Ho Ho Ho

Today ended our 8 days of Christmas. That's right...8 days of holiday cheer! Here it is in a rather large nut shell, and I do mean "nut".

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Monday, Dec. 21st - Thursday, Dec. 24th: Christmas in South Texas

We went to Omie and Papa Fred's house on Monday and left Christmas Eve. On Tuesday we took Allison to the great park at the dunes again. She made a new friend who called himself "Lighting McQueen". Lightning McQueen was as crazy as Allison. He's blowing a train whistle in this picture. They had a blast.

Allison also loved walking the dogs with Omie and Papa Fred. It is one of her favorite things to do. I guess we need to walk Austin more. Add it to the list of things we need to do.

Aidan enjoyed messing with the tree and attempting to put the lights in his mouth.

On Wednesday during our visit we went to Gigi's house. Uncle Ross and Corryn came in from Denver, and Allison and Corryn had such a great time together this year. They played and were happy while at Gigi's and then again here in Houston. Gigi had a huge table set up with all types of art activities ready when we arrived.

Christmas Eve we did a gift exchange at Omie and Papa Fred's house. I think the present of the year was received. A circus tent with Allison and Aidan's names on it. It has already gotten plenty of use. Definitely a favorite gift.

Thursday, December 24th evening - Friday, December 25th early morning: Christmas Just the Four of Us

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Christmas Eve night we made cookies for Santa and sprinkled reindeer food and magic snow out back. Santa loved his cookies! So did the rest of us for a few days afterwards. Here is Allison sprinkling to ensure that Santa can find our house.

Christmas morning was intimate and so nice. Allison recieved all three gifts she asked for from Santa. A Disney Princess scooter, roller skates, and a "Strawberry Cortcake". Aidan loved ripping the paper off the presents and really could have cared less about the actual gifts. He was one happy boy though!

Friday, December 25th - Monday, December 28th: Christmas in Houston with Tyler's Family

Papa Jerry and Nai Nai flew in from North Carolina on a very early flight and Uncle Ross and Corryn drove up to Houston from Corpus. Corryn and Allison were inseparable until Corryn had to leave. There was a trip to the aquarium, playing at the park, playing in the back yard, playing in the house, roller skating, scooting, piano playing, and plenty of other activites that aren't coming to mind. Everyone had a great time. We even had a sitter Saturday night and went to the Nervie's house for an adult dinner.

Now...this might qualify as the funniest part of the holidays. Allison is having a little trouble with learning how to use her rollerskates. In an effort to help her Tyler pulled out his old rollerblades, from high school! Can you even handle this?!? This was his grand exit from the driveway next to the pile of Christmas trash.

It was not the best experience for Allison because she insisted on skating to the park at the end of our street, and when she didn't want to skate back he made her stick to her commitment. She did it though, and today she said she wanted to try again. She'll be a pro in no time, I'm sure.

Pottery and Santa

Yesterday morning we went with our friends to do a little pottery painting. Allison chose an odd flower with shoes. She really enjoyed it. We also painted a charger for my mother. Aidan was somewhat fussy, but thanks to my great friends he was entertained enough in order to get the job done. (Thank you Kelley for the pictures!)

Aidan and Nolan hanging back

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Foot #1 getting painted

Foot #2 applied

Working on the details

Kellie made the adorable outfit Allison has on. She also made Aidan the cutest onesie. I'll work on getting a picture of them up tomorrow.

Then, today we headed to Bass Pro Shops to see Santa. Allison loved telling Santa what she wanted for Christmas. She's told us many times that he said, "I'll see what I can make."

Just When You Think Allison Couldn't Get Any Goofier...

This afternoon after Aidan's nap the three of us headed out front. It was beautiful here today. I have been refinishing our kitchen table and chairs, and I was able to get the last two done while Allison played and Aidan sat in the exersaucer.

After some bike riding Allison decided to draw a pool with blue sidewalk chalk, and then she disappeared in the house for a while. When she came back, this is how she looked.

Yes, she put a swimsuit on over her jeans, shirt, and sweater!

At the end of the video she said, "splash" because she fell off the kickboard. She's so funny. Yesterday she was singing some nonsense song, and I asked, "What is that?" She responded, "I'm just trying to make you laugh Mommy." This kid can definitely make me laugh!

Cornerstone Christmas Party

Today was Allison's last day of MDO until the new year. She went into the sanctuary to sing songs and have a picture with Santa, and she had a fun party in her classroom. Aidan and I went up to school to join in on the fun.

This picture makes me so happy! I hate that it's blurry. This was her response when she came through the door and saw us.

Allison and Jaya, the inseparable duo.

The parents were all fighting for spots to get the class picture with Santa, so this was the best I could do. Unfortunately she didn't get any one-on-one time with him. We'll have to make that happen this weekend. (Sorry about your head Mrs. Coffman!)

Back in the classroom they started the party by making wreaths with beads. (Check out Heather in the upper right corner. Ha ha! I was cropping the pictures, but this one had to be saved when I saw this.)

Aidan and Ethan (Jaya's younger brother) playing at the Lego table.

A Couple of Funny Moments

1. Last Friday night at the dinner table we asked Allison to tell us about her school day. She said that in Mrs. Vogt's class they dressed up like angels. We said, "Ooh, how fun! What did you do after you dressed up?" Allison responded, "My friends played and danced. I just looked in the mirror." I thought Tyler was going to fall out of his chair laughing.

2. A few days ago the fireplace screen I ordered came in. Aidan has a mission to eat all of the little rocks in the fireplace, so something had to be done. I originally covered it with paper from Allison's art table, but he figured out how to tear it off. Now that the screen is up I needed to move the little white table and chairs. I put it by the play kitchen in the play room. They both had a ball with the change. The kitchen is arguably Aidan's favorite toy in the house. This picture cracks me up. He's gnawing on a fake hot dog.

Aidan's 1st Birthday Party

Today we had Aidan's first birthday party. Omie, Papa Fred, Grandma Renee, Papa Denis, Nanny Frances, and Christina all came for the fun. (Check out Papa Denis's smile! Priceless!)

Aidan received so many wonderful gifts, and Allison was also given plenty of fun things. Thank you for all of the sweet presents! Allison was more than willing to help open each gift.

We had a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse themed afternoon. This kid loves Mickey, and he really loved his cake.

After his long, long nap he, Allison, and Papa Fred built a great tower with his new blocks.

One Year Stats

This morning Aidan and I headed to his one-year doctor's appointment. 4 shots + 1 urine sample + 1 blood sample = UNHAPPY AIDAN! Poor thing. He's taking a nap now. I think the drama of it all wore him out. Here are his current stats:

Weight: 22 lbs 6 oz (25-50%)
Height: 29.5" (25-50%)
FOC: 47.4 cm (75-90%)

I asked if we should be concerned with the weight and height being below average, but the pediatrician said not at all. Turns out 1 lb and 1 inch are the difference in the percentage rankings. Aidan was wiggly on both the scale and meter stick, so who knows where he really is. You should have seen the digital read on the scale jumping around. How do they even know what to put?

On the developmental milestones he's reached most of them. He's not walking, and he doesn't shake his head no when he doesn't want something. I guess I should be shaking my head when I tell him "no". Oops. With Allison I was always so worried about these things, but now I know there's not any cause for concern. Why do we obsess and stress? Oh mothers.

He's a healthy, happy boy! Oh, and stunningly handsome. :)

The Birthday Boy's Big Day

Aidan had such a fun day yesterday. Before taking Allison to school and heading to his photo shoot, he demonstrated his favorite trick for us with Allison.

Then, last night when Tyler came in from work we opened a few presents and had a little cake.

Allison was very proud of the gift she picked out for Aidan and helped wrap.

This cake is definitely not my finest work, but hey...they loved it!

Don't worry. We re-lit the candle and let Allison try again. Oh Daddy.

Saturday is his party. He loves Mickey Mouse, so Allison and I found plenty of Mickey stuff for the big event. Stay tuned!

Happy Birthday Aidan!

Today Aidan is 1. Can you believe it? This morning we sang Happy Birthday many times, and then we headed to get his picture taken. He did so well.

Some 1-year 0ld facts about Aidan:

He's crawling at warp speed and cruising along the furniture.

He calls Allison "A-ra-ra", which she interprets as "Aurora" from Sleeping Beauty.

He says "Mama", but only in anger or tears when he wants me to save him from his evil crib or is in desperate need of more food because he's wasting away.

He loves to eat with his hands, and is not a big fan of being spoon-fed. He'll eat anything. Last night he ate left over Beef Burgundy with carrots and mushrooms and rosemary potatoes that Tyler had made.

The spitting up has slowed down but not stopped. The end is in sight!

He is such a sweet boy. He loves to cuddle, hug, and give wide, open -mouthed "kisses". Slobber and all.

He is Allison's biggest fan! Those two really do love each other, and they are having so much fun playing together. Tyler and I both love to watch them interact.

Happy Birthday Aidan! We love you!

Writing Words

I have to confess that I have been somewhat of a slacker with Allison's reading the past couple of weeks. Today after lunch we picked it back up. She did the following page on her own. She's very big on "I can do it myself" right now. She did do it herself! And, she read the words she wrote. She really loves it.

Sure Sign of a Struggling Economy

A house made out of cardboard boxes.

They love it! Allison wanted to decorate it, which is why it is covered in white paper. I'm sure by the end of the day it will be a work of art. Gotta love that duct tape!

Gingerbread House

Allison could not resist the gingerbread house kits at Target this afternoon. Since I'm a sucker for anything she gets excited about, we left with a lovely afternoon activity. Now you and I both know that these kits never come with enough icing or the right candy to make it look exactly like the picture. This was completely unacceptable to Allison. She wanted every single part of the house to look just like the picture. Each little piece of candy, in the correct color patterns, needed to match. She finally gave in and dealt with the fact that it just wasn't going to happen. She really enjoyed decorating and licking her fingers for about an hour. It was very cute.

Gobble, Gobble and then a Wobble

We had a great Thanksgiving in Portland. We left on Wednesday around 1:00. The timing was perfect for Aidan's afternoon nap, so we thought. Here is what actually occurred.



He did not sleep at all in the car there or back. He was, for the most part, happy for the ride, so we can't really complain.


Allison helped make two buttermilk pecan pies Thanksgiving morning. She loves to help in the kitchen.


Then, at dinner, she really thought she was hot stuff drinking from the stemmed water glass. All of the delicious food at dinner is what led to my "wobble", hence the title of this post.


Aidan loved messing with Uncle Ryan's beard again. This really was a cute, sweet moment even though Ryan looks pretty scary!


I really think I should enter this video in some sort of money-winning competition. We were cracking up. The dog is Opie, Uncle Ryan's "boy puppy". (Allison lingo)

We decided we were having so much fun we really dropped the ball on picture-taking. It was a great, family-filled few days. This morning Allison woke up and asked to go back to Omie's house. Sorry kid, you must wait a few weeks!

When there's no MDO...

we have to find something to keep us busy, so today we started decorating for Christmas. This is the first year I have ever put up the tree before Thanksgiving, but it made Allison and Aidan both very happy for a few hours. We won't be here for Thanksgiving, so no biggie, right?

Allison was very particular about where each ornament needed to go. She was constantly saying, "Oh Mommy! This one is so beautiful!" She was also great at making sure the ornaments within Aidan's reach were soft and safe. Check out her serious face!

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Aidan's favorite ornaments were the bells. He couldn't get enough of them!

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