.cereal time.

Well, my pediatrician had said she would prefer me to wait until HattieJo was 6 months old before we started anything other than breastmilk, sooo... Friday she was 6 months. So today (Sunday) we gave cereal a try! She was so funny, she couldn't quite figure out how to eat it or what to do. It was really runny, so tomorrow I am going to thicken some and hopefully it will make it easier to eat! But we stripped her down to her diaper and socks and put on a bib. Here are a few pics.. I will post the video tomorrow!

:6months:

HattieJo,
I can't believe that 6 months ago today you were born! Time has really flown by. We are so grateful for the miracle that the Lord has blessed us with in you! You are a true gift. You are changing daily it seems. You are sitting up on your own now. Reaching for EVERYTHING! You LOVE the remote control and cell phones. You really enjoy watching your movies and anything else on the TV, we have to watch you! haha.. You are still fascinated with your hands and feet. You LOVE to be naked and scoot all around on a blanket. You have figured out how to hit the things on your exersaucer that make noises. You are enjoying being in your highchair while mommy cooks. Your sweet little face LIGHTS up when you see mommy and daddy and it melts our hearts. Your two front teeth are SHINING and there is one that broke through today beside them. You are sleeping all through the night. You LOVE to stretch out in your bed. You love for mommy and daddy to read to you. You sit right up and reach to turn the pages!
We love you!!!
Happy Half-a-year old!

Mommy and Daddy

.helping in the kitchen.

Whenever I am in the kitchen cleaning or cooking, I will always put HattieJo in her highchair, she really enjoys hanging out in it. While I was cooking breakfast the other morning she decided she was going to read her book! If you look closely in the first picture, you will see her two bottom teeth SHINING! They have been through for about a month now.. and now there is another one trying to poke through on the right side of these two and one up top!..

Wordless Wednesday: new favorite toy

.saturday morning snuggles.

This is how I found HattieJo on Saturday morning.

Our Saturday mornings after I feed HattieJo we will make pancakes and bacon for breakfast, once we are finished, we go and wake up daddy which always results in some snuggle time!

"YAY it's Gigi day!!"

YAY.....IT'S GIGI DAY!!!!
(Guest blogger: Gigi a/k/a Penny Hopper)

We were so excited to have a long week-end to visit HattieJo (and her mommy and daddy) over President's Day week-end. Anna had to work that day so I was blessed to have the opportunity to keep my precious granddaughter and have my first Gigi Day with her.

We began our day with some early morning exercises on the play mat. HJ kicked her legs and lifted her head up off the floor (little ab work!). I could eat those chunky legs up in those sporty leg warmers.
After her work-out it was time for a relaxing bath. What a joy to watch that baby splash her feet under the running bath water. She giggled and smiled the whole time! Then I gave her a baby lotion massage and wrapped her in her towel for some snuggle Gigi time.
After bath the little darling was so tired. She sucks her left thumb and rubs her hair with her right hand. That is HJ talk for time to hit the sack. Look at this angel stretched out in her crib.
Mommy came home at lunch time (and daddy and poppa too). HJ was so glad to see everyone. When mommy went back to school and the boys cleared out it was time for us to cook dinner. Daddy had a meeting at church and mommy would be tired from her day at work so we volunteered for chow duty. Here is HJ stirring up some mac and cheese. What a big girl sitting in her high chair!
I heard that HJ helps Ms. Susan with laundry so we decided to help mommy and do HattieJo's laundry. What a big helper!
BUT the best part of Gigi Day is the love and kisses HattieJo gave me at the end of the day! PRECIOUS!!!

Things I learned about HJ on Gigi Day: She is a very happy baby; she is easy going; she loves to be naked as a jay bird; she loves to stretch out in her crib; she has parents that love her very much and are doing a GREAT job nuturing her and caring for her.

Thank you Andrew and Anna for giving me this wonderful day. I am looking forward to many more Gigi Days to come.

I LOVE YOU HATTIEJO!

.gigi and poppa visit day 1.

Andrew's parents arrived about midnight on Friday. They had to drive about 4 hours of their 8 hour trip in the snow... they are from Florida.. so that was an adventure. We are so thankful that they arrived safe and sound. On Saturday we all got up and visited
then when HattieJo went down for her morning nap Gigi and I did "the shred" workout DVD while the men "tended to the farm" (dog's)... Then the girls went to Khol's and Target in search of a coat for Gigi (she didn't come prepared for cold NC!). Then we came home to get baths and dressed for the tea room. The fellas went riding around looking at land and houses since we are in search of a new place to live around here! We had a GREAT time at the tea room. HattieJo sat in a high chair for the first time being out and did GREAT! Here are a few pictures from our outing:
Then we went to @SummitRDU for an awesome service and then dinner at Red Robin, so it was a fun eventful day!
*her cute valentine dress and leggings are from gigi and poppa, her dress has her name monogrammed on it!*

.won't you be my valentine?.

.mail.

One thing I always LOVE is getting mail... NOT BILLS, but notes, and especially packages. Since we live away from our families, we get lots of packages! When I got home from work on Wednesday there was a package from Pammie, Dale Dale, and Allie. It was a super cute dress, tights, and pjs for HattieJo! Then on Thursday there was a package from Grandmama, Grandaddy, and Aunt Bec for us! Here is a picture of the package from SC:

HattieJo got two stuffed animals, some cool sippy cups, and we got some $$$, a framed picture of HattieJo, candy(SKITTLES!), and a picture frame dedicated to Rev(my first pitbull that died 2 weeks ago). Thanks mom, dad, and aunt bec!

.busy as little bees.

This picture says it all. I am so tired!!! We have been so busy the past week! HattieJo is amazing at being on the go- Andrew always says to her,"Welcome to the life of being in the ministry little girl."
Here is a little peek at our week(since last Thursday):
Last Thursday-Young Pros (ministry that Andrew leads..we were at church til 9pm)
Friday night-game night for the Young Pros
Saturday- birthday party for a friend, @SummitRDU meeting, @SummitRDU service
Sunday-some Young Pro friends over for lunch
Monday night- baby shower for a girl in our small group
Tuesday night- I taught a workout class
Wednesday-small group at our house (LOVE our small group!!)
Thursday night-a Young Pro friend over for dinner (HattieJo's BFF Lori)
Friday night-Red and Pink party with friends and the Hopper's arrive...
Check back later for events of Gigi and Poppa's visit! We are very excited to see them!

*THANK YOU Pammie, Dale Dale and Allie for the cute pjs! They fit me great. I loved my dress and tights too! Love you, HattieJo*

.sitting up. (video)

*auntie erin and uncle mike sorry we didn't give you a shout out in the video, i was listing off everyone and TOTALLY forgot.. SORRY!!!..we LOVE yall too*
*this cute little outfit is from her aunt bec.. she bought it for her when we went to SC a couple weekends ago, well... its going to have to be returned to target, because it is too small-although it is a size 6mths... chunky monkey can't wear it!*

"Mommy WOW..I'm a BIG girl now!"

Well HattieJo has been trying the past week or two to sit up every time you lay her down for anything...So I have been sitting her up in the floor to play leaning against me, while on Friday she decided she was ready to do it herself! It is precious.. She sits up all strong, then that big ole belly starts to pull her forward! She is growing and changing so much. Here are a few pics of her sitting up and then one of her enjoying her new chair that she got for Christmas from Gigi and Poppa, but I had it monogrammed and just got it back this week! It is adorable!




**Side note.... this is my 100th post!! WOOHOOO!!!**

Happy Birthday Gigi!

**This is from HattieJo**
Happy Birthday Gigi! I hope that you have a great day, because you deserve a great one! I am so thankful that you are my Gigi. Thank you for all your love. Thank you for how you always love to change my diapers when I visit you and you like to get the stinkies from under my fat neck rolls, and you let me air it out too during my diaper changes!! I am excited to have my first "Gigi Day" when you visit me soon. I love you so much. Oh yeah my mommy and daddy say happy birthday and they love you too!

Snowed in Day #2

So we didn't have church on Sat. night due to the snow, and then we didn't have any services on Sunday either.. however, our AWESOME church posted the video of JD doing a "mini" version of his sermon on the website for people to have church in their homes. So that is what we did yesterday morning while HattieJo was napping, but she woke up just in time to do the prayer time with us. What a joy to worship as a family! Then we just hung out as a family for the day. Andrew ventured out and got us Sonic for supper...YUMMY!
Today Andrew headed out, he flew to the Pastor's Conference in Jacksonville, FL with JD. They will be back tomorrow night. This is such a great opportunity for Andrew! We will miss him though. Since he was gone I had a Katie and "Aunt D" over for lunch with HattieJo and I. Here are some pics:
We had a chicken finger salad bar:Then I noticed that one of the curtain rods in the kitchen was sagging so Danielle fixed it for me:I had to go out to the shed to get the tools and she captured a photo of me: (These are Andrews boots and jacket, but I did wear the boots when we played in the snow and they worked great as shovels, so don't hate on them too bad!)
I have now cleaned out/organized HattieJo's closet while she napped and now we are going to play and then dinner with Aunt D and Craig tonight!!!