O' Christmas Tree

Brian and I put up the Christmas tree this weekend. It has a new spot this year, in our new rec room, as we don't quite trust Allison with the tree in the living room. Plus with Amelia's swing in the living room, we don't have the space for it. We didn't show Allison the tree until after she woke up from her nap this afternoon. She was very intrigued by it.

She was most impressed by her Cookie Monster stocking that sings and talks. She wanted Brian to play it for her all afternoon. I think she is going to drive me crazy during the day, wanting me to play it for her. Luckily Brian only played it once for her and told her that she can see it again in the morning. Maybe we can make it part of her morning routine and she won't be interested in it any other time of day (yeah, right).

Later that evening, we watched "Christmas Eve on Sesame Street" by the Christmas tree. Amelia seem to notice the lights on the tree. Last year, we would lay Allison by the tree and she would stare at the lights. We will have to do the same with Amelia this year.

I have to say that the tree looks pretty nice in the rec room. Maybe we will have to leave it up a little longer this year, especially since Thanksgiving was so late this year. We could always put British flags on it and call it part of the room decor.

Wrapping up the Weekend

We wrapped up the holiday weekend by taking Allison out to play in her new winter gear. We had the hardest time finding boots in her size because her feet are so small. She just started wearing size four, which is considered an infant size. Most shoe manufacturers think that those that wear size four shoes are not old enough to be outdoors long enough in order to need winter boots.

We also had some trouble getting the boots to stay on, however once Dad put them on tighter, we were good to go. Allison wasn't quite sure what to make of playing in the snow, since she couldn't do her normal outdoor activities such as pushing her stroller, riding in her car, and playing with chalk.

Wondering what the heck mom just did to her.

Trying to figure out how to unwrap those presents.

"If Santa isn't working tonight, it wasn't anything I did to it, really!"

"You forgot the anti-freeze, didn't you Dad?"

Allison's rosy cheeks have made their way back for the winter season.

So Much to Be Thankful For..

Christmas Preview

This past week I took Allison and Amelia to the Meijer Gardens for a visit. The Christmas Around the World exhibit started so we got to enjoy the many Christmas trees and train exhibit. Allison had fun looking at the lights and was really good, much to my surpise, about not trying to touch the trees. I also had the opportunity to visit with several of my former co-workers. Overall it was great visit and we plan on going back this week with Grandma, so we can enjoy all the lights in the evening.

Yoga Moves

Inspired by her yoga pants, Allison practices the move "Does this make my butt look big?"

One Month Old

I'm in utter shock that Amelia is one month old already. It seems like we just came home from the hospital.

So far, all is going well. It appears that she does not suffer from "the word that shall not be mentioned" (starts with a "c" and ends in a "c" and deals with a lot of crying in the evening). Because it can kick in anytime from 3-6 weeks, we are still being very cautious about celebrating this fact.

I will say our evenings are much more relaxed than they were with Allison. The four of us actually went out to dinner last week to Friday's without any incident. Both kids behaved very well. We didn't go out to dinner with Allison until she was almost four months old.

Nights are going pretty well. Amelia usually wakes up twice between 11 pm - 6 am, which isn't too bad. She usually goes right back to sleep, although she usually has to go through 10 minutes of grunting, groaning, snorting, etc. before she finally falls back to sleep. If she is being super loud or having a hard time going back to sleep, I will bring Amelia to the living room where her swing is. She usually conks out within a minute when I put her in that. I've become very good about being able to sleep on the couch. I too can conk out within the first minute or so.

Amelia loves to eat and is already up to four ounces of formula. She is a burp hoarder though; we hardly ever get a good burp out of her after she eats. However when she does burp, it is quite loud.

Also, she already knows to flinch when Allison comes around her. So far we haven't had any major incidents; just a few eye pokes and head pats.

I'm recovering pretty well. I feel like I turned a corner this past week. I'm not as sore as I have been. I just have to be careful not to overdue it. I will be happy when I am back to my normal self though.

Two Peas in a Pod

Granted they don't look especially alike, however I thought these two photos of the girls were cute. The photo of Allison was taken at 5 weeks and the photo of Amelia was taken just under 4 weeks. While Amelia doesn't have to be swaddled as much as Allison did, she does like to be wrapped up tight in the evenings. It seems to help settle her down for the evening.

Lion's Fan

In an effort not to crush such a young and hopeful spirit, we have yet to tell Allison that the Detroit Lions are 0 - 9.

Thanks to Aunt Lori for picking up this cheerleading outfit. Allison looks so darn cute in it.

Wonder Fall

A week ago Sunday, my sister Keri and her family came for a visit. Their visit was a double bonus to us. Not only did we get company, we also received free labor. Sydney, Abbey, and Ben wanted to play in the leaves, so they helped Brian rake up a huge pile. They had a blast jumping in the leaves and burying each other in the pile. We offered to bag up the leaves and send them home with the kids, but for some reason my brother-in-law Eric wasn't too excited about that idea.

Katie decided to stay indoors and snuggle with Amelia.

Special Visitors

Last week was a busy week as we had two sets of special visitors. My mom (aka Nana) stayed with us for the week to help out. She was a huge help and we enjoyed her visit.

It was very special to see Nana bond with her granddaughters. She and Allison became special buddies. Allison loved sharing Nana's vanilla Oreos, while Amelia enjoyed snuggling with Nana. We want to thank my mom for all of her help. I wouldn't have survived last week without it.

Our 2nd set of special visitors came all the way from Baton Rouge. My friend Joie and her daughter Avari came to town for the weekend and stopped by our house. Avari is a month older than Allison, so Joie and I have been going through parenthood together.

It was fun seeing the two girls meet for the first time. They played together so nicely, like they have been friends forever.

Trick or Treat

Based on the start, I thought we were going to have a rough night, however luckily her mood improved once we started trick or treating.


Allison's first attempt at trick-or-treating. She didn't quite understand the concept that people give her candy and she gets to keep it.



By this house, she was an old pro at it.

Happy Halloween

Random Photos

Here are some photos from the past few weeks. They didn't upload like I thought they would, so they are not in order by date.

1st time I washed her hair. I'm not used to washing so much hair on a baby.

Me and my girls

Dad and his buddy Allison.

Our first outing together as a family of four. We went to the park a few days after I got home from the hospital so I could enjoy the fall colors.