Well Hali is now one year old and she is acting the part very well. She is starting to whine when she doesn’t get something. She runs away when I want her to stay. She rolls all over people if they lay on the floor, Hali seems to be able to carry on full sentences with us and sometimes it makes sense.


For her birthday my dad got her some pj’s and my mom made her a hooded towel. Scott got her a piano. Aaron and I gave her a musical dog and twin babies. The first thing she did with the baby was pick it up by its feet and banged them together saying “patty patty.” She also learned to say baby later that night and says it really well but it some times sounds French, “bebe” Mom gave her a stroller to go with the babies too. Hali and Lizzy both can put the baby in the stroller and walk around with it. When I tell Hali to give the baby a hug she picks it up and hugs it and sways sometimes.

She can point out the nose, mouth and eyes and say “eye.” She can also give the baby kisses if we ask her too. Grandma P* gave her a dress And my friend Kellie got her some books and CD’s she loves them.

She loved opening all her presents and when it came to the cake she actually was not to sure if she shouldtouch it but she finally did and had fun.

A couple of weeks ago she started saying “mmmm” after eating something she liked so when I ask her “is that good” she says “mmmm.” Like with this spaghetti she had for the first time.

A lot of the time she will pick up something and say “what’s this” or at least it sounds like that. You can kind of her it in the video clip.

She also says “ouuu” when she hurts herself. She is working on itsy bitsy spider she can do the itsy bitsy spider part and down came the rain with her hands. On the 8^th she went for her 1 year check up and her shots she is 27 ½ inches tall 18lbs 12oz and is in the 25%.

Well the reason I have not been keeping up to date is because we have been remodeling the family room and halls and bathrooms and we are all so busy taking down all the pictures, painting, sanding, pulling up the rugs, shopping, planning you name it. Even though it is a lot of work I enjoy doing this kind of stuff. So here are a few sneak peeks before we put in the furniture. I really want to paint that back wall where the fireplace is but not too sure what color any ideas? Also, below the wood trim in the hallway. Dad is thinking wall paper but I like paint.

vacation!

Aaron has started at General Mills and has learned he does not enjoy working eight hour days inside a factory. I finished the garden mostly well everything is planted and it was a lot of work. We have zucchini, yellow squash and butter nut squash in the round beds. We have cucumbers, peas and eventually beans on the trellis. The tomatoes are by the shed, watermelon in pots on the cement and spinach and lettuce in the raised bed. I also planted pumpkins in pots in the front yard and will put together a bed or pots of herbs this week. So we have been pretty busy and took two vacations as well. Last weekend we drove down to LA for Aaron’s Grandparents, 50^th wedding anniversary. It was a lot of fun it looked like a wedding reception all over again; there was a huge beautiful cake, lots of fun finger foods, balloons and slide shows of their life together. I enjoyed hearing about each child’s thought of their parents; it was fun to learn more about the Patrick side of the family. While we were in LA his grandparents took us out for breakfast to Hometown Buffet…. Yummmm! Then we went to the park and watched his cousin Haylee play soft ball. It was very cold and windy, but I had so much fun! Her dad Glen is the assistant coach, which is so cool. They have twin daughters that are four that play tee ball, they are so cute too. I want my kids to play sports that they enjoy and support them by coaching or going to all the games, just like Glen and Julie they are a great example. We also went to the aquarium and the Korean friendship bell in San Pedro with his cousin Nicole and her family, she has four adorable kids! That night we went to Nicole’s house and played Scene It Disney, Nicole and I beat Aaron and Mulek twice! The next day was Aaron’s 26^th birthday I made him French toast and we sang him Happy B-day. Then we went to sacrament and took the long drive home. When we got home we had banana splits and presents. My sister Tina got him the DVD Transformers, my sister Eva got him a great card and an IOU dinner, Mom got him a bamboo rug and I got him two shirts and candy.

Aaron had Good Friday off so we left Thursday afternoon for San Fran. Aaron booked two nights at the Best Western the night before and we did not expect the rooms to be great but they actually were. There was a large king bed, a TV, a fridge and a nice bathroom. We also got breakfast every morning which made it all worth it. Thursday night we walked some of the piers to find dinner and we stopped at Boudin the sourdough bread factory. WE got a clam chowder bowl and a turkey avocado croissant sandwich, they were so yummmy. Where ever we go Hali says Hi and people always say hi back. We met a family there this way, they had gotten together for their grandparents funeral, and anyway they had a baby girl about 6 months older than Hali. They laughed; played peek-a-boo and hugged it was cute. The family thought it was cool that Hali could sign just like their baby and walk well. On Friday we got on our free double Decker bus and toured downtown. Hali loved being on the top and everyone else enjoyed her hi’s when they came on and bye’s when they left. We got off in china town and saw lots of stores bought a few shirts and ate lunch and again it was very good. We then got back on to the bus and stopped in Fisherman’s Warf just in time for our boat ride around the bay. We went all the way under the golden gate bridge and back around Alcatraz. I learned about all the history of San Fran and we all liked the boat ride and watching the water and birds go by. Then we went to Steve & Barry’s and Walgreen’s and bought a shirt for me and jeans for Hali. Then we took the F train back to d-town to watched Jumper at the theater. Hali usually does well but this time she was not too happy. After the movie we took the F train back to Fisherman’s Warf and ate at In-N-Out and Cold Stone. Saturday morning it was actually a very nice warm day, we drove to the golden gate and walked halfway across, it was pretty intense being so high up. We were able to see all of San Fran, lots of sail boats and there were even dolphins and sea lions swimming around. We also saw a big tanker go underneath us. Now we can say we walked on the golden gate bridge even Hali.

Well Hali now says bye bye very well, “buddy” for butterfly and “cott” for Scott. In ASL she does more and milk all the time and all done. She knows patty cake she says “patty, patty” while she claps, “roool” and twists her hands and sometimes throws up her hands for throw it in the oven, it’s really cute. She will copy singing and make up tunes too. She also hits herself in the head with both hands when I take something away from her that she is not supposed to have. She also knows who everyone in the family is, like I will say, “where is Aunt Eva,” and she will look at her then I will ask her where others are and she will find them. Hali walks everywhere now she still falls on her bum sometimes but she does not crawl anymore.

On Easter Sunday, we went to church and Scott and Dad spoke, So it was interesting to listen to the things they had to prepare. I went and sang with the choir even though I had only practiced a couple of times with them. We came home to have Tina, John and Elizabeth visiting for the night. Eva showed up a little later. We had roast and potatoes for dinner and afterward we all open Easter eggs and ate chocolates. Later Hali and Elizabeth opened gifts from grandma. They both got Easter hats and and PJs and Elmo Phones. Hali had fun taking Lizzy’s away and running from me. You can see that in the video. We played some Napoleon Dynamite MAD LIBS and had a good laugh from them. We picked some Oranges and Mandarin oranges to juice later. We had some mango's that John and Tina brought as well. All in all its been a great vacation!

Busy Hali

I was a little photo happy this past week so here are some pics.



When I would change Hali she would always pee as soon as I took her diaper off so for the past month or so I put her on the Baby toilet so I don't have to clean up the mess, its pretty funny because she usually goes every time. She loves to push the handle down because it sounds like a flush then it plays music, she dances to it.




Hali loves bath time so we took a few pictures of that too.
Hali's new words are book and ball so I got them on the camera. She also says a few animal sounds like "mooo", bah-bah" and "doodle dooo" for a rooster -but I have to say them first. For the past couple of days she has been pointing at a wooden owl on the book shelf, Aaron brought it down so she could see it. Then Aaron taught her to say whoooo like an owl, it's cute! I tried to get her to say it but maybe next time. I forget if I mentioned that she says all done, but most of the time it's just "aaaalll." Yesterday we were out in the garden and she herd a dog bark so she picked that up too.
Mom and Dad got a new washer and Dryer and I love them! There is nothing much else going on but Hali I guess.

Tagged!!!

If you're tagged, here's what you do. Post the words in all caps below and fill in info about yourself. Then, at the end you tell who you are tagging & go and tag 5 friends on their blogs. It's just a way to get to know fun little things about people.

TEN YEARS AGO.....I saw everything in black and white, I was skinny, I played soccer and danced, it was my life nothing else really mattered… I was 12.

FIVE PLACES I HAVE LIVED.....
1. Stockton, CA
2. Rexburg, ID
3. Richmond, VA
4. Puerto Rico
5. Missoula, MT ( 1 month does that count)

FIVE THINGS ON MY TO DO LIST......
1. Load up file cabinet and take it to moms work, pick all the oranges and juice them.
2. Cut down the tree in the back, clean gutters and paint the trim.
3. Weed, make beds, and plant the garden when it stops raining.
4. Clean out and organize all closets and take stuff to junk yard.
5. Clean the whole house, make lunch and dinner.

I ENJOY.... working out, going on dates with Aaron, hearing Hali laugh, hosting parties, preparing meals, sewing, scrap booking, watching movies, singing to the radio out loud with my sisters and dancing.

THREE BAD HABITS.....
1. getting angry sometimes when someone is angry at me.
2. Forgetting my phone when I leave.
3. Usually forgetting to take my vitamins.

FIVE THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT ME.....
1. I can sing and want to be in the ward choir.
2. I like to read books. I want to finish all the volumes of the Work and the Glory.
3. I wish I could speak another language.
4. I danced for about 17 years; then stopped; I wish I never did that.
5. I go to bed early so I can get up early before Hali and Aaron to exercise and run.

FIVE JOBS THAT I HAVE HAD.....
1. Office assistant.
2. Tutor/ after school programs.
3. Grounds keeper (watered plants.)
4. Secretary.
5. Worked for Aaron in PR (Slave…j/k)

I tag: Emma, Amber and Katie

Interesting week

Last Sunday before Church our washer flooded part of the house and we have been busy trying to get rid of all the water and find a new washer and dryer. Mom and Dad would like the ones that are front loading so Mom can reach and pull out everything and plus they are energy efficient. We hope that we can get new carpet or wood put down soon so Hali can roam the hallway once again.

I have enjoyed being back in our home ward and seeing so many familiar faces and many new ones. I have been substituting a lot for Primary and I gave a talk last week. Aaron has been called to be one of the teachers in priesthood and he too has to give a talk this week in sacrament meeting.

I am having fun watching Hali grow and learn more everyday she gets so excited and loves life. She is now saying bye, hi and as of today she can say book. She also has started to point at people and talk to them, like, hey you! Listen to me. Hali should be walking pretty soon she can take up to 8 steps now but they are not very stable.

Standing up!!

Hali is now 10 months old and she just learned how to stand up all by herself yesterday. I am trying to get some good footage of Hali dancing and snorting so you can all join in on her humor.

I have been meaning to update but we have been so busy this month. Aaron has finally got his Internship finalized. Yeah! He will be working for General Mills in Lodi as a safety officer. He will be working on a six month project on salary, so I am glad it is temporary, I hope we can learn from this experience. In the
meantime, he has been doing work for Apx, which has worked out really well. He does installs about 3 times a week and a service call or two a day. So, we have a cash flow finally, and he is still around most of the day.

We have been able to do many projects as well. Scott and I have put together 3 loads of junk for the junk yard and Dave used his new truck to take two of them already. The backyard and house are now slightly looking better. Scott and I have also finished his wall paper and it looks great. We cleaned up Mike's room so the babies have a place to play while the girls do some scrap booking and or sewing. Aaron and Scott mounted the projector to the ceiling so we can watch movies on the big screen!

Hali is learning more and more everyday- it's crazy. She took her first few steps on the 13th and we have been practicing everyday. We got her one of those little push walkers so she uses that as well. Everyone says she will be walking soon, so that will be fun!! She says uh-o now every time she drops something or just gets stuck on the uh part and says, “uh- uh- uh-uh”, it’s funny. A couple days ago she learned how to throw a ball and she can now toss the ball to me and I toss it back, she loves it. A few times she hits her self on the head or throws it behind her and then says, “uh-o.” She also loves her johnny jump-up. She spins herself around and around. It's great when I need to do something in the kitchen. She is becoming very independent. She wants to feed herself and I can only sneak in a few bites when she is not paying attention. So meal times have become pretty messy. Hali now has two bottom teeth and is cutting all four on top. Luckily she likes to brush her teeth and does not fight it. Oh ,and she can say “Becca” but I don’t think she know I am Becca she just mumbles it when she plays. She is so funny because she talks as if you knew what she was saying, she looks at her toys, points to things, looks at you talk, talk, talks, then laughs as if she had said a joke or something. Then when you ask her a question she says “yea”. When you ask for something she has picked up off the floor she will hand it to you, which is great because she won't put it in her mouth usually. She now says “pa-pa” all the time and sometimes “ball” we are working on Scott but she can only say “ott.” She sometimes copies the word thank-you but it needs a lot of practice. We are also working on our animal sounds, she can meow sometimes.

I forgot to mention that we went to the Kings vs Mavericks game on the 15th. It was actually a very exciting game. Tina was able to score us some tickets, so we surprised John and Aaron with them on Christmas. Hali loved all the music at the game, So she rocked out the whole time.