Ray Of Sunshine

WideAwake.org

2009-11-22T21:03:00.004-06:00

I am so proud of my brother, Brian, and his best friend, Frank, that have recently launched a non-profit organization called WideAwake.org
We always thought these guys were crazy for their whirlwind travels across the globe but it turns out they were actually on to something... ;) WideAwake.org has been a dream of theirs for years now and it is amazing to see it come to fruition. Using contacts that they have made worldwide, they have partnered with small, grassroots organizations to help create awareness and raise funds. You can go to their site, research a charity and give directly to that charity. Not even a penny is used for administrative costs or fees--very cool!
Congrats Brian and Frank (and the rest of the WideAwake team) on the big launch! I can't wait to see how God uses your talents and hard work to bless these needy people.

Annie & her dog, Sandy

2009-11-04T13:36:00.002-06:00

Croatia-Bound!

2009-10-12T22:09:00.003-05:00

We had a great weekend spending time with my brother, Brian, and his precious wife, Katie, before they left Sunday and started on their journey to Croatia. Brian is working for the US State Department and is being sent to Croatia for two years. We are happy and blessed that they were sent to a safe (and gorgeous!) country. If you don't know where Croatia is...Google it! :)

Hit Me Baby One More Time...

2009-09-16T13:34:00.007-05:00

We took a whirlwind trip to Tulsa last night to see the Princess of Pop, Ms. Britney Spears. Now, before you get all "you like her???" on me, please note that I am more infatuated with the old-school Britney of my late teens and early twenties. :) I can't condone any of her recent crazy behavior, bad parenting, etc. but I will admit that the girl can dance and put on a pretty darn good show when she wants to.
We got a huge surprise when we arrived and gave them our tickets...the scanner made a funny beep and we were directed over to a table to assigned different seats. Trevor had gotten the tickets off of Craigslist at face value for $37.50 each so we knew that they weren't the greatest view. Since they didn't sell out some of the lower (and more expensive) seats, they were re-seating people from the high sections to make the seats look more filled. Sweet! So, we ended up with seats that were front and center and VERY close to the stage. The tickets would have been $125 each!!!
The costumes and choreography were amazing--just like always (this is my third Britney concert). Britney looked gorgeous and was so fun to watch. My only complaint was that she seemed to lack a bit of energy...maybe not putting out 100% effort for the not-sold-out Tulsa crowd??? Oh well, she still reigns supreme in my book of performers and we need not go home dissapointed.
Here are some pics and video from our time at "The Circus" with Britney...

Our Little Man at 5 Months

2009-09-11T13:52:00.003-05:00

Liam just hit the 5-month mark and, as you can see, he is a big and healthy boy. :)
He weighs over 19 pounds and is 26 1/2 inches long. Although his current night sleeping leaves a little to be desired right now, he is such a happy and easy-going baby that we can't complain. He is rolling around, trying cereal, laughing and grabbing at everything. His new, cutest "talent" is to stick his tongue out when he smiles...it is as if he knows how stinkin' cute he looks and he does it on purpose. ;) Here are some recent pictures of our precious little guy...

New Job,School Days, Dance & Two Toofers

2009-09-02T14:48:00.004-05:00

This week is a big one for the Hoppers family...
First, Trevor started his new job at WeightWise this week. He is the new "Chief Operating Officer" and will be overseeing the program. He loves it so far and we are blessed that this opportunity opened up for him.
Second, Addie started "school" or Mother's Day Out on Monday at Church of the Servant. Where are the pictures??? Well, it was too hard to take them of her as they were prying her (kicking and screaming) off from around my neck. :( Addie is a homebody and likes to hang out with her Mama most of the time. Seeing her be so upset was hard for me too. I am hoping and praying that tomorrow's drop-off will be better...Her teachers said that she did great after a few minutes and actually enjoyed herself.
Addie also started her Tap/Ballet Beginning Combo Class this week at Studio J Dance Studio. I had to keep fighting back my tears of happiness and excitment as I watched her through the class window. She was precious in her tights, leotard and dance shoes. Sigh...:)

Last but not least...Guess who has two toofers??? Last week, I noticed that Liam had two bottom teeth about to pop through. We had a few really rough nights and LOTS of drooling, then, Ta-Da!!!! Two pearly whites! :) They are not sticking all the way out yet, but you can kind of see them if you look really closely.

Fall is my absolute favorite season of the year so I am anxiously awaiting the pumpkin patch, Addie's birthday, An Affair of the Heart, Fall decorations, etc. We have lots to look forward to over the next few months!

When Age is NOT Just A Number

2009-08-27T14:39:00.002-05:00

This past weekend, my family had a party for my great-grandma who turned 100 years old--amazing! Grandma Moore credits 1)eating lots of fruit and vegetables and 2)"believing in Jesus" for her incredibly long and happy life. I feel incredibly blessed to be my age and still have a living great-grandma as well as a great-great grandma for my children.

30 Is The New 20...Right?

2009-08-16T19:05:00.005-05:00

Last week, I found myself in a whole new decade as far as my age goes....the big 3-0. Trevor (along with help from my parents) was so sweet to throw me a birthday party. He invited our friends from our LLT (Living Life Together) Lifegroup over to my parent's house for some delicious Caribbean food, drinks and hot tub time. The biggest surprise? My presents! Our thoughtful friends gave me the gift that will keep giving the entire Winter long...a zebra-striped Snuggie (www.getsnuggie.com)! You don't even know how excited I am about that!
Trevor also outdid himself--tickets to the Britney Spears concert next month PLUS a life-size cardboard cut-out of her. Those of you who know me well know that I love Britney Spears (but please make note that I like the "old school" normal and cute Britney and not the more recent crazy Britney). NKOTB and Britney in concert in one year??? Pretty awesome! ;)
Let's hope that the next 10 years will be as amazing as my last 10 years. With a wonderful family and such amazing friends, I am not too upset at all about heading "over the hill."

The party scene...Thanks to my mom and dad for letting us use their backyard AND for their great decorating!

The LLT gang (and my Snuggie!)

Britney!

The lovely ladies plus our "friend" Britney

Priceless

2009-07-29T16:17:00.004-05:00

My silly and precious little girl, in nothing but her "big girl" panties and her rain boots, playin' in the rain....priceless!

Cooler Weather...Here We Come!

2009-07-20T14:27:00.004-05:00

We recently took a trip to Colorado to stay at Deer Valley Ranch, where Trevor's family has a cabin. The ranch is located between Salida and Buena Vista, west of Colorado Springs. We were fortunate to have my parents go with us to help us "wrangle" both kids. It took about 14 1/2 hours to get there but it was worth it! We did lots of fun things and got some R&R in the beautiful mountains. You can click below to see a few pictures from our trip...

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Ridiculously Precious

2009-07-08T14:44:00.005-05:00

My cousin, Jeff (www.johnsonpics.com), is a super talented photographer and helped me out recently buy taking some pictures of Liam to celebrate his 3-month milestone. He got some great shots of Liam, as well as Big Sister.

Um, can we say "Go Cubs?" DaDa is fit to be tied over this one...

Addie is hard to control during photo shoots these days so I give Jeff major props for getting her to hold still for even a second...

My Cloth Cutie

2009-06-30T11:23:00.003-05:00

Cloth Diapers??? How could anyone deal with something so yucky!?!?
I am here to tell you that cloth diapers are way different than when we were babies. We have been using them for about 8 weeks now and I love them!
After lots and lots of online research, I decided on BumGenius 3.0 diapers (www.bumgenius.com) because they are the most like disposables, making them easy and very Daddy-friendly. We basically just fold them up once they are dirty and throw them in a diaper pail. I wash them every couple of days and dry them in the sun to help them stay nice and white on the inside. Very easy!
I don't profess to be the "Queen of Green," but I do feel a bit better knowing that I am not throwing hundreds and hundreds of disposables in a landfill this time around. Plus, we are saving a ton of money not having to buy the disposables. The upfront investment was a little steep (we have spent about $300) but they will pay for themselves in just a matter of months AND we should be able to use them for 2 years or longer.
Check out how cute he looks in his cute cloth dipes....

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-22T14:15:00.002-05:00

We spent the weekend with family and logged lots of pool time. Our kids are blessed to have grandads and great-grandads to spend time with. They also have one heck of a "DaDa" who loves them very much. Happy Father's Day!

Just Like Her Mama...

2009-06-02T14:35:00.004-05:00

Trevor likes to call Addie a "little Kim Manning" since it appears that she may love to hog the camera even at a young age...My poor brother never got a word in while we were growing up and I fear that Liam may be subjected to she same fate. I may have to wait until she is sleeping to get a video of him "talking" to us (which he can do quite well now). :)

Crazy Good Deals

2009-06-01T13:52:00.003-05:00

I have to be nerdy for just a minute and post a picture of my recent snag at Homeland....All of this food for just $13.97 total at Homeland last week!!!

Our lives were forever changed about 6 years ago when we went through Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University course and became debt free (other than our house). As part of that lifestyle change, we started living on a monthly budget. As our expenses increase with new babies, toddler activities, etc., I am trying hard to keep our grocery bill the same. My good friend introduced me to "couponing" and several great sites that help a mom out (a couple are listed in my blog roll to the right). It does take extra time to clip and organize coupons, read sale circulars and hit different grocery stores but I think it is worth it. Anyway, I just had to brag about my purchase--thanks for letting me be nerdy!

The Big Adjustment

2009-05-15T13:40:00.003-05:00

Well, we are surviving the adjustment of adding another family member but it has definitely been harder than anticipated. Our house is covered in laundry and random piles of things meant to be put away and it seems like there is always some "chore" that is going undone at any given moment. Our sleep pattern has gotten better as Little Liam is now sleeping for 4-hour (and sometimes even 5-hour!) stretches at night, but, we did have a rough few weeks with very little sleep. Big Sister is doing well and handling the transition like a champ. She is "Mommy's Little Helper," even offering to nurse him when he is hungry. ;)
The trade-off to all of this? Having an amazing, precious baby boy who is growing and becoming more fun every day. He is a great baby...easy-going,happy and lots of smiles for us.
Trevor and I are so amazingly blessed. A few years ago, we were in the midst of an emotional battle with infertility, not knowing if we were ever going to have biological children. Never in our wildest dreams would we have guessed the wonderful future that God had planned for us and our family. God is Good!
Here are a couple pictures of our Little Love Bug as well as our original Love Bug:

Newborn Pictures

2009-04-28T09:40:00.003-05:00

We had Angel from Art & Soul Photography come last week to take some pictures of our newly expanded family. Our little Liam was great during his first photo shoot.
Angel posted a "sneak peek" of our pictures and I am totally in love with them! I can't wait to see the rest of them. You can see the pictures on her blog by clicking here. You may have to scroll down just a bit.

Just Chillin'

2009-04-14T21:02:00.005-05:00

A quick pic of our little fella chillin' out and relaxin' in his chair. Love those eyes already!

It's A....

2009-04-06T22:46:00.003-05:00

BOY! Liam Henry Hoppers was born today at 2:48 p.m. He was 9 lbs and 21 1/2 inches. Trevor and I are in love with him, but I think that Addie might be the most smitten. :)
We feel amazingly blessed. God is so Good!

Make a Smilebox photobook

The Big Day...

2009-04-05T20:40:00.002-05:00

Baby Hoppers has now baked for 41 weeks! Not many women can say that they have made it that far (or gotten that HUGE!) so I will bear that badge with honor. ;)
My doctor has scheduled an induction for tomorrow, April 6th so that we can finally see our baby. It doesn't look like he or she is coming on their own anytime soon and medically speaking, there is some concern once babies bake for this long. It definitely won't be the labor that I had hoped and planned for, but at least we will get to meet our baby at the end of it all.
So, tomorrow is the big day! We would appreciate positive thoughts and prayers. We will definitely post an update and pictures as soon as possible.
Catch you on the flip side! ;)

Bring the HEAT!

2009-03-28T14:03:00.003-05:00

Recipe for Labor Cookies:

2 1/2 c. flour
1 1/2 t. baking soda
3/4 t. cinnamon
1 t. ground ginger
1/2 t. ground cloves
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. cayenne pepper
8 T. butter
1/2 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. molasses
1/4 c. egg whites
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, baking soda and spices and set aside. Cream the butter and sugars together. Add the molasses to the creamed butter, then add the egg whites until combined. Addd the dry ingredients slowly. Once incorporated, roll dough into 1 inch balls and place onto baking tray. Bake 8-10 minutes. Once cool eat as many as you can possibly stomach, lay down for a nap and wait for labor to begin!

Well, after 7 days of contractions and a few "this is really IT!" almost trips to Mercy Hospital, I am resorting to eating some Labor Cookies. Will it work? Probably not, but at least it is an excuse to eat some cookies. ;) They taste kind of like really spicy gingerbread cookies--not my favorite but I will choke them down for the chance to meet our baby soon. We are so excited to meet our Little Baby Hoppers!

"Baby, if you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen (i.e.--my belly!)"

COOKIE UPDATE:
It has been about 7 hours since I stuffed myself with cookies and all I have to show for it is outrageous heartburn. :( Trevor, however, thinks that the cookies are absolutely delicious and says that I should make them more often. Oh well, at least I can say that I tried it.

Baby Watch 2009

2009-03-11T22:29:00.002-05:00

Only 3 weeks left until our due date of March 30th. We are anxiously awaiting the day that we get to meet our little surprise blessing...
Here is a shot of what the "oven" looks like at 37 weeks--can you see the fatigue on my face? I don't sleep much these days. I guess that is God's way of getting new moms ready for the nights up with baby.

Boy or girl--what do you think??? :)

A Tea Party Fit For Another Galaxy

2009-03-11T22:17:00.004-05:00

Bless our little girl's heart...she never even stood a chance of NOT liking Star Wars. Trevor has had his nerdy influence over her since the day she was born. I have to say, though, that I kind of like the "quirkiness" of it--she loves her babies and her tea parties, so why not invite her Star Wars figures to the morning tea party too? Needless to say, DaDa was thrilled when I showed him the picture of her playing so politely with these Jedi creatures. He would also have me brag that "she knows each of those characters by name." Pretty unusual for a 2-year-old little girl! ;)

While I am posting some pictures, I have to add this shot of our dainty princess with her potty seat on her head (as she is harassing our poor cat).

Our Family Of Three (Almost Four)

2009-02-11T18:20:00.003-06:00

We had some family pictures taken recently as a way to celebrate our little family of three and also capture our excitement over our new baby that is due next month. We tried a new photographer, Angel Porch of Art and Soul Photography and we LOVED her. She posted some of our "sneak peak" pictures on her blog so I want to share them with you. These are just a small selection of the great pictures that we got. Enjoy!
Click HERE to see them (you may need to scroll down a bit to see our pictures).

Our Dancing Queen

2009-01-21T09:43:00.005-06:00

Recently, we went to the Special Olympics Oklahoma Winter Games so that I could see some of my old friends. We took Addie to the Celebration Dance and she had an absolute blast. I had to post this video clip of her dancing. She was the hit of the dance, with all eyes on her. She was dancing so hard, she actually fell down (and got right back up and kept dancing). She definitely likes to dance!

We're Back!

2009-01-07T15:40:00.009-06:00

After a CRAZY month, I am back to blogging and sharing the fun updates in the lives of the Hoppers family. Our big news? We've moved! It was a whirlwind three weeks, but we managed to sell our house and move at the very end of December (on the 29th--Trevor's 30th birthday!). So, I am typing this from our new address in Edmond. We miss our little old house, but it is nice to have more space and be in a bit better area. Our new house needed a LOT of work (and still does), but it is starting to feel like home. I will post some before/after pictures of our major renovation soon!

The best news is that we got to see our precious baby last week during an ultrasound and everything checked out perfect--we have a healthy little one cooking in there! The doctor let us watch "real time" in 4D and it was truly amazing to watch as the baby moved its mouth, arms, hands, etc. We are still on "Team Green" and didn't find out the gender (as hard as it was for me to not peek!). In only 12 more weeks, we will get to meet this little surprise miracle and Trevor will get to make his "It's A ......" announcement.
Here are a few pictures from the ultrasound (please excuse the scanning job). There are a couple that look just like Addie when she was born. :)

Flower Girl Shenanigans

2008-12-04T20:41:00.006-06:00

I finally uploaded a short clip of our little Flower Girl as she walked the aisle at "Uncle Bubby" and "Aunt Katie's" wedding last month. She looked so cute and did a great job. If you turn up the sound, you can hear her saying that she wants her Raggady Ann doll. She kind of gets angry because she can't have her doll (that was a bribe to get her down the aisle) and just throws one short burst of flowers and then is done with the whole thing. Pretty darn precious if I do say so myself...

Also, we don't have wedding pictures back yet, but I do have to post one of Brian & Katie's awesome engagement photos that my talented cousin Jeff (www.johnsonpics.com) took. They are little lovebirds and we couldn't be happier for them.

Check Out Our Little Baby Hoppers

2008-11-17T20:49:00.005-06:00

As promised, here are a few shots from our last ultrasound at 19 weeks. If you click on them, you can view them larger.

Our sweet baby's profile...I do have to mention that if you look "down there," you will see a little bit of the umbilical cord, not a private part. ;)

What a precious arm! A baseball player perhaps???

Little Baby Hoppers is staring at you!

A shot at the ever-growing "oven" that Little Baby Hoppers is in (with no make-up and messy hair so it is only a belly shot without my head). This is me at 21 weeks pregnant. Only 19 more to go and then we get to meet our baby! :)

Happy Birthday Addie!

2008-11-13T20:16:00.005-06:00

Then...

Now...

Our sweet Addie was born 2 years ago today. Time sure does fly when you are having fun! :) We have had some fun birthday celebrations and Addie is stocked in the baby and toy department for now (at least until Christmas). Her favorite part? Eating her birthday cupcakes!

Coming soon...
New pictures of Little Baby Hoppers and maybe even a belly shot of me. ;) Also, pictures from Uncle Bubby & Katie's wedding this weekend. Will the flower girl really walk the aisle??? Stay tuned...

Happy Fall!

2008-10-28T20:48:00.004-05:00

Here is a look at some of the things that we have been up to in the past few weeks...

Make a Smilebox photobook

Still Hangin' Tough After 15 years...

2008-10-21T20:08:00.002-05:00

I have lots of pictures and updates to post (pumpkin patches, OSU homecoming, etc.) but my New Kids On The Block update has jumped ahead of the group. I couldn't wait to download my pictures to share with those who are amused.
We had a BLAST in Dallas at the concert! It was a nice night away for Trevor and I, not to mention seeing my absolute favorite group from my early teenage years. We paid a pretty penny for the tickets, but I was completely satisfied with the show that I got.
"The guys" were great--they still have the songs and dance moves to make girls crazy. Imagine over 25,000 women my age (the majority probably a few years older) screaming hysterically at the top of their lungs. Trevor couldn't get over the hysteria that he witnessed. It was great to see mom's with shirts on that said things like "Still Hangin' Tough After 3 Kids and a Minivan" and similar cute sayings.
At one point, the guys disappeared for a few minutes during a montage up on the big screen. They reappeared on a little round stage on the floor--very near to us! We guessed that it was probably around 50 feet away. It felt so close...the closest I will ever get to Joe. ;)
Here are a few pictures from our fun night...

Update on Little Baby Hoppers

2008-10-08T21:51:00.003-05:00

Finally, I had Trevor scan in the ultrasound pictures from our appointment last month. You can see the baby's profile (hopefully baby will grow into that nose!) and you can see the baby's feet sticking up. In the second picture, it is raising it's hand up.

Little Baby Hoppers is doing good and growing like a weed. My e-mail newsletter that I get says that he or she is now 4 ounces and the size of an apple. In the last week, I have started feeling the little one moving in my belly--I have to be really still and either laying down or sitting. That is such an awesome feeling!
I think it is starting to set in now that we are going to be parents of TWO little blessings come March. Those of you that have been to our house know that we can't fit much more in our tiny 2-bedroom, 1-bath abode. Little Baby Hoppers' imminent arrival has got us thinking that we may need a bigger house for our sanity. So, that has been part of the lack of posts--us trying to catch up on 6 years of "we'll take care of that before we sell our house" kind of chores (painting, fixing woodwork, decluttering, etc.) so that we can give it a try on the market. We don't know what the next few months will bring, but we are trusting that God is going to put us in the house that is best suited for us right now...even if that means staying in our little house and making it work. No matter what, at least we are getting rid of our junk and clutter and fixing our house up a bit.

Sweet and Sassy

2008-10-08T21:18:00.004-05:00

The Hoppers have been busy lately! I finally found some time to update our blog...

Today, we took our princess to get her first hair cut. We took her to Sweet and Sassy, a cute place that I highly recommend for little girls. She was so excited about it and has been talking about her haircut for weeks now. Her little mullet and overgrown bangs were finally too much so we decided to take her in today.

She loved the glitter-star that they put on her face and the lollipop that she got after wards. It was fun seeing her get to be "girly." Now if I can just get her to leave a bow in her hair...

Branson Belle

2008-09-21T19:33:00.003-05:00

We took a trip recently with the Manning family to Branson, MO. This is an annual vacation for us--we love to go to Silver Dollar City first and foremost, but we also like to hit the outlet malls and sample the area's yummy eats.
Trevor had to stay back for work, but Addie and I went with my grandparents (MeMe & PaPa), my parents (Meemo & Grandaddy), my brother (Brian or "Bubba" as Addie calls him and my soon-to-be SIL (Katie, whom Addie is infatuated with!). We had lots of fun! Here are some pictures from our trip...

Surprise!

2008-09-09T21:04:00.002-05:00

Many of you know that it took some time and a lot of time with a fertility specialist to conceive our precious Addie, so, you can imagine our surprise when we saw this on July 21, 2008........

Yep, just when we least expected it, God gave us a huge blessing--a baby the "cheap" and natural way. The past couple months have gone by so slow...we didn't want to get our hopes set too high because we have dealt with loss before. After an amazing ultrasound today where I got to see Baby Hoppers 2.0 stretching and moving it's sweet arms & legs, I feel ready to make this post. Some of our friends and family already know, but it makes it "official" when I post it on our blog. Haha! :)
Baby Hoppers will be here sometime around March 30, 2009. I will try to post a few ultrasound pictures once I get them scanned in, but for now, here is our BIG sister:

God is an Awesome God!

Can it really be?

2008-09-02T20:49:00.003-05:00

How perfect do the stars have to be aligned for TWO of my most favorite teen-hood things to make a comeback on the same day???

1.NKOTB's new album "The Block" is out today--I missed you guys...especially you, Joey. ;) I give the new album an enthusiastic two-thumbs up. I am planning on seeing them in concert in October and I plan to wear my ginormous Joey pin and scream with the rest of the grown women (yeah, I will probably even cry). It is payback time for all of the Star Wars conventions that Trevor has made me attend!

2.Beverly Hills 90210 begins again tonight--Oh yeah baby! I will be giving the theme song "fist pump" in just about an hour...It might not be as good as the old show, but I am still giving it a shot. I have so many great memories of "90210" watch parties in high school at at the good ole' Chi Omega house.

What a great day for me and for other 20-somethings and 30-somethings. Just had to share my excitement!

Back In Action

2008-08-28T20:13:00.004-05:00

Well, we are back in action after a week of not having a computer--ours broke and had to be repaired. Big bummer!
Without further adieu, I have been wanting to post pictures from our recent trip to Colorado. The three of us, along with Trevor's mom "Grammy," took Addie to Deer Valley Ranch, where Trevor's family owns a cabin. Addie had so much fun petting and "riding" the horses, hiking, feeding chipmunks and exploring outside. She definitely seems to love the mountains like her Mommy & Daddy.

(There are videos in the card that you can watch too!)

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Farm Girl

2008-08-12T20:40:00.003-05:00

A couple weeks ago, we took a trip to Stillwater (love that town!) to take care of some "business." Trevor and his brother, Clay, have recently gotten into the business of buying collectible toys and re-selling them for profit. A chance-posting on Craig's List led them to a precious lady in Stillwater that was selling years and years worth of collected toys. We use ANY excuse we can to get to Stillwater so we made a night of it and took Addie with us.
Behold, our daughter during her first "cheese fry" experience at Eskimo Joes--

Next, it was on to the farm to scout out the toys. Both me and Addie almost lost it when we pulled up and saw 3 baby calves and 3 goats in pens near the house. The lady who owned them was so sweet to tell us all about the animals and she even let us feed the cows while Daddy was sifting through boxes of toys. Addie loves giving a bottle to her baby dolls so you can imagine her shock and happiness when she got to feed a cow its bottle...

Mixing the formula--

Time to eat!

For those wondering, Trevor did find some rare toys in her stash that he plans to put on Ebay soon. :)

Pretty In Pink

2008-07-29T19:26:00.001-05:00

Little Red Potty

2008-07-21T21:28:00.004-05:00

Guess who got a big-girl potty? Addie has been obsessed with "potty," "pee pee," and "poo poo" for weeks now so we decided to go ahead and get her a little red potty (to match our bathroom decor, of course). I don't think we will be hard-core training anytime soon, but we thought we could start introducing it all to her. She wanted her diaper off immediately so she could give it a try. No actual tinkle in the pot yet, but she did have fun playing on it all night.
Behold, a short video of our girl sitting on her throne...If you listen really closely, you can hear her say "Poo Poo" at the beginning. :)

2008-07-21T21:16:00.003-05:00

Will you just look at those eggs? They make me giddy and happy inside! Do you want to know why? Because...

1.I am supporting an Oklahoma farmer.
2.They came from chickens that live in a huge grassy area and they get to eat all the grass & bugs that they want. Their owners even call them the "little ladies" and they supposedly rule the farm.
3. They are so pretty with all of their different colors, speckles, sizes, etc.

We have been members of the Oklahoma Food Coop now for about 6 months and I love it. We buy organic meat, cheese & yogurt, eggs, herbs and whole wheat bread/pizza crusts each month, along with whatever else sounds yummy. Sure, we pay a bit more but now we know all of the ingredients in a large portion of the food we eat and we know that the animals that we are eating are treated well (very important to me).
The Hoppers made a pact at the beginning of the year to be "more green" and healthy and this is just one of the improvements that we have made. Check it out for yourself!

I said we never would....

2008-07-21T21:10:00.002-05:00

...but we did. In a spot of peer pressure from our friends at church, we took Addie to eat and play at Incredible Pizza on N.W. Expressway in OKC. Even though I swear we are not going back again (don't even get me started on how much I hate that place!), I will admit that Addie had a lot of fun AND she hasn't come down with any rare diseases or viruses yet either.
Here she is on the slide and playing "Wack-A-Mole."

Let's Go Cubs!

2008-07-15T21:13:00.006-05:00

We just got back from a Hoppers' family vacation to Chicago. Addie got to see it all with Grammy, Hopper, Aunt Melody & Uncle Clay (not to mention dear old Dada and Mama).
We ate some delicious food, saw a Cubs game and even visited the Shedd Aquarium. Addie had many new travel experiences like riding on a plane, riding a bus, riding a train and riding in a cab. She was great the entire time!
Resaurants of note for the "foodies" out there like us--
Do I need to even mention the pizza? Giordanos is where its' at!
We can wholeheartedly recommend the Green Zebra (thanks, Mel, for your vegetarian suggestion!) Very tasty and healthy too. :)
Words can't even describe our amazing experience and dessert at Tru. You haven't lived until you have sampled the fabulous dishes, chosen chocolates off their homemade chocolates tray, tried some treats from the roaming pastry and candy cart, AND eaten your "parting gift" that they give you as you leave. Sure, we paid about $100 for this dessert experience, but it was one of the most delicious eating forays of my life. I have been a fan of Gale Gand's show, "Sweet Dreams," on the Food Channel for years and we just couldn't pass up the chance to eat there. I want to try their actual dinner there next time, but I think we will need to sell some of our valuables before we can afford it.
We had been long awaiting our visit to Frontera Grill and it did not dissapoint. Chef Rick Bayless if originally from OKC and he makes us very proud. Definitely the best authentic Mexican food we have ever had.

One of the highlights of our trip (besides the food) was taking Addie to her very first Cubs game. We took pictures on her "namesake" street and she even got to enjoy some hot dog and pretzel once inside the stadium. She didn't last the whole game (nap time called) but it seemed like she really liked it. It was a special experience for Trevor and his family to have her there. Go Cubbies!

Here are just a few pictures from our trip...

Pickin' Berries

2008-07-01T22:10:00.004-05:00

We took Addie to a local farm this weekend to pick blackberries. She had so much fun picking them but I think that she had even more fun eating them as she went along.

Busy Busy!

2008-06-19T21:23:00.004-05:00

Addie has been keeping us very busy so far this summer. We have visited relatives, played with friends, taken many trips to the zoo and donw lots of swimming so far. The girl loves to be outside--especially when she gets to swim! We bought her a little pool and she also has a sandbox. Everytime I ask her what she wants to do, she says "Wim! Wim!" and runs to get her swimsuit out of the drawer. She isn't afraid at all of the water...which is kind of scary to us. Still, it is a great way to pass time on these hot summer days.

Addie has also become obsessed with several Disney characters--Belle, Ariel and Cinderella. Funny enough, she has never actually seen the movies...just has some "Disney Princess" pajamas and also a Belle doll that I found at a garage sale. I pulled up some videos off of YouTube from the actual movies and she was mesmerized. I fought back tears of joy as I watched her get so into the music. I guess I secretly hope we have a little performer on our hands! I am thinking that we might have to surprise her with a Little Mermaid book and doll soon to add to her collection...

Other fun things that we have discovered lately:

Addie loves corn on the cob! She goes CRAZY for it! She munches the whole thing like a little beaver working on a log. I will have to work on some video for that.

Addie always likes to pray before her meals. She clasps her hands and says "Men" for "Amen" before we eat. When I ask her who we are praying to, she sayd "JeJus." Woo...that really melts my heart. :)

Addie is still obsessed with babies. I got out a tub of my old baby dolls recently and Addie went berkserk! We actually had to hide them after she went to sleep because it was too stressful on her to keep up with all of them (trying to carry them all around the house).

Well, that is the update for now. I got a new, smaller camera so I hope to have more candid shots in the future. I love my big Nikon, but it is definitely a pain to lug around everywhere.

Our silly girl:

Happy Father's Day to Trevor!

"Look Ma, A Kentucky Waterfall!"

2008-05-25T20:48:00.005-05:00

Choose the name you like best...Kentucky Waterfall, Tennessee Top Hat, Mississippi Mudflap, Business in the Front and Party in the Back...
Yep, our daughter has a mullet. Thankfully, her precious curls hide it when she is dry but the mullet creeps out while in the bathtub. Behold our little "Achy Breaky" girl:

And a fun picture of her splashing too:

18 Months!

2008-05-13T14:09:00.004-05:00

Wow--Addie's second year is flying by. Today, she turns 18 months. We had her check-up at the doctor's office and she is doing great. She now weighs 22.6 pounds and is 33 inches long (she is tall for her age!).
Addie has been talking up a storm lately. Some of her favorite new words include "bug," "mango" and "here you go" as she is handing us something. She is still learning new ASL signs almost every day (thank you "Signing Time") and incorporates those into her talking. We like to think that she can communicate pretty well for her age.
She is absolutely obsessed with babies these days...real babies, baby dolls, baby items, etc. Maybe its time to work on a baby brother or sister? ;) For now, we keep her occupied with a multitude of baby dolls. Sometimes, she will try to hold 6 or 7 of them at a time and she wants to take them everywhere. I think it is cute to see her acting so motherly to them.
Here are a few recent pictures from a walk through our neighborhood. We have a neat water fountain and gazebo a few blocks away that we like to walk to. Addie loves to get out and play.

DaDa 90210

2008-04-18T14:26:00.005-05:00

Several times now, Addie has been in the kitchen and she starts frantically pointing at our refrigerator and saying "DaDa!" It took me a while to figure out that she was mistaking my Luke Perry "90210" magnet (don't laugh--I will never stop loving that show!) for a picture of her DaDa. Bless her heart...For now, I just go with it and play along. Behold, a picture of DaDa--

I have been a bad Mommy Blogger lately and have fallen behind in posting adorable pictures of our little one. Here are a few recent ones to catch you up on her busy little life. Enjoy!

Addie playing at Tess Wilson's gymnastics birthday party:

Addie after enjoying some blueberries for breakfast. She loves them!

Addie after getting Mommy's lipstick out of her purse while she was putting up the breakfast dishes:

Happy Easter!

2008-03-23T16:46:00.003-05:00

Addie has had a great weekend being with her family. We found out that she does NOT like people dressed in bunny costumes (she was scared and kept saying "No!") but she did have fun dyeing eggs and finding surprises inside of those that people hid for her. Her PaPa and MeMe helped her "practice" hunting eggs last week so she was primed and ready to hunt!

Here is a short video of her on Easter hunting for the eggs that PaPa hid...

Bubble Time

2008-03-17T15:47:00.005-05:00

Addie loves to play with bubbles. We had "Bubble Time" last night in our front yard. She just kept saying "Buh-Buh" over and over again. She also likes to stick the wand in her mouth. ;)
I can't wait until Easter when she wakes up to find that the Easter Bunny left her a super bubble blower that blows lots of bubbles at one time...

Where Has Our Baby Gone?

2008-03-07T13:39:00.003-06:00

She isn't a baby (sniff sniff), she is a little girl now!

Mommy's Little Eater

2008-03-07T13:25:00.002-06:00

Even before we were pregnant, Trevor and I had discussed the possibility that we (by some stroke of bad luck) might have a picky eater. In our family, that is unheard of and actually quite off-putting. Those of you who know us know that we love food...most any kind of food really. We can report, though, that those fears are laid to rest. We have a GREAT eater! Although she doesn't feast on as many vegetables as any parent would like, she does eat most anything that we put in front of her.
Some of her favorite foods right now include:
Bananas (the kid would eat 5 a day if we would let her)
Oranges
Pancakes
Chili
Annie's Organic Bunny Cheese Crackers (love this brand, by the way)
Any kind of cheese, even "stinky" varieties
Beans
Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Addie's Special Day...

2008-02-24T10:55:00.004-06:00

This post is a couple days late, but on Friday, February 22, we celebrated the two year anniversary of Addie's conception. Now most people wouldn't feel comfortable talking about something like this because of the personal nature, but her conception was anything but personal really. ;)
Through the blessing of IVF, we were able to conceive Addie and her twin (whom we lost at 9 weeks into the pregnancy). Not too many babies get to say that they have a picture of themselves at 5 days past conception. Isn't it amazing that God can take a bundle of cells and turn it into a beautiful baby? What a huge miracle that He performs every time a baby is created. Life is such a precious gift for sure.

Behold, our little cluster of cells. We think that she is the larger one on the right...

Happy "Year of the Rat!"

2008-02-17T20:50:00.005-06:00

One of the neat things about living in our neighborhood is that we are in a more culturally diverse area of the city. We are just a few miles away from the area of OKC known as the "Asian District." Many Asian families live and work in this area. There is an amazing Asian supermarket called Super Cao Nguyen (http://www.caonguyen.com/index.php) that you MUST check out if you live in Oklahoma City--it is unreal!
Last weekend, we were hankering for some free entertainment so we decided to attend their Chinese New Year Celebration, complete with a traditional Lion Dance and lots of loud fireworks. I was worried that it might be too loud for Addie, but she absolutely loved it. We like exposing her to fun and new things and we learn in the process as well.

The Chinese Lion...

The parking lot full of Black Cat shells. It was SO loud but Addie didn't even flinch!

Happy Valentines Day!

2008-02-13T22:33:00.002-06:00

Snow!

2008-02-06T09:16:00.000-06:00

We finally got some plain snow (without the ice) last week. Addie has been sick with a cold, but we couldn't resist the urge to bundle her up and let her play outside for just a few minutes. Her coat is so puffy...it makes me think of Ralphie's little brother whining "I can't put my arms down!" in A Christmas Story. Ha! She really doesn't like the coat very much.

"Wuuuuuv Woo"

2008-01-28T21:03:00.000-06:00

Well, we haven't abandoned the blog...just been busy lately and not so great about taking pictures. I guess all of the pictures and video-taking from the holidays just left us burned out. :) We are back in the saddle again and promise more frequent pictures and updates.
This month has really gone fast. Addie seems so grown up lately...like a little girl and no longer a baby (sniff, sniff). She has been Baby-Signing and talking up a storm. My favorite? To hear her precious little voice say "Wuuuuv Woo," or "Love You" in adult-speak. I guess I tend to draw it out when I say it to her like "I looooove you!" so she draws it out too. It makes my heart melt every time!
Her new obsession seems to be out pets. She is in absolute love with our dog, Annie. She follows her around and pets her (more like strangles her) while at home and asks about her constantly while we are away from home. She also loves our "Kee Kee" Hallie but doesn't get to pet her as often because she is faster than Annie.
We have been trying to stay busy during these colder weeks, visiting the Omniplex, Fun Stop, Gymboree and all of the Grandparents. Every warmer day that we get, we are at the park, zoo or just playing in the front yard and waiting for "DaDa" to come home from work.

Here is a recent picture of our silly girl just up from her nap...

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

2008-01-06T20:55:00.000-06:00

We had a wonderful Christmas and we hope that you did too! Addie is still a bit young to get into unwrapping gifts, but we had fun opening them for her. It was so nice to be with family and Addie LOVED being the center of attention.
We are looking forward to all the fun that the New Year will bring...

We couldn't forget to point out that Addie debuted a new hairstyle on Christmas Day...one that we have been waiting to do since her birth--TWO lil' sprouts!!! The very first start of Pigtails (or "piggies") as we like to call them. :)

Downtown in December

2007-12-13T21:17:00.000-06:00

Tonight we took Addie downtown to eat and ride the canal boats. It was cold, but that didn't stop Addie (and us) from having a great time. We discovered that Addie LOVES Italian food...she couldn't get enough of Falcone's rice balls and garlic twists. Then, she was the hit of the Canal as she laughed and screeched "WEEEE" every few seconds on the boat. Trevor and I were freezing, but she was having too much fun to notice.

Look Who's Walking

2007-12-13T20:34:00.000-06:00

Our little girl is walking! She took off on Wednesday, `November 21st and hasn't stopped since. She looks so cute toddlin' around...
You can see her walking (and signing "hungry") here:

Love Those Baby Blues...

2007-11-29T21:36:00.000-06:00

I can't help but post a picture that I took yesterday. I am working on my photography skills since I just finished a class.
It turned out to be a pretty day so I pushed Addie in her stroller to the gazebo in our neighborhood. She had so much fun playing in the leaves and going up and down the stairs.
We always get compliments on her eyes and I wish that I could say that she got them from me or Trevor. Both Grandmas and her Grandad, Hopper, have pretty blue eyes so maybe that is where she got them. :)

Happy Birthday Sweet Addie

2007-11-14T08:17:00.000-06:00

We can't believe it has already been one year since Addie Ray was born...time really does fly when you are having fun! We had a little party over the weekend with some of our friends and immediate family. Addie LOVED her cupcake--that's my girl! She also loved the attention that she got from everyone. Her favorite thing of the party? The balloons! She was having a blast playing with them.
Yesterday on her actual b-day, Trevor took off work and we had a fun day with her. We took her to the zoo, to eat lunch and then played with all of her new toys. The fun isn't over yet...we have a couple more celebrations planned during our family Thanksgiving get-togethers.
Not to get too sappy, but we couldn't help but reflect on how happy our lives have been during this past year. Addie really is our gift from God and we thank Him every day for her. I couldn't help but make a montage of some of our favorite moments from the past year...

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Also, here are some pictures from her BIG DAY. Enjoy!

Daddy's Princess

2007-11-05T21:39:00.000-06:00

We had a fun filled first Halloween with Addie that started by crafting her costume. Of course, she was going to be clad in galactic gear befitting a princess, Princess Leia that is. To make her costume, her Grammy first trimmed out the white dress pieces and sewed them together. My contribution was the creating the belt and stuffing the hairpiece. The hair was originally going to be a stuffed tube spiriled up, but was modified to be concentric circles which were attached to a fitted headpiece. Addie looked so adorable! Accessorized with an inflatible lightsaber (not movie accurate), she was ready to go. She did not like the hat at first and kept trying to take it off.

Her first public showing was a Halloween party at the Curtis' house in Rose Creek. She loved playing with the little kids, but soon got tuckered out and went into meltdown mode. She also went to visit her Great-Great Grandma who we think was a little unsure on who exactly Addie was dressed up as. To top it off, Kim's parents took her to a party at Baptist Temple where she ate a hot dog and was questioned intently by an overzealous Star Wars fan. All in all it was a great halloween! Check out our precious Princess Leia...

Happy Fall Ya'll

2007-10-08T20:36:00.000-05:00

This past weekend, we took Addie to her very first pumpkin patch. The outing was complete with both sets of grandparents AND great-grandparents (and Uncle Bubby). We fed the cute goats and sheep, went on a hayride and picked out some pumpkins. Addie had a blast and it was great to be together as a family. Really, I was most interested in getting some cute fall pictures.

Two Toofers

2007-10-02T15:12:00.000-05:00

Addie has two new "toofers" on the top! They are barely peeking out but are so darn cute. Since she won't let me photograph her toofers, here is a picture of her with some Strawberry Shortcake sunglasses on. She wore them for about 5 seconds before chunking them to the ground.

Park Time

2007-09-22T21:42:00.001-05:00

Last night, we took Addie took Stars and Stripes Park. She loved it! We swung, slid down the slide, played on the toys and even fed the geese (well, Addie and I fed the geese because Trevor was too scared to get near them). Who knew that we could get so much entertainment out of something for free? We will definitely be heading back to the park next time we are bored.