Hooper's first time "licking the spoon"

Last week I made a chocolate cake and could not resist letting Hooper lick the spatula. He was not sure the first bite/lick, but after the second one he was hooked!

Apparently I was not thinking too swiftly...I should have stripped him down to his diaper before starting this event. I had to change his entire outfit including his socks! Even his shoes got thrown into the washer after this. Now this is what I call enjoying your dessert to the fullest!

Tennessee October 2008 Part 2...Playing playing in the leaves

***Warning...EXTREMELY long post. ***

You MUST be an avid Hooper lover to continue!

Ok you asked for it. Here goes. There's not a lot of commentary with these pictures. Seriously, one can only write so much about leaves. But one can take PLENTY of pictures of an adorable boy playing in the leaves, ha!!!!!

One day Dee, Hooper and I ran some errands and when we pulled up the drive way we saw a BIG pile of leaves. Papaw had some serious plans for Hooper! And Hooper definitely took full advantage of it!He never could figure out how to get out on his own, so he needed some assistance from Daddy.

Notice his battle scar above his eye? He crashed into a brick side walk while I was playing chase with him. The fall didn't appear that hard, but boy did it leave a mark. You can't see it in the photo, but he also has a bruised cheek just below the injured eye from running Mamaw's coffee table. Boys! Gotta love them!!!!

Uh, oh....Papaw has a rake that looks a lot like a .......mop or broom. If he only knew the can of worms he just opened up!

Yep, that's all it took. Hooper was hooked! And yes he called it a "mop, mop, mop."

Ok, this has to be one of my FAVORITE pictures. Look at Papaw playing in the leaves trying to lure Hooper in! I am so blessed to have such great in-laws who love Hooper so much!!!

Now for some Mommy and Hooper photos.

Oh how I LOVE this boy!!!

Hooper's officially done with the leaves! Check out that beautiful scenery!

That's All Folks......More Tennessee photos still to come!

Tennessee October 2008 Part 1..Hooper VS the Harris House!

As I mentioned in my last post...Dee, Hooper and I went to beautiful Tennessee last week and had a blast!!! Yes, I took tons of photos so there will be several different blog postings to get all the pictures in.

Hooper's newest favorite thing in the world to do is CLIMB! Please pray for his safety and my sanity! Here he is crawled up on Mamaw's kitchen desk while Aunt Donna and Uncle David adoringly watch. And here he is crawled up onto the top of the kitchen table to get his milk cup. Thank God many hands are around to watch/catch him! I don't remember what happened here but boy is Dee cracked up!!! He's constantly laughing at something Hooper has done.
Papaw and his boy! Hooper really took to his Papaw, and I don't think Papaw minded one bit!
Uncle David taught Hooper how to throw the tennis ball down the hall and Gibson would chase it. This is about all either one of them would have to do with the other.

Look, Hooper crawled up on something else. This time it's the kitchen island. What a boy!

We finally got him out of the kitchen and thought we were safe. Wrong! In Mamaw's bathroom Hoop fell IN LOVE with her tub. Crawling in and out, in and out, etc......

Oh, and let's not forget the faucet. He figured out how to turn the water on and off over and over. He was spanked and in time out over this action multiple times a day. I guess the thought the crime was definitely worth the time!

Yes, I would take a picture first, then punish him.

More playing ball with Uncle David and Gibson.

Hooper just made himself at home at his Mamaw and Papaw's. No cabinet was left unexplored...and destroyed.

Just like his father...he LOVES chocolate chip cookies.

We had to wrap rubber bands around the cabinet under the sink and he did not like it one bit. But he did manage to break them one day. Thankfully I was right there before he got into anything dangerous.

Now that he had officially destroyed the kitchen and Mamaw's bathroom, he moved on to Papaw's bathroom. I left him alone for just a second and when I turned the corner this is what I found:

"I swear Mom, I don't know how that happened!"

Onto their telephone and ceiling fan remotes in their bedroom.

Since we didn't have a high chair Hooper sat on the step stool and loved it. Mind you..we did not love it as much. He had way too much freedom and wiggled and got down too much. Thus causing him to not eat well the entire time we were there. There was just too much to get into and explore.

Mamaw and I share a love...a love for fried SPAM! So of course while we were there I indulged and even introduced it to Hooper. Here he is exploring it for the first time.

" Wow, this is GOOD!"

Kitchen, bathroom(s) and bedroom DONE...onto the living room! I swear this kid can climb up and on anything!

They have a hearth that's about 1 foot off the ground and of course he thought it was just for him to play on.

Not to mention the fireplace!

That's it for Part 1. Don't worry, I still have a TON of photos of TN to share. Stay tuned......