Hart Update

So, I was recently harassed by a dear friend of mine that I have not updated the blog recently. Okay, that is true. I just really have been busy, so I will try to tell you what has been going on.

The first week of January all three of us got the flu, then that weekend I had a car wreck. Don't freak out! I was not hurt at all and after a month in the shop my car is good as new. Will has been working hard, and leading worship at the church almost every Sunday. After a year of co-leading he is really good, and God has really blessed him with leadership ability, musical skill, and passion for worship. It has been awesome to be his wife and watch him grow in this area.

I have been busy too. My stroller exercise class was moved from once a week to twice a week and I have had great attendance, and I have a real loyal group. These women motivate me to get out of the house even in our ridiculous winter weather. (I will not talk about the weather in this blog!) I am also leading a women's Bible study on Mondays. It is going awesome! We are doing the book Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver. I really do recommend it to everyone. On Wednesday I meet with my friends and Samantha's friends (Mom group) at a local coffee shop and that really gets me through the week. I have developed some amazing friendships this past year, and am just overwhelmed by these new friends. We take care of each others kids, encourage each other, and I could go on and on. I am also apart of a local competition. I am in the Biggest Loser competition. I lost 49 pounds last year, and still have some to go, but this last bit is coming off much slower, so this group keeps me accountable and motivated. I have a friend doing it with me, and she has been a great encouragement. On June 5th, I will be running a half marathon with two other friends. We have been training together and I love it. I think if I were not running with these gals right now I would be depressed from the snow and freezing below weather. I'm sorry friends in Texas, but you really have nothing to complain about. Wednesday nights Will and I are taking a class at church called the Truth Project. I have really enjoy it, and if your church ever offers it, DO IT! Okay, well I think that sums up January for Will and I.

Samantha, oh Samantha. I don't even know where to begin with my darling Samantha. She was changed and grown so much! She is very independent and knows what she wants! But, she is going through this phase where she wants to be picked up just so she knows we will still hold her. We try to balance knowing when she really needs to be picked up, and when she is just checking in. I'm going to do a bulleted list of all the things I can remember.
- She loves the dogs more than ever. She loves to give Mo a hug and kiss (open mouth, so gross). Baila runs from her when Sam tries to hug her. Its so funny.
- Sam has been trying to jump. She did a full jump at the beginning of the month and thought it was hilarious and has been trying to do it again. The result has been skipping. Samantha skips around the room while I sing Skip to My Lou.
- Sam loves to twirl. I sing twirl, twirl, twirl, and she straightens one arm, cocks her wrist and the twirls until she gets dizzy and crashes. Its hysterical.
- She has become very very lovey. She loves hugs and kisses.
- She loves the church nursery and she knows where it is, and just goes there whether we are with her or not (we are always behind her).
- Samantha loves people and she loves kids.
- She climbs on the couch and has learned to "sit like a big girl".
-She can go up and down stairs alone with adult supervision.
-I got Sam Baby Einstein's Baby Sign Language. She loves the puppets, but I was frustrated when I watched it because she already says half the words. She has been signing "more" more often when she wants to do something, not really when she wants more to eat.
- When Samantha wants a cup she goest to the dishwasher and puts both hands on it and goes "OOOOO." She does the same to the frig when she wants a snack.
- We bought her a potty and before she takes a bath we practice sitting on the potty. She will sit on it once by herself. That's it.
- My favorite thing. Samantha tries to use my name in as many ways and volumes to see what reaction and attention she gets from me. My favorite is, "Hey MOM!"
- This week Samantha picked up the word "Go." She was running with her push walker, yes running, and saying, "Go, go, go, go, go." It was so precious and then again when the track girls where running at the indoor track when we were there. Sam started to run behind them saying, "Go, go, go, go." But, the funnest use of go was this evening after church. We were on our way home in the car and Will was talking about the men's breakfast every Wednesday morning at 6:30. I said, "You should go." And from the backseat we immediately heard, "Go, go, go, go." We started laughing and Will was like, "Well, I guess I need to go." Sam just started laughing.

Well, I hope that gives you an idea of what the Harts have been up to. Sorry I'm behind. This next month my dad is coming to visit for awhile and we are going to Oklahoma to see family. This month will go by really fast, so maybe this post will have to be for January and February. Love to all of you!

A winter Story about MoJo the Dog

Here is a little story for ya. I keep the dog bowl full of water at all times in the house. Our mistake was to NOT pick up the water bowl from the porch before winter. It is now frozen. My dog Mo, although sweet, has moments of stupidity. It is -17 right now, feels like -40 (you can check the weather channel, no lie) and this sweet thing went outside to potty and licked that dang bowl!! Do you have a picture in your head?! I don't know how he got loose but there was a lot of blood when he came into the house with a sheepish look on his face. I called Will and sure enough, his tongue is badly wounded. Good news is he is fine, but his pride is still stuck on the bowl...

1 Year

I have been thinking a lot about what I would put on this blog at the end of this year. There is way too much to write about. There is so much I have learned about myself, about  marriage, and about being a parent. I feel like I have been given so much back after losing so much. Samantha has brought so much to our life. Every day she makes us laugh with her faces, her noises, and the things that she does. She is curious, stubborn, independent, loving, and too smart for me. She learns new words every day. My least favorite is, "No Mommy, No" (with a finger shaking at me). She is learning her animals fast along with their sounds. She can meow, bark, quack and roar. She still loves her books and her toys, and loves Mo and Baila more than they would like. I'm amazed at how much she watches me. She took my blush brush and started brushing her checks. Anyway, she is vocal about her feelings, and passionate about everything she does. We love her. Thank you Lord for 2010 and giving us a piece of our hearts back.

Birthday Party!

All the monthly pictures that I have taken.

Samantha and Nana (Will's mom)

I love this cake! It has flower impressions on it and Samantha loves bears. The bottom later was white chocolate with raspberry filling and the top layer was Sam's smash cake and it was vanilla with vanilla filling. It was delicious!

It was just easier to open Samantha's presents and then showing her the toys.  She had great facial expressions for each of her new toys.

Samantha loves her wagon. We keep it upstairs and she plays in while I cook. 

We got her the kitchen for her birthday. Its been a great addition to keeping Samantha busy.

Christmas Fun

A plaque that we got my Dad for the Potato House. 

Ashley Sullivan and I worked very hard on this. No comments please.

Our beautiful tree that everyone went up and cut down. Kyle put the train around it.

I didn't get a lot of pictures on my camera but Kyle did and he put them on Facebook.

Celebrating Sam's Birthday at Papa's

We spent from December 18th-26th at my Dad's house for Christmas. We had a really good time. My dad has really worked really hard on the place and its just great to have family time there. We decided to have a little birthday party for Samantha with the five of us (Will, Samantha, Dad, Uncle Kyle and myself). We should have done it earlier when Grandma and Aunt Ashley were there, but time just got away from us. We got Samantha her own little cake and then we opened Papa's presents. This is her precious castle and she loves it. At home she takes whatever toy she is playing with at the time and takes it in there. There is no telling what we will fine in there.  Anyway, the ranch was great!

Samanthas Birthday

25 pictures
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