Me and My Gang

Little Fishy

2011-09-01T08:14:00.000-07:00

Hali is officially a swimmer. This girl loves the water and learned how to swim all by herself this summer. She has always swum with a life jacket and one day I decided to take it off of her just to see what she could do. I told her to swim to me and she did it without a problem. No swim lessons or anything she just figured it out and is really good at it. Once she gets her goggles on she becomes fearless in the water. We even had to buy her some princess dive toys because the second time we let her swim without her jacket she just started diving into the water from the steps. She was beyond excited when I told her about toys that stay on the bottom of the pool for her to dive down to pick up. The girl can hold her breathe for such a long time. She will jump off the side and swim to the steps without coming up for air. Hali also loves to swim like Ariel and do front flips underwater. Sometimes I get nervous because she is so brave in the water. I have always wanted my kids to be good swimmers because I am kind of paranoid when it comes to kids and water. We are just so proud of her and can't believe how fast she is growing up.

Our Little Presli is One!

2010-09-23T15:35:00.000-07:00

I can hardly believe we are already to this day. One year ago today my heart was both aching from the passing of my Grandpa Barney (one hour before I gave birth), but also exploding with happiness as we welcomed our sweet Presli into the world.

Presli has been a great baby from the second she was born. Great eater, great sleeper, and just all around happy. In fact the first night we had her home my mom was here helping us. That morning she came in saying "I'm sorry I didn't get up to help in the night, but I never heard her". Our reply was "neither did we" as she was still sleeping in her bed next to ours. She slept about 6 hours a night almost every night from the time we brought her home until six months (not sure what happened there, but she figured it out about three months later). She has always been so happy, mellow, and just easy going. The older she gets the more spunky and girly she is getting, but I think a lot of it comes from her sister's example. Hali has sure taught her how to hit the highest pitch scream possible and she is very good at it (they both are)! Here are some more fun things Presli does.

*Presli loves to talk on the phone, and pretends anything in her hand is a phone.
*She isn't talking a lot, but will occasionally say hello, bye-bye, uh-oh, mama, dada, and baba.
*She HATES to get dressed or have her diaper changed. The second she is on her back she is trying to roll over to get away while screaming the whole time.
*She loves to have baths with her sister.
*She has figured out how to torment her sister by taking whatever Hali is playing with and crawling away as fast as her little legs will take her.
*Trav and I fight over who gets to put her to sleep because she is SO easy. Just give her the binki, her tag blanket and she rolls over to her side and goes to sleep.
*She only has 3 bottom teeth (that she got at about 10 months old). However, I see 4 on top all working their way out (she has been feeling them too!)
*She is Mama's girl!
*She LOVES playing on mom and dad's bed with her sister. She just giggles, and rolls all over.
*She like to eat anything she can gum, but hasn't got to try a lot of real food because of the lack of teeth. Presli is done with baby food, and whenever she sees me get it out she shakes her head no. She turns her head away from me until I shove some in her mouth so she knows it tastes ok. We will both be happy when she gets more teeth, it will make meal time much more enjoyable for both of us.
*Presli's current tricks are giving five, shaking her head no, dancing to music, spitting when you say "Ew gross", riding on her sister's back like a cowgirl.

*She is not really interested in walking or standing, but I'm sure she will figure it out eventually.
*Presli's nicknames are Sessie Bean or Lillie Bean. When she was born Hali couldn't say Presli and instead said Sessie, Lillie is her middle name, and the bean just kind of went along with both I guess.

We just love this girl more and more everyday and can't imagine our lives without her. Happy 1st Birthday Sessie Bean!

We are having a party for her tomorrow so I will add more pictures later.

OCTOBER 2009

2010-06-27T14:44:00.000-07:00

San Diego Trip

When Presli was just two weeks old we headed down to San Diego for the annual October trip. We had a lot of fun just relaxing, and spending time together. Hali loved playing in the sand on the beach and being around all the other kids. I enjoyed relaxing and bonding with my new baby. Hali got to go ice skating for the first time, and Travis competed in the San Diego Classic triathalon with Logan and his brother Tyler while we were there.

Presli One Month Old

So far... she is a great eater, a great sleeper, she loves her baths, and we just love her!

HALLOWEEN

This year for Halloween Hali was a lady bug and Presli was a little leopard. We went trick or treating at daddy's work (Kolob Care Center) and then went to the ward Trunk or Treat. Hali caught on quick to the trick or treating concept. She loved holding out her little pumpkin to get candy inside and made special requests for suckers quite often.

The best picture we could get of the both of them.

Showing off her cute little tail.

Quick update

2010-06-27T14:02:00.000-07:00

I think it is about time to put an update on this blog. However, I know most of you have already given up on me. Thank you all for your advice for the computer. Unfortunately there was not much we could do to save the pictures. We took it to three different people to see what could be saved, however, we had no luck. On top of the computer crashing our hard drive was just overall bad (which contributed to the fact that we couldn't get much back) so we need to get a new one. I can't blog on my computer for two reasons 1-there are no pictures on it,, and 2-because it is so messed up it won't let me log onto blogger. Overall, it could have been much worse and I still have all of the pictures of my girls, but there are a lot of pictures that make me sick to think I have lost. Some of them being my monthly pregnant belly pictures of Hali, and the many trips Travis and I went on before we had kids. So that's that.

Enough about the computer I am now moving on. Because I hate doing things out of order I have decided I am just going to do monthly posts that go back a while just because there are too many important things that happened that I would hate to skip over. So stay tuned I promise there will be something worth looking at here soon...

I'M DEVESTATED!

2010-03-17T02:02:00.000-07:00

This is an understatement to what happend to us two weeks ago. Our computer crashed and we lost EVERYTHING including almost all of the pictures of the 6 years of our lives together. Luckily I do have all of Hali's first six months and was very good about blogging many important events in her life, but still there are tonz of pictures that I will never see again. I cried for days and still have a hard time when it is brought up. The reason I am sharing this is if any of you happen to come across pictures of our little family I would love it if you would share them with us. Let me know, and let this be a lesson to you all to back up your pictures.

Five Months Old

2010-02-23T12:47:00.000-08:00

Our little Presli is already 5 months old, time is flying by. She is such a fun little baby who always has a smile for you, we just love her so much!

PRESLI FACTS at FIVE MONTHS OLD

*You know Presli is mad when she starts blowing raspberries when she is crying. It is often to her detriment because it is just so cute we often watch her cry a little longer than we normally would.
*She loves her binki and won't go to sleep without it.
*She likes to suck her thumb, but has recently found that she loves to suck on her big toe even more.
*She loves to roll to her stomach but has forgotten how to roll to her back so she gets stuck and very frustrated.
*She still LOVES to be swaddled. A lot of times she doesn't like to sleep in her carseat because she has to much room. So now we tuck the blanket as tight as we can around her so she feels that comfort.
*She is sleeping in her crib now (I like to keep them by me for the first few months). However, our great through the night sleeper has now decided to wants to see us in the middle of the night at least once and sometimes three times. Little stinker!
*She loves her sister, and smiles and giggles at everything she does.

She just went to the doctor last week (for her 4 month) and here are her stats:

Weight: 12.56lbs (11th percentile)

Length: 24.75 (47th percentile)

She is a little bean long and skinny. Very fitting considering we often call her Presli Bean. She brings so much joy to our lives and always has a smile for us. We love you Seslee!!

This was the first time Hali ever asked to hold Presli. It lasted about as long as it took to take the picture.

Presli with some of her friends.

She has always loved cuddling with her daddy.

Finally sleeping in her crib

St. George Parade of Homes

2010-02-19T22:01:00.000-08:00

This has to be my favorite room of the house. One day my girls will have a room that looks something like this one.

I would love to do laundry in this beautiful room

This is the room that can either be opened or closed off by the barn door, such a cool idea!

Beautiful master

I want that bathtub!

I wish I could say this is my house, but it's not. It is however, two lots away from my house, and the house my father in-law 'Hoopes Construction' built for the 2010 St. George Parade of Homes. This is his first time ever doing a Parade house and I think he started out with a bang! As you can see it is BEAUTIFUL. The pictures speak for themselves, if you love the French country style then you will appreciate this house. There were a lot of very talented people who worked together to make this house happen. Shawn Patten was the architect who came up with the clever barn door idea, Dan Hoopes the builder made it all happen, and Herritage Home and Garden were the decorators who added the beautiful details. These are only a few of the pictures taken from this house so to see more go to hoopesconstruction.com. Oh and if you are looking to build a house, get a lot by us we would love to have you as neighbors, and Cottam Fields is a great location, we love it!

Presli Laughing

2010-01-28T23:13:00.000-08:00

I have so much to update it has become very overwhelming, but I need to post something current so here is a video of our now 4 month old Presli laughing (wow time flies!)

4 Fun Facts about Presli

*She slobbers more than any baby I have ever known. We go through many bibs and outfits in a day.

*On January 20th she officially rolled from her back to her belly.

*She is a very good baby, and really always has been (I know everybody says that, but she really is, trust me I have had a baby on the other end of the spectrum.)

*She already has a couple nicknames "Seslee" and "Lillie Bean" (Hali has always called her Seslee because she can't pronounce her name and it has kind of stuck.)

A cool story by my famous husband...

2010-01-26T22:23:00.000-08:00

I can't get the video to work on my blog, but here is the link check it out.

http://www.kcsg.com/news/local/82759557.html

Travis LOVES his job mostly because he really enjoys working with the residents at Kolob Care and Rehab. In talking to many of these residents he has found that there are many simple dreams they would like to accomplish before they die. He has talked to me about helping them fulfill these dreams for a while now. So of course he has set out a mission to help accomplish as many dreams as he is able to. When he heard that this man's dream was something he could help with, he was more than thrilled to see it through. So one down and many many more to go...

Way to go Trav!
Check out the blog http://www.makinglifecomplete.blogspot.com/

Backtracking!

2010-01-13T23:30:00.000-08:00

I am going back in time over the last 4 months. Too many exciting things have happened to us to just not blog about them. It is for my own personal journaling purposes. Enjoy...

Presli Lillie Hoopes

2010-01-11T01:48:00.000-08:00

38 1/2 weeks pregnant and ready to pop!

Just before going into surgery, last belly picture at exactly 39 weeks.

Presli's first picture, only seconds old.

Nice and clean after her first bath

So excited to hold my baby even though I am feeling sick

First picture with mommy and daddy in the recovery room.

Our good friends had their baby just two days after us, so we visited them before we left the hospital.
All ready to go home (well to drive to Richfield)
Watching cartoons with mommy
So tiny in daddy's hands
Hali's gift from baby Presli, she loved it!

On September 23, 2007 at 9:41 our sweet 7lb 4oz and 19in baby girl joined our family. Getting her here was a much less painful and stressful process than Hali. To begin with we chose a day and marked the calendar for when she would arrive. That in of itself was great! She was due Sept 30, so I got to skip a whole week of pregnancy.

We went into the hospital at about 7:30 and my c-section was scheduled for 9:00. I got my IV, filled out all the paperwork and didn't wait long before they had me walking down to hall to where I would be having my baby. Such a different experience than my first delivery! I was pretty calm throughout the whole morning, but as I was walking to the operating room I started to get a little nervous. I was without Travis throughout the beginning procedures so that didn’t help. Even though this was my second c-section this was the first one I would remember. With Hali, after 17 hours of labor my epidural was no longer working. We needed to get her out because I had a fever and they were worried about Hali getting an infection, so they had to put me completely out. Sadly, I don't remember her birth. So with Presli I was just hoping and praying everything would work with the anesthesia so I would be able to see and hear her when she was born.

I received my spinal and was surprised that I literally felt nothing before he said I was done and I could lie down. That was the easy part. They laid me down and I could feel my feet starting to get warm. I wasn't really sure how long it should take for me to be completely numb so I was getting a little worried that as they were prepping me and I could still feel it. My doctor knew I was really worried about this so he assured me he would make sure I was extra numb before he started. My paranoia comes from the fact that when I went into my c-section with Hali they started pinching me for the surgery and I could feel everything they were doing, so I started freaking out and so they put me to sleep.

They tested to make sure I was numb and began. Once they had started they let Travis come in and that calmed me down a lot. I was surprised with how quick it went, and how much tugging and pulling I could feel. It felt like they were pulling her from my chest, and I didn't like that feeling at all. I also had to finally close my eyes because they kept hitting the sheet (because they were pulling quite hard) in front of my face, and at some point I saw fluid spray onto the sheet! At that time I just kept my eyes closed and concentrated on breathing until I heard her cry. Later Travis said to me "you were so out of it during the whole thing, you kept opening and closing your eyes." I told him I wasn't out of it, I just didn't need a visual as to how much force they were putting into getting her out. There were a couple of times that I felt so nauseous I wanted to throw up. Finally, I heard the little gurgled cry and I think I was in shock. It was the best sound I have ever heard in my life! My doctor tried to hold her up over the sheet so I could see her, but all I saw was her little wrinkled forehead. It was such a neat experience to be awake for all of it, but it also made me feel really sad that I missed out on all of that with Hali! I was surprise to hear she was only 7lb 4oz. I wasn't expecting her to be that much smaller that Hali who was 8lbs.

When Travis brought her over to me I was surprised to see she looked a lot like Hali. However, I think that is really the only time I have seen her sister in her. The older she gets the more Barney she gets in her. After she was born Travis went with her to get checked out and I headed to the recovery room. I was feeling quite good after, just SO thirsty! After about a half hour Travis brought her into me and I couldn't believe how small she was. She nursed instantly which was such a blessing since Hali was never great at nursing. After taking a couple pictures in the recovery room we headed up to my room. Just being wheeled down the halls in the bed made me so nauseous.

When I got to my room our whole family was there including Hali. She wasn't really sure what was going on and she got very scared when she saw me hooked up to things, and sick. I told Travis I wanted to be there when she saw her sister for the first time. She was being very shy and wasn't really sure what to think about Presli, but only because I think she was worried about me.

It was after only being in my room for a couple of minutes that I asked my parents about how my Grandpa Barney was doing (he had been hospitalized just the day before) that I found out he had passed away only one hour before Presli was born. They knew when we called them to come to the hospital just before my surgery, but didn't want to ruin my experience. I know the timing was no coincidence. There is no doubt in my mind that my grandpa wanted to see his new great grand-daughter before she left for this earth to give her a big hug and kiss, tell her she is a 'good kid' and send her on her way. I like to think she has a special bond with my grandpa because the day he left this earth is the day she entered. Presli's middle name Lillie is after my Grandpa Barney's mom Lillie.

Having Presli in our hospital room with us throughout my stay was surreal. It was so nice to not have to get out of bed and get wheeled to another floor to the NICU to see, hold and feed my baby! Hali would come and visit periodically until she would get bored in our tiny room. She liked Presli, but was still nervous about me being in the bed.

With Hali I stayed in the hospital 4 days, but with Presli I left after two and a half days because I really wanted to go to my grandpa's funeral in Richfield. I knew it would be rough, but I didn't want to miss it. So two days after my c-section we basically left the hospital and headed to Richfield. That whole weekend was a blur because of the medications I was on, but I am so glad I went!

This c-section was a little rougher for me to recover from, but I think a big part of that was the fact that I traveled right after having her and then we went on vacation to San Diego when she was only two weeks old. So I never really got to just lay in bed to rest and recover.

Presli has been such a sweet spirit in our home. She is such a good baby and we are just thrilled to have her here with us happy and healthy!

Grandpa Barney

2010-01-07T23:05:00.000-08:00

Wednesday September 23, 2009, the same day our sweet Presli entered this life my Grandpa Barney left. He passed away at the Richfield Hospital. He went into the Emergency Room Tuesday morning after a rough night. He had severe pneumonia and a bowel obstruction. They prepared my family that the end probably wasn't very far away. So Wednesday morning as I was being prepped for my c-section in St. George many of my my family members were saying goodbye to my Grandpa in Richfield. My dad was a bit torn as to whether he should be with his dad or me. In the end my Grandma Barney told my dad he needed to be there for me. The doctor came in that morning and talked to Grandma and some of my aunts and uncles. After he left, Treasa, my aunt, bent over and told him it was ok to go. About 2 minutes later her passed. He passed peacefully and we feel very blessed that he did not have to suffer very long. My Grandpa was such a neat man and I have so many wonderful memories of him. I feel feel very blessed to have been loved by him and to be one of his granddaughters.

No more monkeys...

2009-12-28T23:30:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-01T14:06:00.000-08:00

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!!

2009-10-23T22:11:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-23T20:45:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-10-18T21:08:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-24T22:59:00.000-07:00

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)

2009-09-24T22:51:00.000-07:00

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!!

2009-09-23T21:56:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-09-16T22:23:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-16T21:27:00.000-07:00

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!"

2009-09-10T14:06:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-02T12:32:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-07T11:24:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-12T21:07:00.001-07:00

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!

2009-07-12T20:39:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-12T10:24:00.004-07:00

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

2009-05-22T15:38:00.001-07:00

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!

2009-05-07T09:32:00.001-07:00

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

2009-04-29T13:55:00.000-07:00

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!

Officially a...

2009-04-29T13:35:00.000-07:00

GIRL!! We were very excited to find out that Hali will be getting a baby sister. Finding this out is somewhat of a relief considering we have everything we need for a little girl, EXCEPT for a name. We had Hali's name picked out two years before I was ever pregnant, so it seemed like when she was born she just came with her name. This baby however is another story, I am already feeling a lot of pressure to come up with a name because I am the type of person who likes to have the name chosen way before the baby is born. We have a list of about 25 names, but nothing is really sticking with us. The top three right now are Presli, Sawyer, and Marli (at least for today). I have started going through all of Hali's baby things. I know it seems early, but Hali had SOOOO many clothes the first year of her life that I need to go through and figure out what I really need for this little girl. Yes the nesting feelings have begun (extremely early!)

We Are Having A...

2009-04-20T11:04:00.001-07:00

Last Monday Travis and I went to find out the gender of our baby by a lady here in St. George who does ultrasounds. Travis gave me a gift certificate for my birthday so I could find out before my appointment on May 7th. However, our child is either very modest or very stubborn (I am hoping it is the first) because the baby had its little legs so tight together the whole time. At first the lady said "oh think pink" so we were thinking cool another girl. However, then she would say "Oh never mind it looks like something is between there, I definitely would not count out boy." So then we were a little confused as to what to think. We got pictures that look very girl, and also others that look very boy. So hopefullly we will find out today for sure when we go again. Many are asking what I want and honestly I don't care either way, there are advantages to both. All I really want is a good baby! Anybody who knew Hali as a newborn can understand why I say this. She is so much fun now, but I sure wondered many days if I would make it through. From the ultrasounds we have had this baby seems relatively calm so that is what I am hoping for. However, I still think girl and Trav still says boy. We will find out soon enough, what do you think?

For those who don't know what they are looking at in the pictures. You have to look closely, but in the first picture you are looking between the legs and in the second picture you can see the whole baby except for its legs. It is the cord that is wrapped around its little arm. I know at this stage the baby looks a little alien-like, but it is still just amazing to me that it is only about 5 inches long and is already a little person.

Big News

2009-03-16T14:48:00.000-07:00

We are so excited to share the news that Hali is going to be a big sister come September 30! It came as a surprise to us in that it took us two years to get pregnant with Hali, so we thought we should probably start sooner than later with baby number 2, and to our surprise I was pregnant after only one month with this baby. We feel so blessed, and can't wait to welcome this little one into our lives! I have been sick with this baby which came as a surprise because I NEVER felt sick with Hali. However, I think I am finally over that stage. I am 12 weeks today and we were able to get an ultrasound at 10 weeks which is when we saw a very wiggly baby and a strong hearbeat. Travis is sure it is a boy, but I am thinking girl, I guess we will see soon enough.

Valentine Scavenger Hunt

2009-03-16T14:16:00.000-07:00

Our first clue

This year for Valentines' Day Travis set up a scavenger hunt for Hali and I (something his family does every year). We had different clues on heart-shaped red paper the led us to a new place with a surprise or treat. Hali got some new princess sippy cups, socks, a puppy book, and finally her new red wagon (which she loves). I got new socks, some candy, and my favorite a gift certificate for a one hour massage. I am very grateful that both Hali and I have such a wonderful man in our lives, who takes such good care of us. We love you Travis!

Fun Surprise

2009-03-16T13:57:00.000-07:00

Now we may not have any close neighbors, but how many of you can say you have had one of these land right next to your house? We had to wake Hali up to see, and she was sure excited. She kept pointing and saying “balloon” the whole rest of the day. The pictures make it look kind of far away, but it really was just right there.

The New Do

2009-03-16T13:47:00.000-07:00

I am no longer a blonde as of the beginning of January. I have only done this one other time in my life and so far I am really liking it.

Hali's Christmas Dress

2009-03-16T13:44:00.001-07:00

Classic Hali squealing face
We just love those dimples
Daddy and Hali all ready for church

Christmas 2008

2009-03-16T12:50:00.000-07:00

Our family Christmas tree with a falling star!

Opening Christmas jammies on Christmas Eve.

Almost ready to see if Santa came. Hali can't figure out why I am so excited.

Santa brough Hali a baby set.

Travis and his new golf clubs.

Opening presents from Grandma and Grandpa Barney (her pink wiggle car).

Daddy helping Hali open presents from Santa.

Hali loves her new doggy from Grandma and Grandpa Hoopes.

Ready to open night presents with her pink cheeks.

" What?" He was very surprised!

Travis with his surround sound, and me posing with my wedding ring!

This is always such a hard post for me to do, because there is always so much to tell. So instead of giving a play by play I will just give some highlights and a fun story.

*Hali got spoiled this year from Santa and family. Santa brought her a baby with a stroller, carseat, and bassinet. She also got a wiggle car, clothes, Baby Einstein 26 DVD set, a pound puppy dog that wags it's tail, and many other fun toys.

*I, along with Hali was very spoiled. Santa brought me two new nightstands that match my bed, a large Christ pictures, and clothes. I also got a large deep chest freezer.

*Travis got his new golfclubs and other fun things that guys get.

Both Travis and I were very surprised at the end of the night when I received my wedding ring, and Travis got his surround sound system.

THE BACKGROUND STORY: Travis LOVES surprises, and there is nothing worse to him than finding out what he is getting for Christmas. Well he happend to accidentally come upon his gift (a surround sound system) hidden in a closet at his parents house and was devestated! So I had to come up with a plan B. We decided to have Clint (Trav's brother) receive the surround sound on Christmas morning, and Travis would be getting the golf clubs - the plan B (however, really wanting the surround sound). Everything went perfectly, and I could see all morning just how envious Travis was for Clint about receiving the surround sound system. In Travis's family they save one present for Christmas night, before everybody goes to bed. So I decided that I would give Travis the surround sound system that was in reality always his that night.

In the mean time he had a surprise of his own. In October my main diamond on my wedding ring broke! You heard me right it broke. Yes it is a real diamond, and yes a diamond can actually break if it is hit on the right angle (it doesn't even have to be hit hard). Now you all know, be careful with your diamonds. Ironically enough I never remember hitting it at all, but one evening I looked down and it was all foggy. We sent it to Travis's uncle (who is the jeweler we got it from) to see if there was anything that could be done. To make a long story short, Travis just kept telling me they were trying to figure out a solution. I just wanted my ring so I kept telling him to have them put a fake diamond in it and I would be happy, I just wanted to wear something on my finger again.

Fast forward to Christmas evening opening night presents... Travis' mom was filming and I was worried that Travis might get the hint that something more than just giving a little present was going on, apparently he was worried I might think the same thing. So he started opening his surround sound system and the picture above speaks for itself he was shocked and everybody was laughing. After he opened his present, it was my turn which turned out to be like twenty boxes all wrapped in each other, with each one smaller than the previous When the boxes started getting about ring size I started to wonder and was so surprised and happy to finally get to the jewelry box with my diamond ring. Surprisingly they were able to reshape my diamond and take off the broken part making it about .2 smaller than it was before. I can tell, but I don't think anybody else could. I love it and finally feel like Iam married again!

Overall, it was a very memorable Christmas filled with surprises. However, everybody knew about our suprises except for Travis and myself. It was so fun to see our little Hali start to grasp the concept of Christmas. What a great time of year, we were and are so blessed!

Jubilee of Trees

2009-03-16T12:32:00.000-07:00

How cool is this? The tree is actually haning out of the Grinch's bag on an angle decorated to the max.

She really liked the Mickey Mouse tree we are standing in front of.
Just a happy girl!

Of course she loved the lights.

This tree was decorated by the school I use to teach at. They did a great job, very cute!

The famous 'cheese' pose.

Just before Christmas we took Hali to see all of the cute Christmas trees at the annual Jubilee of trees. She just loved it, and I am so impressed every year with how creative people are with decorating Christmas trees! My favorite this year was the Grinch Christmas tree - so cute.

Winter Wonderland

2009-03-16T12:07:00.000-07:00

It is a good thing is doesn't snow more here. As you can see Trav had a hard time getting up our steep driveway because it was so slick.

Trying to catch the snowflakes - she loved watching it fall.

Checking out the snow in the backyard before she had to go to bed.

Talking on the phone and making a snowman!

Here is Hali trying to figure out what her dad is doing out there.

Final product!

Yes I am still finishing up November, but I am making some progress (three more posts to go and I will be up to date). Back in November, St. George got the best snow storm I have ever seen since living here for over six years. Although I love living in St. George, I do miss the snow during the winter, so it was a lot of fun to finally get some. Travis was even more excited about the snow than I was. Before going to work he made Hali a cute little snowman. She wasn't so sure about it up close, but loved watching her daddy make it for her through the window.

Things To Remember

2009-03-13T12:16:00.001-07:00

Because I am not great at writing things down, I wanted to remember these special events in Hali's life.

*Just before her first birthday on November 10th she got her first haircut from our cousin Riley. Her hair wasn't terrible, but we just had her trim off all of the long baby hairs she had.

*On November 18th, just two days after her first birthday Hali decided she was big enough to start walking on her own. Ever since then she has been very busy on her feet.

*Some of my favorite words Hali was saying at her first birthday were thank you, please, clean up, mama, dada and uh oh.

*For whatever reason Hali was just not interested in clapping for the longest time. However, when she was about a year she finally figured it out, and now claps at everything.

*Not so much a fun fact, but Hali has had three ear infections in her first year of life, but other than that has been a pretty healthy girl.

*At the year mark she had mouth full of teeth, including four on top and four on bottom.

*Hali's favorite food was mandarin oranges, and she would sometimes eat three little cups in one day.

*Hali had the cutest funny face she would always do to everybody (the picture above)

Hali's First Birthday!

2009-02-26T15:21:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday girl with Grandpa Barney
Wanting to share her cake with everybody.

She was not at all nervous about diving into her cake.

All of her cousins loved helping her open presents.

Getting ready to blow out the candle. She had practiced and knew just what to do, but she froze under all of the pressure.

Hali's first birthday cake.

On November 16th, our little girl turned one! It was quite crazy to think she has been a part of our family for a whole year. We just had a little party with family and close friends. Of course she got spoiled with many clothes and fun toys. Towards the end of opening presents she started grasping the idea that under the wrapping paper was something new and fun to play with. I made her a little ladybug cake because everybody calls her 'bug', and she sure enjoyed digging into it. We just feel so blessed to have her in our family. Anybody who knows Hali, knows that this girl is full of personality. She loves getting attention and making people laugh. She is a constant ball of energy and we just love her so much.

On to November...

2009-02-06T11:32:00.000-08:00

About the middle of November (a couple days before Hali's birthday) we made the big move into our new house. I cannot believe the amount of stuff we had accumulated over the last four years of living in our basement apartment. So after about four major days of moving we got everything moved. I never dreamed that we would enjoy having a house as much as we have. I think Hali is the one who loves it the most. She has had a whole new world to explore. Her favorite part of the house is definitely the pantry, and she could play in there all day. It was once we moved in that she really started to walk. For Travis and I we just love everything about it, especially the garage and the windows. I have yet to take pictures of every room, so for now I will just post a picture of the outside finished product! Please come and visit us any time!

A Look Back In Time...

2009-01-29T11:52:00.001-08:00

Yes I realize it has been FOREVER since I last posted something worth reading, but the time has finally come to update the last three and a half months of our lives. So we will pick up where we left off, right after San Diego, and hopefully we will be up to date in a couple of weeks!!

She barely fit in her carseat with her big puffy body, but I guess she was comfortable enough to sleep!

Hali and cousin Crew

Ward 'Trunk or Treat'

She actually really enjoyed being in her costume

Visiting Daddy at work

HALLOWEEN

This holiday is definitely much more fun with a child. It was so fun to dress Hali up in her little skunk costume and take her around to go trick or treating to family and friends.

Hali and I started out the day by going to the elementary school I use to teach at to watch their Halloween parade. It was so fun to see a lot of my old students and teacher friends. Hali loved watching all of the kids in their costumes, and I was amazed at the creativity of some of the costume ideas (I wish I would have taken notes).

Next we headed to visit Travis at work (the care center) to go trick or treating in some of the residents rooms. It was a lot of fun, and they all got a kick out of Hali's costume.

After Travis got off work we went to our ward's trunk or treat where Travis got picked to dance the Thriller (good thing he had been practicing). After that we went around to visit friends and family to show off our 'little stinker'. Because Hali was crawling at the time she looked just like a skunk on the grass, too funny! We had a great night and I'm pretty sure Hali got maybe one piece of candy because her mom and dad ate it all!

Latest News

2008-11-22T12:12:00.000-08:00

Our baby is one, we have officially moved into our house, Hali is now walking, and I just saw the new Twilight movie. Until we get the internet this is our update! Pictures to come...

New Cricut For Sale

2008-11-15T13:26:00.000-08:00

I have a Cricut Cutter Machine that I am selling. It is brand new in the box and has never been opened. So if you are interested, or know somebody who is let me know. I am selling it for $170 if you want it. Let me know if you have any questions!

Disneyland

2008-11-03T14:10:00.000-08:00

The classic family Disneyland picture
We were trying so hard to get Hali to smile for this picture and she just wouldn't do it, but the second she saw other people looking and pointing at her she just started hamming it up. I tell you what, this girl LOVES attention!

Exhausted after a long day!

She was just so tired she wouldn't even lift her head up to look at the camera!

Mommy and Hali riding Dumbo. She was sure sad when we had to give back the feather.

She loved looking out the window on the Finding Nemo ride. I thought she might freak out a little on the submarine, but she absolutely loved it!

Family picture with Winnie the Pooh

Hali loved these honey pots, she cried when we took her off of them.

The Buzz Lightyear ride (she's not sure what to think).

In line for the Pirates of the Carribean ride.

While we were in San Diego for the week we decided to take Hali to Disneyland for the first time. She wasn't feeling the best from her ear infections, but considering that she did great. Her favorite ride was the Finding Nemo ride, but she wasn't to sure about Pirates of the Carribean. It was great day to go because it wasn't really busy. The longest we waited in line was 30 minutes (for Nemo) but the average wait was about 15 minutes. We had a great time, we just love Disneyland!

San Diego 2008

2008-11-03T13:11:00.000-08:00

Every year since Travis was little his family and several other families have vacationed in San Diego for a week during October. It is a trip we look forward to every year, and we were especially excited to take Hali this year. This is also the first year Travis has got to stay the whole time since before his mission. We had a great time hanging out at the beach, shopping, going to Disneyland, eating great food and spending time with family and friends.

Every year for the past 5 years Travis and I have gone to San Diego together we have taken a picture in this same spot. She did so good on the long drive.
Ruby's on the pier.

Anthony's is a must every year on this trip!

Looking at the birds at the swap meet.

The last few days of the trip Hali got ear infections so we saw this face a lot near the end!

This girl loved the beach! A very different story from the last time she was on a beach.

I cannot tell you how cold this water was, but she didn't mind. She just kept walking further and further into the water.Cousins with a new generation of cousins.

She loved this fountain at the mall.

The only place we could contain her in the condo was in the ottoman

First trip to the beach, it was FREEZING!!

I have no idea how much sand she ate on this trip!

The cold water didn't even phase her, she loved it!

Daddy and Hali enjoying the beach.

House again...

2008-10-22T21:42:00.000-07:00

We have had several family members and friends from out of town ask for more pictures and also details of what is in the house. I went and took these today so enjoy...

The outside rock (sorry not a great pic)
The fan lights throughout the house
This picture is just to show the paint color compared to the white tub.

View of kitchen from the dining area

The granite on the far left is the one we chose (it was our second choice, but we really like it). Our first choice (the far right) we were unable to get until late December.

Master bathroom vanity

Just another view of kitchen and part of the family room

Laundry room

Travertine flooring in bathroom

Master bedroom with lights

What you see when you walk through the front door

The entryway

11 Months Old

2008-10-21T21:12:00.000-07:00

She loves the remote
Dancing with Daddy
Such a cute girl!
Reading her books
This is what I see every day... her beautiful baby blues (the picture would not turn)

I wasn't able to do this on the actual day because we were in California for over a week, so I have a lot of updating. To begin with...

11 Fun Facts about Hali Joan

1. She now has seven teeth. Four on the bottom and three on the top.

2. Hali's new favorite food is pretzel sticks. She would eat them for every meal if I let her.

3. She refuses to clap. She has never done it on her own, and I am sure it is because we want her to.

4. She shakes her head and says "neh neh neh" (translation: no no no) She is beginning to hear that quite often.

5. Hali loves to dance with her daddy when he comes home from work.

6. She loves to go to the new house, crawl all over the floor and find pieces of sheet rock and paint to eat.

7. Hali has some of the strongest lungs we have ever heard. The girl can scream with the best of them!

8. She loves to push the little grocery cart all over Grandma and Grandpa Hoopes house. That is the closest she has come to walking thus far.

9. Hali's new favorite toy is the toilet paper. She thinks it is just hilarious to unroll the whole roll.

10. Wherever Hali goes her tag blanket and binki must go also.

11. Hali LOVES books! We have one basket full of books, and it is the first one she goes to every time. If she is quiet and I don't know where she is I generally find her looking through her books (or climbing up the stairs). It makes a teacher/mom so proud!!

Grandpa's Girl!

2008-10-08T23:49:00.000-07:00

THE CUTEST PICTURE EVER!!

This is probably my favorite picture of Hali so far in her life. My brother Jeremy took this picture while we were in Richfield and it turned out awesome! As you can see from the picture she sure loves her grandpa. Hali has always loved to hear my dad talk, and whenever we are in Richfield she goes looking for him the second she hears his voice. She definitely is "Grampa's girl" as my dad always says.

New pics of the house

2008-10-05T19:35:00.001-07:00

house ready for stucco and rock
Living room and kitchen
Front entry
Master Bedroom
Master Bedroom

This is what we have been up to. Good times.

10 Months old...

2008-09-16T23:31:00.000-07:00

Hali's new friend

It's true, Hali is ten months old today (well yesterday, it's midnight!) She is becoming quite the little character! Hali is now saying saying "hi", "hello", "bye, bye", "ma ma", "da da", and sometimes "pop". Last week she started to dance anytime she hears music (it's so cute). Hali is really good at giving kisses (open mouth of course) and is always giving them to mommy. She loves to make noise by singing, squealing, or pounding on anything especially the dryer.

Hali has always loved taking baths, and still does. I think her favorite part about baths is being naked. She just loves not having to wear clothes. Anytime I change her diaper she tries to escape once the diaper is off.

Hali has three teeth now, her two bottoms and her top right fang (I don't know the proper name). The other 'fang' is coming in on the other side, so she is our little vampire. Travis says it is all my fault because I have been reading to many vampire books lately. If it stays this way you can all guess what she will be for Halloween! Over Labor Day she mastered climbing up the stairs. However, we are now working on the proper way to go down them.

EVERYTHING, I repeat EVERYTHING Hali sees goes straight into her mouth. The second she sees me coming after her she zips her lips shut and crawls as fast as she can away from me. I swear my floors are clean, but she still manages to find something to choke or gag on.

The other day when I was at the dollar store Hali saw these kids playing with a rubber snake and she got so excited, so I bought it for her thinking it would keep her entertained while we shopped. It is currently her favorite toy. She carries it around in her mouth all day. It is quite weird how attached she has become to it. Travis HATES snakes so it is pretty funny to see his reaction whenever she is packing it around.

Another new thing Hali loves is to get into my makeup! Are girls really interested in makeup this early? We are in for it! She takes everything out of my bag and puts it first in her mouth and then on the ground. Whenever I am getting ready she gets so excited because she knows she gets to play with the makeup.

This girl is the joy of our lives, and every time I get sad thinking about her growing up I just have to laugh at all the funny things she does and how much more fun she gets the older she is. We sure love our little love bug!
Hali's ladybug costume
I guess she is curling her lips with my eyelash curler!

More House Pictures

2008-09-03T21:56:00.001-07:00

I'm sorry for those of you who are bored with all of the house pictures. They are mostly for my mom, who is always asking how the house is coming along! So this is it so far. The changes in appearance are becoming less noticeable outside because they are now doing the inside work like the electrical and plumbing. We have picked out several things for the house (cabinets, faucets, doors, outside rock, roof tiles) which has been exciting and has kind of made it a little more real. We are really excited about it, although we keep saying to each other "don't grown ups have houses?" we don't really feel like we are 'grown up' yet! I had several people ask for details as far as square footage and all of that. It is just under 2100 square feet, single level, with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, an office, a laundry room (yes, an actual room) and a very large pantry. Pretty much your basic floor plan, but perfect for us.

New Job

2008-09-03T15:35:00.001-07:00

Yesterday Travis started his new job at Kolob Care Center as the new marketing director. He said his first day went really well and he is really looking forward to applying what he knows to this company! He loves working in long term care and is extremely excited to become friends with the residents. Trav really enjoyed learning about the home care and hospice aspect of health care at his last job and is really going to miss working with all of the great people at Rocky Mountain!

The house progress so far...

2008-08-23T20:28:00.000-07:00

Hali in her future bedroom
Travis and Hali in the living dining room
An inside view

9 Months Old

2008-08-22T14:08:00.000-07:00

My internet has been down for the last little while, and before that Travis and I got the worst stomach flu ever! I hadn't thrown up in over eight years until last week! Luckily it only lasted twenty four hours. Thank goodness my for my in-laws, they took Hali all day from 1:00 in the afternoon until 9:30 that night because Travis and I couldn't even get off the couch to feed and play with her (yeah it was pretty bad!)

Enough about that, yes another month has past quickly and it is time yet again for Hali's monthly update. She is doing so many fun things right now. She is crawling all over the place and getting into everything! She has mastered pulling herself up to a standing position on the couch, chairs, us, her crib; so she is getting very strong. One of my favorite tricks she does now is she blows bubbles out of her spit. I don't know that I've ever seen another baby do it before (not saying there aren't any). She opens her mouth really slow and blows huge bubbles. It is so funny and she does it all the time. She is now saying "ma ma", "ba ba", and "bye bye" pretty consistently. Hali loves to play peek-a-boo. She puts her blanket up to her face until you say "where's Hali?" then she pull her blanket off her face with a big huge smile. She is getting really attached to her mommy and daddy, but warms up to others after a while. Hali is constantly jabbering and even more consistently putting everything in her mouth. She is my little vacuum; I try to vacuum every few days just because she finds the smallest pieces on our carpet or rug and sticks them all in her mouth. She also loves to eat paper, and I think she has almost consumed a whole book. Now that is what I call talent! Hali is getting to try more and more grown up food, and one of her favorites now is a nice juicy pickle! She still loves it when anybody is talking on the phone, and she is starting to jabber whenever I let her talk to someone on my cell phone.

I put these pictures of Hali on because this just gives you an idea of how mischievous she is. I had all of the toys spread out on the floor for her to play with while I went to take the clothes out of the dryer. When I came back (it couldn't have been more than three minutes) she had taken the vent off the wall! I have no idea how she did it. Then I look at her again and she had taken the door stop off the wall and had it in her mouth. Let's hope our new house can survive this little girl!

A fun little weekend vacation

2008-08-15T10:26:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we made a quick decision to take a weekend vacation to LA. Travis' parents, sister, aunt, three cousins, Hali and I took off on Thursday evening. Friday we went to Hunnington beach for a few hours in the morning, went to dinner, and then the girls headed to Wicked while Dan and Travis watched the babies (Crew and Hali). Hali did not enjoy the beach at all. She didn't like that the water kept moving, and she hated even touching the sand. I think most of us got quite sunburned, and as you can tell from the pictures my face got absolutely fried! Wicked was awesome, I loved it! It was a lot funnier than I had expected, and of course the singers had awesome voices. I felt bad that Travis didn't get to go because I knew he would have enjoyed it, but I guess that just gives us a good reason to go again.

On Saturday we went to the swap meet which is always fun. We each found little cheap treasures. After the swap meet we headed to the mall to do some more shopping. Shellee really wanted to ride a roller coaster, so after the mall we headed to Knott's Berry Farms. Travis and Shellee rode a lot of the big roller coasters while we watched and waited (I am not a roller coaster girl). It was actually relaxing just watching everybody and eating my cotton candy. Hali got to ride her first ride. She rode the coal mine ride and her eyes were huge through the whole thing, it was pretty funny. Sunday we headed home. It was so nice to just get away from the everyday things, and especially to have Travis with us all day everyday. Good times!

Sorry there are a ton of pictures...
Getting introduced to the water

She sat like this on Shellee and I forever, I guess it is as far from the ocean that she could get

This was her reaction to the sand

Our world revolves around this girl!
Giving kisses

The guys tending the babies or Baby Einstein?
Silly Girl
Hali's first ride (yeah I'm fried)

She loved the duck

All ready for church
Just hanging out watching people
The crazy roller coaster Travis and Shellee rode
Looking for Daddy and aunt Shellee with Grandpa Hoopes
Exhausted from a long day!

Exciting news...

2008-08-05T11:22:00.000-07:00

We are building a house! I have wanted to share our good news for a while, but needed to wait until it was all official. We had our plans done about two months ago, purchased our lot a month ago, and just last week our construction loan finally went through, so we have officially started building. Because of the economy it took a little longer to get approved for the loan and everything, but we are happy to report that the building has begun. We went and took some pictures of our lot and the subdivision we will be living in. We are the first house that is being built in Cottam Fields. My father in law, who is a general contractor, is building it. I know it is probably not that exciting for anyone but us, but we are thrilled and wanted to share. So here are some pictures of our lot.

Crawling

2008-08-05T10:42:00.000-07:00

Hali has officially learned how to crawl (well on August 1st). Not crawling in the most conventional way, but crawling none the less. She moves her hands well, but she pushes off with her feet so it is more of a little froggy hop, so cute. Once I take the time to figure out how to put video on my blog I'll do that. I can see that I am definitely going to have to go through my house and find out exactly what she shouldn't be getting into because she is already finding things that I didn’t know I had.

I finally got a picture of her showing her teeth you just have to look closely!

Well?

2008-08-04T12:25:00.000-07:00

So I am very curious to hear what you all think. Come on I know I can't be the only pathetic one who has already finished the book. Without giving anything away, in case you haven't read it, I will give my quick opinion. I thought it was slightly predictable, but that in no way means I didn't enjoy it. I loved the action but of course my favorite was the happy ending. I now have a great sense of closure on the whole Twilight saga. I can now officially get on with my life!! However, I am very excited to see the movie in December. I am also curious to see if they will be making movies of each book, if so that could be very interesting! So what did you think of the book?

My baby is 8 months

2008-07-16T22:10:00.000-07:00

Hali is such a fun girl at this age and she is learning so many new 'tricks'. She goes off and on with saying "Mama" and "Da." She has learned how to open and close her hand as if she were waving and she does it constantly. We try to say 'hello' or 'bye bye' whenever she does it so she associates it with waving, but she hasn't quite got that yet. She is so close to crawling, but isn't quite there yet. She still loves to eat everything, and we haven't found one thing she doesn't like (we are hoping that continues). Her favorite food right now is Graham crackers. Hali loves to stand, so much that I wonder if she'll walk before she crawls. She loves to stand against the couch and pound on it with her hand. One of my favorite things she does now is she pants like a little puppy when she is happy or excited. I just love when she does this because she kicks her legs and waves her arms like she is going to fly away. Hali loves it when I am talking on the phone (not really sure why) but whenever I answer she gets so excited (probably because she thinks it is her Daddy calling to talk to her). Just yesterday (7/28) she learned how to sit up by herself from laying down. I was quite surprised to go into her room and see her sitting up like such a big girl in her crib after I had just laid her down. She now has her two bottom front teeth, and if I ever get a picture of them it will be a miracle. She LOVES to swim and kicks like crazy. She will even hold herself up by holding on to the side of the pool. Baby Einstein is still at the top of her list, and she gets so excited when the Disney preview music comes on. She had her very first ear infections all last week. Not a fun first, but a first none the less. Luckily with the antibiotic she is healing quickly. We had some VERY long nights with painful ear aches. When we took her to the doctor for ear infections they weighed her and she has officially hit the 20 pound mark, 20lbs 10oz to be exact. She is starting to get into everything, and is finding out that everything else (cups, necklaces, bowls, boxes, paper etc.) is much more fun than her toys. We just love her so much and can't imagine our life without her!
Here are some recent pictures of Hali, enjoy!

4th of July

2008-07-14T10:18:00.001-07:00

We had a very fun and traditional Fourth of July. It just isn't the fourth if you aren't in Richfield with the parade, races, fish grab, fireworks, friends and family. I have always loved this holiday and was very excited to share it with Hali. During the parade she fell asleep, but she loved being at the park. She enjoyed watching the fireworks and loved playing with the glow sticks. As always Hali absolutely loved being around her cousins and family.

Hali was sure concentrating on watching the parade

She is such a cute girl!

Our little family watching the parade

She didn't even make it through the parade before she fell asleep

This girl LOVES the grass

Mom and Hali in the shade at the park

Here we are at the Lions Park watching the fireworks (as you can see Hali was not excited about getting her picture taken)

Hali and I watching the fireworks at my parents on July 5th

Our silly girl

2008-07-10T15:45:00.001-07:00

Since I haven't posted in a while I thought I would just put up some fun pictures of Hali and what we have been up to.

I curled her hair with a curling iron and she looked just like a little grandma

She fell asleep in the swimming pool with her aunt Shellee

Just hanging out in the Huggies box, she loved playing with it

Lounging around watching her Baby Einstein

Hali loves to try to drink from a straw

Helping her daddy study

Trying to crawl - she'll get up on all fours, but she doesn't go anywhere

We just love her chubby little rolls!

Hali with some of her cousins

Helping mommy do the laundry

Swimming with Aunt Shellee

All ready for bed with her straight hair

Hali and Mommy just playing on the floor!

Barney Family Reunion

2008-07-10T15:34:00.000-07:00

Here is Hali with her grandma and grandpa Barney (my parents)

We had a fun time at the Barney family reunion. It is always fun to get together and visit with aunts, uncles, and cousins that we haven't seen in a while. We had a great lunch, and played some fun games. Hali loved playing with her cousins and rolling around in the grass. We even had our sweet t-shirts with pictures of my grandma and grandpa as kids on them. From the picture you can see how worn out Hali was from the big day. She never just falls asleep like that, it was too cute!

The new do...

2008-07-10T15:01:00.000-07:00

It was finally time to just chop it off. Hali just loved pulling on it a little too much. Not only for that reason, but I've also learned I don't have nearly as much time to get ready as I did before Hali so I needed something easier to do. Instead of it taking fifteen minutes to dry and ten minutes to straighten, it now takes eight minutes flat to have it completely done! It took a little getting use to, but I really like it.

The reasons for my lack of blogging...

2008-07-07T16:28:00.000-07:00

I have finally jumped on the band wagon (a little late I know). I, like many others, have become obsessed with the books. What can I say I am a hopeless romantic. I just wish I would have waited until August to read them all because I am having a hard time waiting until the fourth book comes out. Now I am very behind on my blogging so stay tuned there will be a lot of new updates!

7 Months

2008-06-16T18:19:00.000-07:00

Will somebody please tell me how to freeze time. I swear I just posted her six month post on our blog. She is growing up so fast, and we just love her more and more each day. These days Hali loves sitting up on her own while playing with her toys on the floor. She is starting to babble a lot more, and has even started saying 'mama' (again just babbling, not really specifically to me). Her hair is getting to be so blonde, and as I said before her eyes are getting more and more blue. She rolls all over the place, and has just started to get up on her hands and knees. Hali is a great eater, and she loves to eat anything! She has never really spit anything out or shown us she doesn't like a certain food. She is still a ball full of energy who loves to smile and laugh. We just love that she is such a happy baby (we were a little worried those first three months). She loves to go swimming, and we try to take her a couple times a week. She has been dunked in the water a couple of times and it doesn't bother her at all. With the help of one finger from Travis she will even float on her back. We are hoping she will be a good little swimmer. She still loves watching her baby Einstein videos, especially baby lamb on the video "Lullaby Time". Hali is very much a people person. She loves having lot of people around even if they aren't talking to her. She gets very sad when it is just her and I at home during the day and I leave the room. She enjoys being outside and loves pulling out the grass. Finally, (knock on wood) she is starting to sleep through the night! It is such a weird feeling to go to bed at night and wake up in the morning without any interruptions, but we sure do love it! This little girl has brought us so much joy and even though it is sad to see her grown up, it is also so much fun! We love you Hali!!

Our silly girl!

Happy Fathers Day!

2008-06-15T22:18:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to wish all of the dads out there a very Happy Fathers Day! My little Hali is a very lucky girl to have such a great daddy! I have to thank Travis for everything he does for our family! He works so hard for us, and I am very grateful. He loves spending time with Hali and it is no surprise that he can make her laugh like nobody else can. She sure loves her daddy, and so do I!!

I also wanted to wish my own dad a very Happy Fathers Day! My dad is an awesome man! I have learned so many things from him including how to love, work hard, respect others, be responsible, be kind, and to be friends with everybody. My dad is also the best 'grumps' Hali could ever ask for, we love you!

Obviously when you get married you gain a new father in-law, and I know I couldn't have gotten any luckier in that department. Dan is one of the neatest men I know, and I am so grateful for the way he has welcomed me into his family as if I were one of his own! He has done a great job raising Travis to be such a wonderful man (with the help of LeAnne of course.) He has the best stories you'll ever hear and he too is a wonderful grandpa to Hali!

Of course we can't forget Grandpas. I have the best, most supportive Grandpas in the world! Seriously, ever since I can remember they have always supported me in everything I have done. They were at my softball, volleyball, and basketball games, over for birthdays, and pretty much anything else that was going on in my life!
As you can see, I am blessed with many great men in my life and I love them all!

Beautiful baby blues

2008-06-02T12:09:00.000-07:00

Of course being Hali's mother I think everything about her is beautiful, but lately her eyes have been getting a lot of compliments from complete strangers. Just recently her eyes have gotten drastically bluer, and I guess I am not the only one who has noticed. I took this picture the other night and realized just how blue they really are getting!

Growing Girl

2008-06-02T12:00:00.000-07:00

We just took Hali in for her 6 month check up (at 6 1/2 months) and we were surprised at just how much she has grown. She is now 19 pounds (fully clothed) and 27 inches. This puts our Hali in the 90th percentile in both height and weight. She also got two shots, and did really well. She is one healthy girl, and we sure are grateful.

First Little Piggy Tails

2008-06-02T11:49:00.000-07:00

I decided to give pig tails a try in Hali's hair. They looked so darn cute, however, she wasn't so willing to let me do them. The first pony she was okay with (she is use to having just one) but she sure fought me on the second one. So for now this will be the first and last time she will have pig tails (hence all the pictures).

A lot of updates as usual...

2008-05-20T00:06:00.001-07:00

Fun weekend in Richfield

2008-05-19T23:42:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday through Saturday Hali and I hung out at my parent's house in Richfield while Travis went with his dad and brothers camping and fishing in Wyoming. We had a lot of fun, and Hali had a lot of firsts. She rode on the four-wheeler for the first time with Grandpa and seemed to enjoy it. She also got to swing for the first time in Grandma's swing which you can see she had fun. She had ice cream for the first time on her half birthday with her Grandma (at least the first I know about) and absolutely loved it! Hali loved rolling all over the carpet, and was making some pretty funny faces and you can see from the picture. We got to see a lot of family, shop a little, look at houses and relax a lot. It was a great weekend. Thanks mom and dad for letting us stay with you. Hali loved spending time with her Grandma and Grandpa Barney!!

Six Months on the 16th!

2008-05-19T23:11:00.000-07:00

Every month I do one of these it makes me very sad to see my baby growing up! It is a good thing they just get more fun the older they get. Still I can't believe she is already six months. At this point in her life she still loves her toes, sucking on anything, Baby Einstein, Mommy, Daddy, stroller rides, bath time, being outside, being tossed up in the air, peek-a-boo, and singing. Her favorite songs at this time are 'If You're Happy and You Know It', 'Apples and Bananas' (yes the vowel song), and 'When Daddy Comes Home'. She is now rolling all over the place and sitting up like such a big girl. She really hadn't shown a lot of progress in sitting up, and then yesterday (May 18th) she did it all by herself for about twenty minutes. Since yesterday she has just been getting better! We are so proud of our little Hali 'bug' and we can't imagine our life without her! Happy Six Month's Hal! To celebrate her special day I let her eat ice cream for the first time with Grandma Barney!

Swimming for the first time!

2008-05-19T22:51:00.000-07:00

This was actually a little while ago (May 10th), but again I can't just not post about it. Hali went swimming with her dad for the first time in her Grandma and Grandpa Hoopes' pool. It was still quite cold (as you can see I'm not in the water) but it didn't even phase her. She just kind of hung out kicking in the water. By far her favorite part was going into the cave. She just loved looking up at the water as is came down from the rocks. This gets me very excited because I have a feeling we will be swimming a lot this summer! In fact we went again today with all of her cousins from the Barney side, and she loved it just as much!

Happy Mother's Day!

2008-05-19T22:31:00.000-07:00

I know I am way behind, but considering I print these posts off and put them in a journal I can't forget this special holiday. I feel so blessed to finally have this opportunity to be a mother; it is such an amazing feeling. After having several mother's days go by with wanting nothing more than to have a baby, it really makes me appreciate this special day even more! Being a mother also opens your eyes to just how much your own mother loves you, and it makes me really appreciate my mom. She has done and still does so much for me and I love her very much! I have also been blessed with a wonderful mother in-law who treats me as if I were her own. Not to mention my awesome Grand Mothers, who are the most supportive Grandmas I know! I am a very lucky girl to have wonderful 'mothers' in my life and to have the chance to work on becoming a wonderful mother myself! Happy belated Mother's day to all! In my defense everyday is mother's day because it is a job that never ends once it starts, unlike birthdays or other holidays!

From her back to her belly!

2008-05-10T15:02:00.000-07:00

When Hali was about 4 months she rolled from her belly to her back, but couldn't roll the other way around. As of Saturday May 2nd she has learned how to roll from her back to her belly. However, sometimes she forgets how to get back to laying on her back, so she gets really mad. She isn't really rolling all over the place yet. She is pretty content to stay wherever we put her, at least for now right?!
Starting position...

Ta-Da - Good Job Hal!

Class of 2008 - COLLEGE GRADUATE

2008-05-10T14:10:00.000-07:00

I am a little late at posting Travis' graduation, but I just wanted to share some pictures from the big event. He graduated with his bachelors from Dixie's Business program. I am very grateful to Travis for working so hard. It hasn’t been easy for him to balance both full time school and work, adjusting to sleepless nights with a new baby, and being the YM president, but he has done a great job! He just applied to SUU's MBA program starting in the fall, so we are hoping he gets accepted. On top of school and work he has been working on getting his Administrators license, so this summer he will be taking (and passing) all of his tests. School is not one of Travis' favorite things to do, so I'm proud of him for working so hard even though I know he would much rather be at the lake! Congratulations Trav!
Walking through the 'D'
Hali was such a good girl during the graduation ceremony!

The clan of graduates!
Now that is what a college graduate looks like!
Hali is so proud of her daddy!
She sure loved that tassel
Hali with Grandma and Grandpa Barney - thanks for coming, it meant a lot!
Travis and Clint's proud parents!

This was us four years ago today!

2008-05-07T12:51:00.000-07:00

Remember this day? You better! Happy Anniversary babe!! We have made so many great memories in these short four years, and everyday I find more reasons why I love you! Of course the top one being finally welcoming our little Hali into our family - getting her here was our biggest trial, but she is our greatest accomplishment thus far! You are the best daddy, and nobody can make Hali smile the way you do! I have enjoyed sharing your love of travel, and we have been on some great vacations including Hawaii several times, San Diego each year, our first cruise, and all of our road trips to Richfield. Even though I know all of your jokes, I still think you are hilarious and have the quickest wit of anyone I know!! Whether we are tarring walls, cleaning, or just hanging out at home it is always a blast because you have a way of making any situation fun! I am so proud of you for everything you do and have done to make our lives better. You have worked so hard in school and in work for our family, and we are very grateful for it! In my opinion we have had the best four years ever, and I look forward to many great years to come.
HAPPY 4th ANNIVERSARY, I love you Trav!

Two Major Milestones for Hali

2008-04-29T11:00:00.000-07:00

Hali hit two very exciting milestones (not your typical baby milestones) the same week she turned five months, at least exciting for us.
1. Her clogged tear duct in her right eye finally cleared up. Hurray! She has had this problem since she was born and everybody told me that it usually goes away in the first three months. Well for Hali it was five months. The poor girl always had her parents picking at her eye to clean it up. She constantly had tears running from it. I look at all of her past pictures and in most of them her eye is red (probably because we wanted to clean it up for the pictures we were taking). I love to wake up and see both of her eyes instead of one open and the other glued shut. Here are some before and after pictures. The before picture doesn't give just how bad it was justice! (You have to enlarge the picture to even see it.) Like I said I tried to clean it up before pictures, so this is about half of what it was usually. Everybody who sees her now says "did her eye clear up?"
BEFORE

AFTER

2. She finally decided to take another binkie! This is very exciting for several reasons. For one, she loves her binkie so much that it is in almost every picture and I was so tired of not seeing half of her face because it was being covered by the huge green circle! Not to mention when those green binkies fall out they bounce clear across the room because you can't put them on binkie clips. The day she turned five months I decided to revisit my assorted collection of cute pink and purple binkies. I put each one in her mouth and she spit most of them out, but this is the one that stuck! Perfect, I was so excited! I think she even likes this one better than the big green monster binkie!
BEFORE

AFTER

Yummy Cereal

2008-04-23T23:38:00.000-07:00

On Hali's five month birthday we decided to give the rice cereal a try. She did pretty good. I don't know that she really loved it, but she didn't hate it either. As long as she has something in her tummy she is happy, it doesn't really matter to her what it is. Here are some cute pictures from the big event.
First veggie: squash
First fruit: applesauce

What is this stuff?

First bite.

I don't know about this.

All done, clean up!

I've been Spoiled!

2008-04-22T23:18:00.000-07:00

I just want to share some of the fun things I have gotten recently and LOVE!! (this is for you mom, since I've told you all about my fun new toys.)

1) My new Dyson slim vacuum. I have never been so excited to clean in my life. The first time I vacuumed my house with it I was embarrassed by just how much dust and dirt my old vacuum missed. It is one of the best birthday presents ever!

2) My new jogging stroller. I've wanted to get into running, but couldn't take Hali in her regular stroller, so this is what we got and so far I love it (the day I have had it, that is)!

3) My Ipod shuffle! I haven't officially opened and used this yet because it is a Mother's day gift, but I am super excited about it. We already have the video Ipod, but Travis is always using it so I wanted something of my own. I didn't need anything fancy, I just love the clip and how how small it is. Just for your information it is $48.00 regular $78.00 at Walmart right now. I checked all of the sites Ebay, Overstock, etc and yes you can get a refurbished one for the same price, but not a new one. It's a great deal for anyone interested.

What the Hoopes' have been up to...

2008-04-16T14:18:00.000-07:00

Apparently I have been looking at everybody else's blogs rather that posting on my own. I was way overdo so again there are many new posts!

Five Months Old and Tagged!

2008-04-16T11:37:00.000-07:00

Yes it's true Hali is already five months old today! She is just growing up way to fast for us. She was tagged by her little friend Kate so I thought today would be a great day to do it.

HALI'S TOP 10 FAVORITE THINGS!

1. Her binki – she has loved this thing since the day she was born. It calms her down puts her to sleep and gives her a toy to play with. I’m not really looking forward to the day I have to take it away from her!
2. Her baths – she is such a water baby that even if she is screaming at the top of her lungs all we have to do it put her in the bathtub to calm her right down.
3. Her swing – I just don’t know what I would do without this thing. She just loves it and still takes most of her naps in it.
4. Her blanket – this girl has more blankets than any baby should have, but she definitely has a favorite. She loves her pink and brown striped and polka dot blanket. It is so soft she just loves to rub her face on it. I have to constantly wash it because it is always with us getting spit up on and whatever else; so my mom decided to make her another one so she would always have one while the other is in the wash! Thanks Grandma!!
5. Sucking on her hands – I swear half of my pictures her hands are in her mouth. She just loves them, and she is now starting to suck only on her thumb. I’m not really sure how I feel about that one.
6. “Superman” with dad – this has been something Travis has done with her ever since she was very little. At first it made me nervous seeing my little baby flying through the air on one hand, but now I just love seeing the two of them smile when they do it (of course with the song Travis sings too).
7. To eat – this girl is on a three hour eating schedule and she’ll remind you if you forget. She can be such a bear when she is hungry, but once she has a full belly she is as happy as can be!
8. Baby Einstein – she has just started to like these movies. I get to pick up my bedroom and do laundry while she sits on my bed and watches it.
9. Daddy – He is a lot more fun than me and definitely has a way with making her laugh, whenever she sees him she just lights up!
10. Mommy – I saved myself for last because as the saying goes ‘last the best of all the game’ right?! I have to be one of her favorites because I'm with her the most! Whenever she is upset and nobody else can calm her down, usually I just have to hold her and rock her to calm her down. It sure is nice to be wanted and loved that much!
Hali has brought so much joy to our lives and we love her so much!! We just love our little ‘bug’!

If you have a child (or more) you are tagged! Do it, it's a lot of fun!

McKenzie's Baby Shower!

2008-04-16T11:09:00.000-07:00

Throughout my life I have been blessed with awesome friends who have always been a good influence on me and the decisions I have made. This past weekend we went to Richfield to have a baby shower for my good friend McKenzie. She is having a baby boy in May. Ever since we graduated from High School we have celebrated bridal showers, and are now doing the baby showers! We had it at Pepperbelly's in Richfield and we ended up staying there for over three hours talking! It is so much fun to get together with these girls and reminisce about crazy things we use to do, high school dances, boyfriends, sports, and where we are now in our lives. It doesn't matter how long it has been since we've seen each other we can always get together and have more to talk about that time! I look forward to the next event we have to celebrate together. Love you girls!

First Ponytail!

2008-04-16T10:58:00.000-07:00

After I saw several blogs of friends who were doing pigtails in their babies’ hair I thought I'd give it a try. However, Hali was squirming way to much to get piggy tails so I was only able to get one, but it still looks cute! I didn't take these pictures until that night when I was ready to take it out so it doesn't look nearly as cute as it did that morning, but she's cute anyway!!

Happy Birthday to Me!

2008-04-16T10:34:00.000-07:00

On April 8th I turned 24 and had a great birthday! Hali and I just hung out that day and then we went to Olive Garden for dinner when Travis got off work. That night Travis threw a little party for me with friends and family. We had a lot of fun. Thank you to all of you who were able to come. I got a lot of fun gifts including: a movie (All Dogs Go to Heaven) and candy from Clint and Angie, a cute mom picture from Stacy, Brad and the kids, BBW soap (and not to forget Amish bread) from Jeremy and Paty, a cute muffin mix from Grandma and Grandpa Searle, a Pandora bracelet, and new shoes from the Hoopes, a cute flower charm (for the bracelet) from Shellee (and a delicious birthday cake she made), the Penuche recipe I've been wanting FOREVER from my mom along with some cooking items, money from family, clothes and other things from Travis, and the item I've been wanting for some time now - A NEW VACUUM! I was very spoiled and had a wonderful day! Thank you everybody for making my day special!

Just like Daddy

2008-04-03T13:20:00.000-07:00

Two peas in a pod!

More and more everyday I am seeing this little girl's personality and at this stage in the game she is just like her daddy: loves to smile and make others smile, laughs constantly, full of mischief, makes funny noises and loves to hear herself. Like I said just like Travis. Those of you who know him know he loves to make others laugh, is very optimistic and happy, is extremely energetic (never stops), kind, sensitive, often CRAZY, and most importantly everybody loves him and he gets along with everyone! They match each other to a T! I love it, but sometimes between the both of them I am exhausted by the end of the day! Thank you for filling my life with excitement, I love you both!!

BLOG OVERLOAD Keep Scrolling Down

2008-03-25T23:50:00.001-07:00

Easter

2008-03-25T23:20:00.000-07:00

This year we had a fun Easter with both of our families. On Saturday morning we found our Easter baskets at my parent’s house in Richfield. Hali's Easter basket had her Easter dress in it along with the movie Enchanted and the usual Easter candy. Travis's had the movie Pirates of the Caribbean and a new snowboard Wii game in his basket. In the afternoon we headed to the traditional Easter egg hunt at Grandma and Grandpa Barney's house. We had fun finding Hali's eggs for the first time. I'm sure she will have more fun looking for them next year. After the hunt we had our Barney family lunch and basketball games at the church in Aurora. It was a lot of fun to see my family I haven't seen in a while. After the lunch we headed to St. George for a Birthday barbeque. We were able to spend time with Travis's family. On Sunday we went to church, went to dinner at the Hoopes', and celebrated Trav's birthday. We had a lot of fun just spending time with each other and with our family. Easter has always been one of my favorite holidays. Hopefully next year we can get the rolling the eggs down the hill in!

Getting so big...

2008-03-25T23:11:00.000-07:00

We took Hali to the doctor last week and here is what we found out.
Weight: 15.9 lbs (fully clothed) look at those cute chubby legs
Length: 25 inches
Head: 40 cm
She had to get two shots, and she did really well. She is a very healthy and happy girl. We love her so much!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TRAVIS!

2008-03-25T22:48:00.000-07:00

Saturday March 22nd Travis turned 26 years old! We had just a fun relaxing day. Due to Easter we kind of celebrated for two days. Anybody who knows Travis knows he loves birthdays, and the surprises that come along with them. To make a very long story short I thought that on accident he had found out what I was getting him for his birthday (a Hyperlite wakeskate). So I decided to switch it up a bit and surprise him by giving him a fishing pole in the wakeskate box. Travis really doesn't enjoy fishing. From the pictures you can tell he wasn't thrilled by the fishing pole, but was sure excited to see the wakeskate! We sure love you Trav and hope you had a fun birthday!!

Mexican Riviera Cruise 2008

2008-03-17T16:11:00.001-07:00

Four Months Old!

2008-03-16T19:00:00.000-07:00

Wow these months sure are flying by, and our baby Hali is growing up so big. It's such a bitter sweet feeling for us because we want her to stay little. However, she is getting to be so much fun with every day that passes. Hali rolled from her belly to her back on March 13th. She also learned a new trick today! She has learned to pucker up with her beautiful lips! However, the only boy who gets her kisses is her Daddy! We are still hit and miss with her sleeping through the night, but hopefully she'll get the hang of it soon! We take her to the doctor tomorrow to find out exactly how big she is, but we can tell she is definitely growing. She is such a happy and content little girl. On the other hand I can tell she will be a little tease just like her dad. We sure love this girl!

Help - Pacifier Problems...

2008-03-06T15:23:00.000-08:00

From day one Hali has been a pacifier baby which I am okay with. However, there is only one binki she likes and it's the big huge green one from the hospital which is the easiest for her to knock out! When Hali was in the NICU they were constantly dipping the pacifier in the "Sweet-Ease" which is basically sugar water!! It took us quite a while to get her to take the pacifier without that stuff, but we finally did it. So I should be happy that she just takes it without the 'sweet-ease' right? Wrong, now that she has found her mouth with her hands she is constantly knocking it out of her mouth because she wants to suck on her hands too. The only way she will go to sleep is with the pacifier, but when she wakes up in the middle of the night (sometimes 10 times) and her pacifier is not in her mouth she freaks out. I have tried to just let her cry herself to sleep many many times, but for whatever reason it doesn't work with her (she only gets more upset!) I could only stand to hear her cry for 40 minutes max! As you can see I have bought many different kinds of pacifiers, but she will only take the hospital one! Not to mention the hospital pacifier should only be used up to three months of age! I am desperate, any suggestions?

Hoopes Look-alike Meter

2008-02-28T12:50:00.001-08:00

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebs - Collage - Morph
It is always so funny to me to hear people say "oh she looks just like Travis" or "she looks just like you" so I thought I would put it to the test. According to this test she looks more like me. What do you think?

TAGGED AGAIN...

2008-02-22T09:58:00.000-08:00

TEN YEARS AGO.... I was 13, enjoying being able to tell people that I was now a 'teenager' and probably acting like one as well!! I was also playing Jr. Jazz basketball at this time.

FIVE PLACES THAT I HAVE VISITED....... Hawaii (Maui and Oahu), Mexico (Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara), San Diego, Canada (Niagra Falls), I drove from Richfield to New York on a Church History trip in High School, so we stopped at a lot of places on the way there!

FIVE THINGS ON MY TO DO LIST.......
1. Work out (I'm with Heidi on losing the baby weight!)
2. Laundry - organize Hali's room
3. Scrapbook Hali's pictures with the digital scrapbooking I got for Christmas
4. Clean out my car
5. Go visiting teaching

I ENJOY..... spending time with Travis and Hali, sleeping in, a clean house, being with family and friends, vacations (more specifically Maui), anything sweet, shopping, going to the lake, decorating

THREE BAD HABITS.....
1. Not being able to say no
2. Procrastinating, I always wait until the last minute to do stuff, however, I always get it done. I think I work better under pressure. This leads right into my next bad habit...
3. Being late (I inherited this from the Barney side) but ever since we had Hali it's even worse!

FIVE THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT ME........ You are all going to think I'm crazy!
1. Ever since I had Hali I CRAVE crushed ice. I really need to be checked for anemia!
2. I love the smell of household cleaners, or better said a clean house!
3. When I go to sleep Travis and my pillow have to be touching - weird I know!
4. On my stomach I have over 12 inches of scarring
5. My favorite shows are John and Kate + Eight (TLC), and Man vs. Wild( Discovery)

FIVE JOBS THAT I HAVE HAD..... My worklife started as a lunch lady in the summer for the free lunch program. I then advanced to a 'housekeeper' at the Comfort Inn in Richfield. I came to college and tended my nephew for a job. I worked at the St. George Rec center, and then I taught first and second grade for almost three years. Finally, the best and hardest job of all is being a stay at home mom! (sorry I guess that was six)

I tag Makenzie, Mary, Prentiss, Talia, Mickell

Hali's First Lake Trip!

2008-02-18T19:20:00.000-08:00

Getting her lifejacket on!
Our first family picture at the lake!
Just chillin on the boat!

Today Hali made her first trip to Quail lake! Travis's dad is selling their old boat so we needed to make sure it was running good. So Travis and I thought we'd take this opportunity to give Hali her first boat ride! Travis also wanted to get her use to her new 'Hyperlite' lifejacket she got for Christmas! Overall, she didn't mind it. We were only on the lake for maybe ten minutes. The lifejacket didn't really bother her it was more the sun in her eyes she didn't really like so much. It makes Travis and I excited for the summer when we can actually put her in the water!