mark.annika.hallie.

review of 2011

2012-01-04T21:09:00.000-07:00

hello friends! it's been a while. i've been posting over here quite a bit lately. i get comfy over there and then forget about this here little blog!

so basically, 2011 was reeeeeeeeally good to me. let's review, shall we?

in february, i shared a list of loves. oh, and we found out we would be taking a vacation! safe to say that was awesome!

in march, i wrote some letters. who doesn't love letters??

in april, we had some major reasons to celebrate! and celebrate, we did! twice!

in may, i got my freedom back! and rambled (me??? never!) about how much hallie (and i!) love her dad.

in june, i stuffed my face with cookies, and told you about our life in the country!

in july, we had possibly the best fourth ever! and celebrated mark's 26th!

in august, i rambled (again!) a looooooot about my love for summer. and fedoras. and ice cream with full house quotes.

in september, we visited cabinsweetcabin, and had a mini photo shoot!

in october, we fell in love with fall, and realized our baby is destined to be a nerd.

in november, we had a wonderful thanksgiving, and i posted about my yellow tights over here!

in december, we had an awesome christmas!

well. there you have it. some of my favorite posts from 2011. going through and reading these just reminds my why i love blogging so much!

ps i might be mia for a while, i think i'm going to be posting mostly over at my other blog for a bit! please come by! :)

halliegirl turns 2!

2011-12-12T08:55:00.000-07:00

okay. REALLY??? how is this happening to me?

miss hallie is growing up right before my eyes.

she is such a good baby. and has just changed my life in so many amazing ways.

we had a party for her on sunday night. since i have a final early tuesday morning (i mean 9am early.) i wasn't sure about hosting a party on her real birthday, monday night. instead we plan on taking her to her favorite restaurant (mcdonalds,obviously.) then put her to bed early so i can study....

...... i'm getting off subject....

back to her party.

lots of her family came and ate cake.and showered her with love.

i just can't believe my precious baby is entering toddlerhood. that's not a word, is it.

she looked like such an angel. did she act like one? ahem, that's another story.....

for some reason i feel like suz & i look alike in this picture.... oh and hallie hit the mother-load with presents... our families are so generous.

go here to see the party deets!

our thanksgiving

2011-11-26T09:48:00.001-07:00

looked a little something like this:

it was a pretty perfect thankgiving.

lately i'm loving.....

2011-11-14T20:49:00.003-07:00

+hallie carrying her baby around in a back pack.

+online christmas shopping. totally ordering this for hallie. anything to make the toy story madness stop!

+reading what i was up to last year. where has the time gone??

+hearing hallie yell, "mooooooooooommmm!!!!!" everytimes she wakes up.

+the fact that i can count on my fingers how many times i go to class before the semester ends!

+thanksgiving is next week! thanksgiving is the bomb. (i know, but i couldn't think of any other adjectives.)

+planning hallie's 2nd birthday. i can't believe it! i'm trying to stay really organized since it's smack dab in the middle of finals week. bummer.

+but the good new is.....i just registered for my very last semester! knock on wood.

+christmas cards! they have been so fun. and really got me in the christmas spirit. ahem, unlike last year.

what are you loving?

ps have i EVER used this many exclamation points in one post??? i think not.

a very spooky weekend.

2011-10-31T10:49:00.001-06:00

well this weekend just went waaaaaay too fast.

we did pretty much all of our halloween celebrating this weekend since i have a looooooot of school stuff going on this week. and let's be honest, hallirgirl is just too young for trick-ot-treating. she can't even say trick-or-treat. which means her parents would have to say it.... and that's just plain awkward.

to be honest, trick-or-treating is one of those things i kind of dread when i think about parenting. is that way mean? i just don't think it sounds fun. at all. oh well, i'm sure mark will be mr.fundad (ahem, like always.) and take our halliegirl when she's older. that's what's good about being married to mr.fundad. he does that kind of stuff which means i will be staying home and scaring myself silly with halloween movies.

anyway, sorry about the tangent.

ahem.

this weekend my family had our annual halloween party. we had soup and bread bowls. and my mother's most delicious cinnimon rolls. mmmmmm.

grown ups didn't dress up this year. we all had too much going on. at first, i was all, no. i do not want to dress up. thinking of costumes for mark and me is the last thing i need.

but then. i kind of missed it. so next year, i'm totally gonna be all pro grown ups dressing up.

anyway. photos? yes. here.

these cousins are obsessed with holding hands lately. it.kills.me.

this picture of navy kills me. then freaks me out because it is so her mother that i think i've been transported through time. most likely in a delorean.ha!

so now, halloween is done. except that it's not. so.....

happy halloween!

a christmas card announcement.

2011-10-26T20:54:00.000-06:00

hi guys! so you know about my love for ditigal art, right? go here and here to see some of my stuff!

well, i love designing christmas cards, too....yeah. for fun. (i know. i'm a bit strange.)

anyway. do you need a christmas card? i would love to design one for you! yes, that's right.... YOU! or anyone you know who needs a christmas card- send them my way!

here are some of my designs-

here's how it will work.

you e-mail me.

tell me what design you want. or if you have your own idea in mind... that's great too! tell me! and attach your picture(s) (also mention if you want me to do any editing to your photo!) and spell all the names in your family. and mention any specifics-color change? done. font change? done and done. different wording? no prob.

then i will put your card together, and e-mail you a proof.

you will look it over and e-mail me back telling me if there is anything you want to change.

then i will e-mail you the final card.

and you can print it out to your little heart's content.

oh, and for printing- check out your local printing places. usually they are a lot cheaper and better quality than say, wal-mart. also, see if there is an alphagraphics in your 'hood. i think their printing is totally rad. and their prices are real nice, too. last year i spent 10 bucks printing mine at the the local print shop.

all the designs are $12. basically, just the time it takes to insert photos, names, and editing. which, let's be honest, is going to be a loooot cheaper than ordering from those fancy-pants sites.

don't have your picture yet but see a design you want? e-mail me and i'll hold it for you. first come, first serve! :)

got it? e-mail me!

annj24@hotmail.com. mmkay?

.....but only if you want to! :)

ps i'm real sorry about the fact that our picture is in every.card. are you sick of us yet? yeah, me too.

ps again- if you do want to print at wal-mart, tell me so i can lighten the colors... they tend to print dark.

ps for the last time i promise- i'm soooo excited for the holidays this year! YAY!

falling for fall & our weekend

2011-10-17T09:32:00.000-06:00

this weekend has been full of....

+a scary movie.
+a carl's jr run.
+the season's last batch of peach cobbler.
+playing in the leaves.
+way too much homework.
+taking mark's car for a spin before it's tucked into bed for the winter.
+watching toy story 2 more times than i care to count. halliegirl's obsessed.

+oh yes.... and falling for fall.
we're loving it.

our baby, future nerd.

2011-10-04T22:26:00.001-06:00

i like that my baby loves wearing nerd glasses.

and those crazy curls don't hurt either.

she's her mama's girl.

the end.

a mini photo shoot.

2011-09-26T11:05:00.000-06:00

we don't do family pictures a lot. mark says it's because the camera is always glued to my face. this week maddy and i did a little swap. i did some for her, she did some for me. hallie was being ms.naughtypants. but i still like them. thanks maddygirl!

signs of fall.

2011-09-19T13:43:00.001-06:00

1) yellow leaves littering our driveway.
2) taller-than-me corn, ready to harvest.
3) warm afternoons.
4) followed by chilly nights.
5) happy miss h.

i think we're ready.

has she convinced you?

2011-09-12T10:17:00.000-06:00

hallie is a grown up in a baby's body. she has been an old soul since the minute she entered the world.

(okay, maybe not the minute, my mind tends to block the screaming phase. but certainly the month.)

to fill her days, instead of doing such juvenile things as playing with toys, she:

puts on make-up. (this is her my mother is such an ignoramous face.)

she makes very important phone calls.while carrying a purse.

she wears super high wedges. while, you guessed it, carrying a purse.

she eats hamburgers the size of her head.despite the fact i made her very own mini hamburger...

she insists on wearing my belts.while doing my homework. naturally.

it's safe to say this baby is no longer a baby. and that makes me cry. at least she is a pretty darn cute pretend adult.

cabin sweet cabin.

2011-09-05T10:38:00.003-06:00

did you know my parents are building this amazing summer home slash cabin slash country cottage? it's about 2 hours away in a place very dear to my childhood. and oh, there are gonna be some fun times to be had up there. have you met my family? we're just plain fun. just sayin'.

so this weekend we went up so mark could help with the ceiling. they are covering it with this wood that is going to look amazing. oh, and have you met my mother? she has some rockin taste. everything she does is cute. so you can expect this to be the most adorably decorated cabin/summer home/country cottage ever. EV.ER.

let me show you some photos:

can you not even wait until i have 'after' photos to share? yeah. me either.
oh, and have you met my savannah? she has some rockin dance moves. and no, she won't stop just because you pulled your camera out to photograph whatever is behind her. and that's why we love her.

carson&maddy are so silly.

this place makes my heart happy. for real.

and i'm pretty sure it makes this girl's heart happy, too.

august evenings.

2011-08-24T09:02:00.001-06:00

august started like, 5 minutes ago. and soon it will be coming to a close. i am desperately holding on. unwilling to let go of the magic that is summer.

so much that you will most likely find me crying into my pillow on august 31. i know september will bring a whole new month of good times, beautiful evenings and wonderful memories, but for some reason i feel nostalgic once august ends. it means back to rountine. back to normal bedtimes. back to school. and i will miss these perfect evening outside desperately.

remember that one time i wore a fedora?

2011-08-19T08:30:00.000-06:00

this week some of my family came over and had a picnic at the dam in this little country town we live in. it was such fun. and the kind of afternoon that makes me wish summer would.never.end.ever.

it was just the distraction i needed. here's to wishing i could stay in this safe, comfy bubble the summer has provided.for.ev.er.

ps who can guess which family member compared my hat to an old man's hat?

whatevs.

now i know.

2011-08-16T13:39:00.003-06:00

i'm always 2nd when it comes to hallie's favorite parent. and when it comes to parents, 2nd is last. in case you didn't know.

so the other night after dinner i go downstairs to find this:

hallie in her diaper. eating doritos on the couch with her dad, watching cartoons, (let's pretend it wasn't the simpsons,k?) wiping her cheesy fingers on my favorite white pillow.

light bulbs are going off in my head right now.

he's just more fun.

and i'm okay with that. because when it comes to cheesy, dorito fingers (not to mention adult cartoons) someone has to draw a line.

and draw a line, i did.

over there

2011-08-12T11:52:00.001-06:00

go see about our super short road trip right here. you will not regret it.

okay, maybe you will. it might make you stupider.

reason #118 why summer can't leave me.

2011-08-08T07:00:00.001-06:00

ouce cream on a summer night.

who got that full house reference? i know SOMEONE did. :)

anyway, we go to this adorable local ice cream shop every summer since we've known each other.this year hallie was loooooving it.so much that i think we're going to have make trip #2 before the summer ends. ah, nuts. i'm on fire today.

oh mark.you and your handsome profile. and uncontainable enthusiasm. :)

cookie dough (that would be marks)

oreo in a cup with a sugar cone. (that would be mine)

meeting baby nora

2011-08-06T12:18:00.001-06:00

last weekend hallie got to meet her newest baby cousin, nora. nora lives in colorado with mark's brother and his cute wife. who also happen to be her parents. we were so happy to meet baby nora while she was still a baby! hallie was delighted. and tried tickling baby nora's feet... i'm not sure how baby felt about that. but was very patient!

i can't believe my baby is so big.

go see

2011-08-03T08:52:00.001-06:00

how i cut a rug. :)

hallie's faces.

2011-07-28T11:53:00.001-06:00

we have one expressive little baby on our hands. she's always coming up with new facial expressions that make us laugh. my favorite is her surprised face.but i also love the "i'm an angel. but not really." face. it fools me everytime.

i could squeeze her all day everyday and never tire of it.

ps go check out this post.

let me introduce you.

2011-07-26T22:29:00.001-06:00

to words by A.

ps i'm A.

i explain everything over there.

now get outta here. :)

//summer weekends are my favorite thing ever.//

2011-07-25T10:37:00.003-06:00

remember how we tend to be hermits holed in our warm little house all winter? well i feel like we make up for it in the summer. summer weekends are perfection.

this weekend included...

//lazy saturday afternoon watching toy story//

//date night in+wii+smoothie+milkshake//

//hours of playing catch//

//celebrating pioneer day with family and by stuffing our faces with watermelon//

dear summer, please don't leave me.

well, this is embarrassing.

2011-07-21T08:49:00.000-06:00

on sunday, we had a family reunion.

sidenote- iheartfamilyreunions. especially the kind that mean we get a break from wrangling 10 roudy primary children slash chasing hallie around the church. did i just say that?? um, yes. yes i did.

anyhow,

my older {but smaller} sister and i were complete twinners. same skirt, different color, and exact same shirt. we had no idea. we didn't even know we owned the same outfit. it was a bit embarrassing.

this is not the first time. and it will not be the last.

this has been happening since we were teenagers. and not just with one sister in particular. on any given day, it is more than likely at least two of us will in some way, be coordinating.

i'm starting to wonder if we send out some sort of vibe into the universe when we dress each morning, that only sisters recieve. is that possible???

indoor smores and fhe

2011-07-19T10:29:00.008-06:00

growing up, my parents were close to nazis about monday nights being family nights. no friends. no tv. no phones. no leaving. it kinda worked out though, because when you're a teenager, it's super uncool to admit you like spending time with your family. this way, we never had a choice, and never had to admit we actually kinda liked our family. but we did. the cat's out of the bag.

since moving away from home, sometimes on a lonely monday night when hallie's sleeping and mark is busy, i feel the tiniest glimmer of home sickness, when i realize what my younger siblings and parents are doing. maybe singing? maybe doing the activity? maybe discussing family problems? (which was later turned to family concerns after my mother pointed out it made us sound.... like we have problems. good call, mom.) maybe having fun without me?

so a few months ago when my parents suggested doing fhe with the whole fam once a month, rotating at everyone's house...i was excited.

last night was our turn for hosting fhe. i loved it. these are the times i loooove owning our house. so we can fill it up with people we love. babies running everywhere, little girls playing with their babies, and grown ups having fun together.

we served indoor smores... try them. you will die.

micorwave 5 T butter, 1/4 c corn syrup, 1 1/2 c chocolate chips, and 5 c mallows. stir it up!

pour over 8 c golden grahams, and you have yourself an ooey, gooey, delicious treat. that is sure to disappear in one hour. at least it did at our house.

part of the fam playing don't eat pete. we used to loooooove this game when we were little. however, since our family has grown in size, and therefore also grown in noise level, i'm almost certain we gave the little children a good scare when we yelled "DONT EAT PETE!!!!" i guess we could've warned them.

and yes, i intend to be just as nazi about family night as my parents were.

2011-07-17T22:29:00.002-06:00

that's short for nikon. see what i did there? i know. awesome.

{pretty baby}

{pedicures}

{enjoying beautiful weather}

{famous raspberry pie}

{hallie feeling all grown up in her auntie's bracelets}

{hallie & daddy playtime}

{swinging}

{wore baby right out}

the end of an era.

2011-07-14T09:33:00.004-06:00

i can't believe the final harry potter movie is coming out tomorrow. it seems like just yesterday i was in the eighth grade planning my costume for the premiere of the first movie. long siiiiiiiigh. .(that's a joke) i'll admit, since halliegirl was just a tiny baby when #7 part one came out, i never saw it. i know, get the torches and angry village people. the last was the only one i didn't see in theaters. (wearing a robe and hp glasses.... with a lightning scar drawn on my forehead...) i intend to rent it from redbox one of these days so i can experience the last one in theaters..... even if i am all by myself. and i might cry.

will you see it???

birthday celebrations

2011-07-12T08:57:00.001-06:00

we had such fun yesterday celebrating mark's 26th. we dropped hallie at mark's parents, and headed out on our real.date. mark had been wanting to try chuck-a-rama which just opened up becuase, let's be honest, mark is real good at eating everything in sight. we had a delightful dinner, and even drove the firebird he used to drive when we were dating, but isn't practical for a baby seat. :) it felt just like we were just a couple a kids in love... the we realized we were, only with a halliegirl. then we headed back to mark's parents for cake and singing. the candles pretty much terrified miss hallie. the 4th really traumatized that girl. we had fun celebrating mark.

love that boy.

today is my love's birthday!

2011-07-11T10:30:00.002-06:00

so i'm off to make his favorite cake,

take him lunch,

wrap a few presents,

and decide what to wear on a real.date. tonight.

YAY for birthdays!

good ol' fashioned fun.

2011-07-05T10:40:00.005-06:00

2 family bbqs. car show for mark. swimming pool for hallie and me. a quick trip to idaho for family bonding time. cousin time. more dessert than i care to remember. good conversation. sidewalk chalk. four wheeling while baby slept. star gazing. (minus the stars, plus a ton of clouds and a thousand mosquitos.) fireworks that made baby scream.

a perfect 4th of july weekend.

winnie + keane

2011-06-28T21:42:00.001-06:00

did you know winnie-the-pooh is like.... MY FAVORITE STUFFED BEAR EVER?
did you know i used to have shirts, blankets, earrings, school supplies, stuffed animals, and every other piece of winnie-the-pooh merchandise you could think of?
did you know keane's somewhere only we know is one of my all time favorite songs? (big talk comin from someone who never commits to a favorite anything) i could listen over and over forever.
did you know a genius put the two together for a commercial that rocks my socks off slash makes me sway and cry for my childhood??

silly ol' bear.

now you know.

weekend in photos.... &some words.

2011-06-27T09:36:00.002-06:00

playing outside at (almost) dusk. my favorite time for pictures. much to the dismay of my subjects. (or as mark says, victims. how rude.)

one silly and very tired baby.

distracting said baby with creamy so her parents can relax for 2 seconds at the pool. hallie and i have been to the pool a few times this summer.... but never with mark. and basically, hallie wouldn't come to me the whole time. she only wanted to play with her dad. normally, i would be highly offended, but since this meant that i got to relax and lay out, i was able to look past the rudeness. :)

finally got our bedroom back together. sort of.

curtains and duvet from here. although i actually found the duvet at downeast for an.awesome.deal.

yay for awesome, unexpected deals!

next up- a diy sunburst mirror, and a collage of wall art. i'm thinking something along these lines...

happy monday, my friends!

all about hallie.

2011-06-23T08:58:00.001-06:00

if there is one thing i could talk about slash photograph the crap out of forever and ever and ever, it would by my miss halliegirl.

so let me tell you about hallie and all of her impossible-to-even-take-in-cuteness.

lately she has been learning new words, pretty much every day. my favorites? shoes. i don't know, mom. (yes that's what i like to call a phrase.) navy. (her cousin) okay. mm-hmmm. where is it? there it is! milk. and a billion other super cute things.

she sleeps like a teenager. lemme just tell you about the first five months of life. the child refused to sleep during the day. she slept through the night at about 7 weeks. but would.not.nap. during the day.which meant i got nothing done. ever. now, she's 18 months, and still takes two two-hour naps. and sleeps from 8:30 pm to 9:30 or 10 most mornings. i think she's making up for her first 5 months.

this is a summer baby. she goes crazy about going outside, and she loves the pool so much she can't even contain herself. and she really scares me because she wants to put her face in the water. and has many times.

she's my little helper. as soon as she sees me wiping anything down, like the kitchen counters, she goes and gets her own rag and helps me. then she uses the rag to clean everything and anything in sight. oh, and if you leave a wrapper on the coffee table, she gives you the look of death and throws it in the garbage promptly. basically, she thinks her parents are a a bunch of pigs. my 18 month old judges me. and it doesn't feel good. :)

love that girl.

celebrating dads.

2011-06-20T09:15:00.004-06:00

pretty sure i lucked out in the dad department.

my dad and baby hallie at 2 months

growing up, my dad was the kind that, when his young daughters were afraid to sleep in the basement, would come down and watch tv until every.last.one. of us would fall asleep. i felt so safe falling asleep to the sound of the a game.

as an adult, he's the kind that i call when i need encouragement for school, when i have questions, the kind who takes his son-in-law on semi truck driving lessons.

he's a good man. the best.

mark's dad with baby hallie at 8 months

mark's dad is half responsible for the man i married. that in itself is reason enough for me to feel indebted to him. pretty much forever. and i love that he makes sure no one leaves the dinner table hungry.

i love that he and mark are so close. they call each other all the time, sometimes to talk about the weather, most of the time to talk about cars, and sometimes just to chat.

mark and baby hallie at 7 months
i knew mark would be a good dad when i married him. but i had no idea that he would pretty much be the best dad ever. he makes me a better mom for sure. when i watch him and hallie together, i sometimes feel like i should pinch myself. i can't wait to raise lots of babies with him. ♥

ps seeing those picture of baby hallie, i could cry when i realize she will never be that small again!

14 years ago, a brother came into my life.

2011-06-16T10:32:00.005-06:00

gone are the days..

that i would babysit him, and we would snuggle on the couch and watch emperor's new groove.

or he would beg me to take him outside to play.

or he would sit on my lap during church, asking me to draw 'big trucks'.
or we would play catch for hours.
or play mario for even longer.

gosh this boy is fun. and strong. and cute. and good. and well....has survived life with 5 sisters. bless his heart.

happy birthday to my favorite brother!
(and not just because he's my only!)

a bit under the weather.

2011-06-14T10:06:00.002-06:00

i pretty much always get sick when i'm on break from school. something to do with my brain and psychology and an old professor who claims minor illnesses strike when the brain or body needs a rest. i thought he was a little off the rocker...and still do, nonetheless, here i am.

ahem, sorry, school talk is not aloud on the blog (or anywhere else around me) for the next few months. because i have officially entered my "school does not exist" bubble. professors, exams, textbooks, or anything of the sort, are not aloud.

so hallie and i have been takin it easy. eating cookies. and cheese and crackers.
did you know cheese and crackers are like, i don't know, MY FAVORITE SNACK EVER?!

too much enthusiasm for a snack? yes, i know.

so basically, the point of this post... nonexistent. except to explain my absence. and show you how cute hallie is pushing her shopping cart outside. awww!

i need an antihistamine and nap. over and out.

i've been real busy this week.

2011-06-09T11:36:00.000-06:00

hello friends!

so i've been reeeeeally busy lately.

with important things like stuffing my face with home made chocolate AND peanut butter chip cookies.

yes, that's right, we don't cut corners round these parts.

maybe next week, if i get a break from all this eating and relaxing, i will blog!

but for now, i'm off to watch reruns of my favorite tv shows on dvd.
and perhaps i shall try showering, it is 11:30.
don't judge me. hallie and i have gotten into the habit of sleeping until 10 everyday.

don't be jealous.

life in the country

2011-06-02T10:30:00.004-06:00

It’s been one year since we packed up our little apartment and moved out to the country.

i never pictured myself as a country dweller. i always had dreams of a big city. but then i married a country boy. (who says he may make my big city dreams come true some day) and when we found an old house in the country that needed some love, but was just right for our little family, i threw up my hands and said “i guess i’m moving to the country. dang.”

now there is definitely good and bad that comes with living in the country. what’s that now? you wanna hear more? while i'm at it, let me share some of our favorite views from our yard....

the good
hallie has soooo much room to run and play.and animal watch.
mark has soooo much room to run and play. and work on cars and snowmobiles and do all that other country boy stuff.
the air is fresh. and when i say fresh, i mean smells like cows. okay, this is really a negative.
it’s kinda a simple life. hallie and i stay home and take care of our country house. mark goes to work, comes home and says “woman, fix me some grub.” if this last part were true, he would be a lone country dweller. you get my point.
people wave when they pass, even if they don’t know you.
at night, we can see all the city lights from our front room window. it’s very romantical.
i looooove the view of the mountains from our very own yard.
we quite enjoy the peaceful evenings on the front porch watching a storm move in.

the not so good.
the cows.they are surrounding me. they stare at me. and I don’t like it.
the chickens or roosters, or whatever the heck they are that come into our yard and want to peck me death.
we used to live about 2 seconds from my favorite stores. now we’re about 15 minutes away. good for the pocketbook, but not so good when i wanna run and get something new to wear RIGHT NOW.
the animals in general. i’m not a fan. and i don’t like how they wander into our yard. they really need to learn some manners.
people wave when they pass, even if they don’t know you.
there are some odd people who live in the country. nuff said.

(and no, we are not some of them)

someday i really do hope to make by big city dreams come true. but for now, i would say i’m pretty content out here in the country.

a weekend getaway.

2011-05-31T10:38:00.002-06:00

my sister and i are two brave souls.

part of our fam was up at our grandparents house over the weekend, and since both of our husbands had plans of their own, we decided (last minute) to head up and join them. you will notice the adult/baby ratio was much closer than we usually prefer, but we had no choice. so we packed up the car, (and when i say pack, i mean LOAD. as in there was not room for one more item.) our babies, and headed on a mini road trip. we are very brave souls.

don't worry, we had plenty to distract them with.... a stop for ice cream cones, licorice, plus they got to stare at each other the whole drive. (which they love. strange, but true.)

we had such fun. ms hallie was a bit hesitant when we first arrived, she clung to me and was very shy. that soon wore off.

all she needed was a cookie and to be nakey, and all her inhibitions were out the window. she was running up and down the hall screaming with glee, soaking in the attention of her grandma, aunts, and uncle. my mother then said that it should be her babies doing this.

later we met up with mark, who hallie couldn't have been more excited to see, obvs.

the next day, we headed to my dad's dad's grave in a tiny town that kinda depresses the heck out of me. we go there every year to see my grandpa's grave. ya see, he died 3 weeks before i was born. so i'm pretty sure we high fived (or perhaps a secret hand shake?) each other when we passed each other, him going up, me coming down. so we're basically kindred spirits.

a good weekend. and what i'm hoping was the last of the rain and gloominess.

summer can't come soon enough.

hallie & her dad

2011-05-26T09:56:00.001-06:00

did you know hallie's dad is pretty much her favorite person ever?

every evening while i make dinner, she literally waits by the window, barely tall enough to peak out, and watches for her daddy's truck to pull in. all the while asking me "where is it?"

when he finally pulls in, she can no longer contain her excitement. the squealing and arm waving begins. she waits by the window until he sees her and waves as he walks up the side walk.

then her chubby little legs run faster than i think possible to the front door in order to greet him.

it kinda melts me heart.

then she helps him remove his dirty work boots by pulling at the laces.

when he goes upstairs to change, she is sure the world has ended. she usually lies down on the ground, sobbing and is inconsolable until he returns, scoops her up and tickles her.

then they play catch, read stories, and chase each other in circles until dinner is ready.

can't get enough of watching these two together.
pretty sure i love my life.

something that surprises me about being a mom.

2011-05-23T10:45:00.009-06:00

hallie has been a handful as of late.

as in, she has both of my hands full, and i really could use another.

sometimes i feel like she's testing my patience.

sometimes i feel like she's testing her limits, what she can do before i stop her.

sometimes i feel like she's just so curious, with so much energy, that she can't help herself.

honestly, i don't know what it is. if you've had an 18 month old, i'm sure you do.

but here's the surprising part.....

i go from feeling frustrated and wanting to pull my hair out after cleaning up mess after mess, after she empties every drawer in the kitchen, after she throws a tantrum because i offered the wrong snack, after cleaning bread she stuffed down the heating vent, (where does she get this stuff??) after she runs from me at TJmaxx, all while laughing hysterically, and people staring with sympathetic smiles, (or disapproving glares. yes, i saw them)

then in an instant...

i see her chubby legs, i hear her trying so hard to count, she helps put the kitchen back together, she gives me bunny kisses, she wants to sit on my lap and read a story, she hides her binky and says "where is it?" then pulls it out and yells, "there it is!" she reminds me what being a mother is. it's hard work. it's never ending, it's life-changing. it's all consuming.

and all i want to do is give her a bajillion kisses on those chubby cheeks.

and i realize i wouldn't change it for anything.

baseboards, ceilings, and inspiration. ya know, exciting stuff.

2011-05-19T12:52:00.001-06:00

the first of the week was spent with my neck craned and my shoulders sore.

yep, i painted the ceiling. i cursed a bit. it was haaaaaard work. but now it's over! and my bedroom ceiling is bright white! and i like it!

these pictures are in attempt to show you how massive (and high) our ceilings are. and to get plenty of pity. i kid. we still have some touching up to do. (and i mean mark when i say "we")

then.....

mark got started on the baseboards! with some help from a certain sister's knowledgeable husband. thanks guys! and guess what?? he's over half done with the whole room! mmmm i love them. they are thick, and modern, and white and i looooooove them. and him. :)

so.....

next up, decorating! oh hallelujah! so i'm real excited about this part. buuuuuut i'm still trying to work up a color scheme..... so far i'm thinkin turquise, orange, with a bit of mustard yellow.

(i realize this sounds like the oddest

combination ever... but stick with me here.)

lemme show you some of my inspiration...

ahem, yes i may have gotten some of my inspiration from the target dollar isle, thankyouverymuch. can't wait to put these accessories on our new computer desk! not to mention the ginorm pillow on bed. see where i'm going with this?

this was a gift, and very much not from the target dollar isle. i'm sorta in love with it.
so there ya go. nothing too crazy. maybe white bedding (or possibly striped) with lots of colorful pillows and art?

another thing i'm in love with...

this red basket i found to organize papers and to keep the remote out of grubby little hands!

let me jus tell ya some random stuff.

2011-05-16T09:10:00.007-06:00

i can't get enough of these two cousins together. melt my heart. (we missed mason, but i think three in the chair may have been pushing it:)

sunday afternoons outside are PER.FEC.TION..this is where we celebrate the fact that we made it through another day at church with one naughty-screams-when-we-walk-in-the-church-door-makes-us-chase-her-all-around-the-halls little girl.
ps don't mind our hideous weeds. hello yard work!

speaking of the little darling, hallie is obsessed with vanilla wafers. you can see just how serious she takes these wafers. she wants them for every snack time. and if you try to give her the wrong snack, there's hell to pay.

speaking of new stuff, (i know, i wasn't) my sister ~~in law~~ (side note- i don't like calling these people my in-laws. it sounds so formal. like the only reason i associate with them is by law. and THAT'S NOT TRUE! so don't be surprised if i call the women in mark's family, sisters. because they are.)

ahem, back to the point, she introduced me to this GENIUS polaroid maker. i just downloaded it last night, and i'm obsessed! go get it at poladriod.net. you will not regret it. and have cheap entertainment for hours on end.

okay, i think i've been random enough for one day!

so it begins...

2011-05-12T10:18:00.000-06:00

i've spent this week painting our master bedroom. it's exciting to finally (a year later...) make our bedroom a little more us. but it's been ex.haust.ing. like bad. the walls are gi.nor.mous. and the biggest one was a rust red color that had to primed. then painted with two more coats of paint.

so if you ever hear me talking about repainting our master bedroom, please slap me in my face.

(a gentle reminder would work, too.)

i did the painting while mark was at work and hallie was napping. but since i couldn't reach the highest part on the wall (even with a ladder!) my handsome husband and his 6 foot tall-ness helped me out. and bought us a bed at ikea! love that boy.

anyway, here are some photos.

before-

after-
we went with a light gray. i love it. i can't wait to add lots of colorful artwork, pillows, and fun stuff.

(there are other walls in the room, but since the floor is filled with junk, i'll show ya those later!:)

hallie gets extra needy and clingy every time i work on a project. even though she napped right through all the painting, she felt a little abandoned and needed lots of extra love. so we did a lot of this the past couple nights-

i think i'll do projects more often if it makes my independent hallie want to cuddle.

wanna know how we spent our weekend?

2011-05-09T09:55:00.002-06:00

we played outside. a lot.

we finally had a warm weekend. and boy did we take advantage. because we are now back to rain and gloominess.

our view of the country side.

we went to ikea!!!!

have i mentioned that ikea is the equivalent of disneyland to me??? LOVE.

we celebrated the amazing mothers in our lives. 

how did you all spend your weekend??? i must know.

i'm freeeeeeee

2011-05-04T10:22:00.001-06:00

yesterday was a hum.dinger.

a day i would soon like to forget.

one thing after another, few of which were very pleasant. or went as smooth as i would have hoped.

but now that it's over....

I'M FREEEEEEE!!!!!

(don't be surprised if i randomly repeat this multiple times)

yay. i'm free.

don't get me wrong. a lot of the time, i really like school. i like learning new things and challenging myself.

but sometimes it just gets to be a bit much.

so now the question is, what shall i do with all this free time?

i have big plans.

1) play with this baby. everyday. all day. no interrupting her naps.and no leaving her when she's having a hard day. or leaving her at all. :)

2)take a picture a day with my new, spiffy camera. (who says spiffy?!)

3)paint our master bedroom. and find furniture. and decorate.

4)read a lot of books and watch lots of movies. because i can. (no really, mark's mom has a library of both!)

5)work on renovating our master bath. dread. but i really wanna use the huge bathtub. :)

6)have lots of play dates with hallies cousins.

7)have more family outings.

basically, relax. and enjoy my baby and husband. and life.

because

I'M FREEEEEEEE!!!!!

monday's letters.

2011-05-02T09:17:00.009-06:00

dear hallie,

i L.O.V.E.D our outside playtime this weekend. you are such a doll. and basically the reason for my existence. most of my life, i can't even handle how cute you are. and how much i want to squeeze you.

dear mark,

my thumb is still quite sore from pressing the buttons on the wii remote for such long periods of time while playing super mario for half the night over the weekend. btw, we make an awesome team at defeating bowser. we were basically mfeo. (uh watch sleepless in seattle.)

dear nikon d3100,

um i know we just met and all, but i'm falling hard and fast. you changed my life. the wait (of what seemed like eternity) was so worth it. did i mention i love you? i do.

the celebrations part 2

2011-04-26T12:14:00.011-06:00

after church on sunday, we scurried over the mountain to have a delicious easter/birthday dinner. mostly birthday. no, mostly easter. anyway. it had been weeks since i had seen the whole fam. and it was delightful.

oh and i was such a fan of sharing my birthday with easter. i got to go to church, teach primary kids about the real meaning of the day, think about the real important things in life, and celebrate with my dear family.

oh and thanks for all the happy birthday wishes! i loved every text, phone call, and card! ♥

the celebrations part 1

2011-04-25T17:34:00.004-06:00

okay we are like the luckiest people ever.

1)we have two of the THE best families ever.
2)we live close enough to both of them that we got to celebrate easter with both!
3)they make THE best food ever. literally. two delicious easter dinners, neither of which i cooked? um, yes please. :)

hallie was lovin the easter egg hunt we had with mark's family. she knew just what to do with her basket.

it was precious. and tender. and special.

(i'm out of {good} words today)

and tomorrow will bring the jones celebration! yay!

i know, right? can you say CLIFFHANGER?!

reasons to celebrate

2011-04-22T09:03:00.001-06:00

this weekend we celebrate! both easter and my 23rd birthday! woot woot!

plus a 2 day break from group projects, writing papers, and studying is even more reason to celebrate!

happy easter, friends!

ps that was a lot of exclamation points.

too precious.

2011-04-21T12:43:00.002-06:00

hallie is soooo lucky to have so many wonderful aunts and uncles. 

i especially love seeing her with her auntie savannah. hallie loves savannah. whenever she sees savannah she waves her arms, squeals shrilly, and kicks to get down to play. i have so appreciated savannah playing with her, walking with her, distracting her when she's tired, and taking her down her first slide! love her. :)

purple polka-dot pajamas

2011-04-20T09:52:00.004-06:00

something about a baby in cozy jammies just makes me really happy.

strange as it sounds, pajamas are one of my favorite things to dress hallie in (ahem, only at bedtime). and then i squish her chubby cheeks, give her a million tight hugs, and smother her with kisses. all while she whines, pushes me away and tries to escape my grasp. ah, the joys of being a mother. :)

16 months of hallie.

2011-04-12T21:35:00.001-06:00

my baby is 16 months old today. and i might cry.

can you believe it?!

she's changed so much. and so have i.

here's a little of what miss hallie is like these days....

-loves being outside. tantrums when we have to go in.

-loves snacks

-eats more than most teenagers.

-loves shoes, and must wear them as soon as she wakes up to the minute she goes to sleep.

-says mama, dada, and uh-oh all day.

-loves technology. ipods, cell phones, computers. (i'm gonna bet she's a computer nerd like her mama.)

-carries my purse and keys around while waving bye-bye to me.

-kinda like bob wiley. mm-mmmm-mmmmmm! all though dinner. (is this corn hand shucked?) hahahahha ( if you don't know where this is from, we can't be friends....okay that's a bit harsh. we can still be friends.)

-such a good sleeper! takes 2 hour naps and sleeps from 8:30 to 8:30. i'm loving it.

-loves running around in her diaper. and without when she can get away from me. :) summer will be heaven.

-thinks she's too old/cool to sit in high chairs, karts, or hold my hand.

-very independent child. a little too independent. sniff sniff. tear.

-literally cannot be tricked. you could try, but you would not be successful. i promise.

we kinda like her.

have i mentioned?

2011-04-11T09:52:00.003-06:00

ya know how sometimes you need something that just relaxes you and makes you all sorts of happy?

well lately, i'm obSESSed with digital art. i've been glued to the computer all weekend working on prints. (mark may be planning an intervention....)

here's a tiny peek.
for miss hallie's room

dunno where this will go.... it just makes me happy! :)

i'll share more when i get them done! :)

before and after

2011-04-06T10:11:00.002-06:00

remember what our kitchen looked like on hallie's first birthday?

(sorry about the strange lighting)

well here it is now....

it's not completely done. (is it ever?) we're updating the sink and faucet, microwave, and possibly oven. and i can't wait to paint the kitchen table as soon as the weather warms up!

and now on to our next project....

the master bathroom was like this when we bought the house. it just needs a paint job.

oh, and every thing else. :)

kill me now.

some serious cuteness on a tuesday.

2011-04-05T10:32:00.005-06:00

this halliegirl is soooo sweet. and good. and cute. and smart. but the last few days.... um.... have been a bit rough.

refusal to nap. meltdown in the middle lowe's. near tantrum over sitting in the high chair at olive garden. (so glad i had a dear friend with me, to lessen the blow, and help feed the beggar that is hallie) standing by the front door at home screaming, yelling for daddy, in an attempt to escape.

me walking on eggshells trying not upset the little princess. and contemplating never taking this child out in public again.

good thing she's so dang cute.

ps come back tomorrow for our kitchen before and after, mmkay? fun times! :)

dear you.

2011-03-28T10:46:00.001-06:00

dear mother nature,

i'm real sick of the snow. make the madness stop. i literally dream about summer. then i woke up this morning to this....

and i was sad.

dear hallie,

i'm loving your cheesy smiles. in every picture i take of you lately. i'm also loving your enthusiasm for dogs (and life in general) and how you randomly bark and pant during the day. and how you keep my life entertaining.

dear school,
i'm so over you, i need a new word for over. coming back to you after a 2 week break was like a slap in the face.

dear monday,

i know i used to hate you. and i'm real sorry about that. but these days, i'm a fan.

dear you,
i like you.

the end.

sisterly chats

2011-03-23T10:33:00.003-06:00

i have a research class this semester. which means going through endless research articles, finding ones that meet a certain criteria, then dissecting them.. sounds painfully boring and tedious, right? um, not to me.i thoroughly enjoy it.

i'm kind of a nerd like that.

anyway, i stumbled upon a research article about sisters. and no, i had no reason to read it except pure curiosity.

the study found that women who talked to their sisters regularly were in general happier and more content with their lives.

guess what. i'm not surprised.

i'm off to a lunch with my own cute sisters and mom today. it will be chaotic. there will be babies everywhere. and there will be laughing. mostly likely, a lot of it.

and i will leave feeling happy and light.

(ps sisters-in-law and sister-like-friends count too!)

sunny mexico

2011-03-21T10:07:00.003-06:00

vacation was heavenly. perfect weather. unlimited food. :) private balconies overlooking the ocean. jacuzzi in every room. free room service 24 hours. snorkeling with the fish. collecting sea shells. swimming in the ocean for mark. lounging by the ocean for me. water volleyball for mark. cheering him on for me. the youngest couple with a LOT of retirees. being asked in we were on our honeymoon 50 times a day. we may as well have been.

serious. heaven. now take me back.

Now back to real life. long sigh.

it's all good. we got to come home to this little lady

who i think had a little too  much fun with her grandparents, aunts, uncle, and cousins. but we missed her so. and according to her wonderful grandmother, she was a perfect angel. (i think she's just being sweet)

ps that little halliegirl apparently decided to start walking as soon as her parents left the country!

happy march

2011-03-01T12:17:00.001-07:00

the past few weeks i have taken an unintended break. from life.

my house is in terrible need of a deep cleaning. my school work, shudder, includes chapters of hideously boring textbooks which are waiting to be read. instead i have spent my days lately by:

1)playing with hallie all day. which i looooooove.
2)cooking yummy, warm, comfort food.
3)watching the jazz in my sweatpants with mark and halliegirl.very cozy.
4)not leaving the house.ever.
5)watching it snow ridiculous amounts. (here's to hoping its over)
6)daydreaming about being on a beach. preparing myself to leave miss hallie. :(
7)trying to decide what color to paint one huge, hideous (as of now) master bedroom.
8)loving group hugs.

(hallie's a fan)

9)loving the fact that february is over!

happy march!

love day.

2011-02-14T12:00:00.000-07:00

mark's karma

2011-02-07T10:10:00.004-07:00

my husband is a hard worker.
like a really hard worker.
he's the kind who goes in on sunday to get a car part for a customer.
who stays late when the store is busy, even though he's not getting paid for it.
who the other workers call on saturday mornings when they have questions.
who is well liked by the customers, his coworkers and boss.

and sometimes all of his hard work rewards him in unexpected ways.

(remember the free tv?)

well this week, we found out we would be rewarded for his dedication in an amazing way.

yep. we will be off to cancun for a five day stay at an all-inclusive resort (above duh!) this spring.

free.of.charge. (for us. not so much for mark's boss) :)

i've never been out of the country. i haven't been on an airplane since i was 12. i live a rather sheltered, simple life.

so yes, i am ecstatic beyond belief.

(and i feel like i need to pinch myself. like bad)

grown up baby.

2011-01-27T10:39:00.002-07:00

my baby is still a baby to me. but not to her.

she carries my purse around like she knows what she's doing.

(and a random shoe)

she reads.

she takes care of her baby.

(and only occasionally steals the binky for herself.)

she plays super nintendo with her dad.

(and probably wins)

how can i convince my baby she's still a baby?

a rose by any other name

2011-01-19T10:47:00.002-07:00

remember our name picking problems? (yes, you will notice hallie wasn't even on the list for the first half of my pregnancy) well, i must say. i am completely content with the name we finally chose at the hospital. i quite adore the way the name hallie fits this baby perfectly.

as much as i love it, the name hallie has brought many unforeseen nicknames with it. some unintentionally given by us, some given by other certain family members. but whoever it was that bestowed the nickname upon hallie, does not matter because they all fit her.

these nicknames include, but are not limited to the following:

hal

halliegirl

halliebird*

hal-dawg**

and i love each one as much as the next. 

*because of her bird like tendencies, love of bread and the way she opens her mouth and waits for you to feed it to her... not unlike... a bird. imagine that.

**my mother's reaction to this: gasp, turns to me and says, "did you hear that?" to which i replied, "don't worry, it grows on you." it fits her spunkiness and playfulness, which is not unlike the mad-dawg who gave it to her.

something you should know about hallie.

2011-01-17T16:56:00.001-07:00

hallie is one busy little lady. she has so much to do- pull all the dvds out, rip up my favorite magazines, empty out her entire diaper bag piece by piece, ya know, just for fun- and so little time to do it. she rarely slows down long enough to let me hold her, let alone snuggle with me. but every once in a while, all of this busyness finally wears her out. and she's finally so sleepy she just wants to cuddle. this weekend was one of those times.

this never happens! so when it does, we rejoice!

ps these are literally the only pictures we have of hallie relaxing in her whole one year of life!

your mom goes to college.

2011-01-12T10:50:00.001-07:00

spring semester has started. and with it came whining, self-doubt and (in my defense, small) tantrums.
2 reasons this semester is kicking the crap out of me already:
1. summer. anyone heard of it? it's when normal people take a break from school. me being excluded from the normal people club.
2. i so loved getting projects done around our house the last couple weeks that i wished it could go on forever. then i realized if i quit school, it could go on forever. :(

mark and i have had this conversation multiple times.

me: why am i going to school?
him: because you want to.
me: but i don't want to.
him: then don't go.
me: but i haaaave to.
him: why? no one's making you go.
me: i'm making me.
him: annika. if you don't want to go, don't. no one will think less of you.
me: i will think less of me. i'm getting that stupid degree.
(while stamping my foot and shaking my fists.)

this is one of those times i wish i wasn't the way i am. i wish i could just say, "oh well, i tried. a degree isn't everything." move on. but being the way i am, i told myself i was going to finish. and now i can't back down. but i so wish i could.

the thing you should know about me, i do opposite of what people want me to do. if someone else was pressuring me to finish school, i could probably drop out. but when someone tries to convince me it's okay to quit, the more i know i have to finish. get it? i'm a complex creature.

the bottom line is, i told myself i was going to do something. and there's nothing worse than letting yourself down. i will do it.
(plus i want to do mom, dad, hallie and mark proud)

i heart saturday nights.

2011-01-08T21:21:00.004-07:00

sometimes i laugh when i think about how much my saturday nights have changed in the past few years. when mark and i were dating we always had plans. movies, friends, adventures, and just plain fun.when we got married, it slowed down a bit, but we were still pretty hip. :)

oh how times change.

this is how we spend our saturday nights these days:

reading books from christmas

laughing in onesies. (ahem. just hallie)

 tickling. laughing. spreading toys all over the living room floor.

and i couldn't love our current saturday night habits more.

ps anyone notice a certain change in the background in the first picture? a small-ish project lead to a quick kitchen makeover... the reason for my absence from blogland the past week. :) when it's completely complete i will share pictures!

our christmas

2010-12-30T10:45:00.001-07:00

looked like this:

christmas eve

christmas day

it was perfect. and i can't believe it's already over.

guess who's standing.

2010-12-18T20:39:00.004-07:00

all by herself.

and she couldn't be prouder.

let's get a close up of that face, shall we?

(whoa. that's big.)

now tell me you're not smiling. i dare you.

the big one

2010-12-16T17:59:00.003-07:00

i'm still dealing with the fact that my baby turned one.

i was close to tears (the good kind) the entire day.

she acted excited for the cake. until she realized she had to feed herself.

(hey, nothin wrong with babying your baby.)

she did NOT want to get her hands dirty. she ate it crumb by crumb, or from her daddy's hands.

i made this banner. which i had no time for.

yet somehow all the cutting and glitter kept me sane through the last week of school.

(and yes, i kinda wish college included art projects with tons of glitter.)

yes, there may have been a sugar high after all the guests had left in which hallie and daddy played until she could play no more.

i have a one year old. and it feels weird.

but good.

don't be shy.

2010-12-15T16:42:00.003-07:00

come on into our very humble abode. 

my very talented sister is having a christmas home tour of sorts. i thought i would join in. and you should too. why? because if you look into my house, and i don't get to look into your's, it's just creepy. so do it.

come on in i said!

i'm kinda silly. i don't like too much stuff in my house. i avoid things that are to "decoraty" (yeah, i just made that word up) not because i don't like them, but i find i get sick of them quickly, and they never stay in style. so instead, i like lots of pillows, throws, lamps, and pictures to add visual interest and texture.

i love this wall of pictures. and it's usually the first thing people look at when they come over. the only problem- i always feel like the frames are crooked so i'm always adjusting them. (usually, they look worse after)

(we had this frosty while i was growing up, and i so love seeing and remembering it)

i love this bambi silhouette. it was a pain to make, and took me three trys (first i accidentally tore bambi's tail, second hallie and her slobber got a hold of) but i think it was worth it.

my very favorite thing about our home:

one year ago tonight, i felt like eating pizza.

2010-12-11T20:50:00.003-07:00

and how could mark say no to his almost-one-week-over-due pregnant wife?he couldn't.

as we walked out the door, i had my first real contraction.

mark said we should stay home, see what happens.

i said no. it's nothing. i wanted pizza.

by the time we got to the restaurant my contractions were 5 minutes apart.

we ordered.

and waited. and waited. and waited.

soon the contractions were only 3 minutes apart.

mark wanted to leave. i said no. we paid for the pizza and i was not leaving until we got it.

we took our pizza to go.

we got home and i called my mom and told her this was it.

she told me to go to the hospital and that she loved me very much.

on the way to the hospital, my favorite song was on the radio. i sang along to take my mind off what was about to happen. i was surprisingly calm.

the night was long. i was tired. mark gave me ice chips and tickled my arm the way only he can.

at 5:23 am i heard a cry.

and a proud new dad say "she is perfect."

as they laid baby on my tummy, she opened her eyes and we stared at each other for one whole second.

i will never forget that tiny moment before we both started crying.

it's been one year, and the tears still come.

bah-humbug.

2010-12-07T10:22:00.001-07:00

i have yet to feel the christmas spirit this year.

remember my christmas quest a few years back? this year, i think i need someone to make it their christmas quest to get me in the holiday spirit. (any takers? i kid.) Usually i call mark the grinch. this year, i think it's my heart that is 2 sizes too small. i'm stressed about school, finals, and grades. i need a vacation from my problems.

anywho. here is a picture to spread some holiday cheer.

i think hallie in her snowmen jammies just solved my very-scrooge-like-problems.

turkey day.

2010-11-30T10:04:00.002-07:00

this year we ate dinner with the nevilles, and headed over the mountain for dessert and a movie with the jones'. it was a very happy turkey day.

now bring on christmas.

when did this happen?

2010-11-23T14:02:00.003-07:00

i can't help but wonder how the past year went by so fast.

how did this....

change to this....

so much has changed in a year.

thanksgiving last year, i was cranky, miserable, and about to pop. literally.

as hard as it is to see hallie grow so fast, i can't help but be grateful this year is, well, this year.

a lot about nothing

2010-11-10T12:55:00.005-07:00

lately i've been enjoying....

-the fact that there are only four weeks left of the semester

-hallie in these cozy jammies,

-listening to taylor swift's new speak now cd, bruno mars, and the ready set.

-buying hallie's first christmas present. i can't even handle how cute it is, and keep having to peek at it. my goal- all shopping done in november.

-planning christmas decor for the first holiday season in our new (old) house.

-conan on tbs at 9:00 (the only late show i can actually stay up for)

-planning hallies first birthday next month. i'm not sure if this makes me really happy, or want to cry my eyes out. probably a little of both.

-the fact that i have a ten page test to do, and i'm doing this instead. i make good decisions.

-watching the jazz come back from down 22 to beat the miami heat in overtime. i think it was the best day of mark's life.

-the fact that some things that have been really stressing me are finally falling into place. and i feel light as a feather.

life is good.

a cowboy, indian and kitty

2010-11-03T13:07:00.002-06:00

hallie's first halloween was kind of a sad one. she had a runny nose and was just cranky. she had no patience for her costume. and wouldn't even let me paint her nose on. sad day. next year will be better.

saturday morning cartoons

2010-10-31T15:49:00.000-06:00

this is what i find on saturday mornings when i finally stumble downstairs...

and i'm always surprised at how adorable i find it.

(the fact that mark wakes up with hallie so i can sleep in can only help the adorable-ness)

is this bow too big?

2010-10-22T12:38:00.000-06:00

i very vividly remember a boy in grade school who was a year older than me saying, "whoa! that bow is as big as that girls head!" yes, i was that girl. and how rude. 

ps could my bangs get any shorter?

so you can understand why it's very natural for me to put this bow on hallie. only to have her father point out.... it's as big as her head. yup, this bow is done.

hurt feelings

2010-10-22T12:14:00.000-06:00

my feelings don't get hurt very often. but when they do, they really do.

last night i had to attend a movie/q&a session for school called 8:the mormon proposition. the movie was upsetting to me because of the way it portrayed LDS people. but what really got to me was the audience.

the film showed short segments of general conference and church leaders in other similar settings. a man sitting not far from me and maddy (bless her heart for going with me) laughed in a mocking way each and every time a church leader was shown speaking. especially president monson.

laughing at him, is laughing at me.

and that hurt my feelings.

a day in the life of little miss tea party.

2010-10-05T15:26:00.003-06:00

she laughs.

she crawls.

she stands. (with her eyes closed no less)

she makes messes anywhere and everywhere.

such a drama queen.

2010-09-28T15:49:00.003-06:00

the hardest part about going to school, is leaving hallie twice a week for a couple hours. it's really not that big of a deal... she has two wonderful grandmas and a playful daddy that i know she looooves spending time with while i'm gone.

the problem is, i miss her.
the problem is, i occasionally see a mom and baby on campus, and it hurts my heart.
the problem is, when any of the cute girls in my class act slightly interested in Hallie, i:
a) start telling them the cutest thing she did, which leads to a smart thing she did, which leads to me telling them that my mom thinks she is an advanced baby. and that a random person in Ross told me she should be on a commercial.
b) pull out my wallet and start showing pictures of her to anyone and everyone who feigns interest.

yep, i'm officially one of those parents.

a first date that wasn't really a date.

2010-09-22T12:52:00.004-06:00

Remember how i met mark? well, four years ago from today, we went on our first date. it really wasn't a date. it all passed in a blur. at the time it never occurred to me that i would want to remember this non-date. but i do remember a few very important things.

he picked me (and my room mate) up in black betty. see my cute room mate was in the class that i had to go to the debate for, so we assumed we'd go together, and i didn't want to leave her. plus it wasn't a date. :)

I immediately fell head over heels in love with black betty. (his truck)

we went to the debate. i was bored. mark listened intently.

then we took my room mate home (at her insistence)

we ate at center street grill.

he wanted to pay for my food. i wouldn't let him. (a phase in which i would declare my independence by buying my own food. don't ask.)

i remember where we sat, (we still sit at that exact table each and every time we go there.)

i remember sitting there, listening to mark tell me something with a big grin on his face.

i remember thinking that is good smile. that is a smile i could get used to seeing.

we talked about a lot of things. his love of cars. i impressed him with my (although limited) knowledge of old cars. (thanks dad)

we laughed. at things i can't recall.

we ran into one of his brothers.

we said good night.

I had noooo clue four years later we would be married with a Hallie.
I'm so lucky.

3 weeks of summer

2010-09-07T15:08:00.009-06:00

this summer wasn't exactly care free. so i intended to live up my three week school break. and live it up i did. i was living on edge. don't believe me? read on and decide for yourself.

first super exciting thing i did... i made curtains for our family room. i know, right? what's more exciting than making curtains?

i searched high and low for decorators fabric. all the cute ones were too expensive. finally i found this pattern at hobby lobby for 30% of $8.99. i used this tutorial. and love how they turned out. (for about $30!)
need a better look?

i finally got around to (almost) finishing hallies room...

(fill ya in on that long process and more pictures another day!

left hallie with mark to go see a good movie with a good friend...

painted the bathroom a blueish/turquoise (show ya those pics later too)

went shopping with the lovely ladies in my life... mom and sisters ♥

had a fun girls lunch (the first at my very own house! yay)

and of course, tried to keep up my now-mobile little lady.

and now i'm back to this...

(think i spent a fortune on books? yes, i did... and they're used. and i'm bitter.)

long sigh.

this is maddy.

2010-08-27T15:17:00.003-06:00

(maddy and me at shannons birthday lunch)

maddy makes me laugh.

maddy is sweet.

maddy understands.

maddy is my secret keeper.

maddy laughs at my jokes.

maddy helps me with hallie.

maddy is blunt. In the best way.

maddy loves kids.

maddy always dresses dar-LING.

maddy is adventurous.

maddy saves lives for a living. J

maddy is thoughtful.

maddy is special.

maddy is my baby sister.

maddy is moving to college.

maddy is living in the exact same apartment I lived in.

maddy is in for the time of her life.

maddy is as close to perfection as a sister gets.

hallie is

2010-08-24T09:42:00.020-06:00

hallie is waving.

hallie is crawling.

hallie is causing mayhem where ever she goes.

(at least she has decent taste)

beatle mania

2010-08-18T13:42:00.008-06:00

A few weeks ago, i couldn't sleep. i was thinking about nothing in particular. for some reason, my mind wandered to the beatles. i could not remember the 4th beatle. you know, the one no one talks about. not paul... hello, everyone knows paul. not john. he dated yoko. not ringo. he's the drummer slash really unfortunate looking one. it was a head scratcher.

the next day, still thinking of the beatles, i googled it. george harrison! helllllooooooo! anyway, i got sucked in (by no fault of my own) to reading the beatles biography. which really got me on a beatles kick. i listened to them on my ipod all day, i watched a documentary on VH1. i was in attendance of an impromptu beatles sing along around the computer at my parents house.

why the infatuation with the beatles you ask? i dont know. possibly the catchy melodies? paul mccartney's heavenly voice? their good looks? (with the exeption of ringo...) the fact that my dad taught us their names and faces by using this cd pamphlet and expected us to remember them, all so he would have beatles-educated daughters? probably all of the above.

if i would have been born about 35 years earlier, i just know i would have been that girl on the front row at their concert, crying. yep, that woulda been me. so when i found this for baby girl...

i about died and went to heaven.

(hallie showing off her latest trick. so big)

yep, pretty sure the beatle mania will go on for generations.

this is just sad.

2010-08-12T09:49:00.011-06:00

my blog is just sad. I have been MIA. with good reason. a new (old) house, a baby, and a full semester of summer school are all pretty alright reasons. but guess what. i'm baaaaaack. for good.

my baby is eight months old today. moment of silence for tears slash sniffling. everyday i think if she gets any bigger or any cuter, i will just die. and everyday, she does. yet i still go on living. somehow.

can we just talk about hallie and how ridiculously adorable she is for just one minute?

hallie's favorite past times are looking at herself in the mirror, eating applesauce, tyring to crawl, making random but very important phone calls on my cell phone, making friends everywhere she goes, and eating paper.

this picture pretty much says it all:

yes i made her wear this bonnet. yes, mark laughed. and no, she will probably never forgive me.

don't worry. i didn't make her were it the whole time.

just look at this face.

ok. i'm done gushing about how precious my baby is.

next topic: our summer. this summer's activities include, but are not limited to:

the afore mentioned new (old) house. we love it. after i got used to cows staring at me when i unload groceries. projects galore.

a trip to idaho for a friend's wedding

hallie's first 4th of july

celebrating mark's 25th b-day.

enjoying evenings out on the porch.

swimming adventures

plenty of cousin time...

with manly mason

darling Navy

and beautiful Savannah, Sophie, and Eva

and sister-in-law time

yup, shaping up to being a pretty good one.

This Week

2010-06-10T16:32:00.004-06:00

We celebrated our 2 anniversary. By cleaning our apartment and house and unpacking. How romantic. Not to worry. We are now headed for three days of relaxation. No homework. No cleaning up after other people. No painting. No unpacking. No stressing. just me, my guy, and baby girl. it will be heaven.

My Life

2010-06-02T09:45:00.009-06:00

Is a little crazy. between packing, painting our house (yay), a full load of schoolwork for me, 11 hour work days for Mark, and taking care of a not-so-low-maintenance-but-makes-up-for-it-in-cuteness baby, we are a little insane at the moment. But we have found some time to.....

Attend Maddy's graduation.... (have i mentioned that i love her to death? becuase i do.)

Spend a relaxing weekend in Soda Springs.... (we were still waiting for the keys...we're not slackers)

Hallie found a new hobby....

And a new talent.... She sits!

Mark and Hallie got some quality time while i went to maddy's seminary graduation.

All this action just about wore my poor baby right out! (if you know Hallie...this NEVER happens)

Kind of a Big Deal.

2010-05-28T09:25:00.003-06:00

Today. we. will. buy. our. first. house..... so. excited!!!!

Rainy Day Blues

2010-05-11T15:05:00.004-06:00

One word. Melancholy. I don't know if it's the rain. I don't know if it's the fact that summer semester starts in less than a week. I don't know if it's Hallie's extra crankiness, which only adds to my own crankiness. Maybe it's Mark's extra long work hours, which leaves me staring at the door hoping he comes home early. It's sad. It's beyond sad. It's pathetic. Maybe it's the fact that I wear sweat pants all day and listen to depressing music. Yup, that can only worsen the melancholy.

Today I decided to snap out of it. I put on some happy girl music. The kind Mark hates. I did my hair and put jeans on. I went to DI. I found two pairs of baby gap jeans, a brand new frame, and a few other fun things for a total of $9.50. I so love a good bargain.

PS I have no reason to feel melancholy.

My first Mothers Day was perfection.

Four Month Old Hallie

2010-04-13T13:50:00.008-06:00

This girl already has quite the little personality. She thinks she is all grown up. She already hates laying down and has to be able to see everything that's going on. She loves making noise and kicking her chubby little legs. She thinks her parents are here just to entertain her. :) She's very alert and has to be coaxed into going to sleep. She loves staring at the TV remote, her Dad's Mountain Dew cans, and herself. She giggles every time we put her in front of a mirror. She loves peek-a-boo and her fluffy pink bunny. My favorite part of the day is when I hear her talking in the morning, as soon as I peek over the side of her bassinet she giggles, kicks her legs and waves her arms. You just don't get that excitement from any one else in the morning. She can be a handful at times, but makes up for it in cuteness. :)

She's eating rice cereal. We have a hard time keeping her tummy full.. she's hungry ALL the time. So I am loving the fact that she can start with cereal, and then baby food in few weeks.

I always want her to cuddle up on my lap. Instead, she grabs my hands and pulls herself up. Apparently, cuddling with Mom is for babies. Younger than 4 months.

She is rather precious though.

We heart those blue eyes.

She smiles all the time, except for the camera... this one of the few smiles we have caught.

{Yesterday}

2010-04-09T17:14:00.003-06:00

Yesterday, my blender broke. With frozen fruit, milk, and yogurt in it.
Yesterday, my baby had a runny nose.
Yesterday, I had a cold shower. Our water heater turned off for no apparent reason.
Yesterday, our internet stopped working.While I was waiting for an important e-mail.
Yesterday, I sat on the bathroom floor and cried.

Yes, I'm glad it's today.

Our Love Floats.

2010-03-24T14:46:00.002-06:00

I don't deserve my wonderful husband. He is too good to me. Here is why:

-He sent me a postcard that had a picture of cache valley and a sweet note written on the back when we were in college and I complained about never receiving mail.

-He makes my laugh.

-Back in the days when I moved all the time, he always helped me pack and unpack. (and when i say help, I mean sit and talk to me while I did all the work:) Refer to the photo below.

-Him and his Mom made and gave me the quilt below for Christmas when I used to freeze my fanny off when my roommate wouldn't let us turn the heat up in the blistering cold months of winter. Poor college students. We still cuddle up underneath it for movies.

-He gets up early with Hallie on Saturday mornings so I can get a few extra hours of much needed sleep.

-He lets me use the "Well, I had your child so you owe me" excuse. And sometimes, he even uses it for me.

-He's so cute with kids.

-He looks hotter than James Bond in a tux. :)

-He drives this chick magnet...need I say more?

-When it comes to Hallie, I tend to freak out, cry, worry, obsess, then cry some more. And he just hugs me.

-He has always been there for me.

Hallie's Favorites

2010-03-12T10:30:00.006-07:00

3 months ago today, this beautiful little girl came into our lives. Some of her favorite moments... (which, let's face it... are actually my favorites)

Watching TV with Dad...

Meeting some Great Grandparents...

Having pictures taken with cousins...

(don't let the fact that they refuse to look at each other fool you... they loved every second)

Wearing matching clothes with Navy...

Obviously, they can hardly contain their excitement. :)

Taking baths...

This is the look Hallie gives me her entire bath. Everyday. You would think she would be used to it by now...

I just love her chubby tummy in this one

Smiling at her Aunt Savannah for quite some time...

Having Grandma Jones come visit...

Looking insanely cute.... (that's a given)

Hallie's Blessing Day

2010-02-12T11:44:00.006-07:00

The Baby

The Company

A Perfect Day.

Dear me.

2010-02-08T14:17:00.003-07:00

I received a letter in the mail addressed to me, in my own handwriting. I knew right away what it was. When I was sixteen, I had a seminary teacher who had all of his classes write a letter to themselves 5 years down the road, where you think you'll be, where your family will be and stuff like that. He saves them, then sends them out 5 years later. I got mine about a week after Hallie was born. I have read it several times and laughed out loud pretty much every time. I took the assignment very serious, took days to think about what to right. And I'm pretty sure I was the only one nerdy enough to make a few drafts before I finally handed it in. So the genius that is this letter was not reached in just one sitting. :)

Here it goes:

Dear Annika,

Wow.You are 21. that's old. I hope you are living it up. I hope you love being 21. Right now, I can't picture it. It seems impossible that so much time will have passed when you get this letter. I have no idea what you'll be doing, or where you'll be when reading this. People ask me what I want to do with my life. I'm 16. give me a break. Some of my goals as of now: Get through high school with as much grace and non-awkwardness as possible. and love it. get some college done, (even though you love freaking Mom out by saying you are going to go back east to be a nanny...) I hope I have a passport with a stamp. (actually, I'm really not sure what it takes to get out of the country, but this is what Lucy says on "While You Were Sleeping", if it's good enough for Lucy, it good enough for me) You might be married. But it you're not married, with no boyfriend, or prospects, you might as well start collecting cats. and maybe take a knitting class. that was a joke. (i hope you still pick up on sarcasm)

I hope you've grown up. But I hope you still remember me. the 16 year old version of you. The one that laughs harder at her own jokes than any one else. the one who loves nothing more than buying a new pair of jeans. The one that got her cell phone taken away last night for talking on it too late at night. I hope you remember this exact moment, of me sitting in my desk in seminary, wearing my favorite abercrombie jeans and red lucky brand shirt, and being a little bit scared of the thought of ever moving past 16.
I hope life is good at 21. I hope you laugh. alot. you liked laughing when you were 16. I hope at 21, you've let go of the insecurities that held you back at 16.

I bet the family is a lot bigger. I bet Cami will have more kids, and I bet Shannon will be married, maybe with a baby. I bet Maddy hasn't changed at all.execpt she'll be driving. maddy in the drivers seat? I dont like the thought of that. I hope you two are still close. I hope you still laugh and act stupid together. Carson must be so different now. I bet he's still adorable though. Savannah will still be the center of attention, I'm sure. And I bet she's very mature for her age. Mom and Dad. Hmmm. I thought I was old at 21. They'll be ancient by the time I get this. Probably in a nursing home or wearing out their welcome at one of our houses. (the sarcasm again) I'm sure they are doing great and i hope you're still real close to them both.
No matter where I am, what I'm doing, I just hope I'm loving every second.

Much Love,
Me

Miss Hallie

2010-01-24T17:48:00.004-07:00

Thanks Martha and Cami!

Hello 2010

2010-01-12T15:23:00.004-07:00

This morning I was watching Good Things Utah. This show is a recent discovery for me. I used to hear my Mom and sisters talk about the cute things/ideas they saw on the show. Secretly, I thought I was too cool for Good Things Utah. I never had the mornings to myself to watch TV, but the rare occasion I did, I chose music videos on VH1 to keep up to date on the new music. Turns out watching the same music videos every morning while I feed Hallie gets very old, very quickly.
So I succumbed to Good Things Utah. Anyway, back to the point. They were talking about goals. When I lived at my parents house, every January, we sat down for FHE and wrote goals for the new year. I'm ashamed to admit, that since my senior year, I have not set any goals. Sorry Mom. I would blame the non-goal-making partly on the fact that I never accomplish the goals I set, and partly on pure rebellion. :) Such. A. rebel.
The cute girls on Good Things Utah suggested a few goals that caught my interest that I just might give a whirl...

1.Think of 3 things you are grateful for everyday. This is just good sense. I have a lot to be grateful for, and I really should be better at acknowledging this.

2. Hug someone everyday. (this is my favorite.) I am so NOT a hugger. It's not so much that I hate hugs. I just don't hug. One of the things I was most stressed about when I was engaged, (this is so sad) was who to hug in the line at the reception. It's just awkward. What if you go to hug someone and they wanted a hand shake, and then you're embarrassed, and they're embarrassed. it's just not good. I had to tell my Mom to stand before me in the line, so I could follow her lead. Plus, I'm just not good at hugging. Everytime one of the kids in my family does one of those hugs, (ya know where they just come up to you and stand there because their mom told them to, and wait for you to hug them) someone just has to say "Oh, you hug like Annika!" Nice. Also. How long to hug someone??? After my baby shower, my Mom teased me because she said she saw me hug someone, and I tried to let go, but the person I was hugging, didn't. they just stood there hugging, while I tried to get away. Oops. I didn't realize anyone saw that.

This is all about to change.

So these are my 2 goals. And I will do them. Mark my words.

PS Oh, and if you see me this year, and I come give you an awkward, handshake slash hug that's shorter than normal, you'll know why.

She's 1 Month

2010-01-12T15:10:00.003-07:00

And now I'm going to go cry into my pillow.