New Year, New Beginnings...

And the first thing I would like to change is the awful stomach virus that decided to come around again - Hannah got it overnight on Friday and by Sunday evening it was my turn. Brad and Taylor have been spared this time (so far), but I am still recovering. I am ready for a new, HEALTHY 2009 with lots of fun and family time.

Now that the holidays are getting behind us, I'm having to start thinking of Hannah's first birthday and the party that hasn't been planned. With Taylor it was a huge shin-dig, but I don't want to go that route again... we're into scaling down (birthdays are a bit out of hand around here) and Hannah only cares about the cake anyway.

We wish you all a very Happy New Year - from our family to yours! Much love...

Merry Christmas to all!

Just wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!

A Little Entertainment & Fun - from our house to yours!

Hannah can wave bye-bye, and say it (though she's a little hesitant with the words in this clip) - this was taken about 3 weeks ago...

Taylor and Hannah have started a new game where Taylor runs through the room like a crazy person and Hannah thinks it is hilarious... see for yourself (we live in a zoo)

We went to the Bahama christmas parade this past weekend and got lots of suckers... Hannah LOVES suckers, but with a 10 month-old, they get a little messy. I'm not sure which was funnier, Hannah with the sucker or Brad (who is a little OCD about cleaning) chasing her with wet wipes while she was having fun. Oh, they make her drool a little... ;-)

The latest is that "Hurricane Hannah" is getting closer to walking - she can stand without holding anything and balances well, though still a bit scared - she sits when she realizes what she's doing.

Avery's new trick

I have to share this because it just makes me giggle... My neice, Avery (who is 4 days older than Hannah), had a little "duel" with her Daddy. Enjoy!

Happy Holidays!

Trying to catch up on work and holiday commitments these days, means less time for blog posting - I'm sorry that it has been so long. We all were plagued by the flu epidemic going around Taylor's school - it spreads so easily and really got us bad. We're so very sorry to all that caught it from our clan - we tried to keep it contained! Taylor had her little dance show last night and I'm going to post video (you can also see video posted on our picasa page) and also some video of Hannah and Taylor. Hannah is talking and really trying to walk now - she has made great strides in the last month. Taylor has learned so much this year - she can write well and can spell out any word she sees. We're playing games now, like asking her what letter certain words start with, and she is almost always right - the "ch", "ph", and hard and soft "c" sounds get her sometimes...

Tap Dance - I missed the beginning b/c I thought Brad was getting video and then I had to switch to video mode on the camera...

Ballet Dance - This one got "cut" at the end - I guess it was too long for the camera, so it cut off the very end...

Pictures from the Polar Express trip and from dance show...

Happy Halloween!

Some pictures of our "Belle" - she is ready for the ball... I'll get more tonight!

Go Lightning!

Taylor's soccer team won last night with a score of 2-0... The kids were on fire! It is amazing to watch them learn throughout the season from a team that couldn't score at all, to this aggressive team that depend on each other. They did great, even though it was freezing outside.

Hannah had her ENT checkup yesterday and everything looked great. She goes back in a month for a hearing test, then back in 4 months for another checkup. I got to see the tube in her ear and it was pretty neat - I'm just glad that it is working and even happier to know that from here on out, ear infections can be treated with ear drops instead of oral antibiotics! She started pulling up on 10/11 (the day she turned 8 mos) and now she wants to stand all the time - she'll be walking in no time. Right now she is just so active that she is almost dangerous b/c she doesn't have the stability and keeps falling all the time. She is already "cruising" on furniture, so we're in the count-down to walking. It is all we can do to keep up with her now!

I'm in a crunch for work and working toward a major deadline this Friday, so this is going to be short. Hope everyone is doing well and I'll try to catch up more later.

OH! We went to Busch Gardens this weekend and Taylor rode the Big Bad Wolf twice!!! She loved it and wanted to keep riding, but the lines were too long... What a dare devil!

Lightning's First Win!

It has been a crazy weekend! Taylor's soccer team had their first win yesterday morning - they played a great game and it really paid off. I'm not sure who was more excited - the kids or the parents! Brad was exhausted from working the big yard sale all day on Saturday, but it was all worth it. I still have a TON of baby stuff to prep for a consignment sale, since I refuse to give it all away. The big news from this week is that Hannah gets tubes put in her ears on Thursday. Please pray for her on the 16th - her surgery is at 8:15am and while we know it is the best thing, it is still makes me worry. We went to play at Papa and Gigi's house today and made some videos... enjoy!

(Hannah on swing)


(Hannah on swing - The background noise is Taylor saying WHEE!)


(Taylor on swing - she made up a new song!)


(Hannah's car ride)


(Taylor's car ride - she somehow managed to get in there!)


(Hannah's slide - sorry this one is sideways...)

We're ready for the cooler weather!

It has been ages since I've updated and I'm so sorry. Things have been so hectic since school started back... Taylor loves her new class and has lots of new friends. Her old class was split in half, since many of the kids won't start kindergarten next year - Durham changes the age cutoff to 9/1, so kids that aren't 5 years old by 9/1 have to wait another year. The preschool used this cutoff to separate those kids so that they can remain in a class with friends that they will go to school with. That meant lots of slots in her existing class, so she has many new friends this year and a much bigger class (20 kids!). She is writing her name every day and they are focusing on handwriting skills in general - we started homework this week too!

Soccer has taken off and Taylor has her 2nd game tonight. She has really enjoyed playing, but it is very time consuming for the family - we didn't really realize what it meant to be a soccer family, but around here it is taken very seriously! She started off with twice weekly practices and now we're up to twice weekly games. It really is a juggling act, but she is catching on and she sure does look cute in that uniform... Too bad we don't get "cute points"!

Hannah has been making strides - she is doing an "army crawl" these days, pulling herself with her elbows and pushing with her feet, though refusing to actually get her belly off of the ground. Don't get me wrong, she CAN pick up her belly, which she shows in her fancy yoga plank moves, but when she starts to crawl she goes back to the ground. So funny to watch, but she is really moving around now. She can't seem to shake these ear infections - we've been on 4 rounds of antibiotics in just over 2 months and I've requested a referral to an ENT to be sure that we're on the right path. Seeing as we haven't even started the "winter months", I can't see how she'll manage if she doesn't get tubes.

Brad's work has been busy lately and so has mine - our new system went live on 9/1/08, so it has been chaotic on both ends of the spectrum. I'm posting the video for Taylor's dance recital too, so enjoy - we just got the video on Tuesday night, so this one isn't my fault! ;-)

">

Wrapping up summer

It feels as though the end of summer is near as we prepare for Taylor's last year at preschool. She is moving up to Tracy and Dana's class (young 4s) and this will be her final home before starting at Mangum next fall. Her end-of-year Ice Cream party is this afternoon, since this is her last Friday in Mrs. JoAnn's class. We have open house next Thurs night to meet her new teachers and then they are closed Friday to prepare for new classes on the 25th. She is excited about moving up and graduating to the "big playground", while it is all bittersweet for me - realizing that it makes her one year closer to school buses and growing up.

Brad has been at the beach for the past couple of nights, and helping his parents paint a veranda that was built over the patio, so we've had lots of "girl time" at home. Taylor has been a true angel and such a big help to me - she got ready this morning without the slightest hesitation, which was wonderful since I had an early meeting. We have our ups and downs, but she is such a great kid and sometimes I think I just don't tell her enough.

That said, she had a couple of "memorable moments" this week. Yesterday I snuck out of bed with both girls still sound asleep and thought I would get my shower before anyone got up. (Famous last words) Taylor stumbled into the bathroom and I told her to be sure to close the door so she doesn't wake up Hannah, to which she replied "Oh Mommy... Hannah is already awake - I already woke her up!" I sarcastically replied with "oh thank you taylor" and she said "You're welcome Mommy!" and I was quickly reminded that sarcasm is completely lost on 4-year-olds... The other good one was this morning when I asked her if she would like to call Daddy to tell him good morning and she said no. I was shocked and asked if she was sure, and she quickly said "Mommy (sigh), we're going to the beach tonight - I'll talk to him when I get there" as if I were crazy for even suggesting it! Kids...

Hannah had her 6-month checkup yesterday and she weighed in at 13 pounds, 15 ounces. That put her right around 10th percentile for weight, BUT she was at 90th percentile in height! Her doc said that she tends to call these babies her "pint-sized pistols", which is extremely fitting, and that ironically they tend to be females. After a moment of observing Hannah, she noted that it was going to prove difficult for us to keep weight on her due to her activity level. Hannah is trying to crawl, tries to sit up when laying on her back, and loves movement in general (she is way ahead of most 6 month olds developmentally - I think it is simply a survival technique and an effort to catch up to big sis). She hates car seats or anything that tries to keep her tied down (with the one exception being the sling - probably because it attatches her to Mom). She is definitely taking the crown for being high maintenance and she makes her likes and dislikes very clear. Overall she is a great baby, but knowing what pushes her buttons is critical to making life manageable... somehow that sounds very familiar and as I am constantly reminded, she gets that from me.

We are doing great though and are heading to the beach again this afternoon for a little break from the chaos before work gets completely crazy on me. Next week will be rough and the one after that even harder as we move toward the "go-live" date of 9/1 on our new billing system. Pray for us and we hope that you all are doing well.
(here are some pics of the girls from dinner on Tuesday - Hannah enjoys her feet as much as her actual dinner!)

Busy, busy, busy

It seems like an eternity since I've updated, so let me catch up. We've been very busy these days, but the biggest news is that Hannah was baptized this past Sunday. Here is a picture from that very special day (she slept through it all!):


We just finished a round of antibiotics for Hannah's first ear infection - just shy of 6 months old, but she had good ones. They even passed into her eyes, and all in less than 24 hours! Vacation bible school was lots of fun (slideshow below) and that was certainly a whirlwind week, but worth it all.

We just ordered Taylor a new mattress/boxspring for her bed and it will truly be a princess bed when those come in. I told her that she'll need a stool to get into bed after we put it all together - it is so tall! We decided to wrap up the existing mattress and save it for Hannah's crib conversion to the full bed, since it was the perfect "starter set", but not good for much longer than that. Since we often have to sleep up there with her, it benefits the entire family to have a bed that we can stand to lay on.

Taylor has decided that she wants to play soccer this fall, so we have those sign-ups for NJAA on the 18th. We'll be going this weekend to get all of the necessary soccer gear. I also have to sign her up for dance class soon (guess we'll be needing new dance shoes too), so as you see, it is going to be a very busy fall too. Ahh, I guess this is how it will be from now on - go, go, go!

Time just flies!

We've had a very busy week, so I'm a little behind in posting. Sunday night started a week of Vacation Bible School and it tends to make the days hectic. Taylor had her 4 year old check-up on Monday as well and weighed in at 41 pounds and was 40.5 inches tall. We've started to transition to booster seats (safe ones!) now that she is over 40 pounds and Hannah will inherit the Britax seats when I get a chance to clean them up.

I have to note that Taylor got a shot and not only did she hold still, she watched the needle go in and she didn't even cry! Gigi gave her one piece of "green money" for being so brave and I have to admit that I was shocked (and so proud) of how well she did. Dr. G also suggested implementing a "stoplight system" at home for behavior, so Taylor and I have put some time in this week to create our stoplight and we're almost ready to start using it. I'm hopeful that this will make for a more peaceful house and much less "negotiating"...

I continue the hunt for an acceptable bottle this week. As I've mentioned before, Hannah is not a big fan of bottle feeding - she likes Mom best and is really determined to stick to that plan. We did find a bottle that she tolerated, but now we found out that it contains "BPA", which is the bad chemical in plastics. Since I don't want to knowingly subject her to something that will cause her harm, I'm trying to find a suitable alternative, which is proving harder than we thought. I've tried several brands with no success and have now ordered some online which I hope she'll take. In the meantime, she has decided to take up lots of "night nursing" to make up for the fact that she has gone on a milk-strike during the day. Did I mention that I'm completely exhausted?!

Finally, I'm posting this great comparison picture - this is Taylor on her 2nd, 3rd, and 4th birthdays - can you believe what a difference a year makes?! These kids just grow up too fast...

TIme sure does fly...

We had a nice vacation (though it always goes by so fast) and I've added some pictures from Taylor's birthday celebrations. She had her pool party here for friends, a cookout for her actual birthday at the beach, and a little cupcake party at school yesterday. There are also pictures from Wonderweek, which is like a mini -vacation bible school at church/daycare.

I worked 2 half-days from the beach while Hannah slept and Brad & Taylor went on the beach. Taylor now has an impressive tan (not fair) and looks like an official beach bum, while Mom is still as white as ever. I got to see the beach on Friday (the 4th), but didn't make it out Saturday since I ended up with a crazy form of pink-eye called EKC. Fortunately there is an emergency eye center in Myrtle Beach and they gave me some good drops, but I really looked rough for vacation! We all had a very nice time away and we're looking forward to another brief trip next weekend.

It has been a busy week this week - Brad has had to work late some, I've been on-call for work, and we had Taylor's party at school yesterday (then our small group meeting last night), so the week has flown by. I can't believe that tomorrow will be Friday, but we're looking forward to a quieter weekend - maybe we can spend some time at the pool! Enjoy the pictures and I hope to get some more soon, especially of Hannah, since she slept through all of the beach fun.

Beach bound...

This evening we'll be heading to the beach for some fun, sun, and relaxation (hopefully)! We started a trend a couple of years ago by vacationing over the extended 4th of july holiday and now Taylor expects to spend her birthdays at the beach. We're excited and all ready to get away for awhile - even though I will have to work some while I'm there. Since I was on maternity leave, I haven't built up quite enough vacation for a long time away.

I'm going to try and take lots of pictures and also work on loading pictures from Taylor's birthday party this past weekend - everyone had a great time and she got lots of wonderful gifts! I'll post soon :)

Recital Pics

Finally - here are some recital pictures and if you can see, I've also added some that we had taken this weekend. Enjoy! (I'm going to get some video up soon - we had a busy weekend and spent lots of time at the pool so I didn't have time to get it uploaded/edited)

We're ready for the cooler weather...

I am very behind in the updates, I know, but it has been a very busy time in the Colvard family... We made it through the dance recital, believe it or not! It was a weekend of chaos and exhaustion, but we all survived relatively unscathed. Taylor had a blast and danced beautifully. We took some video from dress rehearsal and I'll try to load that this weekend - they wouldn't let us video the real thing, so you'll have to excuse the talking and shouting while the kids dance. We're supposed to get a real video soon though, so I'll try to post that if I ever get it. I have pictures that I'll try to compile this weekend too.

Last week was hectic - Hannah had her 4 month checkup on Monday (6/9) and she was 12 pounds even. The bad news is that she slipped from 54% to 15% on the weight scale. She is NOT a fan of the bottles, so she goes on a slight "strike" during the work days and refuses to drink more than 3-4 ounces per bottle. It is often a fight to get more than 2 ounces in her, so no surprise to Mom that she wasn't getting plump enough. We started rice cereal and she has taken to it very well - she gobbles it up in large amounts, so we should get some chubby baby legs before long! She also got 3 shots, which turned into a fever of 102 on Monday night (and Tuesday) and a low-grade fever on Wednesday. Taylor wasn't feeling very well on Friday and we suspected a UTI or bladder infection (but apparently just a virus), so it was not a normal week at all.

Father's Day was fun - Brad scored a Wii that he has been wanting for quite some time now (actually Julie scored it after driving to Oxford to find it b/c nowhere else within 100 miles had one!), so we spent a good portion of the weekend playing that. Taylor and Brad love to play bowling and Mario Kart together while Hannah and i cheer them on - we get in about 30 minutes or more of play time in the evenings too. The girls got Brad a sweet picture for his office that really tugged at his heart, so that was very touching for all of us, and he even got a new bathing suit too! Daddy really racked up this year :)

It is tough to update almost 2 weeks worth of stuff into one post, but there it is. I'll get the pictures and video up as soon as I can and I hope that everyone is doing well. Taylor's pool party is next Saturday, so Mom is starting to "panic" about getting all of the last minute things together, but it should be a good time. After that, we'll be heading to the beach for her real birthday - FUN!

The start of summer

I can see that our summer will be filled with days on the water - whether it be at the pool or on the lake. Saturday was spent at the pool and ended with a little excitement, when Taylor jumped into the deep end and we didn't know it. Imagine my shock to look up and see the lifeguard carrying my daughter toward me... She and Brad had gone to the bathroom and she apparently beat him back to the pool - I was introducing Hannah to the water at the other end of the pool and wasn't looking. I think we've all learned our lessons and are very thankful that it didn't have a very different outcome!

Sunday was spent on Kerr Lake in Papa & Gigi's boat, where Taylor got her first ride on a tube. She sat in the middle, while her daddy did his best to hang on behind her - it is funny how much bigger the tube is in my memories, but I was so much smaller too... She had a blast and I can see that lake days will fill much of our summer this year and going forward. I think she would have stayed behind the boat into the evening if that nasty storm hadn't crept up on us. We managed to get the boat out and into the truck before it got bad, but only 5 minutes away from the boat ramp, we had to pull over while the truck and boat were beaten with nearly golf ball sized hail. It was quite a storm and left an impression on ALL of us!

Finally, this week is recital time. TAYLOR'S RECITAL IS AT A 6:00PM ON SATURDAY AND 2:00PM ON SUNDAY AT NORTHERN HIGH SCHOOL. We'd love to see you all, so please feel free to come, but don't be late - her first dance is #3, so be early and in your seats. We're praying that costumes come in and that we all survive this full week of rehearsals!

Growing by leaps and bounds...

What a difference a couple of days make... We bought Hannah a new exersaucer on Friday - this one has several "stages", and she loves it. The first stage allows them to lay on a playmat with toys hanging above them. At first she struggled, but now she hits all of the toys and loves to lay there playing, especially in the mornings. It is amazing how fast these advances come and in another week or two she will probably be able to sit in the saucer itself!

Taylor has been keeping us busy too - I signed her up for summer gymnastics classes yesterday (she is VERY excited!). Abigail and Grace had their 7th birtday party at Bull City Gymnastics and Taylor loved it, so I figure it will entertain her and hopefully teach her NOT to break her neck. We have to get through the dance recital (June 7 &8), but hopefully it will be enjoyable and not too stressful... (Yes, I know that isn't going to be the case, but denial works well for me - the costumes haven't even come in!) We have to come back from the beach early on Monday to get her to dance class - of course she has practice on Memorial Day...

I'll try to snap some pics and video this weekend of the girls to post next week. I'm semi-dreading what should be a nice, relaxing weekend at the beach because it means I'll probably have to get into a bathing suit. Thus far I've managed to avoid even trying one on and I'm not even sure that I can squeeze all of this post-baby fat into one. I guess I'll have to cross that hurdle in the next day or two... I am making progress, but it's too bad weight watchers doesn't work overnight!

Sisterly love...

We got some great pictures last night of the girls together - Taylor loves holding Hannah and lucky for us, Hannah completely ADORES her big sister. We finally managed to get some pictures of Hannah's smile, though the lighting wasn't as good as I would have liked. Oh well, you have to take them when you can. We all went for a walk in the neighborhood last night - Brad pulled Taylor in the wagon and I pushed Hannah in the stroller. Taylor enjoyed it more - I think Hannah just wanted to go get in her bed, but it was a nice time together anyway. Hopefully the weather will stay on the cooler end for a while and we can get some more of those walks this summer.

Happy Mother's Day

Ok, so it is a day late, but Happy Mother's Day to everyone! I enjoyed my day, which began with both girls crawling in bed with me... it just doesn't get any better than that! We went to church and were joined by my parents, which was a treat. After church we headed to lunch and I put my diet in the back of my mind while I ate - ahh! I was able to catch an afternoon nap with both of my babies before heading over to Brad's parents house for dinner. Taylor really enjoyed playing with Abigail and Grace - they have so much fun together these days.

We had a busy day Saturday too with a visit with Meemaw, a trip to the library (just Taylor and Mom, like old times...), and Evan's birthday party. Evan's party was lots of fun - bounce house, outside play and even a ride on the big 4-wheeler with Evan's Uncle Charles! Taylor is already worked up for her party and it is still 2 months away! I'll try to write some more later but wanted to get a quick update out.

Here is a link to Taylor's christmas dance video - I wanted to make sure that I included it in the blog... The REAL recital is June 7th and 8th and if anyone is interested in coming, we'd love to have you! Taylor will be in three dances and is really looking forward to it.

Here we go!

I had a blog a while back, but I guess when you don't update it for 2 - 3 years, they must delete the account. This is my attempt to start again and hopefully I can keep it going this time. The girls are growing like weeds - Taylor has matured so much... I feel terrible because it seems like it happened when I wasn't looking and I've been so swamped with the baby that I wonder if I really wasn't looking. She is such a great big sister and Hannah completely adores her. Here are the latest pictures (Hannah's Album), but you can view our other albums from this link as well. I'll update more later!