Happy Father's Day Dad

I have been sick the past few days, so my Dad's father's day gifts will be delayed. I did not want him to go without anything so, here is a greeting from the kids just for you dad. Happy Father's day, we love you very much!

Hallam Women

Grace is the first girl born to the Hallam Family in 87 years. I have a theory. All those years, the "strong will" gene was building, growing, waiting... it allowed itself to show a bit in some of the Hallam men, but conserved most of it's energy, just waiting for the first Hallam girl to come around. It grew, gaining strength from the addition of new "strong-will" genes contributed by Great-Grandma Flo, Nana Marsha, and Mama (talk about a strong willed child!). Finally, when it couldn't possibly grow any larger, the Hallam "strong-will" gene decided it was time to re-appear on this planet. And Grace was born. In fact, there was so much of this gene, that one child was not enough to contain it, and Abi was born 16 mths later. Don't get me wrong, this gene comes with many positive traits. No one will ever push Grace around. She will be a decision maker, a mover and a shaker. She has incredible self-confidence, and a more loyal sister her brother could not ask for! But this is also the gene that can absolutely flabbergast some of the adults in her life! Luckily, her Mama and Dada have strong-enough wills that we can decisively win the battles we choose to fight with her. However, we have to be careful which battles we choose. For example: When Grace was little she stopped taking naps. Her doctor recommended we try to "cry it out." I laid her down and she started screaming. TWO HOURS she screamed (while I read and re-read Dobson's "strong-willed child" two straight times.) She finally fell asleep, slept for 15 min. and then woke up screaming again. Never again did I challenge her to a cry-or-sleep option. A more recent example: Grace just started swimming lessons. She likes to swim, but for some reason she has decided to cry through most of the lessons, even though she is screaming things like "WAAAAAHHHH...I WANT TO SWIM TO THE BAAAAAAAARRRRR!!!! WAAAAAAAAHHH....I LIIIIIIKE MY PIIIINK SWIIIIMING SUUUUIT!!!!!" ??? what the heck? Her teacher today finally said, "Grace, you really need to stop crying, or you will swallow too much water." To which Grace got that glint in her eyes which her dad and I know so well (we have the same glint when the homeowners association tells us they are fining us for something dumb) She looked at her teacher Jenifer and said "no!" Now, granted, this is incredibly rude and not the right answer, but as Steve and I know, the best way to deal with this for Grace is either a) time out or b) a spanking. Jenifer chose option c) which should only be chosen if you are ready to do major battle. She said "Grace, you may not get out of the water until you stop crying. As soon as you stop you can leave." Steve and I took a collective deep breathe and quietly asked "did you clear your schedule for the rest of the day?" Unfortunately, with children as strong willed as Grace, if you give her an ultimatum, you HAVE to be able to follow through or she will figure out that she can be in charge. I think she would have stayed in that pool forever. Finally Jenifer got her out, still crying, and said to us "I have never seen a child this strong willed before." Yup. That's our Grace. The good news is, as long as she is fighting the right battles, Grace will be a force to be reckoned with. I have no fear of her succumbing to peer pressure, or swaying from her convictions.

Birthday parties and more!

While Steve is at his college roommate's wedding the kids and I have been partying it up! We spent the morning at Nana and Grandpa's where Grace and Noah were cracking me up trying to sit in the same small push car. We left Noah there and Grace and I went to her little friend Carter's bday party at a jungle gym place called Makutu's Island. I really don't get her. She was standing at the top of a tall (at least 7 ft!)ladder, and I was making my way over to help her down, when she decided to leap from the top. I have no idea how I caught her, while holding two purses two cameras, and various other bday related items, but somehow I did. (Later today another little boy really got hurt falling from the same ladder...) An onlooking dad commented "man, she's fearless!" I would agree, except that minutes later when we were in the special bday room for cake and pizza, Makutu himself (a guy in a fox costume) came to visit and Grace FREAKED! I mean hysterics!!! I could not calm her down. Go figure. She ended up having lots of fun, and was very excited when she received a gift bag on her way out.("This is the COOLEST Mama!!!")




Noah wasn't super happy that Grace was laughing at him :(





















I can't believe how old she looks!