On the 5th Day of Christmas...

...my mommy gave to me...my very own little Christmas TREE!

In one the MANY Christmas bins we have stored in our basement, holds a small box of SMALL ornaments.  Most of the these ornaments are ones my mom had made.  She was quite the crafty lady and usually DECKED our little house out in Christmas decor.  I LOVED it when I was growing up.  I always looked forward to decorating the tree, putting the tacky window clings up on our giant front picture window...but most of all, I loved to decorate the mini-tree that lived in my bedroom for a good solid month.  I was sure to turn it on every evening when the sun went down and I used to stare it at as I drifted off to sleep each night.

The ornaments that were on that tree are now part of MY Christmas decor.  However, I never felt the need to get them out until this year.  This year, Allie might not be quite old enough to understand the memories I have of these small handmade ornaments...or how special they are to me now that my mom is longer here.  But this year, Allie is old enough to decorate her own little tree.

This little tree resides in her bedroom...and will until sometime before New Year's.  Great job, Allie!  I think it looks great!

On the 4th Day of Christmas...

...a special message came to me...a video from SANTA CLAUS!!!

Allie received a very special message from the North Pole via video today.  Boy!  Was she ever surprised to see who it was from...SANTA CLAUS himself.  Allie seems to really like Santa...as long as no one makes her sit on his lap. 

Santa knew all about Allie....and he knew she'd been a good girl this year too.

On the 3rd Day of Christmas...

...the mall is where I'll be...Santa Claus is who I shall see.

This year I thought we were going to have the CUTEST picture taken with Santa.  Grandma and I both talked and talked to Allie about Santa.  What she was going to tell him.  How she gets to sit on his lap.  How she gets to wear a pretty dress.  I even had my bag of M&M's all ready to go to bribe Allie to sit on his lap.  We dressed Allie in her cute Christmas dress and sparkly red shoes she loves so much.  We thought we were all set to see the big jolly guy. 

Boy was I wrong!!!  Within MINUTES of seeing Santa, Allie grabbed onto me with her death grip.  There was no way I was going to be able to pry her off of me.  I pulled out the M&M's and asked her if she wanted them and she gladly took them from me.  However, when I told her she could have some after she took her photo with Santa...she quickly tossed them aside as fast as her fingers could let go and said, "No want them!"  Never has she refused an M&M bribe...NEVER! 

After letting about 3 families go ahead of us in hopes Allie would warm up, I finally pulled her off of me crying and squirming and sat her on Santa's lap.  Santa is a trained professional.  He scooped Allie up and I quickly straightened her dress that was pulled all the way up to her chin.  Santa had the perfect smile.  Allie...not so much.

Better luck next year, Santa.  We are 1 for 2 at this point.  Here's Allie at 3 weeks, 13 months and 2 years old with Santa.

On the 2nd Day of Christmas...

 ...my mommy and daddy...decorated the Christmas tree with me! 

It's a miracle we were able to locate our Christmas Trees (notice "trees"... in plural form...we have TWO trees we put up) from the basement this year.  Because we are in the final stages of having our basement complete...every single piece of anything we have stored down there is covered in drywall DUST...including our Christmas trees.  We pulled off the dusty plastic tree bag covers and hauled them up the stairs along with the bins containing our ornaments. 

Allie helped decorate our "Travel Tree" today...for about 5 minutes until she lost interest.  On this tree we hang all the ornaments we've collected from our travels.  I carefully separated the breakable vs. non-breakable ornaments and let her hang away.  She did a great job placing them on the branch (notice "branch"...singular form...they ALL ended up on ONE branch).  I did a little rearranging...what a SPECTACULAR looking tree!

Our other tree is placed in our front office at the window simply because you can see it through the window from the street...and I like that.  This tree holds all of our special family remembrance ornaments...because I can't mix up the two sets of ornaments.

Allie hanging up our most recent travel ornaments (Boston, Norwegian Dawn Cruise Ship, and Bermuda)

On the 1st Day of Christmas...

...it was cold and chilly...we took a PHOTO of our family!

Here's our Christmas card we sent out to all our friends and family.  Thanks, Nicole for taking our photo for us.  Allie cooperated very well...with a little bribery with some M&M's!  Thank goodness for M&M's.  They work miracles when it come to photo shoots.  MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone!!

 

Happy 2nd Birthday Party!

My sweet little baby turned TWO today...and what a FUN day we had celebrating!!!  This year Allie's birthday fell on a Saturday so it was the perfect day to have her 2nd birthday party. 

Lately, Allie has been pretty obsessed with Elmo.  Ever since Todd and I started letting her watch little clips on youtube of Elmo singing and dancing, Allie has been hooked on anything Elmo.  Way back when the weather was warm in August, I started planning and preparing for Allie's 2nd birthday party.  YES! It WAS a lot of work...but I LOVE THIS STUFF!!!  It's fun...and soooo adorable.  And, NO!  She probably won't remember it...but I will...and so will my friends and family...and Allie, Todd and I will always have all the pictures to look back on and remember! 

 

Allie's Elmo birthday invitations

 

Allie's party today was PERFECT...except for the fact that I was running late...and I spilled the Oreo pops in the fridge just as everyone was arriving...grrr!  I started hanging birthday decorations in our house about three weeks ago (I'm a working mom and her birthday falls between holidays...I have to be prepared in advance!).  Allie loved having Elmo all over our house and knew that her big day was arriving.  "That's my birthday party!" she often told us.

Everything for the party was Elmo...but a GIRLIE ELMO!  Elmo cupcakes, fruit and veggie trays, cookies, snacks, and drinks...plates, cups, hats, and balloons.  Allie loved it ALL!  I made banners, cupcake toppers, centerpeices, hats and water bottle labels.  My mind went wild creating lots of super-dooper adorable decorations!

Allie's Sticky Bellie pictures for TWO years!

 

 

All ready to get this party started!

Allie had so much fun with her friends...after she clung to Todd and I for a while.  All of Allie's friends came to play, read, make an Elmo, and color too!  Julia, Jack, Brennan, Ainsley, Austin, Preston, Leighton, Savannah and Ethan joined in on all the fun. 

Julia and her daddy making an Elmo with Allie and her daddy

"Look at my Elmo!"

We've been practicing singing "Happy Birthday" for a few good months now.  Allie has gotten really good at it.  However, when we all sang to her, she got REALLY SHY and practically jumped in my lap.  But she had no problem eating her cupcake or wearing her hat this year. We've been practicing quite a bit by wearing our birthday hat here and there. I think Allie actually liked wearing her fun, sparkly, Elmo hat.  This year she picked up her bupcake and ate ALL the frosting off...no cake...but ALL the frosting.  We are making progress here.  Last year we wanted nothing to do with cupcakes at all.

 



Allie LOVED her frosting...but NOT as much as BRENNAN!!! 

All of Allie's friends at the birthday table.

Finally time to open gifts.  Allie did a GREAT job ripping open the wrapping paper.  She got a LOT of really cool, cute and fun toys!  Lots of ELMO themed gifts (toys, coloring books, clothes, DVD's).  Thanks everyone for all the fun stuff...Allie has more new toys than we know what to do with.

"Thanks, Papa, for the jewelry box...and MONEY!"

"Thanks, Nana, for helping with the party and all the cool ELMO goodies!"

Thanks everyone for sharing in our special day!  We love Allie so much and are thankful for every day that she shares with us. She is the cutest, funniest, smartest little girl I know and I will be forever grateful that she's a part of my life. I'm so blessed!

"I'm pooped!"

Planning Allie's party this year inspired me to make fun Elmo party decoartions for others. ..so I opened my very own ETSY shop. Check it out at...MonicaDawnDesigns.

2 Years Old

I never thought I would see the day when we would have our last Sticky Bellie photo shoot.  On the first of every month (or somewhere close to it) Allie and I got out the camera and her Sticky Bellie sticker.  Most of the time I frantically dug through Allie's dresser and closet to see what outfit I can piece together to match the month's sticker.  In the beginning Allie cooperated pretty well...she would lay or sit nicely and occasionally I'd get a smile.  Then came the sessions when Allie learned to crawl and walk.  Getting her to sit still was a chore and I'd often scramble to get her into position, then frantically grab my camera while making the most ridiculous squealing and squeaking nosies to get her to smile or turn her attention to the camera.  THEN...came the the sessions where she started noticing the sticker on her belly and enjoyed ripping it off (ripping some of her stickers into two pieces).  This did not make me a happy momma because I save all of her stickers for her baby book.  Grrr!  However, coming to the end now, Allie has started to cooperate again.  She will graciously let me put on her belly sticker...and let me pose her where I want...only if I give her an M&M (or four) in the process.  We've been having our little photo sessions once a month for TWO YEARS now...that's 24 MONTHS!!!  My how Allie has grown. 

At 2 years old (or 24 months in Sticky Bellie time) Allie loves to sing, count and dance.  She really enjoys going to day care and seeing all her friends.  Allie has a very kind heart and likes to take care of babies at day care by feeding them bottles.  Allie has continued to attend gymnastics and has gotten very good at her forward roll.  Allie can feed herself very well and enjoys eating soup, cereal, french fries, and cheese slices.  She has practiced her good behavior when we go out for meals.  She says please, thank you, may I be excused, and excuse me.  Allie loves to play with all her toys, especially her puzzles, stroller and dolls, and her cell phones and purse.  Allie can hold a pencil correctly and likes to draw and color. 




 

 

 

Days before Allie's big party, she received gifts in the mail from her cousins in California and Auntie and Uncle Joe in Florida. Allie had a ball (and it was great practice for her party) opening all the Elmo themed gifts Auntie and Uncle Joe got Allie. Elmo snacks, soap, puzzles, wipes and stickers...M&M's and even a 2 dollar bill! Thanks Auntie and Uncle Joe...I love EVERYTHING ELMO!

 

Even the wrapping paper has ELMO!

 

That little tongue always comes out when Allie's hard at work

Thanks Uncle Joe and Auntie Ellen!!!

 



Allie celebrated her birthday at day care too! She brought her favorite cookies to share with all her friends at Lynnie's...OREO's! Allie still fit into her "Birthday Girl" shirt...the same one she wore last year. Check out the one-year-old and the two-year-old Allie.



Dear Allie,

Daddy and I are so proud of you at two years old.  You are so smart, kind and loving.  You have learned so much this past year and have grown into a little girl.  You know your ABC's, how to count to 10, and how to use your good manners.  You give the best kisses and hugs and you make each and every day the brightest I've seen.  I love seeing you jump up and down in your crib with excitement and a huge smile on your face when I come to get you each morning.  I love spending time with you doing puzzles and reading books.  I love all the memories we have made on our adventures while you were one year old.  You are my little gem.  I can't wait to see what adventures we will have at TWO years old.  I love you, Allie girl!

Love, Mommy