Feverish

Yesterday, after battling with housework being undone by tiny people all weekend, I told Jonathan I was taking a day off to clean and do laundry before leaving for Christmas break. About 30 minutes after the words came out of my mouth, Harper was sluggish and clingier than usual...and had a 101.6 temp. So I quickly got on the phone to find a sub. I had it all planned out...while Harper napped, I would tackle some laundry. Then I would sit down and rest after finishing up the kitchen and picking up around the house...bc those 2-3 hour naps are the best--especially in this cold, dreary weather. So, 11:00 rolled around and I took Harper in to nap. And then my perfect plan fell right into place...in my dreams, that is. Harper fell asleep nursing and then woke up ready to play. And play. And play. Then she decided while she was up, she needed lunch. So she ate lunch and played. I tried the nap thing again. No luck. So around 2:15, when I found out Jonathan couldn't pick Hallie up from school bc he had a 3:00 meeting, I gave up and got our tired, non-bathed selves ready to go pick up Hallie. All my hopes and dreams of a clean house crushed. I'm being dramatic...it was fun to spend the day with Harper and her big personality. And now we are listening to Christmas music in the car rider line, waiting to pick up Hallie. 

A few things Harper did today...

*played and played with the Fisher Price nativity set. Then she took one of the wise men around saying "bay-beeeee". New complete word. Check. :o)

*Little Miss also figured out how to completely walk backwards. She has been stepping backwards to sit down on something, but today she used the hallway to show off her skills. And she thinks it is the cat's hilarious meow. 

*She showed me she had a preference in what she put on her feet. I had chosen her usual shoes. While getting socks, she saw some other super cute pink shoes (that were Hallie's). After fighting me to put on my choice of shoe (not bc I favor it, but bc it's the usual), she marched over to her drawer, opened it, and pulled out super cute pink shoes. She took off the ones I had fought to get on and started trying to put on these new ones. Little Miss Smarty Pants. 

Even though my day didn't go quiet as planned and I wasn't productive in the sense of having a clean house at the end of the day, I wouldn't trade the day with her for anything. She's my little love and I enjoy so much getting to watch her grow! Here's to hoping she can be fever free tomorrow (she wasn't today, so Daddy is on duty tomorrow...and I'm betting she'll take a great nap!). 

Here are a couple of pictures of my little feverish girl. She doesn't look like she feels too icky. Nothing like last night! Check out that hipster scarf she's sporting. While trying to get her to sleep today, I was researching making scarves...so I whipped this one up for her. Just call me super mommy. Or call me "girl who can use a pair of scissors to cut off the bottom of an old shirt she no longer wears". Yeah. I'm that cool. :o)

Kick Bama Kick

THE AUBURN CREED

I believe that this is a practical world and that I can count only on what I earn. Therefore, I believe in work, hard work. 

I believe in education, which gives me the knowledge to work wisely and trains my mind and my hands to work skillfully. 

I believe in honesty and truthfulness, without which I cannot win the respect and confidence of my fellow men. 

I believe in a sound mind, in a sound body and a spirit that is not afraid, and in clean sports that develop these qualities. 

I believe in obedience to law because it protects the rights of all. 

I believe in the human touch, which cultivates sympathy with my fellow men and mutual helpfulness and brings happiness for all. 

I believe in my Country, because it is a land of freedom and because it is my own home, and that I can best serve that country by "doing justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with my God." 

And because Auburn men and women believe in these things, I believe in Auburn and love it. 

-George Petrie (1945)

War Eagle! 

Hard to say Good-bye

I just realized this never published. It should have published 11/10/2013. 

We have had a wonderful visit with my parents! They got in late Monday evening. They were going to leave Friday morning...then Saturday...and then Hallie's pleas with Pop to stay one more day worked, so they one more day worked. So they left just a little while ago. We always enjoy their visits, but this one took the cake. It was very laid back. Very relaxed. In fact, I realized last night that I had hardly taken any pictures. So unlike me. Sometimes I just get to the point of wanting to experience the memories without capturing them forever. But most of the time I love taking pictures. 

We won't be going to Alabama for Thanksgiving...so we won't see them again until Christmas. Can't wait!

Here are a few iPhone pictures from the week...

Nonna and Harper talked about cats...so Nonna wanted to take Harper to the pet store. The guinea pigs were her favorite! 

I guess they had both had too much excitement for the week!

Baskin Robbins!

Chocolate ice cream (2 scoops at that) is probably not a good idea before bedtime. Ha!!

Heading back to Alabama...we already miss y'all! Can't wait to see y'all again!

Pop snapped a picture for us--a rare thing indeed! Glad to have a current photo of our little family of four!

Until next time...we love you, Nonna & Pop! We cannot wait until Christmas!

Treats

Our Halloween 2013 was pretty laid back. We went by the church for their mini-festival and then went to see Jonathan's parent at their mini-fall festival location. Our church did the fall festival a little differently this year, having houses throughout the community that were offering mini-festivals for the church. 

Hal was getting all the ocean animals that she had thrown into the whale's mouth...I thought the photo op was priceless! :o)

This little pumpkin fell in love with the pink octopus ocean animal from the Jonah game. Daddy ordered her one from Amazon bc through tears, we had to leave this one behind. 

Another Halloween in the books. Now...onto Thanksgiving!! 

Learners Permit

Well...fifteen months, not years. But it really feels as if it's going that quickly! Harper's life is flying past at speeds so fast I must force myself to slow down and breathe her (and Hallie) in more frequently. 

Harper had her 15 month check up today and our pedi said she looks great! Miss Harper even showed off her walking skills (more than she has showed us at home) to Dr. Burns. She squirmed out of my lap, stood straight and y'all and then took about 10 steps. We all clapped and cheered wildly! She was so proud of herself and just beamed at Dr. Burns. Now it's my goal to capture it on video. I wonder how long that'll take! 

Miss Harper started screaming the second we walked into the examining room...bless her heart. She must have remembered her last, scary visit where she left with a diagnosis of pneumonia! Thankfully she calmed down and didn't cry the entire time the doc was checking her out. Harper has grown since her 12 month check up...except she hasn't gained any weight. So, to get her chunkied up a bit, she's gotta start eating more good, fatty foods (boy, I wish I had that problem!). In her defense, she eats all the time. But she's also a lot more mobile than at 12 months. And she had a two week bout of serious illness where she wasn't eating much of anything. So she has some catching up to do! 

At 15 months, Harper weighs 20 lbs 6 oz and is 26.5 inches tall. 

Favorite Food:

*Bluberry anything

*Waffles/pancakes

*Mandarin Oranges

*Mac n Cheese

*Tortillas

*Yogurt

*Rice

*Grapes

*Graham Crackers

Really, she will eat almost anything. I hope that trend continues

Favorite Things:

*any musical toy 

*dollhouse

*tiny things (but not so tiny that they could harm her)

*anything with a face

*Little Tikes car

You sign:

*all done

*again

*more

*food

*milk

You say:

*ma-ma

*da-da

*uh-oh

*da (dog)

*bah (ball)

*cah (car)

*du (duck)

*bah-bah (baby or any stuffed thing with a face)

*random babbles that obviously mean something to you...and shrill screams at Hallie to tell her to STOP! :o)   

You can follow simple commands and can answer our questions easily with a head nod (yes), a head shake (no), Ora gesture. You love being outside, and you adore Hallie. 

You are precious! We are do thankful for 15 months with you!! 

Harper's Seven Lately

We have been super busy lately. Not with anything fun, mind you...with lots of sickness. We've been in and out of the doctor's offices, taking off work, relying on grandparents. It has been a rough week and a half that has ended in a "lovely" rash of some sort...cause unknown. In the midst of all that, Harper has still been a sweet little girl! Here's the proof...the last 7 pictures of Harper on my phone.

October 23...Harper lost her pants. And is driving backwards while standing up. I think we're in trouble. Heehee. 

October 21...loving "Row, Row, Row Your Boat". I think Mommy sang this 15 times and Harper continued to sign "again"!

October 20...Harper has moved onto driving bigger cars!! 

October 19...celebrating Auburn's victory over Texas A&M with a little drive! 

October 17...Day 4 of pneumonia and feeling like a little stroll. Backwards and in pajamas, of course. You can see in her little eyes that she's not feeling up to snuff. 

October 15...Mommy got to stay home with this little pneumonia girl. She is so sweet...even when she doesn't feel well. 

October 14...Right before Dr. Burns came in and Harper burst into tears. Also before Harper was a brave little thing having a chest x-ray bc she screamed the entire time Dr. Burns was trying to listen to her lungs. Thankfully, she cried. Thankfully, Dr. Burns ordered an x-ray. That x-ray found a patch of pneumonia!

That's the last 7. Our sweet Harper is on the mend. She has a random rash, again, but is otherwise acting quite normal. I am so blessed by her sweetness and the wonder that fills her eyes as she takes in the world around her! I am so thankful to be her mommy!! 

 

Hallie's Seven Lately

Here are the last 7 pictures of Hallie on my phone...and what she has been up to in the last couple of weeks. 

Oct 20--Hallie received a Bible along with the other first graders at church. So special! 

October 19...Riding her bike on a chilly afternoon...after Auburn beat Texas A&M 45-41!! War Eagle!!

October 19 AM--Hallie wanted to play school. I laughed and said that I play school all week, that I'm going to play Mommy and fix breakfast. Then I found this. :o)

(An extra...I thought you should see the perfect student, Moe...complete with a star sticker on his hand!)

October 17...Hallie loves all things tiny...including modes of transportation. 

October 17...at school...picture day! 

October 15...a wiggly tooth!! 

October 11...Out of Dress Code Day for perfect attendance during the first 6 weeks! 

And those were the last 7 pictures of just Hallie on my phone! She's a pretty cute little girl! So thankful for be her mommy!! She is an amazing little girl. 

Beep beep!!

Move over! There's a new baby behind the wheel! :o)

For months, we have been trying to get Harper to ride in the Little Tikes car. She would reach for it, but once up close she didn't want to have anything to do with it. The other night, Hallie and her friend, Ren, were racing down the driveway. Harper started reaching for the car. I got it out for her...and she got in! She started trying to push it forward by rocking it...so down the driveway she "raced". She loved it! Yay! She has driven a few more times since then, so everyone in Waco had better watch out! 

Fall Carnival

Our school had its fall carnival last night...I'm not in on the behind the scenes for it, but I think there was a good turn out. I know that Hallie and one of her friends from another school had a blast! It was a fun little evening. I just wish the weather had been a little cooler! :o)

Daddy came to pick up Harper and Hallie smashed a confetti egg on his head. :o)

The night was a hit! And afterwards, Hallie went home with her sweet friend for her first ever "spend the night" adventure (aside from family)! She was ecstatic! She said they stayed up almost all night long (got a text from the mom around 9:00...they were already in bed asleep--ha!)!! Precious times! Sweet memories! 

Girly Girl

Hallie and I set off early this morning to catch a glimpse of magic. The Wizard of Oz was playing in IMAX 3D in Arlington. While many may wonder why we would

Waste the time and money to see alie we've seen a thousand times, it was truly a treat. 

The drive to Arlington was filled with hilarious moments...Hallie talked non-stop. No joke. 

Here's a glimpse of the one-sided conversation...

What town are we in? That's a funny name. What city does Nonna and Pop live in? Oh. Heflin. That's a funny name, too. And Abby and HG? Birmingham? Yeah...that's funny too. Why are all the names funny except ours (Waco)? Oh wow! Look at that building. It's at least 43 inches...inches. Inch. Have I mentioned about an inch worm before? Because I've seen one. Mommy? Have you ever been stinged by a queen bee? No? Me either. Mommy, who madeTexas? (I don't even have time to answer.) Whoever made Texas...I love those guys. And I love my house. And water. Do you want me to sing you a song? Are we still in Texas? 

Me: Let's play the quiet game. :o)

Seriously. 

That girl has some thoughts. Let me tell you. And one thought leads to another. And so on. And on. ...and on. On the way back, she put on a little "play" of manners. I wish I could have videoed it. It was hilarious. 

Princess Hallie was invited to supper. She said thank you. Saying thank you is using manners. And that is the end of our video. Next video...Princess Hallie said Can you please pass me the salt? Thank you.  Did you hear those manners? Please? Thank you? Those are both good manners. And that is the end of our video. 

I seriously could not make this stuff up. 

At the mall, we both sat glued to the big screen the movie was gorgeous. And I noticed things I had never noticed before. Afterward, we grabbed some lunch, bought a wrist band for the carousel ($2 for one ride or $5 for an all day band) and Hal rode the carousel probably 15 times! We did a little browsing and headed home. We stopped at the very sad Hillsboro outlet mall on the way back...snagged a few good deals and then made it home in time for supper. 

Harper and Daddy had a fun day together. And Hallie and I had some much needed mommy-big girl time!

We *finally* made it to the movie!

Fun in the theater!

War Eagle! 

Hallie begged me to ride with her. This was before. My face was surely a lovely shade of green afterward. I'm far too old

for the carousel! Haha!

We hit some pretty heavy rain on the way home. And then the sun burst through the clouds and we got this! Hallie sweetly said, "I know that a rainbow is a promise from God...He will never flood the earth again" Sweet words. 

I can't wait for our next girls day. Until then...my ears will be resting. :o)

Little chef

Hallie made supper tonight...almost entirely by herself. I found some quick supper recipes on Pinterest and this one is definitely a keeper! Hallie had so much fun cutting the dough and pressing them into the mini muffin tin. In fact, except for breaking open the pizza dough roll and putting them into the oven, she did the rest on her own! They were delicious and will definitely be on the menu in the near future. 

Mini pizzas...

*can of Pillsberry pizza dough

*pozza sauce

*cheese (we used a pizza mix)

*pepperoni (we used turkey pepperoni...the "real" recipe calls for mini pepperoni)

Heat oven to 415^ and cook for 10-13 minutes (or until golden brown). 

We used a mini muffin tin. The recipe I found used a regular size muffin tin and said with that degree setting, hers weren't quite cooked all the way through. So if you use a regular muffin tin, you might want to add a few minutes. 

We were pleasantly surprised at how delicious these little mini pizzas were! And there was plenty to eat! Delicious. 

Dance Dance Dance

09.09.2013

It's that time of year again...tap shoes, ballet shoes, tights, and leotards!  We're starting year four with Joy's School of Dance and could not be more excited.  We love the studio and we love the sweet friends we have made along the way.  This little group of girls started together in 2010 and have shared wonderful memories since!  I'm so thankful for this group of friends and for the moms--wonderful friends made through our little girls!  Here's to a wonderful year!

Sweet dancing friends--Caroline, Lily, Hallie, & Ivy