Cartwheel Queen

You know those ridiculously silly things that your parents remembered you said or did as a child that they reminded you about over and over while growing up? Well I can guarantee Hallie that I'll be reminding her about her cartwheel conundrum for the rest of her life. She finished out her first big year of gymnastics classes and finally mastered her cartwheel while at practice. But there's just one small problem....she forgets once we leave the gym and can only do it "sometimes." When asked if she can do a cartwheel her usual answer is "I can't remember right now but sometimes I can" or "maybe tomorrow I will know how." When asked to show me a cartwheel she usually ends up doing a very precarious looking headstand and flops over on her back. She stands up and gives me this look like she's pretty ticked that she can't remember how. "Sometimes" it clicks....and "sometimes" it doesn't. ;) The last few sessions she's run out to me afterwards and proclaimed in front of everyone "mommy, I'm the bestest of the best gymnast!!!" To which I reply "yep, all of you girls are the awesome!" To which she adamantly informs me "no mommy, I AM THE VERY BESTEST." EEEEK! So yeah....we're gonna have to work on the humility thing a bit. ;)

 

Riley and I were so proud watching her complete the little circuit of cartwheels, flips, jumps and balancing during the final practice of the year. She has grown three inches this year and has some muscle built up in those short little arms. Miss Stacey has been a wonderful teacher and does so well with the rambunctious little ones.

 

 

Before their session started the announced that she had to leave the mat to come give her mommy a hug. Heart melted. She was over the moon about her little gymnastics certificate and she even received the perfect attendance award. She was so excited that she kept running away to hand me her papers instead of staying up with the other girls. Her body just never. stops. moving. Maybe it's the bouncy gym floor. No wait...that's just Hal.

 

Hang in there girl!

I can't wait to see what next year brings!

Oh yes, one more thing.....can we please talk about how adorable tiny gymnastics leotards are?!?!?! 

Dancing with Daddy 2014

 

Would it be a repeat of last year? 

Would they stay longer than an hour?  

Will she fall asleep in the car on the way to the dance since she's dog tired?

Would she want to play balance beam on the retaining wall the entire time like last year?

 

These were the main questions I had running through my head as we began the primping process the night of the daughter daddy dance. Contrary to what some (ahem, her father) might think, this smart little lady remembered every detail about her time as a wee two-year-old at the dance last year. She was the leader and told me what we needed to do....

 

"Does this robe make me look fat?"

After jumping out of the shower we blow dried her hair and made sure it was nice and shiny...

Next was makeup. She led the way on this part too...sort of....

"What, you've never heard of the blush hair treatment?!"

 

She hunted down her dance tickets on the counter and picked out a purse from her room. She shopped for her little silver flats and pink flower headband that afternoon and told me how "perfect" they would match her dress...

I'll never forget these sweet memories for as long as I live. It was most likely the hormone surge taking over but I couldn't seem to control the tears as I took her outside to snap some pictures....

When I look at this picture I can't help but think how God made this little girl just how she is for a reason and blessed me with her...I stand in awe of his greatness....and her beauty.....

We couldn't let the "mean ants" off the hook as she walked across the driveway....

Those pretty shoes have ant smasher written all over them, huh?

Princess Hal waved at some bike riders....

Killed some more ants....

Fixed her straps....

Pretended to be mad while I tried to get these two sillies to pose for a good picture....

Then I realized it was no use. They are much too silly. And I like it that way....

THIS. THIS RIGHT HERE>>>>>

The silliness continued until it was evident that she wanted to be carried and was ready to head to the dance....

Friends have mentioned that this one below would be the perfect picture for her wedding day slideshow. I couldn't agree more. But for now this little gem is going up on the wall in giant canvas size....I just can't get enough....

I hear the night turned out to be a blast! They had reign over the dance floor for awhile until it became crowded. Hal didn't want to stop dancing to get in the food line so dance she did. She spotted a bunch of her pretty little friends that she told me all about when she got home. My favorite part of the story was how much she enjoyed testing out her dance skills that her daddy had taught her a couple weeks prior. The shoes and headband came off and things got real on the dance floor....

Bella Kaye's Nursery

This project was a blast! I loved every minute of planning the color scheme, painting, decorating, online shopping and going outside of my comfort zone and doing a little crafting on the walls. Riley and Hallie were both a big help every step along the way. I know there's a reason we got an early start on the nursery because I feel about as lazy as lazy people come right about now towards the end of this pregnancy. It's nice to know everything is ready and in it's place for our sweet little baby. Big sister already spends plenty of time in this room playing in the crib, rocking in the chair, organizing shoes and bows, etc. She's already so proud!

 

 

 

It all started with some fabric. My handy dandy mother-in-law was more than happy to make a couple of crib sheets and a crib skirt for her newest granddaughter's room....

 



I found the perfect matching minky blanket, mint colored changing pad covers, coral lamp shade and curtains online and waited patiently for everything to arrive. Riley and I spent one weekend painting the mint color on the bottom half of the walls and adding the white chair rail. This proved to be more of a challenge than he had planned on but we got it done and I am in love with how it turned out. This dresser in the picture below was gladly given to me by Kathleen Walker who was very happy to have it out of her garage. Which meant I was a happy momma and had a dresser to paint for the nursery. I hunted down the exact color of paint I wanted on Etsy and got to work. And work it was let me tell ya....there was a lot of peeling and scraping and painting that went into it....and luckily the chalk paint that I used was nearly zero VOC so I was able to finish the whole project on my own. The knobs are my favorite....

 

Speaking of Hob Lob, that store hooked me up with the perfect mint frames and the canvases I used to craft on....

 

I scored this large frame at a craft show here in town that was already the perfect color to house the big "B" I have ordered and painted....

Another Hob Lob find....I'm not sure what I'm going to use these hooks for yet....

One afternoon while on my stint with bed rest I decided instead of hiring someone to paint on the canvases I'd purchased that I'd give it a shot myself. I was so thrilled with how everything turned out. Actually I was more amazed that I hadn't ruined them....

So the rug. Let's talk about the rug. I mean come on....do rugs come any cuter??? I found this one at cafepress.com which by the way has just about every rug pattern or color you could ever imagine.

 

I spent a solid week of evenings in this room sorting through ten boxes/tubs of Hallie and Carmen's clothes/shoes/costumes/hair accessories. Wowza! There is still hope for humanity since I somehow managed to keep my sanity intact while doing this. Stuff was EVERYWHERE. And my limited mobility in the torso area made for an interesting sorting adventure considering I had this tornado around who loves to play in the nursery....

 

The closet is sorted, old things tossed away, diapers stacked up high, wipes overflowing, clothes washed and in their drawers, bigger sizes stowed away in too many tubs to count....this Bella girl is all set. What am I most looking forward to??? Wrapping her in her new blanket and rocking her in that pretty new chair over in the corner....courtesy of Nanny!

Besties

Hal and her bestie Kadence go together like peanut butter and jelly. Not a day goes by that I don't here these words come out of her mouth..."mommy, can Kadence please please please come over?" She's even started asking if she can have a sleepover. Ya see, the girl thinks she's ten.;) I couldn't imagine a sweeter little friend for my Hallie Grace than Miss Kadence. They've had a ton of fun this year between playdates, dance class and preschool. Oh and her momma just so happens to be one of my favorite people. It's a win win!

 

These girlies make my heart smile when they are together!

 

 

 

Pedicure Playdate

Lunch Date

Growing up way too fast

 

Mini Cheerleaders

Free Spirit VDay Party

 

 

 

First Dance Recital

 

 

 

School's almost out and sure I'm going to miss the little giggles and silly sayings that they shout back and forth to eachother while hanging out the car windows while in the dropoff line at preschool.

 

Two silly souls that love to laugh and smile.

 

Spoiled by her Enid Fam

I've racked up quite the list of posts to catch up on. This one is ridiculously overdue. So overdue that I'm not even sure when some of the pictures were taken or what was going on. But I'm gonna give it a go and might have to do some guessing.

 

For example, this picture. I'm not sure why Hal was at Aunt B and Uncle Spencer's house but she looks really happy. See....

 

Okay, now it's all coming back to me. She was in Enid while Riley and I were in New Mexico. In January. See, way behind here. From the pictures I received on an hourly basis she was highly entertained and plenty spoiled during her visit.

Is this picture a keeper or what?!?! ;)

While she was there she jumped from house to house just soaking up all the love. First was Aunt B's house followed by some quality fun time at Lisa, David and Dara's and then she finished up the weekend with Gman and Meg flying kites, eating ice cream, playing at the park and going to church.

My favorite times for Hal to visit Enid is when I'm right alongside her of course. Nothin' better than a little family time! This particular weekend that we went for a visit she was more than ready to head out of town that Friday morning....

Aunt B spent the afternoon with us eating frozen yogurt, playing at the park, picking up our favorite cookies, watching Frozen and just relaxing....

Whoops!

We all had dinner with Gman and Meg that evening downtown. Hal was feeling extra lovey dovey apparently....

My sweet Heather was able to join us for dinner! Extra added bonus! She's basically part of the fam!

Hal had to get a cavity filled earlier that week (not blog worthy in my eyes since I don't think it's really something I want to have happen again) and she made sure to show everyone her bright pink filling that she chose. Side note: she went back with the dentist all alone like a big girl and picked out her filling color. I think boring ol white should be the only choice because now lil girl thinks she needs all of her teeth to have pretty pink in them. Oy!

Swinging and piggy back rides back at Gman's that evening...

These two red heads are two of a kind....

She moved right on to her other favorite red head....Aunt Wisa's lap was a comfy spot for the part of the night...

Dara and Hal can be found making funny faces and taking selfies about 90% of the time they are together....

Jake and Slugger kept princess Hal company as she winded down for the evening with some cartoons...

She spoiling continued into the next day with her run of the television, a couple of train rides at the mall, lunch with all the girls and plenty of love and extra attention....

 

These two make me smile

 

The girl doesn't even know how lucky she has it....but I know someday soon she will. ;)

 Blessed to have the family we do.