PARTY TIME!!! Baby Beckham turns 1 & Preschool Prom

I can hardly believe my baby boy turned 1 yesterday, April, 6th. I thought time went by at a pretty good pace with my first two kids, but adding a third kid into the mix feels like time flys by in a blink of an eye. I still can't believe Beckham's 1?? We decided to keep things low key for Beckham's birthday this year since the kids and I had been sick and Blake is still trying to get over a stomach bug. It was nice to just spend time together as a family and to celebrate Beckham and his sweet spirit being in our lives for the past year. Plus, the older kids enjoyed seeing what new toys they Beckham got for his birthday ;) Also this year I let Tristen plan Beckham's birthday party. I figured Beckham's party was more for the older kids then for him  since he's only 1, so why not make it more memorable to the older kids and let them feel involved. With that being said, Tristen had an absolute blast planning for the party. Tristen and Blake picked out all the tableware, decorations, and Tristen decided that we would make a cake for Beckham and put candy on it....ok, no complaints from mom here with the last request!! So all in all Beckham's birthday was a lot of fun for all of us.

Yesterday was also a special day because it was Tristen's preschool prom. Yes, as soon as I told Tristen she could wear a pretty dress to school and have fancy hair the words....."CAN I WEAR YOUR MAKEUP?" were quick to follow. What is a mom to do? I said yes, because it was a special occasion and of course she was beaming cheek to cheek since she got to feel like a princess for the day. It is amazing what a little blush, eye shadow and lip gloss can do to a little girl's mood. It was fun for both of us to get her ready for her fun day at preschool.

Tristen wasn't thrilled about her dress she wanted to wear her fancier one

however anyone who has seen my little girl eat would know she is a "little" messy

to put it politely, so this dress was fine if she spilled.

Loving her big girl makeup for the day

Getting ready to leave, her ride couldn't arrive fast enough for how excited she was!

 Beckham's cake that Tristen helped me decorate. The middle layer had frosting and crushed

double stuffed oreos. Top layer shaved kit kat bar, chocolate bunny, gummy sour bunnies, robin malt eggs, topped with butter cream frosting....mmmm RICH cake!!

Birthday boy and his cake

P.S I'll post more pics later, I some how deleted the pics of Beckhams b-day from the computer ..my bad :) 

Bring on Spring!!!

It has been a long and cold winter this year and we anxiously awaiting the arrival of spring weather. Yes, I know it is officially spring but the weather outside would fool you into thinking otherwise. I'm thankful there's none of that fluffy white stuff on the ground outside, but the sun needs to be working a little harder. I just don't care for the cold weather and I  feel like I am in hibernation mode almost 5-6 months of the year. The kids are ready to be outside as well and they are anxious to play on their trampoline and swing set. We have had a little fun in the snow this year especially when the BIG snow storm hit a month or so ago. Here are just a few pics I have take over the past couple of months.


Little Beckham wishing he could be like big brother and sister and play in the snow.


The Big Winter storm 2011, the kids loved playing in the snow. It ended up being a snow day for dad.
I haven't seen so much snow since I was a kid in Canada. The winds were so high during the blizzard that our front siding actually damaged. It also took about 2-3 hrs just to shovel the driveway/side walk


Jason took a day off work and we decided to beat the winter blues by heading to bounce town!






Dad and Blake having fun





Beckham being a good boy at Bounce Town



Random shot



Funny Story:
Last week Tristen brought home from school a little flower pot w/ seeds in it. She was excited to see what would grow in her little flower pot...note: she has been begging us to plant flowers with her for a while now... Well she watered her little flower pot for the first time and 30 mins later look what she found!! Yes, she was BEYOND excited when she saw her flower..ok I put one of the flowers Jason bought me in her flower pot. Yes, I always kill flowers/plants and I couldn't even grow a chia pet, so I wanted her to at least feel she could grow something :)  If the "sprouts" or whatever she is actually growing in her flower pot actually GROWS then double BONUS!!!  :)

Far Away Grandma and Papa Came For A Visit!!!

Well we were lucky to have a special visit from "far away Grandma and Papa". Yes, that is the official title my kids give my parents since they live in Canada, approximately 6hrs away from us :)  It is always fun when we have family in town and the kids just love it. I had great intentions to do a lot with my parents when they got into town on the Tuesday evening, but Blake had other things in mind. I noticed he seemed to be breathing really heavy that day (while resting), then I felt his chest and his heart was racing and I even noticed he was wheezing a little bit. I thought it was unusual and then compared his breathing to Tristen. I decided at that point to make a doctors appointment for him that evening. I'm glad I did because Blake was having and asthma attack. Yes, poor little Blake. I already feel bad for him because he has horrible skin, bad allergies (he's allergic to chicken, turkey, eggs, tree nuts, and peanuts). I guess on a positive note I am glad that we know about his asthma so we can try and prevent it. I think he mainly struggles with asthma when he catches a cold/illness. So hopefully his asthma is just childhood asthma, just like I am crossing my fingers that he will outgrow all his food allergies. Luckily we were able to squeeze in shopping, a couple movies for the guys, and the Shedd Aquarium while my parents were visiting. Here are a few pictures of the kids at the Shedd Aquarium.

                                        The kids playing with some of the props

                                                 Dad and Beckham under the giant frog

Tristen in the car on the way home messing around (nice hair huh? )

Just a last minute pic of grandma and papa getting ready 
to hit the road for a long car ride to visit the cousins  in Joplin, MO.

      Tristen and Grandma chilling in the van      

 

                               Just before we left the kids posed against the giant mural of Diego.

2 Down 1 To GO.........

Yes, I can say that 2 kids are now potty trained and just little Beckham is in diapers!!!! I decided to start potty training Blake after Christmas vacation. I figured 2 1/2 yrs old seemed the perfect age to start. I started training Tristen when she was 2 and she did alright, but I think it was a little more work than I imagined. So I wanted to wait a little longer with Blake. Not to mention I have heard horror stories about how hard it can be to potty train boys. Well what can I say other than I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to train him. He was fully trained within a week. Yes, 1 week, he was even staying dry at night!?! Crazy huh?  I was waiting for him to fall off the potty training band wagon with a few accidents here and there, but other than once or twice he has done great. He even complains about privacy if we wan to help. So my little boy is officially a BIG BOY and it was a piece of cake compared to training Tristen. Fingers crossed that Beckham is that easy!!!

NEW YEAR NEW DO!

Tristen was due for a new DO. She has always had bangs ever since she was a baby. I think she looked cute with them, but I think bangs can be a bit of a pain when kids get older. So I decided to bite the bullet and figured it would be easier to grow out her bangs before she starts kindergaten. But the question I kept  asking myself was "Am I ready to deal with the "in between/goofy" phase of growing out her bangs?" You know, when the bangs aren't long enough to tie back but too long to leave down. Well Tristen got frustrated  with the "growing out the bangs phase" as well and decided to give them a trim herself !!! Thank heavens she cut them on an angle where I can still tie them back. I didn't want to trim them short and start over again. Oh well if her bangs are uneven, we will just have to wait until they grow longer to even them out. So here are some DO pics, the old DO and the new DO.

                                                             BANGS

                                                                VS.

                                                

                                                           NO BANGS 

REWIND....x...2010

So I have a little bit of catching up to do. Sorry folks, it's been busy around here but hey at least I have a new background instead of my Thanksgiving one (progress I tell ya...baby steps). I haven't given up on blogging but in all honesty I needed a break from it. Well I am back and it is time to catch up from where I left off....Christmas 2010. Well we spent Christmas in Canada with my parents and siblings (minus 2 of them) so for the Hall clan, 7 out of 9 kids is pretty impressive. We enjoyed spending time together and Christmas was a lot of fun, especially for the kids and how excited they were to see their cousins. However, it seems every Christmas we go away (the past 3 times) I am reminded of the expression "HOME SWEET HOME". Yes, this past Christmas 2010 all 3 kids ended up with double ear infections/pinkeye/and horrible colds. Yes Merry Christmas huh, 'tis the season of sickness and antibiotics!!!! Also did I mention that all 6 cousins 6 yrs. and under staying at my parents house also got pinkeye/double ear infections/horrible colds...I'm sure we will all look back and laugh one day! Thank heavens my brother is a doctor and could call in all the prescriptions!!! So I have learned in our family that being in the comfort of our home for the hoildays isn't a bad thing after all. Here are a few pics of Christmas in Canada 2010.

My parent and all but 5 grand kids (one niece was babysitting and missing Ryan & Genia's 4 boys, Total count: 10 grandsons, 10 granddaughters....and one on the way: To be determined..... and not by me this time :)

                                                Tristen getting ready to open all her gifts


         Blake Christmas morning getting his antibiotics



    Tristen playing with some of her cousins. Aunt Teryl was so nice to buy
   all the girls a play dress since dress up clothes were all they wanted to wear!