Mini-Me

Packed up in the deepest, darkest corner of our basement lies a bin of clothing I used to wear when I was a baby/toddler.  After Allie was born I pulled it out, dusted it off, and dug through it.  Inside were lots of dresses (I was a very dressed up little one), some shirts and other odds and ends.  I hung these dresses up in Allie's closet so I would be sure to put her in them at the appropriate age.  Some of the dresses have no tags (these are the ones I can tell my mother had sewn for me) but most have no sizes.  Well, as Allie is growing and life is taking over, I'm kicking myself because she has already grown out of some and I didn't even get to put them on her. 

Here are some moments of Allie in my old clothes. 

Fun at the mall play area...that's my pink sweater.

Check out that fun shirt!  Does it look like it's straight out of the 70's?  I'm pretty sure my brother wore this shirt too.  Love the little dog on it though.

Here's Allie from last Easter.  She wore this navy gingham dress to visit the Easter bunny.  I LOVE this dress on her.  I'm sad I didn't have any other occasions to put her in it.

Here's Allie in another dress of mine.  Another gingham pattern...oh so sweet...

...and finally, here's the latest and greatest!  We attended a friends baby shower last week and I dug this dress out of her closet.  One of my FAVORITES!  I put it on her and it was a bit short, but I was determined to have her wear it.  Lucky for us Allie's friend Ainsley lives across the street and has a plethora of fun diaper covers with her initial on them.  What a coincident that Allie has the same initial!  Thanks Ainsley for letting us borrow one.  It worked out perfectly!  Does she look like a mini-me or what?

Trick-or-Treat Trail

Yeah!  Another fall-October-Halloween-fun activity for Allie to participate in...and relatively inexpensive (only $8...and just for her, adults were free).  This was our first time going to the Trick-or-Treat Trail in Northville.  Nana and Papa came along for the fun since they live right there.  Allie dressed in her ladybug costume again...we are going to get a lot of use out of her costume this year. 

The Trick-or-Treat Trail was at Race Mills Village.  Allie insisted on walking on her own...and carring her bucket.  We went up to each of the houses and Allie put her goodies in her bucket.  She got candy, toys, balloons, and a bracelet. 

"Check out my spider ring, Dad!"

"Tick-or-TEET!"

Allie really surprised me when we came to the bracelet making station.  I didn't have high expectations for her being able to make it by herself.  Boy, did she surprise me!  She picked up those beads with her tiny fingers and placed them on her pipe cleaner.  "I do by myself."

Nana holding the beads for Allie.

Some highlights from our evening...

I had to drag Allie away from the dance area.  She wouldn't dance, but really enjoyed listening and watching the dancers.  If I wouldn't have picked her up (kicking and yelling), we would have been there all night.

The thing that caught Allie's eye as I carried her away was the GIANT penguin by the Kona shaved ice truck.  She then proceeded to stand in front of him and STARE...and stare and stare.  He wasn't really doing anything except waving to trick-or-treaters. 

A free shaved ice came with admission to the trail.  Allie took one sip and was done.  She's not a big fan.

Strolling with the boys.

Another successful fun fall event that Allie had a memorable time at...well, she might not remember it well...but Todd and I will.

Zoo Boo

Allie's first Zoo Boo was so much fun!  She had a blast!  Luckily the weather was GREAT...a little chilly...but we were ALL bundled up.  Allie is a super cute (and warm) LADYBUG this year for Halloween. She was layered in leggings, pants, a long sleeve onesie, turtleneck, and winter coat...hat and mittens too.  We forgot the stroller at home, but it didn't matter because she INSISTED on walking the ENTIRE way through the zoo. 

 

 

 

Allie LOVED holding her bucket and collecting her goodies.  She said "tick-o-teet" whenever we came to a trick-or-treat station.  Todd and I tried to carry it for her, but she wanted to carry it by herself.

Walking through the hay maze.

We met up with Allie's friend Julia...and her mommy, Katie.  Allie and Julia are becoming pretty good friends at day care.  Allie named a doll at day care after Julia (baby Julia).  Allie and Julia walked through Zoo Boo and took a ride on the carousel together.  Allie had a much better experience on the carousel this time around.  Her last (first) ride on the carousel in downtown Boston didn't go so well.  This time she sat on her penguin and waved to Todd at every spin.

The zoo was decorated with cool animal pumpkins all throughout the trail.  Allie liked looking at them and telling us what they were.

 

 

 

Yeah, Allie!  You're such a big girl walking the whole way through Zoo Boo!  This Halloween sure is a bit different than last year.  You're going to be a pro at trick-or-treating when Halloween rolls around.



 

Zoo Boo 2012 Family Photo

So This Is What's It's Like

Seeing the world facing forward is a whole new experience for Allie today!  After many battles of forcing a screaming, back arching, kicking Allie into her backwards facing car seat...Todd and I now longer have to argue about whose turn it is to strap Allie in.  We turned her around today at 22 months old (only two months shy of the NEW APA recommendation for 2 years old).

Allie let us know that she could now "See Mama and Dada."  Now, on every car ride we take Allie likes to point out all the cars she recognizes..."Papa car" "Nana car" "Dada car" ...and the silly thing is...SHE'S RIGHT!  She can pick out every Impala (Papa's car) and CRV (Nana's car) on the road.  What a little smarty pants.

On the way to the doctor's to get a flu shot...Allie did very well.

Happy October!

When I was growing up, my mom would give me little gifts for the holidays you don't normally get gifts from your parents for (Valentine's Day, Halloween, etc).  It always made me feel so special...even if it was something so simple or small.  I want to do this for Allie in her childhood years.  Hopefully I can stay organized and on top of things to continue this little tradition. 

Being the busy mom I am (and the frugal mom I am), I've picked up a lot things on sale, on clearance, with coupons, and even at mom 2 mom sales over the last year.  My gift closet is getting a little out of control and pretty soon here I'm going to have to put it under lock and key so my curious little Allie girl doesn't get her sticky hands on it.  For the Halloween season, I put together a little goodie bag for Allie.

Contained in Allie's Halloween goodie bag was an orange tutu and fairy wings for dress up, Scaredy Cat, Splat Halloween book, a Halloween pencil, an Elmo Halloween activity and coloring book (Allie loves her Elmo!), and glow stick bracelets for trick-or-treating. 

Check me out in my Halloween jammies, tutu and wings!

 

 

 

 

Happy Halloween, Allie girl.  I hope you enjoy your Halloween season as an almost 2 year old.  Mommy and Daddy love you to pieces and can't wait to make memories with you this October.

What a Hay Day

I can't believe how many fun fall activities there are to do with little ones around here.  What better place to hang out on an autumn Tuesday than Heritage Park where the surrounding leaves are full of vibrant fall colors.  The weather was PERFECT...a warm evening to spend some time outside.

Hay Day had a bunch of fun things for Allie to do.  She painted her very first pumpkin tonight and loved every minute of it.  She's gotten rather good at painting lately.  She's had some practice at day care.  Allie carefully dipped her paint brush in the red, green and blue paint, and every so gently brushed paint on her pumpkin.  She managed to stay pretty clean too!

Picking out a pumpkin to paint

Working away so intently 

Look who we ran into...Allie's friend Savannah!

Allie's masterpiece

We were thrilled when we saw Savannah, Sherri and Dave at Hay Day.  These things are always more fun with your friends.  Allie and Savannah posed for a quick photo...girls, you forgot to smile.

 

My favorite part was the GIANT fire pit to roast hot dogs and s'mores on.  Mmmmm...Allie helped out in the roasting process...and she also helped out in the eating process.

 

Roasting her marshmallow

So sticky...but so YUMMY!

At the park we always have to make a quick stop at the swings.  Allie loves her rides on the swings.   She could have stayed there all night.

But I think her favorite thing about Hay Day was the BOUNCE HOUSE!  Allie when in the bounce house twice and didn't want to get out either of the times.  Todd had to go in and actually drag her out.  She had a ball giggling and jumping all around.  She did love it...until we had to leave.

"More bounce house"...Allie whined as we left

 

 I love doing these fun outings as a family, especially in the fall (I love fall).  This is what life is all about...new happenings and experiences...together.

22 Months Old

This was a rough month for Allie.  I went back to work and Allie went back to day care.  Allie loves the ladies at day care, but she had a difficult transition back.  She cried when I dropped her off for the first couple weeks.  It didn't help that she got sick with Roseolla her second week back.  Then a couple weeks later she caught a stomach bug.  She missed a good amount of day care this month due to being sick.  Allie often woke up in the middle of the night and called for Todd or I. This was an exhausting month for everyone.

 

Allie learned what McDonald's looks like and asked to go there whenever she saw one.  She ate chicken nuggets, fries, and an ice cream cone on most visits.  Allie enjoyed going on bike rides every day the weather was nice with me in her new bike seat.  She really loved working on her puzzles and learned how to do them quickly.  Allie learned how to count to ten and sing her ABC's.  Allie's new favorite beverage was apple cider and she continued to love pizza, hot dogs, grapes and applesauce.