Dear Halle on your (almost) second birthday!

Dear Halle,

It is ALMOST your second birthday! We can't believe it. I feel like we were just bringing you home from the hospital, literally. In fact, maybe that's why you woke up a million times last night? You wanted to remind us what it was like to wake up with you all.night.long. No worries, we still love you!

Here is what I know about you:

-You love Mickey and Minnie. You lost your mind when we took you to Disney on Ice last week. Seeing Mickey skate out in front of you was so exciting for you!

-Aunt Julie is still your BFF. I don't see this changing anytime soon.
-You demand milk and cheese as soon as we walk in the door from daycare. (maaalllk!!!! cheeeeeeeese!)
-You won't sleep without your baby doll, Greta.
-Building with blocks will keep you busy for at least an hour.
-You wear a size 2t (with the waist ALL the way cinched in) and size 5 diapers
-Whenever you see stupid puss you instantly say "no no, kitty!"
-Dogs scare the daylights out of you
-Whenever daddy farts you always say "POOP?!" as if it is question on whether or not daddy did in fact crap himself. (No worries, I sometimes wonder the same thing when he does it
-You hardly eat anything. Ever. But you are still growing so I guess you are doing ok
-When mommy lays her head on your lap at night while you are drinking your milk and watching toons, you always run your fingers through my hair. I love every second of it.

Your daddy and I are crazy about you! Hopefully by your third birthday you will have a baby brother or sister ;)

Love,
Mama

30 days of thankful.

I thought I'd just do a blog post with everything I am thankful for this week.

1. I am beyond thankful for my growing relationship with God. I am thankful for an amazing church that has truly changed my life!

2. I am thankful for being a parent. I am so glad that God chose ME to be Halle's mom. She is the best thing that I have ever done in my life. No one can make me laugh or cry quite like she can. Being a parent is the hardest, and best job I'll ever have. I am so thankful everyday for her.

3. Matt. He drives me crazy, and I really want to cut his giant beard off of his face - but he works his butt off for his family. I don't know many people who work 50+ hours a week and don't even complain.

4. Safety. This morning was a rough ride into work. I don't usually mind driving  - but I saw 3 accidents this morning. I am so thankful that I was not one of them.

I love this little face.

dear halle

Dear Halle -

I can't wrap my head around the fact that you will be two soon! You are quite the character these days and I love it! Let's talk about what is going on with you lately....

You hate your halloween costume. It is a simple lady bug, and you are terrified of it. Thank goodness your cousin Hannah is crafty, she is going to make you a tu-tu. I am dressing you in halloween colors and calling it a day.

You still LOVE watching Toy Story. If I turn on the tv and don't put on Woody you will bring me the remote and yell "WOOOEEEY!" (Woody).

Your Aunt Julie is still your best friend. I don't forsee this ever changing. You start yelling "JU!" the minute we turn down her street. We are still working on getting you to say "Roq" for aunt Roquel, but you haven't spit that out yet :)

Whenever we ask you a question the default answer is a very enthusiastic "no!" Which usually means yes. When you say no and really mean it, we know!

You have really turned up the notch with the tantrum throwing lately. We still love you, don't worry.

Talk of a baby brother/sister is on the horizon, so please don't hate us when another little person graces us with his/her presence.

We love you, Halle!

Dear Halle

Dear Halle,

You are quickly approaching 19 months!!! And my how your attitude is changing :) You are quite the sassy pants! Most of the time it is funny. Most of the time.
This morning you got so mad at me because I was putting your hair in a pony tail. But, it was 6:15 and daddy had just got you woke up for the day, so I don't blame you. The pouty lip is priceless.

I just discovered that you don't like honey nut cheerios. I've only been trying to feed them to you for breakfast for about a month. Whoops!

We took you to the campground this weekend to hang out with Grandpa Bruce and you loved it. He gave you some random things from the camper to play with. Your favorite? A bungee cord. You wouldn't put it down! You carried it around your shoulder all afternoon. Grandpa insisted that you take it home with you, so you held onto it in your carseat the whole way home.

You also love to carry mama's wallet. You are quite the diva carrying around a Coach wallet while we shop at Hy-Vee.

I should also note here that you HATE wearing sandals. Particularly jelly sandals. Not sure what they ever did to you, but you strongly dislike them. When I try to put them on your feet you start crying and yelling "nooooo!!!!". No worries, I gave them away to your friend Bristol. I know she will appreciate them more than you did :)

I finally got you to keep your sunglasses on for more than 2.3 seconds.

We love you, little girl!

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Linkup with Holly!

So the details:  June 13th. Alumni weekend in good ole Newton, IA!

Location-- Our old church and then reception at the Ikes. Complete with various animal heads on the wall :)

Bridal Party-- My sister, sister in law, and niece. Matt had his brother, friend, and my nephew. It was perfect!

Colors-- Black and hot pink. 

First Dance-- Alan Jackson - Like Red on a Rose

Honeymoon--What honeymoon? We were so broke! what has changed? I was in school full time and waiting tables. We could barely afford our 500 sq. foot apt :)

What Would I Change?-- The fact that I didn't junk punch my mother in law for showing up with her own photographer and COMPLETELY insulting my photographer in the process.
Just kidding, I wouldn't junk punch. or would I????
I would have made it much more low key and stood my ground on how many guests I wanted to invite. (which would have been way less than we actually had) Oh well, it was a great day!

So What!

HI FRIENDS!!!!  Today I'm saying So What!

So what if I just discovered the awesomeness of mangos (mangoes?). I bought a bag of frozen ones at Hy-Vee and they are delish!

So what if I was slightly annoyed that they don't thaw out in 30 minutes like the package says? Oh well, still good.

So what if I think my daughter is funnier than anyone I know. Baby girl can make me belly laugh like no one else. or maybe we just have the same sense of humor.....

So what if I paid and extra $3.99 to have my hair dryer delivered to my house by tomorrow (order placed this morning) when I was already getting free 2 day shipping. Side note, a free trial of Amazon Prime for 30 days is AWESOME!

So what if I am anxious about a job I interviewed for yesterday? It isn't looking promising that I will be able to work from 8-4:30. Darn it.

So what If I care more about where Halle spends her day than where I spend mine? Meaning our daycare is more important to me than working in a different department. #mamaproblems.

So what if I want to do a whole post about "a day in the life of a claims adjuster" but won't because I fear it will be exposed to all the wrong people :)

So what if I struggle with just being content?

So what if I spend entirely too much money on coffee? I should really quit that habit!