*Concert Correction

I could have just corrected my last post but thought this was kinda funny. Apparently the concert we are taking Allie and her friend to is Metro Station, not Metro City. More proof that I am becoming old and unhip! Ha! But I do like some of their songs. And Holden LOVES their "Shake It" song and will even sing, "shake, shake, shake" at times when it comes on. Here's a video clip of him listening to it with Aunt Allie and Cousin Chelsey. =o)

Happy 13th B-Day, Allison!

I can't believe my little sister-in-law is a teenager today! Allison Marie has been in my life since Jay and I began dating when she was almost 4. I realized today that means I have celebrated 10 birthdays with her, counting today! I don't know where the time has gone. I have many fun and chaotic recollections (usually with lots of little girls' screaming involved!) of jumping in the balls at Godfather's Pizza, playing with a giant parachute at a gymnastics place, ghosts stories, swimming, fashion shows, and dance parties at various slumber parties, and even a big tent in my backyard last year! The hunt for the perfect present has meant different things each year, from Spongebob to Polly Pockets, Britney Spears to Hannah Montana, and lots of pink and sparkles along the way. This year we will be taking her and buddy Haley to a Metro City concert in Indy next Wednesday. (I am sure there are many great pictures to come!) Allie, we are having so much fun watching you grow up...even if it does make us feel older than dirt!!! Here are some snapshots of birthdays past....

I wish I had younger ones but these are what I have from the digital age! =o)

We'll keep him =o)

Okay, I guess we'll keep him around...(referring to last post if you're lost!) who can stay mad at this little face for long? Plus he gave me a hug and kiss tonight after bath. And tried to share a stale french fry he found under the table. (It's the thought that counts, right? And he is VERY stingy with his fries.) And smiled and waved at me while laying down in his crib at bedtime. He does have his good points....perhaps next year my Texas relatives will SEE them!!! =o)

Baby For Sale: Will Take Offers!

Baby For Sale:

One male toddler named Holden. Answers to "No," "NO NO NO," and, "Do you need a time out?" Dislikes: any type of healthy food, staying out of trouble, and being told "no." Enjoys baths, getting dirty, eating bird poop, and screaming. Throws fits at Mommy's cookout for out of town relatives. Is known to flail on the ground with fists and legs flying. Could be compared to a rabid jackal, a shrieking pterodactyl, or the Smeegle from the "Lord of the Rings" movies. Parents are willing to barter on a price or give him away to a traveling circus.

No seriously, we love our little boy. But sometimes we don't like him. Like today. Are we horrible?????

Fun with Cousin Chelsey!

Holden loves playing with his cousin, Chelsey Marie, and I enjoy gabbing with her Mommy, Jenny. =o) On a recent rainy/muggy Saturday, we headed to the Children's Discovery Museum. I still can't get over how much Chelsey has grown, and how mature she is becoming. She was the "baby" of the family for many years, and now she is looking out for the little ones and going into 3rd grade! Makes me feel old. I still remember babysitting her at Holden's age and bribing her with Ho-Ho's and Barney tapes. (Hey, it worked!) Thanks for playing with us, Chelsey!

Where did my baby go???

I was organizing some pictures today (we all know I have enough!!) and it hit me...sometime when I wasn't looking, Holden turned into a little boy! I don't know when it happened, they say not to blink and I guess I must have. I am blown away by the changes in his little life over the course of 16 months. Thought I'd let you see for yourselves. I know, I know, he's still in diapers, drinks out of a sippy, and can only say 10 words...but he's more independent every day, he's lost the baby fat, and well, just look and see for yourself...
(I still remember those moments shown in the first few pictures, when even preemie sized clothes were big on him!)

In the good old summer time...

I love summer! Slower schedule, more time with my buddy, warm weather, being outdoors, sunshine, barbecues, and enjoying friends and family are just a few reasons. With a toddler in tow, this has been the summer of parks and water. The three local water parks in town are the perfect combination! Here a few fun pics from a recent outing to Tipton Water Park with Holden's neighbor and buddy, Brady, and sweet little Isabella, whom we met through Brady. (And also their moms Kam and Michelle!) It's so nice to have other friends with young children. I enjoy the adult interaction and Holden loves playing with his friends! It is always neat for me to see their similarities and yet how unique each of them are in their own special ways. And yes, as always, there is a crying picture of Holden....Daddy thought it'd be funny to run through the water with him...Holden didn't agree! =o)

PS The top middle picture shows this cool new game they have there that is also free. There are different settings you can put it on, all centering around music, which of course Holden loved. He and Brady stood there and bobbed like the white boys they are to the music! Got rhythm? Not so much!!!! Ha!

Bad Hair Day!

How hilarious are these shots of Holden taken right after he woke up on our ride home from St. Louis??? He had been sleeping on his left side and his hair was sticking up like Albert Einstein! In the first shot you can tell he is still in a complete daze. He woke up and sat up to me laughing hysterically at him. You can see from the second shot he had no clue why I was laughing, but decided it was funny!

Three blondies!

Holden and I love getting together with my good friend, Annie, and her two sons, Colin (3), and Cade (8 mos.) The boys go to the same babysitter during the school year and always have fun hanging out. Last week, Colin and Annie had a zoo class and Cade came over to hang out with Holden and me for an hour. I thought, "just one extra baby, how hard can it be?" I now have a new appreciation for Lori, our sitter!!!! Cade was happy, drooly, and also very MOBILE!!! He has recently mastered crawling and is now also CLIMBING! Pair that with Mr. Evil Kneival Holden and they are quite the pair! They tag-teamed me!!! At one point Cade spilled the cat food and while I was cleaning, I realized Holden had dumped the water bowl and they were splashing in it, laughing. Holden was saying, "NO NO, BAY!" (his version of baby) and giggling because he knows he's not supposed to do this. While I was cleaning THAT up, I looked over to see Holden HAND FEEDING cat food to Cade! AHHH!!! Annie informed me it's okay because he's already eaten gerbil food at her mother's school! Too funny! As you can see below, Holden still knows what to do with a paci even though he has none of his own anymore. He enjoyed stealing it from Cade all morning. They also had some fun with the paper towel roll I forgot to pick up.....and I think the top right picture might indicate I was breaking the child labor laws, but this is really what they wanted to do!!!! ;o)

After the zoo class, I packed up Holden and Cade in the van and we headed to meet Colin and Annie at the zoo. (More hilarity ensued as I realized Cade's car seat must not have been buckled correctly; I turned a corner and it tipped sideways! He stayed asleep and Holden alerted me by saying, "Uh-Oh!" and "No no!") Sorry for almost killing your child, Annie! I really do love him! Annie has a zoo pass so she got us in for free and the boys had a great time exploring and seeing all of the animals. The little make-shift restaurant set up in the zoo lab was a big hit! AND...we actually got a picture of all three boys sitting down, facing the same way, and if not smiling, at least not crying!! Small miracle! =o)

After the zoo, Annie was nice enough to have packed us a yummy picnic lunch with Avanti's sandwiches and other goodies. She even thought of the few things that Holden does like to eat and had packed those for him. Thanks, Annie! I had a funny Colin moment when he and I walked Holden to the park. Annie had to go back to her car for something so Colin "helped" me with the stroller. I love how kids his age say exactly what you know we are all thinking as adults. As we approached the park, there was an open picnic table right next to some rather um, interesting individuals. Let's just say the term "WT" came to mind. One man in particular looked like a redneck version of Charles Manson. Colin turns to me and VERY loudly states, "Katie, I don't want to eat over there next to that WEIRD man!" I had to bite my cheek so hard not to laugh!!!!! We quickly steered way over to the other side of the park where we found a nice table under a tree. After our meal we changed the boys into their swim gear and headed over to the brand new water park right next to the zoo. It is really cool; has a pirate ship, huge slides, all kinds of sprayers, etc. Of course my little sissy boy is the one SCREAMING in the middle right picture because someone sprayed him with (gasp!) water. It was only 90 degrees out. He loves water but hates the element of surprise...he needs to be in control. I got some dirty looks from other moms as I sat laughing and snapping his picture. He's fine, people, just needs to get over it! I also love the picture of Cade in the giant swim diaper! It was just LITTLE bit big on him! =o)

We love our blonde little boys! They are stinkers, but they sure are cute!!!!

Baby Love

Holden's girlfriend, Natalie (daughter of one of my best friends, Bridget) came over for a visit the other day. She tried out our Bumbo seat and really liked being able to sit up and look around. I can't believe how quickly she's growing. She changes every time I see her! Holden loves seeing his "Aunt Bridgie," and his "Aunt Kara" (another best friend who came over to see both babies!) and is doing better at sharing the spotlight with Natalie. It helps that she's so beautiful! He also likes the fact that she is one of his few friends that is actually smaller than him, so he can boss her around as you will see in the video clip below. I just think they are the cutest things ever sitting side by side in the Bumbo/4 wheeler! We can't wait to watch them grow up together and anticipate many more sweet interactions to come! I am sure Natalie will be sassing him back in no time!!! ;o)

Holden and his girlfriend =o)

Video Clip from St. Louis

Here's a clip of Holden in the petting zoo with the goats. I took a hilarious one of him having a total meltdown in the van but somehow it got deleted. =o( Don't worry, he has plenty of meltdowns so I should be able to get another one soon!

St. Louis trip: Days 3 and 4!

WARNING: PICTURE OVERLOAD FINALE! =o)

This first picture is actually from day 2 at the arch, but I wanted to include it on its own because I think it's such a cool shot of Jay and Holden coming down the hill with the arch in the background.

On day 3, we decided to take a break from the heat and enjoy the City Museum. This is seriously the coolest kids' museum I have ever visited! (And if you know my parents, I've been to a LOT of museums over the years!) =o) It is set up in what used to be a shoelace factory in the heart of the downtown area. When you pull up to the building, there is a giant school bus that looks like it is about to fall right over the edge of the roof! There are all these spiral climbing tunnels that lead to a castle, a ball pit, etc. right outside the museum. You can see kids and their parents way up in the air scrambling through various areas. Inside there are just so many cool, random things to see and do. Jay loves the Tom Sawyer-esque caves, complete with dripping water and tunnels that lead all over the museum. We can picture Holden climbing all over the place in a few years when he's a little more steady on his feet! There were fun slides to go down, a special toddler area, box turtle races, a circus floor with a train to ride on, circus food, and kids putting on a mini circus, and much more. We paid extra to go into the "Living Aquarium," where we touched baby sharks, saw some kind of furry creature running around in a tunnel over our heads (see bottom middle picture; Holden is looking up at it!), and watched Holden crawl through a huge tunnel that had an aquarium all the way around it. (Middle picture, middle row.) As usual, I don't know who enjoyed "playing" more; Holden or Jay! =o)

Once we left the museum, Holden fell asleep in the van and continued to sleep while we put him in the van, drove to Union Station, got him out and put him in his stroller, and passed the very loud Fudgery again! He was wiped out! Jay and I got some quality shopping done while he slept in his stroller. It was nice to do this in peace and not have to chase him around! He woke up as we were heading to the food court for lunch; perfect timing! After lunch, Jay let him drive one of the miniature boats out in the pavilion. You can pay money and then you control a boat with a steering wheel and a gear stick. Holden loved driving his boat and of course with him at the wheel, it made some crazy moves!!! They also fed the fish again. On the way out of the parking garage, I snapped the second shot of my boys in front of Busch Stadium. It looked very empty since the Cardinals were away! We are looking forward to our August game. We ended the day shopping at Macy's downtown (it had 7 floors; I was in heaven!) and running through another fountain. The water was freezing and felt SO good in the heat! Holden thought he was hot stuff. Love the bottom left picture of Jay with his pants rolled up; can we say 80's flashback???? The highlight of the day (and Jay's favorite trip story) was when Jay took Holden in his pj's over to Hooter's to get carryout dinner. We had swam again and I needed to shower, and it was 7:00 and we still hadn't eaten! So he volunteered (quite willingly I might add!) ;o) and I agreed because I love their chicken. The restaurant was right across from our hotel, so after my shower I watched out the window for them. And waited. And waited. And waited. Started to worry. All of a sudden here comes the stroller, way down below, with Jay and Holden looking like little specks. Jay was carrying Holden because all the carryout was in the stroller. I start laughing as I see this big balloon with the words, "I Love Hooters" on it, bobbing along tied to the stroller. Apparently Holden was quite the hit with the Hooters girls. Several of them held him, and what do you think he grabbed? (I am sure you don't have to think real hard; it's what is sticking out of their shirts!!!) Everyone thought this was hilarious and they got him a balloon and Jay quite enjoyed all the attention they got from the girls. My womanizing 15 month old. Lovely! The words are cut off the balloon in the collage, but that's what that picture is all about. In the last shot you can see that Holden thoroughly enjoyed the Hooters curly fries!!!!

On our last day, we checked out of the hotel and headed to Grant's Farm. This is another favorite place for Jay and I to visit in St. Louis. I think Holden's favorite part of the day was riding the tram that takes you to and from the farm! He laughed and clapped and yelled, "GO!" You can see him enjoying the ride in the first pic. with Jay. Holden helped us feed the baby goats from their bottles, although he was a bit intimidated by how greedy they were! Jay started out in the pen with him but the goats literally jump on you trying to get to the milk so we ended up just feeding them through the fence. At one point I handed him a bottle but what do you think he did with it? Yep, tried to drink warm goat's milk! YUCK! I grabbed it just in time. He hasn't had a bottle in 3 months, but he still knows what to do with one! Besides the tram, Holden's other love at the farm was the wood fences. He would rest his little arms on the top rail and try to put his feet on the bottom. He could stand like that forever if we would have let him. We had to coax him to each new exhibit because he didn't want to leave his fence spot! We saw an elephant show, a small animals show, watched the turtles getting cooled off with a hose, fed a camel (didn't get shots of that due to the huge crowd of people!), and looked at lots of other animals. Holden really liked the parrots. If you click on the bottom left picture, I think you'll see why we took it! (Hint: read the sign; it can apply to Holden at times!) We left after about an hour and a half because it was just too hot and crowded. There were about 3 day camps full of kids. Holden promptly fell asleep on the way out of the farm, sippy cup still in his mouth, and slept the WHOLE way home! Guess we wore him out this trip! We had a great time as a family and can't wait for our next vacation!

St. Lous Trip: Day 2

WARNING: PICTURE OVERLOAD CONTINUES! =0)

We got up early on our second morning in St. Louis and headed to the zoo. They have one of the best zoos I have ever been to, and the best part is that admission is FREE! I would highly recommend it to anyone visiting that area. Holden had already been to the zoo last summer when he was only 4 months old! This time around was a lot more fun. I just loved watching his reactions to everything. It was all so new and exciting to him! It was a HOT day, but we got there around 9:30 and left around 1:30 when Holden fell asleep in his stroller, so we missed the big crowds and the bad heat of the day. A plus to going early was that most of the animals were very active!

From top left to bottom right: Checking out the hippo plaque with Mommy; this is a new tradition we've started since we have the same pose from when he was 4 months, so excited about the fish, enjoying the elephant exhibit, petting guinea pigs with Daddy in the Children's Zoo (it cracked me up that he would just use one finger to tap them!), my little froggy, peeking at the UGLY naked mole rats in their tunnel, checking out the 3 month old baby jaguar in from up in the Children's Zoo tree house (she was sooo cute and little!), "bugging out" with Daddy, and testing his height in animal (when he was straight he was close to a koala bear!) =o)

Left to right: in the awesome (but FREEZING!) penguin exhibit with Mommy, petting a (fake!) penguin, first experience with a petting zoo; he was timid around the goats as far as petting them but had no problem telling them "NO!," a close-up chimpanzee encounter, happy boy giving Mommy a high five at lunch (I know I am biased but isn't he the cutest thing ever?!), Mom and baby giraffe, livin' the good life in the stroller with a lemonade and fries, a mom and baby orangutan (I love how she is covering her face! They act so much like humans!), and a shot of Holden as we left the zoo, completely worn out and with nice rosy cheeks from the heat...there is nothing so precious as a sleeping baby!

After a nice long nap for all three of us, we checked out the hotel pool. It was really nice and very warm so Holden thoroughly enjoyed it! They provided noodles and kick boards for the kids too, a nice touch. Then Holden had a bath (I couldn't resist the above middle shot; guess he's gotten some sun! Nice white butt!), and we headed over to the arch which was within walking distance. We didn't even attempt to take him up in it at this age, but he did touch it and run around the base of it. He kept looking up, up, up at it with this awed look on his face. He also liked looking at the riverfront down below, but I refused to walk down all those steps with him....because it would have meant walking back up all of them again! No way! On our walk back, we stopped to admire one of the fountains in the center of the city. I love the shot of him and Jay with the arch in the background. There was a brick walkway all around the fountain and Holden thought that was cooler than the actual fountain.

At the end of the day, we decided to head to TGI Friday's for dinner. On our way, we passed a carriage ride and asked the driver if we could pet her horse. She was really nice and introduced us to "Pete," the horse. Holden promptly stuck one finger up poor Pete's nostril, which we didn't get on camera since it happened so fast. Fortunately Pete is very laid-back! I don't think Holden liked the big rush of hot air that the horse snuffled out at him, because he was pretty timid after that! =o) The driver actually convinced us to take a ride and was kind enough to lower the usual 30 min. ride to 15 min. since we were on "toddler time!" While Holden looks serious in all the pictures, he thoroughly enjoyed the ride. At every stop he'd yell, "Go, Go Go!" and slap his legs, imitating the lady with the reins. He liked looking all around at the city. After our ride we headed in to Friday's. Holden got a chocolate milkshake and really liked it. Then it was gone. That was the end of our happy dinner. Let's just say we will not be dining out with him anytime soon!!!!! He threw a major toddler tantrum because he wanted out of his high chair. Kicking, screaming, and yelling "NOOOOO!" We were SO embarrassed! So Jay and I took turns eating and walking him outside. He is lucky he is cute is all I have to say. The second he got outside he was happy as could be. I got some cute pics of him in this red bleacher seat out front, and admiring his reflection (he talked to it!) in the window. He is such a turd sometimes!

The rest of our trip postings to continue tomorrow.....I must get to bed! =o)

St. Louis Trip: Day 1!

WARNING: PICTURE OVERLOAD BELOW! ;0)
I have been working like mad during Holden's naps to get these collages done. It was a fun project as I got to look back at all of the fun memories from our trip last week. Here is a recap of our first day, from cooling off at a fun water park in Collinsville, a cute little town right outside the city, to checking out our pad at the Hilton, and finally winding down with a stop at Union Station.

The water park in Collinsville was a blast! It was in the 90's that day and we couldn't check into our hotel until 4:00, so what better way to kill some time and enjoy our little guy? He LOVED the big inflatable "stepping stones," roaming the kiddie areas, and helping Daddy with the sprayers. I just think he is soooo adorable in his little Elmo swim trunks!! =o)

We checked into our hotel in the late afternoon and got a kick out of watching Holden's excitement over ''the little things." He loved the phone with a cord, (all ours are cordless) and we ended up unplugging it so that he could lug it around the room and pretend to talk on it. He bounced on the beds, was fascinated with the elevator and our panoramic view of the downtown area from our big window, thought the shower cap was hilarious, and really enjoyed drinking some of Mommy's Starbucks frappacino in the lobby! (We had a Starbucks right in the hotel; I was in heaven!) In the bottom left picture, he is running down the wheelchair ramp near the gift shop. This was the highlight of each day at the hotel; he thought it was the coolest thing ever and would scramble up the stairs so he could do it again. Some of these pictures are from other days at the hotel; I just did one big "hotel time" collage. Who knew we could have just kept him at a hotel and he would have been perfectly happy?!

*Side note: Kids who sip too much of Mommy's frappacino's can on occasion wake up at 2:00 a.m. WIRED and think it is time to play! They can then proceed to giggle and bounce in their pack n' play, yelling, "MA! DA!" at the top of their lungs until they are let out. Then they might run around the room laughing like the kid from "Problem Child" for two hours before they crash again. Not that we would know this from personal experience or anything. But Holden will never have a frappacino again. Until he is at least 35. Over my dead body.

On our first night in St. Louis we decided to take Holden over to Union Station, a favorite hangout of ours that he had never been to. He got a big kick out of the people at the Fudgery. For those of you who haven't experienced them, several times an hour they will put on a little show for the passersby. They sing, tell jokes, and get the crowd involved as they make the fudge. It is really funny because they like to embarrass the people that don't follow along by pointing them out and putting them on the spot. At the end there are free fudge samples. In the second picture, Holden is trying his first bite of fudge. The flavor was cookie dough. Although his face looks funny he ended up loving it and pointing for more! We browsed the shops and then headed out to feed the fish. There are tons of them in the pavilion out back, which has restaurants, paddle boats, and neat outdoor events. You can get food out of little machines to feed them. He thought this was great and took his job very seriously! (I noticed I have two of the same pictures in this collage but I am too tired to go back and change it now, oh well!)

Happy birthday, Jay!

This will be a short but sweet post as I have a million things to get done while Holden naps. Today is Jay's 31st bday (I am sure he is so pleased that I included his age!) and I wanted to put a little tribute up for him. He is an awesome husband, Daddy, and friend, and we love him very much! We are looking forward to a "date night" tonight courtesy of Grammy and Papa (my parents) who are coming to play with Holden. Holden will be as pleased as we are because he loves spending time with them! Sending bday wishes your way today, Jay!

We're baaaack!

We had a wonderful, much needed family vacation to St. Louis, and enjoyed it so much we just booked the same hotel again (the Hilton downtown) for a return trip in August so that Holden can partake in his first Cardinals game! (They were away when we were there this week.) I of course took a multitude of pictures and am still sorting through them and deciding how I will blog them. For now, here is my favorite shot, taken by a girl who was also running in the fountain with her friends. It was SO HOT down there that people were in fountains everyday. I know this because I loved people-watching out of our 15th story room with an awesome view of downtown. I'd even get up in the middle of the night just to look out at the city and what was going on below. I am such a dork! Anyway, we seldom get a shot of all three of us since either Jay or I are taking the picture, let alone get all three of us actually smiling. More to come soon!

A typical dinner at the Hobson household...

As many of you know, Holden is not a big fan of eating. Unless it is rocks, wood chips, bird poop, chalk, or other things that Mommy won't let him eat. If he eats something great one day, the next day he will inevitably detest it. Somehow he continues to grow and have plenty of energy on a diet that consists mainly of Cheerios, goldfish crackers, pretzels, fruit snacks, juice and milk. Those are the staples we can't live without! Oh yes, and of course plenty of flavor ice Popsicles to combat the new molars. Anyway, some nights I laugh, some nights I want to cry as I attempt to nourish my child....last night I chose to laugh and take pictures. So for all of you out there who complain your child eats you out of house and home...at least he/she doesn't do THIS!!! =o)

Thought his pasta and corn dog looked gross, decided who needs a plate?

"Hmmm...I don't think she's giving me anything else after that behavior...guess I'll try a bite.

"YOU eat it, Mommy!"


"EWW! The woman is trying to poison me!"

"WAHHH!!!"

"Let me outta here!"

"YES! I'm FREE! Now I can chew on my blue sidewalk chalk!"

(Folks, if you look closely or click on the picture, he truly

did bite it and he does have blue marks on his face!)

"See guys, I'm not hard to please, just let me swing with Daddy and quit trying to feed me."

"None of you believe Mommy's stories, do you? Look at this innocent face!"

P.S. We are leaving for a four day getaway to St. Louis Sat-Tues so we will have lots of new pics of the CARDINALS HOMETOWN to post when we get back!!! (Maybe I will find something I enjoy eating in a new city.) ?????