Sappy Thoughts on Precious Kids and Family

hi everyone! sorry we haven't done much blogging lately. it's been pretty much crazy here...well, as any other house with a 2 year old and a 3 month old and a husband with 2 jobs and a family obsessed with the Olympics would be. tag turned 3 months on thursday - look for the official 3 month pictures next week :)

we've been having some fun around here :). cousin jaime came to visit... ...and heck if she didn't make Tag belly-laugh for the very first time! she was just holding him and tickling him and he started this heh-heh-heh laugh and he looked so confused like he didn't know what he was even doing!! so he kept laughing and by the time i got the camera, i only got a couple of chuckles: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXtn7cBJtaE

we had a great visit with jaime and she and hubby alex went with us to our last baseball game of the season. we will have to get tickets again next year for our little baseball fan. i'm thinking mostly she likes the cotton candy :)

so back to laughing-Tag - now he's doing it more often, but it's hard to predict what exactly will make him crack up. here's Daddy tickling him for more laughs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUV4Pcozlpw

the other big news is LEGOS, kinsey's new favorite toys. she is really good with them and will play with them practically all day long. mommy likes them, too. kinsey loves building towers, castles, and troll bridges and is always asking me to build steps (no clue why!).

the other creative outlet she's becoming very focused about is coloring. whereas she used to just randomly scribble a few lines on a page, she is now intentionally coloring certain things, like dora's cowboy hat, and i can see such a change in her ability to focus her strokes. she really likes to color these days and i love that she's still creative enough to color blue trees and yellow grass. she's becoming so imaginative, starting to make up songs and stories and dances. it's been a rough few weeks with a lingering stomach bug and resulting sore bottom, but her spirit has been so positive. she had to go to the doctor twice about her butt issues, but both times she was thrilled to get to see the stethescope and otoscope and tongue depressors :). we got there last week and she laid down on her tummy on the exam table, coloring on the paper, and after we took her diaper off, she looked over her shoulder at Dr. Chang and said "you are going to check my butt" - yes, i know it's just so dainty for my little girl to talk about her "butt" but in her little voice it actually sounds sweet. so now the butt is almost all better and she's very glad. she's now decided to call me "momma" instead of "mommy", i think because Roo calls Kanga "momma" in Pooh and kinsey likes how it sounds. so she says it all the time now and it's way cute. she got a new game called Cariboo. these are probably the least exciting videos (as in only a grandparent would find them fascinating and brag-worthy). on the recommendation of some friends (thanks Barie!) we got the game and it's great for little kids as it works on their number, color, letter, and shape skills. Anyway, here she is in two videos playing the games and showing her smarts :)
Cariboo video 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmnnahf86tI
Cariboo video 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FOLkNnljsA

ok, now onto Tag updates: we are blessed with about the happiest kid i think i've ever met. he almost never cries anymore (although trust me the first couple of months he was very expressive with his unhappiness), and lately even when he's hungry he just sort of talks instead of fusses. i think he's really starting to figure out that we are going to take care of him and he's feeling more secure about getting his needs met. he is just so much fun and i love seeing him smile. he and i have long conversations with just "oooohhhh" sounds and it's so cute because you can tell he knows he's communicating. he just beams when we "talk" and it warms my heart. i can't wait to hear the funny things he'll say and i wonder if he'll take after his sister with her prolific vocabulary. here he is in a precious tractor outfit from some friends at church

Tag has found his hands and fingers and boy does he like them! he likes to clasp his hands together and is now really good at getting his fingers into his mouth, usually when he's getting hungry, but sometimes as he's getting sleepy as well. it's pretty cute. he'll take a pacifier sometimes, but not nearly like his sister did. he seems pretty content with the fingers and i'm thinking that's a pretty good deal for me since i don't have to go find them for him in the middle of the night so he can get back to sleep :)

Tag is turning into quite the little charmer. he'll look at his daddy across a room and break into a face-splitting smile and he laughs at douglas all the time. i'm not so great at getting the belly laughs, but i get some grins that turn my heart to goo!!! this morning at church i was talking to a friend while giving him a bottle and my friend just started laughing and i looked down and he's just grinning at her from ear to ear, with the bottle in his mouth. the ladies in the nursery at church were telling me how sweet he was and how he was smiling at them. what a precious little monkey! ok, i'll stop gushing now before you all throw up! in all seriousness, i have loved him like crazy since the day he was born, but it's only been in the last few weeks when i'm starting to feel more human and he's changing so much that i'm really enjoying him. this morning's message was about loving and worshipping the Giver of all good things, not just the gifts. in that spirit, i will take this opportunity to thank my wonderful Creator and Father for this awesome blessing. God is far too good to me and his generosity and favor go beyond that which i am capable of putting into words. He knew the joy that Tag would bring to us and i know He smiles with our happy family. Here's Tag having some tummy time, talking a little: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEY8pahMFks

speaking of family, i'm also blessed to have married into an amazing group of people who i now can't imagine my life without. there are definite perks to being an only child, but i am so happy to now have brothers and a sister, another mom and dad, and a precious little niece (and soon another niece or nephew)! we went to huntsville friday night and saturday morning to let kinsey see her grandparents, aunt and uncles, and play with her cousin hailey. tag had a great time, getting lots of attention......and some precious little girl lovin'. there is an adorable picture of the girls kissing him...on CC's camera :) so i have to wait for her to email it to me and then i can share it with you guys.

kinsey and hailey are so cute together! here they are on obi & cc's bed, which was a ton of fun for them. kinsey was trying to convince hailey to go night-night with her.i can't speak for how hailey normally plays with her friends, but i see a definite difference in the way kinsey treats hailey than her other friends. she's always really sweet to her playmates, but with hailey, she amps up the hugs and kisses. it's really sweet to see them loving each other. of course we had some sharing challenges and a little jealousy from time to time when they had to share the grandparents, but these girls are beautiful little Hallams and it's such a blessing to see them spending time together. here they are doing the hokey pokey: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZkMZCBrxls

and ring around the rosey: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEtCzZ1DJGw

and swinging outside, first hailey: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJR4pYerz0k

then kinsey (you'll notice the daredevil in her immediately saying she wants to go "so high": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PzeXmQNpCg

and finally, here's kinsey playing hide and seek. this is hilarious. apparently both girls did the same thing but we didn't catch it on video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nROpxjiu_zk

Here they are loving on their Obi...

Of course we loved getting to see our niece. Hailey is just hilarious. I blogged before about her cute little voice saying "Hey Darin" - she still does it and now she's added "Wassup?" Cracks me up every time. Robert was asking her what she was doing on Friday night and she paused and said "Oh, nuthin''. It got us all rolling. My favorite trick of hers is when she does her "gymnastics". Take a look: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dZXyXwcM_U

Here are the girls attacking Douglas. we had a great visit and can't wait to see them all again - hopefully soon!

kinsey has really taken to being filmed and is now constantly telling me to get the camera and make a movie of her singing. her favorites are the hokey pokey, the B-I-B-L-E, and Dora songs.

Here's Kinsey's ZoeKidz (Sunday School) medley including B-I-B-L-E, the King of the Jungle, and Zaccheus: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxrZJGA4CQk

Here's just the B-I-B-L-E: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LS01NWgtQ6Q

Here she is singing D-D-D-D-D-Dora (her new favorite tv show): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lifFdpF814

And singing C'mon Vamanos from Dora: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyDjC1_4ZE8

Here's Kinsey making her own movie with her little camera while singing the Hokey Pokey: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqlQOyN_y7Y

Here's another version of Hokey Pokey, slightly more lively (and without pants): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=201Efyw0yLQ

And finally, a shout-out to our good friend Aimee who always checks this blog and reminds me to post new pics and videos and now gets to love on Tag in the baby nursery :). We love you Aimee and we hope you are feeling good!!!