Allie's Tent

Allie got a tent and tunnel from my mom for Christmas. She loves it! We set it up and put some of her toys in it. She has so much fun playing in it.

Christmas!!!

We had such a great Christmas. We continued our tradition of going out to breakfast at Cracker Barrel on Christmas Eve. It was so yummy. After that I went shopping with my mom for last minute things. That night we had a Christmas Eve Party at Matt's parents house. We had yummy food and Santa came. It was lots of fun. All the grandkids got their stockings from grandma and grandpa. On Christmas day we opened presents at my mom's house in the morning. Allie had fun just walking around on top of all the presents. I am so glad that we didn't get her a ton of stuff or spend a ton of money on her. She didn't even care about anything! She got a tent with a tunnel from my mom. She has fun playing in it. After my mom's house we went to Matt's parents house for breakfast and to open present there from his parents. Allie got some clothes and a baby doll stroller from them. We had a great time visiting with family and hanging out. I love Christmas time and the meaning behind it. I hope you all had a great holiday season this year!

Allie and Mommy.

Christmas Eve.

Cute girls! Aunts and nieces.

Allie's first time meeting Santa! Love it!!

The grandkids on Matt's side of the family.

The gift I made for Matt and I.

Allie's present from Santa. She got a golf set.

Christmas morning.

Playing with her golf clubs.

Christmas Gifts

We have had some great things happen this week. A couple of weeks ago I found a lump in my breast. I had an ultrasound last week and they said it looks like a benign tumor, but the surgeon said we could biopsy it just to confirm that it was benign. I had a biopsy on Monday and the test came back benign. That was that only Christmas present that I needed this year! To know that I am healthy is all I need to hear. Earlier tonight there was a knock on the door, and when I answered it, our bishop was standing there with a Christmas present for us. He asked me how I was feeling and if we needed anything. (I'm guessing that my visiting teaching partner told him about my biopsy since she is in the Relief Society Presidency.) When he left, I opened the gift and it was a gift card to Walmart. I started to tear up. It was such a nice thing for the ward to do for us. This Christmas is turning out to be such a good one. My sister and brother in law were supposed to come down for the holidays but my brother in law Kasey ended up getting a job last week. We will miss them, but having a job is a much better thing to have for Christmas. Our family has been so blessed this year and we are all getting the best Christmas gifts that anyone could ever ask for. I hope everyone has a Very Merry Christmas!

Our Cute Girl

I've been a little lazy taking pictures this month. Allie seems to be growing so fast, I need to take more pictures of her. He is getting such a little personality and attitude. When I don't let her do something she wants, she has this little glare she gives me. My mom says that she is definitely my daughter! She has been showing more and more lately how much she loves her grandparents. Whenever she see's my mom or Matt's parents she starts smiling and runs to them for a big hug. And when they come to visit she cries when they leave. It's super cute. We just love her so much!

She loves to play on the couch with us

Enjoying a cookie!

Curtains For My Mom

My mom really wanted new curtains for her bedroom and the other bedroom upstairs in her house. She asked me to make some for her for Christmas. We went and bought the fabric a few weeks ago and today my cousin Cristina and I sewed these curtains for her. We had a lot of fun making the curtains and we think that they are really cute.

This is the one in my mom's bedroom

This is in one of the guest rooms

Cristina reading to the kids. They were really good while we were sewing. You couldn't ask for better kids!

Elf Yourself

Here is an Elf Yourself video I made.

I love to make these every year.

They just put a smile on my face!

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/f51zzUPOkhxya3Y0Q22K

Christmas Lights

Last night we went to Salt Lake for dinner and to see the lights on Temple Square. We love doing this every year. I love Temple Square and will jump at any chance to go up there to enjoy the surroundings. We went out to dinner at Buca di Beppo. It was really good. We hit a lot of traffic on the way up so we were late for dinner. We were the last ones there so we didn't get to visit with our friends as long as we would have liked. The lights were beautiful. We didn't stay too late because we wanted to get out of Salt Lake before the concert at the Conference Center got out. We still ended up hitting the snow storm so it took us a while to get home. All in all, we had a great time. I look forward to it every year. (I left my camera in the car, so no pictures this time.)

My Hubby

I just want to let everyone know what a great guy Matt is. He is the best husband and father. Matt is the hardest worker and has been working 2 jobs so that I don't have to work and can stay home with Allie. He has never complained about it. We hardly see him except for weekends, but he still finds time to help out with little things around the house and to cuddle with Allie even though he is super tired. I'm very grateful that I was able to marry a guy like my dad and my brothers. I couldn't ask for a better man to have in my life. I love you Matt!

A Fathers Love

Every year for Christmas Matt's dad gives his daughters and daughter-in-laws a poinsettia. This has always meant a lot to me because my dad isn't here to give me a sweet gift every year. My dad was always so thoughtful to my sister and I and would give us little gifts on different holidays. I feel very blessed that I married into a family that my father-in-law would think to give me the same gift that he gives his own daughters. I'm very happy to have a good father figure in my life even though my dad has passed on. I miss him a lot during the holidays but I know he is in a better place.

It's Christmas Time!

So I really debated on setting up the Christmas tree this year since Allie gets into everything. I decided that it just wouldn't be the same without it. I had to put all the ornaments up high so Allie can't reach them. She loves to just stand and stare at the tree. It's really cute. I'm so excited for Christmas this year. Here are a few of our decorations around the apartment.

I still need to add a few things. At least the ornaments are on the tree.

A few decorations.

The stockings.

This is Allie's new friend. She loves to play with the Santa.

Thanksgiving!

Family picture on Thanksgiving

The cute girls!

Rexburg Temple

Allie had so much fun

Gingerbread Houses

This year we went to Idaho for Thanksgiving. We had such a great time. We stayed at my Uncle Steve's house and had Thanksgiving Dinner there also. My whole family except my sister was able to make it. My mom woke up sick with the flu the morning we were driving up there, so she came up on Thanksgiving morning. Sadly, she ended up getting my brother, my aunt and uncle and all my cousins sick. We had the yummiest food for Thanksgiving dinner. We were eating it all weekend long. On Friday we were able to go to the Rexburg Temple. It is so pretty. It was so nice to do a session there. The girls went shopping Friday night. We had fun being out, but didn't really find anything fun. I did find what I wanted for Allie for Christmas though and it was only $5! On Saturday we went to Matt's friends house and had dinner with him and his wife. It was fun to see them. We only get to see them a couple times a year. We played games every night. I don't think I've ever laughed so hard while playing games. We have the best family. We had so much fun being with them for the Holidays!

Jazz Game

We went to the Jazz game last night with Rose and Derek. It was a lot of fun. We got 2 for 1 tickets at Subway. Our tickets only cost $20. I love cheap games. We had pretty good seats also. We try to go to at least 1 Jazz game every year. Matt and I love going to the games. They are so much more fun them watching them on TV. We like it even better when we get to go with our friends. We had a great time with Rose and Derek.

Allie Caught The Bug

Poor little Allie caught the flu bug. She started throwing up on Wednesday about noon. It was so sad to see her throwing up for the first time. It really scared her because she didn't know what was going on. She threw up about a dozen times all afternoon. We thought she had stopped by the time she went to bed, but about 1 in the morning I woke up to her throwing up again. We had to throw all of her bedding in the washer. While I was doing that she threw up all over Matt and pooped all over him too. At this point I just put her in the tub and gave her a bath. It's been 3 days now and she still isn't feeling her best. Poor little girl. It makes me so sad to watch her suffer. I now know what it was like for my mom to watch me throw up my whole pregnancy. I would find her crying because she couldn't take the burden away from me. That's how I feel with Allie being sick. Hopefully she will be over this soon and be back to her normal self.

I gave Allie the "throw up bowl"
After this picture was taken she threw up on me and not in the bowl.

UVU Game

We went to the UVU Basketball Game last night. Matt's brother works at UVU as an Athletic Director, so we get to go the the games and the dinners before the games. We got to enjoy a Tucanos Buffet. It was so yummy. Allie loves basketball for some reason, so she was good until it was time for her bedtime, then we had to leave early. We had a great time.

Play Date At The Mall

Allie liked this slide. She climbed up the other side all by herself then tumbled down and fell right on her head. It was so sad. She cried for just a few minutes and then went right back to playing.

She loved this.

She wanted to climb on this thing but was too little. All the toys are slippery.

Josie liked this turtle. She sat on it for a long time.

We went to the mall yesterday with Renee and Josie to play. The little play area is fun. The toys and floor are soft so it's nice when the kids fall. Allie and Josie haven't really caught onto playing together yet. Josie walks really well and can run around. Allie is just catching on to walking and isn't really good at it yet. We love play dates though, so they'll have to become good friends.

Build A Bear

My friend Lisa wanted to take Allie to Build A Bear for her birthday present. We had a fun afternoon. She was a little tired at Build A Bear, and a little scared of it, but she still had fun being out. We went out to lunch at Applebees also. We always like going out with friends.

BYU Game

Matt and I went to the BYU game yesterday. It was a lot of fun. I'm not really a BYU fan like my brothers, but I do like going to the football games. I must admit, I do complain sometimes that the games take Matt away from me on Saturdays so I wanted to go so I could spend time with him. I did have a good time though.

Allie's New Bibs

I bought these bibs at IKEA. I love them! My cousin has them for her little boy and I had to get them. Allie is so messy when she eats and these keep her clean. You gotta love great ideas!

Allie Turned ONE!

We can't believe Allie is 1! This year has gone by so fast. We had a little party for her. It was pretty fun, as much fun as you can have with a one year old I guess! Both of our families and a few friends came. I love that we live close to family and that they support us in everything. Allie loves all of her gifts that she got. She has been entertained all day with them. She was a little afraid of the giant cupcake. She wouldn't dig into it like she does with small cupcakes. It was still fun to watch her. We love her so much and thank Heavenly Father everyday for her.

Our Little Mess Maker

Allie loves goldfish

This is Allie everyday! She loves to make a mess and let me clean it up. I keep so busy with her around, but I love it! I wouldn't change my life for anything. I love the fact that we have a perfect little girl and she reminds us everyday of all the blessings we have.