Mommy and Allie Night Out

Last night, I took Allie (along with some friends) to Portland to watch Disney on Ice. Knowing Allie, and her wonderful ability to understand the concept of time... I did not tell her til the morning of... and instantly she was excited (and, of course, ready to go hours before time to leave).... We got dressed up, and headed north with our friends. Sadly, I was too busy watching the complete amazement on Allie and the girls faces to take any pictures...but it was a wonderful show... and an amazing reminder at the wonders little girls (and boys) see in so many things. Their faces showed it all!

After the show, we stopped at Red Robyn for a bite to eat and a balloon!!!

We did take a couple pictures before we headed out... of course, Shannon wanted to be in on the fun of pictures !!!

Fall Fun with Pumpkins and Jenkins

We love fall. We have been outside whenever weather permits. So, as with most families right now, we headed off to the pumpkin patch to check out the goods, and pick some for our own carving and displays!!


Shannon seemed overwhelmed with the number of pumpkins and kept running from one pile to the next.




Allie, on the other hand, quickly chose the ones she wanted to bring home, then headed over to the hay maze.




After picking pumpkins, we had our friends over for some carving fun!! Funny, the girls picked the designs, helped a little, then moved on to play while us adults finished the work.



Lauren and Shannon decided to dance the night away....



Two of our finished pumpkins. Allie wanted the silly face, and Kendal wanted a huskie (of course).

Playing with Brett

We returned home from Texas to enjoy a visit with Brett, Uncle Mark and Aunt Kim. Allie and Shannon had fun "playing" with Brett. He is such a cute little guy.

Please note, momma is very close by in this photo..... Uncle Mark did not seem to enjoy this playtime.... but Brett went with the flow.



Too cute.

Texas

Allie, Shannon and mommy went to Texas to visit Aunt Paula and family (while daddy plays in the woods with Grandmadaddy). After a very long flight, we were excited to arrive and have five days to play with our cousins. Allie remembered Brianna and Deandre from their visit to Oregon...

We went to a restaurant where all the servers were dressed up as famous people/characters. Our server was tinkerbell, which the kiddos loved.


Though Allie and Shannon loved seeing their cousins, I think Shannon loved the critters best... Ferrets, guinea pigs, and a cat. What fun for Shannon. I think Allie loved playing the Wii best!!! She is quite the boxer!!


The San Antonio Children's Museum was pretty amazing.




There was a mini grocery store in the lower level that the kids had so much fun in!!





All in all, it was a great visit with family!!!

Something is missing.

Shannon has recently figured out how to remove her diaper. Last week, she took it off in her crib after she filled it!! Luckily, it was Kyle's morning to get her, so he did clean up!

Today, I was called to the kitchen and this is what I found...

she had been putting the diaper in the cupboard...



check out the thighs!! :)

First Birthday Party!

To celebrate, we had some family over for Shannon's First Birthday party. Of course, at one year, she was not that into the whole thing, so we had help opening the presents. The hit of the party was a giant stuffed elephant from her aunt kim and uncle mark! Shannon loves it!!


In my family, it is tradition to give the baby a whole cake on their birthday. Because of her love of doggies, I made her a nice huskey cake.... with doggie cupcakes for the rest of us.


Shannon was not sure it was food or what to do with it.

I had to coax her into touching it, but she was way more interested in the cupcakes the other girls were eating. She even stepped in her cake to get to the cupcakes. So, we gave in and let her have a cupcake instead.



Then, of course, the other girls grabbed a fork and jumped into Shannon's cake.. and guess who wanted some now!! yep, with fork in hand, she enjoyed her cake!!

Shannon is 1 year old!!

Today our little girl turns 1!!! Happy Birthday Shannon!

She is such a funny lil thing. She can walk around, in that adorable new walker waddle.... You cant help but smile as she walks toward you. She still only has 2 bottom teeth, but four more are just about to break through on the top.




Like her big sister, she loves to be outside, especially playing with the dogs or riding on the bikes.



She loves to play with stuffed animals, especially doggies. She can even say doggie, dog dog, mama, dada, and, of course, allie (doggie and allie are her favorite words, I am sure).

At her one year check up, she weighed in at a whopping 22 pounds, 30.5 inches long... she falls in the 60% for weight (not as high as she looks, eh?) and the 80th for length (she gets her height from her mom.. hahahah).

It is always amazing to see how fast they grow and change. And, with the second child, she seems to pick up things much earlier, with the help of her big sister !!!

Can we go camping?

Allie has been asking daily to go camping, so we actually had a couple days off and decided to head out with the trailer and girls. After a quick question to Allie, it was decided that we would head to the beach for our little excursion. In an attempt to be adventurous (I tend to go where I always go), we decided to head to a new place that all our local friends rave about. Pacific City, here we come.




Allie loved playing in the sand, and Shannon found it just as enjoyable, though not too tasty!!


When your a new walker, it is not that easy to walk in sand, but Shannon did it pretty well on her lil (or not so lil) legs!!


Allie and daddy decided to go play in the water... leaving Shannon up on the sand with me. She was not too pleased with this, and began her treck down to join them!


almost there...
ah ha. made it!

After playing in the water, we went over to the sand dune/hill area, and Allie climbed up, then ran full speed down!


daddys girls. love this.

It was a fantastic couple days!! Can't wait to go back!