Wait...Rewind!

Wait, holy cow- I'm due in just a week and I'm not ready to move on! I've had lots of mixed emotions these last few months as so much has been happening and I'm just barely beginning to see it and already another big new thing is on the way! I hope every baby in the army will not be so crazy. (Well, no, I'm not sure I endorse the ramifications of that statement.)

I almost cried the other day thinking how much of a baby Hallee still is while about to have another baby any day. I've done this before! How did I do this before??
I've been spending a lot of time with her lately just wanting to be with her to celebrate everything she's learning and discovering, knowing that with another baby those moments might be fewer. The girl has been cracking us up with her silly personality. She's super curious yet a cuddly homebody at the same time. Just yesterday she started to stand up! And today, she took her first steps. This feels so much bigger than the other two I guess because of how long it's taken her. Even though I know there's nothing wrong with her AT ALL (emphasis added for the dude who asked if she was slow, because she wasn't walking at 18months- boo to you Mister!), but I'm so happy she decided to take that risk and felt joy in doing it. It was a moment all 4 of us shared together watching her decide to stand up. We were doing songs during some circle time (it's so cute that Hallee will come sit with us for our little circle time) and the kids were standing up dancing while doing a song. She didn't want to miss the action, I guess, and just stands up on her own and starts doing a little bounce dance. It was so funny/awesome!! We were all together again when she was taking some steps today. Even Lucy and Willie were so excited for her seeming to understand this grandeur of what she's been through to be able to get to this accomplishment. So cute. Awww, families.

So, even though this is supposed to be a rewind in pictures...blogger, of course, can't load them up. So if I could share some pictures with you, here's what they would be about:
*Cute pictures of Lucy and Willie enjoying park time at Lake rim, and also at the grand opening of the Botanical Gardens.
*Day at the Horse Derby- most excellent 4 for 1 ticket I've ever bought. Picture was of the 3 kids eating our picnic lunch. Hallee stuck under layers of blankets protecting her cast from getting dirty or wet. This event was just 3 days after her fall. I was going to just not go, but decided late the night before, it just couldn't be missed. I'm so glad our first outing with cast went well.
*Huge Python at the nature center corraling the kids- talk about scary!
*Lucy's big 5th birthday- not anything what we tried to plan, but it was fun. We also happened to find a trampoline just a week before, so extra fun there!
*The Easter bunny photo, taken the day a tornado ran through town. So glad we were blessed to have escaped ANY kind of devastation from that ordeal.
*Placing flags on graves of the Veterans in preparation for Memorial Day.
*Baby shower for Jamie. So fun! How the heck did she start labor before me?! Unfortunetly, this wasn't a good thing and I hope it all goes well for her!
*A nice big belly shot for you. One last shot before baby comes. I'm so bummed that I never lined up a photographer for this pregnancy & newborn photos. sigh. I never can get on that it seems.
I guess the rest of the picture are just preschool stuff. I've been able to meet some super nice homeschooling moms and hope that we will be able to start a good support group for each other. I'm not sure what school will be like next year, I still have so much to do there! :(

Oh yeah- I got a few pictures on here-
Our celebration night out after Hallee got her cast off. Such a cute munchkin!

Belly Belly Belleeee (when you coming off btw?)

Lucy creating Barbie's "Baptism dress" from a paper napkin (we're talking HOURS of fun here!)

Easter egg hunt, Hallee still in a cast.

Cute brother and sister! Botanical Gardens with great face painters!