Have Her Cake & Eat it Too

Allie and I attended a baby shower for my cousin's wife earlier this month. I think it's safe to say that Allie's favorite part was the cake!

Congratulations Steve and Arianna on the birth of your beautiful baby girl, Francesca Marie! We can't wait to meet her!

I Don't Think This is how it's Supposed to Work

I went in to check on Allie while she was napping and found her sleeping like this:

That can't be comfortable.

A Day At the Aquarium

My Aunt Julie and her family were in town from Austin, TX the last week in December to celebrate the holidays. They invited us to join them at the aquarium and we were very excited. It was Allie's first trip to see the fish! We had a great time and can't wait to go back again soon!

Allie with my cousin Jaimie and my Aunt Julie.

Her favorite part was running around like a maniac.

Taking a break from running around to check out the fish.

This place is so much fun!

Sitting on top of the giant frogs.

Scuba Santa...Allie was NOT a fan.

Checking out some more fish for a split second.

Her favorite part was dancing on this tiny stage.

Her Father's Daughter

Allie had a hard time sleeping the other day so I brought her into our bed after Nick left for work. Next thing I knew, she had kicked the sheet totally off her side of the bed, had her mouth wide open and was snoring very loudly. Her father does all of these things every night! Must have something to do with that side of the bed.

What a Handful

Allie is very much a handful now. She's ALWAYS on the move and loves to touch anything that she's not supposed to touch. Although she keeps me on my toes, she's just so much fun! Her little personality is blossoming more and more each day and she says the funniest things! I can't believe how quickly she is growing up. She's like a 5 year old stuck in a tiny 1 year old's body.

You mean salad tongs are NOT supposed to go around my neck?

She loves to sit in the plastic baggie cabinet.

Having a snack at the big people table!

She has a way of making picture taking difficult these days.

Merry Christmas!

Allie's 2nd Christmas was so much fun! We started at home with just the three of us. I really didn't think she would understand the concept of opening gifts and all, but boy was I wrong. She loved opening the gifts and got so excited when we put her toys together.

We had a near disaster that morning. Just as we started opening gifts, my camera stopped working. I was almost in tears thinking about all of the pictures that I would miss. Just then, Nick had Allie give me a gift to open. It was a brand new camera! I have the best husband ever! He totally saved Christmas for me and I was beyond excited. I'm still getting used to the new camera so some of the pictures are less than good, but at least we have the memories on film.

After we opened presents at our house, we went to Nick's parents' house for breakfast and more presents. Allie was totally spoiled. She definitely has a lot of people that love her!

After Ma & Pa's house, we went to Aunt Peggy's house for dinner with the entire family. It was so neat to see Allie and her cousins sharing their new toys and playing together.

We hope you and your families had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year as well!

Bryant Family Christmas

Nick's extended family gathers together each year to celebrate Christmas. It's so nice to catch up with the people that we don't see often. We love watching the kids grow and change as the years go by. My camera was broken (disasterous, I know!) so I don't have many pictures. Here are a few of the kids from Nick's cousin, Laurie.

The Under 18 crowd. It's hard to believe that only 4 of these kids were alive when Nick and I started dating.

Allie and her 1st cousins on the Bryant side.

IBEW Kids Christmas

Nick's Union holds an annual Christmas party for the kids of the members. The members cook breakfast, there are arts and crafts and Santa makes a visit to bring each child a present. It's a cute little party and a great excuse to get another use out of that Christmas dress. Allie had a great time eating her pancakes and getting her face painted. She actually enjoyed the whole party with one exception...SANTA. She screamed the second I put her on his lap and was squirming so badly that we were concerned he might drop her. We were able to snap a quick picture and that was it. Maybe one day she'll figure out that she should be nice to Santa if she wants to get presents from him!

Eating some pancakes with Grandma.

Picking out a face paint design.

Getting her face painted.

NOT a fan of Santa!

Santa is not nearly as scary when Grandma is with you!

Checking out her gift from Santa.

Bumps

Nick taught Allie how to give "bumps." Now she walks around the house with her fist out saying, "Bump, bump" until you give her bumps. She's such a funny kid.

Playdate Fun

Allie and I met up with a few friends at a local indoor play area called Jumpin' Joeys. It's basically a large room filled with mats, balls, tunnels, slides, etc. Allie had an absolute blast. She didn't stop moving for the entire 2+ hours that we were there.

Starting off the morning by stealing Jacob's binky. He is not amused.

Checking out a crazy football.

Checking out one of the tunnels with Nevin.

Climbing to the top!

Heading down the slide.

Running around the entire place.

Having so much fun!

Santa Baby

While digging out the Christmas decorations, I found a toddler sized Santa hat. Allie hates hats so I figured it would be a lost cause to have her try it on. Boy was I wrong! She loved that Santa hat and wore it all around the house. If she saw it laying on the floor, she would bring it to me and say "hat" over and over again until I put it on her head. I must admit, she looks adorable in it! I guess it's safe to say that it's not Santa's hat that she's afraid of.

Santa = Fail

They Skyline Chili near our house had a dinner with Santa night recently. We decided to take Allie to test the waters with Santa before the big kids Christmas party at Nick's work. It did not go well. Allie hated Santa and wouldn't go near him. I had to pick her up and put her on his lap, only to be rewarded with this classic picture:

The look on Santa's face leads me to believe that he was not at all "jolly" about having to hold a screaming child. Perhaps he should find a new day job.