Is this kid crazy cute or what?
This blog post is going to be completely out-of-date, probably very jumbled and random, and it is extremely overdue! August was a nutty month for these Hallams with tons of stuff at church, tons of family stuff, and have I mentioned that Tag is walking? :-) He's started wearing shoes, which he thinks are just too cool. Here was his first real day walking around in shoes...
When Grammy was here, she brought me what I consider to be one of the greatest gifts a Mom can receive - a swivel sweeper! I had one but they make a newer, fancier one, and I was thrilled. Even more thrilled than me??? Taggart!
As I mentioned last post, cousin Laura stayed with us for an extra couple of weeks - and we had a BLAST!!! She had a great time blowing bubbles for the kids - "BUH-BOH!" might be my favorite Tag word. Tag kept trying to blow bubbles and unfortunately I snapped this next picture one second too late. Laura had the bubble wand up by her face and Tag actually blew perfectly and the bubbles showered her face. It was hilarious. If you look closely, you can see one hanging out right at her chin. Awesome. Food played a big part in her visit :) One day we went for bagels - the kids LOVE bagels! Laura made pasta for the kids one night...Laura introduced Kinsey to the greatness of the Sonic Cherry Limeade. Kinsey kept taking sips and nodding her head and humming. "Mmmm hmmm. Sonic Cherry Limeade is gooooood."Then Laura took her to HEB and came back with some ice cream sandwiches, which they decided to kick up a notch with pink sprinkles on the edges.
Laura decided to clean our bathroom one day - and let Kinsey's creative spirit run wild!

And we had some leftover watermelon from when Grammy was here, which of course we made the kids eat nekkid! Umm - if you have a Laura , enjoy every moment!!! Hey cousin - we miss you! Come again soon!

So we are big fans of Hey Cupcake! It's a fun little place to grab a dessert here in North Austin and the kids love it! We went with the Kedroskis one night in August and got nice and messy! There was a cupcake top on the table and Ryan was licking it. We tried to get him to do it again for a picture but he wasn't quite catching on, so Susan just grabbed his neck and shoved his face down :-)And then Kinsey and Owen decided to clean off a nearby dirty rock. Nothing like a child's optimism.Kinsey loves to cook and I've found a recipe for pizza dough that our family really likes. She was really excited to help me with the dough. Nana got her this apron a long time ago and we haven't had many planned cooking moments in the kitchen, but this time she said "I need my apron!" and got her dressed for the part! She loved kneading the dough and then was determined to help clean up. She would've played with the dough and in the sink all day if I had let her!She loves The Little Mermaid and frequently sings "Part of Your World" around the house. One day I was in the backyard watering flowers and she grabbed this plastic ottoman and said, "Mommy watch me!". She climbed up and in a really good impression, began belting out "I don't know when, I don't know how, but I know something's starting right nooooooooow..."
I love this kid's imagination! Only a 3 year old would see a beat up white plastic ottoman and think of Ariel on a rock in the ocean, singing to her prince.

Douglas brought home a big box from the office and the kids promptly decorated it and started playing inside.
Wrestling is always fun - nothing better than Daddy coming home and grabbing the kids in the living room to play so I can finish dinner in peace! I love listening to them squeal and giggle. Sometimes I even do some wrestling, although I think Daddy is way better at it :-)From time to time, Kinsey want to pretend to be a baby, and frankly I love an excuse to snuggle with her since she's squirmier than she used to be. It's at these times that I realize how big she's gotten - she doesn't really fit on my lap anymore. Kinsey is absolutely in love with puzzles these days. She'll do any puzzle - from the little peg puzzles that Tag is starting to play with all the way up to this 100 piece puzzle that she can do by herself - I'm so excited because I've always loved puzzles and it's really fun to do them with her and see her grow in her skills. We are still doing school from time to time. She loves the preschool workbooks, especially when she gets stickers for completing the pages :-)She and Taggart like to play in this toy hamper, especially hide and seek. Reminds me of how our cats used to hide in things and peek their heads out. She had some pink in her hair earlier this month but it came out after too much wrestling :) So in Tag news, he is COMPLETELY attached to his stuffed crab. Many times a day you can hear him calling "Caaaab, caaaaaaab!!!" looking for him around the house (it's like he expects it to answer him with "here I am!"). It goes with us to the store, to church, always to bed, and to family and friends house - and pretty much any other time we leave the house...otherwise you'll go deaf hearing "CAAAAAAAAAAAB!!!!" the entire ride home :-). We now have 2 back-up crabs thanks to Grammy and Susan K tracking them down on eBay for us. And thank goodness because sometimes Crab seriously needs to be washed and once already we've left him at church!He walks around the house with it and loves to pretend to go night-night. He'll put it on the ground and lay down and giggle and say "Nigh-nigh!"
Here he is with his best friend watching Diego...Ready by the door just in case we decide to go somewhere...It's really cute, but many times we wish he had chosen a smaller friend to grow attached to.

In early August, super cool-girl Emma turned 5. Her incredibly creative, crafty, and all-around superb party-planner Mom, Dionne, planned a Camp Rock party (which for those of you like me who are clueless, it's a movie with some cool teenagers that inspires rock-star-itis). Please enjoy this slide show. The kids got to dress up like rock stars, play musical instruments in a marching band, and then finished with a game of Emma Says (hence the awesome Emma poses). I didn't get a pic of the cake which is a bummer because it was some kind of rainbow deliciousness in the shape of a guitar. Very cool.


In mid-August, we went out to our friend Nikki's house for some horse time. The kids had a blast. From the second Tag saw the horse, he started yelling "Naaaaaayyyyyy!" over and over and over again. It was too cute. Kinsey had a blast helping Nikki with brushing, feeding, and walking the horses. We will definitely be going again once it cools off a bit ;)



We had a great time a while back at the Jumpin' Bean with the Dionne crowd. Tag was tired, but he was a trooper and once again, Laura was there to save the day!


There's a playscape at the mall here that's free and now and then we stop by to hang out...


A few pictures for which I have no real story...And finally - a shout-out to my husband who has had a crazy busy couple of months- I love you babe!