Elmo party!!!

Elmo came to throw Alli a party for her second birthday this weekend. He of course had a little (or a lot of) help from mom and dad. She had a great time at her party and we all had lots of fun with all the family and friends that came to celebrate with us. Thanks so much!

Alli playing with her new basketball goal from mom and dad- Slam Dunk!!!

The Elmo cake that mom slaved over. Yes, that's right, I made that cake and yes, I'm a little bit proud of it.

The birthday girl!!!!

Poor Elmo. Alli had no problem gobbling him right up.

Alli's First Haircut

We took Alli for her first haircut yesterday. She did better than I thought she would. The car chair and her own little TV with Dora playing certainly helped.

Before...

During...

After...

As you can see, other than the bangs, it didn't change a whole lot. And actually when it's dry, the hair just behind her bangs still falls in her face (don't worry Pawpaw-I pull it back and out of her eyes with a bow). That's OK though 'cause we like the wild and crazy hair that keeps her looking like a baby (especially daddy). We're just not ready to let her grow up yet. I know we will have to let go of that eventually, but not just yet. We're holding on as long as we can.

Milestones!!

TJ has had trouble sitting still since day one (and I mean from conception 'cause he was quite the acrobat in the womb too). So now that he is starting to figure things out and coordinate some of his moves, he is itching to get up and go. He wants so badly to join the rest of the family in all of our activities. Recently he has been able to sit up without assistance and he also gets up on his hands and knees and rocks back and forth. It won't be long before he's crawling and while I'm glad he is meeting his developmental milestones, I really don't want to rush this one. I have a feeling parenting two small children is about to become a lot more difficult.

Here are a few pics of TJ's newest accomplishments...

Oh yeah, he also "found" his feet. I love it when babies do this. It looks more funny when he does it before I get his diaper on, but I didn't think he would appreciate me taking a picture of that.

Our Christmas

We went to Dwaine's parents the weekend before Christmas to celebrate with his family. We had lots of fun visiting with everybody, ate lots of good food that his mom prepared, and exchanged Christmas gifts. The kids got lots of fun new toys and some adorable clothes. Thanks sooo much!!! As you'll see the kids were showered with lots of attention. They loved it and it was a nice break for Dwaine and me too!

Meg pulling Alli in the box- one of Alli's favorite activities...

Pop tickling TJ- one of TJ's favorite activities :-)

Alli checking out the presents before we ripped into them...

Then we headed home Christmas Eve, so the kids could get to bed, Santa Claus could come over night, and we could wake up at home on Christmas morning. It was nice to be able to sleep in a little, get up slowly and eat some cinnamon rolls before we started unwrapping gifts. We enjoyed that 'cause I'm sure that next year, Alli will insist on going straight to the tree first thing in the morning to see what Santa brought.

I think Alli really enjoyed the whole thing. She loved almost all of her presents, especially her babydoll and stroller. But she was less than thrilled with the remote control truck daddy insisted she have. While she is probably much too young for this toy, I actually thought that she would like it too, but how wrong we were. As soon as daddy pulled it out of the box and made it go, Alli said "NO, PUT IT UP, PUT IT UP!" Every time we got it out she would run after it, grab it and bring it to us insisting we put it up. It was quite hilarious. Well, I guess daddy and I can have fun with it until she gets used to it. A few days later she is warming up to it a little, but only if she has the controller.

TJ had no clue what was going on and it was just another day for him. As a matter of fact he was ready for a nap long before we were finished unwrapping gifts, but we kept him up till we were just about done and then we let him crash for a long nap. We used this time to let Alli try out her new Monarch butterfly kite in the backyard. That was fun except that the strong winds kept making the butterfly dive and crash straight into the ground. Can't wait till the weather is just right and we can show her how to do it right.

TJ enjoying his rattle and one of the dinosaurs from his "big bucket of dinosaurs" (another gift that daddy insisted on- he was just waiting for a little boy to give him an excuse to get some dinosaurs). Who knows how long it will be before TJ actually enjoys them.

Alli offering her baby a bottle. Later that day, Alli leaned down to her baby in the stroller, sniffed her crotch and said "eeeuuu." Cracked me up.

Alli decided TJ needed a bow.

TJ and Alli sporting Alli's new sunglasses.

GO SPURS GO!!!! She's got to have her team gear too.

Merry Christmas!

Took the kids to the mall today to see Santa. Like most toddlers, Alli did not like the idea of sitting on big scary Santa's lap and absolutely refused to do so. So we did the best we could and let her sit on mom's lap next to Santa instead. Good thing I put on some nice clothes and fixed myself up a little- yes, this is fixed up for me. You should see me on a "don't leave the house day." It's not pretty :-)

Still no smile from Alli even in the comfort of mommy's arms.

TJ on the other hand had lots of smiles for Santa, Mrs. Claus, Santa's helpers and anyone else who talked to him. Gotta love that boy!

Just some cute pics and thoughts from TJ

I thought he looked so handsome in this outfit...

Things that make you go hmmmmm.....

"I wonder when my next meal is. Where is that girl that pokes at me and pats my head? I like her. What is that fuzzy brown thing with four legs that runs around here anyway? If I could just move forward a little, I could reach my teddy bear. My mommy sure is pretty. I love her. I wish that bright light would stop flashing in my face. I hope my daddy will be home soon. Maybe he'll lift me up in the air. That's fun. I wonder when my next meal is. I think I'm ready for a nap."

Big Girl Bed

Well, my little climber started hoisting herself over the side of her crib about a week ago. So, we promptly converted her crib into a day bed and I immediately began to fear how difficult this would make bedtime and naptime. I have heard horror stories from friends and sisters about having to put their kids back to bed over and over. I just got TJ on a good sleeping schedule and I just wasn't ready to deal with a new parenting challenge. And then, to my surprise the first 2 or 3 days went very well. She seemed very proud of her bed, didn't fuss when I put her down and would sit on the side of her bed looking at books when she woke up. Was I going to get off that easy? Well, apparently not. By about the third night, things started becoming a little more difficult and there has been lots of crying at nighttime and naptime. I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story...

This is how I have found Alli sleeping when I check on her

Her nice new big girl bed with no big girl in it. No, she chooses to sleep on the floor...

At least she has her pillow and babydolls!

I have started putting her to bed on those soft blankets you see on the floor next to her crib and that is working a little better. They were originally meant to be a soft landing if she fell out of bed, but instead they have become her temporary bed. Hopefully, we'll get her back into the real bed soon.

Oh the challenges of parenthood- somebody should warn you about that. Wait, I seem to remember lots of people did, but they always followed it up with "but I wouldn't trade it for anything." And you know what- they were right!!!!

Happy, happy, happy!

After having seen TJ's personality develop over the past few weeks, I decided to change the name of the blog. I think the pictures say it all...

Not only is he very happy, he also really wants to sit up and move around like the rest of the family. I thought the exersaucer would make him feel like he is bigger than he is. I think he likes it!

You've gotta love that face!

Raggedy Alli & TJ the frog

Some pics from Halloween...

Alli enjoying her treat

Trick or treat!

Pumpkin Patch

Last weekend we took the kids to a pumpkin patch with all kinds of fun activities...

TJ in the pumpkins

(Alli wouldn't sit still long enough to get a decent pic with them together)

Alli in the hay maze- she was more interested in pulling the pumpkins down off the hay than navigating through the maze -that's a toddler for you!

Petting a turkey- Gobble, Gobble!

A baby chick! How cute.

Making Dirt Angels

This was Alli at the playground on our recent trip to Pearland for the Holmes Family Reunion. Needless to say she had lots of fun. She played on the actual playground equipment some, but I think she enjoyed making dirt angels more. OK, maybe I should have stopped her from doing this (like her daddy did when he was watching her), but the amatuer photographer in me just couldn't pass up the opportunity to catch this on camera. She usually doesn't like getting dirty, so I'm not sure what her fascination with playing with this dirt was about, but she sure did enjoy it!

The after math....

What a mess! Good thing we brought an extra set of clothes for the ride back to grandma's.

My precious babies!

These are some recent pics of my precious babies. I know Alli is more of a big girl especially now that she is a big sister, but she's still my baby. I can't believe I have two amazingly wonderful children- I am so very blessed. Not to mention, 8 great years of marriage (we just celebrated our anniversary). Wow, time flies- especially when you're having fun!

TJ at 8 weeks. He has developed quite a little personality and loves to socialize. He already has trouble concentrating on eating 'cause he's too busy cooing and smiling at me.
I'm telling you, the boy is gonna be a heartbreaker. He does this little eyebrow raise thing before he smiles that is just too cute.
Alli holding Thomas. I'm guessing she won't be able to do this in the very near future since he's growing soooo fast! When she had had enough, she just rolled him off of her. It was pretty funny.
Alli and TJ posing for the camera.
Me with my precious babies. Truly an amazing feeling!

Future Ballerina

Alli has always been very flexible. Here's a little proof...

Just watching TV!

I think she's going to make mommy very proud in her ballet classes. Only a little more than a year before I can enroll her!

Hanging out with Nana!

Alli, TJ and I visited with Nana (my grandma) this past Sunday while Daddy went dove hunting on the family land with my uncles. She had a great time playing with the fluffy green duster, looking at pictures of family, removing every single one of the bead necklaces out of the coffee table drawer and placing them around her neck, applying lotion to her's and Nana's hands, and rearranging all the items on the end table. (I hope we got everything back in order before we left.) Overall, she was very well behaved for not having an afternoon nap and being in a non-childproofed environment. I have lots of wonderful childhood memories of Nana's house and it's great to see Alli enjoying some of the same things I used to. I always have a wonderful time visiting with Nana and I really enjoyed the home cooked chicken and dumplings- delicious! Thanks Nana- we love you very, very much!

Alli hanging out with Nana at the bar (that sounds kinda funny, but I'm not changing it).

Big smiles and new tricks.

TJ's face just lights up and he gets all squirmy and excited when he sees me, Daddy or Alli. What an awesome feeling to know you have that effect on someone. He is so precious and just loves to interact with us. I can tell he just can't wait till he can move around and play.

This is the look I'm talking about- imagine it accompanied by excited coos and the beginning of a laugh. He knows how to get you right in the heart.

This is a pic of one of TJ's daily exercise sessions.

Way to go- lifting that big head up- good job!

Practice makes perfect- hopefully!

These are some of my first attempts at fixing Alli's hair. I realize I need a little practice (these are my most successful attempts so far), but it's very difficult to gather a small amount of baby fine hair into a ponytail holder when the head that it is on is constantly moving. And when I do succeed, it is usually pulled out moments later by someone's little hands, so it makes it hard to want to put forth the effort to get it done. I suppose I also need some better ponytail holders that aren't so easy to pull out and maybe that don't look like they belong in the 80's (these just happen to be what came in a little purse set that we got her).

I think she looks adorable anyway. I think the toothbrush is distracting her from pulling her hair down at the moment.

That is her beloved babydoll that she is clutching. He sleeps with her everynight, along with a few other babydolls and a giraffe too- oh yes, and sometimes the "Shout" Elmo when she makes a special request for him!