HAPPY HALLOWEEN

This Halloween Allie dressed up as, who else, but Cinderella! She has progressed from calling her "Lella" to "Dinawella". She was cracking Nick and I up while I was putting makeup on her. She loves putting it on with me in the bathroom, but usually I am telling her "no". I think she was way excited for me to actually be putting it on her! I told Nick that it was ok to use a TON of hairspray and put makeup on a 2 year old on Halloween :) Allie was dolled up with blush, lipstick, eye shadow, and glitter. Maybe a bit much I guess, but she loved it. Allie's first house was Nick's parents so they could see her costume and then we went to Mesa to trick-or-treat with my cousins. Allie had a blast. At first she had Nick push her in her stroller from house to house, but she finally got tired of that and walked. She wore her Cinderella high heel dress-up shoes for quite a while and then got tired of clunking them around and put on her frilly and comfy princess slippers. My cousins and Nick took turns taking her to the doors. At one door a rather large man answered and Allie just stared, pointed at him, and said, "Who's that?!" My cousin quickly said, "trick-or-treat" and pulled Allie away from the door. Thanks Samantha for being such a good sport! At one house there is a family that my mom's family has known for years and years and I think has the best Halloween idea! The dad decorates the house with pumpkins and lights and has fog machines running and strobe lights. You would think it was just like any other house. He has one lone Jack-O-Lantern sitting on a wall as you walk up to the door. Now, the man stands in the culda-sac right in front of his house and talks to the parents while the kids go up to the house. He gets the kids names from the parents and then as the kids walk by he talks into a microphone that has a speaker in the Jack-O-Lantern. The kids are shocked that the pumpkin knows their name!! When Allie walked by it said, "Thank you for coming trick-or-treaing at my house Allie. You are getting so big! I hope you come and see me next year too!" Allie is still talking about it! She keeps saying, "Mommy, a pumpkin know my name!" The younger cousins still don't know how it works so they look forward to the talking pumpkin every year. Nick said that we are definitely doing that at our house someday. I agree...it totally makes the kids Halloween...and if you're my cousins they talk about it all year! Allie has been sick the last two Halloweens so we were happy to finally take her trick-or-treating for the first time! (Here are your pictures finally Mom!)

A little blush to

get those rosey

Cinderella

cheeks...

and a little lipstick

to get those

Cinderella lips...

and you have one

proud little

Cinderella girl.

We bought the

blue eye shadow

and glitter on the

way to Mesa. Maybe

I went a little

overboard??

This Cinderella's

pumpkin turned

into an FJ! She

looks just as

suprised as

Cinderella did with

her carriage!

Her new way to

comfort herself

is to play with her

top lip or stroke

her ear lobes. We

can always tell

when she is shy,

nervous or tired.

Her first house

was Grandma

and Grandpa

Powells!

Is there someone

behind that door?

Thanks for the

candy Sasu!

Our trick-or-

treaters! They

all looked so good!
Our two beauty

pageant girls didn't

get candy but helped

a lot with the kids.

What a good daddy!

Her FJ was down

graded to this...

we're still working on

how to use the pedal

in that high rolling FJ.

Allie's 2 Year Check-up

I didn't plan very well when I made Allie's 2 year checkup appointment on Halloween. I remember thinking, "Oct. 31st...what do we have going that day?" Can you tell our lives are busy? It wasn't until a couple of days later when I was looking through my calendar and saw HALLOWEEN on the 31st that I realized it. I decided to keep it because I didn't know when we'd be able to reschedule with my school schedule. So poor Allie had to get 2 shots on Halloween. Nick and I were just happy she was actually not sick this year. Her last two Halloweens she was sick and we haven't been able to take her trick-or-treating. After getting her shots Allie and I butted heads all day because she refused to take a nap, but once we got her into her costume she finally got in a better mood...ok, maybe I did too. (My mom thinks I'm crazy when I say Allie and I fight because she is only 2, but let me tell you, that little girl has spunk!)

BEFORE:

AFTER:

What a brave little girl she is! These pictures break my heart because you can see the little tears in her eyes. She only cried for a couple of seconds until I told her to show me her bandaids so I could take a picture. Poor little Allie!

Allie's 2 Year Stats:

Height: 34 1/4 in. (60%)

Weight: 28 lbs (65%)

Head Circumference: 19 1/2 in. (92%) She has almost always been in the 90% for this. No wonder we are always trying to shove her head through the little neck holes in the shirts!

**The rest of this post is purely for journaling purposes. I figure since I'm not doing a very good job keeping another journal I had better write things down here. These are Allie's stats for every routine checkup appointment. (Thankgoodness Gilbert Peds gives you a little half sheet of paper with the stats on them!)**

7 days old (10~23~06):

Height: 21 1/2 in.

Weight: 9 lbs

Head Circumference: 14 3/4 in.

2 months (12~18~06):

Height: 24 in. (95%)

Weight: 13 lbs 6 oz (95%)

Head Circumference: 16 1/4 in. (95%)

4 months (2~19~07):

Height: 26 1/2 in. (>97%)

Weight: 15 lbs 12 oz (90%)

Head Circumference: 17 in. (85%)

6 months (4~23~07):

Height: 26 1/2 in. (75%)

Weight: 18 lbs (80%)

Head Circumference: (92%)

9 months (7~20~07):

Height: 28 1/4 in. (75%)

Weight: 20 lbs 3 oz (75%)

Head Circumference: 18 1/4 in. (95%)

12 months (10~19~07):

Height: 30 1/2 in.

Weight: 21 lbs 10 oz

Head Circumference: 19 in.

15 months (1~18~08):

Height: 31 1/2 in.

Weight: 23 lbs 1 oz

Head Circumference: 18 3/4 in.

18 months (4~24~08):

Height: 33 in.

Weight: 24 lbs 14 oz.

Head Circumference: 19 1/4 in.

2 year (10~31~08):

Height: 34 1/4 in. (60%)

Weight: 28 lbs (65%)

Head Circumference: 19 1/2 in. (92%)

Greg and Ashley's Wedding

One of Nick's little brothers got married a couple weekends ago! I think everything turned out really nice. We all love his wife, Ashley, and are excited to have her in the family! Her dress was gorgeous and she looked so pretty. Allie loved dancing at the reception with her cousins or even by herself. I learned not to hold Allie while dancing the Electric Slide in high heels on concrete. I was pretty sore the next day. Sad, but true. They had their reception in someone's backyard and it was gorgeous. The wedding line was set up around a pool and at one point one poor lady fell in. Again...sad, but true. I heard someone yell, "Watch it! Get her!" and spun around just in time to see her go back first into the jacuzzi. Poor lady went completely under water and they had to fish her heels out once they got her out. Luckily she was a good sport about it. Poor thing. We all had the same thought though...if only there had been a camera set up...someone would have been $50,000 dollars richer. Congrats Greg and Ashley!! We are so happy for you two!

I really don't think

she ever runs out

of energy! This is

how she looked most

of the time at the

temple. She didn't

quite get the reverence

thing...

One of the ladies from

Nick's home ward told

us to go eat at the

luncheon and she would

push Allie. She looked

like this after about 5

pushes. Bless that

woman!

I thought we all

looked pretty sharp

in our pink and

brown!

Nick's little brother,

Mike, and his fiance,

Aarin, are getting

married next

November!

The little kids all

looked so cute in

their outfits. Emma

and Allie are buds

so they ran around

together.



She loved this little

cement bridge. I

just knew whe was

going to fall, but

suprisingly she

never did.

This is where you

could find Allie

most of the night

dancing alone...

dancing with me

or Nick...

or dancing with

whoever else she

could find. Thanks

Aunt Kim and Jayden

for dancing with Allie!

Allie loves Nick's

dad, Papa. He is

always packing

around the kids

and making them

laugh. We love

you Papa!

Allie's 2nd Birthday Party!

We had Allie's party the Saturday after her birthday at a park by my mom's house. We barbequed and had cake and cupcakes. Allie had a great turn out! A lot of both mine and Nick's family came and we had some friends there too. During the Happy Birthday song Allie couldn't wait, so she snacked on Cinderella's hair. But when the song was over she knew just what to do! It was like she had practiced. She jumped up off her seat and blew her candle out in one try!















She was S*P*O*I*L*E*D this year! My friends went crazy with gifts and then presents from all the family made for a TON of presents. After opening about two Allie was ready to go and play, but mean 'ol mom made her finish opening them. She was not happy with me, but once I got her to open one she would be excited about it...then ready to go play again. I made her a Cinderella cake (with botox lips apparently) and pumpkin carriage cupcakes. Thanks to my nursing girls for helping frost the cake and cupcakes and get everything together! I think it all went really well and Allie had a fun time. Thanks to everyone who came!

The pumpkin

carriages lined up

in the dirt (brown

sugar)

I used hugs for

the wheels and

cut off the tips

and tootsie

rolls for the

stems. I thought

they turned out

pretty cute!

Thanks girls

for helping me

frost and get

set up in time!

She had me strap

this baby on her

back and she got

on her bike. Then

she rode off into

the sunset...sort of...

She got a

"bip-bop-boo"

wand and a

Cinderella barbie

to bathe with!

Mommy and Daddy

gave her this baby

with an umbrella

stroller to put her

in.

This is almost

all of her loot!

Holy cow...pretty

darn good for a

2 year old!

My mom and Rick

gave Allie this

sweet ride. A

princess FJ

Landcruiser.

Did I mention

I think she might

be spoiled??

She loves this

thing! It even

has a AM/FM

radio that she

is sure to turn

on as soon as

she gets in.

Uncle Chris gave her this shiny new bike!

Happy Birthday to Allie!

Allie turned 2 yesterday!! I can't believe what a big girl she is and how fast the time has flown by! Nick and I are so grateful to have her in our little family. She is always doing something to make us laugh. She brings so much joy to us. Sometimes I wonder how we got so lucky to have such a perfect little girl bless our home.

Favorite songs: ABCs, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, I See the Moon, Book of Mormon Stories,

I Love to See the Temple, I Am a Child of God (I'm going to have to get some of these on video and post it. She is so dang cute singing them!)

Favorite things to eat: (She's not the best eater right now) macoroni and cheese, ham and cheese sandwiches, popcorn, kool-aid (she's obsessed so we have to dilute it), Ritz crackers, Fish crackers

Favorite things to say: "Mommy, I do it!", "Watch this!", (She says this one in a really sad voice) "Oh no. I can't do it! I too tiny.", I can't think of anymore right now...

Favorite movies: Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, Toy Story 1 & 2, Lady and the Tramp, Joy to the World (church movie)

She is always either talking or singing all the time. She is such a smart little girl and talks so well that sometimes I forget how little she is and I will get upset at her for doing something. I have to stop and remind myself that she is only 2. We might be entering into the terrible 2s because she can really cop attitude sometimes...let's hope they aren't too terrible. We're on and off with the potty training. Since she is at a different house almost everyday it is kinda hard, so I'm shooting for Christmas break to get her potty trained! When she's at home she goes on her big girl potty almost everytime. She loves nursery and gets mad when we can't take her sooner! She loves to read books and play with our dog, Kasey. We have so much fun with her!

Allie woke up on her birthday to find a big gift bag in the middle of her room. My mom always did this for our birthdays and it is a tradition I was excited to start with my own kids. It was always fun waking up with a present awaiting you! Allie got a stuffed horse she had loved on at Sheplers the other day. We asked her what she was going to name it and she said, "Umm, Lightning!" We laughed because her big horse that she rides on is named Thunder. What a cute little girl she is!! Nick left for work and Allie helped me make Mickey Mouse pancakes. I had school so she got to play with her cousin Parker and Aunt Wendy. Thanks Wendy! Then last night we went to Schnepf Farms for the Chili and Pumpkin Festival. We spent way too much money (warning to anyone that is planning on going: a lot of the things inside you have to pay extra for), but had a really good time. We rode the train, Allie got a pumpkin painted on her face and rode on a pony, we ate at the Farm Fresh Restaurant, Allie picked a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch to take home, we ate kettle corn popcorn, and we watched fireworks. There were so many things to do! Allie has been asking to ride on a train for the past few months and we haven't been able to coordinate our schedules with a train schedule so she was really excited to finally ride a train. Everytime we paid for something we said, "Well it is Allie's birthday...". At one point I looked at Nick and said, "You know, you don't turn 2 every year," to which he smiled at me and said, "You mean, you only turn 2 once?" Right, that's what I was trying to say. Thanks honey. We had fun spending the evening with the three of us! Our camera died halfway through the night, but here are a few.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALLIE MAE! MOMMY AND DADDY LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!

I guess this is her

I'm-still-tired-

"cheese"- face.

Stinker.




This picture makes

me laugh because

it doesn't even

look like her. Her

face doesn't look

that chubby usually.
But it's still cute.

I'm mad this one

is blurry, but I

love the look on

Allie's face. She

was so excited to

get going on the

train!!

She cracks me up

in this one! We

were at the

restaurant and she

was making goofy

faces.

I'm really wanting

a new camera!

If you make this one

bigger you can see

how cheesy her face

looks. Apparently

she is gracing us with

her presence...love the

wave!

Witches Party

Last weekend Allie and I got together with some of my friends and we had a Witches Party! Jaime's mom loves Halloween has some Halloween decorations that stay up all year. We watched Hocus Pocus, snacked on candy with eyeballs and cockroaches in it, and sipped on green drinks from the witches pot. Shaela bought us all witches hats and Allie had hers on almost all night. I still need some pictures e-mailed to me, so check back later and I will post more!

Our drinks complete

with dry ice and

a skull stick to stir.

Special Forces, Fish, and Horses

A couple of Saturdays ago we went to my cousin Dallin's football game. His pop warner team is called the Special Forces. I didn't realize how intense pop warner is! You have to weigh in before the games, have fundraisers, they have cheerleaders, and their coaches are pretty intense. Dallin played almost the whole 4th quarter and did awesome! Nick, Allie, and I had a lot of fun watching him play. Allie talked Nick into pushing her on the swings for most of it. What a good daddy! We are excited to go and watch another game soon! Go Dallin and the Special Forces!! After the game I went to a bridal shower for a couple of hours and then Nick, Allie, and I took a trip over to the Bass Pro Shop. They had a really, really big fish tank set up in front for kids 12 and under to fish for free! Nick saw it the day before when he had to change out a chiller on it for work. It is insane the things he works on considering he works for an A/C and heating company. Who would have thought he would work on a fish tank?? We didn't have time for Allie to fish from it, but she liked looking at all the fish! We jetted home just for me to get back in the car and go to my aunt and uncle's house to meet some of my family and watch the Relief Society Broadcast. Two of my aunts and one of my cousins and I watched it together. I love watching it with family! We were able to talk about the different messages and share each others thoughts on goals, kids, and life in general. Afterwards Nick and Allie came over and we had dinner. My uncle Kent had a tractor in the backyard. I thought Allie would be so excited because everytime we see one while driving she gets really excited and says, "Oooo, mommy look a tractor!" She was scared to death of it! Nick climbed up with her and she still was crying to come down. Oh well. We tried. Allie kept wanting to ride the horses so my aunt Joy was nice enough to put her on one for a while. Allie loves playing with the horses and dogs! Nick is so proud :) . Thanks Kent and Joy for the company, food, and letting us play with your animals! (FYI: There is something wrong with my camera. It washes like half of the picture out.)




Go #46!!




















Look at all those fish!







Allie got a bobber
for a prize even
though she didn't
get to fish.




You can tell by Allie's
face how much she
loved being up there ;)
(Click on the picture
to make it bigger.)





She has no fear
around the horses.
She loves them!






Allie is so lucky to have
such a nice Great
Aunt Joy that has fun
animals to play with!





She had fun crawling
around on the hay
stack and petting
Sadie.