Birthday Questions

I have read about people asking their children the same questions every year on their birthday so that they can see how the answers evolve over the years and so that they can have a little glimpse of what their children were like at each age.  I am excited to try it with my kids, and we started this year with Henry's fourth birthday.  Here are the answers he gave me.

1. What is your favorite color?

orange and green and red (these are the colors he told me, but his "favorite" color changes daily right now)

2. What is your favorite toy?

my bouncy things (he is referring to a hippity hop and a pogo stick type toy that he stands on and jumps)
3. What is your favorite meal?

black bean, sweet potato and corn tacos
4. What is your favorite outfit?

red
5. What is your favorite game?

candy land

6. What is your favorite snack?

peanuts and raisins

7. What is your favorite animal?

birds
8. What is your favorite song?

Give Me Men To Match My Mountains
9. What is your favorite book?

library books and Dinotrucks
10. Who is your best friend?

Jaden and Kelsey -- the Kaldenbachs

11. What is your favorite sport?

racecars
12. What is your favorite thing to do outside?

ride my new bicycle
13. What is your favorite holiday?

Christmas
14. What do you like to take to bed with you at night?

Fluffy One and Woof (he always takes his blanket, too)
 
15. What do you want to be when you grow up?

One thing I don't want to do when I grow up is take a shower.  But when I grow up I want to make something.

16. What are you really good at?

drawing H's and pedaling fast and riding my new bike

17. What would you buy if you had $1000?

New bikes, and pretend cars, and everything!  And I would buy something from Toys R Us and everything!

18. What is your least favorite vegetable?

broccoli and spinach and chicken

19.  If you could have a wish, what would it be?

I don't have a wish.

20. Who is your biggest hero?

superman

21. What do you like to do best with your friends?

play run away from Samuel

The Difference in Boys and Girls

Henry:  Why didn't you get my painting things out?
Me:  Oh, I forgot!  I'm sorry.
Henry:  It's okay.  Sometimes women forget things.  But guys usually don't.
Me:  They don't?
Henry: No, they don't.  I think that's just the way God made boys and girls.

Life with Violet

Just some things we've been up to lately...and by lately I mean several weeks ago :)

Peek-a-boo!

One Month

Violet is one month old! 

 She has been such a sweet baby and we are starting to settle into our new normal.  She usually only wakes up to eat one time during the night, and is pretty quick to go back to sleep.  We have seen a few smiles, but think we will start to see more soon.  She already loves to watch her siblings, though, and follows them with her eyes when they are nearby.

They love her too...sometimes a little too much!  Cora always wants to give her kisses and is quick to find a burp cloth and wipe her mouth -- whether or not she needs it.  Henry likes to talk to her and try to get her to smile.

I can't believe that Violet is already been here a month, but at the same time it seems like she has been a part of our family for much longer! 

Springtime

We are loving this warm weather!

It is so nice to be able to play outside and the kids have really been enjoying our huge driveway :)

They have also been enjoying playing ball in the yard.

"Up high!"

Even when their hands get dirty :)

And also

love these curls! 

Twenty-seven

I celebrated my 27th birthday a few weeks ago -- March 3rd, just three days before Violet was born.  I am so grateful for the 27 years of life that I have been blessed with and for these sweet little lives that the Lord has brought so closely into mine in these most recent years.  As I start my 28th year, I pray that, by God's grace, I will love him and those around me well.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We didn't do much to celebrate, but we did all wear green!

Violet Grace Hancock

The newest member of our family is here!  Violet was born on Friday, March 6th at 7:33 AM.  She weighed 9 lbs 2 oz and was 20 1/4 inches long.

I started having contractions the morning of March 5th and timed them all day.  They came and went...sometimes they were closer together, sometimes further apart.  I wasn't sure if I was really in labor or if it was a false alarm, but I let my mom know, and she decided to go ahead and come spend the night at our house so that she would be here if we needed to go in to the hospital that night.

By 10:00 that evening, my contractions weren't really consistent, but were fairly frequent, so we had to decide if we would go to bed or go to the hospital.  We decided to go to bed :)  The contractions slowed down while we were sleeping, but still came every now and then.  Then around 4:00 the next morning they really started to pick up.  

This is right before we went to bed.  Just ignore the mess in the playroom :)

We got up and headed to the hospital around 5:00.  When we got there I was already almost fully dilated.  I was hoping to wait for Dr. Shelley to deliver the baby, but the doctor who was on call told me that she was going to be in late that morning, so after waiting for a little while we decided to let the on-call doctor break my water.  Violet was born within 15 minutes!

The delivery went smoothly, but Violet had to go to the nursery soon after because they needed to monitor her breathing.  After watching her for an hour or so they said that everything was fine, so she was able to join us in our room again.

She was a good eater from the start, and was very awake and aware on her first day of life.  Henry and Cora came with my parents to meet Violet soon after she came back to our room.

Henry was excited and loved her right away.  It took Cora a little while to warm up and figure out what was going on, but once she did (especially by the second day), she was very excited about her new baby sister.

We came back home Saturday afternoon.  We have all enjoyed having everyone at home together.  We are still (Cora especially) figuring out the transition to having another member of the family, but we are so grateful for this sweet new little life that the Lord has added to us!

Welcome to our family, Violet Grace!  We are so glad you're here!

Funny Sayings

Just some funny things Henry has said lately...

At the dinner table:
Me:  Travis, will you roll up Cora's sleeves above her elbows?  Elbows are the problem areas.
Henry:  Yeah, so I wish she didn't have elbows.

While driving down the road:
Henry:  Look!  That truck has an American flag on it!  They must be from America!  Just like us!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all of you!  We don't send out Christmas cards, but we love getting pictures and updates from all of our friends and family every year and I always wish we were sending holiday greetings out in return.  Know that we are so grateful for all of you -- the Lord has blessed us abundantly with the people he has placed in our lives, both old friends and new friends!

So here is a review of our 2014 for those of you who are interested to catch up on our lives :)

January through March were spent house hunting -- almost every weekend.  We had been renting a house in Central, SC and were looking to buy one somewhere in the Clemson-Central-Pendleton-Anderson area.  We were also looking with our good friends, the Kaldenbachs, for two houses near each other (next door, down the street, same neighborhood, etc.).

In March we finally found and closed on our first house!  It is in a neighborhood in Anderson that is in such a convenient location for shopping and many other things, and the Kaldenbachs are about five houses down the street from us.

  

In April we moved in to our new home.  We did some painting in the main living areas, but the house didn't need much immediate work.  We are slowly updating and settling in, but we have plenty of space for our family to grow into and to put our own touches on things.  Our house also has a pool, so we enjoyed swimming in the summer months!

Travis also started a new position within his company in April.  He was given the opportunity to move from being a Manufacturing Engineer to a Product Application Engineer.  This was a good chance to see a different part of the business and learn something new.  As an application engineer he is working with customers to develop hydraulic circuits and see them from concept to release to production.  He has enjoyed the change and is doing very well in his new role!

In May Henry turned three!  (And had yummy cake.)  He is so much fun and such a good conversationalist right now.  He is a sweet big brother and a good helper to Mommy and Daddy.  He is also very strong-willed, which will hopefully be a good thing in the long run but right now is hard on us sometimes :)  I love seeing him learn and grow.

In June we started attending Renewal Church in Anderson, a partnership of Crosspoint (the church we were members of) and The Bridge.  A group of Crosspoint members joined up with the members of The Bridge to form a new church.  We have been so blessed by it already, and have made the beginnings of many good friendships, particularly in our small group.  We are excited to see where the Lord will take us as a church.

We also celebrated the marriage of my brother and sister-in-law, James and Kendell in June.  It was such a beautiful wedding, and we are so happy for the two of them!  So glad to have gained another sister!



In July we found out that we were expecting baby #3!  My due date is in early March of this year, so we are getting close to meeting the newest Hancock.  Henry is excited and Cora has no idea what is getting ready to hit her :)

We also took a family camping trip in July.  We went to a campground on the lake in NC near Cashiers and Highlands.  It was a great week; we had beautiful surroundings, cool mountain weather with no rain, and lots of fun hikes and things to see in the area. We actually don't have a single picture from the trip though!  I can't believe neither of us took any, but I am blaming it on early pregnancy.  Those first few months were hard!

In August we bought a minivan!  It was actually our first car purchase since we got married.  We bought a 2007 Honda Odyssey, and we have loved it!  Now we have space to accommodate all of our children, all of our necessary belongings when we travel, and even have room to spare!

In September we celebrated Cora's first birthday.  She is such a joy to all of us, and brings so much hilarity to our family.  Her smiles and hugs come so readily, and she will do almost anything to make us laugh.  She also has a very strong will, though, and is more than willing to loudly make her opinions known!  I love seeing her start to put things together and figure out how life works.

In October we found out that baby #3 is a girl!  Henry was the only one who was disappointed...and he came around pretty quickly :)

November and December were full of travels, including a trip to south Alabama for Travis's cousin Brady's wedding, time with my Mom's and Dad's families for Thanksgiving, visiting James and Kendell in their new home in Birmingham, AL, time with my family before Christmas, and a week in Hilton Head with Travis's family the week of New Year's.

It has been a full year for our family.  We are grateful for the Lord's faithfulness throughout and for the love, encouragement, and prayers of our family and friends.

Happy 2015 from the Hancocks!