From one extreme to the next

This past weekend my mom and sister came to visit. Rusty went on a "guys only" canoe trip, so we thought we would have a little girl time :) We shopped and ate and shopped some more. Halle was really good through the process of shopping, but when it came time for eating, she wanted nothing more than a sweet tea. As you will see, she goes from one extreme to the next within a milimeter of a second. Never take her sweet tea away... lesson learned.


So excited about her very own sweet tea ;)




After a few spills plus some more, mommy had to take it away and she wasn't happy at all!

freezing time... if it were possible...

I wish, as I'm sure everyone does, that I could freeze time. Just stop, take in the moment of the very thing you want to keep with you forever. The little moments that me, Rusty, and Halle spend together are timeless. It's not the trips to different places or fun adventures that matter to me, it's the small moments. Laying in the bed in the mornings watching T.V. (usually Dora), playing together in the bonus room before bedtime, sprawled out on the floor with Halle rolling all over us, laughing, talking, smiling, just enjoying each others company. Those are the moments that I want to freeze so I can go back and re-live them anytime I want. As you all know, Rusty's deployment is growing closer and I don't want to miss a chance to spend all the time together we can to create these little memories. I want Halle to soak up as much of his time as possible, and him to soak up as much of her time as possible. They are already so close and have this father/daughter bond that is strong. She is constantly calling for her dada. She gets so excited when she hears the door chime go off when he walks through the door after work. She squeals and jumps around, dancing. You can see the love that she has for her one and only dada. I cannot express the joy I feel when I see them two together. These are the memories I love to make. I am so lucky to have the life I do. I thank God everyday for blessing me.

new hiding place

One day I was searching for Halle, and yes she does escape from my watch sometimes when I'm doing dishes or laundry or vacuuming. I knew she wasn't upstairs b/c I had the baby gate up so I went looking everywhere downstairs. I looked behind every door, in every closet and nothing. I then went into our bathroom and saw she wasn't in there. I turned to leave and that's when I heard a little voice behind the shower curtain. Low and behold it was her :) My girl found herself a secret hiding spot to play. She had her Dora book and princess ball in there with her and she was as happy as ever :)

The Greatest Men in Our Life

First I would like to say Happy Father's Day to all the dad's out there and especially to the love of my life, Rusty :) You are such a terrific dad to Halle. She loves you so much and looks up to you as a daughter should look up to her daddy. I know how much of a daddy's girl I was growing up (and still am!). I hope Halle takes that after me, I am so glad you two have this beautiful beginning to father/daughter relationship! A girl is never to old to depend on her daddy. She knows he will always be there for her, and Halle will grow up knowing how precious a bond between father/daughter really is. Thank you so much for being the man you are. I can't imagine life without you or Halle. You gave me something that is irreplacable... a family to love and cherish. We love you with all our hearts babe!


Next, I want to say a HUGE thanks to my dad. He has been there through thick and thin with me. He was my crutch to lean on whenever I had a bad day. He was my coach not only in basketball and softball, but in life growing up. I am so proud to call myself his daughter! He guided me through these 25 years of life, and he continues to guide me. I love him with all my heart and I couldn't ask for a better dad or a better Papa for Halle. She really loves him so much and I look forward to seeing her grow up being Papa's little princess :)



Next, I want to say thanks to my future father-in-law for being there for Rusty, me, and Halle. I remember the first time I ever met him all those years ago (about 6 yrs now I believe), I was very intimidated. I thought "I really hopes he likes me". Now, I know he loves me and Halle both dearly. We are so lucky to have such a wonderful dad/poppy! Halle is a really lucky girl to be able to grow up as being one of Poppy's little ladies :)



Last but certainly not least, I would like to say thanks to my step-dad. You were there for me and supported me whenever I was pregnant with Halle. You let me stay in your house after I graduated from college (you just thought you got rid of me, but I came back :)). Now you've watched Halle grow into the amazing little girl she is. You love her and me and for that we can't say thank you enough. We are so grateful to have you in our lives!



Me and Halle are so blessed to have these men in our lives. I don't know where we would be without them (not here that's for sure *haha*). Seriously, I wish each and every one of them the best Father's Day! We love you SOOOO much!! I had to post pictures of Rusty and Halle, it's only appropriate, right?



First official Father/Daughter picture




Looking into the eyes of his precious daughter




Being fed by her amazing daddy




Pool time with her favorite guy :)




Watching TV with daddy




Like father, like daughter




Cool shades you two :)




Christmas 2009




Supporting her daddy at his Captain promotion




Napping on daddy

Unsolved Mystery

The mystery has been solved!

Halle has been extremely irritable the past few days, chewing on everything (but that's not really out of the oridnary for her), and slobbering like a St. Bernard. I finally noticed today that she has her pre-molars in, the top two are completely through the gums and one of the bottom ones have broke through the gum. Just one more and she will have all her pre-molars! What happened to my little girl who once smiled with her gums justa shining? It's so sad how fast they grow!

Dancin' Queen

Halle loves to shake her booty!! She definitely has her own style of dancing... she climbs onto the top of her slide and shakes her booty before she slides down. She also loves to climb on the couch and "shake it like a salt shaker" lol, I love my little dancin' queen :)

toes in the sand

You look forward to summer vacation every year, right? Well, we just got back from Myrtle Beach about a week ago. We had SOOO much fun! The whole family was able to be together for the first time since last year. We had 1 week to pack in as much fun as possible. Of course we spent a few of those days just lounging by the pool and at the beach. Halle loved the beach and the kiddie pool! She gave me a few scares by running around on the wet concrete, but, hey, kids will be kids! Or as my future mother-in-law says "You can't make a grown-up out of a kid", and she's right! The guys went deep sea fishing one day which gave us girls some time to shop and eat at the Olive Garden. One night after eating dinner, we ventured across the street to a big carnival to see what kind of rides and games they had. I played a few of the games and won Halle a small stuffed fish :) I was so proud of myself. We also visited a waterpark while we were there. It was alot of fun! We got to ride go-carts (which by the way I beat Rusty *ha!*, although, he would tell you he let me win, yeah right!) and play mini golf along with all the water slides, wave pool, and the biggest lazy river I have ever seen! Halle especially loved the lazy river, everytime we would go on it she would fall asleep... it definitely made her lazy! Halle even managed to picked up a phrase or two from her cousin Gabby.. she now says "dank you" which she never would say before. I was sad to leave b/c I knew I would have to go back to the "real world" once we got home. It's sad to leave your family that you don't get to see that often too. I'm so thankful to have them in my life! I couldn't have asked for better people to spend my vacation with!!

P.S. I would love to sit and talk about everything thing we did in detail, but that would mean I would spend hours on here and I just don't have the time tonight :) BUT I am posting a few pictures of trip!


Rusty and Halle in the lazy river at our condo




Our wonderful little family :)




Sara and Gabby on the beach!




Halle and Gabby searching for treasures




My little princess enjoying the beach




Whose that beach babe?!




Nanny and Poppy took the grandkids to Build-A-Bear... Halle didn't enjoy the loud machine




Hello Sunshine!! She just woke up for the fun at the Boardwalk




Gabby at the Boardwalk, that's such an innocent face




Poppy and Halle having fun in the kiddie pool




She liked the fountains in the kiddie area :)



I would like to leave with these few lyrics by Zac Brown Band, it pretty much sums up our vacation...

I got my toes in the water **** in the sand
Not a worry in the world a cold drink in my hand
Life is good today life is good today

another check to the list of projects

My latest project to improve the decor in our house has been a picture display of our little family. I printed out black and white pictures and put them in black picture frames of different sizes to arrange on the wall. I bought a "Family" wall hanging to hang along with the pictures. I always see nice picture displays in magazines and I have always wanted to have something like it. Mine is not nearly as fancy and well put together as the ones you see in the magazines, but I really like what I came up with. To me it shows how wonderful our family is and how beautiful our little Halle bugg is :)


"Family"



our family pictures display :)

O Captain, My Captain

Today Rusty got promoted to Captain! I am so proud of him, and I know that he was very excited for this day to come. They had the families come up and pull their old rank off their uniforms and place the new rank on. Halle did great at pulling Rusty's old rank off! She had a little trouble putting the new one on so I had to help a little bit. Rusty was so proud that she cooperated (and so am I). Everyone was bragging on how cute it was and how beautiful Halle was. Who can blame them right?! She was definitely the talk of the room as she ran around in her squeaky shoes (I did take the squeakers out for the ceremony just in case she got loose from me). Everyone complimented her on her dress and her beautiful blue eyes :) I am so lucky to have such a wonderful guy and daughter, both who I love more than words can say! Congrats Rusty for your achievement today, you deserve it!!!



Rusty and Matt waiting for the ceremony to start



Rusty and Halle before the ceremony



Halle running around looking for daddy



The princess all ready to go, she looks so cute!



What a beauty queen!



I'm so proud of these guys



Getting ready to be promoted




The four new Captians



Our family :)



It's getting nap time for her



Halle pulling off Rusty's old rank and putting his new one on



Waiting for the commander to finish his speech

Happy Belated Memorial Day!

This weekend has been extremely busy! We have yard saled, cooked out, went to friend's houses, I worked, and we managed to get in a little shopping time for vacation items :) It was a great Memorial Day yesterday! My princess wore her red dress with white stars on it to show that she supports all of our military and their families. She also wanted show her daddy that she loves him and is thankful for all he does! She is such a daddy's girl :) Those two have become so close and the love between them is irreplacable. We LOVE our soldier dearly and everything he stands/fights for!!


My little sweat pea playing with my camera case



Trying to eat my camera case, as usual :)



All ready for Memorial Day

In Loving Memory of Nelson Wayne Rogers

I dedicate this post to my dearest little "Bubba". My sister's dog/the family dog passed away this past Saturday. He was 10 years old, and loved to the fullest every second of those wonderful 10 years. He was such a spunky little guy. He was always so excited every time someone walked through the door at my sister's house. He greeted everyone with his ears pinned back, wagging his little nub of a tail. He would run and grab the nearest toy or sock to let you know he was ready to play! He attacked water bottles and all the cleaning supplies kept under the sink. He loved to snuggle on my sister's bed in her pillows and would be grouchy if he had to be moved when it was time for my sister to make the bed, or unmake the bed when it was time to crawl in it :) He accumulated a thousand nicknames throughout his 10 years! To mention a few: Bubba, Nelly, Nelson Mandella, Nelly Wayne, Mr. Stinker-pants, Mr. Jinxsy-pants, stinker feet, Nels, etc. I can still see him running around in his Alabama football jersey with his toy football in his mouth on the Saturday's that Alabama played. He also had a tuxedo that he wore one year for Christmas! He even had sweaters for those chilly winter evenings to wear on his bathroom outings. Even though I called him a grumpy old man, I will miss him SOOO much! He will always be remembered, never forgotten, and he was truly loved. RIP Nelson we love you so much!!

Nelson Wayne Rogers March 2000 - May 2010