He lives!

My favorite thing about this time of year is the Easter pageant. I have so many memories of grabbing a burger king kids meal and sitting on a blanket watching it while I was younger. My mom danced as Mary magdeline one year, and it is a (far fetched) dream of mine to dance in it too. But it has always been a very special event. Tyler and I have gone together the past three years. Last year I was 5 months pregnant, and we were giddy envisioning what it would be like the next year having a cute baby girl roaming around. And then we had Hallie. I have been dreading taking her. I had no idea how I was going to entertain her for so long, or keep her from screaming bloody murder. I knew that we wouldn't be able to make it thru the whole thing. We were going to be THOSE people who have to interrupt the whole pageant to carry a screaming baby out and leave. So I had been waiting for hallie to be in a "good mood" to try taking her.
Well last night I wanted to go. I didn't care if my baby was grumpy, she usually is, so why am I putting this off? So we let Hallie take a late nap, fed her dinner, put her in pjs, and left. We stopped at Petes fish and chips (Tyler loves it..me, not liking fish, well I didn't until I found that I can stomach one of their burgers) and walked to the temple from there. We got there about an hour before the pageant was supposed to start. We kept Hallie entertained with her favorite, food and phones. People came and said hi to her, which she loved, but several people had to ask if she was a boy or girl. Seriously people? I know she doesn't have any hair but she's wearing pink cupcakes, has a pink blanket, her ears have flower earrings in them. Ugh, so annoying. Then the show started. The angels came up, and Hallie was smitten. She oohed and ahed and babbled. We tried laying her down in her stroller and gave her a bottle, hoping she would fall asleep since we were both still on the edge of our seats waiting for her screams to begin. She finished her bottle and started playing hide and seek. I held her the rest of he time. She was so happy. And funny. She loved watching the part where Mary magdeline sings and dances, and then when Christ rises above the angels. She was the most perfect baby the whole two hours we were sitting there. Even despite the fact that she was leaking poop out of every hole in her diaper towards the end (we bought Luvs because we heard they are excellent against blowouts..False) we walked back to the car, she fell asleep on the way home, and she slept through the night.
I don't know what kind of miracle took place, but I am so grateful. Grateful that we bucked up and went, because I don't know how long I would have put it off in fear of monster baby. Grateful that we were able to share something that means a lot to me and Tyler with hallie, and that we were able to spend a night as a family with all of us happy and uplifted and reminded of the sacrifices our Savior made for us to be here. Im so grateful for the Easter pageant, for the message it brings and the spirit that fills my heart every time I see it. And I just love when my baby is sweet!!!

8 months!

We got a few of Tyler's baby books from his Mom earlier this week and have had fun looking thru them. I also love looking back thru mine. I realized that other than a book of firsts for the first year, I don't have one for Hallie and this is as close as it gets! Which might be better, since once it's posted it can never be lost. So I want to get better about sharing all the stories, milestones, and facts about our little Hallie. So here's her 8 months story

-she was weighed at a 7 month appointment and she was just about 17 lbs. they didn't take her height, but she's still super long
-she's a lovely shade of orange from all her baby food. Ever notice that other than peas and green beans all baby food is pretty much orangish? You can tell by looking at her that she loves sweet potatoes!
-nothing comes between her and bottle time. She knows when she gets one in her schedule, and if your late, or if she wakes up from a nap early and doesn't get it right away, you'll regret it
-we've been letting her explore new table foods. She's been eating pancakes for breakfast which she loves, she can eat a whole nutrigrain bar for a snack, she doesn't like the texture of bananas or spaghettios, and she about ate all my chow mein from dinner last night
-I think I've finally found a sippy cup that she will take! But she still has to be in the mood for it
-she's still taking her laxative medication from when she was 4 months. It helps her out a lot, but I hate to think of her system being dependent on it to be able to poop. I'm too scared to wean her off it though.
-she's still not feeding herself, we'll put stuff on her high chair tray and when her arms aren't straight out, she picks the food up and gives it to the dogs
-she loves her puppies. She has a funny obsession with Lacey's fur. I can't tell you how many times I've found gobs of hair in her hand from Lacey's tail :(
-she loves going for walks in her stroller
-she started crawling this week, but she'd still way rather be picked up and carried to where she wants to go
-she's trying so hard to stand up, and gets so frustrated when she can't
-she loves her pinky blanket. I have been looking online for a new one just in case anything happens to this one, because it will not be good. She's so attached
-she's been waking up throughout the night a lot. Sometimes it just takes putting her paci in her mouth (or finding it when she has thrown it under the crib or across the room) and sometimes it takes a bottle
-her naps are becoming shorter. Sad for me
-she is NOT a night person. 6 o clock hits and she's cranky and ready for bed
-she loves to take baths, until she gets her hair washed. She loves to chew on her bath foam letters. Daddy taught her how to splash and now she does that action everywhere, even on my face
-she's been swimming twice (our pool is heated) and is a little overwhelmed the first bit she'll death grasp her floaty and just sit there. But she did learn that she goes places when she kicks her legs
-her favorite people: aunt Kinzie, uncle Tate, and mommy
-she is so ticklish! One of the only things she laughs at is Tyler tickling her
-as I mentioned above, she's not a laughing baby...she still cries, a lot...but when she smiles, she's got such a cheesy grin! She gets it from Tyler
-people at the store always say she looks like the gerber baby
-she loves flirting with old men
-she loves to sing, she loves to babble, she loves to scream when she's not getting attention...pretty much, she loves the sound of her voice
-she oohs and ahhs every time we go into her closet
-we got her a 90 piece bucket of play food, and her favorite is the chocolate bar. That's my girl :)
-I am still trying so hard to not let her have anything with dairy in it. Ice cream, cheese, the whole deal. But as she's getting older and more curious, it's getting much harder!
- she loves brushing her teeth! We sit her on her bathroom counter and she would do it all day if we let her
-she enjoys going to get the mail, and then getting all the junk mail to play with. She's obsessed with anything with lots of words, like the newspaper she also has a problem with eating any paper that gets in her hand. She likes holding my grocery lists when we go to the store,and many times I've found bites missing and they turn up in her mouth, silly little goat
-you will never know where you will find her in her crib, she isn't standing up in it yet, but she rolls around and likes to position herself so that he can kick her fish tank on and off
-she still loves the Backyardigans, was distraught when moose a. moose left nick jr. and is starting to like blues clues. I'm waiting for the day I can convince her to switch to Disney movies, but for now she's a nick jr kid
-she still doesn't have enough hair to know what color it is. It looks to be somewhat of a dirty blonde
-still has those gorgeous blue eyes
-still has the highest pitched scream ever
-and is turning 1 in 4 months already!!

We love our little girl so much. She is such a joy, despite the hard times. Here's some random pictures of some of things she's been doing lately

Falling in love

I got spoiled this weekend. Tyler had a three day weekend, so I got him all to myself from Thursday at 5 till this morning at 8. I often forget (kinda ashamed to admit this) how much I enjoy spending time with my husband. I get so wrapped up in the business of being a mom, spending time with Hallie, cleaning the house, etc. that I forget how much I need time with Tyler. And it was SO nice to not have one but three days to have my best friend by my side. We just had a nice relaxing lazy weekend. Lots of movies and food, my favorite. We went and saw the hunger games Friday night. Loved it! And it was nice getting out, we hadn't been to the movies in forever. Hallie loves having the two of us together, I swear she is so much happier when the three of us are all together. I love being able to watch Tyler and Hallie bond, and of course being able to leave the room for a second without initiating Hallies water works is also a huge plus to having Tyler home! Now that it's monday and were back to our normal lives, I miss my husband already! But I have a little mover keeping me busy now :) Hallie is 8 months old today and started crawling last night. She's still not so sure about it, but you can tell he's pretty proud of herself when she finally gets to where she wanted to be. It's the cutest thing watching her face light up. She is the funniest little girl. She's into this whole 'smacking' everything phase. Whether it be in the bath, hitting her wipes case, or my face, she gets such a kick out of it.
So the week begins, and then this weekend is a nice relaxing session of conference! Can't wait! Tyler has to work Saturday so it'll just be me and Hallie, but this is Tylers first time NOT having drill over conference weekend since he joined the army five years ago. So I'm excited to finally watch a live viewing of conference with him for the first time since we've been together!

A child's prayer

When Hallie was born, my aunt got me and Tyler a family home evening lesson manual. I had no idea when i planned to use it, but lately it's been on my mind and I think our family could really benefit from starting so we pulled it off the shelf tonight. We read the introduction and decided we would take turns between Tyler and I planning and giving the lesson. We had finished and were about to say prayer. I folded Hallies little arms and she started her sweet little babble. It seemed like she wanted to say the prayer. So Tyler and I started telling her things to say. She would quietly listen until we were done, and then babble for a minute, then listen again. It was like she was repeating what we would tell her. All while folding her arms. It absolutely melted my heart. This is why I pulled the manual off the shelf, and this is why being a parent is so rewarding! She's just the cutest thing ever!!

All she wants

As stated in my previous post, Hallie was..tough..to say the least, this weekend while Tyler was gone. He got home yesterday evening,and it was like a different baby emerged. She was happy, laughing again. She slept better last night. And this morning while she was laying in bed with us, I realized why Heavenly Father sent her to us. As she grabbed mine and Tyler's hands, I knew she was here to bring Tyler and I closer together. To unite us as a team, to be able to get through the tough days together, build each other up and be there for the other when we break down. To grow patience as a unit, to learn to love together. And I can't begin to express how perfect that makes my baby girl. Despite all the frustrating long days, she is the glue that will always keep this family together, and make it so that our family can be together forever. And I sure love her for that. I couldn't think of a better gift from my Father in heaven. I am truly blessed :)

Another lone weekend

One more year to go. One more year of Tyler being gone on drill weekends, and me being left behind with the chaos of unhappy baby and two dogs. Plus whatever else is thrown my way. I know I've said this before but it just so happens that when Tyler leaves for drill everything that could go wrong does. So this weekend was no different. I could feel on Thursday that Hallie and I were getting sick. Now with me it's no problem, but Hallie has never been sick before and I had no idea what I was going in to. So with this miserable sick teething baby, the two of us got 3 hours of sleep last night, and no naps today. How's that for fun. I had my occasional break down today because of it. I love my little girl, more than words can say, but sometimes I get so discouraged having such a hard baby. I understand all babies are tough, but I've had multiple people tell me they've never seen a baby like her. She still cries all day long, and she's seven months old. I don't know what Heavenly father wants me to get out of this. I already had patience, if I didn't I wouldn't have been able to get through the last seven months. So what am I supposed to be learning? It is so hard being alone with her sometimes. But I wouldn't have it any other way. It makes me appreciate my husband so much.

So I sit here, on the couch with soup, blankets, movies, and a now passed out baby (yay), reflecting on what has been new in our lives. One big one...we sold the Xterra. Funny story. A couple weekends ago we were bored and thought we would go test drive SUV's. We both fell in love with the idea of upgrading to a bigger car, even more when we found out that most get more mpg than Rex was getting (10!!) so we thought hey let's just put it on craigslist and see if anyone's interested. A few years ago I had true to run over a Yukon and failed miserably and we still hadn't gotten it fixed so it had some bumper damage. Within thirty minutes of posting we were getting tons of calls. So the next day we sold it. Then the stress came of finding a new car. After lots of research a Lincoln navigator fell into our hands. We went to test drive it and fell in love. So we paid cash for it and even had extra from the Xterra! It worked out so well and we love our new car!
Update on Hallie: she's got two teeth now! Just in time for Easter! Little bunny rabbit. Even though she's turning into a high maintenance diva, she is still as cute as ever, and will be crawling any day now!
I can't wait for this new month ahead of us. Next weekend a friend and I are going to see Wicked!! And then the hunger games movie will be coming out and I already have tickets! I finally started the first book last week and now I'm in the third and can't put it down. I am also crazy excited that I talked Tyler into coming to Redding with me an we bought our plane tickets!!! We'll be there the end of may and I CAN NOT wait!!!!!! There will be nothing better than sharing that large piece of me with Tyler and Hallie. So life is pretty good here, just managing a grumpy baby most days. And those are my pointless ramblings to pass the time away!