Splish Splash!

Oh sweet Hallie! She picked out some rain boots this past weekend and has been in love with them (as she is most shoes). We got home from school yesterday and the neighbor was watering her lawn. It was draining into the street and Hallie was so excited! She quickly ran inside and took her shoes off and said she needed her rain boots. She put them on as fast as she could and headed out the door. Thank goodness the camera was right by the door so I could capture this pure innocence! Hallie played and played in the water. She walked up and down the little stream...enjoying every second!

The Influence of an Uncle

My, oh my! Hallie absolutely LOVES her Uncle Jeremy...aka Unca-Jay. And whenever we get together with the family, she always ask if he is coming. He is not afraid to get down in the floor and act like a little kid with Hallie and she loves it! Monday night we had the family over for supper...Jeremy got here a little early and Hallie was SO excited when she saw him at the door. I was able to finish cleaning up and get things started while Hallie played and played. The living room was awfully quiet...when I walked in, I saw Uncle Jeremy "teaching" Hallie to write on her foot. I'm not sure what it is with the Echols family teaching Hallie to write on herself, but it definitely runs in the family (sorry, RahRah! heehee!). Hallie was so excited to show off her artwork...now I wonder how many months it will take us to teach Hallie not to write on the bottoms of her feetsies. That's OK--she loves her Uncle Jeremy!

The lesson...

The left foot finished.

The right foot finished.

Hallie's "after supper ice cream"--mostly
on her mouth and shirt! HA!

Fun Hallie-Jeremy pictures...they were screaming
as loud as they possibly could! Fun!! Look at
her little clasped hands! So cute!

All My Stuff

Hallie gave her loving wake up call around 8:30 Saturday morning. When I went to get her, I changed her diaper and asked if she wanted her pillow and blanket to go to our bed (as she does every Saturday morning). She said, "Yes." Then she said, "And Moe." We got Moe. Then Hallie wanted back in her bed. I was confused as to why she wanted back in her bed...but then her reason quickly followed as she began to name off everything in her bed while handing it to me. "And Righty. And Pink Pig. And Pink Piper Pig. And Baby. And this baby. And Kitty Cat. And Curs Jurge (Curious George). Oh no! Baby's hat! Get Baby's hat! And this (her toy)." My hands were full, to say the least! Then Hallie looks at me and says, "Get me, Momma!" LOL! So hands full, to Mommy's and Daddy's bed we traveled...and here is a quick snap of all Hallie's loot! :o)

Jesus Love Me

Here are a few pictures of our two year old (!) last Sunday on the way to church. She just had to have her purse with her little lamb and her doggie in it--so cute! Notice her watch, too. She is becoming such an independent, sweet little girl. She is so much fun! And she knows exactly what she wants all the time.

Squealing (lots), This Old Man, and ABCD

Cooking

Hallie just loves helping Mommy cook. She is always very interested in whatever I am cooking (when I cook, that is!) and wants to help. Here she is helping me making Krusteaz Raspberry Bars--they are very good! In all of the excitement of Hallie helping, I didn't quite follow the directions. They still turned out OK, though. The next morning, Hallie opened the pantry and pulled out a box of muffin mix and said, "We make muffins, Mommy." So we did. She was such a big helper and loved stirring (and tasting) the batter!

Making Raspberry Bars after her nap--notice
the little Alfalfa hair!

This is the distraction when I start cooking the
items Hallie can't help with...painting.

She said, "Mmm...it's good!" :o)

She was saying, "I taste more?"

Molly-Fish Take 3

Yes...take three. We first got Hallie a fish (let it be known, against my wishes) in early February. I can't deny the happiness it brought my heart to see her excitement. We got her a black Molly fish and another red fish. When she helped get the red one out, she was a little...well, violent. Bless her sweet heart. And the fish's. Nonetheless, Little Red didn't make it through the night. But Molly Fish (as Hallie lovingly named her) seemed strong. That is until the morning of March 5th. We had been up late cleaning on Wednesday in preparation for my parents' arrival. I fed Molly Fish on Wednesday night...woke up Thursday to find her laying on the tank floor. Poor thing. We had hoped Hallie wouldn't notice Molly. She did. We told Hallie that Molly had gone to work with Jonathan...I know, I know. But you should have seen her sweet face! She makes an Oscar winning sad face! Jonathan kindly replaced the fish...and Molly #2 was readily accepted. That is until the very next Sunday (note: 3 days later). Jonathan had quickly gotten Molly #2 out of the tank. We were hoping Hallie wouldn't notice. And she didn't. Our plan was to get rid of the tank and forget the whole fish thing. Actually, the words "You were right, maybe we shouldn't have gotten a fish" came out of Jonathan's mouth (oh, sweet words!). And we were on that road to being fish-free...until Tuesday night. We had Jonathan's parents over and Hallie was playing around as usual. She moseyed on over to the buffet table that houses the fish tank and started calling out "MOLLY! MOLLY!" Then she ran over in baby-hysterics saying, "Momma...Molly?!" Jonathan and I just looked at each other. And you can guess what came out of our mouths--"Molly went to work with Daddy...she'll be home tomorrow." We agreed that she's just not old enough to understand life and death just yet. Which probably means she's not old enough for a fish...but that's another issue. Needless to say, Jonathan came home with "Molly (#3)" the very next day. I snapped a few pictures of the occasion. Jonathan was wiser this time--no more $1.50 Black Molly fish...he got a "Titanic"...a Beta fish. :o) We'll see if we can keep this Molly kicking. Hallie looked confusedly at the fish at first. Maybe b/c it was in a little cup and not a bag like the others. I know she noticed that this Molly had long, flowing fins unlike the Mollies before. I told her that Molly had grown some long, pretty fins. She accepted my answer and was immediately excited about her new friend.

She's thinking "This is NOT Molly."

OK...I'll take her!

Hallie is SO very excited!

Giving Molly kisses. So sweet.

Birthday Party

We had so much fun at Hallie's birthday party with friends and family! We had a few people who couldn't make it and greatly missed them! My parents arrived early Thursday morning and were able to spend the entire day with Hallie on Thursday while I was at school. I took off on Friday to spend the day with them and get ready for Hallie's party. It was so nice to have my parents here to help us get ready for Hallie's party. :o)

Hallie got a lot of fun things and we appreciate all of the "presents"! She had so much fun opening them up, being surprised at each one. :o) So far, her faves are her table and chairs with the tea set (she loves serving us!) and her Cozy Coupe. She has ridden in that car every day since Saturday.

Below are a few pictures I took with my camera, but Jonathan took some with his work camera (much better than mine); hopefully I'll get some of the pictures he took uploaded soon!

Thank you to everyone who helped make Hallie's birthday extra special!

The Birthday Table

Cupcake Close up

Blowing out the candles

Hallie and silly Uncle Jeremy

Opening "presnents"

Hallie was very excited when she opened the tea set!

Hallie did not want to take out the "floor board" in the
Cozy Coupe...she prefers to do none of the work! HA!

Happy Second Birthday!

Happy second birthday, sweet Hallie!

We had a little family birthday party for her at home. We had Chick-fil-A for supper and a cute clown ice cream cone from Baskin Robbins. She loved both! She'll get cupcakes on Saturday at her party. :o) She did get to open a few presents...it is, after all her birthday! She got a CUTE sleeping mat from Gramps and RahRah--a monkey! I will have to get a picture of it up--none of the ones I took tonight turned out very well. :o/ She also got a String a Farm game (you string different chunky pieces onto a string), a baseball mit/ball (velcro), and a glowing Curious George. The singing birthday card was also a hit. And she got a card from Elmo (that Daddy made)! :o)

I know she will have lots of fun at her birthday party Saturday. :o)

And in keeping with my tradition with my sweet college roommate, Aimee, I am quickly teaching Hallie how to exclaim "It's my birthday!"!! :o)

The Birthday Girl

I asked Hallie to show me her birthday shirt and this
is what I got...Miss Priss. haha!

Hallie was SO excited about her clown! And I am very
surprised she was able to go to sleep last night b/c
all she ate was the icing and a few bites of ice cream!

With Gramps and RahRah--I can never get them all
looking at the camera! :o)

Hallie said, "This is good. It's good ice-seem!"

Cutie Two-tie! :o)

Our sweet Hallie--

We cannot believe you are already two years old. It seems like just yesterday that we were bringing you home from the hospital. Our lives are so blessed by your sweet spirit! You bring us so much love and joy day after day. You are our spunky little monkey. :o) We love your personality...my how it continues to come out day after day! We pray for your sweet spirit nightly, hoping that you will grow to love the Lord with such a big heart! We are excited to teach you what we know about Him and His love for you. And we know we will be taught by you as well.

You have many favorite things right now. You keep us giggling at your requests (and we often grow tired of a few). Your favorite TV shows are: Word World, Blue's Clues, Curious George, Imagination Movers, and Thomas the Train. Right now you prefer Blue's Clues over the others, although Word World comes in a very close second. :o) Your favorite foods are: chicken, macaroni and cheese, rice, green beans, spaghetti, popcorn, fish (Talapia, to be exact). And you will eat ranch dressing or butter on almost anything! You love milk (you're still on soy milk), water, and all juices (though you really love apple juice and orange juice). You also love almost anything sweet--we have to limit you! You love ice cream, M & Ms, Skittles, and fruit gummies. We often use these things as a reward...otherwise that's all you would eat! ;o) You love clothes and shoes...and you have begun choosing what you wear all on your own (with a few choices from Mommy and Daddy). You love to play in your kitchen, play with your babies, feed Curious George, chase Mommy and Daddy, play outside, paint, color, and draw! You love living life, and that is SO much fun to watch! You are surprised and excited about almost everything.

The past year has brought many accomplishments. You have really bloomed in your talking and are making complete, grammatically correct sentences--to our surprise--every day! You amaze us all the time! You can now jump, gallop, jump off of something onto the floor, run, turn in circles, walk backward, clap to the beat (you are VERY good at this), sing sings ("Old Donnie", "Hallie's Bridge"--London Bridge, "ABCs", and several others), dance, shake your hips, feed yourself, drink from a cup (although we're still perfecting this one!), and give lots of hugs and kisses without even being asked to. We are SO proud of everything you can do and the sweet little girl you have become...and we love you so much!

A few things you've said lately that just make us smile are:
"I chase you!"
"It's right there, Momma. Right there."
"I come with you."
"I put it in my pocket."
"Sing, birds! Sing Old Donnie. Please sing, birds!" (Old Donnie=Old McDonald)
"I want some."
"This trash? It is. I throw it away."
"I put shoes on. OK? OK."

Something sweet you said lately was while you were looking at a Noah's Ark book. There was a rainbow on the last page. You pointed to it knowingly and said, "There's a rainbow." Daddy and I looked at each other puzzled. I asked you, "Hallie, how did you know that was a rainbow?" You quickly replied, while pointing at the ceiling, "I see rainbows in the sky." LOL! We just laughed. I know we used to read this book quite often a LONG time ago...and I'm sure you learn about rainbows and such at Miss Pattie's, but Daddy and I were just caught off guard!

Yesterday you were playing with your Polly Pocket. You put her in my pocket. About 5 minutes later I changed pants and you were having a fit crying, "Polly! Polly! Polly!" (Except it came out "Pah-ee, Pah-ee, Pah-ee!") When I finally figured out what you were saying as you were pointing wildly at my closet, I said, "Oh! Polly is in my pocket. Don't worry, I'll get her." When I did, you took Polly from me and said, "Thanks. I put Polly in my pocket." I just smiled! :o)

You say silly things all the time...and frequently call Daddy and me silly. :o) That makes us smile, too! Oh sweet girl! We love you so much! Happy Birthday, our sweet love. We love you more and more every day...to the moon and back!

All our love--
Dada and Momma

A Look Back...

Welcome Hallie Shea!
March 2, 2007 12:22 pm

Hallie @ 6 months

Hallie is ONE!

Hallie is 18 months...and a busy toddler!

Much Better!

For those of you who prayed for our little monkey...THANK YOU! She is feeling so much better, it is wonderful! She is our spunky monkey once again! haha. She has been home all week. Now, I know she's not complaining about being home all week, but she has missed going outside to play! We all took turns this past week staying with her...and I assure you, we are all sick of Blue's Clues. That was one of the only ways to keep her in one spot. I would now like to have a "TV Outage" for the next two weeks! lol. While we all are a little overdosed on Blue, she (Yes! Did you know Blue is a girl?! We were shocked!) did keep our monkey still for 30 minutes at a time...which is exactly what she needed (rest!). :o)

Jonathan and I got out of the house for a couple of hours tonight, thanks to Gramps and RahRah, so we could do a little birthday shopping! That's right--tomorrow is Hallie's birthday. I cannot believe our little girl will be two years old. I really don't know where the time goes. I have to be careful b/c as I'm wishing for the school year to be over, I'm wishing away precious days in Hallie's toddler years! We found her birthday present...and she is going to be SO excited. I can't wait to post pictures...but I'm going to keep it hush-hush until then. :o) I finished picking up party supplies (not that we're having a huge deal, but I do love to plan a birthday party!), so I'm finished with everything but the food. And that will be easy. :o)

We have a party planned for Hallie on Saturday, 12:00-2:00! If you live close by, join us! :o)

Thank you again for your prayers. We know the Lord is the true Healer!