Preparing for summer..

Goodness gracious.  This winter has been a doozie.  Mono, flu, viruses, colds, eczema, roseola.. summer.cannot.come.soon.enough.

Do people who live in warmer climates not experience all of this junk?  A move may be in order for momma to keep her sanity:).  Just kidding, moving would put me over my stress maximum at this point.  

I'm so excited for summer this year.  Not just to get the ick out of our house, but to swim and go to parks and have all of my kids at home and running around outside all day.  I seriously cannot wait.  I'm already thinking swimsuits.  I'm really considering rash guards for everyone this year.  We are at the pool daily, and 2 of my 3 are allergic to many sunscreens, so I'm thinking UV guards would be a life saver.  I want one too!  

I'm considering a few of these..

J.Crew for the boys

And maybe something like this for me, in my go to color..black.  

J.Crew

I'm really okay with looking like a fool if it means my skin is protected, and I can swim everyday without looking like a raisin when I'm 50.  Score!  Bust out the mom-jeans.  I'm officially there. 

At least I'm not here..yet. 

Wholesomewear.com

Ohhh, wow-wee!

Our sweet little almost 16 month-old baby doll has started chatting up a storm.  Mum was the word for so long, so we are thrilled to hear her chatter all of the live-long day.  My very favorite is, "Ohhh wooow-weee." This most commonly occurs when I open the pantry or refrigerator doors and is accompanied by a huge surprise face.  Sister likes to eat.

Here's what i'm remembering her vocabulary to be as of late..

momma
dadda
Hattie
fumble (I know, right?!)
baa (bath)
ball
eat
oh, wow-wee
nana (banana..her favorite)
tain too (thank you- she thanks me after every diaper change)
haa (hot)
mo (more)
Papa
hi
bye

In sign language she will still sign 'more' and 'all done'.  For yes and no and give us an over-exaggerated nod in the appropriate motion.  Cute stuff.

Hattie has been so sweet lately. We are thrilled that she is a baby doll girl.  Oh she snugs and hugs and loves all of her babies all day long.  She's usually always carrying a baby and a ball around the house. We've been working on going up and down the stairs this month.  I've kept the gate down and am trying to give her a little independence now.  She's free to go up to the toy room and grab some babies all day long.  She has done really well and been very careful.

Something i've started to notice about our girl is how observant she is.  She's like her biggest brother in this way.  If I add some decor element to the house or switch something around she will notice almost immediately and point and say, "Oh, wow."  This happened recently with a rug and a wreath.

This girl loves to read.  She adores books.  We read a lot with her and she will sit still for a long time to turn the pages and look at all of the pictures. She also love to dance and sing.  Any time music comes on she will stop in her tracks and dance.  She still has the sweetest little voice too.

Hattie has loved socializing lately.  She's loved the kid's area at the gym and the nursery at church.  It's so nice to not have to wonder how many minutes I have until someone comes to get me to retrieve my upset child.  Knowing she's happy where she's at is a blessing.

Sleep has been wondrous the past few months.  H is sleeping from 7:30p. to 8:30a every night.  She's also taking 2 hour naps lately.  It feels so good to have all of our children sleeping through the night.  At last!

We experienced our first bout with the flu.  Happy New Year to us.  Apparently the flu-shot was dead-on this year, so if you got the shot you will not get the flu.  Of course we did not get the shot.  I go back and fourth every year, and just chose not to this year.  That will NEVER happen again.  I have never felt so close to death in my life (natural birth was a close second).  It was so brutal.  Everyone but Dallas got it (smart boy got the shot), so that poor guy was our caretaker for the better part of a week. It was like hospice over here. Every time I cracked my eyelids open he was washing someone's sheets, medicating someone, or emptying a puke receptacle.  I literally did not eat or leave my bed for 5 days straight.  Brutal.  Bleckh.  Hattie was a trooper, though.  She was the least affected by the flu, and got over it quickly.  Thank goodness.

Here's some shots of my girl.  She's blurry because she.runs.everywhere.  It's nearly impossible to keep her still lately without a book in your lap.  I need to get more intentional about taking photos.  I haven't taken many lately.

Look how big:(

Quick little {Rhett}

I don't know how I missed this, but I didn't post about Rhett's FOURTH birthday in my last update.  Poor middle child.

Rhett, you are the most fun-loving, excited, enthusiastic, dramatic, caring, free-spirited kid I know.  Your personality has come out in full force this 3rd year of your life, and it is so fun seeing who you are.  I feel like we have a glimpse into who you will be as a big person!  God has given you such a special outlook and personality.  You are definitely the life of the party, and your one-liners keep mom and dad laughing every.single.day.

You want to be just like your big brother, even though you are so very different, and you dote over your little sister.  You can't keep your hands off of her.  Ever.

I love you to the moon and back, sweet boy.  My very favorite thing you do is reach for my hand.  Every walk we take, every step into the road, you reach for me.  Even when I'm unaware, I will feel your little hand grab onto mine at the most unsuspecting times.  I love that even though you are so very independent, you still so willingly need me.  You want to know that I'm protecting you.  Please don't stop doing that.  Deal?

 At your fourth birthday we celebrated with your friends (in costume).  Whitney, Evie, Jaden, Kannon, Bryce, Cole and Austin all came to wish you a happy day!

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you and yours a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year!  We are so blessed and thankful for the year we leave behind, and so excited for what the next year will bring! So excited to celebrate the birth of Jesus of Nazareth!

The last few..

I am DEFINITELY behind on blogging.  I had mono if that counts for anything.  Brutal.  We have had the busiest fall at our house, but things have recently slowed down quite a bit, and I feel like we have settled into being a family of five quite nicely.  Yes, it has taken every bit of 14 months to accomplish that.

In Hattie's 13th month she took off walking and is into everything.  She knows what she wants and goes after it.  She's a quiet girl.  Most days she will play and wander about in silence, just content to keep herself occupied.  I like that.  I like that she's independent and likes to discover things on her own.  In this last month she has become the best.child.ever!  She has finally started sleeping through the night and no longer cries in the nursery or kids area at the gym.  This is a huge accomplishment for her.  The gym used to page me every single day, but now she's playing and happy when I pick her up.  Bliss!

H's surprise face:)

Rhett's school pic.  Haha!  

Rhett got his first black eye about a month ago.  It was a nasty one.  An unfortunate encounter with a stool.

Jude has lost 4 teeth now!  All of the front teeth.

                          Dallas and I celebrated our 10th year wedding anniversary in October.

Ten year is diamonds, so my guy surprised me with this diamond band.  I was really blown away! 

We waited for just the right weekend to head up to the local mountain for our annual hike.  The trees have been unbelievably beautiful this season!

Halloween was fun for the kids.  They dressed up no less than four times that week for different functions.

We had a super fun visit with my sister's family a few weeks back and it was just what we needed.  Time away.  They have an amazing farm with property that backs to a huge river.  We had bon fires, took hikes, fed cows, threw rocks and rode four wheelers.  It was such a great visit.  I also retrieved a few boxes of things from my grandma that my sister had for me, and I've had so much fun placing them around my house.  Brings on so many wonderful memories.

Rhett took an accidental swim in the river right before the hike back to where we came from. 

These boys had fun too!  

I tackled my biggest and most dreaded/desired painting project at our house this past weekend.  I painted the tuscan texture that covered my entire kitchen and eat-in dining area.  We have always had so many compliments on the glaze finish (??), but it just wasn't me..at all.  I've felt so boxed in on decor in that space since we've lived here.  I was terrified to paint over it, not being sure how it would look, but man, I LOVE IT!  It was so worth all of the labor involved.  It was the hardest paint job I've ever tackled.  Texture is no friend of mine.  Here's a little peek at the finished project.

Much more my style!  

It's amazing what a little paint can do.  I wish I would have done this years ago!  

Before pic

Sorry for the novel of a post.  Glad to have it documented;).  

Have a wonderful, blessed and thankful Thanksgiving!  

A few little things..

The other day Rhett said, "Mom, I love myself.  I'm the best." He says this to us a lot, "Mom, I love you, you're the best!"  Even says it to his friends at school.  

Here is a preview at some of the other things that kid says that keeps us laughing..

"Mom, your hair is getting long, girl."

"Sometimes dads don't have hair, you know."

"I don't want to eat my potatoes you buffoon!"

"Is it time for everyone else to be nursed now?"

"Next week is whacky day at school, where we get to whack some people."

"If Hattie keeps turning the tv off we'll have to take her back to the hospital."  

On to Jude..

Jude's teeth are falling out like crazy.  He's lost 4 now, the front 4, and has a few loose teeth as well.  

Jude started having spelling tests a few weeks ago and he's doing great and likes to work on his spelling words.  100% on the last one.  

He's been playing awesome on the football field.  He's scoring touchdowns and stealing flags!

Jude's teacher is Presh.  I seriously love her.  She is one of a kind..a teach to remember, i think.  

Just a few things I wanted to record:).

Hattie {1 year}

Well, this last month flew by, and just like that we have a one year old baby girl.  My heart is sad that my girl is one already, but excited to see her shining and growing into such a sweet and wonderful little one.  This baby has brought so much joy and happiness into our home.  She has completed our family, and is an amazing little sister to two of the best big brothers a gal could ever want.  God has blessed us greatly with Hattie Jane.  I am honored and blessed to be her momma.  I never imagined life with a little girl, and I love it more than I could ever explain.  God truly knew what our family needed when he placed Hattie in our family.  She was the missing piece to our puzzle.

Hattie had a big 12th month!  This month she FINALLY got 2 more teeth.  This makes 4 teeth total.  Eating has been delayed a bit to prevent choking, but I finally feel comfortable with her having more table foods to chew on.  Our girl in standing on her own.  She will crawl somewhere, stand up in the middle of the floor, and sit down to start crawling again.  I believe she is close to taking a few steps on her own.  She is so eager to be big and chase her brothers around.  She is also still a lover of the stairs.  We are careful to keep the gate up whenever she is awake.  She is desperately trying to tell us things these days.  She will grunt and make noises until we finally figure out what she is wanting.  I need to get back on the sign language wagon to help her express her needs a little easier.

Hattie and mommy took a road trip this month to great grandma and grandpa's ranch in Indiana.  Great grandpa was moving out and grandma had chosen some special treasures for us to go pick up.  We stopped in Missouri to pick up aunt Cori and we all had a super fun girls trip.  Hattie was the best little traveler. She seriously just slept, played and talked in her seat for 10 hours both ways.  It was a September miracle!

Hattie is still in the same sizes from last month.  She is just under 18 lbs and is in the 30th % for weight, and is in the 90th % for her height.  I just moved her up to a size 3 shoe.  They are big, but the 2's were way too snug.

We had a sweet little party at our house today.  Hattie LOVED her first taste of sugar, and enjoyed opening lots of baby dolls to snuggle.  She took to one right away, and has been carrying it around all day long.

It's so strange to think that a year has come and gone since I first held this sweet little baby in my arms.  We love you so so much, Hattie.

Pictures from the past month..

Happy Birthday, sweet girl!