Playdate With The Howard Girls

Yay! We love those Howard girls! Last week we went to their house for a playdate. Halina always has so much fun with Haley. This time they made cupcakes together. Halina thought it was so cool to crack the eggs all by herself. Now she wants to crack all the eggs we cook with. It takes her little longer, but she never gets any shell in!

It is so nice that the Howard girls are all so close in age. Halina and Haley are 6 months apart, Elise and Ella are exactly one month apart and even Jaimee and I are only 6 months apart.

In this picture is Ella, Haley (standing up), Halina, and Elise.

Backyard Beauties.

The girls and I have been spending a lot of time hanging out in the backyard while Landon has been planting trees, shrubs, and reviving our newly planted grass. It's amazing how much we are outside (even in the 100 degree weather) since having a backyard. Halina loves to play in the grass. Her imagination runs rampant when she gets to play in the backyard. She is constantly singing and pretending that she is Miriam and Elise is baby Moses.

Halina usually doesn't like me to take her photo, but once I start taking shots of Elise she is suddenly interested.

"Mom, please stop."

This picture cracks me up! I'm sure this is the same expression she'll be giving me when I try to take her picture as a teen.Landon has spent so much time in our back yard planting all sorts of things. It's amazing how much more interested in landscaping he is since he had begun this journey a few months ago. Charlie has really loved it too. He really enjoys rolling in the grass and hunting for lizards. Last year he caught 2 lizards, 1 mole and 1 bird. He almost caught a humming bird yesterday, but it was just a little too fast for him.

Halina's First Ballet Class

This past Wednesday my MOPS group put on a two day Ballet class to raise money for the MOPS program and to give kids an opportunity to try out a class without having to sign up for a whole year with a studio. At first she was really hesitant and just stood watching everyone, but by the end she loved it. On Day 2 of the class she was really into it from start to finish. I think we will sign her up this year, since she loved it so much.

Halina and her best buddy Haley. Haley was a lttle sassy in this picture, but she was still as adorable as ever.

Halina trying out her arobesque grand batma.

Halina with her friends Camille and Haley. They were being very good little 2 yr olds.

Vacation in Indio (Palm Springs) 2009

Last week we hopped down to Indio, CA (by Palm Springs) for a spur of the moment vacation with Landon's sister Kris and her family. It was about 114 degrees most of the time we were there, which was perfect while in the pool as well as made some wonderful evenings. This is probably ne of favorite vacation spots with our timeshare so far.

It was 112 degrees that day and yet the fountains were so cold they gave us goose bumps.

Elise took most of her morning naps in her stroller at the pool.

Baby Elise Angelina

We welcomed Elise Angelina into our family on March 23, 2009. She is now 4 months old, weighs 11 lbs, 12 ou and is 24 inches long. She is a little thing, but is full of joy and life.3.5 months

2 months

2.5 weeks

2 days old (5lbs 9 ou and 18 in.)

Halina's Silly Words and Phrases

Poe Nolish (toe nail polish)
Leyow (yellow)
Yet's (let's)
Mucis (music) - she actually says this corrrectly now.
Lemonlame (lemonade)
Fridger (fridge)
Shoezers (shoes)
Mommydad (she'll say this so whoever is listening will answer)

PBJ Face

After a half hour struggle of "I don't want to eat it... but, Mom I really want to eat it... I DO NOT want to eat it.... WAIT, I REALLY WANT TO EAT IT!!!" Halina finally ate her peanut butter and jelly sandwich and wore it well.

The New Step Stool

Recently we bought Halina a new step stool so she could reach the sink in her bathroom. Since then she has been getting into all her bathroom drawers and constantly flickering the lights and fan.

This morning I found her putting her baby head bands on while preparing to brush her teeth. In this picture she has three or four on.She told me to take a picture of her silly face.

Purple Princess Room

We finally finished painting Halina's new room. It is a little darker than we'd expected, but Halina loves it! She calls it her Purple Princess Room.

Princess Halina

Just about everyday Halina has been getting dressed up in her Princess attire and has us watch her dance. She insists we put on her Princess Music (classical music) while she dances. Her Daddy is a little concerned about her obsession with being called Princess Halina. Her Mommy doesn't see anything wrong with it as long as she knows who the Queen is!

The "Stating the Obvious" Stage has Begun.

Yesterday morning while at the grocery store Halina pointed at a lady and shouted, "Look Mom that lady had crrrr-razy hair!" The lady did have rather large curly red hair that looked like she just rolled out of bed and went to the grocery store. In my embarrassment I quickly turned into the next aisle and told Hallie that we only say that to Mommy and Daddy. We often laugh and tell each other we have crazy hair in the morning, especially Daddy. I guess we need to be careful what we say!
I've been told that this is just the beginning. Oh, the adventures of parenthood!

Quick Trip To San Francisco

Over the weekend we went to San Francisco for Landon's work. We hooked up with Kim (Landon's sister) and her husband Rick who live in Fremont and did a little sight seeing. Halina really loved riding on the bus and seeing all the pigeons on the streets. It was a little rough on me with all the walking. I had a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions and cramping, but overall really enjoyed San Fran!

Our room had a spectacular view of the city and Bay. I hope we can visit again soon since we're not that far away.