Whitney Day 4

Whitney has been visiting every night since December 1 but I have not done a very good job of documenting the fun she brings! :o)

Day 1: Whitney hid under the tree and brought Hallie a princess book. We read that book EVERY night...Hallie loves it!

Day 2: Whitney hid in the toy box and brought Hallie a miniature Fisher-Price ball popper (like a little keychain).

Day 3: Whitney hid on the Christmas tree and brought Hallie a princess wallet with $1 in it! Hallie loves it b/c now "we all have a wallet" she said. :o)

Day 4: Whitney hid in Hallie's microwave with a

Hello Kitty necklace and ring.

Hallie is so sweet and always thanks

Whitney for bringing her a surprise. :o)

Day 5: Whitney acknowledge the REAL reason (with

a new chap-chap) for the Season--the birth of Jesus Christ!

This and That

Today was a day of laziness...it was wonderful! Hallie woke up around 9:30 (!!) and we all lounged in Mommy and Daddy's bed until about 10:00 watching cartoons. Then Hallie was ready for her breakfast. Ha! After a hearty helping of oatmeal and a cheese omelet, we continued our lazy day. :o) We played, we cleaned (well, just the dishes), we chatted...then it was nap time! Jonathan lounged on the couch while Hallie and I headed to the bed...we snuggled for about 10 minutes before we were both out! About an hour and a half later (not quite long enough), I heard, "Mommy? Mommy...want to get up?" When I said not yet, she snuggled up close. About five minutes later she asked me the same question. :o) Then I sent her to get Daddy up. He sent her to get me up. We played this game of ping pong for about 30 minutes until we were all up! After that we headed to meet Gramps, RahRah, and Grandmom at the mall so Hallie could pick out an ornament with Gramps and RahRah.

We asked Hallie if she'd like to tell Santa what she'd like for Christmas and she said she did, but she didn't want her picture taken. Ha! We waited in a surprisingly short line to chat with Santa. Hallie wasn't too keen on sitting on his lap, but then decided she would...and let Mommy get a picture (we'll have to get that scanned). :o)

It was a very relaxing Saturday! We even got the tree decorated...but we're missing a few things: our tree skirt, the Fontanini nativity set, and some ornaments. I guess they got buried in the garage closet when Jonathan cleaned out the garage and put a lot of things in the closet. Oh well! :o)

The princess before seeing Santa

With her ballerina Nutcracker ornament

Hallie wore a camisole under her reindeer shirt

and was SO excited about it...she wanted to

just wear the camisole! Ha!

Our Christmas tree...finally decorated but

missing a proper tree skirt!

A Give Away...

I don't usually post things like this...but I find it quite entertaining and fun to receive free things (which by the way, I never actually win). I haven't really won a contest (other than a pageant or two or three when I was little...lol) since I was 3 or 4 and entered a coloring contest at Martin's Department Store. I won a pair of jeans--and by the way, I hated jeans then. :o)

Nonetheless, I get five extra entries if I post about the contest on my blog. So I'm posting away! This is truly a fabulous give away, so check it out if you like getting free stuff! Mention my blog and we both get an extra entry for your blog nod. :o)

Enter HERE.

Happy entering! I hope we win...did I mention there are THREE gifts to win?!

Snow Day!

It has been SO incredibly cold this past week here in the great state of Texas! Yesterday the weather man said there was a 50% chance of snow. Well...50% chance, please! It'll never snow! My students were working quietly as I was walking around monitoring and helping individual students (doesn't that sound just oh-so-teacher-like...lol) when I turned around and looked out the window of our classroom's back door. There were snow flurries! SNOW FLURRIES! Without hesitation, I said, "Guys...put your coats on. It's SNOWING!" They jumped out of their seats and were just giddy with excitement! At first we were just going to go into the little courtyard just outside our classroom; but I quickly decided we'd make the most of it and head to the playground. Before long, every class was outside enjoying the incredible sight! There were snowflakes the size of gumballs...it was amazing! We stayed outside playing in the snow for probably 30 minutes or so. We almost missed lunch! Ha! It didn't snow for too much longer. By the time we went inside, I couldn't feel my fingers (it was COLD!)...but we made memories that those kids won't forget for a long time. And it was a blessing to me--it reminded me that they're kids. Sometimes in the midst of C-Scope, PYP, spelling words, reading tests, practicing for the TAKS test, teaching multiplication, perimeter, fractions, the history of transportation, and the properties of matter...it's easy to forget that these kids are well, kids. It was extremely fun to see their innocent excitement about the snow! I was excited about the snow. And we all enjoyed it together. And you know what, we forgot to take our spelling test today; I'm pretty sure the sun will still rise tomorrow! :o)

My crazy class!

Some of my lovelies!

Look at that snow coming down! Beautiful!

Whitney!

Hallie had a special visit tonight after bath time! Whitney is back! Hallie was very excited until she got out of the bath. Then I think she was a little nervous...maybe she was thinking that Whitney was real. Her excitement quickly returned when she noticed Whitney's feet sticking out from underneath the PINK Christmas tree and found a little surprise tucked away with her! :o)

Whitney before she hid under the tree skirt!

On a different note, here's Hallie's pink tree and her

new "push-a-button"...a push button so she can turn her

tree on and off all by herself. She LOVES it! :o)

Hopefully her tree will be moved to the den this week.

Reading the note Whitney left

Hallie loved her new seek and find princess book!

She hugged Whitney and told her thank you for

her book! Too sweet!

Some Thoughts

Since Hallie was born, we have been saying a "bedtime prayer" with her. Now, it has really been Jonathan praying specifically for her and thanking God for the blessing she is in our life. He always prayed aloud, and Hallie sometimes listened and sometimes talked straight through his prayers. About a month ago, Jonathan begin saying his "out loud prayer" a little more Hallie-friendly. It was very simple, very child-like...it made my heart smile. He would begin simply, "Dear God, thank you for Mommy, Daddy, and Hallie..." and would then name the grandparents, family, and pray for a good night's sleep. A couple of weeks ago, he did the usual. after Jonathan thanked God for "Mommy, Daddy, and Hallie", Hallie said, "and Gramps and Rah-Rah, and Nonna and Pop, and Uncle J and Grandmom". Then a few nights ago, Jonathan would ask Hallie "who else" and she said, "um...and people, and my cousin Abby, and God." Her heart is being molded...and mine is melting in the process. She is SO precious and we have such a huge responsibility in growing her up to love God. Oh my word. She is so precious...and even more so when that sweet voice starts singing "Jesus Loves Me".

That brings me to my next thought...hiding God's Word in our hearts.

I have been thinking a lot lately about teaching Hallie Bible verses. She is definitely in the stage of repeating everything we say--with inflection. :o) I really began thinking about it the other night when she recited Llama Llama Mad at Mama in its entirety (no, I am not kidding). I thought if Hallie can completely memorize a 20+ page children's book, then surely she can memorize Scripture. Jonathan and I agreed that it was time to begin teaching her these Truths.

I know this probably sounds silly b/c Scripture is Scripture...but when/how did you begin teaching your children Bible verses? Did you shorten the verses to be more "kid friendly"? Our church puts a "Fighter Verse" in the bulletin each week, so we can go from there. I was just curious as to what you mommies/daddies who have gone before us have done with your children. I found a couple of websites that give toddler verses (shortened verses); but I need a plan...I know that sounds ridiculous, but I'm just being honest. :o) I'm very excited about this, and I think Hallie will be excited about it, too.

So...how/when did you begin teaching your child/children Scripture?

Almost December

We can't believe how quickly the Christmas season has come upon us! Tomorrow, Hallie's elf--Whitney--will begin her mischievous ways! I'm so excited. I know Hallie will be, too! I was looking for something specific--I can't remember what now--and began reading older posts from last December. It absolutely amazes me how quickly a year has passed...how quickly Hallie has changed from a pre-toddler to an absolute toddler, almost a little girl! I miss her baby days, I miss her pre-toddler days...but I have to say that her eagerness to learn and her spunky personality right now are going to have me longing for the days right now in the future. I love this stage in her life--everything is new, everything is fun, everything is a learning experience.

While browsing older posts, I found one that made Jonathan and me smile from ear to ear. It was Hallie saying "Merry Christmas" in her very own way. Click HERE if you're interested in a good giggle and a little "awww". :o)

I'll let you know if Hallie approves of Whitney's silliness. :o) She should be landing tomorrow!

Blogger's Block

Sigh.

It hasn't been an intentional break from blogging, but it has definitely been one nonetheless. A lot has happened in the past almost-month! I have tons of pictures to upload, tons of stories to tell...yet I'm just not feeling it. I realized that the one of the biggest reasons I blog is for my parents, so they don't miss out on all the sillies and sweeties of Hallie. Well, they were here visiting for the beginning of my "blog break", so I didn't feel the need to post. The other reason I blog is for those four or five friends who actually read the blog and enjoy keeping up with the happenings of Hallie. To y'all, I apologize...I'm sure you're just itching to know what she has been up to! Ha! ;o) And the last reason I blog is for me...I adore looking back and seeing how Hallie has grown. So, I'm promising (myself if no one else) to blog soon. :o) Until then, here are a few things we've been up to:

*Hallie had her first ballet recital. She was absolutely adorable. She did a great job, and I should really have had those pictures and video up before now. Shame on me!

*Nonna and Pop came to visit--Hallie absolutely adored getting to stay home with them all week. She got loads of love and attention, and they (Nonna and Pop) loved every minute of it, too. I was sick most of the time they were here, so it was a true blessing to have them here with us! I joked that I had Nonna's Maid Service with me for the week and was sad to see it leave! Ha!

*Hallie got her very own Christmas tree complete with ornaments from Nonna. And guess what--the tree is pink! :o)

*Hallie was absolutely precious decked out in her Auburn cheerleader outfit to cheer on the Tigers. :o) She has also perfected her "War Eagle"!!

*We had Thanksgiving with Jonathan's side of the family in College Station, TX. Hallie got to see a lot of her cousins and was very excited about it!

*Hallie had a Thanksgiving lunch at her daycare and I got to attend...Daddy was home sick. After lunch, Hallie got to go back to school with me. She had a lot of fun walking around my school, petting all the animals we have in our courtyard--bunnies, turtles, a prairie dog, and canaries! Then she enjoyed making a little turkey treat with the rest of the students. She was so big--and really better behaved! Ha!

*During Thanksgiving break, Hallie got to spend two nights with Gramps and Rah-Rah. Jonathan and I were extremely ill for most of the Thanksgiving break. I suppose we had a stomach bug of some sort--it knocked both of us down for two days straight. We are very thankful that we have Jonathan's parents so close! They didn't hesitate for a second in taking care of our little angel. And we didn't worry for a second that she wasn't being taken care of!

So...I suppose that sums it up. In about a week and a half, we're heading to Alabama for my parents' wedding anniversary party. Should be fun!

Maybe I didn't have blogger's block after all...just lack of time. :o)

Princess Hallie

Hallie really does love all things princess lately. She spotted a little broom I was using earlier and remembered her broom was outside (probably left out there this past summer!)...and she needed it! So Daddy dutifully went on the patio in search of the broom. And it was exactly where Hallie said it was--she has such a great memory! She immediately started sweeping. She went out into the garage and was sweeping. I asked her if she was Cinderella and she replied, "Yeah, I Cinderella...I'm sweeping." lol. She cracks me up! When we came inside, the princess play continued. She has recently started adding the actual "n" sound on the end of words (crown, for example) and trying to make the "l" sound within words. She's doing a great job at both. :o) Hallie is becoming less and less attached to the paci, so I know that's a big reason that she has started these letter sounds...although, she did say crown correctly with the paci last night, so who knows! I'm definitely no speech pathologist, but I do promote correct speech. :o) The second video is hilarious...she's obviously a little tired of me asking her to say "crown" and "Cinderella". Which, by the way, "Cinderella" was said almost more clearly than in the video...but she's concentrating so hard on saying the "l" sound. Before it was more like "Cindareh-a". :o) She's a sweetie pie! I think we'll keep her!

"Who's your favorite princess?" Hallie simply replies, "Me."

Princess Shoes and Tutus

This is practically all Hallie will wear (she does interchange the princess shoes and ballet slippers)...so far it's contained to our house. But I'm waiting for the day that she demands to go out in public like this. Heaven help me! Here are a few sides of Hallie...Miss Priss. A cheerleader, a baseball player, a princess. :o) She keeps us laughing, that's for sure! She has such a fun personality!

Update on Big Girl Bed

Sweet Hallie has gone five nights strong in her new big girl bed! She has absolutely loved being able to climb into her bed all on her own! It has definitely been bittersweet watching my big girl climb into her bed all by herself and snuggle up under the covers. Her first morning she woke up and called for me..."Mommy!! Mommy!! Can I get out of my bed now?!" So very adorable! She has done great every morning...she asks to get out of her bed. I just hope that continues. :o) Though time is passing a little too quickly, we sure are proud of our little one's accomplishments! Now...on to tackling the potty!

Big Girl Bed!

We did it! We converted Hallie's bed into a toddler bed. We've been thinking for some time now that we would change it...but honestly, we didn't want to let go of her being in a "baby bed". ::sniff sniff:: We didn't change it because Hallie was climbing over the rails--she wasn't. Here's how the change finally came to be: On Wednesday night, Jonathan was sick (fever) and I was just plain exhausted. I'll just be honest--I didn't want to go through the sometimes hour long bedtime routine that meant Hallie would sleep in her bed (as she usually does). So as a "special treat" (read: Mommy's lazy), I asked Hallie if she wanted to sleep with Mommy. She, of course, was totally excited about it. I put her up in the bed and then went into the living room to check on Jonathan. She called for me one time. And then she was sound asleep. I mean SOUND ASLEEP! The thought hit me that she's probably ready for us to convert her bed into a toddler bed because I figured she liked the open feeling of our "big bed".

Well...tonight, after a no-nap, spend the day with Gramps and RahRah, lots of candy, trick-or-treating, fall festival kind of day, we decided tonight was the night. Ha! On the way home from the fall festival, we stopped by Target to let Hallie pick out a new blanket for her big girl bed. She spotted some "colors" she just had to have, too! Ha! I told her they were colored pencils, like Mommy's, and that there was a pencil sharpener. The rest of the night, she needed her "sharpening pencils". :o)

Daddy fixed Hallie's bed while I bathed the princess. When she was done, she was SO excited that Daddy was fixing her a surprise. She ran in their naked as a bird and screamed, "Oh boy!" while jumping right onto her bed. She played, she jumped, she rolled around and snuggled up to the side...and was instantly in love with her "new bed". You would thinks he had a new bed with 100 more square footage! Ha! What a difference it makes to just lose the front of your bed.

After we tucked Hallie in, I told her that she does not need to get out of the bed until Mommy or Daddy goes in to get her. I told her that she should call for us when she wakes up. We'll see if she remembers to do that! So far, she sleeping peacefully! Time passes so quickly.

So...I believe Thursday night was the last night I rocked my princess and snuggled up to her in the rocking chair...and the last night that she slept in her baby bed (she sometimes sleeps with us on Friday nights so we can all snuggle and watch cartoons Saturday mornings). It was the last night I picked up her sweet, tired baby self and reached over the front rail to lay her down in her bed. My sweet baby is growing up...and it's all happening a little too fast for my enjoyment!

Hallie's little treat...her pencils and

her new blanket

So excited about her new bed!

Happy Hallie-ween!

Hallie was VERY excited about trick-or-treating today. About a month ago, we asked her what she wanted to be for Halloween and her reply was "pink". So I made her a pink Crayola crayon costume and she was extremely excited about it. I think Hallie was the cutest little crayon ever! We went to the fall festival at Columbus Avenue Baptist, but before we headed out, we had to go visit our sweet neighbors Mrs. Rosemary, Mr. Jim, and Amanda so Hallie could actually trick-or-treat. On the (short) walk to their house, Hallie kept saying, "Trick or treat, trick or treat!" She was SO excited. All the way to the church, Hallie was super excited! I think she had a very fun Halloween! And if you'd like to take a walk down memory lane with me...here's the little Ballerina Hallie from last year!

Miss Pink Crayon!

Tossing the flowers...she was pretty good at this!

Treasure hunt!

Sweep the Pumpkin!

Going fishing

Feed the Can--tossing bags into the can...she

did not follow the rules--she didn't stay behind the line! :o)

Loving the tiny bouncy house!

Happy Hallie-ween!

Toy Story!

Our sweet girl has been a little under the weather, so our plans for going to the Homecoming parade this morning got cancelled. Wednesday night, Hallie had a random fever and was just not acting like herself. Then she ran just a little fever Thursday...but b/c of that Thursday fever, she had to stay home Friday (you're supposed to be fever free for 24 hours before heading back to "school"...and I'm a parent who follows that rule). So rather than heading out into the cold, we grabbed some breakfast and headed to the movies. It was Hallie's first time to a movie theater. They were having a double feature--Toy Story and Toy Story 2 in 3D. She absolutely LOVED it! She was so great the whole time and felt like such a big girl. We only watched Toy Story because 4 hours is a bit much. The 3D glasses were a bit too big for Hallie, but we managed. I know this was the first of many movies! :o)

A Hallie Kind of Morning...

Conversations with Hallie...

It all started around 8:30 am

H: Mommeeeeeeeee!!!!!!! Mommeeeeeeeee!!!!!! Mommeeeeeeee!!!!!!

K: Good morning, sweet love!

H: (giggling) I ready to get up.

K: Well, come on!

H: Daddy's a boy.

K: That's right! Daddy is a boy!

H: And I'm a girl.

K: Yep. You're a girl. What am I?
H: You're a girl.

K: I am! How many girls are there?
H: Two girls. And just one boy...Daddy. I'm a girl. You're a girl. But Daddy's a boy. He not a girl. :o)

...

H: Hey, I not go to Miss Pattie's today?
K: No...because you had a fever yesterday. So you're home until you're all better.

H: I not have fever again. My tummy not hurt again. And my head not hurt again.

Again = anymore :o)

...

H: I want some breakfast please.

K: OK. What do you want?

H: I want croissant.

K: Alright, let's get ready.

H: I need some clothes. I not wear my PJs. I go find some clothes. Come on, Mommy. I show you.

K: OK, but you need to wear something under your dress because it's COLD outside!

H: OK...I just want some little pants (holding her finger and thumb together to show me "little"). How about these? (she holds up bloomers)

K: No...you need longer pants because it's COLD outside!

H: I know! My pink leggies. And spark-wee shoes (sparkly shoes) And I need a bow!

K: What color bow do you need?
H: Hmm...pink!

That's my girl! :o)

Hallie's outfit...by Hallie :o)

After Hallie and I got dressed, the conversation continued:

H: We need to get Daddy a croissant. He my be hungee.

K: I bet Daddy already ate breakfast.

H: Call him!

...

We were about to eat our breakfast and Hallie noticed Uncle J's can of Mountain Dew on the end table.

H: Hey...that's Uncle J's.

K: Yeah, I'll throw it away.

H: I get it. I throw it away.

K: OK. Thank you!

H: (on the way to the trash can) Here, I not throw it away. It's yucky. It's coffee.

K: No, it's not coffee.

H: It's teaf?! (tea)

K: No, it's another drink...Mountain Dew.

H: Oh. I not like Mountain Dew. It's yucky.

If she only knew...Mountain Dew is quite tasty! :o)

Oh...she keeps us in stitches. And she is SO incredibly sweet! I heart Hallie!

A Visit from Mary Poppins!

Last night we got a fun late-night visit from Uncle J. While he was here, the doorbell rang. Daddy and Hallie answered the door to find a pumpkin at the end of our garage! On top...a card. Hallie was SO excited. The first thing she said was, "A pumpkin!" Then she said, "There's Mary Poppins!" So fun! Mary Poppins had left Hallie a Halloween pumpkin. This might be a tradition that "Mary Poppins" will have to do year after year!

This morning, Hallie was sitting on the couch...the little conversation started like this, "Where's Uncle J? Hey!!! I know! Wanna go see my Mary Poppins punkin?!"

Fun at the Punkin' Patch!

We spent our Sunday afternoon at Kaska Family Farm in West, Texas. Hallie was so excited about going to the pumpkin patch, and this place did not disappoint her! I am so glad I found this little place! I have been wanting the "pumpkin patch" experience for Hallie for a while now. Translated: I wanted the picture of her with a pumpkin! Turns out...I didn't get a single picture of Hallie and a pumpkin. Ha! So, we might have to visit a little patch in town (one of those that's not really a patch) just so I can get a few pictures. But shh...don't tell Jonathan! ;o) When we got there, we were given a duck with our admission to race. Now, I had honestly never heard of such, though I had seen it on others' blogs. But this was so much fun and Hallie absolutely loved it! After the duck races we headed over to the cow train. I really wanted to ride this with Hallie, but all the cows that were big enough for adults were taking by little ones with smaller bottoms than mine! Ha! So Hallie braved this by herself...wearing a smile the ENTIRE time! It was very cute! Jonathan was excited about the Corn Maze...though 20 minutes into it, the excitement retired and the frustration joined us. Ha! Hallie was a trooper, as were Gramps and RahRah. The rest of the afternoon was spent getting mud (from the maze) off shoes, riding a hayride, and playing in the corn box. The corn box, by far, was Hallie's favorite. There were a few things that Hallie couldn't do because of her sweet little collarbone, so next year should be even more fun (and we'll skip the corn maze)! Here are a few (OK, many) pictures of our trip! Enjoy!

Waiting her turn for the duck race!

Look at that sweet smile!

Getting ready to ride!

Already over?!

Whew...will we ever find the exit?!

We're out! We're out!

Monkey see, Monkey Do. Hal picking mud off her

shoes like Gramps and RahRah. Sweet.

The corn box! So much fun!

Hayride!

The Mr. and Mrs. :o)

Loving the corn box...glad we saw this last!

We might not have done anything else!

Hallie had so much fun...she was tuckered out!

So Excited!

Sunday afternoon, we headed to the pumpkin patch. Hallie was SO excited to be going. And of course, I had to make a shirt (and matching bow) for the occasion. Jonathan said that Hallie's going to have a complex, thinking that she has to have a themed shirt for every "out of the ordinary" thing she goes to. Hello?! Does he not know that she does?! :o) Hallie was very excited about her pumpkin shirt...the pumpkin shirt that Daddy convinced Hallie was an apple b/c it didn't look enough like a pumpkin to him. Gee, thanks. Ha! Here are a few shots snapped of Hallie and her new shirt taken as we waited on Daddy to head to the pumpkin patch!

Show Us Your Crafts!

I love reading Kelly's Korner. Every Friday, she has a new "Show Us Your Life" post where people all over the blogging community come together and let you sneak a "tour" of their lives. It's quite fun and entertaining. I've never been brave enough to let anyone sneak a peek into our perfectly chaotic life. However, I couldn't pass up this week's tour--homemade goodies. If you know me, you know this is one of my favorite things in the world. If you know me and didn't realize that, now you do. :o) I have created a blog just for my crafts. Keeping with the "theme" of my blogging, it is lovingly called Craft Happies. I have lots of happy things on there and would love to create your perfect happy for any occasion! Take a peek! :o) Just don't steal my ideas without asking...that would make me a little sad.

Just click below!

CRAFT HAPPIES

Making Monsters

Hallie had a doctor's appointment today with an orthopedic doctor. He took a look at her x-rays from last week and basically told us what we already know. Hallie needs to stay in her little arm contraption, er brace for another couple of weeks at least. On November 4, she'll go in for new x-rays to check to see that her collarbone has healed properly. Her collarbone has the little callous over the break now where it has already started healing. Praise the Lord! She has definitely been a trooper through all of this. Although yesterday she managed to wriggle out of her brace with a firm, "I don't need it! My arm's all better!" Stinker.

Hallie's appointment was at 9 am, so I took the day off. I had no idea how long the appointment would take and we didn't want to be rushed for me to get back to school. It turns out, we were finished at 10:30, so I could have easily headed back to school. But I'm SO glad I didn't! Hallie and I had a yummy breakfast and then made the monsters that Nonna sent yesterday.

The monsters...I want y'all to know (all five of you!) that Miss Priss made these monsters ALL by herself! The only thing I did was take the stickers off the sticker sheet for her. I was impressed with her monsters. Now she wants to go to Target (Nonna found this little kit in the Dollar Spot) and get some more monsters to make...she loves crafts! :o)

Notice the little "arms"...well, those are in fact shoes.

Hallie said so. Ha! She wanted to put arms on the red

one later and I said she already had arms. Hallie

quickly corrected me by saying, "No she doesn't. She

doesn't have arms. She has shoes." Oh. Pardon me. ;o)

The finished monsters! Didn't she do a great job?!

Making Monsters!

You'll hear my phone causing the camera to "buzz".

Don't worry...it's not your computer! :o)

Talking on the phone...she is getting SO big!