A Future And A Hope

Noah's Christmas Program

2012-01-23T12:02:00.000-06:00

Noah, Noah, Noah. Man, I love this kid. He told us for two weeks he was NOT going to sing during his Mother's Day Out's Christmas Program.

And, well, he was true to his word. He never opened his mouth. Not once. Didn't cry, didn't smile, and certainly did NOT sing.

He kept cutting his eyes at me like, "I can't believe you are making me do this."

Stubborn little toot. Where does he get this from? No. Clue. Ok, I might have an idea.

She lost it!

2012-01-15T23:43:00.001-06:00

We discovered Hope's first wiggly tooth just a few days before Christmas! She has been so worried that she wouldn't ever lose them! I am personally a fan of her super cute baby teeth, but at age 7 and one month, she was about the only one left who hadn't lost one, so I know she was more than ready! She didn't really wiggle it very much, so it took it's sweet time coming out! I have serious "wiggly tooth phobia." I have forever. I never pulled a tooth out. They stayed in until they fell out. And I still have dreams/nightmares about having a loose tooth. For real.

Anyway. So on Sunday, January 8 right before she went to bed, I asked her how wiggly it was. She said, well, I can lay it flat, an twist it. Dear goodness, if I had been standing I would have totally fainted. So I went and got John to investigate. He said it had to come out and he was scared she would swallow it if she went to sleep. So, this is the part where Hope lost her mind. No way no how was she about to let him pull it, or herself. So we eventually walked away. I had my suspicions that he wanted to lose it at school. At school, you get sent to the nurse's office to get a tooth necklace to put your tooth in. She has mentioned it many times. So, off to school she went on Monday, and when she walked out Monday afternoon she had the biggest smile I have ever seen. With a hole in that sweet smile! And... A tooth necklace.

Stinker pulled her tooth out that morning. John was sad he missed it, but I've got to tell you. I was thrilled! I didn't have to see it! Ha! So, of course she wrote her letter to the tooth fairy when she got home. Her cousin Clara told her if you write a note, the tooth fairy will leave you more money. I'm SURE the tooth fairy would love to thank Clara for sharing that info with her cousin. Before bed, she was a tad freaked out about the tooth fairy coming in her room after she fell asleep. So, she opted to sleep with us. Ha. And, she didn't put the tooth fairy pillow under her pillow. She put it on John's night stand so that the TF would come by daddy and not her. ;)

Mimi got her the cutest Tooth Fairy book ever with a little pillow. They were winners! We have a new tradition! The TF left her $5 and a gold coin! (chocolate, people. Chocolate.)

Now. How do I ensure she loses the next 19 at school as well? This is tooooo much. And omgeeee. I have two more kids to follow. I need therapy.

Christmas phone dump

2011-12-31T12:13:00.001-06:00

Whoo! What a Christmas! Here's the fast phone version!!!

Christmas Eve we went to a family service at church. So special to celebrate the birth of Jesus with a lapful of curious babies! We came home and Auntie Amanda brought us some yummy cheesecakey goodness! Within minutes, someone had obviously snuck themselves a taste.

It really wasn't too hard to figure out who. She was caught red handed. And faced.

It was suuuper easy to get the babes down for the night! They were in bed by 8! Noah and Hope thought it would be best if they slept together in Hope's room.

He came!!! Because He came!!!

Emmy is usually the first up in our home. Not the case Christmas morning as we had a sneaky big sister waking up her brother long before the sun came up. Emmy was not thrilled to be awoken from her slumber. But, she's got food, a new chair, and life is good!

Noah seriously could not take his eyes off his new batman toys. Amazed that Santa loved him enough to bring him his 3 most desired gifts!

Gogo was a big hit with big sister!

Noah picked out this batgirl costume for Hope! She loves it! I'm sure they will be a fantastic duo!

Santa left us clues all around the house for a big surprise!!! The last clue was to unwrap our windows that our silly elf Charlie had wrapped up like a present two nights earlier!

It was a trampoline!!! What?! Mommy and daddy were a little concerned that Santa didn't leave a net! Would you believe he put a net up this week while we were on our trip?! Thanks Santa!

So then, we loaded up (a very concerned Noah... Umm, we are leaving all this awesome stuff we just got?) and headed to Arkansas! So Christmas day included about 6.5 hours of driving. Notice who still won't sleep in the car! And yes, she is facing forward. Busted. But hey, I bet we have the only 7 year old still in a 5 point harness.

We made a special stop in Van Buren this year. Papa Roy is sick with cancer, and John really wanted to see him on Christmas day. I'm so glad we did. This picture made it worth it.

I know I have said many times how sweet and caring and concerned Hope's heart is for others. This is my favorite Christmas story this year. Hope needed to pick out and purchase things for all 17 people in her extended family. She just needed to. So I did what my genius sister does, we went to the Dollar Tree. She carefully, with zero coaching, bought for everyone. Things like makeup for Julia, batman Pez for Noah, a chess game for her daddy. But the best was for Papa Roy. She bought him Kleenex because she wanted him to feel better. Oh dear goodness, baby girl. How I wish love could fix everything because there is enough of her love in that box of tissues to cure that cancer.

We also got to spend time with Mama Fae and Uncle Jamie and exchange presents on Christmas day for the first time!

We headed to little rock and met up with my whole family at my mom and dad's our crazy family Christmas is my favorite tradition. There are tons of presents in that living room, covering the floor, but even more love! More pics when I post camera pics!

We stayed at Ninny's until Friday! I loves being able to just hang out and catch up with everyone we miss so much. We took over Julia's room again, bless her heart. Which meant I got to snuggle with my favorite boy every night.

We had several girl day outs, including our annual trip to Dillard's after Christmas sale, lots of teen/tween shopping, and some yummy cheeburger cheeburger.

We went back to VB to spend the day with John's parents. We were happy to hear Papa Roy had been using his kleenex and they were helping him feel better!

Uncle Sam came for a visit too and we wet to City Park.

We got home late last night and today we are doing what we look forward to every year. Just hanging out and playing with our new toys together. I love my little family!

Merry Christmas!!!

Phone Dump

2011-12-21T23:30:00.001-06:00

My friend Amanda is good about regularly posting pics from her phone, and I would like to be good at doing that! So here is an attempt. Here are some pre Christmas pics from my phone from the last few weeks:

Charlie the elf is back!

Hope came downstairs dressed as an elf on the shelf! She wouldn't talk and kept hiding in different places! It was pretty hilarious.

There's been another special elf here too! ;)

All of my babies have worn this Santa outfit! And if first belonged to my Clay Fuller, so it's extra special!

Here is one of our Christmas cards! I ordered two different ones.

We have had some fun play dates with these cuties!

Hold the phone! John and I got dressed up and went to a fancy party. This is so not me! But we had so much fun! My friends Courtney and Amanda dressed me up and made me go, and Courtney and Jeff watched all our crazy babies! Thank you, sweet friends!!!

Daddy took Hope to see Annie! I was a little sad I didn't go because we all know Jill loves some Annie! But, so happy they got a Daddy Daughter Date!

I happen to think this girl is perfection.

Yes. Awkward smile stage is in full force.

Before his play at school. That he told us he was not going to do. He was true to his word. He didn't sing one word.

Before brother's play

School Christmas Party!

Hope and her teacher, Mrs. Rocas. Hope is having a great first grade year!

My parents came for a quick visit! We shoved as much Christmas fun as we could in one short weekend! We mailed our letters to Santa!

Here's our pic with Santa! We didn't have any meltdowns!

No weekend with Mimi is complete without makeovers.

Hope is planning on spending every night of her Christmas break like this. Curled up on the couch with hot chocolate and watching Christmas movies. Sounds like a plan to me.

Shooo! I feel better! We are looking forward to Christmas! Hope everyone is enjoying the most wonderful time of the year!

Why I should Blog More

2011-12-10T23:41:00.001-06:00

Because I have a terrible memory.

Which I was reminded of tonight when I came across a file on my computer with 2 pages of Emmy's first name combined with different middle names. Now, while I do remember we could not agree on a middle name until she was 2 days old, I did not remember thinking of some of these middle names. Especially the one I've highlighted here from the first page.

Emmy Brighton Dyer

Emmy Grace Dyer

Emmy Kate Dyer

Emmy Caroline Dyer

Emmy Hazel Dyer

Emmy Bright Dyer

Emmy Love Dyer

Emmy Rose Dyer

Emmy Jenn Dyer

Emmy Sizzle Dyer

Emmy Olivia Dyer

Emmy Bliss Dyer

Emmy Anabel Dyer

Emmy Merit Dyer

Emmy Evelyn Dyer

Emmy Presley Dyer

WHAT? I do know that it was a joke, but why? I feel like there is a really funny story there, probably involving Hope, but I have NO IDEA. So, dear Emmy, I'm so sorry I don't remember why I would even joke about naming you Emmy Sizzle. But, you might just want to be thankful that we didn't actually name you that. You're welcome.

And in case I haven't fully shared the story, John wanted to name Emmy, Emmy Love, from day one. I was not the biggest fan. To say the least. But I caved after many pain reducing drugs. Ha. And part of her middle name story took place when we came house hunting a couple weeks before she was born. There was a pillow in a Hallmark store here that said "What the world needs now is Love, sweet love." I told John that if I did end up caving, he had to find a way to buy that pillow for her room. So, as I waited in the hospital for him to come pick me and Emmy Love up, he was running all over town in Little Rock looking for that pillow! He finally begged someone in the Hallmark store in Texas to break the rules and send him the one from there! And is pretty cute in her room. ;) In the end, I'm glad I did cave, because nothing fits her better than Emmy Love. But seriously, Emmy Sizzle is a close second.

Little Brothers do not Change

2011-12-07T13:38:00.001-06:00

You know your little brother, Ross, has been to visit when your playroom has been turned into a giant fort. (Check out the Cheezer...aka Emmy...) We had so much fun when Ross, Amanda and sweet Ava came to visit last month! I don't have many pictures, but we sure had fun! Come back soon!

Christmas Bows Are Here at last!

2011-12-06T22:26:00.001-06:00

My friend, Amanda Wilkerson, and I have started making bows! Our business is called "Sassified Bows!" We are hoping to sell some of these cute Christmas Bows to get us started! These are all large double layer bows on ribbon covered alligator clips. The first 3 bows are $4 each, and the bottom one is $5. Add just $1 for shipping! These are ready to ship, so as soon as you pay, they will be on their way! ;)

Don't forget to "like" us on facebook! We are just getting started, but come watch us grow!
http://www.facebook.com/sassifiedbows?sk=wall

I picked these pictures just for you!

2011-11-26T22:24:00.001-06:00

These pictures of Emmy with my cousin Hunter on Thanksgiving Day tell their own story.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Pinkerellas!

2011-11-06T23:27:00.001-06:00

Halloween 2011

2011-11-01T23:26:00.002-05:00

It is so hard to believe this is our second Halloween here in McKinney. We all know Hope loves a good Halloween family theme, but I talked her out of it this year. I wanted Noah to be what he really wanted to be, Batman, and I did not want Hope to sacrifice another year of dressing up in what she truly wanted to be so she could be batgirl! She was a zookeeper last year because she could not stand to be left out of the monkey, banana theme the little two had going! Funny girl. So, I put my foot down on batgirl (and also, if you must know, I did not want Emmy to end up being the penguin or robin. Come on now. She's way too cute for that.) So, everyone got to be their own thing. Hope fell in love with the Cinderella Bride from the Disney store. So, she felt better about the whole no theme thing.

And yes, I will be using these next pictures for the slide show at her wedding!

So, last year, I was pretty homesick on Halloween. I didn't have anyone to show my kids off to. I don't think anyone told me how cute they were, and I was seriously sad. I have taken for granted taking my kids to my mom, sister and friends houses in Arkansas, and having them ooh and aah over how precious they are. I know. Silly. Anyway, this year I needed to show them off to someone who loves them. So, we did a practice Trick or Treat to my sweet friend Courtney's house!

And also, Hope's mommy is very boring and does not have much makeup. Not okay for Cinderella Bride. No worries. Courtney took care of her Hopeity!

She and Jeff Oohed and Ahhed and I felt much better that people loved them. Ha! And we texted pics to Mimi and Ninny and that helped too.
We had plans to go see Amanda and the little skeleton babies, too, but it sadly didn't work out. But she loves my kiddos too! ;)

Daddy finally came home, we ate our Mummy Dogs and hit the road! Ok, Noah took his Mummy dog on the road.

I didn't realize Emmy was cheesing it up until after I took this picture! Love her! She didn't make it to doors this year bc she's still not really walking (She steps, though!) Our Little Emmy Love had to be a Love Bug for Halloween! I mean, duh.

We went to Mrs. Neumann's house for our first night time Trick or Treat! She had special treats for them, and Hope is still talking about it! I definitely felt more love this Halloween! We hit several houses of neighbors we have gotten to know, which was great.

Batman got the hang of Trick Or Treating very quickly! He was all about it. And when we saw another little boy dressed as the Green Lantern, it made his night. He said " Where's the Green Lantern? Follow him!" He did very well with his thank yous too! At the end of our haul, he was exhausted. He was literally dragging his bucket!

All in all, we missed our Arkansas people, but it feels good to have McKinney people now, too. What a fun Halloween!

Halloween Outtakes

2011-11-01T22:22:00.000-05:00

Emmy Love

2011-10-20T23:21:00.001-05:00

Photo by Narci D Photography

Hope Louise 6 years 11 months

2011-10-16T23:18:00.000-05:00

Hopey Louisey Lemon Squeezey gets a little sweeter everyday. She is growing into such a loving, bright, fun little ray of sunshine girl. She can melt your heart with her many "I love You"s, "You're the best"s, and her many love notes she writes to us.

First grade is going so well for Hope! She has a wonderful teacher, a great class of new friends, and a good attitude about homework. For the most part! She has lots of homework, between two week homework assignments, spelling tests, and she is now reading chapter books! So fun. When she finished her first chapter book, she squealed she was so excited! It wasn't easy, but she did it! Now, if only her handwriting was legible! ;)

Hope still has her own sense of fashion! She loves putting outfits together, and usually adds a twist, like leopard shoes, a skirt on top of pants, or a large bow. It has gotten to a point that I have her pick out her clothes on the weekend for the whole week, so there is no question in the mornings what we are dealing with. This works well for Hope, who is super organized, needs a schedule, and has to know the plan!

Hope is now officially the over scheduled child I said I would never have! Ha! She is now on Pre-Team at her new gymnastics, meaning she is training to compete next year! She has gymnastics two days a week now for 1.5 hours each time. She is also playing soccer for the Pinkerellas, and is a Daisy Scout now too! As far as her gymnastics, I have been amazed! She is coming so far, so fast. She spends about half of her time at home standing on her hands. And also, she has muscles! What in the world! This is all new!

Hope has always had a little obsession with her teeth. And, she looooves the dentist. Like loves everything about it. She brushes her teeth several times a day and loves mouthwash. On the way to the drop off Noah at school on the morning of her recent dentist visit, she told Noah "I love the dentist! I love when they pick at my teeth!" I mean, who says that? The dentist was very impressed with her chompers, and told her she should be a dentist. She liked that. She still hasn't lost any teeth, which is very upsetting to a nearly 7 year old when all her friends are loosing them! Dr. Brister showed her the xrays that showed where the grown up teeth really are growing in, and she felt a lot better! My little worrier!

Hope still dresses up every.day. She comes home from school and gets into some get up. This is her newest favorite. Classy, right? The black gloves? Her favorite accessories. They have inspired many many different outfits and performances!

I know I just said it, but, she is such a worrier. I hate this for her, because I am a worrier too. When I see her worry, my tummy hurts just like it was me doing the worrying.

She is riding her bike well now! I think we will attempt the first ride to school soon! We need a little more practice staying on the sidewalk!

She loves her church. She loves her friends. She loves her family. She loves American Girl anything. She loves to watch shows about mermaids. She loves PB & J. She loves creating. She loves reading. She loves being silly. She loves dancing, and singing, and helping, and pestering her brother, and cooking, and Barbies.

She does not like when her brother pesters her, riding in a car seat, saying goodbye, loud noises, or beans. Still cannot stand beans!

Hope Louise, you really are my sunshine! I love you to the moon and back. And back again!

Thank you, God, for Hope Louise!

Emmy Love update

2011-09-28T23:10:00.001-05:00

Emmy Love had an egd done this morning and had several biopsies taken for different metabolic disorders. She was great! We should know the results in a week.

I realize this is not a huge deal. But, I have just been so worried. They had to put her under anesthesia and I was just a little freaked. But. Things could not have gone smoother. The staff at Children's Hospital (Legacy campus) were amazing. I knew our Emmy was in the best care.

Here she is in the waiting room.

Bless the girl's heart. She knew something was up. She was just so confused! We woke her up early, left brother and sister with Mimi and hit the road. She kept looking at us like, what are we doing?!

Daddy did the entertaining! He blew up a glove for E. She was obsessed with it. John and I started calling it "Wilson" like the volleyball in Castaway.

So really. She loved it. They gave her some meds about 30 min prior to the procedure to calm her down. She was so sweet and laid back. Unless. You tried to take away Wilson! In her drowsy state, she would sit up and look around panicky. I felt so sorry for her, I gave it back. Even if I was pretty sure it wasn't the mom of the year thing to do...

We looooove her GI doctor. Seriously. The nurses had explained to us that they would wheel Emmy in the bed down the hall to the OR. Then Dr. Russo came in and asked if he could carry her to the OR. It was such a sweet gesture and seriously made me feel a ton better. So we walked with them down the hall and kissed her goodbye. (She was still holding tight to Wilson!)

When it was over, we met with Dr Russo to look at pics that he took and discuss the biopsy stuff he was sending off. They sent us back to the waiting room until she woke up. When they did bring us back, Emmy was chugging Apple Juice. (She also
Still had Wilson!) She was pretty angry about the whole situation. The nurse asked where she got her temper from... Which is funny bc, I think she's pretty laid back, despite her eye rolling abilities. But, I guess we all know where a temper would come from if she had one. But, I know she was just feeling yuck.

She has done great the rest of today. Just a bit more fussy than normal. Praise God for a smooth day, and pray for some answers through all of this!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Noah Red 3 years 5 months

2011-09-23T17:43:00.000-05:00

I have been wanting to stop and do a little update on my little friends. I decided to start with Noah. Why? Because he's my favorite. :) Just kidding, they're all my favorites. Right? Right.

Noah still has a healthy fear of doctors. In fact, we are having to switch pediatricians because of it. Really. Hopefully we can find someone who understands Noah a little better.
Noah loves to eat! Except not! He has become our bird. He grazes here and there, but rarely sits down and finishes a meal. I'm sure it will pass.
Noah had his first dentist visit last week. To say I was nervous would be an understatement. But, he was awesome! I was so proud. We went to Target to get the Riddler!
He gets into full superhero mode. This is so funny to me. He still introduces himself as batman most of the time. He gives everyone superhero names. Batman is still his #1, but he's opening up to some others now too.
The other day I was teasing about daddy being in big trouble for something silly. Noah said, "No Mommy, he's not a bad guy!"
He took his first boys only trip to visit John's dad for his birthday this month. I think they had a special time. When John got back in the car from pumping gas, Noah told him, "I so proud of you for getting gas!"

He says he's proud of us for a lot of things. I hope this is a sign that we say this enough to him that he knows how proud we are of him.
He's about 95% potty trained. That little 5% is honestly killing me.
He seems to be doing well at school. I don't think he talks much there. His teacher told me how proud she was of him for using his words the other day. Ummm. We hear a lot of them here! Glad he's getting comfortable enough there to communicate.
Every morning before school, I have to pretend to be a barber in order to fix his hair. My pretend barber's name is Mr. Gruff. It is seriously the only way he will let me comb his hair. Oh well. Whatever it takes.

Have I mentioned he likes Batman? Because really, that's pretty much our world.
When he does eat, he's a pretty healthy little dude. Fruit and yogurt are his favorites. and candy of course. Trying to cut back on the candy.
He keeps us on our toes guessing his night time routine. He likes to switch it up. It is currently that he needs about 15 minutes watching batman or potty videos on our iphones. And then he rolls over and goes to sleep without a fight. I always love not fighting.
He is so very jealous. I am his and only his. He does not want Emmy to be anywhere near me. Or even look at me. Much less me hold her. This causes lots of drama in our house.
I started reading a parenting book about strong willed children. I'm not sharing the name just yet, because I'm pretty sure I don't want opinions. I haven't formed my own opinions yet. But, I will tell you that in the first chapter I called John in the room about 4 times to read him another paragraph that described our son to a T. I hate the strong willed child label. But, it's possible it fits.
Noah can stay on the same task for a long long time. Unlike Hope, who likes to play everything, everywhere. Noah plays in the batcave for probably an hour a day. Playdough, 30-45 minutes. Cars, 30 minutes or so. If I divided that time up for his sister, it would be totally different. In fact, I don't think I could. Because she would end up doing 87 things at once. I love the focus. I need it myself.
Noah remains the most loving child ever. He is never too busy for hugs, kisses, or a "nuggle". If I lay down, he just wants to lay beside me.
Noah Red loves to be outside. Texas has been insanely hot this summer, but he has enjoyed the few cooling days we are having now. He is putting his sand table to good use again.
He is awesome.
At night John and I find ourselves telling stories about the funny things he says. He's just at that age where the things that come out of his mouth are hilarious.
I tell John this (and I think it hurts his feelings) that I don't think anyone in my life will ever love me as much as Noah loves me. It's just such a strong bond, I can't describe it.
Thank you God for Noah Red!

Family Pics on the beach

2011-09-11T22:45:00.000-05:00

I had a vision for our family pics on the beach. But, as you can imagine, they didn't quite turn out like I envisioned. I call the problem, Noah. He just hates having his picture taken right now, especially when it means he has to stop playing in the sand. So, between that and the sun. Yeah, you get it.

Love

Dolphin Cruise!

2011-09-11T21:59:00.000-05:00

One of the things we always say we are going to do at the beach, but never actually do, is take a dolpin cruise! We finally did it. We chartered two boats (is that the right word, chartered?) one evening and had so much fun! This boat had Aa Aa (Andrea), Rosalie, Zeb, Mama Bee, PawPaw and Riley Kaye

Our boat held me, mom, Hope, Jenn, Julia, and Clara.

Apparently dolphins love big cruise ships, so we looked all around this big dude. That little boat behind the giant ship? Yes, that would be Andrea's boat. We were a bit scared for them!

So, no dolphins there. Actually, I think we all got anxious that we weren't going to see any. And the driver and the other guy (no idea what they are called...) were nervous too.

Mom and I saw some dolphins! Mom even got a picture, but the dudes kept moving away from the dolphins. Finally, we asked if they saw them, and they didn't! I took Mom's camera to the helper dude, and I believe his exact words were "D@#*! She got a d@#* picture and everythang!" So, they turned around! We saw soooo many! And they were so close! It was amazing!

Riley was so so excited!

These swam right in front of Andrea's boat!

The coolest thing to me was watching how synchronized they could be! Going in and out of the water together, jumping, etc. So amazing!

Our dolphin crew! We couldn't quit talking about how awesome it was! I'm so glad we finally did this! I can't wait till the babies are bigger so we can take them too!

1st Day. 3 Year Old Preschool!

2011-09-06T22:43:00.000-05:00

Noah has missed school! He misses his Mesha, his friends, his not being with me every second...

Really.I am not just saying this. Noah needs school. And he is loving every second of his new school two days a week! On day 1, we of course had to take a picture with our new gear!

And, he had to show the camera just how his awesome new batman water bottle works!

He had an awesome first day. Other than the fact that he didn't use the potty for the whole 5 hours he was there! Nope. He held it. We are having some issues with pottying away from home...

On his second day, he sat on the stairs and told me he was ready to take his picture! Noah does not exactly love having his picture made, so I am loving this! On day 2... he did go potty!

Day 3... you guessed it! Another photo op! His report from day3 says he listened much better :) Oh, my strong willed child. I have to wonder what this means of your behavior the first 2 days! I came to get him and he was quietly playing with what he tells us repeatedly is his favorite toy there... the pirate ship!

Sister could not be left out!

Baby Emmy and Noah Laughing at Hope

2011-08-26T19:26:00.002-05:00

First Day. First Grade

2011-08-22T11:02:00.000-05:00

Hope started First Grade today! She is growing so fast. Remember last year? Last year, I picked out what I thought to be the perfect outfit, perfect back pack, etc. This year, it's all her. Choosing her backpack was torture! She had 3 picked out and just couldn't decide! Then, we found this sparkle backpack, and the girl was sold! Ha! She definitely has a thing for all things sparkle. Her outfit? Not what I would have chosen, but, I let it go. She is so happy. And it's not horrible. And it matches. :) I never in a million years would have guessed she would pick white leather keds, but, they have jewels on the laces, and she thought they were perfect. She definitely has her own style. And the child loves shopping as much as her Mommy. Always has!

And look who she sits across from! Cooper! Cooper and his family moved here from Little Rock the same week we did last year. I am so happy they are in class together!

Hope's teacher's name is Mrs. Rocas. But, she will be out the first week or two of school recovering from surgery. We were thrilled to hear Mrs. Neumann would be her sub! Mrs. Neumann is also our neighbor, and she and Hope have a sweet bond. I know it helped Hope having her there for her first day.

And, you know I have to take a look back. This is Hope's first day of Kindergarten. Ahhh. Sweet girl!

Hope Louise, I am so proud of you! I know First Grade is going to be great!

Beach, Take 3

2011-08-16T22:07:00.001-05:00

I can't tell you how much I did not want to post these pictures. But, here it goes. But, I at least get to give some background. I had the worst migraine ever. I had just gotten both babies asleep and I was sleeping as well. I was woken up suddenly and told I had to go down the beach to do our group pictures because Wes had to leave to go home. So, I frantically get the babes stuff together for our Razorback pictures. Then I couldn't find my Razorback shirt. So, I ended up in one of Johns. Lovely. Plus, the sun on the beach at 3:00 with a migraine? Not a good look for Jill. Sorry folks.

And don't forget, I had to wake up Noah. This is never good. He was not happy at all. In case you couldn't tell.

The girls. Really. I should have sat out people.

I think this is adorable. Yesterday was their 42nd anniversary! That's a long time!

The original Hoovers. Notice the brothers are pestering. THE STORY OF MY LIFE, PEOPLE.

I love her. And her swimsuit. ;)

Hope spent about a month total this summer with the cousins. During this time, one certain niece, RILEY, taught her some "Toddlers in Tiaras" moves. Help.

Nope. Still not done people. It was a long trip. More to come.

Beach Take 2... CAKE!

2011-08-14T23:34:00.000-05:00

So, the next day, we all gathered in the kitchen for CAKE!

Batman was there too...

I was a little sad we didn't have a Diane made cake... Walmart had to do...

We were at the beach though. So, I think it was an alright trade.

I love first birthdays. I ordered these plates weeks before we left. Love.

Hmmm

A little help from Big Sister

She figured it out...

This picture makes me very happy!

She got just a bit carried away...

Look at her arms!

So. Who's gonna help me get out of here? No takers?

John sort of rinsed her off in the sink, and then I ran her up to our tub. The bath water turned completely pink! It was very Pinkalicious of her. Hope approved! And no, it was not easy to get that icing out of her hair. Or her ears!

The Beach, Take One

2011-08-04T17:49:00.001-05:00

Two weeks ago, we had the most amazing vacation. My parents rented a beach house for all of us. The whole crew, My parents, my siblings, our families, The Sullivan's (technically, my sister's in-laws, but they are way closer than that! My children do not know they are not actually their 3rd set of grandparents. I'll never tell.), the Allen's (again, technically my sister's sister in law and family, but, no, they are our family too!), and even Aunt Heather and Uncle Bryan! It was the perfect crew! We had so much fun! We were in Fort Morgan, near Gulf Shores, AL. I have hundreds of pictures, and I am overwhelmed with trying to get them on the blog, so I will just take bites! These pictures are all from Emmy's actual birthday! How awesome to spend your first birthday at the beach! She was a beach baby, for sure! She loved loved loved the sand. And the ocean! And the pool! And all the attention! :)

Baby tracks!

Oh Ninny, you're so funny!

Strike a pose!

Riley burying Clara

The house on the left was ours. It was perfect!

That night, we went to Lulu's! Lulu's is one of my very favorite places on earth. It is just perfect. It's my happy place!

I don't know about you, Uncle Wes. I've heard things.

A few of my favorite ladies!

My very favorite boys

My brother Vince in a stinker. Pray for Lisa. :)

My brudders.

Julia and her daddy. I love this!

My mom and dad.

3/4 of the Allen crew!

Hope and Rosalie. They had a blast together!

Me and all 3 babies! A rare pic of this, indeed!

The birthday girl!

Yes, she's advanced! She knows she's one. ;)

I cannot thank my parents enough for this vacation. We all needed it so much. Lots and lots of memories were made!

Emmy Love

2011-07-18T17:39:00.001-05:00

Happy 1st Birthday, Emmy Love!

I never knew how much I needed you.

Love,

Mommy

One Year Ago

2011-07-17T22:12:00.001-05:00

One year ago, I sat in my hospital room waiting on to hear from Dr. Hutchinson. Once he got my lab results he was going to let us know if we could head home, or if he would induce labor. We got the call around 8:30pm that said let's have a baby tomorrow! John and I made a list of what we needed, called and texted everyone that needed to know, and John headed out to get our stuff. I kept calling him to talk to him while he was out. I was so excited to meet this baby. They gave me some sleeping medicine because I had not slept through the night in weeks. I so wanted to stay up and just chat with John about Emmy. As I fell asleep, I thought about some of these questions: Who would she look like? Would she be blonde like Hope was, or dark headed like Noah when he was born? What if they were wrong and she was a boy? (I decided we would name him John Henry and call him Hank, you know, gotta be prepared!) A new nurse came in and asked me if she was my first. She asked about her nursery. I was sad to say she had no nursery because we were moving to Texas in 3 weeks! Such a crazy time. Such a special baby.

A big deal

2011-07-05T23:44:00.001-05:00

Warning. If you don't want to hear about potty training, don't read this!

Noah has not been the easiest child to potty train. To say the least. I have been promising him for months that as soon as he poos in the potty we will go to Chuck E Cheese. Well, I'm happy to say, that happened this evening for the first time. And what do you think he said right away? "We go to Chuck E Cheese! Come on mom. Let's go. I gotta get my shoes." It was of course not perfect timing. John was not around, Emmy was asleep, I was in my pajamas... You get the picture. But, I knew I had to make good on my promise! I am so glad I did. I got to spend some one on one time with Noah, and our sweet friends, Courtney and Jeff, let baby sister hang out with them while we were out. They are awesome. I am so very thankful for them! Noah was so proud of himself. He kept reminding me what he did on the potty to earn this special time, and he kept telling me that he loved me. Melts my heart. And before he went to sleep, he told me thank you for the dinosaur from Chuck E Cheese (one of his prizes.) I told him I was so proud of him. And then he said he was proud of me, too. He can be so stinkin sweet. Sometimes.

Emmy's 1st 4th

2011-07-04T23:16:00.001-05:00

Happy 4th of July from our littlest firecrackers!

I feel like these pictures tell a little story. Here is how it goes in my head:

Mommy: Guys, smile for Mommy.

Noah: You want me to take a picture with her? No way!

Emmy: You want me to take a picture with him? No way!

Mommy: Say cheese!

Noah: No

Emmy: Ok! I love you Mommy! That's such a great idea! You have the best ideas, Mommy. You are the best! I'm your favorite, right?

Mommy: Noah, I will give you a sucker if you smile!

Emmy: Are you serious?

Mommy: Noah, give Emmy a hug, please!

Noah: Okay Mommy! Whatever you say! ~~I love Emmy!~~ I LOVE SUCKERS!

Emmy: Whatever.

My favorite one came from my phone, of course. Here is the instagram version:

I was reeeeeaaaaalllllyyyy missing my big firecracker, Hope. She is still at Mimi's living it up. I am happy that they are creating special memories, but I am missing her bad now!

We spent the day with the Walkers today! I didn't get many pictures, but we had fun. Noah and Logan and Sophie played hard. It's funny how they all want the exact same toy at the exact same time! :) Thanks to April and Paul for letting us hang with them and the great lunch!

Logan likes you to take his picture, and then he wants to see it. Here he is coming at me to see the picture, before I could even take the picture!

Much better. And then he had to come check it out, of course.

The girls were so sweet playing together in the kitchen. And then I took this picture, and Sophie ran off. Not a fan of the camera like big brother is!

Happy 4th of July everyone!

Batman!

2011-06-29T23:00:00.001-05:00

Noah has a very active imagination. He transforms himself into many different characters. For almost the past year, he has been a Wiggle. He would pick out his shirt based on which wiggle he wanted to be that day. He will say, "I want that red shirt. I'm Murray. I need to play my guitar." He gets into it. Then, a few months ago, he also started being a fireman. Fireman Sam of course. He's always ready to save the day. Then, in the last few weeks he has become Batman. He and John have been watching some old school Batman. Like 1960's, awful, corny, Batman. He now says literally probably 50 times a day, "I'm Batman." To anyone who will listen, really. My favorite is when he yells, "To the Bat Cave!" and runs off.
He has some Superman pajamas that we got at Six Flags last year when we came down for John's interview. He thinks they are cool and all, but now when he puts them on, he sulks just a bit and says, "I wanna be Batman." I have looked for batman pjs, but, he is too specific. He has to have a cape, like the superman ones. He was so excited to find this shirt at Walmart this week. But, immediately asked "but where's my cape? I need a cape." We looked at eBay for costumes the other day, thinking we could surely snag a cheap one since it's not Halloween time. He loved looking at them, and knew exactly which one he wanted. The one with the muscles. He woke up the next morning and said, "Wheres my Batman costume? I need my cape" Ha! Oh, and he calls his sidekick Robin, "Robin Hood!" Love him!

Great morning, not so great afternoon

2011-06-27T23:40:00.000-05:00

Our church is offering childcare for a few days this summer! I thought it would be a great opportunity to either get some Mommy time, or spending some time with the oldest kids. I couldn't decide whether to make today a Mommy day or a Mommy and Noah day. I really have some errands and things that need to be done this week, but in the end, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to spend some time with my little man. We went to see Cars 2 at the mall. We went to an early show (9:40!) and he did pretty well! We left about 15 minutes before the movie was over. He was just done. I didn't feel like fighting it, so we left. And went to ride the Merry Go Round!

This is an awesome picture of Noah. Because this is what Noah does. This is what he is always doing. He is trying to figure it out. He just stared at the gears, and even noticed the benches don't have gears, so they don't go up and down.

He loves these things! I don't know what they are called, but he loves them! Great entertainment.

It was just a sweet time with me and the boy who sometimes makes me a little bit crazy. :) Oh my goodness, though, I love that boy.

So, we picked Emmy up, went to Wal-Mart, came home, and I put them both down for a nap. Emmy woke up about 45 minutes later screaming like she was hurt. I couldn't calm her down, so eventually, John ran home so I could take her to the doctor and he could stay with Noah. Emmy was still very upset when we left. The doctor immediately noticed her belly was distended. Ok, so I really hate this. Why? Because I can't tell! This is the second time a doctor asked about her belly and if I had noticed it was distended. Ummm, no. I didn't. So, she prescribed emmy something called Bethanechol to calm her stomach and her down. She said if Emmy didn't improve in the next couple of hours, to call her and she would call ahead to the ER for us to tell them Emmy needed an xray to check for a blockage! It was scary for a bit. Probably because I am an overreactor. But, it did calm her down and she did improve. No more screaming. A little fussy, but no screaming. So, we are supposed to talk to Emmy's GI dr tomorrow to see if she can come in. Her next GI appt isn't until September, and this doctor didn't think we should wait til then. I don't know if this is a reaction to her being back on glutens (she had to stop the gluten free diet so that she can have a biopsy for celiac in September. Long story) or what. Ugh. The guessing game is not fun! She is sleeping now, so I am hoping for an easy night!

Walgreens. Rude pharmacy tech. Who told me we couldn't have her prescription until tomorrow because it had to be mixed. You know, the medicine we needed to try before taking her to the Emergency room? Umm, not okay. Don't mess with a Mama Bear. Guess what. By some miracle, Emmy's medicine was ready in less than 10 minutes! Woo hoo! Score! 1 point for Mama Bear.

Today

2011-06-26T23:53:00.000-05:00

What? I have a blog? Who knew? I just about gave it up. I'm not even going to try to catch up right now, so here is where we are right this minute.
Today.
Today my sister and mom and niece Julia left to go back to Little Rock. This was the first time Julia's schedule has allowed her to come see us! She is a talented, busy girl, and we are so proud of her! Here are some pics from dinner at Joe's Crab Shack last night.

When they left, they took something of mine with them. My Hope. For 11 days! Hope will be gone from McKinney most of July! Crazy! She has said since we moved to Texas that she wanted to spend 2 weeks in Arkansas in the summer, and her wish is coming true. In total, she will spend more than 2 weeks there when it's all said and done. And some time at the beach!

After she left, John cut Noah's hair. Off. Why would we do this to our baby? Because he screams his head off when we take him to get his hair cut. So, until Noah gets out of this lovely stage, Daddy is his barber.

And then we went to the Beach Pool! We spend A LOT of time here! It felt so weird to only have 2 kids there with us! Emmy slept on my chest while I sat in this chair under the trees. It was perfect.

Tomorrow, I have Emmy signed up for childcare at our church, so Noah and I are spending the day together. We are going to see the new Cars movie. He was so excited about our date when he went to bed. He was super sweet. John said if he could capture those sweet moments and replay them over and over, he would.

Fireman Sam and Mother's Day

2011-05-08T22:12:00.001-05:00

Uncle Sam has been visiting us this weekend. My kids always love to see Uncle Sam, but I think he and Noah really bonded this weekend. Noah's favorite show right now is "Fireman Sam." It's on Netflix, and he loooooves it. John might have mentioned to Sam about the show, because when they picked up Sam from the airport Thursday, Sam sang the theme song for Noah! From then on, Noah called Sam "Fireman Sam" all weekend. Never just Sam. It was always, "Come on Fireman Sam." "Let's go Fireman Sam." "Where's Fireman Sam?" And Uncle Sam brought Noah some fireman tools, making him the coolest Uncle Fireman Sam ever.

So, Uncle Sam was here for Mother's Day. We are pretty sure he has been with us for another Mother's Day as well. We went to the Fort Worth Zoo for the day. It was a beautiful, hot day, and clearly we were not the only ones who thought it would be a good idea. It was pretty crowded. We have never taken Noah or Emmy to the Ft. Worth Zoo, which seems crazy as much time as we used to spend there when we lived here before. Now we live about an hour from the zoo, so it is just a trek we haven't set out on since moving back. It was fun to see Hope back there and think about her being Noah's age when we were there last. There was a hippo that scared her so bad when she was 2, and she still remembers what happened. I am happy to report she is over her fear of hippos now and went right over and watched them with her daddy.

Noah. Noah, Noah, Noah. He is a runner. I would like to give him the freedom of walking beside us, but he runs away every time. I can't get through to him that it's not ok to run away. We kept putting him back in his stroller when he ran away, but he never got it, because when he would get down again, he was gone. And repeat.

Here's Noah looking up to Fireman Sam

Uncle Fireman Sam with the bigs.

My big girl.

Oh, Noah.

Emmy's first Carousel ride!

Ummm. A skunk in front of Red's doghouse? Fitting for Noah Red.

Some alligator humor.

My baby girl. With 2 teeth!!!

The Men.

Trying to get a decent pic with my 3 babies on Mother's Day. Unsuccessful.

I brought the girls home while the boys took Sam to the airport. Hope made me dinner. Wheaties! Sweet girl. She offered to make me ham and cheese roll ups, cereal, or a nutella sandwich. It was a tough choice! :)

Emmy, are you Daddy's Baby?

2011-05-04T10:59:00.000-05:00

If you are around our family much, you might have seen us ask our kiddos in a playful way who's baby are they? Are you Mommy's Baby? Yes! or, you might have heard Noah say "I sorry to tell ya, I Mommy's Baby!" And you might even remember when Hope would say, "I regret to inform you, I'm Mommy's Baby!" Obviously we feed them these lines so much, they are ingrained! Well, Emmy has already given her answer on the matter, and I think we should just leave it at that!

Please also notice that she can completely do the spIits and check out that army crawl!

My Noah Red is THREE!

2011-05-01T23:08:00.002-05:00

3 years ago, my life was changed when I met this baby boy. This boy has my heart. I know I have said it before, I love all my kids equally, but differently. I can't describe my relationship with Noah. I guess it's true what they say about Mommys and their boys.

Noah, at 3 years old, you want so badly to be independent. You want to do what Hope does, you want to put your shoes on by yourself, you want to get in the car by yourself, and you want to get out on your own terms, you want "My do it." But, Noah, at the same time, you are so very dependent! You need your mommy, you want to be held and snuggled, you don't want daddy to go to work, you want "Mommy do it." It is a tough road to walk right now. And sometimes I feel like I am walking on eggshells around you!

You love fiercely, my boy. Once someone makes it into your circle, you make them feel so special. I am so happy to be in the circle. You love your daddy, a lot too, and it's been fun to see your relationship grow with him lately. I know the two of you will soon be inseparable, so I'm happy to still be in the circle. You hug like no other. You mean it when you hug. It might be my favorite thing.

Your sisters love you. I think you love them :) You do, you just don't want them to touch anything. Not your toys, not their toys, not your food, not their food, not each other, and certainly not your mommy. Ahhh, brings back memories of my siblings. "He's touching me!" is what Papa Paul says I used to say all the time. You, however say, "She's doing that." Which could be multiple offenses.

You love to run! You are your happiest when you are on the loose! If you ~~understood~~ minded when I asked you to come back, I would let you run free a lot more. Right now, though, you run away! And I mean run! Uncle Wes says you look like a cartoon character when you run. Your upper body is still, but your legs are moving so fast they are a blurrrr!

You love music! You have several guitars, drums, etc, and I am convinced you wouldn't mind if we got rid of every other toy you own besides those and your beloved Wiggles toys. And maybe a train or two.

You are silly! You crack us up. You make up songs, you make up knock knock jokes (ok, knock knock joke), make funny faces, and you have the best laugh I have ever heard. It makes my heart smile.

You are sneaky! You go wherever you aren't supposed to. We have had to Noah proof the house. You have escaped through the front door, opening both locks. You climb in the refrigerator to reach whatever your heart desires at any given moment. You ruin makeup. You write on walls. You take trash out of the trash can. You jump on the bed. You play in the potty. You climb on tables. You take off your clothes. You use your baby sister as a drum. It definitely works in your favor that you are so cute.

You are mine. I wouldn't trade you for the world. Thank you God for Noah Red.

Emmy Update

2011-04-21T22:22:00.000-05:00

Finally! We do have an answer for what has been bothering our Emmy for so long.
And thankfully, it's a managable thing.
Emmy has Celiac Disease . I'm still learning what this means for the baby girl, but in short, it means Emmy's diet will have to be gluten free. This will be a new way of thinking for our family as we plan meals etc, but we are so very thankful that it is something so fixable. Emmy has had quite a few tests in her short life, and some for some scary scary things. So, Celiac? We can do it. She will see a specialist in the next couple of weeks, so hopefully then we will have some more answers. What I am learning is that Celiac is much more common than ever thought before. And if truth be told, I think I have it too. I will be tested soon, but either way, our family is going gluten free. If any of you have any experience with this, especially for an infant, I would love to hear! We are bread and pasta lovers, so this will be a big change to the Dyer diets :)

The Weekend Wrap Up

2011-04-18T00:09:00.000-05:00

First, you must look at my sweet baby girl. I love her. In case you didn't know.

Backing up a bit. John went to Australia for work for 10 days. So this week, we have been catching up with daddy. He took Friday off, and we went and surprised Hope by picking her up from school. We went to the Dallas World Aquarium. Hope remembers lots of odd things from when we lived in the Dallas area when she was little. I just knew she would remember some of the aquarium. But, she didn't! Not a thing. However, she did love every minute. She just took it all in. She could have stayed all day.

This is Noah telling me about the huge anaconda snake he just saw!

Again with the trees. I like trees, what can I say.

And we can go ahead and add this to the "Things that freak me out" file.

Noah's very favorite part had to be the shark tank tunnel. So cool. It was John's favorite too.

This? Very cool.

And on Saturday, we took off the training wheels! I won't say it was totally successful, but, she is getting the hang of it. When she isn't trying to run into parked cars and mailboxes. And, I got Noah this balance bike for a steal on consignment. Don't worry, he has a helmet. Just posing for the picture.

Tonight, John was putting the big kids to bed while I was doing some stuff for Hope's class. Emmy was (army) crawling around and playing in the living room. John came downstairs and found this...

OUT!

This cannot be comfortable!

And, I looked through some old blog posts and found this picture of Hope on our first visit to the aquarium, before we even knew we would be moving to Midlothian a couple months later. I think she's about 17 months old here. And who would have ever guessed we would be back 5 years later with our 3 kids living in McKinney? Craziness.

John had just graduated from graduate school and wanted to come to a conference here in hopes of making some connections for a job. We stayed with our sweet friends, the Jessees, who lived in McKinney at the time. I loved their town then, and I love it even more now that we are here! Sadly, the Jessees left a few years ago. But, they definitely influenced our decision to choose McKinney when we were looking where to live in DFW!

That's about it! Have a great week!

At the park with some cuties!

2011-04-12T15:52:00.001-05:00

Sometimes I really should just say no

2011-04-12T15:51:00.003-05:00

Like when the school carnival falls on a night when John is not able to go. I love love love my Noah Red. That being said, he is not fun to take places. He screamed his adorable head off waiting to ride the train. When it was finally our turn, he had the snubs. So he would snub snub, and then let out a little "choo choo" before the snubs took over again.

Can you even believe he will be three in a couple of weeks? Me neither.

Emmy Love at 8 Months

2011-03-31T22:04:00.000-05:00

Emmy, at 8 months old, you are just precious. I cannot get enough of you. You are smiley, social, nosey, sweet as sugar, and so much fun. In the past couple of weeks, you have learned some new tricks! Here are the highlights so far!

You mastered sitting up while on Spring Break. You had been getting better, but during Spring Break, you were finally solid!
You babble. A lot. You started with lots and lots of BABABABABABABAs, but now you have added DADADADADADADA, which Daddy likes a lot. I will say to you, "Say Mommy!" and you reply, "DADADADADADA!" You think you are pretty funny ;) Daddy loves it.
Ummm, out of NOWHERE, you decided it was time to move. You aren't crawling. You are wiggling like a snake. And it works for you. Your favorite spot to wiggle to is the TV stand. Where you pull out all the movies from the bottom shelf. I see those disappearing very soon.
You like food. You are kind of getting picky about which baby foods you will actually swallow, but, you will eat just about anything you can put in your hand. And, you like to snatch food from your brother. He does not like this, as you can imagine.
Speaking of snatching from Brother, we have rearranged car seats, which put him right next to you in the car. You get your little hands on everything he has. He gets so so upset. To comfort him, I try to explain that you just want to play with him, but you and I both know you are doing it for the reaction it gets from him.
Those size 2 diapers are getting small! My next amazon order, I am moving you to 3s.
You weigh 16.2 pounds! Putting you only 10 pounds behind brother, and about 21 pounds from sister.
You had your very first ear infection. If it weren't for your fever and goopy eyes, I wouldn't have known you were sick. You stayed smiley the whole time. In the doctor's office, the nurse and dr got the biggest laugh out of "how very sick" you were as you were with all your giggling and flirting with everyone who would look at you! Had you not been running a temp of 102, they might have thought I was crazy for bringing you in to the after hours clinic.
You have a new favorite toy. I lost your beloved wire ball sometime over spring break. I am still very sad about that. But, thanks to your buddy, Palmer, I knew you would love a Sophie giraffe. You really do love her. She is a perfect teething toy for your age. You bite her all day long (Sophie, not Palmer.)
Knock on wood, but the time change has served you well. You were waking up at 5 every morning, and now you wake up at 6 ish. So, you still haven't figured out that we are a sleep late kind of family (Your siblings will sleep til 9 or so if we don't wake them!) but, I will take 6 over 5 any day. And the fact that you sleep solidly through the night earns you many bonus points.
I love you. A lot.

Video of Noah riding Thomas

2011-03-31T21:32:00.000-05:00

A short little video of Noah riding Thomas. My favorite part is towards the end when he yells out "Island of Sodor!" He really thought that was where Thomas was taking us. I'll never tell.

Our Day Out With Thomas!

2011-03-31T10:21:00.001-05:00

John and I searched a few months ago to look at the Day Out With Thomas tour schedule and found he was going to be about 40 minutes away from us. We were in! I was worried because Noah had been sick for a solid week by the time it rolled around, but he did great. He was truly in awe. We had such a great day together.

She did it!

2011-03-29T22:55:00.000-05:00

Ear piercing is kind of a touchy subject, right? And everyone has an opinion of when to do it. I understand why some people choose to have their babies' ears pierced, and even why some make their daughters wait till 13, or 18, or whatever. As parents, you just have to make your own rule about this. Our rule? You have to be old enough to understand that it hurts and you want to do it any way! Ha! I just didn't want to take her in there and her have no idea what was going on while two people put holes in her body. So, we have talked about it from time to time, but she had no interest in voluntarily signing up for pain. Well, something happened to change her mind, and she was ready! We have talked about it for several week, with us reminding her that it does hurt, and also how much responsibility it is to take care of them for 6 weeks and yada yada. She never backed down. I was 6 years old as well when I had mine pierced, so I am liking that. We had planned on doing it during spring break, but brother got sick, and it just didn't happen. So, Saturday, we went to the Grapevine Mills mall to do it! Of course my baby picked the most sparkly pair. Pink flowers. She just took it like a champ. Never flinched, never shed a tear, she really is crazy brave (she hasn't cried over having a shot in YEARS.) She is so good (too good?) at reminding me to clean them, and to wash my hands before I do, and she also will not touch them without washing her own hands first. I am pretty proud at how big she has been about it. It was no problem at all to get her out of bed Monday morning. She was ready to show her friends the fabulousness!

Knock Knock

2011-03-28T17:01:00.000-05:00

Knock Knock jokes are big here in our house. Hope is just started to get them, and loves a good round of knock knock jokes. Noah, wanting to be a part of the fun, tries to participate as well. He says this knock knock joke no less than 20 times a day. And it cracks himself up every single time.

Noah: Knock Knock
Us: Who's there?
Noah: 'nana popsicle
Us: 'nana popsicle who?
Noah: 'nana popsicle!!!

Followed by a pause until someone laughs, and then he cracks up.

Yeah, we don't get it either. :) But, he sure is cute.

Happy Emmy! 8 months

2011-03-26T08:58:00.000-05:00

I know I have told you Emmy is a happy baby, but maybe you haven't seen her to know. This was Emmy just hanging out this morning. Keep in mind, she is sick right now. She has a fever of 101 while I filmed this video today. So, really, I am claiming the title of world's happiest, easiest baby for her.

Spring break!

2011-03-18T08:27:00.001-05:00

We have been enjoying Hope's Spring Break this week! My sweet friends Deni and Shauna (and the precious Baby Palmer!) came to see us last weekend in Texas. It was so fun to catch up with some of my favorite people. The kids and I loaded up in Shauna's van and rode back to Arkansas with them. Which was very brave of Shauna and Deni to allow us to do, because they know how awful my kids are in the car! We all survived!

Monday we went to the CDC where Noah was reunited with the wonderful Meesha, his old teacher. He ran to her and hugged her for a solid 5 minutes! He even made her cry! She said we will need to make custody arrangements before we leave. ;) When he hugged her so tight I felt like he was wanting to tell her, "Oh Meesha, no one else understands me!" They have a very special bond. He has spent lots of time with her this week, which has been a much appreciated break for the mommy.

This week, I have tried to let Hope do some of the things I always say no to. Like jumping on the the trampoline/ bungee things at the mall, Build a Bear, eating where she picks, etc. She has enjoyed every second.

Hope had a project this weekend where she had to take a penguin (Paul the Penguin) with her on Spring Break and write about his adventures. We decided we needed to take Paul to the new Penguin exhibit at the Little Rock Zoo! I will upload those pics soon. It was a fun day!

Party like a Rock Star

2011-03-01T21:13:00.000-06:00

This weekend, Hope went to a Rock Star Birthday Party for a friend-boy in her class. (Interestingly enough, there were actually 2 Rock Star Birthday Parties this weekend, but we only made it to one. I'm guessing that's the hot theme for BDay parties right now?) I pulled out several items that I felt were Rock Star worthy. She is wearing none of them. This is totally all her doing, from the single cinderella glove to the pink cowgirl boots...

I did enjoy doing her hair though! She did not enjoy getting the rats nest out that night though! She made Bo about 10 different birthday cards, and this was the winner. At the party she handed him the card first and gave him a few minutes to appreciate her card before she would hand them the present. I'm not kidding, she was not going to give him that present until he checked that card all the way out!

Hope is cracking me up right now. She is using some big words, some correctly, some not. This morning after I changed a stinky diaper of Emmy's, she came downstairs and said, "Oh, something in this room smells very un-delightful."

She also has been fighting me on her clothes. Daily. As in she likes nothing I pick out. I knew this day would come, but seriously. I am not ready to give in yet. Have you seen what happens when you go from buying 5T clothing at Target, to buying size 6 at Target? It is insane. Target is no longer my friend. There is a book that I love called Stop Dressing Your 6 Year Old Like a Skank by Celia Rivenbark. I promise I think of that book every time I look at the clothes in Target. It's just gross. And don't get me started on the underwe@r . Why would my child need bikini briefs? Or hipsters? No. Anyway, back to my story. She said to me the other day something like, " Mommy, I've been thinking that it's time for me to start dressing like the high school girls." Ummm. No. So a few days later she asked if she could pick out her clothes so she could dress like a high schooler. I told her I had to see her outfit first, but yes. She picked out her "Big Sister" t-shirt, a too small jacket, jeans with patches, and to top it off, one of Emmy's flower headbands. Which made me giggle to think about a high school girl showing up in a "Big Sister" T-Shirt and infant headband! Ha! I let her wear it, and I think her teacher got a giggle out of it as well.

She is finishing up her cheerleading days with Upward. She has loved it. It has been so great for her to be able to get to know some friends from school better, as well as some new friends. She is going to be so sad when it is over.

A little worn out.

2011-02-16T12:48:00.000-06:00

My friend, Amanda sent me this picture earlier. This is pretty much how I feel right about now! I am having a tough time with Noah. Maybe Noah is going through a rough time? I don't know, but yesterday, was probably the most frustrating Mommy days I have ever had. Everything that happened, by itself, totally sounds like nothing, but put together in succession made for just a bad day. The only thing I can even think of to mention is the colossal meltdown he had in Target. Oh, you know the ones. Screaming, jerking, mess of a boy. The one where you get 2 looks, either the, "OMG! You are the worst mother ever! Take him out of this store!" Or, you get the, "Oh, dear, I have been there before" looks. Thankfully, in store fit throwing is a rare occurrence around here, but yesterday's fit, well, it probably made up for some we've missed. Anyway, I headed to the check out to just leave with what I had, not getting through the list of what we needed. I was holding his head as I unloaded groceries (with Emmy riding in her Baby Bjorn on front of me...I was a sight, I tell ya) so that he wouldn't bang it against something. You get me now? It was a FUN time. So anyway, I headed to my car, and when I got there, a mom with her two small children had followed me out to load my groceries into the car for me so I could deal with Noah. It was so sweet, and something I definitely plan on doing for someone else in the future. Because everyone has those days, right? Please say yes.

John suggested we just go to dinner since the house smelled like smoke and burnt plastic. Oh wait, I didn't mention that, did I? While the dishwasher was on the heated dry cycle, a plastic lid fell onto the heating thingy and it burned and melted right through it. Anyway, our house smelled like smoke and burnt plastic. (Can we just gloss over that?) So, we met him for dinner where John vowed to be on "Noah Duty" the whole time. Which was nice. But, even nicer was when after dinner, he said he would take all three home and put them to bed while I walked around some stores all by myself. It was good. He is good.

I don't know what Noah's deal is right now. He cries and fusses a lot. He is really pretty mean to most everyone. He is not sleeping well. Not napping at all. And he is having a really hard time falling asleep at night. I don't know if it is part of getting closer to three, or what. We were potty training, but we just completely stopped. He is not ready. Could that have triggered this? I actually feel like I can pinpoint when all this started as when he punctured his eardrum a few weeks ago. But, shouldn't that have healed? And he doesn't say his ear hurts or anything. I just don't know. I just want my sweet, happy Noah back.

Emmy Love is 6 Months old!

2011-02-14T23:18:00.000-06:00

Ok, actually, she is almost 7, but, she is STILL officially 6 months old. Hey, take the updates when you can get them, ok?

Emmy, You are the easiest baby my world has ever known. As long as I am holding you. You do not ever cry. As long as I am holding you. You are never hard to figure out. As long as I am holding you. You love everything! As long as I am holding you. :) Sometimes, you make it just a little hard for Mommy to get other things done, or for Mommy to help take care of your brother and sister. But, on the other hand, it is just pretty awesome to be loved like that. To be able to make everything in your world ok just by holding you? I think I can handle that. I wish I could always make your troubles go away just by being near.

But really, you are such a happy girl. When you get oh so excited, your legs kick, and you turn and bury your head in my shoulder, hiding your big, open mouth grin. It is my favorite thing.

You can sit up for a few seconds, but I certainly cannot walk away from you just yet. You are getting strong, though, and I know you are about to get it.

You have no teeth. Which is right on track with my babies. BUT, you have had these little teeth buds since you were born. Everytime I have taken you to the doctor (No, really, EVERY time) the doctor says, "Oh, and her bottom teeth are about to break through." I just smile and say, "Oh really?" They haven't broken through. But, they still look like they could at any second.

You can eat! You love baby food, of course, but you also want your own food to hold and chew. Your current favs are Baby Mum Mums and Gerber Wagon Wheels.

We left you. This month I have left you in the care of others. Which is hard. For me. You have visited a drop off day care (I did this once before, but you cried until they called me to pick you up...) and you were perfect! You also started staying with your little friends at MOPS. I have always taken you with me to the meeting, but it was time for you to go and play. Again, you were perfect. Then we got really brave and left you at Parents' Night Out at church. They say you were perfect. You went to sleep at your normal bedtime (7ish) until we picked you up. I gave you extra snuggles when we got home because I missed you so much. You also went to the nursery at church for the first time. You worked the system this time, because they said you wanted to be held the whole time. Way to go, sister.

You are a snatcher. You have much better hand control now, and you will snatch things right out of my hand. i.e., the sandwich I was eating last week.

Your favorite place to be (other than attached to me!) is on your play mat. You don't roll much, but you can get to the little toys on the mat and play play play.

You also love your bed. I love you for this. I just put you down awake. You stare at your mobile and kick and giggle until I turn it on. I walk away, and you go to sleep! It is seriously the greatest thing ever.

Emmy Love, I love you my baby girl. I never knew how much I needed you.

Getting Ready for Valentine's Day

2011-02-12T21:25:00.002-06:00

I have talked about our Valentine's Day tradition on here before, but it's been a few years, so I am telling it again! Sorry.

John and I met while we were in college. When our first Valentine's Day rolled around, John was employed as a Youth Ministry intern, and I was living with a family that I provided child care for in exchange for room and board. So, we were basically completely and totally broke (but happy! :) So, we decided to make each other's Valentines. There were no rules given, just that you had to make it yourself. John's first Valentine to me is my favorite. It kind of looks like a first grader made it :) It is heart shaped and has glitter and buttons on it! He still remembers the other folks in the Youth Ministry department giving him a hard time about making his Valentine. The next year, we decided to do the same thing, and it's been our tradition ever since! I like to decorate our mantle with some of our creations. There are so many now, we don't have room for all! (Plus, I cannot find the ones we made last year, anywhere! This is causing me some anxiety...) We make them for the kids too now, and they make ours as well. Hope is very into it this year. She has been super secretive about what she is working on. I do know that she has used a TON of glue, so I am a bit nervous to see what exactly she has been gluing! In Target today she "Some people don't know you can just make a Valentine. You don't have to buy them." Although she did let me know that she does like heart shaped chocolate ;)

Remember The Time Our Parents Thought it Would Be a Good Idea to go see Life-Sized Dinosaurs? What Were They Thinking?!

2011-02-06T22:18:00.001-06:00

I can picture Noah and Hope having this very conversation one day. Possibly while sitting on a couch together talking to a therapist. We heard that a local museum here had and exhibit called Dinosaurs Alive. They advertised life-sized dinosaurs being outside along their nature trails. Two weekends ago, it was 70 something degrees outside, so we thought it would be a great time to go see what it was about.

This first dinosaur was tame enough. He didn't move. The kids oohed and ahhhed for a bit.

As we headed on down the trail, we came upon the next one, who was animated. Meaning, he growled a little bit. We let Noah out of the stroller to check it out.

Enjoy this moment, because it was pretty much the last moment on the rest of our adventure where he was not screaming, "NO DINOSAURS!!! I WANNA GO HOME!"

Emmy was happy, though. As she was attached to me for the whole hike.

This is a very old tree. I love big old trees. A sign near the tree said it was over 250 years old and that it was sprouting at the same time the Declaration of Independence was being signed. Very cool.

The dinosaurs kept getting a little bigger, a little scarier, and a little more animated as we kept going. Hope even started getting a bit scared, and she completely understood they weren't real.

She was still her silly, old self, though.

Does it look like Noah is loving the dinos? No? Hmmm.

He is absolutely screaming in his Daddy's ear right here.

Standing as far away as they could.

Ahhh, a break in animated dinos for one to sit on. We liked that.

And, of course, the trail ended with the big dog T-Rex. Noah was loooooosing his mind right about here. Hope did not want to stand in front of it, but I was all like, "Oh, honey, you will stand in front of this huge scary thing if I have to hold you upside down by your ankles." Or something. She really was scared. Poor girl. At least we took the picture while his head was way up there, because his head also came down close enough to touch as well. See, we are such good parents. Okay, okay, I will put away some more money for their therapy jars.

Who's Up for a Random Post?

2011-02-04T23:17:00.000-06:00

If you are, you are in luck! I am feeling quite random! It is probably due to the fact that we have been stuck inside since MONDAY night. I have not left the house since MONDAY. Are you kidding me. My cabin fever has turned to cabin pneumonia, and it is only getting worse.

Before I start, 10 bonus points to whoever can guess what craft I made today...

So, here is a little of what has been going on with all of our togetherness!

Hope learned to blow a bubble with bubble gum. She has been trying really hard since Christmas, and she stood in the bathroom mirror for the longest time practicing. After she ran to us a few times trying to show us the bubble, I finally went to her to catch her on camera.

The problem with Hope blowing bubbles is that she is a giggler. She gets too giggly, and blowing bubbles is not easy when you have the giggles!

Sweet success!

My Noah loves the Wiggles. The Wiggles are apparently not so popular any more, and Wiggles toys are not easy to find. I found Captain Feathersword's sword recently knowing he would love it. Noah does not enjoy potty training. He has gone potty numerous times, and he absolutely knows what's going on. He just doesn't want to go. I thought I would bribe him with the sword. It sits on top of our mantle. The understanding is that when he does go #2 on the potty, the sword will be his. And he wants it bad. Just not bad enough to go potty yet. So, there it sits.

John and I have been having a discussion over highchairs for a long while now. I am a fan of highchairs. For as long as possible. Containment is my friend when it comes to 2 year olds. So the question was, do we buy a new one for Emmy, or promote Noah to a booster? Noah has destroyed his highchair cover. De.stroyed. It is so ugly. So, part of me wanted a new chair, just because I didn't want to sit my sweet itty bitty Emmy in her brother's destroyed seat. John, knowing me like he does, suggested we find a new cover for it. So, I found a seller on Etsy who made one from my favorite fabric! So, John really won the battle, as Noah is now in a booster, but I am pretty happy with the new cover, so I'm good. So is Emmy.

Back to the weather. What we got Monday night was ice. It didn't melt as the temps have been crazy low for Texas. But, we woke up this morning to 6-7 inches of beautiful, powdery snow! I did not go crazy with the camera, but I did feel the need to put my snow angel in the snow this time, since I didn't last time.

She really didn't mind it. Her siblings, however, do not enjoy making snow angels...Ok, so I forced them to lay down. Mother of the year, right here folks.

So, my son like the Wiggles, right? I am pretty sure you don't understand just how much. When the Wiggles were recently taken off the Netfix for Wii line up, my husband called Netflix to voice his complaint. We couldn't find any DVDs anywhere, so we did finally order some online. And, again, Wiggle toys are hard to find. So, Noah improvises. The poor baby walks around all day long with 4 large legos. 1 yellow, 1 red,, 1 blue, and 1 green. No, there is not a green Wiggle, but, unfortunately, there are also no purple legos. So, he has chosen the green one to be Jeff Wiggle. I looked at Ebay for Wiggles figures/dolls, but they are too pricey for me! Apparently they are somewhat of collectors items now. So, back to my cheesy craft.(I you are a truly crafty person, look away. I am not crafty.) I made these today...

Yes, I made toilet paper roll Wiggles. What about it?

It was seriously like Christmas morning when I gave them to him though. He immediately set them up like they were on stage and started singing and dancing!

Hope found a red bowl that became "The Big Red Car" and he went to work setting them up exactly like how the Wiggles sit.

Oh, toilet paper roll Wiggles, how I love thee.

Mimi and Papa Paul's Visit

2011-01-30T22:09:00.000-06:00

My mom and dad flew in for a quick visit earlier this week! My dad had not come to visit yet, so we were happy he finally came to see us. Every time we go to Ikea, someone says something about how much Dad would love it. We were right! I am pretty sure he picked up, studied, and declared what a good deal every single item was! He was not happy that he had flown and therefore could not bring home all of his heart's desires! I have no doubt he will be showing up with a truck next time. As always, I was terrible about getting my camera out when someone visits. I just enjoyed having them here. I stole a few off of mom's facebook page, and I did take a few of the fabulous makeovers Hope and Mimi gave each other! I somehow got my mom to try two different things while she was here. The first was sushi. She had never had it before. And she loved it! Woo hoo! Isn't it supposed to be the mom making the daughter try something new and not the other way around?! Oh well. And also, California Pizza. Her first question was if they had pepperoni pizza. I did tell her she was not allowed to eat pepperoni. She tried my favorite Spinach and Artichoke Pizza, and again, she loved it. Success. We did have to take Dad to Uncle Julio's so that he could finally taste what my sister, brother in law, and pretty much any one else in our family talks about when coming here. He approved. The Plato Gordo does not disappoint. What he did not approve of, was the Texas water. That's ok, neither do we. Little Rock has the best drinking water in the world. No, for real. We miss it. I will never be okay with our water tasting like dirt. When hearing that our new town had been named in the top 5 places to live, he came up with a new slogan for Little Rock:

Little Rock. We aren't McKinney, TX, but have you tasted our water?

Ha.

Here are some pics: Noah was so excited to ride the "Hersie" at the mall. I think Mimi was pretty excited too.

We visited the outlet mall near our house, and Noah's reward for ~~not loosing his two year old mind~~ being somewhat good was riding what he calls "The Garbage Truck", but is actually the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Mobile.

Mimi and Hope love have makeovers! They had some big plans for Mimi's last night here! Hope pulled out the lipstick I bought in Las Vegas, that I have only worn in Las Vegas!

Poor Hope has a mom who rarely wears any makeup, and never fun things like eyeshadow. Thankfully, I was able to dig up a free sample of eyeshadow I had so the night was not a total loss.

Aren't they lovely? And isn't Mimi a good sport? :) This was before the hairdos! ;)

Hope hates to say goodbye. Hates it. You can see her start to worry about someone leaving a full day before they leave. It really is sad. She is ready for a long Mimi visit again. At school, they write in a journal everyday (?) and then their teacher or a volunteer will help them publish their favorite story with correct spelling, grammar, etc. Here was Hope's published story from last week:

Mimi and Hope are at the table, and I am back there (without makeup!) taking pictures.

And yes, Mimi, you can have the story.

Little Girl Blue

2011-01-28T18:25:00.001-06:00

Just a quick iPhone pic post! More to come!

Art Show!

2011-01-22T09:18:00.000-06:00

Hope's artwork was chosen to be in a district-wide Art Show this month. A few were chosen from each grade at each school, and we were so happy for her. We got to go to the district office Thursday night to see her artwork and for her to get her certificate.

Even she didn't know what piece had been chosen, though, so it took as a bit to find hers! She had done texture rubbings on different pieces of paper, and then cut out the different pieces to make tulips. I should have known it would have involved scissors and a collage, because that is what she loves to do!

So proud of her certificate!

With her art teacher, Ms. Fee. She really does an amazing job. Each of the other elementary schools in our district their art on display, and I thought our pieces were the most diverse, a credit, no doubt, due to Ms. Fee. Hope always loves art day at school!

Explaining her work to daddy. He might have been a tad bit proud. Maybe.

And, we had to show baby sister too, or most likely, we wanted our little friends see that we could carry our baby sister...

Noah Red was not as impressed with the art show, and we had to leave as he was disturbing the peace.

We celebrated by trying yet another pizza place, Brooklyn's. Blah. Why is there no outstanding pizza here? I need some US, or Paxton's, or even Larry's!

Baby sister was in such a great mood before I started getting her ready for bed, I had to take some pics of her in her rocking chair.

Help me, I Have Created a Cheerleader

2011-01-21T10:24:00.000-06:00

Hope has been so excited that she has become an Upward Cheerleader! Hope has always wanted to be a cheerleader, and I have always wanted her to not be a cheerleader. I really don't know why, I cheered through college, but I really hoped she would stick to the gymnastics and such. But, when we heard about Upward, we thought it was a great opportunity for fellowship as well as getting her some cheerleading in! It is at our church, and has been a great opportunity for her to meet new friends and get to know some school friends better. My favorite part is that she memorizes a pretty long scripture each week. Her memory scares us sometimes how quickly she can memorize things.

She was so fired up for her first game!

On this chilly morning she walked outside and said, "I think Cheerleaders should wear pants." Ha!

Some half time entertainment!

She was really into it!

I love this...

And look how pumped she got the crowd!

(Emmy yawning there made me laugh.: )

And look how pumped this fan was!

I promise Mommy was excited for you, Hope. You did a great job!

No, Really, I'm a HORRIBLE Housewife.

2011-01-12T15:52:00.001-06:00

Inserting adorable baby pictures, just to keep you interested:

OK, I feel like I should really start documenting some of my not-so-glamorous, horribly embarrassing, but still pretty hysterical moments of me trying to become an awesome stay at home mommy. You saw the birthday cake, right? Well, just know that stuff like that happens EVERY day!

I thought I had it all figured out that once I stayed home I would become the organized mommy I have always wanted to be. I blamed the chaos on me working full time, while John was gone 4 days a week. Ha. Confession: I am more disorganized than ever. Double confession: I had a housekeeper while I was working full time. Triple confession: I miss her.

So, here are just a couple of my glorious moments lately!

I really have been much better at making meals myself rather than (GASP!) frozen, boxed, or premade meals. Last night, I went back to my old ways for the sake of convenience. I put some frozen meatloaf in the microwave, made boxed (you can gag if you need to) 4 cheese mashed potatoes on the stove, and crescent rolls in the oven. It seemed just easy and I was thankful not to have had to brown the meat, cut the potatoes, etc. So, John came home right in the middle of everything getting done... I timed it all right at least... SCORE! I had pulled the potatoes onto a different burner, checked on the rolls, opened the microwave to find that the meatloaf was finished. I grabbed it, put in on the stove, turned around to get the rolls out of the oven when Hope starts yelling "SMOKE!" I had put the PAPER microwave meatloaf container on the burner that I had just taken the potatoes off of! What an idiot! It was burning, John moved it, giving me a "what in the world were you thinking" look, which hurt my feelings, because, seriously, did I mean to do that? No. Emmy was screaming because "OMG SHE'S NOT HOLDING ME!" John started asking me how much milk did I put in the potatoes, because, don't I know, you are supposed to put a very precise amount of milk in them? Which just really irritated me, so I took Emmy and sat on my bed and chilled with her for a moment so I could calm down without getting upset about a stupid frozen meatloaf. Which makes me giggle a little bit. I went to check on Hope, who was upset that there was fire/smoke in the house. I told her she was the hero for telling us what she saw, and that made her feel better. So, I go downstairs, when I realize that I never did pull the rolls out of the oven. :) Burnt. Awesome. Happy Tuesday!

And my favorite happening: A little back story first. Something I have done well is cutting out from our budget. Specifically our grocery bill. By more than half. Yay me! So now, it really bothers me to have to run to the store between my planned grocery store visits. So a few weeks ago, we ran out of detergent for the dishwasher. I googled for a recipe for a temporary replacement to try to get one more load washed before I went to the store. I found one online with some stuff we already had. As a bonus, it suggested putting vinegar in the Jet-Dry container in the dishwasher as a replacement for Jet-Dry. So I put some in.That night, I ran the dishwasher and John was trying to figure out where that awful smell was coming from. I told him what I had done. He was not impressed! Meanwhile, he was spraying down the counter top using a spray bottle I had just filled with vinegar to try as a cleaning product. Only he thought it was the usual solution we keep in that bottle. So there he was, complaining about the awful vinegar smell coming from the dishwasher, all the while spraying it on the counter tops as well without realizing. It was a snorting laughing kind of moment for me. Him, not so much. I did eventually let him in on the fact that there was vinegar in the spray bottle, too. So a few minutes later, in true John fashion, he makes up a song. The title of the song? "I Don't Care How Much the Jet-Dry Costs." He was belting it out, and I was laughing so hard I couldn't breathe. Fun times.

Anyone else want to share some of their less than glamorous house wife moments? Mom, do you have a meatloaf story you would like to share? :) Leave it in the comments.

It Snows in Texas?

2011-01-10T20:08:00.001-06:00

We had prepared Hope for the fact that it doesn't snow much in Texas. That there might not be snowman building during our time here. Hopey Lou loves some snow. So does her Daddy. When the forecast started calling for snow, I did not even tell her. Until the morning of when it seemed it was for sure headed our way. The biggest snowflakes ever started falling and so began the non stop ~~pestering~~ questioning of WHEN CAN WE BUILD A SNOWMAN?

Daddy did not disappoint with his 7 foot giant snow man, that of course Hope is taking all credit for. I mean, how else would those eyes and nose gotten on just right?

This was the best view in our house as the snow fell. The kids and I just sat on the balcony/hallway and watched it come down.

Our first snow in our new house.

Enter Jill's ADD: Thanks for the boots, Mom!

Follow the Leader!

My adorable baby who came out just for some obligatory pics with the pink snowsuit. My sister's girls, my girls, and Baby Rosalie have all worn this for their first snow!

Now is when you should feel a bit sorry for poor Noah, who, unfortunately for him, did not outgrow the "Hoover Gnome Snowsuit" this year. To remind you, all 4 of us Hoover siblings wore this bad boy at some point in our childhoods. And many of the grandkids have ~~suffered through~~ had the pleasure of wearing as well. Maybe next year Noah will grow, and pass it on to his baby sister. :) If this doesn't make you think of Randy from The Christmas Story, then clearly you missed the marathon on TBS this year.

Hope has a pretty good snowball strategy worked out. She is a smart girl who knows that it is best to not throw one at Mommy. Daddy and Noah were not so lucky.

All of my snowbabies.

Oh, I loooooove him. Melts Mommy's heart. He yelled "HI YA" everytime he threw snow at someone.

Walking out to the snow.

More snow fighting. Daddy shows no mercy.

Hope thought a little too long on her strategy here, and daddy swooped in while she was thinking hard.

The bigger, the better

Please forgive me again as my pictures are all mixed up and nothing in the world is more frustrating than trying to rearrange pictures in the new blogger. This is how we roll on a snow day. In our pjs, playing some wii...

You can't see this clearly, but let me assure you, Emmy is screaming her head off because she can see me and realizes that "OMG SHE'S NOT HOLDING ME!" Emmy does fine entertaining herself for a few minutes if I am nowhere in sight. If she can see me, it's not pretty. And yes, my santas are still on the mantle. I'm not quite done putting away Christmas. Almost. Promise. Don't judge.

And now for some reminiscing for Mommy. I was trying to think if there was any snow the last time we lived in Texas, in the grand town of Midlothian... I came across these. I so miss this little 2 year old Lulu baby.

And to round out the fun, John got to call poison control tonight after dear Noah drank some "Liquid Bandage" stuff. That he got after climbing on the tub, onto the bathroom counter, and into the medicine cabinet, and then opened and drank. Where were his parents? I have no idea. Just kidding. He wanted to nap on our bed, but snuck into the bathroom when we thought he was asleep. He is 100% fine, just crazy.

A Keeper

2011-01-06T22:29:00.001-06:00

You have seen this picture before, probably, but I have been playing with it a lot. I think this is the way I want it on a huge canvas...after I save up for that :) Of course, I wish Hopey Lou was in there too, but I have come to terms with the fact that the perfect picture with all three kids is just not going to exist any time soon. Plus, we have 1000 professional pictures of Hope all over our house. And not the others. Yet. If you don't remember, Noah was not a fan of his baby sister in the first few days. This was one of the very first sweet moments they ever had. Love love.

Emmy Love 5 Months (& 2 weeks...oops)

2011-01-06T11:00:00.001-06:00

Emmy, my Love,

We still have not figured you out! :) You continue to surprise us, all the time. You like bananas, you don't like bananas. You like the car, you Don't like the car. You sleep through the night, you don't sleep through the night. Oh, baby girl, it appears you have your mother's indecisiveness. You rolled over twice on Christmas day at Nenny's house, but not again since. The biggest change from 4 months to five months is how big you are! At 5 months, you weighed 13 pounds 2 ounces! You jumped 10 percentile points in 4 weeks. Up to the 16th! My little bitty baby that wouldn't grow has turned into a bit of a chubby baby! I call you "Fatty" quite a bit, but Daddy does not like when I say that. But, I promise you, it is a term of endearment :) You have the most awesome neck rolls ever! Look!

(Okay, yes, I did dress you up in Noah's baby clothes, sorry about that.)

You still like me, a lot. The closer you can be to me, the happier you are. If I could just glue you to me, you would be so so happy. So, instead, I end up "wearing" you a lot. Baby Bjorn, Moby Wrap, Peanut Shell... You like them all. And I use them all a lot, because if I stick to only one, my back starts to hurt. I actually just added an Ergo to the list, because I like that I can actually wear you on my back, but I am not sure I like it or not enough to keep it. I think maybe I am too short? Who knows. At some point, though, I am going to need you to ride in the stroller when we are out. Can we make a deal?

And, last night, I finally finished your nursery. We bought your dresser last weekend, and we have worked hard to finally finish everything. I know it seems like it should have been done a while ago, but it was pretty low on the priority list with you sleeping in our room for so long and us keeping all your clothes downstairs in our room... but, you are a big girl now who likes her own bed now, so it was time to make the room yours. I love it. I hope you do too.

You are quick to smile, but not quick to laugh. It takes some work to hear that belly giggle that we love so much.

You cannot eat enough in the morning. You wake up starving, and down 7 ounces right away. Then, an hour later, maybe an hour and a half, you are demanding another bottle. And you usually get it. You take another 5-7 ounces! Crazy baby. Then, you settle back into your 7 ounces every 3 hours schedule for the rest of the day.

You follow every move we make. You can turn circles on your back, and you will turn and turn until you get a better view of who you are watching. You have rubbed off a big chunk of hair on the back of your head by doing this, so don't come crying to me about your hair being all uneven ;)

You are such a delight. I tell you all the time that I never knew how much I needed you.

Definitely a Christmas to Remember!

2011-01-02T23:45:00.000-06:00

Wow! What a Christmas. Emmy Love was diagnosed with RSV on Christmas Eve. Honestly, RSV never even crossed my mind. I really just took her back to the Dr. on Christmas Eve because her croupy cough had turned more into what sounded like a whooping cough, and I didn't want to ignore it. So, we get to the office and the nurse practitioner hears her coughing and stops and says she has RSV. She listens to her and says she is wheezing and tells the nurse to grab a nebulizer. I, being the over reactor that I am, was freaking out. She said the next 10 minutes would determine if we would be headed to the hospital or not. Long 10 minutes, to say the least. Looking back, I think she overreacted, making me a wreck. Calm, she was not. Scared out of my mind, I was. After 10 minutes of treatment, Emmy had completely stopped wheezing. Praise God. She said we could treat her at home, but we needed to buy a nebulizer. On Christmas Eve. Merry Christmas Emmy! Here is a nebulizer! People, let me tell you that money was tight here at our casa on Christmas Eve. And also, finding a nebulizer on Christmas Eve was going to be difficult as the pharmacy she was sending us to was about to close for the holiday. And what happened next was nothing short of my Christmas miracle. One of the moms who's children go to Hope's school has been so sweet to us. She loves our Emmy and had just stopped by a few days earlier to share some baby items with us. As I am starting my car, she and her children were walking out of the office. I got out to say hi and we talked about what ailments our children were having. When I told her I was on my way to get a nebulizer, she told me to wait because she was pretty sure she had an extra one at her mom's house, where she was heading to. What?! So, she called me a little while later and confirmed she did and it had new tubing and everything. And that we could have it. She even brought it to me inside Walgreens where I was waiting for.ev.er. for Emmy's medicines. What are the chances of her being at the same doctor's office on Christmas Eve, and having an extra nebulizer as I am sitting in the car adding numbers in my head of how we were going to swing all the meds plus the machine? I am certain it was a "God Thing." I told her she was my Christmas miracle!

Hope and I later headed to the airport to welcome April, Paul and Logan home from China. Certainly another Christmas miracle. Adoption has always just been so amazing to me. Such an incredible way that God builds families. To witness them coming home with the child who God meant to be in their family was something I will never forget. I pray that adoption is in the future for us one day.

So, we definitely could not take Emmy Love to church for Christmas Eve Services. John again planned a family service for us here. We did one once before when the roads were too bad to venture out. Both of those Christmas Eve's are two of the most memorable for me. Afterward, I put our big nativity set on the floor in front of us, and asked Hope to tell us the story of Jesus' birth. It was so sweet to hear her tell it while having the figures act it out. And then Noah tried to ride Mary's donkey. ;)

There were cookies and milk for Santa put out. And reindeer food thrown on the lawn. The kids went down so easily. I was worried this year about missing their reactions if they woke up and came down stairs. There was no need to worry! They slept like rocks. I woke up first and fed Emmy and gave her a treatment before waking everyone. And when I went to wake up Hope, she said, "Happy Birthday Jesus!" Love her.

This is them waiting to go downstairs:

Please enjoy Noah's hair.

He came!

The "Pink Dora 'tar" Noah decided he wanted at the last minute. and talked about nonstop the last 2 days before Christmas. Yep, it's pink.

Emmy is a texture lovin' baby. She loves all things snugly. Santa knows her well.

Look! Mommy was there for Christmas morning!

More snuggly items for the bug. She had a very Merry first Christmas, even if she was feeling crummy.

Daddy knew Noah needed a garbage truck. Noah agreed.

At Walgreens Hope was very sad she did not have a gift for her Daddy. So, I let her pick something out. She saw this and declared it to be "The perfect gift." What is it you ask? Flarp. That's right. Putty that makes tooting noises. Who do you think liked it more? Actually, it's hard to tell. Daddy loves some potty humor too almost as much as Hope.

After we hung out at home with our new toys, we loaded up and headed to Little Rock to be with my family. I am so thankful that my parents have always made such an effort to keep us a close family. Our goal is to keep out little family close as well. We enjoy being together, despite our differences, and have lots of love and respect for eachother. No doubt it's all thanks to all the forced QFT we had to endure growing up.(My mom would make everyone cancel plans often just to spend some "Quality Family Time" together. We groaned everytime we heard the phrase QFT!) Part of me wanted to stay in Texas all day Christmas day, but in the end, there was no way I was going to be the one to break that tradition. This year an interesting discovery was made when Jessica, Ross's girlfriend, asked which sibling was the nicest. Um, Can't be me, Ross agreed it couldn't be him, and well, surely you know it can't be the ultimate teaser Vince, so we decided it had to be Jennifer, but only by default because of who her 3 siblings are!

When we got back to my sister's house, Emmy started breathing funny again. We called the doctor on call who said to stop the breathing treatment we were currently giving her and get her to the emergency room. So, John, Emmy and I spent the rest of Christmas at Arkansas Children's Hospital. Definitely a Christmas we won't forget.

As an update, Emmy had a hard week, but as of today, she seems 100% back to normal. Unfortunately, Noah woke up with it on Tuesday. Really, I wasn't very worried about him because he is 2 and 1/2, but he has had a hard time getting over this. He too has been on the nebulizer stuff all week,running high fevers, wheezing, coughing, not sleeping... and today we were back at the clinic with more wheezing and a double ear infection. They did say the wheezing was sounding better and hopefully he has turned the corner. I am so ready for everyone to be well!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T01:15:00.000-06:00

I will post about Christmas soon. I am going out of order, surprise! Look people, the ADD, it is not pretty.

So first. I have had 157 people text me or ask me about our wonderful Christmas Eve Surprise. Since the secret is out on her blog ... I will just say that we had the privilege of welcoming our dear friends at the airport as they returned from China with a little something ~~they~~ we have been waiting for for FOUR long years. Ok, maybe a little someone...

Meet Logan, and his very happy Mama:

I will wait and let her post the beautiful story. It was the perfect way to celebrate Christmas, watching little Logan be welcomed into his family.

We didn't ALL get to welcome little Logan, however, as one little baby girl ~~who shall remain nameless~~ EMMY came down with RSV on Christmas EVE. That, my friends, really is another post all together.

Skipping ahead. Speaking of April, she has kept up with 65 things to do this last year. Wow. I want to do something similar, but not sure I can handle that amount, so bear with me while I figure out exactly how I want to approach it. I have never been a resolution keeper, but I am being quite ambitious this year and making several. Here are a few things I want to accomplish this year:

Join a Sunday School class (we joined a church here, but have not made it to Sunday School yet.)
Take a sewing class (Mom bought me a sewing machine for Christmas. I am not sew good, just yet!)
Get my drivers license situation taken care of... once and for all.
To not eat at McDonald's for a year. This sounds so silly, probably, but it is my weakness. I love McDonald's. I am totally serious. I love the greasy goodness. I made a ticker at the bottom of the blog. Oh yes, I did.
Get Emmy's shadowbox bought and put together and displayed
Organize my pictures, both prints and digital
~~Figure out how to talk the people at Adobe into giving me the Lightroom software, since I want it soooo bad, but can't afford it~~. Ok, maybe this is not something I will do. But still. I do want it. Bad.
Find a good Bible Study. And go.
Potty Train Noah. Sooner than later

A Look Back At Our 2010:

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Merry Christmas

2010-12-23T21:27:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I will be honest and say the last couple of days, I have not felt very Christmasy. I miss my family. I miss our pre Christmas traditions. I miss driving through Sherwood Forrest. I miss driving past the house covered with giant blow up characters. I miss our friends and our favorite annual Christmas Party. Mainly, I miss my family. But, I am trying to break out of the funk. I know this is truly going to be the best Christmas ever. We have cut way back on Christmas, which I am really excited about. Each gift has been carefully thought about. And instead of our late night Christmas Eve service, we are doing something entirely different. We are going to church early (at 3:00) and then going to do something so very special I can't even tell you about here. It is something we have waited for for FOUR long years! I know this is an unfair teaser, but it's not my news to spill yet. I promise to spill when I can. It is what I am looking forward to the most on Christmas Eve.

Emmy is much better. However, this child and steroids do not mix well. She has not slept hardly at all. I am not exaggerating when I say she did not sleep more than a total of an hour after midnight last night. Today she has had a few short short naps, but nothing like usual. She had her last dose tonight, so hopefully by Christmas Eve, she will be feeling more like her wonderfully sleepy self :)

A Christmas Party, Polar Express Day and a barfing sister story.

2010-12-22T13:04:00.000-06:00

This post is so jumbled. But I uploaded all the pictures and it is too hard to rearrange them all, so, um, sorry.

First we have the Christmas party. Precious babies. I mean big kids.

Now, this day was Polar Express day. The pictures are in exact opposite order. But, let me tell you, it was amazing. The amount of hours and volunteers it took to pull this off was incredible. I helped set up the day before, but I cannot take credit for anything, because other ladies spent literally months making this stuff. I was just happy I got to help a little bit. The kids had no idea what was going on. They just thought it was a pajama day. Their mouths just hung open when they saw everything.

Ok, so this was actually right before I left. The kids were wild and crazy until Miss B pulled out a book. It's amazing how quickly she can calm 19 crazy 5 and 6 year olds. She's good.

This is the hallway leading to the Kindergarten pod. The tracks are my favorite.

Hallway decor

The ticket booth.

Hallway decor again

Look who was waiting for them in the pod!

More Hallway decorations.

So excited. She could not be still.

No, really SO excited. After her first sip of Hot Chocolate.

Hope's punched ticket.

How cute is the gingerbread house?

This is the North Pole!

The conductor punching their Polar Express Tickets

On their way down the track on The Polar Express

A little teasing from Miss B

Quite possibly Hope's very favorite person in the whole world.

This is Cooper! He and his family are our friends that moved from Little Rock when we did. His sweet Mommy kept my Hopey Lou while I was helping set up (and then Hope cried when I picked her up because she wants to live with them forever.)

The day started with all of Kindergarten going straight to the cafeteria. One of the Kindergarten teachers read the Polar Express story and told them that something magical happens everytime she reads it! Then the kids lined up, were given their train pieces and tickets and in came the conductor. It was so fun.

And then, here's a little song I made up.

It goes like this.

"I love my sister."

" I love my sister..."

"Until she spits up."

It's sweet, isn't it?

And on the 8th day of Christmas, my baby got the croup

2010-12-21T23:25:00.000-06:00

Last night, I laid in bed with Hope and Noah in Hope's bed and tried to catch up on all the Christmas books we haven't read yet. We all fell asleep. I woke to a horrible sound, and knew immediately that Emmy Love had the croup. Both Noah and Hope have had the croup before, and both went to the Emergency room. This time, I did all that I knew to do and held out to take Emmy to her fabulous doctor in the morning. We didn't get much sleep, to say the least. Well, Dr. K confirmed the croup. And while we were at it we did an official weight check. Let me back up to say that we weighed Emmy quickly yesterday, and she was 13 pounds 11 ounces, with clothes and wet diaper. So, today naked baby weighed 13 pounds 2 ounces! which put her in the 16th percentile. She went up TEN percentile points in 4 weeks! This is so awesome. We have been so worried about her, and no she is our biggest baby again (she was our biggest at birth by 2 ounces :) Dr. K called her a chunky monkey!

I took these pictures yesterday. I did not keep many of Hope's baby outfits, but this was my all time favorite. It was her first Baby Lulu outfit. I bought it knowing Hope would be born near Christmas (Her due date was 12-9) I didn't think Emmy would fit in it, but she does! It makes me so happy :)

These are from today. Yes, I only took the pictures for our Christmas card TODAY. Why, because I ordered these shirts off of Etsy on DECEMBER 1st, and they didn't arrive until yesterday. I do love the shirts, but I wouldn't order from this seller again. Oh well, they are here now. And I will force them to wear them for the next 4 days.

Emmy has had 2 doses of steroids today, so I am really hoping for a better night!

Christmas Card Out-take #1

2010-12-21T17:22:00.000-06:00

I like to call this one,

"I picked it just for you."

Frisco Light Show

2010-12-18T18:35:00.006-06:00

Last weekend we headed to Frisco to their lightshow on the square. It was so fun... and free! The best kind of Christmas Fun. The lights are set to music on the whole square. Everyone walks around and there are train rides, bounce houses, carriage rides, and of course, Santa was there! This was Emmy's first Santa encounter, and the first that Noah remembers! Hope was super excited, Noah was just shocked that Santa was really there, and Emmy, well, she just knew he was NOT her Mommy!

We have promised Hope that we will do something "Christmasy" every night. It has been a lot of fun! I heart Christmas time, and I can't believe it is next week! I braved the stores today (with the millions of others! But, I was without kids, so it didn't bother me one bit.) I went to the Mattel outlet store in Richarson. Umm...Awesome! My Texas friends, you are in trouble for not telling me about this earlier. So glad I went there first, because I would have paid a lot more for the things I was going to buy anyway. What was not awesome were their shopping carts. Their rusty shopping carts. Their rusty shopping carts with metal shards on the inside. The rusty shopping carts with metal shards that I sliced my finger open on. It hurts. And I need a tetnus shot, and probably could have used a stitch or two. But, I kept shopping. We have so many nieces and nephews to knock out, I had to keep going. I am planning on getting a shot tomorrow. Boo. I asked the man who worked there (who helped clean my finger) if he thought I should get a shot. He said "Nah, I slice my hands on these every day and my jaw hasn't locked up or anything." Awesome. I will be getting a shot.

North Pole Express

2010-12-15T22:52:00.000-06:00

I was able to go with Hope last week on her first field trip! It was so much fun. I can't share many pictures because there are other kids in the pictures and I don't want to post them without permission from parents. But, I can tell you, it was so fun! Of course, for Kindergarteners, the highlight was really riding the bus! Hope was very sad when the train ride was over. She never likes for the fun to stop. She kept asking while we were on the train when were we going to the field trip. I'm not exactly sure what she was expecting a field trip to look like, but it wasn't the train itself, that's for sure! She did love it though. It was so special to be with just my big girl while John stayed home with the babies. She is growing up way too fast.

Emmy's 4 month picture

2010-12-15T22:40:00.000-06:00

Since Emmy is almost 5 months old, I thought it was about time to post her 4 month picture! Isn't she yummy? Just looking at her picture makes me want to go upstairs and wake her up to give her some sugar! But, I won't. Yet.

A few pics from today!

2010-12-07T23:03:00.000-06:00

Emmy was feeling quite festive today! Does anyone else notice how chubby her cheeks are getting?! I think she likes baby food! Especially oatmeal. Yummy. Those cheeks make a worried mama very, very happy!

Noah has a little obsession with the Wiggles right now. John brought in his car from his Ninny a few weeks ago, and he calls it his "Toot Toot Chugga Chugga." I know it's hard to tell what is going on here, but he is trying to keep Hope away from his precious Toot Toot Chugga Chugga!

A very rare picture of my 3 babies together. We are soooo close to getting a good picture!

Tomorrow I am going with Hope on her first ever field trip! We are going to ride the Polar Express Train! I am so excited. Hope is too! Pictures coming soon.

Thanksgiving wrap up

2010-12-06T14:38:00.000-06:00

Well, of course we went to Little Rock for Thanksgiving! Surely no one thought I would miss that, right? I went with the kiddos for the whole week to help my sister pack for her move into the city! Although, after I arrived with three children, I soon realized that despite my best efforts, I was not a huge help. I so wanted to though! I still feel bad. But, Noah was either into something, or Emmy was screaming. And Hope? I'm not sure I saw Hope the whole week we were there! She grabs her cousins and disappears for hours and hours of skit acting, movie watching, art making, doll house playing, trampoline jumping, make over doing....

In no order whatsoever...

Mimi time!

Bathtime in the sink!

Emmy scored a new Jenny Jump Up. She is not sure it's a good idea to let her sister swing her...

Baby Power!

Emmy tried her first Veggies on Thanksgiving! Sweet Potatoes! I even found her a Thanksgiving shirt that had baby food jars on it! So, that is the reason she is dressed like a boy! In her first pair of jeans!

Aunt Lisa and Emmy

More Taters

This is not the actual picture we used for Mom's Christmas card, but you get the picture of what we were trying to accomplish...

And because, the four Hoover siblings are incredibly awesome (or not), we did our own version...

Mama Bee and Paw Paw Sullivan

And, because she's too school for cool...

:) And, if you think I am mean for posting this, please know that my sister posted a picture of me drugged up and waiting for my appendectomy last year ON FACEBOOK. I will never be able to repay her for that one. I do love her though.

Our New Santa

2010-12-04T22:02:00.000-06:00

I am not a collector of many things. But, a lot of you know I have a little obsession with Clothtique Santas. I have been collecting since long before John and I got married, and I have about 25 of them. Blame my parents who used to make me duck between people and run to the display every year at the Dillard's day after Christmas sale from the time I was 10. That's right, we are the crazies. I have tried to tone down my obsession in recent years. My goal is to only buy one. Usually, that doesn't quite work, because I find at least two that I neeeeed. Anyway, so I buy one (or 2 or 3...) the day after Christmas every year. and really, the best part of decorating is finding what I bought the year before, because I can NEVER remember! I was so happy when I pulled this Santa out tonight! We told everyone on Christmas Day we were expecting Emmy, so the next day it was so nice to be able to openly discuss that we would have a little baby next Christmas! Now, someone please tell me why I did not think to buy a new stocking the day after Christmas last year! Ha!

Have I mentioned how much I love Christmas time? I do! Life is good!

Domestic Diva Update

2010-12-02T23:00:00.000-06:00

So, I know you all are just dying to know how the whole, "Jill becoming a domestic diva" thing is going...

Not. Well.

Ha! At least I can laugh about it right? This was a disaster from the start, but I kept on. And just look what I have to show for it. Ha. I couldn't get the cake out of the pan. And then, the worse it got, the harder I laughed. John thought I had lost my mind, I'm sure. Hope and Noah were laughing because I was laughing, which I am pretty sure what kept Hope from crying about her Mommy ruining her birthday cake. Good thing that crumbly cake tastes just as good as perfectly shaped cake. :)

30 Days of Thanks #30!!!!!!

2010-11-30T21:50:00.000-06:00

I did it! I never finish things like this. John says I am not a finisher. Oh yeah, bite me. Ha! I am totally kidding. It just seemed right. No? Oh well.

No really. Today I am thankful for the life that I am living. For my husband who loves me (despite the fact I just told him to bite me :), 3 of the world's most precious children, a family that I am extremely close to, a home to live in, a car to drive, a wonderful school for my child to go to, a church home, friends of new and old, and most of all, for the Father who was, is and forever will be.

30 Days of Thanks #29

2010-11-30T01:41:00.000-06:00

Today I am thankful for a little time to myself, an awesome cyber Monday deal, lots of free stuff at Walgreens, and the TV carts at Kroger. I can't say what I bought for Emmy on Cyber Monday, because it's a secret, but... I will say I paid less than half of what I almost bought it for at Target last weekend. And yes, I have become the crazy coupon lady and love to get the free stuff at Walgreens. It takes some time to organize a trip, but today I came out with candle, 4 bags of M&M's, 2 boxes of granola bars, a gift wrap paper cutter, 2 packages of bobby pins that I desperately needed for my hair which is still too short for a ponytail (NEVER LET ME HAVE MY BANGS CUT AGAIN!), for $1.22. And Hope and Emmy's medicines, but that was no deal. Blah. Kinda put a bit of a damper on the whole $1.22. Oh well. I did brave a trip to a different Kroger today. When you exit our neighborhood, you run straight into a Kroger. So, I have never had much of a desire to drive a whole 5 minutes to the other Kroger, but it is a Kroger Marketplace, or whatever, so we ventured over there this afternoon. I may never go to our neighborhood Kroger again! They have TVs in. the. cart!!! I never heard a peep out of Hope and Noah. Do you know how huge the entertainment factor is when taking 3 children to Kroger?! This is HUGE. Best shopping trip with 3 kids, ever.

30 Days of Thanks #28

2010-11-28T20:48:00.001-06:00

I cannot tell you how thankful I am to be home!!!! I love to visit everyone, but you guys know I am a homebody. I need my space! :) We had such an amazing weeklong visit. It was so good to catch back up with everyone. It was very hard to leave, especially with Hope crying.

And, I almost fainted when we walked in the door to our house. When I left, it was a disaster. But, ole John came through. He cleaned the whole house while the kids and I were gone. That guy. You never know what he's up to.

My mom bought and recorded one of the Hallmark books for the babes. It was"The Night Before Christmas." Hope and Noah were so excited tonight when we opened it up! It is a very special thing. I highly recommend doing this if your kids are away from loved ones. Thank you Mimi! I know we will treasure this forever.

30 Days of Thanks- #27

2010-11-27T21:25:00.001-06:00

Today I am thankful that my dad is okay after a mildish heart attack on Thanksgiving Day. We were keeping it hush hush at dads request until we knew what was going on for sure, but today they went in and placed a stent in his heart and repaired the blockage. He is doing great. We are hopeful that this will help him feel a lot better.

We have driven to Van Buren to John's parents' house today. The kids slept the entire way. Hope was devastated when we left my sister's house after being there a week. I think our visits make her miss the cousins even more. She cried and fell asleep soon after we started driving. She seems to be better tonight after some time with uncle Jamie.

After a week away, I am ready to be home in my own bed! Any guesses as to what I will be thankful for tomorrow?!

30 Days of Thanks #26

2010-11-27T10:07:00.001-06:00

Oops, I fell asleep! Black Friday was a long, yet productive day! Complete with shopping, a migraine, packing, among other things!

But, I assure you, I was thankful! Thankful that Christmas time is HERE! I am really trying to not overdo the shopping this year. The kids are allowed to ask Santa for 3 things, and we are each giving a gift to each person in the family. I think it will take the craziness out of the day and help us to slow down and enjoy it. I am looking forward to it. And it is really making me think about each gift I am buying.

We are soon headed back to Texas. I assure you it will only be a matter of hours before I start pulling out the decorations!

30 Days of Thanks #25

2010-11-25T21:30:00.000-06:00

Happy 30th Birthday to my husband. I am so thankful for you. You are the best Daddy and husband. Thank you for always, always putting us first. We are all so lucky to have you. Love you!

I am also thankful for Thanksgiving day. I love it. My giant family gets together with kiddos and aunts, uncles, everyone, and we enjoy each other, as well as some of the best food EVER! My Uncle Bobby makes a killer chocolate pie. Don't even try to top it. It cannot be done! We all have our assignments on what we are to bring. We don't even discuss it, really, you just know what you have to bring. And you know I am only allowed to bring the GBC (Green bean casserole.) Today, I was promoted to cookie maker. The first batch was awesome. Then, I forgot about the 2nd. My sister took over the 3rd, and I was demoted back to GBC. Maybe next year.

We have scouted out our Black Friday shopping plan. I am off to get a couple hours of sleep before we leave... at 2:00a.m!!!

30 Days of Thanks #24

2010-11-24T21:47:00.002-06:00

Today I am thankful that my beautiful, smart, and hilarious niece is going to be my guest writer for tonight! She is so talented, and I can't wait to read what she is going to write! She just turned 11 this week!

Take it, Riley Kaye:

The sun sets on this beautiful day,all those tears wash away , the moon rises as if it has something to say,"tomorrow will be a brand new day" and the way he says it she believes in every way that tomorrow will always be tomorrow,yesterday will always be yesterday, and today will always be today tomorrow will never be yesterday and yesterday will never be today.

Is she not amazing???? Y'all give it up for Riley Kaye in the comments! She will be checking them!

30 Days of Thanks #23

2010-11-23T22:42:00.001-06:00

I am thankful to be in my hometown. It still feels like home. They still know me at Gadwalls grill where we would often eat. I know all the back routes (not so much in Texas!) I run into people I know in Target. I can run drop off my niece at the dentist. I can have my mom take Noah to school. I can see my family a lot. I miss these things! A lot.

30 Days of Thanks #22

2010-11-22T22:32:00.001-06:00

Happy Birthday Riley Kaye! Love you, sweet girl!

Today I am thankful for my dear friends, Deni and Shauna! I love you both, ladies! I so miss eating lunch with these girls every Monday for lunch bunch. They are some of my very favorite people. We met for lunch today, and it felt like we hadn't missed a Monday, even though it's been 3 months! We all brought our daughters today, which was so fun! Our daughters range from Abby, a college freshman (who we adore!) to Palmer and Emmy, the babies. My mom is a part of our lunch bunch, too, so that is also very special. Julia came too, so it was a fun girlie lunch. Where was Noah? At his old school with his beloved Miss Mesha, who I am also very thankful for! ;)

30 Days of Thanks #21

2010-11-22T07:53:00.001-06:00

This would not post last night....

Today I am thankful to be at my sisters house for the week! Happy to have lots of days with my very favorite people. Well, minus John who is still in Texas working. Wish he was here too! The big kids are still going crazy they are so excited to be here! Time to turn this off and lay the law down ;)

30 Days of Thanks #20

2010-11-20T23:54:00.000-06:00

Who would have ever thought I would make it 20 days in a row. Not me! I hope I can finish it out....

Today I am thankful that we seem to at least turned the corner on the whole Family Cold of 2010! There have been no fevers today!! Yay! The bigs were up to no good today, so they must be feeling better. John and I have been a bit sluggish, but, moving better than we were! This cold has kicked all of our rears. The only accomplishments that have been made in the last few days is that we have become alot better at the game Angry Birds on our iphones. Sad. True.

I did make it out to sell a few things at a resale shop today. Well, I attempted to anyway. Not that successful. There is a new one in town, and I took a few toys up there just to see if it was worth my time to bring more stuff. It's not. Don't bother. But, on a plus note, one of the things they passed on, a tent, someone overheard them and gave me money on the spot for it. Woo Hoo! Maybe I should just set up shop in the parking lot? That would be genius. We have ended up with 2 tricycles, so I took 1 up there to see what they would offer. I dropped the stuff off, and was told they would call me when they were ready to make an offer. When I went back, they had already placed the tricycle on the floor without me agreeing to take what they were offering. It was a 60 dollar trike that Hope rode maybe 5 times. They offered me $4. Umm, no. So I took it back. Crazy people. I miss Duck Duck Goose. :( The whole tent thing ended up being a fiasco. The owner was furious that the lady bought it from me. I understand that that is not the best place to do that, but, she had JUST passed it up, the lady handed me money, there was no one else around. The woman was like a crazy lady she was so mad. I did hold my tongue, suprisingly, but really, she was ridiculous. She made me wait 4 hours to offer me $4 for a tricycle. Just smile and hope that we will come back to shop. And as I tell Hope when she is fussy, have a happy heart. :)

Emmy Love had her first cereal today! She cried at first, but I calmed her down and tried again and she did great. Fingers crossed that this continues to go well!

She will be trying some kind of veggie for Thanksgiving! Doctor's orders.

30 Days of Thanks #19

2010-11-19T21:20:00.001-06:00

Today I am thankful for our new pediatrician's office. You know I will never find one who we love as much as Laura Sanders, but, we have found a good fit for us here. And, I like the way the office runs here better. When we would call the office in LR, no one ever asked "who's your doctor?" So, you usually saw many different doctors, whoever had an appointment open, unless you specifically requested someone. Here, my kids always see the same doctor, and the same nurse. As much as we love Dr. Laura, I couldn't tell you who her nurse is. Dr. K's nurse is Sherry. And I love her as much or more than the dr. She knows us. She knows Noah wants an orange sucker when he first comes in. And that if we get it for him, life will be easier for everyone. She also always takes Emmy from me so I can help Noah. She knew when I said we were going home for thanksgiving, that I meant Arkansas. She helped us all survive all 3 children getting shots today. And even helped me laugh a little at the absurdity of us thinking this was a good plan. And, as we were leaving, she hugged me and told me to remember that one day my youngest will be 18 like her baby.

Meanwhile, here are the girls stats.
Hope: 36 pounds - 4th%
height- 42.5 inches - 5%

So maybe there was not a huge growth spurt... :)

Emmy: drumroll..... 11 pounds 1 ounce!!! - and ladies and gentlemen, she has made her way back onto the chart... 6%! we will take it! The big dose of Carafate is helping. We are going to start her on cereal this week to see if that helps or hurts the tummy issues. The hope it, of course, is that it helps and we can start to wean her off some of the meds.

Her height is 25 inches- 74% (who is this kid and what has she done with my short child?! ;)

I am so very thankful she is growing. I can't even tell you how thankful.

30 Days of Thanks #18

2010-11-18T21:44:00.001-06:00

Today I am thankful for a day of snuggling my 3 babies. And for a husband that sees the importance of that over things like cleaning the house!;) We are all sick with colds/fever. I had to keep Hope home today. We were leaving for school when I felt her head and it was on fire! Poor baby. She sat in my lap for a solid hour today, along with Noah while Emmy slept! Then, I got some good snuggles with Emmy while the big 2 were napping. It was a good snuggle day!

Updated: 30 Days of Thanks- #17 My SIX year old!

2010-11-17T21:48:00.006-06:00

My sweet girl, I just cannot believe you are 6. Where does the time go? Do you know that you make me smile every day? You are a fun, sassy, creative, silly, smart, beautiful girl. I could not be more proud of you. Here are the things you are up to:

Wear a size 5 in clothes. You have had a big giant growth spurt this year! We will measure you at your check up tomorrow.
Your favorite foods are PB & J, yogurt, macaroni and spaghetti. Oh, and the newest discovery... fried chicken! And any kind of fruit.
You will not eat beans. Or anything green. Except French Cut greenbeans. No really. No other cut will do. Only French.
You say you want to be a Mommy when you grow up. You will be the best!
You love dressing up!
You love the ones who love you. You make us all feel very special.
Your favorite shows are Eloise, Disney movies, Barbie movies... You aren't interested in the shows like iCarly, Hannah Montana, etc, that a lot of others are watching. That's fine by me! Stay a princess, sweetie.
You and Daddy have read the entire Junie B. Jones Kindergarten series. You are now reading the first grade ones.
You have the best laugh I have ever heard.
No loose teeth. This is killing you.
You love your Mommy, but, if I am telling the truth, you are a Daddy's Girl. Big time. He is so wrapped around your little finger! I love it.
You love your new American Girl doll. Your other toys are getting sad that you aren't playing with them right now. Ha. You also love to play with your doll house, polly pockets, and with your kitchen set.
You love to help cook in the real kitchen too!
You start Upward cheerleading in a couple of weeks. We couldn't talk you into playing basketball.
Your brother and sister are so lucky to have you for a big sister.
Your favorite joke: Knock Knock. Who's there? Interupting Cow. Inter-MOOOOOOOOOOOOO! You really crack yourself up with that one. There are also several other variations ie: The interupting chicen, baby, dog, bird, lion. You like to mix it up.
You got in trouble at school for really the first time this week. And it really wasn't a huge deal. But, it broke your heart that you made your teacher sad.
You love to write! You have posted signs all over the house. Including one on your door that says "Dot Com In" I thought it was because you are technologically advanced, but then you showed me how it says "Don't come in!" You also made this sign for me:

It is a sign reminding me that when I mae your PB & Js, that there is to be "No putting Jelly on the Same Side!" You want me to put the PB on one side, the jelly on the other, and then put them together. Gotcha.

Wear a size 12 shoe! I was in the 4th grade with a size 12 shoe!
Still love your Ooh Ooh.
Love singing, dancing and performing for your family.
You make art projects all the time.
You can read the level H books all by yourself from school
You pick out 10 books from the library every Friday. You are so very careful not to loose them. Thank you. Can you teach your brother? We are missing 2 of his.
You are starting to understand the whole money thing. You are doing great at not asking and crying for every single thing you see.
You have started, oh so quietly, sneaking in to sleep in our bed in the middle of the night. We are always surprised to find you there in the morning.

I love you Baby Girl!

Original Post:

Happy Birthday sweet Hope Louise. I thank God everyday for letting me be your Mommy. I can't wait to write down all the wonderful things about you. But, as you know, we all have colds and Mommy needs to go to bed to be able to somewhat function tomorrow. I will write all about you and add it to this post tomorrow. I love my Hopey Lou, Lulu, Lou, Squeezy, Sugar, Hopey Louisey Lemon Squeezy, Baby Girl, Coo Coo Bird, Wheezy, Tootsie Roll, Sunshine, all the way to the moon and back.

Noah Red- 2.5 years

2010-11-17T00:28:00.001-06:00

Okay, so my dear friend Shauna might have suggested that I have been neglecting my poor Noah in my 30 Days of Thanks. He is very much a stubborn, moody, wild two year old, but please don't think for a minute that I am not thankful for my Noah Red! You never ever could have convinced me before this child was born that I could love him this much. Oh, I knew that I would love him, but, oh, not like this. My bond with him seems to be different with him than with my girls. Not better, not worse, just, I don't know, different. I was a little wary of having a boy, honestly. Oh, sure, I have loved some special baby boys in my life (Wade, Clay, Keller...) but, I just felt comfortable with the mother-daughter bond for myself. Happily, I was not given the choice! I could not be more grateful for God giving me this boy. And I am so thankful to be experiencing the different bonds with all my children. I wouldn't trade my girls for the world, I am just oh so thankful to have the joy of raising this boy as well!

Noah Red, you are 2 and a half! And a hand full! Here is what you are up to:

Sleeping in a big boy bed!
No more pacifiers!
Using the potty when YOU think it is a good idea. Which is about once every 3 or 4 days!
You are still a little guy! You wear18 month clothes now. You can wear 2T shirts, but absolutely not the pants! I am hopeful you will be wearing 2T soon though, as we have some adorable hand me downs from our sweet friend Drew I am dying to get on you! :)
You wear a size 4 diaper
You talk all.the.time. Every time we see the doctor (which has been often since Emmy's arrival!) he comments on how awesome your speech is.
You know the difference between numbers and letters, which is a bit odd to me! If we ask where the numbers are on a page, or sign, you show us. Same with letters.
You can identify specifically the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, and 10.
You can spell your name when prompted! "N-O-A-H! That spells NOAH!"
If anyone asks you how old you are you say, "I'm 4." I cannot convince you that you are 2.
You would do anything for a honey bun. I don't know where the obsession came from. But, you can spot them from a mile away in the grocery store. And, every single morning, even though you know we don't have them, you say, "I wanna hunbun."
You have recently discovered the Wiggles. And you are borderline obsessed with them. I don't understand! Next to Yo Gabba Gabba and Caillou (he's such a whiner), The Wiggles are my least favorite. You had your daddy in tears tonight he was laughing so hard at you! You brought down Hope's little car for her Barbies, sat on top of it, turned the steering wheel with your fingers and sang "Toot Toot Chugga Chugga Big Red Car."
You cannot stand boogers. If you have a snotty nose, you loooooose your mind. You cry, "I got Boogahs." You would absolutely use a box of tissues a day if I let you.
You have more energy than anyone I know.
You love to go to the grocery store to ride in the car.
If Emmy smiles at you, your laugh so hard, which makes her keep smiling!
You might have a little crush on Hope's teacher. She hugged you one day and you still talk about it. And you told us she likes kisses. Slow down there buddy.
You are Mommy's baby, without question.
You still ask daily to go to Ninny's house to ride the tractor with Wes. This is funny, because you are terrified of the tractor (and a tad bit afraid of the very loud Uncle Wes! :)
Life just can hardly go on if we don't have Sunny D in the house in the morning.
You get sad every day when Hope goes to school.
Your favorite outing is to the library. You know you can take home 3 books and 1 movie and you don't let me forget it! You can also point out the library every.single.time. we pass it. And about 50% of the time you start kicking and screaming to go there. I need to find a new route.
You will still snuggle with me any time, any where. I love you for it.
You inherited the inability to take cold/allergy medicine from me! It has always made me hyper. You too. You will not be getting any more EVER after the day we've had today. ;)
You want a train table so so badly. I hope you can keep it together for the next month so that Santa might bring you one.
Your favorite books are, Hug, Once Upon A Potty, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, and any on the Usborne "That's not my..." books.

Your favorite things are Dinosaurs, trains, fire trucks and tractors.

Thank you God for Noah Red. I love him more than I could have ever imagined.

30 Days of Thanks #15 Feetsy Weetsies

2010-11-15T22:02:00.000-06:00

Yes, it's true. I love Feetsy Weetsy PJS. Footed pajamas have been called "Feetsy Weetsies" in my family since Uncle Ross started talking and always refered to them as those. Tonight is a chilly night for Texas, so all 3 of my babies are tucked into their beds with their Feetsy Weetsies on. Noah and Hope love them. We actually hide them from Hope until it is cold enough to wear them. She wore them a couple of weeks ago on a warmish night. When I checked on her, she had completely unzipped hers, but arms and feet were still in! She told me the next morning that it was "perfect" because she wasn't sweaty when they were unzipped. Yes, I am partial to Feetsy Weetsy pajamas. I am enjoying seeing them all run around in them, because I know that all too soon, they will outgrow wanting to wear them.

30 Days of Thanks #14

2010-11-15T06:21:00.001-06:00

Today I am thankful for a fun day with Hope. We promised Hope an ice skating trip a couple of weeks ago, and today we made good on it. I took her while John stayed with the littles. She fell down at least 60 times. But, she got up with a smile on her face, ready to try again. She improved so much by the time we left. I was even able to stand on the side and watch her do the last 2 laps without going with her ( I was worn out!) On the way home she said it was the best day ever. It was a very good day!

30 Days of Thanks #13

2010-11-13T20:50:00.000-06:00

Today was a DAY, I'll tell ya! At MOPS on Friday, I met a new friend, and after talking for a while, I found out she is a photographer. I was telling her that I hadn't had a chance to get Emmy's picture in John's hand made like the other 2. I had Hope's and Noah's made at 12 weeks, and Emmy is about 17 weeks old now. It has really been bothering me. Anyway, she was so very nice and asked if we wanted to come over today and take the picture. She also said to bring the bigs and try to get a shot of everyone! Yay! Well, we got there, Emmy was fussing, Noah was tired and Hope was being very silly. We took a few pictures all together, and a few of the kids. Then, Emmy lost her mind. John was finally able to get her to sleep and we decided to take the picture with her sleeping. She took a few of those and then..... Noah threw up all over her house! I was mortified! She was so calm about it, and I was rushing Noah outside. Noah and I were covered in vomit. Lovely. Kym found us both clean shirts to ride home in, and even sent us with a package of crackers so one of us didn't have to get out and get some later. So, today, I am very thankful for a new friend who is not afraid of a little (LOT) of vomit. :)

Noah seems better this evening. I am really hoping the rest of us can avoid whatever bug he has, because John has another training this week he can't miss (meaning if I get sick, I am still in charge of 3 kiddos!), and, most importantly, Wednesday is Hope's Birthday!

30 Days of Thanks - Day 12

2010-11-12T22:59:00.000-06:00

Today I got to go to Hope's class and be the "Mystery Reader." I am fairly certain I was the most chaotic mystery reader ever! But, it was so fun. I was hoping John could stay with the littles while I read first thing this morning, but, of course, he had to be at work early. So, my next brilliant plan was to drop off Noah at an hourly playcare place we have found. Until I found out they only opened 10 minutes before I needed to be in the classroom. So, I just decided to go for it and take the whole crew. Of course I couldn't tell Hope I was the reader, so she was thoroughly confused as to why everyone was dressed when we took her to school this morning. I am fairly certain that has never happened before. You will usually find Emmy and/or Noah still in their pjs when we drop off Hope. And, maybe possibly myself. (Read below. I am NOT a morning person!) So, I dropped her off, then went back to the car for a few minutes, and then loaded the littles up and went to her room. She really was surprised! She has asked me several times if I would be the secret reader, and I have always said that I couldn't because of the babies. I brought two of her favorite books, "I Love You, Stinky Face" and "The Carrot Seed" (Thank you, Suzanne Pate!) I thought Emmy would be fine laying on a blanket (wrong) and that Noah would sit quietly in his stroller and listen and eat his breakfast (wrong.) Luckily Miss B. is a saint and helped with both. I ended up with Emmy Love on my lap, and Noah sitting by Miss B. (Which Noah loved, because, well, we are pretty sure he is in love with her.) I made it through the books, hopefully without embarrassing Hope too much. (Just the right amount of embarrassment. You have to have some fun with this, right? :)

I am also thankful for my new MOPS group. This was only my second meeting, plus a field trip to the fire station. I met lots of new people today, and had a good breakfast! I am looking forward to getting to know some of them better. Joining a MOPS group is something that is way out of my comfort zone, but I am glad I did it.