Becoming a Princess.

The Jr. Miss theme this year was Princess Bootcamp. In preparation for Hailee's Princess Birthday Party, she too has been participating in Princess Bootcamp.

Assignment #1

Hang out in Mommy's classroom with some fun kids, and draw cool pictures while mom does Zumba!

Assignment #2

Wear Mommy's old dress to church. Bring flowers with you to visit Grandma Trudy and Aunt Heidi's graves.

Assignment#3

Go crazy with yourself as you attend the Ward Topsy-Turvey Party. Wear several bows, a crazy skirt, a swim top, and possibly some red tights.

Assignment #4

Spend as much time as possible in your work overalls and puddle boots. Play hard in the mud, find as many rocks as possible, and cover the cats with mud.

Assignment #5

Just for fun, put a whole roll of toilet paper in the toilet. Smile and be proud of your accomplishment. Make sure you get mom and show her how cool you filled the potty!

Assignment #6

Spend an evening decorating Spring Cookies with mommy and Uncle AJ. Grandpa and Grandma Armstrong can help too! Don't eat the cookies though, just the icing. Then take the cookies around to a few friends and neighbors!!

Congratulations!!!!



You passed.....

Little Miss Princess!

CAUTION: Mass Posts ahead, move with care!

Hailee, Roni, Lorelei, and I went to my cousin Crystal's baby shower. She is having a little girl and we are very excited for them and their girls. We went down and were able to do a little shopping as well. It was a fun girl time and Hailee esspecially loved spending time with Aunt Roni!







Don't you love how they match! Grandma doesn't always get time with Hailee when Grandpa is around (he's a bit spoiled) so it is good that they had some time together! Hailee was getting tired by this point, but she was so cute the entire afternoon. She even went potty so well for me that day!

Crystal and her girls opening presents!

Crystal's daughter, Isabelle, had some complications after her birth that left her with little use in her legs. She rips around in this cool chair, and Hailee thought she needed a try too. I was suprised she figured out how it worked. I even caught her doing a wheely once! Isabelle was actually supposed to be our flower girl at our wedding, but ended up in the hospital for some reason. She is sure a cutie and was actually walking around with her braces at the party! WAHOO ISABELLE!

Anyway watch out for SEVERAL posts following.....

Feeding Fish, Stickers, and Babies.

Hailee LOVES babies. She is always alert to their cries in the stores, on the TV, and e0.......sspecially her dolls. She watches her movies with them, prays with them, and dances. I love watching her play mommy because I see her do things that I do. She makes dinner all the time and calls, "Honey, dinner!" It is so cute watching her change and learn new things!

She learned to put stickers all over herself from her friend Berick. I am pretty sure I mentioned her being afraid of the stickers and then getting over it. We find these stickers everywhere. Curt often finds them on his shoes, coat, and other various things. I think it is her way of leaving us love notes or something. She loves covering our arms with them and then putting them right back. It is really adorable.

Grandpa teaching Hailee cool tricks, while feeding the fish. He is always teaching her stuff that she later gets in trouble for doing on her own. That's what Grandpas are for though, and she wouldn't have it anyother way!

A while back we went and fed the fish with my dad, Lorelei, and Jase. It was really fun and the fish were jumping great! Hailee even through the bread out to the "baby fishies." I like Spring Feeding the Fish way more than Fall or even Summer because the fish are actually hungry! We want to go again soon if anyone wants to join in the fun!

I know I have a habit of "over-posting/mass posting," but these memories are important to me and to our Blog Book. I appreciate those faithful friends who try to keep up and leave comments.

0~0~Easter~0~0

~The Easter Bunny's Goods~

Although we missed out on a terrible Spring Storm that left the "home" Easter Egg Hunt in the snow, we were freezing in the wind. Notice the green grass. We had a great time at the Egg Hunt and Hailee kept wanting to run out and grab all of the eggs before the bell (we have been practicing). I kept holding her back and when the bell finally did ring, she was more interested in the Easter Bunny than in the eggs. I convinced her to grab a few and then we went to fing the Bunny. Once we got to him she took one look and SCREAMED!!! Yikes. They are a bit freaky looking if you ask me!

Nic did great and got TONS of eggs. It was a pretty neat experience to see a different small town's version of an Egg Hunt. I am grateful for the green grass and sunshine, but I will remind you. We did FREEZE in the wind. Hailee couldn't even wait to watch Nic's hunt before she got too cold and had to get in the car.

Notice the Princess Pail. We don't go far without something "Princess" with us and that would include Easter experiences!

The morning of Easter we woke up to find that the Easter Bunny had come! He is such a clever and talented little bunny. He hid Easter Eggs all over the house, including way up high in the antlers and on the deer. Nic and Hailee both had a lot of fun finding all of the Eggs filled with sweet treats!

This picture was taken the week before Easter. This is the Easter Dress she got from us. I loved the blue and knew it would look awesome on her! She is starting to do cheesy grins and modeling for the camera. This is a good thing because I like to take her picture!

This picture was also taken a little before, but I am so grateful that my mom spent Easter with us. Her and Jack spent a lot of time hanging out at the Hunt, for dinner with Christina, and then swimming and breakfast. I love my mom and Hailee adores her. Happy Easter a little late!

Spring Break, Time with Cousins part 2

For MY spring break this year I decided Hailee and I would head down and spend it in Twin with family. Curt has been down there working this spring and I figured we might be able to spend some time, especially Easter with him. Of course Hailee loved every second with Nic and hated leaving. She continually asks to return to Nic's house, especially in the morning when she has to go to the sitters! We were fortunate to come right before a huge storm and so Curt was able to spend A LOT of the time with us. The kids played a lot and they also pulled a bunch of "sibling" type- fights. It was fun watching them.
I love hanging out with Christina and wish we were closer so that we could spend more time together. She made us a VERY tastey dinner among many breakfasts. We were there to enjoy Curtis's birthday, even though he was gone majority of the time doing taxes. He is a really great guy and has been very helpful to us as we have figured out farm details and of course our taxes. I will post an Easter Post next but here are a few of the other fun things we did while we were there! This was so cute! Nic and Hailee were pretending to be Indiana Jones. Hailee was actually playing "copy Nic" but it worked out! They each had hats and bags to carry their stuff. They marched around the house doing all sorts of things. Nic was going to some temple I think and Hailee wanted to go to the Church. This was a fight at first, but we talked them into pretending to go to the same place and it worked.

My mom and Jack met us in Twin to celebrate Easter. They rented a motel and let us all come swimming! It was so much fun! Both of the girls loved swirling around in the water and watching Nic do all sorts of trics and dives! Hailee also jumped in a lot. She lacks fear and it was good there were four people in the water to keep track of her! My mom actually got in the pool this time and she had a lot of fun. She tried to race me several times, but I always beat her. It was pretty funny actually!

Curtis and his birthday pie! Just a side note: This picture was taken in complete dark! I think it is weird how the camera works better in the dark than in the light!!

Happy Birthday CURTIS!!!

Nic and Hailee had a picnic the first night. It was so fun for both of them and Hailee is officially hooked on chicken nuggets. I've tried them in the past and she never liked them, but I think Nic has persuaded her! YEAH!!!

We also made a stop and visited with my Uncle Gary, Aunt Nancy, and Danny! They are totally cool and we had a great time. Hailee is ussually pretty nervous around Dan for the first little while, but she always warms up! Dan is such a cool dude and he thinks Hailee is pretty cute>
It is sure a busy place at my Uncle's. They have four dogs. One HUGE black lab/moose. One lab/pug mix that is great with Danny and kids as he will let you do anything you want! One tiny chiwauwa (SP) that thinks it is as big as the HUGE lab/moose. One old, blind, deaf dog that comes out only for food. Oh and two cats! It was really exciting just watching the dogs express their personalities. Hailee loves animals, but I think she was a little cautious there as well!

It was an EXCELLENT spring break and I wouldn't have done it any other way! I loved spending time with Curt even though it meant skipping a week seeing him. Thanks to everyone who spent time with us and for making it a great experience!

TLC time with some pretty cool cousins! part 1

~~~~So we have also been busy spending some time with family~~~~

We are so lucky to have family close and unfortunately we don't take advantage of spending time together as we should. However, we have been able to visit a bit over the last month. Our nephews Stephen and Andrew are both very talented musicians and we hoped to go to one of their concerts, but it got canceled so we hung out instead! They are so cool and Hailee really loves being with them!
We also spent a whole week with my sister-in-law Christina and her totally amazing kids Nic and Trudy. It was Nic's Spring Break so ofcourse they wanted to hangout on the farm (I'm sure we were a bit of an incentive as welll! I hope!) Hailee talks about Nic all the time and always wants to play with him. Along with the babysitter's daughter, Alison, Nic is Hailee's best friend. She is also obsessed with baby Trudy! She always wants to hold her and get her toys. It isn't really that shocking because Hailee is obsessed with babies period, she just has a bit of a claim on Trudy.

I loved having Nic around. Hailee adores him and tries everything he does. He was ussually so patient with her and I know it can be hard! He is getting so smart and growing up really fast! He was born the summer Curt and I started dating so it has been fun to watch him grow up. He is quite the little reader and would read to Hailee often! Thanks for being so awesome bud!

I love this picture and I think I am going to frame it up for both Christina and I. I love how they match, and yet I am just realizing it as I type this!!

Hailee moments.

Hailee is learning so much everyday! She is saying all sorts of things and doing things everyday that brighten my day. I want to document these and share them with the few people that pay attention to my blog :)

She loves the Disney Princesses.

She notices them everywhere we go, and begs for them. She loves printing pictures off with her Aunt Cathy and carries them around for days even into the stores. She will eat, wear, or watch anything you want her to if you mention it has princesses in/on it. She has recently started the "my favorite" outfit stage. Her favorite outfit is currently a princess nightgown. She wore it all day today, and I figured "why not!" It is in the wash now, but I am sure it will be back on soon! Her favorite princess changes by the moment, but most of the time it is Ariel.
Below is Hailee's conversation with her 5 month old cousin Trudy. Oh, and in case you wondered Hailee is doing all the talking.

"Trudy, movie?"

"Yeah, Movie!"

"Ariel?"

"YEAH, yeah, Ariel!"

"Kayyyy, Ariel...cute..."

She loves to sing and dance along with the princesses. She knows all of their sidekicks (Flounder, Mrs. Potts, Raja, GusGus).
My favorite part of the princesses lately is her ability to sing-a-long with them. She will literally sing the Ariel song, "look at this stuff...." the whole way through. She dances along and does all the actions and voices. She evens pulls off a great Scuttle.

Yes, we probably watch too many Princess movies with her, but she absolutely adores them!

MONSTERS?

Ok so I don't have any idea where my not-yet-two-year-old found out about monsters hiding in her room, but it is absolutely heart-breaking.

Last week, on Monday, she started screaming when the furnace turned on. She has never done this before, but she came running to me screaming "Monters, Monters, Mommy! Monters, cared me!"

I sort of laughed, but not really because she was crying! UGH!!!! I told her there weren't any monsters, but she wouldn't let me put her down the rest of the night. She is getting a bit better, but even now she still wakes up in the night screaming about "monters." Sometimes it takes over an hour to get her back to sleep. I feel so bad, and I don't know what else to do.

Pepsi

I am sure it won't be a suprise to anyone to know that Curt loves Pepsi. The entire Stegelmeier Family is pretty attached to the drink. Hailee sees it all the time, but she really doesn't like any kind of pop. She is starting to like juice, but mostly she LOVES water. In the last week she has started asking for Pepsi. She doesn't even drink it, but she wants one by her. When we go to town and stop at the store Curt will ask if I want anything. Hailee makes us laugh because she has been asking "Pesi Daddy?" She does this all the time and it cracks us up.

On Saturday we stopped at Stronks' for some tools, well of course Curt asks if I need anything. I tell him no and in the back Hailee says, "Pesi, pease!" Curt comes out of the store and hands me a drink and then gets out the Coke he bought. Hailee asks for her "Pesi" but he tells her they don't have it. She literally wouldn't even touch the Coke, and she remembered all the way home and got one out of the fridge. What a goofball!!!!

Clean Freak!

I probably brought this on myself, but Hailee is a crazy germ freak. She hates being sticky. This can be a problem for a child who LOVES waffles and pancakes. She always insists on doing things by herself, but she gets so sticky! She will go through tons of napkins everytime she eats because she needs a new napkin after every bite! This is a good thing because I want a clean kid, but it is also a hassle.

She also loves having a clean nose. She has been sick a lot and so her nose is pretty sore at times. I am always wiping her nose, which she hates, but yet ALWAYS asks me to wipe it. She will run over to me and say, "Mommy, boogers!"as I wipe her nose she is saying "EW, Yuck!"

In fact, the "Ew, Yuck" phrase is mentioned a lot by her. She ways it when she doesn't like the food in front of her. She says it when she sees a bug. She even says it when we try to kiss her sometimes! I love that she is such a girl, but at the same time I don't know if I can handle all the "Ew, Yuck's!" I'd rather have that then have her running around dirty and eating gross things I guess!!!

The EYE Roll

How and when do girls learn to have attitude. I honestly think they must be born with it. Recently we are seeing Hailee's attitude come to life. She has begun the "Eye roll." I couldn't believe it the first time either, but she really is doing it. When she is pouting she will put her head in her arms then look up at us stiking her lip out. My favorite is when she is "ignoring" us. We might ask her to do something and she will stay where she is and roll her eyes back. I have seen her do this a lot over silly things, and I laugh so hard. I am still learning how to laugh on the inside and be "tough mom" on the outside. For now this is a really cute "attitude," but like the tantrums, it will get old!