the wrong idea

While we are definitely not potty training Hallie yet, she has shown interest in the potty, so occasionally I will sit her on her little potty just to get used to it. Most of the time, she prefers to sit there with her clothes on, but sometimes she will oblige when I request that she sit there without her clothes and diaper on (I mean, who really wants a child who can go potty on the potty but only with their clothes and diaper on? Not me.)

So today I got her to sit on the potty by telling her I would give her some juice to do so (and by juice I mean powerade. She doesn't know the difference. She loves it and since we have a year's supply of it after Devin brought it home by the case full when Smith's had it on sell for 25 cents, I figure on occasion, she can have a little to boost her electrolytes, you know. (I love when my parentheses comments are longer than my actual comments.)) I am definitely not above bribes, as you can tell. ANYWAY. Onto the story.

She sat on the potty and drank her juice happily for a little while until suddenly she sprang off the potty and ran into her room shouting "biaper! biaper!" (that's diaper to her). She came running back full speed, threw the diaper at me, and promptly peed on the floor. Also, keep in mind that lately when I request that Hallie bring me a diaper, she refuses to do so. This, of course, was an exception.

Apparently she has the wrong idea about potties and their intended use.

(At least she knew when she needed to pee though, right?)

Grateful For...

...these great men in my life. Happy Father's Day to:-My wonderful Father-In-Law. If you wonder why Devin is as great as he is, it is because he had an amazing example in his father. (He is the one on the left in case you can't tell. I should get more recent pictures, but this is all I have from their mission homecoming earlier in the year)

-My step-father Dave. Dave is a perfect match for my mom and he has been kind and accepting of all of us and our craziness. Dave is a great person and we are grateful he is in our lives. (I took this picture from my mom's facebook page. Dave is lucky I didn't choose the one of him in his wool man capote thing that he made himself for camping. Classic, let's just say that.)

-My own dad. My dad tucked me into bed until I was like 13. I would yell at him from my bed and wherever he was, he would come and tuck my blankies (I know, family, that you are going to have 1 million things to say about me and the blankies. I know, I know) around me. I wouldn't go to sleep until he did. Kind of an embarrassing story, but hey, shows what kind of dad he was and is. -and of course, Devin. What a wonderful father he is. I can't say enough about how much he does for Hallie and me and how much we love him. I am so glad that I found him and that we get to be on this journey together. He and Hallie are everything to me.

And of course I am grateful for him as a father, because without him, the crazy girl would not exist. Here are the videos I promised. I thought I would just throw them on this post because really, she has everything to do with Father's Day. For without three of the men above, she wouldn't be here, see...(okay okay, I am just lazy and don't want to do a separate post, so I am forcing it to tie in.)

She is such a ham. I think she may have a career in drama? She has been learning to "sing" the ABCs, so I was trying to get a video of it. She doesn't know the letters really, but sings the tune and it is pretty funny. Anyway, you can catch a part of it on the longer video. But the shorter one, she just wouldn't perform. Such a silly girl.

Note: I cannot get the 2nd video to upload. Oh well. Maybe I will try again later.

A Bunch of Randomness

• I was recently spotlighted on the Provo FSA Blog as a caseworker. Check it out here http://provofsa.blogspot.com/2010/06/case-worker-spotlight.html if you so desire. (Also, love the music on the blog, I pull it up sometimes just to listen to it)

• I highlighted my hair blonde again. Its been a while! I thought it would be fun for summer. I don't have any pictures since I feel silly taking a picture of myself, so next time I happen to be in a photo I will post it.

• Devin finished Spring semester! yay! He is still working 65 + hours per week between Smith's and his internship, but its one less thing. I am still working my 20 hours per week as well. So we have had a babysitter twice per week to help with Hals. It is the first time we have not been able to do all child care ourselves. It was just too much though. The babysitter is a 12 year old girl in our ward and she does a great job, so it works out fine.

• We are going to Boise for the 4th of July for Kylee's sealing! I will also get to see Anneka, Nataley, and hopefully Camille! SO EXCITED!!!! 4th of July of old? Yes, we will be reinacting to the best of our ability. That includes a big pancake breakfast, parade, swimming, BBQ in the afternoon, and of course fireworks. Never mind that it is a different city, we will still love it.

• My cousin Houie (Houston) was here for football camp this week and on the first day got his shoulder dislocated when a 400 pound boy (that may be an exaggeration, but it sounds better, so we will go with it) landed on him. He got transported to the ER in a ambulance which was pretty awesome. Hals and I got to go pick him up and check him right out of that bad camp. He stayed the night with us, so we got to see Aunt Mari Ann and Uncle Ron too when they came to get him the next day. Hallie loved all the attention.

• Our garden is starting to grow. There are way more weeds than plants at this point. We have weeded for a week straight and I discovered that I kind of like weeding! What? I know...shock shock. I just like making something look nice again and it is good to be outside. Hallie is a good "help" in the garden. She likes to sit on my lap while I weed. Why she will never sit on my lap otherwise, I don't know.

• I have been doing pretty good riding the bike places. I usually ride it 2-3 times per week. Not too shabby. I quite like that too. I still need to get a bike. I have just been riding Devin's. It totally works though so we are in no rush to get a bike for me.

I just love summer. So many good things about it! That's all for now... I have some funny videos to post of Hallie. We will see when I get around to it.

From the Mixed Up World of Hallie...

It is so fun to watch Hallie learn and develop. I think it is just fascinating as a parent to watch her learn and absorb things. I am constantly amazed at the things that she comes up with. However, it is even funnier to watch the mix-ups she has as she is learning about the world around her. Here are a few of my favorites:

*Hallie calls both Devin and I "dada" most of the time. I think she thinks this is a general term like "parents". When I point to myself and ask who this is, she says "mama", but in general when she refers to us, it is both of us as "dada."
*As I mentioned earlier, Hallie LOVES to push strollers. She tries really hard to say stroller all the time because she wants us to get her little baby stroller out, but it comes out more like "yo yo." Then I will repeat "stroller" and she will repeat, more emphetically, "yooo yooo." I know she is trying, its just so funny.
*For a long time, all animals were "doggies" or "puppies". She would see any animal and say "woof woof." Now she is getting that there are differences and will identify other animals. She still only calls cats "meows". (If you haven't noticed, these are just random pictures that I haven't posted. This is Hallie and Grandpa and Brelynn and Kirston's marathon last Saturday. She finished and we are so proud of her!)

*One morning, I noticed that Devin had taken the garbage out in the bathroom but had not gotten a new liner. I really like bossing Hallie around to see what she will do, (haha) so I asked her to go to the kitchen to get a new bag for the garbage. She stood in the doorway trying to absorb the information for a second and then turned around and walked out. When she returned, she came with a bag alright- her diaper bag- which she started to empty into the garbage. For some reason I found this incredibly funny. She understood what I asked within the realms of what she knows and tried her hardest to obey.
*She is trying to say more compound words, but as she does, she often gets them backwards. Instead of "toothpaste" she sometimes says "paste tooth" or "sauce apple" for applesauce. It's like she remembers the end part to describe what she wants and then figures she needs to add the word she already knew (tooth or apple) to specify. Kind of funny.
*Her two new favorite things to say in response to anything are "I know" and "No way!" Even when they are used out of context, she thinks its great to carry on such a meaningful conversations. Examples:

Me: Hallie did you finish your dinner?
Hallie: I know. (she says this really empathetically usually while nodding her head)

Me:What do you want to wear today?
Hallie: No way!
*She is still a great helper, most of the time. She will bring dishes from the table to the sink, put dishes away in lower cupboards and drawers, put dirty clothes in the basket, etc. One day, as I was doing the dishes, I asked her to go get something from the table. I must have been really absorbed in the dishes because it took me quite a while to realize that she had not come back. When I went to the table, I found her on top having a grand old time dumping all the salt out. She was very proud of herself. Little does she know, that's not the type of help I need!

I just think it is so fascinating to see how her little mind works. She grasps more and more things every day and totally uses that to her advantage. She requests "treats" all the time now, probably after I mentioned a treat one time in her life. So awesome. Oh the fun of parenting!

Photographic Evidence of a (Mostly) Good Weekend

We had a busy (but fun) weekend. The highlights included:

-Grandma was in town (my mom). On Saturday Hallie and I got to go to the little farm at Thanksgiving Point with her. We took a wagon ride, Hals gave the animals a lot of dirty looks, and she rode a pony on her own.

-We had a great big lunch at Kneaders. Between Dave, my mom, and me, we had four desserts. Don't worry, we were about to start fasting though so we deemed it necessary. Also, my mom and I had salads so that we could fool ourselves into thinking we could have more dessert. That's how it works, right?

-I went to IKEA for the first time with my mom. Oh. My. Gosh. Is all I have to say. I was a bit overwhelmed by the time we left.

-We then went swimming in the hotel pool. No pictures of this, because, well let's just say that my mom and I both had to keep our eyes on Hallie AT ALL TIMES. She was wearing arm floaties this time luckily, but that didn't stop her from jumping off the edge of the pool by herself whenever she felt like it or twisting her body into awkward positions just so that she could succeed in dunking her head under water. I tried to keep explaining that she couldn't do that until she learns to hold her breath, but she wasn't having any of it.

-Devin opted to go help his sister Mesha with her lawn. Driving big heavy machinery? Yes, please (for him). So he spent the day doing that.

-Sunday we had the baby blessing of baby Dallin. The only picture I have is the one of Devin holding Brelynn who is holding baby Brynlee. Keep that straight. They were also born on the same day, though Brelynn is 7 years older. Its a cute picture anyway. Hallie got to see the other set of Grandparents for that, plus lots of aunts, uncles, and cousins. What a lucky girl. Grandparents to love and spoil her all weekend long.

-The un-highlight of the week is that Hallie is sick again. I think she has another UTI. Her symptoms are the same as last time, with the ridiculously high fevers. We are going to the doctor this afternoon to find out. A plus though is that I got her to go pee in her potty so that we can bring our own urine sample instead of waiting for hours at the office for her to produce. TMI? Sorry. The last three pictures are of her in her sick state. She wanted to cuddle, then she was done with that and wanted to sit in her own chair that Grandma bought for her this weekend. She then requested a blanket, then her baby. Then she was holding her baby and trying to feed it and cuddle with it and kiss it. I think she figured if she didn't feel well, neither did her baby.

That's all for now!

Remembering...

We had a great Memorial Day and hope that you all did too! Probably the best thing for us was that Devin had the day off, the first one he has had in 5 weeks straight. He is doing an internship this summer, so between that and Smith's, he is working 65 hours a week or so. So needless to say, having the day off was a big deal! We went to Fairview to spend time with Devin's family and to have a delicious barbecue.

Of course, the day was also spent thinking about loved ones who have passed away. We got to visit Ky's grave, Devin's sister Shawna and her husband Slava's little boy, who died 10 years ago when he was just over a year old. I never got to meet Ky because I wasn't in the family at the time, but I feel that he is an important member of the family. This is last year. Ryder and Hallie at Ky's grave. Have you ever seen a child so fat? Seriously, the doctor thinks she is big now??? She has definitely slimmed down! I forget how big she used to be!

Here is the grave this year. Devin is in a floral arranging class and needed to design some flowers for a grave as part of his assignments, so he got to do the flowers for Ky's grave. I think he did a pretty good job.

I didn't get a picture of these two at the grave this year, but here they are enjoying some post-dinner popsicles. Mmmmmm. Yes, Hallie is shirtless....her shirt was white and who wants sticky yellow popsicle on a white shirt? Not me. Crazy how much they have changed. They look like kids now, not babies. (sad!)Speaking of babies, there are two more new ones, in addition to Kylie, in the family! Kylie is Shawna and Slava's, Dallin is Travis and Jenny's, and Brynlee is Alisa and Ren's. Brynlee was born the end of April and Dallin the beginning of May, exactly two weeks apart. They can be good friends, just like Hallie and Ryder, who were also born exactly two weeks apart. So fun. There is one more on the way, Jana and Karl's, this month, then no more babies for a while!

I was sad that I didn't get to see my family. Every year we have Memorial Day together at my Grandma's house and go decorate graves in Ashton as well as St. Anthony. This year, they also went to Chris's grave in Idaho Falls. Even though I was further away, I still thought of those we have lost in my family too, including great-grandparents (I am lucky enough to not have lost any grandparents to this point), Chris, my Uncle Charlie, and Cortney's husband Nic.

I am also grateful for the sacrifices of those who have served in the military. When we went to DC/Philly last summer, the most poignant thing for me was the Arlington National Cemetary. I think about the scene there a lot and what those people gave up to protect our freedom. It is a really amazing place. Go if you get a chance!

Ahem. Also. At risk of sounding like a broken record, I would still love for you to donate to the Relay for Life. This is a perfect way for you to help fund research for the American Cancer Society. I don't doubt that cancer has touched many of our lives in some way. Please help fight this terrible disease. I know that money is tight and the economy is bad, but I think you will be blessed for your contribution! :) Click the link on my sidebar to donate. And, please accept a BIG FAT Thank You from me.