The joys of a new baby...

Josh and I made a gingerbread house this year. The windows are melted gummy bears that worked out quite nicely, except the foil from the baking sheet stuck to the insides.

Ally in her favorite Christmas present. She really likes looking out at the world so the Bumbo chair is perfect. It came with a LARGE warning label not to put it on high surfaces in case the baby could tip it over and fall off. Sad that some people put their babies in danger so they need a specific label warning against it.

I love dressing her in little people clothes! Speaking of Ally, yesterday at church she threw up all over me during sacrament meeting. Apparently I left a trail as I rushed her out to the bathroom. One of the wonderful women in the ward (Mary H.) came and helped me clean her up. It was definitely a 2-person job. Luckily I had a backup outfit, but my poor baby had to wear little blue pants and a onesie for the rest of church. I, unfortunately, did not have a backup outfit for myself, so I just smelled funny for the rest of church. One of those things about being a mother that I never thought would be fun, but the day after I can laugh about it. It did make me realise that I will be dependent on other people to help while Josh is gone.

Happy Birthday to me!

My new pressure cooker/canner. I am so excited to can food!

Ally in her Christmas dress, which no-one got to see.
This week, Ally got her shots and Josh got the flu, so between her fussing and Josh deciding if he needed to throw up, we were late to church on Sunday. I just sat out in the hall and then set up my Sharing Time in the Primary room. I had a sharing time all prepared with activities and visuals on the board. I even had two nice young men from another ward playing Christmas carols on their cellos. (they were actually just practicing before they played for their ward, but I invited them to provide my prelude music for Primary) I waited and waited but no children came in to the room. Finally someone informed me that the remaining meetings had been cancelled! By the time I put away my materials, most people had already left the church. I still have a whole stack of Christmas cards that will probably not get delivered. To top off my frustrating day, my vehicle decided not to start due to the cold weather.

Today has been better. Josh let me open my present even though my birthday isn't until tomorrow, so all day I have been playing with my new toy. So far I have canned chicken and potatos to add to our food storage. I think it will come in handy while Josh is gone, so I don't have to cook as often for only myself (10 days until departure). I am also looking at buying a new vehicle (yay!).

ally

Christmas time!

Ally has started smiling! She loves the Christmas tree and turns her head to look at it even when I am trying to rock her to sleep!

Toby getting into the Christmas spirit.

My tree. I made the tree skirt last year because I could not find a blue one with snowflakes.

When I was younger, I was always slightly embarrassed by my family's Christmas tree. My friends' trees were always tastefully decorated with coordinating ornaments and an overall theme, like the ones in stores. Mine at home was completely covered with a random assortment of mismatched remnants of ornament sets and child-made crafts. Each ornament was special, but as a whole, the effect was not so pretty. Now that I have my own tree, I have a mix between the two. I decorated mostly in one theme, but added random ornaments, such as baby's first Christmas, some japanese and german ornaments, like the pickle. I'm sure some day it will be covered with memories just like my parent's tree.

all about me

1. What time did you get up this morning? 12:30, 4:30, and 8:00
2.Diamonds or pearls? diamonds
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? twilight
4. What is your favorite TV show? smallville, but only the first 3 seasons, or Alias, also the first 3 seasons
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? chocolate-chip pancakes or eggs
6. What is your middle name? Carol
7. What food do you dislike? mushrooms :(
8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? They Might Be Elders (mormon parodies of popular songs, look it up at DeseretBook.com or listen at http://www.halestormentertainment.com/p_music_details.asp?sID=jnlofpn4
9. What kind of car do you drive? Toyota 4Runner
10. Favorite sandwich? toasted turkey and pepper jack
11. What characteristic do you despise? closed-mindedness
12. Favorite item of clothing? fuzzy boots
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Australia
14. Where would you retire to? somewhere in the Western US, not too close to family, on a chunk of land that still has all 4 seasons and not much wind
15. What was your most recent memorable birthday? 22, took Josh snowboarding and he broke his knee
16. Furthest place you are sending this questionnaire? Afghanistan
17. Person you expect to complete it first? who knows?
18. When is your birthday? December, same day as Joseph Smith
19. Morning person or a night person? morning
20. What is your shoe size? currently 7.5, I'm hoping it goes back down to 6.5 so I can wear all my pre-pregnancy shoes
21. Pets? 2 dogs
22. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us? my husband has a new job and he loves it!
23. What did you want to be when you were little? a bird
24. How are you today? motivated to get Christmas decorations up
25. What is your favorite flower? hyacinth
26. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? May 15, Josh graduates from FLETC and comes home
27. What are you listening to right now? my freezer humming
28. What was the last thing you ate? scones with creme fraiche and strawberry jam (mmm...)
29. Do you wish on stars? I used to wish for gumballs when I was little, I never got any...
30. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? sky blue
31. How is the weather right now? looks cloudy
32. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Amanda!
33. Favorite soft drink? root beer, after it sits open for a few hours
34. Favorite restaurant? Macaroni Grill
35. Hair color? blond/brown
36. What was your favorite toy as a child? bike/rollerblades
37. Summer or winter? summer, no winter, no summer, ummm
38. Chocolate or Vanilla? vanilla ice cream, chocolate everything else
39. Coffee or tea? gross!
40. Do you want your friends to complete this? of course
41. When was the last time you cried? when Ally got diaper rash
42. What is under your bed? storage tubs and a fire-proof safe
43. What did you do last night? slept intermittently, fed the baby, slept intermittently
44. What are you afraid of? tripping and falling down the stairs while holding Ally
45. Salty or sweet? both together
46. How many keys on your key ring? 1
47. How many years at your current job? Mom: 2 months, my previous job doesn't seem to matter anymore
48. Favorite day of the week? it used to be Friday, now they all seem the same
49. Do you make friends easily? yes
50. How many people will read this? probably 10
51. How many will respond? probably 2
52. Do you like finding out all this stuff about your friends? yes
Josh holding Ally, wearing his uniform for the last time, Yay!

Thanksgiving

Allison getting a baby massage from her aunt Rhonda (I got one too). It's nice to have a massage therapist in the family...

Our little family made a trip down to Colorado Springs to be with Josh's family for Thanksgiving. We had 19 people, most of them under the age of 10. By the end of the weekend, I was very glad to only have one child, who still sleeps most of the day. The dinner was good, I ended up making a lot of it since the host became ill (sorry Lauren). Dessert was better. We had a good time with family, and then got stuck an extra day due to weather. Our sister-in-law braved the weather and it took her 3.5 hours to get to Denver. We decided to spend another night, but even so the roads were icy on the way back.

I did brave some stores on Black Friday, Walmart included. I have a very handy baby carrier wrap from Heather so I just strapped Allison on and dove into the craziness. I got some good deals, mostly for my husband (yay Lowe's!) I have to say that Walmart was not as bad as I thought it would be.