Day out with Thomas the Train

Getting ready to ride the 'little train' through cheese town.
Sat very still and had Thomas painted on his arm.
Chloe wanted Thomas painted on her cheek.
Riding the boats. This was great, except for the REALLY LOUD bell every kid had to ring 1000 times!
Papa and Chloe on the cars. Sorry I missed the pic of Papa having to get out and PUSH the car. Did I mention that this is a really old park?
Who do you think is enjoying this car ride more?
Riding the big horse. We do a lot better with big, fake animals!

Thomas jumpy thing! Hunter really enjoyed the slide on the other side, even if he did get tromped over by every other kid there.
THOMAS!!!
Aunt Jenny and Chloe patiently waiting for our train ride to begin!

This Wednesday Aunt Jenny, Chloe, Gaga and Papa joined the Simmons family at Tweetsie Railroad in Boone, NC. This week the railway has a special guest, Thomas the Train! The little blue engine lead the way around the park in front of the original Tweetsie engine. It was lots of fun and everyone enjoyed the train ride, the chairlift, the rides and the ice cream!

Atlanta trip!

The tire swing rocks!

Sweet baby!
Cuddly baby!

"We not going to ride the train again cousin Hunter!."
First carousel ride. Wish I could have captured his expression when it started....priceless.
Trip to the zoo. Notice there are no animals in this picture.


The Simmons family just got back from a great little visit to the big city of Atlanta. David and I have a new niece, Linden Holly York-Simmons, so we all went down to squeeze on her and formally introduce ourselves. Granddaddy also joined us for the weekend so we got in some extra family time. Hunter was fantastic. He had his first stay in a hotel, which he thought was fascinating. We probably could have spent all three days in the hotel and he would have had a blast. He loved all the people, the long hall ways to run down, the elevator, and there was a huge fish aquarium in the lobby...he couldn't get enough of all these new things, and as a bonus he got to sleep in a great big bed with mom and dad! What could be better, right?
Little Linden is a beautiful baby, with the sweetest and cuddliest personality. Of course, she is way too small to do anything but eat and sleep, so we just took turns snuggling with her while the 2 boys played and played. Eli and Hunter had so much fun together and are really sweet to each other. They share (most of the time) and they would hold hands in the house and walking down the street. They really enjoy each others company and as they are getting older their developmental gap is closing. It is fun to watch them play and see how the dynamics of their relationship is changing.
In the big city of Atlanta there is just so much to do! The York-Simmons live just a few blocks from the zoo so we spent just about all day Saturday there. David and I just couldn't wait for Hunter to see the animals. We read about these animals, just about daily in many of his books. Well, Hunter was scared to death. I thought he was going to cry when he saw the elephants. I picked him up out of his stroller so he could see them and all he would say is, "back, back" after that he would not get out of his stroller nor would he even look at any of the animals. He tried to hide the entire time. The only exhibit he enjoyed were the otters! He did enjoy the carousel and the little train ride around the zoo. Those things made up for his fear of the animals! Maybe we will go back when he is a little older!

May Days

Chloe giving the truck a test drive.
Riding his 4 wheeler all around the ball field in Pilot Mountain. He is showing some skill in this pic!
Just a really cute picture. He was waiting patiently for a really long red light.
Doing it all by himself. sniff, sniff
Fun in Damascus! We took a bike ride to the park on the Creeper Trail. Yes, Abby rode in the bike buggy too!
Who doesn't love ice cream? Hunter's first time with the cone.
Trail Days with daddy.


Hunter can't jump, he really tries. He only got to get in this thing because there were no big kids around to run him over!

I need to update our vocabulary list. Hunter is now saying 'ball' and I think we have heard him say 'papa' once or twice!
I can't speak for the rest of the country, but have we had some rain or what! When we first moved to Abingdon last summer the lake (Lake Holston) was reaching some record low levels due to a couple of years of below average rainfall. Picture a private boat dock with about 20 slips. Last fall you could walk out to the end of the dock and jump off the end...into the dirt and then just step over the 'lake'. Now, with our everyday rain showers the lake has filled back up and all the boat slips are safely back in the water. All the rain has been great for my garden, which is coming up beautifully, with the exception of some onions that I personally blame on the soil being really bad in that section! Everying else looks good and I will let all know when I have my first harvest. Hunter and I have a great time checking on it and talking about the different types of plants that are growing.
We had our first expericence of 'Trail Days' in Damascus. It was really fun. Once a year there is a big festival in the little town of Damascus. It is full of vendors supporting the Appalachain Trail and Creeper Trail. You could find just about any type of hiking gear you could possibly need for a long hike. For those unfamiliar, there is a part of the Appalachain Trail that runs right down main street of Damascus. So many people that are in the process of hiking the trail plan their trip around the Trail Days festival. Hunter enjoyed watching all the dogs, eating ice cream and jumping in one of those bouncy things.
We also had a fun Memorial Day with Aunt Jenny and Chloe. We all went to Plumb Alley Day in Abingdon, where they enjoyed watching a parade of bagpipers, eating ice cream and having their picture made with 'Miss Mountain States' (at least I think that was what she was, she had on a tierra and Chloe just thought she was a princess). Hunter and Chloe also got to take their first boat ride. Chloe was a bit apprehensive about getting on the boat, but once she saw it she jumped right on and didn't want to get off. In fact, she jumped right in the tube being pulled behind the boat! She loved it and spent the whole ride waving and laughing at anybody that looked her way. Hunter, didn't get to ride because Mom didn't wear her suit and I wasn't going to get soaken wet! We will have to try that again another day!
Lastly, Hunter has sort of out grown his little 4 wheeler that he rides all the time. You wouldn't believe how well he can steer that thing. He has no problem taking it all the way around the house and can even pull it into the garage between the cars. He has quite the driving skills for his young age. So we have taken a step up and he now has a Ford 150. It is the cutest little truck, but it goes a little too fast. I wish it had 2 speeds on it so he could get used to going a little slower while he is still just a little guy. The speed doesn't scare him and he can drive it like a champion! It has a steering wheel unlike his 4 wheeler, but he learned very quickly how to drive it around the yard.

and.....he has finally learned how to peddle his tricycle!! He has waited his whole life for this moment and one day he just did it! He likes to watch his feet go around and around, which interferes with his steering, but he is getting the hang of it. David and I can't wait unitl we can trailer him with us for a bike ride on the Creeper Trail!





Wish this was just a little longer, but I ran out of memory on my camera!

New words!!!

Hip, Hip, Hooray!!! Hunter is FINALLY starting to say more words. It is so fun listening to him talk and try out new words and sounds. Here is an updated list of his vocabulary in order said.

Words he says very clearly!
1. Moma
2. Dada
3. hot
4. quack
5. moon
6. right back
7. tractor (sounds more like "trac")
8. truck (sounds very similar to trac, but there is a little difference)
9. moo
10. key
11. car
12. up

Words we think he has said.
1. juice
2. frog
3. Abby

Other cute gestures.

1. He shakes his head for "no"

2. He laughs when he means "yes" It was so funny, David came up to me the other day and said, "I have figured out when he means yes." I laughed and said, "what have you come up with?" David replied, "he does this little he-he kind of laugh." It is the funniest little thing. So if you ask him a yes or no question he will respond by either shaking his head 'no' or he will give you this funny little laugh for 'yes'. We are going to have to try and get this on film.

3. He turns to the side and shakes his hand for you to "come on". Sometimes I think he says "moan, moan", but he is a quite little guys so most of the time we get the hand shake and side turn. It has been effective for him.

4. And everyone knows he will drag you around by the finger to any place he wants to go. This too has been very effective and very sweet.

So there you have it in a nutshell, our latest communication endeavors.

April Fun

Our return from the Creeper....Poor Hunter and Chloe had Creeper Trail dust bunnies all over their faces! It looked like they both had a hand in eating the trail.
This is Mrs. Glenda!! Hunter LOVES her. She is one of his preschool teachers and he will do anything with her. She is fantistic, funny and full of energy. In this pic he is exploring the preschool's Earth Day activities.
Hunter and Mrs. Glenda. I think she is going to have to move up to the 2 year old class with him this fall.
Isn't this sweet?
This was Chloe's Creeper Trail look!
Our first set of scraped knees! He fell on the driveway running after me because I wouldn't let him sit in the truck...by himself.
Hunter loves to help push the cart. It is really sweet, but it is hard when you are in a hurry. He wants to push it around in the store too...that is the complicated part. Talk about a long shopping trip.

Both of these 2 pics are Hunter having fun at the Hands on Museum in Johnson City. Of course he is driving the car and the tractor.
We go to storytime at the library every Tuesday. Hunter loves to play on the computer afterwards..it is the ONLY one I will let him touch.
Fun at the farm!

Last but not least....CHICKEN RUN!!!




Despite having an ear infection for the past 3 weeks, Hunter has been in a pretty good mood and has tolerated all of our crazy adventures. Over Easter we were in Sparta where he had a fabulous time chasing chickens around a farm. A neighbor up the road has a great big farm complete with milking cows, goats, pigs and chickens, just to name a few. Since it is spring time most of the animals had little babies so we thought Hunter would love to see all the animals and their new little babies. Those of you who really know Hunter, understand that he is a quite, reserved little boy that doesn't usually want out of his mother's arms in any sort of new situation...at least for a good 15 minutes of warming up and observation. Well, he amazed us all when he scrambled right out of the truck and took off running (as fast as little toddlers can run) toward a flock of chickens and roosters! We couldn't believe it and we were all laughing hysterically as he desperately tried to catch one. He never did catch one but Ms. Collette was kind enough to let Hunter help feed them so that allowed him brief touches of their feathers! He also enjoyed petting and watching the goats. On the other hand, Hunter wanted nothing to do with the 5 screaming piglets Ms. Collette was raising. They were wild and really loud and I think all the comotion just scared him. Overall, he had the most fun chasing the chickens!
David and I have been working in the yard and have things looking really good. We have spread 32 bales of pine needles around the house and 6 loads of mulch. I wish I could say we were done, but I am afraid we are going to need one more load of mulch to finish off our outside landscaping fiasco. It has been hard work, but we have really enjoyed spending the time outside and Hunter loves to play in the dirt. As soon as the load of mulch was delivered, Hunter ran and got his shovel. Poor kid, we make him work hard to earn his keep around here.
Right now Hunter is growing so fast and doing new things everyday. He still loves cars and any car will do. Today we even had a picnic in the truck!! I really wanted a picnic in the yard, but Hunter insisted we eat in the truck, so we did! His loves his fourwheeler and has gotten really good at turning it. He rides it everyday for hours around the yard and I have to remind myself everynight to charge the battery. He gets very upset if it 'runs out of gas.' He doesn't really play with toys that much. He has a train table and will play with it some, but his favorite toys are matchbox cars. He makes little car noieses and runs them all over the place. He still loves to read and of lately he wants to read the same books over and over and over and over again. His vocabulary is picking up, but he is still a quite fellow. As of today his words include, moma, dada, hot, moo, quack, track (which he says for both tractor and truck), right back, uh-oh, and I think he said moon tonight. He has no trouble understanding every word we say, but I do wonder if all his ear troubles have affected his speech. We went to ENT today, and if this antibiotic doesn't do the trick then we are looking at having tubes placed. Keep your fingers crossed and I will keep all posted.
This past weekend Jenny and Chloe came up for a visit. Hunter and Chloe have a great time playing together and I really do wish we could get the two of them together more often. The weather was beautiful so we played outside all day. We all went for a bike ride on the Creeper Trail. I trailered Hunter and Chloe in the go bug for a ride into Abingdon. We stopped and let them play at the park near the start of the trail. Jenny was a good sport and rode the bike really well....we had no wrecks or close calls!

easter eggs!

Abby and Ibis have learned to stay pretty close to Hunter at all times. He usually is a crumb dropper. In this pic we are done dying eggs and Hunter is dissecting one into a million pieces. The dogs are just helpful scavengers!


This has been the craziest weather day ever! On Sunday, Hunter and I enjoyed a nice run together on the Creeper Trail in shorts, it was around 80 degrees and sunny. Today, it has snowed off and on all day. Thank goodness the only accumulation is on the trees, but it is still really cold. I think we managed a daily high in the mid 30's. It snowed harder today than I have seen it snow all winter. It looked like a white thunderstorm outside! I think the rest of the week will be warmer...at least I hope. Hunter and I have so much more fun when we can go exploring outside.

Now, despite the weather, I must give a big shot out to my Carolina boys!! Yahoo, NCAA Champions!!! We are sort of a house divided being the David went to WFU and I to UNC for graduate school. Hunter is getting pulled in all directions, but as most of you know, Hunter is a big fan of mommy, so I think he will be a future Tarheel. We will also pull for the Deacons, except when they play UNC!!!

Since it has been such a yucky day we have had to be very creative with some cool things to do inside. I thought it would be great fun to dye Easter eggs. It was a lot of fun and Hunter loved it. It managed to keep him entertained for about an hour, which in toddler world is a really, really, really, did I say really long time! It was also a great big mess, but he had fun and so did I do I didn't mind cleaning and cleaning and cleaning. He also thought it was loads of fun to smash the eggs into million pieces with his tools (see first pic!). I guess this is just part of being a little boy. We had a good day!

My little Tyler! Go Heels!!
He worked and worked on this egg. It was such a mess and really stinky. He never tried to eat one. He just wanted to smash them all up.
Our table after the fact. Out of 2 dozen eggs I think I managed to keep him from cracking around 8. The 3 in the bowl we the first saved...all the rest---cracked or smashed.
The first victim.
Then he thought it was great to hide under his table. I think he liked the table cloth hanging over the sides. He did have all his tractors under there!
Working hard at figuring out how to do this.
He was really good at using the egg dipper thingy. He never used his hands, just the dipper. I was surprised and proud of these fine motor skills!
Poor little guy just had another haircut and it just sticks up all over the place until it grow out a little!