Everette Family Expands...

D-Day

2012-01-07T16:33:00.000-07:00

Since I have been pregnant, the big question up for debate has been will we find out the sex of the baby. We were surprised with Halley--which was Randy's idea but I'm so glad we were--but this pregnancy has been different from the beginning. I had complications in the beginning so everything was unsettled for my first trimester. Since then, all has been well but I've felt more queasy and out-of-sorts. Plus I'm carrying this baby broader and lower which has completely convinced us that we were having a boy.

So the question was still up in the air when I went in for my 16 week appointment. The doctor suggested we do an ultrasound to find out the sex. But we weren't sure we wanted to know! And Randy wasn't there! Yikes, what to do? The tech wrote it on the back of the ultrasound and stuck it in an envelope for us to open if we wanted. It sat on our mantel for two weeks until Christmas morning when Randy gave it to me for Christmas to open.

Here's the video of us on Christmas morning:

(Obviously, this is the edited version.) Well, let's just say we were surprised at my 20 week appointment! I had finally wrapped my brain around having a little boy and now we're totally switching gears. I am thrilled that Halley will have a sister. Plus, we have what we need AND Randy is a great girl's dad. And after all of my soul searching on giving in to the "What's it gonna be?" pressure, we ~~were~~ are still totally surprised. Like pinching ourselves, mouth hanging open, surprised.

I absolutely love how God orchestrated it all.

Surprise! (well, not really)

2011-12-16T15:39:00.000-07:00

I figure it's time to make this little announcement, especially since this year's Christmas cards gave away our secret.

Randy was taking this picture and I guess Halley was feeling a little left out! Too cute. Anyway, this was about two weeks ago and I'm on my way to 18 weeks now. I've felt different, I look different, yada yada yada. Needless to say, we're thinking it may be a boy this time. I would love for Halley to have a sister but I'd be surprised if it's a girl. And the eternal debate...to find out or not? We didn't with Halley but I'm not sure I can do that this time around. We'll see. Sooooo, yay for babies! Coming sooner than I realize...May 23.

Children's Museum

2011-12-06T18:17:00.001-07:00

This week Randy got the chance to take Halley to the Children's Museum in Atlanta. Halley had so much fun! I wish had been able to go but I think we'll be getting a family pass after their experience on Monday.

And these are just a few of my recent favorites!

Big Girl Halley

2011-11-29T19:22:00.001-07:00

Well it only took me four months but we're baaaaccckk! We might as well come back with a birthday celebration, right?

As always, life has been busy. Summer came and went, work kicked into high gear for me, and Halley started the not-so-lovable two year old tantrums early. Randy was running a race in Savannah the first week of November so we decided to have her 2nd birthday party there and make it easy for all (most) of the extended family. There were some others runners so we decided to have a pasta party, let the kids run around in the backyard, fill them with sugar, and send them home.

I know all parents love their children but man, I could just eat this little girl up. Thankfully, her "My playground" "My elbow" "My shoes" phase has lessened so I can like her a little more too. ;)

Some updates on Miss HJ....

-she weighs 26 lbs and is 33 3/4 inches tall (looks like she'll be pushing 5'8"!)
-she is learning to sing her ABC's (they go like this "A B C R L O P...")
-her favorite movie is Sound of Music which she calls "Doe a Deer" (which is also her favorite song)
-we moved her to a "big girl bed" about two weeks ago and she's adjusted like a champ (she's also sleeping in my bed as a child which is a real circle-of-life moment)

-she loves to get dizzy and fall down
-she's big on leaving the room and announcing "see ya yater....ha save trip"
-she is obsessed with coloring with markers (including her hands, face, and legs)
-when I tell her "I love you" she responds with "I yuv you moooore"

What can top that?!?! I actually have some more pictures to post so check back...maybe even as soon as next week! Shocking, I know.

Happy Hump Day.

Look What Daddy Bought Me

2011-07-30T19:28:00.001-06:00

(Despite the lack of smiles in any of these pictures, she really does like it!)

Fourth of July

2011-07-07T18:59:00.001-06:00

Wow! It’s been a busy week. Randy’s parents came in town on Sunday to hear him preach (he was great, in case you were wondering) and then stayed with us for a few days. We celebrated the 4th on the square in Marietta, watching the parade & visiting with friends at church.

Happy couple, distracted toddler!

You think she’s excited about the parade but it’s actually a puppy just out of sight.

Halley takes her patriotism very seriously.

Randy’s parents…Sandy especially had a great time. Apparently she knows everyone in Marietta because she waved & called to every person in the parade.

Our Colorado Rockies were in town to take on the Braves so we had tickets to the game on Tuesday and Wednesday. We were pretty bummed because the Rockies got swept but we had fun anyway. Halley went on Tuesday night and had so much fun. It was hot but Halley was in a good mood and she entertained herself by climbing a gazillion stairs.

Dressed for the Rockies

Sportin’ the boot

Large open spaces to run = one happy Halley

We kinda like each other.

Halley going with the flow…meaning cheering for the Braves.

Silly faces

Around 9:30, Halley finally was tired of stair-climbing and actually sat down for a few minutes.

We have had a busy week and it just keeps going. Tomorrow we see the doctor to see if Halley needs tubes in her ears. Sunday we head to Jacksonville to visit a friend and pick up my mom, and Monday we head to Daytona to meet Randy and the kids for summer camp. (I might be more excited to see Louis Giglio and Chris Tomlin than they are.) Mom will be entertaining Halley for us, Randy celebrates a birthday while we’re there, and then we head back on Saturday. Whew-just tired thinking about it! It will be great though.

Until next time…

Beach Week 2011

2011-06-17T20:14:00.001-06:00

I’ve recently been reminded by a dear friend that it has been way too long since I updated this blog so this one’s for you Lynda! I have plenty of pictures from the past few months but we’ll take care of the most recent first.

Each June tons of Randy’s family members converge on Tybee Island. It all started a few years ago when we gathered to celebrate Jama ‘s (his grandmother) 90th birthday. Since then it has become a tradition and everyone is invited! People come from Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, Louisiana, California, and New York and, in years past, there have been up to 50 of us enjoying the beach together. Jama rented four different beach houses on the same block and we all convened to share dinner together in the evenings. It was her way of giving all those she loved a great excuse to get together! It is a little chaotic but always fun. By now, Jama has nine great-grandchildren so you can just imagine. Much to our sadness, Jama left us to be with Jesus on May 1. We still enjoyed our time together but she was very missed.

As usual, Halley was very uncooperative when it comes to taking pictures. At some point, you’d think the odds would be with us that we could get one…just one…with her looking at the camera. (And I did but it really is only one!) When we first got out of the car after arriving at Tybee, Halley, who was in my arms, pointed at the ocean, and with eyes wide, said “Whhooooaaaaaa”. It was so cute. She loved all the birds, the Coast Guard helicopters flying overhead, and the space to run as far as she wanted while screaming as loud as she wanted.

We were only able to stay a few days (darn that j-o-b) but here are some pics.

Saying bye to Daddy (he came down the next day)

It’s hard to read in the car with shades.

(I love that she doesn’t take them off, just pushes them up.)

Playing with cousin Emmie on the beach

This girl LOVED the water. She might need swim lessons to put my mind at ease.

Notice you haven’t seen her eyes yet?

HJ has a weird fetish with wearing big shoes.

Some of the gang

I love this picture with Aunt Meg.

Remember how I said I got one? This is it.

Chasing cousin Hudson—guess who’s faster?

Don’t worry, this isn’t in the running for our Christmas card.

Playing with (second) cousins Savannah & Cole

“Why do you people take so many pictures of me?”

(I guess this makes two.)

This one isn’t from Tybee but she’s so stinkin’ cute.

And just for reference, this is HJ & Emmie last year at Tybee.

Just starting to crawl and no teeth—what a great year it’s been!

Thanks for checking in! Now that I know people, besides my mom & sister, (not that I don’t love you!) are reading, I’ll try to be better about updating. Happy Saturday.

Trendsetter…the latest fashions from Marietta

2011-04-21T11:09:00.001-06:00

Just in…these sunglasses are the hottest thing in town.

From photo shoots…

to dancing before you go camping…

to cleaning the house…

or just petting the dog…

These are sure to keep the sun out of your eyes and the perfect pair for any situation

(particularly if you need to wear pajamas)!

Find them at a Target near you.

Easter Egg Hunt

2011-04-14T19:31:00.001-06:00

Spring is here! There really is no spring in Colorado (unless you consider inches of snow & blizzards “spring”) so I have been thrilled to experience this season again. There are flowers blooming everywhere—azaleas and dogwoods of all colors! I wish I had taken a picture of our backyard so you could appreciate my view while washing dishes.

Last weekend some friends of ours from church hosted an Easter Egg hunt at their house. I had a wedding shower to attend for my cousin’s sweet fiancée so HJ went huntin’ with her daddy. Take a look at our big girl!

O how I could just eat her up. Words are just not enough. Thanks for checking in!

Catch Up

2011-03-23T13:17:00.001-06:00

Hello old friends! I have gotten several polite (and not-so-polite!) inquiries about the blog as of late so here we are. The screen on our laptop went out a few weeks ago so it was nearly impossible to see anything. We were really lamenting the possibility of having to purchase a new one but thankfully it was still under warranty! (We did not mention that HJ had been practicing her tap dancing skills on the computer.) They sent a technician to our house on Monday and now we are back in business.

On to the important stuff…Halley. Our little munchkin is not little anymore! Yesterday she turned 17 months old. From now on, I should probably just refer to her in halves & years…Randy doesn’t like doing the math. Unfortunately with this ‘birthday’ came double ear infections. (She weighed in at 22 lbs 8oz last week and, for the first time, I can actually say she is getting heavy.) She is still a mostly happy baby but man, there are moments when I ask her to bring her old self back. On top of that she has 2 teeth on top and 2 molars on the bottom coming in. It’s just been a little rough. But as my friend Carrie has recently re-named Halley to Miss L.M.—low maintenance!--- I have to remember what a joy she is…even when a little under the weather. The flip side of having a sick baby is that she’s cuddlier than usual which I love.

And now pictures…

First bubble bath…Can you tell she’s a little confused?

Our happy girl

Playing with our little buddy Eli—Can you tell she’s holding his hand? So cute.

(And, NO, HJ is not preparing herself to be a big sister)

Lorrie (Eli’s mom) made us some home made guacamole while she was in town visiting. You can’t tell by her expression but Halley dove right in and loved it! (Sorry about the formatting—it is not cooperating.)

We’ve been playing outside a lot lately now that the warm weather is here. HJ has also just learned to say “ball” (“Bah”—no Ls) so they are a favorite toy! She also said Eee-Cooh (Chico) for the first time yesterday.

I know the picture quality isn’t great but I love that she’s laughing & holding her hand over her mouth.

On a side note, holy consignment sales! Apparently all the Methodist churches host mega sales in the spring & fall each year so Lorrie and I hit ‘em up while she was in town. You can’t really tell from the picture but some of these dresses were brand new (with tag) from The Children’s Place! My most expensive item was $6. Lorrie & I have a new tradition…Can’t wait til September!

Our big girl

Halley has started staying in church nursery/daycare the whole day on Tuesdays and Thursdays so of course she needed a lunchbox. The handle is perfect & HJ loves to carry it around. She is a true bag lady at heart.

This girl loves some Post-It notes and an organizer! It’s all she plays with at the office.

Miss Blue Eyes

Ok, that’s all I’ve got! It’s Wednesday which means we have a long night of church activities ahead of us. I just put HJ down for a nap and she’s laying in there having an animated conversation with herself. Sweet sounds.

Is there any need for commentary?!?

2011-02-13T15:48:00.001-07:00

Like Father, Like Daughter

2011-02-05T11:29:00.001-07:00

Randy has this Camelback water bottle that he uses all the time and HJ loves it too! (So much that Randy rarely gets to use it when she’s around.) So Randy bought her a present:

(I promise my child does not always look this disheveled. Today was a rainy stay-at-home kinda day.)

He even got the cute girly one and not the one covered in dinosaurs.

High five for cool water bottles!

And this is just funny.

One year ago…

2011-01-26T19:43:00.001-07:00

….this was my cute munchkin.

This week we went to see a new doctor in Marietta for HJ’s fifteen month appointment. How can that be?!?!

Here are her stats:

Weight: 20 lbs---15% (She’s never made it above 10% before. The whole milk must be doing its job!)

Height: 30 1/4 inches—50%

Teeth: two on top, three on bottom and one more coming in

The doctor recommended dropping bottles right away so that’s what we did. It made me a a little sad but I’m trying to face each new stage with excitement and not the wishful my-baby-is-getting-so-big sadness. I know lots of people that wish they could celebrate new milestone with their children that simply never get to. We are thankful EACH day for a healthy, happy baby.

Funny things HJ does:

--walks around with her hands behind her back like she’s your maitre’d

--waits for us to finish saying the blessing & then laughs while giving us a huge toothy smile

--has a newfound love for her tongue…loves to stick it out at you!

--smacks her lips & says “ahhhh”

Current obsessions: holding keys, setting off our car alarms, BOOKS (she must have one in her hands at any given moment…like she pitches a fit if she can’t hold a book while she is eating, having her diaper changed, seriously.)

These aren’t the greatest (I had the camera on the wrong setting) but it’s all I’ve got from this week.

Dress Up

2011-01-23T15:33:00.001-07:00

Halley has decided recently that she enjoys dressing herself. Check out this fashionista!

Daddy is so silly!

She’s a fan of wearing outerwear indoors. Last week, she refused to leave the house unless she was wearing two jackets at once.

A grandmother’s closet is a great place to play dress up….especially if her name is Judy Monroe!

Snow Days in Georgia

2011-01-11T14:16:00.001-07:00

As I’m sure most of you have heard, we’re snowed in! In Georgia. We move from Colorado and apparently the snow followed us. Go figure. I was supposed to start work on Monday but so far, the office has been closed. (I’m working for Northside UMC in their Creative Design department. Just in case you’re confused, no, someone did not hire me to be a designer…but a manager of said creative types.) SO. Since we’re on day two of being snowed in, I thought it would be fun to play in the snow with Halley. She was too young to understand snow in Colorado so this should be a fun experience, right??? Wrong. See for yourself.

HJ in her snow day outfit. (Clearance @ Target. Pretty cute, huh?)

Poor baby!

To be fair, there was a thick sheet of ice on top of the snow and it was not light and fluffy powder. After five minutes it was obviously time to go in. And that’s where we’ve been and continue to stay!

Christmas 2010

2011-01-06T12:47:00.001-07:00

Now that the holiday season is behind us, I’m hoping life will become “normal”, whatever that means. We are moved in as much as we will be (although I am missing a critical mixing bowl that was my fave and I’m too cheap to buy another one), Randy is getting into a routine at church, and I may have a job. More on that later.

We enjoyed Christmas with both sides of the family, all without enduring the chaos of an airport for once. We went to Savannah before Christmas, came back to Marietta for church services, and then saw my family in Atlanta for a post-Christmas gathering. Christmas morning was just the three of us. I’m not quite sure Halley knew what was going on but at least she enjoyed ripping some paper this year.

We even got snow this year! For the first time in a century, there was a white Christmas. (I personally think God was trying to ease the pain of our move for Randy! What a good God. ) Sadly these are the only pictures I have so I don’t have any of the snow or all of our Everette Christmas festivities. I will say that Halley is getting cuter every day! She is definitely on the go (all the time!) and continues to be a source of joy to everyone she sees. I’ll post pics of her latest shenanigans soon. (And you know by soon, I mean…later.)

2010 was definitely a tough year for our family. It was full of uncertainty, angst, hard decisions and transitions. But God proved himself faithful to us over and over! I’m confident that God has good things for us this year…I just pray it will be a little more stable in 2011! It’s always a wild ride when you’re following Him.

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas from our cute munchkin!

2010-12-23T21:14:00.001-07:00

Happenings

2010-12-06T19:53:00.001-07:00

Hello from Marietta! We are getting settled and life is great so far. Randy likes his job, we like the church, and everything else is falling into place. I don’t have it in me to write much but I figured I owed you some Halley pics. Some of these are from Colorado and the others are more recent.

This one is old but makes me laugh. Do you think this aunt loves her niece???

Birds of a feather….. One last trip to the top of the Peak!

Makin’ eyes at her daddy We’ve resorted to the strap under the chin (&HJ has a new love!)

Have I mentioned that Halley is walking like a crazy person?!? She took her first steps on the first day of our roadtrip (at a truckstop, nonetheless) and unfortunately, our cameras were packed. I’ll post some video later.

Thanks for keeping up with us. For those of you still following from Colorado, we miss you!

Birthday (Part Two) & One Year Checkup

2010-11-06T10:13:00.001-06:00

Okay folks, this is going to be the last post for a while. I really should be packing right now but I want to get this off my to-do list.

I really have no super cute pictures from HJ on her birthday. She did devour her cake but didn’t seem to want to smile while doing it. Some friends came over and Halley was showered with lots of gifts! Seriously, why didn’t anyone ever tell us that Fisher Price made toys?!? Halley would have appreciated it. :)

Here are a few more from her parties.

We also went to the doctor this week for HJ’s annual checkup. Here are her stats:

Height: 29 3/4 inches (10 inches in a year) 75%

Weight: 17.5 lbs (11.5 lbs in a year) 3%

Still takes 2 good naps a day and sleeps from 8pm to 8:30 am! Bless her.

She’s wearing 9-12 month clothes right now simply because they are long pants/sleeves. If they had to fit her waist, her pants would actually be shorts. I’m guessing by summer she’ll still be wearing 12 month clothes! Also, the doctor predicts she’ll be in her infant carrier for at least the next 6 months, if not until she’s 2. My sweet little munchkin. Thanks to my family for her height and Randy’s sisters for her weight!

Halley is starting to stand by herself more and more and I think she’ll be walking by Thanksgiving. Stay tuned!

We’re on our final countdown here in Colorado. Next Friday begins the trek across the country so prayers are appreciated!

Much love from the Everettes in Colorado….

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T21:49:00.001-06:00

(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)

2010-10-26T22:16:00.001-06:00

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

2010-10-09T10:49:00.001-06:00

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

2010-10-06T21:33:00.001-06:00

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

2010-10-06T12:47:00.001-06:00

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!

2010-10-06T08:59:00.001-06:00

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

2010-10-01T17:25:00.001-06:00

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….

It’s Gameday!

2010-09-11T14:19:00.001-06:00

We had lots of things to catch up on (since Randy has been procrastinating writing a new post) but let’s take care of first things first.

Though UGA didn’t have its best showing today, we had this cute munchkin to distract us. She wanted to partake in all things college football today.

Breakfast on the couch….

College Gameday on ESPN in pajamas…

You gotta wear red…

(in case you’re wondering, she has a cloth moon in her mouth…toy du jour!)

Chips and Salsa…

A little afternoon beverage (A girl after my own heart)…

Intense concentration…

Big Smiles…

And kisses for Mommy! (My highlight of the day!)

It’s been a good day despite the loss. Now it’s family naptime!!!

10 Months old, the park, and more…

2010-08-28T08:56:00.002-06:00

Last week HJ turned 10 months old. I say it every month, but it is hard to believe. I truly cherish each day I get with her. (Sidenote: C.S. Lewis says this about time—“Notice how we are perpetually surprised at time…In heaven’s name, why? Unless, indeed, there is something in us which is not temporal.“) Here’s the latest (this is not a for sale ad):

Weighs 16 lbs 2 oz (according to my scale)
24 “ tall (which I know is not right, unless she’s shrinking, but that’s the best I could get with her on the go)
Extended her sleep to almost 12 hours/nt and down to two naps a day
Eats everything…not sure she’s ever turned anything down
Wears size 3 diapers but is still wearing 3-6 mo. clothes…we’ll have to move up to 6-9 soon with her height!
Plays great by herself
Waving and clapping are both on the rise. This includes waving at loud machines: diesel trucks, planes, helicopters, etc.
Latest cute thing she does—smacks her lips loudly and has a new fascination with her tongue (see below)

Halley on one of her last monthly birthdays (not a lot of big smiles this day)…

(probably our favorite position of HJ’s – the one where she wants us to pick her up)

We went to the park this week to play in the fountain but, unfortunately, it wasn’t working. We had a picnic instead and let Halley swing. Not sure if she liked it or not….

HJ’s favorite activity at the park is emptying a well-stocked diaper bag:

And now the tongue….

She’s obviously on her way to greatness:

She likes it when we stick our tongues out at her, too:

Chico likes to sleep outside our door sometimes and we like to think he’s protecting us, not just hoping we’ll let him in. This is Chico laying down outside Halley’s door. A first.

Halley on a lazy Saturday morning…

Bloopers – Our little reminders that she’s not perfect…

2010-08-23T21:17:00.001-06:00

Just a short post of some of the pictures that we’ve almost deleted and probably should have, but somehow, even if her face is really, umm, wonky or maybe a little scary, she’s still adorable. You know those kind of pictures you pretend you don’t ever want a boyfriend/girlfriend to see because you’d be mortified, but secretly you think they’re kind of funny and don’t really mind? These are those. Most of these made us laugh and/or say “Whoa!” and I (Dad) think they’re worth sharing.

Sorry if any of these are repeats of previous posts. And yes, I’ve saved the best for last.

Got to love a face like that, right? : ) I actually made this pic our desktop background for a little while. It worked nicely because it would pop up with the Windows welcome box blocking Halley. We’d enter our password and the box would go away and we’d sometimes go “Whoa!” because we’d forgotten about whatever face this is she’s making. How ‘bout a close-up?

I know what you’re thinking – why didn’t we use this for our official birth announcement? I suppose we can plan ahead for our Christmas card…

August: Goalie Camp, 7 Bridges & Toilet Paper

2010-08-19T17:54:00.001-06:00

Summer in Colorado is absolutely wonderful. We have a great shade tree in our front yard and HJ and I (Dad) spend a lot of time hanging out there. The only trick is keeping her from eating grass, dead leaves & ladybugs. She also has a habit of pulling on those little white things – our flower bed would be demolished if I just let her run amok.

We’ve also started a mini-goalie camp in the backyard. It runs about 3 times a week for 5 minutes at a time. Nothing too rigorous just yet. It has to be a goalie camp since she’s not walking yet. Apparently, it’s hard to kick a ball when when you can’t walk. That being said, her ball-handling skills are coming along quite nicely. My fellow soccer coaches would be quite proud. She goes to ground (an asset in a goalie) with ease, probably because she’s already on the ground.

I have switched her to size 1 training ball since the regulation size 5 is 1/2 her size. You never think of a soccer ball as gigantic until it’s in the hands of a 9 month old.

This day’s camp ended a bit early because Chico started wrestling with a stick a little too close to our star athlete.

Halley is not a big fan of socks on her feet. As a chew toy, though, they’re one of her favorites:

Along with the not-liking-socks thing, she’s becoming a big fan of my flip-flops. As an avid fan myself, I’m so proud.

We took Halley to Cheyenne Canon to hike the 7 Bridges Trail. Becky tried out a real ponytail in the back (instead of the top of her head like a Dr. Seuss character) and it was pretty darn cute.

This is one of my favorite pictures of both of my girls. Aren’t they beautiful?

HJ’s not actually brushing her teeth, but her goal was to keep all 3 toothbrushes in her hands at all times:

This was just an adorable outfit on our our adorable girl. Sorry the pic is so grainy.

Our Aunt Debbie in Atlanta told us that it’s great when she’s able to play by herself because she doesn’t have to depend on us for entertainment and we now see the value in that little lesson. As a parent, it’s tempting to want to be with her all the time, but if we do that, then we get our wish and no time to sit down, eat, etc. This is HJ playing by herself while we were getting ready for a walk. Did we mention that she really loves tearing paper apart? In this case, it’s toilet paper so it makes for really good shredding. She wants to be a paper shredder when she grows up (if the goalie thing doesn’t work out). Becky and I don’t have the heart to tell her they already have machines that do that. I suppose we’ll have to take her to Office Depot one day and introduce her to her competition.

This video probably works best if you turn your computer on its side. Sorry if you’re watching on a desktop – those monitors can be heavy. It’s nothing amazing but she was cracking us up… Enjoy!

Bath time with Halley!

2010-08-15T15:48:00.002-06:00

Stats & Pics

2010-08-07T21:59:00.002-06:00

While Randy is still procrastinating, I mean, contemplating his next post, I am going to update on HJ’s latest appointment—nine months! These are the latest:

Height: 27 1/2”

Weight: 15 pounds 10 oz

Head size: 45 cm

Halley is on the same path as she has been…50-75% for height, 5% for weight, and 50-75% for head. Dr. B did say her head grew the most from her 6 mo. checkup so maybe she’s getting smarter everyday. Could it be all the educational TV (aka Jeopardy)? :) Because this stage in life is so active (particulary for squirmy-wormy HJ), the doc said she wouldn’t be surprised if Halley was in the 3rd% for weight at her next checkup! For all of you tempted to say “Do you ever feed her enough?!?!”, Dr. B is not worried.

Here is what Halley’s typical day looks like at this point in life.

7 or 7:30 wake up and breakfast (4 oz bottle, fruit or cereal). She’s usually standing up in her crib and starts beaming as soon as one of us walks in. It’s the best part of the day.

7:30 - 9:30 play time, walk (if Mommy’s home), run (if Daddy’s home), maybe some Little Einstein’s, etc.

9:30 - 11:30 Nap # 1

11:30 - 12noon lunch (4oz bottle, fruit or veggies)

12 - 3 Helping Daddy in the yard (by that I mean eating dirt and grass), miscellaneous errands, playing, etc

3 - 4:30 Nap # 2

4:30 - 5 pre-dinner (4oz bottle, yogurt or jar of baby food)

5 - 7 Mommy’s home (!!), walk with the fam, and more playtime

7:30 - 8 bath time, 6 oz bottle. Our bedtime routine consists of book, bottle, a few rounds of “Jesus Loves Me” or “He’s Got The Whole World in His Hands”--with all bajillion members of our family inserted into the chorus, prayers and bed. It's a close second--best part of the day. Daddy likes to sing “Stand by Me” or the “Mr. Blue” song (the one that Clark Griswold falls asleep to while driving the family wagon to Wally World).

A few more insights into Halley’s daily life…

Table food she is eating: bread, cheese, yogurt (LOVES vanilla yogurt), non-pureed fruits (bananas, pears) and veggies (she’s a big fan of sweet potatoes), pancakes, fish (she likes it more than Mommy & Daddy), mac & cheese.

Funny things she does: sticks her bottom lip out like she’s pouty but she’s secretly very happy; crawls so fast with her head tucked down (like a swimmer) until she bumps into something

Is into: everything! DVDs, the dishwasher, the toilet if we forget to close the lid, the shoes in the closet, tupperware, books on bottom shelves, laundry

Sweet things she does: when you’re putting her to sleep for a nap or the night, she gently rubs the back of your arm…I guess because she likes the skin-to-skin contact?

This was me at this time last year—28 weeks pregnant with our baby of unknown-gender.

Oh how much life has changed in a year….and how sweet it is!

Glory to God for a happy, healthy family!

Sleigh Bells

2010-07-29T17:32:00.001-06:00

The latest thing HJ has shoved in her mouth. Completely.

Halley Days - What a Great July!

2010-07-26T22:08:00.001-06:00

Halley got to take a grown-up bath! Man, that girl can splash…

Apparently, it made it her angry:

I think this was oatmeal. It was actually messier than it looks.

This is apparently HJ doing her impression of how Swamp Thing might smile.

Halley’s moving up in the food world! Genuine buttermilk pancakes!

She was clapping a lot for more (meaning she got syrup all over both hands).

So we also decided to see if she’d be interested in healthier foods. She (mostly) loved the lettuce. Ok, the texture more than the taste, which apparently hit her taste buds in that 3rd photo.

Halley’s been running 3-5 miles at a time with me. See if you can guess which photo is the “before” and one is the “after.”

On Sunday, we went over to Garden of the Gods to find some less beaten trails and expose HJ to some beautiful Colorado. I’m still not sure if she likes the backpack or not, but it sure is fun finding out!

We’ve spent a good bit of money on fancy shmancy toys and she’s already enjoying playing with the box more than the toys.

A couple of parting shots of Halley helping out around the house:

9 MONTHS OLD!

2010-07-23T12:21:00.002-06:00

For HJ’s 9th birthday (7.22.10), we had her bathed, dressed up and all rarin’ to go for some photo ops, but she was super stingy with smiles all day long. The best we could do was get some cute pics of her eating some new snacks. It’s pretty cute because they’re big munchies, but she still tries to put the whole thing in her mouth.

Speaking of her mouth, she has 1 tooth that’s really becoming a tooth on the bottom (as opposed to a sort of white spot in her gums where we think a tooth should be). I tried to get some shots of the tooth, but…

…you get the idea.

We finally got some smiles and even some happy bouncing from our little girl when we showed her her birthday present: Beck’s Audi!

We felt really bad that she didn’t get to drive it or keep it (call us mean parents), but the doctor said something about it not being good for little kids or legal. Something about waiting a decade…bla, bla, bla. It still made her day just to sit in the driver’s seat and chew on some fancy German steering wheel. Happy Birthday, Halley!

Dana’s Wedding and Mount Cutler

2010-07-23T12:01:00.001-06:00

Our good friends Dana Skiba and Bryce Cushman got married on July 17, 2010. What a cute couple!

Halley was there looking adorable doing her little lip thing she’s been doing lately. They had bells as decoration. AKA: great toys for babies.

Bailey and Miranda Skiba, sisters of the bride, with Halley. 3 of our favorite people in one picture!

Becky and Noel with Halley. Becky did a Bible Study with Noel and Dana for their senior year at James Irwin and they all had a blast…

Halley’s 1st big hike (my excuse to use my fancy new, used backpack). We went up Mt. Cutler, a little mountain by Colorado standards, in Cheyenne Canon.

I know the pictures below all look pretty much alike, but we just thought she was absolutely precious riding along to the “summit.” She got to break out her REI hat and everything. Enjoy!

Dog Days of July

2010-07-18T10:19:00.001-06:00

She’s a little overwhelming in this shot, but we think adorable. Very in your face in the best way.

Halley loves her new little purple Polo dress outfit from Grandmommy. Almost as much as she loves plain old Solo plastic cups. Why do we spend so much money on fancy toys again?

Getting a little carried away in her exploring.

Halley was bummed when the US got knocked out of the World Cup. She liked the colors of the Netherlands, but I’m worried she might pick up some of their crying, faking, whining, bad acting tendencies (this is Dad writing, in case you couldn’t tell). I’m trying to get her to like the sport but all the bad acting and feigned injuries just don’t help that cause.

We’ve decided to start home-schooling early with a little educational TV. Halley did better during Kids’ Week, but her only answer is “Eeeeee!” and I don’t think she quite gets the whole answer-with-a-question thing yet.

I don’t know if she was trying to buzz in from home or rooting for the girl in the middle. For those of you worried about how close she is to the TV, the possibility of dumbing down our child, or about my childcare abilities, I moved her after a minute and we read a book instead. War and Peace while listening to Mozart.

We had a “Silly Goose” afternoon where Halley got to wear her Silly Goose outfit (which she’ll soon outgrow) and play with her Silly Goose.

But then she came after the camera…

Halley picked out a new flower (the purple delphinium* to the right of her in the picture) at Lowe’s and helped me put it in the pot (she tried to eat the dirt). I figure that at some point, we’ll need to decide what chores she’ll have. She reached for the broom, so I let her try it.

I think this is where she started fussing about it being too hard, too hot and the broom being too heavy. I blame the whining on the guys from the Dutch soccer actors. I mean, players.

* – The fact that I (Randy) know what a delphinium is, while making Mamama (my mom) proud, is yet another indication that I might be suffering from occasional cabin fever. Let’s put it this way: we didn’t need anything at Lowe’s. I just wanted to go look at tools.

For those of you who care more about our daughter than soccer talk (as we do), I’ll end this one with a shot of HJ in her fancy new bathtub:

Stay at home dad with HJ...

2010-07-14T12:15:00.011-06:00

So this is Randy chiming in. Most of you know that I'm in between jobs right now and therefore get to be a stay at home dad with little HJ while Beck puts in some hours at work to bring home some bacon. I absolutely love it, but it might be a little too much time off. Becky says I'm getting a little too silly and should wear a suit around the house just to keep my professional edge. I'd hate to get mashed peaches on a good suit. Becky is amazing and letting me get out to do some mountains so I don't get too stir-crazy.

And, for the record, I don't think you can ever say a house is "childproof" - "child-resistant" is more fitting and more honest. Man, she is into everything at knee level or below. Who would've thought leg hair would make such a good handhold? I'm considering shaving and saying it's for running purposes.

I'm throwing a few pictures on here of Halley, nothing amazing - a reflection of the dog days of summer maybe (and too much time at home)...

Halley decided to tease Chico for a little while. Sometimes, she forgets which toys are his and which ones are hers. In all fairness, so does Chico.

Halley & I usually have breakfast outside - it's beautiful weather.

Here, Halley got her hand caught up in her blankie of the month. I wasn't sure whether she looked like a superhero or a princess. Since I'm the dad here, I choose SuperHalley.

Come on. Tell me she doesn't look like she couldn't triumphantly save someone in that last shot.

For those of you wondering if she's walking yet, the answer is not quite. She loves standing and is ok with you holding her hands while she walks. Her crawling has definitely picked up some pace as you can see. Enjoy! You're going to want the volume up...

Ok, Halley is trying to re-arrange our DVD's again. Interestingly, she almost always stops to smile at "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and "Shrek." She's ecclectic like that. I need to go find a phone book for her to get her fisty little hands on. Apologies to Dex.

Week in Review

2010-07-02T18:04:00.001-06:00

Bittersweet

2010-07-01T19:23:00.001-06:00

Eight months old and more

2010-06-27T17:03:00.001-06:00

Randy and HJ got back from Atlanta on Tuesday. I was so happy to see both of them and relieved that Halley still knew me after being apart for a few days.

On Thursday, we went to see the Red Sox play the Rockies for Randy’s Father’s Day gift. Even though the Rockies lost, it was a great game! It was a looong night for Halley.

Eight months old has been a milestone for Halley! In the past two weeks, HJ has started crawling on all fours, clapping, and pulling herself to stand. Here she is so proud of herself.

And just a few more from our last days at the beach…

Meeting my brother Andy for the first time

Yummy peas

Getting instructions from Aunt (Dr.) Kathryn on how to crawl properly

Hanging out with cousins Addison and Charlie

And finally this is my 15-year old niece who was borderline mortified that I called us twinkies and made her take a picture with me!

Phew, that was a lot of pictures. Hope you have a good week!

More Beach!

2010-06-16T20:29:00.001-06:00

We are more than halfway through our time here but it has all been so fun! It seems like the pool is a safer option with HJ than the beach. Between the sand, salt water, hands-in-mouth, and hands-rubbing-the-eyes, it’s a bit harder to keep Halley happy on the beach.

HJ’s new favorite chew toy…Randy’s glasses

HJ and I had some professional pictures taken of us for Mother’s Day but Randy snuck a few in with his camera also. I love Halley’s smile.

HJ is the best first thing in the morning.

Cousin Wiley making HJ laugh

Trying to take a family picture without a professional camera is nearly impossible

Oh well….there’s always tomorrow!!!

Just a few from Beach Day One….

2010-06-14T14:38:00.001-06:00

This child is not afraid of sand or water!!! She is just so sweet in her bathing suit and hat. There haven’t been many smiles out of HJ while on the beach but I think she is so perplexed about her new environment.

Disaster Zone

2010-06-10T23:51:00.001-06:00

Our family is officially living in chaos. Our relatively-easy-bathroom-makeover has turned into a more-expensive-and-time-consuming-than-expected project.

Yes, that is a diaper pail in the middle of the kitchen floor.

We have been without bathroom sinks for almost a week. (We’re brushing our teeth in the shower.) We can’t even park in the garage because the old sinks and countertops haven’t been hauled away yet. I have approximately 28 hours until I need to be ready to board a plane. Haven’t packed a thing yet. AND…our realtor wants to come by and take pictures of our house (there’s no moving news yet, this is just preemptive) while we’re gone….which means we can’t leave it like this. Our handyman will be here in the morning to finish up the work and I’ve got a zillion things to do between now and 4am Saturday when we leave for Atlanta. Pray for us!

On a brighter note, we’re heading on vacation! Yippee. You can’t clean your house or finish home improvement projects or plant flowers or sweep and mop on vacation. I can not wait for sun and surf and family.

HJ is doing great and I love her to pieces. I started back to work full-time last week which has made it seem like I never see her! I really don’t know how other moms do it. Hopefully our situation is just temporary. I introduced a sippy cup to her this week and Halley is a fan! Take a look.

In the midst of our chaos, we got a chance to take a quick walk this week. HJ likes to chill as she strolls.

She loves to lie back and put her feet up!

I can’t wait to see her on the beach.

She strikes again!

2010-06-04T08:35:00.001-06:00

In honor of my birthday this week, I was left an unusual gift in my front yard. Just in case the neighbors were thinking how youthful I look….

But, being that this happened on Randy’s 30th, I wasn’t so shocked. Triplets, watch out. You’re next!

And just to make you laugh…..

I think Randy was a hair stylist in a former life.

Happy Friday!

Sheesh!

2010-05-31T23:25:00.001-06:00

It’s been awhile, huh? We’ve been busy as usual. With the last few weeks of school, Randy has been drained physically and emotionally. And as usual, he decided to overextend himself to run the BolderBoulder 10K today. So, last night we packed our bags (again!) and made the 100 mile trek up I-25 (again!), checked into our fourth Marriott over the past 12 weeks and Randy ran the race this morning with 54,000 of his closest friends (including Dr. Oz!). Being that it’s only 6-ish miles, he was done in an hour and we were on our way again. Oh yeah, and today is my birthday so we did a little shopping to celebrate my journey into a new decade. Enough about us!

Here’s Halley in her latest cute-ness.

(In case you can’t tell what she’s wearing, this is HJ one morning when I went to get her. She went to sleep wearing a nightgown. Somehow she managed to get her arms out of the sleeves and wiggle almost completely out of her gown. It’s around her waist. )

I can not stand it when Chico licks HJ but I guess it’s inevitable.

They are starting to be buddies…as long as she doesn’t pull his tail.

One thing about cloth diapers…they give you a big booty!

On a completely random note, I finished a project today that I have been working on for…..six…..long…..years. Growing up, everyone in my family had matching Christmas stockings that my grandmother made. When Randy proposed to me, I decided I wanted to have the same thing for our family. I worked diligently for six months to make a stocking for Randy in time for Christmas. I finished it on time and then started working on my own for the following year. Welllllll, let’s just say I didn’t quite meet my goal for Christmas ‘05. BUT! I finished it. Tonight. After six years, it’s done! (To clarify, it’s not really done-done…I will be delivering it to my mom to actually sew the stocking part on to my cross-stitching but my part is done.) Don’t stare too closely because neither of them are perfect! And I have decided that, if it takes me 6 years to finish one without children, I will never find the time to make one for all of them! I’ll just have to find something else for them that is far less-detailed and time-consuming.

In two weeks, we head to Savannah for Randy’s family reunion and to see some of mine too. I also start back to work full-time for June and Randy is on daddy-duty. That’s the latest in our world. Have a great week!

Seven Months!

2010-05-22T21:40:00.002-06:00

HJ is seven months old today. I simply can’t believe it. She is as cute as ever and quite busy. She’s crawling and into everything! When we went to the doctor this week, Halley weighed 14 pounds 12 ounces but I’m not so sure. She was fully clothed, with a full belly and a full diaper so my guess is closer to fourteen and a half. (She’s still wearing 3-6 month clothes.) Either way….here she is.

I love her.

Goings On…

2010-05-17T21:39:00.002-06:00

So when your brother-in-law, not your mother, not your sister, but you’re brother-in-law, says you haven’t updated your blog recently enough, then you know it’s time! In the past two months, we have been SO busy. We have logged no less than 600 miles on Colorado roads. Randy’s had two training races and this past weekend he ran the full marathon. He has run two other marathons and finished in 5:15 and 6:00 hours. This time his goal was five hours. He hadn’t been running too much over the past few weeks so I wasn’t too optimistic but….

He beat his goal! I was SO proud of him. He’s still limping today but that’s to be expected.

It was a beautiful day in Denver…65 degrees, sunny and beautiful blue skies!

We also went to Washington, D.C. last weekend for Kathryn’s graduation. I actually don’t have many pictures from that weekend but Tyler (her hubby) got plenty on his fancy camera. Click here to see Kathryn’s recap on her blog. http://barefootkatie.blogspot.com/2010/05/it-is-finished.html It was great to be with the family and I’m so proud of Kathryn! Three years of hard work and she’s a doctor!

The only picture I have from the weekend but it’s a keeper! Not sure who is happier in this one!

Here’s the other reason why I’ve been busy…we had someone finish our bathroom last week and lay down some tile. We’ve had it in our garage FOREVER and I finally got someone to finish it. The problem is that the quarter-round wouldn’t fit correctly against the base board so it took some maneuvering. Basically, I had to glue the quarter-round to the tile with silicone caulk and then fill in the gap with acrylic caulk and then paint it. It looked a little too unfinished to leave it. Anyway, I know that was too much detail but it looks not bad concerning I’m a novice. Whatcha think???

And of course….what you’ve been waiting for…Miss HJ.

She is wearing a diaper under there, promise!

And she loves a good meal! Too cute.

That’s all I’ve got for now! Have a great week.

Week in Review

2010-04-29T10:20:00.001-06:00

Here are a few pictures from the past week.

On Saturday we went up to Denver to see the Rockies play. Halley has found a new love for her dad’s hats!

(Even though Chico looks kind of menacing in this picture, he actually is very sweet with HJ and Stella!)

We actually have a weekend at home (for once!) and then we’re off to D.C. next weekend for my sister’s graduation. And I hear a baby waking up early from a nap…gotta go!

Six Months!!!

2010-04-22T18:02:00.001-06:00

Has it already been six months?!?! Six months since we wondered “Is it a boy or a girl?”…Six months since I wondered “Can I really make it through the pain of labor and delivery?”…six months since I thought “Will I be a good mother? Do I have what it takes to take care of this sweet baby I don’t even know? Will Randy and I stay connected through this new phase of life?”

What a blessing it has all been! Yes, difficult. Yes, self-sacrificing like I’ve never done before. But oh, so wonderful. I’m tearing up just thinking about it. God has been so good. Halley is perfectly healthy and beautiful and sweet and smart and funny.

We went for her six month check up today and she’s right on track developmentally. I told the nurse before she took all the stats “I bet she weighs 14 pounds by now!” It seems like she’s grown so much over the past month. All the rice cereal she’s eating has really given her a round face and a round belly. Well, what do I know? HJ weighed in today at 13 pounds 3.5 ounces which puts her in the 5-10% as usual. She’s 26.5 inches which is 75-90% for height. So it’s still the same! Tall and skinny. We’ve been given the clear to start her on first foods so a-blending I will go! Halley is also “commando-crawling” meaning she pulls herself around with her arms. She’s already pretty mobile…just wait until she actually uses her knees!!!

I know most of these pictures look the same but HJ’s just so cute I couldn’t decide which ones to post. I think she’s actually starting to figure out what the camera is so she’s flashing a big grin.

Horsetooth Half Marathon

2010-04-19T21:06:00.003-06:00

So on Saturday, we made a trip to Fort Collins for Randy’s race on Sunday. This was a training race for an upcoming marathon so there were lots of hard-core runners there…you know the type, too-short shorts, lots of spandex, etc. (Randy does not qualify as a “hard-core runner” by that definition!) He was just a smidge over two hours, which was his goal, but he had a great race. Here he is with sweet HJ at the end.

And after 300+ miles in the car in 28 hours, this was Halley when we got home.

Man, I love her.

Halley and Stella

2010-04-15T21:58:00.001-06:00

So, at least twice a week, Halley and Stella are together while either Cari or I are working. Stella is four months older than HJ and the daughter of our good friends, Joel and Cari. (Joel works at the high school with Randy and Cari works for the elementary school. They started the same year that Randy did and we’ve been good friends since. After the first time I met them, I told Randy “There is no way I can be friends with them. They are way too athletic for me!” Ha! Shows what I know. :) )

Sometimes the safest place for them to be when you’re watching both of them is in the crib! Stella gets a kick out of throwing everything over the side.

They were watching Veggie Tales…the story of Queen Esther. Cari and I are doing Beth Moore’s Esther on Thursday night (they are very captured by Beth too!) so I figured they should watch the kid version. :)

This one has nothing to do with Stella but I couldn’t resist. HJ was playing in her crib today while I was working on some things in the kitchen. I went back to check on her and look at her skinny self! This is a 3-6 month outfit and it is literally falling off her. At least she’s happy, huh?!?

We’re off to Fort Collins this weekend so Randy can run another half-marathon. We also get to see some friends while we’re there so it should be fun! Have a great weekend.

Spring Break

2010-04-09T15:33:00.001-06:00

I’m a little late but here are the pictures from spring break. Randy’s sister, Kami, and her daughter, Emmie, came to visit over their break. I’d like to say it was because they were dying to get back out and see the mountains but I’m sure it was because of Halley. And she is so cute, who could blame them? We went up to Rocky Mountain National Park and Estes Park one day to see if we could spot any wildlife. I don’t know what these are (sheep? goats?) but holy cow. This was at the entrance of the park and they were just walking down the middle of the street. It was pretty cool.

Elk grazing in a field

Pretty mountains

Miss HJ, Emmie and Kami

Emmie and Me

Randy and I also took Halley to the Denver Aquarium with our friends Joel and Cari and their daughter, Stella. I’m sure the girls had no idea what they were looking at but it was still fun.

Randy, HJ, Joel, and Stella (cute dads and cute babies!)

Stella is so cute!

Checking out the fish

Yep, that’s a tiger…at the aquarium. Random, I know.

It’s warm and sunny here this weekend…finally! Randy is taking Halley to a baseball game tomorrow while I work. (They have quality daddy/daughter time on Saturdays.) Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Halley's New Favorite Toy

2010-04-06T12:30:00.004-06:00

We recently moved this jumper-thing upstairs because HJ loves to be moving. It’s great because I can stick her in it while I’m doing something else and she’s completely content.

I'm getting better at not filming for five minutes at a time (since I still don't know how to edit video)...this one will only take up a minute twenty of your day!!!

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T18:07:00.001-06:00

Happy Easter everyone! Today has been a beautiful day in the Springs with lots of sun and (relatively) warm weather. I even got to wear a skirt to church! Randy had a friend pass away on Monday which has been on our minds all week. We are thankful that he was a believer and got to celebrate Easter with Jesus himself! Church today was a great reminder today of the hope that Christ offers us beyond this earth.

We have friends in town visiting for a few days. Randy’s very good friend from college, Bruce, and his wife and daughter are on their way to Breckenridge and stopped to spend Easter with us. We enjoyed an Easter dinner of salad, bread, pork tenderloin, potato casserole, pineapple casserole, asparagus, and chocolate pie. Yum! It’s been years since we’ve seen all of the Wilkes and it was great catching up with them.

Bruce, Amy, and Amberly

You know us….

Happy Baby

HJ was all smiles today!

I’d show you the table but the flowers were so droopy! (And don’t mind the fact that the salad plate is not centered on the dinner plate. I wasn’t paying attention when I took the picture.)

I just realized I am behind and never posted pictures from Kami and Emmie’s trip. Stay tuned and I’ll try to catch up this week!

It’s a Halley Smorgasbord

2010-03-25T21:41:00.001-06:00

Hello Halley fans! Here are some recent pictures we’ve taken. Halley is getting cuter each day and more fun. This week Randy has been on spring break so we’ve had a lot of great family time together.

My sister calls this contraption “Time Out”. I put this blanket and the Boppy pillow all around her so she can’t roll off the couch while I’m in the kitchen. She looks like she’s having fun, right?

HJ is starting to like her cereal and rice. It’s quite the messy process though.

Halley’s new ‘do courtesy of Randy

HJ in the family dress from her baby dedication

sweet sweet girl

This picture isn’t exciting but aren’t we cute in our matching outfits???

(I didn’t really plan that just in case you were starting to doubt my coolness.)

I don’t even know what to say about this…it just makes me laugh.

On Monday, Halley turned 5 months old. Time is just flying by! We love each day we get with her and are so blessed with such a sweet, funny, happy baby. She weighed 11 lbs 10 oz today which still puts her in the 5th percentile for her age. Maybe all the rice and cereal will help and she’ll surprise us at next month’s appointment!

Tomorrow we’re going to the Denver Aquarium and Randy’s sister and niece come to visit!

Have a great weekend!

Halley Eating Cereal

2010-03-18T16:40:00.001-06:00

So we started feeding Miss HJ cereal this week to see if it would help her sleep better.

What do you think? Is it going to make it into her top ten list of favorite foods as a child??? Ha!

Boulder Half Marathon

2010-03-15T09:23:00.001-06:00

On Saturday, we took a little road trip up to Boulder so Randy could run their half marathon. He’s running the Colfax Marathon in May and this was one of his training races. Randy’s goal was to finish in 2 1/2 hours and he finished in two hours six minutes! He’s been training three days a week and it’s finally paying off. It was a 30 degrees and rain-y in Boulder so Halley and I did not stand outside to cheer him on the whole race. We managed to get there just as he was crossing the finish line!

More Pictures from Tucson

2010-03-10T21:15:00.001-07:00

I found some more pictures that Kathryn didn’t have….

Not-So-Sunny Tucson

2010-03-07T17:36:00.001-07:00

So, in usual fashion, my sis is more current with her blog and has already published a post about our trip to Tucson. Rather than re-post all those pictures, just go to her her blog and check them out.

I will add my own commentary though. HJ and I had a great trip. While we were hoping for some nice warm weather, apparently we brought the cold with us. It was 50 degrees and raining! Yuck. It was so fun to see my brothers Casey and Will. It had been almost nine months since I had seen them so we were overdue for a visit. Technically they are Halley’s uncles which they took great pride in. The first morning we were there Casey (who is quite the early riser) came in our room at 6:30 ready to play with Halley. HJ takes after her mother though and wasn’t awake yet! We also spent time with my brother David (one of the triplets) and he actually held Halley a few times.

My two favorite (quick!) stories about Casey and Will…

Casey—In the summer of 2005, I was on vacation with the AZ Way gang in Tennessee. We were riding along a windy road with a fast-rushing river beside with us. Casey was about 4 years old then and was scared by our trip through the mountains. After expressing his fear, he got silent for a few minutes. Then he made an announcement… ”I was really scared so I prayed to God. And now I feel better!” How precious.

Will—A few years ago, Randy and I went to Lincoln for a Huskers football game to meet Kathryn, Tyler, Dad, and the gang. Will was just learning the concept that Kathryn and I were his sisters. The whole trip he made comments like “I want to ride with my sisters” “ Where are my sisters?”. It was so sweet. After we were leaving the game, I was walking about 10 feet ahead of Will. All of a sudden I hear his voice behind me yelling “Hey sis! Wait up!” and he ran to catch up with me. That’s one memory I won’t forget.

Anyway….check Kathryn’s blog for HJ pictures in Tucson. We had a great time and it was so fun to see everyone. My dad was particularly sweet to Halley which was really heart-warming. We all had a tearful goodbye in the airport! Can’t wait until Kathryn’s graduation to see everyone again.

http://barefootkatie.blogspot.com/2010/02/postcards-from-tucson.html

Have a great week!

Oh my goodness, I could just melt

2010-02-26T15:58:00.002-07:00

So look what HJ learned to do today!!! Again, I don't know how to edit video yet so at least watch the first half...the second half is just more of the same.

Check Me Out!

2010-02-25T07:59:00.002-07:00

Four Months Old!!!

2010-02-23T18:24:00.001-07:00

Hello readers! I have plenty of pics to post from our trip to Arizona but I had to take care of these first. Yesterday Halley turned 4 months old so we had another check up today. She weighs a whopping 10 lbs 12 oz and is 24 1/2 inches tall (long?). She’s grown almost 2 inches, which puts her in the 50-75 percentile, but has dropped to the 5th percentile for her weight. Doctor B. still isn’t concerned and says she’s just skinny. What woman is going to complain about that?!?! HJ is SO close to rolling over and sometimes I think she’s going to start crawling any day. Here she is today with her cute purple diaper.

Halley has a new game she likes to play. It’s called Let’s-See-How-Many-Fingers-I-Can-Fit-In-My-Mouth.

Almost rolling over (isn’t it amazing that we get so excited about …rolling over?)

Halley Walley LOVES this new thing. She’s actually reaching out and playing with anything within her grasp.

Here’s HJ with our longtime friends, Dave and Lynda Moja. (Everyone, and I mean everyone, needs a Lynda Moja in their life.) They are in town for Dave’s work so Lynda, HJ, and I got to spend some quality time together today.

Check back later this week for Arizona pictures!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

2010-02-16T13:08:00.001-07:00

I’m not really a huge fan of Valentine’s Day but this weekend was really special.

Randy’s mother, Sandy, has been in town visiting and she offered to babysit so we could go on a date. I’m sure it was quite the sacrifice! ;)

Randy and I drove up to Denver and ate dinner at this super-cool Mexican restaurant called La Sandia. The food was great and it was nice to have some uninterrupted conversation. (We also found a Caribou Coffee that was open late which was the real highlight of Randy’s night.)

I also got these beautiful flowers!

Did I mention how much I love my husband? Not because of the flowers but because he really is the greatest guy. I’m certain that God made him perfect for me!

This morning I made pancakes and bacon for breakfast.

(Note: it makes it much easier to remove the pancakes if you spray the cookie cutter first!)

And, most importantly, today was Baby Dedication Day at our church. There is a gown that my grandmother made in 1954 and she shipped it to me last week. My mother, aunt, sister, cousin and I have all worn it when we were baptized as infants. It is so special and I’m glad Halley was able to continue the tradition by wearing it. She looked beautiful and the congregation oooh-ed at her, which, of course, boosted our already-proud-parent egos.

HJ was so good up on stage and almost fell asleep in Pastor Eric’s arms. And in usual fashion, Halley was called by her alternate name today…while he was praying for her, he repeatedly called her “Hailey”. I guess she’s just going to have to get used to it. God knows who we were praying for so it’s all good! :) I haven’t had a chance to look at the video yet but I’ll post it later if it came out clearly. I also need to get a good picture of Ms. Squirmy Wormy in her dress before I send it back to Grandmommy.

I’ll try to post both of those later.

It’s a busy week around here. Sandy leaves on Wednesday and Thursday Halley and I head to Tucson to visit my dad. Bonus…Aunt Kathryn will be there too! Have a great week!

Baby Dedication Sunday

2010-02-15T23:17:00.001-07:00

I want to pull my hair out!!!

2010-02-15T23:14:00.003-07:00

Okay, so here's the deal. I am having major issues with blogger.com and another blogging website and I'm ready to throw the computer out the window. Vista stinks! So...I just posted a few pictures individually and you'll just need to make up your own commentary for the time being. Hopefully I can actually publish the original post once I figure out what the problem is.

Anyway...even with computer problems, Halley is still beautiful, I love my husband and God is so good to us!

Good night.

Technical Difficulties

2010-02-15T20:45:00.003-07:00

Hi y'all,

I know people have been asking about pictures of Halley's dedication this weekend at church. For some reason, when I post the pictures they just come across as text and not an image. Anyway....be patient. I'm working on it!

Cute Pics (Again…)

2010-02-05T16:37:00.001-07:00

I’m running out of creative post titles. Suggestions anyone?

Miss Bubbles

Kisses from Daddy

I don’t know why but I think this picture is really cute.

Sitting up like a big girl

(Don’t be fooled….she fell over right after I took this.)

She’s also wearing a pretty new sweater that Grandmommy made for her.

Randy’s mom is in town to visit and help so I’ll have some more Mamama (that’s pronounced just like it reads!) to post soon.

P.S. Thanks to Kathryn, and her snow days!, for our super-cute new header. :)

Video!

2010-02-02T13:37:00.003-07:00

I know I'm overdue for some pics of Halley but I finally figured out how to get videos off the camera! (In actuality, it wasn't that hard but it just took forever for me to get around to it.)

On the positive side, those of you who don't get to see HJ much you can catch her live in action...the downside is that I don't know how to edit video so it's not that exciting. Feel free to watch the whole thing (even the part where it's the back of Halley's head for a few minutes) but no one's feelings are hurt if you don't. :)

She's a little camera shy but I'll work on getting her to smile next time!

Squirmy Wormy

2010-01-25T08:45:00.006-07:00

Good Morning! So in case you don't really believe me when I say HJ is a wiggle worm, here is your proof. This is how she looked when I put her down last night.

Aaaannnnddddd, this is how she was when I got her up this morning.

Seriously...how is that possible without waking up?!?!?

Three Months Today!

2010-01-22T21:45:00.011-07:00

So our sweet little girl is three months old today and she's sick. :( Halley has a minor temperature, a hacking cough and she's congested. Thankfully she's still her happy self but we just hope she's getting better and not worse.

Anyway...we didn't have a three month appointment with the pediatrician so our measurements are home-made. I weighed her several times and got numbers from 9.5 to 11 pounds. The last time I weighed her the scale said 10 pounds so we'll just go with that and HJ is about 23 inches in length. However, don't be surprised if next month (when we go back to the doc) she has miraculously grown 4 inches overnight and gained 3 pounds.

Today Halley got to wear her favorite new sweater dress! Isn't it just adorable? And, of course, by "her", I mean Mommy's favorite new sweater dress.

Who knew HJ would take up boxing at such an early age?

It is SO hard to capture a smile on camera.

Mommy has found a new footsie game that totally makes Halley happy. It's the best smile we've seen so far...we'll get a laugh out of her yet!

She loves the footsie game MUCH more than baths.

Thanks for checking in!

Nursery Pictures...Final.

2010-01-21T11:11:00.012-07:00

So, my older sister, Angie, told me I hadn't posted any pictures of Halley's nursery in it's completion so I thought I would oblige her. (Forgive me if you've already seen these.) Seriously, there is nothing else to put on the walls of her room...they are all taken! Her room is decked out more than any other in the house.

HJ's name.....courtesy of Michael's and my mom

...and of course, her UGA mobile which she LOVES

Courtesy of Hobby Lobby this time...and my mom...and Kathryn

Kathryn made this bow-holder for Halley...cute, huh?

The latest addition...blackout curtains courtesy of, who else?

My mom (aka Martha Stewart)

(I will take credit for picking out the fabric though! :) )

You must have a matching pillow!

...And a gift from a dear friend in Savannah
It's personalized with Halley's information.

Check out http://www.mkandco.com/ if you're interested.

And of course, our sweet girl

Tomorrow Halley will be three months old! Can you believe it? Stay tuned for an update.

P.S. If you need an interior decorator, let me know and I'll give you my mom's number. :)

Goings On…

2010-01-15T17:33:00.001-07:00

So while many of you are experiencing record lows and freezing temperatures in the South, we here in Colorado have had a week of beautiful weather with highs in the 50s. Randy and I have taken the opportunity to spend some time outside with Halley by going on a “hike”. (I use that term lightly because there wasn’t a lot of elevation gain but we went where strollers can’t so that must count for something, right?)

Halley has learned to love her front carrier which has been great. Here she is taking a stroll with us in Red Rocks Canyon. HJ slept most of the time but woke up towards the end.

HJ and I keeping each other warm

Pretty Blue Eyes

My new favorite thing, Skype!

Halley wearing her snow suit…she really looked like the kid from A Christmas Story.

Getting ready for our walk one night this week

My friend, Cari, and I are swapping babysitting duties while each other goes to work. This is her daughter, Stella (four months older than HJ), enjoying her carrots! How cute is she?!?!

Halley showing off for the camera

Randy is going skiing for the weekend so it’s just us girls. There’s lots on the agenda since I head back to work on Monday (sniff, sniff—more like “bawl”) but more on that later. My mission right now is to find the perfect picture of Halley for my desk.

Have a great weekend!

We're Famous!

2010-01-14T15:56:00.004-07:00

So, and yes, I realize I start every post with "so", Randy was talking to some of his students at school this week about where they go to church. One of them said, "I know where you go to church Mr. Everette!" which is not that strange because there are several James Irwin families at our church. Then the kid said "Because you're on the website." Which is kind of strange and we didn't believe him. So Randy came home and pulled up Rocky Mountain's website and there we are! What's really funny is I remember the day that picture was taken. I was thinking in my head "Of course, this would make a good picture, young couple, pregnant, holding hands...coming to church." But I didn't think they would put it on their site...don't they need our consent or something? Anyway, Randy said "Why are you smiling and I look mad?" And the obvious answer is that I saw her taking our picture! Why else do we have peripheral vision?

Anyway...check us out! www.rmcalvary.org.

That's Fab

2010-01-11T18:09:00.004-07:00

What, is it possible? Two posts in one day? Yes, sirree. When checking the mailbox today, I got a package. I love getting packages. And guess what? When you have a baby, all of a sudden you get lots of packages. Correction: Halley gets lots of packages. But since she can't open them, they might as well have my name on them, right?

So this is what we got.

How cute is that?!?! Randy has a friend who makes custom pottery and sells it on the web. I've never met Julie but, considering how many people I know that have had babies in the past few years, we are getting to be very close! She not only makes birth announcement plaques but tons of other cute stuff. Check it out at www.thatsfab.net.

Christmas Part One

2010-01-11T13:24:00.017-07:00

So here are the pictures from the first portion of our trip in Savannah. As I said before, our trips always seem too short. In terms of in-laws, I've got a great family and I really wish I got to see all of them more often. (Not many wives can say that about their hubby's family.) We are blessed on both sides of the family tree.

Randy's Grandmother, Jama...she's 92, wears designer jeans and does yoga weekly!

Randy's mom, Sandy, who's coming to visit in a few weeks--yay! Hopefully we won't get any snow because she may bail early and head back south!

Sandy, Me, My double chin, Halley, Beth, Meg, Kami

(Randy's mom and sisters)
They threw a Meet Halley shower for us while we were in Savannah.

Randy and his only niece, Emmie. She's been praying for a female cousin for YEARS! Isn't she precious? (Don't kill me for posting this Emmie!)

My friend Lorrie...we've been friends for over 15 years. She lives in Southern CA and I really don't get to see her enough.

At the party...my mom, Gina (who's known me my whole life), and Marion (my brother's MIL and a close friend of my mom's)

Halley in her special Christmas outfit....two months old!

Halley looking up to her big cousin Emmie

My brother Charles and his new bride, Landon

Randy's younger sister, Meg, and her baby, Hudson, born 6 weeks before Halley

My stepdad, Rick, getting crazy faces from Halley

We met a lot of people in our trip back home! We're still missing a few uncles, cousins, and my dad but hopefully we can make the rounds and see them soon. I'm tentatively planning a trip southbound to sunny Arizona (to visit my dad and brothers) once winter really sets in. Meanwhile, it's 50 degrees here and sunny so HJ and I are going on a walk while weather permits!

Have a great Monday!

Christmas Part Two

2010-01-06T18:41:00.001-07:00

In case you’re confused, you didn’t miss Part One. I just haven’t uploaded our pictures yet from Savannah so we’re documenting our trip in reverse. We flew into Savannah on the 19th and got to spend five whole days there. It seemed like a lot beforehand but the time is always too short. More on Savannah later.

For as long as I’ve been around, my (Becky) family has made the drive to Atlanta on Christmas Day. We wake up, open gifts, eat the best Christmas brunch ever, pack the car, and make the four hour drive to the big city. Now that we’re married we still do all that…we just add the Everette family Christmas to the already busy morning. This year was especially difficult because we were flying out of Atlanta and were not taking our own car up there. Two people, a baby, two large and overstuffed (we were over our weight limit but the lady at the counter was nice to us and looked the other way!) suitcases, a duffel bag, a diaper bag, a car seat and a stroller…all packed into already full cars but we made it!

In Atlanta, we visit Rick’s family that evening and then celebrate Christmas with my mom’s family the day after Christmas. We do a white elephant exchange which is always fun and this year my cousin, Britt, managed to finagle the game so he could propose to his girlfriend. How creative is he! (Not to mention gutsy, proposing in front of the whole fam.)

So onto what you really want to know about….Halley. She was a GREAT baby on all of our flights, four total. She didn’t cry a peep and I bet that the people sitting next to us were quite relieved they got assigned next to us and not the other babies on the flight. She didn’t even need a bottle to help her ears adjust to the pressure changes. She was an angel.

Here is Halley meeting some of my favorite people…

My grandparents (Jane, whom Halley is named after)

My two sisters…this is pretty much what we did for two days straight

Kathryn, Grandmommy, Halley & Me, Mom, Aunt Debbie

I got a miniature version of the lamp from Christmas Story…Randy was a little miffed that I traded it for an iTUNES card.

Our sweet little family

Our sweet big family

And the one that won’t make the frame…seriously, can you tell I’m tired of trying to get the family picture to work?!?!?

Halley doing tummy time with Jammie. I promise we weren’t slipping alcohol into her bottle!

How sweet is that face?!?

Hangin’ with Uncle David and Uncle Charles

And one more just to make you laugh….

And one more…

Okay, I promise, that’s it. She’s just so funny, I couldn’t resist.

I’ll post more later. Also, we got a camcorder (are they still called that?) for Christmas so stay tuned for fun videos…

Two Month Checkup

2009-12-15T19:38:00.007-07:00

Halley went in for her two month check up today! (It's a week early but since we're going to Savannah this week--three days and counting!--we went in this week.) She weighs 8 pounds 10 ounces and is 22 3/4 inches long. She's in the 50% for her length but only 10% for her weight. The doctor says she's doing great and will probably just be long and skinny!

Halley also got her first set of vaccines today which was no fun. I have never heard that ear-piercing, blood-curdling scream come out of her before. I told Randy he was going for the next set of shots. She was pretty fussy this afternoon but a little Tylenol made it all better.

On a lighter note, we bought Halley a snow suit this week. It's a 0-3 month size but, as usual, will probably fit her for six months. I put it on her to try for size and she ended up taking a nap in it. Here she is cute as ever!