Chalkin' it up on a Friday Night!

Chalk, Friday night, and burgers on the grill. That's what I love about Friday's! We are slowing being able to spend more and more time outside and although we have a long way to go until the backyard is completely 'user' friendly, we are still enjoying the fresh air and late sunsets! 

Allison is a chalk enthusiast...so is Miles. If Allison isn't chompin' on a stick of chalk, Miles is slyly trying to steal one. Sigh. 

She's getting so good at coloring! She knows how to go "back and forth"to make scribbles. Miles likes to eat the scribbles. 

If you look closely you can see the bits of colored chalk in her teeth...at least she likes to brush her teeth. Hope you all have a great weekend! We have our daddy home for the WHOLE weekend...no telling what kind of trouble we're going to get into! 

Bluebonnets

Welp. I'm officially that mom. You know the one who dresses her kid up, straps-em in the car seat and drives to the nearest bunch of Bluebonnets she can find. Poor Allison. Last year the bluebonnets died before she was born so I jumped at the chance to take "traditional" Texan photos of her in a bunch of 'very pretty' weeds! Not gonna lie...it was better than I imagined. But rest assured, I DID NOT pull over on the side of the busy interstate to take the pictures. We went to my grandparents house, where the food is delicious and bluebonnets thrive.

This picture makes me LAUGH! She's such a ham.

Allison with her great grandparents and her cousin Kensley!

Love, Love, Love my sweet girl!

Happy First Birthday Allison!

Wow. I can't believe a year has passed since our sweet baby girl has come into this world. It's been a roller coaster of  sleepless nights, unimaginable love, and the sweetest girl I've ever met. We are so lucky!

We started off the day with this little mound of heaven. She was so dainty when picking out her doughnut...eating it on the other hand...she was not.

For her first birthday I wanted something very simple yet timeless, so we went with the theme "Our Little Love is Turning One"! The main colors were pink and gold and I would say it turned out beautiful!

I made all of the decorations by hand, and at times I wanted to throw in the towel and buy princess themed crap from Target, but I prevailed! lol

 

I wanted to incorporate a way for all of our family to leave Allison a note of 'well wishes' or hopes for her next year of life. I had an extra canvas lying around so I thought I'd have everyone sign their names and write a little note. It's now hanging up in her playroom. :)

 

The picture garland was by far my most favorite decoration...one picture from every month. It was so awesome to see how she's changed over the past 12 months!

All in all I think her birthday was absolutely beautiful!

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!

12-Months Old

Age: 12 Months

Stats: 20lbs & 28 inches (These are guesstimates...we go to the doctor on the 7th!)

Clothes: A few 9 month outfits but mostly 12 months. She has filled out so much in the past two months.

Favorite Foods: Cheese, Crackers, granola bars, mac-n-cheese (can you tell we feed her such healthy foods), & yogurt (this kid LOVES yogurt!).

Favorite Words: Momma and Dadda.

Favorite Toys: Books are still by far her favorite toys. But she also is a sucker for an iPhone, remote control, or the cats fur. Ya know, the important stuff.

Sleep: She is doing so much  better with sleeping in her big girl bed. 8PM-7:30AM (she ends up in our bed usually around 2AM...not to shabby...we'll get there)  

Favorite Activities: She loves being outside and going for walks, reading books, getting into the cats water bowl, & she also has figured out how to open cabinets.

Least Favorite Activities:  I'm pretty sure this is going to stay the same forever. She absolutely HATES having to lay down to change her diaper, clothes, be put in her car seat, or anything that requires her to sit still. She is becoming more and more adamant with her protesting. It's getting a little ridiculous.

Cabinet Locks | Wagon | Crayon's (Target-Sold Out) | Blocks | LMNOpeas

Safety 1st Magnetic Locks: My oh my how wonderful these locks are! Seriously. No more partially opening cabinet doors and smooshed baby fingers! They were a little bit pricey but WELL worth it in my opinion. The only downside is if you lose the key, your out of luck.

Wagon: Allison is a firm believer in taking as many walks/rides outside as humanly possible, rain or shine. Santa brought her the wagon for Christmas but it wasn't until recently that we've had a chance to really put it to use. She loves to stroll through the neighbor hood in her onesie and sunglasses (the girl's got style) or through the house. I'll have to tell Santa thanks the next time I see him...I guess I got a built in workout plan for Christmas.

Crayon Gems: I've looked and looked all over for these online and in the store but I think they have been discontinued. Anyways...the Easter bunny brought these for Allison and they are the coolest crayons! They are super kid friendly to hold and actually use (not much pressure needed to make a mark).

Mega Bloks: Best. Present. Ever. I labored over what to get her for her first birthday and settled on these thinking maybe she'll play with them. I She LOVES them! They are always scattered about the floor and occasionally end up being stepped on or stashed away by the dog. Fun for all!

LMNOpeas: Allison loves books in general, but this book is super cute! Adorable pictures and pretty colors. Perfect combo for a baby bookworm!

Signature Moves: Waving "Hi" & "Bye-Bye", "roll em up" (ask her, she knows), & fake laughing to make us laugh (she is a comedian already! Her Great Pop Johnny would be so proud.)

Proudest Moment: I took her to work with me the other day for a little while and she just could and would not stop giving me hugs and kisses. Times like those make me forget all the bad/sleepless nights and remember why I wanted to become a mom so badly.

Other Milestones: She has cut two of her back molars, the other two are on their way in...this kid has 10... yes you read that right...TEN teeth. What, the what?! She is becoming more independent and so much more interactive with Charles and I. We also completely cut out bottles this past month...only sippy cups for this little toddler! :( I actually cried.

I can't wait to post pictures from her birthday party on Saturday! Where did my baby go? For all of you brand new moms, moms-to-be or even vet mom, these are the best times of your life, enjoy every little moment because before you know it they'll be a year old and you'll look back and try and figure out when it happened. Don't wish them onto the next milestone, I know it's hard, I've been there but looking back I wish I would have taken more time to appreciate her learning and growth.

Valentines Day!

Charles and I don't celebrate Valentines Day, well because it's kind of ridiculous. Why should I only show my husband one day out of the year that I love him? Why not EVERY DAY!? With that being said...now that we have Allison I find it hard not to get in the mood to celebrate. I mean comeon' there's chocolate, who doesn't love chocolate? Oh that's right...no one! So in lieu of celebrating the actual holiday per se, I'm focusing my efforts on what I love to do most, crafting. I guess it's not really crafting but that's what I'm going to label it. Allison's class is having a Valentines Day Party on Friday and was asked to bring a treat for each of her friends. I have pretty much run out of ideas for small, inexpensive gifts for the cute little nuggets but found something equally as cheesy and delicious. I bought each little babe a bottle of Gerber Graduate Puffs and made a little tag that says "we are "Puff"ect together. Get it? PUFFect...cheesey? Sure. Awesome? You bet. The only issue is, I think one of the little boys is far from being able to eat them. Oh well it's the thought that counts right?

Allison also has wonderful, wonderful teachers who put up with her crazy antics and sometimes wonky moods. They deserve a little love on Valentines Day too! For Miss. Debbie and Miss. ReIsha I made a S'more's type chex mix, filled mason jars, attached a cute little tag. Perfect, simple, and yummy!

I also attempted to make Allison a tutu to wear with her Valentines Day onesie but I ran out of material and gave up. The shirt is still cute though! :)

Ten-Months-Old

Age: 10 Months

Stats: 17 lbs & 26 inches

Clothes: Officially in 9 month clothes although there are a few 6 month outfits that make their way into the mix.

Favorite Foods:  Cheese. Cheese. And More Cheese.

Favorite Words: "Momma", "Dada", the occasional "Hi", and now "dao" (which we think means dog).

Favorite Toys: She LOVES books! She understands how to turn the pages and tries to help when we read books together. She's also a sucker for tissue boxes so I made her a baby friendly version from some cut up old sheets and an old wipe box. Now she can pull out and slobber over as many "tissues" as she wants!

Sleep: We are in the process of getting her to sleep in her big girl bed but she has been sick basically all month so we are having to start over ever other week it seems like. She goes to sleep in her bed between 7-8PM and wakes up around 12-1AM to get in our bed and will fall right back to sleep and wake up around 6:30-7AM. 

Favorite Activities: Trying to be sneaky and eat the cats food, bath time, reading books and of course anything that involves eating cheese!

Least Favorite Activities:  I'm pretty sure this is going to stay the same forever. She absolutely HATES having to lay down to change her diaper, clothes, be put in her car seat, or anything that requires her to sit still.

Favorite Things

1. Shoe-La-La: Allison got this book for Christmas! It's super cute and has glittery pages...what more could you want? She doesn't like this book only, but finding a picture of all of her favorite books would require an entire blog post on it's own.

2. Avent Cup:  I know the past couple of months have featured different types of sippy cups and I can honestly say this one is BY FAR the best. We have been testing out different ones and I think this one takes the cake.

3. TeePee: Ok so I did NOT spend $160 on this teepee from The Land of Nod, but instead made my own. I have to say, it's definitely not the best but it is still really awesome! Allison loves to crawl in it and take all of her stuffed animals and sometimes Charlotte will make her way in to play with her.

4. Cheese:  I don't think this needs a description. She loves cheese. Shred cheese, block cheese, any kind of cheese. Also, we don't buy craft we by HEB brand but they don't have pictures of t online so this will work. I love giving her shred cheese though because it's easy for her to pick up and swallow.

Signature Moves: Fake laughing, Fake crying, crawling super fast, pulling the cats fur, playing pee-a-boo, and stooping (so cute)!

Proudest Moment: She's so inquisitive and we both absolutely love that about her. She is an incredible little girl who is always teaching us new things, most importantly patience. We are going to have our hands full when she's a teen!

Other Milestones: Getting close to being able to balance herself to stand on her own. I for sure thought she would be walking by 10 months but I think we are looking at closer to her first birthday or after. That's ok...I'm not ready for my baby to walk yet. :(

Allison's Garden

Charles and I decided that we want to teach Allison how to grow her own food! Charles and his dad "Grandpa" built a sweet little raised garden bed in our back yard. We spent Saturday shopping for soil (I really hated spending money on dirt, but that's the life of a city slicker I guess) and putting it in the bed! Now all we have to do is wait until March 1 to plant our little seedlings AND make a cute little sign that says "Allison's Garden"! Also I found out my daughter loves to eat grass, dirt, bugs, pretty much anything she can put in her mouth. We are in for quite a ride with this sweet girl!

We will update the garden process once we start to plant and I have the energy/time to make a sign!