Hancock Family Update

The Hancock family has been very busy the past few months! In September, Mikel and I went to Las Vegas! We took lots and lots of pictures, that you can see here.
October seemed to fly by and the next thing we know, it's Halloween! Dunning was a tiger and that costume lasted all of 15 minutes before complete meltdown. So, we'll see that was a successful trick or treat outing.
Now it's November and we've already had another ear infection and been in the ICU once and gotten to stay with Nana a lot. And it's not even flu season yet!
So, here is a sampling of what D's been up to.

So sad. He was so unhappy with all the leads and the IV. They eventually had to wrap his arm with ace bandage to keep him from ripping it out. I have a whole new respect and understanding for parents who have children that have to be in the hospital a lot. It was no fun, and we were only there for 24 hours.

First big boy cup - look ma! No lid!!

Hanging out with Logan Carter. We pulled out the toddler chair - we had never used it before, but I think we will now!

Reading the dog a book.

Playing dress up with mom's shoes. Dad wasn't real thrilled with that.

Streakin'. His new favorite thing to do.

First time with spaghetti.

Roar! I'm a scary tiger!

Just being cute.

Naturals Game

Dunning doesn't go anywhere without a "go go," which is what he calls his ball. Not sure where that originated from. Maybe from us telling him to go get his ball. Hence, a "go go."

D knows where his tummy, head, eyes, ears, foot, nose and as shown above, his mouth.

And he knows how to give kisses. Mommy's favorite.

And he's a big ham. Not sure where he gets that from....

And his favorite of all - "Da da!"

A kid can get thirsty from all that running around.

So it's not easy being a parent of a toddler and taking that toddler out for a family night. Toddlers like to run and explore dangerous places. Nevertheless, Mikel and I ventured out with toddler D for Saturday family night. We went to Crystal Bridges trail and saw some deer, which Dunning proceeded to "woof" at. We went to Table Mesa to eat some really good Mexican food. Dunning particularly like the cheese dip and flour tortillas. Then we went to a Naturals baseball game. This was spent mostly chasing Dunning around the grassy "lawn seating" area because all he wanted to do was climb up and down the concrete stairs that were just a little too steep for mommy's comfort. He finally found him a good spot and we got to watch a good part of the game. We left with the Naturals leading 10-0, and D feel asleep so soundly that he slept through me changing him for bed.

Hey Y'all!

Hello everybody!
All is going good at the Hancock household. My job is still going really good, although it really limits what I am able to do with my spare time now. I only get to do stuff with my mom's club about once a month, I have to run at lunch or on the weekends, it's been almost a month since I've blogged and my floors really need to be mopped... But I am still enjoying it.
Mikel and I are running the Tontitown Grape Festival 5k next weekend. We are also going to Vegas in September and running a 10k there. Then in November I attempt my first half marathon in Tulsa!! Mikel will do his second full marathon. I'm nervous, but I'm sure I can do it! Another family is going too, and the husband, who I used to work with and works in Mikel's area now, is going to run the half. It should be fun!
D is growing really fast and is such a little boy now. And he is ALL boy. Running, kicking his soccer ball, making noise, climbing all over everything...He is talking up a storm now. He says thank you now! And he knows where his eyes, nose and mouth are and will point them out if you ask them where they are. He imitates a lot. He makes all sorts of animal noises - moo like a cow, woof like a dog, roar like a lion. He gives "knucks" and likes to tickle. It's a great age!
I need to transfer pics and I'll upload soon - promise!

Happy 4th of July!

Last night, Mikel and I took Dunning over to the Fellowhip Village to see Nick and Angie. We had dinner with her parents and his parents. I was a little concerned that D would not be a happy boy because we had had our share of melt downs that day and it was really close to his bed time. BUT, he had TOO much fun. He ran around playing with his ball and walking around the parking lot and demonstrating his newest skill - jumping. Or at least attempting. It ends up looking like he's jerking himself upwards but can't quite get up off the ground. It puts the biggest smile on my face. He had chips and home made ice cream for dinner (he refused the hot dog!). Man, I am the best mom in the world! He loved the fireworks - even though it was several hours past his bed time when we left to go see them. He kept pointing sky ward and saying "whoa." Ah, the simple, pure pleasures of life.

18 months

At the lake - I swear he crawled in to the dog's cage and closed the door himself!

And he thought it was HILARIOUS.

He likes to "sweep" the floor with his stick horse.

D likes to use his spoon with the dog on the top. When he eats with it, he'll pull it out of his mouth and yell "Woof woof!" He's using a fork to, with much better precision than the spoon.

He LOVES this sock monkey. I also got him a metal lunch box with a sock monkey on it when I was in Eureka last weekend.

My baby turned 18 months on the 26th! We went to the doctor for our check up and D weighs 24 pounds and is 32 1/2 inches long. He is saying the requisite 7-20 words, scribbling, climbing, etc etc., and doc said he looks perfect.

Here are some of the pics I've been trying to find the time to post. As for me, work is going good, if not hectic. Last week was just a strange week with some very strange calls from our members at Sam's Club. Like, for instance, did you know that the average sized Mexican mattress is about 4 inches wider than our average sized American mattress? It is and has apparently caused a big issue for one of our American members who has 60-70 American sized bunk beds being shipped to the orphanage she and her husband are building in Mexico. They cannot find a mattress in Mexico to fit their beds. Fortunately, the nice people at Serta are going to help them out because we do not sell American sized mattresses at our clubs in Mexico. Just something to note if you ever decide to move to Mexico...

New post

I realize it's been exactly a month since I've posted and I promise to get some pictures up soon. I have some cute ones of D at Steph's lake house, when he locked himself in the dog's cage. He's starting to eat with a spoon and fork and I have some cute ones of that too.

Hope to also get some good ones of our visit with Suzanne (Lewis), Nathan and Evan Adams. Evan and Dunning are the exact same age - 18 months tomorrow. Suzanne and I grew up together and knew each other from day one, so we hope to get the boys acquainted even though they will probably grow up in separate states. It was so unreal that when I called to tell her I was pregnant with Dunning, she said, I was just about to call you to tell you the same thing! Then on the day I was induced, she just happened to go in to labor and have Evan! God has a funny sense of humor :)

Update

Super cute Converse shoes I picked up from a consignment store - Mom to Me - where I also got this table.

D loves his table! Here he is with his chocolate soy milk and monkey reading his favorite book - Five Little Monkeys. See a theme?

Chowing down on some fish sticks - oddly enough he left the french fries alone. Yes, I fed my child french fries. Blame Nana.

Stuffing his face with grapes.

I haven't blogged in so long I almost forgot my password to sign in...

It's been quite a transition going back to work. The work part wasn't hard to adapt to. It was like turning a switch back on. Plus, I like my job and my boss. He's really nice. But it has been hard finding enough hours in the day to get everything done. Community group is on Monday, then I have my mom's club friends, non-mom's club friends, working out, volunteer projects, my garden, house to clean, meals to cook and church. Somewhere in there I have to find time for Dunning, Mikel...and me! So I am still adjusting. (speaking of, I need to iron my clothes shortly!)

Good news...Dunning's ears have improved significantly and once those molars broke through, he's been in such a wonderful mood! He's adapted nicely to day care. They said he was like a new kid after his ears healed! He's talking SO much more now. He will be 17 months on the 26th and I can't believe it! Here are some things he's doing lately:

- Pointing. He points at everything that he wants or that he wants to call out - "hey look! It's mom!" or "A dog! Look guys, a dog!"

- Talking. He was babbling before tubes, but now he carries on a toddler monologue. He can say dog, no, shhhhh (complete with finger to mouth), da da, woofs like a dog, and I swear he told the dog to sit.

- Kid likes Velveeta. Sigh... Kid likes veggie burgers! Hooray!

- He loves his ball. We got him a $1 ball from Walmart and his favorite thing to do is carry it around and throw it or bring it to you for you to throw so he can go get it. Kind of like fetch with a toddler.

- He loves Charlie. Don't know if the feeling is mutual because D likes to hit him on the head.

- And the biggest change (in mom's opinion) - he eats at the table like a big boy. We bought him a little wooden table and chair set and he loves sitting there and eating his meals off a big boy plate (still working on the fork and spoon). He does it at day care. Now he sits there all the time. He likes to read books there, have snacks there, stand up on the chair and turn the lights off and on.... It's too cute (except for the lights part). Mikel sanded it down and stained it to match the cabinets, so it's been in the garage today and he was missing it.

A family of runners

Running, in the rain!

Headed to the finish line.

The 3 Hancock Men, post-race

As you know, Mikel and I are runners. We've now been joined by Floyd and Jim. Jim's run before and Floyd just started recently. Today, he ran his first 5k. Mikel and Jim ran with him and they all finished at the same time - as a Hancock family team - in 32 minutes. Me? I ran my first 10k! Not the best time, paced a ten minute mile, but it was raining and a little cold. Plus I wanted to make sure I didn't get going too fast, like at a 5k pace, and burn out before the end of the race. There were a few hills, but all in all it was a great race.

Marathon!

Ready to go to OKC!

Standing in line.More standing in line.Me being supportive :) My sign didn't stand up against the wind.

Lots of people lining up for the start - a total of 19,000 in the 5k, half marathon, marathon relay and marathon.10 mile marker 20 mile marker - you can barely see Mikel in the blue shirt on the left.Finish line!My winner!

Celebratory lunch with pizza and nachos! Yum!

Last weekend, Mikel ran his very first marathon in Oklahoma City. He trained and trained so very diligently. I drove to the 10 mile, 20 mile and then the finish line marker. We were afraid that it was going to storm because of how windy it was the day before. Fortunately, it didn't rain. Unfortunately, it continued to be windy - really windy. There were wind gusts up to 40 mph. Running in wind like that is like running uphill. So I've been told. The wind was in Mikel's face the entire second half of the race. And he still finished in 4:43! I was so proud of him!

First Day of "School"

Dunning and daddy. Dunning is playing his version of peekaboo, but he ends up covering his mouth instead of his eyes.

"BOO!"

First day of school!

This past week I went back to work. I've been thinking about it for a while and have even interviewed before, but it ended up not being the job God had for me. This time, I went in to the interviews without expectations and lots of prayers. I got the job and everything worked out perfectly with care for Dunning. He's in a great place, and even though it's taken him some adjusting, they tell me he has a great time. It's a Christian facility, with Christian teachers and right across from the building my area will be moving too. I have a great boss, that I enjoy working with so far! :)

Sorry to those I didn't tell. I didn't tell a whole lot of people, so that if I didn't get it, I wouldn't have to tell them I didn't! It's been hard adjusting, but Mikel has been wonderful and helping me out a lot with balancing work and home.

Easter, Sky Diving and other Randomness

Easter egg "hunting"

Walking around in his new Nike sandals, an Easter gift from Tita and Grandpa

Easter Peep Basket - so cute!

Sky diving!!

My plane!

Does this harness make my butt look big?

Strapped in and ready to go!

Sigh....In to everything!!

Chillin' out, maxin', relaxin' all cool....

Yay trains!

Hello all!

Last Saturday I went skydiving! It was a part of Mikel's birthday present to me. We went with a friend who had always wanted to do it and her husband arranged it as a part of her birthday present too! We were supposed to have gone on the 4th, but it was way to windy, so they asked us to come back the following Saturday. Well, apparently they don't "schedule" your jump, per se, it's more of a first come first serve type of thing. Unfortunately, a big group of college kids beat us to it and it took over 5 hours for us to be able to jump. But it was worth the wait and it wasn't like we had anything else pressing to do that day. It was sunshiney all day, so we just chilled out and enjoyed the good weather while watching everyone else jump out of a perfectly good airplane! When it came time for me to jump, the only thing I was nervous about was actually getting out of the airplane door. It's a bit nerve racking to step outside of a moving object almost two miles above the ground, but I did it! The free fall took my breath away, literally. The canopy ride was amazing! I'd definitely do it again, as long as I can still have an instructor who knows what they are doing strapped to my back!

The next day was Easter. It was a yucky day, so the Easter egg "hunt" had to be inside. We had a pretty laid back day. We went to church, let D have a quick nap and then went over to Jim and Bridget's for lunch. Tita and Grandpa brought over eggs with Puffs in them and the kids loved them. They also got them cute little Peeps Easter baskets with Nike sandals and summertime PJs. Thanks Tita and Grandpa!

I've also uploaded some random pics of my little guy. He's really walking A LOT and in to EVERYTHING. He finally got over his last double ear infection, although he still has some fluid on the ears. He get tubes on May 7th! Yay!!!!