Today our Hallie turns three! Chris and I keep talking about how we can't believe our baby is such a little lady. We have been preparing for her birthday and have both been on the verge of choking up several times. What an exhilirating, exciting three years it has been. First she was our little baby and now she is our little friend. Hallie brings us so much joy. She is daddy's little girl and mommy's best friend. We love you, Hallie!
Claire is five months old and cute as can be. Here is what Claire has been up to:
One week before Claire was born I was nine months pregnant and could not sleep! So, I waddled downstairs to my craft room and got to work. I didn't know what I was going to make when I got started. I just pulled out my craft bin and went fot it. After several wee morning hours of work, Hallie's flannel book was complete! I used a thrift store board book, ribbon, flannel blankets, and old scrapbook die cuts. I always keep this in my church bag so that Hallie can play with it at church when she is restless. With the commotion of having a baby, I forgot to post about it until I found the picture files today. This is a cheap, very easy craft using things most of us already have!
I looked out the window today and what did I see? A burp cloth in the backyard. I laughed. I knew it was there for one reason. It's the same reason why I can never find any burp cloths or hand towels. It's because Hallie steals them. My little girl has an obsession. They are the perfect-sized blankets for her stuffed animals and dolls. Yes, I cringe at the fact that what was wiping Claire's spit-up one moment is being used to swaddle a pink poodle a half hour later. And, it is inconvenient when I have to dry my hands on my jeans because I turn to the oven and my hand towel is gone. But it's sweet, and its fleeting. It's all going so fast anyway. So, my little girl, I love that you rip off my handy scraps of fabric.
Hallie loves trains and airplanes. Whenever she sees anything lined up (trees, cars, people) she points out that it looks like a train. And she loves to set up her dolls and toys in choo-choo alignment. As for airplanes, she has radar hearing that can tell a plane is going to fly overhead before anyone else recognizes it. And she can spot a plane in the sky even if it is a pepper fleck. She bursts in excitement (while usually bursting our eardrums) "Look, Daddy! An airplane! Do you see the airplane in the sky, Daddy?" It's a good thing we have an airport, several bases, and the Air Force Academy in our town. It's a plane-lovers wonderland here.
choo-choo alignment up the stairs
My favorite times with Hallie are 1.) lying in bed, holding her and singing lullabies, 2.) reading to her, 3.) and baking with her. Since we have been doing it since she was such a young age, she is so disciplined when we cook. If I say "don't touch that please" she obeys. I let her eat cookie dough bits until the egg phase. (I am too anal at the off chance she could get salmonella poisoning and die). She is so patient to wait until we are done baking to eat. She is great at measuring and dumping ingredients and can differentiate between baking soda and baking powder (which I surely couldn't do at that age). If she spies me baking without her, she excitedly starts dragging a chair over from the kitchen table to the counter.
cookie pizza (a recent Mom/Hal collaboration)
I didn't get punched, I smudged my eye makeup. It gives me a more "mom" look, don't you think?
Clairey sporting "the spike"
about this . . .
Hallies' third birthday is next Monday and I have spent countless hours trying to figure out what to do. She has lots of "favorite things" and so I didn't want to limit the celebration to one theme. Now I have a master theme Hallie's "Favorite Things" Dinner and Ball where we can celebrate all of her favorites! The invitation is obviously Cinderella inspired, but our menu and music will feature all her favorite foods (as well as treats inspired by her favorite books and movies). I still need to firm up the menu but I am so excited to have a good start!
We did several fun things for Labor Day. It started in the morning when we all packed into the car and watched the Colorado Balloon Classic. It is always so cool to see big hot air balloons set against our mountains. After we had our balloon fill, we drove around the northwest area of our city. It is set right against the mountain so the views are different than what we normally see. We topped off our morning excursion with breakfast at McDonalds. Even though it was just McDonalds, it was special because the only other time we go out to breakfast is if we are on a road trip.
Later that day, our family took a quick drive into the mountains and had a little picnic. It seems like everyone else thought this was a good idea because North Cheyenne Canyon Park was packed. Mom Hinkson came along for the adventure. Here are some of our favorite photos:
Some of the things Hallie did yesterday:
1.) painted
2.) had her art work matted and framed
3.) played in the backyard
4.) picked dandelions
5.) got terribly frightened of a bee
6.) watched Winnie the Pooh
7.) sang, sang, sang
8.) made a designer dress out of a trash bag
9.) played with the baby
Hallie's "trashtastic" get-up started from a simple activity. I let her paint with water colors. So, I laid down a plastic bag to protect our kitchen table. After our paintings were hanging and drying, Hallie was holding up the plastic bag and told me it was her "beautiful" dress. I thought "Well, yes we could make a beautiful dress out of that." And the plastic bag princess was born. After I made her dress, she asked for a necklace. After her necklace, she asked for a crown. (It was very much like If You Give a Mouse a Cookie). Her dress and sash are Hefty brand. And her necklace and crown are courtesy of Albertson's. She asked me later for slippers and a wand but I was plum out of plastic bag ingenuity.
I was pondering what type of mother I was (you know, that I let my little one run around in trash bags) when I thought of the book, The Paper Bag Princess. It is a wonderful children's book about a princess who has a great sense of self-worth. She uses her wits to outsmart a dragon and save a prince who then criticizes her for wearing a paper bag (her royal clothes were charred by the dragon). The paper bag princess realizes that it doesn't matter if she looks regal or not, she is still a princess and capable of marvelous things. And thankfully she dumps that whining Prince Ronald. So, here my friends is my perfect plastic bag princess.
And also for your viewing and listening pleasure we present The Plastic Bag Princess: The Concert. I considered editing but I didn't want you to miss one vibrato-laden moment. When Chris watched this yesterday he said "Gee, do you think our child has a future in musical theater?" She already has her Ethel Merman impression nailed. 
