Painting Painting Painting

Painting truly is one of Hallie's favorite "hobbies". She will paint for an hour or longer, using up every ounce of paint she's offered! I was cleaning up the kitchen, getting ready to cook our Monday night meal as Hallie sat quietly painting. She is very sweet in doing so and doesn't make a mess at all! She's very particular about where the paint goes. :o)

"All gone."

All of Hallie's masterpieces!

**Monday, 02 February 09**

Future Chef?

Hallie loves helping her RahRah cook. It is really sweet. Here she was helping RahRah make cupcakes! Yum! They were definitely made with sweetness, by sweetness! :o) Hallie was already putting the mix in the cups before she was even finished mixing!

RahRah made Hallie a sweet little Valentine's pillowcase with her name on it! The same pillowcases she made for Daddy and Uncle Jay when they were little. Hallie loves her pillow and loves her new personalized pillowcase! :o)




**Sunday, 01 February 09**

Saturday at the Park!

Last Saturday, we spent the day as a family and it was wonderful! We love Saturdays! We woke up, watched Choo-Choo (Thomas the Train), got dressed and headed to IHOP. After devouring fabulous pancakes, we headed to the park. We hoped to find some ducks in the warm weather that Hallie could feed, but didn't. I think I was more disappointed than anyone! ha! After the park, we headed to Toys 'R Us to play around. Hallie had a lot of fun and we did, too! When we got home, Hallie took a nice, long nap and Mommy and Daddy rested as well! It was a very fun Saturday as our little family of three.

We had told Hallie that we were leaving to go look at toys. So all the way to the car, Hallie was chanting "Toys toys toys". Jonathan would say, "There's a bird, see it?" And Hallie would reply, "Yais, I see birds. Toys toys toys!" Jonathan pointed to a squirrel and said, "Look! A squirrel!" Hallie waved and said, "Hi, squirrel. Hi! Toys toys toys!" She is so funny!

**Saturday, 31 January 09**

New Shoes!

Hallie loves getting packages in the mail. She has learned that if there is a package, it is probably from Nonna. And if it is from Nonna...there will be shoes! When I opened the box, I asked her what it was and she said, "Shoes!!!" Of course, she couldn't even see any shoes--there was a bag on top. She just knows! And our sweet Nonna did not disappoint the little girl...Hallie found a shoebox. And she knew it was hers. :o) She immediately wanted them opened before she dug any further into the box of treasures. Look how cute these little shoes are! Thanks, Nonna for feeding Hallie's love for shoes!

Hallie was so excited to get her bus--she had gotten
it for Christmas, but we just didn't have
room for it in our luggage.

No, I did not tell her to pose her feet like this.
She just knows what to do! LOL!

**Thursday, 27 January 09**

Mommy's Sweetie

On Mondays, I try to help out the family by having dinner at our place--we have Gramps and Rah-Rah (and sometimes Uncle Jay) over. Hallie was helping me get ready for our company by emptying the dishwasher. She very much wants to take the bowls out for me...but I'm just not ready yet--the great possibility of ceramic bowls hitting a tile floor...no thanks. :o) She does take out her sippy cups, puts the little valves in there and tries to put the tops on before sitting them on the counter! And after getting the sharp knives out, Hallie puts away the silverware. She is a big helper in this way, and she has so much fun doing it...she'll name each thing as she's putting it away, too! She gets specific when it's "Hallie's spoon". :o)

Are you sure I can't get the bowls out this time?

Hallie's "finished" putting away the silverware!
She is so proud of herself when she finishes!

I was washing my hands at the sink after putting in
the dirty dishes, looked over and she was doing the
same thing. Little stinker! So cute!

**This was Monday, January 26, 2009.**

Catching Up!

My, oh my! It has been almost two weeks since my last post! Believe me, it's not because there's nothing going on around here! Quite the opposite! I think it's safe to say that I take pictures/videos of some silly something sweet Hallie is doing almost daily. I'm sure she is tired of Mommy with the camera by now. In fact, she can be doing something SO cute, but the second I get the camera out to capture the moment for a lifetime, she stops...or does the opposite of what she was doing. She is such a mess! A mess with the sweetest, cutest little personality I have seen in a toddler! We love her SO much!

So, I'm going to play catch up. First, let me post a few things Hallie is saying these days and some of her favorite things. She keeps us laughing with some of her sayings. :o)

*Do-duts (doughnuts). These are her favorite right now. And Saturday morning has become "do-dut day". :o) She gets so incredibly excited about getting doughnuts!

*"Good job, Momma!" (or Daddy, or whoever she's talking to). And she uses this correctly--it is so cute! If she asks for help to get something, she'll say "good job" after we help her. Precious!

*She is such a little sharer. She gets a piece of gum before she gets in the bathtub every night (we started this a while back when we were having a hard time getting her to take her medicine for bronchitis...so, she'd get a piece after she took her medicine). She LOVES gum and will do almost anything for gum! When she gets a piece, she breaks it into three. She puts on in her mouth, hands one to me and says, "He-ah (here), Momma some." And then takes the other piece to Daddy saying, "Dada need some." Cute!

*Whenever Hallie has a snack she doesn't want in the car, whenever we stop she wants to throw it out for the birds. She'll say "Git it, burds! Git it!"...I think it is the cutest thing in the world!

*She is really getting the hang of saying please and thank you. Please is more consistent right now, but she says "thanks" at the sweetest times. She'll ask for help, "Help, Momma, please." And whenever I do what she has requested, she'll say, "Thanks, Momma" without being prompted.

*The girl loves shoes. And if she likes the shoes you're wearing, she will tell you that your shoes are pretty. "Pitty shoes, Momma." :o)

*She picks up on words SO quickly, she's just a little sponge. A toy wasn't working today and I said it needed new batteries. She walked over to Jonathan and said, "Need new batt-ies, Dada."

*When she thinks Jonathan and I are being silly, she lets us know! "You're silly, Dada. Silly, Dada!" lol.

*Singing "Ole Donnad" (Old MacDonald)...she loves the EIEIO part, "I Wish" (Rascal Flatts' My Wish), ABCD! (she says this so cutely along with the letters to J--give or take some while singing).

*Counting things...she can count on her own to two, but will repeat your counting if you're counting with/for her.

*She loves "nuggies" (chicken in pretty much any form) with "ransh" (ranch), green beans (most days), broccoli (so says her "teacher"), edamame beans, spaghetti, butter on anything (or plain if you're not watching her!), rice, "Cheer-o's" (Cheerios), cu-cakes (cupcakes), gum, and can-cane (candy canes)--I keep forgetting to put those away! :o) She loves anything with flavor--she ate a sour gummy Lifesaver the other night and didn't even blink...and those things are SOUR!

Gosh, there are SO many things that I wish I would never forget...little things she says now that just crack us up. She is so sweet! She is now 23 months old and weighs almost 24 pounds. I'm not sure how tall she is exactly, but she's taller than any of us give her credit for. She'll pull something off the counter and we'll realize that she's getting taller right before our eyes! It's hard to imagine, b/c we just want her to stay this little bity thing!

Now...if you have gotten this far, without any pictures, then you are a true friend! ;o) Pictures coming soon in the next few posts! I like to keep the pictures in order.

Naming Names...

At Christmas, Nonna sent Hallie home with two puzzle/matching games--mommies to babies and then colors. Each match is a puzzle piece that fits together. Surprisingly, Hallie can match several of the mommies to the babies: mommy and baby, dog and puppy, cat and kitten, penguin and chick (!), elephant and calf, cow and calf. The colors...not so much. :o) But she absolutely LOVES naming the objects that are featured in the colors game! And when Jonathan holds up a card and asks "What's this?" She will quickly reply with the answer as if she's on a game show! Cup, phone, frog, berries, fish, flower, catty cat (cute!), dog, and so on. We were extremely surprised at what she named three of the objects. You'll be surprised at what she calls them...and without absolutely no prompting from Mommy or Daddy. Oh, it would've been cute even if we had prompted her, but it is definitely cuter b/c we didn't! Of course, the quality isn't so fabulous b/c she knew we were videoing...and she had already answered Daddy's requests about 5 times before the video shoot. But, it's still cute, nonetheless! I don't want to spoil the fun of what she says. I will post below the video what she's saying...I'm not sure if she names all three of the items or just two. Either way, it's pretty sweet. :o) This was captured after we got home from the park...Hallie spent a little "school time" with Daddy!

Hallie names Dada's buttons b/c she always points to and names the buttons on his shirt. She names Pop's hat b/c he is always wearing a hat. And she names Nonna's shoes b/c they look like little slippers and Nonna always wears slippers (unless we're out and about) and we got her some for Christmas. It is amazing what Hallie can associate with pictures! I love it!

We Heart Hallie!

We love Sunday afternoons with Hallie! They are always fun-filled and laid back. We were able to capture a few precious pictures of our little blessing (yes, she is still our LITTLE blessing!) in the beautiful weather. We even got a few Mommy-Hallie and Daddy-Hallie pictures. Those are few and far between b/c she rarely stops long enough for a picture with us!

A Sunny 87 degrees...

On Friday afternoon, it was 87 degrees! It was kinda windy, but it was absolutely beautiful! After picking Hallie up from Miss Pattie's, she and I headed to the park! We were both excited about spending a beautiful afternoon outside! Hallie played on the swings, she slid, she climbed, she rode the little firetruck bouncer, she slid some more and ran around admiring the skills of the older kids! She made friends as she always does and happily played with them. She even took her turn on the big slide (over and over again!). She is SO brave...a little too brave for my enjoyment while on playground equipment that's about 3 feet out of my comfort reach. Here are a few pictures from the day--I'm so glad I had the camera in the car! We stayed at the park until it was almost dark! It was very hard to get my outdoor-loving 22 month old to the car! With promises of another afternoon at the park, she finally complied (along with a little counting of 1-2-3!)! We had a wonderfully fun afternoon!

Fun with Pink Eye...

I don't know how much fun pink eye can be, but I have tried to make Hallie's day home fun-filled...minus the two times we've already had to put drops in her eyes. She did not have fun with that! We had a yummy breakfast, watched a little Word World and played in Hallie's kitchen. Then I asked Hallie if she wanted to make cupcakes. Her excitement was SO cute! She kept saying, "Make cu-cakes! Make cu-cakes!" So sweet! Hallie was a big helper in making the cupcakes. She only stirred for a little bit and then didn't want to help anymore. But she loved puting the liners in the muffin tin! She would put them in, take them out, rearrange them and put them in again. Lots of fun for her! After making cupcakes, Hallie got to paint--one of her most favorite things to do! After lunch with Daddy, Hallie and I went outside for a few minutes and got some leaves to do some leaf rubbings after her nap. She's sleeping peacefully right now. Such a sweetie! I have really enjoyed being home with her today and really miss my days as a stay-at-home mommy! So all of you SAHMs...relish every moment! :o)

My little cupcake maker!

A Fun Day Off

Mommy didn't have to go to school, Daddy didn't have to go to work, and Hallie didn't have to go to nursery school! It was a wonderful Monday! We spent the day lounging, playing, doing a little "hiking" behind our house, riding a trike, and just having a good day! Hallie's eyes have been a little gunky, so we decided to take her to the doctor to see if it was allergies or what. We got an icky report of pink eye. Ugh. So...Mommy's and Hallie's long weekend is extended! It will be so much fun to stay home with her! We have eye drops to put in Hallie's eyes--and she does not approve, but it should clear her sweet baby brown's right up! :o)

Heading down...yes, Jonathan has on shorts and short
sleeves! It was about 65 yesterday--a beautiful day!

Hallie found her missing ball at the bottom of the hill
in the very dry creek! She was so excited!

Our shadow family!

Monkey See-Monkey Do-Monkey Wear!

We love Sunday afternoons at Gramps's and Rah-Rah's house! :o) Hallie especially loves it when Uncle Jay (which seems to come out "Shea") comes over! She loves him so much and has so much fun playing with him! :o)

Hallie and Uncle Jay

Hallie is saying "more" before he can even
catch her! :o)

Little Drummer Hallie (this one's for her Gramps
and Uncle Kelly)

Sweet girl looking at the birds

Fun in the hammock!

This is Hallie's favorite spot in the yard!

Toothbrush Tunes!

What fun! Hallie got this Toothbrush Tunes toothbrush in her stocking from Santa and we finally got it out last night. She has always been a good toothbrusher until the past couple of weeks, so it was the perfect time to break out the new one. She was mesmerized by the toothbrush playing a tune--hers plays "Bare Necessities" from The Jungle Book. Just push the button, hear, "OK, ready to brush?" and then it is starts singing. About halfway through it says "You're doing a great job!" and then continues singing. The really neat thing is that you can hear it outside of your mouth, but it is amplified when pressure is put on the bristles (inside the mouth). Hallie loved this and thought is was really neat! Can I have one please?! They have "junior" toothbrushes for little ones and then the regular sized ones for older kids...Wal-Mart, Target, and HEB (our grocery store). They're about $5. :o) Well worth it...for Santa, that is!

The video is a little lengthy and there was some confusion,
but I knew Nonna and Pop would want to see what a
big girl Hallie is! :o)

Daddy's Little Helper

Usually Hallie reserves her helpfulness for Mommy, but this morning, Hallie decided Daddy needed some help making his coffee. She was very excited to help him! I know Daddy's coffee was filled with extra love b/c of Hallie's help. :o) Here are a few pictures of the events...as you can tell, Daddy and his mini both suffer from extreme bedhead. :o) Even with messy hair, this pair is pretty stinking cute!

As it should be...

It was very cold (for Waco, TX anyway) after I picked Hallie up after school! She and I came home, played, and made some hot chocolate. Like her mommy, she prefers the "mwewols" (marshmallows)! :o) This tasty cup of hot chocolate was 1 part milk, 1 part hot chocolate mix, and 1000 parts marshmallows...just as it should be! :o) It was a tasty treat that warmed our hearts! It was the perfect ending to a long day...but thank goodness I have a little break tomorrow (the kids are out of school...so I'll be working in my classroom all day!).

Yais!

Our sweet Hallie has become quite the conversationalist! It is precious to watch her vocabulary grow and her ability to communicate blossom by the minute! While we don't like being away from her during the day, we are very thankful that she is in a place where she is talked to a lot! We think that is so important in building her vocabulary!

My mom sent two little matching games home with us at Christmas. One matches the mommy animal to the baby animal and the other matches colors. Hallie can put together a lot of the mommy-baby cards and a few of the colors. Her favorite thing to do is to name the pictures on the cards. She also does this with her peek-a-boo blocks. It is so fun to hear "bird, car, bebe (baby), line (lion), cup, soos (shoes), momma (picture of a woman), too-bush (toothbrush), shirt, pane (plane), tchain (train)" and many others from the other room! She has also started "reading" her books a lot! I absolutely love it!


Last night, Hallie and I had this conversation while she was bathing:

Me: Did Rah-Rah pick you up today from Miss Pattie's?

Hal: Yais. (This is a move from simply nodding "yes"!)

Me: Well, what did you and Rah-Rah do this afternoon?

Hal: (pointing and moving her arms wildly) jibberish...jibberish...I saw park. jibberish...jibberish...I pay (play)...Rah-Rah played (yes, played!). We played da park.

Me: Wow! You and Rah-Rah went to the park to play?!

Hal: Yais.

Me: Did you have fun?

Hal: Yais. I side (slide). I swing. Rah-Rah side (slide). We go home.

Me: You and Rah-Rah slid together?! Did it get cold outside and you went home?

Hal: Yais. It cold. I home. (She has really started saying "I home" or "We home" when we get home!)

A very pleased Hallie happily finished playing in the bathtub while a very proud mommy shed a tiny tear at the thought of having a true conversation with her little girl. She is getting so big, and it's happening way too fast! It was so much fun to talk with her...to know she was understanding me and for her to respond in a way that I could decipher! I can only imagine what all her jibberish was telling me! :o) And I absolutely LOVE that she has started answering with a verbal "yais"!