Twas the Night Before Allison's Birthday

Allison,

It is the day before your first birthday. Dad and I are beat. We have been working all day to get ready for your party.

A year ago today, Dad and I took Ozzie for a walk in the park so I could get out of the house for a bit. At work that day, I was telling my co-workers that it would be at least a week before I had you. I was feeling or showing no signs that you would soon be on your way.

What a surprise it was when I woke up at 12:30 am when my water broke. We left for the hospital around 2 am (after a quick walk around the block to try to get labor going) and as we pulled out of the driveway, dad commented "Tonight we leave as a couple, and soon we will come home as a family."

Thank you for making us a family. I think we make a pretty darn good one!

Love,
Mom

So Busted!

One of my favorite daily tasks is to check on Allison before I go to bed. I love seeing what position she fell asleep in, especially when her little butt is up in the air. I think that is so cute. I always report back to Brian what position she was in.

However, living in an older home with creaky wood floors makes sneaking in and out a little difficult. On Saturday night, I was turning her fan down, when I heard her stir. I tried getting out of the room quickly, but the floors were squeaking too much. So I froze in place and heard her stir some more. So I dropped to the ground, curled up into a ball and hid behind the rocker. After a few seconds, I peaked up and saw Allison standing in her crib - her nose crinkled and eyes squinting - all in apparent confusion on why mama was laying on her floor in the "middle of the night." I would love to have known what was running through her mind at that moment.

I learned my lesson a few weeks ago and did not take her out of her crib. I just gave her a hug and a kiss, told her good night, and walked out of the room. I think she feel back to sleep within a few minutes. Her last thought before drifting off to sleep was probably "my mom is just strange."

End of the Era

Tonight marked the end of an era for me. It was my last night volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House after 10 years of service. I started the summer after I graduated from college.

I worked in the office answering phones, checking in guests, and keeping the house picked up and tidy. I met some great families over the years. I saw and heard some amazing stories and sadly there were times I took keys from families leaving because their child did not make it. I always said volunteering at the House was my way of saying thank you for healthy nieces and nephews and then it became my way of paying back for having a healthy baby myself.

I came to realize that with two little ones, it would just be too hard to make that bi-weekly commitment. Brian has been great about staying with Allison while I volunteer, even during those first few months where she would cry and scream for a long period of time before falling asleep (if she ever did). He realizes that I need my time to get out of the house by myself for a while and will make sure I still get the opportunity to do so.

The House was also making some changes to their volunteer program, so I felt it was great timing to end my regular volunteer commitment. I still would like to be involved in some way, maybe helping out at special events. I think it is a wonderful organization that helps families during a stressful time. Many of these families would be sleeping in the waiting rooms or their children's hospital room if it wasn't for the House or worse yet, their child wouldn't have the comfort of having mom and dad by their side on a daily basis. So if you are ever looking for a charity to support, please do consider them.

A Thousand Days - A Thousand Thank Yous!

As of Friday, July 18, Brian and I have been married a 1,000 days and each day I say thank you that he was brought into my life. Ok, so maybe there are some days that I say something more along the lines of "he drives me crazy", but those days have been an exception.


It has been a busy 1,000 days to say the least. We took our honeymoon in Cabo San Lucas. Looking at our pictures from our trip makes me want to go on vacation somewhere like that again. (Mom, want to watch the kids for a week, maybe in winter 2010?)

We went to San Francisco for my 30th birthday. Here is a picture from Hop Kiln, our favorite winery that we visited.

We took two camping trips that first summer. We celebrated our 1 year anniversary by staying at Saugutuck overnight, then going wine tasting the next day. One month after our anniversary, we found out we were pregnant with Allison.

Before Allison was born, we took a trip to the Smokey Mountains in Gatlinburg, which was very nice and relaxing. I think that trip ranked up as one of my favorite trips.

Allison came along in July and has only made our lives better. In February, we found out that our family is expanding once again and we can't wait to add a little peanut to the group.

While I did mention the bigger trips we took, those are only some of the things that I appreciate and value. I love that I found someone to play board games, do jigsaw puzzles, walk to the ice cream shop, and so much more. I love that even though his back is so sore and he can barely move, he is on his knees right now painting the wainscoting in our new rec room, so we can have it finished in time for Allison's party.

So honey, here is to another happy 1,000 days and many more. Love ya!

Who Needs Baby Einstein

Only recently Allison has shown interest in her Baby Einstein videos and with them she really is only interested in the puppets. However, turn on the Price is Right and she is hooked. She doesn't usually get to watch it because she is napping during this time or we are out of the house, but when she does watch it, she loves it.

If anyone wants to give her a cheap birthday present, they could tape episodes of Price is Right for a week. She would really be your friend if you also added bonus footage that only includes the "wheel spin" all in a row, since that is her favorite part of the show. She will stop whatever she is doing and get all excited as the wheel goes around.

I've told Allison that when she is on the show one day and the host (maybe still Drew Carey) asks her who she wants to say hi to, she better say "I want to say hi to my mom, who got me hooked on this show when I was just a baby."

At Times Like This, I Wish...

At times like this I wish we had a baby monitor with a video camera. This afternoon I put Allison down for her nap. She must have had a good conversation with Cookie Monster because she was in there for a hour or so talking and laughing. We could hear her through her baby monitor. I don't think she went longer than 30 seconds without making sounds. She must have been telling him all about her trip to the zoo this afternoon.

Brian was home during this time and would crack up every time he walked by the monitor. We both stated that we would have loved to see what she was doing during this time.

Mental Note: Give Allison some down time to relax before putting her down for her nap after an exciting outing.

Happy 4th of July!

Allison has officially completed her first round of holidays. We spent the day with my family at our annual 4th of July celebration. We started off the day watching a parade in Fenton, which is south of Flint.

Afterwards, we went to my sister Jodi's house for lunch, swimming and a new activity that was added this year...more to come in the pictures. We had a wonderful time. Allison did great considering she only took a 15 minute nap all day until the car ride home (too much to see and do). We really enjoyed our afternoon and are looking forward to many more celebrations with our little ones. It is hard to believe that next year Allison will be standing by the curb with her bag, ready to catch any candy that comes her way.

Allison enjoying her first parade with dad.

The whole family. There were 17 kids under the age of 18 and 14 adults at the parade. Plus we had several more family members that joined us for lunch later on.

Allison showing off her patriotism. Of course, she had to have a special outfit for this big event.

Allison and her cousin Jackson, watching their first parade together.

Allison showing off her bandanna that Aunt Jodi bought her.

All the kids with their bandannas.

Katie enjoying the parade.

A Family Shot

My sister rented a dunk tank for the celebration. The kids loved it and played with it all afternoon. Even a few of the adults were brave enough to get in. I pleaded pregnancy and didn't get in.

Allison was trying to use Jackson to pull herself up, but it didn't quite work. In the end, both of them were on the floor. Allison thought it was hilarious, but Jackson didn't.

So Jackson decided to do some paybacks. What is funny is that he really wasn't hitting her in the head. It was a very light tap, but she didn't appreciate it. I guess that is what she gets for being a bully. By the way, this is her new "look." As soon as we see the squint, we know she is in pouty mode.