Happy Halloween!

 

 

(HJ looked even cuter with her pumpkin shoes on but of course I couldn’t keep them on her feet.)

Halley Turns One! (Part One)

By the time this post is published, it will probably be a week after Miss Halley’s birthday.  Life has been super crazy and I haven’t even had a chance to look through the pictures yet.  (Sidenote: In case you haven’t heard our family screaming cheers of joy all the way from the South, we are moving to Marietta (GA) in a few weeks.  We finalized everything in a visit two weeks ago and we’ll be heading there mid-November.  Also, Halley has been sick and Randy is recovering from strep.  Fun times!)

So back to the big day.  I didn’t want to do anything too crazy for HJ’s party.  I figure we need to set the bar low while we can!  We just did a simple cupcake theme.  My sister is very talented and designed the invitation for us.  (Randy asked, “Who are you going to send invitations to?” to which I responded defensively, “All of my friends.  And Halley’s one friend.”  I have extras in case you really want one!)

 

She also made a Happy Birthday sign (which will be used for years to come!) and cupcake toppers.

After being out of town and then having a stomach bug, Halley has been all out of sorts.  She was not sleeping well last week and not taking naps during the day so she was one fussy baby.  I felt bad that my family flew all the way to see her and she was a crank-pot.  Thankfully, she was (mostly) back to her happy self before they left.  This is pretty much what she did all day Friday…including when we went to get her one year pictures made.

We did a little family party on Friday so she could open our gift and the ones our families sent.  At first Halley was overwhelmed but before long she said, “Mom & Dad, why have you been holding out on me for so long?!? These toys are so awesome!  So much for plastic cups and golf balls.”  Well she didn’t really say that but you get the idea…

Well, we have misplaced our camera in the packing chaos and these are all the pics I have for now.  Give me a few days and we’ll get to Part Two! 

Hot Air Balloons and Prosthetic Practice Golf Balls

Yes, I’m waaaaay behind on blogging.  HJ & I got up early over Labor Day to go to the Colorado Balloon Classic, an annual event where tons of hot air balloons take off from Memorial Park here in the Springs and celebrate all things ballooning.  It’s a weird hobby because the whole thing is over by about 8a, meaning if you sleep in even just a scoche, you’ll miss the whole thing.  So we were up at 6a and walking to the park at 6:30a, only to find out the balloons were grounded due to high winds.

 

 

 

This is Halley with a great view of the non-existent balloons over Prospect Lake at the park.  Had they taken off, we had front row seats.

 

 

We did go find the balloons and it made it worth our while…

 

 

 

 

 

Halley was totally enthused.

It was hard to keep her in her stroller,

as you can see…

 

Did I mention we got up at 6a for this?

 

 

Halley gets very attached to her toys, so much so that she won’t put them down even if it means she loses the usefulness of her hands to do things like pull herself up, crawl or take a bottle.  It’s like she has prosthetic practice golf balls or Solo cups attached to her arms.  For what it’s worth, practice golf balls are great toddler toys – thanks, Daddypop!

Apple Video

You would think a post entitled “Apple Video” would not be that impressive, right? Maybe impressive is the wrong word. I try to eat a lot of apples and have taken to sharing them with Halley – she’s starting to get the hang of it. Enjoy!
FYI: We didn’t add any sound effects. The snorting and slurping is all her. Maybe it’s only cute to us…

 

Halley’s 1st Introduction to Barbie and Apples

So, the other day, I’m cleaning out a cabinet and run across an old gag gift.  Our friends Dana, Noel & Hannah used to enjoy giving me girly stuff: pink ribbons, bows, anything frilly or glittery and a nice little Barbie doll with heels.  So, I’m cleaning out the cabinet and find the doll, but am trying to move quickly, so I just hand the Barbie to Halley and then I froze.  I just gave our daughter a doll.  I might as well have stuck my pinky out and started a tea party while singing something from Julie Andrews or Mary Martin (whoever that is).

But just when I thought I’d contributed to genderizing our little one, I saw how she was playing with it and I was just so, well, proud…

 

 

Yep, that’s the head.  Apparently, she really like squishing it.

That’s my girl.

 

 

 

   

Halley’s friend Stella came over and helped the process along.

 

At this point, Chico has joined in the fun.  One of the legs has some little teethmarks by the (weird, high heel shaped) foot.

 

Apologies to Mattel.

 

 

I also had the joy of introducing HJ to her 1st apple.  Red delicious is the best kind.  Come on, it’s named delicious.  For good reason.

 

 

 

It’s amazing how the messiest stuff can be the cutest.  It’s like the water explosion we call “bathtime.”

 

 

 

And this one’s for you, KGrass!

 

My sister Kathryn is taking her final test today.  For the past three years she has been working on her doctorate degree in Physical Therapy and today she is taking her board exam.  So here’s a little Halley love for after the big test!

Part of HJ’s new GameDay attire…more to come!

Pre-game…Full of such optimism

 

After her first hair cut (more like a trim)

Strutting around the house

Ciao Bella.  Good luck Aunt K!

For you, TGrass

While Randy is planning his next post, I’ll show you a few pictures to appease the true Halley-followers. 

The Everettes in Marietta Square

(Doesn’t HJ look like a toddler?!?!?)

Not her most lady-like pose

 

Eleven months old!  (And still wearing 3-6 mo. clothes)

 

Hangin’ in the high chair

We get SO many compliments about these baby blues.

 

That’s all I got for now.  Still waiting for Randy to write his post on HJ’s first experience playing with a Barbie doll….