Allison Turns Two!

Over the weekend, we celebrated Allison's second birthday. Ever since I found out that I was pregnant and would be due in early July, I had made the decision that her party this year would be super small. I mean, I love Allison, but let's be honest - she still has no idea what's going on, and I don't have a love for party planning that would outweigh my desire to take it easy with only a few weeks left until a baby will be joining our family.

We had to limit the invitation list strictly to immediate family (Allison's aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents). The moment we step out of that box, we instantly have over 20 people added to the list, so we stuck to it.

Our party plans basically included opening presents, grilling out burgers and hot dogs for lunch, followed by cake and a nap - because who doesn't love a nap??

Our party snack spread. Believe it or not, Frank did that watermelon himself before I even got out of bed that morning!

Aunt Amy made this adorable strawberry cake for Allison! She did a fantastic job! I'm so impressed with her skills. Thanks, Amy!

We tried to get Allison to pose, but she spotted the candy. Oh well!

Allison really enjoyed having a house full of people she loves!

Playing with Amy and her pretty necklace.

Can you tell how much she loves her Uncle Eric??

Allison felt very special that day because she received so many fun treats! Not only was she allowed to eat some peanut butter M&Ms, punch, and cake - she was also given some fantastic gifts! Everyone seemed to get her a gift that suited her perfectly and she has loved them all! Funny story: The next day as I was putting her down for her nap I was talking with her about everything that we did at her party. I went through everything I could think of to tell her about it - who was there, what we did, etc. (not even sure if she was getting the gist of the conversation) and when I was done she piped in and said "and CANDY!" I love how she can make me laugh!

This farm came in the mail from Papa Mickey and Nana Janet a few days before her birthday, and I let her have it early. She LOVES it!

Opening presents with Daddy.

Frank and I got her some new books and a soccer ball for her birthday.

This is her new "scooter" from Papa and Grandma. She loves to ride it around the kitchen every day, and outside when we go for walks.

Singing 'Happy Birthday'.

She felt very special with everyone singing to her!

She looks so grown up!

Allison enjoying her yummy cake!

She polished off every bite of it, but here she is licking some frosting off her fingers.

The day was not emotional for me like I would have expected (especially since I'm full of pregnancy hormones!). These big milestones with Allison always remind me of how much she has changed, and tend to make me a little sad that I wasn't able to bottle up a little bit of her and save it forever. No one ever told me that she'd change just as much in the second year as she did in the first! I watched a video of her last week that was taken right after her first birthday, and couldn't believe my eyes. She was a baby! She still walked like a baby, looked like a baby, and sounded like a baby. Now I have a little girl - it's undeniable!

The party was wonderful, and we were all ready for our scheduled naps when it was over. Thank you to all our family who showed up to help us celebrate Allison!

This blog wouldn't be complete without a few fun stories about her, though, so here are a few of my favorites.

I always try to do a few specific things with her when I put her down for a nap: read a book, sing a song, and say a prayer. I was tired of the usual songs (and just tired in general) so my creativity wasn't at it's peak. All I could think to do was hum Brahm's lullaby. She seemed to calm down significantly while she sucked her thumb and cuddled with her sheep, watching me with sleepy eyes. When I had hummed it a few times I started to get up to leave and she pulled her thumb out of her mouth and said "more hmm hmm' (since she had no word for humming). It was so precious! I sat there for another five minutes or so just humming the short tune over and over, and to my great surprise she fell fast asleep! I guess there's a reason its a classic lullaby!




One of my favorite things about Allison is being able to communicate with her. People don't believe me because she is so shy outside of the house, but she talks non-stop at home and in the car. I love hearing what's on her mind, and finally having a glimpse into how she sees her world. Allison is very expressive, and has a flair for the dramatic. For example, she likes to slide off our couch head first (in slow motion) while exclaiming 'oh no! I'm falling, falling!' and then hits the floor and says 'I'm ok!'. But if there is even a hint of pain she will point to the offended area and with wide eyes say "oh no! happened!" (because I usually ask 'what happened?' she now thinks happened is an entire sentence). Then she will tell me 'hurt!, kiss it?'. Aww! Who could resist?? She can also be a little whiny, so I've recently started telling her "no whining" in a stern voice when she starts it up, and so far it's worked pretty well to correct the behavior! Yay!

Dressed for church on Sunday. I loved this dress, so I snapped some pictures of her before we left.

I cut her hair again recently to give the sides a chance to catch up with the growth in the back. I think she looks darling. :)

Allison also loves to be tickled, which I will never understand because to me it would be a form of torture! :) But she likes it and will often run up to me and try to tickle me, then she'll grab my hand and put it on her tummy and say "tickle tummy, Mama!". Another thing she loves to do is crawl in my bed with me. Usually in the morning after her breakfast she will come to me and ask if we can go to "Mama's bed", so we do, and the first thing she does is cuddle up on Frank's pillow and pretend to sleep. When that's done, she rolls over and gives me a big smile and usually wants to count our fingers. When that gets old we have some tickle time, followed by reading a book together or looking at pictures of her on my phone. The best part of it all, though, is that at random times between all our play time she will give me a big hug and say "I wuv you!" and kiss me on the cheek. I think she sees that it melts me, so sometimes I get three hugs and kisses. :-)

Finally, I have to brag for a minute about how smart she is. She definitely got her Daddy's brains! She is consistently recognizing about half of the alphabet, she can count in spanish (which I can only assume she learned on TV!), and she can recognize her own written name. One of the times that she was given a peanut butter M&M, she examined and then looked at me in surprise and said "Hey, an M!", and then told me it was orange.




Can you tell I love this child? I seriously can't get enough of her. I love her big brown eyes, her sweet disposition, and I love watching her learn. She is a bigger blessing to this family than I ever could have imagined when I dreamed of having kids. It makes me excited to think that we are starting this journey again very soon with another little girl who will give us just as much joy.

Finally, an update on the baby. As I noted on Facebook, she has officially turned and is now in the correct head down position. Yay! I hit the 36 week mark yesterday, and when I saw my OB again this morning she said things are still progressing so she feels that I most likely will not make it into July. But then again, I was told I would never make it to my induction date with Allison and I did, so I have to take their opinion lightly or I'll drive myself crazy! The baby also 'dropped' yesterday which caused a lot of discomfort and pain. If I felt like I was waddling before, I was wrong! :) Anyway, it's just a waiting game now. Who knows when we'll meet this sweet little one, but till then I'm going to soak up as much Allison as I can - and maybe a few naps!

By the way, Frank has informed me that he will be 'live-blogging' this birth again so stay tuned in June! :-)