Halah's Stories

9/30/02
I was on the phone with Kyle's mom today, and looked down to see Halah smiling her first smile in her sleep. It was so heartwarming to see that grin on her face! She did it several times, so I was able to catch it on film!


10/18/02
I was playing with Halah on the floor today, videotaping her "tummy time," when suddenly she rolled halfway onto her tummy, and then rolled onto her back. I was so glad to have caught her first rollover on tape. She rolled about 10 times in a row!


10/25/02
I could hardly believe it. I gave Kyle a bottle to feed Halah and he said, "Hey, is this normal?" I looked over and she was holding her own bottle. She held it until she was done (hence my being able to get a picture!). She holds her pacifier in her mouth too!


11/18/02
Today was Halah's first day at daycare. When I brought her in, I put her in her crib so she could get used to it while I was still around. All the little kids in the room came over and were gathered around her, ooohing and aaahing. She was so good and didn't cry all day!


12/10/02
My little angel slept from 9-5 last night :)


1/6/03
Halah is kicking her toys hanging from the kick & play bouncer, kicking her kick & learn piano, and stepping on the keys on her step & play piano to make music. She definitely knows where her feet are and how to use them, but does not touch them or bring them to her face.

She can use her hands to some degree starting just recently. She will bat at things, but has a hard time actually getting to them, or sometimes even moving her hands in the right direction. She can grasp things and hold them for a while. She shakes her baby rings and loves them, until they hit her face!

She likes to sit up or stand, but needs our help with balance. She is starting to be more tolerant of tummy time. She can roll from front to back anc back to front, but she still dislikes her tummy, so she rarely rolls that way.

Halah has great control of her head. She lifts it straight up when she's on her tummy, and can look from one side to the other with no problems.

Her vocabulary of sorts has increased. She makes lots of different noises and likes to talk to anyone who will listen. She's good and doesn't interrupt, but waits until you are done talking before she says anything.

Halah doesn't laugh yet, but she makes a giant grin which looks like a laugh. I'm hoping any day now! She smiles at toys, especially ones that squeak, and at her mom and dad. She'll smile at pretty much anyone who is holding her, as long as she is in a good mood.

She loves daycare! She is always smiling as soon as I pull her out of the car! I think she really likes the ladies who take care of her there.


1/9/03
I just had to share with someone! Halah is trying to pull herself into a sitting position when I put her in her carrier. She actually lifts her head and shoulders off the seat and tries to sit up! I was so proud when I saw her doing it. Oh and she tries to "pick up" the music notes on the fabric of her Step & Play piano seat.


1/24/03
Halah had FOUR shots this morning. She cried for about 5 minutes after getting the shots, but she calmed right down after I nursed her.

Halah weighs 11 lbs exactly. She's still at the 25th percentile for weight. She has grown a LOT in height though. She is now 24 inches long. She went from the 10th to the 25th percentile for length! Her head is 15 in, still 5th percentile.

She gets to start cereal now, and my ped recommended mixing it with formula. She will start yellow veggies when I am ready. They said as soon as 2 weeks, but I prefer to wait until 6 months.


1/27/03
Halah ate her first taste of cereal on Friday night. I have pictures, but haven't taken them off the camera yet. She made yucky faces and got about 1/3 of the cereal actually down her throat. She had cereal twice on Saturday and once Sunday morning with the same results. Then Sunday afternoon I thickened the cereal more so it was mush rather than watery and she loved it! I guess she didn't like the formula taste. Well she still ended up with a lot down her chin, but she ate about 2 tablespoons

#2- Literally! Halah had her first turd! A real formed poop!

#3 Halah sat up on her own! She can now sit unassisted for about 20-30 seconds at a time!


2/7/03
Daycare told me that for the past week Halah has been holding her own bottle off and on. I finally got to see it last night when I was letting her finish her bottle before we left. It was so cute seeing her little hands hold that big bottle!


2/10/03
I was at the grocery store with Halah yesterday and this sweet Australian family was cruising the same aisles as I was, but from the opposite direction. There were 4 lovely little children, all under 7 I would say. Well they kept coming up to Halah telling me how cute she was. The oldest girl (maybe 5?) said to me, your daughter is as pretty as an angel. My heart just melted!


2/18/03
I got Halah the Avent soft tip sippy cup for 3 months + this weekend. She tried it on Sunday. She got a little out, but talk about nipple confusion! She seemed to like to chew on the tip. I think she's teething.


2/18/03
Halah has always hated tummy time. I can get her to play on her tummy for a few minutes only if she is propped up on her boppy. For the past week, she has been sleeping on her tummy! I put her on her back and she often goes to sleep that way, but by the next morning, she is always on her tummy! I know it's not a problem once they are old enough to roll over, but it's just weird! She hates her tummy when awake, but loves it when she's asleep!


2/21/03
Usually Halah has some fussy time at night between 6 and 8. She doesn't cry the whole time or anything, but she is rather demanding and wants to be walked around. Sometimes for an hour or so! She also often cries when I put her down to change her. I think she's afraid I'm going to leave her on the floor. Well last night, she didn't fuss at ALL! She did not cry a single time. She took a little half hour nap at about 7:30 and went to bed at 9:30 without fussing at all. I put her in her crib wide awake, and she watched her mobile and fell asleep all on her own! It was just wonderful!


3/4/03
I put Halah in her crib to start winding down last night at around 8. She rolled onto her tummy almost right away (she loves to sleep on her tummy now) and started scooting around her crib! She made it from one side to the other and then turned around and started scooting to the other side again! It was a pretty slow process with lots of grunting, but WOW! My little girl is doing a primitive crawl! I've got it on video!


3/21/03
Okay, I can't multi-task while nursing Halah anymore! She is suddenly intensely interested in anything going on around her, so she pops off and looks around everytime she hears something new! After she knows what's going on, she turns back and starts nursing again. Back to the couch for me!


3/27/03
On Monday Halah weighed in at 12lbs 7 oz. She is still my petite little bean! She is 25 1/4 inches long. Everything looks good with her growth and her health. Unfortunately because of the antibiotics she was on for the bronchial infection, she developed thrush. She's taking some nasty med for it. Sad when one med causes a problem that makes you give your baby ANOTHER med!

So on to the fun stuff!
HOLY COW! I never guessed that 6-months meant Halah would suddenly grow up!
She now can pick up her own cup and drink from it.
She can put her spoon in her mouth and eat off it, and then drop it when she's done (hasn't yet learned to put it in the bowl.)
She sits up all by herself with no support or balance!
She just learned to give kisses! She will grab your face and pull it toward her open, drooling mouth, then move her head back and forth to give cluster kisses like I do to her (mwah mwah mwah mwah). Too cute!

So I'm just far too pleased with my sweet 6-month old. She grew up over night!


4/9/03
Last night I was holding Halah around the waist to stand like she always does, and she saw her backpack diaperbag and really wanted to play with the zippers. So she bent at the waist, and reached in that direction. When she couldn't reach it, she started taking little steps in that direction until she got to it! She took about 10 steps!!! I wasn't leading her or anything, she was doing it all on her own, with just my support for her upper body!


4/16/03
I just went and got some stuff for Halah for her Easter basket today. I got her some Gerber Biter Biscuits, a spoon with the self-feeder handle, a ball with chimes in it, and one of those plastic shape sorters. I can hardly wait to give it to her!


4/21/03
I gave Halah one of those self-feeder spoons with the big rounded handle on it in her Easter basket, since she always grabs the spoon from me anyway, and the other spoons gag her if she puts them in too far. I have her a quarter of a potato, mushed up on a plate, at the dinner table for her special Easter treat, and gave her her spoon to play with. She was SOO good, just playing with the food, and getting a couple chunks in her mouth. All of a sudden, she picks up her spoon, pushes it around her plate, and puts it in her mouth! I was so thrilled! I doubt she got much of anything, but she got the concept! I am so proud of my little girl!!


4/29/03
She started dancing on Saturday afternoon! She was playing with her Ocean Wonders fish bowl. When you push it, it makes ocean sounds and sometimes music. Whenever the music came on, she would start rocking forward and back. Then when I picked her up from daycare, her teacher would whistle to her, and she would rock back and forth again! She looked like a bird (you know how they bob)! I just laughed and laughed. Now she rocks whenever I start singing to her!


5/2/03
Halah looks like she's in a cage at the zoo now. We moved her crib down to the lowest rung, since it's only a matter of time before she starts pulling up. It was so weird to walk in there this morning and see her so low to the ground!


5/6/03
Halah will cry as soon as I turn to leave the room now. She hates to be left without me, even when her daddy is holding her. She is okay if someone is walking around with her though. And she doesn't cry when I leave her at daycare. It's odd!


5/6/03
Halah got flirty recently. She loves to smile at her daddy or a stranger, then duck her head into my shoulder. Sooo cute!

She just started getting on hands and knees and rocking, so I figure crawling will start anytime!

She was playing with this squeaker giraffe at the airport yesterday, and I swear she was bouncing the giraffe along her stroller tray so it looked like it was walking! I was shocked!

She has apparently gotten over her ear infection, and we're working on the congestion now. Yuck! It's particularly gross when she rubs her snotty nose on my shirt sleeve!


5/8/03
Halah is actually crawling now! Only backward, but she crawled backward 10 feet at daycare yesterday!!
Time to actually baby proof the house I guess!


5/12/03
I'm so proud of Halah! She has mastered the concept of the spoon, and not only holds it while I feed her, but actually dips it in her bowl or mashes it on her plate, then puts it back in her mouth! She picks her cup or bottle up and puts it in her mouth, though doesn't always have it at the right angle. She's doing so well with this, but I'm sure in a few weeks she'll discover how much fun it is to throw the spoon/bowl/cup on the floor so I can clean it up!


5/12/03
Halah update!
Backwards crawling, and almost forward crawling now.
Starting to cruise between her activity table and her Step & Play Piano.
Pulling up on my fingers.
Walking while holding my fingers.
Grabbing EVERYTHING (including my necklaces OUCH!)
Lifting my shirt when she wants to nurse (no more nursing in public! )
Picking up our dog by the fur. Poor Cassie!
And HITTING EVERYTHING! I bought her a drum because she just wants to pound on everything now!


5/13/03
Halah just started making that clucking noise you get when you suck your tongue against the roof of your mouth yesterday. She clucked ALL evening, and then woke up clucking this morning!


5/15/03
I found a new trick to get Halah to sleep without CIO! I used to read her bedtime stories while she nursed, then put her in her crib. She would immediately become fully awake again, and cry for about 5 mins before falling back to sleep.

Now, I put her in her crib after nursing, and THEN read her stories. She usually "fondles" one of her toys or the strings on the bumper pads until she drifts off to sleep. She is out by the time the second story is done!


5/16/03
Halah started pulling up today! She uses my hands, the box for the yard sale tomorrow, her activity table. Oh it is so exciting!!! Funny that she still doesn't go from crawling to sitting though.


5/19/03
Halah just started pulling up. She is getting really good with her hands. That is bad for my necklaces!
She is working to perfect the pincher grip. She actually gets about half the cheerios she picks up into her mouth now!


5/20/03
We had the most amazing night! First, I was feeding Halah a few plain noodles from the Mac & Cheese I fixed and....

SHE HAS HER FIRST TOOTH! Bottom left. It's just poking out.

Then, she was rocking and crawling backward, and then CRAWLED FORWARD for the first time!

Then, not two minutes later, she PUSHED HERSELF INTO A SITTING POSITION from crawling.

I just can't believe how fast this is going!


5/22/03
I had Halah's convertable carseat installed by the fire department last night. She looks so grown up in it! It's kind of a hassle trying to get her buckled in because she wants to sit up straight, but once she's in she does really well.


5/27/03
Halah is now taking around 15 steps at a time when she holds my fingers to walk. She is finally crawling forward, and moving into a sitting position with ease. She started Stage 3 foods (no meat yet) and loves chewing them. She has really gotten her act together with finger foods too, and can actually get them into her mouth! She's just generally blossoming, and our visit with the triplets has really helped her with that!


5/29/03
Halah is going through terrible separation anxiety right now. She screams as soon as I even LOOK like I'm leaving her side. So since she was distracted with her new blocks this evening, I decided then would be a great time to put my dinner in the microwave. I finished that, and she was still playing alone by the couch, so I decided a trip to the potty alone sounded great! So I go into the bathroom and sit down, and she immediately starts crying. I call to her, saying I was just in the bathroom and I'd be out in a minute. I kept talking to her, and she kept screaming. So I finished and came out of the bathroom, and there she was! She had crawled about 8 feet to come find me! She continued to crawl toward me, screaming all the while. She moves about an inch every step, and looks like one of those battery operated crawling dolls. I am even more in love!!


6/16/03
Just in time for Father's Day, Halah started saying da-da. Unfortunately, it's not to her father! Our typical conversation now goes like this:
Me: "ma-ma"
Halah: "da-da"
Me: "ma-ma"
Halah: "da-da"
and so on...

She's also having a ball "talking" to her toys. She mostly says "ah-da-da" and "ah-bbbbbbbbb(raspberry noise ending it). Why she starts everything with ah, I do not know.


6/26/03 Halah went in our complex swimming pool for the first time last night. She LOVED it. She kicked around in her little inflatable boat, and splashed in the water that was in it. She really loved when I pulled her out of it and let her doggy paddle while I held her. Oh it was WONDERFUL! We're going again tonight!


6/30/03
Halah finally waved bye bye yesterday! I was afraid she'd never do it. She started waving this weekend (Friday I think) but it was only at herself. Yesterday she actually waved bye bye to our friends as they left. I nearly cried!


7/9/03
This is a post I posted on another board last week:

Quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have to call Social Services today. As I was leaving daycare last night, I noticed a letter tacked to their bulletin board. It was from Social Services and said "Intent to Deny Renewal of Permit" A letter under it from the daycare said "Please don't panic. This is under appeal and has to be reviewed. Thanks for standing by us."

So I asked this morning what it was all about. The director told me that it was a combination of a person they fired last year (for not working) before Halah came calling in a bunch of lies, and a parent calling because the center kept sending her kid home for behavior issues.

If that's the truth, then it's not really an issue. However, I do want to hear from SS what the actual complaints were.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, the guy from Social Services called me back yesterday. OMG! There is supposed to be a letter attached to the notice stating what the actual concerns were. He told me that that letter was 10-11 pages long! He said it ranged from physical discipline (which isn't necessarily such a bad thing, except that it is against SS rules, and who knows what other rules they're breaking now) to teacher qualification issues. Okay, so they lied to me, and I've been on the hunt for new daycare since.

I'm going to meet with a woman who does home daycare. She was recommended to me by our Lab legal council, so I think she will be perfect. She keeps 3 toddlers and a part-timer, and Halah will be the 5th child then. I've heard nothing but good so far, and I am going by her house at lunch. Best news? OMG she only charges $80 a week! I am so excited! Any other place that I could find was $125 at the cheapest (I pay $100 now). I am really happy, but I am going into this looking for any TINY issue, since I was happy last time too.

I will be switching Halah to this woman next Wednesday if the woman works out.


7/18/03
Halah has always been a pretty good sleeper, but a poor napper. She would take a few 30 minute naps each day. Then when I went to put her to bed, the end of our bedtime routine would be a hug, a kiss, a goodnight, I love you, and a goodnight, see you in the morning, then I would leave the room. As soon as I walked out, she would start screaming and cry for about 5 minutes, then fall asleep.

Fast forward to this week. Halah has been with her new daycare person since Wednesday. Wednesday and Thursday she took a two hour nap both days (unheard of!) and then when I put her to bed, she actually lied down and looked around and held her blanket without a sound. I left the room and there wasn't a peep until morning!

OMG! I can't believe the difference. I am so pleased with this new woman! I just wish I had known something was wrong before!


7/25/03
Halah has been fascinated by the baby in the mirror for a while, and for a couple months has been doing the cutest thing! When I ask where's the baby? she will look in the mirror, and when I say give the baby a kiss, she will lean down and plant one right on the mirror. However, lately, after giving the baby a kiss, she will try to look behind the mirror, or under the mirror, or whatever way she can to try to find the baby!


7/31/03
My baby is really communicating! She now shakes her head no when she doesn't want something (bottle, food, diaper change). I am so excited... but know that the excitement will end in a few months when she says NO to everything I ask of her.


8/14/03
So last night Halah and I were watching Baby Newton. The screen went purple, and I said "purple." Then Halah said "urple." I was shocked! She doesn't usually mimic my sounds unless I am laughing or clucking.

This morning I pulled her out of bed and turned on the light for her pet turtle. I walked her over to the aquarium and she laughed and said "turtle." Clear as day, my baby said turtle with no prompting! I was so pleased! I mentioned it to Jean, her daycare provider, and Jean said that she definitely talks! Wow... I haven't been able to pinpoint a lot of definite words, but it looks like turtle, duck, and rooff-rooff are official.


8/15/03
Halah threw up at daycare today. I think it was indigestion, but I brought her home anyway. Her daddy went upstairs, and she crawled toward the stairs after him. I followed her. Normally she gets up the first step and then falls backward (always with me to catch her. Today she climbed the step and just kept going! She perfected the technique and made it all the way up the staircase without my help (though I was always an inch behind her). I was amazed!!


9/15/03
I've given Halah chopped green beans and diced carrots before, but I didn't think of peas until someone else mentioned it. She is pigging out on them! I think she really enjoys chasing them around her tray!


9/23/03
Well we lost power at 1:30 pm on Thursday and just got it back at 5 pm yesterday. We were so uncomfortable in the hot, humid weather with no AC! We also have an electric stove, so no hot food either! We lost everything in our refridgerator. Thank goodness Halah drinks her formula at room temp and will eat her food that way too. It was a miserable 5 days, but we're alive and I'm finally back to work. Luckily my work was closed Thurs, Fri and Mon, so I still got paid for those days. And now that the power is back on, we're still going to be able to have Halah's party! I was really getting worried about that. There are so many places still without power and so many trees down. We lost about half the trees in the forest across from our house. It's definitely still chaotic around here, but things are slowly getting back to normal.

The most amazing part of the storm was getting to be with Halah for so many days. She has grown so much! She exhibited all sorts of new behaviors! She's now WALKING (5 steps at a time), she is pointing to everything she wants (while making her oooOOOooo noise), and throwing fits when I won't let her have it. She just started really loving on her baby dolls. She will pick up her doll, kiss it, then hug it, rock it, and pat its back. It is SO CUTE! Also, we played music on the battery powered stereo all weekend since we had no TV. She would go over to the stereo and start headbanging with one hand in the air. Cracked me up! She just did so many new things this weekend that I can't think of them all!


9/27/03
Halah Quinn is ONE! Her 1st birthday was September 23, 2003. Click here to see Halah take her first bite of birthday cake!

As of Halah's first birthday, she can take up to 5 steps at a time, she can climb the stairs, she feeds herself most of the time, and she can say nine words (da-da, ma-ma(only when she's upset), hi, turtle, buh-bee (baby), dah (dog), ruh-ruh (barking), dat (that), and uz dat? (what's that?)). She also shakes her head yes or no, points to what she wants, claps, dances to music, and waves hi and bye.


9/27/03
Halah had a wonderful birthday party! She had 24 guests and ended up with more gifts than we had time to unwrap them! Everything went very well, though she was VERY dainty in eating her cake when everyone wanted her to make a big mess!


10/1/03
Halah spent all night last night walking around the living room! She actually chose to walk (and cruise) 90% of the time, rather than crawling. I am so pleased!!


10/6/03
This morning was the last time I am breastfeeding Halah. I'm not feeling overly emotional about it, but I think I will miss that cuddle time! I'll also miss the ease of nursing in the morning as opposed to fixing a cup of formula. Ah well, the end of an era! Bottles are done next week.


10/11/03
Friday morning Halah had her last bottle. Today she drank her milk straight with no protests. She's officially a no-bottle, no-formula baby. Or should I say toddler.


10/13/03
Halah used her first sentence on Saturday! I had just figured out that morning that the new sounds she was making together (zah-zee) stood for our dog, Cassie! Well that evening, Cassie was lying on the chair behind me and Halah came up to me and said, "Where's Zah-zee?" Kyle and I both laughed and looked at each other. It was too cute! I just hope it wasn't a fluke!


10/21/03
Last night Halah and I were playing with one of her puzzles. She picked up the train piece, so I said "train" and she said "tain". It was so cute! She's repeating more and more of what I say every day. This weekend she said "tank you" twice!


10/22/03
Not sure how Halah learned this... she came home from daycare last Thursday doing it and has been doing it totally randomly since!

You know the noise you make when you think someone's crazy? The Bbb bbb bbb noise by rubbing your finger over your lips? Well Halah does that! She takes all her fingers and pulls her lip down over and over while making the bbbbb noise. Cracks me up! She did it almost the whole way home last night, a smirk on her face the whole time.


12/16/03
Halah and I went to Michigan this weekend to visit my parents. Before we left I got the flu. I was pretty much over it by Friday when we got on the plane, and Halah hadn't shown any symptoms yet, so I thought maybe we were in the clear. She was so awesome on the plane. Everyone kept complimenting me on how good she was. We got in late Friday night and as we walked over to meet my mom, Halah reached right for her. It was like she'd spent every day of her life with her.

We went to bed pretty much right when we got to their house on Friday, and Halah slept through just fine. Saturday she played and had fun while all sorts of company came by to see her. She started being really picky about eating though... and I had a feeling she was getting sick. Saturday night she woke in the middle of the night with a high fever. I held her on my chest in the bed and kept a cool rag on her to help cool her down. My mom came in and got her at 6 am and she took over so I could get some sleep. Halah's fever spiked off and on all day, and she was a combination of pure delight and cranky whiner, but my mom didn't care because Halah sat on her lap almost all day Sunday.

Halah still had a fever on Monday, but it was pretty minor. She has a runny nose and is just uncomfortable. She cried a bit on the first plane home, but took a nap in her stroller in the airport during the layover and she was fine for the second flight. She slept fine last night, just waking up at around 4:30, but going right back to sleep.

She woke with a slight fever again this morning so I had to stay home with her. She seems to be doing fine though, and I think her fever will be gone by this afternoon. Poor girl!


12/21/03
Halah demonstrated to me today that she knows that it is her in the reflection! I had put a Santa bib on her while we were putting her clean clothes away this morning, and she went on playing with her toys. We went to the bathroom to wipe her nose and paused in front of the mirror like usual. She grabbed the Santa bib around her neck and said Dat! If she didn't know it was her, she would have pointed to the mirror right?


12/31/03
Christmas was great for Halah. She loved opening the presents, but wanted to play with the one she'd just opened instead of opening the next. She got so many toys that we had to buy a toy box and a chest to keep them in!

Well we went to Florida on Christmas Day for Kyle's grandparents' 50th Anniversary. It was a 15 hour drive each way, and I had been dreading it. Well Halah was amazing! She only fussed a few times, and only really cried once each way, and that was only for a few minutes! She played and ate and slept the rest of the time. We had a great 3 days in Florida. We slept in and went swimming and ate LOADS of food. I was lucky that I didn't gain any weight We met Carrol and Mathias from Babysplay which was a lot of fun (even though Halah really just wanted to eat rocks).

On the last night in Florida (Sunday) Halah woke at about 11:30 crying. I brought her into bed with me and woke at 5 am to Halah kissing my face. Only it wasn't the usual open-mouthed drooly mess! She was actually smootching me! She kept patting me and loving on me.

Yesterday we bought the new furniture to keep her toys in, and rearranged the livingroom accordingly. I put 2 outlet covers in the outlet that was now exposed. An hour later Kyle and I smelled melted plastic. This was at about 9 pm, after Halah had gone to bed. I pulled the cover out and one of the prongs had melted off! The outlet was hot, so Kyle opened the cover and pulled the unit out of the wall. It was red and smoking. I called the emergency maintenance number and asked the operator to page maintenance because our outlet was black and smelled like melted plastic. We waited 10 mins and got no call back, so I called 911. The fire department came, sirens wailing, a few mins later. Of course the neighbors had to come look at what was going on. In order to turn off the power to that outlet, they had to get to our fuse box, which was conveniently located in our storage shed (filled with lots of crap). We emptied the shed and the fire department cut the outlet out of the wall. Thank goodness I called them, as it was VERY close to starting the wall on fire! The maintenance man came a little later (after I had the fire department call him) and replaced the outlet. WHAT A SCARE! And the funniest thing is that Halah slept through the whole thing!

So that was our big Christmas! Oh and Halah got another molar and several new words (juice, shoes, yeah, da-da for birds) and can now walk backward.


1/6/04
Last night Halah did the funniest thing. We were watching TV and the song Magic Carpet Ride came on. She cupped her hands behind her ears (like she was trying to listen really hard), started walking around backward in circles, and was making this tssttt, tssttt, tssttt sound until the song was over. I wish I had a video camera then! Kyle and I were cracking up!!!


1/9/04
Halah has her first black eye. Last night she was pulling on the gate that we have been using to keep her out of the kitchen. It's half of her superyard, so it's not securely fastened to anything, just blocks it so she'll stay in the livingroom. She had decided it was fun to pull on one side and drop the toys into the space between the gate and the desk. When she started to try to walk into that space, I pulled her away from the gate and distracted her with something else. Well I guess the gate must have hit her in the eye when she let go of it. I'm assuming that's what happened because she didn't cry at all all night, and that is the only thing that I could think might have hit her in the eye! I just can't believe she could give herself a black eye and not even cry about it!


1/12/04
Halah's vocabulary has suddenly exploded!! During our vacation, she had reverted back to calling everything da-da, but in the past 2-3 weeks, she has a word for so many new things, and went back to using some of her forgotten words. She also wants to babble all the time. She repeats a lot of what I say now, and seems to understand the phrase "Can you say?"

Some new words:
Cookie
Hi daddy
Done
Kitchen
Uh-uh (no)


And words she is regularly using now:
Doggie, shoe, this, that, ma-ma, baby, turtle, Cassie, juice

She also knows several parts of the body now... ear, eye, nose, belly, and belly button. It's SO exciting!!


1/15/04
Last night I was cooking dinner last night and Halah kept walking toward the kitchen, and everytime I would tell her HOT! and she would start walking back to the livingroom. After the third time, she started going Haaaaaaaah, Haaaaaaaah, like a big wheeze.


1/26/04
We had 4 inches of snow last night, so my work was closed. Halah and I went out and played in the snow. She LOVED it! She kept walking around and putting her mittens in it. She babbled a lot while we were outside, pointing at all the different things covered with snow. When we got back inside, she kept bringing me her mittens, wanting to go back out.


1/30/04
So I had to go to Babies 'R Us to get a few gifts for my cousin's baby shower, so I picked up a potty chair for Halah, just so she could start learning about the potty and such. She didn't really seem ready for potty training, I just wanted to start her learning about the potty in general. Well as soon as we got home and I set the box down, she wanted to get it out. I got the seat out and she sat on it and started making a concentrating face, so I decided to take her pants and diaper off. I let her sit on it naked and she again made the concentrating face and then passed some gas.

My dog was whining to go outside, so I went and let her out, and when I walked back over, Halah had peed in the potty! I was so surprised and excited! We're not looking at really potty training yet, but I am happy she seems to know what to do on the potty!


1/30/04
Everytime I tell Halah "Love you!" She says "da-du." Today she hugged me and said "da-du" as we were walking out to the car. She is just the sweetest girl.


1/31/04
Well I said I wasn't going to really potty train right now, and I don't plan on forcing her to sit on the toilet or anything, but she has gone pee in the potty 5 times today! I put her on the potty when she first woke up, and she peed within 2 mins. After her morning nap, I put her on the potty again. She sat for 30 seconds, whined and got up. So I put her in her highchair to eat. She took about 3 bites, and then pointed at the potty and whined. So I asked if she had to go potty, and she nodded. I put her on the potty seat, and she peed within 30 seconds. After her afternoon nap, I sat her on the seat and she peed within a minute. Later in the afternoon, I sat her on it again, and she peed within a minute. Just a few minutes ago, I asked if she had to go potty. She nodded, so I put her on the potty. She peed instantly! I'm just so amazed!


2/12/04
Halah is a very loving child. She kisses everything, including her food. However, the funniest thing she does is when she gets REALLY excited and there's nothing around to kiss, she will bend over and kiss the floor.

I've always read to Halah, but she usually just wanted to turn the pages much faster than I could read, or she would let me read one page and want to get down. Suddenly I can't read enough to her! She is constantly bringing me books she wants me to read to her, and if I'm lying down on the floor, she will tug my shirt to signal she wants me sitting up! Unfortunately she wants me to read her the same 4 Dora the Explorer books over and over again! I don't discourage it, as I want her to enjoy reading, but sometimes I do hide those books!


2/13/04
Halah is CRACKING me up lately. I always count things in her books for her, pointing at each thing, saying 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. Well now she counts too. She will point to the things in her books and say "Dee! Dee! Dee!" This morning they were counting on Playhouse Disney as we got ready to go. Halah chimed right in, counting "Dee! Dee! Dee!"


2/21/04
I was playing with Halah in her room this morning. I would count one, two, three, and then cover her cheek with kisses. Well she started saying "dee, dee" and then making a kissing noise. It cracked me up! I just can't believe how much personality she has now!


2/25/04
The last few nights bedtime has been really exciting for me. I've enlisted Halah's help in picking up her toys before bed. It's like a game. She puts a toy in the chest, and I clap for her. Well now she picks up her toys and puts them away, and claps for herself after each one. She also has put every toy away on her own the last two nights, and then headed for the stairs when she was done! She always waves to her dad as she goes up the stairs, but last night she said "ni daddy" as she waved! I'm so proud of her!


3/1/04
At 4:30 AM Halah is a genious! What the heck?! She woke at 4:30 AM with a wet diaper. I changed her and put her back down. She started crying again, and was having trouble because of the congestion (teething related I think). Well I couldn't have her cry when she wasn't feeling well! I went and got her and brought her downstairs. We laid down on the couch together, and she kept hugging me and patting me. It was really sweet. Finally she was lying still and her breathing got deeper. I thought she was asleep. Suddenly she goes A... B... C... D... E... D... D... (long pause) A... G... (long pause) D... F... D... D... C...
I didn't know Halah knew any of the alphabet! Why doesn't she do this stuff at normal times of the day?!


3/3/04
Jean (Halah's sitter) told me last night that Halah clearly said I love you to her yesterday. I was like yeah right... think what ya want lady. Well this morning, Halah came up and hugged me and clearly said I love you! Just a little jealous Jean got it first.


3/4/04
Halah's learned a ton of new words. She's outgrowing her 18m clothes in length, but still too skinny for the 24 months stuff! She's using the potty about once a day. She also discovered the joys of being outside since the weather has been nice. Now she stands at the door and cries to go out.


3/8/04
Halah calls cookies, crackers, and chips "Gook." I always correct her, but it cracks me up!


3/9/04
Ack! I don't know if it is her teeth or what, but Halah has been unbelievably cranky lately! She hasn't been awful... no kicking or screaming or anything like that, just waaaay dramatic! Here are some examples:

Sunday evening I had Halah's favorite book out. It's a cloth book about a circus with all sorts of things you can pull out and crinkle and squeak and so on. It's huge.. like 2 ft by 3 feet when closed. Anyway, she played with it for almost an hour, then turned her back and played with her wooden ring stacker. As it was close to bedtime, I picked up the book and went to put it in the closet. As I walked across the room, I heard Halah behind me... "This?... This?... This?This?This?THIS!!!!!!!" And as I closed the closet door, she melted to the floor sobbing. It was so hard not to laugh. I told her, Halah I'm sorry, but you weren't playing with it anymore and it's almost time for bed. I gave her her evening cup of milk and went to put away her minivan and bulldozer. As I put them in the cupboard, it was the same thing! "This? This? This this this THIS!!!!" Another melt to the floor crying episode.

Last night it was a big tear fest over leaving her toy in the car. I explained to her that we needed to leave it the car so she would have something to play with the next time we were in the car.

This morning we were headed out to the car to go to daycare. Halah was holding my hand, walking beside me, and noticed a cracker she'd dropped the night before on the ground. She looked at me and said "Gook?" I said "No sweetie, that's on the ground and yucky!" She said "gook! gook!" I told her we had some good ones in the car and picked her up to put her in the car seat. Another head on my shoulder tear fest! And then the same thing when I got her out of the car to go in to Jean's house. She was sooo sad we had to leave the toys behind again.

She gets over it very quickly... within seconds. But my goodness!!


3/11/04
Last night Halah amazed me! There was a phone cord wrapped in a figure-8 in a plastic bag on the floor. It must have come with our computer or something. Anyway, Halah picked it up, put it to her ear and said "Hello?" I'd never heard her say that before, so I thought it was just a coincidental noise. Well she put it down and picked it up later and said "Hello? Who's this?" I was shocked! She continued to do it of course because her dad and I were smiling and laughing. I was so proud! I had no idea she knew those words, let alone for the phone!


3/12/04
This morning Halah woke at 3:30. I went to rock her and give her a cuddle, then put her back to bed (that usually works), but as soon as I picked her up, she kept pointing to her doorway saying, "this!" So I took her downstairs and we laid on the couch together. She kept picking at my face and talking to me. It was really cute, but I really just wanted to sleep. Cassie started whining, so suddenly Halah yelled "Iggo!" I have no idea what that meant... and then she started patting my lap yelling "Da" "DA!!" I guess to call Cassie. Finally I said okay, enough. It was 4 am and she was NOT going back to sleep. I changed her diaper and put her back to bed with a cup of water. She whined a little, but eventually went back to sleep. Me on the other hand, I couldn't get work crap out of my head! I am SOOO exhausted!


3/14/04
Halah found out today that she could walk Cassie on a leash. We went for a walk this afternoon (Halah in her stroller and Cassie on a leash) and Halah held Cassie's leash the whole time. She loved "directing" Cassie and thought it was hilarious when Cassie would pull in one direction or another. When we got back in the house, Halah continued to walk Cassie around for another 15 minutes until Cassie got grumpy and I took the leash off. Halah kept trying to put it back on her, saying "this, this!"


3/17/04
Halah tickled me as we were walking in the house last night! She tickled my side and said tickle tickle tickle! I was shocked and couldn't stop laughing!


3/20/04
Last night we were playing with Halah's bouncing Tigger, and everytime the music came on, she would get up and start turning circles over and over. It was hilarious! I got it on video! This was after she'd been doing it for a while, so she was REALLY dizzy. She looked drunk!


3/24/04
I'll never be "Mom"! Last night I was pulling Halah out of her car seat and she hugged me and said "my daddy!"


3/27/04
UGH! I will never go to Picture People with a toddler again! We did not get a SINGLE picture taken. Halah didn't want to leave my side, and she didn't want to play with their props or sit on their furniture. I am not frustrated with Halah at all. She's a toddler, it's her nature. I am frustrated with the young girl who was trying to take her picture! She had NO idea what an 18 month old was capable of. She kept giving Halah these ridiculous orders, and seemed surprised when Halah ran away from her! I felt she was being too impatient and not letting Halah find her comfort zone. Then Halah threw a minitantrum and bumped her face on the floor. Not enough to hurt her, just enough to make a red mark. The girl was trying to get me to reschedule, but I told her I wouldn't be bringing Halah back. Good thing it was free or I would have kicked some butt!

As we were walking out of the mall, there was a display to get your photo done with the Easter bunny. I didn't think it would be successful, since Halah SCREAMED with Santa, even with me next to her! Well these people let Halah get comfortable with the guy in the bunny costume, and really let her take her time before taking her photo. The result was a terrific photo of Halah smiling on the Easter bunny's lap!!

I also took some photos of her at home on the couch and in the backyard in her Easter dress. They turned out 1000 times better than anything I could have gotten from the Picture People. I am sooo glad the day was successful, even though Picture People was a wash!


3/28/04
I am a pretty heavy sleeper and don't even wake when Kyle comes to bed in the middle of the night, but at 5:30 I woke to a very quiet, very weird noise coming from Halah's room (door was closed). She wasn't crying, but I really thought the sound was strange, so I jumped out of bed to check on her. She was throwing up! I got her out of bed and brought her downstairs. I cleaned her up, changed her clothes and diaper, and we fell asleep together on the couch. When we woke again at 7, she was very warm. I got her some water and some Motrin, and we cuddled on the couch. She drank the water, and then puked. Good thing I had a moist towel for her head, as I caught the puke in that. Poor girl! Well the little Motrin she ingested before throwing up started to work and she was feeling better. She drank a cup of pedialyte and ate a half cup of Cheerios. I put her down in her crib (after changing the bedding of course) at 9:30 and she napped while I showered. When she woke at 10:30, she was galssy eyed and warm again. I gave her 1/3 a dose of Motrin to make up for what she lost in the puking process. She was much better after about an hour, and drank another cup of pedialyte. She's napping behind me on the couch right now. Poor girl!

I was so thankful for my mother's intuition. I don't know how those little sounds woke me!

Oh- and she probably caught this bug from those NASTY props at Picture People.


3/29/04
Halah was walking around squatting this afternoon, so I asked her if she wanted to sit on her potty seat. She nodded, so I took her in and took off her diaper. She sat on the potty and pushed out a big poop! It was really gross, but I was so proud of her! I think she was proud too. She pointed at it and went OOOOoooooH! I gave her two magnets for it. What a milestone!


3/31/04
Halah only threw up twice on Sunday, had no fever after 11 am Monday, and was acting perfectly fine yesterday. I thought she was over the bug...

She threw up just as we were getting close to daycare. I think she might have had too much milk and her stomach was still sensitive. I took her on to Jean's house so I could call in to work and get her cleaned up a little at least. Of course today was the one day when I forgot my phone at home. I cleaned her seat as best I could and changed her clothes. We made the 30 min car ride home with the window open. She has a 1:45 appt with the doctor to be sure it's nothing serious. She's acting normal now, and ate a cereal bar. She has no fever, but now I'm out of work for the THIRD day. I just hope she doesn't get sick again! Poor girl!


4/1/04
Halah would be well on the way to potty training if I was a SAHM! She stayed dry all yesterday morning (peed on the potty 4 times in the morning) and only after her afternoon nap did she start peeing in her diaper. I wish I was home to work with her. She's so into it, I know she'd be ready for the whole thing! Sometimes I hate being a working mom.


4/4/04
Kyle put in a Wiggles CD to calm Halah down while I was out getting dinner last night. She still doesn't like to be without me. We'd never listened to the CD before.

Well at the end of the CD, it switched to the next CD, which was the White Stripes. We've heard that one lots of times, and Halah had danced to it and had fun with it. Well this time, as soon as it started, she got this really angry look on her face, and started trying to do something to the speaker, I guess to change it back to the Wiggles. Then she started running to us yelling Wiggles! and running back to the speaker.

Kyle finally changed it back to the Wiggles CD, and she was instantly happy again. I guess she isn't all that punk rock after all.


4/10/04
Halah just started saying uh-oh this week. She'll say it anytime something falls, or spills.


4/21/04
I found P in Halah's potty! I opened her potty earlier and her letter P magnet was in it.


4/21/04
I went to the bathroom last night and Halah followed me in. I went to flush, and she helped. After we flushed, she clapped and yelled YAY! Guess I'm a big girl for going on the potty.


4/22/04
Lately when Halah is frustrated, she has been running up to me, wrapping her arms around my legs, burying her face in them, shaking her head back and forth, and yelling. It seems sooo funny to me!


4/24/04
Halah just discovered she could hold her breath underwater. In the bath last night, she would take a breath, stick her face in the water and pop up one second later, very proud of herself! She did it about 30 times in a row.


4/25/04
Halah learned a new trick yesterday. Kyle's parents have a doggy door on their screened-in porch, and after watching the dogs go in and out of it, Halah decided to give it a try. She spent all day waving bye-bye, going through the doggy door, popping up on the other side, waving at us through the glass, and climbing back in through the doggy door.


4/26/04
Halah has a lot of words (36 last time I counted) but she only uses DUCK, GOOK (cookie) and daddy regularly. Well last night she showed me that she knows how to talk, she just won't do it!

Kyle and his friend were out on the back porch. Halah saw them, and said "Go? Go out-zide? Out there?" I was SOOO shocked!


4/27/04
Last night Halah broke out with a bunch of new words. It's freaking me out. I'm so mad because I can't remember them all I do know she said getti for spaghetti, and was making animal noises along with her new Wee Sing tape. She did quack quack, arf arf, and moof moof (which was a cat I think ). I just can't believe it!


5/5/04
Last night in her bath, I was using a cup to rinse the back of Halah's head. Well she took the cup from me and started pouring cupfulls of water over her face. It was so funny to watch her brace herself for the water, then pour it all over herself. She'd gasp for air and do a little shake each time after the water had poured off her. She has no fear when it comes to water now, so I'll really have to watch her this summer!


5/10/04
Halah has been "helping" me with the house work for about six months now. She will hand me the silverware out of the dishwasher to put away, or help me pick up her toys at the end of the day. Lately she's been fascinated with throwing things in the trash. Amazingly she seems to know what is trash and what isn't! We were coming into the house a couple weeks ago, and she stopped to pick up two pine needles off the rug in the entrance way. I thought she was going to play with them, but she took them right over to the trash and threw them away!

Yesterday took the cake! After we finished lunch, I wiped her down and let her out of her highchair. She actually pushed my chair in for me! Then after dinner she took her plate off her highchair and put it in the sink without being asked! I'm not even sure how she reached that high! I'm so proud and amazed by her!


5/15/04
You know the song I Love to Laugh from Mary Poppins? Well Halah has it on her Disney Sing-A-Long video. She's been walking around the last 20 minutes since hearing the song going, "Ah gee go ah, Ha Ha" mimicing the part of the song that goes "I love to laugh, Ha Ha, Ha, Ha!"


5/22/04
I never thought it would happen! This morning I was doing dishes in the kitchen while Halah read her books in the livingroom. Suddenly she comes running in yelling MOMMY MOMMY MOMMY MOMMY. I was so proud! Course I'll probably still be daddy most of the time.


5/22/04
We were reading a book about a cow and her calf. The calf is always getting into trouble. Well on one page, his nose gets stuck in a log. Halah was yelling UH OH! This! UH OH! She was so upset about it!

Just now, the Emperor's New Groove was on, and a guy was hanging from a cliff. Halah starts yelling at me, telling me about it in her own language. She was just so worried!

She is just growing up so quickly!


5/27/04
Halah got a boo boo today! Her first daycare injury. She and this little boy Chandler were chasing each other around the playroom. He fell into her and pushed her into the play stove. She has a big black eye with a red mark. Poor pookie!

I guess it can't hurt too bad, I asked where her boo boo was and she pointed to the wrong eye.


5/30/04
A rooster crowed on tv just now, and Halah went "doo DOO!" I was surprised, so I said c0ck-a-doodle-doo! And she said "doo DOO!" It went on for about 10 minutes. She knows so much more than I ever guessed!

Yesterday we were at Water Country and a little girl started jumping and splashing near Halah. Halah yelled "No jumping!" I just had no idea she knew these words!


5/31/04
Well last night I had 2 Smirnoff Twisteds, thinking it would be nice to relax. I went to bed a little late too... around 11. I was just asking for trouble! Halah woke at 3:30 crying, so I went in and cuddled her, then put her back in her crib and she went back to sleep. At 4 she woke again. This time I went in and took her downstairs to change her diaper. We cuddled for a few minutes, and I put her back down again. She fussed a couple times, but got quiet after a minute. At 4:30 she woke crying AGAIN. I went in and rubbed her back and told her she needed to go back to sleep. That it wasn't time to get up yet. Well she cried lightly off and on for about a half hour, and finally I couldn't deal with her sadness anymore. I went and got her and brought her downstairs on the couch. She cuddled me for about 2 mins, and then rolled around and repositioned every few seconds until 5:45 when I got her a cup of milk and resigned to her being up for the day. I turned Disney on very quietly and she drank her milk on the couch and watched cartoons until about 6:30. I dozed during this time, but couldn't really fall asleep knowing she was awake. At about 6:30 she started saying "din-nuh, din-nuh" which meant dinner, but really meant that she was hungry. I got her a cup of Cheerios and she sat next to me on the couch watching more TV while I dozed off and on. She got down and played quietly, stopping to smack me with a toy she wanted help with occasionally. We played like this off and on until I got her up for breakfast at 8. I just wish she'd picked a different night to stay up!!


6/8/04
We left Friday morning for Sandusky, Ohio. Halah was a doll in the car, with only one fit first thing in the morning. She barely slept the 9 1/2 hour car ride, but was still pleasant and sweet. We hung out in the hotel room for a while after we got to Cedar Point, and Halah was wild, running all over the place. Finally my parents came with their camper and we went to visit them. I finally got Halah to sleep after 9 on Friday night. She slept in a cute little bunk bed in a room at the back of the trailer. Kyle and I left her there and went back to the hotel.

Saturday we got up early and had breakfast with my parents at the camper. We went to the park at 9:00 for the early resort entrance, and Kyle and I got our hands stamped for a 2-3pm ride on the new Top Thrill Dragster, then we went and rode Millenium Force. Very kewl. After that, it was all about Halah. We rode all kinds of rides in the kiddy park. She loved the Snoopy Camp Bus. She also loved the swings, the tilt-a-whirl, and the balloon ride. Her favorite in the morning was the Jr. Gemini though! It was a mini-rollercoaster that she rode twice. Once with her dad, and once with me. She laughed the whole time! She also danced with the Peanut gang! She walked from character to character and held their hands while they danced around. We were getting ready to leave, and she started pulling back toward them, so I asked if she wanted to dance some more. She nodded and went right to Linus, her favorite! After that we went to the Red Garter tavern and had a snack and a drink. Halah took her nap in her stroller then. When she woke up, we walked around the park some more and she pet some animals in the petting zoo. After that, Kyle and I rode the Top Thrill Dragster while Grandma and Grandpa P walked around with Halah. WHAT A RIDE! This ride shoots you at 121 MPH straight up a 121 foot tower, then you drop straight down the other side! Sooo much fun! In the afternoon, Halah rode some of the kiddy rides again, and then rode the Troika, a scrambler-type ride. She was laughing her butt off the whole time! Grandma watched her while Grandpa P, Kyle and I rode the wooden coasters. Finally we went back to the camper and had dinner. Halah stayed with Grandma and Grandpa while Kyle and I went back to the hotel to rest up for day 2.

On Sunday, Halah stayed with her grandma and grandpa at the camper. They went to the beach and played in the pool. She had a blast! Kyle and I went back to the park first thing in the morning and rode coasters all day. We rode all the coasters in the park at least once, and also rode the Ferris Wheel and the bumper cars. We had a great time playing around, but by the afternoon, we missed Halah. We went back to the hotel and showered and took a nap, then went to camper to have dinner and hang out with Halah. We took her into the park with us for one last ride (the octopus ride) and then took her back to the camper for the night. Kyle and I rode a few more rides, and finished the night with the Top Thrill Dragster. What a blast!

Monday morning, my mom called me and said Halah was really upset. She had tried to give Halah a cup of milk, and it was spoiled. Well after seeing her milk, Halah wanted nothing else, but no stores were open at that time. I went by McDonald's and got her some milk, then went to the camper to get her. I said goodbye to my parents, and Halah and I went back to the hotel to load the car for the long trip home.

Halah was good in the car again. Only minimal fussing, even though we hit some bad traffic outside of Frederick, MD. We got home at 6:30, and pretty much crashed. This was our best vacation yet!


6/11/04
Halah knows nearly all her body parts! Not only can she point out all the major parts of her body, she can point them out on a doll! She can even go back and forth! Where's Halah's arm? Where's Ernie's ear? And she gets it right 90% of the time!! I am just so very proud of her! Last night we were having her point out the parts of the face on my face, her dad's face and her own face. She did it right almost every time!


6/12/04
Halah's had some stomach problems for a couple days, so I was just giving her plain rice for lunch. Well I guess she was tired of it cause she dropped a bunch on the floor. I took her out of her high chair, and Cassie ran around like mad, "vacuuming" up the rice off the floor. Well Halah walked over to her high chair, put a handfull of rice into her mouth, walked over to the carpet, dropped it, and proceeded to eat it off the floor like a dog! She did this a few times! I couldn't stop laughing! My little girl would rather be a dog!


6/16/04
Halah's favorite expression now is "Dat dey-re," meaning that there. When she wants something, she will say "Dat!" When she wants something really bad, or I tell her she can't have something, she will sob "dat dey-re, dat dey-re" until I get it for her, or sufficiently distract her. I guess being born in Virginia has struck a Southern bone in her body.


6/28/04
So I have these flash cards that I made for Halah. I made them out of construction paper and glued pictures from magazines on them. Some are food, some are household objects, some are pictures of relatives, and some are pictures of actions, like a baby eating, sleeping, etc.

I was playing with Halah with the flash cards. I laid out 4 of the action ones and asked her to show me the picture of the baby sleeping. She picked it up, put her finger to her slips, and said Shhhhh! I was so surprised!

Later, she was looking at one of her books about puppies. She got to the last page, a picture of puppies sleeping. She again put her finger to her lips and said shhhhh!

That night we were watching 101 Dalmations 2 on tv to be quiet while her dad was sleeping. She saw the puppies sleeping on tv and again said shhhh! She just amazes me more every day!


7/5/04
We changed Halah's crib to a toddler bed on Saturday morning. When I put her down for her nap, she played for a half hour, then the Wiggles CD stopped and she started crying. I put her back in her bed and laid down next to it on the floor, hoping she'd imitate me and fall asleep. Well she got down and put all three of her blankets on me and patted me, saying "awwwww." I didn't react, but that didn't stop her. She squatted down and looked right in my face, and I couldn't help but laugh. So finally I started the CD again and left telling her she needed to take a nap. She whined a bit, but it was quiet for a few mins. Suddenly she started crying and banging on the door. I went in and she was poopy. So I changed her and asked if she wanted to go back to bed. She said NO! So I waited a few minutes and said okay, we're going to take a nap. I took her back upstairs and put her to bed and closed the door. She cried a little but went to sleep in a few mins and slept fine until I went in and got her.

That night we got home 2 hours past her bedtime, so she was exhausted and fell asleep as soon as I put her in her bed. Sunday she napped in her pack n play at Grandma Z's and Sunday night was the same as Saturday night. Today we went swimming and then came home and had lunch. She was falling asleep in her highchair, so I put her to bed and she went down without a fuss.

Well tonight she seemed tired enough, so I put her to bed. She was fine, but just 5 mins later she started crying. I went in and soothed her and gave her her sippy of water. She laid down and seemed fine. I can hear her on the monitor playing now... she's been playing about 10 minutes. I'm not sure what I should do. I don't want to battle her about it yet... I guess I'm just hoping she'll climb back into bed and go to sleep on her own.

*Update* Well, she started whining a few minutes after I posted. I went in there and she had her blocks in bed with her. I took them and put them on the floor, and laid her down again, rubbing her back. She turned all of her stuffed animals so they were on their tummies like her, and then she patted the bed for me to put my head down. I laid my head next to hers, and she kissed me and then turned away and looked like she would go to sleep. HAHAHAHA... She turned back as soon as I lifted my head and pushed it back on the bed. After a few mins of rubbing her back and telling her it was bed time, I left the room. She didn't cry at all, and all was quiet on the monitor. A minute later, I heard the familiar clacking of the blocks. She was very quiet and was just playing, not talking or whining. I let her play and at 8:30, an hour after she went to bed, all was quiet. I'm just wondering if she's fallen asleep on the blocks, or even on her bed at all!


7/7/04
Well last night I could hear Halah playing loudly after I put her to bed. There were a few thumps, so I went in and checked on her. Well when I opened the door, it scared the crap out of her! She SCREAMED! I picked her up and she calmed right down, but I think she knew she was supposed to be in bed. She had put almost every toy in her room on her bad! I took all the toys off and put them in her toy basket, and then had her lie down. She stayed in bed and went to sleep with no real fussing. There were no more noises by 8:15, so it only took 45 mins last night.


7/14/04
I am so proud of Halah's recent language development, even if most of it is in animal "language". She now knows the following animals sounds: Sheep- Aaahhhhhh, Snake- ssssssssss, Rooster- doo DOO, Lion- raaaaaarh, Tiger- raaaaaarh, Cat- meeow, Dog- arf arf, Cow- mooooo, Duck- quack quack, Pig- oin oin, Elephant- woooooo (She always lifts her arm in front of her too. Sometimes both arms.)


7/16/04
Last night we were driving home from daycare, and Halah looks out the window and gets all excited, then starts pointing and going "aaaa-aaaaa-aaaa" like a sheep. I couldn't figure out what she was doing for a few minutes, but I suddenly realized what was going on. There were cumulous clouds in the sky, and Halah was "baa"ing like a sheep.


7/17/04
Halah has been doing great in her toddler bed! She basically just falls asleep as soon as I leave the room. I haven't been as firm with her bedtime, because I find that if I watch her cues and don't try to put her to bed until she is actually tired, we have a MUCH smoother night. She's only fallen out twice, and each time was just a little startled. I went in both times and cuddled her, then put her back to bed. I don't think she fully woke. I was also worried about what would happen if she woke before me on work days. It's critical that I get my shower first thing and I certainly didn't want to leave her in her room screaming while I did it! She's only been awake a few times that I have gone in there in the morning, and each time she was either just waking with a bit of whining, or was actually just playing quietly in bed I'm SO pleased with how smoothly this went and how adaptive Halah is.


7/19/04
We went to Olive Garden for dinner on Saturday for Kyle's mom's birthday. Halah had linguine with alfredo sauce, and was pigging out. Suddenly she pulled a noodle from her bowl, put it on the table. She started dragging it around going "Ssssssss." My daughter was pretending the noodle was a snake!! I was so proud of her amazing imagination!


7/20/04
My child is: Halah Quinn
He/She is __ old: 22 months
Her/His favorite thing to do is: Take a bath or ride the rides at Busch Gardens
Current favorite book: The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Favorite food: Grits or canteloupe
has/has not drank soda: Has had a couple sips, but not recently
Loves to play with other kids or by him/herself? She likes to play with older kids, but prefers to play by herself if the child is not doing what she wants.
Likes to go swimming? LOVES to go swimming
Gets excited about bath time? LOVES bath time
Are you or someone currently collecting something for the child? Berenstain Bears books
Interesting fact about your child you want to share (bragging is acceptable and expected!) Halah now understands and follows complex commands, such as "Pick up your crayons and then you can take a bath." She'll pick up her crayons and put her coloring books away, and then head upstairs to the bathroom


7/22/04
Last night Halah had pulled out some of her toys and scattered them around a bit. I figured I'd pick them up after she went to bed. She had spilled milk on herself during dinner, so all I cared about was getting her to the bath. I asked her if she wanted to take a bath, and she said yes. Well I went over to the stairs and said come on Halah. She would not come to the stairs until she'd picked up all her toys!


7/28/04
Monday night we got Taco Bell for dinner, and I got a kid's meal. It came with this robot-looking toy, and it had what looked like a lever on one side. Kyle and I tried and tried that lever and thoroughly examined the toy to try to make it work. Nothing! So I gave it to Halah, and sure enough, it started making noise immediately. Halah found the buttons instantly, while Kyle and I tried for 5 mins with no success.


8/1/04
Last month we went to Water Country, and while Halah liked playing in the water and watching the bigger kids play, the actual kiddie slides scared her. She went down a few, then got water on her face once and was done. The next week was the same thing. She was NOT into the slides. I just let her explore and go up the steps if she wanted, but she would always get halfway up, say NO! and climb back down.

Today she was an entirely different kid. She did ALL the slides by herself. She would climb the steps, then slide down and get back up to do it again. She laughed and had a blast. A couple of times the kid in front of her wouldn't go fast enough and Halah would yell "Go go go!" Even better, a couple of times she gave the child a gentle push. She was a real champ, even when she went underwater. She'd just get back up and wipe her face.

It's just amazing how different she reacted after only a month!


8/2/04
Halah ADORES elephants. She loves to make the elephant noise, complete with arm in the air. When we went to the library on Saturday, she picked out a book about an elephant. As I was reading it to her, I would make the elephant noise at the appropriate times, and she would copy me. As I made the last elephant noise, my voice caught and I coughed. So Halah made her elephant noise, complete with cough at the end.


8/3/04
This weekend Halah finished her drink, and she went to throw the cup in the trash. I was surprised that she understood and obeyed when I told her that the cup went in the sink and the straw went in the trash. Well today she AMAZED me. She just finished her milk, took the straw out of the cup, threw it in the trash, and put her cup in the sink. All with no prompting from me!


8/3/04
About a month ago I took Halah to the library for the second time. She discovered the wooden train set there and fell in love. I let her play with it for about 15 minutes, and then asked if she was ready to go. She said "no" of course, so I told her she had two more minutes to play, and then she needed to pick out a book so we could go. After the two minutes were up, I told her it was time to pick a book and a video. She picked a book from the shelf behind her and handed it to me, then went back to the trains. I told her she needed to pick out a video so we could go, or we would leave with nothing. I took her by the hand and led her to the videos. She started fussing, but she went with me over to the videos. I asked her to pick one, and let go of her hand. She ran right back toward the trains, so I picked her up and told her that she needed to pick a video or we were going home with nothing. She started crying and trying to go back to the trains, so I put the book back and we left with nothing. She cried the whole way to the car. I put her in and drove home, explaining to her the whole way that we could have had a video to watch and a book to read, but she was throwing a fit so we had to leave with nothing.

Well the last two times I have let her play with the train, and when I told her it was time to get a book and a video, she went with me and picked them out, and then went through the check out line with no problem. I was so proud that it only took the one time for her to learn!


8/7/04
Bahck Bahck. No, it's not what a chicken says, it's what Halah just called "Back Pack" from Dora the Explorer. She picked up her Dora doll, pointed to the back pack and said "Bahck Bahck."


8/9/04
I took Halah to the library today since I had the day off. I always let her choose one book to bring home. Today, out of the THOUSANDS of books available, she chose one called "Trade-In Mother". What's she trying to say?

While we were at the library, she was playing at the train table with a little boy who will be three in November. They played together pretty well (pretty much just playing side by side without getting in eachother's ways). Halah saw a chair that she wanted in the corner, and she went to go get it. Well it was just a little too heavy for her to lift. She was grunting a little, and the little boy saw her and went over and carried the chair back to the table for her. She's already got men doing her dirty work.


8/14/04
We got a library "Lit Kit" about the circus the last time we were at the library. It came with 4 different books about the circus and a clown puppet. The puppet is nearly as big as Halah! Well that thing is her best friend now. She takes him to bed with her, covers him with his own blanket, feeds him her raisins, gives him sips from her cup, you name it.

Well just a few minutes ago, she was playing ring around the rosie with him. My child is so silly!


8/14/04
Halah has been saying biggo for a few weeks, and I could never figure out what the heck she meant. Last night when she finished using the potty, she yelled "BIGGO!" and suddenly it hit me. BIG GIRL! Halah has been saying big girl for weeks, and I didn't know it! I think my problem is not that my daughter doesn't talk, it's that I don't understand her!


8/16/04
Halah has been using the potty since 16 months, but I never really attempted potty training because her sitter wouldn't work with her until she felt Halah was ready. Well I spent this weekend really talking to Halah about the potty and having her use it a lot more. Today we had a break through! She went to the bathroom door a little while ago and tried turning the knob. I asked if she had to go potty and put her on the toilet. She peed! Halah asked to go to the potty!!!

UPDATE 8/18/04 Kyle had Halah all day yesterday, and she "asked" him three times to use the potty! Today she spent the day with her Grandma Z, and she even asked twice to use the potty at Grandma's house!


8/24/04
Halah has been picking up on everything lately, and putting new actions together with old things. Last Tuesday she was home all day with her dad, and he taught her to fake snore. Well we were riding home last night and Rock a Bye Baby came on her tape, and she laid her head against the side of her car seat and pretended to sleep, snore and all!

Sunday she found a notebook of mine with Hello Kitty playing a guitar on the front. So I showed her how to play the air guitar. Last night she brought the notebook to me and started playing air guitar (more like rubbing her tummy). Then we were watching a concert on TV and she saw Bob Dylan playing guitar, so she started playing air guitar!


8/28/04
Halah starts "school" on Monday. I wasn't planning to move Halah to the new "preschool" daycare center until she turned 2, but things just kept getting weirder at Jean's, so I am glad to have her starting at the new place on Monday. I keep telling her about going to school. I think she's excited.


8/28/04
I've been working on Halah's birthday party for the past week or so. I got her the Blue's Clues store bought invitations, and then put the directions on paper with a paw print in the background. I haven't decided on the clues yet, but we're going to play Blue's Clues as part of the party. The gift bags for all the kids have a notebook (I'm going to get a picture of the thinking chair, then put the child's name under it, so it will say Halah's Handy-Dandy Notebook, etc), a box of crayons, a sheet of Blue's Clues stickers, a small container of playdoh, and a little playdoh shape cutter. The giftbags only cost me $1.75 each I also printed a bunch of copies of a big picture of Blue for all the kids to color. Now I just have to find a Blue's Clues cake and figure out what the clues will be for the game. Oh, and I am getting a Blue's ears headband for Halah to wear. I can't wait!


9/8/04
We had a magnificient time in Michigan! Halah did so well on all FOUR separate plane rides. The very first plane she stayed awake all through her normal nap time and of course fell asleep AS WE WERE LANDING! There I was with Halah slung over my shoulder, two bags on my arm, dragging the stroller up the steps.

As soon as we got to Michigan, Halah went right to my mom. It's amazing the bond they have, especially since they only see eachother every 4 months or so. We went back to my mom's house and Halah went to bed a little late, but with no fuss.

Friday we went and visited with a friend of mine from high school. After that we had lunch at the restaurant where my mom has been working for 23 years. Halah got to meet the busboy who has been a part of my life since I was little. After that we went back to the house and spent some time relaxing. My aunt and uncle, and my cousin and his wife and their daughter came over and Halah played like mad until bedtime. I went out with a friend from high school and took a taxi home

On Saturday we went shopping and Halah played at the play area at the mall. She LOVED it. Then we had lunch with my aunt and uncle at Chili's. Halah napped after that, then spent some time visiting with her grandparents.

Sunday was a big day. We had all of my stepdad's relatives over. 21 people in all I believe. We had a blast playing and eating and talking. Halah loved all her cousins. I found out my cousin Angie is pregnant! This will be her third.

Monday we went shopping again in the morning, then had lunch at Olga's. That's a treat for me because we don't have Olga's in Virginia. Halah fell asleep in the car on the way to Olga's, so she slept in the booth while we had lunch, and then ate when she woke up. Monday afternoon my dad's cousins came over. I hadn't seen them in about 7 years! It was so nice to chat with them and meet their new families. Halah had a tougher time that day as there were two 4 year old girls and an 8 year old boy who were like vultures over her toys. After about 30 mins she finally decided it was okay to share everything. A family I have known forever came over also, and the daughter brought her new baby boy. What a sweet little guy. I miss those newborn snuggles. Little guy was nuzzling for my boobs too. I told him they didn't work anymore.

Tuesday we flew back. In the airport I had to change Halah's diaper, and then we were walking back to my mom and I said we had to find Grandma. She started yelling "Mammy? Mammy?" This was the first time she ever had a name for Grandma. I know that made my mom feel good. Halah cried when my mom had to leave us at the security check point. It was so sad!

Overall we had a wonderful (but exhausting) trip.


9/8/04
Halah is learning so much at her new "school"!! While we were in the airport, she starting lifting her arms up saying "UP!" and putting them down saying "now". UP! was loud and high pitched, and now was quiet and lower. She even understood the concept of it, and wasn't just repeating the motions! Also at my parents' house I was playing a Wiggles CD for her. Rock a Bye Your Bear came on, and she was doing most of the dance with the song!!


9/13/04
Well Halah had about a 100 word spoken vocabulary when we left for Michigan on the 2nd. Today it is about 200! It doubled in less than two weeks!! She's still not putting words together, but I can see it coming any time. She seems to be about 6 months behind most of her peers, but she is really catching up now!


9/17/04
Halah is doing so well at her new "school"! She's been so happy going there, and I notice so many differences too. She comes home with a little report card everyday, telling what she ate and how much, when she had a diaper change, if she napped, etc. It was like pulling teeth to get that info from Jean! She also came home with a little coloring sheet today. Her first art work from school! She's been singing along to songs a lot more, and has had a real increase in vocabulary.

From a logistical perspective I love it because I save 10 miles a day in gas (plus time). Also, Halah has gone there for 3 weeks now and has not had to use her extra change of clothes once, nor has she even been the slightest bit dirty. No sticky stuff in her hair or dirt under her fingernails. She was sort of clean when she came home from Jean's, but I wouldn't want to take her out in that condition. Halah comes home from the "school" just the same as I sent her Her diet is better too! She eats a real balanced meal, not nuggets and fries and RAMEN NOODLES! I LOVE it Everything is going sooo well.


9/17/04
Halah is finally putting her words together! She's starting to say things like "Night Baby" and "Baby eat" and "Hi Daddy". I was starting to think it would never happen, but she always surprises me.


9/20/04
Halah has been very sensitive to movies and scary things in books since she was about 15-18 months. She would get upset when someone was hanging from a cliff, or if there was paint on someone's face, etc. Well now it's insane! Besides the usual upset over scary chase scenes in movies (thank you Disney) she actually gets upset over the news! Just after Ivan, they were showing some damaged buildings and flooded streets on the news. Halah somehow understood what was going on, and got very upset! She was yelling at the TV "UH-OH! Mommy! Go!(a car was partially underwater and she calls cars "go")". I couldn't believe she understood what was going on and felt that much empathy! It's actually kind of difficult sometimes, as she will yell out when a character in a book has a red face from embarrassment, or anything that is a symbol that something is wrong. It's just crazy!


9/21/04
I was starting to worry about Halah last month. She has been adding a few words a week to her vocabulary, but she really only had about 100 words or so. Also she was not putting words together at all. I told Kyle that if she hadn't made real progress by her 2 yr check up that I would mention it to the doctor.

Fast forward to this week. In the past month her vocabulary has tripled, and she has started to put two words together. She has a word for nearly everything, and she actually uses them all the time, instead of just randomly! She adds several new words every day! I guess I can stop worrying!


9/22/04
Halah is doing very well in her new daycare. She starts in the 2s room on Monday. She is wearing mostly 2T clothes now. Her birthday party is Saturday and I am very excited for it. She was supposed to get her 2 year pictures done on Friday after her well baby visit, but she tripped the other night and hit her head on the bookcase. She's doing much better, and her bruise/scrape is looking better, but it's still too noticeable for professional pics. She has had a sudden burst of language and is now naming nearly everything around her. She still likes to call animals by the sound they make. A cat is "meow", a dog "woof woof", an elephant "wooooo" with her arm in the air, a horse "neigh, neigh" while shaking her head back and forth, etc. The funniest one is a pig though. For some reason a pig says "doyoyoyoyoy" while shaking her head up and down. She also calls a lot of things by what the do. A car is a "go," a phone is a "hello," and a star is a "twin-kle."

Halah is such a joy. She's very easy going and so affectionate. I really adore her!


9/23/04
Halah is crazy! She got food on this small stuffed cat from McDonald's, so I washed it. Well she took that wet cat and started wiping the tv screen with it. Then she took her small blanket and wiped the water off. Then she wiped the screen with the cat again, then with the blanket. Repeat about 50 times. Cat is not wet enough so she made her dad wash it again. Repeat the first two steps again.


9/24/04
Halah is now 24.6 lbs (25th %) and 34 1/4 inches (60th %). She's grown quite a bit since 18 months! I told the pediatrician about her language progress, and she agreed that Halah was doing just fine.

A 2 year old problem arose yesterday though... HITTING! Halah would hit my face or pull my hair. I was so surprised... she never hit before. I tried crying to help her understand that it hurt, but as soon as she got upset at my crying and saying Mommy? Mommy? and trying to turn my frown to a smile with her hands, I couldn't help but laugh. That didn't work! So then I tried explaining to her that hitting hurt and made her say sorry. Well that didn't work either... she starting hitting her stuffed dog and saying sorry immediately afterward. So then I tried restraining her arms and talking in a stern voice. That didn't work either, as it was all a game by that point. Finally I did time out, and that worked. She got so upset over the time out that she stopped hitting. It took two times for it to sink in, but it worked. I'm just sad she even started the hitting thing!


9/25/04
Halah's party is today and I was so pleased because the black eye she gave herself by falling into the bookcase last Sunday has faded away so you can barely see it. OMG! She just threw this little toy lion on me and it hit my cheekbone just right and gave ME a black eye!


9/27/04
Saturday was Halah's birthday party. She woke up waaay too early, so we just played all morning until daddy got up. She gave me the black eye during this time. We went down to my In-laws' at around 11. Halah had lunch and then took a nap from 12:30-1:30. When she woke up, she got a bath and Uncle Paul and Aunt Lynn got there. She was so cute calling for Paul every few minutes. She wanted to show him everything! She got to open one present from Grandma and Grandpa Z before the party started. It was a shopping cart with a baby doll and lots of play food. She was in heaven! We put the cart away before the guests came so she wouldn't be upset about having to share it. She played outside while waiting for everyone to arrive. First Debra from my work came with her 4 year old Cameron and her 4 month old Travis. Cameron and Halah rode bikes for a while, and then Leigh (my boss's daughter) came with her 2 1/2 year old daughter Maddy and her 5 year old son Connor. They played at the sand table for a while, and then Kyle's friend Jeff came.

After a while of free time outside, we went inside to play a game of Blue's Clues. I went and hid the clues, and then took the kids on a tour to find them. The first clue was a picture of smoke on the fireplace. Halah found it and yelled "CLUE!!!" She then very seriously drew it in her notebook. The other kids also colored in their notebooks. Then we found the second clue outside. It was a picture of railroad tracks. The third clue was also outside, and it was a wheel. Each time all the kids gathered around and drew in their notebooks Connor guessed that the answer to Blue's Clues (what is Halah getting for her birthday) was a train on fire! He then guessed a train set.

We went back inside and everyone sang Happy Birthday and Halah blew out her big #2 candle, then we passed out cake. Halah started by picking at her frosting with her fork. That lasted for two bites, then she picked up the whole piece of cake with her hands and ate the frosting off the top. After cake we opened the presents from the party guests.

Debra and Cameron got Halah a playdoh zoo set. Leigh, Connor and Maddy got Halah a farm set and a book about pigs. Uncle Paul and Aunt Lynn got Halah some new fall clothes, a bear hat with matching mittens, a stuffed lion, and a Dr. Seuss pull toy. She also opened her wooden Thomas the Tank Engine train set from her mom and dad. That was her favorite.

The kids went back outside and played for a bit, and then the guests left. My in-laws' neighbor then came over with her 1 year old daughter Iyla and Halah got to open another present. It was a Care Bears Alphabet toy. Since most of the guests were gone, we brought out the rest of Halah's presents from her parents and grandparents. She got 2 new tapes for the car, an extra set of train cars for her train set, and a Fisher Price pet store from her mom and dad. Her grandparents got her a coloring pad for the floor, a box of crayons, Lincoln Logs, two wooden puzzles, and a Thomas the Tank Engine DVD. Her great grandparents got her a Precious Moments waterfountain, and her Great Aunt Donna and Uncle Doc gave her the doll that looks like Salem from the messageboard and 2 books. She couldn't even unwrap the presents anymore because she was so overwhelmed! Poor dear!

After the final guest left, we went out for dinner. We had an hour wait, but Halah had fun looking at the boats at the marina and playing with other little kids who were waiting. She did so well during dinner too. I thought she would be really tired and cranky after such a long day, but she was cheerful and not to antsy the whole time! I was so proud of her! She fell asleep on the way home (an hour and a half past her bedtime). So ended Halah's never ending birthday.


10/1/04
Last night I was getting Halah's dinner ready while she was sitting in her highchair having her milk. As I brought her plate to her tray, she said "poo-poo!" I smelled it too, so I pulled her out of her highchair and got her ready to change her diaper. When I pulled it off, there was nothing in it! So I asked if she had to go potty, and she said poo-poo again. I put her on the toilet and gave her a book, and then went to get my dinner ready (her dad was with her). I heard her grunt a little, and then heard a ker-plunk! She had pooped in the potty! She was so proud too. She kept looking in saying "poop!" Then we flushed it and she yelled "wheeee! Bye Poop!"


10/2/04
Poor Halah. This morning I noticed her eye had sleepies in it, but I washed her face and didn't think much else of it. While we were at the grocery store, I noticed the goop was back and there was a lot of it. There was a notice on Tuesday that there was a case of pink eye in the 2s room, but I had hoped Halah wouldn't get it. At least it's not bothering her and she will be on the drops over the weekend so I won't have to miss work.

Halah was just singing the parts of The Wheels on the Bus! It took me a minute to realize what she was doing. She said "Baby, whaa whaa whaa" and rubbed her eyes. Then she said "Mommy, shhh shhh shhh" with her finger to her lips. Next she said "beep beep beep" while acting like she was honking a horn. SOOO cute!


10/2/04
I handed Halah a snack on the way home the other day. Our conversation:
Halah: "thanks"
<pause>
Halah: "Mommy!"
Me: "Yes?"
Halah: "Thank you!"
Me: "You're welcome"

Guess I wasn't being polite!


10/24/04
Kyle and I are not religious at all. Agnostic at best. Well last night we were at Pizza Hut with my brother in law and sister in law. Halah was sitting in the highchair at the end of the table. I brought her a plate from the buffet, and she put her hands together and said "erhgdkn vjuekjbfmj sdjkrikjdng nsidhr AMEN." Kyle and I about DIED! We were just like... did she just pray?! I guess she must pray at lunchtime at school.


11/2/04
This is the third election Halah has been to since she's been born, but it's the first one she actually voted at. This morning she was so excited about going to vote. She said "Daddy bote?" and I said yes, daddy was going to vote. She said "My bote?" and I said that she was going with mommy to vote. She was so excited. She yelled "Trick or Vote!"

We get to the voting booth finally, and I pushed the button for the presidential candidate I wanted, and was deciding what to do about the House of Representatives member that we had the option of voting for, when the booth went dark. Halah had pushed the Submit Your Vote button. At least I got to vote for President!


11/8/04
Halah has finally started calling herself by her name, but she always says "Ha."


11/14/04
Apparently Old MacDonald has really made an impression on Halah. A couple weeks ago her grandpa asked her which bike she wanted out of the garage, pointing to two options (a tricycle and a green tractor). Halah said E-I-O! She called the tractor an E-I-O. Then yesterday she saw a barn on tv and yelled E-I-O house! Animals are also E-I-O mooo, E-I-O cluck cluck, etc.


11/20/04
So we were getting out of the car at the library the other day, and Halah said "truck, hat" and I was like huh? She said it again, "truck, hat." I looked around and saw a van with ladders on top. I said, "Yeah, it does kinda look like a hat." She said "Halah silly" and started laughing. I guess it was a joke.


12/1/04
Halah is talking so much now! I can't believe 2 months ago I was worried about her language development! She cracks me up with the things she says now too! The other night we were driving along the road, and she saw a man running. She said "daddy" (she calls all men daddies) and I said, "I don't know if he is a daddy Halah, he's a man." So she said, "Man. Man running! See you later man." Then a few blocks later, she looks around from side to side and says "Man, where are you?"


12/1/04
I am pretty laid back about Halah's bedtime routine, and I will let her request things (within reason) to delay bedtime. For instance, if she didn't eat a good dinner and asks for a snack when we get upstairs, I'll let her come down and have a small glass of milk or cheese stick or something. The most common thing she asks for is "Boo-boo lotion." She often wants me to put neosporin on any little cut or scrape, so I happily oblige that one. Well last night she went a little nutty.

First she asked for boo-boo lotion. After that, she wanted a hair tie in her hair. That was fine too, as her bangs get in her face otherwise. Then she wanted me to clean her ears. I did that quickly and said, okay nothing more. It is time for bed. As soon as she laid down, she issued one final request.

CHICKEN DANCE!

Halah repeated over and over "chicken dance" until I knew what she was saying. She actually started crying when I told her no, that it was time for bed and we could do the chicken dance in the morning.


12/7/04
Yesterday Halah's teacher told me that Halah is the best in her class at shapes. She said she's very good with colors too, though at home she tells me everything is green.


12/11/04
She just said her whole alphabet!! Halah's been singing the alphabet song for a while now, but she never really said the letters right, just had the tune. Well today on the way to see Santa, she sang the whole thing and got every letter right! Z sorta sounded like P, but I'm not being picky!


12/24/04
Poor Halah! Everytime we go to Michigan, she always gets sick. This time it is before we go at least, and I hope she is better by Sunday when we leave. I had to get her from school yesterday at 11 because she had a fever. She stayed feverish all day and night, and is still feverish now. It peaks and receeds. She's doing okay right now... she's watching Dora and I got a whole bowl of grits in her for breakfast. She's drinking well again, so her throat must feel better. I just hope she feels well tomorrow!


12/31/04
A "quick" synopsis of Halah's Christmas and our trip to Michigan: Christmas morning Halah woke up and was still sick. She was feverish and her face was even a little swollen. She was so excited when she saw all the presents Santa had left though. She got through about 5 presents and was over it. She wasn't feeling well, and all the presents were just overwhelming for her. She did love the things she got, once mom and dad opened them all. She made out this Christmas. Santa left her a bunch of pieces for her wooden train set, a new set of Legos, some My Little Ponies, 3 board games, a new Thomas the Tank Engine video and also a new THomas book for her LeapPad. She got a few other miscellaneous things as well. After she played at home for a little while, we went over to Grandma and Grandpa Z's house. We opened presents there, and she made out again! Halah won't need anything else for a year! She had fun opening the presents this time, as Uncle Paul was around to help.

On the 26th, we left for Michigan. We left the house at about 6 a.m. and arrived at Grandma and Grandpa P's at about 7 p.m. Halah was wonderful the whole trip. She enjoyed watching some videos in the car, and playing with her new Dora the Explorer magnadoodle. I was so glad she did so well, especially since she was still sick and a little feverish.

While we were in Michigan, we visited with Uncle Ben, Grandpa P's family, Great Aunt Faith, and "Uncle" Chad. Halah had a good time with all the family, and she loved making her first snowman with Grandma P. It was so cold that day that the snow just wouldn't pack into a ball. We had to make the snowman lying down (great idea Daddy!). After we got him finished and Halah put his hat on, she yelled Get up! We all had a good laugh over that one!

Halah also had a great time making Christmas cookies with Grandma P, and just spending time with her Grandma and Grandpa. They spoiled her as well! We also visited the Grand Rapids Children's Museum while we were up there. Halah loved all the different things to do there. I wish we had a place like that here!

Halah was great on the car ride home, and we were all glad to be home and get some much needed rest!


1/2/05
This week Halah was munching on french fries in the backseat of the car. She had three fries in her hand, and she said "Mommy, and Daddy, and Halah!" Halah was the short fry.

Then, while we were visiting with some of my mom's friends, the woman and her daughter were saying goodbye and Halah points at her and says "mommy" and then looks at the girl (who was 12) and says, "Halah". I guess she was equating the girl's role in the family as the "Halah" role!


1/9/05
Kyle had to work last night, so Halah and I had a girls' night. We ate dinner at 6 and then hopped into our PJs and watched Chicken Run with a big bowl of popcorn and a glass of juice. We just snuggled up on the couch and watched the movie together. It was so nice to be cuddled up with her. Her giant stuffed Dora joined us, and Halah even shared the popcorn with her. She asked, Do-do-Dora want copcorn? Then she stuck a piece against her mouth, said yummy and ate it herself.


1/12/05
The other night Kyle said something about a birthday party, and Halah started asking to go to a birthday party. I told her we didn't know anyone with a birthday soon, and she got a little sad face, so I said, hey, let's have a birthday party tonight! I went and got a cereal bar and a birthday candle. I stuck the candle in the cereal bar and we sang Happy Birthday and she blew it out. (Then we had to repeat the lighting and blowing out of the candle 4 times). It was really silly, but Halah loved it!


1/21/05
Halah's had a 7:30 bedtime for a long time. I think since she started taking regular naps. Well Kyle is working later now, and his commute is longer, so he doesn't get home until 7. I wanted him to be able to spend more time with Halah, so I decided to push her bedtime back to 8. I figured she was probably ready for it anyway. Uhm, no... Poor girl has been so cranky the past few days. She got up off and on last night from 8:30-10:30. I guess it's back to the 7:30 bedtime!


1/24/05
So Halah has been much more interested in counting lately. She usually counts one, two, three and then is done. Last night though, she was counting beads (there were 12) and she counted "one, three, four, chicken, eight, nine, twenty!"


2/9/05
Ever heard Old MacDonald this way?

Old MacFarmer had a duck
E-I-E-I-O
Old MacFarmer had a duck
E-I-E-I-O
With a moo moo here
With a moo moo here
Old MacFarmer had a duck
E-I-E-I-O


2/27/05
Last night as Halah was getting ready for her bath, I asked her which toys she wanted to take in with her. She walked over to the basket and looked in and said uhm, like this boat! Uhm, like, uhm this ducky! Uhm, like... and so on. I have no idea where she got that from!

For about two weeks, Halah was speaking in a really weird way. She'd say a word, then say "bousha beesha bousha bmm boo" and then maybe finish it up with some more real words. She did it with nearly everything she said. It was like she was trying to have a long sentence of conversation, but she didn't know the filler words. I had this feeling that she was about to have another language explosion, but after the second week, I was really starting to wonder. Well yesterday it happened. She started actually speaking full sentences, and talking constantly! I will miss the days of bousha beesha though!


3/12/05
On the way home from school last night, I asked Halah how her day was. She said "Uhm, Kenna, Raegan. Devon hates me. Devon hit me and got time out."

She said it so nonchalantly! She has picked up the "hate" word, and I am not sure from where! I told her that I didn't think Devan hated her, that he really liked her and he was just frustrated when he hit her. I just find it so strange that she told me "Devan hates me"!


3/14/05
As I was putting a skirt on Halah on Saturday, I asked her, "Who is the prettiest princess in the whole world?" Her response:
"Mommy!"

Doesn't it just melt your heart?!


5/15/05
I have had a really great weekend. I spent a bunch of time with my darling Freija. We painted some teeshirts on Saturday afternoon. It was so relaxing to be outside in the shade of Newport News Park. Halah had a great time playing on the playground, and Freija and I got some really cute teeshirts made. My favorite is a little pink teeshirt that says "You're not perfect - You're not French!" I think only Freija and I can really find it funny though. I'm sure everyone else would just think I was obsessed with everything French.

Halah and I spent a lot of time on the little beaches that line the James River. She loved playing in the sand and throwing rocks in the water. I loved sitting next to the river with the sun shining (from time to time). It was really relaxing.

Last night Halah, Freija and I went contra dancing. We had a great time. Halah even rode in the front carrier for the Virginia Reel. I had a really great dance partner for the waltz. He swept me around the room, doing fancy spins and all sorts of nice moves. I know it was all his leading, but I really felt like a dancer. :)

Halah and I drove along the Colonial Parkway a lot this weekend too. She somehow fell in love with Jonathan Richman. I had two songs of his on my mp3 player (I was Dancing in a Lesbian Bar and Abominable Snowman in the Market) and Halah heard them and fell in love. She kept asking for them again and again, so I kept playing them. Is there something wrong with a 2 1/2 year old singing "I was dancing in a lesbian bar, oh, oh"?


5/31/05
If you ask Halah what the high point of her trip to the zoo on Sunday was, she will tell you "The zebra making noise!" We were standing by the zebra exhibit when a zebra ran up to the fence and made this terrifying sound which can only be described as a combination of a horse, donkey and foghorn. It scared Halah half out of her pants, but afterward she laughed about it. Now it's all she talks about when we mention the zoo.

We had a good time in the hotel pool AFTER I made the lifeguard skim it. I looked at the water and there was hair everywhere. It was so disgusting. The lifeguard said they'd just had three soccer teams in the pool, and he had to retreat the water. Needless to say, Halah and I did not go in all the way, nor did we stay long. Afterward we went back up to the room, and Halah was tired and cranky, so we decided to go get something to eat. She fell asleep in the car, but when she woke up she was feeling much better.

That night we went to Glen Echo Park. What an amazing place! I think all three of us were entranced by the charm of the place. It used to be an amusement park, but it is now more of an arts center. The buildings are amazing. I had an excellent time dancing, and Halah was wooed by this adorable 4 1/2 year old. We went back to the hotel at 9:30.

The next day we drove around a bit, and then went to breakfast. Afterward we drove home, then to Yorktown, then to the College Creek beach. Halah had a great time playing in the sand with her dad and then "helping" him fly a kite.

Overall it was a really nice trip.


6/8/05
Well Halah has been going through a bit of a tough time the past two weeks. She had an ear infection that caused a ruptured ear drum, and she's been a little "off" ever since. She's super hyper and happy one minute, and then any little aggitation throws her into a meltdown. It's been really hard for me, because I am so used to her being laid back and happy almost all the time. She's really the most spectacular little girl, so I am just anxious for her to feel better so she can be herself again!


6/9/05
I gave Halah some mini waffles to eat on the way to my work this morning. About halfway through the ride, she said "Here," and handed me a piece of waffle. She said "This is a seahorse." Sure enough, it was the most seahorse shaped waffle piece I had ever seen! Every day is a laugh with Halah :)


6/27/05
There's something special about living with a two year old. Tonight, when I asked Halah if she wanted ketchup for the chicken and french fries I was making her, she told me, "No, it makes me burp." By the time I had gotten the food ready, I had forgotten what she told me, so I put some ketchup on her plate. When I brought it to her, she started crying, and told me again "No, no ketchup! It makes me burp!"

Later on, I went to the bathroom, and she came up to me and told me "Good job!" Then she came up and hugged me, and told me "I love it when you use the potty."

Never a dull moment.


6/30/05
I asked Halah this morning what she wanted to watch on tv. She told me "I want Dora." I tried to dissuade her, since there is not enough time in the morning to watch a whole episode, so I asked her if she wanted to watch Charlie and Lola instead. She said "No, I want apple..." (starting to say she wanted apple juice) and then she said "I'm sorry. I want Dora." I thought it was too funny that she actually apologized for starting to say something she didn't mean.


7/5/05
Halah and I went to see the fireworks at Yorktown with some friends yesterday. I got her an American flag to wave for the event, and when I gave it to her, she started waving it, singing the National Anthem! I was so impressed. She knew the tune, and she knew at least 25% of the words. She had a great time at the picnic. She ate some homemade makis and chased fireflies. However, once the fireworks started, she was pressed firmly to me, sobbing about the loud noise. Poor little thing! Even with earplugs it was just too much for her.


7/22/05
Halah is really into being a princess right now. She tells me that this or that is "makin' me a princess!" She also loves puzzles. She is always working a puzzle at school when I pick her up, and she will entertain herself by doing one puzzle over and over for 20 minutes. She amazes me more every day.

Her speech has improved so much. I can't even imagine that at 2 I was worried she was delayed. Now even other people can understand what she's talking about.


7/27/05
As we do every night, Halah and I were exchanging a kiss and a hug in preparation for bedtime. Just as I was pulling close to her, a book that was perched precariously on the edge of her bed fell, making a loud noise. We looked at each other and both started laughing hysterically. I looked into her eye and saw tears of laughter. I hugged her closely, her laughing into my neck, and I thought that this was the kind of moment of the closest friendships. I am not the kind of mother to search out a friendship with my child at the expense of discipline, so I felt the utmost joy that this friendship had developed and thrived not in spite of my parenting, but because of it. Last night was a proud moment for me.


8/3/05
Halah is so funny lately. Yesterday I was singing in the car on the way home from work, and Halah told me "No singing mommy! Red means stop!" (while holding her hand up in a stop gesture). Then last night as we were eating dinner, she held up a pickle from her hamburger and asked, "What's this Miss Megan?" She stopped and looked at me, and then started laughing, realizing she had called me by her teacher's name. For the rest of the night, she was calling me Miss Megan or Miss Mommy. :)


8/29/05
On Saturday, Halah came up to me and started singing a song. It was her own creation, and it went like this:

"I stinks, and then I poop and I stinks a little, and then I fart and I stinks a little." (Repeat two or three times)

Gack! I certainly didn't start that one!

I had a really great weekend. Halah and I went to Busch Gardens on Saturday and rode some rides and got all sticky with cotton candy. She is so fun! Then that evening I sent her for a sleepover with Kyle's parents and had dinner at Cities Grille with my good friends Jessica and Mike. Great food, and even better company! That night I headed up to Richmond for a contra dance. Good times!

Sunday morning I woke up at 9:30 (ah blissful sleep!) and went to Hampton to get Halah. She and I went to the zoo and saw all sorts of animals. She had a great time. We came back to our house, had a bit of "quiet time" and then went to another contra dance. Halah had a ball playing with the other kids and joining me for a couple dances.


9/23/05
My little princess (Maraline- her name for herself) has a big, never-ending birthday this year! On Tuesday she received a package from Belgium. Our dear friend Freija sent Halah two lovely children's books in French. On Wednesday she received a package from my mom. She got a Dora Memory Game. Last night I gave her two of her presents from me, since I didn't want her to have a thousand to open at the family party tonight. At 3 I am picking her up to take her to my new office to meet my coworkers and show her off. At 7 we're going to Friendly's for dinner and ice cream cake with Kyle, his parents, and his brother and sister-in-law. Tomorrow she has her kid party. The party will be a princess dress-up party. She's got 3 little friends coming over, and I have dresses, jewelry, tiaras, and all the accessories for them to wear. I'll take all their pictures and print them out to put in the frames I bought. I'm very excited for her.

This morning I dropped her off at school with cup cakes for the class. She was wearing a pink dress and she had a princess hat on. All the kids gathered around her and told her how pretty her hat was. They all started telling her happy birthday. I almost cried I was so happy for her. It's very touching to see your child treated so specially.


9/26/05
So Friday was Halah's 3rd Birthday. Already. Time goes so fast. We had a nice dinner with Kyle and his family at Friendly's. Halah got a huge load of presents. On Saturday we went to Busch Gardens in the morning with a couple friends of mine. We all rode the Turkish Delight (a teacup ride) and Halah laughed the entire time. Too much fun! Then we saw the "Hey-yup Girls" (the Fest Hous Dancers) and Halah got to get up on stage and do the chicken dance again. This was the first time she's really participated in the dancing. She usually just stands there.

We had her princess party on Saturday afternoon. She had a great time, and didn't want to take off her princess dress when it was time for bed. Sunday was a nice, lay around the house, kind of day.


11/11/05
I walked into Halah's classroom last night, and she was standing by the wall talking about how her house was so beautiful. She was holding a plastic lettuce leaf and a spoon. She started rubbing the spoon against the leaf, then rubbing it against the wall. She looked up, saw me and laughed. She said, "I'm painting the wall!"