The Halls

Crazy

2011-02-03T07:12:00.000-08:00

So I haven't posted since October. It makes me sad because I really wanted to keep this up as much as possible so I could have a digital scrapbook of our lives. Unfortunately the last 3-4 months have not been kind to me and I have been unable to do much of anything. I am hoping the light at the end of this tunnel is getting bigger and I will be able to get my life back on track. Thank you to all my friends and family who have been supportive and understanding of my absence and lack of communication.

Pumpkin Patch 2010

2010-10-19T11:55:00.001-07:00

We went to the Pumpkin Patch this year with Scott's sister and family. It was a lot of fun - but very chilly! Hailey wanted to play with everything and she was so sad when we left she had a total 2 year old meltdown.

Hailey's Got Daddy's Hair!!

2010-10-19T11:52:00.000-07:00

I just can't say it enough - I LOVE LOVE LOVE Hailey's hair. I always wanted curly hair and I am so glad Hailey got Scott's curls :)

Pretties!!!

2010-08-31T12:36:00.000-07:00

Hailey's new favorite...

Mani-Pedi's, courtesy of Mommy! I love that she dries her nails by blowing on them and then, when we go out, she stops random strangers to show them her nails and toes and says, "yook, pretty."

My pretty girly girl!

My Girl the Comedian!!

2010-08-31T12:21:00.001-07:00

Hailey is the silliest ever!! She has Scott's sense of humor, there is no doubt about that. Scott can make me laugh or smile no matter how sad I am and Hailey has the same effect on me. She does silly things just to make us laugh. Her favorite thing is to dance around and be goofy. The picture below is her doing the robot - no joke - it is hilarious! She also knows all the dance moves to different videos and she studies them and then can mimic them almost exactly. I can't wait to put her in dance classes!

She loves to stick out her tongue while she is concentrating - this is funny because Scott used to tease me about that when we first met.

My little diva and her princess purse. I call her princess all the time because my dad always (and still does) called me that and I love it. Now she calls herself that - should I be worried? :)

Here she is again being silly. She matted her hair down and took mommy's glasses and made this face. I sure hope she wasn't trying to show me what I look like in glasses, aaaaaaah...

I LOVE MY GIRL!

The Zoo With Daddy and Cousin Candan

2010-08-29T22:00:00.003-07:00

Scott took Hailey to the zoo last week and she had so much fun!! She loves animals and she was so excited that they had Nemo and Dori fish. I wish I could have been there but I am so glad they had a good time!

I love this picture - they are having a staring contest - she warmed up to the goats really fast though and couldn't stop petting them.

Fun With Food!

2010-08-29T21:27:00.000-07:00

As most of you know I work for Ivar's and Kidd Valley Corporate. One of our directors was having a rough go of it so I decided to cheer her up by making her something cute and yummy. She is the Director of Kidd Valley so I thought a burger cupcake would be fitting :) They turned out so super cute. I decided made a little tray and fry holder and added more fun with fries made out of sugar cookies.

Hailey really enjoyed her "bugger" as she calls them...

Here Mom, now you try - YUM!

I could not have done it without my assistant chef, she loves being mommy's little baker.

I have been making cake balls for awhile but I don't have time for much right now so it has been awhile since I have made them. I decided to try a new flavor - cherry chip cake dipped in chocolate - kind of like a cherry chocolate. I don't care for cherry chocolates but this was mighty fine :)

I have all these great ideas for fun things to make and no time to make them! I wish I could do it more - it is a great family fun thing to do! I love making things like this just for fun or to make people smile - because how can eat chocolate cake balls and burger cupcakes and not do it with a smile on your face!!

Hailey and Mathias!

2010-07-24T11:09:00.000-07:00

Hailey loves having buddies. Our friends Wes and Susana came over last week and Hailey was so excited to have a bouncing buddy. Mathias got in that bouncy house - cast on his leg and all. They both had so much fun!! The first three pics are of Hailey waiting for them to come over. She was so excited!

Fun in the Sun!

2010-07-24T11:00:00.001-07:00

Scott found a super cute pool for Hailey to cool off in this summer. She loves it. She is always trying to kiss the dolphin!!

Catching Up

2010-07-11T18:46:00.000-07:00

So I am a little behind, so here is a little catching up...

Hailey was so proud to give daddy her card on Father's Day, she colored it all by herself and when it was time to give it to him she got all embarrassed and shy and wouldn't look at him. She finally gave him a hug and said "I wuv you." Melted my heart.

We had a great 4th of July! I made honey barbecued chicken, corn on the cob and pasta salad. It was so yummy. I made corn cookies for Hailey (I cut off the corn from the cob and they make little "cookies") but she was so mad that she didn't get what mommy and daddy had - I turned my head for a moment and she stole my corn on the cob with the cool holders and just went crazy. She ate the whole thing all by herself!! We then walked out to the top of our hill and enjoyed the free fireworks show with the perfect view, Hailey slept through most of it though. When she was awake she would say "so cool" and "piddy" (pretty). It is so fun to hear her say things now!

Hailey loves to make us laugh. In the picture below she emptied out her favorite toy, my 150 set of cookie cutters, and started making funny faces in the container, she thought it was so fun to sneak up on us and make the silly face and then giggle and run away. I love it - best entertainment ever!!

Hailey has been putting herself down for naps lately, she has become resistant to us putting her down. Sometimes I just laugh at where she ends up. It's funny because she HATES blankets on her in her crib. There can be nothing in her crib when she sleeps or she gets so mad, but when she puts herself to sleep on the couch, she will cover herself up, even when it is 90 degrees outside.

So we got Hailey this super, duper, ultra fun bouncy house thing. She lives in it. It has been a great investment and not expensive at all because we shop at ghetto Walmart :) I love me my Walmart!!

I love the static - her hair goes crazy!!

Hailey loves to point out Tinkerbell everywhere we go. I finally found Tink pj's and she was so excited she wanted to wear them all day, and she was mad that she had to wait until bedtime. She is so proud of them, each time she wears them. Heaven forbid that they are in the wash because she refuses to wear any other pajamas to bed.

We always have wildlife walking through our yard. One day this guy just walked right up to the door. Hailey got so excited she could hardly contain herself, she banged on the window and jumped up and down and the deer just continued to eat my favorite tree (it turns the most beautiful colors in the fall). Hailey does not quite understand why she can't have the deer though and gets so sad when they leave, she blows kisses, says "bu-bye deer" and pouts for a few minutes until she realizes she still has a bouncy house to play in.

Big Girl Undies!!

2010-06-10T07:16:00.001-07:00

We are starting to potty train Hailey so we bought her some Tink undies. She gets so excited to put them on and she poses so we can take her picture. She knows when she has to go but there is not much warning so we know she is not quite ready yet but she loves to go on the potty and she is so proud when she does - she always claps for herself. She also realized that she can remove her undies if she wants to, hence the last picture - I just love baby booty!!

Washing the Car With Daddy

2010-06-10T07:08:00.000-07:00

She had so much fun washin' the car with Scott. At first she just wanted to play in the water (which she calls wally) but then she became very intrigued by what daddy was doing, so she followed him around and copied what he did.

What Happens When It's Quiet?

2010-06-10T07:04:00.000-07:00

This is what happens...

She was so proud of herself and wore this outfit for about an hour. So cute!!

CURLS!!

2010-06-10T07:00:00.001-07:00

I love that Hailey's hair has started to get these beautiful natural waves and little curls. She definitely gets that from her daddy because mommy's hair is stick straight. It is so cute but sometimes it doesn't know which way to go and we can't get her to leave her hair things in very long, so most of the time we just let it go wild and hope people don't think our daughter looks like we don't try. I can't wait until it gets longer!!

The Little Gym

2010-06-10T06:51:00.001-07:00

We took Hailey to a class at The Little Gym. The class was for "beasts" which is 19 months -2 1/2 years I think, so she was on the younger side compared to the other kids. She was overwhelmed at first and just wanted to go and play on all the fun stuff and not hang out on the mat. The whole class she was either off playing on the toys or in the middle of the circle dancing in front of everyone. It was so fun to watch her!!

Bring Your Kid To Work Day

2010-06-10T06:24:00.000-07:00

We had BYKTW last month and let me tell you, Hailey had an interesting day. She woke up just grumpier than ever and when we got on the train she kept saying - fast momma, out please. Broke my heart because every time we had to stop and the doors opened she begged me to get off the train. She loves trains too so I couldn't figure out what was wrong. When we got to work she was really quiet and didn't want to do anything but sit in her stroller (which she normally hates). We did super fun things though - we had a picnic lunch, toured a chocolate factory, watched movies and went to the aquarium. I could tell near the end that she was done and on the way to the train she barfed all over everything. I took an earlier train home and she was asleep the whole way home.

She woke up when we got off the train and I picked her up and she had a fever. She then opened her mouth and said - ouch momma, teeth. I looked in her mouth and saw no less than 5 teeth pushing against her gums. My poor baby wasn't grumpy just to be a pill - she was in pain, I felt so bad - but I am glad we went. Next year should be better.

Hailey Pics

2010-05-16T16:03:00.000-07:00

Scott and I took some pictures this past weekend. Hailey is so fun to take pictures of and so here are a few we liked. We wanted to take more but the sun kept hiding behind the clouds. There are also just a couple random ones at the bottom just for fun.

Hot & Steamy!

2010-05-16T16:00:00.000-07:00

For Mother's Day my mom and dad sent me a steam mop - which is the greatest thing ever!! My floors have never been this clean. I never thought I would see the day where I would be so excited about a mop, but I spent the whole weekend trying to find things to clean. I love it because there are no chemicals and it dries within minutes and I don't have to fight to keep Hailey away because I don't want her to inhale Mr. Clean fumes!!

Thanks Mom and Dad!!

We Are Officially A Huskies Family!!

2010-05-03T08:34:00.000-07:00

Scott received his acceptance letter to the UW last week and then received his acceptance letter into the UW Business School on Sunday!!! It has been a very long process to get to this point - the application process started back in February and it has been an arduous journey. We received his letter on Sunday because we didn't check the mail on Saturday - and we always check it - so it is funny that that was the day we decided not to. Scott even joked that the letter was probably sitting in the mailbox but since they said we wouldn't hear back until the end of May we didn't think it was a possibility. We checked the mail when we came home from church and Scott laughed when he saw the envelope. It was very thin (stupid going green movement freakin us out) so we were a little worried. But we opened it and saw congratulations and, of course, I started bawling - I am such a baby!! I am oh so proud of what Scott has accomplished already and I can't wait to see how far he will go. He is so smart and Hailey and I could not be prouder to have him in our family. I will forever be jealous if his knowledge and ability to remember absolutely everything!!

CONGRATS SCOTT!! WE LOVE YOU!!

UW CLASS of 2012!!

Pics and Update

2010-03-14T09:12:00.000-07:00

Here is what the haps are at the Halls house lately. We are continuing to work really hard to get through this time with me working and Scott in school full time. He is due to start the UW biz school this fall. YAY!! That means we are getting closer to being done. He is so excited - he is doing really well in school and I am so proud of him. I have been getting up at 3am every morning now to go to the gym before work. It was sooooooo hard at first, but now I look forward to it every day. It is my time and I am already down 17 pounds!! I don't even care about the #'s anymore - I just feel so much better and I am a better mom and wife because of it.

I am thinking of starting a boot camp for some ladies in the ward on Fridays and Saturdays to keep me motivated on the weekends - plus - I love helping people!!

Here are just some fun pics of our pretty girl just being the great little girl she is - she is our life, our entertainment and our fun!!

Vacuuming with mommy - she is very serious about this and she is so careful to get every spot.

We bought some bubbles the other day and had so much fun watching her run after them and trying to blow some bubbles herself. I think the best part is when she thought it would be yummy to eat the wand - not so tasty.

We finally were able to get her hair into piggies. She did not like it at first but when she saw how pretty she was in the mirror - she said oooooh!! And yesterday we got her hair into two piggies and she decided she needed makeup too.

Hailey trying to tell us to water our dying lawn of moss. I don't think anything can save it now - the moss has choked out the grass. Gotta love the NW!

She found Daddy's Kit Kats...

I found her in my closet with the door shut wearing my bra as a hat - she kills me :)

She has started to put herself down for bed when she is tired - she tries not to show her sleepiness and then all of the sudden she will crash - I love the spread eagle pic - we tried to wake her up because it was too early for bed but too late for nap - but there was no waking that girl!

I love this dress - she prances around in it when she wears it. Such a pretty girl. I love that she likes to be rough and tumble and then turns around and loves the frills and floofies.

My parents gave us this umbrella cat and she is in love with it. Every time we go outside she has to go and see it, talk to it and pet it. We named it Kitty because she begs us to go outside so she can go see Kitty.

15 Months Old!!

2010-01-30T19:18:00.000-08:00

Hailey has the sweetest spirit! I just can't believe how blessed we are. Sure there are times I want to scream - especially now since she has learned to throw fits. She gets so mad sometimes so she'll throw herself down and bite either herself or the closest thing to her and won't let go. I try not to laugh but sometimes it is cute. But really she is so easy going and fun. She has almost always slept through the night and she is a pretty good eater and the best entertainment ever!!

Here is a list of things she can do now:

She can say - dada, daddy, baba (bottle), baby, Tink (short for Tinkerbell), what the! (that one is Mommy's fault), TaTa - which is short for Tanner - her little boyfriend, tickle tickle - one of my faves, this - which actually mean please. I know there are more but I can't think of them all right now.

She knows what the-

-cow says

-turkey says

-doggie says

-Santa says

-bear says

-train says

-birdie does - she flaps her wings and says up down up down

She can point out her - hair, nose, belly button and booty

She dances to every song she hears and is very serious about it. Her favorite show is Glee and we have to replay the songs over and over or she will meltdown. She can do The Single Ladies dance by Beyonce (we actually caught it on camera - I am trying to upload - will post it soon)

She is the most fun - here are some pics of her recent happenings:

mmmmmmmm brownies

mmmmmmmm pizza
mmmmmmm banana

I just love her little diaper buns and these jeans were so cute - you can't tell but they are totally sparkly - so cute!

Her new favorite - my mom and dad sent her this flamingo robe and she has to wear it all the time - we try to save it for bath time but she knows it is in the closet and she knocks on the closet door to try and get it to come out :) She likes to flash mommy and daddy after bath and then giggles and runs away - I hope she outgrows that...

She loves the baby in the mirror - she always gives her kisses.

She really enjoys playing in the sink and the water.

Making a mess in the kitchen with mommy's hundred cookie cutters - FUN!!

Being silly in the tub with her sticky tub letters.

She loves her Minnie and Mickey - she makes them kiss and then hugs them both and says ahhhhhhh. Thanks for the mouses G & G Crook :)

Best baby ever!!

Christmas Fun

2009-12-30T07:46:00.000-08:00

This year was so much fun! Hailey is older and understands the present thing a little better and it was so neat to see her interact with the family. We just hung out at our house in the morning and had french toast. Then we went over to Scott's parents house for the evening. Hailey had a blast with her cousin and chased him all over the house. She is so fast now - I can't keep up with her. It was a very nice day and I can't wait until next year when we can start to explain more about Christmas and what it is about to Hailey. Who knows - there might be another bundle of joy on the way by then.

The only thing that made this Christmas sad was not being able to see my parents. I miss them so much and I wish we could see them everyday!! We love you guys - thanks for all of the super fun presents and Hailey's dolly - she just loves it!!

Here is our tree - you can't really tell from this pic but it is only decorated from the middle up because we didn't think Hailey needed to pull all the ornaments off the tree everyday - even though she thought it was super funny.

We wanted to get a picture of her as she first woke up and walked out and saw the tree, my parents always did that and I thought it would be fun. Hailey was not to happy about walking out on her own though - she likes to be carried out and snuggled for a little bit before she gets down to play. So cute though!

Opening presents.

She is such a goof - she makes the best funny faces - she can always make us laugh - she knows it too. She puts on little shows for us - dancing and singing and then doing something goofy until we are laughing so hard we can't breath!

I love it when we catch her smile on camera - it is rather difficult to get a good smiling picture of her because she likes to be so goofy when the camera comes out.

Everyone secretly wants a Snuggie - DON'T LIE! This year Scott's mom MADE us all Snuggies out of super warm fleece and made the little ones hooded robes. Hailey's is Tinkerbell fabric - she just loves to wear it around the house now.

Stealing, Piercings and Walking

2009-11-24T19:04:00.000-08:00

So I went to Old Navy the other day to get some warm clothes for Scott. Of course I had to swing by the baby section and see what they had over there. They had these cute shirts with different football teams on them for girls and I wanted a Seahawks one but they didn't have any so I left the section without knowing that Hailey decided that she wanted one of those shirts anyways. So she put it in my bag - it was her size and everything. Sneaky sneaky little girl - into clothes already...
Daddy wasn't happy that is was a Bears shirt but I didn't have the heart to take it back seeing as she picked it out herself. She proudly wears it in front of daddy - they love watching football together and I can just see when she gets older - she will pick a team Scott despises just to mess with him :)
Don't worry - we did pay for the shirt :)

So first she is stealing and then we decide to get her pierced. (Her ears only - of course) She did such a good job in the chair - she only cried for about a minute and then we gave her an orange julius and bought her a little stuffed animals that makes sounds when you squeeze it and she was fine. Scott has wanted to have this done since she was born. It took me 13 months to build up the strength to let her get them done. They are so cute though.

So we finally got a video of her walking. She has been walking for awhile but we couldn't get her on video because whenever she saw the camera she got too excited and just started crawling for it as fast a she could. She still enjoys walking on her knees and everyone that sees her do it thinks it is hilarious. She is such a big girl now!

Friends Like These

2009-11-10T12:23:00.000-08:00

Our friends Wes and Susannah (and their son Mathias) recently moved to nearby Graham. We are so excited to have them close now. They are truly the most genuine, down to earth, caring and super fun people you could know. We have been hanging out here and there, when we can, and it has just been a blast. These are friends we will have for a long time. Good friends are hard to come by anymore and we are blessed to have them in our lives. Hailey just loves Mathias and constantly wants to hold him and play with him but he is a little shy and since she is not shy at all - I think she scares him a bit. I just love watching them play together.
We went to the pumpkin patch together and had so much fun. I have more pics of that but seemed to have misplaced them. I will have to post them later.

Hailey's B-Day Party!

2009-11-10T11:46:00.000-08:00

We had a birthday party for Hailey with family and friends on Halloween. It was so much fun to watch her interact with everyone and see how she got all excited when she saw her presents. She loves Mickey/Minnie and so we decided to make it the theme. The cake was adorable - she loved it and she now plays with the little figurines non stop. I had to dress her up for a little while for Halloween so we could asnwer the door for trick or treaters. We made her a ballerina and she got so excited in the middle of getting ready she started to giggle and Scott got the perfect picture of her.

This was the super cute cake - I thought it was awesome!! Hailey loved it!

First we had pizza -YUM YUM!

Then we did presents FUN FUN!!

My parents sent this super cute grocery cart - we let her open it on her birthday while they were on speaker phone and could listen. As you can tell by the picture - she was super happy about her cart and groceries.

Typical child - she was more interested in the envelope than the actual present.

Daddy decided to help and she started to get the hang of ripping open the presents and she got really excited every time she saw there was something fun underneath all of the pretty paper.

THEN THERE WAS CAKE!!!!! She started out being a little prissy about touching the cake - then she thought she needed a fork. Then she finally decided that it was fun to play with the cake. She didn't actually get any into her mouth but she looked so cute!!

She was having fun and then all of the sudden she got all serious and was done. She did not like that she had to wait for mommy to clean all the blue frosting off of her before she could go play.

I can't believe my baby is ONE!! Such a big girl now - I will be excited to see how she does when we add a little brother or sister to the clan. (don't start asking - cuz I aint ready just yet)

Our Baby Is One Today!

2009-10-22T06:51:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it has been a year since we had our beautiful baby girl! She has grown so much and I can't get over how much I love her. She is an amazing little girl and we are so blessed to have her in our lives. Her actual b-day party isn't until Halloween but we had to give her one of her presents on her birthday. She actually picked it out but then we hid it so she could open it on her birthday. She loves Mickey Mouse so she saw this Mickey fire truck and went crazy - she didn't even want the cashier to touch it to ring it up. So cute!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRETTY GIRL!!

Silly Girl Videos and Pics

2009-10-03T10:37:00.000-07:00

Hailey wants to walk so bad but it scares her a little bit so she has figured out she can "walk" on her knees. She does it all the way through the house now and she is so proud of herself.

I have a few dance costumes that I have put in Hailey's room. She has discovered this pink tutu and she is always bringing it to me to put on her and then she wants to jump around in it. She also likes to look at herself in the mirror when she has it on. Our little princess!!

(Please ignore the mess in her room - I am going through all of her clothes and packing things up.)

Hailey has two pairs of super cute boots now - one pair came from my mom and dad and one pair came from my friend Tina and her daughter Nevaeh. She just loves them both and is constantly trying to put them on herself.

Scott and I went to the first Seahawks game of the season and had sooo much fun!! We didn't take Hailey because we had taken her to her cousin Isaac's footfall game the weekend before and whenever the crowd cheered or yelled she started to cry because she thought they were yelling at her. We thought the Seahawks crowd would not be a good idea for her so Grandma Hall watched her and we had her all sported out in her jersey for support. It was a great game!!

My Favorite Things

2009-09-21T07:26:00.000-07:00

Hailey is at the greatest age right now. Everything is a learning experience for her. I could sit and watch her all day she is so stinkin’ cute! Here is a list of Hailey’s happenings and my new favorite things about her:

1. She can say Daddy, fishy, cat, kitty, yay and whussat (what’s that)
2. She stands up in the middle of the room all by herself and then claps for herself
3. She loves to hide her toys in different places – like the diaper box and under things and then gets so excited when she finds them again
4. She dances every time (good) music comes on and when she watches So You Think You Can Dance
5. She still jumps non-stop and thinks it’s hilarious to watch herself do it in the mirror
6. She loves to be naked and crawls away when I change her diaper and giggles because she thinks it’s funny (haven’t had her pee on the floor yet…)
7. She loves to be read to and she has to turn the page or she gets mad and she tells you when she’s done because if you stop reading before she wants you to she lets you know
8. She still likes to suck on her toes and I wish I could be flexible like that
9. She is finally popping her teeth in and she looks so cute
10. The look on her face when I walk through the door from work and how fast she crawls to me so I will pick her up
11. The way she raises her eyebrows when a cute boy walks by and that she is so not shy about it
12. The way she loves her Daddy with all her heart and the eyes she has for Daddy only
13. I love that she looks like Scott and I get to admire two very good looking people everyday!!

My baby girl is growing up so fast and I am loving every minute of my time with her!!

Our Trip to Idaho

2009-08-28T12:26:00.001-07:00

We drove down to visit my parents a couple weeks ago and it was so great to see them and for Hailey to see them again. The last time my parents saw hr she was only a month old! The drive down was good we stopped and stayed in hotels and had a blast. The ride home wasn't as nice because we drove straight through. We are so lucky to have such a relaxed child - she just chilled for most of the 10 hour trip and watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on her little DVD player. She was such a good baby! Mommy and Daddy had a rougher trip and we were glad to get out of the car after 10+ hours. My parents are so wonderful and I cannot explain the blessing they are in my life - I have the greatest parents in the whole world and I miss them so much! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for a super fun time - WE LOVE YOU!!

My poor baby girl got her first really big owee :( She loves cats and she wanted to sit with Elvis (who has never hurt a fly) and he decided he didn't care for the little thing that was the same size as him and attacked her face. I have never heard cries like that before from my girl - it broke my heart. We are so lucky he didn't get her eye!! She was fine after about 10-15 minutes but mommy was still a wreck - I hate seeing her in pain. She is healing quickly though and it doesn't seem to phase her one bit - and she still wants to play with kitties so it must not have traumatized her too much.

Other than that it was a great trip - I will post more photos soon but I wanted to post something quick while Hailey was napping.

Paranoid Momma

2009-08-11T08:53:00.000-07:00

I know I am not the first mom to be paranoid about their child getting hurt but sometimes it really gets to me. I can literally work myself into a frenzy worrying about everything that could happen to her. It's not normal things all of the time either - Scott laughs at some of things I can dream up. I have horrible visions of her being carried off by a wild animal and I will never see her again or an eagle will come down with giant talons and carry her away. It sounds silly when I write it down but my imagination can get the best of me sometimes. I just look at her and know I would just die if anything happened to her.

She has found this new serious side to her personality and I love the looks she gets on her face, she concentrates so hard -I just could watch her all day long!!

To add to my paranoia, she can stand up all by herself and is trying to walk - now I get to imagine all of the falls she could have on top of the realistic fear of an eagle swooping down :)

I love our baby girl!!

Mischievous Miss

2009-07-27T20:55:00.000-07:00

Hailey is so stinkin' fast now. I can't keep up with her already and I know it is just the beginning. I had just cleaned up the toys so we could go to bed and I turned my back for 2 seconds and Hailey found the toys mommy had nice and neat.

I absolutely love her "I wasn't doing anything" look - she does it ALOT!!

She loves mommy's phone and is already running up the phone bills for us - typical girl ;)

I have been trying to take some really good pictures of her lately but she is so interested in the camera - I usually get a really good close up of her hand and face. I love her baby blues though - pretty girl!!

She has started to pull her self up onto her feet using the couch - she is so proud of herself when she does it - she is growing too fast!!

Mobile Baby!

2009-07-11T08:25:00.001-07:00

Hailey is crawling like crazy. It happened sooo fast. About a month ago she wouldn't even try and then all of the sudden she got on her hands and knees and started cruisin' like a pro. She is growing up so fast!

Happy 5th Anniversary To My Wonderful Hubby!!

2009-06-26T12:54:00.000-07:00

From the first moment I saw you – I knew you were special, Scott. You had my attention, my heart, my everything. I never thought you would want to ask me out and was so excited when you finally did – it was a long three days I waited :) From that first date on October 16, 2003 we rarely spent time away from each other and we still never get sick of being together all of the time. You still tease me that you said “I love you” first, and when you told me you had bought a ring and I didn’t believe you when you said it was under my seat in the car – I never looked because you were always joking around and why would you want to marry me? I believed you after you got down on one knee New Years Eve at 11:59pm when you asked me to start the new year as your fiancé. I loved you so much then – I didn’t think it was possible to love you more, but everyday for the last five years I have found I love you more and more each day, every time I see you with our daughter, every time I kiss you good night, every second of every day I love you more! And to think I almost didn’t go that day I met you – my life would not be the same had I chosen not to go – I wasn’t complete until I met you – thank you for all that you do and thanks for loving me! Happy 5th Anniversary Sparky!!

I put together a slideshow of our last 5 years together!

First Cold AND Teething - NOT FAIR!!

2009-06-14T16:16:00.000-07:00

My poor baby got her first big , bad cold :( She has had such a hard time breathing so we prop her up on our bed with lots of pillows and lots of love. She gets so mad because it is so hard for her to eat - it breaks my heart. She is also teething so she is doubly miserable. I wish I could explain to her that it will all go away soon. She is extra snuggly because she is sick and mommy just sits with her day and night trying to make her feel better.

Before she got sick we went to the zoo and saw this beautiful peacock and she had an absolute melt down because she couldn't have it. When we got really close to it it spread its tail feathers and she got so excited. She also loved to see the fishies and she had lots of fun.

We also went to a park and the beach a couple of weekends ago and she had so much fun just being outside. Daddy was doing a project for school there so Hailey and mommy had a little picnic on the grass and just enjoyed t he sunshine.

Boy Crazy Already?!?

2009-06-01T19:02:00.000-07:00

Our girl LOVES Mickey Mouse Clubhouse! I made the mistake of showing her that Mickey Mouse could be on our laptops - she was so excited and now every time she sees us open the laptop she gets so mad if we don't find Mickey for her. She likes to touch him on the screen and talk to him - it is so cute!

Hailey got to go see one of her buddies a couple of weeks ago - he is the son of Scott's best man from our wedding. His name is Matias and he is stinkin' cute - they played together for awhile and then they sat and held hands for almost 10 minutes. It is WAY too early for her to start being boy crazy - I could see Daddy looking on getting a little nervous :)

I heart my sweet little girl so much!!

Visit My Other Super Cool Blog - You Know You Want To :)

2009-05-27T07:23:00.000-07:00

I have started a new blog for myself and the lovely ladies in my life! It will be about fitness, nutrition and other fun stuff, it will also serve as a personal journal as I climb my way back to the body I once had. I have two of my sisters-in-law contributing – one of them is a fabulous chef so I thought that would be awesome for new recipes. I thought it would be fun to have a place where my friends and I could go for support and ideas when it came to our own personal goals, share ideas or to ask the questions that everyone is afraid to ask. It will be very candid and comfortable and I hope you will all participate.

The official blog launch will be Monday, June 1st, 2009. Please tell everyone you know so we can get a huge following – the more people that follow, the more ideas and support we have!
ENJOY!!
http://ladiesinweighting.blogspot.com/

The Happenings at the Halls

2009-05-14T19:51:00.000-07:00

It has been awhile since I have posted. I can't believe all the things that can happen in just a couple of weeks. Hailey's eyes are becoming a beautiful shade of blue and her reddish hair is turning blond. She is sprouting so fast - she is going to be tall like her daddy.

We gave her a biter biscuit the other day and she thought that was super fun. They are seriously messy but it is fun to watch her.

A couple of weeks ago Scott wanted to mow the lawn and I needed to do some work so he put her in the front pack and she was Daddy's big helper. I thought the mower would scare her but it didn't seem to bother her one bit, she had so much fun!!

We have been trying to help her learn to crawl. She HATES being on her tummy though. She ends up doing a somersault because her legs are so strong from jumping and her arms haven't caught up with them. Then she gets upset and pouts by burying her face in the floor. So cute though :)

We were at Scott's parents house the other day and Auntie Teresa and cousin Alethia were singing No More Monkeys Jumpin' On the Bed to her and she thought that was hilarious. She loves music and she will stop everything she is doing if you start singing to her.

Life is so much fun with her and Scott. I am so blessed!!

Hailey's Half Birthday!!

2009-04-26T13:26:00.000-07:00

Hailey was 6 months old last Wednesday!! I can't believe how fast she is growing up. Scott and I are so blessed to have such a wonderful baby girl. On her half birthday (April 22nd) we gave her some pears to celebrate. She has had veggies and rice cereal but we held off on the fruits until she was 6 months. She loved it!! We also bought her a pretty dress, so of course I had to take pictures of her in it. Everything is fascinating to her, a leaf, the grass - I just love to watch her discover new things. Sometimes when I look at her I see such thought and wisdom, I wonder if her spirit is older than mine. I can't wait until she talks, I just know she has so much to teach us. I have the most wonderful, precious, beautiful baby EVER!!!

I Am Such A Cow

2009-04-14T20:42:00.000-07:00

Since I have gone back to work, I have been pumping 3-4 times a day for the last 12 weeks. I thought it would be interesting to keep track of how much I pump. As of today, I have pumped almost 5 gallons of milk!! That is absolutely crazy to think about. And that is just what I get at work - that doesn't include what I make when I am feeding her at home. The human body is AMAZING!! Although pumping does make me feel like a bit of a bovine - it is totally worth it!!

Our Outing In Seattle

2009-04-04T19:10:00.000-07:00

We went up to Seattle today so I could make up 3 hours of work and spend the day in Seattle since it was a beautiful day. Hailey helped out at my desk.

We then walked up to Pike Place and walked around for a bit.

Then we walked to a scenic view of the waterfront - which Hailey slept through :)

We ended the day with having dinner at Ivar's - watching the seagulls and the fire boats...

...and blowing bubbles. It was a super fun day!!

I Must Have An Angel...

2009-03-30T20:12:00.001-07:00

If I had a dollar every time someone asked me how I do what I do everyday, I wouldn’t have to work. All I can say is – I must have an angel. A friend asked me this morning exactly how my day unfolds so here it is: I wake up between 3:00 and 3:15am, I wake my baby girl to feed her and spend some time with her before I get ready for work. I throw a piece of bread in the toaster and go finish getting ready for work. By 4:30am I am mostly ready and I realize I still haven’t eaten so I grab the piece of cold, dry toast and am out of the door by 4:40 or 4:45. As I walk out the door each morning, my heart breaks, leaving Hailey is the hardest thing I have to do each day and it hasn’t gotten any easier. I must have an angel. I drive 20-30 minutes to the train station where I get on the train at 5:17am. I finish my makeup on the train and I try to catch some sleep on the train ride in. I arrive in Seattle at 5:55/6:00am and since it is so early I have no buses to take me to work from the train station, so I use the opportunity to get a workout in and jog the 1 ¼ mile into work. I pass numerous homeless people sleeping on the street, some who yell after me and beg me for money or call me names; somehow I make it into work safely. I must have an angel. I get to work usually 5 minutes late and feel guilty that I can’t make it in on time. I begin working before my butt hits the chair. While at work, I pump three times a day – this is an accomplishment since pumping has always been extremely painful for me. I pump at 8:30am, 12:30pm and 3:30pm and pray that I get enough to feed my precious girl for the next day. I have learned how to work while I pump – which is hilarious since I have a double pump so it takes some finesse. I work while pumping because again, I feel guilty that I come in 5 minutes late. I store my milk in the fridge at work and hope that nobody confuses it with the creamer. I eat the same thing everyday while at work: sugar free oatmeal, whole-wheat saltines, a Fiber One bar, a sandwich and veggies. I am relieved when 4:25pm rolls around and I can go. I feel guilty again that I leave 5 minutes early from work just so I can catch the train in time, which is why I work and pump through lunch and sometimes work on the train ride home. I catch the train at 4:45pm and I do everything I can to stay awake because I know if I close my eyes I will sleep through my stop. I get to the train station at 5:30pm and run to get in my car and pick up Hailey. Scott and I just miss each other because he starts school at the same time I get to the train station. He has to drop Hailey off with someone for 45 minutes until I can pick her up on the way home. Each week I struggle to find someone available to watch her and I would give anything to just be with her and not have to depend on anyone else to help me. I am in near tears when I pick up Hailey until I see the look of pure joy on her face when she sees me.

I put her in the car and head home. We get home at 6:00 or 6:15pm and I feed her the second I walk in the door because I am ready to explode. Then I try to cook dinner for myself while holding her and then eat while standing up and holding her because she won’t let me lay her down. She missed mommy. I do it without angst because I have missed her so much too. I must have an angel. I clean what I can in the house and then play with Hailey – I read to her, I sing to her, I do tummy time with her and for as long as she lets me - I just stare at her. Daddy gets home around 9:00pm and I am feeding the baby again. When she is done, I let Scott take her while I throw his dinner together. I do what I can to prep for the next day and give Hailey a bath. I feed her again at 10:30pm where we both fall asleep in the recliner and Scott has to wake me up to walk me to the room. I lay her down for bed and I crawl in bed and we say our prayers. As I start to fall asleep, I think to myself, I must have an angel – I am so blessed - because I actually have two, one who lays next to me every night and one in the playpen at the foot of our bed.

5 Months Old Today!!!

2009-03-22T15:51:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it has been 5 months since we had our precious baby girl. She has grown so much and is so active now. Everyday is a new adventure. She loves to talk and giggle and I could just stare at her all day long. She gets bored easily and wants to learn and do new things all the time - I have so much fun introducing new things to her - she gets so excited!! She is finally sprouting some luscious locks, we spiked it the other day after bath time fun...

I decided to dress her up in a ballet costume and she wouldn't sit still for very long and every time I laid her down, her feet went into her mouth. I love this picture because it looks like she is saying "dis my foot, you don't touch it!!"

She loves her Jumperoo more and more everyday. She started to jump really fast and high and do some ballet moves with her feet. It is so cute - we kind of caught it on video - she hasn't let us record her doing it other than this one time.

Family Update...

2009-03-08T17:56:00.000-07:00

Well, Scott is two weeks away from being done with this quarter -WOOHOO!! He has been taking really stupid classes this quarter, which he hates but he has to do. You know - the ones they make you take that have nothing to do with the major you're in. It has been a rough transition for all of us the last month and a half. I went back to work, he went back to school and Hailey is getting to know her aunts and uncles very well. (Thanks aunties and uncles!!) Hailey is getting more fun each day she is in our lives. She is eating rice cereal now and can almost sit up by herself. She can roll from her tummy to her back and from her back to her tummy, which she thinks is really cool. Our lives are a little chaotic right now and Scott and I feel more like roommates in passing than we do husband and wife - but I know it will get better and we are doing the right thing for our family. Even with our trials right now we are so happy and feel so blessed with what we have and the opportunities we have in our lives. We are so thankful for all of our family and friends and the love and support they offer us!!!

Eating Like a Big Girl!

2009-03-05T19:29:00.000-08:00

Hailey has been eyeing our food for the past couple of weeks and getting frustrated when we don't share what we have with her, and she is hungry all the time. We decided to start giving her a little rice cereal 2-3 times a week. She loves it!! But as you can see by the worried look on her face - Mommy just can't shovel it to her fast enough. She kept leaning in her high chair towards me when I was getting spoonfuls for her and grabbing for the spoon. It is so amazing all these new fun things we get to experience as parents. I guess playing house when I was little for hours on end paid off. :)

Potty Training At 4 Months!!

2009-02-28T19:31:00.000-08:00

We have heard a lot of our friends and family say that they have had so much trouble potty training their toddlers and I thought - there must be an easier way. So I did some research and talked to my mom and found something called elimination communication. It is actually potty training for infants. Sounds crazy right? I have been doing it for a week now and it works!!! She still wears diapers but I offer her the potty at specific times and I give her signal sounds and she goes on her potty!

I am amazed every time she goes potty on her little Baby Bjorn potty chair and she seems so proud of herself. I am hoping that as she gets older the potty will be second nature and getting her fully potty trained will be an easy transition.

Sleepy Time

2009-02-20T19:28:00.000-08:00

My girl loves her sleep - when she will allow herself to go to sleep. Lately she has wanted to stay awake as long as possible until she just can't take it anymore.

She also loves to fall asleep while eating - that just gives mommy time to snuggle the baby - my favie!!!

Pretty Eyes

2009-02-16T21:49:00.000-08:00

Hailey was laying on the floor the other day and the sunlight came peeking through the curtains and hit her eyes just perfectly. They are starting to turn blue - they get brighter and brighter everyday! She is our pretty girl ~ blue eyes and strawberry hair - I LOVE IT!!!

Silly on Super Bowl Sunday

2009-02-04T15:51:00.000-08:00

We came home from church on Sunday and we were getting everything ready to watch the Super Bowl. Daddy and Mommy changed their clothes. Daddy got done first so he was changing the baby and I came out to see her with the spankies from her dress on her head. You can see from the picture that she thought it was funny.

Then as the layers of Sunday clothes came off - somehow more articles of clothing were being found where you would not normally see them:

Finally we get to just the baby in the Pampers. She then discovered she had feet, and that apparently feet are yummers:

The Super Bowl was about to start when we finally got her all dressed in her pink Seahawks best (just to spite the Steelers) and we watched the game as a family. It was a fun day!!

Lots of Good Stuff!!

2009-01-29T22:28:00.000-08:00

We bought Hailey a Jumperoo the other day. At first weren't sure she liked it because she just sat there but after we put a folded up blanket under it so she could reach the floor and she went nuts!!!
(Sorry about the quality of the video. We took it with our regular camera)

Watching Hailey with daddy is my favorite! She only has eyes for daddy. It is fun to watch them together - I think they will have a very special relationship because they get to spend so much time together. I don't know what Scott will do when boys start knocking at the door for her - probably get out the guns.

She has a new favorite stuffed animal. It is her mumpy - that is mommy talk for monkey. She found it in her crib one day and started talking to it and laughing. I love this picture because it looks like she is saying "TOUCH MY MUMPY AND DIE!!"

We gave her a bath in the sink the other day and she discovered the rubber ducky - she was so focused and intent on picking up the ducky she didn't want to be washed or bothered. She kept kicking it with her foot and then picking it up and staring at it as though she was having a private conversation with it. So cute - also works as a censor for nakee babies in the tub :)

Giggles

2009-01-26T12:32:00.000-08:00

We were so excited to hear Hailey giggle the other day. I am so glad we caught a couple of her giggles on camera. Usually she won't perform for the camera - it was a good day!! It is amazing to watch her learn and grow - there is something new everyday!!

Wee Three

2009-01-12T12:54:00.000-08:00

Scott got pictures of us as babies to compare to Hailey. I think she is a good mix of both us - although she definitely has my hairline. There are times she looks so much like Scott, she makes a lot of the faces he makes, and then she will look like me. It is the neatest thing to see both of us in her - but also to see things that neither one of us have that are just hers.

So Sweet

2009-01-12T12:37:00.000-08:00

I love this picture. The look on her face is so her. She is always working the eyebrows. She is going to be a big flirt!

10 Weeks Old

2009-01-07T21:02:00.000-08:00

Time has gone by so incredibly fast. Watching her learn and grow has been the most amazing thing I have ever experienced. Every laugh, every smile, even every cry is a miracle - a miracle that Scott and I brought into this world. I still can't believe she is mine. How did I make something this wonderful?

I am soaking her up every chance I can before I go back to work on the 19th. I am so lucky to work in a place where they appreciate family and are flexible and supportive. I have had many hardships in my life but leaving my baby girl to go back to work will be the hardest thing I have ever had to endure. It is a blessing that Scott is finishing school and can be with her the majority of the day and we are blessed to have his family nearby to help out, but as her mother it will be difficult to be away from her.

I have enjoyed the time I have been able to share with her and Scott and know there is so much more to come. I can't wait!!

Goodbye Junior

2008-12-31T19:40:00.000-08:00

I had to say goodbye to my oldest kitty today. When my parents retired they took my four cats with them to Idaho. I felt they would be better off with them since they would be home most of the time and Scott and I were only home at night. It took me six weeks to get that sweet little stray to come into the house when I was a teenager. I would sit on the deck in the freezing cold for hours with food trying to get him to trust me. He had a great life and we will all miss him, but he was in pain and it was too selfish for us to keep him here for our sake. He was buried out on some land that my parents friends have next to their two kitties. My mom said he went peacefully and seemed like it was a relief for him to not be in pain anymore. It is just sad for the rest of us left here without his sweet spirit.

Hailey's angry face - but so cute :)

2008-12-24T14:20:00.000-08:00

This was the end of a long set of pics I was taking of her. She made sure to let me know she was so over it!

Christmas Picture - 7 Weeks Old

2008-12-11T21:24:00.001-08:00

Chilly December...

2008-12-09T13:10:00.000-08:00

Hailey and I went outside to rake the leaves so they wouldn't ruin the lawn for the spring. I put 3 layers of clothes on her and put her in a front pack. She was having so much fun, smiling and giggling and then she fell asleep. She was so peaceful when we came inside I left her in the pack. She looked so puffy in all those clothes - it was so cute!!

Thanksgiving Weekend!!

2008-12-04T14:22:00.000-08:00

Big Smiles!!

2008-11-21T11:56:00.000-08:00

She started smiling and it wasn't because of gas :)

I can't believe how fast she is growing up!!

New Slideshow of Hailey!

2008-11-13T14:39:00.000-08:00

Sweetest Face Ever!!!

2008-11-07T18:23:00.001-08:00

Our Gift From Heavenly Father

2008-11-07T17:35:00.000-08:00

2008-11-07T10:56:00.000-08:00

She loves to sleep!! We are so blessed to have such a sweet baby girl. Check out her cute bunny slippers :)

Hailey's First Playdate

2008-11-04T13:47:00.000-08:00

We went to the Biehl's last night for dinner and Hailey and Janson hung out together on the blanket. It was so cute - at first they wouldn't look at each other and then they started to acknowledge the other was there. We had a good time.

Fun in the Tub?

2008-11-04T12:15:00.000-08:00

I gave her a sponge bath the other day - she didn't care for it much :(

One Week and One Day Old Already!!

2008-10-30T20:56:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it has already been a week and a day since we had Hailey. It has been so much fun. Recovering from the c-section has been an experience, I am so thankful that my parents were here to help me out, as I could not have done it without them. Scott and I are loving every minute of our precious girl. Scott had a hard time going back to work though. I love watching him with her - she is going to be such a daddy's girl. She has been a gem - she hardly ever cries or fusses and she has such a wonderful disposition, we are so blessed. We had our one week Dr. visit yesterday and she is almost back to her birth weight and Dr. says she is doing great. He also said that I am healing remarkably fast from the c-section - I am so glad because all I want to do is be able to walk around and hold her, which I couldn't do for the first few days. Time is already going by so fast, I am taking so many pictures so I can remember everything!!

Hailey Alyssa Hall is Finally Here!!!

2008-10-25T14:53:00.000-07:00

After a very long road we finally have our precious baby girl. Our journey started out on Sunday night (Oct. 19th) I went in for 2 treatments of Misoprostol which is supposed to help get things going and perhaps start labor. After 8 hours of treatment there was still no change. It was a little discouraging. Tuesday night my Dr. called and asked us to go to the hospital again and do 3 more treatments of the Misoprostol and then Wednesday AM we would see where that got us. Twelve hours of treatment and labor later, I was only between 2 and 3 centimeters. At 9am on Wednesday morning he broke my water to see if that would help move things along. Two hours later I was still only at 2 or 3 centimeters. I was then started on pitocin. YUCK!! Talk about uncomfortable labor. I was already exhausted, I was a week overdue and had pretty much been in labor for the past 3 days. I finally had to get an epidural because he wanted to crank up the pitocin as high as possible. My Dr. was awesome though, he knew how much I wanted to have her naturally and waited as long as he was comfortable with. At 6pm I was between 5 and 6 centimeters but our baby girl just couldn't move her head down because of my short waist. At 8pm he decided he couldn't let me go any longer and told me he needed to get her out as soon as possible. It was so heartbreaking but I just wanted her to be ok. At 8:24pm on October 22, 2008, Hailey Hall was brought into this world via c-section. Weighing in at 8 pounds 5 ounces and 20.5 inches long. It wasn't exactly what I wanted to happen but the moment I saw her it was all worth it. She was perfect - the most beautiful baby I have seen right after birth. My wonderful husband was in the operating room the whole time and didn't leave my side until he went with our daughter to give her her first bath and make sure she was ok. I could not have done this without him. I am so happy and blessed to have Hailey and Scott, I don't know what I would do without them.

Due Date Plus One...

2008-10-14T09:33:00.000-07:00

One day past my due date and I am so ready!! I think she is hanging pictures and laying carpet in there as it seems she doesn't want to come out. The Dr. said he wouldn't let me go past the 25th, so we will have our baby girl within 10 days!!! I just want to see her and squeeze her and hold her. She will be here soon though - at least I know I can't be pregnant forever. :)

12 Days Until My Due Date!

2008-10-01T09:01:00.000-07:00

Well - it is getting closer and closer. She is so incredibly active lately - I can grab her little foot when she sticks it out but I think she has decided to hang out where it is warm and cozy and make mommy and daddy more and more anxious every day. I am tired of people saying "haven't you had that baby yet?" Obviously I haven't, otherwise I wouldn't be standing there as big as a house!! My sarcasm is growing as big as my tummy these days - I should warn people to stay away until I have the baby :)

36 Weeks

2008-09-14T20:03:00.001-07:00

I haven't even met her yet but I already love her so much. It is the most amazing feeling to be able to create this life with my husband whom I love so much. Scott often asks her when she is going to come out - it is the sweetest thing. Only a little while left until our angel leaves the presence of our Heavenly Father and joins our family.