Halle is 1!

3 days old

At about 1

Halle is now 1... I seriously can't believe it. That has been a fast year. Halle is my spunky, personality-filled girl and I love her to death. Here are some one-year old Halle facts:

• Halle loves shoes. If she finds a pair of her shoes, she will follow you around with them until you put them on.




• Halle loves cell phones. She thinks every cell phone is her own personal cell phone. She walks around with them on her ear saying ha (Mom Interpretation: hi).

• Halle loves food. When she tastes something she particularly likes she leans her head back, closes her eyes, smiles, and lets out a big mmmmmmm.

• Halle is no longer bald, but is now sporting a mullet. While her hair is sparse on top, she is growing a tuff of blonde hair on the back of her head.

• Halle understands a lot. She understands Time Out. When Zach goes to Time Out she will follow behind wagging her pointer finger (signifying no no). She tries to put on her own socks and will even help me with mine. She will hand Zach his coat when he is supposed to put it on. She understands when she is doing something naughty, but will keep doing it with a huge grin on her face.

• She has a smile that lights up her entire face.

new spring line

I admit, I peruse the occasional craft blog. I'm not sure why as I am not all that crafty. A little while ago I came across this craft that I was set on creating, but the more I looked at it, the more I noticed all the different colors of thread. For the beginning crafter this wouldn't be a problem, but since I'm a pre-beginning crafter, I was terrified. I hate bobbins. Bobbins hate me. The thought of changing out the bobbin that many times made me woosy and I opted to not make the amazing felt playhouse.

On that same blog, I found examples of felt food and I was in love. Handmade felt food - I could do that - no bobbins involved. For Halle's birthday, we are getting her a play kitchen and felt food would be the perfect addition.

So... I would like to present my new spring line (and only spring line): Felt Food Fiesta!

Sandwich makings: Bread, Jelly, PB, Tomato, Swiss Cheese, Ham, Lettuce, Onion, and American Cheese

Ravioli

Fruit: Peelable Banana, Apple, Apple Slice, Strawberries, and Watermelon Slice

Dinner: Chicken Leg, Pumpkin Pie w/ Whipped Cream, Mashed Potatoes & Gravy (a Trisha-sized portion), and Peas

M&M Cookies, or if you turn them 90 degrees, E&E Cookies

Potato Chips w/ Bag

Carrot and Donut (no relation)

Bowtie Pasta w/ Blob-o-sauce

And... Breakfast: Pancakes, Bacon, Fried Egg, and Orange Slice

There will be more, yes, there will be more, but I have to take a little break. I know this because I've been dreaming of felt food.

the reality

I was looking at my pictures from the last month and came across the following gems. What cracked me up is that person who did not know what was happening in the picture might label it differently than I would, knowing the circumstances behind the shot.

For instance...

Outsider's Label: The kids playing

My Label: Zach in time out

The story: Zach had hit Halle once again with something (pick an item in your home, Zach has hit Halle with it). He got sent to time out. Halle, being the forgiving soul that she is, decides she still wants to play with Zach. She travels to Zach in time out. They start playing and giggling. I had to grab my camera because it was so dang cute. I don't think my point about not hitting Halle grabbed Zach's attention this time.

And what about this photo:

Outsider's Label: Halle picking her nose

My Label: Halle's new trick!

The story: Halle has been really fascinated with the inside of her nose. This act could be considered picking her nose, a yucky habit for older kids (or older adults), but I choose to look at it as a new trick. Do you know how hard it is for an 11-month wobbly walker to successfully get a skinny thing into a hole while teetering around the room? Now that takes talent! Still, I'm not a huge fan of this new trick and am currently trying to teach her a more publically acceptable one. I'm up for suggestions.

Halle the walker!

Halle is walking!! I have been looking forward to this day. Zach loves to have a running buddy and up to this point, I have been it. However... as soon as Halle moves a little quicker, she can take my spot and I can resume a sitting position!

Halle is getting braver every day. She'll now let go of the couch and venture out on her own.

Here's a little video of her walking - it's the best one I could catch without the aid of another adult.

the favorite toy

When Zach was little, his favorite toy was a duck. I've included a picture for your viewing pleasure.

When I was little, I'm sure I loved some normal toy. Halle likes normal toys too, but her favorite favorite "toy" is a bit abnormal. Here is a picture of her complaining that I took her favorite toy away. Her favorite toy? Zach's socks (she's holding them in the picture - I finally just gave them back).
She LOVES to carry around his socks. Sometimes the socks are new, but mostly they are used. It can't just be one. She must have a sock in each of her hands. If one is taken away, she will throw a fit (let me remind you of the above picture). Halle sucks on the socks occasionally, but mostly she just holds them. I, personally, don't see the draw.

Yesterday as we were getting ready for church, Halle was holding a pair of socks. We packed her in the car with the socks. We walked in church with the socks. And during Sacrament Meeting Halle still had the socks. I couldn't help but think what was going through the heads of the couple in back of us. Here was this little girl grinning at them with one sock in her mouth and another in her hand. They were probably imagining handing Halle a ten dollar bill and saying, "Here, Sweetheart. Give this money to your mom and dad and tell them to buy you some real toys."

I guess it could be worse - she could carry around shoes and suck on them. Wait... she does that too...

Halle's surgery

So today was the big day for Halle's surgery at Primary Children's. My sweet mom stayed with Zach at our house and the rest of us headed off to the hospital.

Halle did so well. Even with getting up two hours early and not eating, she was a chipper little girl. She smiled at all the other kids, reached out for the nurses/doctors to hold her, and practiced singing in the high tones of her register in the waiting room. Below is a picture of 90% of Brandon and Halle in the waiting room. It felt like we were waiting to get dinner at Chili's - we had a little beeper that we just waited to go off.
Dr. Downey ended up fixing her umbicial hernia and also doing an umbilicoplasty. He said it went very well. After Halle came out of surgery, Brandon went back to be with her (only one person could go back immediately following surgery). The nurse asked why the mother didn't come (as that's more typically) and Brandon informed her I was a wuss. True statement. The first time I saw Halle after the surgery, I started crying. She was moaning because of all the pain and it made me so sad. Brandon told me Halle was doing much better than he first saw her. The picture below is Halle coming out of anesthesia.

Anyways... we're home. Halle's doing well. When Brandon put her in her crib, she crawled over to her favorite corner, face-planted, and went immediately to sleep. We have to keep her tummy bandage on for 5 days, but other than that, she should be feeling better in the next couple days. New belly button - here we come!

I turned on my laptop this afternoon and found that the screen was cracked. Unless we had a meteor shower hit last night I wasn't aware of, I'm pretty sure it's from little feet using it as a step stool. Wherever there is a crack, the light from the screen doesn't show through. So now I have a black hole at the top of my screen as seen below. The only positive is that now, when I look at my desktop, Brandon is wearing a shiny black fez.