Mommy" as though I had fed it to him myself on purpose.

We're also getting into the capers and hijinks of an 18 month old. He especially likes to imitate Hambone and me when we do things like slam our fingers in drawers. He listens to how we say "OW" and then for the next hour, we hear "Ow. Ow. Ow" as he apes us from the other room. Gales of laughter between the imitations, mind you.

If Mom were alive, I am sure she'd say "Well? What did you expect? He's YOUR kid."

MoreNephewPics

BenjaminThomas

Last night Kiddo and Mrs. Kiddo had their baby, named Benjamin Thomas. Gorgeous little guy...

ANTICIPATION

I just heard that Kiddo and his wife are in the hospital having their baby today. I can't wait for pictures!!! When I get them, I'll post them here so you can all see =)

AHomeforHamslice

This weekend it warmed up in Baltimore to the mid-sixties and we all got a taste of spring. To that end, we went to Target and bough Hamslice a little lawn chair with a cow face and ears on the backrest. It's his new favorite -- he brings it from room to room with him, and sits in it to eat, watch TV and color. Of course, he can't sit in it without his John Deere hat, no way.



In other news, we're making some progress on the Shed build out. In this picture you can see our brand spanking new footers that were poured at the end of last week. From here it will go quickly. (you can hear me laughing, right?)



Here it is from the other side...

HamsliceGrowingHair

See? The hair is coming back.

What's not coming back is my ability to write titles for these posts in English. As soon as I put spaces between the words, the font changes to SandScrit or something.

Anyway, for all you Hamslice junkies, here he is:

TheRealSlimHamSlice

On Sunday, after taking an Iron pill, I decided it was time for HamSlice to get his first "Big Boy" haircut. I got out the shears and gave him a quick little buzz. I thought it was cute, however HamBone was completely undone.

HamBone was caught a little by surprise, because I did the haircut without giving him enough warning. I think he's still a little peeved.

Now our cutie little HamSlice looks a little bit like Eminem, which is a bit of an adjustment for everyone. The ladies at daycare screamed when I took off his hat this morning. I think they're still rubbing his little bald head.

FullyFurnishedHamslice

So we realized this weekend that our house, while absolutely littered with kid toys, is really filled with grownup only furniture. Poor Hamslice tried to color a little bit but couldn't find a good place -- the floor wasn't good because his feet were in the way, and the table was too tall. (Plus Mom kept getting all hyper about crayons on the wood)

So today we went to Ikea to find some furniture just for Hamslice. We got him a tiny toy chest, a table and chairs, and a markerboard/chalkboard Easel.

He was a happy boy