Deer Down

So, I was hoping to go out opening morning deer hunting. But Bobbie was working and I was not able to make it. I figured it was okay since there are several weeks during the season. But the next week on the 9th I called up my friend Trevor and asked if I could try my luck. Thanks to him, I was able to land this beauty. I have not had him scored yet, I do not know how to score this freaky looking rack. I am having this beast shoulder-mounted and the guy doing it gave me some pointers an what gets measured. I hope he can score it for me though.

Everyone who has seen it says it is one freaky looking deer. Which makes me feel even better about deciding to get it mounted. Some of the guys at the taxidermy shop were saying it may be as old as 6 years, which is really old for a deer. He was really heavy. It took me an hour to get him into the back of my truck by myself. I tried three separate techniques. The first was just grabbing him by the antlers and pulling him up and into the bed-that wasn't going to happen! The second one I tried was tying a heavy rope around his antlers, throwing it over an oak branch, tying it to my truck and hoisting him in the air. Once in the air I would untie it from my truck and hold onto the rope hoping there was enough friction to allow me to secure it to the tree. I got a minor rope burn out of that hair-brained plan. The next plan was to keep the rope on and use my tail-gate as a ramp and drag the deer up into the truck. This was quite a struggle. I thought I was going to slip and fall several times. I almost lost the deer a few times as well.
Sunrise is about 0651, so I wanted to be in the stand about 0545, and I was. At about 0700 I spotted a doe in the heavy fog. I could barely see her silhouette without binoculars. With binos I could see legs and her head and ears, every detail. The fog was very thick off and on. There is a corn feeder underneath a big oak tree, but the doe was eating the plentiful serving of acorns the trees were providing. When does are out, they are very skittish and will get spooked by anything. They are a good sign of a buck coming. I watched her for about 30 minutes or so. I was looking off another direction and then back and I couldn't see her. By this time the sun had broken through the clouds and the fog was beginning to burn off. I put up my binos and searched for her, but she was gone. In the past, this means a coyote is coming, or a buck is coming, or some more does are coming, or they are dumb and ran for unknown reasons, etc. So, I brought my binos down and scanned the area to see what it was that spooked that doe. About 40ft straight left of where the doe was, about 40yrds away from me, was this beautiful buck. He was standing still, staring in the direction the doe was just previously at. He was facing toward me, and a tree was blocking his right shoulder. But I could see his entire neck. I grabbed my rifle and looked through the scope. It was on 3, too far away. I moved it to 6, still too far. I moved it to 9. Ok, now where to shoot? I thought: should I wait 'til he moves broadside? Should I wait for a better angle? No, what if he runs? I'll just shoot him in the neck. So I did, and he dropped right on the spot.

More Photos

Here are more photos!

Pumpkin Patch

These are some photos from the pumpkin patch we went to yesterday. Hunter loved the petting zoo. He screamed and laughed with excitement! We went with my sister and her kids, it was fun!

Quick Update

My little man went to the doctor today.. He is finally on the growth charts for his weight and head!! Hunter is getting more social and loves to baby babble. The only word he is saying right now is "da da". More to post soon.

Here is Hunter's new swimwear. He loved his new sunglasses. He kept looking at himself in the mirror. He probably didn't know it was him he was looking at, but it was funny to watch him do it.
This is usually how he looks after he gets done eating- Food all over his face. Bobbie allows him to play with his food and chew on his fingers. I on the other hand, pin his arms down underneath the tray so he can't play. He doesn't mind at all, and he stays much cleaner too.
Bobbie's Dad came out to Texas for a couple of days recently. Hunter loves his Grandpa. This picture is one of my favorite ones. Hunter often looks surprised in his pictures, it cracks me up.
This is usually how we find Hunter in the morning, or some variation of this. His bum is sticking in the air, blankets thrown all over, and he is jammed in one corner. I almost got him with his eyes shut.
We bought Hunter this swimming inner-tube for the pool. Before the public pool opened we tested it out in our bathtub. He loved it!
This picture cracks me up. He had a good hold of my hair and was pulling it pretty hard. He really likes riding on my shoulders, but in this picture, he looks super angry.

*I tried to post some videos several times and they kept messing up. I then realized the files were slightly too big. How do I go about shrinking a video file?

New Teeth!

We were having Family Home Evening a few weeks ago, and Hunter was laying on the floor upset about something. During the opening song we had our backs turned toward him singing, while we were facing the piano. As we finished, we noticed he wasn't crying anymore, so we turned around to see what was keeping him occupied. This is what he saw, he had rolled over and was watching us.
These are some sunday pictures just before we headed out the door for church.

Bobbie took this one. She forgot to zoom back out from the previous shot. It turned out to be a funny photo.
Hunter will sometimes try to pull and tear his blankets, and then try to eat them.
This depicts his character a little better.
For part of Bobbie's birthday bash, we went to the Putt-Putt. Hunter would watch the ball roll all the way till it stopped. It was so funny. He never fussed once during our 36 holes.
Hunter's new Summer Fun Hat. His melon is so big the strap is a little tight, but it works.
Here is a good shot of his teeth. He is always smiling,(almost always). He has recently been on some medicine for his reflux, which seems to be working really well, and he is a new baby. He seems to be in a lot better mood. He is better to work with during therapy. He is easier to work with during his exercises. He does not spit up nearly as much, and is just in an all around better mood.

He is super ticklish.
Here he is, sound asleep, hugging his nigh'-night bear. He loves it! As soon as we put him down and put it next to his cheek he turns his head toward it and grabs hold of him and closes his eyes like he is so glad to see him.

This is Hunter's first feed of food other than milk. We mixed cereal with some fruit juice and he loved it. The nurses said he probably would not eat too much the first few times because he does not know how to use his tongue to swallow. He is much better at it now after doing it every day for the last week or so. But it is still very messy.

Post from Bobbie

Since Bryan primarily does the updating, I thought I would do a post for once..

Hunter loves his bathtime...

That is when he laughs the most. He will kick the water and then laugh..

I love being a mommy...Hunter is a happy baby and loves smiling..He will let anybody hold him. He is such a joy and feel very blessed that he's my son and that he's healthy...

Guess that is it for now...

Hunter-man Heywood

Hunter has recently discovered his thumb. At first it was his fingers and then slowly became his thumb and fist or arm or our arm, or pretty much anything. This is the first and only time that we have found him asleep with his thumb in his mouth.

He is getting better head control but has yet to achieve his ability to sit up on his own for very long. When he is on the floor like this, he has zero problem controlling his noggin, but sitting up it is a little wobbly.
Just cute.
For so young he sure knows what good reading material is.
His melon is as big as his waste-who knew?

Bobbie was sleeping during this play time with Dad.

We were trying to get a photo of him devouring his hand. He always does after his bottle but every time he sees the camera he freezes. He is getting better. Oh, and that Rubik's Cube there, he is mesmerized by it. He'll reach out for it if it is close enough.
Bobbie took a bunch of photos with him in the recliner. Handsome little man.
All his toys... some of his toys.
I love that expression, it's like he's not too sure about the photographer.
The End.