Easter/Birthday Weekend 2011

Our weekend in enough pictures to wallpaper your bedroom:

3 years old!!

Dear Reesie,

Today you are three years old! I don't know where the time went this past year, but it sure was a big one for you. You learned how to use the potty, said good-bye to binky, slept in a toddler bed for the first time and even began to learn how to read. It's hard to believe that the seven pound squirming baby Daddy and a room full of nurses cheered into the world is now such a big girl.

We fell in love when they put you in our arms but we had no clue how much joy you would come to bring to our lives. While I'm sad to see you get older I can't wait to see what God has in store for you this next year. Bring it on three!

In honor of your birthday being on April 25, here are twenty-five of my favorite things about you, our newly three-year-old:

1. Your sweet voice.

2. How you ask to listen to "My God's Not Dead" by David Crowder every time we get in the car.

3. How excited you are to be a big sister and how according to you, you already are one.

4. Your long legs and arms.

5. The way you sit and read books with us- all day long if you could.

6. How you pinch your thumb and pointer finger together to put up three fingers.

7. The way you pray for things by thanking God for them, as if they've already happened.

8. Your love for your glitter shoes and how you call them your "sprinkle" shoes.

9. When you get dressed in the morning you'll ask me who gave you each article of clothing you're putting on.

10. How you can recognize and identify restaurant signs after eating there once.

11. The way you talk and interact with your Daddy. How you love for him to chase you around the house and take you on Daddy/Daughter dates to Chic-Fil-A and Dirt Cheap.

12. How you pump your fist in the air when you sing the last part of "How Great Thou Art."

13. How every curb becomes a balance beam for you to walk on.

14. The face you make when you concentrate.

15. Your method of climbing onto the big girl potty all by yourself. It looks like you're mounting a horse and makes me crack up every time.

16. Your dimples when you smile. I could kiss them a hundred times a day. (And that you let me.)

17. The voice and mannerisms you use when you get to be in charge.

18. How you make your Daddy stand at the bottom of the tunnel slide and yell "all clear" before you slide down.

19. The way you use your thumb to point at things.

20. Your ornery sense of humor and great appreciation for all things funny.

21. How you're not afraid to say no to big kids when they want you to do something you have no interest in doing.

22. That out of all the stories in your toddler Bible, you want to read "Joseph's Coat" every night before bed.

23. That you prefer Daddy's method for shampooing your hair.

24. That you're willing to do chores.

25. The times we hear you through your monitor praying yourself to sleep at night.

Happy Birthday Precious Girl!!

Your Daddy and I are crazy about you!!

24 weeks

I'm 24 weeks along! (Well truthfully, I kind of lost track.) I'm somewhere around there and when I go back to the doctor in a few weeks I'm going to have to ask him to clarify and then write it down. Maybe I'll make a paper chain or have Dan keep track for me. This baby is robbing me of brain cells I can't spare to lose!

(When Chica saw her Daddy getting ready to take my picture yesterday she came running over to get in the shot. Do you think it's a conditioned response?)
This ultrasound was from my appointment last week. Baby Hinton was breech at our 20 week appointment so the technician couldn't get a good view of her spine. Baby cooperated this time around and thankfully, everything looked great.
By this point her ears are fully formed and functioning. I guess that means it's also the week she learns how to sleep through anything. The other day Chica decided she wanted to say hello to her baby sister. She walked over to where I was and gave the side of my belly two solid whacks. Let the sweet sibling love commence. :)

a royal birthday tea party

My baby's going to be three on Monday.

Instead of throwing that match onto my emotional bonfire, drenched in the lighter fluid of pregnancy hormones, how about I show you pictures from her party instead?

We went small this year. Small and simple. With a family vacation coming up, our house on the market and several other factors at play, I just wasn't up for anything else. So simple it was. And you know what? It was my favorite party of hers to date.

We invited a handful of friends to the house for lunch, cake and play time. Each guest was asked to come in her favorite princess outfit.

Here's the Birthday Girl, waiting for her guests to arrive. She was so excited for her party she got dressed an hour early and sat in that seat while her Daddy and I completed the final preparations.

The princess spread: PB&J cut into flowers, Cheetos, strawberries, apples, cantaloupe, celery, cucumbers, carrots and pink cupcakes with pink icing (as requested by the Birthday Girl.) We grilled out for the adults.
The princess entrance is this way.
At last the guests started to arrive! Two Cinderellas, Belle and Ariel were all in attendance.
Who needs a prince on a white horse when you can tuck your donkey under your arm and haul it up the stairs all by yourself?

Chica wanted to open presents first, so that's just what we did.

If a present is really tough to open, try hoisting up your glass slipper for better leverage.
Time to eat!

After lunch it was time for cupcakes and pink tea.

After lunch was lots and lots of playing. Can you believe it, not a single princess had a meltdown. (They were too busy getting away with things like this):

Before we knew it, it was time for everyone to go home. Nap time had come and we didn't want anyone turning into a pumpkin. Before she went to sleep, Chica thanked me for her party in her sweet, unsolicited way. I'm so glad my nearly three year old enjoyed herself.

Partied out princess with her one heck of a party planning assistant Daddy.

why self esteem is a must

A few weeks ago, Chica and I went into a public restroom. (Who knew an almost three year old and a five month pregnant mama's bathroom breaks would be as synchronized as they have turned out to be?) We walked into the stall and there, towards the very back of the toilet seat was a tiny chink in the porcelain.

"Ewwww, that potty is YUCKY!"

On account of the other baby using my bladder as her personal trampoline, I wasn't up for switching stalls this late in the game. I hoisted my toddler up on the toilet and assured her that there was no way she was touching the yucky spot.

"See baby? Your bottom isn't nearly big enough to reach that far back on the seat."

She paused to contemplate that argument, looked me up and down and replied, "No, but YOURS is."

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A Portrait of Mama the Onion Head:

A Portrait of Daddy with a Ponytail (that rebel!):

Please note that after drawing the heads, she asked me to finish the bodies. I'm hoping the cute skirt downplays my massive backside.

If her renderings are accurate, it's amazing someone so cute could come from the likes of us. :)

22 weeks

Good morning bloggers! Chica's watching her What's in the Bible dvd, so I've bought myself a few minutes to update the blog. She just informed me that the pirate covering the timeline of church history is not pointing his "knife" (sword) towards the ground and asked me to please take a picture of her, so this might have to wait until nap time.

I'm 22 weeks along! I researched what's going on at 22 weeks, but that was a few days ago and the only thing I can remember is that baby girl is about the length of a package of Oreos. For some reason that one fact is what my pregnant brain retained. :) Baby Sister is quite the active girl. She has the hiccups regularly (just like her big sister did) and you can see her movements from the outside. She loves Sunday School class. Yesterday, during our lesson out of Romans she flipped and jumped the entire time. Can't say I blame her, chapter four makes me want to do a couple of hitch kicks too! Also unique to week 22- I got my first comment from a stranger in public.

Chica noticed her daddy taking my picture and wanted in on the action. (I have tried for 10 minutes to make the underline go away, but for the life of me, I can't figure it out. The dvd is winding down so I'm forging through. So sorry for the annoyance!)

Dan brought Chica a soccer uniform back from El Salvador. She loves it so much she's worn it twice in the past week.

I can hear the finale song, which means time to wrap it up. Happy Monday bloggers!

if you consign it, I will come

Today is a happy day in the Hinton home! In just a few hours we'll pick our favorite husband/Daddy up from the airport. He's been serving pastors and lay leaders in El Salvador for the past week. While we're proud of all the team did while they were there and expectant for what God will continue to do, we are ready to have our "Daddo" back!

The week without him has been surprisingly quick. Chica was a little resistant at nap time and woke up several nights to use the restroom, which was unusual. It could be she's more aware of when she needs to go or that the abnormal family dynamic threw her off. Heck, for all I know the wind could have changed and our toddler would adopt some new quirk.

I've felt spoiled with how much contact I've had with Dan while he's been gone. Somehow he had internet connection so he emailed a quick update each day. One afternoon during his break we got to Skype. Chica played him a song on the keyboard. Then she turned on one of the auto-beats and danced around the room, barking out orders for her father to join her. Even from five countries away, Chica can effectively boss her parents into a family of three flash mob.

I made sure in my email last night to let him know that my toughest sacrifice for the trip has yet to happen. You see, this morning I'm attending my favorite consignment sale of the year. You might wonder, what's the big deal about that? Well I'll tell you. Consignment sales happen to be the mother-load of all gently used but steeply discounted children stuff. They are a divine blessing sent from above to moms on a budget who were shocked to discover just how much money kids can suck from the income each month. I'm pretty sure when God first revealed the concept of a consignment sale, a choir of angels burst forth in song.

Or maybe that was just a chorus of ministry moms everywhere.

Needless to say, word has spread about this discounted goldmine of everything kids. Women arrive in droves to clothe, transport and entertain their children for less. While I love my precious, sweet, lovey doodle bug more than words, Girlfriend seriously cramps my consignment shopping style.

But alas, her father is on the mission field, serving a cause of eternal magnitude. So I must venture forth with my daughter at my side/duct taped to her stroller and shop.

If her Daddy's going to travel to a foreign country to teach the message of Christ's strategy, then the least I can do is educate her in the danger of paying retail.