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.

Announcing a new addition

We certainly are pleased with our family of three. But we can't tell you how excited we are to make it a family of four. So . . . coming this April we will have a new member of our little family. Hallie just stares and blinks at us when we tell her a new baby is coming but we know she'll catch on as the pregnancy progresses. Chris and I just can't wait to meet the new little spirit and see how his or her personality adds to our family. Notice my excessive use of the word "little?"

Since we are thinking about our new baby, here are some pictures of our family when we were babies. I'll bet we'll have another blonde. I am already outnumbered.
ChrisMichelle
Hallie

An All-American Weekend

We had a fun family date to Ruby's last night. We love having Ruby's so close. It is like a little piece of Huntington Beach came to Colorado with us. It reminds me so much of home. Our food was, as always, delicious.



Hallie is putting on hubcap sticker earings.


This morning we headed to the local high school (and Chris' work) for the Farmer's Market. The produce was gorgeous and the prices were great. Plus, it feels good to support local businesses. We came home with hot roasted peppers, corn on the cob, an orange pepper, and a small basket of peaches.

This evening we supported the Rockies farm team-- The Sky Sox. It was so fun. Hallie found the lights, applause, and cheers exhilirating. She was a loyal fan. We only stayed until the bottom of the fourth but we were still there for two hours.

the new (and also old) bike

Chris and I wanted Hallie to have a ride-on toy. So I spent five dollars on this tricycle I found on Craigslist. She thinks it is great. I love simple pleasures.

pretty

I took this picture while driving today. I promise I didn't endanger my life or the lives of others. I just picked it up with one hand, snapped, and then threw the camera down onto my seat. I tell myself all the time what a beautiful place I live in and I was thinking the same thing right before I snapped this.

A nature kind of day

Today we got together with good friends for a play date and hike. Like many other amazing spectacles this city has to offer, this one is fifteen minutes away from our place. We love where we live. And we love our great friends.

Queen of her domain

Hallie is really into capes ever since Daddy showed her how to tie the blanket around her neck. A lot of people give me all the credit for the pictures of Hallie. However, all these pictures (and many other favorites) were taken by her Daddy.



She is reading The Miracle of Forgiveness . . . seriously!

BIG mischief

Yesterday, Hallie had her first coloring "incident." This means she colored on something besides her Winnie the Pooh coloring book. The helpless victim was the mirror on the door in between our office and bathroom. In the pictures she is upset, not because I scolded her (which I suprisingly didn't actually), but because I took her "tolor" (rhymes with "color") away. Hallie was a very good helper. She was visibly proud of herself when she helped me wipe the mirror off. And thankfully it came right off. No harm done.

Mischief

Hallie is a healthy, inquisitive toddler. She likes to play and explore all around the house. When Hallie sat down on the counter she quickly scooted into the sink and turned the water on. It provided her with lots of wet, sloppy fun.

Faith like a child

Today during sacrament meeting at church, I felt impressed to teach Hallie a little about what we were doing. As we sang the sacrament hymn, I leaned over and whispered into her ear "Did you know we are singing this song for Jesus?" The way she responded melted my heart. Her eyebrows lifted and her eyes brightened and she quickly scanned the stage back and forth with a big smile. It hit me that she was actually looking for Jesus.

Oh, how I love you Hallie. You teach me so much.

We're back!

We're back from vacation. We had a great time but we are also happy to be back home. Chris started teaching again on Wednesday. We also have callings in our new ward. Chris is the Sunday School teacher for the seventeen and eighteen-year-olds and I am the 1st counselor in the Young Women's Presidency. Today is a nice, rainy day. The house is clean and it was the perfect day to catch up on blogging. Here is a quick sneak peak of pictures from our trip followed by more thorough posts.

Cousins and the best of friends

Amanda and Hallie really are best friends. They are always talking about each other and to see them in action is hillarious. They giggle at the top of their lungs and march and dance. It reminds me of when their mothers, Karen and myself, were young. We were best friends too and we would lock ourselves in Karen's room for hours and listen to music, draw pictures of our future children, and put on dance recitals to "The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies."

Hallie Laine and Skylee Jane

In addition to Amanda and Joseph, Hallie had lots of second cousins to play with at the family reunion. Skylee is my cousin Brittney's daughter. She is just two months younger than Hallie. The last time they saw each other Hallie was eight months old and Skylee was six months old. I had a feeling these girls were going to hit it off big this time. They sure did! Hallie loves Skylee. In fact, Skylee saved the day when we were having our family photos. Hallie was tired and grumpy and the only one who could get her to smile was-- you guessed it-- Skylee! I wish we lived close to Britt and Ryan so we could play with Skylee everyday. Here are some of the adventures of Hallie Laine and Skylee Jane.






I still have some adorable video to post-- that will come soon!