Our sweet girl

Not much to report today. I just wanted to share these cute pictures that I took of Hannah this evening. We are both so thankful to God for this little one!

Hannah and I successfully completed what might have been the longest week EVER!!! It was a great week though. I co-lead a camp at church this week called Advocacy Camp. We had 43 kids in 3rd-6th grade for the week. This year we studied homelessness. The kids learned all about how and why we should advocate for people living in homelessness. We took a lot of field trips to some great places here in town, the world hunger farm, a fantastic shelter downtown and the attached center, and a wonderful cafe that serves lunch each day for people living in homelessness. Overall, it was a great week! I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to do this! I have been so reminded this week about how much I miss teaching. I am so thankful that God has put that calling on my life because it really draws me to kids of this age. Now don't get me wrong, I would not trade staying home with Hannah for anything, but I am also so thankful for weeks like this in which God reignites in me my other passions. Here is one story to go along with this.
Those of you in teaching will understand when I say that in the classroom....throw up happens....A LOT! It is one thing when your own child gets ill, but when you have to clean up after another child, it is just different...trust me! Well, I guess being home for 2 years has caused me to forget a bit about the throw up. Well, I was reminded about it this week! On Monday we visited the world hunger farm which is outdoors in the Texas heat. When we returned the children were walking down the stairs into the church. A girl at the top of the stairs suddenly (and I mean suddenly) got sick and managed to throw up ALLLLLL over the girl a few steps down from her. IT WAS AWFUL!!! Anyway, I rounded the corner to this MESS and immediately thought "welcome back to the classroom!" Anyway, I got the little girl down to a large sink to wash her hair out and while I am rinsing her off she says "well, at least my hair will be clean for my birthday party today." If I could have sunk in a puddle of tears I would have at that moment! I had no shampoo or anything else to adequately clean the throw up out of this little girl's hair, but she was just thankful for, what she thought was, clean hair. As we continued the week studying homelessness, I was just reminded about how much these small things can mean for people. We were all reminded this week to be thankful for all that God has given us, but also to trust in Him and His provisions for our futures. We are not guaranteed a nice home or great food at every meal, but He has promised to care for us, even more than the grass of the field and the birds of the trees! I am so thankful for that this week! We serve an amazing God!

On the flip side....it was long! Poor Hannah really struggled through this week. Mother's Day Out was closed this week for a semester break so we had childcare at the church for those of us teaching camp. Hannah stayed at the church until about 1:30pm each day (which is about 1.5 hours past nap time) and then came home and napped. Today, she napped from 1:30-4:50pm when I woke her up. It has been this way most of the week which means bed time is later, and she wakes up cranky in the morning...you see the pattern! Anyway, I am looking forward to a low key weekend with lots of hugs and hanging out. Our little one just needs our full attention after such a long week.

8 year anniversary

8 years ago today, I was delighted to become Mrs. Whitlark, the wife to a wonderful man. It was a great day that I remember with incredibly fond memories. So much has happened in 8 years. We have lived in 3 different apartments, and 1 house. We have completed 3 degrees together (undergrad and master's for me and a PhD for Jason). We have both begun new jobs and careers in teaching. We have a wonderful daughter. Most of all we have great joy in our life and we are thankful to God for these past 8 years.

The above and below pictures were taken almost 8 years apart to the day in the same location. What a difference 8 years makes with a daughter and, AHEM, a few extra pounds for me (or maybe more than a few...)

Jason, I have loved every minute of these last 8 years of marriage with you (even the not so fun times and especially the good times) and I look forward to many more. I love you dearly and I am so thankful for you today!

Weekend Retreat

Jason and I had a wonderful time in Fort Worth on Friday night and thoroughly enjoyed our time alone! It was a little wierd being away from Hannah, but it was great to have some adult time too. We went to dinner at Texas de Brazil which is a FANTASTIC restaurant that we both love. We have eaten there once before, but it is truly amazing! It is seriously the best meat I have ever eaten.

See my fantastic salad!!! They even had sushi at the salad bar, which delighted my heart!
We then were able to watch Night at the Museum 2 in our hotel room, which was great! We stayed at the same hotel that we did the night of our wedding, so that made it extra special. We had a great time walking around down town on Friday night and Saturday morning. For some reason it just holds many fun memories for us, so it was great to be back there.
Anyway, it was a great getaway time for us and Hannah had a great time with Papaw and Granny too. Jason asked her yesterday what all she had done while away. Here is how that conversation went...

J: Hannah, did you ride in the Mule with Papaw?
H: (enthuastically) YES!
J: Did you go swimming?
H: Yes!
J: Did you go on the swing?
H: Yes!

At this point, Jason was becomming a bit skeptical of her answers.

J: Hannah, did you and Papaw go skydiving?
H: (enthuastically) YES!

Well, I guess what happens at Papaw and Granny's stays at Papaw and Granny's....at least until we gain some more verbal skills. But, we know that Nemo was watched, much swinging occured, a bubble bath was taken, and Hannah was loved on by Papaw and Granny. So, thank you Papaw and Granny for loving on Hannah and giving us a much needed break together! We love you guys!

Our little....flamingo?!?!

Today was the last day of Mother's Day our for the summer. There will be a two week break before she starts again for the fall. So, today she had to say goodbye to the Toddler 2 room so that she can prepare to move up to the Preschool 1 room for the fall. Really!?!?! Is she already in a preschool classroom?
Her 2 sweet teachers, Miss Mindy and Mrs. Jessica wrote her a sweet little goodbye note and sent it home with her today. Included with the note was the following picture of Hannah....

...um, yeah!!! So, I have NO idea when this happened, but I guess one day in dress up time Hannah became a flamingo. I think this might become my all time favorite pictures of her. Maybe it's because of the face she is making, or maybe it is because this will become a great picture to pull out in 13 years. Oh, that makes me smile just thinking about it!

Well, tomorrow the 3 of us are off on an adventure. Hannah will be spending tomorrow night with Papaw and Granny while Jason and I celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary. We will be staying in downtown Fort Worth for the night and doing everything we can do without a 2 year old around. You know, eating at a restaurant for longer than 17 minutes, casually strolling down the streets of Fort Worth, leisurely walking in and out of stores, watching a movie uninterrupted, and sleeping in!!!! It will be great! We have never had a night away without Hannah so this should be a treat for us. Hannah will not miss us one bit either. She will have plenty to keep her busy at Papaw and Granny's house, and I know she will LOVE every minute of it. YIPPEE!!!!

Wise Words for Moms

So, we have moved past our big boo boo of the week. I am glad to move past that one too, since it was not fun to see my baby hurting like that.
However, we have had 2 full days now of some pretty serious disobedience. Yesterday and today it centered around nap time. We have been strict from the beginning that Hannah is not allowed out of her big girl bed during bed time and nap time. At first she did great, without ever struggling with getting out. But, lately, especially yesterday, she will get out 5-7 times before she even takes a nap! It took us about 1.5 hours yesterday of her getting out of bed, being disciplined, and doing it again, to get her to take a nap. It was not fun at all for any of us!
Well, a few days ago, I got a great resource in the mail that I wanted to share. My sister in law, Kacy, shared it with me, so I bought it. It is called Wise Words for Moms by Ginger Plowman. It is basically a chart that gives the child's behavior (in our case disobedience), then it gives heart probing questions to ask your child about that behavior. It them gives scripture of reproof (how to "put off" sinful behavior) and of encouragement (how to "put on" righteous behavior) followed by additional verses to follow up with. You can read it in the midst of disciplining your child which is so helpful.
Anyway, I sometimes get flustered in the midst of disciplining Hannah and don't exactly know what to say. I am very thankful for this resource which helps me to focus in on her little heart in times like these.
So, trusting God, I move on from days like these (where she was disciplined no less than 4 times during nap time today!) and trust in His teaching for our family.
WHEW, pray for us, since this is much easier to say than to do!

Our first BIG booboo

It had to happen at some point, but on Monday we had our first major trauma with Hannah. We were having playgroup at our house (with 3 other moms and 9 other kids!) and Hannah decided to drive her car off the top of the stairs! When I heard the crash I knew it was her since she was the youngest of all the kids. I rounded the corner and found the car coming down the stairs and she was face down on the landing. Thankfully she did not fall all the way down, but she still smashed up her face pretty good. I was so glad that there were other moms there who helped me clean up the profuse amounts of blood (who knew the mouth was so vascular?!) and calm down Hannah who was histerical.

Anyway, she is still a bit sore and banged up, but otherwise she is back to her normal self. She did knock a tooth loose though but the doc said it will tighten back up on its own. So, we survived the first major trauma for our sweet little girl....YIKES!

Weekend wedding fun

Alright, these pictures are totally out of order, but blogger is not cooperating, so here we go. We got back late last night from a wonderful time with family. We got to hang out with grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, and friends. Hannah had a blast too! She ate lots of cake and ice cream and stayed up WAY past her bedtime for several nights, but I think she really had a good time. And besides the TONS of discipline problems that we encountered with our strong headed little love, things were fine. That is a post for another time though.
Here she was running around the wedding reception. What a little cutie!!! Maybe this was taken before she stuck her finger in the beautiful wedding cake for a taste...oh yes, that was my child!

Hanging out with Papaw.
Skyler Reese is an absolute doll and melts my heart! She is my brother Joey's youngest child and she is just awesome!

And, she is equally as adorable when she is sleeping!

Here were the 2 happy couples on Friday night. From left to right, Juliana, Jeff, Amy, and Todd. Todd and Jeff are my older step brothers and were both beaming with their lovely wives.

I absolutely love this picture! These are 2 of my favorite men ever! The best brother and dad a girl could ever ask for. God has blessed me richly with these 2 men and I am so thankful for both of them! Thank you Joey and Dad for your love for me and your years of teaching that has blessed and enriched my life!

Hannah hanging out with her daddy. We don't get very many family pictures when we are all dressed up, so we had to take up the opportunity. The wedding actually took place at the wedding chapel where Jason and I got married almost 8 years ago. It was great to go back there and take family pictures with Hannah too. I will post our family pictures later.

Josiah and Halee are my brother's older 2 kids and they are a blast! They are adorable and SO fun to be around. Hannah had a great time chasing these 2 all over the place.

Here the kids were plotting some sort of something...who knows. They were so cute though all huddled together at the reception. They chased each other like crazy, ate goodies, and laughed a ton. It was a great time together!

Where oh where does my time go

Is it really Wednesday already?!?! I have taken a serious blogging break this past week (not on purpose) to catch up with all that is going on in my life.
We are doing well and looking forward to a few days away from Waco. We leave tonight to head to Papaw and Granny's house for a few days. We will have fun with cousins, aunts, uncles, a wedding reception, and general relaxation. I will be sure to post pictures while we are gone since I have been neglectful this past week.

One funny story for you before I begin packing. Apparently when I order food in a drive through I say "how about __________." The other day when we went to Sonic Hannah began mimicing me in the back seat. She stuck her head and neck out as far as she could (which apparently I do too) and said "how about corn dog, how about honey mustard, how about diet coke." I guess to her little 2 year old mind, her Mommy rolls down the window, sticks her head out, says these magic words, and yummy food appears. Now she does it all the time! If you ask her what she wants for a meal, she will say "how about ___________."
Silly kid!

Family fun

Uncle Michael, Aunt Amy, cousin Bryce, and cousin Dawson came out to visit us this week. We had a blast together and enjoyed hanging out. We spent time at the museum, Jumping Party, playing with toys, and playing outside. It was great fun!
These two were great to see together. They are definitely interating now and loved to chase each other around. This blue bag was a HUGE hit with both kids, but that also meant there were many moments of yelling "MINE!!!!" What else do you expect with two kids that are 2 years old! They were too cute together.

This little guy is an absolute doll too!!!!! He is almost 4 months old and is a peanut. Hannah still LOVED baby Dawson and wanted to hold and touch him constantly.
By far, one of the best things we did was put a small blow up pool under the slide in the backyard. The kids loved it and had a blast playing together in it. Hannah thought the slide was the best thing ever and kept going again and again.

Thanks for coming out Michael and Amy, we loved seeing you guys!

Pretty in pink

Another first for Hannah...painted pink toenails!!!!!!

If I thought that cutting her toenails was difficult (which I did) this was WAY harder. Why are these little nails so impossibly tiny? For having such big feet (she wears a size 8.5!) her toenails are itty bitty.

Checking out her mama's painting job.

The end result...cute little pink toenails! I love having a little girl!

Silly Putty really is silly

Gramma sent Hannah a little summer package last week (thanks Gramma!) and it included Silly Putty. Hannah had no idea what this was until we popped it open. After we cracked open the "egg" as she called it, she LOVED the Silly Putty! Check out the silliness that ensued....

I don't know what it is about Silly Putty, but it is just that!!!!!!

Cute cousins

Check out these little cousins...they were too cute this past weekend! When they first saw each other they were a bit shy (well at least Hannah was) but then the fun began. They took turns showing off for one another with Hannah running around in circles and Ava dancing around. It was quite adorable.
Group hug with Granny.

Amy and I joined the girls for a little tea party. Soon, there will be one more little girl at the table since Amy and Todd are expecting another baby girl in the next few months. YEAH for little girls!

Swinging on the tire swing together.

These two were too fun and it was great to see them playing together. We sure do love hanging out with you Ava (and Todd and Amy too)! We are looking forward to seeing you guys and celebrating with you in a few weeks!

Catch you later

Hannah and I spent the holiday weekend at Papaw and Granny's house. It was great to get away for a few days and hang out with family. Hannah had a first this weekend too. She went fishing for the first time and actually caught a fish too! My dad has a pond that was stocked years ago, but up to this point, has not been fished in much. Recently he has gone fishing with luck, so we decided that Hannah might enjoy trying. So, Papaw and Hannah were off to catch some fish. Papaw was showing Hannah all about the bobber when it started going under....

Check out Hannah pulling in her first fish. Also, listen closely for her response...priceless!

Of course, every fish that was caught that night was thrown back.

After the first catch Hannah kept her distance. She was more than happy to watch Papaw and Mommy do the fishing.

It was about Hannah's bedtime after she caught her fish. So, my dad and I took her back to the house and we headed back out to go fishing some more. By the end of about an hour I had caught 8 fish and my dad had got 9!!!!!! It was a BLAST!!!! I am not a huge fisher by any means, but no one can argue that when you are successful at fishing, it is a lot of fun. One time I threw my line in and the bobber had not hit the water when I already had a fish. NO JOKE!! Anyway, maybe in a few years Hannah will take a renewed liking to fishing in Papaw's pond.
We caught all bass except for this one catfish that my dad got. It was a good size one too. Good catch dad!

If only I would have known

One of my favorite classes in college was my cognitive psychology class which focused on memory and language develoment among many other brain developments early in life. I have found myself lately thinking back upon that class as I listen to and watch Hannah develop. One of the things lately that has fascinated me is her budding imagination. It is so cool to get a glimpse into her little head as she tells me all about what Big Bird and Penny (Bolt's owner) are doing. It is SO cool! She also had an extended phone conversation with Penny today too...again, how fun is that?!?!
Obviously when I was taking the class in college I was not thinking about future children at that time, but it is so cool to remember those things in relation to Hannah now. I almost wish I could go back and take that class again just to hear those things now. I guess I could go upstairs and look at my class notes or read my textbook again (yes, I am a dork, but I kept that stuff!).
Anyway, we are having a great time listening to Hannah as she shares her thoughts and imagination with us.
Oh, how thankful I am for these days!