Last Saturday was the Lindale Christmas Parade. Papa rebuilt my great-grandfather's 1946 Ford 2N tractor. He put a couple of seats on the back so Nanny and Hannah could ride back there and throw out candy. They had so much fun and I'm not sure who was grinning bigger, Hannah or Papa!

Out of the mouths of babes

Friday night Hannah spent the night with my parents after Marc's birthday party. Saturday morning Nanny had made them all hot chocolate. She told Hannah that it was a secret, but she gave Hannah more marshmallows than Papa. Hannah looked at her with a really serious expression and said, "It's ok, he didn't hear us and even if he did he won't remember it."



Tonight we watched Wall-E and Hannah had already seen it in the theater. She was telling us all of the important parts of the movie before they happened of course. She told us that Wall-E and Eva kiss in the movie and I asked how they did that since they're robots and don't have lips. Without missing a beat she responded, "Well, they have circuit boards!"

AWANA Crazy Sock Night

Last sunday night at AWANA was crazy sock night. The kids wore crazy socks to remind them to bring a new package of socks for the nursing home residents. We went all out with socks everywhere including her hair. Hannah had so much fun getting ready and she was soooooo excited when she won the contest for craziest socks in the Sparks club (1st through 3rd grade.) She got to choose her prize and she picked a stuffed eagle that she named Kenny.

Halloween

On Halloween, we had to dress up at work. My friend Lori and I decided to be Thing 1 and Thing 2. We had a lot of fun and our patients got a kick out of it too! On Halloween night we took Hannah trick-or-treating with some friends in their neighborhood. Hannah was Wonder Woman, Drew was Spiderman and Janae was a mermaid. We walked about a mile and a half, well most of us did. Hannah got a stomach ache about half way through (and she hadn't even had any candy yet) but luckily we ran into a friend from church on a four wheeler. He took Hannah back up to Misty and Scott's house where Ky and Scott were passing out candy. We got her home pretty quickly after that. Saturday night we had the fall festival at church. They had lots of carnival games, fun inflatable slides and obstacle courses. We also dressed her elephant Dinky up as super republican. He is an elephant after all so it seemed appropriate. Hannah had fun flying him around with his red cape like hers.

Grandma

The other day, Hannah and I were pulling weeds in the flower beds and planting some mums that she had picked out. As we were watering them she said, "Mama, you're kinda like a grandma." Not quite sure how to take that I asked, "How so?" She responded, "You know, like planting flowers with me and playing games and you let me have candy every now and then. You know, grandma stuff." She has two wonderful sets of grandparents who do all of that "grandma" stuff with her but if having fun and playing games with my little girl and letting her have candy every now and then makes me like a grandma, I'm good with that! When she says that to me when she's 16 it probably won't be a compliment but for now, I'll enjoy being like a grandma!

Cowgirl

Hannah started taking riding lessons a couple of weeks ago and is having so much fun! The first day, she learned how to brush a horse, put on his saddle pad and saddle, walk him to the round pen, mount, (she needed a little help with that one), how to get him to walk, stop, and turn left and right. At the end of each lesson, she takes his saddle and bridle off and brushes him again. Then she walks him back out to the pasture. In her second lesson, she learned how to balance. She is loving spending time with Vick the horse and learning to be a real cowgirl. She got some new boot that are pink and brown and she wore them to church and school before she started her riding lessons. She is so excited because Mrs. Hughes (the one teaching her to ride) told her that when she gets good enough, she gets to ride her horse.

Ball Game

Ok, my posts are getting out of order, but I just can't keep up so I'm backing up a bit. Labor day weekend, we went to see our friends Amber and Jeff and their kids Olivia and Aidan. We went to a Frisco Roughriders game that Friday night and had so much fun! We all ate the usual baseball game food and they had a great playground for the kids. The girls got pink cotton candy and Aidan got blue, but he wasn't too sure about it at first. Hannah got a pink foam finger with some money Nanny sent and had everyone laughing as she pointed at everything with it. After the game, we spent the night at Amber and Jeff's house and Hannah loved having a sleep-over in Olivia's room. They stayed up really late - we told them to quiet down for the last time about 12:30 am and Hannah was up at about 6:15. Of course, she woke Olivia up too! Amber and I were trying to keep our eyelids open during our scrapbook class later that morning, but it was a lot of fun and we learned some great stuff. Thanks Amber, Jeff, Olivia and Aidan for a great time!

Hannah and Olivia

The foam finger

Aidan wearing a dippin' dots hat

Hannah pointing at her loose tooth

Wild Week

This week has been pretty crazy. Monday Hannah had a high fever so Ky stayed home with her on Tuesday. On my way home I wrecked my car. Nothing too bad - no one was hurt but my car is not driveable. Wednesday Hannah went back to school and was felling better, but her lymph nodes in her neck got huge in a day. I took her to the doctor this morning and found out she has lymphedema. She is taking antibiotics and we will go back on Monday to recheck them. The node on the left side of her neck measured 4 x 5 cm and is so big you can see it sticking out. It had Ky and I pretty worried but hopefully it's just an infection and the antibiotics will help. When Hannah and I got back from the doctor we let Piper out. When she came back in, her eyes and head were swolen and red. I gave her some Benadryl and it seemed to help but the swelling is still there. I think she may have gotten stung by a wasp. Hopefully our weekend will be less eventful!

First grade

Hannah has been busy the last few weeks. Three weeks ago she went to the bowling alley on a field trip with her summer camp. She dropped an eight pound bowling ball on her big toe and bruised it pretty bad. I took her up to the office to take an x-ray and thankfully it's not broken, but she is going to lose the nail. Two days later, a friend accidentally stepped on it and then the next day it got stomped intentionally. She handled it all pretty well and is doing much better now.
We went shopping for school clothes and found lots of cute things and of course she had to have some Hannah Montana and High School musical shirts. We also found the cutest glittery pink high tops that I would so wear if they made them in my size. Much like my best friend Amber, I had envisioned my little girl with a cute pink backpack with her name embroidered on it, but she just had to have High School musical. I have no problem with the movie, I was just picturing cute little girl stuff, not teeny bopper stuff in the first grade.
She was very nervous about starting school and was afraid of getting picked on becuase of her Tourette's, but everything has gone great so far. Her teacher, Mrs. Earls is so sweet and Hannah loves her already. She has had a great couple of days and is thrilled that she gets to buy ice cream on Fridays. She has decided that the rainbow pop is first on her list. They also got to name the mice that live in a cage in her classroom. She named the boy mouse Fat Boy ("because he's fat", she said.) She also has the job of feeding them. Last night she said, "Mama, I don't feel like I'm prepared for first grade." I think she changed her mind today and she's feeling much better about it.

School Play

Friday night was Hannah's play put on by the the school age kids at her summer day camp. They performed "God's Faithfulness Through the Ages" and they did such a great job! Hannah sang with the choir and they sang about Noah, Jonah, Joseph, Daniel, Shadkrack, Meshack, and Abednago. They had a lot of fun getting ready for the play, learning songs, painting backdrops and rehearsing. Her teachers did a woderful job (her favorite teacher, Mrs. Sabra is posing with Hannah in the picture)and everyone had a great evening!

Addy

Recently, Carrie and Addy came to town to visit. It was so great to see her and finally get to hold her. She is so pretty and snuggly. Ky got her to fall asleep during her cranky time and she let him know quickly that she didn't want to lay down in her crib by crying when he tried to put her down. She even did the chin quiver and everything! She is so precious and we are so excited to finally be an aunt and uncle and of course, Hannah is excited to have a cousin!

Church Picnic

A few weeks ago we had a church picnic at the park. The deacons grilled hot dogs and burger served with all the trimmings and everyone brought desserts to share. After dinner, the kids sang some of their songs they learned at bible school and then we played games. The three legged race was first. Hannah and Drew decided to compete in the kids round. Neither one of them had ever seen a three legged race but they did pretty well in spite of that. They looked so cute together and they did great until their ankles came untied. Someone offered to put it back on for them but they decided to pass. Ky and I raced in the adult race and Misty and Scott (Drew's parents) did too. (Sorry no pictures of that.) Needless to say, we didn't win but Ky and I stayed in step very well (I know - band nerds to the end) and we got a good laugh out of it. Next was the egg toss. Hannah paired up with Ky while I teamed up with Misty, and Drew with Scott. Misty and I faired pretty well until the egg hit her ring and cracked. It only lasted a couple of tosses after that, and fortunately for me it shattered on her! We all had a great time and we are so thankful for our church family!

Summer Fun

Hannah has had so much fun swimming this summer! Since she took swimming lessons, she has been jumping in and going under water more. The other evening we got in the pool and Ky got Hannah to stand on his shoulders and jump into the pool. She loved it so much she started yelling "Again! Again!" His shoulders started hurting from that so he picked her up and threw her up in the air. She sailed over the fountain and back into the pool. I thought she was going to wear his arms out having him throw her in the air over and over. Daddy got a good workout and they both had a lot of fun! I got a cute video of her and a few funny pictures.

Swimming lessons

Last week Hannah went to Vacation Bible School at our church and had swimming lessons at Nanny's house after lunch. She loved bible school! They had every morning packed with music, crafts, recreation, snacks and a worship rally every day. The theme was "Outrigger Island" so everything was tropical. I got to help with the decorations and had a lot of fun with it!
Her swimming lessons were a great time and she learned so much! Before she started her lessons she was afraid to put her face in the water, but by the end of the week, she was starting to dive! Thank you Miss Mirana!

Father's Day

For Father's Day, Hannah made a tie for Ky. It is so cool! It is made by Crayola and came with fabric crayons for her to color on the tie. (Had to toss those after we were finished with the tie for fear of them finding their way to my furniture.) I had her sign her name on it and put the year so we will remember when she made it. He wore it to church on Father's Day and got lots of compliments. She was so proud to see him wear it!
Happy Father's Day Ky! You are a great Daddy and husband! We love you!

Our niece, Addysen is here!

Ok, I'm a little late with this posting but better late than never. On Wednesday, June 11, Ky's sister Carrie delivered Addysen Ann Bryan. She weighed 10 lbs, 13oz. She is sooooo cute! She fractured her collar bone and did some nerve damage which caused difficulties with her breathing, but one week after she was born she got to go home. We got to see her while she was in the NICU at Cook Children's Hospital in Ft. Worth and we can't wait to go see her again and let the spoiling begin!

Dance Recital and Vacation

Hannah had her dance recital the last Saturday in May. She did a tap routine to "Walk in the Rain" and a ballet routine to "Tomorrow". She looked right at home on stage and the other girls in her class were watching her to see what dance step was next. She had a great time and got to see some of the other routines too.
Ky and I took this week off of work and we went to Beaver's Bend for a few days. Piper went with us and she and Hannah both did good in the car. Our favorite part of the trip was taking a canoe and a kayak down the river, going on a trail ride and a train ride. Hannah looked like a natural on Goldie, the horse she rode. She was a little dissapointed that she didn't have to do anything but hold on because the horses were trained for trail rides. The small waterfall that we went down was fun and Hannah "helped" Ky paddle over it. She actually helped him get the canoe stuck on a rock, but they made it down with Hannah saying "wohooooo!" all the way down. Hannah's favorite parts of the trip were getting to sleep on the fold out couch in the cabin and smashing a penny at the museum with the Beaver's Bend stamp on it. She also loved the bumper boats so much that we did that twice.
Thursday night we went to her friend Drew's baseball game and went back to their house for swimming and burgers. Friday we met up with them again to see Kung Fu Panda and then to Cheddar's. We've spent a lot of time in the pool and now we're headed upstairs to play the Wii on the big screen.

Can dogs have Tourette's?

The other day when Hannah and I were taking Piper to the vet, Hannah looked at me and said, "Mama, can dogs have Tourettes?" I told her that it was just a human thing and she said, "But you told me dogs could have ticks." We had to talk about the difference between neurological tics and bug ticks. Too bad Frontline doesn't work for both!

Hannah's Birthday

Okay, I'm way behind, so here's a condensed version of what we've been up to. The last few weeks have been really busy. I helped plan the women's Mother's Day banquet at church which was a great success, Hannah went to Olivia and Aidan's birthday party that day, Hannah's birthday was on the 14th and we had her party on the 17th at Discovery Science Place. She got lots of great presents including a
Barbie scooter, Barbie island princess stuff, 3D sidewalk chalk, a swimming Ariel, a scrapbook kit, lots of arts and craft stuff, a Webkinz, and money to buy more Webkinz (which we did on Saturday after the party - we're up to 6 now). Nanny and Papa also got her a porcelain doll made to look just like her when she was a baby. It is amazing how much she looks like her. The lady who made it said she usually doesn't put eyelashes on her baby dolls, but when she saw Hannah's baby pictures she said she just had to put them on hers.
Hannah also finished her AWANA book and got a certificate, ribbon and a SPARK finger puppet. (The AWANA club she is in is called the SPARKS.) She had her last dance class today and after recital things should slow down a little. I'm looking forward to that!

New addition to the Family

Well, we finally broke down and got a dog. Ky and Hannah have been wanting one for a while, and I decided it would probably be good for Hannah. Pets can be really therapeutic. We decided on a rescue dog because we didn't want to go throught puppyhood again. We searched for a month or so and finally found Piper. She is a Corgie/Shar-pei mix. Wierd, I know. Right now she looks more like a pot bellied pig than a dog becauase her foster mother "spoiled" her. She is probably about 15 pounds overweight (not that I have any room to talk!) She came with the name Piper and I'm not sure where that name came from. Her previous owner passed away and she was at a resuce organization. She is about 5 or 6 years old and as sweet as can be. We are still trying to figure out what's wrong with her, because she just seems too good to be true! She has not barked yet in the 3 days we've had her. She is house broken, sleeps all night (and most of the day). She loves for you to pet her and scratch her ears, doesn't get on the furniture and won't even try to go upstairs. She goes to the door and softly cries when she needs to go out. Hannah loves her and has done a great job taking care of her. She feeds her in the morning, and lets her out when she needs to go out. She runs in the backyard with her, brushes her and Piper sleeps in her room on a blanket by her bed. I think Ky is as excited about her as Hannah is!

The tooth fairy came!

Hannah's first loose tooth started getting wobbly last Thursday. She worked on it a lot and yesterday morning at 4:30 she came in tapping on my arm saying, "Mama! Mama! My tooth came out! Can I put it under my pillow?" I told her the tooth fairy wouldn't have time to come since it was early in the morning but we would put it under her pillow that night. She was so excited and has learned that you can get a juice box straw in the spot where the tooth used to be. She put the tooth under her pillow last night in the new bag we made Friday night. She was thrilled that the tooth fairy left her five dollars! She is planning on saving up for a new Webkins animal.
The last few weeks have been very busy with a dance competition, -crazy at 5 I know, we have another one this weekend - a baby shower for Ky's sister, church projects, and a kindergarten program. Her class dressed in 50's and danced to "Rockin' Robin" and some other 50's songs. Part of her routine was to hula hoop and she kept hers up the whole time. I am posting a picture of her in her poodle skirt (I am very proud of myself for making it) and one of her and her friend Drew.
I have also been a little overwhelmed lately with Hannah's recent Tourette's diagnosis. We pretty much saw it coming, but there is so much more to it than we thought. She is doing great though and is the same sweet, happy girl as always!