Ode to Pneumonia

Our week hasn't been so great. Our sweet Hallie has pneumonia. Bless her sweet bones. On Monday RahRah took Hallie to the doctor for a yucky cough. She was sent home with a cough medicine prescription "should she need it", but that it would be better to just let her cough the yucky stuff up. We could give her the cough medicine at night. OK. Monday night, Hallie decided she didn't agree with the doctor's diagnosis and spiked a fever of 102.5. Tuesday, Daddy stayed home with the Hal-ster and took her to the doctor. Some poking and proding and one x-ray later, the Dr. Popejoy gave Hallie a new diagnosis--pneumonia. Bless her heart. We have had a hard time since getting her fever to stay down. It hovers around 100-101, even with us alternating Tylenol and Motrin. I stayed home with Hallie today, and she was really lethargic most of the morning. She at least ate a little for breakfast, but as her morning Tylenol began wearing off, her energey level lowered and her fever went up. She and I laid down for a little nap (two hours long!) and she woke up with a fever of 102.6. We called the doc and she said to see how she did tonight, but if she woke up with fever to give her a call.

When Hallie's fever is around 100, her energy is quite spunky. But much above that and she's a little blob of weakness. Bless her bones. This little video was shot about an hour after she got some ibuprophen and was feeling pretty spunky. haha. I couldn't help but grab the camera and capture the moment. And about 30 minutes after this little episode of monkey-ness, she crashed again. She's pretty spunky now as I type as she has had her Tylenol. We'll see what tomorrow brings us. Please pray for our little monkey to feel better soon! Her second birthday is on Monday...she can't be sick! She has to take mini cupcakes to all her little friends at Miss Pattie's! :o)

The following video is about 5 minutes after the beginning of her singing in the shower (she gives it a new meaning, huh?)...and she was still going strong even after I got the camera out! I call her little song "Ode to Pneumonia". haha.

Ladies and Gentlemen...Hallie...

Sesame Street Live!

Sesame Street Live was a hit! Hallie had so much fun. She was extremely excited this morning as we were telling her that we'd see Elmo soon. She did not protest getting dressed AT ALL! :o) Believe it or not, we weren't really running late...until we were almost there...and we saw blue lights. Sigh! Jonathan obediently pulled over, and the very kind policemen asked if we were having an emergency. We said that we weren't, just that we were heading to see Elmo Live. He kinda gave a chuckle, walked away to license and insurance and then came back to the car. He asked what time the show started and Jonathan said it started at 10:30 (it was 10:20 at this point). The officer told Jonathan to slow down next time and to "enjoy your Elmo show" with another chuckle. haha. As we drove away, we noticed the two officers chuckling. I told Jonathan that I bet Officer A was telling Officer B "that poor guy, I couldn't give him a ticket...sitting through Elmo live will be punishment enough"! LOL!

Once we got there, Hallie was even more excited than before. When the performance started, each character came out one by one to introduce themselves. Hallie--and several of the kids around us--kept asking for Elmo. He was, of course, last to come out since he was the star of the show! At one point, Jonathan turned to me and said, "I wonder how Big Bird feels these days, not being the star of the show anymore." The kid in me got a little sad b/c Big Bird was ALWAYS my favorite--I even had a Big Bird cake for my birthday party in kindergarten! I'm sure Jonathan knew this would tug on this momma's heartstrings! lol. About half way through, there was a 15 minute intermission. And of course, the vendors had to make their way down the aisle to the very front with a bouquet of huge Elmo balloons (I should've taken a picture!) along with cotton candy and sno cones. Seriously...that's just mean. Thankfully Hallie's not at the "I want! I want!" stage yet, but there were many children who were, and I heard their desperate cries! haha. Hallie and I went up to get some cotton candy (YUM!) and I let her choose the color (blue or pink). She of course chose pink. I would have definitely chosen blue. :o) haha. She saw all the balloons, and Jonathan and I were ready to shell out the money at her request; thankfully she didn't ask for one--we were a little surprised b/c she loves balloons! We were also thankful b/c those Elmo-face balloons were TEN dollars! Jonathan took a little break from the festivities and came back with a sweet little t-shirt for our Hallie with all the main characters on it. He's such a sweet daddy! After the show, we headed to Chick-fil-A for some lunch and then home for a nap. Hallie woke up from her nap (that wasn't nearly long enough) talking about seeing Elmo and waving to him, how the show was over but maybe she'd see Elmo again, and how Cookie Monster ate all his cookies! Such a smart cookie!

Hallie and Daddy before the show started.

Waving wildly at Elmo when he came on stage.

The show was "Elmo's Green Thumb". Here he is with
his sunflower, Sunni.

Enjoying the popcorn!

Hallie was a little wiggly at the end, so she thought the view
might be better from the steps.

Sunni the sunflower was planted in Big Bird's garden! :o)

Mommy and Hallie after the show!

Sunny Days!

Where's Elmo?

Hallie's Valentine surprise from Gramps and Rah-Rah were tickets for Sesame Street Live! She's going to be so excited (we hope!). :o) So...in keeping with my mother's traditions, Hallie had to have a new shirt for tomorrow's festivities. :o) Now, I can't say that Elmo is my favorite thing in the world; Hallie likes Elmo, but doesn't request him near as much as she used to. She really loves Word World right now. But we all think Hallie will just have a blast tomorrow. Back on track...so, I started looking yesterday for an Elmo t-shirt online to see what stores might have one. I knew I wouldn't have to worry b/c every time I tried to find a solid white shirt, all I could ever find was an Elmo shirt! Wouldn't you know the moment I want to buy an Elmo shirt, I can only find plain shirts...OR shirts with Dora the Explorer (GAG!) on them. Sigh! I searched high and low. In Hallie's words, "I tried." lol. I went to the mall, Target, Kohl's, and Wal-Mart. I had luck at ONE place...Kohl's. But not for Hallie. No...Kohl's had shirts for Jonathan and me! What? Geez. I talked with my mom on the way home and for a moment, my mom thought that I was going to be a "slacker mom" (so not the way she has taught me! lol!). I explained my story to my mom and her response was, "So Hallie's not going to have an Elmo shirt for tomorrow?" She was distraught. My reply was, "Mom, please...what kind of mommy do you think I am?! Of course Hallie will have a shirt...I'm going home now to make it." That's right. If I can't find what I'm looking for, I've learned to just make it. By now I should know that I should just make things myself to begin with--I'd save lots of time and money!

So...sweet Hallie Shea will have an adorable Elmo shirt to wear to Sesame Street Live tomorrow. :o) Here are a couple of pictures of the finished product. :o) I just used some paint and a round sponge brush for the creation. It was a lot of fun...I really do enjoy making things like this.

Valentines Part Two!

So I posted on the day of Valentine's that our day hadn't quite gone as I would have liked. But that doesn't mean it wasn't wonderful! After Hallie's much needed nap, she awoke...grumpy! lol. Before her nap, she gave Daddy his Valentine gift--some Skittles, chocolate covered strawberries, and Twizzlers. :o) Hallie had "signed" a card just for Daddy. As she was writing her scribbles, she was sweetly saying "d, o, t, o". I'm not sure what that meant, but I deciphered it as "I love you, Daddy!" :o) After Hallie woke up, she got some goodies of her own! We didn't have much time to get going after Hallie woke up, and ended up being late to the Baylor basketball game anyway.

We weren't sure how Hallie would react to it all, but we thought she would love it. She was a little uneasy at first, but by the end of the game, the girl had perked up and was making herself at home--dancing in the aisles and waving to the people around us. Some really great friends were at the game--Kevin and Kelly--so we sat with them. When it was over, we all headed to IHOP for a tasty supper (tasty to us anyway, poor Kevin and Kelly got sick!)! Hallie loves IHOP, so she was definitely happy. The girl can put away some "panpakes". :o)

When we got home, we checked the mailbox...cards from Nonna and Pop! Hallie was very excited to get hers opened and quickly began "reading" her card (we also got a little spending cash!). Jonathan was snapping pictures one after the other, and his subject was getting royal peeved at him. She kept saying, "Stop, Dada! Stop taking pictures!" We laughed at her expressing exactly what she wanted. We have a video of her telling Jonathan to stop...and you can tell she's trying to remember what it was she said (to stop taking pictures), but she can't get it out again.

And then, and then, and then

I'll try to keep this quick update short...I hope there won't be too many "and thens" along the way! First of all, a very big thank you to all of you who prayed for my cousin, Brian! God is a miracle worker for sure! Brian was able to leave the hospital a couple of days ago...banged up and bruised, but alive and well! Thank you so much for your prayers!

First of all, I just want you to know that I'm exhauted. The pile of laundry that is at my house and the huge LL Bean bag of papers that need to be graded reproduces faster than I can get it done! Sigh! I fell asleep last night at 8:30 while rocking Hallie and didn't wake up until 10:30! When I woke up, Hallie was snuggled up under my chin, holding Moe the monkey. We were both drenched in sweat. How gross! Thankfully she didn't wake up when I put her in her bed! Now...I have so much to say and so many pictures and videos to upload. Hopefully tonight! By the way, I'm sitting in my classroom. The kids are in PE. I needed to decompress when I dropped them off. So after taking a few breaths of relief for it being the end of the day, grumbling a bit b/c I have to tutor until 4:00, I suppose I should close for now and go make some copies for the kids' homework.

Let me leave with a few Hallie happies:
*She is talking up a storm! :o) Jonathan had a little conversation with her last night about playing with RahRah at the park and what kind of day she had! How fun!
*Hallie loves Curious George.
*We all had a wonderful Valentine's Day! We went to the Baylor game (and they won!!) and had dinner at IHOP. It was wonderful! Our friends Kevin and Kelly were there, so we hung out with them and then had dinner with them, too. It was a lot of fun. Hallie enjoyed the game and really enjoyed the pep band and dancers! At one point, she was in the aisle dancing. It was hilarious!
*Hallie got tickets for Sesame Street Live from Gramps and RahRah! She is going to be so excited.
*Hallie is just a sweetie...still loves chicken, still loves shoes, and has a new love for her fish, Molly.

Pictures coming soon!

Update on Brian

A quick update on my cousin, Brian. Thank you all for praying for him! He was taken off his ventilator this morning, so he's breathing on his own. That's really all know right now, but that is such a blessing! We serve a mighty God!

Happy Heart Day! <3

Happy Valentine's Day...I love Valentine's Day! All the mushy cards, the chocolate candy, the words love and pictures of hearts everywhere. Ah...can't every day be Valentine's Day?! :o) I'm sure some of my friends are gagging right now. ;o)

I had big expectations for our Valentine's Day as a little family! I wanted to have Heart Day breakfast at Cafe Cappuccino with the rest of Waco (HA!), I wanted to take Hallie to Build-A-Bear and let her put a little heart filled with love in a little stuffed animal, have lunch at Chick-fil-A, nap, and then I wanted to have dinner somewhere that wasn't crowded. Then I wanted to pull out my surprise that I had up my sleeve! But...as all expectations quickly receive disappointments, as did mine. Sigh. Jonathan had to go to San Antonio on business Thursday night and didn't get home until yesterday. Well, that doesn't effect Valentine's Day...true. And he did bring Mommy a sweet rose, Hallie a new DVD, and supper form Chick-fil-A! :o) I just needed to throw that in there. haha. I had a math workshop at SCHOOL--the farthest place from romance I know--this morning at 8:30! It was over at 11:30. So no breakfast with the rest of Waco this morning! Just some teacher friends. Hallie was out of milk, so a little trip to the grocery was in order after my workshop. And I'm just one of those people who like to meander around the grocery when I only need one thing! So getting milk took an hour. Another sigh. Hallie's taking a late nap, so no Build-A-Bear or lunch at The Chick.

So here is how our Valentine's has gone: Wake up late for workshop...surprise surprise. I still go to Sonic for my necessary sweet tea. Hallie is crying the entire time I'm getting ready which almost pushed me to tears. Had I not been running so late, I would've snuggled her and wiped away those tears. But that was Daddy's job! So cartoons it was! :o) While I headed to a workshop and enjoyed yummy breakfast tacos and doughnuts from Shipley's, my sweetie and my mini-sweetie did a little Daddy-Daughter breakfast tradition: "Do-duts" from Shipley's. :o) So I guess we kinda had breakfast together? I learned lots at my workshop...Daddy and Hallie went to see Grandmommy (J's grandmother)...and Hallie calls her Grandmom. It is SO cute! I went to HEB, got much more than I went in there for (remember my list: milk), and headed out probably an hour later with candies, chocolate covered strawberries, a balloon, and more treats for Hallie. I needed a camera batter, so I headed to Target and bought said battery. Whew. I called the Hubs to see if I should get something for lunch and he said an egg roll from Jack in the Box. OK. Went there...they were closed. Grr. I got home irritated b/c I sweating (even though it's 53 outside), had no lunch for the Hubs or Hallie, and my arms were full. I was disappointed b/c I wouldn't be able to get Hallie's goodies together before her nap b/c she was pretty cranky (and hungry!). I picked a fight with Jonathan, he took it, and I later apologized. Sigh. I fixed the little girl some nuggies, heated some leftover mac and cheese, and cut up an apple. And the stinker ate EVERY bite I fixed! Daddy still hasn't gotten lunch. Oops. I fixed a little Valentine bag for Daddy from Hallie and she took it to him (pictures posted later). Then I started a washer of clothes that are currently drying (man, I need to get those navy pants out before they shrink!) Hallie is now napping. I wanted to embroider her a shirt that said "Baylor", but I can't find ANY of my embroidery thread/needles/hoops. Grr. Should I pick another fight with Jonathan? Nah.

Whew. The surprise portion of Valentine's Day should go off without a hitch. Hallie and I are taking Daddy to the Baylor-Texas A & M basketball game tonight.

I'm realizing that I should've named this post "Valentine's Ramblings"! :o)

I'll post pictures later of Hallie getting her Heart Day surprises and from the Baylor basketball game! I hope she has as much fun at the basketball game as she did at the football game! :o)

Please Pray

My family needs your prayers right now.

My cousin, Brian, was in a really bad car accident yesterday. I'm don't know details of the accident. I'm figuring it happened in the Anniston, AL area. I don't know all the details, but I know he was air-lifted to UAB (Birmingham) and is in critical condition. We have a VERY large (yet VERY close-knit) family, so by the time information gets to everyone, the details are sometimes distorted. So if the information I'm relaying is incorrect, I will post that. What I know now is that he has several fractured bones, is bleeding from his lungs and kidneys and a concussion. He is unconscious at the moment. My family would really appreciate your prayers!

Please pray for Brian's healing and for the doctors to know how to treat him. Please pray for his parents, Mike and Melody, and his brother, Heath.

Thank you in advance for your prayers. And praise to our Father, the true Great Physician.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understandings; in ALL your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your path. Proverbs 3:5-6

Here, Fishy Fishy!

Jonathan decided that he wanted to get a little fish for Hallie b/c she loves fishies SO much. Last week he came home with a little starter aquarium and set it up. She didn't notice it until today. When she saw it, she became VERY excited! It was empty, so she was quickly on to something else. When naptime drew near, we told Hallie that when she woke up we were going to go pick out a fish. She was very excited about this...almost too excited to take a nap! But she finally dozed off after cuddling with Mommy for a little while. For the few minutes before her snooze, she talked about going to get a fish. When she woke up, Jonathan went in to get her. She said two things. First was Momma and the second word was fish! I can't believe she remembered. She was so excited as we were getting ready to go. She had a great time at the pet store, looking at all the fish. We couldn't decide on what fish to get. We didn't want a Goldfish but we didn't want to spend a whole lot of money on something that might not live very long. Jonathan and I were talking and turned around to find Hallie staring into one of the aquariums--full of Black Molly fish. We walked away and looked at some others, but she would go back to that tank. So we decided to get one of those and then one of another. She was very proud of her fish and was kissing the bag, talking to them. We've put them in their new home and every now and then she'll remember they're there and say "Fish!" and run in to check on them. :o)

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.