Saturday, April 27, 2013

georgia on our mind...

like always.

our good friend/former pastor/eliza's Godfather got called to the seminary in st. louis. we had been wanting to make a trip back to georgia to see our old church and catch up with friends. sunday was his last sunday preaching there, so we had a spontaneous road trip.

it was so funny seeing eliza get excited for this trip. i don't think she knew "what" georgia was. we kept saying we were going there, how she was born there, and so on. she wanted to help me pack and it went like this.

me - "go get your toothbrush and toothpaste."

eliza - "they have sinks in georgia? do i need my cup?"

me - "yes, they have sinks...no you don't need your cup."

eliza - "they have cups in georgia?"

every little thing she'd ask "they have ________ in georgia?!" all with no volume control.

we left thursday after hattie got an overdue shot. i joked that we were either setting ourselves up with one super fussy baby, or a really sleepy one. thankfully, she gave us sleep the entire drive down. of course we had to make a few pit stops, and the last hour wasn't so fun, but she was a trooper. just like eliza always was on that drive!

speaking of eliza, she pretty much kept herself entertained the whole way. i whipped up some sewing cards for her before we left and she got to play with those. we brought the portable dvd player, but told her she could watch something after she napped. she chose not to nap, so we never broke it out! i was impressed. just like her to not sleep the whole way. (similar with our flights to and from korea. always slept as a baby on long trips, but once she got older she'd fight it!)

of course we had to drive by our old house and stop by the square. it happened to be "bear on the square" weekend, so it was super crowded. we ended up just jumping out for pictures and then heading on to check out some yard sales.

james and ben had one night out with buddies, and celina and i got a break another night. it was fun! no cards were played because the one night we would have we stayed up watching the news on their computer as they found the boston bomber.

eliza really enjoyed playing with the boys. even if she just called aidan "that other friend" and noah "owen" the entire time! it was fun to see them play together.

eliza got tested on her star wars and lord of the rings knowledge. aidan was not impressed and tried to teach her while she just looked off into the distance slowly blinking. i imagine she was thinking "is this guy done yet?"

we are so excited for their new adventure...especially since they will be closer to us!

on the drive home james' mom and stepdad asked if we wanted to stop in gatlinburg. they were renting a cabin and offered to get us a room for two nights. it would cut our drive home in half and we'd get to enjoy some more downtime in the mountains. how could we pass that up?!

when we walked in the hotel room there was another spastic eliza moment. running around like a madwoman "they have a chair! they have paper! they have a phone! look a tv! a bed for me! this thing! they have a trash can!" and so on. and so on. and so on.

she also asked if it was our home, and kept referring to it as our "korea home" ha!

she loved her "flower bed" even though we took the comforter off the second we got there.

we relaxed at the cabin, went to an aquarium, played some pool, ate delicious food, walked around the 8 mile craft loop, and james and i had a date night! it was awesome.

wish we could vacation often, but when we do get the chance we appreciate that much more!

now for a picture overload...
don't worry, we realized eliza wasn't buckled before we left the driveway!
on the square.




her hometown!
she had fun playing pool. this is one of my favorite poses of hers...she does it at the dinner table while she is eating and she always looks so sweet. even more when she tilts her head and lays her cheek down.

rocking with grandpa while the food grills. can't see, but she had my flip flops on!
cautiously feeding the ducks.
i told this lady she would just have to walk away because eliza would never stop talking to her. :)

 in the tunnel with grannie.
 she wasn't so sure about this at first.

mad hattie says "eff nemo"

waiting our turn in the penguin tunnel.
beautiful.
grannie snuggles.


while packing her suitcase she had to include her picture of her and wowa that she keeps by her nightlight. so sweet.
had a riverside room! she wanted to swim in the pool so bad, but it was outdoors only.
she loves grannie's dog george. she insisted on helping take him for walks and made him snuggle with her on the couch.
she referred to herself as "the mapper" and told us where to go. :)
one more fill up before we head north!
short nap on the drive home.
i love him for always driving the whole way.

i cannot even count how many times those roads have been traveled since we moved there almost 5 years ago. still feels like home!

Thursday, April 25, 2013

three months of hattie!

how is that possible?

things she likes...
sleeping. at night better than naps.
holding her up in a sitting or standing position.
being outside.
sucking her hands.
watching eliza.
stretching out.
being swaddled.
drinking from a bottle. been pumping more than i ever did with eliza. she's an impatient nurser at times.
her orange bunny.
going places. seems to be less fussy when we are out and about.
snuggles.

a few firsts this month. first easter! first road trip! (we went to georgia and she was a champ in the car.) first visit to an aquarium. (stopped in gatlinburg on the way back home) first orange snuggle bunny from krista. eliza loved hers, and so far hattie enjoys it too. something about the nubs they both loved to suck on. ha! she also got to go to 3 birthday parties for 4 friends. it was a fun month!


Saturday, April 13, 2013

faces of hattie...

didn't capture a smiling hattie though!

sad hattie.
love that one!
talking hattie.
the mad hattie.

Monday, April 8, 2013

independence.

hattie is finding a little bit of hers. the girl that hated to be put down is learning that life isn't so bad when you're not being held.

i said before we never planned to co-sleep, but it just worked for us. she is a huge snuggler. eliza wasn't so i soaked it up...most of the time.

then i'd wake up sore from staying in the same position all night...i missed snuggling james...maggs was already in our bed...it felt crowded at times.

plus i wanted her to go to bed before we do, and that just wasn't happening.

i reminded myself that by 9 weeks eliza was in the crib in her own room, so it was probably okay to transition hattie.

first step...remove the pack 'n play with the vibrating bassinet.

next...bring in my old bassinet...it's more crib like.

but it needed a new sheet. so i got to practice my sewing fabric skills. i'm usually strictly a paper sewer, but only because i'm intimidated.

i followed this tutorial online, and it worked!

i was so proud.

then it was getting her used to being on her own.

after a day of trying over and over for naps, she was doing good.
and now, a week later, we can lay her down drowsy and many times she will fall asleep on her own.
she's even been in there wide awake just staring at her pinwheels i made.
james was gone for a men's retreat this weekend and i looked forward to some night snuggles. waited for her to get up to bring her in bed with me, and the stinker was perfectly content to stay in her crib.

not complaining on the extra sleep, but that night maggs decided to sleep with eliza so our bed was extra empty!
last night i had to laugh and say to myself...that's motherhood...waiting for your baby to get to the next stage...then being sad when they do.

off to pack her bags for college. :sigh:
 

Thursday, April 4, 2013

around here.

i had a 30th birthday. there was green beer, and lots of vomiting. not because of the green beer, because i had the flu. :(
she insisted it was her birthday too...everyone played along and sang to both of us!
james jumped too high.

okay, actually they started work on the dormers.
eliza watched, disgruntled and confused.
there were men in large tool belts.
the girls played dress up...like always.
she turned into a funny little emo flower.
hattie met many cousins at her first sunday dinner.
there have been no shortage of snuggles and smiles.
we celebrated Christ's resurrection and hattie's first easter.
 that silly bunny hid baskets buckets in the toy box and hammock.
eggs were hunted.
babies were held and basketball was watched.
new kites were flown.
life was enjoyed.

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