Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Allyson turns Five!!!






Nicole was so sweet on the morning of Allyson's birthday. She decorated the kitchen downstairs while I was feeding Mallory.



She made arrows from the upstairs leading to the kitchen.








This was 100% Nicole. Although Daddy helped hang the signs.




And Daddy made Allyson's favorite pancakes.



Later that day she enjoyed a gymnastics birthday party!
(Warning: I took way too many pictures.)




Our good friend, Chris McNeal made her cake. She wanted it to look like her dog, Marrie who recently went to doggie Heaven. :(

Friends, Darcy, Nicole and Holland























Even Mallory got to spend some time in the baby foam pit.





Allyson's friend, Kyra, is sweet and almost as tiny as Mallory!









Mimi and Nicole









AJ

Kyra





Time for cake and ice cream!










Holland made her the sweetest card and gave her hand-picked gifts.










She got a Build-a-Bear from a friend... that was a big hit!




Probably her favorite gift was from our neighbor, Blake. A set of four horses, one of which looks like Copper, the horse she's been riding recently. Both girls adored this gift!



AJ and Hunter gave her a dog that looks - and yaps - like Marrie. :)









For favors, the kids got medals and little trophies. Allyson handed them out.




Chris' husband, James, finally got to meet Mallory. 


 

Daddy got me some roses as he often does to commemorate the job I did bringing the kids into the world!


Once we were home, the girls played together with the horses.




 Later, as we got ready for bed... Mallory was playing and rolling...





And we announced we had one more special gift from Nicole. Something she had been planning and working on for a long time. (Mom was having a hard time finding the time to help her. In fact, I ended up having a babysitter help.)


The girls like the movie, "Despicable Me." In it, one of the girls loves unicorns. Nicole decided to make her a unicorn. We found a pattern and the sitter helped her sew it up. Well, it turned out a lot smaller than Nicole wanted. So she decided it would be a doll's unicorn. But now we had to make a doll. I knew we didn't have the time nor the expertise to make a doll. Fortunately, she was happy to find one of their old dolls that had been put away for a while. This was a favorite doll Papa gave them a long time ago. So, the old doll and the new unicorn handmade by Nicole using some scrap fabric I had at the house.




Probably one of the most special gifts ever. Allyson loved it and has plays with it.



We also gave her some pj's I was saving for Christmas. But it was Ariel wedding dress/nightgown. And it fits her now and I know she's going to love it. So, I figure, why wait? She about lost her mind with happiness. 



It came with a crown, too.





Loaded down with her new bear, old dolly, and more...









Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Student of the Month

I am more than six months behind on posting. So, I'm posting a bunch of stuff I had started and not finished. I'll work on getting caught up but, for now, it may be some trips down memory lane. Sorry.  I guess it's a good thing I'm spending time with the kids instead of blogging... but we still want to share!

This is from the end of Nicole's 2nd grade school year. She was student of the month!!









Mallory's first bath

This is just video of Mallory's first bath.






Mallory's first poopy diaper

Hey... every first deserves a blog post. I realize Mallory and her mom may be the only ones to ever watch this video. But it's here when we need to walk down this meconium-filled memory lane. :)

The best part? Watching her sisters be completely grossed out!


Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Thinkin' About Santa

Allyson has been talking about Santa - a lot. The other morning, while having some family cuddle time, she spontaneously began singing this original all about to 'Ole Saint Nick.


She was surprised to learn Mallory did not yet know anything about Santa Claus! She was eager to share using her horse as a stand-in for Rudolph. 

(To explain something she brings up in the video: "MOPS" is a "Mothers of Pre-Schoolers" group we attend at Central Assembly church. We also went there for Christmas Eve service last year; when we returned from that service, Santa was at our house! So that is what she's talking about. You can read all about Santa's visit here.) 


We're hoping her description of Santa's looks don't get her in trouble at the North Pole.

She's hoping Santa comes to her birthday party. We've told her he's pretty busy getting ready for Christmas but, Santa, if you're reading this, there's an almost-5-year-old that's hoping you'd hit the balance beam with her at her gymnastics party on Sunday!

Lest you think Allyson is the only one dreaming of sugar plums... Nicole has already written her letter to Santa. She has even identified the importance of each item by number of stars!

Marble run track***, Panda jacket with hood and ears for winter**, Panda slippers****, dino kit, robotic fish (aqua) with remote**, wii****, spray/squirt bottle with fan**, rip stick***, Chinese cookbook***, Panda fuzzy socks****, huge ball - the one you can get into (blue)****, The Giggle Treatment (the book)******
Allyson also wrote a letter. It was mainly scribbles on an envelope. I'm sure the elves can decipher.





Friday, September 6, 2013

Five Months Old Photo Shoot

I try to remember to take Mallory's picture every month. It's painful. Honestly, photographers earn every penny they make. Here is just a bit of what we went through to get a halfway decent shot of Mallory this month! LOL

























Monday, August 5, 2013

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'!

Look who rolled over for the first time! Mallory and Daddy were playing together and he captured it on video.