B b b bowling!

Big sister had her first bowling experience a couple of weekends ago. It will come as no surprise that she immediately took charge, needed no instruction and wanted to do it all by herself. As she reminds us frequently...."I'M INDEPENDENT!!!!"

 

We went on a Saturday afternoon and played two games. Daddy won them both. Us girls need some practice. Either that or he took it way too serious. ;) Or maybe Hallie was more interested in the snack bar and waiting to watch her ball pop out of here....

 

.....and doing this.....

 

She jumped up and down with joy when she knocked down any number of pins....but sometimes she got so excited that she forgot to wait and see how many actually fell down. The bowling shoes were iffy at first....it was touch and go whether or not she was actually going to put them on. She used words like "yucky" and "icky" and "ugly" as she pointed to them with her nose turned up. So very Hallie. ;) Two games was her max. Toward the end she started asking Riley to take her turn for her. Ha!

"Don't sing me up for any bowling leagues in the near future!"

We will return to the bowling alley at some point.....but first I need to figure out a way to remove the memory of the arcade area from her mind. Arcade games > bowling according to Hal.

 

Free Spirit Fun Days

I love reading through Hallie's preschool calendar with her at the beginning of each month. It's always cram packed with excitement, show and tell, field trips and dress up days. Her favorite day so far this school year was Superhero Day. All twenty-one of the little tykes dressed up in their superhero gear and headed downtown to see the Stephen Fite concert. Mrs. Gari tells me that Hallie had a blast dancing in the aisle and only stopped one time to ask when snack time was going to happen. That's my girl! ;) The night before her big debut as Super Hal we made a trip to Walmart for just the right items to turn a pink shirt from drab to fab. Rhinestones, sequins, pink zebra felt and some sheet pink material for a cape were what we found. I'm not sure who was more excited about her outfit, me or her?!?! Meet Super Hal!

 

 

 

Pajama Day was another big day at school recently. She had to put the whole getup on.....slippers and her pink robe to go with her pjs. I think having her pjs on that morning confused her a bit because she didn't seem to want to leave the kitchen counter. After all, her bowl of cereal and her iPad were much more entertaining that waiting in the dropoff line with her momma....

But her outlook changed when it was her turn to hop out of the car to show off her Minnie Mouse pjs and see what her classmates were wearing....

The most recent big day, besides the Valentine's party, was Hallie 1/2 birthday celebration with her friends. The summer birthday gang gets to have a special day to celebrate their 1/2 birthdays which I think is fabulous. Hallie's big day was almost a month later than her actual half birthday but that didn't stop us from celebrating. I asked her what sort of treat she wanted me to bring and her immediate response was "butterfly cupcakes!" Easy peasy! I ordered two dozen mini butterfly cupcakes and found some cute butterfly goodies for her treat bags from Oriental Trading Company. She helped me make the goody bags and made me laugh with the thought and consideration she put into each one...."Marleigh will like purple and Dax will like blue"...."dis one is for a boy because it's orange and green"....."can I make one for my teacher?" Melt my heart. She ultimately became worn out by the task once we'd bagged up twenty sacks and she proclaimed "dis is hard work momma!" When the morning came to celebrate she sat quietly sipping on her juice as her friends and teachers sang her the happy birthday song and clapped three and a half times for her....

I was starting to wonder if she was sick but then the sass came out. No sickness here. Party queen has arrived....

 

Here she is passing out her party favors as her friends left that day....

She picked out her special purple outfit just for the occasion and was thrilled that it matched her birthday hat. Oh how I love this little girl....

 

I'm certain there are many more fun Free Spirit days ahead of her before May comes to an end!

The Princess Diaries

It ain't easy being a princess.

 

 

 

 

 

It takes lots of grooming and accessorizing.

 

 

 

 

Oh yes, and daintiness.



 

 

 

 And don't forget the sass.

 

 

 

Being a princess can be exhausting at times.



 

 

 

 

 

A princess never leaves home without painted nails and toes.

 

 

 

Being a princess means toting around a small pink dog carrier.



 

 

Hosting is a must. Princesses host a lot of tea parties.



 

 

Like I said....it ain't easy being a princess.



Since Christmas....

Yep. Because I'm THAT far behind. I can't think of a better title than "Since Christmas" to describe this overload of pictures that I don't want to forget about. 

Way back in January we watched the Cotton Bowl with a fun group of friends at the Mills' house. Hallie and Kadence enjoyed their long evening of playtime together. Did I mention that they were looking way too cute in their cheerleading outfits.....

I caught a sweet moment during Hallie's first attempt at baking with her new Easy Bake oven. She made some teeny tiny little chocolate chip cookies. She didn't seem to mind that we undercooked them....

Since the new larger computer screen has been set up in our bedroom she has a new nightly ritual that involves cuddling up in our with her favorite blanket and oh yes, her favorite dog....

We celebrated Lauren's birthday with a fun night out at Ramiro's with too many fabulous and fun ladies to list (and their hubbies too)....

Hallie and I joined Sarah and Austin for a fun Friday trip to Enid for some Pearl Junkie shopping and Katy's Pantry for lunch. My mommy brain was not in full force that day as I left my wallet behind in Woodward. So there I was...90 minutes from home for a shopping trip with no form of payment. Ha! This is the sort of instance when having your debit card number memorized comes in handy. Oh yeah! Shopping crisis avoided. Hal and Austin kept somewhat occupied with the iPad while we shopped. We are waiting for the day when Hallie and Austin finally admit that they really do enjoy eachother's company. ;)

We've enjoyed playing outside on days when the weather allows. Unfortunately there haven't been many this winter. Hal's been really into digging, raking and "gardening" lately. Guess she's looking forward to spring just like everyone else....

Since pregnancy exhaustion has set in and seems to be here to stay I've become a little lax when it comes to what Hallie chooses to wear. I guess you could say I'm getting better at just letting it go to avoid hurting her feelings and most importantly avoiding a stage V meltdown. But I must clarify that most of these dress as you please moments come when she is leaving the house with her daddy. It seems to work for everyone.....Riley thinks it's hilarious, Hallie thinks she's a beautiful princess and I just shake my head because I'm not the one going out in public with her in high heels and an Easter dress....

Miss Hal has a mystery face rash that still remains a mystery to this day. We made a trip to visit Kay and this smile tells you all about her excitement level for stickers and suckers at the office....

I don't have to drag her to go to the clinic......she wants to go because she gets to do fun things like this....

We've ramped up the girly girl-ness a notch or two since turning the big 3.5. Nail polish, lip gloss, tiaras, high heels, pink, purple, skirts, dresses, bracelets...and the list goes on. I think Riley is finally getting used to the idea of having two little girls running around the house.....

Cousin Jasper turned two in January and we had a blast at his Saturday morning pancakes and pajamas party.....

 

One beautiful weekend afternoon the three of us had a playdate at Boiling Springs. My belly and I sat and watched these two crazies have fun.....

 

It wouldn't be a catchup post without a few random goofy shots on my princess just being a princess....

 

 

 

 

Hal gal was one happy chick on the day I cleaned out her lil sis's nursery. She found her broken cozy coupe shoved back in the closet and sat in that car all day long. I emphasize that she sat in it because it won't move anywhere due to the wheels being messed up. She talked Riley into trying to fix it but it needs to go to the junk yard.....

 

 

Riley was clearly thrilled....

 

 

Here was another reason she was excited on the day we cleaned out the nursery....

 

 

The Rogers fam became our new neighbors right across the street which makes us very very happy! Lily and Hallie, despite their obvious age difference, play together so well. I caught this picture of them pretending to clean one Sunday and told them to feel free to grab the real mop and broom if they wanted to....

 

 

 

 

We welcomed a snow day a few weeks ago until the snow and ice decided to stick around for quite awhile and keep piling up. But we did enjoy it for the day that we got to spend inside together. Well, Hallie and I that is....Riley was out shoveling walkways at clinics and making sure things kept moving along at work. We stayed busy inside dragging out every toy we own and playing in the snow of course.....

 

 

Snow angels were a must!

 

She snow angel'd the whole lawn.....

 

When daddy finally got home we dragged him outside with us to attempt a snowman. The snow wasn't wet enough but we did have a mini snowball fight. Well, I hid like a sissy inside the door and watched them do that part. ;)

 

 

 

Carmen and Hallie had a snowy stroll with Nanny one day and found this fun igloo near Nanny's house....



 

Oh how they love their Nanny.....

 



 

 

Ultrasound day was an exciting morning for everyone! This girl was extra goofy while I sat and chugged water to fill my bladder up before the big 20 week anatomy check. Big sis was ready to hear the words "it's a girl!"

 

My bad blogging habits have not been purposeful....lately I've had the option to either blog or go to bed in the evenings. Sleep is the clear choice. Here's hoping my next post won't be titled "Since baby #2 was born."