A Present!

(04.10.09)

After we got home from seeing the Easter Bunny, Hallie had a package from Nonna! She was so excited to open it. I got it all on video--but it's in four separate videos. They are all super cute, but I'm only posting the last one taken so Nonna can see Hallie get her shoes. :o) Hallie ripped through that box and all its presents like nobody's business. She grabbed one thing, showed her genuine excitement and then was on to the next! What I don't capture in the video was her true love for all of the things...after the videos, she was going back through everything and "oohing and ahhing" over it all! Very cute and sweet! Thanks, Nonna for Hallie's Easter goodies (and my shoes that were included, too...although Hallie tried to steal those for herself!). :o)

Some of Hallie's presents--an adorable little
dress that she LOVES and a "Prinpress" camera!

Showing off her new shoes.

Easter Bunny!

(04.10.09) Hallie was SO excited to see the Easter bunny. We were afraid her excitement might outweigh actually sitting on his lap, but her excitement never left! Hallie's Rah-Rah made her this adorable outfit for Easter! Doesn't she look adorable in it?! Needless to say, Hallie loved the Easter Bunny and talked about it for several days after visiting him.

Going to see the Easter Bunny!

Hallie was thinking about going to see him again!

Our mall conveniently has all the rides in the food court...so while we wait for Chick-fil-A, Hallie rode the "hot dog car".

Mary Poppins

(04.03.09)
Hallie has really been wanting to watch what she calls a "big girl movie". Why does she want to watch this? Well...she saw Mommy's movie "27 Dresses" and wanted to watch it. It definitely has two of her favorite things on it...pink and dresses! :o) We told her she couldn't watch it b/c it's a big girl movie (big mistake in hindsight!). So...we finally found a big girl movie for her--Mary Poppins--and she loves it! We don't watch it very often, but when she has the itch for a big girl movie, it hits the spot. :o) Here are some pictures of Hallie enjoying Mary Poppins for the first time. She had her Mary Poppins doll with her saying, "Look, Mary Possins, look!" Amazingly, I can remember why she has a boo-boo on her head! We were playing with the neighbor's kids (whom she had just met) and then Daddy came home. She had to go see him; I stayed talking with the neighbor. Hallie came running down the road (we live on a cul de sac) to finish playing with her new friends and met the pavement in the blink of an eye. Poor thing! :o(

Oh. My. Goodness.

OK...this is the second time that I'm going to use the TAKS test as an excuse for not posting. For those of you who aren't in Texas, the TAKS test is a HUGE deal! For third graders, they have to pass the reading test to go on to fourth grade. We also give a math TAKS. It is ridiculous the amount of testing that goes on in elementary schools! But...this blog is not dedicated to that. It is for my sweetie pie Hallie! So...after Tuesday, this momma will be more on top of things with blogging because I won't be quite so exhausted and stressed out from all this testing business! :o)

Now. I have a lot to blog, so there are going to be a few posts that will be heavy on the pictures. In my last post, I mentioned that a couple of weeks ago, we took Hallie out to an open field and had our own little photo shoot with her. We had a blast! Hopefully I'll be able to upload those soon.

Without further adieu...the past two weeks (in their own blog for my own benefit, that is)! :o)

Oh my!

I really can't believe it has only been a week since my last post--it feels like it has been a month! So much has been going on here. I am completely swamped at school with paperwork and TAKS preparations; then I pick up Hallie and play with her until bedtime, then I'm out as soon as possible! Oh, and the dishes and laundry must be on strike...they don't seem to be doing themselves. Sigh. While I have taken tons of pictures and have plenty of Hallie-isms as of late, I just haven't made blogging a top priority. Hopefully soon I'll put the latest happenings.

For right now, I'll leave you with a few things that have been going on...

*Hallie is by far the cutest little girl I know--yes, I'm completely biased, but I say it's so, so it must be true. :o)
*Just today she did three things that made us roll with laughter.
***Jonathan was in the shower and I was getting dressed in the bathroom. Hallie was sans clothes and I noticed a rash on her chest (I'm guessing from all the Vicks baby rub we've been putting on her). I said in shock, "Jonathan. Hallie is really broken out!" Hallie looked at me quite puzzled and yelled, "NO! I not broken!"
***Also while getting ready to go to IHOP, Jonathan asked Hallie if she liked his Donkey Kong shirt. She said, "Yes. Monkey!" Jonathan said, "You're right--he's a monkey. Hallie, are you a monkey?!" She quickly responded, "No. I'm not a monkey. I'm a little girl monkey." Silly girl!
***At IHOP this morning, my mother-in-law saw someone she knew and was introducing Jonathan and me. As if on cue, Hallie spoke up and said, "Hi! I'm Hallie!" while patting herself on the chest. Melt my heart!
*Hallie has a few funny things she does--she says "Oh my goodness!" and does this hilarious fake whine at the most random times. It usually goes something like this, "Ohhh, noooooo. I don't like it." And she crinkles her nose and furrows her brow. It's seriously adorable...not annoying at all. The annoying whining hasn't come...yet. :o)

Today we took Hallie to an open field, played some music (HA) and had our own little photo shoot. While the background wasn't the most perfect, it wasn't anything Jonathan can't work his PhotoShop magic on. :o) I have been wanting to take her two year pictures for some time now. I wanted them in her little birthday outfit, but Hallie picked her dress (and bow to match!) and was happy as a clam in what she had on. Really, the pictures couldn't have been more perfect (OK, so maybe they could've been if the background had been better). I'll post pictures as soon as Jonathan finishes touching them up!

We went to see the Easter bunny yesterday at the mall...and boy was Hallie excited! She had been talking about it for two days! I thought that the excitement might dwindle down when it came her turn to snuggle the old bunny (much like when she had to sit on Santa's lap), but to my surprise, her excitment never left her! She sat, she snuggled, she gave him high fives. I practically had to drag her away from the bunny. Afterward, she proudly wore her little bunny ears headband she was given! Free advertising for them, of course. :o)

Tomorrow is Easter...I'm having trouble deciding which Easter dress to put Hallie in tomorrow. My mom got her two--and they're both equally gorgeous. One's a pale baby blue and the other is a peach. Jonathan and I like the blue. Jonahtan's parents like the peach. I'm guessing my mom likes them both since she sent them. Hallie likes the peach one--well, it's only b/c she calls it "pink" and she loves anything pink right now. :o) After church we'll be dying eggs and hunting them--I'm guessing inside since it's supposed to be pouring down rain.

And while the Easter bunny is cute, hunting eggs is fun, and getting an Easter basket full of goodies is the best...let's remember the real reason we celebrate. Our loving Saviour gave his life for us, was buried...and three days victoriously rose from the grave. He is RISEN! He is RISEN indeed! Thank you Lord for the love you showed us. Thank you God for sending Your Son for us!

Our Sweet Girl

For quite some time now, we have been saying the blessing before our meals in the short and sweet toddler fashion "Dear God, thank you for this food and our many blessings. Amen." Or something to that effect. For about a year now, Hallie has clasped her sweet hands together, mimicking Mommy and Daddy. Lately, if we start eating and forget the blessing, she'll take a bite and maybe a minute later say, "Pray food!" and clasp her sweet hands together. She has also actually started closing her eyes in a tight squint--yes, I peek...she's just too cute! :o) Thursday afternoon, I picked her up from daycare and she sweetly asked, "Momma, nuggies, please?" I asked her if she was hungry and she said "yes". So, to get the girl some nuggies I went! On the way home, she wanted a nuggie (by the way, this is what she calls chicken nuggets...or really chicken in any form), so I get her one and hand it to her. She took a bite, and then sat it down on her car seat. I looked up and saw the most precious sight--she was clasping her hands together. And she said, "Dear God, (toddler gibberish, toddler gibberish) thank you for nuggies. Amen." Steal my heart! What a blessing! And I know she made our Lord smile. :o) She sure made me smile!

Already a Year?!

Jonathan and I were talking and realized we've now lived in Waco for an entire year now. A year ago today we were moving to Waco...and also taking Hallie to the ER! It does not seem like it has been an entire year. Since moving to Waco, there have been a lot of ups and downs. We've lived in a tiny two bedroom apartment and lived on one income while praying for our to sell in San Antonio. When it finally did, we sang praises to God! We found a house to rent closer to town just in time to move out of our apartment when our house sold! What timing! We've both started new jobs and Hallie started "baby school". We love being close to family and have made some great new friends and have been able to visit with some of Jonathan's old friends (and they've become my new friends!). That's the fun stuff. We've also had lots of sickness and hospital visits, or so it seems. We're hoping we're done with what seems to have been a type of "initiation" to Waco! HA! We're all doing great now, and loving living close to family! We're looking forward to another great year in Waco!