Happy birthday, Jacey!

At shortly after 11:34 last year, on July 17th....my beautiful babies looked like this:

This year, on July 17, 2011...my beautiful babies look like this:

What a difference a year makes.


Happy birthday, Jacey!

In just one short year you have proven that your Daddy is still a softie when it comes to his girls, your brother is still the best big-brother helper ever, and that your sister may have some competition in the strong will category.

I'm truly in awe that a year has gone by since you joined our family in person.  You have certainly made your mark in this last year, and made it clear - early on - that you weren't necessarily going to follow in your brother and sisters footsteps.  At least, not all of them.

Illnesses (multiple ones at that!) we had never experienced, middle-of-the-night ER runs, multiple chest x-rays, sensory issues, solid food issues, first-food sensitivities....you certainly wanted to make sure your mommy and daddy were well rounded in their parenting experiences!

You certainly kept the mobility trend going.  You were rolling over within days of being born, and you haven't really stopped moving since.  Your transition from crawling to walking was incredibly fast...although you were a little later to crawl than your brother and sister, you made up for that quickly by not 'cruising' too terribly much and virtually going straight into walking.  Steps at ten months and full-out walking at 11 months.  Your newest adventure in your eleventh month is climbing.  *sigh*  It's hard to keep up with you now!

Your personality has really started to show through more and more over the past few months.  For the most part, you're pretty easy going and laid back.  But then sometimes, the switch flips and I can tell that you have quite the mind of your own!  You already show a great deal  of empathy...I call you my 'sympathy crier'.  If either of your siblings are upset - for any reason - so are you.  You have no idea why you're upset other than you know they are, and that's enough.

Your adoration for your brother and sister just melts my heart.  Your brother can make you laugh, smile and squeal like nobody else in the world.  He's been able to do that from day one.  And he loves doing it!  He can't stand to hear you cry or see you upset.  It truly breaks his heart.  I'm not sure how this is going to work for us down the road....when one of you gets in trouble everyone will get upset?

And your sister...well, you two really enjoy sharing your room together.  On nights when she isn't here I have to remind myself that when you wake up, you're used to seeing her in the bed across the room.  When you don't see her, you get scared.  She's your comfort.  I think you two are going to have a lot of fun together now that you're getting a little older and can really play.  You two already like to have tea parties and play 'kitchen'.  I honestly think the 'pink level' in the house scares your daddy sometimes.

And speaking of your daddy.  Oh my....you just melt that mans heart.  Just this morning he brought you to me so that I could feed you and you, clear as day, said, "Da-Da".  If you could have asked for a pony he probably would have bought you one on the spot.  You love playing games with him...there is one he's dubbed 'hands-and-feet' because your hands and feet are together in front of you and he picks you up by them and lifts you up...you just squeal with delight when you guys play that game.  The other you love is a special version of peek-a-boo, where he covers his face with his hand and you move his hand with yours so you can see his face.  It's precious!

And me...well...you and I have our special moments quite often since you're still nursing.  Over the last couple of weeks you have decided that the food we eat just might be ok and have gotten a little more brave with what you're trying, but up until that point, it was pretty much you and me, sweetie.

Things you like:

• sucking your thumb - you seem to do this mostly when you're tired
• your lovey - when you're tired, you grab the lovey with one hand (typically you're right) and start sucking on your left thumb
• your blanket - you have 2 that are similar, just different colors; they're silky on one side and minky on the other
• your seahorse - tap on the tummy and he lights up and sings you to sleep
• your toys (and you have certain special favorites!)
• Food: refried beans; colby/monterrey jack cheese cubes; pancakes (Grandpa's! - you ate them for the first time just a few days ago); grapes; Nilla wafers; Ritz crackers; chicken; macaroni and cheese; pizza crust
• your sister's play kitchen and tea party toys

So yesterday we had your party at Maw Maw and Paw Paw's house, just like we had done with Kellen and Tatum.  Here are some pictures of your party.  You had such a good time!

You wanted to get close to Joshua, and sitting in his mommy Krystal's lap was the only way that was going to happen.

Then we got ready for you to smash into your birthday cake.

You did a great job actually digging into the cake, but in true Hapes female fashion, you were more interested in the Oreos than in the actual cake.  Mommy tried to feed you some, but you weren't that interested.  You really didn't like the yucky stuff on your hands and wanted it off.

So after a quick wash down and wardrobe change, we let you eat and play.

And then we tried to open presents.

I say 'tried' because you were way more interested in playing in the play house than opening your presents.  You did enjoy sitting on your horse and managed to figure out how to go backwards, and had lots of fun going that!

All in all, it was a great birthday celebration.  Happy birthday, sweet girl.  You've come a long way from being our little peanut!

The Greatest Show on Earth!

Indulge me here, but let's take a photo-heavy trip down memory lane back to the first part of May, when the fam (a LOT of the fam, including Maw Maw, Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle Jonathan) went to the circus.  Thank you to Paw Paw, who stayed and watched Jacey so the rest of us could go! 

  Excited for the pre-show!!

Tatum jumped right in on the action and had fun during the pre-show!  

She wasn't the least bit shy about joining in....

it reminded Grandma and Grandpa of another little girl from long ago....

The kids just had a blast with their Uncle Jonathan!

Tatum trying out the tightrope.

Mid-flip....this was pretty cool!!

A good time was had by all!  It was a great first-circus experience for the kids!!

My new favorite.....

A few weeks ago during a pool play date, a friend introduced me to hummus.  Now, I had heard of hummus before, but honestly just thought it was something that ultra healthy, hippy, crunchy people ate.

But, seeing as I was at a play date and had just informed my four year old that she had to at least try everything I had put on her plate, I thought I should set a good example.

So I tried it.

And I loved it.

Loved it.

LOVED IT.

Let me be clear....the particular flavor of which I am enamored is the roasted garlic.  I have tried the red pepper and found it is not as much to my liking.  That is the extent of my hummus exposure.

But on nights when I don't have to worry about the boys for dinner, the 'big girl' dinners look something like this.

In case you need an explanation, allow me....

On the small plate, you'll see a piece of lunch meat, apple slices, cheese cubes, and a hard boiled egg (minus the yolk, which none of my kids seem to like).  On the bigger plate, you'll see the hummus (of course!!), the carrot slices (another new favorite which now actually allows me to eat carrots without jaw issues), apple slices, cheese cubes, hard boiled eggs, and peaches.

These are the types of meals Tatum deems 'picnics' that she likes to enjoy on her tray in the living room.  She loves, loves, loves these types of meals.  And as you can see, they're super easy.

That means mommy likes them, too.

As an added bonus, I have to cook nothing, so they don't heat up my kitchen, which is a HUGE deal in Texas summer!

Truth is like a slap in the face

Isn't it?

If you aren't sure, read these couple of posts about all of the stuff we have and why organizing our stuff is most likely NOT our problem.

So what to do with these truths......

Bored....

So last weekend we were driving in the car, and had been traveling for probably about 30 or 45 minutes when Matt looks back at Tatum, who is just zoning out.

"Are you bored?" he asked her.

"No." she replied.

"Do you know what bored means?" he continued.

"No, what does it mean?" was the response.

"It means that you're tired of doing what you are doing and you're ready to be doing something else." was the explanation he gave her.

"I'm BORED!" she responded.  "I'm ready to be doing something other than sitting in the car."

Climbing

I found out on Wednesday that Jacey can climb.

We have what we deemed as a 'safe' spot in the living room for her to play.  We set up baby fences (a play yard, really) and sectioned off our living room from our dining room and blocked off the TV.

It is great.  It is wonderful.  I can leave my very mobile child in a room where she can play to her hearts content without my worrying too terribly much about her getting hurt.  The worst she seemed to do was pull a plastic kitchen over on top of herself.

I didn't have to worry about her playing.

Well, at least until Wednesday.

On Wednesday after work, she and Tatum were playing in the living room.  I was doing something...most likely getting dinner ready.  I walked through the living room and spied Jacey sprawled across the back of one of our chairs, trying to get something off of the desk.  She had succeeded in getting one of her brothers Cars toys.

I thought Tatum had 'helped' her climb and fussed at her a bit.  Tatum assured me that she didn't put Jacey on the chair.

I wasn't convinced.

A few minutes later I was piddling in the kitchen and heard a cry.  It was an 'I'm scared and just did something that may have actually hurt me' cry.  You know the one.

I don't like that cry.

I ran into the living room to see Jacey picking herself up from the floor adjacent to our couch, where she had apparently climbed on and flipped over it - no doubt reaching for something she wasn't supposed to have or simply trying to escape her 'play area.'

Neither of the other kids were really big climbers. Considering that Jacey is pushing all of my parenting limits, I'm not sure why am I at all surprised that Jacey seems to be prone to climbing.

Not fair!

Unfortunately, Tatum did not have the best of days.  I was informed....warned of this fact by an email, sent to me at work yesterday afternoon.

It warned me of not one, but two incidents that Tatum had that day.

All 'fun' plans were by the wayside.  When we got home, she and I went over - line-by-line - the two notes that had been prepared for me.  We discussed, she was disciplined, she cried, she whined, we discussed some more, and somewhere in the midst of this, she screamed, "It's NOT FAIR!"

We went back over what happens when you make this choice...what happens when you make that choice scenarios.  We talked about the consequences of choices, and making choices knowing full well what the consequences would be.  I then asked her whose fault it was that she was getting punished.

"It's my fault because of my choices.  But I don't want to get in trouble.  It's NOT FAIR!"

After dealing with her for the evening (and trying to decide what to do with myself since I had virtually the entire night -  peruse my movie shelves for something a child might not enjoy as much as I, read a book, sleep?), God then began speaking to me.

Only after my conversation with her did I realize how many times I have those very same conversations with God.  I must sound the same to Him during those times as my daughter sounded to me last night.

Oh how I'm convinced that He allows us to have children so that we can get just a glimpse into His role as our Heavenly Father!

How many times have I screamed, "It's NOT FAIR!" to Him?
How many times have I knowingly made a choice, then not wanted to accept the consequences when they inevitably came?
How many times have I resented discipline - when it was for my own good?
How many times.......have I acted like a 4 year old to my Heavenly Father?

I'm surprised Tatum didn't say it, but normally when she gets in trouble, she'll remark that although I'm not happy with her choices, I still love her and will always love her.  She isn't asking the question of if I will, but reminding she and I that she knows my love will remain constant.  She normally follows up those statements with similar statements about God's love for her.

I may not be happy with her choices, but will always love her.  God may not be happy with my choices - or hers for that matter - but His love is unfailing.

BV Bombers

Over the 4th of July weekend, our clan went to the BV Bombers game as part of a departmental social event with the REU students.  We had never been before, so we didn't really know what to expect.

Along with the all-you-can-eat-until-it's-gone pre-game picnic, we had wrist bands (read: unlimited) to access the kids zone activities.  After eating way too many hot dogs and other picnic goodies, we headed to the kids zone to let the kids race and bounce off their energy.

  Yes, she's getting that big.

Sorry ladies, that sweetie pie is taken.

And yes, the girls have on matching Old Navy patriotic tanks.  

They're adorable. 

And they were on sale.

Tatum is now convinced that Cookie Monster is real. For real. It wasn't a costume. 

Since this is now a proven fact, it would stand to reason that Big Bird and Elmo are real, too.

Yup...my sweet girl and her logic.

We made it to about the 5th inning before we decided that the rest of the folks watching the game might actually like to watch the game, rather than watch me wrestle Jacey.  So we left.

Other than sweating from places I didn't know could sweat, it was great fun!!

4th of July fun

.....on the 3rd.

Who says you can't celebrate the 4th of July the entire weekend?

Matt and I enjoyed a date night on Saturday night while Maw Maw and Paw Paw kept the kids.  We went and watched the newest X Men movie.  Oh.my.goodness!  I loved it!  I really enjoyed the back story aspects, since it filled in quite a few gaps for me.  Matt didn't need those gaps filled, of course, since he's read probably every comic book they produced.  We both loved it.  (I just wish there were a few parts that were a little more tame so that Kellen could watch it.  As is, it's a no-go for him).

When we got back, I peeked in on the kids and this is what I saw....

Let me just say...so much of my hearts' joy was contained in this room and I almost couldn't stand it!  Aren't they precious?  And they're always a notch more precious-looking when they're sleeping.
On Sunday, we had a backyard BBQ and played in the new deck pool.

The kids thoroughly enjoyed the new pool - that includes the 'big' kids, too!

Jacey has almost officially joined the land of the eating kiddos.  

She enjoys Nilla wafers, LOVES cheese cubes 

(colby and monterrey jack is a decided preference over cheddar).

And Zip the friendly lizard even put in an appearance!

And for even more enjoyment, the 'little' kids had a pool just their size.  

And the bigger kids enjoyed that one, too!

Later on that evening, the adults played some games while the kids vegged watching Veggie Tales.  It was all they could do to NOT fall asleep.  Needless to say, they all went down pretty easily!

Scripture Memory (Verse 13)

Here is the link to the LPM blog for verse 13.

Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverancce; perseverance, character; and character, hope.
Romans 5:3-4

Review of running - June

5 - 3 miles
6 - 3 miles
7 - 2 miles (and pushing Jacey in the stroller in 100 degree weather at that! Does that warrant bonus miles?)
9 - 3.3 miles
10 - 2 miles
18 - 2.5 miles
19 - 4 miles
23 - 4 miles (pushing Jacey in the stroller...bonus!)
24 - 4 miles (pushing Jacey in the stroller...another bonus and arm workout!)


Mileage total = 27.8 miles
Average mile/day = 0.926 miles per day

2011 Mileage total =104.98 + 27.8 = 132.78 miles
2011 Average Mile/day (151 + 30) =0.733 miles per day
*Current deficiency of 48.22 miles

The streak ends.

I've shared my discipline woes with Tatum a few times here in hope you'll allow me to lament the loss of our streak this week.

It was such a good streak

Since the first part of June, she's had good days.  Every day.

That ended yesterday.  Well, it apparently ended the day before that, I just didn't know about it.  She didn't tell me.  In fact, she told me the opposite.

Darn that sin nature!

So I found out yesterday afternoon that she had a rough time at nap time the day prior.  And the fact that she didn't get to feed Bugsy (the class hamster) yesterday because of those bad choices didn't seem to alter her decision to make the same bad choices. At nap. Again.

"But I was good during circle time!" was the response I got to a few of my questions regarding these choices.  "Doesn't that make you happy?"

*sigh*

So our streak of fun evenings has come to an end.  While she told me the truth about her day, she did lie to me about the day before, so we weren't able to do any fun stuff last night.  In fact, after dinner she got ready for bed and went to lay down.

I had forgotten how loud she could cry when she was really wanting to put on a show.

And how great she is at making excuses to come out of her room.

I had also forgotten how much nicer it was to be able to lay Jacey down in her bed while the room was empty. And quiet.

Apparently Jacey is a sympathy screamer cryer.  That was a joyous thing to discover.

My verse for this yesterday morning was, "Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice." (Philippians 4:4)

I tried to keep that in my mind during the day.

I think I may have done a better job while at work than at home in doing so.

Think about that one word or phrase at a time.  Really meditate on it.

Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice.
Rejoice - be glad, take delight

Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice.
in who?  the Lord....shouldn't we be able to delight in Him?

Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice.
Always - every time, all the time, forever

Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice.
again - once more, another

Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice.

Am I rejoicing that my Tatum-tot broke her 'good choices' streak? - No
Am I rejoicing that Jacey seemed fairly inconsolable because her sister was upset? - No

I don't need to hinge my happiness and joy on events. Or people. Or money. Or jobs.  It is in the Lord that I should hinge...well, everything.  His words, His promises.

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are called according to His purpose. - Romans 8:28

So, despite this behavioral bump, I'm going to rejoice in the Lord.

And today is a new day.

Scripture Memory (Verse 11 & 12)

Yikes!!

Where have I been?  I'm behind in getting these memory verses out here....

Verse 11 (for June 1)
He has put his angels in charge of you to watch over you wherever you go. They will catch you in their hands so that you will not hit your foot on a rock.
Psalm 91:11-12 (NCV)
Link to the Verse 11 post

Verse 12 (for June 15)
Think about the things that are good and worthy of praise. Think about the things that are true and honorable and right and pure and beautiful and respected.
Philippians 4:8 (NCV)
Link to the Verse 12 post

And we're halfway there!!  Are you keeping up?  Don't worry if you've fallen behind.  There is no better time to catch up and work on your consistency than NOW.  And I don't care when you're reading this.  Now is NOW!

What are the ways in which you're putting God's word into your heart this year?

Top Five?

After the girls and I went to the library this weekend, I am reminded of just how much I enjoy reading. 

Not that I have had any more time to read or anything, it was just a nice reminder that it's something I enjoy doing.

And I need to do things I actually enjoy a little more often.

So, considering that in the past oh, say 8 years or so, all that I've read has been the Bible, parenting books, organizational books (well, articles really), an occasional cook book (quit laughing), and my monthly magazines (more parenting things), I've realized that I'm in dire need of book direction.  Now there's obviously nothing wrong with reading the Bible, and I certainly can stand to do more of that, but I'm looking to expand a little.

I'm in need of ideas, so I thought I would ask the following question.

"What books are on your current list of top 5 must-reads?"

Leave me some comments with your suggestions, because I've just figured out how to request books online.  Yes, I know that is old technology, but what can I say...I'm been under a rock for the past 8 years.  Or maybe it's more realistic to say under laundry?

At any rate, comment.  Let me know about the books I've been missing!

Kissin'

I love kisses.

Especially when they come from my 11 month old.

It's official.

She's figured out how to give kisses....she makes the 'mmmmwwwa' sound, leans in, and gives you a kiss.

It's one of the most precious things on the planet.

For real.

Then yesterday afternoon, she put the palm of her hand to her mouth and waved it at me. She blew me a kiss!

Oh goodness...this girl completely and totally melts my heart.

What a day!

Yesterday was an all-around good day.

It began with a bit more of a jolt than I had anticipated when I realized that the Old Navy $2 tank top sale began at 7 AM.  This realization came shortly after 6:30 AM....and the girls and I were at the store at about 5 minutes after 7 to start in on our sale day.

Whew!

We managed to get a few tanks, and then took advantage of the other sales they were having....and ended up with matching 4th of July tanks, swim suits for both girls, and two very well-behaved girls.

So we headed to Sweet Eugene's for breakfast...a special treat of cinnamon rolls and chocolate milk (courtesy of our coupon book).  We sat in the 'library' section of Sweet E's and enjoyed our breakfast.

We were having so much fun, that Tatum even asked if we could do more 'fun stuff.'

We headed to the library to check out some books, and made it there about 5 minutes before it actually opened.  Tatum picked out a few books and so did I, and we left not too terribly long after arriving, due to a wee one needing a nap.  And making sure everyone in the library knew it.

She fell asleep by the time we got back to the house, so I put her down for her nap and Tatum and I read a few of her books.  I took a short nap, Tatum played, and then daddy and Kellen got back from their fishing trip.  Lunch and 'real' naps later, I went to the next phase of my day.

The spa!

I was able to use a Christmas present a bit before it expired....so enjoyed a relaxing facial and relaxing massage.....They were both wonderful!

Back to the house and we decided to use some of Kellen's coupons for dinner and we all enjoyed Golden Corral. After dinner (and yummy Golden Corral desserts!) we headed back home for a few games of I Spy (aka - Investigate).  Then it was bedtime for the kiddos and Matt and I caught up on some DVR'ed shows.

Such.a.great.day.