I've just upgraded the blog to the latest software version and updated our hosting plan to .NET 3.5 (yikes, we were on 1.1!).  What all that means is that hopefully we will be back to regular posting soon!

So I actually meant to post on our actual anniversary, June 28, but life intervened, as it has a way of doing.  Anyways:

This is Team Hooper, pre-kids.  (We look like people who sleep!)  We look happy because we are.  We have always been happy together.  If I knew how to use the scanner I would upload a picture from Long Ago, when we were first dating.  Long Ago we were children, foolish and head over heels in love, absolutely shocked that our parents did not share our certainty that we were soulmates.  (NOW we get it.)  We thought we understood "true love."  We thought we knew what it took to always be a team.  Then (this keeps happening) LIFE INTERVENED.  And it taught us a lot of things but inevitably confirmed what we suspected all along: that we are indeed meant to be together and we had better work hard to keep it that way.  So I'd like to just share with you 10 random reasons why I still want to be with this man every single day:

1. He really truly makes the best breakfast tacos in the world, and I don't really like eggs, but I can't get enough of these.
2. He doesn't let me boss him around.  (It's true.  I try every day.)
3. He actually called my knitting "an interesting part of you" and lets me talk about it in detail.
4. He came to every single boring endless flute performance I had in college and stayed awake for most of them.  (This is EXTREMELY hard to do, even if you aren't a sleepy person like Paul.)  Bonus points:  actually stayed until the end of the 70 minute Bruckner symphony.  I think there were 10 people left in the audience at the end of the concert.  (ask Kelly and Joe, I'm not exaggerating)
5. Everyone calls him for computer help and he never complains and always helps, no matter how long it takes.  And he takes time out at work for my stupid computer questions.
6. He gave me my sweet babies.
7. He always supports me in my crazy pursuits, be it songwriting, singing, teaching, Finale, Arbonne, knitting, you name it.  He encourages, finances, watches kids, whatever, and he pushes me to be the best but never makes me feel bad if I fail.
8. He knows that I like my coffee really strong with lots of cream and if he adds flavored syrup he only adds enough to give it a hint of flavor but not enough to make it sweet.
9. He brings home Serranos.
10. No matter what my body looks like (and believe me, 9 weeks postpartum, it isn't pretty) he has always genuinely and completely thought I am beautiful, and he tells me every day.  This amazes me to no end and reassures me that when I am old and decrepit he'll still feel the same.

See, Daddy, I told you he was perfect for me!

This is a new CAPS widget. Just testing it out. Might add it somewhere on the blog... still thinking about it.

Hill Country has posted some more videos from music specials - there is one of me and my friend Dee singing "Take Me There".  We did this last fall; you'll notice that I don't really look that pregnant!  Click here and then on the song name.  Other highlights include "Alive Forever" and "Mighty to Save" from Easter, featuring our friend Rick Trevino.  Enjoy!

P.S.  Only 9 days left!!!!!!

Happy Easter, everyone!  We put up some pictures on Flickr.  Just go to the main page and you can view what we put up today.  http://www.flickr.com/photos/selzhanik/  Or go to the 2007 Mar - Apr set.

We went to church last night, and this morning we slept in and had a big breakfast.  Since it was freakishly cold outside, we did a little egg hunt in the living room.  Kate was so cute and excited!  And then later she "played" Guitar Hero with Daddy.  It's been a fun and relaxing day.  The best part is knowing that Jesus is risen!

Today Katelyn and I went with some friends to take some pictures in the bluebonnets.  You can see them all at http://www.flickr.com/gp/40127326@N00/JrU0U7

Here's a highlight:

And the apology part...I ranted a bit in a post the other day because I was frustrated about my current situation (busted/coughing/in pain/hormonal).  It was a bit on the rude side so I just deleted it (I think - it's hard for me to tell sometimes.  So blog-challenged!)  Sorry to all who were exposed.  Must.  Focus.  On.  Positive.  And there is plenty to be positive about.  (See photo above for example.)  God is good ALL THE TIME!

WHAT A WEEK!!!!  Anyone who is reading this probably already knows, but I am finally back to typing after more than a week off because I broke my stupid elbow.  Yes.  Clumsy 33-weeks-pregnant woman slipped on some Sonic Apple Slush (do you think I can sue?) in my kitchen and fell on the right elbow and broke the dadgum thing.  It's not a bad break, or else I would not be functional at all (can't take painkillers for reasons of allergy and pregnancy).  It is a fracture of the radius near the joint.  I will not be getting a cast, thank the Lord!  Still it is very hard to be all the things I need to be with only one arm.  If I am a very good girl it will heal completely by the time Audrey is born.  Then to top it all off I got a wicked bronchial infection that is being very slow to clear up.  I have put Paul through the wringer this past week and he has been wonderful.  He is at the HEB right now and will be home to cook dinner soon, then help with laundry and cleaning up.  Super dad!  This was one of the hardest weeks of my life and probably his as well.  Pregnancy hormones + broken elbow + severe bronchitis - painkillers x two weeks of dirty dishes = miserable Mommy!

Potty training is going very very very well.  We have certainly thrown enough curveballs Katelyn's way, but she is overall doing quite well with it.  She has occasional setbacks, mostly it seems out of frustration with Mommy, who is not very much fun right now.  Some of my friends thought I was insane to keep going with the potty training after the illness/injury happened, but let me tell you, it is a WHOLE lot easier to get a pull-up on a wiggly toddler than a diaper using only your non-dominant hand.  Diapering is a two-handed business for sure.  I did abandon the traditional training pants for convenience's sake - I simply can't clean up the messes right now or manage that much laundry.

Well, I can only type or write or anything for a little while before it is time to ice the arm and put it back in the sling.  So long...

Day 3.5 : Wednesday 3/14 continued...  Worship rehearsal night.  I have not picked up my music for various reasons, so I want to leave early so I can look it over.  At 5:30 I wake up Kate and sit her on the potty.  She goes!  Feeling triumphant, I promise her a lemon slush and chicken nuggets from Sonic.  "That's a great idea, Mommy!"  She scrunches up her eyes and laughs her fakey chuckle, which is what she does when happy but something isn't particularly funny.  So we put on a pullup, stop in at Sonic, and have a picnic at the church. 

Paul was a little late coming to get her but it wasn't a problem.  They stopped for more fast food (I told you nutrition was out the window this week!) and came home and watched Cars.  She only makes it to about the same point in this movie every time.  My rehearsal ended early enough that I got to see her before bed.  Apparently she had an accident during the movie (probably she was so into it that she didn't notice herself peeing).  But during bathtime, she asked to get out of the tub, sat on the potty and went, and then got back in to finish the bath.  Now that is progress.  She needed lots of hugs and kisses before bed, which we were both so glad to give.  For the rest of the night Paul played Warcraft and I answered email and read knit blogs.  Once again we stayed up too late.

Day 4:  Thursday, 3/15.  She tinkled in the potty upon waking.  We are starting to establish a pattern!  I let her watch some tv as a reward.  So now for the real test:  I have a Gymboree coupon.  The best stuff goes on the first day of the sale.  So I overpack the diaper bag and put a portable potty seat in one of those humongous ziploc bags, and off we go to the mall.  As soon as we are heading in, she asks to go potty.  I head to the closest bathroom I know of, in JCPenneys, and fortunately it is pretty clean and has a place for me to park the stroller.  She wet a little in the pullup, but I put that potty seat on the big potty and set her on it.  "It's kinda scary, Mommy!"  Still, Supermom has come prepared with books and a sucker, so with distraction and bribery she actually goes in the big potty.  Woohoo!  Girl deserves a sucker!  We clean up and head for Gymboree, where I spend one hour and $120.  But hey, with the exception of shoes, she has her entire summer wardrobe.  That will really help me out when I have TWO kids.  I even got cute matching outfits for her and Audrey.  She sits like a zombie in front of Gymboree's little tv, licking her sucker, and squinting at any other kids that get within three feet of her.  We go to the play area for a while, but she is feeling shy even though there aren't very many kids there.  She does not want to climb and play much.  Once she does loosen up a little, some really big kids arrive and get rowdy so we just leave.  I forgot it was spring break.  All this time she has been dry.  Of course, 5 minutes out of the parking lot she wets her pullup and begins to cry.  At this point it is just better that we head home.  At home, before, during, and after lunch she has several accidents and never successfully goes in the potty.  I think maybe tomorrow we had better stay home or close to home for consistency's sake.  I would really like to go to the yarn store though...big sale...

To confirm that Mommy has absolutely no life, here is the chronicle of our Potty Training Saga so far:

Day 1:  Monday, 3/12.  After we went to the HEB and picked the dog up from boarding in the morning, Katelyn went down for a nap and Mommy began her preparations for the Potty Extravaganza, which started upon waking from nap.  I assembled all of my supplies in the upstairs bathroom: potty success chart, potty procedures list (so that Daddy and Mommy can be consistent), stickers, lollipops, fresh pull-ups, flushable wipes, and all kinds of cleaning supplies.  Suddenly I discovered that I only bought 2 pair of waterproof trainers and about 12 pair of actual underwear.  And a whole pack of pull-ups, which are so much more expensive than diapers that I hate using them.  Oh well, I thought, we will make do until I can get to the Target.  When Kate wakes up I put her on the potty, read about 400 books (or maybe 4 books 100 times), then finally allow her to get up.  Of course the potty is dry, so I put trainers on her and within 30 seconds pee is running down her leg.  Since she hates to be messy, she instantly began to freak out, so we cleaned up and put on the second pair of trainers.  She was very excited about her big kid underpants.  She ran into the game room and after another 30 seconds she began to shriek, "Oh no!  What happened to my underpants???"  I removed the trainers, cleaned her up, calmed her down, and put a pair of underpants on her (unwisely thinking that she must be out of pee).  So you can see where this went.  By the time Paul came home I'd already done two loads of trainers/pants and used them up again.  Thank heaven we had Olive Garden leftovers for Paul's dinner because I had no energy left to cook.  Once she went to bed I ran to Target, bought them out of trainers, then came home and ate 3 bowls of cereal.  Before bed I managed to throw some laundry (literally) at my poor husband and then go on a crying jag until 1 am.  Surely we had nowhere to go but up the next day.

Day 2:  Tuesday, 3/13.  I awake with a sense of dread, realizing that the REALife group was coming that evening on top of everything else.  But hey, it's a REAL life group, isn't it?  So if they walk into a house covered with laundry that smells like pee, that's a slice of real life, right?  And I'm setting a good example by not pretending to have it all together.  Ha ha.  Anyways, Kate wakes up and I whisk her downstairs to sit on the potty in my bedroom while watching Go Diego Go.  She bats her eyelashes fetchingly at Diego (who, oblivious, continues to rescue talking animals).  Meanwhile I use this opportunity to say a few words to my long-suffering mate ("I'm sorry I threw bedsheets at your face."  "Thanks for listening to my whining until 1 am.") and make us some MUCH needed coffee.  A few minutes later I check on Kate to find that she has tinkled in the potty!  Huge celebration, both parents dance a jig, Kate gets a sucker before breakfast.  That kind of treat doesn't even happen at Nana's!  Feeling somewhat encouraged, we smile and wave at Daddy as he drives away to his laundry-free place of employment (lucky!)  After breakfast, the fun begins.  We have 7 accidents, 2 crying jags (Kate's), 2 time outs, and 2 loads of laundry before naptime.  Thank God for naptime.  Kate is upset that I put a diaper on her for naptime.  I explain that there isn't a potty in her bed, so she has to wear a diaper to sleep in.  She sighs in relief.  Poor thing.

Jen calls during naptime and I feel encouraged.  How on earth does she make cloth diapering seem so easy?  As always, she is very kind and listens patiently to my rants.  Ok.  I can do this.  It's only been 24 hours.  Don't be a wimp, Amy.  Of course I must consider that being 8 months (which feels like 80 months) pregnant makes anyone miserable and crazy, and makes it that much harder to get up and down from a tiny bathroom floor.  I ignore all non-diaper laundry and pre-REALife group cleaning and sit down to knit for 15 minutes before passing out.

Kate wakes up and I immediately take her to the potty, where she holds it for countless dramatic book readings.  I give up and put trainers on her and she pees.  Repeat this process 6 times.  How much pee can such a tiny person hold?  I remind myself that this is easier than trying to train her when the baby is here, because I can give her my undivided attention.  Two more loads of laundry.  I am starting to think that 8 trainers isn't enough.  It's time to start cooking dinner.  It occurs to me that she tinkled this morning while I was not watching her.  Hmm, maybe the child needs a little privacy.  We've been trying to teach her this about her parents - well, about Daddy at least.  Mommy has sacrificed privacy entirely so that Katelyn can become familiar with the potty process.  Anyways, I decide to let her sit on the potty while I try to start dinner.  And talk on the phone to Paul.  I was completely distracted from her.  And guess what - she tinkled!  Only a little, and she wet two trainers within minutes afterward, but hey, it was a start.  Many stickers, a lollipop, and creative songs to celebrate the success.  Guess she needs her privacy, too.  Peeing for an audience is a lot of pressure.  She likes the celebration part, but seems to want me to ignore her while she is actually going.  Interesting.  Uh oh.  It is 6:30.  Group starts at 7 and I have only 2 ingredients assembled to make dinner.  I call Paul back and we debate take out for a while and then finally decide to eat cereal.  So I have eaten nothing but cereal and Olive Garden leftovers for 2 days.  Oh well.  At least we are eating.  Group comes and the kids go upstairs to play (Kate is in a pull-up).  I feel almost human for all of the adult conversation.  No one comments on the fact that every single dish I own is in the sink.  During group and before bed Katelyn actually asks to sit on the potty.  She doesn't go, but she seems to think of it as the fun place where we read books.  Instead of actually going to sleep immediately like we probably should, Paul and I watch 2 episodes of 24 and relax a little.

Day 3:  Wednesday, 3/14.  We all oversleep - I have to wake Kate up at 9:20, and put her on the potty downstairs.  I bustle about like yesterday, only the TV is not on - she is looking at books.  She tinkles in the potty!  Celebration with Daddy!  We eat breakfast and get ready very fast (with one accident) because today is playgroup at Crystal's.  And she has a "bouncy bouncy" indoor inflatable jumpy thing.  Kate is very excited.  At playgroup I actually get her on the potty a couple of times, but she stays completely dry all morning.  She gets really upset and oversensitive near lunchtime and has to have a time out.  I start to wonder if she needs to poop and feels uncomfortable - she hasn't pooped in 48 hours, which is weird.  But she is freaking out over every little thing so it is time to go anyways.  At home I check her and she is dry and refuses to go to the potty, so we have lunch.  After lunch she is much calmer and in a happy mood.  It is raining so we aren't going to go outside (our usual after-lunch activity)and she asks to watch Little Einsteins.  I am exhausted so I agree, but only if we go "try" first.  So we go upstairs and sit on the potty and read lots of books.  Suddenly, during a dramatic reading of "Dora's Potty Book" I realize that she has become very still and squinty.  And stinky.  I ignore her and continue with my wild and over-the-top rendition of Dora's potty adventure.  The end.  I read one more book for good measure, then ask her if she is all done.  She says, "I need a wipe."  Ok, I give her a wipe.  "I'm all done, Mommy.  I need a sucker."  So I get her up and we look in there together.  Tinkle!  And poop!  It was like winning the lottery.  We dance a jig and clean her up.  She gets to flush and wash her hands.  She gets to pick out her sucker.  We call Daddy with the big news.  We put stickers on the chart and all over her hands and head off to watch Little Einsteins.  I'm amazed!  I never thought she'd poop in there so soon.  Ok, maybe this is all going better than I thought.  About halfway through her show, she bolts upright and says, "Mommy!  I got poopy diaper!"  I snatch her up and we run to the potty.  She is BARELY wet and finishes tinkling in the potty.  Now I am REALLY excited!  After more jigs, some jelly beans, stickers, and finishing the tv show, she heads off to bed completely dry and super proud of herself.  She tells me that she is almost a grown up lady like Mommy.

Sigh.  Almost a grown up lady.  Probably maybe so.  I love that kid.

So only 7 weeks left...I will be having the C-section on April 27, if all goes as planned.  I have gained 20 pounds total (which is not bad, especially considering my chocolate intake lately) and am feeling pretty tired and sluggish.  My bloodwork showed some anemia so hopefully after a little while on iron supplements some energy will return.  But I am definitely getting ready to be done with this pregnancy business!  I want to see my little sweetie!

Kate has been a big helper, picking up things from the floor, dusting low-lying objects, and bringing me stuff.  Yes, it's more work being pregnant with a 2 year old, but there are definitely perks.  :)

For those who are having trouble getting onto the Flickr web site, we've put the link over there to your left.  It says "Photos @ Flickr."  Click there for the latest.

Also, we'll be able to post a few pics here if they're especially good.  And (hopefully) you can click on the picture to go to that picture in Flickr, where you can download other sizes, order prints, and so on.

We've got the blog portion of TeamHooper.net running! It's going to get more pretty as time passes (hopefully). Future posts will be from Paul or Amy (or Katelyn?) and will have categories and such as they are added!