Snow!

  We got snow the day after Christmas.  It was the 1st December snow in the area since 1887!  This part of South Carolina is a lot like Texas in the sense that it rarely snows, and if it does, it's not until February or so when it does.  The kids has fun in it.  Allison threw a big fit when she had to go inside.

Busy but Fun Christmas

Payton came for 1st week of his Christmas vacation, and we had a lot of fun.  We gave him some of his Christmas presents early b/c he went back on the 26th.  We wanted to make sure he got to enjoy them.  Some of our adventures of the week included Payton learning how to ride a bike, going to the Columbia zoo to see Christmas lights, and just a lot of playing.

  For some reason I could not rotate this last picture.  The zoo had a fire pit where you could roast marshmellows.  It was the kids' favorite part of the zoo.

Santa!

 We went and saw Santa tonight.  Allison liked him!  The pictures are awful.  I need a faster camera.  She was so excited that Santa really had to hold on to her.  She was screaming with excitement.

This picture is just plain cute.  She was so excited about her new hat and gloves.  FYI, the hat and gloves are sized 3T.  We have a big girl!

I'm Getting So Big

  Our baby is growing up so fast.  She is walking really well these days.  She's still faster at crawling, so if she's in a hurry, she gets down on all fours.  Allison has also become quite the climber.  Her favorite thing to do is climb on the kitchen chairs.  I'm trying to teach her that she has to sit at the table, but she finds it more a game than anything. 
  Allison has also become the advance eater.  She can now eat a whole apple with the skin.  I just have to give a few starter bites, which works out well since she usually steals my apple and eats it.  She can also eat raw carrots, steak, whole grapes, and just about anything else she can put in her mouth. 
  Here are a few pictures of her recent achievements:

Cleaning Day!

 Today, I told Allison that we were going to clean house.  I think she misunderstood me and decided that I said that we were cleaning out b/c this is how she was my little helper.  Doesn't she look proud of herself?

First Thanksgiving Together

  We had a good Thanksgiving with just the 3 of us.  I spent the morning hanging pictures and other things on our walls.  We then had a simple lunch and a long nap.  Allison finally napped for the 1st this week, so Brandon and I took advantage of it. 
  After naptime, we talked to family and played a lot.  I then finished up cooking dinner, my 1st time cooking Thanksgiving dinner.  We had turkey breast, stuffing, sweet potatoes, crescent rolls, and cranberry sauce.  It was Allison's 1st time to have traditional Thanksgiving food.  She loved it!  She ate it all.  Her favorite was cranberry sauce. 
  I didn't take any pictures today, mainly because we were dressed like bums.  Out of the 5 years of being together, this was only Brandon's and my 2nd Thanksgiving together between deployments and me working at the hospital.  We are looking forward to the next 3 years to where we can spend every Thanksgiving and other holidays together.

It's a Girl

  We are happy to announce that we are having another little girl.  Brandon and I high-fived each other when we found out b/c that's what we wanted.  We are excited that Allison will have a sister so close in age.  This will also be granddaughter number 5 for my parents within 3 years!  LOTS of pink everywhere!  This should be a lot of fun when we get all the kids together.  We are clueless on what to name this little one, so any suggestions would be appreciated.

Walking Update

  I don't have any pictures to prove that Allison is making progress in the walking department, but she is doing great! After a frustrating week last week where she refused to take more than one step, she woke up this morning a walker.  She's been walking 10-20 feet at a time all day today. 
  I've decided that she doesn't walk when Brandon is in town.  Allison is just too excited to think about walking when Daddy is around, but now that he is gone for a short time, she's playing catch up on her footwork.  Brandon has a long trip coming up, so maybe by the time he gets back, we'll have a runner. ;)
  Also,  I don't know why people keep telling me that my life is going to get busier when Allison does start walking.  She's pretty much into everything now because she can stand so well by herself and is so tall.  Tonight, she decided that it's fun to climb up on the coffee table, dance on it, do a backbend, and then act like she's going to fall off the table multiple times b/c it's fun to get a reaction out of Mommy.  Yeah, I don't see my life changing too much in the very near future.
  Sidenote--Allison is becoming quite the kisser.  She likes to kiss me at least 20 times on the lips before going to bed.  Won't she be a handle when she gets older?

Our Little Multi-tasker

Allison is constantly cracking us up.  One of the most common ways is her constant multi-tasking.  She doesn't want to miss a thing.  In this picture, she is reading and refusing to let the music stop on her toy.  I think the most impressive thing I've seen her do so far to date was her playing the piano and her helicopter ball-counting toy while pooping.  Now that's talent. :p

Happy Halloween!

I bought Allison a Tinkerbell costume.  She didn't care for it.  We also didn't do anything due to the fact she can't walk.  Brandon is out of town, and I'm not strong enough to carry her around.  Anyway, she was cute anyway in her outfit.

 I gave her candy as a prop for pictures.  Little did I know that she would devour the Reese's.  She ate half the wrapper before I could get the candy out of it.  It was her 1st time to have chocolate, and she loved it!

Pumpkin Patch

Allison had a blast picking out a pumpkin.

Our house!

We're done unpacking but still need to organize and put up some decorations.

Kitchen

Allison's room

Master

Study

Living room

Our City Park

One great thing about Sumter is the city park.  It called Swan Iris Lake Park.  The title says it all.  It has 12+ species of swan and over 20 species of iris.  Unfortuantely, I'll have to wait until spring to see all the irises.  Here are some pictures of the park.  There is also a nice playground, but we didn't go there today.

Last one is of Allison at the end of one of the many bridges on the walking trail.

What to Do in a Hotel for 2 week plus weeks with a Baby

We go to the gym and climb on the equipment.

We watch A LOT of tv.

We play with all of Mommy's and Daddy's clothes and unpack and repack the suitcases everyday.

We also play with the dirty laundry and the basket.

Besides all this fun, we crawl/walk up and down the hallways and the stairs.  Allison is getting better about walking.  She can now walk holding on to just one of my hands, so I can hold her hand with one and carry the trash bag to the dumpster with the other. :)

We're in Trouble

  Allison apparently loves credit cards and shoes!  When she and I went to the store to buy shoes for the cooler weather, she threw the biggest tantrum when I took these shoes off her feet, along with every pair of shoes she tried on, but these were by far her favorite.  Brandon and I have no idea where she got her love of shopping and apparel from.

Still here

 We are going to be in the hotel for one more week because the military messed up the current residents' orders to Germany.  Luckily, our stuff has been in South Carolina since Sept. 18th (before we even left Texas), so getting our stuff shouldn't be too much of a hassle.  The weather did get cooler here quicker than I expected, so Allison and I have been searching high and low for fall clothes for her.  Even with all the fast food and eating out, I haven't seem to gain any weight, so I can still fit into both pairs of my jeans. That's nice b/c when I was pregnant with Allison, I was almost in maternity clothes by this point.
  Here are some pictures of Allison taking a shower.  Our hotel room is a handicap room, so there is no tub.  Also, we went to the Sumter County Fair today.  Allison enjoyed watching all the people, seeing the animals, and eating her 1st funnel cake.