Happily Ever Mock

This Sunday will be the first Mother’s Day I will celebrate without my mom here with me. That doesn’t mean that I won’t still celebrate her.  We might not have always seen eye to eye, but we had so many good times.  Most people will tell you that I am just like my Dad, but in so many ways I am like her.

When I work way passed Hallie’s bedtime planning the perfect birthday party for her, my Mom is there.

When I pick out the perfect touches to each room in our house, Mom’s there.

When I read Hallie Mrs. Gigglebelly is coming for Tea or Jillian Jiggs, Mom is with us.

The memories I have with my Mom will live on through Hallie and I.  So this Mother’s Day, even though I know I will miss her, I refuse to be sad because I have so much to teach Hallie about her Nana. Happy Mother’s Day friends!

Two Years ago I couldn’t wait to meet you.  I wondered what you would look like. Would you have Dad’s nose? Would you have my eyes? Would you cry a lot or would you be quiet and content?  Would you be a good eater and a good sleeper or would we have countless midnight sing alongs and feedings?

 I would sit in your nursery in your rocker and imagine what it would be like to hold you and rock you to sleep.  Imagining the unknown scenarios of what it would be like to be your Mom. Happy and scared. Would I be good at being your Mom? Would I know what to do?
I did know a few things…

 I would love you more than I could fathom.
Your father and I would be the luckiest parents in the world.
And no matter what, I would always do everything in my power to protect you and make you happy.

Then you got here. And things just fell into place. I learned that you do have my eyes, but you still look just like your Daddy. You were are a very happy baby. Content, but not always quiet. You were always a good sleeper, but that isn’t surprising now because you are great at everything you do. You are strong and so capable for such a little peanut.  You are so much fun! You make me laugh. And you make me cry because I was right about those 3 little things.

And I will always do EVERYTHING in my power to protect you and make you happy!

Watching: 
Dancing with the Stars! I am really loving Ginger! Also, Season 2 of Kimmy Schmidt! We are getting ready to not have cable here next month when we move out of the house! 

Made a big pot of this yummy Bolognese Sauce Monday night and we have pretty much been eating it all week! Yum!            

Listening to:

Working on:

Planning Hal’s birthday! I have gotten a lot done this week! We also started Potty Training a few weeks ago..so far she’s doing pretty good!

Looking Forward to:  

Loving: For Mommy:
This is kind of for me and Hal, but TOMS released Mommy and Me styles which I am TOTALLY crushing on! Especially since Hallie recently started letting me put her in something other than her moccs… no worries we are still hard core Freshly Picked fan girls and they are for sure still our favorite shoes!

 










For Hallie:

1.Disney Princess Stamp Set: At the end of EVERY ballet class, Hallie’s teacher gives all the kids a sticker and a stamp. I think the stamp is her very favorite part of class! She waits so patiently to get her stamp and then shows it off the rest of the day.  Recently she began pretending other things around the house were stamps and pretends to stamp her own hand. So this stamp set is sure to be a winner!

2. Puzzles: Hallie loves to sit and do puzzles, and I even found some fun Minnie and Mickey ones on Amazon that would be perfect for Hal!

3. Books: Hallie can never get enough books! She loves to curl up in my lap and read! She has quite a list of books on her Amazon List

4. Leapfrog Tag Jr: This is so cool! It reads to the child and helps encourage vocabulary.  There are also a variety of books you can buy to go with it!

5. Doc McStuffin’s Dr. Kit- Hallie has been loving Doc McStuffins lately! She even sings “Time for your Check up!” and then proceeds to give Mommy, Daddy and Stella “Check ups!”

6. Summer clothes and PJs: Carter’s tends to fit her long skinny figure best! She is wearing Size 12 month in PJs, Pants, and Skirts. Either 12 or 18 month shirts and 18 month dresses.

7. Finding Nemo Water Table: We went to one of Hallie;s friends birthdays and she got this table! Hallie loved it! I know she will get plenty of use out of this fun table!

8. Princess Dress Up Trunk: This kid is ALL GIRL and loves to dress up! Shoes, crowns, tutus! You name it!

9. Dolly stroller: Hallie loves her baby doll that her Nana gave her for Christmas.  She named her baby June and loves to take care of her! She also loves the stroller at her friends house, so I know it will be a hit!

You can find all of these items and more ideas on Hallie’s Amazon Wishlist! I cannot wait to get shopping!
<3 Kelly

Nicole Altavilla!
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Happy Friday!
<3 Kelly

Hallie is officially 2 months away from turning 2! I just can’t get over how fast she is growing and how much she is learning!
Here are some of her recent Hallieisms that I am just loving! (Missed the first few Hallieisms, check them out here: Take 1, Take 2, Take 3, Take 4)

• She is so amazed by the simplest things and she even adorably exclaims “Woah, it’s amazing!” 

• She has been telling me “You’re the best Momma” and “You’re my best friend Momma” It totally melts my heart…even when she says it to the dog!
• Also if you ask her how much she loves you, she will without fail exclaim “2 times!”
• She likes to tell people “I me, Hallie” One day we were driving home from dinner and she saw the moon out the window and started screaming “Hi moon, I me Hallie, in the carseat!” She also said the same thing to some taxidermy in a rest stop between here and Houston “Hi deers, I me Hallie, with the chocolate milk!”
• I loved when she said “Tozy, Tozy” When she wanted to cuddle, but that has slowly turned into “I snuggie up?” 

• Isn’t it great when you hear your kids say things you say. I caught Hallie telling her doll to “Yisten!” AKA Listen…she sounded serious too! She also now says “No way!”, “Later Alligator” and “Wait a second!” 
• This is totally my fault, but girlfriend can spot Ellen DeGeneres from a mile away! We were out eating ice cream, and a commercial for the Ellen show came on and Hallie exclaims “Yook Mommy Eyen!” Then when the commercial ended she sadly said “Where Eyen go?” On the same topic of Ellen, we recently watched Finding Nemo which until a couple weeks ago Hallie called “Finding Elmo”.  She had never even seen Elmo or sesame street, but a kid at playgroup had an Elmo shirt, so now she knows the difference and has corrected herself, now there is “Elmo” and “Ne-elmo” #facepalm
• We have had some other favorite Disney moments lately: Sometimes I catch Hallie singing the Ariel song (Ah-ah-ah-Ah-ah-ah!) and of course Let it go! She walked in the other day when I was watching Project Runway and decided all of the models were wearing “Elsa dresses”.  And my personal favorite, my Mother in law turned on Snow White for her, and as soon as she saw the dwarfs she said “Yook Momma, Santas!!!” Now we call it “Snow White and the 7 Santas!”

• Whenever she makes a mess she a’la Minnie Mouse says “I a messy mess!”
• We took her to an arena football game about a month ago and Daddy caught a football for her.  We told her it was from the mascot, Alamo and she proceeded to exclaim the whole way home “Thanks Alamo, Hallie love it!” until she finally fell asleep that is!
  
• When she gets the hiccups she says she has “Hap-ups!” Any train, plane, or automobile says “Choo Choo”, and she always wants to do everything “All byself!” in fact the other day I saw her leaving the room and I said “Where are you going?” and she said “The Park” then added “All byself!”

• On a chilly night my Dad had the fireplace on and Hallie tried to blow it out! It was so sweet!
• Recently she pulled out my yoga mat and decided she was “At a beach!” 
• Whenever she is looking for something she puts her hand up pinky to forehead and screams “Where aaaaare yoooou???”
• My personal favorite moment recently: We were asking her the morning before Easter who was coming the next day and she said “The Heaster Bunny!” Then she said “I gonna catch him!” Shocked I egged her on and asked,”What are you going to catch him with” and she without skipping a beat says “with a butterfly net!” We didn’t even have one, so that’s why the bunny brought her one for Easter…game on “Heaster Bunny”

Is it really almost time to throw a 2nd birthday party for Hallie?! It feels like just yesterday our little princess turned one!

For birthday number 2 we are planning a Mouskaparty, and Hallie couldn’t be more excited! She keeps telling everyone which kind of cupcake they get! It is too sweet!
So here is my inspiration board for Hallie’s 2nd birthday!

1. I got Hallie this precious little dress from Etsy, and I cannot wait for it to arrive! She is going to go nuts!

2. These are the cupcakes I sent to my cake lady! I can’t wait to see her take on them! Hallie also requested Goofy ones!

3. Of course instead of party hats we will have Minnie and Mickey ears!

4. For Lunch we are grilling out! You can’t have a Mouskaparty without a Hot Diggity Dog Bar!

5. I LOVE this sign for the front door! I actually already made one!

6. I got this adorable sparkly Minnie Ears clip for Hallie and I just can’t wait to show her! It’s perfect because she is not a huge fan of headbands!

7. Before my Mom passed, she helped me make the favor bags for Hallie’s friends, you may have seen ours if you follow me on Facebook.  

8. These adorable Goldonrod Moccs I received from Freshly Picked will look PERFECT with Hal’s Minnie dress!

9. I love the idea of having a “Thanks for Stopping By” sign by the favors!

This party is going to be so fun! Stay tuned for more birthday updates!
Don’t forget about our Freshly Picked Giveaway!
<3 Kelly and Hallie

In case you missed our Freshly Picked review, here are more of the adorable photos by Purple Moments Photography (and a few extra photos that I just couldn’t help but snap!)

Don’t forget to enter the giveaway!

I want to thank everyone for their kind words of encouragement and support on my last post! Everyone has been so amazing and helpful during this hard time for my family and I truly feel God’s presence, I am so blessed!

Before Mom’s passing, I was updating everyone on our Easter weekend, working backwards as I did last year, but obviously we had a unexpected turn of events, so I thought now was the perfect time to share the rest of the highlights from our Easter weekend.

Dying Easter Eggs with Anna and Brayden:

Tongue out!

That Face!

2016 Crawfish Boil-
If you don’t remember, my boss’s family throws a huge crawfish boil every spring! It is always such a blast and I get to see some of the kids I taught in preschool another year older which is so fun!
Check back here to see photos from last year!

Carters Smocked Floral Top/ Carters Neon Purple Capri Leggings/ Old Navy Clear Jelly Shoes

Cleo and Hallie

Hannah and Hal

Hallie and her Sadie

She refused to carry around crawfish, so instead she carried her Little Mermaid toys!

Loves her Cleo!

And just for fun a little Crawfish Boil comparison

Tune in Monday for a fun giveaway!!!
<3 Kelly and Hallie