New development

Hallie has been saying "Luv lou Mommy" all morning. It is soooo cute. Occasionally she will tell herself "Luv lou Hallie." That is funny too! New stuff everyday! Her other favorite thing to do that I forget to mention is "Ready, set, go!" But it sounds like "Way, SET (always emphasizing "set") GO!!" Then as she runs around the house she will tell herself "Run, run, run!" (or let's be honest-- "Wun, wun, wun!")




I can't wait for Chris to come home so she can say "Luv lou Daddy!"

Hallie Who

Hal's new thing

Tonight Hallie heard me tell Chris say "I don't know." Ever since then she has been running around the house saying "I no know!" Other things I forgot to mention-- she can count to three. And it isn't just reciting . . . she can count two socks and how many lights are in the room (although she stops at three). And she can sing "A-B-D-D." I can't seem to convince her that it is "a-b-C-d." Tonight I read her Moo-Baa-La-La-La by Sandra Boynton and afterward she tried to read it back to me. She was able to do animal sounds she has never done before like "Quack" (more like "ack") and "Oink" (more like "oin"). Also, when we got to the page about the singing pigs she said "La-la-la!" just like I read to her. Then on the next page she said "No, no" just like it says. What a great memory. Don't worry-- I am not claiming to have a genius child. There are plenty of others just as advanced at her age or more so. But, I am just continually amazed at how smart these little people are.

Here's a cute picture of baby Hallie that makes her look wise.

On a side note, Chris and I were talking tonight and we were trying to compile our "life soundtracks." This task is soooo hard. I am juggling between what songs I think are the most beautiful and what songs really defined me at a certain age. For instance Mariah Carey's "Hero" almost makes me cringe now but it meant everything to me in sixth grade. Do I include it on the list? Should I make two separate lists: the most beautiful songs and songs from each era. Such a quandry. . .

Do any of you have songs that are must-haves for your "life soundtrack?" Please share them in the comments. I'd love to know.

Blue dress and updates

Here are more pics from my parent's visit. Hallie missed them so much when we dropped them off at the airport. She kept saying "All gone Bapa!" and "Bye-bye Mama!" throughout the drive home. Then, when we were in the store she kept calling out to my Mom and Dad as if they would appear around the corner when she commanded them.

Hallie has grown and matured so much these past several weeks. She is a very gracious child. If we change her diaper in the middle of the night she will whisper "Gake you (Thank you), daddy." If I give her milk she will tell me "Gake you" or "Doot-do Mommy!" That latter is her lazy thanks.

She loves to say her own name and once she spies her picture or reflection it sets her off and she says "Hallie" over and over. Whenever she hears music she stops what she is doing to spin around. I don't think she has noticed that spinning equals dizzy yet.

When we were in Target the other day she tried to capture a shopper's attention by saying "Hi!" repeatedly. When that didn't catch her notice Hallie said sweetly "Hello, fren (friend)." That blew the lady away.

One of Hallie's favorite games lately is to pretend she is a small baby. I will cuddle her in my arms and stroke her hair and say "Hi baby!" This enthralls her. She coos and smiles and says "Aaah, baby!" She loves the attention and extra touch.

Tonight Chris made us a wonderful dinner of roast chicken, baked potatoes, and green beans. He knew I was busy with church so he made a fabulous meal. The chicken was juicy and seasoned perfectly. What a great guy I have.

Have any fun recipes?

I would not classify myself as being in a rut. I just love cooking very much and I love new recipes. Anyone have any good tried and true recipes?

I am especially looking for new slow cooker recipes so ANYTHING you have will be appreciated. I do my traditional roasts and stews and a couple soups. Abby Beattie got me hooked on her crock-pot lasagna two years ago and I have made that three times in the past two months. I want even more slow-cooker goodness. It seems like the slow-cooker cookbooks I read aren't that interesting. So, I am turning to you my faithful friends. Thanks! In turn I would be happy to offer any of my slow-cooker recipes like pork tacos, BBQ pulled pork, etc.

Let me just say how special it is to have friend's recipes. Whenever I make Abby's lasagna-- I feel close to Abby. Whenever I do Karen Huff's chicken enchiladas I think of when she gave me the recipe five years ago. When I make Stephanie Black's coffee cake I think of when she made it for my 15th birthday. I love to make Laura Riggins' buffalo chicken dip and I think of her every time I do it. I also have some fun Sarah Murray ones in my collection.

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

Our trip to the zoo was officially my favorite zoo visit ever. Hallie was happy because she had plenty of crackers to feast on and lots of things to look at. Not to mention she had four adults doting on her at all times. Last year when we took Hallie to the zoo she was too young to understand. This year she would talk to the "amimals" (or "ammals" for short). She said "Hi ammals!" repeatedly to the giraffes and meerkats. She said "Hello gunkey!" to the monkeys. Hallie also cleverly renamed tigers "kee-cats" (kitty-cats). When we were leaving the bird exhibit she told them "Bye zoo! Bye-bye zoo!" Every once and awhile she would get fussy and would reach out her hand to me. So we held hands while Daddy, Grandma, or Grandpa pushed the stroller.

My personal favorites were the giraffes and the gorillas. Although the snow leopard, bengal tiger, and hippos were pretty neat too. The elephants had gone inside when we stopped by their exhibit. Chris went to visit them at the end while the rest of us stayed in the gift shop.

I love the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo! They have a great variety of animals and the mountain views are unbeatable. We were able to conquer the entire zoo in about three hours which was perfect for us. After our zoo visit we went to Culver's for a lunch of burgers, fries, and onion rings.

Dad and Chris captured some incredible pictures. So much so that I don't know where to begin posting them. For that reason I am going to compile a brief movie slideshow along with the regular video of our visit.

Here is our video footage:

Here is our photo slideshow:

Hiking at Helen Hunt Falls

When my parents were visiting we went for a hike at Helen Hunt Falls. This is about 20-25 minutes away from where we live. Hallie loved to be outside (which she calls "side"). We hiked, took some pictures, and laughed a lot. Each of us took turns carrying Hallie.

This first set of photos are by my Dad:

I captured this one:

Here are some photos of our family:

The falls are not named after the actress from Mad About You, but after Helen Hunt Jackson a renowned author and advocate for Native American rights.

Chris gathered some good video. I love the softness of the stream versus the intensity of the falls.

Grandma and Grandpa are coming!

Grandma and Grandpa Skaggs are coming and we are so excited about it! My parents fly in on Wednesday and leave on Monday. That means we have five days of Colorado fun! When my parents come we watch lots of movies. I definitely want them to see Dan in Real Life and August Rush. Any other suggestions for fun movies? We also tool around this gorgeous city. We will likely go to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo as well as Helen Hunt Falls. We also will likely see model homes since my mom is a model home fiend! Here we are last year when my parents came to visit. We are at Palmer Park, The Broadmoor Hotel, and you guessed it-- a model home. Look at how little and cuddly Hallie is!

Hallie, how old are you?

Balloon baby

What Hallie did on Saturday . . . (note the chocolate cookie crumbs on her face)

Night, Night Puppy

Hallie is starting to have conversations with me. Today as we were hanging out she turned over to me and said seriously "No puppy. Puppy night-night now." Her stuffed puppy is her sleeping companion and stays in her crib during the day. I thought it was so cute to see how her little mind works. I wouldn't have thought that she thinks about her puppy throughout the day. To tell you the truth I didn't know he meant that much to her.

Karaoke Star

More pics from Mark and Karen's visit

Here are some more pictures from Mark and Karen's visit to Colorado. We had so much fun with their sweet family. Here's a fun fact: I have known Karen since I was born; we have been close friends since we were little girls. We used to daydream that she would marry my brother and have kids that would be my children's cousins. It was so natural when she became my sister. Unfortunately I took a photo of them by aiming straight into the sun-- but they still look cute. Can you spy Joseph's carseat in the bottom right? Here is the first nephew and grandson-- King Joe. I call him "baby Matt Damon" because he is really handsome. I know it is cheesy but I am a crazy aunt and I have that liberty. I like this photo of our family with Amanda because it looks like Chris and I have two kids instead of one. We are both starting to like that idea.

Cheez-its

The other night Chris called out to me "I'm just going to have some Cheez-its." Hallie inhaled excitedly and exclaimed "Jesus!!" and pointed up to this picture while smiling brightly.

When Chris left this morning he kissed us both, said "I love you" then told me "See ya!" After he left, Hallie stood at the closed door and said "See you Daddy! See you!" And then said "Daddy all gone. All gone Daddy!" for two minutes straight.

Easter Morning

I have yet to post pictures of our lovely Easter. Here is Hallie with her typical morning "Einstein" hair enjoying her basket. Hallie was graced with eggs filled with Craisins and Goldfish crackers. She also received a small storybook and a wand. As a family we received the "He is Risen" cartoon about the first Easter. It was first produced by The Living Scriptures company. We found this version at Target; it was marketed as The Passion of Christ. It was the same movie and just as good as I remembered it as a child. It helped our family to remember the true celebration in Easter-- Jesus Christ.

My Job

This is really funny. I guess I never really talk about my job on here. I have worked from home since Hallie was four-months-old. I work 25 hours a week for my company which is based out of Boston. That means five hours a day I am on the phone answering our inbound calls and doing member satisfaction surveys. I do this while Hallie naps and when Chris is home in the evening to take care of Hal. I got the job because I was recruited-- I used to work with other people in this company before college. They finally brought me out to meet the rest of my co-workers in Boston because Hallie was old enough that I felt comfortable leaving her. Plus, I had an awesome mother-in-law who took time out from her life to watch Hallie for three days straight. What a devoted Grandma she is. Going on this trip reminded me of what a great job I have and how lucky I am. I have a dream job. I feel extremely blessed and taken care of.

Tourist

Before I left for Boston, I wasn't exactly sure where my building was located. It wasn't until I was there that I realized it was right in the middle of the Boston Freedom Trail. Click on a link to learn more about the spot.

Old State House

Old Corner Bookstore

Massachusetts State House and part of Boston Common

Paul Revere Burial Marker at Old Granary Burial Ground

Old City Hall

Long Wharf

Quincy Marketplace and Faneuil Hall