A Week in the Life of Hallie

Crummy weather aside, this week has been just wonderful. Two days off of work and a trip to Enid thrown in made for a lot of extra quality mom/daughter time. My work schedule has drastically declined to the point where I feel comfortable and not rushed and crazy. My mom always told me that home health goes in spurts...so for the meantime I'm thankful for this lull. :)

So what is a nine month to do with her time? Hallie and I took full advantage of extra time by taking a trip to Enid on Tuesday. 50% to see my family, 50% to shop at Hobby Lobby. Hallie had been having separation anxiety from our favorite store so I did what any good parent would do and took her for a shopping fix. Ok, maybe I lie a bit. She didn't enjoy our Hob Lob trip one bit. It could have had something to do with my aimless wandering around the store ten times just to make sure there was nothing else that I needed to buy. After she has suffered through 90 minutes of riding in the shopping cart Hallie had the great idea to go suprise Aunt Lana that afternoon at work so we did just that. She made herself right at home as she does everywhere and found plenty of yummy things to chew on....

"Good thing she had these toys ready for me"

We had a great dinner at Katy's Pantry with Aunt B and Gman where Hallie thought she would spice things up a bit by choking on a piece of plastic from her treat container. That was interesting. And terrifying.

"Just keepin' you on your toes Aunt B"

Great grandma called on Wednesday to check on Hal and to tell me how much she missed her this week. Nanny came to the rescue just in time and took Hal for a surprise trip to visit my grandma on Friday while I did some work and got a much desired pedicure. ;) Thank you Nanny!

Saturday morning was an exciting one for Hal gal. She had a party to go to. She was up bright and early to get ready for the fun. She made sure to pick out a cute party outfit, wrap the gift she picked out and get a nap in before the fun. She was officially ready for her first birthday party....we were off to celebrate her third-cousin Peyton's third birthday. I guess I failed her by not teaching her about proper party etiquette because she quickly found her way to the birthday girl's pile of gifts as if they were her own....

"Oh mom, these people shouldn't have brought me all of these gifts." ;)

Gman did a good job distracting her so that the birthday girl could open up her gifts in peace.....

"Let me loose Gman"

"Somebody get me a bow or paper or something to chew on..."

Not only was she wanting to get in on the present-opening action but she longingly watched as the "big kids" played outdoors.....

"I can't wait to be a big kid"

Her day came a little sooner than she had expected because Gman took her out with the big kiddos for some swinging fun...her absolute favorite....

The sweetest thing

Hallie and Peyton got acquainted on the swings......

Pretty birthday girl

Soon the itty bitty puppy caught Hallie's eye and she went to check it out.....

"Just my size!"

After catching up with family and eating some yummy cake and homemade ice cream we headed out to lunch with Gman, Aunt Alta and Uncle David. Riley met us there just in time to turn around and take home a very partied-out baby. She had a blast this morning and it showed because she took a super extra-wonderful long nap this afternoon. When she woke up, my little shopping partner and I took in an afternoon of girl time before heading to the Cruise in for Cancer with daddy, Papa Bill, Aunt Katie and Uncle Luke. The boys had been getting their toys ready all afternoon and were ready to show them off. Hallie had other activities in mind. With a little help from dad she did some grabbing for ducks and picked out a toy of her own....."who needs cars?!", Hallie asks!

"I can't decide on just one!"

To keep her occupied during the cruise in I fed her a bowl of her new food. We gave avocado-apple a try and it was received well by my gal. All we were missing were the tortilla chips for dipping....

After spending some time in the sun, playing with Papa, learning about Mustangs with Uncle Luke, swinging with Aunt Katie, and walking with her dad and I in the stroller, the girl was plum worn out.

The boys lined their Stangs up side by side and watched as everyone drooled over them....well, two of them anyway. At this point our Mustang is still quite an eyesore. But they say love is blind, thus Riley thinks it is a beauty. Let me illustrate to you what I mean......

Papa Bill's beauty

Uncle Luke's pride and joy

Riley's girlfriend

Someday it will fit in with the others...someday. After some new wheels, new tires, new body, new paint, new interior...and the list goes on. My vote is that it needs to be red just to fit in with the other two. Riley is thinking blue....what do you think??? He is so proud of his girfriend and sees what others don't see at this point....a beauty. Hallie was cruised out and ready for bed which she made clear by falling asleep approximately two seconds after being strapped in her carseat. Oh but that did not mean she was done with her evening by any means.............when she is exhausted of an evening, 9 times out of 10 she will fuss and cry until we fix her a bottle and put her to bed. But that one time out of ten she turns into what can only be described as a maniac. She is almost delirious throwing and scattering her toys about, wallering on the floor and rolling about like crazy all while smiling those big silly smiles. It's quite entertaining so Riley and I just kick back and watch the show unfold before us. Tonight was one of those nights.....

She makes our world go round.....

.........and our feet running.............

.........and our heads spinning.........

.........and our minds wondering.....

.........and our hearts full of LOVE. 

So much for no binky....

I must admit I have definitely slacked a little on enforcing the "no binky" rule. Ok, may slacked alot. BUT this girl is a binky houdini I'm telling you. I swear she has a secret hiding pouch for her binkies. She goes down for a nap without one and always seems to wake up with one....or two.....

"I can't help it mom...I'm just that good."

HOMEMADE: in the kitchen with Hallie

What better activity to do on a Friday night than take a stab at homemade goodness. I have been planning on doing this every day for the past two weeks but finally stocked up on veggies and fruits and dug out the food makin' machine. In case you are planning on trying this someday please use my step by step guide to making super healthy food for your babe:

1. Buy vegetables that you would never eat yourself..
2. Make a huge mess.
3. Force your baby to eat these homemade concoctions and watch as he/she makes faces on disgust.
4. Freeze the rest.

Well that is how I thought it would go....but suprisingly my crazy combinations were a hit! As I perused the grocery store for organic foods I found myself wishing for a Whole Foods store somewhere nearby because I didn't have success with finding much at Walmart. I stocked up on all of the foods that I usually stick my nose up at. I never grew out of that picky eating stage and I will do everything in my power to keep Hallie from following in my footsteps. Squash, brussel sprouts, carrots and avocado. Yuck. But healthy for the babe. Onto the fruit...the best part! Kiwi, strawberry, apple and banana. Yum.

Hubby got me a homemade baby food recipe book for Christmas but it is hidden down deep in some box in storage. Who needs recipes anyway??? I got to work chopping and steaming....

I couldn't make food for the babe without her help though. She sat quietly and watched with interest for awhile until she decided to put herself to work as a human vegatable peeler...

"What's up doc?"

A very hunrgy babe and one huge mess later, the foods were ready for our mini taste-tester....

First on the chopping block......BRUSSEL SPROUTS!!!

The smell...ugh

It felt like child abuse airplaning this nasty mess into Hallie's mouth but low and behold she didn't hate them. Well, the first bite anyway....

"I'll give em a try just for you...."

She has reached a new milestone: she finally met a food she didn't like. Once she had a moment to assess what was actually in her mouth she was so over those green stenchy things (ok, maybe I need to work on my encouragement skills if I want her to actually like veggies). While I worked quickly to prepare her next food to test, the hungry munchkin settled for a pile of banana flavored cereal puffs and some millk....

In a brussel sprout coma....

Here are some combos that she seemed to like....

AVOCADO - APPLE

KIWI - BANANA

CARROT - STRAWBERRY

And her absolute favorite of the evening.....drumroll please..........................................

STRAWBERRY - BANANA

"I'm spitting this on you if it tastes like the last one..."

"That's a great one momma....make double of that!"

That ought to last her two days....

I'm relieved and very happy about our first homemade experience. I will definitely give it my best attempt to keep this up....for three simple reasons.

1) I love knowing that my girl is getting the most healthy food possible.

2) It is super fun.

3) I want to make every concoction possible.

Good thing my little guinea pig is willing and able to help me discover the perfect meals for her!

I'M 9 MONTHS OLD!!

"Does this hat make me look chubby?"

9 Months: Places to Go

Angel on Earth

It's that time again baby girl. Time to write a love letter to you. Nine months of pleasure being in your presence and getting to know our sweet girl. When I think about the fact that you are nine months old it just makes me think about how close you are to the BIG ONE! Don't worry...momma has already started planning your bash!

You have had so many big and little milestones this month I am not sure where to start. Hmmm...how about food?

You have been munching on almost anything within reach...that is appropriate for you to eat of course. You have ventured away from your baby food once in awhile and tried Jello, baked potato, lemon, mashed peas, banana, cottage cheese, peaches pickles and french fries. You love it all. You still haven't met a food you didn't like. I guess that might be why your Michelin rolls remain. ;) You look forward to your one bottle of juice each day: your favorites are apple and pear. Your little Gerber treats are an easy way to keep you satisfied when you just want a quick snack....sweet potato and apple cinnamon...YUM! Great grandma even tried one out to see what it tasted like...."bland" was her response. So of course I had to try one..."bland" was right. But you sure do love em! Miss Independent you are....you do not like to have us place them in your mouth. You grab them with your grubby hand and it gets to your mouth 50% of the time. Your lap, shirt or Emmi catches the rest of them. Or sometimes your little booty catches them.....

Two "teethies" are all you own. Thank goodness for that...you now have a break from the pain of teething. Whew (sigh of relief). The bottom front teeth are becoming more prominent everyday...and might I add they get cuter by the day as well. You use them to chew on just about anything....you are like a little woodchuck chewing on wooden tables and chairs. I've been trying to snap a picture of the little fellas but have been unsuccessful...but thanks to Aunt Kylie I have a good one....

Pearly white chompers

Sleeping habits. These are not as fun to reminisce on. You have begun what I can only describe as "sleep-crawling." It must be genetic because your dad likes to sleepwalk. Sudden screams in the middle of the night and I find you sitting up in your bed with your eyes closed sitting still...when I start to pick you up, you just flop down on your tummy and pass out. Weirdest thing EVER!!! Then as I tiptoe out of the door you suddenly shoot up into sitting again and then crawl to the corner of your bed and curl up. This repeats about every three hours...are you trying to punish me baby girl? On the other hand, you may be having some night terrors which just breaks my heart to think about. Like the other night when you were screaming your head off I went in to calm you down but I couldn't get you to wake up...you just kept screaming with your eyes closed and tears streaming down your sweet face. I finally picked you up and you sat on my lap in a trance for awhile before you blinked or moved while you held my hand. So sad! No more of that baby! Bedtime goes a lil something like this...you get to the point where you just can't hold you eyes open anymore and at that point you are very cranky. We put you down in bed with you bottle and turn on your friend Violet to play lullabies for you. Thank you Violet! There are several times that it's not that easy though. Like the nights when you wake up around 9:00 and I find you sitting up and playing in your bed and laughing. Oh girl, there is no rhyme or reason. But your smiling face waiting on me in the morning makes all of your shenanigans seem ok. But really though, the baby insomnia has got to end at some point, right?

I find myself saying the phrase "you're silly" at least twenty times a day. But gosh darn it, you are so SILLY!! And of course I have proof....

Playtime! You have discovered that it's a lot more fun if you select your own toys instead of me laying them out for you. You give my toy selections a big thumbs down and head to the toy bin to sling out your favorites....

CUTE PATROL: You have started to reach for people you want to hold you and your dad and I have been loving your hugs lately. Not sure if you know that you are hugging but it counts!

DISLIKES:

• Living without a binky. I decided to be the evil parent and I put my foot down..well, kinda. I decided I didn't want you to be my two year old walking around with a bink so I thought we should just start now. Binkies do not exist now. No longer do I grab the nearest binky to pop in your screamer to calm you down. I think daddy and Nanny still live in binky land though.
• Diaper changes. You despise your changing table. Oh my, I may have to do what Nanny does and plop you on the comfy bed and give you a toy so that you are a) comfortable & b) occupied. Dressing you is a task each and every day.
• Running. You do, however, enjoy throwing your binky, bottle and juice from the stroller at least ten times while we run. Lately I have been sparing you the agony of riding in the stroller and running on my own. Baby girl, if I were you I'd take advantage of being pushed around in a stroller and kicking back with a bottle...take a nap or something girl!
• Ear infections. Well who would like these? Poor girl, you have been cursed with yet another ear infection. I pray every night that you won't need to have tubes in your ears...no more ear infections please!!!
• Grass. You hate the grass. When I first plopped you down in it you looked at me as if you were so offended that I would make you sit on the stuff.

"Ew, get me off of here"

LIKES:

• Bathtime. You still heart your splash time in the tub. Although your bath toys no longer interest you. It's the bottles of shampoo and soap, grabbing the shower curtain, and standing up interest you much more that your sealife friends.
• Snacks. You love to munch snacks....all the time. Your favorite snack has got to be grapes in your mesh chewer...very big mess but very content baby.
• Smiling. I have received so many comments about your huge smile. That big open-mouth smile is your trademark baby girl!
• The toilet. We won't even go there with this like. Let's just say we have to close to the bathroom door when you are crawling around at home.
• Keys. You have discovered the magical quality of keys. They jingle and they are fun to chew on. I have been nervous of several occasions that you would slobber so much on my key faub that my car wouldn't unlock.

There is NOTHING you haven't tried to pull up on. At home your favorite items are the treadmill and the ottoman. You cruise over to your desired destination, pop on up into standing and look around to see who your audience is...then you flash a big proud smile! You are giving it a go on two feet using your walker toy or holding mom and dad's fingers as you hurry around the couch. You are fast girl!!!

"BEEP! BEEP! COMING THROUGH!"

Some little known facts: we found out the other day that you are not ready for pop-up books at nine months old. Poor book is missing a few crucial pieces now that you got your grubby hands on it. Thanks to you, Emmi enjoyed a nice snack on some pop-up puppy and pig pictures. Ok, maybe both of you aren't ready for pop-up books. I share Gerber yogurt with you...you take one bite, I take one. Only the banana flavor though, those are gooooooood! You have rebelled against me and have been ripping off bows and hats faster than I can get them on your head. We call you our mini "IT guy" because you seem to gravitate toward the computer router and cords on the floor. Vertical is the new horizontal....the only time you spend lying down is to get a swig of your juice while you play or while you are sleeping (when that actually happens)! Grizzo has finally caught your attention lately and you crawl over to him and cuddle up for approximately three seconds until we say "oh how cute" and by then you have had enough and move on to the next activity.

You finally said the words to me that I've been forcing upon you for awhile now. We often have ten minute long sessions in the car where I simply repeat "mamamamamamamamamamama" until I can't stand hearing myself any longer. After day after day of hearing your favorite phrase "dada", I was dressing you the other morning and you looked at me and said IT!!! Oh my! I think my heart almost exploded out of my chest. I am sure I looked like one of those cartoons with hearts fluttering from my eyes...I love you baby girl! Feel free to call me by name anytime!

Love,

Mom

Just Eggcellent: Baby's First Easter

If the girl could talk I know she'd be shouting from the rooftops:
"HE IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN INDEED!"

Hallie checked another first off of her list this weekend. Easter weekend was just as it should be...peaceful and full of God, family and fun. Of course my first order of business was to start traditions...it's become like a hobby to me. Thankfully my little family was nice enough to put up with me this weekend!



Riley spent Saturday working at his second home (the hospital) and putting in some time on his Mustang. Hallie and I entertained ourselves with running, shopping and some mommy/daughter time at the park....

Her form of running

Hallie made plenty of friends at the park including this new little puppy...

"Hey there little buddy"

The rest of the afternoon was spent baking a pineapple cake for Easter dinner. Hallie was a big help by grabbing everything from the counter and dragging it to the floor...as long as it wasn't the bag of powdered sugar we were good to go. I steered clear of letting her gnaw on a stick of butter that she has her sights set on and instead plopped her down on the floor for some exploration. Oh and explore she did! She was free to roam because the floor was freshly mopped and the dog bowl was empty. So what could she possibly find to make a mess with???

After the messes were cleaned up, the cake was done and Hallie had snoozed for awhile we headed over for egg coloring and an egg hunt at Nanny and Papa's house. I wasn't sure how this would go over but I wanted to give her a chance to try. Try is a good word for it. Although Easter egg hunting isn't her expertise at this age she had a great time with Papa and Aunt Kylie.....

We spread a few plastic eggs around on the carpet since it was too chilly outdoors and she's not a fan of the grass on her legs. Sissy girl, I know. She chased down a few eggs and quickly got bored and chewed on the ones she had already claimed....

Next up was coloring eggs. Hallie watched as Aunt Kylie and I had all the fun....

"Let me go dad, I can stay clean"

"So when do I get to play with those cups of water?"

Pretty soon we had some real eggs for Hallie to play with. When I first laid the egg in her hand she acted offended by the weight of it and dropped it on the floor. I think she soon realized she was being a drama queen and decided to give them a chance....

"They are edible right?"

"I thought so"

It wasn't long after she ate the eggs that she was then laying eggs of her own.... 

After the excitment of the eggs wore off she practiced her walking skills for everyone with a little help and took advantage of the free Golden Retreiver rides....

"Giddy-up"

We went to bed with lots of anticipation of the holiday upon us...okay maybe just me, but I knew she'd be excited in the morning when she saw her Easter basket. :)

Easter Sunday!

Let's start with the most important part of any great Easter celebration...Easter service. We gave it a good go and let our girl stay in the service as long as she could last. It started out promising being that it was her very first time to sit in church instead of the nursery. There was always the scream room (as I like to call it) but we gave her the benefit of the doubt. She was pretty harmless and entertained the kiddos around her as she got warmed up for the big moment....

Excited for big girl church

"I'll save the seats on this end dad"

"Excuse me? I can't scream for sixty whole minutes!?"

But it turns out that church is no fun if you can't crawl on the pews and chew on the wood, so off to the nursery we went. Nanny arrived just in time to swoop her up in her arms and get a bit of Hallie time as she carted her Easter baby off to the nursery. What a wonderful service we had!

I can't forget to share how our morning started out. I went in to pluck our babe from her bed and found her standing up and flashing me her big morning smile. We greeted her with a "HAPPY EASTER" and quickly brought her into the living room to open up her Easter basket. It took her a couple minutes to really wake up and see what was in front of her....

"It's soooo early"

Before she ripped into her basket Dad remembered to give her an extra special gift from Aunt Heather. Her very first $2 bill....

"I'll take that!"

We helped her open her basket piece by piece and loved watching her reaction to each new surprise...

"No way! I have been wanting these!"

And we couldn't forget our very first child...Miss Emmi Lane....

"So this is what I've been sniffing all week?!"

The Easter basket fun continued until Emmi had a bone in her mouth and Hallie had uncovered all of her Easter treats....

"Are we spoiled or what, Emmi?!"

After church we hurried to Enid for lunch at Uncle David and Aunt Lisa's house. We were joined by Lisa's brother Lonnie and sister-in-law Cristen and their little girl Cayden. My dad and sister were there of course and it can't be a holiday without cousin Dara to round out the crew. Hallie had several more goodies waiting on her when she arrived. The girl was definitely spoiled by our family on her very first Easter. She opened a snack-packed basket from Lisa, David and Dara....

"This looks like it will fit me now"

"See"

Gman and Bailey fixed up an adorable basket complete with a huge furry bunny who had layed a few eggs in the basket down below. We thought it was a lot more fun to put Hallie in the basket though...

Cayden hunted down some loot-filled eggs and Hallie "helped" as she emptied the eggs and counted her earnings....

"Empty. Awww schucks!"

Enid had drizzly and very cloudy weather and I think she was almost as bummed as her momma was about the crummy conditions outdoors. I was having visions of a nice, sunny afternoon with my babe on a big blanket in the grass hunting down eggs....

I guess she was too....

"Can't we hunt the eggs outside?"

After lunch she was Eastered out and fought sleep for a solid hour until Gman performed some sort of magic and she fell asleep in his arms with bunny for some snuggling time. I don't think Gman minded one bit when I told him he was stuck in that chair until she woke up from her much-needed nap....

Oh my, the cuteness is too much

"Oh Gman, all of this celebrating has me wiped out"

We spent the afternoon joking around, Skyping with cousin Garrett and just relaxing. When I told Hallie it was time to go she just didn't seem ready....

"Ah, come on mom?!"

We left town and headed out to the cemetery to say "Happy Easter" to a very special lady. Turns out I wasn't quite ready for the feelings that would be drudged up as we pulled in on this gloomy day. Not that I hadn't been out there numerous other times, but today seemed different. Today marked two months since the day we said goodbye and our first holiday without her. Her presence was definitely missed today...especially her laugh! I was encouraged by Sunday school this morning though...I love being reminded that we will meet again someday...soon and very soon! Until then I will love this little girl enough for the both of us....

love.

 HAPPY EASTER BABY GIRL! YOU MAKE EVERY HOLIDAY A LOT MORE FUN!