Yeah, about that resolution...

....it obviously followed the path of my other resolutions and didn't make it past January.  I'm updating today because I'm tired of seeing my post promising to take more pictures and do more blog posts staring at me every time I sign on to check my friends blogs who actually update!!  I'm also tired of Meredith asking me when I'm going to update again (note: Meredith doesn't even have a blog, so who is she to call me out?).  The truth: this is the longest I have ever gone between posts, and I have not taken one single picture on my actual camera since Christmas.  I also have worked out a total of 10 times since my New Year's resolution to work out at least 3 times a week.  Glad I got that all off my chest.

So...we've been up to a lot in the past several months.  Hallie is getting more and more fun by the day...but with that comes a need for more and more energy from her mom and dad!  Blake said the other day, "she is actually acting like a human now."  I kind of get what he is talking about.  I think.  Seeing the world through her eyes and watching her learn new things is definitely at the top of my most favorite things of being a parent.  I've also become acutely aware of what I say.  Apparently I say "Hush Mia" and "Come on Hallie" way too much because I hear it multiple times a day (and maybe my parrot said "damn" the other day, maybe).  Hallie adores all her "friends" and lists them one by one at least 3 times a day.  Right now the names include: Mia (of course), Ty, Nana (Hanna), Deacon, Brooks, Ellis, Cindy (Sydney), Parkah (Parker), Grady (Gremy), Caleb (Cabe), Cam, Aubrey, Addy, Marcy, and Pushes (Ava...but apparently she is the bully at school so that is what Hallie refers to her as).  

Here are a few pictures over the past four months (of course only from my I-phone):

 The nose in the corner timeout was Blake's doing not mine.  But I will say, it did impact her more than just sitting!

 Her hair gets more curly every day

 Finally able to wear big girl pig tails

 First of many dates with Ty (if crushes are possible at 1 1/2, I'm pretty sure Hallie has one)

 At her boyfriend's birthday

Oh just eating ribs out of the trashcan...what can I say, she belongs to Blake

 Gardening...hope she is better than her mom

 School Easter egg hunt 

 Country club Easter egg hunt 

 Hanging out with Grammy and the Tech cheerleaders at the Spring practice

 DanDan and Hallie

We went to Grapevine for Brooks's 3rd birthday to see Thomas the Train.  Brooks, Hallie, and Sydney had so much fun!

Hallie and Parker.  Hallie is obsessed with Parker and asks to see her picture every day.

Hopefully I will get better about updating!!!

Merry Christmas!

New Year's Resolutions:

1) Take more pictures

2) Update my blog more

I know I've been awful about updating!  December was a whirlwind of a month (at least let me blame it on something).  We apparently had so much fun over the holidays, I didn't take time to take pictures!  Unfortunately the night before we headed to Lubbock, Hallie was sent home from school (second time for the week) with high fever.  After picking her up and seeing how sick she was, I went a bit into panic mode and landed in urgent care.  Luckily after a shot and some Motrin, she started to come around.  Those darn earaches still haunt us even with the tubes!

Wouldn't you have panicked too?!

We started the holiday by going to Lubbock to celebrate my mom's 60th birthday.  We all went for lunch and massages while the guys babysat.  Such a perfect day!  We then went to Odessa for Christmas with the Brazelton's....but my camera stayed in Lubbock oops!  So no pictures of that Christmas but we had such a good time.  The highlight was definitely Blake getting his long awaited Big Green Egg.  We have had so much fun experimenting with it.  And I'll be honest, it's nice to have someone else cooking the meals!!

We then headed back to Lubbock for Christmas with my family.  I managed to take some pictures there (some).  Hallie and Ellis finally got to meet.  Unfortunately Nana broke her hip a week before Christmas and is in a skilled nursing facility.  We made several visits to the home over the holidays...I'm still surprised we weren't asked to leave after all the fun Brooks and Hallie had there!

 If only that thing could really clean the floors!!

 That's the hair I get to work with every morning...

 And the star of Christmas morning....Buzz Lightyear.  He ate with Buzz, slept with Buzz, did everything with Buzz, until.....well see below

 The precious little dolls Hallie and Ellis got in their stockings

 Nana and precious little Ellis

 Buzz unfortunately had an accident Christmas night.  After surgery and some new titanium underwear (i.e., duct tape), he was somewhat good as new until the doctor (Amazon.com) could fix him.  

New Year's Eve... Our friends Justin, Meredith, and Camdyn came over for dinner.  Hallie and Cam had so much fun catching up and dragging out every toy we owned.  The aftermath:

The culprits:

They both share a love for shoes

What an amazing year 2012 was thanks to this little thing:

Happy 2013 everyone!

Clearly we are excited for Fall at our house....cooler weather and of course pumpkins.  We play outside from the second I get home from work until time for dinner.  I'm already starting to worry about winter!  I guess it is time to invest in a heavy coat for both Hallie and me! 

Blake turned 30 on October 11th.  Wow, that used to be old.  His gift from Hallie was a picture of her in his cowboy boots from when he was Hallie's age.  She loved them (and Blake of course loved the gift)!

We took Hallie to the Fiddlesticks farm this weekend.  We had so much fun and ate entirely too much kettle corn.  In fact, it was my breakfast.  Don't worry, Hallie had fruit and waffles. 

Hallie's favorite part of the farm was hanging out with the goats.  It was nice to be able to practice the animal sounds we have been working on at home with the real life animals.  Apparently we can quit working on "moo" seeing how Hallie thought every animal there made that noise. 



 

What I've been up to...

 

 

 

Hi everyone!  It has been a while since my Mom last posted (wonder who has been keeping her so busy?).  I thought I would let everyone know some of my favorite things to do at 13 1/2 months:

• kiss, hug, pat, feed, and put my babies "night night"
• stand on my head which occasionally results in a front roll
• play peek-a-boo
• sing the "Itsy Bitsy Spider"
• walk up and down the neighborhood finding rocks (my neighbors have gotten to know me very well)
• climb inside small spaces (see pic above)
• gymnastics class (except I have my own agenda when I'm there)
• stand up in my chair and laugh when Mom and Dad tell me to sit down
• feed Mia and then tell her "NO, NO, NO" in anger when she eats my food (Mom and Dad are still trying to teach me cause and effect)
• kiss anything and everything
• put my shoes on
• put daddy's shoes on
• put mommy's shoes on (beginning to see the obsession?)
• shut doors....all day long
• pull everything out of every cabinet/drawer in the house
• waking up between 3:00-4:00 am ready to play, play, play
• making my parent's smile/laugh more every day :)

Camille (Blake's cousin) got married on August 25th.  Hallie was the flower girl, and although she did not make it down the aisle, she sure looked pretty darn cute in her dress.  The wedding was absolutely beautiful!

 

Hallie and Grady playing in the street during the wedding

 

What our car ride home looks like every Tuesday after gymnastics

 

Picture day at school (don't you dare try to sneak a bow on my head Mom!)

 

Asleep with my mom on the couch this morning after our 4:00 am Mickey Mouse date

 

Hallie James....

You are the best thing that ever happened to your dad and me. (click on the link below)


http://animoto.com/play/lFR11HEx1Ls0Cg5DcoW9aA

One Year Old!

Has it really been a year already?!

 What can I say, she's lady-like!

 Big girls stand up for their 12-month picture!

 Holding the Ibuprofen bottle...our new best friend thanks to top teeth!



 And that concludes the monthly chair pictures!

 July certainly flew by! On July 13th, Hallie received tubes in her ears. Those could not have come soon enough! Although it was tough seeing her go through the whole hospital experience, we could not be happier with the results! Yea for no more earaches and sleeping through the night!

Of course we had pancakes on Hallie's actual birthday!  The last part of the day included spaghetti and ice cream.





We also took a trip to Pagosa Springs with Blake's family.  Unfortunately my camera did not fit in the 5 bags we packed.

Although I'm happy to be done cleaning bottles, I am sad these moments are over.

Words cannot express this past year.  Hallie James...you have brought us more joy than we ever dreamed possible.  We love you more than you could possibly imagine (well until you have your own kids...a long, long way down the road!).