Happy Birthday to my #1 Dad! I know I'm a day early, but I doubt I'll get the chance to give you a blog shout out tomorrow since we'll be on our way to celebrate with you. Hope you have a wonderful day and a great year! I love you!
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Monday, December 29, 2008
Ally's 1st Christmas Recap
Ally's first Christmas was a great success! She was a little under the weather on Christmas Eve with a bad cold and an earache that I think was related to teething pain. We ended up skipping church because I decided it was more important for her to get in a good nap. Once she was up, we packed up all of our Christmas presents and drove over to the Martin's house. We had a fun evening and a nice meal together (I love me some honey baked ham!) and we put Ally down to bed in their pack and play so we wouldn't have to rush home. Sadly I ended up falling asleep in an armchair around 9pm so we ended up going home pretty early anyway.
This is Ally sitting in her new 'Ally-sized' armchair in front of our Christmas tree on Christmas Eve. It was a gift from her grandparents.
Here is Ally in front of the Martin's tree discovering all the exciting gifts underneath it!
Here she is opening her first Christmas present ever! She was more interested in the bow than the actual gift.
This was our best attempt at a family photo- Ally did not like her hat and Matthew was hiding.
Here's a shot of the whole Martin clan. Ray, Ally (who refused to look at the camera), Dot, Dee, Matthew, me and Brian.
She had lots of fun later that evening with all of her toys! The little blocks she's holding in this picture are some of her favorites!
Mom & Dad gave Ally this nifty little car- it makes some great noises! Morrison wasn't too sure about it though and was actually trying to bite the steering wheel in this picture.
Daddy & Ally both woke up happy the morning after Christmas!
We all went down to the beach with the dogs on Friday afternoon- it was pretty chilly and windy though so Ally got all bundled up- isn't her hood the greatest!?
Here is our sweet girl in a cute new outfit that she got for Christmas.
This is Ally sitting in her new 'Ally-sized' armchair in front of our Christmas tree on Christmas Eve. It was a gift from her grandparents. 
Here is Ally in front of the Martin's tree discovering all the exciting gifts underneath it! On Christmas morning our little early bird was up at 5am so she and I watched a showing of A Christmas Story on TBS- I love their 24 hour marathon! We got Matthew up around 7:30ish, cleaned up, and headed back over to the Martin's house for breakfast and gifts. We ended up putting Ally down for her nap as soon as we got there. We enjoyed Ray's delicious egg casserole and the famous monkey bread with mimosas then we dug into the gifts- and there were a lot of them! Ally woke up midway through the festivities.
Here she is opening her first Christmas present ever! She was more interested in the bow than the actual gift. 
This was our best attempt at a family photo- Ally did not like her hat and Matthew was hiding. 
Here's a shot of the whole Martin clan. Ray, Ally (who refused to look at the camera), Dot, Dee, Matthew, me and Brian. After our gift feast we all played with our new toys and just hung out enjoying each others company. Matthew, Ally and I went home in the late afternoon to relax. Our car was packed full of gifts and we spent a long time unloading and organizing while Ally napped.
She had lots of fun later that evening with all of her toys! The little blocks she's holding in this picture are some of her favorites! 
Mom & Dad gave Ally this nifty little car- it makes some great noises! Morrison wasn't too sure about it though and was actually trying to bite the steering wheel in this picture. 
Daddy & Ally both woke up happy the morning after Christmas!
We all went down to the beach with the dogs on Friday afternoon- it was pretty chilly and windy though so Ally got all bundled up- isn't her hood the greatest!?
Here is our sweet girl in a cute new outfit that she got for Christmas. The rest of our long weekend passed by too quickly. We had the Martins and our friends Tony & Megan over for an evening of Mexican food and Mexican train dominoes on Friday night. A good time was had by all- we went through four bottles of wine to prove it! On Saturday afternoon we had a farewell lunch with Brian before he headed back to Charleston. Later that evening Ray & Dee were kind enough to come over to babysit Ally while Matthew and I went over to some friend's house for dinner and some fun Wii games. It was the first time either of us had played and I think Matthew is hooked. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a Wii in our future!
Sunday was lazy- I had too many late nights and early mornings over the Christmas break so I decided to skip church (again) and take a nap while Ally was napping. It was so nice to climb back in bed after putting her down! I napped for two hours and it was totally worth it! We did venture out in the afternoon and did our part to support the economy with trips to Babies R Us and Target. Matthew is off work for a while so he's home today working on projects. I'm working today and tomorrow and then we're off to San Diego for a week with my family and a late Christmas. It's hard to believe that it will be January of 2009 when we return!
A few other Ally related happenings that are worth mentioning... she will definitely be crawling any day now. She can now push herself into a sitting position from her belly and this morning I found her sitting up in her crib for the very first time! I'm sure it's just a matter of time before she's pulling up on the rails. Guess I'd better lower that mattress again! Finally- her 5th tooth has just poked through the gums- it's on the top right side and explains why she had a few really grumpy days last week.
Thanks for checking in- hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and that 2009 will bring many wonderful blessings!
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Merry Christmas!
December 24th- Christmas Eve. How the heck did that happen? I don't know if it's becuase I'm perpetually sleep deprived or because the days are just so busy and full with Ally, but it seems like time is just flying by these days!
Ally is still sick with a terrible runny nose and like most babies- she hates to have her nose wiped so we play some crazy cat & mouse games trying to clear away the buggies. She had such an awesome week last week- she consistently took over 30 oz. of milk each day and was eating one or two servings of purees. Due to the congestion and runny nose this week she's back to her normal crummy days- only taking approx. 24 oz of milk and no purees. It feels like a setback to me and I'm so discouraged even though I know the reason she's not eating is because she can't breathe. At feeding therapy yesterday her therapist commented that Ally has made a lot of progress since she first saw us and she is confident that once she gets over this cold it's all going to start coming together again. I sure hope she's right. It was amazing how good and happy I felt last week when she was doing so well. I realized what a heavy load all of my stress and worry is to carry around all the time. I hope to be rid of it for good very soon as she continues to improve!
Today is a short day at work thankfully so I'll have time to get Ally home and down for a nap so I can finish wrapping presents. We're planning to attend a children's service at church this afternoon then go over to the Martin house for Christmas Eve dinner. Hopefully our little grump-muffin will cooperate and enjoy the festivities.
Last night Matthew's brother Brian came over to hang out with us and have dinner. While we were playing with Ally we somehow got on the subject of leaving sweets out for Santa. I mentioned that we'd have to leave carrots out for the reindeer as well once Ally was old enough to appreciate it and they both laughed at me. Apparently the Martins never left any food for the poor old reindeer since they never came into the house! What kind of family did I marry into? No carrots for the reindeer and they wait until Christmas morning to open all of their presents!!! Horrors!!! I've forced them to adopt a new tradition and open at least one gift on Christmas Eve and I guess I'll have to force them to be a little more considerate of Santa's furry friends too. Our Ally is going to be an animal lover so she'll want to make sure Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Donner, Comet, Cupid, and Blitzen are well cared for!
We're planning to exchange gifts on Christmas morning, stuff our faces with Ray's famous egg casserol and monkey bread, take the dogs to the beach since it's supposed to be fairly mild outside, and enjoy a nice long nap! Sounds like the perfect day to me.
Merry Christmas to all- enjoy the long weekend and lots of fun with your families!
Ally is still sick with a terrible runny nose and like most babies- she hates to have her nose wiped so we play some crazy cat & mouse games trying to clear away the buggies. She had such an awesome week last week- she consistently took over 30 oz. of milk each day and was eating one or two servings of purees. Due to the congestion and runny nose this week she's back to her normal crummy days- only taking approx. 24 oz of milk and no purees. It feels like a setback to me and I'm so discouraged even though I know the reason she's not eating is because she can't breathe. At feeding therapy yesterday her therapist commented that Ally has made a lot of progress since she first saw us and she is confident that once she gets over this cold it's all going to start coming together again. I sure hope she's right. It was amazing how good and happy I felt last week when she was doing so well. I realized what a heavy load all of my stress and worry is to carry around all the time. I hope to be rid of it for good very soon as she continues to improve!
Today is a short day at work thankfully so I'll have time to get Ally home and down for a nap so I can finish wrapping presents. We're planning to attend a children's service at church this afternoon then go over to the Martin house for Christmas Eve dinner. Hopefully our little grump-muffin will cooperate and enjoy the festivities.
Last night Matthew's brother Brian came over to hang out with us and have dinner. While we were playing with Ally we somehow got on the subject of leaving sweets out for Santa. I mentioned that we'd have to leave carrots out for the reindeer as well once Ally was old enough to appreciate it and they both laughed at me. Apparently the Martins never left any food for the poor old reindeer since they never came into the house! What kind of family did I marry into? No carrots for the reindeer and they wait until Christmas morning to open all of their presents!!! Horrors!!! I've forced them to adopt a new tradition and open at least one gift on Christmas Eve and I guess I'll have to force them to be a little more considerate of Santa's furry friends too. Our Ally is going to be an animal lover so she'll want to make sure Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Donner, Comet, Cupid, and Blitzen are well cared for!
We're planning to exchange gifts on Christmas morning, stuff our faces with Ray's famous egg casserol and monkey bread, take the dogs to the beach since it's supposed to be fairly mild outside, and enjoy a nice long nap! Sounds like the perfect day to me.
Merry Christmas to all- enjoy the long weekend and lots of fun with your families!
Monday, December 22, 2008
Running on empty....
I am completely out of juice. After a weekend of 4:45 am wake up calls from my darling little angel we decided to change things up a little bit today and get up at 4:23a.m! I don't know what's going on, but it's killing me. To top it off, little gal has developed a nasty runny nose (just in time for Christmas) and her face was caked with dried buggers this morning. She did not enjoy me trying to wipe/ pick them off either or the fun session of bulb suctioning that followed. Poor baby. After feeding her a bottle I tried putting her back down to bed to see if she would go back to sleep. As soon as I too slipped back between the sheets she started carrying on again. Matthew was kind enough to get up and sit with her for a 1/2 hour while I stayed in bed. I wish I could tell you that I slept, but sadly I just laid there and stared at the ceiling fan.
I was in such a state of sleep deprivation this morning when I left the house that I left my purse at home! I have no driver's license, no cell phone, no lipstick, etc. Today was also the morning that I decided to cut down to only one pumping session a day- it was nice to not have to worry about it this morning, but my boobs are now killing me since it's been over 12 hours since my last pump. (Sorry if that was TMI!) Hopefully this won't last long. I plan to be completely done by New Year's Eve- just in time for a good bottle of wine to celebrate!
These pictures were taken Saturday morning in a sweet little Juicy outfit that was an early Christmas gift from Ally's great grandparents- Bob and Christa. I have some more new pictures to share, but my camera is also in my purse so I can't download them this morning. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get the chance.
May the days leading up to Christmas be filled with lots and lots of holiday cheer- and sleep!
I was in such a state of sleep deprivation this morning when I left the house that I left my purse at home! I have no driver's license, no cell phone, no lipstick, etc. Today was also the morning that I decided to cut down to only one pumping session a day- it was nice to not have to worry about it this morning, but my boobs are now killing me since it's been over 12 hours since my last pump. (Sorry if that was TMI!) Hopefully this won't last long. I plan to be completely done by New Year's Eve- just in time for a good bottle of wine to celebrate!
These pictures were taken Saturday morning in a sweet little Juicy outfit that was an early Christmas gift from Ally's great grandparents- Bob and Christa. I have some more new pictures to share, but my camera is also in my purse so I can't download them this morning. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get the chance.
May the days leading up to Christmas be filled with lots and lots of holiday cheer- and sleep! Wednesday, December 17, 2008
More fun with prunes!
During Ally's second experience with prunes I accidentally planted a spoonful right on her upper lip and she looked like a little Hitler so I ran to grab the camera but by the time I got back she'd smeared it and the Hitler effect had disappeared but she still looked pretty funny so I snapped away. If you look closely you can actually see her two top teeth coming in!
She looks sort of devilish in this second picture...
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Prunes, glorious prunes!
Please ignore my silly commentary and terrible cinematography on this video. It's hard to hold a camera, feed a baby and narrate in a normal voice when you're so excited!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
