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!