Happy 30th birthday Daddy!

Jim turned 30 this year on November 24. We celebrated at home this year with friends and family. As many of you know, I love doing a big "birthday surprise" for Jim every year... and this year was no different. Jim and his friend Keith are off to Seattle this weekend to enjoy their first live NFL game (Seahawks vs KC Chiefs)! Jim is SO excited and I am glad to be able to do this for him (although I am slightly nervous about him traveling across the state in this weather).

As exciting as the game is, I've included some pictures of Jim's favorite 30th birthday gift below. We love you Daddy!

Snow!

We had our first winter storm of the season hit on November 22 this year... which is uncharacteristically early for us. I think the final snowfall was somewhere around 7 inches. Now it is bitterly cold which means the streets have turned to ice-rinks. Needless to say, Jim, Halle and I have been pretty much home-bound the past few days. We feel very blessed to have a warm home to stay in!

This is a video from Jim's birthday looking into our backyard. The grill is lying on it's side like that from the wind storms prior to the snow. The gusts at our house were 60-80 mph and that old grill blew about 15 feet from it's original location.

5 Months Old!

Miss Halle Arianne is 5 months old today! Here's what our little boobah is up to these days:

- Standing. Not rolling or crawling. That's for babies and I'm a big girl!

- Putting anything and everything on our mouth. We especially like to pull on Mommy and Daddy's hair while trying to eat their faces. We also really enjoy rubbing our hand over Daddy's facial hair!

- Giggling. We giggle all the time... especially at other people (babies and adults). We are extremely social and love to interact!

- Playing with our feet. If our thighs weren't so chunky we would have them in our mouth!

- Eating... sort-of. Rice cereal was an epic fail. Bananas were a little better. We still aren't sure about that whole spoon thing either!

- Drooling out our outfits... but still no teeth. Yet.

- Wearing 9-month-size clothes ad size-3 diapers. Yes, we are a big girl!

- Sleeping 12 solid hours a night. Be jealous.

- Talking up a storm. No real words but lots of sounds (and giggles!).

- Observing EVERYTHING! Daddy and Mommy put up the Christmas tree today and I'm fascinated! I also love o check out lights, fans, fire, and Daddy during worship.

Happy Halloween!

If I was really on the ball these would have been posted yesterday.

However, between church, taking Halle "trick-or-treating" at the grandparent's, and putting on a party at our house, blogging was the last thing on my mind when Jim and I took our collective sigh at the end of a VERY busy weekend.

So here are a few pictures from Halle's first Halloween. I wish I had been smart/thoughtful enough to get some of her at the 2nd annual youth bonfire night (Saturday) or at our Halloween party (Sunday) but I confess I was barely able to accomplish the bare minimum this weekend. Sadly, the next few weeks will not be any better.

Enough of the depressing thoughts... enjoy the world's cutest little kitty!

4-Month Stats

We had our 4-month well-check today.

16 lbs, 8 ounces.
26" long.

Roughly 95% for height and weight.

And Mommy is pained to realize our 6-month onesies are tight. And to realize we may outgrow our infant carrier before we turn 1.

Of course that's not completely sad as Halle + infant carrier = 26 lbs. Did I mention I'm getting some nice biceps?

4 Months Old!

Hi! My name is Halle and I'm 4 months old today! Here's what I do at 4 months:

- I roll from my tummy to my back and ALMOST from my back to my tummy.

- I LOVE to stand and will bounce from side-to-side (just like I do in my favorite toy - the jumperoo!).

- I eat a solid 8 ounces at every feeding. And I stare at Mommy and Daddy's food intently.

- I sleep 12 hours at night (unless I'm growing or didn't get good naps the day before!). When I wake up, I will smile A LOT at Mommy and Daddy. I love waking up to their faces!

- I am a drool-monster and put everything in my mouth! So far I find the taste of my teething toys lacking (and usually make the funniest face after chewing on one).

- I'm SO over those Baby Einstein videos. Now I enjoy watching the animals on Planet Earth and NFL with Daddy (I love staring at the bright colors and sounds those football games have!).

- I will only tolerate car rides if Mommy has "The Jesus Storybook Bible" on audio cd playing. It's my favorite!

- I love when Mommy and Daddy teach me about Jesus! I get to listen to Pastor Mark teach about Jesus with Mommy everyday. I don't yet sit still enough to read Bible stories but I certainly get excited when Mommy and Daddy talk about Jesus!

- I love watching Daddy worship every Sunday morning and I will bounce from side-to-side, shake my arms, and jabber excitedly the whole time. However, when Pastor Keith starts to talk I've been getting fussy and Mommy and I have spent the past few Sundays in the nursery.

- My favorite time of day is bedtime. I go from tired and fussy to happy and excited as soon as Mommy pulls my jammies out! I love to tell Mommy and Daddy about my day on the changing pad, then I snuggle in to feed while Mommy and Daddy pray and sing over me.

- I'm such a big girl! I celebrated my 4-month birthday with a new wardrobe... 6-month-sized clothes, 9-month-sized jammies, and size 3 diapers!

- Speaking of diapers, my favorite place to *ahem* do my business is my bouncer. Mommy and Daddy call it the "laxa-bouncer"!

- My favorite toys are my kitty and Sophie the giraffe. I love chewing on my kitty and can ALMOST get the paci attached into my mouth. When Mommy makes Sophie the giraffe squeak my whole face lights up!

- My favorite activity is watching Daddy when he makes silly sounds! I get very excited and giggle every time he does! I love my Daddy!

- When I don't feel very good there is nothing better than snuggling with my Mommy. I love to bury my face into her shoulder!

- Mommy and Daddy still call me "Littles" but they also have new nicknames for me! Daddy's is "Little bug" and Mommy's is "Boo-bah".

- I love posing for the camera. Every time one comes out I will look straight at it!

One year ago...

... I opened my eyes to find this:

Today, I open my eyes to find this:

And this:

Doesn't that just make you smile?