Pudding Painting

Well, we have had quite the dumping of snow lately. One morning, we woke up and didn't want to venture out onto the roads, so I thought about something new we could do around the house???
Allie has really been into coloring lately and since I didn't have any paint, we decided to do some painting (or eating) with pudding. At first she was a little hesitant about this activity (see my pictures in sequence) and then she dipped her fingers into the pudding. I was actually painting with my pudding trying to show Allie what to do. But of course for this kid, everything goes into the mouth. Once that happened, the painting was over and Allie was all over this activity....yum yum!!!

NA NA NA NA NA NA NA--Cat Woman--

NA NA NA NA NA NA NA-CATWOMAN! Well Allie's new found love from her Christmas toys is Mr. Potatoe Head. She loves putting all the pieces of his face into the holes; they are not in the right spots a good majority of the time, but who cares about an eye in the mouth. Well, Allie took Mr. Potato Head to a new level and decided to try out the parts on her own body, hence the glasses!

Don't they fit just right mom?

Allie in the midst of saying "cheese" for the camera

Christmas Eve-SNOW

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve Day. We woke up to a morning of snow and it continued throughout the day. We had fun shoveling the drive way and then Allie helped us make her first snowman. By the end of our 1 hour adventure Allie was done for.......as you can see in the last photo.

Later that evening, we continued our tradition that Blake and I started a couple of years ago...Chinease Dinner. We went out to eat, which we have done before, but not with a hungry 15 month old and a very crowded restaurant. I think next year we may be doing take out. We came home and got to open up none other than Christmas PJ's.

Marshmallow Woman

Why not put snow in my mouth since everything else goes in my mouth?

Dad making part of the snowman while I man the camera and the baby

This was our attempt with our self-timer on the camera. At least you can see our snowman:)

Christmas Eve-Snow

A few more pics from Christmas Eve

Blake and Allie with the snowman

Allie had it by the end of the morning in the snow. I just love how she stayed bawling by the snowman for a picture

New Christmas PJ's and slippers

Christmas Dress

I had to put this picture of our cute girl in her Christmas Dress

Hawaii Bowl and Christmas with Papa and Grandma

We celebrated our first Christmas a little early with Papa and Grandma. We invited my Dad and step-mom over for dinner, The Aloha Bowl, and an early Christmas. It was such a fun time except for the fact that Boise State lost :(



Allie was a little unsure of what she was doing at first, but got the hang of it pretty quick

She got a cute little purple backpack along with some more goodies. She was so hilarious! She would put the bag on and say "bye" and walk away. Who knows where she learned this?

The family decked out in our Bronco gear for the game

White Elephant Party

The annual White Elephant Party at my dad's house was another hit! Blake and I had already been to a White Elephant Party in our ward and got a great idea for our gift. Someone had brought a live lobster for their gift and we knew we had to try this out at my dad's party. We wrapped our lobster in a large box, just because that's all we had and the large box happened to be the best decoy.

My step-cousin Dawson, who is 5, decided to join in the festivities this year. Well, our large box was still lying around when it got to his turn and what other gift would a 5 year old want??? Well when Dawson opened up the box, he laid it down and climbed right inside with the live lobster at the bottom. All of a sudden we hear him scream, "It's alive!!!." He came frantically back out and was so frightened by it. It couldn't have been any better.



Allie inspecting the live lobster



Blake's gift from the party---these vases and they're up for grabs



Allie was so tired by the end of the party (that went right through her nap time) she just decided to grab my prize, which was a sausage link and curl up on the floor with it.

Meeting Darling Lucy Girl!

We had a quick, wonderful trip to Utah to meet our sweet little new niece Lucy, and to celebrate with her and the family on her blessing day. What a darling little girl she is and sooo good.

We enjoyed spending time with Blake's brother's family on Saturday. Saturday night we took a trip with Blake's siblings and their families up to Temple Square to see the lights. I always love to walk around to look at the Christmas lights, but it was so bitter cold out our trip didn't last to long. Sunday we enjoyed Lucy's blessing and hung out with family a little more before we turned around and headed back home. Thanks for the fun quick trip!

Allie holding her little niece Lucy, with some assistance

Some "cousin time" with Warren and Cameron

Enjoying her first "mini" ice cream cone

A stop inside the visitor's center to de-thaw and warm up

Snapshot of the family

Allie would not keep her little mittens on her hands, so we resulted to putting on Dad's gloves

As soon as Allie gets strapped into her car seat off come the shoes and socks. I guess all of the riding in the car over the weekend Allie had some spare time to examine her feet. Allie discovered this "ouwey" which was the tiniest little scrape on her foot. Every time we got in the car she would constantly say "ouwey" and show us her scrape.

Lucy in her beautiful blessing dress!

Dinner with Dad

While mom was at work dad whipped up a great dinner for Allie which she enjoyed. Dad made some homemade guacamole and Allie devoured it, as you can tell from the pic. Maybe Dad is going to be taking over dinner nights from now on :)

Coloring Away

It's crazy to me how fast life goes. I make this realization all the time so you think I would understand the concept that time passes quickly. Today I had a moment of time frozen and I wish that I could keep it here for awhile. I didn't realize with my day to day hustle and bustle that my baby was growing up so fast. I took these pictures and when I uploaded them I was shocked to see how big Allie is; she just looked like a little girl. I just want to cherish these times and make more fun memories for us to look back and laugh on.

Today Allie expressed her independence with her clothing selection. I didn't know this girl had an opinion. She hauled out this pink diaper cover for one of her dresses and wanted it placed over her jeans. Maybe it's the new fashion? Anyways, she freaked out when I went to take it off, so it was on her all day. These are some snapshots of her coloring. This girl loves, loves, loves to color. I gave her a pen and paper when I was paying some bills today. She was rather upset that her pen kept poking through to the carpet. She got up and left the office and a few minutes later when I went and found Allie she was in her bathroom where the floor was nice and hard.

Seattle Again

Well Allie and I returned to Seattle for a fun vacation to hang out with Adam and Ainsley. My sister and her husband were able to get away for some fun in the sun in Hawaii. Allie and I had such a fun time hanging out with the cousins. I really thought I might be a mother of just one, Allie, after the first day. The kids were great, it was just me. I thought there was no way I could manage 3 of my own kids in the future. Well, it really did get better once we got into the routine of things, and I have reconsidered being a mother of tops 4 kids. I did get excited for the day when Allie can actually start to help out more than she does now; which she is getting better at. It was so nice to have Adam and Ainsley help clean-up, get dressed on their own, etc, they were wonderful!

Anyways, we had a great time running the kids to preschool, playing at the community center, having fun on the boats at the mall, taking a walk with: 2 kids in the jogger, a 5 year old hanging on one side of the stroller, a dog on a leash, and all of us trying to come back up the hill after playing at the park- I have to only look back and laugh. We had Friday night pizza and a movie, visited some of my friends from high school, played lots with Uncle Jeremy, and even got to play in the SNOW! It really snowed while we were there and we had great time although our time outside was short because it was sooo cold. Thanks Adam and Ainsley for being such great kids!!! Allie and I have some great memories with you two!

Go Broncos!!!

Thanks to Grandpa Hansen, Allie and Blake have been to a couple of Boise State Basketball games. Allie just loves these games. A few of the reasons why include: the chairs (the ones that you sit on and fold out and snap right back together the second you stand up), the long flight of stairs Allie got in trouble for playing on, the good music from the band, the clapping when BSU makes a basket, and most of all the POPCORN. She has been privilaged to get this at both games she has attended, and this keeps her pretty much entertained for quite some time.

My two cute Broncos!

The crazy Bronco fans! (We are not really that obsessed, we just wanted to get some clothes to blend in with the rest of the crazies at the game)

Allie showing you how much she really loves these games!

Pigtails

Allie's hair is finally long enough to pull back into tiny pigtails. Hooray! I can't believe how big this girl looks to me when her hair is in pigtails. Updates with this girl is that she is getting to be such an independent little girl and parenting is getting harder.
Lately, when I go to try and help Allie put on a shoe or a small task, she will push me away because she wants to do it on her own. Then she gets frustrated because she is so little and can't quite do it, and oh it's hard to just sit back, be patient and let her learn.

Helping mom with the comb and brush

My big girl

The cute tiny pigtails!