November, A Recap.

Well, this month really got away from me! I can't believe how quickly time goes at the end of the year.

Halloween was good at our house! We had the cutest cow ever.

We took Hallee to a couple of houses in the neighborhood. Andy dressed up as a farmer and walked with her.

By the time we hit the third and final house, Hallee had had enough! So we took her back home to hand out candy to the trick-or-treaters. Hallee enjoyed seeing other kids in their costumes! She enjoyed helping us carve our pumpkins, too. She was a little leary at first, but eventually dug right in!



The first week in November, we decided to get Hallee's hair cut.

It had gotten really shaggy in the back. It was pretty uneven, so we had them trim the back up so that it was more one-length. I decided not to have her bangs cut. They really hang in her face now, but I think they'll grow out fast. They're already down to the end of her nose. Her haircut sure made her look grown-up!

Hallee had her 18 month check up this week. She weighs 27 pounds (80%) and is 33 1/2 inches tall (90%). This was the first time she was able to stand on the big girl scale instead of laying on the baby scale. She actually ran up to it and wanted to get on it. Unfortunately, she wouldn't stand next to the wall to get her height measured. So I had to make her lay on the baby scale for that. At that point she started crying and lost all trust in the nurse. Hallee didn't want anything to do with anybody. The doctor got to look in her ears, and that's pretty much it. It's a good thing they're used to kids! Four shots later, and we were out the door.

Hallee is growing up so fast! She is an awesome sleeper. She sleeps from about 9:30 at night until 10:30 or 11:00 in the morning. And she takes a 2 hour nap in the afternoon. (Have I mentioned how much I love that kid?) She tries to copy everything we say. She is adding more words to her vocabulary every day. She loves to dance. We have a nursery rhyme cd that we play a lot, but her favorite is Lady GaGa :)

Thanks for checking on us!

A New Bellybutton

Well, I no longer have a gallbladder.

A few weeks ago I was kept awake one night by persistant pain right below my ribcage. I couldn't get comfortable. Ibuprofen didn't fix anything. I fell asleep briefly on a heating pad, but I got very little sleep. I had this pain a few times before during the night, but it has always gone away by morning. That morning came around and the pain was still there. Andy was working, so it was just Hallee and I at home. A few hours before Andy was supposed to get off of work, he called and told me he had hurt his elbow at work and they were sending him to the ER for x-rays. He came home a while later with a diagnosis of a bone contusion and a prescription for pain pills.

Meanwhile, I was still having belly pain. I called my folks, who were headed to town for an unrelated event, and asked them to come watch Hallee instead, while Andy and I headed to the ER. I was put in a room two doors down from the room Andy had just checked out of. An ultrasound showed that my gallbladder was "full of stones" and would need to be removed. It wasn't infected so, after my pain was controlled, I was allowed to go home and schedule surgery for the next afternoon. Andy didn't even get to take any of his pain pills as one of us had to drive home and take care of Hallee after my parents left. He's such a nice guy!

So on Monday afternoon, I checked in for a Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy. It was quick and (fairly) painless. I was home by suppertime the same day. The worst part was the lift restriction of 10 pounds for a week (which inclued Hallee.) Luckly, Andy was able to take some time off of work and do the heavy lifting around our house. I didn't realize how often I lift Hallee (into her highchair, into her crib, onto her changing table, into the bathtub, etc.)

Now, 10 days post-op, I'm feeling much more like my old self. Minus one gallbladder. As long as I'm careful with Hallee's knee when I lift her to my hip, things are good.

Back to School

The school books are wide open an our house! Andy decided a while ago that he wanted to go back to college. He is attending The University Center here in Sioux Falls and majoring in Business Management. He is taking 9 credits this semester, two classes on Tuesday nights and an internet class. Going to school, along with working full time, is making him a busy guy!

I also enrolled in a community education class put on by the Sioux Falls school district. I'm taking a digital photography class every other Wednesday night this semester. Photography has always really interested me. I know some about the various camera settings but I haven't quite figured out how to apply them. I'm hoping this class will help with that. Anything that gives me an excuse to take more pictures of Hallee is a good thing!

Fortunately for me, Hallee has a few years before we send her off to school!

Slacker

I have been really slacking at posting updates on our blog lately. It's not really that I've been to busy or anything like that, I just kind of feel like we haven't done anything blog-worthy. Which in hindsight isn't true at all. So here's an update of what we've been up to lately.

We've spent a lot of time at the swimming pool.

We've ridden a few horses.

(This one didn't move very fast.) We've fallen face first onto cement.

We've done some laundry.

Andy got rear-ended on his motorcycle. Andy's fine, but he sure misses his motorcycle. He also had sinus surgery on Friday to fix his deviated septum (completely unrelated to the motorcycle accident). So he gets to spend a couple of weeks off of work at home with Hallee and I.

Speaking of Hallee, she is starting to talk. She says Dada, Momma, Papa and something that sounds a little like "doggy" and "Diesel". She has her bottom two molars and is working on the top ones.

I'm going to try hard to post more regularly. I hope I can hold myself to that.

Hallee swinging in her new sunglasses!

Hallee Loves to Swim!

Hallee loves the water so we have been using the heck out of our pool pass this year! She has so much fun swimming.

A Mind of Her Own...

I was taking Hallee's clothes off of the clothes line the other day while she was playing nearby. Hallee came running over and grabbed this pair of pajama pants out of the basket. She tried and tried to get them to stay on her head. Hallee handed them to me, whined and pointed to her head. So I obliged her and put them on her head. Every time I tried to take them off, she screamed and pointed to her head! So Hallee played in the backyard with pajama pants on her head for nearly 15 minutes! I can only imagine what the neighbors were thinking!

New Swing Set

Hallee has a new swing set! We spent a lot of time looking for the right one. We wanted something that was good quality and would last quite a few years without spending an arm and a leg. We ended up finding a used play set in a nearby small town. The family has two teenagers that had outgrown it. It is much bigger and more elaborate than we would have ever purchased new. Andy spent some time working on it and fixing it up, and we still have work to do (it is nice to have a handy husband!) We've already spent a lot of time swinging and going down the slide. Hallee brings us her shoes and stands at the back door begging to go out and play.

This was before Andy installed the monkey bars.

Naked Pool Party on the Deck!

It was a warm evening tonight, so Hallee decided she wanted to go skinny dipping.

She had a lot of fun until she decided to watch her Daddy mow instead. Now that Hallee is walking all by herself, she marched her own naked tush over to the railing to see him!

1 Year Photos

Photos were taken by Schoolmeester Photography.

Happy 1st Birthday Hallee!

As hard as it is to believe, Hallee is officially one year old. On Sunday we celebrated her birthday at our house with our families. She was a little overwhelmed by the people at first, but settled in pretty quickly. She had a blast playing with her cousins and opening her awesome gifts. I'll get to the pictures soon, but first some of Hallee's accomplishments.

Hallee is very close to walking. She walks between Andy and I all the way across the house, as long as one of us is there to catch her. She hasn't quite taken off toward anything else yet. But she is getting more confidant all the time.

Hallee sleeps 12-13 hours at night. She goes to bed around 9:30 at night and sleeps until 10:30 in the morning. I know, I know, it is crazy that she sleeps until 10:30 am. We're working on getting her to bed earlier so that she doesn't sleep quite as long in the morning. Her naps are still nothing to brag about, though.

She has 7 teeth. Four on the top and three on the bottom.

Hallee has an ATTITUDE. She knows what she wants and will let you know if you're not giving it to her!

Hallee has finally gotten better about eating vegetables. She especially likes them if she can feed them to herself.

Hallee still uses sign language. 'Please' is her newest addition to her "vocabulary".

Hallee weighs 21 pounds 5 ounces, and is 29 1/4 inches long.


Okay, here are some pictures from her party.

The tiera lasted all of 15 seconds!This is the cake I madeSinging "Happy Birthday"She started eating each bite very carefully. That lasted quite a while.Then she dug in! Literally, dug in!It was time to be done when Hallee started throwing it over her shoulder.

We had a great day. Hallee was surrounded by people who love her and that was the best part.

Who needs a pillow?

Diesel was sleeping and Hallee curled right up with him. She loves that dog!

Just a Swingin'

11 Months

I know Hallee turned 11 months old over a week ago, but I wanted to do a quick update on some of her new skills.

Hallee will walk beside us holding just one hand, but isn't quite ready to walk by herself. She is definitely getting better, but she's still pretty wobbly! She crawls so fast now, it's hard to think about how much more stuff she'll be able to get into when she's walking!

We've been working on sign language with Hallee. She started picking it up pretty quickly in the last week or two. She signs "more", "all done" and "doggy" regularly. She tells us that she is "so big" when we ask her. Hallee doesn't really like to show off to other people, but she signs all the time to us!

Hallee has gotten a lot more comfortable around people. She even reaches out to other people while I'm holding her. It seems crazy that a few months ago, she was terrified of everyone other than Andy or me.

Hallee has six teeth now, four on the top and two on the bottom. She's been working hard on the last one, so I hope we get a little break before the next ones start coming in.

Orlando Fun!

We took a little trip to Orlando this week. We all caught colds, but had a great time!

Busch Gardens

Hallee watching the Dolphins at Sea World

Hallee is "So Big" at Aquatica Water Park

Playing in the sand at Daytona Beach

Walking along Daytona Beach

Washing off the sand!

Touching a sting ray at Sea World

Swimming in the pool at the hotel

Blue Spring State Park

Swimming in the freshwater spring

Hallee's First Ride

We got Hallee a trailer for my bike. Today was the first day nice enough to take it for a spin. She really enjoyed it!

Hallee at Falls Park

We had a few minutes to spare downtown the other day, so we made a quick stop at Falls Park. It was really windy, but warm. Hallee liked looking at the falls!

Hallee watching the ropers at the horse fair

Napping with Daddy

Hallee snuggled with her dad for a nap. He loved it!

Photo Shoot!

We had a fun, spontaneous photo shoot the other night and got some really cute shots.

Hallee liked sitting in this wicker chair,but wasn't so fond of this white one!Eeyore seemed to help!

Four Generations

We went to visit my Grandparents in Canistota this week. I know that I'm darn lucky to still have both of my Mom's parents living so I don't like to pass up an opportunity to see them.

Here is a picture of my daughter with her mom, my mom and my mom's mom. I love it! Hallee (10 months) and Abbie Williams, Leona Mammenga (92 years), Darla Brown