Ari

Here's Ari in her second 4th of July outfit of the day. Her first one ended up quite soiled and since George Washington did something with a cherry tree, I figured this cherry outfit would suffice.

Ari is 5 weeks old and is quite a joy. She loves to be held and will put up quite a fuss if she's not. She is starting to smile at me and it melts my heart. Brandon's told me she is our last child and so I've been trying to soak in this time. I love that she likes to be talked to and will calm down if you just let her know you're there. I love that she is an awesome night sleeper. I love when she curls up in a ball on my chest. I love watching Zach and Halle take care of her. I just really love her.

...and she's 3!

Halle is 3! We are big into getting older at our house ('we' being Zach and Halle) and so this was soooo exciting for Halle. As soon as she turned 3, she decided she could do all sorts of things on her own - putting on socks, shirts, getting drinks. A week prior, she needed Mom's help, but as a 3-year-old, she decided she could finally do it.

I love this girl! She lights up a room when she enters it. She is 100% personality. She is a little tease and often teases Zach, Dad, and her uncles. She loves to sing. She loves princesses. She has quite the imagination. She can often be heard in her bed at night making conversation with all her Disney princesses. She is bright and witty. I think she has incredible "street smarts". She can read people well and knows just what to do to make someone happy. She holds my hand everywhere we go. She is my little pal. I think she is simply wonderful.

For her 3rd birthday, Halle chose to have a family party. She was thrilled to have everyone come. Halle originally wanted a Rapunzel tower cake, but was thrilled with the Sleeping Beauty cake. She told me it was "beautiful" and that she wanted to share it with everyone. My brother told me with a little Photoshopping, the cake would look just fine.

Happy birthday, Babe!

no dress

Yesterday we had breakfast with Santa. We went with some friends and the kids had a great time.

They decorated Christmas cookies:

Wrote letters to Santa:

Got their arm/face painted:

And got to talk with Santa:

Obviously, talking with Santa was the highlight of the day. Santa was so cute. Santa loved that Zach also had on a Santa hat. He took Zach's Santa letter and read it, telling Zach those were fun things to ask for. Zach was shy, but you could tell he just loved the experience.

Halle didn't want to sit on Santa's lap, but she did throw her Santa letter at him. It contained scribbles that I'm sure Santa understood. She had asked that he bring her a Rapunzel dress for Christmas.

The kids then got to choose a stuffed animal from Santa's toy bag and a candy cane from his elf. After we left, Halle started to cry. I was a bit perplexed until I deciphered what he was upset about. Halle was crying and saying, "Santa didn't give me a Rapunzel dress!" Apparently, Halle's mother didn't explain real well how Santa works. Halle thought asking Santa for a Rapunzel dress while in his presence would yield a Rapunzel dress immediately. In fact, after seeing the pictures from yesterday, Halle said, "I gave Santa my letter, but he didn't love me." oops... so I explained how Santa works and she okay with it. And unlike the other things she's asked Santa for (i.e. moose, kitty), Santa's got that Rapunzel dress covered... it just won't be delivered until Christmas.

dear santa

The kids wrote letters to Santa today. I know Santa pretty well and I'm pretty sure he isn't bringing one thing the kids asked for. Ugh... maybe we should have done this little activity a few weeks ago. Halle wants a moose and a kitty. Zach wants a train, train table, and a drum. Yeah... pretty sure Santa's not making those things in his workshop for my kids. Hopefully, Zach and Halle will be flexible and happy Christmas morning.

my halle

Halle, Halle, Halle. This girl cracks me up. She is 100% unique. She’s feisty, hugely independent, and is just as sweet as can be.

Halle is a diva. She wants to pick her outfit. She wants to pick her hairdo. She wants to pick her shoes. She even wants accessories – today she went to church with a necklace, two rings, and a purse. She was very upset I made her wear a jacket – it just did not match her vision. Her favorite outfits are dresses that allow her to be a princess – she typically adds a crown and high heels to the ensemble. She twirls often.

Halle cannot keep quiet. She comments on everything she is doing throughout the entire day. Lately, I have had a hard time understanding her. Brandon thinks it is because she has just sped up the speed at which she talks. Halle loves to sing and makes up her own songs in the car: “My favorite colors are pink and purple and yellow and orange and orange and orange and orange…” over and over again until we reach our destination. If she is listening to a song and is singing along, she is always at least a half beat behind. It doesn’t deter her. She continues singing the lyrics a second behind throughout the whole song. She has a high, little voice and a lady at a restaurant once commented that Halle sounded just like a Smurf.

Halle is sweet. Often during dinner, she will lean over, give me a hug, and say, “I love you, Mom”. Ah, melts my heart. She calls Brandon “my daddy” and me “my mommy”.

She is at a great age and I wish I could just bundle her and keep her like this forever.

Grandma Hurst

The other day I was reading my mom's Book of Lectures when I ran across the family history section in the back. It contained, among other things, an interview of my Grandma Hurst. I loved it. It made me laugh. I even cried. It sounded just like Grandma. It made me miss my grandma like crazy. Thought I'd share a part.

Do you play an intrument?
Grandma: Well yes, glad you asked. I recently perfected it. My automatic, instamatic, dramatic bed. Our new bed is so large, Grandpa and I call it our winter playground.

Do you and Grandpa play games?
Grandma: Yes, Hide-n-Seek. At night, Grandpa takes off his glasses, and he can't see well. He takes out his hearing aid, and he can't hear very well. He lost his sense of smell a long time ago, so he can't smell me. He can only find me if he stumbles across me. When Grandpa hides, I just go take a nap and eventually he comes out of hiding.

Does Grandpa like that?
He forgets he's playing a game. He doesn't remember why he's hiding, but he gets even. He puts the dishes away, and he hides my dishes, my pots and pans, and my utensils, and I search for them for weeks before I come across them again.


Miss you, Grandma. Hope you're still laughing in heaven!

pajamas

I wish this picture did it justice...

We have transitioned from summer PJs to winter PJs at our house. My kids have resisted. However, it gets cold at night and they are horrible at keeping blankets on, so I pulled out my Mom Card and put the kabosh on summer PJs. The above picture shows Halle's coping mechanism. She'll put on the warm PJs as long as her summer PJs are on top. In the picture, she paired a Minnie PJ shirt with lime green pants. Every night is a new ensemble. I think tonight was footed pajamas, a princess nightgown, and shorts.

Well, at least I know she's warm...