A weekend away...

This past weekend, we went to a friend's wedding reception in Jacksonville, AL. It was the first time that we have left Halle overnight! I think we took it harder than she did. She stayed with my mom, who of course was overly excited about keeping her. I called and checked on her about 100 times while we were away. I missed having my little girl with me. I have to admit, when it came time for us to get ready to go, it was nice not to have to switch out turns on who was watching Halle. The "getting ready process" takes a couple of hours, but it only took about 45 minutes this time! It's amazing how much time having a kid adds to the "getting ready process". I can say that I truly missed her SOOO much! Me and Rusty talked about her and couldn't believe how ready we were to get home to our princess. Rusty said, "It's weird how you miss someone so much when it seems you haven't been away long enough too". He was telling me on the way home that he was going to tickle her and get her belly and smother her in kisses! Of course, I couldn't wait to do the same exact thing! When we pulled in the driveway, we raced to the door to see who she would come to first (of course Rusty gave me a shove and took off so he could get to her first lol). Once she saw her mommy, she dove into my arms and hugged me so tight! I loved it! She laughed and giggled at her daddy for getting her belly. Those were the giggles we missed so much! We are happy to be home again with our girl :) I know it's good to get away and spend time together as a couple, but it's hard when all you think and talk about is your child. I'm not sure there will be any "get aways" for us in the near future... but we will definitely take some time for ourselves before Rusty deploys!

everywhere that halle goes, her bankie always follows

What is Halle up to these days? Oh, she just drags her "bankie" around where ever she goes. She has to make sure her slide is safe enough for her to slide down so who gets to test it out? Her bankie. She does this over and over again for about 30-45 minutes. I just sat back and laughed at my silly girl!

"I Just Call You Mine"

I was cleaning the house today listening to the radio and this Martina McBride song came on called "I Just Call You Mine". As I listened to the words, I thought of Rusty... I posted the lyrics and if you haven't heard it you should look it up! It makes my heart fill with joy b/c it's how I feel about Rusty :)


I pinch myself sometimes to make sure I'm not in a dream
That's how it seems
I close my eyes and breathe in the sweetest moments I've ever known
It feels like home
And here I am I want to be your everything
There you are
Turning winter into spring

And everyone that sees you
Always want's to know you
And everyone that knows you
Always has a smile
You're standing ovation after years of waiting
For a chance to finally shine
Everyone calls you amazing
Yeah
I just call you mine

I fall apart
Just a word from you just somehow
seems to fix
Whatever's wrong
Oh, you reach into the weakest moments
And remind me that I'm strong
You've got to know
I'd be a fool not to see you even worse
To forget that you're more than I deserve

Cause everyone that sees you
Always want's to know you
And everyone that knows you
Always has a smile
You're standing ovation after years of waiting
For a chance to finally shine
Everyone calls you amazing
Yeah
I just call you mine

Nothing makes sense when you're not here
As if my whole world disappears
Without you what's the point of it

Cause everyone that sees you
Always want's to know you
And everyone that knows you
Always has a smile
You're the dream that I've been chasin' after years of waiting
For a chance to finally shine
Everyone calls you amazing
I just call you mine
Everyone calls you amazing
I just call you mine

Doing laundry has its perks

My princess loves to help mommy with the laundry. I hand her the clothes from the washer and she puts them in the dryer for me. When we get all the clothes in the dryer she waits for me to get the dryer sheet so she can add the last item. Sometimes she gets mad b/c we run out of clothes for her to put in the dryer so we have to get a few back out just so she can put them back in. It can be a long process, but I look at it as precious time I get to spend with my girl. She is such a good helper! I couldn't ask for anyone better :)

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 :)