Talent

On the day Hannah was born, as soon as I heard my husband say, “It’s a girl!” this is what I envisioned. 
Tutus and tap shoes.

We tried that for a while and she liked it.
She still likes to twirl, boogie and shake.
But dance isn’t her thing.

This is.

Her passion is unwavering.  Her excitement is contagious.
This little girl loves horses and everything
that goes along with them. 

We went to two Mommy & Me riding classes this summer. 
She has a natural way with horses. 
(And other animals, for that matter.)
At the second class, she got to try the reigns and
she handled them like a champ.

My sweet Hannah,
No matter what you pursue or where your interests
and talents lie, I will always be cheering you on.
I’m your biggest fan.

Deep In The Heart of Texas: A Photo Overload

The stars at night are big and bright
Deep in the heart of Texas.

The prairie sky is wide and high
Deep in the heart of Texas.

The sage in bloom is like perfume
Deep in the heart of Texas.

Reminds me of the one I love
Deep in the heart of Texas.

The cowboys cry “ki-yip-ee-eye”
Deep in the heart of Texas.

If you know us in real life or you read my blog, you know that Shawn travels a lot for his job.  And on occasion, Hannah and I get to join him. 
 
Now, I’m not much of a country girl, but somehow I ended up with one for a daughter.  She is all country.  She loves horses and cowboys and lassos and bandanas.  We spend many afternoons looking on Google Images for saddles and spurs.
It’s possible that she will wear cowgirl boots with her wedding dress someday.

So, heading to San Antonio was right up our alley.  Hannah and I flew down and met up with Shawn just as he was wrapping things up at the International Petrochemical Conference. 
Don’t be jealous.
He did get a pretty cool swag bag.
Ok, it wasn’t that cool.
Unless you’re an engineer.

Whatevs.

During our flight take off, Hannah giggled, squealed and shouted, “Weeee!  This is fun!”  Ah, to be 3 years old…
She slept for about 2 hours on the plane, which was perfect, because we flew during her normal nap time. 
She woke up when we landed.
”Are we at Texas?”
I told her we were here.
”I wanna go in!” 

So, in we went…

We started off at the Riverwalk where I got to meet Julie.  
And, oh my, it is beautiful there. 
‘Tis a wee bit of heaven, the Riverwalk.

She makes friends with animals everywhere we go.

 
We spent a 97 degree day at Sea World.   
I wasn’t sure our Northern blood would withstand the shock. 

Shawn and I love visiting historical sites
because, well, we’re history nerds. 
So far, Hannah hasn’t shown herself to be a history nerd. 
In fact, it appears that she is too cool for The Alamo.

The highlight of the trip was spending the day at a dude ranch in Bandero, Texas.  It’s the cowboy capital of the world, y’all. 
(I know.  I can’t pull off a “y’all,” but saying “you guys” in a post about Texas just seemed wrong somehow.) 
Anyways, Hannah got to ride a beautiful horse named Bandit and she loved every minute of it. 
I think she would have stayed up there all day. 

She became instant friends with the wrangler and was tickled that her cowgirl boots got dirty and dusty,
just like the real cowgirl.

We did other cool stuff, too.
Like climbing this here dinosaur.

Then we went down into a cave 180 feet below the ground.  When the tour guide said that there was 99% humidity down there, I knew we’d be wearing pony tails before we resurfaced.  We have the kind of hair that goes totally 80’s when hit with humidity and moisture.

What else did we do?
We floated along a lazy river,

buried ourselves in the sand,

and under the pillows.

I’m so glad our little girl likes to travel as much as we do.
I love seeing her experience new places.
And I love experiencing new places with her.
We loved Texas and I have a feeling we will be back. 
But, it sure feels good to be home.

Hey Boots, Where Ya Takin’ That Girl?

Yee Haw! A Cowgirl Birthday!

We celebrated Hannah’s 3rd birthday with family this weekend. 
Our theme? Cowgirls, of course!

 I planned and made the decorations and favors myself by spending very little and using things I already had on hand.

For example:
Tissue paper poms!  I bought a jumbo pack of pink and turquoise tissue paper and used about 9 sheets per pom, which made these pretties less than $1 each.

The cowgirl tree was made with an old Mason jar, some faux peat moss, branches from a Rose of Sharon in my backyard and scrapbook/cardmaking supplies I had in my stash.  Cute!

Each child got to take home a jar of the dry ingredients to make Bakerella’s Cowgirl Cookies!  I bought the jars at Hobby Lobby - $9 for a dozen.  I had many of the ingredients on hand and bought chocolate chips, brown sugar and M&Ms.  The pink bandanas are from Hob Lob also.  I bought 2 for $1 and cut them into small pieces for the tops.  I found the jute rope in my husband’s tool box and thought that it fit perfectly!

Tutorials for all of these lovlies coming soon!

Happy Birthday to my little cowgirl!  Love her so much!

 

Three

Dear Hannah,

Today you are three years old!  Happy Birthday, sweet girl! 
So, what are you up to these days?

You are still tall and thin.  I recently bought you some pants for winter and they fit you in the length, but won’t stay up because your waist is so tiny!

We hit a little bit of a rough spot with potty training a few months ago, but you came through it and have been doing great with it for a while now.

You have developed a new love for all things cowgirl!  You are such a little country thing and we have no idea where you get it!  You love cowboys, cowgirls, horses, saddles and bandanas.  It is so cute that every day you like to put on your cowgirl hat, your pink bandana and your sheriff badge.  You ask us to get down on the floor and take you for horse rides around the living room.  You will even put a little blanket on us and say that it is a saddle. 

 One evening, we turned on the country music video channel and you saw a picture of Tim McGraw.  You pointed at him and said, “That’s a real cowboy!  Is he the sheriff?”

You love your Sunday School class and teacher!  I am so glad because it is so important to us that you are raised in church.  You have learned three Bible verses since summer and it is so sweet when you recite them.  I hope that you remember them your entire life.  Last weekend, we went for a hike on a trail near our church and you said, “Let’s go see my teacher.”  I told you that she wouldn’t be there because it isn’t Sunday.  You looked at me, completely serious and said, “But she lives here.”

One of my favorite things about this age is when you don’t fully get the right word and repeat things out of context.  It cracks me up!  One night after dinner, your dad and I were talking about the phone calls we have been getting from political candidates.  Daddy said something like, “Well, they want your vote.” I didn’t even think you were paying attention.  The next day, you said to Papa, “Papa, let’s talk about the Republicans.  They want Mommy’s boat.” 

You have become a little fickle about eating.  Generally, you will eat well for two meals each day, but won’t be interested in the other.  If we are at a family gathering or birthday party, you get so excited that it is hard to get you to eat.  I must say, though, you amaze me with the things that you like.  You still love anything Mexican and really like Spanish olives stuffed with blue cheese!  You will eat any fruit, but apples aren’t your favorite.  You love cucumbers and will eat a few slices for a snack each day.

In your three short years, you have traveled to Los Angeles and New York City with us.  You are a great little travel buddy.  You do amazing on airplanes and just go with the flow when away from home.  You had your first experience in NYC a few weeks ago and you talk about the “taxi crabs” all the time. 

You are such a sweet, funny little girl and we love you more than you will ever know!

Every Cowgirl Needs…

A cowgirl hat,

and a sheriff’s badge.

Her trusty horse… 

 And a lasso made from a pink feather boa, of course.