The birthday that keeps going

Hallie's birthday has continued this last week as she received two exciting packages of presents in the mail. Julie and Brooklyn got Hallie a princess set that Hallie LOVES! They also got her three turtlenecks which will be very cozy this fall and winter. Hallie loves to line her princesses in neat rows and then pair them off and then line them up again. She can play with them for hours. Mark and Karen sent Hallie a neat medical kit. Hallie knew immiediately that it was from her cousin Amanda. The first thing she did was put the play thermometer in her ear. What a great memory-- we haven't had to do that for months. It is not unusual to see Hallie with a stethescope around her neck, a bandaid around her wrist, and a princess in hand. Thanks to sweet friends and family we have a very spoiled little girl. And I give extra thanks because my job is easier now because she is sooo entertained with all her fun toys!

Thank you to Julie and Brooklyn and Mark, Karen, and family!!

Redesign

I've done a little redesign since the last time I posted pictures of the house. And since fall/Halloween decorations are going up today, I took some pictures of what it looks like when it is not the holidays. To see the old, boring stuff look here. To see the new exciting stuff, read below!

I bought the mirror for only $26. It was 80% off!


Not a lot of people would put an Africa print in their kitchen. But, it is so majestic that it grabs my heart everytime I see it. And that, my friends, is what good art should do.

Chris refinished this dresser I have had since I was four. I love how it looks now.


The silver shoe to the left is actually Chris' baby shoe that his mom had bronzed. I repainted the frames and "H" and added the Classic Pooh accents.
Chris refinished this hutch. It was featured in our dining room for five years before it made it's nursery debut.
Look at all those books! That makes me happy. These are strictly our children's books. I have about four times that amount downstairs. The framed print is a painting of Anne of Green Gables that I got at an adorable tea shop downtown.
I inherited this shelf from Grandma Allen. Chris refinished it for me. The picture of the Los Angeles temple is because Chris and I were married there (and you have to admit it looks like a castle).

The high chair was the one that my Grandma Allen used for all her grandkids. I am so happy to have it. I refinished it. Chris hung a mirror low for Hallie so she could do things like vacuum and sing into a microphone whilst staring at herself. We call it her "hobbit mirror."


I still need to post new pictures of our spare bedroom/my office. Those should come later this week.

Call me sentimental . . . because I am!

Since Hallie had her birthday recently I have been reminiscing about her little life. Here she is exactly two years ago.

An Elmo Birthday

Since, he has been a loyal friend these two years, we felt it appropriate to give Hallie an Elmo-themed birthday party. I was so pleased with the abundance of Elmo party goods at The Dollar Store! I am also over the moon with how her Elmo cupcakes turned out.

I have been searching online for several months, and I couldn't find any photos of Elmo cupcakes that looked very good. So, I created my own version. I love how they look. I did a buttermilk cherry chip cake with almond buttercream frosting. I piped on the frosting to look like fur, made white chocolate eyes with milk chocolate pupils, an orange starburst for a nose, and half an oreo cookie for the mouth. The result was an all-edible, fun, Elmo treat.

We tried to do Hallie's birthday in stages. Last week my parents flew out and celebrated with her. My camera was not working at the time so my Dad has all the photos on his camera. When we were still together, she blew out candles on a ding-dong (I like baking but not enough to make cupcakes twice in one week). My parents got her a Cinderella dress (which will be her Halloween costume this year), clothes, a puppy book, and a Sleeping Beauty purse and make-up set that Hallie is in love with.

On Saturday, we let Hallie open up new crayons and coloring books. That night we went for a bite to eat at Noodles and Company (where I unfortunately got a violent case of food poisoning I still haven't recovered from).

Then, last night I made an herb roast with carrots and onions, mashed potatoes and gravy, and corn. Grandma Judy and Uncle Mike joined us for the evening. Afterwards, we opened presents, talked to Grandpa Wynn on the internet camera phone, talked to Uncle Mark and cousin Amanda, and Great-Grandma and Grandpa Allen on the telephone, and had cupcakes. By the time Hallie went to bed she was on toy/sugar overload! She opened: a toy vacuum from Grandma, a toy piano (her two obsessions in life), a stuffed lion and an art set from Uncle Mike, a birthday card and money from Great-Grandma Skaggs, Disney princess blocks, Disney princess chalk, and some play food for her kitchen (the last three gifts I got at the dollar store along with her new crayons and Elmo coloring books).





What a birthday!

Happy 2nd Birthday Hallie Laine!

I am officially the mother of a two-year-old. When she was just a newborn I couldn't imagine this day would ever come-- and now it has passed already. Chris and I did our brief photo shoot of Hallie on her birthday yesterday when she was still in her church clothes. Here are some of the highlights:







Happy Birthday Sweet Girl! We love you!

quandry

Family pictures can be quite challenging. And we only have three people so far to accomodate. What is particularly hard at this stage is Hallie isn't fond of smiling for the camera. Thank goodness my cousin Brittney had Skylee there to get a couple smiles out of Hal.
Hal looks like the proverbial "deer in headlights"













This is my personal favorite. Smiles on all three and Hallie with a big chunk of my hair-- HILLARIOUS.

I need something new!

I know, I am totally bored with seeing the same post too. I have to get some new pictures up! Hallie is saying more each day. She is into sentences. She told me today "You need to be nice, Mommy!" and then she told me "You need to be happy!" and started giggling. I was being perfectly nice. Just ask anyone who sees her frequently-- she loves to chastise on the virtues of being nice. We have had a great week together. I told Chris the other day that she is just "my funny friend." She is lively and fun and it is nice to have someone to talk to during the day. It is so comforting to know that as we add this new baby to our family that I will still have my sweet friend Hallie to be here with me and help me out. This second pregnancy is going smoothly. I usually get nauseous several times a day. It isn't always comfortable but it isn't constant so I have nothing to complain about. As usual, I am just fascinated with whether we are having a boy or a girl. Any takers?

She's a talker!

Hallie is a talker, and talk she does!

The other day while Chris was in the grocery store, Hallie and I waited in the car. About five minutes into our waiting she demands:

"Where's Daddy!"

"I want Daddy!"

"My Daddy!"

No embelishment was added by me. She just really wanted me to know she wanted Dad.

Yesterday I put her down for a nap as I talked on the phone with my friend, Shanda. Hallie cried for several minutes but calmed down quickly. I went to check on her about a half hour later and she was scandalized to see I was talking on the phone. She looked at me appaled and said:

"YOU PHONE?!" "I SAD . . . I CA-RIE-ING (crying)!!"

She was incredulous. She couldn't believe I would talk on the phone and let her cry. Sorry, Hallie.

If you have read my blog, you know I refer to Hallie sometimes as "Hallie-Who." Last night as we were putting her to bed she sweetly said "Hallie-Who" and followed up with "Mommy-Who" and "Daddy-Who" but totally surprised us when she threw in a "Jesus-Who." Way to remember the Savior, Hallie. That was sweet. :)

Today while playing she heard her friend whimper and she yelled across the room to her "You okay Talia? What's wrong?"

The other day as we were looking at pictures of "baby Hallie" we saw a picture where her hair was wet and looked darker. Hallie insisted that the picture was of Skylee (my cousin Brittney's daughter). I told Hallie it was actually herself but Hallie was undeterred. "I want Ky-lee." So, for the next fifteen minutes we looked at what pictures we had of Skylee, video of Hallie and Skylee dancing, and eventually of Skylee's blog. When that wasn't enough for Hallie's "Skylee fix" we called Brittney up in Georgia and put the girls on the phone. It was too adorable to hear Hallie say "Hi Ky-lee!" and to hear "Hi Hallie!" on the other end. They still have toddler pronounciations so they sounded slightly inebriated. It is fun that a new generation of cousins love each other just like we did as children (and still do).

Here are some pictures of Hallie at the State Fair that remind me of just how old my baby is.

Toddlerdom

Hallie is filled with exuberant toddler energy these days. She has done so many personality-filled things today. It started out this morning as I changed her diaper. Being eight weeks pregnant, my stomach is not the strongest thing around so I gagged-- twice. She thought it was a delightful game and proceeded to yell "BLAH!" dramatically at random intervals throughout the morning. Later on, when she was being extra inquisitive and I was very tired I told her in a stern voice "Hallie, stay away from the box. Listen!" (Not a proud moment for me, I'll admit). She looked at me and then yelled back "Ra-ra-ra-ra-ra! Listen!" Just a moment ago as she was coloring/scribbling she told herself "One leggy. Another leggy. And hair." It was cute because that is what her Dad does when they draw together. He tells her what he is doing as he is doing it. Unfortunately, her picture just looked like scribbles but her effort was still cute. Hallie is extra adamant about "lip-ick" lately. I let her put on some Jell-o flavored chapstick once a day as part of our routine. (It comes after teeth-brushing and vitamins). She demands "I wear lip-ick!" throughout the day and is incessant about it until I can distract her about something else. Sometimes it is easier to distract her than others. But several nights ago when Chris was gone she was on a "lip-ick" rampage for half an hour.

I really feel that Father in Heaven blesses me with patience with her. The other day I was particularly glad that I had an added measure. She was eating her meal and threw every last morsel onto the floor. When I spied it I just wanted to scream "Why did you do that?!" But instead I smiled and asked her in a comical tone "Hallie what happened to your food?" She was bright-eyed and happy as she told me "I cleaning-washing!" and imitated washing her hands. The sweet girl thought she was cleaning her tray off for me when I assumed she was bent on making a mess.

Even though she loves to make messes, she is great about helping when asked. I have been particularly proud to watch her throw things in the trash without being asked. What a sweet growing girl she is. I am thankful to be her mom.