Merry Christmas

We hope it's happy, blessed and joyous.

P.S. We could've really used someone behind the camera to coax Hattie into smiling for the picture. Next year, perhaps?

Birthdays

Yesterday was a big one for Hattie and I. She turned one, and I celebrated the last year of my 2nd decade. (Sheesh, that sounds old.)


We had our usual waffles and homemade party hats- in honor of my childhood. My mom always made my brothers and I a birthday hat when we were growing up. And since fairness is of utmost importance when you're a kid, she would go ahead and make everyone else one too.


Edy wore hers almost nonstop. And, I just noticed, she had an obnoxious look on her face in nearly every picture I took. These "yes, we're having a birthday party, but, no, it's not for you" days have been hard for her.


Just in case it was for her, she erred on the side of being overly helpful when opening gifts.


Hattie took making her first wish very seriously.


And she made the sweetest little elephant noises every time she looked at her card from JuJu.

And I don't have any pictures to document the occasion, but my fantastic husband, in an extreme case of amazingness, successfully organized a surprise birthday party for me last night with several of my friends. They even all pitched in to buy me the most fantastically wonderful Kitchenaid Mixer ever.

(Have I said this before?) I am so blessed.

Houston

Ta da! Finally, pictures from our trip to Houston! I told you I would come through.

We had a great time. Jagger and Edy fell even more deeply in love (as in love as is appropriate for cousins, of course.)


We went on bike/stroller rides,




Jake fixed delicious breakfasts and even made Edy her yearly letter "E" pancake (which I completely forgot to do on her birthday and would have felt extra-terrible about if he hadn't already done it).


It was our first time to meet Jax. He was precious, chunky, smiley,


and terribly patriotic.


We went to the Houston Zoo. Yes, it was hot. But Edy got to see tigers and lions and elephants, Jagger saw monkeys, Mindy got her Dippin' Dots, and we all learned the important lesson to never, ever eat lunch at the zoo restaurant.




Mindy has always impressed me with amazing multi-tasking skills, and she did not disappoint this time either. I think she could strap another kid or two on there, don't you?



Before I had kids I always laughed at those people who pushed around empty strollers while their children ran free. However, this trip, we became people who pushed around strollers carrying strollers. Hattie was the only one who stayed strapped in (and that was because she fell asleep). Hint: Strollers at the zoo are a waste of time.


And just because his little rear has always been so cute:


The kids really had a blast.


There was dancing to be done and music to be played.


And a bubble bath that will go down in history.



Thanks to the Houston Smiths for showing us such a good time, and especially to Mindy, who scored these fabulous shoes for Edy. She has worn them nearly every day since.


We love you guys. Now come visit us already!

A Birthday

Edy is three today.


Sniff.

But it's been a great day.

She went to school, her favorite thing.


She came home for pizza, pink cupcakes, and a new shopping cart, ironing board, and princess dress. (I realized we were inadvertently preparing her for the life of Cinderella: lots of domestic work and occasional moments as a royalty.)


Plus Prince Charming, of course.



This is the kid we get to spend each day with. We are blessed.

An Update, Finally.

The combination of me no longer desiring to lug around two kids-worth of stuff plus a 10lb SLR camera in my diaper bag and said 10lb camera's final sad demise due to a worn out "sensor" (that camera has taken somewhere around 50,000 pictures) means that we took a small break from picture taking around the Hall House.

Until...we joined the wonderful world of point and shoot camera users! It's so easy. It's so tiny. It goes with us everywhere. It also takes a bajillion pictures. Now we have lots of going combined with lots of pictures, and once again, an overwhelming amount of photos.

We can't catch a break around here.

Needless to say, I have lots of catching up to do. We've been in Houston visiting Jake, Mindy and family but I'll have to get to that later. I'm going to start with the last month or so and bring all three of my readers up to date slowly. Wouldn't want to get folks too used to anything else.

Edy is turning three this week. She now spends most of her time in some form of costume.

Ballerina,



Princess (Thanks to Raegan Greer for the dress!),



and Southern Belle/square dancer/floofy-dress wearer.


They both love spending time with their grandmas,


their buddies, especially Pax (I don't know why Edy looks so grumpy in this picture. What's not too like? Tent. Check. Snack. Check. Paxton. Check.)


and sharing tasty treats from the ice cream truck.


Hattie prefers pointing, waving, and pointing some more.


She continues to praise the Lord. Loudly.


And loves overly-long, wet, open-mouth kisses.


They are a delight to my heart.

And have I mentioned that Edy is turning three this week?


Unbelievable.

Don't Come to Our House Today

It reeks of garlic, horseradish root, and ginger.

We spent yesterday evening chopping and grating the ingredients for our first homemade tonic, an absolutely horrendously disgusting tasting and smelling cure for the common everything. I took it a few weeks back for a cold, and it zapped it in just a few days. The same cold lingered in my mom for almost two weeks. (She didn't believe in the tonic's healing powers and wouldn't take it.)

So here she is...

One part hot onion, one part garlic, one part horseradish root, one part grated ginger, one part cayenne (we used serrano) peppers.

You soak all those tasty ingredients in apple cider vinegar for a couple weeks before she's fully ready for use. Then strain, gargle and enjoy.


Yes, it tastes like death. But if the plague hits your house, I know who you'll be calling.

For My Mom

We've been so busy lately, blogging has not been top priority. However, to appease my mother, I'm updating the first picture so her in mid-air catching a frisbee in her bathing suit is not the first thing you see. However, if you haven't seen it yet, you should scroll down and look at it. She looks pretty fantastic.


This picture is from our vacation obviously (which I will eventually blog about). It was cool, overcast, almost fall-ish feeling day. It was lovely.

I believe Edy is praising the Lord in this picture. Or at least that's what I like to think.


And here's sweet Hattie, (also praising) and showing off her new, very sharp teeth.

Happy birthday!

My mom turned 55 yesterday.


Doesn't she look great?!?

Weekend at the Morris'

Since we are about to leave on vacation to Florida and the Bahamas (!) in a few days, you can be sure that posts from me are going to be few and far between over the next month. So, in between the packing frenzy, I am squeezing in time to share pictures from our lovely weekend with Josh's family.


We stayed with Josh's step-brother Jesse, his wife Liberty, and their family in their beautiful new home in Jasper.

It was a great time. We enjoyed Jesse's delicious fajitas, took walks, took naps, and caught up. And, to my delight, the dirt road leading to their house was right across the street from the once-famous amusement park "Dog Patch." Ah, memories.


Edy had the time of her life. They had a four-wheeler (her favorite!), their own personal pond for throwing rocks into (also her favorite!) and...


a three-week-old fawn to pet and feed! Heaven on Earth!


Josh and Pat (and Hattie) played and played and played and sang and sang and sang. Endlessly.


Hattie worked on her crawling, which she is now quite good at it, and all without using her knees. It's very impressive.


Outside on the porch. Just minutes before Libery took an ill-fated jog down the road that resulted in a trip to the ER and seven stitches.


And after. Notice the bandage.


Hattie spent a lot of time topless. It was very hot.


And just for cuteness.

Have a great July. See you in several weeks.