Team Wilhite

It is what it is

2012-01-05T22:48:00.001-06:00

Regret. A word I dislike. But what I dislike more? The fact I haven't written anything down about our family in over a year! I suppose I lost my blogging passion? I'm not sure...
But I do know I regret not blogging...
Maybe it's because it's a new year or maybe because the guilt has finally gotten to me, but I am gonna start it up again! I want to document our lives as best I can. So here goes nothing!

Movin' On

2010-05-24T15:08:00.001-05:00

Boxes...Check. Packing Tape...Check. Newspaper...Check. Box of Kleenex...Check. Extra large piece of Chocolate Pie...Check.
Six months ago we thought listing our house was a good idea. Six months ago, it WAS a good idea. Today, as I pack...it is NOT a good idea. We sold our house because we need more space and we would like to be a little closer to town. I thought I had myself convinced that this move would be easier than...well...than this. But I know how emotional I am, how attached I get to things and just how little I like change. This has been a hard one for me!
I started the packing process when we initially listed our house. I packed up a few boxes with items I knew we wouldn't be using for a while. That was pretty easy. It was all still a "what if". When we got a contract on our house (the week before Ava arrived) the reality of what we had just done began to sink in. We just sold OUR HOUSE! Our first house! What have we done?
This house holds our sweat, frustration, pride, love, joy and memories... Oh the memories! We have made a lot of sweet memories inside these walls. This is the place where we brought our babies home. Hollis took his first step right here in the living room. Goodness, he has done all of his "firsts" in this house. This is the house where we became "mommy and daddy". Where we learned what it means to sacrifice for and love a little precious life. This is where our marriage was strengthened and where we really learned how to love and pray for each other. This is where Reese lost his job (twice) and also where God blessed him with a far better job than both of those jobs combined. This is where I took my first picture and where my passion for capturing life became more than a hobby. This house holds many emotions. We have fought and cried, loved and laughed, prayed and rejoiced all within these walls.
As I take down picture after picture, and pack up box after box, I cry... yes...but I am thankful for all the memories we have made and for the life that has taken place at 502 Fannin Street. This house may not be many people's dream home but for us this is where a lot of our dreams came true. And so our journey continues...as of yet we have not found another house to call home.

A house is made of bricks and stone,
A home is made of love alone.

She's Here!

2010-05-11T15:04:00.001-05:00

May 1st....Ava's due date! She finally arrived!!! Another sweet blessing from above!

   My last check up before her due date was April 29th. They checked me and I was dilated 5cm (WHAT?) I didn't even think this was possible...to be THAT dilated and NOT be in labor? Not even having one single contraction? Tania (my midwife) said since I was as dilated as I was, they could break my water and I would go into labor. I wanted to give myself the chance to start labor naturally. So we decided that if there was still no baby, we would go in on Saturday and let them break my water. Saturday morning arrived and still no baby; so we headed into the hospital. We got there about 11:30am, they broke my water around 1:30pm and sweet little Ava Adele was born at 6:08pm. She weighed 7lbs 9oz and was 20 inches long.
   After they broke my water, Reese and I walked around the hospital for about an hour allowing my contractions to start. And boy did they start! Once they started, they escalated hard and fast. I had wanted to have a natural birth with Hollis, but he came out posterior and the pain was just TOO much to take. I ended up getting an epidural. My labor with him was 18 hours, I pushed for 3 hours and my recovery time took months and months. So I really wanted to try this whole natural thing again. After about three hours of being in labor, the nurse checked me and I was only at a six. Mentally I was defeated. I thought to myself that this was going to be another long labor and quite frankly I didn't know if I was up for all that again. I mean, I checked in at a 5, how could I only be at a 6 three hours later? Tania encouraged me to get in the shower for a little while. I was so relaxed under the hot water I really thought my labor had slowed down or even stopped. I confided in Reese that I just didn't think I could go through with this without an epidural. He said he would support whatever decision I made, but he encouraged me to let Tania check me before I made my decision (I had prepped him months in advance to say that to me!).
   Tania checked me and said I was at a 9 and if I felt like pushing with the next couple of contractions I was all green lights to do so. She gave me a shot of Stadol and mentally I was back on track. The next half hour was the most excruciating half hour of my whole entire life. I have NEVER felt so much pain EVER! I screamed and I cried...LOUD...yes, I was THAT girl. [I was told later that there was a first time mom in labor that was already scared to death to have a baby. She was walking the halls and got to my room, heard me screaming, turned back to go to her room and burst into tears. She ended up getting a C-section. Poor thing! ] After pushing for 15-20 minutes, my excruciating pain was quickly replaced by sheer joy. I did it...we had done it...she was here! When they placed her on my chest, I was so overwhelmed with joy, gratefulness, pride, love, excitement. It was one of the best moments of my life! The day my daughter was born! Reese was my rock through the whole thing. We had an amazing day. Without his strong, gentle support Ava's birth would have gone much differently.
   After they cleaned her up, Reese went and got Hollis from the waiting room. He walked in with a pink balloon attached to a little pink dolly. He looked so eager and excited to meet his little sister. It was like it all clicked for him when he saw her! Daddy introduced them and he reached out to touch her. I thought my heart would burst! Friends for life! Hollis said, "Ava! She came out of your tummy!" After a few minutes, he and daddy left to get the rest of the family. I could hear him yelling, "Come meet my baby sister!" He loves her so much!

Every good and perfect gift comes from above.... James 1:17

Easter 2010

2010-04-05T16:14:00.003-05:00

Easter was pretty fun for us this year. We went to church and then headed to my parents house for a yummy lunch and an egg hunt. Hollis was the only grandkid in town this year so ALL of the adults ran outside to watch him search for eggs. He did not disappoint: He was definitely a professional this year. Except for the fact that he sat down to eat his candy after finding the first two eggs!!!
After the hunt at my parents house, we loaded up and headed out for Easter egg hunt #2. Hollis has lots of cousins his age so there is never a dull moment.

I think we hid WAY too many eggs for the age group of the kids though. They lost interest long before all the eggs had been retrieved. They were all too excited about the candy inside!

During the hunt, Hollis would pick up the eggs, and if it didn't "shake" he would throw it back down. Daddy, being the old pro, was wise to the eggs that didn't "shake". When we got home and opened all the eggs, we discovered that the eggs that didn't "shake" contained one dollar bills!!! Wahoo!

Hollis was so dirty and gross by the end of the day that he earned a trip straight to the tub as soon as we got home. He had chocolate, marshmallow, dirt and grease on him. (Not sure where he found the grease?) I suppose those are all signs of a good time when you're two.

Mommy & Me Gymnastics

2010-01-12T17:37:00.001-06:00

We had our first Mommy & Me Gymnastics class this morning! It is a 40 minute class, once a week for 10 weeks. I wanted to do something fun for/with Hollis before his sister gets here. Little did I know just how much the emphasis would be on MOMMY. I think I worked out harder than he did!!! The "MOMMY's" have to help the "ME's" with all of their gymnastics tricks! My little "ME" weighs 31 pounds and this "MOMMY" is 6 months pregnant! My great idea was obviously not a very well thought out idea! There is plenty that he will have to learn- like taking turns, listening to his teacher and focusing on the activity at hand (and NOT running and jumping into the foam pit). But we did have a lot of fun and I think Hollis is really going to enjoy his "im-nas-ics" class.

These are a few of my favorite things

2009-12-31T14:42:00.000-06:00

1. Lysol Wipes
These little handy all-in-one wipes have saved our toilet during the potty training process. I keep a can by the toilet in the bathroom and wipe down the toilet after Hollis uses it.

2. Smart Wool Socks
I hate the cold. But these wonderful socks have helped keep my feet warm during this oh-so-cold winter.

3. Online Shopping
I have been REALLY busy this last month and would not have had the time to get my Christmas shopping done. But I finished in a timely manner and really enjoyed the rest of my Christmas season.

4. Drive Thru's
Drive thru Starbucks, Drive thru banks, Drive thru pharmacies...I think every store should have a drive thru. Drive thru's were invented for moms!

5. Oil Warmer
About a month ago I purchased a plug in oil warmer. I love my house to smell good, but candles are expensive and do not last that long. My favorite little candle store, Scentimentals, sells scented oil in a bottle. A couple drops in the warmer and my whole house smells wonderful all day.

6. Leggings
There are a few of you reading this that are laughing hysterically right now. But leggings are among my favorite things! I would wear them everyday if I could :)

7. Clean Sheets
One of the greatest feelings in the world is to sleep in a bed with fresh clean sheets. I always try to shower right before I go to bed on the day that I have changed the sheets. That's the greatest feeling X's 2.

8. Cookie Scoop
I had forgotten how much I love this little gadget. It came from Pampered Chef and it closely resembles an ice cream scoop. It makes perfect size cookies every time. I crave perfection!

9. My Grandmother's Mixing Bowl
I have a mustard brown (ceramic maybe?) mixing bowl that I inherited from my Grandma after she passed away. Esthetically speaking, it is the ugliest bowl in my kitchen, but I use it ALL the time. It is the perfect size for mixing cakes, cookies, etc. I have alot of other mixing bowls, but this is my go-to bowl for sure.

10. Iphone
I know, I know...but it is! If I had never received one (two- I lost my first one) of these my life would still have gone on. But boy since I did-- I don't know how I could ever have another phone. I have Internet, maps, a fabulous calendar, a camera, games for Hollis...anything you can imagine- there's an AP for that! I am never bored, never lost, never without the latest info :)

"Mom and Dad"

2009-12-19T22:26:00.004-06:00

Kids say the darndest things...

2009-12-05T20:18:00.009-06:00

After putting up the tree and telling Hollis he could not touch the ornaments, he asked if he could "pet" one of the ornaments.

We were at the store shopping for a friend's present and Hollis said to me,
"Mom, don't touch!"

I am crediting this next one to a steady diet of Christmas shows that we have been watching lately. We were driving home and out of nowhere Hollis exclaims "Santa needs HELP!" (In every Christmas cartoon, there is always a "Santa crisis" but the little cartoon character always saves the day!)

After seeing his humidifier giving off steam he said, " Look, it's snoke-in' (smoking)" Thus the humidifier became the "Snoker".

So about a week later, we were in Target and he saw a little penguin humidifier and he begged me for the "Penguin Snoker".

When I told him he couldn't have it he said, "Hey, That's not bery nice!"

My mom gave Hollis some Christmas finger puppets- one of them being Santa. I was telling my mom the story about the Penguin Snoker and Mom told Hollis he needed to ask Santa to bring him a Penguin Snoker for Christmas. With out missing a beat, Hollis looked at the Santa finger puppet and asked in a sweet little voice, "Santa, You bring me Penguin Snoker?"

2009-11-10T14:33:00.001-06:00

Cowboy Birthday

2009-11-10T09:59:00.012-06:00

Hollis is TWO! Two! I can hardly believe it! He has changed so much this year and really feels like a big kid to me. There isn't a trace of baby in him...except when he whines-- which isn't too often ;)

We had a super fun cowboy birthday for him at Benbrook Stables. All his little friends came and everybody got to ride the horse. I only rented one horse, because I just assumed there would be a lot more kids afraid of the horse and not want to ride. Boy, was I wrong! Everybody did great--smiles all the way around. In fact, I think Hollis was the only one to cry while riding the horse. Not because he was scared, but because they made him take off his cowboy hat and wear the safety helmet. That did not compute in his little mind. Real cowboys wear cowboy hats while riding their horses!

The weather was absolutely perfect. Not a cloud in the sky and about 75 degrees. After all the rain that we have had, it was a nice change to say the least. After the horse rides, the kids got to take a swing at the pinata. That was one tough little pinata! They finally had to rip it apart with their hands, but not after Hollis took a ride on it first (it was a horse pinata of course). We then opened presents and ate cake. It was a perfect day in my book. I have had more fun on his two birthdays than I have had the last ten years of my own birthdays! I LOVE watching the joy and excitement on his face. Our intent for this party was to allow him to feel special on his special day. Goal accomplished! We have such amazing friends and family-- thank you everyone for participating. It excites me to think that YOU are the ones that are going to help shape my child. We are all very blessed!!!

Happy Birthday to our little man, who is ever changing and such a constant delight. You are so special to us! Mommy and Daddy love you to the moon and back!!!

Booty Powder

2009-10-07T21:15:00.005-05:00

Team Wilhite....2 months ago

2009-10-01T23:18:00.004-05:00

Team Wilhite....2 months ago. That is what all the blogs are saying about me. My last post was two months ago. I tried to think why I had stopped and then it hit me. I am writing THIS blog at 11:30 at night. But since I am horrible at journals, worse at baby books and won't even think about scrapbooking, this is my one and only shot at "remembering when?". I don't really even know where to pick up? Life has really "picked up" for us. Hollis is like a tornado- busy, busy, busy and wild and crazy and funny/funnier. He is talking now, really well actually, and the things he comes up with- My 'lanta!
We took a trip to New Mexico/Colorado in August and ever since we got back from that trip Hollis has really been into "cowboy". My best guess is Reese's grandparents have a lot of cowboy paraphernalia around their house. Hollis would sit in Papaw's saddle for ever. He picked up this one baseball hat that belonged to Reese's Granddad and I swear that hat never left his head. Papaw ended up gifting us that hat (Thank you Papaw!) But Hollis calls it his cowboy hat.

Clothes are so overrated!

When we got home, we set up Reese's saddle in the living room so Hollis could ride. He tells me he is going to check cows! He will put Reese's belt on and stick his "pow-pow's" in the belt. He says he's Wylie Burp. He loves to watch Fievel goes West and the sheriff on there is Wylie Burp (Wyatt Earp). Anytime we see anyone at a store wearing a cowboy hat Hollis says, "HELLO Cowboy!" But the best part of all this cowboy business is his real cowboy hat. He has a palm leaf hat that fit him for all of two weeks when he was a baby. It does not fit him AT ALL now. But he won't wear any other hat. We bought him a black felt hat that fits but he wants nothing to do with it. We lucked out the other day with a five dollar hat that fits him and at least he'll wear it for now. ( We hid the other one!) There is no hiding the fact that my husband's blood runs through that child.

Deezus

2009-07-14T21:58:00.004-05:00

I know I have told some of you this story, but I think it is so darn cute I have to record it for my son. Hollis has a paper cut out of Jesus glued to a Popsicle stick that he colored in Sunday school. I have it stashed near his changing table. I was changing Hollis' diaper right before nap time when Hollis caught eye of this figurine. He asked "whassat?" I preceded to tell him it was Jesus (and since he is BIG into repeating right now he said "Deezus?!") and that he had colored it at church. After I finished changing his diaper, I put "Jesus" back and kissed Hollis and put him in his crib. A few minutes later I heard Hollis in his room yelling, "DEEeeezus, DEEEEEzus!" Crying out for Jesus at such a young age....Love it!

Fourth of July

2009-07-03T23:55:00.005-05:00

Happy Fourth ya'll! We had a super time celebrating our freedom. It ranked in the top five of my Best 4th of July's! I love summer: hot sticky nights, days at the lake, the feel of the sun on my face; and no summer would be complete without the smell of bug spray and sunscreen, and watermelon, mmmmm watermelon. Oh and homemade ice cream!
Yesterday, the three of us headed out to PK lake to hang out with some friends at their lake house. It was amazing! They had a bounce house for the kiddos, a slip n slide, a boat, 3 or4 jet skis and all the food you could ever care to eat. We swam in the lake 3, 4...maybe 5 different times. Hollis wanted to go in then come out; jump on the bounce house, then go back in the "wada"; play on the slip n slide, then go back in the "wada". At dusk, they busted out the fireworks. There were sparklers and glow in the dark necklaces for the kids. Hollis did not like the fireworks when they first started. In fact the first one scared him so badly, he started crying and beelined it for Mama! We had a front row seat to one of the best shows ever--literally front row. We had to move our chairs back, way back, to avoid the debris falling from the sky. Hollis was so tuckered out when we left--Good day! Very Good Day!

Bookworm

2009-07-02T13:23:00.003-05:00

Oh how I love it when Hollis reads his books.

He sits in his Bumbo (yes, he still fits!) in his little corner and reads.
He is quite animated especially when reading his favorite book, "Oink! Moo! How do you do?".

This is the part in the book where all of the animals eat the farmers produce. When I read it, Hollis always puts his hands on his face and exclaims "Oh No!".

Swimming Lessons

2009-06-24T14:08:00.004-05:00

For the past two weeks, Hollis has been learning to swim. He has done very well! He is not afraid of the water at all--which is fabulous 'cause his momma loves to dunk him!

Sweet Little Boy Story:

The teacher had all of us go down to the shallow end of the pool to let the kids "dive" for rings. She would throw the ring into water just deep enough that the kids had to get their faces wet a little. Most of the kids would reach into the water and grab the rings, but not without spitting and sputtering; a few would fearlessly dive under. When it came to Hollis' turn he watched the ring slowly sink to the bottom, then he turned to me and begged, "PEEEEAAAASE, PEEEEEAAAAAASE" He thought he had outsmarted the system. How could you do anything other than pick up the ring for him! Sweet little Boy!

Hollis ready to swim

Owen and Hollis at Swim Lessons

BIG fun

2009-06-04T17:27:00.006-05:00

When Hollis figured out how to squeeze the water hose, I asked him, "Hollis, are you BIG?" He gave me a single nod and in the sweetest breathy tone said "Yeah!"

Bath Time

2009-05-28T13:23:00.005-05:00

Extra Special Mother's Day

2009-05-12T12:51:00.004-05:00

This is now my second Mother's Day since becoming a mommy. It was extra special for us beacuse we were able to dedicate Hollis at church. All of our family was present (except Grandad (Kenneth), Uncle Z and Uncle Ryan- all have jobs that require them to be else where--{make no mistake: all of you were dearly missed!})

I got an e-mail about this dedication possibility like two weeks ago. I needed to submit a baby photo and a current photo. Oh how the obsessing began! I lost sleep over this photo thing and devoted countless hours trying to find the perfect pictures! Two pictures? Thats it...I mean I can't submit a collage of my precious child? So once I had nailed down and submitted the pictures (I actually closed my eyes as I clicked the "send" button), it was on to the outfits. What were we going to wear? I didn't want us to "clash", but I didn't want us to "matchy match" either. (I apologize to all you men out there reading this) Since we were remodeling the kitchen, I knew I did not have time to scour the stores like I probably would have, had I had more hours in the day. Easy solution--I bought multiple outfits (for each of us) with the plans of returning the ones that didn't make the cut! Wow, I am seeing how silly all of this is :o) Finally on the way to church, my husband gave me a "talkin' to". All of this obsession had clouded my perspective of what we were actually doing. Giving our child back to the Lord. God has been so gracious to entrust us with this little life- what an honor to raise him up to know and love the Lord, his creator! Sunday was such a sweet time for our little family. It was amazing to have the love and support of the rest of the family as well.

April Wilhite Photography

2009-05-11T19:48:00.002-05:00

Ok, I am ready....wait, no I am not....Ok *breathe* I'm ready!!! I posted a link to my photography site on my blog. Check it out!!!

April Wilhite Photography

Where's Ty?

2009-05-08T16:18:00.004-05:00

Friday morning, the cabinet installers came and installed all of our freshly painted cabinets! It was better than Christmas morning! I had to leave the house about 10am because I was so giddy I couldn't focus on anything. They did a fantastic job and I couldn't be happier with the results.
Now, I am tired....Reese is definitely tired. This project took it out of us and sadly we are not done yet. I am really wishing Ty Pennington (or more importantly his crew) from Extreme Home Makeover would come and complete all the finishing details. I think with any project, the details are what KILL you!!! (Maybe that's why I had a small wedding.) We should have added a whole other column in our kitchen budget labeled- Last minute DETAILS! Although my kitchen now resembles a kitchen--an amazingly BEAUTIFUL kitchen-- it has opened Pandora's Box on the "To Do/or Left To Do" list.

No More Kitchen

2009-05-06T15:50:00.006-05:00

Tuesday night, Reese ripped out the last of the bottom cabinets. He had to re-route the plumbing for the kitchen sink. It originally ran straight up out of the FLOOR and he needed it to come out of the WALL. So at 7:30pm we made a trip to Lowe's. Have no fear-he completed everything by 11pm....flawlessly I might add! It really is quite amazing to watch him work, I always have FULL confidence in him whatever project he starts-he finishes everything well!

pulling out the dishwasher

...and the drawers

Calling a plumber friend for advice

my kitchen---in the front yard

Wednesday morning, the tile guy showed up and layed the most gorgeous slate tile I have ever seen. I love it so much I want to sleep on it tonight....but we can't walk on it until Thursday. Not only is our kitchen out of commission, but everything that was once in our kitchen is now in our living room and office. As of right now, I cannot access my pantry, my stove is in the office, my fridge is in the living room and to get from the office to the rest of the house- we have to go outside and around to the front door!

Starting the tile process

Almost done

my living room--what a wreck

Sweet Hollis during the demolition

Natural Beauty

2009-05-05T08:06:00.001-05:00

My beautiful kitchen cabinets arrived last Thursday, a la naturale .

When they unloaded them- I was excited. Then they unloaded some more- still....excited. Then they unloaded yet some MORE cabinets, (and trim pieces and shelves and cabinet doors)- a la naturale and UN-painted! I panicked thinking of painting ALL of those beautiful cabinets. Reese and I exchanged a "look". Don't get me wrong- We signed up to paint them (all in the name of saving $) but it is always a different game once you see the magnitude of the project!

The bottom cabinets

Hollis showing me his find- a pink rock!

Thankfully, we were able to borrow a paint gun. Reese painted all but the adjustable shelves this weekend! Successfully managing to dodge the rain as well. Since there is no shortage of projects around here, during the rain showers Reese put down the hardibacker that is to go underneath our tile. 50 screws per sheet- something like 500 screws in all.

I packed up as much of the kitchen as possible, so Reese could partially demo our existing cabinets. Excuse me- SHELVES: I don't really have cabinets! I have packed and unpacked our kitchen something like three times now in the course of our two year ownership. I would NOT recommend a home renovation while living in your home!

Not me!

2009-05-04T15:55:00.002-05:00

Hollis and I have been having quite the conversations lately now that he can give one word answers. This morning our little conversation went like this.

Hollis brought me a piece of candy that he obviously wanted me to unwrap. I was a bit perplexed as to where he got this piece of candy, because if there is ANY candy in the house I assure you I know right where it is. So I asked him, "Hollis, where did you get this piece of candy?" To which he replied, "Ummmmmm, (his little face definitely reflecting his thoughts) *pause*, *light bulb* Dopie! Dopie! Dopie!" Enthusiastically pleased with his answer!!!

Dopie= Sophie, our candy giving dog

Cabinets

2009-04-29T21:58:00.003-05:00

So, here it is 10pm. Evening. Night time. My little family is all asleep and I am wondering just what I am doing awake. My days have been whizzing by so fast lately, I barely have time to come up for a breath. In addition to the "normal" dishes, laundry etc., we have major renovations going on. OK, OK I know, we ALWAYS have renovations. BUT this one is MINE!!! I am getting new kitchen cabinets! (I think I heard the angels sing) They are being delivered tomorrow at four. Bring a lawn chair if you like- watch the delivery! We will paint them this weekend, the tile goes in on Wednesday and the cabinets installed Thursday (?) So that means I will have a working kitchen by.....drum roll please? Thanksgiving? Kidding!
I will be sure to post photos of our mess along the way! Yay!!!

Oh and dare I say, our bedroom is 80-85% finished? I just need to paint trim and finish the pillows for our bed, oh and refinish our "storage" bed to match our dressers. See, almost complete!

Sand Box

2009-04-29T17:53:00.003-05:00

Did I mention we got a sandbox?

Easter

2009-04-16T09:44:00.001-05:00

Oh the festivities! It is now Thursday and I am still recovering from the Easter weekend! Saturday afternoon, we went over to my parents house and had an Easter egg hunt for Hollis and my niece and nephew, Rylie and Trenton. They are seasoned pros, (being that they are 9 & 10) but this was Hollis' first hunt. I tried to "practice" with him in the days leading up to the big event, but it didn't take. He stopped at every egg, dropped his basket, opened the egg and ate the contents. It took us a VERY long time to gather all the eggs. After our afternoon Easter egg hunt, we all went to my parents Saturday night Easter service. My niece got baptized! It was so sweet to watch- I am so proud of her and the decision that she made to follow the Lord. Sunday morning, we were up bright and early. Reese's parents and brother came to church with us. Our church has been planning for a Community Wide Easter service. We had two services at the Weatherford High School auditorium. Over 3,000 people came out! It was truly amazing. I was so proud of our church and thankful to be a part of such an awesome group of believers.
Sunday afternoon, we headed over to Mike and Laurie's house (Reese's Aunt & Uncle) for yet another Easter get together. The weather was yucky and rainy all morning and I was fearful there would be no outdoor activities. But right as we were finishing eating the sun came out. It ended up being a beautiful day. The kids jumped on the trampoline, fed the goats, hunted Easter eggs and even broke an Egg shaped pinata (sp?). Everyone had gifts for the little ones and yes, plenty of candy! Hollis and his 2nd cousin, Emery
I'm sure I don't have to tell you this is Reese's Family-(minus Grandad) Our one & only family photo from Easter- say Cheese!!!

Baby Ducks & Chicks

2009-04-10T12:47:00.000-05:00

We took Hollis to the feed store, down the road, to look at the baby ducks and chicks. He loved it- He even got to pet one. Thankfully, he is not old enough to ask to take one home....yet!

Mirror Me

2009-03-25T12:50:00.000-05:00

On Sunday, our pastor spoke on leaving a legacy for our kids and grand kids. He started out with a story about how he swore he would NEVER be like his parents, but now that he is an adult he is finding that he does several things just like his parents. I know I have promised this to myself countless times and most every attempt has been thwarted :) This past week, however, I got a chuckle out of just how much I mirror my mother. Growing up my mom always wore a robe over her pajamas and when I got a little older (teenage years) I swore I would never be caught dead in those hideous things. Robes are not attractive! They date you- only Grandmas wear robes. There is NOTHING cool about a robe. I might do a bath robe, but that is IT; No lounging robes for me.
Last Christmas, my mother bought me a robe! Now as far as robes go, this was a really nice robe, very plush--I wasn't crazy about how pastel the color was--but a nice robe none the less. At first I was careful about how much time I spent wearing this robe. But I have found myself grabbing it more and more often to put on in the middle of the night when I have to tend to Hollis. Ugh Oh!!! The other night, I was in Hollis' room quieting him back down, when I caught a glimpse of my reflection. Was that my mother? My silhouette was that of my mother, in her robe, holding one of us because we couldn't sleep. My hair, my stance, the way I was swaying- all looked like my mom. It was at this moment I chuckled out loud. So here I sit writing this silly blog, all these years later.....in my robe! How do you mirror your mother?

Whistle while you...Play?

2009-03-18T14:31:00.000-05:00

I understand that most of you that read this will think I am a liar and label me as one of those crazy moms who think their child is a genius and can do no wrong. While all of this may be true, it should have no bearing on what I am about to share with you. Are you ready? Hollis can WHISTLE!!! See, I told you you would not believe me. I don't know how he knows how to do it, but he surely can. He walks around whistling while he's playing. It's like an in and out whistle not a song or anything :) But, HELLO?....he's 16 months old!!! A little whistling prodigy! Oprah, Letterman- Here we COME!!!

*video to follow* maybe***if we can figure out how!***

Case of Mistaken Identity

2009-03-17T13:54:00.000-05:00

The weirdest thing happened to me today- in fact, I don't know that I have ever thought anything was weirder?, more weird?, bizarre?. Hollis and I went grocery shopping at Albertson's and when I went to pay for my groceries, my card declined my pin number. I tried again....same thing. I looked at my card to make sure I had grabbed the right one and indeed I had NOT! I mean I HAD, but the name on the card--supposed to be MY debit card--read FORREST COOK! WEIRD?! I pulled HIS card out of MY wallet. My head started swimming! HOW is this possible? WHAT in the world? WHO is watching me? I half way looked around expecting to see some odd looking man in a dark outfit--watching me! The cashier thought I was NUTTY, I'm sure. I payed with my "emergency" card, cause in my mind this accounted as an emergency!!!
I called Reese to let him know what had happened, as best I knew! I bee-lined it for the bank in hopes they could help me sort this out. They did and all is well!
Here's what happened:
Saturday, I stopped in at the Pizza Place on my way home to pick up a pizza for my starving boys. There were three or four of us standing around waiting to pay. The two girls were having trouble with the credit card machine and at one point had four people's cards back there with them. My card and Forrest Cook's card got swapped- since they both were WNB cards, looking identical (except for the NAME)- no one noticed. When the bank pulled up our accounts, she found that poor Forrest had payed for three people's pizzas. Fortunately, they were able to fix all of that today. ( I didn't get a free pizza) So the mystery has been solved, I have a new card with MY name on it and Forrest didn't spend any of my money--Case Closed!

Ni-Night

2009-03-13T23:57:00.000-05:00

Hollis loves his silky blankies, which he refers to as Ni-Nights-because he takes them to sleep with him. (We never go anywhere with out one!) In my closet, I have several shirts made from the same silky material. No less than three times a day, he will pull ALL of them off of their hangers and drag them around the house. One day he got outsmarted and we got future blackmail photo's :) I think he looks good in purple!

Remember the Alamo!!!

2009-03-12T14:04:00.000-05:00

Reese had planned a getaway weekend in celebration of my birthday (march 3) for just the two of us. When he presented me with this idea I was excited, until the realization set in that I would have to leave Hollis overnight (two nights) for the first time ever! Excitement was quickly overshadowed by my anxiety. However, I purposed to just relax (breathe) and not let my thoughts of Hollis interrupt my time with Reese. We obviously don't do this kind of stuff often and I wanted to make it count! We left Hollis at my parents for the Friday night sleep over and Reese's parents picked him up for the Saturday night sleep over.

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On our way to San Antonio, Reese and I stopped at the outlet mall in San Antonio. We popped into JCrew in hopes of finding some summer bargains. We were there no less than 5 minutes when all this commotion started at the front of the store. Reese had caught some lady shoplifting and blew the whistle on her! He saw some lady rolling up stuff and sticking it in her oversized purse. He grabbed a store clerk who immediately approached the lady and asked if she needed any help. The lady came up with some bogus story and beelined it out of the store. The little store clerk was so sweet and really non confrontational: I was waiting for a full body tackle or something! All said and done, she gave us a discount off of our purchase for my husband being so heroic :)

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We stayed at the Hyatt Hill Country Resort, right outside of San Antonio. It was so nice- instead of a pool, they had a Lazy River that snaked thru the property. Kinda neat! Saturday we went down to the River Walk and walked around. I wanted to go walk thru the Alamo (after all we were in San Antonio!) Little did I know, the anniversary of the Battle of the Alamo was March 6th- so everybody and their dog was down there checking out a little piece of history. I had been to the Alamo as a kid and I remember it being ALOT bigger than what it was.
We couldn't have asked for better weather. It was absolutely perfect. We ate dinner on the River Walk and then went and saw our friend Kyle play at the Floore's Country Store. Nothing beats good live Texas Country music!

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The next morning Reese had a skeet shoot for work- his company was hosting an event or something; but after it was over, we got to come home! I was so excited to see my little buddy, but... he did not share the same sentiments. He was napping when we arrived, so we had to wake him up. Who did he cling to? Daddy! He wanted Reese and not me! Reese couldn't even put him down to load the car- Hollis started crying. It wasn't until we were home that I got any attention- after all I was the one who put him down for his nap TWO DAYS earlier at Nana's! I would be mad at me too!!! He probably thought I had abandoned him :)

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I am pretty sure Hollis had a good time with his grandparents and I can almost bet he got just about everything he wanted. He was a little spoiled when we got him back! However, I wouldn't think his grandma's were doing their job if he wasn't just a little rotten.

Welcome Cousin Jack

2009-03-02T13:04:00.000-06:00

We have all been eagerly awaiting the arrival of Sweet Baby Jack. He finally made his debut February 26th at 1:15pm. Steph (my sister in law) had a long hard labor, but I know she would tell you every bit off it was worth it-- maybe a little unnecessary, but worth it! He is a beautiful baby and perfect in every way. He weighed 5lb 15oz and was 18 1/2 inches long.

Jack Briggs Watson

Zane, Steph and Jack

Proud Parents

Reese and I had gone to the hospital that morning and waited until Jack arrived. We had dropped Hollis off at my mom's house on our way in and when we went to pick him up this is what we found. A Toddler!

My sweet little baby is officially a big boy. When Hollis met cousin Jack later that afternoon, it was amazing to see just how much Hollis has grown. He's not a baby anymore!

Valentimes Snuggie

2009-02-24T14:59:00.000-06:00

This year was a super fun Valentines Day! We have never put much emphasis on the "Day of Love" here at our house...every day is a day of love when you are married to Reese! We decided to have some friends over for the big date night. So three of our couple friends, with their children-all under the age of two- came over for dinner. We had a good time: no one had to get a babysitter and our house is just as entertaining as the movies!
Eating a Chocolate Covered Strawberry

But my favorite part? The gifts! Here's a run down of the gifts exchanged: Gerber Daisies from Reese, A Bart Simpson card (also from Reese), a Pump Action BB gun (so I can shoot the stray dogs that roam in our yard: to date, I have sucessfully hit two dogs!). But my gift to Reese was the BEST! I purchased him a Snuggie! Oh yes my friends we are the proud owners of a bright blue Snuggie! Unfamiliar with a Snuggie? Check it out:

Careful -you may find yourself wanting to purchase one for your sweetheart!

It was a Grand Valentines Day!

Quick trip to the Zoo

2009-02-23T14:16:00.000-06:00

Reese and I took little man to the zoo on Friday. We waited until after his nap, so we didn't get there until almost 3:15pm. The man at the ticket window informed us the zoo was closing at 4:00pm and would not give us any kind of discount. But we had driven an hour from Millsap and we weren't about to turn around and go home. So we paid our $24 dollars and took off at a brisk pace! Hollis enjoyed being there for sure- he pointed alot and said, WOW! He "mooed" when we saw the rhinos and had to be peeled off of the bronze lizard. He loved the giant bird cage the best. How could you not! Tons of brightly colored birds flying every which way, making lots of noise and flying in so close you could touch them (well, I suppose YOU could touch them, but Hollis wasn't quite fast enough!) We will definitely head back to the zoo soon, with the intent of staying longer than 40 minutes!

The Watering Hole

2009-02-04T10:01:00.000-06:00

Can someone please explain to me why it is that the things your children are NOT supposed to do are usually the things that make for the best photos? He was so pleased with his discovery. I couldn't help but laugh- after all he was only giving Dopee more water in her bowl!

Stock Show

2009-02-03T13:28:00.000-06:00

We finally made it to the petting zoo at the Stock Show. We have been trying to go for three weeks now. Of course we would pick a day when EVERYBODY decided to go. They were only letting in a set number of people and giving them a time limit, I guess because there were so many people in line. I think we had like six minutes!
Hollis was a little taken back by the goats. The big goats were a little too aggressive for him (because we had food?, feed?--regardless, we payed a dollar for it) and he didn't quite know what to think about the baby goats. I imagine when Mrs. Linda's goats have their baby's we will have to sneak over and see them. Hopefully she won't time us...six minutes:times up!

You Been Farmin' Long?

2009-01-30T14:24:00.000-06:00

This morning, Hollis had a play date with his friend Owen. Owen owns a John Deere Mule. Hollis thought he had died and gone to heaven!

Those boys covered a lot of ground!

New Year, New World

2009-01-22T15:14:00.000-06:00

This year has already brought new and exciting changes with it. Hollis is starting to talk- He can say Dada, Mama, Dopee (Our dog Sophie, his beloved playmate) Bye-Bye, Night, No No, Uh Oh, Hi, Diddy (His monkey blankie, P-Diddy) and Bob--the tomato on Veggie Tales! He is ever mimmicking voice inflections. The words aren't there yet, but the inflections are. He's getting big!

The last time the weather was as nice as it has been lately, Hollis was barely crawling and outside was not that much fun. But.....NOW it is an amazing place to be! Yesterday was such a beautiful day, we went to the park for the first time..ever! Hollis was a little apprehensive at first; but once he decided all was well, he loved it. He climbed up the steps, went down the slide--face first- on his tummy! The favorite fascination was the pea gravel. He sat and played in the rocks just like little boys are supposed to do! He started to put one in his mouth, but looked at me and automatically shook his head No. That's right, buddy, rocks aren't for eating!

Today, Hollis and I met Reese for lunch at Joe's Crab Shack. They have a little play area for the kiddos, so I told Reese to take Hollis out to play so he could see how much fun he had yesterday. Reese said Hollis looked like a pro--he knew exactly what to do and didn't hesitate for a moment. Reese had to leave to go back to work, so Hollis and I stayed and played. We where there for almost an hour. Hollis had the best time-it was great 'cause we had the whole place to ourselves: which is very important when you are little like Hollis.

What's in the Potty?

2009-01-09T22:56:00.000-06:00

Tonight, after sending both my boys to bed, I retreated to the bathroom to get myself ready for the same. I lifted the lid to use the potty and what I found took me by surprise. No, No, No....this is a G rated blog!!! A Baseball!!! I found a baseball in the potty. Oh? What's that? You don't normally find baseballs in your potties? [Most of you probably don't refer to the white seat in your bathroom as the "potty" either.] Hmmm? Strange? I wonder how it got there? I guess I'll have to have a talk with Reese :)

Way Behind

2009-01-08T15:32:00.000-06:00

OK, so I realize there has been minimal activity over here on this blog. Unfortunately I have no good excuse. Can I talk about Christmas? We are almost halfway through January, is that allowed? What the heck--it is my site-- I make the rules! (The one and ONLY place I get to make the rules! )
The Sunday before Christmas we had the annual Reese Family get together [Reese was named after his mothers maiden name-Free Nugget of Info]. This year, instead of being at Reese's Aunt's house, we celebrated at Zane & Stephanie's (my sister in law and hubby) new home. It was a lot of fun! There is a new crop of kids and watching them together is always a delight.

Christmas Eve was spent with my side of the family. We all went to the Candlelight service at my parents church. Hollis owns a set of Jingle Bell sticks. We gave them to him right before the singing started. "Make a Joyful Noise Unto the Lord". Points for audience participation?

Our family has a tradition of eating a Mexican themed dinner on Christmas Eve. Um mm--Delish! Enchiladas, Guacamole, beans, tamales.....

We then tried, unsuccessfully, to pose (with the self timer set on the camera) for a family photo. Who's idea was that?....pitiful I tell you. Organized Chaos!!!

Christmas Day was spent at my parents house opening gifts. We kept it pretty low key this year. We had all drawn a name so there wasn't a mound of presents like in past years. It was nice. We ate Christmas lunch and then Reese, Hollis and I were off to COLORADO.

Lighting the Happy Birthday Jesus Cake

Julie with her new "kicks"

A new bat was in the closet

What's inside?

I opened a gift intended for my nephew--

A really bright Jersey! Just what I always wanted!!!

Christmas at the Gaylord

2008-12-22T14:20:00.000-06:00

Friday morning, Reese called and told me to pack a bag we were going for a surprise Christmas getaway! He took us to the Gaylord in Grapevine to celebrate Christmas- Texas style. It was amazing! "The Gaylord Texan Resort transforms into a delightful winter wonderland for our much-anticipated Lone Star Christmas celebration! This year's festivities include a 50-foot rotating Christmas tree, 7-foot ornaments suspended from the glass roof, a life-size gingerbread house, live reindeer, and 1.2 million Christmas lights!"

We ate dinner at the River Walk Cafe and totally stuffed ourselves with crab and beef tenderloin. Yummy! After dinner we turned Hollis loose and followed him around the resort. We saw the life size Gingerbread house, got our picture made in a carriage and gawked at the "50 foot rotating Christmas tree"! The way this place was decorated was absolutely stunning. I have never seen so many red poinsettias in one place before...ever! Hollis had taken his usual morning nap before we left the house and did not fall back asleep until 11 o'clock that night. He was absolutely delightful the WHOLE time. Not one fit, no fussing, no crying. All Smiles! And F-Uh-Uh-Uh-N-N-Y! Just in the past week, his little personality, which apparently is quite the HAM- has really come out. People were stopping to watch HIM while we took pictures. He was being so goofy :)

I warned you he was being GOOFY

My boys showing me their teeth--T-E-E-F!!!

Posing in the Carriage

What Christmas Weekend would be complete with out seeing SANTA. I, for one, think sitting on Santa's lap is a bit creepy. (My dad quickly agreed and told me I have no business sitting on Santa's lap anyway! DAD!!!) I wanted to see Hollis' reaction to Santa... so you see, this was strictly for curiosity's sake! When it was our turn to meet Santa, Hollis went to him right away. No hesitation, no screaming. He was down right enamored. He sat VERY still and touched the fur on Santa's collar and sleeves. He loved him. When it was time to go, he didn't really want to get up. I possibly could have left him there, hanging out with Santa, the whole day.

Two Thumbs up for a magical Christmas outing!!!

Santa's Little Helper on the way home

Frierson Family Photo

2008-12-20T11:44:00.000-06:00

The Frierson Family graciously let me experiment with their 2008 Christmas Family Photo. Brave Souls!!! (Ranger Frierson is Hollis little friend who told him " Hoddis! You gonna see you daddy ina minute!") Ain't they purty!!!

Christmas Greetings!!!

2008-12-19T11:35:00.001-06:00

So here is our Christmas Card this year. I drug Hollis outside on one of the days it was still 80 degrees. He is wearing a coat (just a coat, no shirt underneath--I didn't want him to start sweating) and shorts.

Merry Christmas Ya'll!!!

First Haircut...tear

2008-12-05T12:44:00.000-06:00

The dreaded day arrived….Hollis’ first haircut. Wednesday, we took him to a salon to get his locks trimmed. They didn’t have a booster for him to sit in so they put a cape on me and had him sit in my lap. He was very good and still for the entire process. I told the lady I wanted to keep most of his length just trim it up a little. She even said it back to me--"OK so you want him to still look like him just a little shorter?" Yes!!! The hair on his neck was getting too long and it was sitting funny. Since I was holding him I couldn't really see what she was doing. Everything was fine until she got to the bangs!!! She whacked them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He now has little short bangs that sit about a half of an inch below his hair line!!! AGHHHHHH! He is now sporting a stupid little boy haircut--which is exactly what I didn't want! I waited until we left, but yep, I cried. I know, I know, it's hair--it will grow. But it was his FIRST haircut. I had so many expectations of this day! I knew we should have gone the Sampson Route!!!

Being Distracted

And this is where is went south!!!

TADA...my new haircut!

Thanksgiving in New Mexico

2008-12-03T11:24:00.000-06:00

This year we spent Thanksgiving in Buena Vista, New Mexico with Reese's Grandparents: Mamaw and Papaw! It is about a ten hour drive--Yippee!!! Hollis did well: as long as we had "Elmo's Countdown to Christmas" playing in the DVD player. (Reese and I can now quote the movie start to finish!!!) He really did exceptionally well for being trapped in a car seat for that long.

Hollis watching Elmo's Countdown to Christmas

Plum tuckered out

We went to Lisa and Lucas' house (Reese's Aunt and Uncle) for Turkey Day. They have an amazing house in the middle of nowhere. It snowed ALL day which in my opinion really "made" the day. Very Holiday-ish! Hollis didn't really pay much attention to all the white stuff--I guess he is a little too young to appreciate snow.

Family Picture in the Snow

Hollis watching it snow

Emery and Hollis on Thanksgiving (Emery is Reese's Cousins little girl)

Hollis liked Mamaw's kitties

Other than going to Lisa and Lucas', we stayed at Mamaw and PaPaw's for the entire visit. They have a couple of fireplaces and a woodburning stove in the kitchen. Everybody sits around the stove and talks while Mamaw bustles around the kitchen. If you are picturing a perfectly cozy house on top of a hill covered in snow--you are on the right track. It is a great place for making memories! We had a really good trip, very relaxing. Night and Day compared to last years Thanksgiving! I didn't know it at the time; but now that I look back on it, I can boldly declare it was one of the most naive things I have ever done! We traveled 10 hours with our tiny three week old baby!!! Insane? Yes!!! I distinctly remember at one point last year, crying to Reese about how I didn't want ANYONE ELSE to TOUCH my baby! Post Pardum Hormones talking? I think YES! This years trip more than made up for last year! It was a VERY good Thanksgiving to say the least.

Hollis and Papaw

Mamaw and Hollis

Play Date at Germ World!

2008-11-17T11:56:00.000-06:00

I am a little late in posting this, but I wanted to share Hollis' first experience at the Ridgmar Mall play place. In the center of the mall is a play area that has cars, trucks, trains, slides etc that are all made out of this hard foam plastic stuff. It is like heaven for small children--a nightmare for germ conscience parents. I met two of my girlfriends and their kiddos for a fun little outing. Hollis didn't exactly know what he was supposed to do, but he loved watching all the crazy kids running around him. I think he had a good time!

Sidenote: This is Addison. She is Hollis' age and very cute--but you can see that from the picture. (She was a little overwhelmed and sleepy at our playdate, hence the tears and no smile!)

This is Hollis' little hand reaching out for Addison- Stroller to Stroller

I love watching his discovery of other people his age!

It's not a very good photo, but Hollis is on the left & Addison is on the right.

Isn't that sweet! At one point they were actually holding hands :)

Baby Steps

2008-11-06T22:08:00.000-06:00

I feel pretty confident announcing the fact that Hollis walking!!! He took his "first" steps two days before his first birthday. They were shakey at best and only two or three at a time. Over the past couple of days he has been trying out his new found talent. A little step here, a little step there. I would catch him out of the corner of my eye just toddling through the living room or rounding some corner. Half the time I never say where he started from or how far he had walked. Tonight he became pretty official in my book. Reese and I were sitting across from each other, having Hollis walk back and forth between us (he maybe had to take 10 steps); when all of the sudden Hollis detours and starts off towards the kitchen. He made it all the way to the middle of the kitchen before he fell down. What a milestone! My little baby is walking--and now I need to go get some rest... I am afraid he will try running tommorrow!

Doom, Gloom and a beautiful day!

2008-11-05T21:57:00.000-06:00

Yes, like most of my friends and family, I too was disheartened by the results of the election; but may I offer these words? Yesterday was a beautiful day...a little windy, but a down right gorgeous day! It just so happened, Reese was able to spend most of the day with us. We started the day in prayer, ate breakfast as a family and enjoyed our son. I was super glad to have him home with us. I wanted my family close. I did snuggle Hollis a little more than usual and rocked him a little longer. Not because of any immediate changes, but because of the thought of an unknown future. I prayed for him and his generation. For wisdom for our leaders and up and coming leaders. I am mad at myself for knowing what is ahead and still being fearful. Scripture clearly states things will get worse, much worse, before they get better. I am challenged now, more than ever, to live a life that will make an impact; to have a marriage that will make an impact and to raise children that will make an impact. So as long as the sun still rises we are obligated to live a life of purpose. God has a plan, he wasn't shocked--unlike the rest of us....Texans that is! He knew ol Barack Hussein Obama would be the 44th President Elect. Wow, seriously? Wow! I have no other choice than to rest in the peace that God knows the future and none of this is a surprise to him.

If My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14

Happy Birthday Hollis

2008-11-01T18:15:00.000-05:00

What a day! My mom came in and woke me up singing this silly little song I had never heard before in my whole life. Something about my birthday! She looked really excited but I wasn't too sure...I was still pretty sleepy. Mom and Dad were busy all morning, rushing around, busy busy. Every once in a while, they would look at me and tell me that I was one today. Whatever that means? They sang that silly little song to me several times. I smiled for them, but I don't really know what that song is about. When I woke up from my nap, Mom took me into the kitchen and there were bright balloons everywhere and two little Monkey faces on the table. A big one and a little one! Pretty soon, Nana and Pawpaw showed up, then Grammy and Grandad. Aunt Steph (and my cousin Jack, but he's still growing in my Aunt Steph's tummy) & Uncle Z, Uncle Wes, my Aunt Julie and my cousins, Trenton and Rylie, Uncle Ford and Aunt Holly & Uncle Luke. They took my outside and everybody took turns swinging me. I had so much fun- Mommy and Daddy never swing me that long! After they were tired of pushing me, we got to eat hamburgers. When I was finished eating, they sat me in the floor, surrounded by all these boxes with shiny ribbons and bright paper. I didn't really know what to do. Every time I would find out what was inside the box they would take it away from me and put another box in front of me. I just wanted to play with the toy that I just opened. After I opened all the boxes, they put me back in my high chair. Everyone was staring at me and they all started singing....the same silly song mommy and daddy sang to me earlier. What is up with this song? I liked it though! I just smiled...I mean, if everyone is going to stare at me I guess I should smile. Then my mom put the little monkey in front of me and told me to take a bite. OK! So first I pulled off the right ear, took a bite and then the left ear and took a bite. Oh my goodness! It was the best thing they have ever given me to eat! They let me have the whole monkey, nobody stopped me. I ate as much as I could and even tried to share some with my cousins. Oh and the whole time--everyone was staring at me and taking pictures! But I didn't mind! After I finished my monkey, I got to play with all my toys that I had found inside the boxes. Everything lights up AND plays music. Yeah! That's my mom and dad's favorite part!!! I had so much fun today, I wish everyday could be my birthday!

How? What? A whole apple?

2008-10-25T18:57:00.001-05:00

Wednesday, our small family went to visit our friends, the Frierson's, so that Hollis and Ranger (2 yrs old) could play, while Reese and Buster (Ranger's daddy) played--they were ropin' yearlings! It was too chilly for the little boys to be outside at the arena, so the mommies and the babies stayed and played inside the house. After the big boys were finished, we loaded up in the car to go eat. Reese came to our car to say hi to Hollis and then got in the truck with Buster. Hollis did not like this arrangement AT ALL! He wailed the whole way to the restaurant---well, I say the whole way; Ranger, who is two, had had enough of Hollis' crying. All of the sudden Ranger lets out this loud guttural yell. Louder than Hollis' crying. Hollis stopped and looked at Ranger?! Ranger proceeded to say, in a two year olds dialect, "Hoddis, you gonna see you Daddy in a minute!" It was HILARIOUS! He continued to coach "Hoddis" about the happenings that were to occur once we got to the restaurant! Too funny!

Ranger had been eating an apple in the car and had only taken a couple of bites. So when I dropped them back off at their house, Kristen, half joking, asked if Hollis wanted the apple. I said yes, in hopes he could suck on it and keep him occupied on our drive home. He was still being a little pickle pill. When we arrived home, 30 minutes later, this is all I found........

a little bit of the core, the stem, and some seeds

My son has two little stumpy teeth! They are not even half way out! How in the free world did he eat a whole apple? A whole apple, skin and all!!!

Boys and their Toys

2008-10-14T15:35:00.000-05:00

Daddy stopped by a kid's consignment shop on the way home from work the other day to purchase Hollis a swing. He came home with a swing, a car, a cell phone, some trucks and a soccer ball. Hollis loved them all. I would tell you it was an early birthday present, but I would be lying. We try hard, but you just can't help but spoil them a little!!!

Both hands on the wheel--Ten and Two!

Checking out the new cell phone! Hang up and DRIVE!

He can swing for hours (or for as long as someone will push him!)

This was just a photo that I threw in for Free!!!
In the spirit of FALL!

Glory Be, a TOOTH I SEE!

2008-10-13T09:10:00.000-05:00

The reason I have not posted anything in a good week is: this past week (and a 1/2) has been a little whiny at our house. I had my suspicions that Hollis was getting a tooth, but I have thought this at 5 months, 7 months, 9months....I have stopped thinking THIS! But finally- Glory Be- his bottom two little teeth decided to grace us with their presence. This past week they poked their sharp little heads right on through. But in the mean time it has been a lot of emotional behavior from the sweet little blue eyed boy that lives at our house. He has not wanted to eat, has been clingy, had a runny nose and VERY emotional. We have waited a long time for these pearly whites! I would love to show you pictures, but that is a little like sticking your head in an alligator's mouth! Hollis has no interest in showing off his new teeth; at least not yet!

Pancake Pimple

2008-10-02T12:12:00.000-05:00

This morning Hollis had pancakes for breakfast. This morning is also the morning I have bible study-which usually means alot of hustling/bustling to get out the door in time. When I got Hollis out of the car I noticed he had pancakes in his hair, so I was picking them out on the way to drop him off at his class. After bible study (2 hours later) I got back in the car and looked in the rear view mirror--I froze, MORTIFIED--I had a pretty decent sized piece of pancake on my face!!! (Small if we are talking "piece of pancake"--LARGE if we are talking "PIMPLE") Just big enough to perfectly resemble a NASTY pimple. How many people had I just seen? How many new faces had I just met? OH MY GOODNESS! Today was the first day of a new study, so there were ALOT of new faces! I immediately wondered why no one had said anything? BECAUSE-- it looked SO much like a pimple (EXACTLY like) it would have been embarrassing for them too! I am cringing as I write this...where is my hole? It's awful any way you slice it (As I take a bite of my humble pie!)

One more month

2008-10-01T10:00:00.000-05:00

Hollis is 11 months old. 11 months old? 11 months old! Whoa, one more month and I won't have to declare his age in months! He is quite the little person. I enjoy every second I get to spend with him-He is my little buddy! He is getting this really cool hair...you know I specifically prayed for his hair before he was born. Don't laugh--I wanted him to have a good head of hair. His daddy has really thick cool hair and I really don't so much. But NO teeth yet! ( I guess I forgot to mention those in my prayers). He has a little friend that has a pretty good set of chompers going, but not very much hair. We joked--You can't have it all!!! Teeth or Hair--you pick! (If your child has both, we cannot be friends!) I read in my baby book that I didn't get MY teeth until I was a week shy of one year old. Finally something of mine! Cause we know he doesn't LOOK like me.
Do other kids growl? Is it just a boy thing? You'll have to let me know, because in my mind growling is an activity reserved for wild little boys. Hollis growls. He has a book of animals and I ask him what the cow says (Hollis): R-A-W-R. (Me): What does the duck say? (Hollis): R-A-W-R. Apparently all the animals at our house are very scary! And Peek-A-Boo....He growls....He hides his eyes... (Us): Where's Hollis? (Hollis uncovering his eyes): R-A-W-R!!! We jump like he scared us and he laughs hysterically!

Hollis? What are you doing?

Who Me?

Just getting me a little snack!

Just a swingin'

2008-09-26T18:41:00.001-05:00

At the time I am writing this blog, Hollis has been in his swing now for close to two hours. Reese was in the barn cleaning it up, building more shelves, etc. You know, the normal work horse kind of projects that Reese loves to start?! Hollis has had this swing since he was born and liked it pretty well when he was little. It is a cool papasan chair that swivels to either swing him back/forth or side/side. It has a little mobile up top that spins and sings. He has actually had two of these swings. His first swing broke so we bought him another one. I thought he was too big for it so I had taken it to the barn for Reese to put in storage. Apparently not though! Well, yes I think physically he is too big for the swing....since his little toes hung over the edge.
During these two hours, I would run outside to see what the boys were up to and was sure I would find Hollis asleep at some point. But nope! He just sat in his swing and watched Daddy work in the barn! Not a peep, not a squirm, nothing. Just sat there a swingin'!

That is a piece of bread in his mouth!

First Photo Shoot

2008-09-25T11:41:00.000-05:00

I finished my photography class the other night. I am really glad I took it, I learned enough new things that it made it worth the money. (It wasn't that expensive!) I had my first photo shoot last week. Don't get too excited for me now- I didn't get paid and it was for my mom's band!!! Ok, Ok, you can all stop laughing now! I had alot of fun, but I tell you I was nervous for the entire duration of the shoot. I just really wanted to do a good job. I shot over 200 photos and ended up with just a handful of useable shots. I could really feel the limitations of my little 'ol lens. I am itching for a new lens! I figure if my husband can have quite an extensive/expensive gun collection, I ought to be able to start buying expensive camera equipment. Isn't that how it works? I didn't think so!

These are the "Church Chixs"

Country Living

2008-09-21T21:53:00.000-05:00

For all of you who might think you would like to live in the country....please read this story! Tonight Reese and I were in the living room watching the Cowboys Game after Hollis had gone to bed- Thank God--not thank God that he had gone to bed, but thank God that he was not awake for the following happenings! I heard Reese' shaving bag fall on the floor in the bathroom, but I didn't think anything of it because it was on the back of the toilet and I figured it was just sitting too close to the edge. About twenty minutes later Reese walked into the bathroom and started yelling, Oh my gosh April come here look at this! Now, being married to Reese for the past three years I know better than to fall for that trick! But he sounded pretty serious. I walked into the bathroom and Reese was pointing to the window sill--Oh yes my friends- a SNAKE!!! A snake was in my house! A pretty decent size snake was crawling around the same floor that my sweet baby crawls around on! Thank God Hollis was not awake and that he didn't find the snake before Daddy found the snake. I HATE snakes...I think Reese hates snakes a little more than I do! Favorite quote of the night? Reese tells me "Watch him while I run to the barn!" OK? I'll make sure he stays in one place!? Doesn't slither away!? I am not sure what I was to do with that direction but I watched him! Reese brought back a piece of trim and a gardening hoe! Reese proceeded to poke him out from behind the back of the toilet (with the piece of trim) and mash his head with the hoe. All while screaming, OH I HATE SNAKES, OH I REALLY HATE SNAKES! I was standing on the trunk that holds our towels, taking pictures of my hero killing the snake. I love my husband!

Singin' in the Rain

2008-09-17T12:45:00.000-05:00

Ok Ok Ok! I know I have not posted anything in FOREVER! Are you happy? Look here is a new posting! (Jeez, you guys are intense!)

I am taking a photography class at Weatherford College. It is every Tuesday night during the month of September. I have a new found love of photography and I am NOT happy just leaving my camera on AUTO. Which is what I have shot thus far. I intend on buying really expensive lenses and equipment and camping out for hours just so I can get the perfect shot....of a bird....at sunset! Kidding. My assignment for last week was to take a photo with the background out of focus. It rained alot last week, so I took advantage of the weather. I dressed up Hollis and drug him outside. He did not have as much fun as I did, but golly he looked cute!

This was the photo I turned in for my assignment!

Rain Rain Go Away

INSIDE

2008-08-19T10:27:00.001-05:00

The word of the day is INSIDE!

INSIDE the bed of Daddy's Truck

Deciding it would be more fun if he was INSIDE the swimming pool

There must be something still INSIDE this Cup!

Hollis INSIDE his clothes hamper

Stuffing an oreo cookie Dad gave him INSIDE his little mouth

Daddy!

2008-08-18T22:55:00.000-05:00

Hollis has discovered DADDY! He has not really had an opinion on the matter until this week. It went something like this- Example #1: I was finishing getting ready in the bathroom, when I hear this crying baby, crawling from the kitchen, through the living room. He sees me (which normally is enough to deter him from his ailments) but continues wining, bee-lining for the front door. He get to the front door, stands up, looks up and starts tapping with his fingers *knocking maybe?*. I realize he is after Daddy who just went outside to put something in the truck. Example #2: Reese comes home from work and Hollis starts the whole super fast, one-dead-leg crawl. He then stops in his "take a knee" stance *he literally kneels on just one knee* and flails his arms like a penguin unable to take flight. He will then make some kind of super-excited-scrunched-up-Daddy-is-home face. All of this is accompanied with high pitched squealing! As a mom--there is nothing sweeter than that site right there!

I AM Normal!!!

2008-08-14T16:22:00.000-05:00

I am not crazy...and I can prove it! Other people BLOG TOO! I have taken some heat and unnecessary teasing over the fact that I Blog (not by the grandparents of course- they think it is fantastic) This morning at my bible study I shyly mentioned something about my blog, quickly bracing myself for ridicule, when four other girls said they have a blog too. FINALLY! I feel like I can emerge from my secret blogger cave.
I came home and looked up the blogs of the girls in my study. One thing that I thought was very interesting is that we ALL write about the same stuff. It is amazing that because we are all married with kids, we feel the same emotions and experience the same milestones. We ALL feel blessed and ALL of us marvel in amazement at our children. How silly to think that we don't need one another- Life was meant to be lived with friends!

Me and Sophie McGee

2008-08-04T12:53:00.000-05:00

Hollis is 9 months old now and busier than EVER! His newest interest is Sophie. They are the same size and he thinks it is great. He pulls her fur, but she doesn't seem to mind. She will yelp if he gets a good enough hold on her but will come right back for more! I try to show him how to be sweet and pet her, but it looks more like hitting when he tries. At night we put Sophie in the office and barricade the doorway with a baby gate. I was letting her out this morning and as I was returning from the front door, I hear this loud sucking noise in the office. Hollis had found Sophie's dog food and was sitting in the floor with her bowl between his legs, a fist full of dog food and several pieces in his mouth. He was desperately trying to salivate enough to break down that dog food....no he still does not have any teeth. I was grossed out but laughing all at the same time!

Viva La Mexico

2008-07-31T19:44:00.000-05:00

Last Wednesday my side of the family (+ spouses and children) boarded Aero Mexico for a week of fun in Cozumel. Ten people plus baby Hollis. ( Well, Reese made 10 but he didn't fly down until Friday). We stayed in an all inclusive resort on the beach. When we arrived at the hotel I thought it looked strangely familiar. We discovered our family had been to that exact resort some years ago (prior to spouses and children). The resort had since been bought out by Wyndham and remodeled. Tricky tricky!
The first night was pretty rough for some of us. The AC did not work in my room or Julie, Wesley and the kids room. (I ended up changing rooms THREE different times) Hollis woke up every two hours that night, hot, sweaty, disoriented, probably saying...."you call THIS a crib?" It was half the size of his crib at home and somewhat rickety. He kept hitting his head on the slats; I think he got a couple of appendages stuck once or twice.
Hollis and I were always the first ones out of bed in the morning. Before marrying Reese and definitely before Hollis, I was NOT a morning person. When I married Reese, I slowly began to adjust to waking up earlier and by earlier I mean 9, 10 sometimes 11 on Saturdays! But when Hollis came along, well, let's just say he is a lot more demanding about me getting out of bed early than Reese was! So the Wilhite's would eat breakfast around 7am...just us--no really... just us--very few people at the resort were even up at that hour. The party doesn't start till noon in Mexico!!!
On this trip, my dad and Hollis were joined at the hip- Big Buds. PawPaw gave him Watermelon, mashed potatoes and bread. I bet that boy ate his weight in bread! Sometimes Hollis and PawPaw would take naps together. When they went in the pool they looked like twins: Big hats, t-shirts and swimming trunks. Oh and they always camped out in the shade! Wherever there was a pavilion, palm tree or umbrella: PawPaw and Hollis could be found. Dad made it very relaxing for me because I could join my siblings or the "adults" and actually participate in all the activities. We played tennis and sand volleyball, we went kayaking and snorkeling, and of course did a little swimming and relaxing by the pool. We also rented two jeeps and took them all around the island. It took several hours to circle the whole island, but Hollis only made 1/2 of the excursion before we had to return back to the hotel. The next morning, Reese, Hollis and I took the jeep and went into town. We shopped at the local equivalent to Sam's Club. *Side note: Every lady in Mexico wanted to touch Hollis. They LOVED his blonde hair. I am pretty sure we could have brought any one of them home as a nanny for Hollis*
One night the three of us took a taxi into town and ate at a restaurant called La Perlita (the little pearl) The restaurant is family owned and operated. They have their own fishing boat and catch everything fresh everyday. We had lobster and shrimp that were out of this world!
One morning, Dad, Mom, Wesley and Trenton went deep sea fishing. They caught several big fish including a marlin, Mahi Mahi and beracuda. It was Trenton's first deep sea fishing trip and I am afraid he will no longer be content to just catch the small perch that he is used to catching at the ranch!
Overall Hollis was a good little traveler and did well on the plane rides. He got a little fussy on the trip home, but PawPaw took him and somehow Hollis was instantly happier. I guess that's what grandparents are for- spoiling their grand kids! We all had a great time and are already ready to go back!

Endoscopic Sinusitis Surgery

2008-07-20T19:15:00.000-05:00

Reese had Endoscopic Sinusitis surgery on Friday. The doctor said it could not have gone better. The procedure took twice as long because they removed twice as much gunk out of his nose than they normally do. They basically went up through his nasal passage ways and removed the polyps that had been obstructing his sinus cavities. They replaced the polyps with small gelatin rolls to inhibit scar tissue formation during the early stages of healing. The gelatin pieces will dissolve within the next two weeks. They took samples from his nose and will test it to see exactly what was up there. After his surgery we went to the Wyndham Downtown Dallas to spend the night. It was so nice. I told Reese I want to recover in a plush hotel after I have our next baby! Reese's bleeding and pain level has been minimal. He said surprisingly he could breathe quite nicely. He will be on a steroid and antibiotic for the next 7-10 days. Thank you all for your prayers and phone calls.

Reese: Pre- Surgery

Reese and his anesthesiologist, Bob (I had to look up the spelling!--not of BOB...anesthesiologist!!!)

I once was lost, but now I am found

2008-07-17T08:58:00.000-05:00

I apologize in advance for the lengthiness of this entry. But in order for you to appreciate the sheer magnitude of this miracle you have to know the full story.

Before Reese and I moved to Millsap, we lived in a duplex in Aledo. There were two little dogs, (brother and sister), that would run all over the neighborhood. I had really taken a liking to the girl dog. She would come inside our house and stay for hours. She had the sweetest disposition, not yappy like most small dogs. I found out she belonged to a neighbor lady down the way, so obviously I would not be able to keep her. One day Reese and I were leaving our house and a neighborhood girl asked me if I had seen those little dogs running around. She told me the lady was giving them away to her daughter but the dogs had run off while they were loading them in the car. I immediately went over and asked- well, begged- if I could keep the girl puppy. They didn't really even hesitate. The lady couldn't keep up with them because of her work schedule and you could tell the daughter was less than thrilled with the new responsibility. So that night we adopted Sophie!

When Reese and I went to Oklahoma after Christmas, we left Sophie with my sister. She and the kids went out of town one weekend and left Sophie with her husband, Ryan. Ryan let Sophie out to potty and Sophie wandered off. Ryan had to go to work and couldn't look for her. By the time he got home and Julie and the kids came back in town, Sophie was long gone. Nowhere to be found. The kids looked and looked for her. They knocked on doors, put up flyers, went to the pound and looked in back yards. No Sophie! We were sick when we found out. She was such a good dog. But we were in Oklahoma-- over 6 hours away--we couldn't do anything about it.

Since then we have never ceased to give Julie a hard time. We told her THAT is the reason why we won't let her keep Hollis!!! But she never quit looking. Personally, I thought it was a lost cause. She would frequent the pound, ask neighbors and every time she took her dogs for a walk she would constantly search the neighborhood. But nothin'.

Now here is the miracle part....

Wednesday night Julie was out walking her dog and a lady in a car pulled up and asked Julie if she had lost a Golden Retriever. Come to find out the lady owned the Nursing Home in Julie's neighborhood. The lady said they get a lot of stray dogs up there and thought she had seen Julie's dog with this Golden Retriever and thought that they both might belong to her. Julie said no, but asked the lady if BY CHANCE she had seen a little dog (Sophie) back in January. The lady said she HAD and she knew exactly what she looked like and who had her!!! Sophie had walked into the kitchen at the nursing home and the cook gave her a piece of ham. Sophie stayed in the kitchen all day and the Cook took her home that night. She lured my Sophie with a piece of HAM! The cook didn't work at the nursing home any more and the owner didn't have her contact info. She was only able to give Julie her name. No phone, no address, nothing. Julie went home, googled this cook, found her address and drove to her house.

The cook, Tiffany, lives about 8 miles south of Weatherford in a run down trailer with three dirty kids and a big tattooed husband; oh, and a pit bull chained up to one of the three broken down cars in the front yard. The people were very guarded until Julie finished her story--a very long story that no one could possibly make up! After Julie finished her sob story, they melted and agreed 100% that Sophie should come home to us. Sophie had just had a puppy while living with them, but had just finished nursing him two days ago. Julie told them they could keep the puppy and brought Sophie home where she belongs.

Julie called us late last night acting very urgent and said she was on her way with a birthday present for Reese. We both had our suspicions that she might have found Sophie. But I wouldn't let myself become hopeful, because seriously, what are the odds? I felt like I was in a daze when I saw her. I absolutely could not believe it. I have never heard of anything like this happening ever. So, Sophie got a trip to the groomer first thing this morning, a new collar and a tag with her name and phone number. I feel like our little family is complete again. Now didn't this story just warm your heart?

Birthday at the "Deaux"

2008-07-15T21:49:00.000-05:00

The usual for our family birthdays is a gathering at my parents house and it is this REALLY big, sometimes (often times) dramatic "get-together". Knowing this, Julie came up with a brilliant plan for my little sisters birthday. Let's ditch the kids, parents and spouses and just the four of us go out to eat. So last night we ate at Pappadeaux in celebration of Holly's 22nd birthday. Pappadeaux never knew what hit them. We were loud and boisterous and none of us cared. We ate and drank and laughed and enjoyed life. Believe it or not, we have a tendency to get a little loud when we all get together!!! But we had so much fun. It is amazing that after everything we have been through, with all of our relationship ups-and-downs, that we still would want to be together and have a good time. I think I remember my parents saying something about these times when we were growing up. Your friends will come and go but you will always need your siblings. Here's to a new tradition?

The Original Four

Music Man

2008-07-12T12:05:00.000-05:00

You know what warms my heart more than anything else that Hollis has done so far? The fact that he appears to love music! I am so excited about this. I know, I know-- I am not so naive as to ignore the fact that all babies notice music. It's just that music has been such a big part of my life and I can only hope it is apart of his. Anytime he hears a beat or jingle he bounces his arm to the tune--like he is an orchestra conductor. I love it. He likes to sing as well. It is this sweet, angelic,breathy coo~ a sound, one day, I am afraid I won't be able to recall. He has started to clap, well, it is more like a soft patting of the hands. Anytime an audience claps on TV, he claps too! He loves his drum and maracas that ironically, my old choir teacher gave to him. I know as a parent I am supposed to be supportive in whatever he wants to try...but I am secretly going to push for music! Hopefully he'll play the guitar!

Fourth of July

2008-07-07T17:04:00.000-05:00

I am SICK just SICK! I accidentally erased ALL of the pictures I had taken from this Fourth of July weekend. I was reading my camera manual to find out more about my wonderfully expensive piece of equipment and I unknowingly hit the wrong button and formatted my disk. Apparently "formatting" is a bad thing if you have pictures that you might want to keep. It erased ALL of them and didn't even ask me if I was sure I wanted to erase all of my photos! Sad to say, I have no photos of our Fourth of July Festivities. But FUN we did have!!! We did all the normal Ranch activities- Four Wheeling, Fishing, Swimming in the Pond, Riding in the Jeep, Shooting Guns, Eating Smores and yes, Fireworks. On the 4th, we all loaded up in Reese's truck and drove the short distance to Lake Murray to watch fireworks. Oh THIS is when I wish I had photos to show you....picture this if you can: Reese and I in the front of our truck. Hollis, of course, in his car seat in the back. My nephew and niece, with each of their friends, double buckled in the the back seat. Dad, Mom, Julie, Wesley, Holly and Luke all in the bed of the truck. Another nationality coming to mind? Anyone? We were quite the site to see! We got flagged down by the Police that were directing the fireworks traffic...but nothing....no ticket, no slap on the wrist--Nothing. I figured surely we were breaking at least half a dozen laws. That is Oklahoma for ya! We all had a Grand 'Ol time watching the fireworks. When we got back to the cabin, the guys gave us our very own mini fireworks display. I don't know who had more fun- Trenton and his friend, Matthew (age 9) or Reese (age 30) and Luke (22).
Each time we go to the ranch, Reese and I decide we enjoyed it more than the last time we were there. I don't know if our pace of life is slowing down or what! It is so relaxing. Originally we were planning on just going up for the day on Friday; but ended up coming Thursday night and staying all the way until Sunday afternoon. Maybe it is the fact that we are finally at a point in life of realizing just how important family really is. My siblings have turned out to be my best friends. I look forward to hangin' out with them. We are not perfect by any means but man--We've Come a Long Way Baby!

Concert in the Gardens

2008-06-30T10:27:00.000-05:00

Saturday night, Reese, Hollis, Me, Uncle Ford, Aunt Steph and Uncle Z went to Concert in the Gardens at the Botanical Gardens. It is a light show set to music, played by a live orchestra, followed by a fireworks show. As Reese and I were driving into Fort Worth to meet up with them, a rather large "rain cloud" started creeping in. The consensus was that it would pass and that we should still go ahead and go. So we trecked down to the Gardens with chairs, blankets, coolers, a tarp to sit on and food in tow. The boys looked like pack mules...they were loaded down to the max. After we picked out our spot on the lawn, the sky started sprinkling. The boys decided we would NOT be able to make a mad dash for the car if it started pouring. And SO... the brainstorming began!!! It was decided to use the tarp-[that we brought to sit on]- as a tent. The guys constructed this tent, that in my opinion, was sheer genius!!! We all put our chairs on the edge of the tarp and pulled it up over our heads. About the time we all got situated, it started POURING! People were running around trying to get their kids, coolers, chairs--it was quite humorous to watch the scramble from underneath our dry perch! I was VERY glad I was a WILHITE at this point. SMARTER than the AVERAGE BEAR!!! The show was delayed about an hour (time enough to let the storm pass). A ton of people had cleared out and the passing rain had cooled down the evening. The laser light show was fantastically choreographed to *pre-recorded* music (the symphony couldn't play for fear of ruining the instruments in the rain) and all of us thoroughly enjoyed it. At the end of the music/light show was a fireworks show. I think Hollis' eyes stayed the size of half-dollars for the entire show. He had no idea what to think. It was such a fun evening. As Steph said: We made a Memory! Mommy and Hollis Staying Dry
At some point, Reese snagged a Rake for the Pitch in our Tent!Watching the Laser Light Show
First Fireworks Show

Bye- Bye

2008-06-26T16:03:00.001-05:00

A couple of weeks ago Hollis figured out his little wrist had quite an impressive range of motion. He would sit and watch his wrist turn around and around. Then he figured out it was twice as neat holding a toy! So everything he picked up would get a quick ride round and round. Then he started moving his wrist up and down. Sunday, Reese and I started saying "Bye-Bye" every time he waved his wrist. His little face would light up or actually scrunch up. He does this little pug nose face anytime he is excited or happy or when he thinks he is cute! He scrunches his nose, closes his eyes, grins REALLY big and breaths super fast IN and OUT.... like a little Pug Dog. Until today, he hadn't really gotten the connection between Bye-Bye and the oh-so-cool wrist motion, but while my mom and I were at lunch, this lady at another table waved at him and he waved back. It was super cute! Of course I informed her right away that was a first time for him. I had to go to the doctor afterwards and Mom and Hollis waited in the waiting room. Mom said Hollis was waving at all the people coming and going. He is very friendly...but all he has had, up until this point, was his smile. When we are at the store, he will peek around me to flash a smile to the person waiting in line behind me. Watch out World!

Helping around the House

2008-06-24T10:58:00.001-05:00

Helping fold Laundry (notice the shorts--ok so maybe they look more like pants! The description on the tag reads "Beach Shorts-Hits right below the knee". Not on our little guy!!!)
Flushing the Toilet!!! Unloading the dishwasher

And when all the chores are done and mommy is napping this is what Daddy gives Hollis!!! DADDY!

Surgery

2008-06-17T10:05:00.000-05:00

It looks like Reese is going to have surgery on July 18th. The surgery is an outpatient procedure but because we live two hours from Dallas we will have to stay overnight in a nearby hotel. They said if there are any complications they usually occur within the first 24hrs. Last week, we met with the doctor who will be performing the surgery. He was super nice and very informative. He went over the films, surgery, procedure etc. Very thorough!!! This will be Reese's second surgery since we have been married....two surgery's in three years....I must be bad luck!!!

Stuffy Nose

2008-06-10T11:10:00.000-05:00

My poor husband has had chronic issues with his sinus' for the better part of a year now. He is constantly stopped up and always blowing out nasty gunk. Apparently, when my friends think of Reese they always think of him blowing his nose. Sweet, huh? He went to the nose doc to try and get to the bottom of what was causing his discomfort. Originally the doctor put him on an intense steroid to try and shrink the polyps that were invading his nasal cavity and causing a fungus to grow. He took these for 10 days and the report was positive when he returned to the doctor. Reese said he could breath a lot clearer and really noticed a difference. But he decided to go ahead and go forward with a surgery in hopes of clearing out his cavities completely. Before the surgery could take place they needed him to get a CT scan done. When the films came back they asked him to get an MRI because there were areas that were unclear on the CT scan. I guess a CT scan gets pictures of the bone and an MRI takes pictures of tissue. The nurses were acting a little secretive and kinda rushed. They really placed an urgency on the scheduling of the MRI and Reese's next visit. We were getting scared because there was talk of an abnormal crack between his nasal cavity and brain cavity. Definitely enough to really make us worry. Both Reese and I went to his doctor on Monday to talk about the results from the MRI. The doctor told us that there was NO crack, but that the bone that separates the brain cavity and nasal cavity was very thin- most likely it was the way Reese was born, since it was equally thin on the left AND right side and NOT likely a corrosion from the polyps. He told us that HE does not feel comfortable doing the surgery out here in Weatherford since there is not a neurological backup surgeon at Weatherford Hospital. He is referring Reese to a doctor in Dallas that will have all the necessary doctors on standby just in case they are needed. Reese' doctor feels confident that the surgery will go fine and that the bones will hold up, but it is much better to be safe than sorry. We both felt good with his decision. Reese will be in contact with the referred doctor in Dallas on Wednesday to set up a consult, surgery etc. I will keep you guys posted on the outcome and upcoming happenings.

Busy

2008-06-09T16:47:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it is already June. I missed blogging on the first of June which is Hollis "Birthday". He is 7 months old now and on the go BIG TIME. He is crawling like a machine. He is now comfortable enough to crawl to other rooms in the house besides just the living room. He will pull up on anything possible and sometimes things that are not so possible. He got his first little Goose Egg the other day. He was trying to stand up by the desk in the office and his hand slipped off the corner and he bonked his head on the desk. A knot popped out right away and has left a little bruise. The first of many I am afraid!
Mommy's BIG Helper

The last time that Hollis went to the doctor, he weighed in at 15lbs and was 26 inches tall. According to the national average-- he is in the 25% for his height and 10% for his weight. When we go into a restaurant and I ask for a high chair, the hostess always gives me a funny look. I know they all think he is too little to be able to sit in a high chair. But he is very much a little man. He sits at the table with us and eats his little snacks. It is very cute!!!

Memorial Day

2008-05-27T23:09:00.000-05:00

For Memorial Day Weekend, my side of the family went to our ranch in Oklahoma. We don't go up there nearly enough, but when we do it is always a good time. My sisters kids are definitely at the age where everything at the ranch is super fun--all the activities are tailor-made for their age group--fishing, swimming in the lake, four wheeling, etc. It was Hollis' first trip to the ranch and boy we made the most of it! Daddy took him for a ride on the four wheeler, he went fishing and swimming and riding in the Jeep. He was a big time trooper!!!

On Monday evening we had a few friends out for dinner. They all have little boys. It was fun to go swimming. Swimming was even MORE fun NAKED!!! We were glad none of us had little girls...how embarrassing!

On My Own Two Feet

2008-05-22T22:22:00.000-05:00

HOLLIS STOOD UP TODAY! Yes he did and I have pictures to prove it. I went in to get him up from his afternoon nap and I ran to get the camera because he was on his knees and his head was completely up above the railing. I thought THAT was neat. Until today he has just been pulling at his bumper pads and peeking over the railing. So I was very surprised when he greeted me the way he did. While I was taking pictures he just popped right up to a full blown standing position!!! I could not believe my eyes. I started jumping around like a kid on Christmas Morning! This little 6 month old baby is not supposed to be doing this yet. Must be those superior Wilhite genes!!!

When did all this happen?

2008-05-17T23:54:00.000-05:00

So apparently I missed "THE Day" when Hollis started sitting up...but he can! And he can crawl pretty good too. It all just kinda crept up on us. One day he couldn't really get around and the next- practically a three ring circus. Ok, so maybe that was a tad dramatic. In the last week he has become a wild man! He is constantly on the go, or trying to be on the go. He will reach or dive for whatever we are holding (with his mouth wide open- cause if he gets a hold of it, it is going straight to the mouth). He is starting to pull up on stuff too. The other day I found him up on his knees, peeking over his bumper pads in his crib. Little Monkey!!!

Mommy, I'm done with my nap!

Where did HE come from...I JUST had a tiny baby- I promise!

Mother's Day

2008-05-14T09:34:00.000-05:00

My first Mother's Day! Now that I am a mom I am so thankful that someone decided to have a day dedicated to appreciating mom's! Our day was very nice. Hollis got me a card that had a bear on the front that said "Mommy I love you". When you opened it, the bear was stretching out his arms and it said "This much!!!" He picked it out all on his own *wink*. He is such a thoughtful little fellow! Reese proudly wearing spit up

My brother had all of us over to his house for lunch. He had prepared all of the meats for the main course. Each of us girls brought a side so Mom didn't have to do anything. I think it was the first Mother's Day that she has had where she simply just attended. I know she enjoyed it. I would think as a mother that has to be a sense of accomplishment. To have raised four children that are now adults...most of us married, some with children of our own and all of us who love our mother!!! My mom was having such a difficult time with the fact that when Holly got married on the 25th of April, her role as a mother would drastically change. All four of us are now out of the house for good. We have families and houses of our own. Most likely none of us will be moving back in. That chapter of motherhood is closed for her. But what a milestone! Something to take pride in for sure. While I am celebrating my first Mother's Day, she is celebrating her first Mother's Day as a seasoned mother who now can sit back and reap the benefits of all her years of devotion. While there will be no more sleepless nights with crying babies, magic get-well kisses for a scraped knee, homemade birthday cakes, school lessons to plan, meals for six to prepare or arguing logic with a know-it-all teenager, there will still be plenty of opportunities for encouraging words, I am so proud of you and I love you's! You see the truth is, I am glad mom is done being a "mommy" and can just be my mom. I NEED her to just be my friend. I am starting on my journey of motherhood and I can't think of a better woman I could call for advice. My mom is the first to admit she didn't do everything right, but she'll also be the first to tell you that when she didn't know...Jesus did. I know I can count on my mom to pray for wisdom for me in raising my kids. She will always be there for me and love me no matter what. She always has and I can't see that changing anytime soon. I love you Mom!

Pool Party

2008-05-02T14:57:00.000-05:00

After much despair from our beach trip, and finding out Hollis was less than thrilled with the idea of water outside of a bathtub, I couldn't wait to try him again in the water here at home. It was a beautiful day today-nice, sunny and warm- a great day for swimming! We put him in his plastic pool (a.k.a. Bandit's watering hole) and much to our surprise he loved it! I'll just show you pictures. His face does a much better job than my words!

A whole half a year!

2008-05-01T10:56:00.000-05:00

Hollis turned the big 6 months today! He is ready to be on the move. He has the helicopter-tummy-spin down. He can successfully reach any toy in a two foot radius of where he is laying. He can push up on his hands and knees and rock. Even though he can't crawl yet, he is a very good oocher! He will scoot and roll to reach what he wants. I have introduced various foods to him over the last couple of weeks, but now that he is SO big...I think it is about time for three square meals a day. We are two days into it and he loves it. Although now he thinks he can eat anything. Popcorn, ice cream {That was Reese eating ice cream....not me! }, meat, pretzels, apples {I was eating the apples *wink*},--He just can't understand why he can't have everything we are eating!Ready to Crawl

As I have mentioned before, things are a little bit different out here in the country. Although we are immersed in "redneck culture", we pride ourselves in maintaining a little more "class" than most folks out here. (Those of you who REALLY know us are laughing -I am sure!) But sometimes you just can't help yourself. When in Rome! The other night Reese and I -with baby in tow- found ourselves filling up the bed of his truck with flowers from a Walmart Dumpster! After all the bad hail storms we had out here, Walmart's inventory was so badly damaged they had to replace it. They had brought in a special dumpster for the dead "lawn and garden" merchandise. They had already collected insurance money on all the flowers and received a new shipment so they tossed the old ones. We know all of this information because of the Walmart security guard who stopped us and politely asked us to not take any more items from the dumpster! We spent over thirty minutes slingin' flowers into the truck bed. We got all kinds of neat flowers! I had to water them for a couple of days, but I'll be a monkey's uncle if all but two or three didn't come back to life! And so it is with great pride and satisfaction that I show you my very own free flower beds!

The Sunshine State--or NOT

2008-04-15T11:17:00.000-05:00

The start of our trip was fabulous. We were packed and in the car by 5am! We threw Hollis in last hoping he would go back to sleep. No such luck, but he woke with a smile and was very good the whole morning. I nursed him during take-off so he wouldn't feel the pressure in his ears and he amazingly fell asleep! He slept for about half of the flight and played quietly the other half. He nursed again on the descent and we had no problems at all. When we arrived in Florida, only one of our bags showed up so we had to go to the desk and sort all that out. The lady was extra nice and our bag showed up at our hotel a couple of hours later.

Reese trying to locate our lost bag!

I knew Reese had rented us a car, but was totally surprised when I found out it was a convertible! It was so much fun. Hollis loved it!

Check out the purple convertible

Lovin the Sunshine!

It was sunny and 77 when we arrived. An absolutely beautiful day. We enjoyed driving in the warm sunshine around town. That afternoon we wanted to take Hollis to the beach. Much to our dismay- he hated it! It wasn't very warm outside at this point in the day, the clouds had kinda rolled in and it was pretty windy. But he looked so cute in his beach clothes!!! As soon as Reese dipped his little feet in the water he screamed. He hated the ocean, hated the sand and hated the pool!

The next day it rained, ALL day. We went shopping, drank coffee and walked around. The highlight of that day was probably the Bass Pro Shop. They have a large fish tank with rather large fish swimming around. Hollis was very interested in that. He also liked the sparkly red fishing boat. I think he liked that fact that we were moving all day long and he got to see all the shops and people. He doesn't appreciate it if he feels like we are leaving him out!

The next day was a little better-weather wise. It didn't rain and the sun was out. But it was a little chilly for swimming, so we just walked on the beach. Hollis did at least sit in the sand and seemed to enjoy it a little bit better. He would flail his arms and hit the sand, sending it flying in all directions. Apparently that was fun.

Our last day in Destin was quite a day. Our plane wasn't scheduled to leave until 6:20 that evening, but our hotel check out was at noon. When we flew in we asked the lady if we could do standby on our way homein hopes of catching an earlier flight. She said no problem, there was a flight at 1pm and 4pm Monday. So Monday, we got all ready, checked out of our hotel and got to the airport at noon only to find out that the two flights before ours were full and they both had people waiting on stand-by to board. So we had six hours to kill, at least one nap in our future, a convertible and no hotel room. Hollis did not have a fun last day in Florida. He cried and cried. He was so tired but would not fall asleep in his car seat. We knew if we were going to make the rest of the day he HAD to take a nap. We ended up parked in a shopping mall parking lot and spent the better half of the afternoon trying to get him to take a nap in the floor board. Finally, he fell asleep. I chuckled to myself thinking about the conversation Reese and I had had before the baby was born. It was something to the tune of how we were NOT going to change and let OUR lives revolve around this baby, but rather integrate HIM into our CURRENT lives. Yet here we were whispering to each other for two hours, trying not to wake the baby who was sleeping in the front seat floorboard of the convertible that we had rented in Destin, Florida!!!

Sleeping in the floorboard

The trip home was seamless in comparison to the afternoon we had. Hollis did excellent in the plane. I was worried about his ears with the pressure, but it never phased him. He was funny and entertaining the whole time. He never once fussed. He fell asleep on the way home from the airport. He slept the whole night through and woke at 8:45am. He must have known he was home in his own bed.

It was so fun to get away for a little while. The vacation was different than what we had expected, but we had a blast-- just the three of us! This was our first vacation as a family and I would have to say it went pretty well. Maybe Hollis will like the beach a little better when he is older!

Beach Bums!

2008-04-11T07:00:00.000-05:00

Reese surprised me with a trip to the Beach for our anniversary! I have known about it for a couple of weeks, but he wouldn't tell me exactly wherewe were going. On our anniversary he told me we where going to Destin!!! Yea...I am very excited. We left today at like 5am! Ugh. We are taking Hollis with us which will be super fun. I can't wait to see him play in the ocean! I promise I will have lots of pictures. I have room for 505 photos when my camera is completely cleared. I am a little panicked--that is only about 100 pictures per day!

Doctor Visit

2008-04-10T15:15:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was Hollis' first official visit to the doctor. Well, I had taken him to a doctor for his one week check up and absolutely hated the whole experience, so I never went back. Our new insurance went into effect on April 1st and since I had no more excuses I decided it was time to get him checked out. I had heard alot of good things about this one pediatrician in Weatherford so I decided to check him out. The office was great- lots of cool toys (clean toys), a nice tidy waiting area--with a separate room for the sick kiddos ( I liked that), and the waiting room was not overly crowded. The nurses were very friendly and super sweet. I think Hollis left there with at least three girlfriends! I really liked the doctor. He listened to all my quirky mom concerns and completely put me to ease. He was willing to work with me on the whole shot issue--Big concern of mine. He never once made me feel like I was a bad mom for questioning immunizations or medications. Hollis weighed 14 lbs 3 oz and was 25 1/2 inches tall! I forgot to ask where he was on the national average...but it doesn't really matter--I think he is perfect! The doc said he looked great- Everything checked out healthy healthy! Hollis did get three shots- two in one thigh and one in the other. He cried for a minute (I didn't though; I was very brave!) He got three really cool purple dinosaur bandaids. He fell asleep in the car so I guess it didn't hurt him too badly. The night time was rough though. He was pretty fussy and ran a little fever. He went to bed around 7:30 but got up around 1:30 and was up on and off most of the night. The only thing that seemed to calm him was nursing. I finally found the Tylenol around 5am and after giving him that he seemed much better. I didn't get much sleep at all between him and the tornadoes! Thank goodness this is not an every night occurrence. I would be a very grouchy mommy!

Happy Anniversary

2008-04-08T14:52:00.000-05:00

Today, Reese and I are celebrating our third anniversary! Yea!!! They say the third times a charm (side note-I am the third born!). I woke this morning to bright pink index cards all over the house with sweet little notes written on them--there was even one in the fridge:) I told him last night I really feel like we are getting the hang of this Husband/Wife thing! When I met Reese I knew instantly that there was something special and different about him. We had a whirlwind dating experience. We had our first date-- it lasted all day--that was on a Sunday, the following Saturday we went and looked at rings, the next week he talked with my dad and exactly three weeks after our first date Reese asked me to marry him. We dated for 9 months and tied the knot at an intimate ceremony, where our closest friends and immediate family attended. Reese was unlike any other guy I had dated. He was sweet and kind, but had a rugged quality about him that was very appealing. In the four years that I have known Reese, I have yet to peel back every amazing layer. He always surprises me. I have often heard it argued whether or not there is just ONE person for everyone or if marriage is all up to chance. Reese Wilhite was created to be my husband, designed to love me, made to be the father of my children. I fortunately didn't make a mistake OR miss the boat. I found the ONE man that I was supposed to marry. I am so proud to be Mrs. Reese Wilhite!!!

Busy, Busy, Busy

2008-03-31T22:07:00.000-05:00

Reese has been busy, busy, busy! Last Wednesday we were sitting in the living room at about 8pm and Reese hops up, goes out to the barn, comes back with a hammer and a couple of tools and just starts tearing out the wall between the kitchen and living room! Well, OK!!! So that project quickly catapulted a number of other projects. He tore out the built-in book shelf --that really served no other purpose other than cutting into our living space. He moved our bedroom door-also giving us more living room space. Quite handy I tell you, quite handy. You can check out all our progress...it may not look like it--but I promise it is progress--under "Remodel of Fannin" in My Picture Album. We are still not finished, but definitely inspired!

Hollis has been busy, busy, busy as well! This past week he helped Daddy mow the yard and loved it. He even got to drive the tractor! Well, just sit on it, but don't tell him that!

He has been busy testing out all kinds of big people things. He had his first bottle of water-he mostly gummed it! But he definitely liked the fact that he could hold it on his own. He had his first "official" food today. We, or should I say Reese, has been teasing him with bread, pizza crust, various crackers etc. all of which he just gnaws on. But today he got pears!!! I must say the choice of what to give him for his first food was a bit daunting. I probably debated over it longer than I should have, and then I thought, "April, don't overthink this"(after I had already overthought it!) so I just went with the pears! Nilla Wafer after the Pears!

Cute story--Last night I had put Hollis in a laundry basket while I was folding clothes. He was sitting in front of the dryer watching the clothes go round and round. First time he had seen this! Don't have a good explaination for the ears...

My dad had stopped by to visit, so I called him in to come and look at how cute Hollis was. Dad gets down on his hands and knees and starts talking to Hollis asking him what he was doing etc. It takes Hollis a little while to realize someone was talking to him. When he finally saw my dad, he got so scared, he poked that little lip out and started crying. Big time, scared crying. He had been so entranced by the dryer, he never saw PawPaw crawl up to him. Ruined his little dryer daze!

It's different out here!

2008-03-22T10:38:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, Reese and I were driving home from Fort Worth and we were almost home when the funniest thing happened. When you exit our exit there is a stop sign before you turn to get on the road to our house. Most people out here barely yield to the sign and we are no exception. Reese turned right after "yielding" but as he was making his turn, a cop drives up over the hill coming straight towards us and sees the whole "rolling stop". Here's the funny part--the cop looks at us and throws up his hands like "What gives? I can't believe you didn't stop!" but kept on driving. We were both fully expecting a ticket. I looked at Reese, Reese looked at me and we both started howling. When Reese worked security for the Bass' downtown Fort Worth, they had a joke amongst them referring to the powerless bicycle cops that rode the streets. STOP or I'll say STOP again!!! The law out here in Millsap kinda reminded us of that! We had a GREAT laugh the rest of the way home!

Easter Photo Shoot...kinda

2008-03-16T18:31:00.000-05:00

Today Julie brought her kids over in hopes of getting a few good cousin easter photos. The following photo pretty much sums up our time!

Hollis didn't really have that good of a time. He wasn't interested in smiling. I got a couple of good ones of Trenton and Rylie. I think we might try again tomorrow. Check out what we shot today!

I love my boys!!!

2008-03-10T18:11:00.000-05:00

I just absolutely have the best two men around. They are so much fun! Reese has been home alot more since starting with Devon and I really can't think of a better time for that to happen than now. Hollis is changing at such a rapid pace and thankfully Daddy is here to see alot of it take place. We have so enjoyed our Saturdays and Sunday's (and I do stress DAY'S -not afternoon's or 2 hours!). I am the luckiest girl in the world! {Sorry-- no funny stories, just me about to burst with gratitude!!!} I believe we are living in the time of our lives. Everyone says cherish them because they won't be here forever...and I do but I wish I could bottle them up so I could save them and years from now be able to take them off the shelf and enjoy them once again.

Reese and Hollis on one of our "bad weather" days this past week

My first birthday as Mom!!!

2008-03-03T22:08:00.001-06:00

Today was my 26th birthday! It was by far the best birthday I can remember having (as an adult.) I have had some pretty fun birthdays- complete with homemade cakes- when I was younger. My birthday festivities actually started on Saturday. We had Steph, Zane, Ally and Zeb over Saturday evening. It is very nice to have easy friends like them...even IF Steph is related. (She is still very much a good friend.) I never worry when any of the four of them come over. It is 100% comfortable from start to finish-like I said easy. It is rare to find a set of "couple" friends that both Reese and I enjoy equally. They came for dinner and stayed long enough to squeeze in a game or two on the Wii. Always a good time!

Zebulan the Boxer
Kinda....

Zane goin for a knockout
...I think?!

Good Friends

Sunday morning, Reese gave me a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a birthday gift. He took me to breakfast before church-but that was short lived- Hollis had a major blowout in his diaper...Grey Poupon everywhere! Luckily I had another outfit for him. We came home from church and all took a much needed family nap.

Bouquet from Reese
Bouquet from my sister, Julie

Monday morning, and I'm talking 2:30 in the morning, it starts thundering and lighting, waking my small child. My child sleeps on his tummy, but when startled by thunder, apparently, rolls over to his back. I heard him and went and turned him back over...he went to sleep...until the next thunder. I probably turned him back over at least a dozen times. I actually ended up sleeping in his room. I did not get much sleep with all the thunder and baby babble.

Reese left for work as normal, well, the new normal, but returned at 9:45am (Hollis and I were still asleep). Apparently his new job doesn't make him work when it rains! and they pay him! Hallelujah! Not only do I love rainy days, but I love rainy days cuddled up on the couch. I was able to spend my birthday cuddled up with my favorite boys.

My mom cooked me a wonderful birthday dinner that my whole family attended. My sister made Baked Alaskan? never heard of it...but it was extremely tasty! It was a nice evening....all of the gifts given were very thoughtful and the cards were very sincere. I have not necessarily liked birthdays in the past...I could take them or leave them. But for some reason this year was really special. I felt VERY special on my birthday. All of my friends called or e-mailed to wish me Happy Birthday, I got flowers and presents, my husband was able to spend the day with me, I had a steak dinner and it snowed!!! What a day!!! I realized how nice it was to have a day when people appreciate and show their love for you! In the midst of taking constant care of another person, it is nice to have one day when other people celebrate YOU!!! So this year I embrace my day of getting older. Here's to the best year yet!

Happy Birthday to you....

A New Found Friend

2008-03-01T23:18:00.001-06:00

Hollis turned four months old today. Four Months! He is so much fun. Lately, he has become a momma's boy. You know I don't mind that a bit!!! But it hurts Reese's feelings when he comes home from work and Hollis is fussy and just wants him Mommy. I told him it won't be long before Daddy will be the cats meow. He will soon cry when he leaves for work and dance when he comes home. Heck, who knows, I might just join him!

Today was such a beautiful day that we had Hollis outside in his Jumperoo. He loves being outside. Reese has taught our dog Bandit to play fetch and drop the ball at our feet when he brings it back to us. Reese was working in the yard and I was in the house; Reese came and got me and told me to bring my camera.

Bandit wanted to play ball. He kept dropping the ball at Hollis' feet. He just couldn't understand why Hollis wouldn't throw the ball. Amazingly enough, Bandit knows that Hollis is a person! Finally, Bandit dropped the ball IN the Jumperoo. Hollis' face had dirt and dog slobber on it, but he didn't seem to mind a bit!

Remodel of Fannin St.

2008-02-19T09:45:00.000-06:00

Our computer has been in the shop for the past week 1/2, so I am desperately behind on all the happenings at our house. The biggest news is that Reese got a new job! We are very excited about this. I am so proud of him! He will be working as an inspector for Devon Energy. It is a good job and will provide for us sufficiently *wink*. As wonderful news as it is, Hollis and I did miss our daddy when he went back to work. It was pretty quiet around the house without him here. Reese has been home with us ever since we got back from Oklahoma. It has been very fun. We have been doing mini Extreme Home Makeover, here at our house. We built a fence in the back yard, we did a COMPLETE overhaul in the Laundry Room- new floor, new water heater, new shelves and a cedar folding table. We put in all new lateral lines for our septic (Exciting!) Reese installed can lights in the kitchen. He built a work table and shelves in the barn. We had a garage sale and sold all the stuff we didn't WANT in the barn! We hung pictures and finished little projects that had all been stacking up. It was so nice having him home. Reese is like a little army all by his lonesome!

Music Appreciation

2008-02-06T23:57:00.000-06:00

Last night was Music Appreciation Night at the Wilhite House! What is Music Appreciation Night you might ask? Well, it is where Mommy (April Wilhite) and Daddy (Reese Wilhite) play musical instruments for the shear Appreciation of our Music by our audience (Hollis Wilhite). Not many of you know that Reese is a classically trained violinist and played for over 15 years. He is amazingly STILL quite good....even after not having played in 10 years! It was so fun to watch Hollis "appreciate" our "music". He sat and listened to us for almost an hour. I would imagine we will have many more Music Appreciation Nights at the Wilhite House.

The Power of Prayer

2008-02-01T17:46:00.000-06:00

Today, Hollis hit his three month mark. He continues to be the light and joy of our days. He is such an amazing gift that we have been given. It seems to continually sink in that we are responsible for the well being of this little life. The magnitude of this task, at times, is enough to buckle our knees. And that is exactly what we have been doing. Praying. There are times when either seperately or collectively, Reese and I feel the sudden urgency to pray. Reese woke in the middle of the night, several nights ago, and went to Hollis' room just to pray over him. The crazy thing was, when he told me about it the next morning, I too had felt the need to pray over him while I was putting him to bed. Apparently, Hollis needed extra protection that night. I know both of our parents faithfully prayed for Reese and I even before we where born. I couldn't really begin to understand the importance of that act until now. We are both very blessed to have Godly parents who love us and pray for us. Thank the Lord we have been given the oppurtunity to pass down a Godly heritage.

Back to Texas

2008-01-25T15:47:00.000-06:00

We are coming home today!!! All of us are all pretty excited. Although, our house is still decorated for Christmas-- NOT looking forward to that part. We have been in Oklahoma since the day after Christmas and I am ready to come home. It was nice to have a little change of scenery, but now I think I miss Millsap. I know I miss my friends and the rest of my family! Besides, Hollis told me this morning he wanted to come home to help celebrate his Pawpaw's birthday!
It seems like Hollis has been on the road more than he has been home.
Here's a quick re-cap of all he has been up to while away:
1.) Was sick with his first fever
2.) Learned to roll over
3.) Grab a toy
4.) Find his thumb (practically a professional on this one!)
5.) Has now been to 4 states-TX, New Mexico, Oklahoma & Missouri
6.) Discovered his tongue and is making noises
7.) Is wearing 3-6 month clothing
8.) Has seen snow for the second time in his little life
9.) Likes to be bounced by his Grammy
10.) and thinks Grandad is hilarious (and/or a little crazy!)

I could probably list a million more things, but won't, for fear of losing the few blog readers I still have!

Can't wait to see all of you soon!

Who taught him that face?

2008-01-23T10:59:00.000-06:00

Now, where in the world did he learn how to do this?

And how did he know it would melt our hearts!

Face Up

2008-01-22T22:38:00.000-06:00

This morning, around 5 am, Hollis started fussing. It has become unusual for him to wake up that early; and if he does, he will just root around for a couple of minutes until he finds his thumb and then go right back to sleep. But he kept crying like something was bothering him. I had put him in a new brand of diapers the night before and my first thought was he had leaked through his diaper. He didn't settle back down and his cry sounded different than normal. I got up to check on him, fully expecting a mess. I was so surprised; I had to laugh. He had flipped over and was staring up at me; also looking very much surprised. He was at the bottom of his pack-n-play, turned sideways, no covers and had kicked off one of his socks. Needless to say HE was not laughing. It earned him a trip to mom and dad's bed for the remainder of the morning. I couldn't resist... I needed to cuddle with him. Sweet little man!!!

First Time for Everything

2008-01-20T14:31:00.000-06:00

It was bound to happen and last night it did. Reese and I went out by ourselves for the first time since Hollis was born and left Hollis with Grammy and Grandpa. We drove into Joplin for a night out on the town. It was a very forced evening for me. I didn't have that much fun. It wasn't as if I was SO glad to get away; even if it was for a much needed break. I had to resist the urge to call and check in every five minutes. I called once after he ate and once when he was about to go down for the night. Believe it or not; THAT was a huge display of self-control on my part!
Reese and I ate at a Japanese Steak House in Joplin. The parking lot was so packed we had to park next door. The wait was over 30 minutes and the place was hoppin'. All of these signs SHOULD point to good food and a pleasant dining experience, right? Wrong. Our cook "Jimmy' was an old Chinese man who was either drunk or had been at his job for so long that he just didn't care anymore. He miscalculated his divvying skills and ran out of food for the last two people-- every round. He dropped the egg on the table in front of a lady during his bouncing egg trick. He couldn't get the volcano to flame so he just set the whole grill on fire. He overcooked the food, dropped a tray and left behind a huge mess. Reese and I DID enjoy finding the humor in it all. I suppose it was nice to go out on the town, but truth be told I would have enjoyed staying at home, covered in spit up, laughing at a gummy smile.

Perfect Morning

2008-01-17T13:06:00.000-06:00

This morning we woke to Snow! Not a lot, but just enough to splash the ground. It was 23 degrees outside with a wind chill that made it feel 10 degrees cooler. I don't know all of this from personal experience just hear say. I am actually still in my robe!
Hollis woke up this morning a little before 8am after going down at 9:30pm and sleeping all the way through the night. (OK that was a tiny bit braggadocios!) He ate breakfast and then I put him on the floor to play. He played for over an hour, just talking and kicking. He does this thing where he kick both legs as fast as he can and flaps both arms as hard as he can....all at the same time. His face looks very surprised while he is doing all of this!
We have a gas fire place in the condo where we are staying, but it is just for looks. It puts off a little heat but not much; although Kenneth swears up and down he can feel the heat from the fire when he is across the room! After Hollis had exhausted himself during playtime, we went and sat by the fire. He was content to look at the flames and chew on his fingers. In no time at all he was lulled into a trance and fell fast asleep. No rocking, no passy, just the colors of the fire. I made him a pallet in front of the fire so he could continue his nap. Who wouldn't want to nap in front of a warm fire when there is snow on the ground?

I know what you all are thinking and the answer is no....he is not too close to the fire. It is a fake fire. He is not going to burn up. It barely puts out heat!

Team Wilhite

It is what it is

Movin' On

She's Here!

Easter 2010

Mommy & Me Gymnastics

These are a few of my favorite things

"Mom and Dad"

Kids say the darndest things...

Cowboy Birthday

Booty Powder

Team Wilhite....2 months ago

Deezus

Fourth of July

Bookworm

Swimming Lessons

BIG fun

Bath Time

Extra Special Mother's Day

April Wilhite Photography

Where's Ty?

No More Kitchen

Natural Beauty

Not me!

Cabinets

Sand Box

Easter

Baby Ducks & Chicks

Mirror Me

Whistle while you...Play?

Case of Mistaken Identity

Ni-Night

Remember the Alamo!!!

Welcome Cousin Jack

Valentimes Snuggie

Quick trip to the Zoo

The Watering Hole

Stock Show

You Been Farmin' Long?

New Year, New World

What's in the Potty?

Way Behind

Christmas at the Gaylord

Frierson Family Photo

Christmas Greetings!!!

First Haircut...*tear*

Thanksgiving in New Mexico

Play Date at Germ World!

Baby Steps

Doom, Gloom and a beautiful day!

Happy Birthday Hollis

How? What? A whole apple?

Boys and their Toys

Glory Be, a TOOTH I SEE!

Pancake Pimple

One more month

Just a swingin'

First Photo Shoot

Country Living

Singin' in the Rain

INSIDE

Daddy!

I AM Normal!!!

Me and Sophie McGee

Viva La Mexico

Endoscopic Sinusitis Surgery

I once was lost, but now I am found

Birthday at the "Deaux"

Music Man

Fourth of July

Concert in the Gardens

Bye- Bye

Helping around the House

Surgery

Stuffy Nose

Busy

Memorial Day

On My Own Two Feet

When did all this happen?

Mother's Day

First Haircut...tear