The Johnsonian

ThunderDogs Explained

2011-08-07T22:20:00.001-04:00

Hank was whispering into his wrist communicator. I asked who he was talking to. Without hesitation he answered "My leader. We're called the ThunderDogs. My name is Wiley Pooch."

This was the explanation that followed:

It runs a bit long but I couldn't bear to cut him off, so forgive me.

Easter Up Tigers, Easter Up!

2011-04-27T21:11:00.000-04:00

We had a blast at our semi-bi-annual Easter Brunch with Gramps and Auntie Joyce watching the Tigers beat up on the Chicago White Sox.

Hank took this photo of our view from the Tigers Club at lunch.

The best table in the house.

"I promise not to tickle you..."

"...I was just kidding."

Somebody's excited.

Saunders Hot Fudge Sundae.

Hmmm...maybe too much ice cream.

Happy

Fine Art

2011-02-12T09:00:00.003-05:00

This museum piece is titled
"Failed Snow Fort with Discarded Christmas Tree"

circa 2011

Game On

2011-01-25T20:48:00.005-05:00

Hank has been really into playing games lately.

This post has some links to his fave games.

Harry Potter's Virtual Castle
A very fun and easy Lego game where the player needs to go from location to location getting keys and other objects.
This is one that Hank can do on his own. with just a bit of help.

Tangled: Double Trouble
A fun (mostly non-violent) game featuring Rapunzel and Flynn from the ht movie "Tangled"
You need to navigate the heroes through the forest and caves past the guards.

Toy Story 3: Daycare Dash
Guide Woody, Buzz and Jessie through obstacles in the daycare.
Not rocket science, but the player needs to decide which player to use for each task. That means it is educational. Shut up. It does.

Transformers: Capture the Cube
A blatant shill for Mountain Dew: The player needs to sneak around a hidden base disguised as a Mountain Dew vending machine.
Still fun.

Transformers: Stronghold
I have caught Penny playing this game when Henry is asleep.
You place Autobots on the tops of buildings and then defend against the Decepticon onslaught.

Lego Star Wars: The Quest for R2-D2
In this game you get to be a good guy or bad guy and try to fight your way to....something.
I dunno, we usually die before we get to where we're going.

The Avengers Bunker Busters
This one has some kind of carnival Big Top cannon where you launch super heroes at bad guys.

Agent Freeride
This game has a James Bond vibe. You're a secret agent who needs to snowboard past bad guys to safety.
Another fun one for grown-ups. Plus the name sounds like a Foghat song,.

DJ Hank

2011-01-23T21:04:00.003-05:00

Hank wanted to hear a super hero story so I dug out my old SpiderMan and the Bells of Doom 7" record.

He was intrigued by the technology.

DJ Hank in the House

Happy New Year

2011-01-18T21:08:00.003-05:00

Hank had a grand time on New Year's Eve hanging with his friend Oscar and he made it past Midnight. Shortly after the clock struck 12 Hank chose to crawl upstairs to the sofa and crash out.

Out

Kid says the darndest things: 2010 edition

2011-01-01T18:50:00.002-05:00

More hilarious stuff Hank says:

"This soap smells like bacon and Mowgli"

[In the car] Penny - "Are you doing Spider-Man hands? Or do you have a booger?"
Hank - "No Mom, this is how you Rock Out"

"PETER PARKER IN THE BATHROOM!!!"

Henry: "Here's your bookmark, Dad"
Me: "Thanks, I didn't want it marking the place in my 1,000 word book anyway."

Zac wonders if Dr. Seuss ever envisioned my son calling Young Gerald McGrew on his cell phone to ask him how things were going at his zoo.

My son would like to be called "Buddy Sneezer" from now on. Please make a note of it.

[Hank gave Penny a necklace he made in school] Penny: "Henry, this is very pretty."
Hank: "Its not pretty. It's PRETTY AWESOME."

"Jedis don't wear bows." - Hank talking about us tying his Jedi belt.

Hank and I filled out his first Mad Libs. It is pretty awesome.
My fave: Even though the moon first appears as a LABORATORY slice of light and finally becomes a full MOON, it doesn't change its BALL. The moon looks different as the LIGHT BULB sun illuminates its different SIMON SAYS

Hank spent the evening dressed as the Fantacular Spider-Man. My guess is that "Fantacular" is what you get when you multiply Fantastic times Spectacular.

"Did you have any dreams last night?"
Hank "I had a very good dream. I dreamed that Sully and Neytiri were winning and they defeated the bad guy and the bad guy said 'Aw Man!'"

Hank had a lot of info about "Chicken Pots" today. Your temperature gets really warm and you have to stay in bed. (This makes me nervous about what is happening to other kids at his day care).

Zac: "What kind of music do you want to get at the record store?"
Hank: "Um...How about awesome music?"

"There is a dangerous smell in these Rhino Bombs." - Hank, playing superheroes in the back yard.

"Dad, I like when it is raining and we can listen to music on your iPod." - Hank

Today Hank insisted that the Hispanic-looking Lego guy push the plastic wheelbarrow. My racism radar went off and I asked "Why does *that* guy push the wheelbarrow?" and he answered "'Cause he's in charge." Shut me right up

Hank got a balloon last night and named him "Sloppy McGee"...where he got that name is a total mystery to me.

Today Hank declared he was a superhero that could turn into a pirate or an Indian or a baseball player. Good Lord I've sired a Village Person.

Hank made up a story today where Batman was the lead singer of My Morning Jacket. It was pretty cool.

Hank's Star Wars musings for the evening:
"Why'd that fat guy in the X-wing have to get blowed up?" [Porkins],
"R2D2 can't bow" [at the medal ceremony] and
"What happened to all the guys on the Death Star?" [After it exploded].

"Han and Chewie live in the Millennium Falcon, but sometimes they go to the weird bar for fun." either George Lucas or My Son

Tonight Hank asked me "Dad, if Green Lantern farts, does green light come out of his butt?" Stay tuned, True Believers!

Hank's question of the day: "Why is Wonder Woman mostly naked?"

"A basement is boring, but if you have games in the basement then it is pretty awesome" - Hank on Pinball Pete's Arcade

Today Hank said he wanted to go to Gotham City and meet Batman. I wondered what he would ask Batman if they ever met and Hank said "I would ask Batman if he could get me a Superman costume." ... I wonder how Batman would feel about that

Hank's last words before falling asleep on his birthday: "Dad, I like being 4"

Tonight before bed Hank wanted to hear a story about Batman and Robin getting married. The biggest issue I had was determining whether The Flash would prefer to sit on the bride's side or the groom's side.

Playing rhyming games on the highway:
Zac - "What rhymes with Hummer?"
Hank - "Dumber!"
Zac - "Correct. I would have also accepted 'Bummer'"

Hank looking at three Jack-O-Lantern stickers:
"Mom, you're the skinny one, I'm the round one and Dad, you're the ... kinda ugly one."
Me: "I'm going back to bed."

Hank - "Mom, why is Darth Vader so much taller than Anakin Skywalker?"
Parents - "...Holy crap, that's a really good question."

Tonight Hank invented a new super hero: Sticky Applesauce Man! "He is a good guy who shoots applesauce out of his hands and is sticky!" (This whole origin story was played out with very accurate visual aids.) Into the tub with you, Sticky Applesauce Man!

Whenever we get out of the car I say "OK let's hit it." Yesterday, Hank was practicing talking like Yoda and as we were leaving the car he said "Hit it, we will"

"Dad, I think it's too cold to go outside today. That's my boring news." - Hank

Hank sez: "Today when I went outside I was so crazy that I shook my head like this and my eyes went like this and my brain made it look like milk was raining from the sky."

16 months later...

2010-11-20T08:36:00.000-05:00

Last summer (2009) I snapped this cute shot of Hank with his friends Katie and Bella:

The three amigos in July 2009...

And just recently Bella stopped back by Pre-school for a visit:

...and in November 2010

Young Jedi

2010-10-30T15:53:00.000-04:00

This Jedi Knight is ready for Halloween.

The Force is Strong with this one
(larger version here)

His Jedi Grandma made the cloak.
Most impressive.

Apples & Horses & Donuts, oh my!

2010-10-24T21:00:00.002-04:00

We visited Alber Orchard on an unusually warm fall day. Henry got to ride a horse for the second time in his life, and I think he enjoyed it.

Cowboy up!

He was a natural.

A big pumpkin on an old wooden wagon.

He was convinced that the image on this barrel was a dinosaur.

"One day my log will have something to say about this."

Yo Ho, Yo Ho, A Pirate's Life for Me

2010-10-05T20:30:00.004-04:00

After you've taken the Pirate's Oath, they take you into a little secret room behind a crate in the corner and let you root around in a secret bookshelf. When one of the books opens the secret chamber, you get to choose from the treasures inside. Then they take your picture.

(larger image here)

If I end up keel-hauled, it is because I parlayed this information.

Time to Pay the Mouse

2010-10-03T09:37:00.002-04:00

The Johnsons invaded Walt Disney World this September and had a blast. We stayed at the Caribbean Beach Resort and slept in beds that were shaped like pirate ships and the mini-fridge was in a barrel. The actual parks were fun too.

A perfect day for the Magic Kingdom.

Ready to go on the first day.

Penny and Hank and some old castle.

The castle at night.

Day 2 was Epcot.

Hank took this shot.

In fake Germany we found real beer.

On day 3 we were joined by Henry's friend Katie whose family happened to be vacationing at Disney at the same time. We arranged a breakfast with Winnie the Pooh and his friends.

Henry brought his friend Eeyore to meet big Eeyore.

Penny got to make some friends too.

T-I-Double-Guh-ER

After Pirates of the Caribbean, Hank and Katie were ready to transform into pirates.
Here are their "ARR!" faces.

After their time in the Pirate's League.
Katie was Captain Jack Sparrow and Hank was a skeleton pirate.

They signed their names in the register.

Then we tried to become King Arthur but were not deemed worthy.

On our last day, we met up with the Little Einsteins and Handy Manny.

We were shrunk down to miniature size and rode an ant.

Then we rode a Speeder Bike to get away from some Stormtroopers.

They have an incredible thing called the Jedi Training Academy where kids can learn the ways of The Force and battle Darth Vader.

Focus, young Jedi.

Darth Vader appears. Jedi Henry is giving in to his anger.

(Detail of the focus and anger)

Penny grabbed this photo of a Mickey Mouse Cloud that really sums up the magic of the week.

Yes We're Going To A Party Party

2010-09-06T21:58:00.001-04:00

Despite our best efforts, Henry turned 4 this weekend. He's growing up, no matter how hard we try. We had a great party at Mill Pond Park in Saline. Here's proof:

Hank and Oscar are powerful Jedis, even in the face of the evil (and delicious) Darth Vader cake.

He wiped out on a swing the day before, giving himself a nice little bruise goatee, but that didn't even slow him down.

We brought in the terrific Josh the Balloon Guy to twist some balloons for the guests.

The crowd went wild.

Lightsabers were the big ticket item.

Epic battle.

And then came the cakes, including the homemade Darth Vader cake that was a big success.

Hank with Gramps and Auntie Joyce

With Grandpa Wayne.

Photo Booth

2010-07-21T19:35:00.001-04:00

A goofy series of photos from a photobooth:

Greenfield Village

2010-07-18T12:53:00.002-04:00

One quick (and cute) photo of Henry and his special friend Katie at Greenfield Village earlier this year.

Larger version available here

Their teacher informed me a few weeks ago that they got married at preschool. They walked around holding hands and then went to live in a palace made of food.

Weeks later, we were watching a TV show with a character named Katie and Henry said "Hey, her name is Katie, just like my wife!"

They say the darndest things.

Final Baseball Photos

2010-07-18T12:47:00.002-04:00

Some more great baseball shots:

Thanks Papa Earl!

Rookie Season

2010-06-24T23:12:00.003-04:00

Hank finished his Smart Start Baseball season today with a triumphant first T-Ball game. I may be biased but he was the best kid to ever play any sport ever.

Coach Ed gives Hank his certificate of awesomeness.

Hank takes a couple of swings in the on-deck circle

You probably saw this on SportsCenter:

This bat was made by a piece of foam and plastic that was struck by lightning.
Hank carved it himself.

Play Ball!

2010-05-22T15:31:00.001-04:00

Hank had his first Smart Start baseball class through Ypsilanti Rec & Ed last week. He had a blast.

Field of Dreams

Coach Gary teaches the fundamentals

Throwing

Catching

Focusing

Smiling

Windy City 2010

2010-05-16T22:07:00.000-04:00

We traveled to Chicago this weekend with Gramps and Auntie Joyce. We hot the Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium, the Weber Grill, Rainforest Cafe and generally had a good time.

Hanging beneath "The Bean"

Hank wanted to live in this yellow submarine.

At the aquarium they had a fun Polar Play exhibit where kids could dress up like penguins and climb on "rocks" and slide down slides.

A walk in the park.

Iron Man joined us for diner at the Weber Grill.

Arty at The Bean

Gramps and Auntie Joyce are Beanin' it.

PJ & The Bean

Hank is the Dancing Rabbit

2010-05-07T18:53:00.000-04:00

Frankenmuth's Monster

2010-03-07T18:02:00.000-05:00

When we go on vacation, we only take photos of Henry with inanimate objects and people in costumes. It is kind of a quirk of ours.

Hank with the Cheese Haus Mouse.

Hank in a jaunty hat with the Cheese Haus pirate.

Hank pretending to be a flat Bavarian lad.

Hank pretending to be a flat Bavarian chicken.

Hankman and Drumstick.

The Many Faces of Henry

2010-02-22T21:33:00.000-05:00

Wintertime brings about a lot of time cooped up in the house. It shows.

"Yarrr!" says Pirate Henry

Sometimes we put a cape on Daisy and make her act like SuperDog.

Sunglasses + Scarf = Elton Johnson

The Gladiator plays the iPod

Hank 'Toons

2010-02-17T13:43:00.009-05:00

Hank's got a bunch of different cartoons and trailers he likes to watch. I figured that instead of hunting all over YouTube for this junk, I'd just create a post with a bunch of them in one place.

More avatar here

Mad Libs

2010-02-05T21:02:00.003-05:00

Hank and I filled out his first Mad Libs. It is pretty awesome.

1) Even though the moon first appears as a LABORATORY slice of light and finally becomes a full MOON, it doesn't change its BALL. The moon looks different as the LIGHT BULB sun illuminates its different SIMON SAYS.

2) The moon HUMAN TORCH around the Earth once in every BUZZ LIGHTYEAR days.

3) If the moon were to be seen next to the Earth it would look like a tennis TENNIS BALL next to a bowling BUILDING.

4) In 1969, BUZZ and HENRY from the Apollo SPIDER-MAN, were the first WOODY to set MILK on the moon.

In case you can't tell, it was almost bedtime and we were hanging out with his Toy Story toys.

Odds & Ends

2010-01-30T16:41:00.000-05:00

Just noticed that it has been a while since we updated. Here are some odds and ends of what's been going on over the past couple months.

Hank at a friend's birthday party with a pirate balloon.

Playing drums at Uncle Matt and Aunt Kerry's house.

Everybody's Workin' For the Weekend.

Playing with Cousin Sue's laptop camera.

Goofenstein's Monster

Smeary face

Playing Spider-Man Pinball

To Infinity and BEYOND!

The Kids Are Alright

2009-11-07T00:01:00.001-05:00

Hank and his buddy Oscar (whom you may remember from our old days at BabyRoadies.com with baby photo here) hangin' out and practicing for their future rock band.

Hank clearly has the Johnny Rotten energy of this band, whereas Oscar displays the cool distain of a Steve Jones or Glen Matlock. Or they're just goofy kids rocking out.

GetCandyGetCandyGetCandy

2009-11-01T21:39:00.003-05:00

Every year at Halloween, a bunch of the kids on the street get together to have their pictures taken. Previous years can be found here and here

He is Spiderman.

Trying his first Reese's Peanut Butter cup

Masked

Web-Slinger, ready for action

We also visited the museum for their annual event.

You can see us in the photo and article here:

Here's a video of the beginning and the end of the night.

Sugar played a large part in his Snoopy impression.

"and all things good"

2009-10-12T21:50:00.002-04:00

Hank started singing this little song out of the blue today. I guess they sing it at school before snack time. Now we will eat him.

Nom nom nom.

Version without text on his face here

You say Tomato, I say Tomahto.

2009-10-02T22:49:00.001-04:00

Hank and his classmates planted tomato seeds this spring and we got to take them home to plan them in our yard. The plant grew and grew and eventually sprouted a bunch of tomatoes.

Then: Johnny Tomato seed

Now: The plant grew to be taller than him.

The proud papa

...and it was delicious

Summertime and the Livin's Easy

2009-09-24T01:04:00.002-04:00

Summer is winding down and I know there were some fun times that had not yet been captured for posterity on The Johnsonian:

Lots of drawing on the sidewalk with chalk.
Hank very deliberately drew a whale (Monstro),
then some smaller fish (Martin and Dori).

Larger version available Here

We also did some sparklers in the backyard.
He was very brave.

Our rosebush ("Audrey" named after the huge plant that came alive and started eating people in 'Little Shop of Horrors') grew to epic proportions yet again.

We took a trip to Douglas and goofed around on the Douglas Dutchers' ball field.

Rows of Rowes

Then off to The Cottage where we engaged in further horseplay.

Daisy turned into a retriever all of the sudden.

Penny and Hank on Reed Lake

Gone Fishin'

Larger version available Here

Happy 3rd Birthday

2009-09-17T22:48:00.000-04:00

Hank turned 3 a couple weeks ago and we had a blast.

He played outside with his friend Katie

His friend Reese was there in the igloo too

He said he wanted a Shark Cake so his Auntie Joyce made some calls and got it done.

"we're gonna need a bigger boat"

Ethan helped with candle supervision.

He had help opening the presents.

Then: Running

And finally hanging out with family.

Thanks everybody, It was a blast.

Hilarious/Awesome things Henry says:

2009-09-16T19:10:00.000-04:00

Oftentimes when he wakes up, he’ll sing “Oh DAAAA-aaad” or “oh MOOOO-ooom” to get our attention.

One day he asked “What’s my middle name” and we told him “You were named after your Great-Grandpa. Your middle name is Wallace. Henry Wallace Johnson” We waited a minute, then asked “What’s your middle name?” and he replied “Henry Walrus Johnson.”

One day in the car he was making a gesture with his hands where his thumb was out and his index and pinky fingers were up in the air. Penny asked “Are you doing Spider-man? Or do you have a booger?” He looked at us like we were idiots and said “No Mom, this is how you Rock Out.”

He loves the TV show Little Einsteins and usually requires us to include them in his bedtime stories. Lots of times he asks for Mama and Daddy and Henry and Little Einsteins to go on adventure. Sometimes he asks for Gramps & Auntie Joyce or Grandma, sometimes Penny from Bolt, or Penny from the Rescuers. Sometimes Wall-E, Mowgli from The Jungle Book, sometimes friends we have seen that day, sometimes members of the Detroit Tigers (usually Magglio Ordonez a.k.a “Maggs”).

When he plays baseball, he assigns us all to be different players. He used to always be Maggs, but lately he’s wanted to be Cabrera Maggs. Usually Dad is Justin Berlander and sometimes Mom is Justin Berlander too…occasionally Curtis Granderson and seldom Ramon Santiago.

He knows the difference between a home run and a foul ball, but often runs the bases on foul balls because it is fun.

Once at the coffee shop, we asked him if he liked bagels or donuts better and he replied “Bagels AND donuts” and we couldn’t argue with that.

He used to say he had a baby growing in his stomach. When we asked him what kind of baby was in there he said “Chocolate Chip.”

Penny caught a minnow in a net at the cottage and Henry named the fish “Henry Roger Federer.”

When we play tennis, he is always Roger Federer and we are always Andy Roddick.

He calls our dog Daisy “Daze” and always says “Oh, hi Daze” whenever he sees her.

When playing with a deck of cards, he can identify Hearts, Diamonds, Little Trees and Shovels.

He is obsessed with Bad Guys and Good Guys. If we flip through a magazine or a book, he needs to ask us if some people are good guys and others are bad guys.

His favorite color is green.

His stuffed toy Eeyore is his “best buddy” according to him. He also has said his mom is “the greatest in the whole world ever.”

He grew two tomato plants from seeds at school this summer and named them Henry Helicopter and Boot Shoe (which we think may be from the movie Wall-E where there is a plant growing inside a boot).

There was a price tag on the side of a recipe box and we asked him what the numbers were. Out of the blue he said “H-E-N-R-Y” (which was incorrect, but surprised the hell out of us).

He is a very sweet boy who is not afraid to give a handshake to a stranger or hugs to those he knows.

His friends at school are Katie Lew, Harry (who was born on the same day he was), Isabella and Parini Beanie. His favorite teacher is Miss Stephamie.

His favorite songs are:
“I’m Amazed” by My Morning Jacket
“Aluminum Park” by My Morning Jacket
“I Will Sing to You” by My Morning Jacket
“Get on Your Boots” by U2 (renamed “Let’s Have Some Juice”)
The soundtrack to “The Point” by Harry Nilsson
“All Together Now” by The Beatles
“Road Hog” by John D. Loudermilk
“The Car Song” by Woody Guthrie
“Hot Rod Lincoln” by Johnny Bond
“I Wanna Be Like You” from the Jungle Book (a.k.a. “The Monkey Song”)
“A-Punk” by Vampire Weekend (a band that he calls “Umpire Weekend”)

Sometimes when he’s eating something he likes, he’ll need to get up and do a silly dance because he likes it so much.

He can get occasionally pissy. If we don’t allow him to do the thing he wants to do he’ll frown and say “PLEASE!” with a tone that is furiously demanding (and not at all polite). If he goes too far, we’ll start counting to three. He usually says “I don’t like it when you COUNT!” Sometimes we accuse him of being a toilet.

He loves to play pirates in the front yard with foam swords. He’ll stand on a piece of grass and say “This is MY SHIP!” Sometimes sharks chase him when he says this. He is very concerned with who is a good pirate and who is a bad pirate. He is always a good pirate. He’ll say “YAR, all you Mateys!” then attack us with his sword.

When he wants to be picked up and spun around, he’ll say “Spin you around me” and when he’s tired of walking he’ll say “Put you up on my shoulders.”

He said “I don’t like beer. Only Daddy and Gramps like beer.”

If he tries any food he doesn’t like, he’ll say “Too spicy.” This can be mustard, salt potato chips, or club soda. When he tried club soda one day he frowned and said “Yuck. Too spicy” then spent the next 5 minutes trying to wipe off his tongue. We often taunt him saying that we will have spicy mustard on his sandwich for dinner. When he protests, we say “Ok ok fine. We’ll just have extra SPICY MUSTARD for you” and he laughs.

His first joke was mixing up what Mater and Lightning McQueen said in the movie Cars. We would ask “What does Mater say?” and he would reply “Ker-Chow!” (which is what Lightning McQueen actually says). We would ask what Lightning McQueen says and he would say “Sheeeoooot” and then we’d laugh and laugh at his funny joke. He also makes the joke that you Stop at a green light and Go at a red light. We hope this joke wears off by the time he turns 16.

We were singing nonsense songs in the car once, where I would scat and riff for a while and then Hank would fill in with another nonsense verse. I had a line that had the words “Boodilly Boodilly” in it and Henry said “No Dad, not Booty Booty.” I asked “Well, what does ‘Booty’ mean?” and he said “It’s one of your butts.” This meant that from that point on, every verse needed to end in “Booty Booty Booty Booty one of your butts” to the tune of “Shave & a Haircut, Two Bits” which was hilarious.

When we were at Comerica Park to see a Tigers game, he whispered to me that he wanted to go “tickle that boy over there” upon which point he ran over and started tickling the Elias Brothers Big Boy statue which was holding a hamburger up in the air.

We were at our friends Jennifer and Kelly’s house and Henry wanted to play their piano. He started playing and announced “I’m playing fortissimo!” Thank you, television, for educating our child.

He likes school but really loves what he calls “stay at home days” (which is every day he doesn’t have to go to school).

Last winter he and his classmates made a snowman that they named either “Downtown” or “Ham sandwich” depending on who you ask.

When he was really little, when he wanted to get by somebody he would say “’Kyooze me!” which has remained in our vocabulary.

Lots of times, he’ll get a very focused look on his face for a few minutes, and then announce “I don’t need my diaper changed” (which is usually not the case).

Similarly, when he announces “I’m not tired” we know it is time for a nap.

Lil' Slugger

2009-08-20T18:33:00.002-04:00

Our friend Josh stopped by recently and took a couple quick photos of Hank.

Man, I love that kid

Isabella, Katie and Henry

2009-07-23T21:12:00.006-04:00

larger version here

When I got to Gretchen's House I didn't see Henry through the windows, so I went into the room and got his stuff.

When I got out to the playground, I still didn't see any of the usual suspects and Stephanie (their teacher) pointed into the corner.

The three of them were just sitting under the tree playing with leaves and chatting with each other. It was so cute I had to take a picture.

Summertime Fun in the Backyard

2009-07-12T09:58:00.001-04:00

We've been having a blast outside lately. Here are some action shots of Hank and Grandpa Wayne swordfighting in the backyard, and a couple of us hanging at the pool.

Hank getting some swordfighting tips from Grandpa Wayne.

En Garde!

Pool fool

H20

Hank and Penny

Hank and Zac

We were doing one of those things where you hold out the camera and try to take your picture.

tee hee

Homerun and Jabberjaws

2009-06-28T12:58:00.003-04:00

Hank has been having a fun summer. Here are a couple of good videos of him goofing around:

Hammerin' Hank hits a Homerun

He usually assigns us to be different players.
He and I are both Magglio Ordóñez and Mom is Ramón Santiago on this day.

Jabberjaws

Before I got out the camera he was just a steady stream of jabber about Spiderman, Harold the Helicopter, Clete Thomas, Slinky, airplanes and anything else that popped into his little boy brain. If you can imagine, the bit I captured in this movie is a much less noisy portion of the afternoon.

Motormouth

2009-06-10T21:14:00.001-04:00

Hank has been growing in leaps and bounds lately. He often plays with his toys in a constant motormouthed monologue of pirates and airplanes and Little Einsteins and baseball and luggage and superheroes. Often you can't quite catch everything that's going on in the story but he knows what's happening.

Not sure what's going on here, but if I were Wolverine, Spider-Man or Doc Ock,
I might be nervous about whatever Iron Man has planned for me.

First Ice Cream Cone

2009-05-28T19:37:00.002-04:00

tee hee

Hilton Head 2009 (Pt. 1)

2009-05-04T16:44:00.002-04:00

Hilton Head is lovely this time of year. You simply must stop by. The plane trip was actually nice: Hank read and slept most of the way.

We've eaten good food and even been to the ocean already.

Hank and I have gotten a summer cold, but that ain't stopping us from having fun.

Johnson Boys at the Beach

Hank digs the sand

A little golf in the afternoon

Atop the Harbour Town Lighthouse.

Zac & Penny on top of the world

Springtime and Golf Shirts

2009-05-01T14:02:00.000-04:00

Spring has sproinged:

"We Won!"

Easter in "the D"

2009-04-13T21:55:00.002-04:00

Penny, Hank and I went with Gramps and Auntie Joyce to go see the Rangers and the Tigers at Comerica Park on Easter Sunday. (Hey, everybody has their own interpretation of church).

Here are some pictures and a special TV appearance:

Ready for the game (and lunch)

Curious about lunch

Hank and Gramps

Zac & Penny being cute

"Aw, c'mon you guys. I'm tryin' to watch baseball here"

Afterwards, Hank got to run the bases. He gave Paws a hi-five.

Gramps and Auntie Joyce in the cheering section.

Hank and Penny

Hank and Zac

Hank even got to shake Paws' paw.

In fact; We were even on TV:

Hank on the paw at the end of the day

Wallpaper size here:

Classic Rock

2009-03-26T21:02:00.002-04:00

Tuesday in the car:

Hank sez - "This song is nice. They say 'Hey hey Mommy'"

Thursday in the car:

Hank sez - "Play the 'You Batter You Batter' song again, daddy"

Chip Johnson

2009-03-23T22:20:00.003-04:00

So Hank likes golf. Let me say that again. he really likes golf. We haven't pushed this on him or anything. Penny and I aren't really golfers or anything...we don't have clubs and I've only been halfway golfing once at a bachelor party.

We have no idea where all of this came from.

On Sunday, his Gramps and Auntie Joyce took him to the driving range and he hit 120 golf balls. And when he was done with hs second bucket of 60 balls he said "Again! Again!"

Using the driver. You can see how far he was hitting the balls.

We call him "Chip"

A little movie of him in the front yard.

Jesus, look how happy he is here.
Plus he looks like he's about 15.

Slide

2009-03-22T15:29:00.002-04:00

A quick movie of Hank at the waterpark last month. This little slide had some lions or pumas on the side. Hank would go down the slide then go by and pet the lions on the side. Again and again and again.

Waffles and Grapes

2009-03-19T20:51:00.001-04:00

This morning Hank was eating his waffle and wanted grapes so obviously he shouted "GRAPES!" at the top of his lungs.

We said to him "What do you say when you want something?"

He said "Please."

We asked "So what do you want?"

He said "Grapes!"

We said to him "What do you say when you want something nicely?"

He said "Please."

We said "So what do you want? And ask nicely."

He said "Grapes!"

Penny called him over and said "Put those two words together"

so he thought about it for a second and said "Grapes grapes"

He got the grapes.

Fun picture from vacation:

Bigger here

STELLAAA!!!

2009-02-28T14:28:00.003-05:00

We decided we needed a tiny bit of Sunshine (or chlorine and plastic hippos) so we grabbed a weekend at the Kalahari Resort in tropical Sandusky Ohio.

Hank's first impression of our Waterpark Vacation:

I'm 1000% certain that the "Stellaaa!!" is coming from one of two places: His deep love for Tennessee Williams or this episode of Sesame Street where Grover is re-enacting A Streetcar Named Desire...one of those two places.

He likes Skee-ball (he takes after his mother who is a skee-ball shark)

He likes Elephants

and he likes lying in a big-boy bed watching movies on his Dad's laptop with Eeyore.

School Days

2009-02-25T20:43:00.000-05:00

Some photos of Hank from his day care:

Mixing

Pajama Day

Hugs from Katie

Snowflake Tongue

Snowflake Grin

Love is in the air.

2009-02-14T15:23:00.002-05:00

Last week we asked Hank who he wanted to give a valentine to and he said "The Moon."

Today at lunch at The Fleetwood, Hank put the mustard and ketchup bottles together and said they were married. The ketchup said "I love you mustard" and the mustard said "I love you too ketchup."

Happy Valentine's Day!

The cat loves this, by the way.

FLUTEFLUTEFLUTE!

Yar! Here be Pirates!

Goodbye January

2009-02-01T21:41:00.001-05:00

We've been experiencing a little cabin fever here in Johnsonia.

Our days are spent drawing:

This is a drawing of "Daddy" with two eyes, a nose and a long curved smile that goes in two directions on one side.

Watchin' a little TV

With Eeyore, obviously.

Playing golf

With a scarf on, obviously

Hammin' with Mom

Scarves and smiles

Inventing new games

We invented a game called "HoodHoodHood" where we all wear sweatshirts with hoods, crazy hats and then run around in circles through the house shouting "HoodHoodHood" at the top of our lungs.

It gets boring in Michigan in January.

and building garages for Lightning McQueen and Mater.

Grandma got Hank these awesome Happyville Blocks for Christmas
and we've been building all kinds of cool things.

An interview with Hank:

The Tree is Up

2008-12-14T15:19:00.001-05:00

Our tree is up and decorated with a bunch of non-breakable ornaments. Plenty of room for presents underneath.

Macho Man

2008-12-05T21:29:00.000-05:00

When it gets cold in Michigan, we often go a little stir crazy and start re-enacting old Village People routines:

Was there a fireman in the Village People? I don't remember.

Lookit that kooky hair.

One-Man Band

2008-11-08T21:25:00.001-05:00

Hank playing the guitar and drums.

He's very talented.

The Artiste

2008-11-06T14:49:00.000-05:00

Hank has been exploring his artistic side lately, doing some painting and some photography. Let's have a look, shall we?

His blue and green period.

The passion! The Technique! The paint on the ceiling!

Henry's first photo (that wasn't of the floor or his own eye while holding the camera backwards).

The composition! The use of white space! Eat your heart out Kazimir Marevich.

The Reluctant Batman

2008-11-01T15:43:00.002-04:00

Halloween again and the Murray Avenue kids lined up once more:

Larger version available here

Here he's had some candy and is obviously happier.

The weekend before we went to an event at the Museum.

Hank and his cousin Josie.

Go Green! Go White!

2008-10-25T20:12:00.002-04:00

Here are a couple of happy Spartans. MSU must've just won the Michigan/Michigan State football game.

Hoping for your vote in November

2008-10-17T12:21:00.000-04:00

Inspired by the original Shepherd Fairy "OBEY" poster and the Barack Obama "HOPE" poster (and aided by 4 hours on an airplane) I put together this poster for Hank's political campaign:

Obscenely large version available here

Highly Suspicious Of You

2008-09-29T20:49:00.001-04:00

Hank is into music and he's latched onto this rock song by My Morning Jacket called "Highly Suspicious." Whenever we get into the car, he demands it and he likes to sing along.

"No, I got 'em all cut."

2008-09-17T21:05:00.000-04:00

So Hank just came back from his very first real haircut. We've been struggling to cut his hair but he gets all squealy when we get out the scissors. He cringes and and squinches up his neck so the only way Penny's been able trim his hair while he's sleeping.

He and Penny went to Arcade Barbers in Ann Arbor where they have a cool racecar barber's chair that Hank apparently was interested in, and the apron had a robot on it, so that was a plus. The woman who cut his hair was a total pro and Penny did a terrific job of keeping him distracted.

He was a total champ during the whole process.

The cardboard boxes are from the Ikea desk we put together.
It is recycling day.

The back.

It's a little shorter than we were originally thinking, but since we didn't know when we'd be able to get him in "the chair" again so we had the barber just go for it. I think it looks really cute.

He got a sucker when he was done.
It is grape.

High Score

2008-09-13T17:10:00.001-04:00

Hank has recently discovered our Galaga Game. While he enjoys playing, he's most interested in making his own spaceship go "boomy" which keeps the game pretty short.

He's 2 already?

2008-09-07T22:20:00.005-04:00

We celebrated Hank's 2nd birthday today. The Tigers played on TV and Maggs hit a homerun for Henry. We played golf and baseball in the front yard, and we all enjoyed snacks.

His day care gave him a crown (it was clearly an expensive antique, not a Burger King crown with stickers on it) and we can't get it off of his head.

His Majesty
click here for larger

He got a bunch of great balloons from his Gramps and Auntie Joyce.
The 2 balloon was actually almost taller than Henry

Peeking

We had Detroit Tigers plates and napkins which Hank enjoyed.

He had a Sesame Street cake and blew out the candle on his third try.
He did, however make us sing Happy Birthday twice.
About halfway through the cake course, he said "Happy Birthday again" so we sang it.

His pal Ethan helped him with opening the presents.

There was a Thomas theme with a lot of the presents.

I don't know if he's convinced about this sweater...

We got a lot of milage out of that crown.

"Who? Lil' old me?"

Hank and Daisy on the back porch.

Daisy's self portrait in sidewalk chalk.
She holds the chalk in her little mouth...it's very cute to watch.

The proud parents

"CHEEEZE!"

Hank and Oscar

2008-09-03T20:26:00.002-04:00

This Labor Day, Penny and I took Hank to a park to play with his friend Oscar. Oscar's Dad and I used to write for a hilarious website called Baby Roadies back before we had kids. Hank and Oscar had a great time. They played baseball and soccer, and climbed on this awesome play structure. The grown-ups discussed fine art and Russian literature.

Just kidding. We probably talked about potty training.

Play Ball!

Note the scorched grass.
That's how fast Oscar was pitching.

Good hustle out there.

Cool kids get cookies.
(click here for larger)

Hank Surveys the Neighborhood

2008-07-19T12:12:00.001-04:00

Vacation :: Week 2

2008-07-12T21:23:00.002-04:00

We spent the second week of our vacation in Glen Arbor, MI, at Wayne's Shoreside condo at the Homestead. Henry kept calling it "Gampa House" which was beyond cute. Our college chum Erin came up to share the sunshine and we had good weather throughout the week.

Hank saying "Cheese" as he always does when he sees a camera.

This is what the interior of the condo at Shoreside looks like.
As you can see, it is right on the waters of Lake Michigan.

Hank, Penny and Wayne went to a pancake breakfast that the Glen Arbor Fire Department was hosting and Hank got to sit in a real live fire truck.
It took a couple tries but in the end he was OK with it.

Hank spent a cute morning in his pajamas.

He was seat dancing, which usually means he just bobs his head back and forth
like that girl from Peanuts.

Smiling. With a Woof Woof on his pajamas.

We went to Sleeping Bear National Park one day, gasping at its scenic overlooks
and whining about how hard it is to climb the dune...

...Actually we were happy about climbing,
it was Hank who was whining, but once he got on my shoulders he was fine with it.

Somebody said "Go Fly A Kite!" so we did.

Penny and Erin at Boonedocks.

Hank likes Applesauce.

See? Here's that "cheese" face again.
Hank got very attached to the raccoon mascot that we bring up there each year.

Hank in a camouflaged Tigers hat
playing with Captain America on the 4th of July weekend.
Good lord what could be more American than that?

Hank handled the 5 hour drive back pretty well (with plenty of pit stops) and we made it back to Ann Arbor with no major issues.

Vacation :: Week 1

2008-07-08T21:47:00.001-04:00

We spent a week in Baldwin Michigan (north of Grand Rapids) at our family cottage. Lots of sun and fun, and a billion mosquitos. Penny's dad Wayne and our friend Josh both visited, and we had a nice week of relaxing without TV, phone or internet.

Hank wearing only his mom's hat.

On the second day, Hank got some monster bug bites on his eye. It scared the crap out of us. He looked like he just went 10 rounds with the heavyweight champ. Our neighbor is a nurse and assured us that it would go down in a day or so, and she was right.

Banging on the rowboat with a stick.

"I don't want to work..."

"...I want to bang on the boat all day."

Penny at the beach

Zac at the beach

One day we went to Ludington and went out to the lighthouse.

Before bed, Hank and Eeyore would watch old Tigers games on the laptop.

Hit. A. Ball.

2008-06-24T22:06:00.003-04:00

Hank loves playing baseball. Seriously. Lots of times when he wakes up, the first words out of his mouth are "Hit. A. Ball."

Here's a little movie of what all of our afternoons look like:

I'm pretty impressed (and not just in a Proud Dad way) at his hand-eye coordination. He really looks to see that the ball is on its way and waits to swing until it's in range for the bat.

And all of this at 21 months (not even 2 years old)! Alls I'm saying is that he'll likely peak at age 6 or 7 and end up like The Baumer from The Royal Tennenbaums, removing his shoes and one of his socks at the big game, but we'll love him just the same.

Tigers vs. Indians

2008-06-08T19:32:00.002-04:00

We journeyed to the Detroit Tigers game on Saturday. Although it was hot, the weather was great and we saw lots of friends there. Henry got to be up close to Paws (the Tigers mascot) but got kind of freaked out. We'll try again next time.

larger version available here:

Joyce bought him a big foam tiger claw and he really enjoyed it.

He also did really well drinking out of a water bottle.

This boy loves baseball.

Sandbox!

2008-05-31T21:53:00.002-04:00

We spent some time at our friends Paul, Lori and Ethan's house and Paul took some photos of everybody in the sandbox.

Hank and a shovel

Reese Taylor, Hank's back, and Ethan Kahlenberg (and Spiderman)

Reese + Helicopter

Hank says "Stop taking pictures and let me play, wouldja?"
larger version available here:

We're Really Into Superheroes

2008-05-29T21:11:00.001-04:00

Spiderman enjoys a bottle with Eeyore

Wolverine rides the bus

May Update

2008-05-20T21:03:00.007-04:00

Hank has been really fun lately.

He wants to be outside all of the time. He's not afraid to go down the biggest slide at the playground and loves to dig in the driveway with his shovel (sounds like "Fvo-vull" when he says it). He's a big fan of swimming at the Y, but it takes him a little while to get into the water. He likes to stand at the edge and jump into our arms.

When he goes to parties or new environments, it takes him about 15 minutes to warm up. He's very clingy and whiny for exactly 15 minutes, and then leaves us behind and rips up the joint wherever we are.

Behind his back we call him "The Ruiner" because he is often like a little Godzilla, leaving devastation in his wake.

He asks "Where Going?" and "What Doing?" all the time. He likes bikes, trucks, the mailman, the bus, trucks, "Running" (either doing it himself or watching people run).

He loves baseball. When the Tigers are on he watches attentively, giving play-by-play: "Running," "Throw," "Catch" and "Maggs" anytime Magglio Ordóñez is on.

He can sing many of the words to "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" and sometimes sings a made-up song containing random letters of the alphabet and words like Mama, Dada, Sky, Blue, Green and Banana.

He loves music, but only 4 songs:

"Lazy Eye" by Silversun Pickups (YouTube video)
"Kamera" and "Heavy Metal Drummer" by Wilco ('Kamera' YouTube video and 'Heavy Metal Drummer' video)
and "See and Be Scene" by the Hard Lessons (video here)

If we play anything else, he gets this confused look on his face and says "no" like we're idiots. Every time we get in the car he says "DRUMS!" and swings his arms up and down.

Sometimes he'll wear his bike helmet for hours, but will only wear a baseball cap or sunglasses for a few minutes at a time.

He likes Spiderman, Superman, Captain America and Wolverine, but is a little scared by Iron Man (the wind-up toy from Burger King sometimes starts walking on its own and is not to be trusted).

Today he said "Ice" and "Hockey" as clear as day when we passed the ice rink here in Ann Arbor. We have no idea why.

He is way into Sesame Street (particularly Elmo and Cookie Monster). There is the occasional Sesame Street segment involving a bad James Brown impersonator crafted out of cut paper and when that guy comes on he gets this confused look on his face, shakes his head and says "no" like we're idiots.

He looks at his MSU book and says "Sparty!"

When he wakes up in the morning, he stands in his crib and says "Daaaah-Dah" over and over again. If Dad doesn't come to get him, he'll start saying "Maaaah-Ma" until we start laughing and go and get him.

He can't get enough of reading and can find Goldbug on every page of this book.

His skin continues to be very sensitive, reacting to any clothing that isn't the finest cotton. He requires naked time every evening and gets slathered in a wide variety of lotions every day.

He collects pine cones and visits all of the cats in the neighborhood. He loves our neighbor's dog Sasha (whom he calls "Shah-sha").

He's been inflecting his "S"s very strangely, making "Yes" sound like "Yesh," "Bus" sound like "Busch" and "Bubbles" sound like "Bubblesh." We have no idea why.

He gives hugs freely and hi-fives like a champ.

Play Ball!

2008-04-26T21:28:00.001-04:00

Today was Hank's first Tigers game and man, did he have a great time. We had perfect weather and he made it through about 8 innings before melting down.

Arriving at Comerica Park

Big Tiger

Hank's first impressions

A lady handed Hank a little paper schedule and for about five minutes he wouldn't stop staring at it. Here we are in the middle of the baseball field right where Magglio Ordóñez plays, and he wants to look at a little piece of paper.

With Gramps and Aunt Joyce

Everybody

"Cheese!"

He was a little unsure about the Merry-Go-Round,
but after a few spins he warmed up to it.

He was way into the big foam claws in the gift shop.

"RAAARRR!"

I think we wore him out.

This weird yellow orb in the sky

2008-04-13T13:03:00.001-04:00

There was this weird yellow orb in the sky this week. It turned out to be the Sun and we had just forgotten what it looked like. We took some pictures of the boy (surprise surprise).

larger version available here:

Hank Loves Italian Cookies

2008-04-07T18:24:00.003-04:00

Hank is very cute when he says "Cookie," "Please" and "Yay!" so we tried to grab this (rather long) movie where he says all three.

Also he's got some orange sunglasses to wear to Tigers games this summer and he looks very cool in them.

Are you talkin' to me?
Are you?
Talkin' to me?

I'm the only one here,
so you must be talkin' to me.

Where's Goldbug

2008-03-31T20:43:00.002-04:00

Hank was being very cute tonight. He wanted to sit with his "Babies" (Raggedy Ann and Andy) and look for Goldbug. He's very good at finding Goldbug and kept pointing him out to Raggedy Ann and Andy.

Last week they had crazy hair day at school,
so we slicked his hair back with gel.
He was very suave.

With Mama.

Mesmerized by Melmo

2008-03-17T21:35:00.000-04:00

Here is the latest movie of our hilarious kid.

Hanging out with him is like a going to magic show directed by David Lynch because I literally have no idea what is going to happen next.

Paper or Plastic?

2008-03-07T20:29:00.002-05:00

This film footage was found in the wreckage of a house on the Old West Side. It is possible that it contains some clues as to the origins of the damage. Alas, since there were no survivors, the tale may never be told.

::

Some pichers:

Pale and chubby-faced.
That's a Michigan boy.

Endampened.

Paper please, it's better for the environment.

Two funny Hank Stories and a couple pictures.

2008-02-17T21:11:00.001-05:00

We went to the Natural History Museum yesterday and Hank would walk from one glass case to the next and say "Ooooh..." at the exhibits inside. Eventually he moved down to the firehose mounted to the wall in a glass case and said "Ooooh..."

Glad to see that he's really taking in the history and science of this great resource.

Today in the car coming back from the grocey store, "Wish You Were Here" came on the radio and I said "All Right! This is Pink Floyd, Henry" and in the back Hank said (clear as day) "Duuuuuude!"

It was awesome.

Take Five

2008-01-18T22:19:00.000-05:00

Back in the day, we used to have a "Gentleman's Parlour" in the basement for cigars, highballs and bawdy talk. Now it is used for storage from floor to ceiling (and rightly so...the cigar room was too cold in the winter, and in the summer I'm on the porch anyway), but here is a little video of what the Gentleman's Parlour used to be.

Squeak Shoes

2007-12-29T17:12:00.000-05:00

Hank had a lovely Christmas filled with tractors, trucks, puzzles and an entire wardrobe of clothing.

Among his gifts were a pair of shoes with squeakers in the sole that squeek every time he takes a step. Needless to say, Daisy is very interested.

More photos:

A Black Belt Christmas

2007-12-09T16:05:00.000-05:00

Some recent events:

Penny received her Second Degree Black Belt in Tae Kwan Do:

She gave a speech about The Black Belt Camp Experience

And got her new belt! Hooray!

Also, Hank visited Santa Claus at the local country store.

A visit with a Reindeer.

He visted with Santa.
Hank Loved it.

moving on...

He got happier after that.

The sign above him says:
"It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year"

Believe

Making a list, checking it twice.

2007-11-24T21:08:00.000-05:00

By popular demand, here are some stats from the back of Hank's baseball card for anyone on the internet who is itching to do some Christmas shopping for a random kid.

Hank is 14 months old but wears 18-24 month clothing.

He's a sensitive boy so his wardrobe is all cotton (Polyester in 2007? Puh-leeze).

Shoe size is a manly "6" toddler

He is way into School Buses, Dump Trucks and Fire Trucks like you wouldn't believe.

He enjoys the Fisher Price Little People vehicles (he has the school bus and the dump truck).

He's still into reading board books (his passion for the written word is strong, so occasionally paper books get torn).

Our house is small, if you have an unquenchable thirst to buy something "Drive-able" please take that into consideration.

A couple of older photos from his birthday in September:

Cake

Dump Truck

Vacation Highlights

2007-11-18T13:04:00.000-05:00

So far our vacation has not been super-relaxing.

Our dog was attacking the blind dogs at the kennel, Wayne had some minor food poisoning on his way up North, and now Penny has thrown her back out somehow.

Needless to say without the help from all manner of family and friends back home we would have had to cut the whole thing even shorter than we expected. We ended up getting a couple of good days up in Glen Arbor as these photos from Art's Tavern prove:

The family

In the background is the waitress that Hank was flirting with nonstop.

So Long from Glen Arbor!

Bike Hat Face

2007-11-12T06:06:00.000-05:00

Bike

Hank's Jaunty Hat

Hankface

We're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat

2007-11-05T20:58:00.000-05:00

Candygram

2007-10-31T22:34:00.000-04:00

So Hank spent Halloween as a Shark, thanks to the awesome costume from pals Steve and Sara. (Sara, somebody even noticed the tag where it was from and swooned over how awesome that baby clothes store is, so nice work).

On Halloween night we gathered all of the kids on our small street for a photo op. Amazingly they were all very well-behaved, happy and nobody tumbled down the stairs.

I have to say that my favorite non-shark costume was Lucy who wanted to go as a purple bus (as seen here) so there she is, a purple Ann Arbor "Link" bus, with headlights, driver and all.

The Sunday before, we met up with a million family members at the Natural History Museum for their Halloween party:

Gramps and Auntie Joyce (sponsored by Starbucks)

Cousin Josie in a canoe

"We're gonna need a bigger boat!"

Penny is a Cowgirl

Sharksmile

Shark In A Car! Shark In A Car!

(I have higher-res versions of all of these if any Murray Ave. residents or Grandparents are interested...just let me know.)

Not Walking All The Way

2007-10-23T22:53:00.000-04:00

So Hank could totally walk if he chose to. He'll take a couple of steps on his own, and he can clearly walk if he's got his bike or his shopping cart in front of him, but I think he realizes he can go faster if he crawls.

Anyway, here are a handful of random videos of him very nearly walking.

We had a coupon.

2007-10-06T15:29:00.000-04:00

So Penny took Hank to have his one-year formal photos taken. She reported to me that the photographer was sort of a nitwit and that Hank kept looking at her like "what is this guy on?" Needless to say, the photos weren't spectacular. Cute enough, but none of 'em really capture his inner Hankness.

What a goofball.

Tractors and Turf

2007-09-30T15:26:00.000-04:00

Fun weekend at the Johnsonian.

Penny is working toward her Second Degree Black Belt and she had a "Dawn-Till-Dusk" event (literally) all day Saturday, so it was Dudes Day all day. We started out by going to the historic Rentschler Farm in Saline.

Hank enjoyed the hay ride, pumpkins, and the antique Victrolas and Edison cylinders that Future Zac always brings for display every year (I have glimpsed my future and it will be me as a gray-bearded man showing first generation iPods to disbelieving kids in the year 2050).

Tractors and old trucks

Picking pumpkins with Grandma

On Sunday we read in the Ann Arbor Observer that there was going to be a fitness event at Michigan Stadium, so we cruised over there. Well the event was over when we got there but I asked if we could go into the Big House anyway. The lady (who I don't think had any authority either way) said it was fine, so we cruised in.

The neat part was that we got to enter the stadium the same way that the Football players do: Down a big dark sloped hallway just like Mean Joe Green in that Coke commercial...the same entrance where they come rocketing out of to jump up and slap the banner before the game starts. And once inside, we were the only ones in there.

Like, the only ones.

So we wandered onto the field, and regrettably the only camera I had was my phone camera. Hank and I stood on the big block "M" and sat in the end zone for a while. He was fascinated by the whole thing.

Anybody who knows me knows that I am not the world's biggest sports fan, but sitting in that huge expanse that I have seen on TV every year since I can remember was a pretty amazing experience, especially since there was nobody else around.

And Hank thinks Astroturf is pretty cool.

Shortly after this photo was taken, the cameraman was sacked.

If it is of solace to any Spartan family members out there, he was in fact wearing Green and White while he was in the stadium.

Relish the Moment

2007-09-20T20:19:00.000-04:00

Y'know what? Halloween's coming up and we thought Daisy would want to look like a Hot Dog.

She loves it

Then we thought that Hank would like to be a Hot Dog for a while

Then Daisy wanted it back.

(please don't call Child Protective Services on us)

Tangled up in Balloons

2007-09-06T22:13:00.000-04:00

Hank got a bunch of balloons for his first birthday and in his admiration of them, he got kind of tangled up.

Happy Birthday!

2007-09-06T21:13:00.000-04:00

Henry's first birthday was this week and if we learned one thing, it's that he enjoys cake.

Balloons and Gramps

Penny stayed up all night making and decorating the cake.

He's #1

First bite

Later...

He found the tray underneath the cake...

...and it was delicious.

The aftermath.

He got a bunch of great toys and clothes, and a Radio Flyer wagon that was a big hit at the end of the evening. Thanks Grandparents!

Almost a Year Old

2007-08-22T21:47:00.000-04:00

Hank is doing well. Almost a year old and really close to walking. He'll take several steps if he's got a hold of your fingers, and occasionally he'll stand up in the middle of the floor on his own.

He knows how to throw, and knows how to throw food on the floor so Daisy will eat it. He can say "Mama," "Dada," "Duck," "This" (which means pretty much anything that he's pointing at), and when he touches the little beads at the bottom of a curtain we have, he says "Gentle" (probably because we say "gentle" over and over again so he won't rip them off).

Some random pictures:

Writing Checks

Smiles & Stripes

Hangin' out with Grandpa & Daisy

Before Spaghetti

After Spaghetti

Smilin'

The Johnson Simpsons

2007-08-12T17:38:00.000-04:00

Burger King has this fun site where you can "Simpsonize" a photo of yourself. You upload a photo and it magically transforms you into a member of The Simpsons (basically all of my simple dreams come true). Here is what the Johnsons would look like if they moved in across the street from the Flanderses in Springfield.

Dudes Weekend

2007-08-07T21:04:00.000-04:00

Last weekend, Hank and I went on a dudes weekend to Grand Rapids to visit our friends Gerard and Kim from Guatemala (with their kids Max & Zoe) and our other friends Josh and Cindy (and their son Ben).

We just hung out in this big house on a lake, went swimming, played pool and foosball, put on shows and generally had fun.

The photos prove it.

Max, Ben, Hank, Zoe.
It was pretty much like this the whole time.

This house had four half-flights of carpeted stairs.
Hank would just start at the bottom and work his way
all the way up from the basement to the second floor.

This house was a treasure trove of toys.

He's imitating the Cherry Hut face on his shirt.

Hank and Zoe were sorta close in age, so they hung out a lot.

Hangin'

Flirtin'

There was this great chair that we called the Whorehouse Chair
(for obvious reasons) that was the perfect size for kids.

Max

Zoe

Ben

Hank.

Pick-a-Nick

2007-07-26T12:16:00.001-04:00

My company picnic was last week and one of my co-workers snapped some nice shots of Hank.

Yes he is wearing his awesome Beatles shirt as seen on BabyRoadies.

Thanks for the photos Jens!

Cage Match!

2007-07-14T10:19:00.000-04:00

It's Baby vs. Boston Terrier in a battle over who will rule over the dog toy shaped like a tongue!

Sorry for all of the goofy effects and titles in the movie, but I've just discovered this site called Jumpcut which lets you do all of this cool flashy junk (for free) and I just can't help myself.

Pool Party

2007-07-08T18:15:00.000-04:00

We went on vacation last week to a picturesque quiet lake in Northern Michigan where Hank played on the sand, splashed in the lake, and did all sorts of cute things. Did we take a single picture? No.

However, his Aunt Joyce got him a little inflatable pool and he loves it. We took about a billion pictures:

Pickin' and A-Grinnin'

2007-06-27T08:50:00.000-04:00

Hank Picks

Hank Grins

Faceplants and Father's Day

2007-06-21T20:16:00.000-04:00

Well, Hank took his first major faceplant over the weekend. He was trying to stand up and he had all of the weight of his arms on a little wooden car. Well obviously the car rolled underneath him and all of his weight was transferred to his upper lip really quickly. There was some blood and some crying, but soon I stopped crying and Hank seems to be OK.

This is when we were alternating between calling him "Fatlip" and "Angelina"

Getting a can of beer for his mom.

Sly devil

Father's Day 2007

Happy boy.

Picking out records.

"Yes, Lee Morgan on Blue Note Records, an excellent choice."

P.S. Today is our 10 year wedding anniversary and we couldn't be happier.

Lip Smackin' Good

2007-06-05T20:45:00.000-04:00

So Hank just learned how to smack his lips and give a kiss, and by the time we got the camera out and ready, he had kinda forgotten how to do it. He knows to use his lips somehow, but for some reason it all fell apart there near the end.

(I dunno what's up with the weird formatting of the movie, with the black bars and all)

By the way, today is his nine Month birthday, making tomorrow the first day he's been out longer than he'd been in.

Tigers, Mummies and a Dinosaur

2007-05-28T21:45:00.000-04:00

Hank just picked up waving the other day, and man he digs it. Now he's waving at us, the dog, people going by, cars going by, mailboxes. He gets into it. He is recovering nicely from a double ear infection (in both ears...not twice in one ear) and is back to his old cheerful self.

He's babbling like crazy and is excited about some of the new pitchers the Tigers are bringing up. Nobody has replaced Kenny Rogers yet in his opinion, but some of the young talent look like they can throw.

He can hold the bottle on his own now, just like his old man.

He plays the guitar (though in an unorthodox style)

We have given up all hope of preventing Hank from chewing on
Daisy's dog toys, so he pretty much has two sets of toys now.

We had a fun play date with Hank's cousins where Conor and Lili mummified Aiden in toilet paper.

Conor was very excited to have his baby cousin sit on his lap,
but was soon crying "He's Stinky! Get Him OFF OF ME!!!"
which is what is happening here.
Barney the Dinosaur voiced no opinion either way.

Couple of Tigers fans

Hank and Penny get smiley on the porch.