No more monkeys...

I have never tried to upload a video, but found this one and thought I would share. It was midnight in this video and we had been driving home from San Diego for almost 9 hours with our new two week old Presli. As you can see both Trav and Hali were getting a little silly by this point!

Happy Halloween 2009

Kids sure do make holidays much more fun! This year for Halloween Hali was a ladybug and Presli was a little leopard. Because Halloween was kind of celebrated throughout two days we got to fit in a lot of fun activities. Friday I took the girls to Panorama Elementary (where I use to teach) to go watch the kids in their Halloween parade. It is fun to go back to see how grown up my old students have gotten, and to see many good friends I made while teaching. It is weird that in a couple more years my old students won't even be going to that school anymore - crazy how fast time goes by.

After the parade we headed to daddy's work to trick or treat to the residents in the care center. Because of the swine flu they aren't allowing anybody under 14 in the facility, so instead many of the residents lined up their wheel chairs outside and handed out candy. Hali wasn't understanding the 'trick or treat' concept, but knew she wanted a sucker (because I told her on the way over that she could get a sucker in her pumpkin bucket if she said "trick or treat"). So instead of saying "trick or treat" she would say "sucker". All of the residents dug through their candy to find their suckers to give to her. She was very successful in getting many suckers, and was thrilled to carry around her pumpkin bucket full of treats the rest of the day.

Saturday was a pretty relaxed day. My mom came down to see her grandkids all dressed up and suprised them with fun treats and toys. Hali was very excited to have Grandma stay with us. Halloween night Hali got to jump with her cousins in the bounce house that was at Grandma and Grandpa Hoopes house for their ward party. Before and after the party she was thrilled to have the whole thing to herself. She also got lots of candy at the trunk or treat. It was so much fun to see how excited she would get everytime she would get candy put into her bucket.

I was waiting to post this until I had my pictures working, but it may be a while so at least you can read about it for now, and see the pictures later.

One Proud Daddy!!

We went boating quite a bit this summer and on our final trip Trav decided he needed to get Hali up on the board. So here she is at 20 months old wakesurfing! She didn't love it, but mostly because she was out of the water and wanted to be in the water swimming. Travis on the other hand was on cloud nine knowing his daughter has a bright future in his favorite sport. You couldn't wipe the smile from off his face! Way to go Hali bug you made Daddy so proud (and Mommy too)!

One Month Old

The face I get when she is starving

Loving the steam from the shower

Nice and clean after her bath

Hali holding her baby sister "Sesli" (the only time she has held her at home)

Listening to Daddy's advice

Grandma and her girls

The famous 'Presli pucker'

Her hands are always by her face

Again with the pucker

Happy with a full tummy

Mama's sweet girl

She really likes her swing

Our sweet Presli is one month old today, and I am already sad she is growing up so fast. Here are some fun things we have learned about our new addition this past month.

-She loves her head rubbed (and we sure love rubbing that fuzzy little head).
-Her right tear duct is clogged on her eye (just like Hali's was). I am always cleaning it so it looks pretty sore. When she wakes up in the mornings it is always stuck, I hate it!
-She LOVES to be held, and loves her back patted.
-She has an awesome mullet with just a little on top, and a good amount in the back. Her hair is darker (more black) than Hali's was, but like her sister's is extremely curly.
-She doesn't really like to be swaddled and always wants her hands right by her face.
-She nurses like a champ and eats every three hours or sooner.
-Her lips are always puckered.
-She will be completely asleep and just out of nowhere will just cry as loud as she can and will be asleep one second later.
-She likes her binki, but will not take it when she is really hungry.
-She looks more like her mom as a baby where Hali has always looked more like her dad. She is a Barney baby.
-She does like the swing and has taken some very long naps in it (like four hour naps).
-She loves to sleep in our bed. Anybody who knows me knows that it is my rule that our kids don't sleep in our bed, but while she is so young I am allowing it for the last stretch of the night (5am-8am). Let's face it at that point I am just too tired to care!
-In her short life she has already traveled about 25 hours in the car and did great.
-She is always sticking out her little tongue and smacking her lips.

We just love this little girl so much! She is such a good baby, and we feel very blessed and lucky to have her in our family.

Four Week Whirlwind!

I cannot put pictures up right now because it won't work, but before I get too overwhelmed with being behind on updating I thought I would just give a quick update of our lives these last four weeks.

First, we welcomed our sweet Presli to the family (as you already know from Travis' updates). Second my Grandpa Barney passed away the same day Presli was born. He was an amazing man and we will miss him very much. When Presli was only two days old we traveled to Richfield so we could make it to the funeral.

The following week was full of trying to adjust to two kids, lots of Dr. appointments while trying to recover from the weekend trip and a c-section (thank goodness my mom was here to help).
Next I braved heading to San Diego for a whole week for the anual October vacation. Everybody was very helpful with both of the girls and we had a great time, but it is always nice to be home.

This is my first week home alone with the girls and we are just trying to get back into some sort of routine. Hali is very kind to her sister and always says "oh she's cute", however, she is very sensitive when Presli crys. Generally when one is crying it is pretty much a given that very shortly they will both be crying. I am hoping with time she will get out of this stage. The hardest part about it all is that I am unable to pick up Hali. I knew this would be a challenge even before having Presli, but I never thought I would struggle with it so much. How do I explain to my 22 month old that I can't hold her, but then I pick up the baby? She has had a hard time understanding that mommy has an 'owie' that makes it so I can't pick her up. However, only a couple more weeks and hopefully we will have some sort of normalcy again.

I have taken so many cute pictures of our family so I will get them up as soon as I can!

I Love My Grandpas

Presli already loves her grandpas, and I think they are quite fond of her too!!

My Girls(Lindsey didn't even know I know how to do this)

Check out these girls. They totally rock. I am totally happy to have these three girls in my life. They are the best and I love them a ton. Lindsey you are so tough, you always amaze me. Hali makes me laugh, and Presli already has me around her tiny finger. These girls are so awesome, and I am so happy to have them in my life!!! Love you!!!

Love, Travis and "Dad"

Presli has entered the buidling!!

Presli made her grand entrance Wednesday September 23, 2009 at 9:41 a.m. She was 19 inches long and 7.4 lbs. She is so adorable, we are really excited to have her.

Baby Sister is Coming!

The date is set, Presli will be here September 23rd! I am scheduled for a C-section just one short week from today; unless of course she decides to make her debut before then. We will keep you posted...

22 Months Old

ALL ABOUT HALI
*She is really into ‘owies’ and trying to find the ‘owies’ she doesn’t have. She will also find owies on us just so she can kiss it and say “all better”
*This girl can hide like nobody’s business. We have had many scares at the Hoopes’ house when she all of a sudden disappears (it is a little more nerve racking there because of the pool). Every time it takes at least 6 adults 10 minutes to find her. When you do find her, she is just as still and as quiet as can be with a big grin on her face just listening to everybody panic calling her name. She thinks it is hilarious. One of her favorite places to hide in anybody’s house is in the closet she scoots back behind the clothes hanging (yeah she is good!)
*Loves to pretend to be a cat. She crawls on her hands and knees and won’t talk, but meows and squeaks like a little kitty. She will also come up to your leg and lick you. We have no idea where she picked up on this, because we don’t have a cat nor does anybody we know, but it sure is funny.
*Love books, and will sit in her room pulling every book off the shelf looking through all the pages for a very long time.
*Loves any animal especially cats, dogs, and birds. We go to the pet store weekly just to see the animals. She squeals with excitement as she runs around looking at each animal.
*Has never really liked movies, but has always loved the baby Einstein videos. Her favorite is the ‘Baby Noah’ which she calls “animals.” However, the last time we drove to Richfield I put in Bugs Life (because we were so tired of listening to the Baby Einstein music) and she has loved it ever since. Now she will actually ask to watch “Bugs.”
*Isn’t really into TV shows with the exception of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. She loves Mickey and sings all of the songs when she watches. However, just lately she has started getting into Dora, or as she calls it “Dooda” (I’m not really sure how she knows about it, but she sure picked up on it fast)
*Loves to color right now! For so long I have tried to get her to color but she was never really interested until now. Now she will say “please mommy” when she finds paper, very cute.
*Hali has been able to sing her ABC’s with very good accuracy since she was 18 months. I was quite impressed! I would love to take the credit, however, it was actually Leap Frog that taught her. We have the magnet Leap Frog ABCs that go on the fridge that she loves to play with and sing the ABCs with.
*At 20 months she started counting to 10 without repeating or missing any numbers. She loves to count anything and everything.
*LOVES to sing. Anybody who knows Travis knows he is always singing a song, and it has definitely rubbed off on her. She has her favorites like “Bubble” and “Wheels on the Bus” and “Old MacDonald” that she will request us to sing with her.
*Loves to push the shopping cart whenever we go to a store, especially at Costco.
*Still LOVES her blankie and binki, but not for too much longer. We will be getting rid of the binki when the baby is a couple of months old (I’m really not looking forward to those days, any advice?)
*She has begun the temper tantrums; oh my, I think we may be in for it. She can be sweet as can be, and with the flip of a switch she is another child. We are still experimenting on the proper way to deal with the tantrums. She is getting better at standing in the Naughty Corner by her self now.
*Whenever she is asked where something or someone is her response is always the same “he’s hiding”
*She is terrified of nail clippers. Not only will she not let me clip her fingernails and toenails, but she cries when she watches us do it to ourselves. Whenever she sees a pair of them she will cry and call it an “owie.”
*She covers her mouth so cute when she coughs, and when she giggles – it’s adorable.
*LOVES the water, and would hang out in the bathtub or in Grandma & Grandpa’s pool all day if we let her. She has become quite the little swimmer this summer. The only scary thing is that she thinks she can swim even without her floaties and won’t hesitate to jump in without them. She has no fear when it comes to water (but I sure do!)
*Is finally a great sleeper she goes to bed at 8:30 and wakes up at 9:30 (sometimes 10:00) then has a 2 ½ hour nap in the afternoon.
*Knows all of the places in town where she can get a free balloon (Harmons, Roberts, Red Robin) and points them out every time we drive by.
*Loves to get “pop” (popcorn) whenever we go to Target and again mentions it every time we drive by.
*Travis always honks as he comes home while Hali and I wait out on the porch. She gets so excited whenever she hears him and waves and claps her hands like crazy (the cutest thing ever!) She sure loves her daddy.

Animal sounds
Cat, dog, horse, cow, donkey, rooster, chicken, monkey, snake, bird, lizard (sticks out tongue), fish (makes fish face), skunk (plugs her nose and says ‘pee-you’), whale, dolphin, frog, lion, tiger…..and the list keeps growing

Nicknames: ‘Bug’ (by everybody), Hals (Aunt Shellee), Hal-er (Grandpa Hoopes), Halster (Dadddy)
Favorite Book: Go Dog Go, Hand Hand, Fingers, Thumb
Favorite Song: Old MacDonald
Favorite phrases: “Oh man,” “Where’d it go? I no know. He’s hiding,” “Lookin (while she gasps and points)” meaning ‘look’, "Thanks mom/dad," "Wanna watch animals?", "Yes," "No thanks"

We sure love you little girl and can't imagine our lives without you!

"Sorry Mom, Dad!"

This morning Hali asked me if she could color, so I got out her crayons and Mickey Mouse coloring book and watched her color for a minute. I had to grab something in the other room and when I was in there I heard a strange sound. I came back to find she had colored all over the wall and coffee table. She has made marks on the wall before, but never has she full out colored all over the wall. Needless to say she spent some time in the naughty corner, gave an apology and a hug and then helped mommy clean it up. Thank goodness for Magic Erasers! Later when we were talking to Travis on the phone I said "Hali had to go to the naughty corner today because she colored on the walls" Travis said "Oh no!" Hali quickly replied "Sorry Mom Dad!" You can't help but love this little monster!

Hali Bug

Hali is just getting too big! She is quite the entertainer and always keeps us on our toes. We sure love this little girl!

Fun Fourth of July

As you can see by the smile on her face, she absolutely loves to ride Grandpa's horses. This was her first real ride with a saddle on Opey. She wasn't scared at all and kept saying "Yee-haw!" spoken like a true little cowgirl!

Hali loved the parade, and caught on quickly to catching the candy. The only problem was that once she got a piece she immediately sat down to eat it (wrapper and all).

Hali loved the little train at the park. So much that she got to ride it twice! Once with Mommy and once with Daddy.

My Dad always tells my nephews to wave to the pretty girls in the parade. So Hali decided to do the same, but didn't only wave to the pretty girls, instead she waved to everybody in the parade. It was very cute!

As usual we had a lot of fun on the fourth of July in Richfield. There is nothing more fun than going home to see old friends, and spending time with family. We went to the annual parade, had some drinks and Grandma and Grandpa's house, walked around the park, had a bb-que, and watched the fireworks. Hali liked the fireworks or "pretties" for the first five minutes then she was bored, and just wanted to walk all over which was a big problem because it was so dark. So we created a solution by putting several glow sticks in her pajamas. It was pretty funny, and worked very well. Once we did that she didn't get far. All in all we had a great time!

28 Weeks

28 weeks and I haven't felt so good in my whole pregnancy. About two weeks after the hospital I finally felt like myself again. I don't think I realized just how sick I felt until now when I am feeling so good. I am definitely growing, but that is fine by me as long as I can continue feeling this good!

Just the two of us!

Travis and I decided we needed to take a little vacation before this baby comes. So we left Hali with the Hoopes' and we headed down to one of our favorite places, San Diego. We were both a little nervous about leaving Hali for four days, but knew it would be good for us. Ever since I was in the hospital Hali has had a hard time when I leave her. So besides the hospital this was the first time I had spent any nights away from her. We knew that she would be in good hands so we took off. It was such a fun relaxing vacation. We just did whatever we wanted and it was great! We ate good food, went to the Body Worlds exhibit (which was quite facinating), went to the swap meet, saw a good movie, and just relaxed. Sadly these were the only pictures we took, but we had such a fun time just being toegether.

My Girl

Well Lindsey probably doesn't know I can even do this. Yes, I have said I would never blog, but I feel it is necessary to tell Lindsey how awesome she is. She does so much for Hali and I and we apprecitate all she does. The top ten things I love about her are:

1-She rocks at being a mom. Hali absolutely loves her. She takes such great care of Hali, and teaches her songs, and games.

2-She makes the bed every morning. This is something that is so simple, yet I am thankful for it(Yeah I think this wierd, but its true).

3-She is so easy-going. She puts up with my crazy ideas(i.e. business ideas), and sparatic behavior.

4-She had kidney surgery(thats pretty cool), and kidney stones, and didn't complain, she is a pretty tuff gal.

5-She has an awesome singing voice.

6-She has introduced me to Richfield, and all that goes with it such as:(all you richfield people will like this) Punch Bags, Pepper belly's salsa, "Richfield Fourth of July"(which includes, The parade, seems like four hour long fire works, fish grab, deep fried twinkies, and beatle mania, oh yeah and seeing everyone from high school), Hauling hay, a lot of four wheeling, camping at Ferron, camping at fish lake, Richfield bowling alley where you have to keep your own score, the Hide Ride at the rodeo, All her friends have become my friends, El Mexicano, Grandma Barney Easter Egg Hunt, Stories about being a housekeeper at the Comfort Inn, Alligators at Parsons bakery(does it seem like most of these things are about food?!?!?)

7-We went wakeboarding our first time we hung out. She was an awesome wakeboarder, that is when I knew we could get married.

8-She is a hard worker. I never give her enough credit for all she does. I can go to work all day, and be fine, but when I chase Hali around I can last for like twenty minutes. Lindsey I appreciate all you do and hope you know that. You are so tough!!!

9-She is a very caring, genuine person. She always does what is right. She is such a good example to all those around her. She is such a nice person, and everyone likes her.

10-She is a great cook.

11-Okay I am writing a Eleven things, but last but not least.....She is totally beautiful. Her smile is so awesome, and I love her eyes. Even from the first day I met her, she is still so beautiful.

Lindsey thanks for all you do, Hali, Presli and I appreciate everything you do, and We love you.

Lack of Blogging

Waiting for my morphine to take away the pain!

The day I got to go home, looking lovely and swollen of course.

The summary of my hospital stay.

My lack of blogging is a result from this. I have so many fun things to blog about like -Travis' triathalons, Hali turning 18 months, swimming, fun trips and more. However, for now I am just trying to recover from many days in the hospital from kidney problems and trying to deal with it all coming back again. So until then this is my update! Oh and yes the baby is ok, (it is me who is not) she has had more pain meds in the last two weeks than I hope she ever gets in her whole life!

Happy 5 years!

Travis and I are celebrating our 5 year anniversary today. I could not be any more blessed in the husband department than I already am! I married the most fun, optimistic, energetic, hilarious, trusting, hardworking man there is. Travis always keeps me on my toes as he constantly likes to go, go, go. He is always the life of the party and friends with everybody. Travis is so good to Hali and I, and works so hard for us; we appreciate him so much for that! Trav, thank you for the happiest five years of my life and for all of the fun memmories we have made, Happy 5th Anniversary - I love you!

Real Piggy Tails

A couple of weeks ago when I was brushing Hali's hair, I realized just how long it was getting in the back so I thought I would try to do piggy tails. She looked so cute and so grown up. I'm not sure Travis liked them so much, but only because they really made her look like a little girl rather than a baby. I just loved how round and cute her face looked with them in. It was a hair style that definitely showcased her dimples!