Hallie 39 Months

Our sweet little mother Hallie. She is full of life and definitely keeps like interesting. She is growing into such a little adult and is definitely an oldest child. She is a very big helper and always looking after all of us. She has started trying to "mother" Gracie which at times is taken anywhere from ok to Gracie crying for help. When I tell her I will take care of Gracie and that I'm her mom one of her latest responses has been, "I'm getting older mom so I can be her mom too." So we are now trying to find the balance of having her help and have some responsibility and letting Gracie do her own thing and Hallie being a kid. I think we are only now finding out that parenting is hard. Like at times really hard. Trying to figure out what to say and do to help your child navigate life without being over protective or under involved is a balancing act I don't know that anyone ever masters. I asked my mom the other day why she never told me that parenting is hard and she said would you still have done it if I had told you. My response was well of course I would have but I would have at least understood more of what we were getting into and from what some of my friends are dealing with my kids are low maintenance.  But back to Hallie she is great at playing alone and has quite the imagination. I often like to sit and listen when she doesn't realize Im listening and listen to what she says and how she treats her toys. I think it helps me realize what she is hearing when I talk to her and is a nice way to self check myself and my parenting. Her favorites right now seem to be the little tikes house and people with the bus and farm they have a complete little community to pretend with. She often says she can't do something even if she has done it before and asks for help. Were working on not saying I can't but instead saying I will try and then asking for help if needed. She loves to watch tv and play games on our phones. She still dances all the time and now will even sing to herself. Give this girl a beat and she doesn't hold still. She still loves to read and we usually find her asleep in a book when we go to check on her before bed. We have been really trying to get her to nap but it usually only works 1-2 times a week so we have settled for "quiet time" which entails her staying in her room and reading, singing, doing puzzles, or just overall having some time to herself. The problem with not napping is that about 4-5pm she morphs into some kind of an emotional monster that takes quite a bit of patience to get back under control. She still isn't a big eater but has a sweet tooth like her mommy. She loves warm milk in a sippy and would live on those if I would let her. We are still working on getting her back to keeping her panties dry all the time. We are to the point that we can go days dry and then have a bad one here and there. Its quite frustrating for me but the pediatrician seems to think its just her rebelling probably from taking her binki.  She has really started to repeat phrases and body language that Matt and I use which is always an adventure one in particular is talking with her hands..its hilarious. Others include...what the heck? This is lame? That is dumb! She is a very sweet and tender hearted girl and is very concerned if someone is sad. We love being her parents and are grateful she is patient with us.

A little zoned out but funny none the less

Our Girls

When we did family pictures in December some how I forgot to have Brit take some pictures of my girls together so when we did pictures for Gracie's birthday she was awesome enough to take a few pictures of both of the girls together and of just Hallie. It amazing sometimes how much the girls faces change from shot to shot I asked Brit to include a couple of the "not-so-good ones" just for fun.

 And then the not so good one...love the yucky look

And some how turn into this

Slow Down

I am a very goal or task oriented person and there are times in my life when I forget to put that "list" aside for what is really important. Hallie has come to a stage where she wants to cuddle and read a lot....like all day. Yesterday I was trying to balance the checkbook I had Gracie down for a nap and wanted to get it finished while she was asleep. Hallie was playing with her stories and found her new Friend that had come in the mail the previous day and started looking through it then asked me to read a story that was about 2 sisters. I hesitated but figured how long could it take to read ONE short 2 page story. Well after I finished that story Hallie asked me to look through the entire magazine and explain what was on every page reading multiple stories and quotes. I wont lie I was annoyed and almost felt anxious to get back to balancing the checkbook. As I was sitting there having an internal debate I realized what was going on and immediately felt guilty for putting other things above my child and he questions and stories about the gospel. I finished reading the entire friend and enjoyed my cuddle time with my little one that soon enough will no longer think its cool to cuddle with mom. I have found several times in the last couple of days I have become a lot more aware of the little moments that I could use to strengthen she and I's relationship while she will still let me. I love that little girl, her tender heart, and willingness to forgive her imperfect mom. She is a daily example of the tender mercies that God sends into my life to remind me what is really important.

Having some preschool time making W's with marshmellows

 Gracie loves to have the toys all to herself..mostly she likes to eat them uninterrupted

Snow snow & more snow

I love the snow and for some reason I was so excited when it started to snow on Thursday afternoon. I kept looking out the window waiting for it to stop but to my surprise it didn't and continued til Saturday late morningish. I couldn't wait to get the kids dressed and out to play in it on Thursday we had to shovel the driveway so that Matt had a place to park but it seemed like by the time I finished shoveling it needed to be shoveled again. I pulled the girls around in the sled for a little bit and Gracie was less than a fan. I don't know if she was cold, didn't like the snow in her face, or the fact that Hallie wanted to hold her.

 Every picture I tried to take her eyes were closed but then again...it was snowing pretty hard.

 can you see the stack of snow at the bottom of the picture? Aside from the fact you can hardly see the passing car

 Gracie venturing out into the snow on her own...it was short lived then she cried til I gave her snacks. That bought me about 10 minutes then she cried until I brought her in

 Hallie loved the snow and would have stayed outside all night if I would have let her toting around the sled

 This picture is from Friday morning as the snow continued we got 10-12 inches from Thursday evening to Friday morning

 Once we got up and moving we headed over to the school to do some sledding. 

 Before we headed to do some sledding

 Hallie rolled, ran, fell, jumped, and laid in the snow and loved every minute

 We made about 6 trips down the hill all together we learned after the 1st time to put Gracie in the middle so she didn't end up with a face full of snow after that it was smooth sailing

 Hallie also went down multiple times by herself to show me her "trick" which included going backwards

 Gracie seemed to like it until she tripped and fell face first in the snow...poor sad girl.

Shortly after that it started to snow hard again so we packed up and headed for home. We made chocolate chip cookies and drank hot chocolate to warm back up then both girls took naps before we headed out to shovel the driveway again! It continued to snow through Friday night and the early hours of Saturday so we once again shoveled the driveway. Then the sun came out and we played in the sunshine. I still love the snow and love that now that we have kids I have an even bigger excuse to get out and enjoy it.

Party Time

With Gracie turning 1 we had to have a party. I really have found I quite enjoy party planning. It can be a lot of work but I want my girls to always feel extra special on their birthdays and know how loved they are. We did Cafe Rio pulled pork with either burritos or salads as options and of coarse cake and ice cream. So here are the pictures of the...

Decor

 I loved the timeline and I think it might have been just as fun to put it together as it was to look at..like living the year without words just pics 

 

Silly daddy

Present Time

Then of coarse the cake

More pictures to come of her eating the cake...cant wait to post them. I feel so blessed to have Brit to help me capture the special moments in my family's lives.

Our 1 yr Old Gracie Goo

I can't believe Gracie is already 1 yr old. Shortly after Gracie was born Hallie started calling her Gracie Goo and it has stuck. She also gets lovingly called permagrin Gracie seeing that she almost always has a smile on her face. She is practically running now to keep up with Hallie and they play extremely well. She can climb the stairs really well although Im still pretty cautious about letting her go down them alone. She has started doing a little talking she says hi, whoa, mama, dada, and something that sounds like hallie. She is like a bloodhound when it comes to getting in the tub and food. It doesn't matter where she is when either the tub water is started or a cupboard or fridge is open she suddenly appears at your feet whiny to get in or have some of what your eating. She eats pretty much anything and everything. On the way out of Walmart last week I sat her in the cart when we got to the car she had somehow found a yogurt container and managed to pierce the top of it and was sucking the yogurt out of it. If you look close you can see the yogurt container still in her hand.

 This is after a night of chili..she got an extra bath this day

Up to this point there have been times when Hallie wants what Gracie is playing with and Hallie will take it Gracie usually quickly finds something new to play with and goes on with her day. I had given Hallie a sugar cookie the other day and she had set it on the couch while she was playing. I noticed Gracie go over and pick it up, look it over, and put it in her mouth without Hallie noticing for about 5 minutes. After that Hallie saw her cookie and went to take it and when she did you would have thought she had  hit her over the head with a rock. I looked over and assessed the situation I asked Hallie if she would be willing to share and she said yes, all the while Gracie is melting down. I broke the cookie in 2 and attempted to give Gracie the other half of it. She was insulted to say the least and immediately melted to the floor I left her piece of cookie next to her which she picked up when I started ignoring her...silly girl she could be a handful. She does like to get into things but is getting pretty good and listening and being redirected. We are currently attempting to transition her to whole milk a lot slower than last time hoping for a better result. She sleeps for about 9p-9a. She still likes to be bundled with a binki at times with her white noise running. She naps 2-3 times a day ranging from 45 minutes before bed to 2 hours. She likes to dance and be chased. I love the squeal she does when she knows your coming to get her. True joy has to be something like her and Hallie chasing each other around the couch both laughing like there isn't anything more fun they could be doing. What joy and happiness this little girl has brought into our lives. Happy Birthday little goo

Fun with the Fam

Saturday Nic had the great idea to invite Kim & Ez to come spend the night since they were coming up for Gracie's b-day party on Sunday anyways. Nic then invited us to come have dinner and play games. After eating some yummy chicken chili, corn bread, and warm cookies we played with the kids and watched some football. Later we turned the kids on a movie and the adults played games. Hallie and Rigs decided they could share Rig's sleeping bag to watch the movie. Hallie & Gracie also enjoyed playing with Rigs new Christmas toys...its always fun to play with someone elses' new toys. 

It was such a fun night and we came home looking forward to doing it again the next day....good thinking Nic