Sleeping. Finally. Now a Few New(ish) Snaps And Whatnot

While you have been napping, Hale has been doing things too. 

Hanging out with Grampa:

Reading and going for a walk with his Pop:

Contemplating* the huge treacherous steps of our 'living room' platform:

(*and by "Contemplating" I mean "Planning His Assault on")

Checking out an old picture of his Pop:

And pursuing new interests (Click 'play' button to see Hale getting in touch with his inner kitty):

(We're not laughing at you, Hale; we're laughing because of you.)

Going Backwards in Time (For Hardcore Hale Fans Only)

So, coming out from under a huge, months-long pile of NonFiction Responsibilities (more on that elsewhere in these pages), we are now intent on catching up a bit on Hale's blog. 

It's been a while. we are aware some of his fans have been disappointed, and we applaud their patience. Without further ado, then some videos...

Hale, laughing, for pretty much the first time. This was back in early August (Amy's reciting her shopping list to him):

And then, a bit later, just being cute in a dapper outfit:

And here's Hale making Cute over a game of behind-the-camera Peekaboo:

Hale's Egyptian-living Auntie Dana just sent him a little plush camera. Cutest thing in the world. Dana's a heck of a photographer, and we think it's part of her agenda to get our son to like cameras. It's working. To wit:

Hale's first Halloween

Halloween. I love this holiday. I love trick or treating. I love dressing up. I think Hale digs it too. 

Here he is with all his PEPS buddies. So dang cute. He his the monkey on the end. Costume came from Gramma Char, of course. 

My brother-in-law knows about Halloween. He knows it deserves reverence and creativity. And he knows to do whatever it takes to scare the hell out of people. He and my sister created the scariest house on the east side. Heck, maybe even on the west side too.

Here he is with his hell raiser creation behind him. 

Here is my great nephew, Zaine, in costume. He felt the need to explain to me that Darth Vader was a bad guy. I was like , "Yeah, I know. I was there."

Swim Lessons

This past week we started swim lessons with Hale. It made all the hard work of owning our own business worth it. There we were, in the middle of a Monday afternoon, the three of us in our swim suits at the public pool.

Hale seemed to enjoy himself. Me and Scott? Pretty much couldn't wipe the smiles off our faces all day. It was so fun. Can't wait till our next lesson. 

My family tells me I could swim across the pool on my own before I was one. And my sister, Sue, had swim trophies and ribbons covering her bedroom walls. Maybe Hale will be the next Aqua Man. 

Peepshow: What Hale does when he is NOT sleeping

One of my dearest friends, Amy, came to visit me this summer. She was the one I was supposed to go and visit in South Carolina this last February, but gave birth instead (24 hours before I was supposed to be on the plane. I still get a little queazy thinking about that "what if" scenario). 

Amy brought me this little lion for Hale from her boyfriend, Leon. Leon the Lion. Hale loves this stuffed creature. If fact, we are thinking we better get some multiples of Leon to be on standby. 

In case, Hale accidently fully eats this one. 

Thank you, Leon. 

Below is a close up.