A much needed family fun night

As some of you may know, we have had a hard few weeks around our house. I felt like we needed a night away as a family of 3. So, last Saturday we did something that we don't normally do. We drove to Dallas for the night and took Hannah to Medieval Times. It was just what we needed. It was really nice to do something out of the ordinary and enjoy time with just us. We had a blast too. Both Jason and I have been to Medieval Times before but since we had Hannah with us this time, it made it that much more special. Hannah was a bit overwhelmed at first with all the people and with the opening sword fight. But, once the horses came out, she was captivated the rest of the time.

She LOVED being able to eat with just her fingers too. They serve you a full dinner of soup, chicken, ribs, bread, potatoes, and dessert with no utensils. That might have been her favorite part...well, that and the pepsi that they gave her.

Depending on where you sit in the arena, you cheer for a certain color knight. Ours was the blue knight. If your knight wins competitions, they throw flowers out into the crowd. Our Hannah was thrown a flower and she loved it.

Jason on the other hand had a different opinion about a knight throwing his daughter a flower! I love this picture of the 2 of them though...classic!

Anyway, this night away was a great time for us as a family. While Medieval Times (or any other place for that matter) does not provide us the grace and peace which come from God alone in hard times, I am thankful for these sweet memories that are made as a family.

Getting the hang of it

Hannah is quickly getting the hang of writing letters. Since I stay at home with her and do not teach in a school right now, it is a joy to spend time teaching her things like writing letters. It sure does this teacher's heart good!

One of the first words that she was able to put together was hat. We worked on that for awhile and attempted to change the "t" to an "n" so she could then spell Hannah.

We finally got the "n" down, but she has NO interest in spelling her own name.
So, for now, we we will just stick with having fun with letters.

It is so cool to me to watch kids as they learn. This will truly never get old!!!

The other night at dinner, Hannah got some food on her clothes. She insisted that she go upstairs and change clothes...all by herself. She has actually gotten really good at getting clothes out and putting them on correctly, so it didn't seem like a problem to us. Well, little did we know what she was about to put on and parade around in downstairs.

She came down in what should be worn as a halter top. However, she couldn't figure out how to put it over her head, so she improvised and showed up like this...

HELLO TARZAN!!! All I have to say is that if I ever see her wearing an outfit like this past the age of 4 (I'm really thinking 14-18 years old!) I might keel over with a heart attack. But, not before I tell her (in kind words of course) to change clothes and burn said outfit.

We quickly remidied the outfit situation and put it on correctly. Oh man, I don't know what I will do with the teen years!

I'm flattered (or something)

Hannah drew this lovely picture of me yesterday. She showed me how in the picture I had glasses, eyebrows, and my tongue sticking out. Well, I guess I am flattered! It's lovely coming from my sweet 3 year old (even if I look a bit like an ogre)!

This is one of the true blessings of being a mom...the sheer joy and pride I feel in a small picture that my child drew of me. I am thankful to God today!

Happy Anniversary!!!

This picture was taken 9 years ago today!!!

Happy Anniversary Jason! I love you so much and I am so thankful for all that God has blessed me with in you!

It was only a matter of time...

This week Hannah has pulled out 2 phrases that I was hoping not to hear from her (at least not at 3 years old!). In one week she has said "shut up" and "crap." I handled these swiftly so thankfully these phrases have not come up since. Man oh man, where has my "only say sweet things" child gone? The scary thing is that most movies we watch with Hannah (kids movies, mind you) say "shut up" multiple times in the movie. I guess we have become desentized to these things. I have to admit that I certainly have been...well, at least until my 3 year old said them.
I actually feel kind of bad for the situation. She hears these phrases in movies and in every day life (OK, OK, I admit that I say "crap" pretty often, but I TRY not to say it around her). But when she says it she gets in trouble. It is hard to explain to a 3 year old why these phrases are in movies but unacceptable for her to say. It's as much of a message that needs to be preached to me as her, since I shouldn't say them either.
I guess parenting is all about learning too. Sometimes, these lessons sting though!

Things certainly have changed

I know that I am not entirely old enough to talk about "how different things were when I was young" but I sometimes catch myself thinking about it. Yesterday Jason started working with Hannah on how to use the computer. I was kind of shocked that at 3 years old she figured out pretty quickly how to use the mouse. I can remember not really having to use the computer for school until high school, and our 3 year old will likely know how to do basic computer functions by the end of this year. Scary!

Anyway, here is Hannah in her computer training with Jason.

Imitation

I sure hope imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, or else I must look ridiculious when I read magazines. Surely I don't just lick my fingers for nothing!

Man, this kid cracks me up!

Fun with friends

While on our trip to Birmingham, we got to spend about 24 hours with some wonderful friends of ours. This was a special treat for us since we don't get to see them very often. Jason went to college with Joey and Brooke (Broke as Hannah calls her) and I got to know them when Jason and I started dating. They are a wonderful family that I sure wish we lived closer to! We enjoyed great fellowship, much laughter, incredible food, and a great time together. Joey and Brooke have 2 kids that are older than Hannah, but Hannah adores them both. Andrew and Alora were sweet to let Hannah play with their toys and include her. We were able to go to a kiddie carnival one night which all 3 of them enjoyed.

Besides a bit of a height difference, Jason and Joey really do look like long lost brothers. I am so thankful for the friendship they share!
The kids rode the swings at the carnival which was a first for Hannah. To be honest, I was going to ride them with Hannah in my lap (which others were doing too). So, Hannah got all excited and ready to go when they told me I couldn't go with her but that she could go by herself. So, I asked her if she still wanted to go and she did. So, I cinched in her tightly and prayed she would like it. Thankfully, she loved it! Alora was so sweet and sat next to Hannah on the ride. Doesn't she just look tiny in that big seat?

This was Hannah's first taste of sugar heaven, AKA cotton candy, and she loved it too. Thompsons - we love you guys and had a blast hanging out with you! Let's do it again soon!

Phone chatting

Hannah has always enjoyed chatting on a phone, real or not. But, lately, the conversations haven taken on new life and have become quite humerous. In fact, as she has listened to me talk on the phone lately, she has quickly memorized our phone number. My one question is...is this what I sound like on the phone?!?!

Oh Lord help us when this girl gets her own phone!!!!

Working out

Hannah pulled out my post pregnancy workout video the other day and went to town...it was hilarious!!!

Enjoy!

A true girly girl

We were so blessed yesterday to receive a wonderful package in the mail with some very special outfits for Hannah. Our friend Beth made these wonderful tutus for Hannah. Long story short, she LOVES them! She would have worn them all to bed (layered on top of one another) and out of the house today if I would have let her. However, we settled on wearing pj's to bed and the shirt/tutu combination out and about today. I can't tell you how many times she has changed and changed again since receiving them. There are just enough combinations for her to feel great joy in mixing and matching. I have to say that Hannah is a girly girl to the max! She carried a purse all around Birmingham last week and this week has moved on to tutus. I love it! Thank you Beth for these wonderful treasures for Hannah! Beth even sent a matching bracelet to match the outfits...so thoughtful!!!

Hannah is delighted to be able to twirl in these tutus. She ran out to see Jason when he got home yesterday and joyfully exclaimed "Daddy, look at me, I can twirl!!!"

Kids galore

We are back from our whirlwind tour of Alabama. We had a blast with all our family, friends, and cousins. There were 8 adults and 5 kids (all under the age of 3) that we enjoyed for the week. Here are some shots from our time.
This is sweet baby Whit who was born in May. He was adorable and oh so fun to hold!!! We were delighted to meet him this week.
Sweet baby Dawson is not much of a baby anymore. This little guy melts my heart! I guess when he is 18 and I am still calling him baby Dawson, he might not appreciate it, but for now, it works!

Isn't he just the cutest?!

Sweet Bryce is such a big boy now and a joy to be around. He is all boy which is good for Hannah and Kate since they need to learn to tone down the girlyness (and drama!) sometimes. Although, I have to say that Bryce was caught holding a purse on a few occasions...maybe they all rub off on one another!

Cousin Kate and Hannah really enjoyed playing this week too. The girls loved to play like they were shopping at a store complete with fake credit cards and 1 dollar bills.

These 3 really were cute. These are the times when I am so thankful for cousins! It truly is a blessing from God to see the joy these kids take in one another!

Uncle Michael went from being the hunter....

...to the hunted!

We are home now and still tired from a wonderful week!

Out and about

I realize that I have not posted in a long time! We left last weekend for a summer trip to Birmingham and we are still here. We have had a great time with family and Hannah has had a blast with her cousins! We are about to be out numbered with kids, since currently there are 5 cousins under the age of 3. Hannah, Bryce, and Kate have absolutely loved being with each other this week. We, thankfully, are past the age and stage of fighting over toys (mostly) so they just enjoyed playing peacefully with one another.

Jason and I got the rare treat of going away for a night last night and it was glorious! This was only our second night away from Hannah, but it was refreshing and wonderful for us. Hannah stayed with Mimi and Pop and enjoyed more in 24 hours than we normally do in a week! She might not want to go back to Waco when we are ready to leave! Thanks Mimi and Pop for giving us this opportunity!

I have many pictures to post, so I will try to get them up soon. Until then, we are enjoying the time here!

Here is a fun family photo snapped at lunch the other day.

And here are a few quick stories from the past few weeks...

One night we went out for a family dinner at Chili's here on Baylor's campus. As we were getting ready to leave, I went to the bathroom while Jason was with Hannah. As I was in the bathroom I heard the fire alarm go off, which was VERY LOUD by the way. Immediately, I was concerned. As I walked out of the bathroom I see Jason talking sternly to Hannah, and I just knew that the inevitable had happened. Hannah had pulled the fire alarm on the wall! Jason didn't have time to stop her before she just pulled on the BIG RED handle. The noise was horribly loud! I took Hannah outside and talked to her about what happened and why it was wrong of her. I made her go back in and apologize to the manager. Unfortunately all the customers (which thankfully was only about 4 tables) had to leave the restaurant while it was taken care of. It also scared Hannah bad enough that it was a consequence in itself. Oh the joys of a 3 year old!!!

We had a church staff pool party and BBQ a few weekends ago. Hannah and the other kids really enjoyed swimming together. We have had Hannah swimming in a floaty bathing suit for awhile now and she does great all by herself. At the end of the night we were packing up and getting ready to leave. I had taken Hannah's floaty suit off and she just had her regular suit on. She went with me down to the pool to get our stuff together and she was talking with another kid who was still swimming in the pool. I turned around and she was standing on the first step in the pool. From across the pool, I yelled for her NOT to get in and I ran over to her. She stood there for a moment and then jumped in and immediately sank right to the bottom. Thankfully the husband of the couple who own the house (who happens to be a very reputable surgeon here in town) was standing right by and he reached in and began to pull her out. By that time I had jumped in to grab her. It was horrible to see her at the bottom of the pool with her big eyes just looking up at us wondering what just happened. Besides the fact that she disobeyed my instructions, it scared her really bad! I cannot teach her to swim fast enough!

Anyway, we have had plenty of natural consequences (and scary moments) lately in our house.