Hopey's First Christmas!

Hopey's first Christmas was just fantastic! She got to experience all of the old traditions, new traditions, and a few "tester" traditions. We had a birthday party for Jesus on Christmas day, (thanks for the idea Katie!) and she seemed to get a big kick out of it. I've always really loved Christmas, but to see it through Hopey's eyes was just the icing on the cake! I think she really kind of knew what was going on. Sadly, I ended up with my traditional Christmas bronchitis, so I was a bit out of it for all of the family festivities. Here are a few pictures from Hopey's first Christmas and Christmas Eve!

Hopey and Santa...The Sequel

Okay, first let me explain. I wanted to do the first mall santa picture, but Wilbur Tague was offering a free sitting with santa too!!! I seriously just happened to be in the studio that day, so I thought, why not?? Anyway, she didn't cry, but she choked on her pacifier as I was putting her in his lap, so she looks a little red and shocked. And I'm serious, this is the last picture with santa for the 2008 Christmas season!

Merry Christmas to the Wonderful World of Bloggers!!

9 Months Old Already!!

I must have blinked, and my baby girl was suddenly nine months old!! How did this happen?? I took Hopey in for her nine month checkup yesterday, and they had me schedule her one year checkup....ONE YEAR!!!!!! She's going to be one year old in 3 months!! I'm just blown away at how quickly the time goes and how true it is that they don't stay little forever. On the bright side, the doctor eased my mind a little bit today and assured me that this........ ....is totally normal. I'm referring to her lack of teeth. Yes, I know I posted 3 or 4 months ago that she had a little tooth popping up, but whatever it was that we were seeing and feeling is completely gone. I was told today that she could remain toothless for another few months, so hopefully there truly are some teeth hiding under her gums. Anyway, just a quick update on the appointment. She is 20 lbs 4 oz, 27.75 inches tall, super healthy and tested negative for anemia, and completely vaccinated for the flu now. What excellent news!!

CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love Christmas so much it hurts!!!!!! Isn't this just the BEST time of year??? Of course my Christmas decorations were out as soon as we got home from Thanksgiving dinner, and my house is now a winter wonderland!!!! This is our tree this year!!! My favorite are the short fat trees, but last year's was MUCH fatter!!

I have 31 special Christmas movies that we watch every year, and the best part is we're getting to see one every night!!!!!!!!!!!! Have you noticed that everyone seems a little nicer this time of year? This is the one month a year you can smile at almost anyone and they will smile back at you!!! I LOVE that!!!! I love that Christmas songs are on every radio station and that we keep Christmas records on constant rotation at home!! I love waking up to a freezing cold morning with mountains of snow outside!! Now don't get me wrong, I don't want to drive in it, but I just LOVE being snowed in with my two favorite people!!!! Anyway, all of that to say, I think Hopey may possibly be following in her mother's footsteps!!!!!! She is absolutely loving the Christmas tree and the decorations all over the house!! And, for those of you that know her, she didn't cry when we met santa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Of course, she refused to smile, but she didn't cry!!!!!! That's huge!!!!!!!!! She even sat on his lap and had her picture taken!!! YES, I KNOW, MY DAUGHTER GOT HER PICTURE TAKEN BY A PROFESSIONAL WITHOUT THROWING A FIT!!!!!!!

There's the proof!! Anyway, I just wanted to share my Christmas joy with everyone else, and wish you all a very merry early Christmas!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

On this special holiday of giving thanks, I would just like to take a minute to praise the Lord for all of His good and perfect gifts. God has given me so much to be thankful for that I don't even know where to begin. I'm so thankful for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, a loving and supportive church, the best husband in the world, a healthy wonderful daughter, the best family and in-laws anyone could ask for, my Grams, true friends who have stuck with me through everything, health, life, Brian's job, our home, having enough food, caring neighbors, and the list could go on for days! We had a fantastic Thanksgiving with family and friends, and I hope everyone else had the best Thanksgiving yet!! I'd love to hear from you, what are you thankful for?

From my family to yours, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

SOOO BIG!!!!

My Gram was sweet enough to come visit us again this last week, and we had such a fantastic week! My mom and Gram wanted to keep Hopey for a sleepover on Wednesday night, so they tried to teach her something to show me the next day. They would ask Hopey, "How big is Hopey?" And then they would raise their hands above their heads and say, "SOOO Big!!!!" Well, of course she thought this was hilarious and caught on to the game immediately! This is a video I took of her showing off her new game at Olive Garden over the weekend!

St. Louis Weekend

WHEW!!!!! What a crazy weekend!!! Hopey got to meet her great-grandma Schell for the first time on Saturday! We left for St. Louis Friday afternoon, and Hopey decided to scream for us all the way there...it was so beautiful... Anyway, once we got to the hotel, Hopey decided to let all of the guests hear how lovely her scream really is. She ended up sleeping for a couple of hours that night, but she was up bright and early to begin her chorus of screams again. We finally figured out that she was having tummy trouble again, gave her some medicine, and she was an angel for the rest of the weekend! On Saturday, we headed over to my grandma's house so that Hopey could finally meet her other great-grandma. Those two hit it off instantly, and it was such a super day!

Of course we had to have our four generations picture, so here it is! By the way, many people thought I had given up on my contacts because I've been wearing my glasses so often lately, but I didn't. I've had an eye infection for weeks now, and it just won't go away!!

Saturday evening, we got to meet up with the whole Schell "gang", and we had such a fantastic night! All of the babies got to play together, and I got to catch up with my wonderful cousins and uncles!

We got home Sunday evening, and Hopey was a mess from no sleep, so we tried to put her down for a very late nap. I heard her in her room talking and giggling up a storm, so I peaked in at her, and this is what I found! She just learned how to pull herself up tonight!! I thought it was so cute, but then I realized it might be time to move the mattress down! Anyway, we had a really wonderful weekend with our awesome family, but I really need to get myself to bed! Have a super week!!

Our Little Gingerbread Gal

Hopey had a fantastic first Halloween! Well, I kind of take that back, she absolutely HATED her costume, but I loved it!! :) She wouldn't give us a smile all night!! This is our little gingerbread gal!!!

We took her trick or treating in our neighborhood, and then out to my parent's house to see a few friends.

Brian's parents stopped by to see how the costume turned out. Grandma brought Hopey a toy treat so that she wouldn't feel left out when everyone was getting lots of candy!

I think the night was very succesful! Brian and I went to bed sick from eating all of Hopey's candy, and she went to bed without her costume on! We all won!! Next year will be even better when she can walk!!

Aunt Renae and the Zoo

I meant to post this in the middle of September, but that ended up being a crazy month, so I'm definitely behind! Aunt Renae took Hopey on a special tour of the zoo for her very first visit! Renae is a Vet Tech at the Indianapolis Zoo and performs all of the surgeries on the animals there, so she was able to tell us what was going on with each animal we saw! Brian said it was the most fun he'd ever had at the zoo because Renae gave us the inside scoop! Hopey was in quite a mood that day, so Renae was an angel for giving us the whole tour!

Hopey actually saw the elephants and stared at them for a few minutes, but we think they might have been the only unusual animals she acknowledged seeing!!

Aunt Renae introduced Hopey to "Fat Franny", but Hopey thought she was a dog, so she cried her head off! All in all, it was an extremely hot day with a fussy baby, but Renae saved the day by being the best tour guide ever!! Thanks Aunt Renae, you're the best!!

Tagged by Tasha

I had noticed that this tagging war was raging in the blogging world, but I was convinced that no one would involve me...I was wrong!! Tasha, my cousin-in-law, decided I should most definitely be tagged, and because I love her, I decided to cooperate! :) Ok, here are seven random facts that I know you were all just dying to know about me!

1. I grew up on a small goat farm. We had goats and donkeys, and they were all trained and basically just my pets!


2. I love sugar more than any food in the entire world!!! If I could live on cookies, cake, candy, ice cream, brownies and any other dessert and still be considered "healthy", I would!!!!


3. Ironically, I love to exercise! I spend a couple of hours a day either at the gym or in my home gym, and Hopey has already discovered that she loves to workout too!


4. I don't require very much sleep, so I am both a night owl and a morning person!! I go to bed in the early AM every morning, but I'm up and ready to go with the sun!


5. I love to make and decorate cakes! Before I got pregnant, I actually had a small cake business out of our house! That was fun, but I just don't have the time anymore!


6. I absolutely love classic movies, ya know, the old thrillers, mysteries, and film noirs! Most of my favorite actors died years ago!


7. I've played the piano for 21 years! I stopped taking lessons in college, but I still play for fun! There is constantly music in this house!

OK, I feel like I successfully found 7 totally random facts to throw out there! Now, according to the rules, I'm supposed to tag 7 more people, but I don't even know that many people that have blogs! Sadly, almost all of you that I do know have already been tagged!! Debbie, you're gonna hate me, but you've just been tagged!!

The Pumpkin Patch

Hopey got to visit the pumpkin patch for the first time last weekend! Thanks for the suggestion Debbie!! :) My mom and dad were so excited to get to be a part of picking out Hopey's first pumpkin! We had family pictures earlier that day, and we were all worn out from trying to get Hopey to smile, which she never did, but this was the perfect way to end the day!

Mom thought Hopey needed to go on a "pumpkin ride".....I don't know!!! :)

Mom picked out this pumpkin to give to Hopey for her first jack-o-lantern! Thanks mom and dad for making the pumpkin patch so memorable and so much fun!

Norman Robert Velie

On September 23rd, my grandpa went home to be with the Lord. He was loved more than he could ever know, and he's missed so much already.

Wisconsin Weekend

So, I was hoping to have some of Hopey's 6 month pictures to share, but her sitting went BADLY! After attempting to get her to stop screaming for an hour and a half, the photographer asked me to please reschedule our session...I was so embarrassed. On a bright note, Hopey got to meet her great-grandparents for the first time last weekend! My grandparents live in Wisconsin, so we hadn't attempted that drive yet since Hopey hates the car and her car seat! We ended up traveling at night in hopes that she would sleep, and she did after the first three hours! :) Seriously though, she did well, and we were relieved! Anyway, we had a fantastic time in Wisconsin! Hopey even got to have a sleepover with her great-gram and gramps! Grandma cooked us three of the best meals anyone has ever made, and I surprised everyone by taking absolutely NO pictures!! HA! What a joke! I did better though, I only took 368, so of course, I've gotta share a few!

This is Hopey getting to meet her great-grandpa Norm for the first time. They had all kinds of fun hanging out together, and Hopey just loved him to pieces! She would stop whatever she was doing to watch him whenever he walked into a room. She thought he was the best thing since sliced bread!

This is great-grandma Babe. Hopey and gram sang together, rocked, took a bath, had a sleepover, played games, and just wore themselves out having so much fun! I don't think she was thrilled when we brought her home and gram wasn't there to play with her anymore! Hopey loved her so much!

This was our four generation picture, and we're super happy to have it!

Late Labor Day Pictures

I meant to post an update last weekend, but as usual, things got away from me, and here we are at the end of the FOLLOWING weekend!! Sigh...well, I tried! I was really excited to do this one too because I got to see my two "sisters" on Labor Day! I was fortunate enough to get to grow up next door to my two best friends, Amy and Renae. We've been sisters for the past 19 years, but we just don't get to see each other very often anymore!!!!!!! Anyway, we all got to meet Amy's new super awesome boyfriend, and of course I took 47 pictures to celebrate the occasion!! :) These are just a few pictures of the day, including Amy's catch of a life time, Hopey on a trampoline, the three of us reunited, and Hopey spending quality time with her aunts! What an utterly successful day!! :)

Light the Night Walk

This October, our family will be participating in the Light the Night Walk here in Indy. For those of you who don't know, that's a fundraising walk for Leukemia and Lymphoma. Leukemia has been a vicious killer in my family for the last 50 years. It has taken the lives of my grandpa, my Aunt Becky, and my Aunt Rachel. I never had the privilege of meeting my grandpa, but my aunts were two of the neatest women you ever could have met. We have been fundraising for these diseases ever since my Aunt Becky was diagnosed 11 years ago. To honor these two incredible women, I have set up my fundraising page in their memory, and all funds will be donated in their names. If you or anyone you know would like to donate, please visit my Light the Nights webpage at http://www.active.com/donate/ltnIndian/2456_fwitzig

Baby Dedication

Every summer, we have a baby dedication and baptism at our church. It's held at one of our Elder's houses, and it's a really awesome event that we don't like to miss!! Two years ago, Brian and I were baptised in the pool, and this year, we got to dedicate Hopey! It's so cool knowing you have your church family supporting you in raising your child! Brian had to give a short speech, but as usual, it was just perfect! I just had to share a couple of pictures because it was such a special day for us!

Our Little Sitter

Hopey's growing up too fast!!! I was playing with her yesterday, and when I sat her up, she actually just stayed there and played like that!! After that, she just sat up and played with her toys all day! After a full day of sitting up, she had just an awful night and was up every two hours. I was a little worried that she might be sick again, so I was checking her out this morning when I discovered the tip of a little tooth coming through!! That explains the sleeping problem we've been having all week! My little girl is growing up on me, and I've got to admit, it's making me kind of sad!

The Great Debate

Hopey has become quite the little chatterbox over the past month, and she has got an attitude!! Here she is giving her daddy a piece of her mind!

Wawasee Weekend

We just got back from a really awesome weekend at Lake Wawasee with Brian's family, and I was going through the 441 pictures I took, so of course I had to share! Right? :)

This is the adorable little cottage that Brian's mom's family has had since she was young. This was Hopey and my first trip here, so it was really special to see and hear about all of the Witzig, Steffen, and Isch memories over the years!

This is Grandpa taking Hopey on her first pontoon ride! She had the time of her life!

Hopey got to meet her great grandpa Isch this weekend, and they really seemed to hit it off well! She was mesmerzied by him!

Joining the world of bloggers!

We've finally done it!! I never thought I'd figure out this whole blogging hoopla, but I'm starting to get it! Debbie, I took your advice and thought this would be fun! :) So after an absolutely exhausting weekend, I went through some new pictures and videos and just had to share a recent video of Hopey. After bath time, she loves to be rocked on her ottoman. I think it's like a baby roller coaster! As you can see, she's loving life and her daddy!