#9 for the Pirates

We had our 1st T-ball game tonight and to say that I was concerned was an understatement. But, I had no reason to be concerned because Hughes did great! He listened to the coach and really enjoyed trying to get the ball not to mention hitting the ball and running! I'm so proud of him!

Modeling our uniform - Go Chick-fil-A Pirates!

Stopping the ball.

Waiting for his turn to bat - sitting with Connor, Wyatt, and Banks

Group Shot of the Team - they all did really well and waited patiently for their turn to bat. Hayden and Banks sat with the team, too.

#9 up to bat!

Tagging 3rd, Giving the Coach a high five, and running home!

Here is a video of Hughes during the beginning of the game. I'm still in shock over how well he did! He had a great time!

Special Delivery

I've done it again. I've messed up football season! With Clemson and Carolina playing in Auburn this Fall, you would think I could hold off getting pregnant in light of those games. But,

There's a new Holman arriving in early October. We're expecting our 3rd on Oct. 8th. I'm now feeling great (tired, but what's new?) and am looking forward to really showing and not just looking pudgy. Hughes surprises us every now and then and tells people "Mama has a baby in her tummy". We've told him but we never thought he was listening. Anytime I talk about the baby with Banks he points to his stomach.

So, we're thrilled to be pregnant. We're 11 weeks and had an ultrasound last week. The baby was doing flips and looked like a future Olympian. The one thing I'm not looking forward to is being pregnant in the summer again!

T-Ball - like it, hate it, who knows?

We had our first t-ball practice this past Tuesday. Hughes insists on calling his

'baseball pants and cleats" "his running pants and running shoes". We arrived a few minutes late so the Coach was already talking to the parents and kids. I didn't quite get a warm feeling from him but much more a "cut'n dry" type feeling. I realize this is t-ball but it is their first experience with an organized sport. Anywho, the coach led all the players out to 2nd base and told the parents to back-up. Hughes ran out there with the team but then got scared and refused to do anything. He just stood there while the rest of the team practiced catching and throwing. (Hughes was not the only kid who was scared and refused to participate)

Oh, he did pull his pants down and te-tee around 2nd base. I guess he was trying to get his point across of how he really felt. I was mortified but all the other parents just chuckled (probably thankful that it wasn't their kid).

Team Huddle on 2nd base - Hughes is in the blue/navy striped shirt.

On 3rd base standing with the group but still refusing the participate.

All this poor boy wanted to do was to play ball with the big boys. It was heartbreaking. How do you explain to a 2-year old that he has to wait 2 more years before he can play on a team?

Conley did great. Hopefully, his excitement will rub off on Hughes.

Hughes did decide during batting practice that he would participate. He really enjoyed that part. They only got to hit once but, hey, at least he did something. After hitting, you're suppose to go to the outfield and field balls. Well, I had to break my lent pledge and promise chicken nuggets to Hughes if he would go out to field balls. All he did when in the outfield was yell to me "Mama, now can I get chicken nuggets?"

Next practice is on Saturday morning and David is taking him. We'll see how it goes!

My Birthday

Well, where do you go when you ask your 4-year old "where you should celebrate your birthday?"

Chuck E. Cheese, of course!

Today has been a great day. David surprised me this morning with the Wii Fit Plus Balance Board and took Hughes to speech this morning. Oh yeah, and he wished me a happy 33rd by mistake (I'm 34 but I'll take 33) Then, off David went to work and the boys and I headed to Chuck E. Cheese to meet some friends. They gave me a crown and I had my picture taken with Chuck E.

What more could a birthday girl want?

The boys have been great all day and I couldn't be happier with how the day is turning out. Now, we're off to our first t-ball practice.

Banana What?

While sitting around the table Saturday morning, Dawa said she had brought some banana bread down. To this Hughes' ears perked up and he got the biggest grin across his face. He asked, "banana bread" in an absurd tone. We all said, "yes, banana bread. Do you want to try some?" He thought that the phrase "banana bread" was absolutely hysterical and silly. He then said in his 4-year old humor, "like banana underpants".

I think that might have been his first crack at a joke. I guess to him "banana" and "bread" are two words that don't go together.

Mischievious Banks

Where do I begin? Banks is full of surprises and he shows me daily that he's got a mind of his own. Here are the latest of Banks' deeds:

Banks likes chocolate pie. This is how I found him when I came into the kitchen. He was so proud of himself and kept saying "cheese". I couldn't get that mad because that chocolate pie was delicious!

This is after Banks had been playing quietly in his room for about 20 minutes. It suddenly occurred to me that I should go and check on him. Well, apparently baby powder is really fun to play with! It was everywhere! Thankfully, my vacuum did the trick.

Well, there you have it - Banks and his adventures. I have a feeling there will be many more to come!

Creek Weekend

This past weekend, we ventured to the creek house for some rest and relaxation. The weather was perfect and the fish, well, the fish weren't biting. The boys fished and fished off the dock but no bites. Finally, David threw in the cast net and caught some little ones for the kids to see. We ate well, we slept well, and the kids were perfect. It was a great weekend!

Mary Bec and Banks taking a stroll down the dock.

Lucy and Hughes were really excited to fish. (sun in your eyes = crazy facial expression)

All four looking for fish.

Hughes working the Superman fishing pole.

Lucy using her Strawberry Shortcake pole.

Our crab trap that came up empty.

David pretending to reel in The Big One.

Rachel testing the waters.

Banks enjoying some fishing time.

The Cast Net and his thrower.

What's that White Stuff?

The boys' were beyond shocked when they looked out the window Saturday morning. They had already gone to bed when it started snowing Friday night so we just decided to let them sleep and enjoy the snowfall and Olympics to ourselves. The boys woke up bright and early (of course) and we opened our top window for them to see it and touch it first thing in the morning. Hughes was so cute and announced that it was winter.

Our snow-capped house

Hughes working on his snowballs. He had quite a snowball war with Dad. Somehow I got involved and, well, let's just say David has better aim than I do.

The Holman Men starting to make our snowman.

Both boys plopped right down in the snow and started making snow angels - how they knew how to do this is beyond me.

Our Snowman - thanks to Mr. Potatohead for letting us borrow his features!

We had a great time playing in the snow. We took one little break for pancakes and to dry Hughes' shoes in the dryer. We did realize that even though we live in Charleston we do need to get the boys' some appropriate winter clothes - i.e. real gloves, boots for Hughes, coats - barn jackets don't do much when it's 30 degrees outside. Maybe I'll do some shopping at the end-of-the-season sales:)

Below are videos of the boys sledding. We used a tray and a rope. It worked perfectly and the boys had a blast. The snow was gone by noon but it was here the perfect amount of time for me. I'm dreaming of beach weather!

Muffins for Moms

The boys' preschool had Muffins for Moms this past Monday. I think they were more excited to eat muffins than me being there. Actually, I think it quite confused Banks as to why I was there. But anywho, they were cute and really enjoyed themselves.

YeeHaw!

Yesterday morning, Hughes came downstairs and for the first time in his life had dressed himself. By that, I mean went into his drawers, picked out his clothes, and then proceeded to put them on his own body without any help - yahoo! Not that Hughes couldn't dress himself - he just wasn't interested until now that it is.

So, while I'm getting ready in my room, Hughes saunters in with a smile beaming across his face obviously quite pleased with himself.

So, I had one cowboy and one sidekick with me yesterday. Hughes clicked all over the place in his cowboy boots (thanks Lisa) and wore his straw hat proudly. We did leave the horse at home.

And, this morning(before 7am), Hughes again proudly picked out his clothes but this time we forgot the underwear and also chose a Christmas turtleneck. Good thing we're staying home for the day!

Prayers

Every night we say our prayers. The boys are so cute when they clasp their hands together and bow their heads. Hughes leads us and thanks God for every person in the family by name, then he moves on to the animals, then he thanks God for "evybody". Last night he through me for a loop, he added to his prayer.

What you may ask did he thank God for? Well, obviously the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree - he thanked God for doughnuts!

My boys love doughnuts and so does their mama!

Dinosaurs Please!

We visited the SC State Museum on Saturday in Columbia to see their Dinosaur exhibit. It was so cool! Hughes was in heaven, Banks was a little terrified and David and I were impressed. Most of the dinosaurs are animotronic (sp?) and so they move and to a two-year old they look real! Hughes was running from one dinosaur to the next - he could barely contain his excitement. Banks, on the other hand, immediately said, "up peaz" and viewed the dinosaurs from the safety of his mother's/father's hip. The exhibit is there through February. I would highly recommend going! Besides, the museum is awesome on it's own - throw in a dinosaur exhibit and it becomes fabulous!

Hughes pretending to feed the baby stegosaurus.

Hughes, Banks and David in front of the baby t-rex.

This exhibit was a tad gruesome - notice the bloody head of another dinosaur in the t-rex's mouth. I know this exhibit was for facts but, geez, did we have to see that!

Hughes saying, "dinosaur" instead of cheese. He was in hog heaven!

Banks giving the dinosaur the "stink eye".

Proof that I was there.

My Little Paleontologists

After we made our way through the dinosaurs, our other favorite exhibit was the space/astronaut. It had an entire "game room" that dealt with gravity, velocity, prizms, etc. The boys had a fantastsic time and had to be pulled from the room. Hughes showed a special interest in the movie about the space rover and learning about the moon.

It was a great family day and we topped it off by swinging through Krispy Kreme for some hot doughnuts on our way back to Charleston.

Rock 'n Roll

Boom Boom Pow - Hughes' Favorite Song!

Snoozing

This is what happens when you wake up at 2:30am and then get up for good at 5:30am.

Oh yeah and only take a 1 hour nap - he was snoring at 4:45pm.

Cars, Mailboxes & New Words

Well folks, yesterday was not a good day for the cars of the Holman family. Yesterday morning, David rear-ended a truck with a huge hitch. Luckily, the hitch broke his Clemson tag and that was it. No need for the cops, no need for the insurance companies to get involved, nothing. Whew - that was a close one!

Not to be outdone, I hit our mailbox with the suburban or should I say the mailbox reached out and hit me! However, it was not my fault! I was getting the mail and shut the mailbox door. As I was driving away, the mailbox door fell back open and, well, I now have about an 18 inch scratch in my car. Being the wonderful mother that I am, I yelled "f*&(", opened the car door to access the damage, slammed the car door, muttered another bunch of explicatives and then got back in the car. I'm steaming. And then Hughes asks me, "mama, why you say fa?" over and over again. So, now, I'm completely embarrrassed because I've just taught my 4-year old his first curse word and it's by far one of the worst ones!

I have a scratch repair man coming to the house right now to hopefully repair the scratch and wipe away my memory of the mailbox. I'll never forget Hughes asking, "mama, why you say fa?". Oh, and just for the record this would be the 3rd mailbox that I've hit in our neighborhood.

1. Virginia's mailbox - I backed into and knocked it loose. It gave my brand-new car some nice scratches. And when I say "brand new", I mean I had had the car for about 3 hours. I think I had a nervous breakdown about telling David about that one. Their mailbox was fine.
2. (Not totally my fault) I had driven David's Explorer home from the beach because he had been drinking. So, I was the DD. Well, I guess I didn't push the emergency brake down all the way and while we were napping, it rolled out of our driveway and Anna's mailbox stopped it for us. Again, I was the DD so that's got to come with some forgiveness on this matter. Their mailbox was fine.
3. And, now, the mailbox that hit me yesterday!

What's worse - me hitting 3 mailboxes in our neighborhood or me teaching Hughes a new word? I think the best thing that happened to me yesterday was that David also had a minor wreck so that left him in no position to lecture me or make me feel bad! Thanks David!

Be A Tourist - 2010

We've been a little slack on our Be A Tourist adventures this year. I refused to anything outdoors at the beginning of the month simply because it was so cold. Now, with beautiful weather I plan to attack with my pass in hand. Below are the places we have ventured to thus far.

The boys jumping off the firetruck bumper. There is no way they were about to smile and look at the camera. I take what I can get.

This is at Magnolia Plantation. Banks had Lester the Ladybug for the wkend. Lester is the class pet so he got to go on our adventures with us.

Hughes took a date to Magnolia Gardens. Okay, it wasn't a date but it was definitely a girlfriend - Lucy! Apparently, Hughes was being really funny and wooing her.

Checking out the geese.

Our Crew - Hughes, Lucy, Banks, Lester the Ladybug, Charles and Frances

After looking at the geese for awhile, we braved the Petting Zoo. It was a little scary at first for Banks. Large animals coming at you looking like they were going to peck your face off - that's scary. So, I had to pick him up and carry him most of the way.

This turkey wanted to be our friend. He didn't care if we didn't have food. He just wanted to hang with us. That wasn't so bad. It was when his brothers and sisters started following us did it get to be a little weird.

I had to sneak this picture. Banks would have freaked had he seen the pig this close to him.

WOW!

Our next adventure was to Birds of Prey in Awendaw. We toured the grounds but then the flight demonstration got cancelled because it started raining - boo! It was still fun and we decided to go back in the spring when it's not raining so that we can see the birds fly. Hughes said everything was a bald eagle.

Conley and Hughes - our tour guides

Family Shot - Lester the Ladybug made the shot, too.