Easter Egg Hunt

We went to Hope's first Easter Egg Hunt of 2007 today (at least 2 more to follow!) It was at our favorite park here in our little town. She loved finding the eggs and the candy and putting it in her basket! After she was finished, she had to go show the Easter Bunny all the eggs she had found! He was very impressed!

New Blog

All of the entries after this are old entries from Hope's Babysite. I am going to try blogging for a while, to see which site is easier to do...I transferred all of her old entries so I could have everything together! I will work on adding more pictures to the old entries...I just wanted to get them all on here first! Hope is doing good. She is excited her daddy is home this weekend. We are going to have a fun weekend with 2 Easter Egg Hunts!

Nenny Gives Me Dr. Pepper

Nenny gives me Dr. Pepper
Date: 3/28/2007
Yes, it's true. Nenny lets Hope have lots of things her mommy doesn't let her have. Nenny actually has a long standing tradition of giving Hope things that I wouldn't. It started long before Hope could tell on her. I can't say it began when she was about 13 months old, but that is about the time I became aware of the situation. Jenn had picked up Hope from school, and I had gone to get her afterwards. Hope started reaching for a bowl of M & M's. I was reaching for her trying to prevent my child from getting the kind of sugar I had so far been able to avoid her having, when Jennifer slips and says "Hope LOVES M&M's!" She saw the look on my face, and started laughing. I guess she figured she might as well confess at that point and said something like "She really has a sweet tooth, she loves suckers too!" Shocked and Appalled! Since then, it has been no secret that Nenny has different rules for Hope. Hope gets her fair share of coke icees with Nenny, she can roam pretty much wherever she wants when she is with Nenny, she can play on big kid slides with Nenny, and now, apparently, Nenny gives her Dr. Pepper! She does love her Nenny, though (and I am pretty sure it is mutual!) We had a great visit with her, Mimi, Julia, Riley and Clara this week while they were on Spring Break. We went to the Ft. Worth Zoo, the Park, Justice for Girls, Just about every Half Price Books in the Dallas area, Joes, Chik-A-Lay, Sam Moon...all the favorite places. I think the only ones we missed were the aquarium and Uncle Julios!

Chocolate SandalsDate:
3/24/2007
I took Hope to the mall yesterday to find some new play sandals. We tried on several pairs of white ones, then I picked up a pair of brown sandals. She said "Chocolate Shoes!"

We Miss Daddy!
Date: 3/19/2007
I am reminding myself right now that this new job is a good thing. It will lead to good things. It will! It will!This is the first day of John traveling, and Hope and I are trying to keep it together. We were only about an hour late this morning, and I forgot only about 25% of the things I needed to take with us. I managed to make a fairly decent dinner for the two of us, gave her a bath, read stories, said our prayers. Then, it really hit her (and me) that it is very hard not to have daddy here with us. Especially at night. She is in her bed crying right now "I want my Daddy." Breaking my heart. His too, I assure you!

We have almost made it...
Date: 3/21/2007
Through the first week of John traveling. Almost. He will back home tomorrow night. Woo Hoo! Hope is really missing him. I said "Thank you for Daddy" while saying our prayers tonight, and she broke down. Possibly the saddest thing I have ever seen. The dang dog is even depressed. She knows I am not a dog fan, and she is stuck with me.She had a good day at school today, of course. She cried during chapel (because I lead chapel for the preschool, so she has to sit in her pew with her class while I am up at the front talking) She hasn't cried during chapel in a long time. I am sure it is because she is still not sure what is going on with John. Pastor Mike gave her a ring pop before we left the church today. It was blue, and she looked like a smurf by the time we made it out of there! 24 hours, and Daddy will be home! (I am trying to forget he will leave again on Monday!)

Happy Birthday Julia!
Date: 3/18/2007
How is it that my 1st born niece is 10 years old today?! Crazy! I am so proud of her! I hope that Hope grows up to be like her.We went to Little Rock for a few days to see Julia and her family. I think we got to see the whole family except for Wade-a-roo. Uncle Ross even made a rare appearance. He is moving to NW Arkansas soon for a new job. One more of Mimi's chickens is leaving the Little Rock area...at least we know the other two will probably hang around for a while! We got Julia some "Heelies" for her birthday. We tried to suprise her, but she is too smart for us!!! She knew what we were up to. She got used to them pretty quickly and skated all around the mall. I was very impressed!When Hope woke up one morning at the Sullivans, she started asking to go see everyone (Go see Nenny? Go See Boo Boo? Go see Clara? Go see Riley K?) Then she said "Go see Octopus? No...Octa-Wes!" She loves her Uncle Wes!She was not thrilled about the car ride there or back, of course. It might take me a few months to forget how bad of an idea it is to travel 6 hours alone in the car with Hope.

A Girl After My Own Heart!Date: 3/12/2007
Here is a conversation that occured over the weekend:
Mommy:"Hope, where do you want to go?"
Hope:"Shopping!"
M: "What do you want to buy?"
H: "Shoes!"
We went to the mall, a place where Hope is always on her best behavior! She loves to try on shoes, and touch the clothes and talk to anyone who will listen! She really, really wants some red crocs right now, so maybe we will spring for those soon. Here's some great news...John started his new job today! He is officially a Consultant for D*******! Woo Hoo! We could not be any happier about this! It is such a great opportunity for him!

Future Astronaut?
Date: 3/4/2007
Is it normal for a 2 year old to know what an astronaut is?! She likes astronauts, and is stuck on one episode of Blue's Room with Astronauts (Actually they are "Mathstronauts!!!!" But, they fly to space in space suits, so I guess they count.) She also likes a "Go Baby" episode where baby goes to space. She loves when the space ship comes on.Come to think of it, she has had a fasination with the moon for sometime as well. She looks for the moon all the time, day or night. If she can't find it, she says "The moon is hiding." If she can see it, she says the little poem "I see the moon and the moon sees me. God bless the moon and God bless me." Or at least, she says most of that. She also loves the books "Goodnight Moon" and "Goodnight BOZ" which has a big silver moon that she likes too. Oh, and she wears diapers too! I think she's ready!

Mommy's Back!!
Date: 3/1/2007
And if you are wondering who was more excited, it was me. I got a big hug from Hope, but then we went to the Cracker Barrel, and she asked if she could go to April's House. At least we know she had a good time with April! I think she and her daddy had a pretty good time too. John was sick part of the time, and Hope took good care of him while he wasn't feeling well. Thankfully, she didn't get sick too. I promised to bring her a monkey home, but she decided she needed a pig instead, so we have a new pig, named Sooie! Sooie adds to her collection of friends she sleeps with every night. 2 Ooo Ooos (the original from Clay), Little Pink Ooo Ooo (from Mimi), Honey, Big Pink Bear (from Oprah via Austin), Dora, and puppy (also from Clay) I have no idea how she sleeps with all of those things, but she does, and she knows if someone is missing! I enjoyed my trip with my mom, but I will not be leaving Hope again any time soon. She does fine without me, but I am not fine without her!

slideshow
Date: 2/24/2007

Here's a Slideshow I just made...some new pics and some old ones too! Hope has had a great February! She has had her school pictures made, had her first haircut (by her good friend Ms. Susan!), spent LOTS of time with her April and Susan and Paul, had a visit from her Mimi, Nenny and Clara...She will get to spend lots more time with her April, Susan and Paul this week, as they are helping John with her while I am out of town to a Children's Ministry Conference in Birmingham. We are so lucky that the Walkers are here to help us. We don't know what we would do with out them! Oh, one more piece of info: John has a new job! Still in the Dallas area, but with a new company. We are very excited about this new opportunity for our family. God is Good!

An Interview with Hope
Date: 2/20/2007
Mommy: Hope, what's your name?
Hope: Hope Wheeze
M: How old are you?
H: 2,3,4,5!
M: What show do you like to watch?
H: Blue's Clues, Joe, no Steebs (She likes Joe, not Steve)
M: Where's Daddy?
H: Daddy go work
M: What's your favorite color
H: Blue! Yellow! Red! Purple!
M: What do you want to eat?
H: I go Chik-A-Lay, eat chickens and french fries and go slide!
M: It's too early for Chik-A-Lay, what else do you want to eat?
H: Faffles and cookies
M: Who came to your house this weekend
H: Clara, and Mimi and Nenny!
M:Where did they go?
H: Oh no! I don't know! They go Awkensaw!
M: Do you want to go to church?
H: Yes! I see Pastor Mike and April and Susan and Zanne! And Knox, and Max! No no Max, that's Hope's Applesauce! (I'm not sure about that one, apparently Max tried to eat her applesauce once?!)
M: Can you sing me a song?
H: Baby Bawooooga, baby bawooooga (repeat about 10 times!
M: can you sing me a song about Mommy?
H: Mommy song te do la song Mommy
M: Aww, that's so sweet
H: Awww

In my Daughter's Eyes
Date: 1/25/2007
In My Daughter's Eyes

In my daughter's eyes
I am a hero
I am strong and wise
and I know no fear.
But the truth is plain to see
She was sent to rescue me.
I see who I wanna be
In my daughter's eyes.
In my daughter's eyes
everyone is equal.
Darkness turns to light
and the world is at peace.
This miracle God gave to me
gives me strength when I am weak.
I find reason to believe
In my daughter's eyes.
And when she wraps her hand
around my finger,
Oh it puts a smile in my heart!
Everything becomes a little clearer.
I realize what life is all about.
It's hangin' on when your heart
has had enough.
It's giving more when you feel like giving up.
I've seen the light.
It's in my daugter's eyes .
In my daughter's eyes
I can see the future .
A reflection of who I am
and what will be.
Though she'll grow and someday leave
Maybe raise a family.
When I'm gone
I hope you see

how happy she made me.
For I'll be there
In my daughter's eyes.
--Martina McBride

Doodlebops
Date: 1/20/2007
We had a great time at the Doodlebops. John and Hope have been watching this show since before she was able to pick a show. He would feed her a bottle and watch the Doodlebops in the morning. Now, she loves them too, of course. (It's not a show I would have picked, but it is special to them!) We all know John likes it because of his secret (Well, not so secret anymore!) crush on Dee Dee Doodle. I think it's the pink hair. Hope was pretty mesmorized at the concert. I would ask her if she liked the Doodlebops, and she would say "I like Moe." She didn't want them to go bye bye at the end of the show, but she was happy to get to go over to Ms. April's house for a post Doodlebop party. She had a lot of fun playing with April's niece and nephews, and of course the kitty cats!

It Snowed!
Date: 1/17/2007
We finally got the snow! It wasn't much, but Hope loved it. She loved marching all around in her lady bug boots! When she saw these pictures of us out in the snow, she said "My Snow!" We posted some pictures from Heather's Wedding! Happy Birthday Aunt Nenny!

Gymnastics and Choking Hazards
Date: 1/16/2007
I forgot to update a few days ago when Hope tried her first real Gymnastics class. She looked oh so cute in her pink leotard, but that was about as fun as it got. Let's just say Hope is not ready for that. My child was the child who runs away, doesn't listen, and cries when it isn't her turn. I was so stressed out by the time we left...I think we will wait another year or so...I had been eating pistachios the other evening, and Hope reached over and grabbed some empty shells. I told her no no, moved them away and explained that they were choking hazards. Since then, she has been asking for "Choking Hazards." "Mommy, I want some choking hazards" and "Have some choking hazards?" My sister says I need to add another dollar to Hope's Therapy Jar for that one.

Update
Date: 1/15/2007
We have had an intersting few days around the our home.John flew to Tulsa on Friday for the day...or so we thought. He ended up getting snowed in. Thankfully, he did make it home safely on Saturday.Sunday night, Hope broke my nose. Yes, it hurts, no I haven't been to the Dr., and yes, my mom does think it's hilarious (I broke hers when I was about Hope's age...payback or something.) Hope was sitting on my lap, and John and I were teasing her. She was being silly and threw her head back ond hit my nose. It made a pretty fun cracking noise...yuck.

Where's AnnieDate:
1/10/2007
This will only be funny if you too watch Annie over and over again like we do!When we got in the car yesterday after leaving the church, I put Annie back in the DVD player in the car. Hope was very fussy after our "Take daddy to the E.R. in the Middle of the Night" fiasco. She was fussing and whining (You might think those two things are the same, but they are not!) so, trying to get her to stop and watch the movie I said "Hope, where's Annie?" She said "She hadda go baffroom!" (For those of you who DON'T have to watch Annie on a daily basis, there is a line where Ms. Hannigan says "Where's Annie" and the orphan Molly says "She had to go Baffroom")
I realize that if I have to explain it, it's not funny anymore!

"Girlfriend"
Date: 1/3/2007
Having Julia with us last week was a lot of fun...however, she has rubbed off on Hope some. I picked out a shirt from her closet this morning, and she held it up and said "That is sooo cute girlfriend." Thank you, Boo Boo for adding that phrase to her 2 year old vocabulary!

"Hope" according to Julia (AKA Boo Boo)
Date: 12/30/2006
I finally found out how hard it is to handle Hope. But by the end of the day you can easly tell.The hardest thing to do is get her out of Chic-fil-a (Chick-a-la). She will always take the longest way possible on the playground. At every stopping point she has to play for a while. We finally get to the slide and it shocks us all the way down. My hair was sticking up. Jill told her "one more time". In Hope's world that means 100. She cryed for a little bit.Then Jill, Hope, and I went to the mall. Hope had to have a icy. She had to sit in the stroller while Jill and I went to every store to find a dress to wear to Heather's (B.F.L's) wedding.When we got home Hope and I play forever we had so much fun! We jumped on the frog trampaline. Hide-and-seek did not work out. Hope hid under the bed every time.I had so much fun with Hope.By Julia (Age 9)

3 more days!
Date: 12/22/2006
Hope went to the aquarium today with her daddy and his parents. She loved it, as always. It is definitely our favorite Dallas outing! I had to work, so I didn't get to go, but from the pictures and what Hope says, I take it she had a good time.She helped me wrap presents tonight. I bought some Dora wrapping paper, but she thinks every present wrapped in it is for Clara Belle! She misses her Clara right now, and so do I! We will be there in 3 more days! We can't wait! And then Julia (Boo Boo!) is coming home with us!

More funny Christmas Stuff Hope says
Date: 12/21/2006
When we were first decorating the house, I pulled out a Fitz and Floyd Reindeer Plate I bought last year. It is shaped like a reindeer's head. I took it to Hope and said "Hope, what is this?!" She was so excited and she was jumping up and down, and she said, "It's a PLATE!" Yep, it's a plate.She calls Santa "Ho Ho Ho" She says baby Jesus' mommy was "Mewy"She like to wish everyone a "Mewy Shishmas"

Getting ready for Christmas
Date: 12/20/2006
5 more days! Hope has been a lot of fun the past few days getting ready for Christmas. She likes to help unwrap presents Mommy has just wrapped. She loves to pull ornaments off the tree. She loves to eat the candy off the gingerbread house! She loves to open the Christmas cards we get in the mail. Before she goes to bed, she likes to look at them and name everyone. She doesn't understand why Brian is not in the picture with Heather! (My cousin Heather is marrying Brian in just a couple of weeks! Hope looks at Heather's picture and says "Where's Brian?!") We visited Santa again yesterday, and she again asked for a chicken...hopefully he got our letter explaining she really wants a kitchen! She is excited about going to Arkansas to see her family...and I am too! We will only be there a couple of days, but we can't wait! Hope is out of school for a couple of weeks, and I am still working, so April and her mom, Susan took Hope shopping with them on Monday so I could get some stuff done at the church. She must have had a blast because that's all we've been hearing about the last couple of days..."Where's April's car? Where did Susan go?" Thank you Susan and April! I really appreciate it! I added some pictures of us decorating the gingerbread house this weekend. As you can see, more candy ended up in Hope's tummy than on the house!

Dear Santa
Date: 12/18/2006
Dear Santa,I have some explaining to do. I know when I sat on your lap, I told you "I wanna chicken." That didn't come out exactly like I had planned. You see, Santa, what I really want is a kitchen. A pink wonderful kitchen. But kitchen is a really REALLY hard word for me to say for some reason. I try and try again, but it always comes out "chicken." My mommy and daddy even practice with me. They say "Hope say K-K-K Kitchen." But, when I try, it comes out "K-K-K-chicken!" So I decided to write you a quick note to explain that what I really want is a toy kitchen, not a chicken. Mommy says "No more pets!"Thanks Santa!Love you,Hope

Shininenny Nose
Date: 12/16/2006
Hope loves to sing about Rudolph and his very "Shininenny nose!" (and we love hearing her say "Shininenny!) She has been fighting cold symptoms/sinus infection for over a month now. Her Dr. called her in a stronger antibiotic last night, so hopefully it will knock it out before Christmas.We will only be home for a couple of days, as we both have limited vacation days at our new jobs. Hopefully next year we will have more time (or as Jennifer says, hopefully we will be back in Little Rock for good.) We are planning on building a gingerbread house when Hope wakes up from her nap. I will post pictures soon!

2 Year Check Up, And Mommy, where's my tail?
Date: 12/13/2006
Hope had her 2 year check today. I am happy to report we have finally found a pediatrician I can stand. We miss Laura Sanders, but the new Dr. is very good. Sadly, Hope has once again fallen off the growth chart. We feed her, I promise! She is just small! She weighed in at a whopping 22lbs and .5 oz. If she was turning one, she would be a normal sized child. Turning two, however...not so much.Hope's tear duct is still blocked, and she will have to have a procedure done in the next few months to correct it. While we were at the Dr.'s office this morning, Hope was holding her monkey, Ooh Ooh, of course, and she was playing with his tail. She said, "Mommy, where's Hope's tail?" Umm, what do I say? The Dr. came in about that time and had a very good answer, that Hope seemed to be okay with. Little Girls and Boys don't have tails, it turns out.

Supercalifragilisticexpealidocious
Date: 12/10/2006
I was catching up on the tivo tonight, watching some shows from this week that I haven't been able to see lately. I was watching The View, and they had the stars of the Broadway Musical, Mary Poppins on. They were singing Supercalifragilistic..... when Hope just stopped everything and was mesmorized. As soon as it was finished, she said "I try again." She watched it over and over again, no less than 15 times. She was trying to dance like them, and trying to sing the words. She stood on the coffee table and sang her cute little heart out! John and I were cracking up at Lulu's new moves.
Here are some Lulu-isms we love to hear right now..."Kangaroon"=Kangaroo movie she has to watch in Mommy's bed while she wakes up.
"You cook it first"= Please microwave my milk, food, etc.
"I see Past-your Like" =she wants to go to church to see Pastor Mike, her most favorite person right now (Non relative of course!)
"No Night night Hope's Bed. I go Mommy's bed" =you can probably figure that one out!
"I need a bow"= I have trained her well! She loves to have bows in her hair!
"Awkensaw"= where everyone she misses is! Nenny in Awkensas, Mimi in Awkensaw, Clara in Awkensaw...the list goes on and on.
"Tetsas" = where Hope and Mommy and Daddy live

Where is baby Jesus?
Date: 12/9/2006
One of my favorite things to ask Hope right now is "Where is baby Jesus?" She responds "in my heart!" in her sweetest of voices and points to her heart. It warms my heart everytime, and makes all the craziness of the season worth it!

Poison ControlDate:
12/1/2006
Today I had to call Poison Control for the second time in Hope's short life. The first was when she ate wood glue at Teacher's Pet while someone was working on a door there. Today, she chose to eat her Daddy's Deodorant. She came to me coughing, and her breath smelled like cologne. I went looking through the house frantically looking for a bottle of Cologne out of place somewhere, and I am asking Hope "where is it?" She leads me to John's deodorant which is on the floor with the top off. She is fine, they said not to be worried, even though the bottle said seek medical help immediately if ingested. Now I am just disgusted that she licked her daddy's deodorant!

I am two!
Date: 11/18/2006
Hope had a fun birthday yesterday. Her Mimi and Papa Paul came down to celebrate with us. We went to the aquarium in the morning, and Chuck E. Cheese at night. She had a great day! Mimi and Papa Paul took Hope home to Little Rock for a couple of days, so John and I are sitting in a very quiet house. We will go to Little Rock Tuesday and stay through Saturday. Hope will have a little Birthday party Tuesday night. I will post new pictures soon

Bye Bye Pacifier
Date: 11/4/2006
We had a big development today... we said a sad goodbye to Hope's pacies. I know, I know. It was long overdue. My sister had all of her girls off by their first birthday. We have given all the pacies to "the babies." Who these babies are, we don't know, but Hope seems to get that they are all gone. I'm not saying she's happy about it. I expect this to be a long night. When I put her to bed, she had started sucking on Ooh Ooh's tail (Ooh Ooh is Hope's A #1 best friend, a monkey that Clay gave her before she was even born.) So we probably just gave up one bad habit, only to start a new one. These pictures I took of her today were her own doing. She went to her daddy with her new panties on her head and a baby onesie around her feet. She said the panties were her "hat, petty hat." I also added more pictures of Halloween to her October 2 album. Hope's ticker is getting way too close to the 2! Only 2 more weeks!

Halloween Fun
Date: 11/2/2006
Hope had a great Halloween. She was able to wear her costume 3 days in a row for different things we went to, so convincing her on Wednesday to wear normal clothes was a challenge! On Halloween we Trick or Treated to a few houses in the neighborhood, but it was pretty chilly! She kept trying to go into everyone's house. We went back home, and Hope had a much better time passing out candy to the kids who came to our house. However, she did play favorites. She would give one child 5 candy bars, and the next would get one dum dum sucker! It took a lot to impress her! The doorbell would ring and she would say "oo Cany. I get the bucket." We had a fun time watching her enjoy the Halloween fun.

Trip Home
Date: 10/30/2006
We made a trip home last weekend. Hope and I flew to Little Rock on Wednesday, and back on Saturday. We went to Branson with Aunt Ninny and Mimi and Clara. We hit the outlet malls fast and hard, but had a good time. I was also reminded of a funny story from last year's Branson trip.Last Year, we were in a home decorating store, where Hope was pretty fussy. Riley Kaye, then in Kindergarten, was practicing all her new reading skills by reading the decorative signs. She read the word "Vino" and asked what it meant. I said "Vino means Wine." She thought about this for a minute and said "Hope sure does Vino alot!"Anyway, the rest of the trip was way too short. We got to see our friends at Teacher's Pet, and family at Jenn's house for dinner, and caught one of Riley's Soccer games before leaving

Fun at the Park
Date: 10/23/2006
Hope Louise has had a fun past several days. Our good friends, Brandy and Braxton, came to visit from Arkansas. We had a great time. We got to visit the zoo and the aquarium, but I forgot my camera at both! We bought a disposable camera at the zoo, so when I get those developed I will add them too. Braxton and Hope are about a month apart, and are just too cute together. Hope has been looking for him ever since they left!Today, we walked down to the park in our neighborhood. I took lots of pictures of Lulu. She is just growing so fast. She really seemed big today for some reason. I am very sad she is almost 2! It is just happening way too fast!Hope and I are flying home on Wednesday, so I am sure we will have lots of new pictures of Hope with her sweet cousins!

A day in the life...6:30 am-8:00am
Date: 10/17/2006
Hope's Typical Day6:30am-8:00am6:30-Start crying in my bed. I make it really pitiful, so someone will come in a hurry. Daddy comes and gets me and puts me in bed with mommy.6:45-Enough snuggling with Mommy, I say to Mommy "kangawoo." She knows that means get up and start my Baby Einstein Galelieo video. I have got her trained like that. I prop myself up on Mommy's favorite pillow while she's up.7:00 Daddy is ready to get me dressed. I run go hide. 7:05 Daddy caught me. I now try to talk him into letting me wear my crocs, even though I'm not supposed to wear them to school. He'll let me (I've got him trained too."7:15 I simply say "Faffles" and my breakfast appears. Four mini waffles, don't even try to give me anything else for breakfast. I want my Faffles. 7:30 Mommy is drying her hair, so it's a perfect opportunity to sneak in the bathroom and try to steal her make up8:00 Mission "Destroy the house before 8am" Accomplished. I have taken all the laundry and placed it strategically around the house. I make sure to put things that go together, like socks, in two totally different hiding spots so that they can never be found again. I have also taken this opportunity to pull my hair out of the ponytail, my shoes and socks are way gone by this point, oh, and I need a diaper change again. I just love morning chaos!

Isn't She Pretty? (10/13/2006)

Isn't she pretty?
Date: 10/13/2006
Today, Hope and I were at home. Someone from the church called and needed some information that I had to get off of the computer. Hope was so quiet while I was on the phone (highly unusual!) I hung up the phone, and came out of the office and called her name. I immediately heard a door shut. It was the door to my bathroom. So, I go in and open the door, and there is Hope Louise, covered in my make-up! She had lipstick all over her face and her hair. She even used base and powder. Look closely at her cheeks and you can see circles where she actually put the base bottle to her face! She had also poured the base into the lipstick cap. My powder brush is covered in lipstick. So, I go to the living room to grab some wipes. It has lipstick smudges all over it. I open the box, and there are like 5 wipes covered in make-up! She tried to cover it up! I looked at her hands and they were remarkably clean! She had wiped them off! I had to just laugh, and then worry about how to get lipstick off the carpet. I took her picture and let her look in the mirror at herself (she said "Petty Mommy.) Yes, Hope, you are very pretty

Sam's VideoDate: 10/10/2006
I added the video that Hope's "Uncle Sam" made for her birthday last year. We showed it at her birthday party. I am trying to talk him into making another for year # 2! If you were at her party last year, then you know he added some funny "Sam" antics to the show, that aren't on this one. It is still fun to watch! On the left hand side of the home page, click on My Baby Videos. Also, Hope had her pictures made last week by Peter Salisbury. You can see at www.Salisburyphoto.com/hope The pictures didn't go so well, because she was a little intimidated, but they are still pretty fun!

Say Cheese!
Date: 10/9/2006
Hope was walking around last night with my old camera. She put the camera over her face and told me to "Say Cheese!" I gave her my best cheesy grin and she said "Awww. How sweet!"

Sick Baby (10/6/2006)

Sick Baby
Date: 10/6/2006
Hope is a sick girl. She woke up in the middle of the night with an awful stomach bug. We are headed to the Dr. this afternoon. However, she must be feeling a little better, because she just wrote all over the bathroom door with a crayon! Even when she's sick, she's a mess!

Car Rides 10/5/2006

Car Rides
Date: 10/5/2006
We are back to no fun, child screaming in the back seat car rides. Hope has never liked riding in the car, and has always cried whenever she gets into her car seat. At Christmas, we had a dvd player put in the car for her. It broke this week, and Hope is not happy about it. We will have to get it fixed soon! The 40 minute drive to Arlington eveyday is killing me! I don't mean she cries a little, I mean this morning she cried (and screamed) the entire 42 minutes it took to get to school. I tried her music, snacks, sippy cups, pacifiers (that's right, she still has a paci...) Please pray we have a better ride home tonight. At least we have Fridays off!

Uh Oh...we have a biter! (10/3/2006)

Uh-Oh...we have a biter!
Date: 10/3/2006
Hope Louise has had two sad notes sent home from school the last two days for biting! And she bit John last night. She definitely knows what she's done, because she on the way home from school yester day I said "Hope, did you bite your friend at school today?" And she said "FINGER!" The note said she bit the friend's finger. Any suggestions on how to get her to stop are appreciated. I was not going to have a biter child! What happened?! We brought her "No Biting" book to school today to share with her friends...if she has any left!On a lighter note, she did identify every letter in the alphabet this week. And she can spot her name when it's written. She says "H-O-P-E...Hope!"

Time to go Night Night (10/2/2006)

"Time to go Night Night"
Date: 10/2/2006
Hope made me laugh Saturday when I was trying to put her down for a nap. I was singing (to the tune of Are you sleeping) "it's time to go night night..." over and over again, and she was settling down, and then I said "it's time to go..." and paused for her to say night night, but instead, in her sweetest of sweet voices, she said "park." I cracked up, and so did she.

Open Shut Them (10/1/2006)

Open Shut Them
Date: 10/1/2006
Ok, in case I haven't told you about "Open Shut Them" This is part of an email I sent to D'Dawn last week:Things are going alot better now. Hope has stopped screaming at the top of her lungs when we pull into the parking lot of school. She has done a complete 180. She likes to go now, which makes it so much easier. At school, she learned a song about what they can do with their hands. It goes "Open, shut them, Open shut them, give a little clap clap clap..." Hope loves this song, and sings it at least 50 times a day, as loud as she can, wherever we go. There is one small problem. Hope's version goes "Oh Sh..! Oh Sh..!" I am completely mortified. It made a great impression on everyone at church. Oh, and everyone at the grocery store too!

July (7/17/2006)

July
Date: 7/17/2006
Hope has had several firsts so far this month. She went on her first flight. We flew to Dallas to spend a few days with John while he was in Waxahachie training. We did some house hunting, but no luck. We have found a town, Mansfield, that we like, but no house yet. We accepted an offer on ours last week, so it looks like we better start really looking! While we were there we visited the Fort Worth Zoo, which was amazing. It gave us something to look forward to being close to when we move there. Hope also had her first trip to Chuck E. Cheese. She had a good time running around, but not interested in games, rides, or Chuck E. himself!She also got to meet the former "First Lady" at church Sunday. Senator Clinton came back to our church to celebrate our 175th anniversary.

We're Moving! (6/11/2006)

We're Moving!
Date: 6/11/2006
We are moving to the Dallas area! John accepted an offer from Skills Net in Waxahachie, Tx. He will be getting to use his Masters Degree and will be doing exactly what he wants to do. It is an excellent opportunity for him. Come see us in Texas!

Hope at 18 months (6/7/2006)

Hope at 18 Months
Date: 6/7/2006
As you can imagine, Hope Louise is everywhere. She has recently been labeled the "most high maitainance 18 month old ever" by her Aunt Jennifer, who also adds that it doesn't mean she loves her any less! She is a busy, busy baby. We were excited to see her jump to nearly 21 pounds at her last well child check up! Checking in right around the 5th percentile is a big jump for our baby girl. Check out that pot belly!I've added a new album below to show you guys what all she's been up to. She loves playing in the sprinkler at home and at school. She also loves to color pictures as often as she can. We think she's quite good!As far as daddy's job search, we feel very blessed that John has recieved two job offers as of today. One is here in Little Rock, and one is just outside of Dallas. Please keep our family in your prayers as we make a very difficult decision. Come see our Lulu baby soon! We might even let you borrow her for a few hours! Haha!

Dallas TripDate: 5/10/2006
We had a great time visiting Dallas last weekend. We were able to stay with some very dear friends of ours. We had a wonderful time catching up with them. I used to babysit their daughter Ivey when she was Hope's age. It was so special to watch Ivey with Hope. We wish she lived closer so she could babysit Hope!We visited the Dallas World Aquarium while we were there. If you have not ever been there, I would highly recomend it! It was amazing. They had Sharks, Manatees, Penguins, Jaguars, Monkeys, Sloths, Otters, you name it. Hope loved it, but I think I had an even better time! It was very neat. We went to the zoo on Sunday and John was able to catch up with us after he got done with his conference. We let Hope run around most of the time, hoping to wear her out for the ride home. It of course did not work! She cried for a good portion of the way home. Needless to say we were happy when we finally made it home.I am not supposed to say anything about all the times that John's navigational senses failed...but let me say I have quite a few instances to share if you ask me about them. On the way there, AND the way back! He says we will look back and laugh about it, but so far, I am still not laughing!As far as new things Hope is doing... She is coloring more and more, tring to sing songs and if you ask her to do anything, she says NO! "Hope will you give me a kiss?" "NO!" "Hope do you want to take a bath?" "NO!" We must be getting closer to age 2 than I thought!