A Little Update

Ok, so yes, once again I have failed in my attempt to update my blog, but since we are about to become a family of 5 in a few weeks and so much is going on, I want to, yet again, try to do a better job. I guess what has really prompted my desire to write is Rollins. She started Kindergarten in August, and she comes home with so many stories, concerns and interesting thoughts. How else to share them, but through here?

So, everyone that knows Rollins, knows about her heart. She is quite possibly the most caring and loving child I have ever seen. Now, that's not to say that she doesn't have a mean streak in her-especially when it comes to Grady, but for the most part, she is very nurturing and kind hearted. She has gone to my mother's nursery school since Jauary 2007, and everyone there comes from similar backgrounds and all have loving homes to go home to after school. With the start of kindergarten, Rollins noticed immediately that there were kids who didn't have everything they needed. One day she came home and said, "mommy, there is a boy in my class and his mother won't get him a nap mat, so can we make him one?" When we are packing her snack, she always wants to pack extra for the kids whose mommies forget their snack, and just recently, she has me sending her with a dollar for water everyday. Water is only 50cents, but she says there is a little girl in her class who doesn't have water and she buys her water. Now, might I remind you that she is only 5, but she has already become a cheerful giver. She absolutely loves helping her classmates and I think it's something most adults can learn from.

Today, Rollins comes home and says, "mom, school isn't for me." She had this pitiful look on her face and she just tucked her head in my arm. Holding back the tears, I asked her what had happened to make her so unhappy with school. She said, "mom, my friends are being mean to me." I asked her what she meant, and she just shook her head and cried. We crawled up in her bed, and I tried to explain to her that some of her friends had a lot more to deal with than she did. I told her how some of them only have one parent and some don't get to eat supper or have toys to play with or have new clothes to wear. I also explained to her that not everyone got to go home to a mommy and daddy that were nice to them. I said sometimes that makes the kids sad and not nice, but we should always be nice to them, because we might be the only person that is nice to them that day. What happened next, is one of the reasons I absolutely adore this little girl. She asked me if she could get some of her clothes and toys and take them to the kids in her class to help them be happy. I told her we would talk to her teacher and see who needed anything and we would give it to them. This made her smile, and she said, "they will really like that." Now, yes, it does hurt me that she gets her feelings hurt by kids being mean, but I have comfort in the fact that she now understands why everyone isn't nice, and hopefully, she won't let it affect her like it has been. I am so proud of the little girl she has grown into and I pray everyday that she keeps that innocence and caring heart.

More Spring

My mother's nursery school recently took a trip to the local Dominos to make pizzas. All the kids love this field trip! Since this was Rollins's 2nd year to go, she knew all the answers to the questions and got to make her pizza first. They made her into a ghost, which she thought was so funny.

Grady, however, was a little unsure about the ghost thing. He has been very clingy lately and wanted to be held the whole trip.

Here is Rollins rolling out her dough.

After putting on her sauce and cheese, she added her all time favorite topping--mushrooms.

They helped the kids place it in the hot hot oven.

Here's the class minus Grady because he didn't want in the picture.

Rollins also attended a birthday at Pump it Up, which she absolutely loves that place! We took Grady's nursery school class there for his 3rd birthday in January, and let me tell you--it was the easiest party we have ever thrown. They do everything for you--all you have to do is show up.

She had just as much fun playing with the balls, as she did on the inflatables.

Rollins has really enjoyed all she is learning in Gymnastics and took full advantage of the mats they had there. She is doing a headstand in this picture. She also just recently got her back roll--something we were all so proud of because she has worked so hard on it.

Friday of last week, it was finally warm enough to get the slip and slide out. Ann Daniel had come to play with Rollins, so they couldn't wait to get the Bikinis on and take a run.

Grady lasted much longer than the girls. He would have stayed out there all day.

The kids are so ready for summer and can't wait to pull out the big waterslide. I just hope that Brother will get us some dirt and grass for our backyard, so we don't have to bother the neighbors with all the water toys in the front yard.

Brother came home with a surprise for Grady this week. He LOVES golf, and his drive goes across several yards. To keep us from chasing balls, we now have the net. Brother and Grady can hit together since Grady is left handed. While I was outside watching Grady, Rollins had a surprise waiting on me inside.

We had been to the grocery store earlier in the day, and somehow, Rollins convinced me to buy her one of those frozen strawberry creme pies. Little did I know, she thought she could just eat the pie all at one time.

A little update--I am exactly 18 weeks today and feeling pretty good--a little tired, but I can't complain. We went to the regional softball game this morning to watch Katie Marie and the Wildcats. They won 5-1 and are playing again as I type. Rollins and Grady took a 4 hour nap this afternoon because they were so worn out from the game. Hopefully the girls will advance on to State next week. Go Cats!

Spring is here!

Rollins with her Jesse Doll Easter Sunday

Grady and I Easter morning

Rollins at Luke, Jack and Abby's Birthday

Grady and Rollins at their school Easter Party

So, it's been a while, and if you haven't noticed the baby ticker, we are expecting a baby boy October 8! After all the events of this past October, I had pretty much given up hope of ever having another child, but I was in shock after a doctor's visit in February, where I found out I was 6 weeks pregnant. If you have ever had a miscarriage, you can imagine the fear I had every day. I dreaded every doctor's visit, because I was afraid of receiving bad news. Today I am 16 weeks, and everything seems to be going great. He is an active little guy with a strong heartbeat. I am beginning to feel more at ease and am finally able to embrace and enjoy this pregnancy.

Gatlinburg continued

Sweet Grady wanted to have his pictures made too so he crawled on this rock and smiled so big.

They are finally getting to the age where I can get a decent picture of them, but sometimes, they can still be difficult.

This is a perfect example. This would have been such a great picture, but Grady decided to be difficult. Oh well.

Luckily, my mom was with us, so Brother and I were able to get our picture made together several times. Usually it is either me or him with the kids while the other takes the pictures. There was this waterfall off the road that was so beautiful. I just wish you could see it better in this picture.
The colors weren't at peak yet--we were probably a week too early.

Our last night, we went to the Dixie Stampede. I wasn't too sure what to expect, but everyone said we just had to go. Let me tell you, if you have never been and you have kids, you have got to take them--it's a little pricy at 46.99 a ticket, but it does include your meal and show. The kids weren't too sure about not having a fork to eat with (I never let them eat with their hands), but they did a pretty good job. I have never seen them sit that still during a meal. You couldn't take pictures during the show or I would have plenty to show you the expressions on their faces. One of the male performers threw Rollins a carnation, which you notice in the picture. She thought she was so special. After the show, you can meet the performers and horses.

ok, so it's not letting me add any more photos so I will continue in another post

Gatlinburg

Ok, so I know my last blog was about lack of commitment and how I was going to do better at posting, and guess what, I didn't. Sorry. Things are starting to slow down a bit, so I thought I would get back to blogging. For those of you that didn't know, these past few weeks have been extremely difficult and trying for our family. I miscarried our 3rd child on October 8, and my grandfather, Pop Neal, passed away on October 15. I never understood the emotions that go along with a miscarriage until now. I don't think anyone can understand until they go through it themselves, but luckily I have a couple of wonderful friends that have been through this and offered words of encouragement on a daily basis, and to that, I am ever so grateful! The death of my grandfather only fueled my emotions, so my wonderful husband planned a trip for our family along with my parents to Gatlinburg. He booked the cabin at 1:30 AM on the day we left. I love last minute trips--they are so exciting, but I ended up staying up til 4 in the morning packing.

This was our lovely cabin 'Afternoon Delight'. It was between Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge so it was a wonderful location.

I don't know if you can see, but there is a hot tub in the background. Brother and I were so excited to have the hot tub, but the first night we were there, we heard something outside the window. To our surprise, there were two raccoons on our porch. Brother was so excited and started feeding them cheerios. I told him there was absolutely no way, I was getting in a hot tub with wild animals!

We rode the chair lift to the top of the mountaing and the kids loved the snack shop that awaited them.
Since my parents were there, Brother and I were actually able to get a picture together:)

Unfortunately, Brother dropped the camera while we were there and the lens broke, so here is our family picture taken with a broken camera--I so wish it was in focus, but oh well, it will have to do.
While in town, we ran into a man on a motorized wheelchair that looked just like Santa. After we started talking to him, we found out, he was "santa" and even gave us one of his business cards.

By the second night, my parents had arrived, and I was feeling a little braver about getting in the hot tub. The kids joined us and had an absolute blast!
We hiked to Laurel Falls since it was the only stroller friendly trail in the park. There was a beautiful water fall and bridge at the end of the trail. Rollins loved posing in front of the falls. While my mom was taking a picture of Grady and I, I said, "look, there's a bear!" She thought I was just saying that to get Grady to look at the camera, when infact, there was an actual bear. It walked up to one of the hikers and took his bag of food. I was amazed at how calm the bear and hiker were--I would have freaked out.

Here is a picture of the bear getting the bag of food. Notice how the man is just standing there!

We stopped all along the way to take pictures. I would love to have a creek like this going through my backyard.
Ok, so I am not done, but it is 1 in the morning and I have a 9 am doctors appt in huntsville, so I must get me sleep. I will finish the rest tomorrow.

Lack of Commitment

OK, so my last blog was about how I was going to do a better job on blogging, but guess what, I failed again. I have come to the conclusion that there is just way too much going on in my life and I need to slow down a bit. Here it is 1 AM and I am in my daughter's bedroom with her and her first sleepover company eating beanie weanies watching Peter Pan. To many, that's not exactly an accomplishment, but to me it is. All my life I wanted to be a wife and a mother, but not just any mother. I really wanted to raise Godly, loving children that enjoyed spending time with me. It wasn't about what career path I chose or who I associated myself with--it was about the children I would bring to this earth and the relationships I would develop with them. I am so proud of them, and even though they are just 2 and 3, they are amazing kids. I try to spend as much time with them as possible making memories that will last a lifetime. I am not a big fan of daycare unless you have to work. If God has blessed you with being able to stay at home, I think you should take total advantage of it. Now that Rollins and Grady are older by my standards, I am able to take them more places alone and I am really enjoying this new found independence the three of us have. It is quite exciting to be able to wake up and say where would you like to go today--Chattanooga, Atlanta, Nashville, Birmingham? My kids are as adventurous as I am, and I am so glad they like to travel on a whim as well. I am especially looking forward to this school year. They will be going to nursery school on the same days (3 days a week for 3 hours a day) so I can get some much needed sewing in for Kennedy James Clothing, and the other two days will be our "fun days". I can't wait to see what activities we will come up with. I am sad, however, that this will be Rollins last year at home before she starts kindergarten. I try not to think about it too much.

I will be posting pictures and brief comments from the past months over the next few days so you all can get up to date with what's been going on in the life of the Whitakers.

I am back!

Ok, so I know most of you probably thought I fell off the face of this earth, but that's not the case. We have just been extremely busy since Christmas, so in an effort to fill everyone in on all the exciting things going on, I will be blogging quite frequently to get caught up.

I am startng with Rollins's first haircut, and yes, she is 3 1/2 years, and her hair has never been touched by scissors. She has never wanted to get her hair cut but it was down to her bottom when wet and beginning to look a little frayed. I finally convinced her to pay a visit to Mrs. April by telling her she could pick out ANYTHING she wanted to wear. Well, she comes downstairs with this tacky red $20 Christmas Dress she got off a bribe at Target--I do not like "fancy" dresses. I prefer smocked or heirloom dresses for Sundays, so this dress had not been worn except in playing around the house. I couldn't believe I was going to let her wear it in public and to make matters worse, Christmas had passed over a month ago at this point, but I thought, you do what you've got to do, and she wore the dress. I took some pictures before we left, and she enjoyed modeling for me in her fancy red dress.

Rollins hopped right out of the car when we pulled up, and I thought, this isn't going to be that bad afterall. She ran right to "pink building", but soon stopped at the door--Oh no, she was turning back--the red dress failed me, and she had changed her mind. I was pleading with her to walk through the door--I was already holding Grady and had the camera in my other hand, so I couldn't carry her in. It was at that point I realized it was all my fault--for 3 years I have threatened her with her life if she cut her hair, and when she wouldn't let me brush it, I would say, well I guess I will have to cut it all off. She associated getting her hair cut with getting into trouble. How was I going to explain to her that this was a good thing. She cried and cried and I had to call Brother to meet me down there so he could help with Grady, and I could hold her in the chair.

This was absolutely pitiful. Your first haircut is suppost to be exciting and here the day we had waited on for 3 1/2 years was filled with tears. It broke my heart.

Rollins has made it perfectly clear that she does not need anymore haircuts--I don't know how we are going to handle this in the future, but we will cross that bridge when we get there. Til then, I let her use scissors more freely and without the fear of getting in trouble because I know now that she will never cut her own hair.