My Pathetic Attempt to take some Posed Pictures

This one it totally for Matt I remember with Hallie her pouting face was his favorite glad I caught this one.

Smiles Smiles

What parent doesn't love those first smiles that come from their sweet baby? To me it is proof that they are being taken care of, feel loved, and are happy with whatever is going on. I also love the twinkle they get in their eye right before they smile its priceless. I have captured quite a few smiling pictures so far but that hasn't stopped me from wanting to take a picture and cherish every single one that she shares with us.

Sisters

Hallie is such a great big sister. She is the first to respond when Gracie cries and whats me to "fix" her immediately. The other day I was in my room getting ready when Gracie started to fussy before I could say anything I heard Hallie say, "Hold on just a minute Gracie girl, I'm coming don't cry." Gracie settled right down for her and then I heard Hallie singing to Gracie in the front room, no song in particular she just kept singing, "don't cry I love you, I love you." I walked out and found Gracie had not only settled for her but had a big grin on her face. Moments like this make it all worth it and melt my heart.

Singing & ABCs

So I have been saying for quite a while now that Hallie knows her ABCs and loves to sing but she has been going through a stage where whenever I turn on the camera she stops doing whatever I wanted to record or take a picture. Lately she has started growing out of that so now I have some really cute and fun videos to share. Hope you enjoy them.
ABCs

Row Row Row Your Boat

6 Weeks...already

Friday Gracie turned 6 weeks, its the same story as always I can't believe it has been that long but I also can't imagine our life without her. She is such a good baby and I can't tell you how grateful I am for that. She is a great eater, sleeper, and at this point is pretty "Hallieproof." She eats every 4 hours and is still following her babywise schedule to a T in fact just last night she slept for just over 8 hours!!! I really appreciated that once I checked on her and found her alive and well. She is very alert during her awake time she has also in the last couple of weeks started smiling when you smile and talk to her. Her hair is still really dark and at this point not much of it has fallen out she looks very similar to Hallie when she is asleep but not much when she is awake...it makes me excited to see what she will eventually look like. She is darker complected, has beautifully clear skin and fat roles on her legs. She is growing faster than I would like her to she is wearing a size 1 diaper and 0-3 month clothes. Hallie still wont hold her but loves to help with her or to pose with her for pictures.

Another Trip to Treehouse

I hesitate to mention every time we head to Treehouse but it seems like every time we go Hallie finds a new favorite area to play in. And awesome for us Nick & Brit now have passes to so last Friday we met up and headed to play. Our pass their has been worth every dime, especially since having Gracie. I think it has been wonderful to get out of the house for all of us. This time it was the cowboy hat

Valentine's Day Activities

Matt and I have never liked going out on valentines day ..way to many people. This year we didn't even have the option due to Matt teaching. So we were lucky enough to get out the weekend before. Saturday night we dropped Hallie off at aunt Nikki's(have I mentioned how much I love having them close..oh and just today they put an offer on a house 10 minutes from here!!!)we decided to take Gracie but should have left her she was somewhat of a handful at dinner and the movie. We met up with Nick & Brit to have dinner at Biaggi's...it was amazing and then headed to the movie. I had wanted to see "The Vow" since I saw the 1st preview and lets just say it was a big letdown and money would have been better spent on a redbox movie. A novel thing did happen we remembered to take pictures.


We did have a great time with Nick & Brit and think we should leave the kids home more often to spend time with them.

Rid'em Cowgirl

This week we headed to Treehouse with Brit and the girls, we had a blast. Everytime we go I think Hallie finds a new area that is her favorite...today it was the horses.

1 Month

Its hard top believe but it has been a month since Gracie joined our little family of four. She has been nothing but a joy and I feel very blessed to have been given another wonderful baby...lets hope she stays this way. She is very scheduled...don't know whose child she is. She eats every 4 hours although at night she goes sometimes up to 6 hours. After she eats she is awake for an hour or two then down for a nap until its time to eat again. My favorite time is when Hallie naps I sit in the recliner and hold her for usually at least 2 hours uninterrupted sometimes we read, watch tv, or nap too cuddling is my favorite.She eats a lot more in the evenings and we usually put her to bed about 9. She looks a lot more like Hallie did than we originally thought except for the dark hair. She also is about a month a head of where Hallie was weight wise which makes it seem like she is growing a lot fast although she is "normal" I'm not quite used to that. She loves to watch Hallie doing whatever. Hallie has started calling her Gracie Girl and I think it will stick.

I don't need a nap

I have heard this a lot lately at our house. Although I am unsure if it is part of her adjusting to Gracie or just her getting older Hallie hasn't been napping and if she does it isn't for very long. She is like her mom and her aunts on my side and gets very cranky very quickly when she doesn't get her rest so needless to say we have had many moments of deep breathing and reminding myself that she is only 2 which is very frustrating when I know what a happy child she is when she does sleep. I really hope it is just adjusting because I love that she naps...it keeps me sane and gives me some one on one time with Gracie. The other day she informed me she wasn't tired but when I told her she couldn't watch a show she totally melted down and I told her that if she was going to throw a fit to go to her room so I didn't have to listen to her until she could be happy. I went down a few minutes later to find this....her on the floor sound asleep...yeah she wasn't tired!

Mommy & Her Girls

Here are some pics with me and my girls. Priceless pics I will always cherish....love them more than words can say!

Not the clearest picture but if you look close Gracie is smiling

Hardware Ranch & Meeting Grandpa

We had planned on making it to Hardware Ranch before Gracie was born but with the holidays and other plans we didn't make it so last Saturday we decided to make a day of it. We were lucky enough to have Nic, Ky, and Rigs join us. We rode over together which was really nice because we got to catch up and visit and the kids entertained each other in the back seat...mostly they slept really. We had lunch at Firehouse Pizzaria and then headed up Black Smith Fork Canyon to the Ranch. Once we got there we realized how cold it was and were very glad we had brought everyone's winter clothes. After getting everyone dressed we walked around the visitor center before heading down to go on the wagon ride.

Hallie was so excited and kept asking when she was going to get to see the reindeer. We kept reminding her that they were elk but after a while we just let her think they were reindeer which then lead to her asking if we were going to see Santa. Then she had to specify all the "reindeer" as a boy/girl or a mommy/daddy. Being a little kid Im sure gets really confusing sometimes. We had to wait about 10 minutes before it was our turn on the wagon but the horses kept Hallie plenty entertained..this kid loves animals.


Once it was our turn we headed out into the field. Our guide explained they had about 300 head on a daily average but usually about his time of year they have 700 but because of the lack of snow they haven't been forced to really look for food. I couldn't believe how mellow they all seemed they just sat on the ground or watched us as we drove past them.

Here is Hallie and I trying to stay warm...Gracie stayed super bundled in her carseat and slept the entire trip(6 hours)

After getting thawed in the car we headed for Tremonton to visit grandpa for his birthday(also feb 6) he turned 92 this year! We wanted to visit for his birthday and also introduce him to Gracie. His memory is slipping a little and he kept asking whose baby she was. I wanted some pictures but by the time we got their Gracie was starving and Hallie with no nap was not a happy child.


Grandpa was thrilled to see us and said we had made his day. His new hearing aides are helping a lot so it makes it more enjoyable to have a conversation.
On our way home we swung by Pizza Plus to get some breadsticks and show Kyle what great food is all about...we should have bought 2 boxes. By the time we got home we were all exhausted so we spent the remainder of our night watching the Jazz game and just hanging out.

Matt's B-day

I was a little unsure about having a party with Gracie being not even a month old yet so we kept it small and enjoyed our time with some close friends and family. It worked out nicely that it was also Super Bowl Sunday so we added that to the festivities but really we visited and ate more than we watched the game...any one else do that?




Matt's birthday actually fell on Monday. Hallie and I made cupcakes and ice cream to take to Matt's work and latter that night we went to Texas Road House for dinner and then came home to enjoy a relaxing night at home. Gracie turned 1 month old on Matt's birthday..here they are together.

Funny enough Matt had asked for golf clubs for his birthday and they went on sale in mid-January and he brought them home on my birthday and on his birthday we finally found a double stroller we liked so we bought the double stroller that I had been wanting on his birthday. Matt put together the stroller that night.

Now we just have to wait for some warm weather to get out and use it. Happy birthday babes.

Cousins

These pictures weren't easy to get as you probably guess by all the pictures included. Rigden wanted to eat Gracie's bow so we had to move her to a safer location next to Hallie. Then not everyone would look..no surprise so this is what we got.



Yeah for 1st time cousin pictures!!!

Hallie 28 Months

Well my 1st baby is now almost 2 1/2 and she never ceases to amaze/entertain us. She just keeps getting more and more fun. It seems like ever stage becomes a favorite. Her imagination is growing like wild..where do kids get some of the things they say or do? There are moments in a mother's life when you regret every time you ever yelled at your child. Every time you told them no and broke their heart. Every time you ignored them to get something done that you thought was "more important". Every time you silently said you wanted to lock them in a closet for 5 minutes or send them to the zoo cuz they HAD to be the worst behaved kid on the block. Right? Well I have had a lot of moments like this. But then there are also moments when your child tells you endlessly how much she loves you and how beautiful you are as well as saying/doing some of the cutest things you can imagine. I have to think that God has a sense of humor when it comes to parents and their children. For just as you think your patience is gone one of those tender moments occurs and gives you the patience to go on a little longer. Month after month I find I write a lot of the same things about Hallie so I decided to switch it up a bit and share experiences.
Giving Gracie a bath is one of Hallie's favorite things to do these days most mornings she asks if Gracie needs a bath. Although Im not sure if she likes helping bath her or just playing in the water. After giving Gracie a bath the other morning I moved Gracie to the living room to get her dressed. After getting her dressed I went to check on Hallie and found her playing in the bath water. I asked what she was doing and she said don't worry mommy I'm helping you by doing the dishes. If you look closely in one of the pictures she has a bottle with a wash cloth cleaning it.


While eating lunch and watching Team Umizoomi the other day I noticed Hallie sliding down in her chair and putting her hand up. I asked what she was doing and in a whisper she informed me that she was hiding from the bad guy so he couldn't see her.

Mommy & Me time at Treehouse
Hallie from the moment we took her to treehouse has loved it and to be honest its nice to have a place to take her where she can socialize and play without destroying my house. The older she has gotten the more fun the trips have been. Since her imagination has really kicked these are my favorite trips.

Posing with her Bike
This bike is the one she got for Christmas we have kept it inside since its to cold to ride it outside she does everything from ride it to sitting on it while she watches tv...she even delivers stuff on it.

Babies loaded up and ready to head to school

Driving the firetruck

Farm Sets a for sure favorite

Posing by the Swing..silly girl
Every time we take a picture of Gracie Hallie wants her picture taken with either Gracie or just one of herself but lately she has wanted to pose with various objects including the swing, her bike, a pillow, and whatever she is eating at the time.

All dolled up and ready for the day
While my mom was here she would get Hallie dressed and ready for the day. My mom has four girls and needless to say is very good at doing hair and for sure has more of an imagination than I do. Hallie loved getting reasdy and then asking for you to take her picture. Another side note is that once you take a picture of her she wants to see it almost to quick sometimes that the picture is blurry because she wants to see it before you even finish taking it.

A Sippy, a bed, and a show
These are all common occurring events at our house. Grandma Joy made Hallie this blanket for Christmas and it is just the right size to fold it in half to make a bed

Crazy Morning Look

Blankie Burrito

I asked Hallie if she wanted to help me make dinner(she loves to help cook) after about 10 minutes in she said she was tired and wanted to go to bed so she headed for her bed. I followed her I asked her for a hug and kiss. She informed me that she would give me a hug but she wasn't giving kisses today. After getting my hug I stole a kiss. I stood at the top of the stairs watching her somewhat in awe at how big she is getting and how she is to smart for her own good at times. She turned around and said aren't you supposed to be making dinner, I need to go to sleep.

And I saved my favorite for the last. Matt has been teaching at Weber since the beginning of the year which leaves me to get the kids ready and in bed one night a week some nights this is a major chore and other nights it goes very smoothly. I had got Hallie into bed and story and songs done by 8:30 so I headed upstairs to feed Gracie. I thought I heard Hallie about 9 when I looked on her monitor I found her light was on, stuff was all over her bed and I could hear her talking so I impatiently headed downstairs to put her back to bed. I quietly stuck my head into her room and found that her books were spread all of her bed and she was reading to her stuffed animals.It didn't take her long to realize I was there and quickly gave the explanation that "they" weren't tired and needed her to read to them. I tucked her in and then she said she couldn't go to sleep until she put all her stories away so we quickly picked up her stories and back to bed. When I got back upstairs it hadn't been five minutes and I could hear her singing. I checked the monitor she was still in bed with the light off so I let her be. I couldn't help but smile as I heard her sing song after song then tell her stuffed animals it was time for bed and then she would say oh you want to sing another song...well ok just one more(I bet you can guess this is how every night goes down at our house)and then pick another song. This continued for about another 30 minutes then she said I'm tired now go to sleep. Love you, goodnight and I didn't hear another peep from her. About five minutes after she had stopped Matt got home so I told him what had happened and said if he wanted he should go down and tell her good night before she was really asleep. He went to tell her good night and she said daddy the sun is still asleep you need to go to bed.(we regularly tell her she needs to go to sleep and stay in her bed until the sun comes up). Silly Girl but moments that make us smile and make life brighter.