Allison's First Sleepover

 While Heidi & I were in Colorado Allison spent the weekend with Nana & Papa.  She loved it!  Today she was filling me in on the details...she slept in the 'kids' room on her special blow-up bed.....she went to the carousel and got to ride FOUR times (can you say spoiled?!?)....she went to the coffee store with Nana and got hot chocolate and met Nana's friend....she went to Nana & Papa's church and was a little shy and couldn't remember anyone's name and wants to go back so she can learn their names.....Yes, she had fun!  Thanks Nana & Papa!

Colorado Adventure

 Heidi & I just got back from a super fun and super full weekend visiting Colorado to celebrate Carrie's wedding.  This is the only picture I have of Carrie from the weekend....sad but true we were both so busy.  That is what happens when you get married I suppose!  But I'm sure we'll see more wedding pictures soon directly from Carrie!  Anyhow - our weekend started with a visit with my friend, Amy and her youngest in Denver.  No pictures.  That is what happens when you meet up for a traveling play date I suppose.  We didn't stay in Denver long as it was snowing in the mountains.  Thankfully Heidi & I made it to our destination before things froze over to the cabin we shared for the weekend with my parents.  Heidi put her hand in the snow.  And she was not a fan.  But it was a new experience!

 

 The next morning we were up before the sun.  A sunrise in the Rocky Mountains is a wonderful experience so I can't complain too much.

We headed out for a walk to get the girlie a break from the cabin.

 This was our cabin on the right, one of the last cabins in the ranch, nestled up in the trees.  Very cozy.  We loved it.

 Someone was very excited for her walk.

 Scott & Carrie picked the perfect weekend for a wedding.  Check out the color of the trees!  The snow added the perfect touch (but was mostly gone by the time the wedding happened!)

 On our walk down to the Celebration Cabin we ran into some very dear friends who we do not see often enough coming out of their cabin for a photo op.  It was one of the highlights of my weekend to see these friends - half of the Morris clan.  I caught a picture of Auntie Jen & her nieces with their new Turkish scarves.

 And she took one of Heidi and I.  Then we watched the kids play and play and play in the snow.  Heidi loved these kids - she would outright giggle at the sight of them!

 An attempt at sledding while we waited for a few more adults to join us on our walk.

 We continued on our walk and found fresh black bear prints in the snow!!  I guess there was a good reason for our bear-proof trash cans!

 And very fresh moose tracks just a little further on.

 We had fun hanging out in our little cabin for the weekend - Heidi is getting really good at pulling herself up on things.  And she played with empty water bottles all weekend!

 I had to throw this one in there - my Dad unpacked the groceries so the instant oatmeal and nut packs ended up in the fridge.  Go figure!

And late Sunday night we flew home to Eugene with my Mom.  We had so. much. fun.  Things went so fast - I wish I had the time to enjoy them more but we needed to get home for our family's next adventure....more on that soon!

Allison's (First) Pumpkin - 2013

 My manager and his wife grew this pumpkin in their very own garden especially for Allison.  We watched it grow over the weeks on Facebook.  She was thrilled to have it come home!

Donut Princess

 Heidi & I spent the weekend with my parents in Colorado for my dear friend, Carrie's wedding.  Dad bought some donuts and we let Heidi try one.  Dad then named her the 'Donut Princess.'  Her first donut eating experience was well documented, thankfully!

Her perfect first bite! 

Lunch Date

I managed to have lunch with my buddy, Emma, this week (and her mother).  It is pretty fun that she & Heidi are so close in age - someday soon they may actually notice each other in the nursery.  I know I have a few readers out there who would love to catch a glimpse of her so I thought I'd share how cute she is!

Bowling Buddies

 Our friends, the Moody's, came down for dinner and bowling this weekend.  The turn of weather has us looking for fun indoor activities.  These three had a great time bowling - even though we were pushing bed time for all of them!  And this time around I brought the real camera so I liked the pictures quite a bit more.

 It isn't every day you see someone bowling in a tu-tu!

 

Cooper is too cute for words!  I think my favorite thing about her is how she says 'Allison.'  Gotta love having a 2 year old around :).

Eight Months

 Our little Heidi-but is eight months old.  The time sure flies by!  Mark & I were just commenting today that seems to be at the 'perfect' baby age.  Heidi sleeps, eats, interacts and is just mobile enough to get to toys or entertain herself but not so mobile that we have to keep a constant eye on her and the cupboards locked.  We love it.  And her, of course.  Not stats this month but here are a few details:

 Sleeping - she still sleeps ~7 pm to 6 or 7 am.  She takes 2-3 naps a day - just depending on how long they are and when they fall.  We don't have a rigid nap schedule and she seems to flex well depending on what our plans are.  One thing that seems to make them easier is we are still swaddling her up for naps using a muslin swaddling blanket.  Love those things!  And she has one trick Allison never learned - if she falls asleep in the car on the way home we can take her out of her car seat (wake her up), swaddle her and lay her down and she will fall back asleep and nap for quite a bit longer.  Can't beat that!

 Eating:  Heidi is still a great eater.  She nurses / takes bottles 4-5 times a day (depending on the naps work out) and gets three 'meals' a day.  She enjoys Nancy's unsweetened vanilla yogurt and fruit most mornings, fruit, veggies and some sort of cereal for lunch (oatmeal or millet) and eats whatever we are eating for dinner (with a fruit or veggie added if needed).  In the last month she has really finally gotten the hang of finger foods.  She eats puffs like a champ so we're moving on to other things (pieces of muffin, toast, cereal, beans, etc.).

 Social:  Heidi loves people.  Every Monday she perks up when we get out of the car at daycare and beams when we walk in the door.  There is one new baby that is younger and she and Heidi get along great.  Of course, when we come to pick her up she is still thrilled to see us, which does make us feel loved.  Heidi has become more and more aware of Allison and is well entertained by her.

Moving:  Heidi still has a funny 'butterfly stroke' crawl that she uses to get around the kitchen island over and over and over again.  She is always so excited to peek around a corner an find, us though, I love it.  She has to stop to pat the air vent then pull a towel or two off the oven and then pull the farm magnets off the fridge each round.  A creature of habit already!  And just yesterday Mark caught her 'pulling up' to standing for the first time - that was a bit of a surprise!

We love watching this little girl grow up.  This next month will be a big one - we're headed out on our first airplane trip together on Friday - not sure how well we we'll weather that one! :)

Feelin' Like Fall

 Mark spent this past weekend in Central Oregon with a bunch of men from our church for 'Man Camp.'  At home we had 'Mommy & the Girls Survival' weekend.  Actually it wasn't too bad.  Things are starting to feel like fall around here, Heidi always crashes about 30 seconds after we leave church and I thought Allison & I deserved a special treat today so we hit a Starbucks drive-thru on our way home from church.  It is definitely fall - Starbucks has their fall drinks & treats out! 

 This little girl is getting so independent.  She started in her Pre-K class at school.  Both Teacher Ashley (her preschool teacher) and I are having a hard time with it.  Just wait until next year when she moves to a new school!  Anyhow, with the Pre-K class comes some new responsibilities and independence both at school and at home.  We converted a cabinet for her craft 'supplies.'  I'm amazed at how well she gets out the things she wants to use and puts them back away when she's done.  But don't worry, she isn't completely grown-up yet, we had a meltdown shortly after these pictures were taken.  She ran out of tape and I told her we weren't going to get any more out.  Glad to know she is still my 'little' girl :).