I. LOVE. SUMMER.

Saturday started off with a bang as Riley headed to the hospital and I headed to the ever so glamarous nursing home in Mooreland to see a patient. I really have no idea how we went from never working weekends to somehow both working on weekends on ocassion. I would like that to change from "on ocassion" to "never." I'll keep you updated on how that goes. Lol. Nany and Papa kept Hallie occupied for us that morning. Nanny had buscuits and gravy waiting for me when I came to pick her up....YUM! Hallie was in her chair on the floor enjoying some breakfast of her own courtesy of Nanny. I hear she helped Papa move the crib to another room to make room for cousin Carmen's bassinet. As always, Nanny helped me out by keeping her up without a nap which meant she would be nice and exhausted by the time I strapped her in the car. After running a couple more errands we were headed off to Enid for a last minute day trip for some fun in the sun. Riley had a not so fun day planned....he drove the five hour round trip to Mustang for some yard work and house cleaning since we have two house showings planned for today. By the time Friday rolls around is when we realize that another week has passed with us forgetting to hire someone for lawn maintenance. As great as it sounds to ride with a one year old five hours in the car and then ball like a baby when I get there and walk around our house, I chose to instead spend the day eating, swimming and relaxing. Do ya blame me? :)

After a very peaceful trip to Enid we pulled up to what looked like a car dealership...no, it was just Gman's house but there were so many cars parked outside that it looked like he was having a party. A cousin party to be exact! I walked in to see Dara, Presley, Bailey and Gman with Garrett perched up on the ladder outside helping my dad do some house painting. By "help" I mean painting the house for him......

Where'd you learn how to paint so good?

Inside where it wasn't a blazing 104 degrees, Hallie was cooling off with her favorite snack...milk and a "nana".....

"I'll socialize after I get something in my belly."

She recruited any feeder she could find. On this day it was DooDoo who she sucked up to. She pulled a very rare move by walking over and sitting down in Dara' lap.....

"Mom, don't you know I'll do anything for a "nana""

Let me back up a few hours for just a bit. I spotted a strange and kinda scary rash on Hallie's chest that morning as I dressed her. Riley's response was "oh yeah, that was there last night so I just rubbed lotion on it. I guess it didn't like the lotion." Lol. No, no it didn't like the lotion. It started out looking like a deep red scratch and then started forming these raised blisters. The really strange part is she didn't seem phased by it at all. She couldn't have cared less that we were touching it and rubbing stuff on it. Nope, happy as can be. I made a note to keep an eye on it throughout the day. Papa thought it looked like poison ivy and she had been crawling in the garden around some plants. Once we got to Enid everyone was making me a little more paranoid about what it could be. So Dara took a picture of it and texted it to a doc that she works with to get an opinion. Heat rash was his response. Again, I made a mental note to keep an eye on it. I didn't want to make any "rash" decisions. Hahaha, I couldn't resist that one.

"What's all the big fuss about?"

Trying to keep her still for a rash picture

We pried the paint brush out of Garrett's hands and went out for some lunch. It was a unanimous vote for Chinese. Hallie said "chinese, schminese, give me these puffs!!"

"If you won't open them, I will."

It was a legitimate 90 degree inside the Chinese restaurant and I think may have been what caused the sudden anger in Hallie. After her orange slices ran out (or had been dropped on the floor) she made her distaste for the hot temps very clear with lots of growling and squealing. Yes, growling. It's rather humorous and if I'm not careful I will probably make her start a habit of it if I keep giggling at her everytime she does it. My little monster was a little more grumbly upon getting back in the car. Ironically though, it was a lot cooler in the car than in the restaurant. Dara's quote of the day: "K guys, I'm gonna head outside to cool off."

Once we got back to the house Hallie was ready to get those legs moving since she'd been cooped up in the car most of the morning. Aunt B had the great idea of letting her open one of her birthday gifts from her and Uncle Spencer a little early....

"You shouldn't have, Aunt B"

Miss carpenter was ready to bust out her tools and put that puppy together for some fun. It was pretty cute to watch her try to help.....

"I'll hold this piece here for you mom"

"I'm just checking the sturdyness of the materials"

"Oh wait, we forgot the screws!"

"Let me know when you are done. For now, I'll just be balancing here"

Hallie and her mechanically challenged mama took a break and let the more qualified ladies take a stab at it. It turns out the pieces don't just snap together but they do need screws to make for a more sturdy slide. Hmmm, sometimes I wonder if I really should be trusted with a child. As we were attaching the baseball and basketball to the sides she shocked us all by picking up the basketball and tossing it right through the hoop as if she'd been shooting hoops for years. That girl.

Basketball hoop assemblage

The birthday girl was right there to test it out as soon as (and even before) they got the last piece in place....

"Thanks Aunt B"

Although all of her methods of sliding her unconventional, she had a blast....

"This is how I slide"

Presley gave her some lessons with the baseball bat which ended up being more fun used as a tool to bang against her head. Hey, whatever keeps her laughing.

"Am I doing it right?"

Although she was learning and having fun inside, she was just dying to explore outside.....

"It doesn't look that hot out there"

Her wish was our command. She was over at David and Lisa's and sliding into the pool faster than she could say "dada"......

"hehehehe, these adults are so easily persuaded"

While Dara and Hal slid, Presley and I lounged a bit.....

In true Hallie fashion she had worked up an appetite within minutes and requested an order of bananas and milk from the swim up bar. That's what we referred to as Uncle David's quick service. I think Hallie is the only one who has priority with the swim up bar service though.....

Snack time!

Aunt Lisa joined us in the pool despite only having two hours of sleep the night before. They were doing Relay for Life all night and returned to find a couple very hot children and an air conditioner that was not working. Luckily they got a technician out quickly and it was up and running. I have no idea how she had the energy to entertain Hallie the way she did.....

Unlce David returned from a Walgreen's run with some Calamine lotion and a very styling ride for Hal gal. Wow Hallie...swim up bar service, rash medication and a cook new ride....thanks Uncle Dave!

This was the perfect pool floatie for a baby...not only did she have plenty of shade but it didn't tip over at all and we could push her back and forth through the pool. The cushy stearing wheel made for a great teething toy. Oh wait, what doesn't make a good teething toy these days?

Gman finally joined us for some afternoon fun which menat Hallie had a swinging partner....

That swing used to swallow her. She's getting so big!

After some swimming and calamine lotion the rash was looking a lot better....

"I still have no idea what you guys are talking about."

We spent the day in and out of the pool but outside for the majority of the afternoon. It was hard to remember just how hot it was since we were cooling off in the water. Hallie was one happy baby yesterday. The crazy part is, she didn't even take a nap. She was also the subject of most of our jokes and fun....most specifically we enjoyed giving her a fohawk and making guesses on just how much her diaper weighed after swimming......

The tough look must go along with the hairdo

Waddling around with Dara in her thirty pound pants

See what I mean?

Like I've said before, swim diapers are for the birds. But ya wanna know what else is for the birds? Pooping in the pool. Aunt Lisa found this out the hard way as she and Hallie were cruising around near the steps of the pool when all of a sudden Lisa heard some rumbling coming from the babe. It was already too late. Pool evacuation for cleaning was a must! The substances floating in the pool needed to be removed quickly so I got to work cleaning up my girl's mess. Party foul Hallie!! Party foul!

Once the evacuation was over Hallie showed off her car to Aunt B who decided to finally join us ;)

My pretty girls

Uncle David fired up the grill and we moved from the pool to the yard. Hallie had the pleasure of running around nakie and wearing in her new toy. By wearing in of course I mean peeing on her slide. The second I took her diaper off she peed right down the slide. Guess she liked the concept of sliding down the wet slide into the pool.....

"This isn't working quite the same way"

By this point my well-mannered lady had peed in the pool, pooped in the pool and peed on her slide. SCORE! The exhibitionist was in no mood for a pic with her mama....she probably had more plans of making another mess.....

Take #1

Take #2

Rash almost gone at this point

David was grilling, Lisa was inside getting dinner ready, the girls were swimming and Hal was frolicking in the yard...more specifically she was waddling toward the dog's pool. Aunt Lana showed up just in the nick of time to distract her from this venture......

This pose has become more and more frequent: the digging in the diaper pose. :(

She got in some last minute hugs with Presley (and Leila) before dinner....

Hallie and Leila exploring

We brought the troops inside for some grub. Hallie mooched off of everyone's plates in between waddling around the living room in circles with coasters hanging out of her mouth. She sampled some bakes beans, tomato and bread. After filling her belly she started getting those droopy eyes. Still full of spirit and spunk and a little bit of energy in her tank, she let me soak her down in the tub to wash off the grass, banana, sunscreen, juice and other messes that had accumulated on her throughout the day. Bath was a success because there was no peeing or pooping in the tub. Droopy eyes and all, she gave out some goodbye kisses. The lucky recipients: Gman, Uncle Dave and Aunt B. These open mouth kisses are quite the prize...open mouthed, slobbery and full of love.....

The only thing we were missing yesterday was daddy (and Grammy of course). What a perfect summer day. It makes me realize how much we take for granted....for example, a yard. Hallie loved the freedom of running around outside. And I loved watching her.

I.LOVE.SUMMER.