Whitney

I've got to do a quick update on Whitney. She's had some sweet moments lately that I want to capture before I forget. 

At school when there are arguments/fights over something, the kids in Whitney's class who were fighting have to "make peace" at the peace rug. Whitney decided to try and institute this in our home:

You have to hold the flower in order to talk, and you have to do a series of sayings/listening till the issue is resolved. Cute idea that hasn't stuck yet, but I love Whitney's effort.

Whitney started something called the "Rose Club" that she does with Annie & Cole. I've never been invited to the club, but from the sign on her door, it looks like it's an exclusive place with great values! 

 Some of the roses say, "Don't give up!", "Be respectful", "Be Smart" & "Think HARD"

In September, Tyler & I wanted to recognize Whitney for her efforts for being good, obeying the rules, and for being so consistent with getting her jobs done. So Tyler thought of a surprise night where we presented her with an award.

She was definitely surprised and really happy to have that extra attention that she doesn't always seem to get for being good. I think Tyler & I have come to just expect that goodness from her and don't praise her enough for the good she does everyday.

The homemade cookie cake--despite it's ghetto look--was an exciting reward that she chose to share with everyone (and we then tossed because I haven't figured out how to calibrate my recipes up here in the Rockies). Sorry Whit!

On Annie's birthday, Whitney's excitement was barely surpassed by the birthday girl's. Whitney worked hard on this "Jewelry box" for Annie and filled it with poems, homemade hair clips, and love letters. 

Whitney even spent her own money on a gift card for Annie and put it in the box too.

So far it has snowed here twice--I'm learning it's called a "dusting" (and I totally got made fun of by an elderly couple walking their dog when I was shoveling the driveway).

Both times it has snowed, Whitney has woken us up at the crack of dawn to show us the snow and run outside to play in it. She even begged, "Please don't EVER move us to a place where it doesn't snow!!" I doubt she'll still be that excited about the snow in February...

Whenever we have a babysitter, we tell the sitter to just let Whitney put the baby to sleep. This is how we found Shannon one night after we got back home:

Apparently, Shannon was not having anything to do with going to bed by herself, so Whitney let her snuggle up in her bed.

And on our recent trip to California, we stayed in a hotel. Whitney stayed up (after I hit the hay) late one night writing this note to our maid. 

I cracked up so hard, and I hope Ruth liked it!