Happy 1st Birthday Rhys!

Little man had a blast turning 1. He loved rubbing chocolate cake all over his face. We celebrated his actual birthday with just us and a cake. His birthday party with friends and family was over the weekend.

The party theme was sock monkeys for our own little Rhys monkey. Complete with 3 different flavored cupcakes ( chocolate with monkey faces on top, banana cream and multi-colored vanilla flavor with sprinkles. Geegy made his special cake. Party favors were sock monkey kits (complete with all you need to make your very own personalized sock monkey).

Poor guy pooped out during presents so had to take a nap while mom, dad and sister finished entertaining everyone.


























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a morning visitor

Aunt Hil got her heartrate up early this am with a lovely visitor. She thought for a second there she was back in Africa. Mr Nasty centipede had his little life cut short after his bad decision to break and enter at 308 Oak Meadow dr.



We are definitely back in Texas with our frequent visits from scorpions and now centipedes despite frequent pest control services.

Big boo boo

Claire got her left middle finger trapped in the car window while it was rolling up and got cut pretty bad. We had to go to the ED to get it all fixed up. She did very well and was very brave.

She got a bright pink bandage once it was sutured up and she called it her cotton candy finger. She told mom and dad that she was going to be a doctor too when she grew up. Today, we gave her a surprise we had been holding onto for a special occasion. Scrubs with Dr. Claire embroidered on them and a matching white coat. She always loves to play doctor. She has spent a lot of the day giving each of us digital blocks, sewing our fingers back up and bandaging us.



She stayed distracted by watching Chipmunks on daddy's iphone.



Here she's a little goofy on her pain medicine

Learning baby signs

Rhys is 10 months.

Rhys loves watching other kids and his baby sign videos. Notice the standing in the chair. We are amused at the differences of our two kiddos. Claire never cared much for climbing things nor crawling that much period, pretty much went from scoot to walk. Never put random things in her mouth, still isn't a fan of putting things in her mouth... Even food.

Rhys however, is our mover and shaker. He now covers more ground vertical than horizontal. Pushes things up to the couch to climb up and just nose dives off. He is also our Hoover baby and finds things to put in his mouth that even our roomba missed. He definitely keeps us busy and on our toes. He is such a happy baby though.

Claire keeps our ears busy! She is our talker! She is quite clever with her retorts that we're afraid she might be on track to be a lawyer. She cracks us up. Doesn't miss a detail.

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Our little football player

Rhysers loves his ball. He squeals and throws it and is so excited!

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Happy Birthday Claire

Claire is proud to announce now that she is really 4 years old. She has been counting down for quite a while now. She had a great time at her princess and the frog birthday party (see pictures posted to our shutterfly account, follow the link to the right of the blog or go to www.hammondshappyfamily.shutterfly.com, password claire). Geegy made a princess and the frog cake, Claire and I made frog cupcakes, the kids enjoyed beating a frog pinata, swimming and making princess tiara's and froggy visors. Will post pics here soon.

Rhys is 8 months old!

Rhys is quite the mover and shaker. We can't keep up with our little guy these days and he is proving to have as hard of a head physically as his dad. Little guy is constantly climbing on chairs and stairs, etc... It's hard for me to get a still pic these days so must of my footage is video.

He adores his sister and they love giggling at each other. Claire has no troubles keeping him entertained with singing and dancing.


Rhys continues to have such a sweet laid back disposition and is quite the snuggler. He loves being outside and goes into "chill mode" in his running stroller.

Claire continues to entertain us with her witty remarks. She is growing up so quickly as well. I can't believe she'll be 4 next month.

We are all excited about Hil and Jay coming home in 10 days! We've missed you guys!

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Africa pictures

So after building up the suspense, I decided to finally get some of our Africa pictures posted. You can view them on our shutterfly share site, follow the link to the right and the password is the first name of our firstborn.

I'll post some of the videos here shortly.


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Summer fun

Claire is making big steps with her swimming lessons. She took a month of classes with the Georgetown Rec Center. Then she decided she didn't care to go back. Of course this time coincided perfectly with our departure to Africa. She reported she only wanted mommy to teach her. We've been making progress one step at a time. She loves putting her face under water especially to see her princess dolls and rings.

Our Rhys is quite the water baby. He sits in his float and just "chills out!" he loves to slap the water, stopping only to gasp for air as he soaks himself.






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Happy Birthday Dublin Dr Pepper

Dublin Dr Pepper is 119 years old! Claire enjoyed a glass of some Dublin Dr Pepper on honor of the occasion at Dr Pepper days!












It was fun getting to see Mark's old stomping grounds, visiting with Mike & Sandy Stepp, Grandma and the Grandma ladies and getting some much needed R&R at the ranch with Grandmother and Lonzo.

Claire is such a hoot at Grandma's assisted living. She really hams it up. Talks all the little residents ears off and greets each of them personally. Crawls right up next to them on the bench and just shoots the breeze! I think she would be content spending a weekend there alone.


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And we're off!

On our way to Africa! In DC boarded plane and will be taking off shortly on our 17 trip to Johannesburg! Meet Hil and Jay there then Botswana for 10 days and swaziland for 5. Keep us in your prayers. Updates when we return.


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Roll Rhys Roll

5 months old and he decided to go ahead and get moving (April 13). It was almost effortless and he hasn't stopped since. He's so thick and stout with a lot of upper body and core strength so will probably move on to crawling soon. But of course he's going to wait to do that until his parents return from Africa.

The countdown is here. Mark and I are heading out on this Friday, April 23. Landing in Johannesburg where we will meet up with Hilary and Jay. We will spend one night there then begin our self-drive safari through Botswana for the next 10 days visiting the Kalahari, Okovango Delta, Chobe, Madgadikgadi Pans, Victoria Falls and more. Then we head to Swaziland and spend some time at Hil and Jay's site, where they've been serving in the peace corps. We are VERY excited! We will miss our kiddos a lot but know they are in wonderful care with their two sets of granparents and nanny. We are fortunate to have so much help and support for this to happen! Please keep us in your prayers! We will return May 9th so will have updates then.

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Location:W Hwy 29,Georgetown-Round Rock,United States

4 months old

Our little man is growing up so quickly. He's 4 months old now. He's got such a sweet disposition. He loves smiling and laughing; especially when he's sung talked to.

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Location:Unnamed Rd,Georgetown,United States

Snip snip

What a surprise we awoke to. Claire is quite thoughtful at times, awakening early, she sometimes will quietly play in her play area allowing mommy and daddy to "sleep in" a little. Well at least until 7 when Rhys awakens. But this morning she was too quiet.

Mark was up first and went to check on her in her play area. There he was horrified at what he found. Clumps of Claire's beautiful blonde locks all over her craft table. When asked why, she finally answered, " I was just trying to give it to my dolly!" you see for many months (about 6 now) we've been talking to Claire about soon getting her hair cut so she could donate it to " little kids who don't have hair or are sick and have lost theirs" via locks of love. We were planning to wait until this summer, however, when Aunt Hil returns from Africa so she could be there as well. Claire decided to take matters in her own hands and move things alone and thus she did. Fortunately, damage control was easy with the classic ponytail cut done to donate. The tapered bob is quite precious on her and suits her personality!

The aftermath!

The cut!!!!

The final results & bribe for letting the hair stylist finish the "trim".


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If you are one who enjoys surprises and variation, then you'll love Texas weather. Mid-seventy degree weather on Sunday and 2 days later blanketed in snow.

Claire was up by 6:30 am and playing quietly in her play area. When she looked outside she ran to the door and said "look mommy, snow!" It was lightly falling and more like frozen rain initially. Then it got heavier and heavier and even stuck. First time we've had a white yard since we were married.

Claire and I snuck outside to throw snowballs and make a little snowman while Rhys napped. Daddy was sad that he had to work but there was still plenty of snow for him to make a 6 foot snowman with potato eyes and celery nose and sled and even snowboard when he got home.



Snowballs!

Funny Claire!



Claire proud with her snowman

Heavy snowfalls



White covered house. This was taken earlier in the morning. Later the entire yard was covered in a blanket of snow.


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Tickle me Rhys

Happy boy is ticklish! So funny!

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Location:W Hwy 29,Georgetown-Round Rock,United States

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's to all. Mark and I had a unique experience on the Hill Country Flyer train ride and dinner. We treated ourselves to a pre-dinner dessert at Chez Zee, then loaded on to the steam train in Cedar Park for a train-ride dinner and oops yet another dessert. We had some characters on the car we were riding.












Claire is such a good mommy to her dolls. Nana her nanny made her a precious knitted blankie sack for her dolls and gave her a new baby doll, "Lilly". Claire makes sure Lilly is taken care of by nursing her and pumping milk for her. She keeps us laughing. Enjoy below!

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Zoning out

Guilty as charged. The kiddos love watching t.v. Even little Rhys. He loves sitting up in his bumbo and looking around. We've noticed if we have him on the floor for playtime and the tv is on, he'll crane his head until he can see the screen. Cute... But such bad habits.


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Projects

We are so blessed to have so many wonderfully talented and generous friends in our lives. Rhys has so many special gifts, many homemade and many with so much thought behind them. Here are some of his special gifts...




An adorable African beanie... Handmade by his Aunt Hil in Swaziland.




A warm cozy blanket from His Great Grandmother Griffith



Special handmade crochet blankie made by mommy's friend, Maggie Lawentmann while she was on bedrest with her little one.


"Quillow" made by Great Grandmother Griffith. It's a quilt.. No it's a pillow.. No it's a quillow.





Adorable quilted burp rag/ small blankie made by Aunt Kim. One side has the cute colors of Rhys' room with some sock frogs as well and the other side is black and white with a pirate theme for our little pirate ( matches the diaper bag as well)


Precious block with the letter R and all of Rhys' birth information from Farrell & Stephanie Williams and family



Personalized little slugger bat from one of Mark's nurses, Kathy



Hand woven basket from the women of Swaziland brought back from Africa by Geegy & Papa



Unfinished project... Rhys' rug for his room. Mommy has been crocheting it.. Will hopefully be dine in the near future.



Rhys handmade by mommy crochet blanket to incorporate all the colors of his room.

We thank everyone for all the support, advice and well wishes with the blessing and arrival of our Rhys. We feel so blessed to have so many wonderful friends and family.

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Texas living is...

So for our non-Texan friends I thought I'd update you on the excitement of Texas living.

Texas living is.... Or rather Austin living is...
-Friendliness (seriously sometimes so much it's scary)
-deer bounding on the front lawn early in the morning or late at night ( saw about 30 last night on my run... We have mixed emotions about this. Love seeing wildlife but sad that their spaces have been taken away)
-delicious authentic Mexican food anytime you want it (yes.. I said authentic.. Don pablos doesn't count)
-family 15 minutes - 2 hours away!
- beautiful rolling hills (some of these might be more specific to the hill country)
- excellent opportunities for hiking and enjoying the outdoors
-mild winters (usually) and usually pleasant spring & fall. Can't brag about the 100' summers ( 100' for 60 days straight this summer.. Not cool when your pregnant)
-live music (another Austin thing)
-wide open spaces (room to make a big mistake)
-did I mention family
- awesome stereotypes (gotta love it when tv always chooses the most backwards people to interview when something goes awry)
-escapes to "the ranch"
-freebirds burritos (putting one in 15 minutes away)
- lots of great parks (have a great park right on the river in our neighborhood. Went yesterday. Such a pretty day! See pics below)
-bluebell ice cream
-antiqueing
- great jobs
- and last but not least ... Family nearby!



Claire & Mark enjoying the San Gabriel river at park in our neighborhood.


Come on Claire. " no daddy, it's cold!"








So peaceful!

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Rhys' giggles

I do believe one of the most precious noises is the first coos and giggles of a baby. You would think we're comedians around here with how much our Rhys is laughing. It's so adorable. Enjoy the video clip!

He does tend to get camera shy and stares at the camera when he sees it.

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Rhys is 2 months old!

Another milestone! Our little boy is 2 months old. He had his first shots. He was a brave little guy. Showed his temper as the nurse was stabbing him, then I picked him up and he calmed down quickly but still had his tiny little lower lip pouting out. So cute! He weighed in at 11lb, 14 oz and 23 inches, 50% for all categories. What I don't get is if he's 50% for boys at 2 months then why in the world is he already outgrowing his 0-3 outfits. Just doesn't make since how they size clothes... Unless it's just that kids are a lot bigger these days and the clothes world hasn't caught up yet.

Claire is still quite helpful with Rhys. She is a very proud sister. He loves watching her sing to him and make funny faces. Claire is definitely our girlie girl these days. Wears 6-8 outfits a day and is heart-broken if she doesn't get to wear dresses when we leave the house.




Here mommy goes again with the pics!


Still have my cute little pointy chin and curlie-q cowlick. I have a full tummy, can you tell?


Brows! What did you say?


My cute leggings that daddy was disgusted that mom put on me. Said we now have to do something manly to redeem ourselves. Mom says I'll be happy I have them when I start crawling on the hard floors!


Here's what Rhys thinks of all these pictures!

Don't forget to vote on who I look the most like in my family!

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