Monday, April 25, 2011
Emily
Emily is really growing and changing like crazy these days. She is walking all over the place...the cutest thing in the world to watch. Which also means she is in to everything! She loves to say "mama" now but doesn't quite realize that I am the "mama" she is referring to. She has also started to show an extremely fierce "MINE!!" by growling like a tiger if by chance anything is taken from her at anytime. She is very possessive of her toys, books, or snack. She also has realized that when big sister has a snack, it is ONLY fair for her to enjoy the same thing. She has really enjoyed books for awhile now, but she REALLY loves reading! She will go from the living room, to Caroline's bookshelf, to her book baskets, and spend a lot of time looking at her literature. Of course, I think she is solely looking to find Elmo in each and every book, but either way, she is turning pages and enjoying books just like her sister did. A good sign! She is so smiley and happy natured- will give you a giggle anytime of day. She has started trying to "sing" with music or with us when we are singing. It's precious. A lot earlier than Caroline (which her singing is cause enough for a whole blog entry:). She loves using a spoon and I don't mind letting her enjoy the novelty of it...even if it is a bit messy. :)
Big Girl Bed!!
Gram helped us get ready for Caroline's transition into her big girl bed! First night- total disaster. She was so excited, she couldn't settle or fall asleep. We wrestled back and forth for 3 hours, then I finally put her back in her crib...which broke her heart. BUT...the next day, she slept in it for her nap perfectly! Then she had a successful night of sleep in it last night. SO...wish us luck. She has not gotten out of the bed yet on her own, she still calls for me. Which is good. But how long will it take for our genius to figure it out...probably not long. However, there is no going back. We are full speed ahead. Transition #1-check! 
Gram came to town!
My mom came to visit us last week and we had a whole week to enjoy having Gram around. The girls were in heaven! We had lots of fun- a trip to the zoo, a few shopping trips, lots of yummy meals, and some quality time spent here at the house. She got to experience our Arkansas spring weather with tornado sirens, bad storms, and a few hours without power. The storms were so bad that we actually woke the girls and took them across the street to our tiny little police department "jail". Always and adventure when hiding from tornadoes! Regardless, we had a blast and look forward to our trip home to GA in May. Thanks for coming Mom!
Please enjoy these pictures...especially of CGH...you can laugh. I do...those sun "goggles" are a must for her wardrobe...and her hair usually compliments it perfectly. :) I love my 2 year old!
Please enjoy these pictures...especially of CGH...you can laugh. I do...those sun "goggles" are a must for her wardrobe...and her hair usually compliments it perfectly. :) I love my 2 year old!
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Ironic? Maybe...
But my beloved Iphone I wrote about last post that kept me SO occupied...it took a bath tonight and is on the skitz. Boo! Forgive me if I am out of touch (with reality as well) with you these next few days. :(
Ramble Ramble
I was so excited the day Brad brought me home an Iphone- I finally joined the ranks of the "tech" savvy phone elite. It is amazing...so amazing that it has stolen all the glory from our good 'ol faithful laptop. Which has lead me to this revelation- I am not blogging or taking as many "real"pictures because I am using the phone. I don't even have to check my email on the computer anymore, so I really never open my old friend. I can send pics, videos and so much more at such ease that our family and friends are getting the videos and pics that way instead of the blog. So I apologize to my blog friends...attempting to make a better plan. Any thoughts on uploading iphone pics to the blog?
The girls have been going full speed ahead and we are loving the spring weather. We have been busy with fun play dates here at our house each Tuesday, Thursday Bible study, and all sorts of fun in between. Its amazing how fast these days/weeks/months are flying! It seems like someone has flipped the "fast forward" button on us without our permission. Some fun news on the girls-
Emily is walking- well, has figured out she can! She finally decided Tuesday night, at 13 months to give it a go. She was chasing around a beach ball in the living room and all of a sudden took 5-6 steps like there was nothing to it! She continued through out the evening and we all celebrated and watched her go at it when daddy got home. We cheer and clap and praise her like she is winning a world medal. She EATS IT UP! She smiles, giggles, and laughs along with us. She still reverts to crawling most the time, but with coaching, she loves to try to walk. SO ready for it...I think. Watch out world. The 3 Hobbs girls are now up and moving!
Emily started saying "uh oh" with her sweet sweet little voice. She does it appropriately when something falls or drops. She babbles all the time and will give us mama, dada but that's about all as far as the words go. She has designated sounds that mean- I want something, pick me up, I'm tired, etc. But any day. She signs "all done" and "more please" sometimes, but usually baa's like a little goat. Sweetness.
She adores her sister- not new news- but their playing has become so much more interactive. Laughing, giggling, dancing, playing with a ball, tickling, has all become a "team" event. I love it. Caroline LOVES to play with her and screams "I TEACH SISSY THAT!!" and is so proud when Emily does something new. She is such a cheerleader...I love it.
Which leads me to our sweet almost 2 1/2 year old....
Miss Caroline is such a blessing. She is so busy and inquisitive that our days are NEVER dull. She has officially hit the "chatty" stage and my ears are usually about to fall off at the end of each day. (What will I do when Emily starts??) Caroline is SO smart that it blows my mind the conversations we have...but also a bit draining. She asks these questions about 245,678 times a day-
"What's your name?"
"What kind?"
"What color?"
"Where is it?"
And please know for future reference that generalized answers do not cut it. She wants specifics. Everyone who walks by, dogs, cats...they all must have a name. She needs name brands, real colors (like aquamarine, topaz, you know, the fun names), specific locations. She won't settle until she has a concrete understanding of the thoughts at hand. She develops such an amazing schema and connects ideas that I would never expect her to. Lots of fun to watch and see...a bit tiring like I said. She also has no fear of strangers which leads us to meet a lot of new people. I know that my "embarrassing moments" as a mother are only beginning, but at Kroger the other day she approached our cashier in her extremely "up close and personal" way (literally as CLOSE as she can get to your face/eyes) and asked her "What kind of hair?" This particular cashier was the sweetest, most congenial, wonderful African American mommy of 5....so thankfully she had a great answer for her....something like corkscrew rows....anyway, Caroline soaked it in and I could tell was dying to explore it even more. Thankfully, we dropped it at that. Oh what fun we will have with her intriguing mind at work.
Caroline asks where Emily is each morning when she wakes, and usually after each nap if I do not already have Emily with me. She told me the other morning that "Emily is my best friend" out of the clear blue. It melted me. I hope and pray the girls will truly be best friends for life. And again, she loves to say that she "taught" sis how to do everything. So sweet.
As a parent, my biggest fear, challenge, and hope for my life is to be a walking, talking, Godly example for my children. I have attempted to start ingraining the Truth into their lives in every way possible. I want Jesus to be part of our everyday conversation. I want them to know how much God loves them and is their friend. I had such a proud mommy moment the other evening when this conversation occurred:
Me:Let's talk about something!What should we talk about?
Cgh-Jesus!!
Me-Great idea!! Let's talk about Jesus. What do you know about Jesus?
Cgh- Jesus loves ME! Jesus loves YOU!
Me- Ahh!! That's right! What else do you know about Jesus?
Cgh- He live in my heart!
Me- Ahh!! Yes, that's right! He wants to live in your heart one day! What else??
Cgh-He die on cross (this is a new one...with Easter coming up, so I didn't think she had processed it yet.)
Me- Yes! That's right! ....and I proceeded to tell her about how He is Alive now and so on and so on. Thank you LORD for these moments...where my effort and prayers at least give me a glimpse of the fact that my sweet little one's are learning who He is. I know this is so very elementary, but she is only 2 and already starting to gather her knowledge of her Savior- I love it!
Which leads me to 2 more sweet stories...there have been several times where Caroline will out of her care and concern look at me and say, "I pray for you" . I asked her, "Who says that?" And she answered, "Daddy say I pray for you". Which made me happy that she associated her daddy with praying for people.
A more comical use of "I pray for you mama" came at bath time the other night when the girls were splashing and dumping water everywhere...I lost my temper a bit and raised my voice. After a second, I apologized to her for raising my voice, and asked her to forgive me. Which she said, yes of course. Then a few seconds later she says, "I pray for you mama. Dear Jesus, mama, dada, amen." Basically- she thought I needed prayed for after my outburst...which was probably right on target. It made me giggle. But once again, such proof of her BIG heart and sincerity.
Today she told me new baby was a boy, and that it had on a blue shirt, blue pants, and blue shoes. And we would put a blue passy in his mouth. New baby is always on the forefront of her mind and at random moments she needs to check and make sure my tummy is still there. Not much fun when you feel like the Pillsbury dough girl, but I don't mind. OH the stories go on and on. I wish you could all walk a day or two in our lives and share the pure JOY and excitement they bring to my life!
On a totally different note- Brad is celebrating being done with a big presentation that he presented to all his faculty, coworkers, and bigwigs this past Tuesday. He stressed majorly over it but did an amazing job. He received several kind emails from his faculty that complemented his hard work- THANKFULLY! We have all been stressed and craving some daddy-time. This is his first weekend off in what seems like eternity. Hopefully he can rest some and find some rejuvenation.
I am trucking along doing the same old thing. I am super thrilled that tomorrow night I get to go see Beth Moore LIVE here at Verizon arena. She and Travis Cottrell are here for 2 nights and my sweet friend rounded me up 2 tickets at no cost. I am OVERLY confident that God has some amazing things to show me this weekend and I am so excited! I am a HUGE fan of Beth's. I have done several of her Bible studies and look forward to leading our own Bible study in one of her studies this next fall.
My mom is coming to town on Saturday to spend the week with us! She is on spring break, or some other kind of break, and I have been counting the days until her arrival. We can't wait to see her. Wish dad could come, but his schedule and hers didn't match up this time. Hopefully while she is here we will get Caroline's "big girl" bed and set it up. Big challenge, but we must face it! I think Grammy will be on nighttime duty to make sure she stays in it...lol...JK. I am praying she will do well with it. Laugh if you must, but she has crossed every other milestone effortlessly and I am hoping she does the same with this.
And my novel ends now. Sorry for rambling, but at least I documented a few fun things. More to come...next time I put my silly phone down.
The girls have been going full speed ahead and we are loving the spring weather. We have been busy with fun play dates here at our house each Tuesday, Thursday Bible study, and all sorts of fun in between. Its amazing how fast these days/weeks/months are flying! It seems like someone has flipped the "fast forward" button on us without our permission. Some fun news on the girls-
Emily is walking- well, has figured out she can! She finally decided Tuesday night, at 13 months to give it a go. She was chasing around a beach ball in the living room and all of a sudden took 5-6 steps like there was nothing to it! She continued through out the evening and we all celebrated and watched her go at it when daddy got home. We cheer and clap and praise her like she is winning a world medal. She EATS IT UP! She smiles, giggles, and laughs along with us. She still reverts to crawling most the time, but with coaching, she loves to try to walk. SO ready for it...I think. Watch out world. The 3 Hobbs girls are now up and moving!
Emily started saying "uh oh" with her sweet sweet little voice. She does it appropriately when something falls or drops. She babbles all the time and will give us mama, dada but that's about all as far as the words go. She has designated sounds that mean- I want something, pick me up, I'm tired, etc. But any day. She signs "all done" and "more please" sometimes, but usually baa's like a little goat. Sweetness.
She adores her sister- not new news- but their playing has become so much more interactive. Laughing, giggling, dancing, playing with a ball, tickling, has all become a "team" event. I love it. Caroline LOVES to play with her and screams "I TEACH SISSY THAT!!" and is so proud when Emily does something new. She is such a cheerleader...I love it.
Which leads me to our sweet almost 2 1/2 year old....
Miss Caroline is such a blessing. She is so busy and inquisitive that our days are NEVER dull. She has officially hit the "chatty" stage and my ears are usually about to fall off at the end of each day. (What will I do when Emily starts??) Caroline is SO smart that it blows my mind the conversations we have...but also a bit draining. She asks these questions about 245,678 times a day-
"What's your name?"
"What kind?"
"What color?"
"Where is it?"
And please know for future reference that generalized answers do not cut it. She wants specifics. Everyone who walks by, dogs, cats...they all must have a name. She needs name brands, real colors (like aquamarine, topaz, you know, the fun names), specific locations. She won't settle until she has a concrete understanding of the thoughts at hand. She develops such an amazing schema and connects ideas that I would never expect her to. Lots of fun to watch and see...a bit tiring like I said. She also has no fear of strangers which leads us to meet a lot of new people. I know that my "embarrassing moments" as a mother are only beginning, but at Kroger the other day she approached our cashier in her extremely "up close and personal" way (literally as CLOSE as she can get to your face/eyes) and asked her "What kind of hair?" This particular cashier was the sweetest, most congenial, wonderful African American mommy of 5....so thankfully she had a great answer for her....something like corkscrew rows....anyway, Caroline soaked it in and I could tell was dying to explore it even more. Thankfully, we dropped it at that. Oh what fun we will have with her intriguing mind at work.
Caroline asks where Emily is each morning when she wakes, and usually after each nap if I do not already have Emily with me. She told me the other morning that "Emily is my best friend" out of the clear blue. It melted me. I hope and pray the girls will truly be best friends for life. And again, she loves to say that she "taught" sis how to do everything. So sweet.
As a parent, my biggest fear, challenge, and hope for my life is to be a walking, talking, Godly example for my children. I have attempted to start ingraining the Truth into their lives in every way possible. I want Jesus to be part of our everyday conversation. I want them to know how much God loves them and is their friend. I had such a proud mommy moment the other evening when this conversation occurred:
Me:Let's talk about something!What should we talk about?
Cgh-Jesus!!
Me-Great idea!! Let's talk about Jesus. What do you know about Jesus?
Cgh- Jesus loves ME! Jesus loves YOU!
Me- Ahh!! That's right! What else do you know about Jesus?
Cgh- He live in my heart!
Me- Ahh!! Yes, that's right! He wants to live in your heart one day! What else??
Cgh-He die on cross (this is a new one...with Easter coming up, so I didn't think she had processed it yet.)
Me- Yes! That's right! ....and I proceeded to tell her about how He is Alive now and so on and so on. Thank you LORD for these moments...where my effort and prayers at least give me a glimpse of the fact that my sweet little one's are learning who He is. I know this is so very elementary, but she is only 2 and already starting to gather her knowledge of her Savior- I love it!
Which leads me to 2 more sweet stories...there have been several times where Caroline will out of her care and concern look at me and say, "I pray for you" . I asked her, "Who says that?" And she answered, "Daddy say I pray for you". Which made me happy that she associated her daddy with praying for people.
A more comical use of "I pray for you mama" came at bath time the other night when the girls were splashing and dumping water everywhere...I lost my temper a bit and raised my voice. After a second, I apologized to her for raising my voice, and asked her to forgive me. Which she said, yes of course. Then a few seconds later she says, "I pray for you mama. Dear Jesus, mama, dada, amen." Basically- she thought I needed prayed for after my outburst...which was probably right on target. It made me giggle. But once again, such proof of her BIG heart and sincerity.
Today she told me new baby was a boy, and that it had on a blue shirt, blue pants, and blue shoes. And we would put a blue passy in his mouth. New baby is always on the forefront of her mind and at random moments she needs to check and make sure my tummy is still there. Not much fun when you feel like the Pillsbury dough girl, but I don't mind. OH the stories go on and on. I wish you could all walk a day or two in our lives and share the pure JOY and excitement they bring to my life!
On a totally different note- Brad is celebrating being done with a big presentation that he presented to all his faculty, coworkers, and bigwigs this past Tuesday. He stressed majorly over it but did an amazing job. He received several kind emails from his faculty that complemented his hard work- THANKFULLY! We have all been stressed and craving some daddy-time. This is his first weekend off in what seems like eternity. Hopefully he can rest some and find some rejuvenation.
I am trucking along doing the same old thing. I am super thrilled that tomorrow night I get to go see Beth Moore LIVE here at Verizon arena. She and Travis Cottrell are here for 2 nights and my sweet friend rounded me up 2 tickets at no cost. I am OVERLY confident that God has some amazing things to show me this weekend and I am so excited! I am a HUGE fan of Beth's. I have done several of her Bible studies and look forward to leading our own Bible study in one of her studies this next fall.
My mom is coming to town on Saturday to spend the week with us! She is on spring break, or some other kind of break, and I have been counting the days until her arrival. We can't wait to see her. Wish dad could come, but his schedule and hers didn't match up this time. Hopefully while she is here we will get Caroline's "big girl" bed and set it up. Big challenge, but we must face it! I think Grammy will be on nighttime duty to make sure she stays in it...lol...JK. I am praying she will do well with it. Laugh if you must, but she has crossed every other milestone effortlessly and I am hoping she does the same with this.
And my novel ends now. Sorry for rambling, but at least I documented a few fun things. More to come...next time I put my silly phone down.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
BIG news!!
We are so excited to announce to the world that we are expecting baby #3!! God has definatley gotten our attention as He has revealed His plan for our family in His own perfect timing. Little Love #3 was a surprise but a beautiful one that we can't stop smiling about. While our world will be rocked, yet again with 3 babies under the age of 3 for a short period of time...we are up for the challenge and thankful for the blessing of children.
"New Baby" is what we call it around the house and it seems that daily Caroline finds ways to incorporate it into our conversations. So that is what I will refer to it as. New baby is due October 26th. I am 11 weeks tomorrow. I have been terribly sick...3 days after our positive pregnancy test I had to call the doctor for a neausua prescription and have used Zofran when needed. I am happy to report that for the most part the neausea has tapered off and hopefully will not return! Being sick with 2 other little ones around is quite an event. On top of the pregnancy sick I have had an AWFUL cold/sinus headache issue going on that lead me to 2 different trips to the ER to make sure that everything was ok. March was truly a blur with me being so sick and out of comission. Thankfully, family and friends helped us through that tough spot and we are ready to get our feet back under us and running!
New baby will be 20 months apart from Emily, who is 15 months apart from Caroline. We are so excited about the closeness in their age...but also extrememly nervous about how the first few months/years will be with 3 babies in tow. BUT I love envisioning them as 3,4,5 year olds playing beautifully together outside while I paint my toenails in the sun and sip sweet tea while watching. LOL. Yes...I've already started dreaming. But I also look forward to seeing the bonds of siblinghood develop in these early years....if my memory will hold up to remember down the road. New baby is huge...well, new baby's mommy is huge. I popped out IMMEDIATELY, like 7 weeks!! 2 options here to believe: #1 it is a 3rd baby, that's just how it goes. #2 my tummy is just used to this baby thing and enjoys the open invitation to bulge. Either way, we had lots of people thinking twins were headed our way with our signs and symptoms being so strong. Either way, we would have survived (I think) but we are happy to report that just 1 baby was spotted at this doctors appointment.
The plan is to move the 2 girls into the same room and give Emily's room to new baby. We have an extra room...but we would like to keep it open for guests and still use it for the playroom/office/anything room. I love the idea of the girls being together- but a lot must happen before then. We have 6 1/2 months to accomplish quite a bit before new baby makes his/her debut: -Caroline needs to move to a "big girl" bed and learn how to sleep and STAY put -Emily will then transition into Caroline's crib -The art of sleeping will be introduced again to both girls- I guess they will share the same bedtime and just "talk it out" until someone falls asleep first?? Any tips are welcomed! -The biggy...Caroline must get pottytrained. I can't stomach or manage 3 in diapers. Nope. Can't do it. And probably can't afford it!!
So those are just he BIG milestones I see heading our way at a lightening speed pace. Prayers and notes of encouragement are always welcomed...lol.
Boy? Girl? We don't have a preference. We just want a healthy little one to add to the crew. A girl would be easy...we have all the clothes, experiences, know-how with little baby girls. A boy? Truly scares me a little bit. BUT I know Brad would love having a son...and of course I would too...but we have this "girl thing" down pretty well I think. Either way, we find out at our next appointment on May 23rd! Can't wait. Red hair??? How fun would that be...could it really happen a 3rd time? We'll see!
New baby is already loved and adored by its sisters. Caroline loves to talk about it- she always says it is a girl baby, and has named it "Allie". Whatever floats her boat for now. She actually recognized the baby in the ultrasound video and noted it was naked. She asked if it was taking a bath. Then she asked if it was born. Which makes sense...mommy went to the doctor and came back with pictures and video of the new baby...it must be hiding out at the doctors office. But at the same time, she knows it is in my tummy growing to be a big baby. Either way, I love seeing her excitement. Emily has waved to the new baby on the dvd. That's about the extent of their relationship now. ;)
We are so in love with new baby already, and the ultrasound and pictures just cemented that love even more. Although the Lord is growing our family at a rapid pace, unlike a lot of traditional families, and a little different that what we had roadmapped for our family on the map of life, we are so excited and wouldn't change a thing. We know that the Lord equipped us and will continue eqquipping us with ALL we need at each moment of each day. We are so thankful that we are not in the control of this master plan...but that we can REST in the hands of the One who is.
"New Baby" is what we call it around the house and it seems that daily Caroline finds ways to incorporate it into our conversations. So that is what I will refer to it as. New baby is due October 26th. I am 11 weeks tomorrow. I have been terribly sick...3 days after our positive pregnancy test I had to call the doctor for a neausua prescription and have used Zofran when needed. I am happy to report that for the most part the neausea has tapered off and hopefully will not return! Being sick with 2 other little ones around is quite an event. On top of the pregnancy sick I have had an AWFUL cold/sinus headache issue going on that lead me to 2 different trips to the ER to make sure that everything was ok. March was truly a blur with me being so sick and out of comission. Thankfully, family and friends helped us through that tough spot and we are ready to get our feet back under us and running!
New baby will be 20 months apart from Emily, who is 15 months apart from Caroline. We are so excited about the closeness in their age...but also extrememly nervous about how the first few months/years will be with 3 babies in tow. BUT I love envisioning them as 3,4,5 year olds playing beautifully together outside while I paint my toenails in the sun and sip sweet tea while watching. LOL. Yes...I've already started dreaming. But I also look forward to seeing the bonds of siblinghood develop in these early years....if my memory will hold up to remember down the road. New baby is huge...well, new baby's mommy is huge. I popped out IMMEDIATELY, like 7 weeks!! 2 options here to believe: #1 it is a 3rd baby, that's just how it goes. #2 my tummy is just used to this baby thing and enjoys the open invitation to bulge. Either way, we had lots of people thinking twins were headed our way with our signs and symptoms being so strong. Either way, we would have survived (I think) but we are happy to report that just 1 baby was spotted at this doctors appointment.
The plan is to move the 2 girls into the same room and give Emily's room to new baby. We have an extra room...but we would like to keep it open for guests and still use it for the playroom/office/anything room. I love the idea of the girls being together- but a lot must happen before then. We have 6 1/2 months to accomplish quite a bit before new baby makes his/her debut: -Caroline needs to move to a "big girl" bed and learn how to sleep and STAY put -Emily will then transition into Caroline's crib -The art of sleeping will be introduced again to both girls- I guess they will share the same bedtime and just "talk it out" until someone falls asleep first?? Any tips are welcomed! -The biggy...Caroline must get pottytrained. I can't stomach or manage 3 in diapers. Nope. Can't do it. And probably can't afford it!!
So those are just he BIG milestones I see heading our way at a lightening speed pace. Prayers and notes of encouragement are always welcomed...lol.
Boy? Girl? We don't have a preference. We just want a healthy little one to add to the crew. A girl would be easy...we have all the clothes, experiences, know-how with little baby girls. A boy? Truly scares me a little bit. BUT I know Brad would love having a son...and of course I would too...but we have this "girl thing" down pretty well I think. Either way, we find out at our next appointment on May 23rd! Can't wait. Red hair??? How fun would that be...could it really happen a 3rd time? We'll see!
New baby is already loved and adored by its sisters. Caroline loves to talk about it- she always says it is a girl baby, and has named it "Allie". Whatever floats her boat for now. She actually recognized the baby in the ultrasound video and noted it was naked. She asked if it was taking a bath. Then she asked if it was born. Which makes sense...mommy went to the doctor and came back with pictures and video of the new baby...it must be hiding out at the doctors office. But at the same time, she knows it is in my tummy growing to be a big baby. Either way, I love seeing her excitement. Emily has waved to the new baby on the dvd. That's about the extent of their relationship now. ;)
We are so in love with new baby already, and the ultrasound and pictures just cemented that love even more. Although the Lord is growing our family at a rapid pace, unlike a lot of traditional families, and a little different that what we had roadmapped for our family on the map of life, we are so excited and wouldn't change a thing. We know that the Lord equipped us and will continue eqquipping us with ALL we need at each moment of each day. We are so thankful that we are not in the control of this master plan...but that we can REST in the hands of the One who is.
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