Memorial Day

Our Memorial Day tradition is to attend Uncle Jerry and Aunt Carrell's picnic in Auburn, which is always a fabulous time.  Uncle Jerry, my great uncle, is the youngest of seven kids.  My Grandaddy Hughes is one of those children....four boys and three girls in all.  All but one of the siblings was able to be at the picnic this year.  It's always so special to see them all together.  Hadley loves getting to see "great" Grandaddy and Nana Hughes. 

I so look forward to the food at this shindig each year.  Barbecue ribs, brisket, shredded barbecue, chicken, and every side dish and dessert you could possibly imagine fill the wagon.  I brought pasta salad with mini pepperonis and chunks of mozzarella cheese, which is totally a summertime potluck/picnic staple for me.  I need to expand my culinary repertoire in major ways.

Hadley had three deviled eggs and wanted more, but I had to cut her off due to embarassment of breaking line to get the eggs and fear that there wouldn't be enough for everyone else.  The child could turn in to an egg, I do believe.

At last year's picnic we even wandered up to the church to play on the swingset for a little while.   My how they change in a year!

Hadley and cousin Brenlee had a big time in the rocks.  I'm sure I could find a picture of Beth, Brenlee's mom, and me at this age if I looked back in the archives far enough. 

 There is no shortage of games and activities at Uncle Jerry and Aunt Carrell's, either.  The bigger kids are usually found playing basketball, and volleyball has been played in the front yard for many years.  And then there's an assortment of toddler-sized transportation for our little ones.

My nephew, Levi, had a blast in the cozy coupe.  Bradley and my dad pushed him back and forth for the longest time and he would grin from ear to ear, squealing with delight.

Nothing like a patriotic cake pop to help our sweaty, worn-out girl unwind a bit.

Hadley hitched a ride with cousin Chris on the Kubota.  Who doesn't love off-road vehicles?

"Watch my corn pop up in rows.  Every night be tucked in close to you..."  This Tim McGraw song pretty much sums it up for me.  This is the view directly across the street from my aunt and uncle's house.  Even though our address is now in the city, my husband and I are country folks at heart.  A simpler, slower, more carefree way of life that I will always long for.  Speaking of country, on this day especially, we honor the men and women who have served our country and made the ultimate sacrifice for us with their lives.  We can never thank them enough!

Swim Class

Summer is right around the corner and we are busy with pool preparations at our house.  We are just a little bit excited about our first summer with a swimming pool. I think I am especially since I will be very pregnant in the hottest part of the year.  Last year, Hadley did not like the pool at all.  We might have been able to get about 5-10 minutes out of her, if we were lucky.  You definitely couldn't come near her with any sort of flotation device.  She wouldn't wear one or sit in any type of tube, ring, or float. She was much happier just walking around the outside of a pool in the unbearable heat than actually getting in the water. So I decided that some type of swim class would be helpful to get her acclimated to the water a little bit.  The YMCA here in Glasgow offers a great Mommy and Me class.  It has proven to be exactly what Hadley needed and I so enjoyed getting to spend this fun, quality time with her each week.  Just me and my girl.

Hadley is definitely not ready to be taught how to swim.  The teacher's main goal was for the kids to not be scared of the water, which was right on target for us!  As we sang "Row, Row, Row your Boat" the kids would use their hands to row their own "pretend" boat under the water. 

She loved popping up out of the water when we sang "Pop Goes the Weasel," and falling down when we sang, "Ring Around the Rosies."  I was careful to not let her go too far "down," though.  Didn't want to traumatize my girl.

She loved throwing miniature rubber duckies and then "swimming" to get it.  It was so cute to watch her kick as hard as she could and sometimes use her arms to try to get it.  She would mostly just kick and hold on to my arms, though.  She never did figure out not to throw the duckie too far because that meant you had to swim that much farther to get it.  Whew!!  Wore this mama out!!

She practiced swimming back and forth between the teacher and I.  She loved laying flat out on her back and floating, with my help of course.  We sang "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" and made it rain on each other's heads by dripping water, which Hadley thought was hilarious.

It truly amazed me to think of the difference a year made in her comfort level.  Sometimes I wish I could just RELAX about things in life.  I have had it in my head that she would be the only child in the world who is forever scared of the water, just based on last summer's experiences.  Take a chill pill, huh?  We are really looking forward to a fun-filled summer in the pool!

Two and a Half

Hadley,

You are two and a half years old today.  Our hopes and dreams of being parents, one day, began with you.  We fall in love with you more and more every day; if that's even possible!!   

  To say that your "bankey" (blanket) is your favorite thing in this world would be a major understatement.  You never took a pacifier, even though we tried, so your blanket became your source of comfort from very early on.  You sleep with it every night and we don't leave home without one in the car.  You rub it against your nose and mouth, loving the texture.  And you are picky about which one you want at night; you never know which one you'll be in the mood for, but you surely let us know!  You also love, love, love to read and have enjoyed looking at books since you were very young.  You want us to read to you, but sometimes you will "read" books to us.  So sweet! 
Some songs you sing are:  Mary had a little lamb, The wheels on the bus, Twinkle, twinkle, little star, and Five little monkeys jumping on the bed.  You eat just about anything.  For breakfast you often request "oatmilk," but love scrambled eggs, too.  And probably your favorite food is "roni" (macaroni).  You even turn the carton of Easy Mac up at the end to drink the cheese out of it.  You also love hot dogs and have been known to eat two of those at a meal.

You absolutely love the outdoors. We blow bubbles and play with sidewalk chalk.  You love to get a toy shovel and play in the dirt....sometimes you don't mind getting dirty.  You can identify all your colors now, count to 10, and recite the alphabet when YOU want to.  You will rehearse these skills whenever the mood strikes; maybe during coloring, supper, car rides, bathtime, church, etc.  You use manners such as "peas, fank you, yur weccome, bess you, and skews me" very often, but sometimes forget.  You recognize the letter "G" for Glasgow, since it's on so many of Daddy's shirts and your initial, H, and say, "H for Hadley."  You also wear your days of the week socks to school every single day just to help you learn those!  It's tough being a child of two teachers...we expect a lot don't we? 

As you can tell, the two's (half-way thru) have proven to be unbelievably delightful, but challenging at times.  We had a period of temper tantrums but after a couple of weeks enduring those with loving discipline (sounds nicer than it felt at the time), you came out on the other side and looked and sounded like our Hadley again!  I'm sure we'll have more rounds of this in the future, but it's nice to know that you do recover.

I also love to ask you, "Hadley, what is love?"  Your response is sooo precious.  The first time I ever asked you that, you looked right at me, thought for a second, and said, "God is love."  Wow.  How right you are, my dearest girl, and above everything else in this world, that is what I want you to know more than anything.  God loved us so much that he sent his one and only Son to die on the cross for us.  Now THAT is the greatest love of all!

We love you to infinity and beyond
(as Buzz Lightyear says),

Mommy & Daddy

Happy Mother's Day

My first Mother's Day getting to hear Hadley say, "Happy Mudder's Day, Mommy" has been wonderful!  I think she told me at least a dozen times today and I could easily hear it that many more.  It's just precious! 

Last year, I know she tried but I'm pretty sure it was some type of jibber jabber.  Here's a quick look back at my first two Mother's Day's celebrating with my sweet girl.  Notice the pattern of not making eye contact with the camera?  We're making progress...slowly but surely!

      

This was also my first Mother's Day to get to enjoy handmade goodies from Hadley's school.  They warmed my heart and made my day.  I told you I am silly over artwork with her hand and foot prints!  Justin also surprised me with a delicious breakfast and some other goodies.  Thankful for him!

My nieces, Addison and Ava, and nephew, Levi, were being dedicated at my home church in Auburn.  We were so excited to take part in that special service with them.

The whole gang, including Nana and Grandaddy, this time!  Since I just recently started my blog, let's take a walk down memory lane and see a picture from Hadley's Baby Dedication service last April, here in my home church.

Sweet memories!!  What a special Mother's Day this was; celebrating being a mom to my sweet girl and praising the Lord for this new life on the way.  Counting my Blessings!!

Five Months and Counting

Only four more months to go until we get to meet this precious bundle of joy!  We couldn't be more thrilled or blessed to be anticipating this newest addition to our family.  I feel great and have had a wonderful pregnancy thus far and pray it stays that way.  Both of my pregnancies have been super, in fact.  My only cravings seem to be for ethnic foods:  Mexican and Chinese primarily.  It is amazing how much more laid-back I am with baby #2.  Keeping up with a 2 year old certainly keeps your mind and time occupied.  When I was expecting Hadley, I worried constantly about everything.  Especially in those weeks before I could feel her move.  Is she alright?  Is everything ok?  And then when I did start feeling her move, I worried if I went too long without feeling her.  I mean, I worried about everything!  My how things have changed in round 2.  Thankful for that! 

  We have one coat of paint on the baby's room with another to follow soon, hopefully.  We also need to paint the changing table and dresser and get the rocking chair recovered.  I found the bedding set at one of my consignment sales.  I do love those!  Needless to say, we are busy with preparations for this little fellow.  Hadley is referring to him as "little brudder" and will kiss my belly.  She actually started calling him Tiny Tim recently.  Not sure where that came from...she shouldn't be familiar with "A Christmas Carol" yet.  We are still quite uncertain on a first name.  His middle name will be Dale after Justin and his dad:  Ronnie Dale and Justin Dale.  Thankful to pass on a name from two wonderful men.  And I did have a student ask me this past week what my baby's LAST name would be.  Oh my....bless her heart. I asked her to repeat her question, thinking surely she meant to ask what the first or middle name would be.  Nope, she meant LAST name.  Just for the record, it is most definitely STINSON. 

The Playroom

Some people say there are two certainties in life:  death and taxes.  I would have to add two more to those:  purple grapes and Dora.  Every afternoon when Justin or myself pick up Hadley from school (technically daycare, but we call it school so she feels big), the first request she has in the car is for "pupple gwapes" and "Do-wah."  And where she eats those grapes and watches Dora is a sacred place for Hadley. 

When she enters the house every afternoon, she goes straight to the television in her playroom, turns it on, picks out whichever DVD she is wanting to watch (most likely Dora), puts it in, and pushes play on the DVD player.  All by herself!  She has just learned how to push play in the last couple of weeks.  I will admit that I purposely did not show her how to push play until recently because I loved getting to help her and just make her day by pushing "play."  I do miss her yelling, "Push pway Mommy or Daddy."  Yet another milestone. 

On a side note, she is also excellent at taking the DVD's out when she is finished watching one (or grows bored) and putting them back in their exact case.  It is a little obsessive compulsive; the fact that she never ever puts one back incorrectly.  But I secretly love this "neat" fact about my girly:) 

At this point, she settles in to her plush Dora chair, and patiently waits for us to bring her her bowl of grapes.  

After watching a little TV and having her snack, she starts to explore what she wants to play with.  Some of her favorites are her tea set, coloring books, dress-up basket, puzzles, kitchen, Elefun game, golf set, and baby dolls.  She loves for us to do any or all of these activities with her, of course.  She can literally stay in her playroom for hours when she's really in her groove.

Sometimes after putting on her dress-up heels, Vera Bradley purse, tiara, and boa we will ask her where she is going.  She will say, "Going to town."  When we ask what she'll be doing in town, she says either, "Get gas" or "Going to Wal-Mart."  Adorable; Sam Walton would be so proud.

She has recently discovered an old Guess Who game and thinks she is really playing it.  We have modified the game to meet her needs (true teacher lingo) by simply trying to locate the person on the card.  It's unreal how good she is at identifying the characters; she's so proud of herself when she succeeds.   

    We also display her artwork from school in here.  I absolutely love seeing the precious things they make at her school.  I especially love the pieces with her hand and foot prints on them.  I haven't been able to throw any of those away.  So sweet!

Our playroom is very girly right now, as it should be.  The baby doll stroller and high chair, pink grocery cart, ironing board set, and baby dolls will soon join plenty of boy toys.  We are so looking forward to that new adventure!  By the end of the night, you can bet your bottom dollar that it looks like a tornado has hit  the playroom.   But you can also bet that Hadley had the time of her life in the meantime.  And putting those toys away every single night makes that all unbelievably worthwhile.