How Hal Spent Her 2nd Birthday

That picture about sums it up. 

She did whatever she wanted.

Sitting on the table naked trying to grab the balloons? 

yep.

If she were able to carry on a conversation she'd probably tell you that her day was all about balloons. Well to us it was about more.....but don't tell her that.....it was a day FULL of BALLOONS!!!!! She awoke on her birthday to find a floor full of pink balloons. I had snuck in earlier that morning to toss them on the floor. I was milling around in the kitchen when I heard her start hollering with excitement. "BOONS! BOONS!!! Momma!!! BOONS!!!!" I felt a huge smile form on my face as I imagined how she felt upon waking up and seeing her floor. When I walked in she looked at me as if to say "mom, have you seen all this?!?" We counted the balloons and talked about what color they were and then she realized that I was using it as a "learning moment" and had had enough. Hehe. She requested to get out of bed and started pouncing on them and trying to collect them all. 

A little groggy yet excited

"Are we just gonna chit chat or can I get out of here??"

I was a little scared about how the day was going to go after we had a little incident. Incident = devastation over not being able to collect all the balloons in her arms at once. Just. Horrible. 

Maybe someone needs a couple more hours of sleep??

I may have had to do a little bribing to get her out of the room and away from the evil balloons that kept popping out of her arms. I had picked out the perfect birthday outfit and bow for the princess earlier in the week and was nearly exploding with anticipation to dress her in it. It was well worth the wait. Can I dress her in this everyday, please?!?!

I followed her around like a hound dog chasing a scent with the intent of getting a good picture of her in her birthday attire. Instead of smiling for the camera she helped me do a little "decorating" on her lemonade stand....

"This looks a little better right here momma"

After I'd snapped around thirty unsuccessful pictures of her indoors we decided to try our luck outside. Instead of smiling for the camera outdoors she took her "boon" for a "wide" in the wagon....

Oh yeah, and she got an imaginary boo boo somewhere in the middle of all the picture-taking....

Her attempt to side track me ;)

I was working up a sweat chasing her from one end of the driveway to the other. She didn't seem to mind at all that I was being led on a wild goose chase. But alas, my wild goose gave me the perfect shot. All it took was me acting like a complete fool. I have no shame, no shame whatsoever. This is shot #45 out of 45. ;) Just look at that grin.....

So what did the birthday girl do after her photo shoot? Hallie had a date with Nanny at her house. I had a date with Walmart. Riley stayed back at the house that morning before heading to work so that he could assemble her present. I stocked up on party food and had just enough time to unload the bags before I met Hallie and Nanny at the waterpark. Us girls had a lot of fun there spending most of our time practicing her kicking, jumping and GOING UNDER THE WATER. Eeeek! The girl was a champ at it and surprised her skeptical momma. She was in two-year-old heaven. Nanny tossed her up high in the air too many times to count, she helped Hal practice her kicking and they did plenty of sliding too!

We stayed about an hour until it was time for Hal and Nanny to head back to her house for a nap. A nap sounded simply delightful. But I settled for an afternoon of party planning instead. Don't let my sarcasm fool you....I LOVED getting ready for her party. In fact, I think it's my absolute favorite party yet! I rounded up all of the food and remaining party items and had enough time left over to do some cleaning at home and finish decorating before she woke up from her nap. Birthday girl was playing with Aunt Ky when I got there to pick her up. Once we got home Riley was more than ready to surprise her. Her gift was sitting outside on the back patio and just calling her name. Riley and I had picked up her gift a couple of weeks ago while we were in OKC. I just knew she would love it. And I couldn't have been more right. She let out a squeal when she saw her new playhouse.....

Priceless!

Riley was almost as excited as she was. This was an adorable moment to watch as she checked out every inch of her house while Riley led her around showing her all of its "features".....

Her favorite part? The set of nails and hammer. Do not ask me why her playhouse came with this interesting setup.....

Every girl needs to learn how to be handy around the house, right?

She made herself right at home and began making rules about who was allowed to enter her house. The dogs did not make the list nor did the parents. She checked her little mailbox, turned her stove on and checked the integrity of her fence. All was well in Hallieville....

The birthday fun wasn't over yet. The family was on their way over for a cookout to celebrate the July birthdays. Gman arrived at our house around 7:00 and unpacked his car load along with his two pups that he brought along. Hallie was loving the new house guests as she walked around with her bowl of chips taking it all in.

Papa, Kylie, Katie and Carmen rounded out the cookout crew. Luke and Nanny were both working and weren't able to eat with us. Papa brought along Hal's birthday gift and it was a big hit for sure. The adorable picnic table couldn't have matched her playhouse any better. I can see many, many days spent outside in Hallieville ahead of us. The fam tested out the table while Riley finished grilling....

Check out those two sweeties side by side

"Can I come in Hal?"

Finally letting people in her house

"I think this is how you lower it Aunt Ky"

Checking out her umbrella

Hal was stripped down and enjoyed a birthday dinner and cake of course.....

"Am I the only one using my hands??"

The cake gave a shout out to Hal, Riley and Luke who all share end of July birthdays......

Lil Red didn't know what to think about everyone singing to her......

"What's the big deal guys??"

"Ok really. What's going on??"

We had a relaxing remainder of the evening sitting around waiting for Team USA to walk out during the opening ceremonies of the 2012 Olympics. Nanny was able to make it over to share the rest of the evening with us. Carmen and Riley did some entertaining for us....

My idea to get a family birthday shot came to a screeching halt once the birthday ballerina hit her evening meltdown moment.....

"Peace out guys"

Her grumpy frown turned into a smile once I plopped her on Gman's lap.....

We all watched the ceremonies until USA came walking through. By that time it was past 10:00 and I wasn't the only one who was wiped out. I helped Gman set up his room and Nanny helped put Hallie Grace to bed. It was quite a day, quite a day indeed. We all went to bed to get some rest for Saturday's upcoming festivities.

Our little angel turned another year old and we finally grasped the idea that we now have a full blown two-year-old on our hands. The way I look at it is, the bigger she gets the more of her there is to love. Our little love bug had a mighty fine day.

Two-rrific!

Dear daughter,

First of all let me start by saying that today has been two-rrific so far and it's only going to get better!! Happy birthday my dear. It's time again for me to spill my heart out to you. Hmm, I don't know if there's anything else that comes more easily than telling you how much I love you. So here goes......

Ya see, little bits and pieces of my memory are slowly seeping out of my brain as the days go by. I keep telling myself to write things down. And then I don't write things down. And then I forget things. And then I kick myself because I forgot. Well this post is a conglomeration of all that is has been happening in your world leading up to your second birthday. Things are changing fast!!! Livin' on Hallie time is exhaustingly thrilling! Here is my word vomit of your new loves, dislikes, habits, phrases and just plain silly nonsense. 

Your love for Dora has grown exponentially. It's beyond a friendship. Straight up BFF status right here. Dora is now the one and only reason you want to go to bed at the end of the day. You can be found going from screaming, back-arching fit to sweet, cuddly girl once I remind you that your friend is waiting in your crib. Sweetest thing ever. You get so excited, give me one final hug and lunge into the bed to grab Dora. Then it goes something like this.....

The love for that bilingual gal doesn't stop at snuggling. She eats with us. She relaxes with us. She draws with us. And of course you are obsessed with her show. Wait, obsessed isn't even the word. More like consumed by. You know all the names of the characters and calls out to them when they pop up on the screen. Swiper, Dora, Boots and Benny....gang's all here. I have to admit that your dad and I have also grown to love the gal. You're pretty darn smart with the help of that map guy. ;) And don't get me started on how insanely cute your version of the Dora "we did it" dance is. It gets me everytime. You ball up your fists and swivel your hips around while waving your arms and yelling "we did it!!" What's even cuter than you doing the Dora dance???? You and your daddy doing the dance together. Oh yes, my friends, it happens every night.

Mad love for Dora

Boo boos are where it's at. So far I think we've used up 1/4 of the world's bandaid supply. Start rationing your "boo boo fixers" people! Hallie is stocking up! For the the life of me I will never see the appeal of taping bandaids all over your body. But we can't tell you that's it's not fun because you see it quite differently. In fact it's usually the first thing you say when we walk in the house at the end of the work day. Here's how it usually plays out: you look at me with a poor pitiful sad face and say "mama, boo boo" in the best fake whiny voice you have. You wanna know what?? It's actually the cutest thing I've ever seen in my entire life. Like a little stinker you play it up big and give me a big pouty lip after showing me your fake boo boo. When asked where you need to put your bandaid you usually points to your "boo boo" on your thigh. Being the drama queen that I am I usually give you boo boo a kiss and then place a bandaid on it while you wiggle and giggle with excitement. And then low and behold, wouldn't ya know it, three more boo boos pop up. Before I know it we've emptied half of the box. Yes, yes I'm a pushover when it comes to silly things like that. Here's a display of your recent wounds that have been resurging each night. Imagine that? You heal at the rate of a werewolf and then "bam!" those boo boos come right back.

Sassy to the max. If I'm being completely honest here....sometimes I feel like I'm your punching bag. And the other day you literally made me your punching bag. The first mean thing you've ever done to me and it nearly made me cry. You were playing around and hit my face. :( Fits are a very common occurrence these days and the ones in public are becoming more of a problem that I like to avoid at all cost. Usually the root cause of these tantrums is the fact that you can't resist grabbing things off the shelf at the grocery store. You'd think by now I would've learned to leave you at home....but usually this isn't an option....and I do enjoy a good challenge now and again. It's become sort of a game to see if we can have a successful shopping trip. Successful = no screaming or throwing yourself on the floor in the checkout line. Yes readers. This is my beloved baby girl. Oh my heavens. I guess I can't not share your most recent monumental meltdown moment. It happened yesterday. And it was so, so bad. You have your cousin Sarah to thank. She saved you from the grips of your momma just in the nick of time. We were six carts deep in the dreaded Walmart checkout line when an angel appeared and took your away to play with your cousins in the line next to us. Instant silence. It probably had something to do with this....

Cheetos thief!!!

Post-meltdown

You have absolutely zero tolerance for the dogs (or anyone for that matter) being in the bathroom (or even the vicinity of the bathroom) while you are using the potty. Serious business let me tell you. You make it a point to close slam the door before sitting on the potty. And if a dog happens to sneak in, they are quickly escorted out by lil miss with a very unfriendly "go!!!!!" I feel privileged to be on your "entry list" but I must admit it would be nice if both dad and I were allowed to help with the potty process because we seem to spend a lot of time in the bathroom these days. Heck, you are even bringing the bathroom with you on trips in the car....

If someone would've told me that my daughter would be potty trained by the time she was two I would've just laughed. Each day passes with no accidents and I still can't believe that it has been this easy. Let me tell you baby girl, for this I am blessed. Thank you, thank you!!!! You wear big girl panties at home and on outings but still use pull-ups for daycare and night time. Your only "accidents" happen upon waking up. You have actually had several "dry" nights this past week and Paula and Jerry are always so excited when they get to report that you stayed dry the entire day (even through nap time!!). The way I see it is...night time and nap time don't concern me at this point. We will cross that bridge later. But for now I can proudly say that you are fully "day trained." Running to the bathroom, pulling your pants down and emptying your potty have become routine for you and you certainly don't need my help most of the time. But something very strange happened at the very same time we began the potty training journey. You decided to cuddle with me. All the time. I. Am. Loving. It. Up until now you haven't been much of a "hugger" which, to be honest, left me feeling like I was missing out on that bond with you. We've been hugging up a storm lately so I feel as though we are catching up on lost time. ;) One more thing about potty training: whoever made it a rule that you must remove all your clothing just to potty???? ;)

The end of teething. I do believe that you are two canine teeth away from having a full mouth of teefers. Boy did your mouth save the worst for last. You won't identify your grumpiness as being related to your teeth but it's pretty evident that your mood changed once those two bottoms started pushing through. Your teeth sure are lucky to have you. They get brushed at least three times a day. You're tall enough now to open the top bathroom drawer where your toothbrush and toothpaste stay. A time or two I've caught you trying to suck your fluoride-free paste out of the tube. Hmm, maybe that's what's wrong with you sometimes. ;) Rest assured we've put an end to this habit. But in all seriousness, I would like you to keep taking care of that smile because your dad and I are quite fond of it.

There are so many funny and new things you say and do from day to day that it's impossible to remember everything. And this is why I envy people with reality tv shows. Someone to record your life on film Don't get me wrong, our life has its "not so pretty for viewing" moments but overall I would love to watch your little life play over again and again. I guess I'll settle for this blog. Oh, and by the way, don't ever be on a reality show. Your mother is only kidding. For the moments I can't remember I will just have to let it be.....but for the moments I do remember (and have photographic proof of) I will share of course......

My heavens you are chatty. Some of the expressions that come out of your mouth absolutely blow me away. One that always has us giggling is your newest expression: "oh boy!!" You must've picked this one up from your friends at daycare. You can be heard hollering commands like "stop!" and "stay!" and "don't!" You have figured out a lot of words by pointing to an object as if to ask "what is that" and repeating it when I tell you the word for it. Today you were wanting Nanny to throw you in the air in the pool so you pointed up and said "sky Nanny!" Somedays I feel like I need an interpreter and others we are totally on the same page. It's both fun and challenging to keep up with all of your new versions of words. You are pretty consistent when it comes to your night time send off. It usually includes a "night night" and a couple "uv ew" without being prompted. You are able to tell people that you are "two" and hold up two fingers.

Your likes and loves for the month: tinkering with tinker toys, pushing your baby in her stroller, stealing cookies from the pantry, begging for snacks at the fridge, drawing with sidewalk chalk, digging out your favorite hat/bow, watching The Lion King, fastening your seatbelt buckle over and over and over, playing chase with me around the couch, piling objects inside your shirt (and mine), brushing my hair for me, eating popsicles, bossing the dogs around, throwing things (sometimes nice things) in the trashcan, running anywhere and everywhere, putting my shoes on, rearranging my shoes, dressing yourself, being tickled by your dad and just plain being LOUD!

Although this is the last monthly love letter I plan to write you, it most certainly does not mean I won't be jotting you little notes from time to time. I have a feeling that my motherly instinct will go into overdrive as you continue to grow and learn...this should bring about plenty of advice that I will want to share with you. Oh, you just wait my dear. Life is beautiful. But it's also hard. And I'd like to help you along your way.  know we have an interesting year ahead with a two-year-old running around. Promise me one thing: go easy on us, k? My dear, you have blessed us immensely these past two years with your sweet spirit, kind heart, sassy self, hugs and kisses, ear to ear grins, silly expressions, wild ways and your unconditional love for us.

I love you Gracie Bear,

Momma



P.S. - for some reason I get the feeling that no matter how old you are I will always picture you just. like. this......

Summer Lovin' Me Some Family Time

The above picture is about the only reason I'm going to miss this season. That silly little fish in those goggles sure makes these unbearable temps seem less suffocating. To be honest I haven't been giving the fish very many opportunities to flap her fins much lately. It turns out that it's actually too hot to swim. Who would've thunk it?!? Trips to the water park have been few and far between lately. Actually any trip out of the air conditioning has been few and far between for that matter. Aunt Lisa and Uncle David hosted a swim party this weekend so we were ready for a day of family fun. But I won't get ahead of myself so let's start from the beginning of the weekend...which starts on Thursday night these days. Have I mentioned just how much I love having Fridays off now?? Why didn't I do this much earlier??? 

Thursday evening we spent some time outside getting eaten alive by the mounds of ants that swarm at our feet everyday we come outside. To escape them we decided to hop in Ol' Green and take a cruise around the neighborhood. Hallie took her first ride in the backseat and sat quietly while we rode around the block. It was obvious that she thought she was something special riding in the back all by herself.....

Back at home we did a swell job at unknowingly skidding up the wood floor by doing laps in her convertible cozy coupe (which is simply a car that has yet to be assembled....since Christmas!!!!!) She was on another level that night. I'm talkin' crazy lunatic level! And I guess I should also mention that once you start going in circles in the car it's not an option to stop. Unless you want to hear very high-pitched screaming "go momma!!!! go!!!!!!!"

I went for a run with Jai that night which ended up being a great way to kick off a weekend of no exercise and full-on eating spree. Eeeek! Friday morning rolled around and Hallie was still firing on all cylinders. She was geared up for daycare (complete with backwards hat and all)....

I, on the other hand, was geared up for a fun "me" day in OKC. I had a long overdue reunion with Laura and Chelsee planned, a haircut and lots of shopping stops to make in a short period of time. So I guess you could say I was firing on all cylinders just like Hal. I made it to OKC around 10:30 and got to work checking off my shopping list. I made about three stops before it was time to meet the girls for lunch at Genghis Grill. We had a very long lunch and lots of catching up was done. C Trizzle, A Fandizzle and L Rizzle were reunited and it felt so good!!! A picture was in order of course.....

Becky did her hair magic and I finished up the day with another quick run through the mall. My car was on fire when I got back in it to head home. The car read 108 degrees. Holy Moses I believed it! Lil Red and Riley kept it cool and hung out at home (and at Nanny's house) while I made my way home....

I believe it might be accurate to say that we were among the few Woodwardians who didn't go to the rodeo last week/weekend. But boy howdy, we made it to the parade Saturday morning. Carmen, Katie, Nanny and Ida were already waiting in the shade ready for the parade to start. Hallie ended up staying indoors in the cool air for the biggest portion of the parade but she did go out to the road with me to wave at Papa Bill as he drove by.

She was a wee bit timid about the longhorns as they came clomping through. These creatures are so big and beautiful, dontcha think??

We had lunch at Mazzio's with Nanny and Papa, went home to pack and then hit the road with plenty of stickers to stick on things and plenty of Dora videos to keep her happy.....

And they did keep her happy thank goodness. The only peep I heard from the girl was the two times she told me she needed to go potty. She got a little sleepy on me a few times but I brought out the tickle gun to keep her kicking. I wanted to make sure she got a good nap in her pack and play when we to to Enid. Uncle Dave showed up out at the car when we pulled up and grabbed Hallie to go say hi to everyone. Hal knew what she wanted to do when she saw the pool. The girl jumped in with her clothes on....

There was a big crew already laying out and swimming. I put Hallie down for a nap and she gladly curled up with her blanket and didn't make a sound. It's always so nice to put a willing child down for a nap. It made for one happy girl when she woke up that afternoon. I spent most of the afternoon laying out by the pool watching everyone else swim. Cousin Aaron stayed in the water for a couple hours straight letting Deedee carry him around. Uncle David hopping back and forth between the backyard and the front yard where his assortment of meats were smoking in his big smoker....

Now that's impressive!

Dara found an awake Hal standing in her bed hollering out "Momma!? Potty!!!!" Speaking of pottying she was my hero during our trip as she only had one accident outside on the cement by the pool which of course resulted in a circle of laughter since there were about twenty sets of eyes on her. We did spend quite a bit of the day running back and forth to go potty but I wouldn't have it any other way. I can't say enough how proud of her I am!!!

This family cookout couldn't have come at a better time as I had been sort of down in the dumps for the last couple weeks. Even though they don't live that far away from me, I do miss them very much. If Facebook didn't exist I don't think I could function. I'm quite fond of all these special people in my mine and Hallie's lives.....

Sister pic

The guys: Brent, David, Matt, Lonnie and Spence

Miss Cayden meeting Snickers the puppy

Glad Garrett is generous and let me borrow this lovely hat ;)

Deedee and Aaron cruising around the pool

More sister pics!

Hubs and his pretty wifey

Together again! Two of a kind!

Hal insisted on wearing Cayden's goggles. Quite entertaining for the adults!

Daddy's girls

"1, 2, 3, JUMP!!"

Hallie really took to her and would lunge to hug her when she was near

Ah, melt my heart!!

Cayden and Cristen lounging in the pool

Hal sandwich

This was how Hal preferred to "play" bball

A little pick up game with her cousin

Riding high

Cute alert! Cute alert!!

Oh!

What!

Fun!

Tubing with Gman

Tryin' them on for size

She wasn't prepared for the fun that was about to happen....

See what I mean!!

Going to miss this fella when he heads back to the sunshine state

Spectators Lonnie and Danny

Papaw and his favorite baby

Fellow photog Aunt Lana

One of my very favorite guys!

The Starbuck clan (minus momma Amy)

The old men

Swingin' with her friend

A beautiful night with lots of laughs....

...this may explain the laughs.

We had a delicious dinner of so many different foods I can't name them all. We missed Meme that afternoon and wished she could've made the trip to Enid. As always I didn't want to leave. There was a big frown plastered on my face the whole way home. I wanted to stay. I was kicking myself for not packing our clothes and staying the night. Hallie was happily content in the back seat the whole ride home watching her videos. My frown turned to a smile when we got home to Riley. He had been working hard as usual and making even more progress on Operation "Spruce Up This House." 

Saturday night/early Sunday morning was rather odd. Hallie must've decided that pottying in her sleep just wasn't something she wanted to do anymore. So she woke up a couple of times to potty in the middle of the night. Which is both good and bad. I do love my sleep.....but I love my big girl a little bit more I guess. ;0

Sunday morning was a struggle to get out the door. A funny struggle. But a struggle nonetheless. Someone wanted to wear her hospital gown, pajama pants and crocs to church. Someone had also put on a pair of big girl panties all my herself but had a few issues in doing so. As you can imagine we were laughing our booties off when she came waddling into our bathroom with both legs in one hole of her underwear. She looked so proud of herself so we clapped (and laughed). 

She ultimately agreed with me that hospital gowns were more appropriate for dressup time at home. She got diva'd up for a morning in the nursery. I must go ahead and mention that this was our girl's last week in the nursery as she will be venturing down the hallway to a big girl Sunday school class this coming Sunday. Tear, tear.....

The rest of the day was spent being lazy. Oh yeah, and we were also very lazy. And then when the evening rolled around we were lazy some more. I'm blaming it on the heat. In fact I'm blaming everything on the heat these days. I'm even blaming Hallie's general crankiness on the high temps. Someone needs to give the girl the message that her momma is working super duper hard on a big party for her this weekend and she better get her act together before then. Or else.....;)

I'm vowing right now to stay more up-to-date and be a better blogger. But like I said...it's the heat's fault. ;)