FOR MORE PICTURES - Cut and paste the following address: http://www.moreofallison.shutterfly.com/action/ password is allison (all lower case)I can't believe we are going to take the tree down tomorrow. It makes me sad to think about it. I think Allison will miss the tree since we will lay her down in front of it and she watches the lights and touches the branches. This will probably be the last peaceful year in terms of having the tree up for the next few years (or at least a tree without a gate.)
Christmas was very good to us, although I feel like we didn't do a lot of Christmas related activities. I'm looking forward to when Allison is older and we can take her out to look at Christmas lights and such. At least I wasn't suffering from morning sickness like I was last year and I had more energy.
We kicked off the holiday season with the Veenstra Family party (Brian's extended family). Allison took one look at the crowd of people downstairs and started crying, so we spent most of the time upstairs and let people come to her. She did much better that way.
On December 16, we had my extended family party on my mom's side. This is something we used to do when we were children, so it is neat to see all of our children running around, frosting cookies and other things we did as kids. Allison was overwhelmed by all the commotion, so she pretty much stayed by our side during the evening.
On Christmas Eve we celebrated at Brian's family, so we went to my family the weekend prior. We just had snacks and opened a few presents. Allison received a cute book shelf with her name on it from her Aunt Keri, some Melissa and Doug puzzles from Aunt Lori, and a special ceramic Christmas tree that plays music and two outfits from Nana and Papa. Allison seemed to do a lot better at this gathering. She was a little fussy as it was nap time, however Nana and Papa and all of her aunts and cousins kept her occupied. I'm looking forward to seeing her with all of her cousins next year on Christmas Eve. I think she will be spoiled by the attention.
The drive back was fine until we got to Grand Rapids, when we got caught in a snow storm. Luckily we only had to deal with the bad driving conditions on 28th Street.
On Christmas Eve we went to Brian's family in the evening. Allison enjoyed hanging out with her cousin Marrah who always pays close attention to her. She received a glow worm, an outfit, and some days-of-the-week bibs from Grandma and Grandpa. She also received a See and Say, Stack and Roll Cups, Sit and Pound Arcade, and a Move and Crawl ball from her aunts and uncles.
On Christmas we celebrated with just us, together as a family. Allison slept in until 8:30 (thank you Allison.) We opened presents and had a big breakfast. Santa treated Allison to a muscial activity barnyard, a V-tech driver set, a motion ball, and a Winnie the Pooh book that talks. In her Cookie Monster stocking she found some bath toys, board books, and a container for her Cheerios when she can eat them. From mom and dad she received some special books that we can read to her at bedtime when she gets older, including Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little.
All the activities must have worn her out as she was in bed before 7 pm. I treated Brian to a special Christmas dinner of turkey, red-skinned mashed potoates, stuffing, and fresh green beans. I have to say myself that it was quite yummy.
