Holiday Pics Installment 2: Christmas Morning

I told yall we went simple this year...Santa left stockings for the 3 of us, a musical/light up table toy thing for Moriah, and a popper

Close up view (she loves this toy--it's like 4 toys in 1)

Can't you tell by her expression how much she loves it (guess we were still waking up)!

Hmmm...very interesting

(We had to remove the legs at the time because Santa must've not gotten the memo that Moriah wasn't too sturdy on her feet yet)

And of course we were more interested in boxes & wrapping paper

Here are the clothes she got from Mama and Daddy

Seriously?! Can you stop with the pictures already!

Checking out the ball from Grandma and Grandpa

The Tricky Sidewinder...not only can she roll the ball she can do it while laying on her side..what a cool kid! ; )

Mom, you're killing me...absolutely killing me with this camera!

Holiday Pics Installment 1: Christmas Eve

Here's one of our other "children" Esteban opening a couple of his presents...Fun times!

"What's that you say? It's Christmas Eve?!"

Busy girl, must be in a daze in this one

Opening a present from Pop and Tootsie, aka The Stripes

Poor thing wasn't getting a bit of attention, can you tell

MWAH! Sweet sugars for Pop

 

Hmmm...what is this stuff 

Christmas 2011 (minus pics)

Ok, so it's late February 2012 and once again I find myself with the urge to  start a blog post with "wow, it's been way too long since I last posted.." so I'll just skip that obvious fact and move along with what's been happenin around here...

We had a wonderful 1st Christmas with Moriah here at the house. Tootsie and Pop came and spent Christmas Eve day with us and then went back to Gilmer that evening. Moriah went to bed at her regular time and Santa came and visited that evening (apparently). We did Christmas quite simple this year (1. Because it is Jesus's bday and we don't wanna get so carried away with all the Santa and Me, Me, Me, 2. We are trying to do things simpler, in other words, cheaper, these days  and 3. Because we have a fresh start with an 11 month old and have a few years to experiment with what our Christmas will consist of). In theory, if we continue to Keep It Simple as she gets older, she will just think that's how Christmas is done around here and we won't have to keep trumping the last year and Keeping Up with The Joneses on the day we celebrate our Savior's birth. I know, easy there killer. To be honest, the jury is still out on how we will end up doing Christmas in years to come. There are people we love and admire very much who are on all ends of the spectrum and everywhere in between as far as Santa Clause goes. I think every family unit has to decide what they feel is the right thing for their family within the context of His will, and so Christmas morning could look different for a lot of different folks celebrating the same Savior.

Wow, ok, weird transition  from Serious Talk back to What We Did On Christmas....

If memory serves me correctly, we went ahead and let her eat and then led her into the game room area where Santa had stopped by. She got a stocking full of goodies (and perhaps some essentials snuck in there) as well as a neat musical, light-up, talking table thing. And also one of those popping things you push with all the colorful little balls inside. (I'll post pics later...This computer i'm on now is sooo slow about posting pics which is part of the reason i haven't posted anything).

We all played together with some of the toys in the game room, let her open up her presents from us, and from the Allen side of the family that we missed during the holidays! (But will get to see over Spring Break).

We then went to church, then went to Gilmer and spent the rest of the day with the Pate side of the family at Tootsie and Pop's house. That evening, we opened presents with Uncle Ryan, Aunt Shanna, and Kyleigh, Brayden, and Karsyn. (pics coming on that). We had a wonderful time enjoying being with family and just having a fun time together. We are so blessed to be able to celebrate such a special day with loved ones.

Christmas 2011 was wonderful, and it meant all the more having our own little precious baby girl to celebrate with! Last year, while quite pregnant, I remember totally re-thinking the whole Mary Riding the Donkey to Bethlehem While Very Pregnant part of the story. And this year I really reflected on the special gift of having a little one and how much a baby changes everything. (Of course having been through labor, I also re-thought the whole Having a Baby in a Manger scene). wow. wow! Let's just say I have a whole new respect for Mary.

Isn't it interesting how God uses our life experiences to help shape our perspective and continue to see Scripture through a new, refreshing light? Each year I get older and experience different things in life it seems I see the same Christmas Story through a slightly different viewpoint. Such a sweet story and what meaning it has for us who follow Christ. The King of All stepped out of Heaven's glory, became flesh and blood, and came to us in the form of a little baby.

A Baby Changes Everything.

11 Months Old!

Wow, I cannot believe Moriah is 11 months old today! Apparently time has flown by so fast I didn't realize I haven't posted for almost 2 months. yikes. Sooo much has happened since the last post. Little Missy is changing so fast and we are just trying to keep up!

So here's some of the things that happened in November:
* Moriah got 2 teeth (the ones on the bottom center).
* She started "crawling" (she low crawls like an army crawl but she gets everywhere she needs to go and she won't be bothered with crawling "On All Fours").
* She celebrated her 1st Thanksgiving. We enjoyed spending time with family at Memaw's house in Sherman, as well as Tootsie & Pop's house in Gilmer. She got to meet alot of Mama's cousins.

Three bullet points doesn't seem like much, but just the fact that she's truly mobile, like literally crawling all over the house, has been a huge GAME CHANGER! It was crazy the first time it really hit me. I had been doing a few things in the kitchen while she was "quietly playing in the living room," then I look up and she'd vanished...crawled her way right into her room!

As for December:
*She's been experimenting with more Big People Foods. So far, Taco Bueno refried beans are her favorite. She also enjoys pears, applesauce, berry yogurt melts, and we found out she likes graham crackers after the nursery worker informed us she was stealing graham crackers right out of the hands of her little friends! In the Lord's House! We are still working on the Foods transition because Mama kinda freaked out when Mo "choked" the first few tries on Big Food (steamed carrots= nightmare). We had a Christmas luncheon at work the other day, which was catered by Catfish King, and seeing as though we weren't ready to give her a crack at the catfish or chicken strips, she had the luxury of trying a few french fries, which she LOVED. Let's hope she enjoyed them, because it will be awhile before we venture down that road again. (I may laugh hysterically at previous statement one of these days).
*Started saying a couple of "words" (Said "DaDa" first. Calls both Daddy and Mama "DaDa." We'll work on that in January). Also says "uh-uh" in place of "uh-oh." She uses a really funny gutteral sound when she says it. Also likes to say "uh-uh," then throw something down on purpose! Says "Duh" for "ball."
*A Big 'Un: MORIAH GOT TUBES on Monday, December 12th! So far, no ear infections in the last week since getting the tubes. Also, tons of BABBLING since then and all of a sudden she's pulling up to her knees and trying to pull up to stand! (she had no interest in this before). Makes me wonder if that fluid constantly sitting in her ears was causing some equilibrium issues! God was so gracious to give Mama peace through the whole process, including: giving Moriah to the nurse to be taken away and PUT UNDER (shudder), waiting while the procedure was taking place (took literally like 15 mins), and then holding a thrashing, screaming, confused Moriah while she came out of the anesthesia. Thank goodness for Daddy and Tootsie who were there to help with the recovery process. With the exception of some teething pains, she's already feeling better!

Not really sure why I put bullets for December because they are clearly full paragraphs. As for what Moriah is into these days:


*She's still obsessed with musical toys, loves to "dance" (sit up and rock forwards and backwards to the music), and kick her legs to the music while laying on her stomach.
*She has a new fascination with doors of all kinds and she loves to repeatedly open and close them from "laying on stomach" position.
*She loves her little black Gilmer plastic ball. She clearly calls it "DUH!" and starts panting rapidly and crawling with a vengeance towards the ball when she sees it. All the while saying "DUH...DUH!"
*Still sucks the left thumb when tired. Left thumb only, the right one won't do.

We are really looking forward to our 1st Christmas with sweet little Moriah Grace! And hoping there are no ear infections awaiting us in 2012!

Pics coming soon...

October 2011

Late Sept/early Oct: Daddy & Moriah playing with one of her favorite toys-When the music plays she starts kicking those legs to the beat!

Mama got me some new shades...trying them on in my PJs...I'm feeling pretty chill!

Here's Axton (one of our special boys from the Ranch) with his bday cherry cheesecake!

Gilmer Yamboree Weekend- Moriah and cousin Karsyn with their matching outfits! Cuties!

"Hey, you've got the same shirt as me!"

"Nose!"

Tootsie & Moriah supporting the Bobcats in their purple

Rollin up to the Yamboree Parade! Watch out now!

Always chewin on somethin!

Brayden & Mawmaw getting ready for the Parade

I see you Karsyn!

Daddy & Moriah at church - Oct 30th

Happy Halloween! - Oct 31st, 2011

All smiles for our 1st Halloween together! (I typically don't wear all that green eyeshadow--it was the leftovers of my witch get-up from earlier in the day)!

Getting our Ladybug costume situated- thanks Grandma!!

Sweet little bug! (I'd like to take this opportunity to point out the little toofer coming through on the bottom center).

Daddy handing me the special Ladybug wand! heehee.

"Hmmm...interesting."

Moriah Bug and Mama

Daddy (with his Army "costume" still on from school) with Little Miss Ladybug (sans hood)

Sweet little bug is getting sleepy! And apparently so is her other antenna! ; )

Standing up like a big girl (bug)! So sweet!!!

That's How She Rolls

This morning was like many other mornings around the Allen house...me rushing around last minute not knowing what to wear. And I've really been thrown for a loop now that we're having these half cold/half warm days. When it's 40 degrees outside in the early morning hours and I'm freezing, I'm wanting to dress for the Chilly. However once the afternoon low 80 temps hit, I'm wishing I'd dressed for the Warm.

While I was sorting through this confusion of wardrobe choices, Moriah was happily playing on the floor at the foot of our bed with her toys. I'd occasionally ask her opinion but didn't get alot of input. As I ventured from my closet over to my dresser, I decided to put her up on our bed. She was a little whiny and tired, and she eventually just laid down right in the middle of our bed and sucked her thumb. I promised her I'd hurry and when I quickly turned around to dig in my drawer (to find the perfect, most professional t-shirt I could find), I heard a loud thump! I turned around in the blink of an eye and she was laying there on the floor at the side of our bed! She had quickly rolled over towards the side and apparently just kept rolling! Bless her heart, I think it startled her alot more than it hurt her, and of course it startled Mama as well! Thank goodness our bed is low off the ground and we have a carpeted floor and she rolled and fell horizontally, not vertically right onto her head. But still! I held her and told her I was so sorry. I called my friend Jennifer to see if she thought I should call the doctor and she didn't think so unless Mo started acting weird.

Well, lesson learned...She will NOT be placed on our bed anymore (or any other surface off the ground) unless I'm right there! and i think i may start laying my outfits out the night before...

Happy 9 months, Moriah! Mama is so sorry I allowed you to roll off the bed. I'm so glad you're ok and you had a great day today regardless. It seems like the John Deere Vibrating Corn Teether i found and gave to you this afternoon has turned out to be a pretty effective olive branch. Thank you for forgiving me!

What's Hot / What's Not

by Moriah

HOT: Trying to get down on the floor constantly so i can play with my toys
NOT: Mom and Dad trying to hold me all the time like i'm a baby!

HOT: Saying "na-na, da-da, ba-ba, ga-ga" clicking my tongue, blowing strawberries, fake coughing, screaming, laughing, screeching, talking in Mo language, and making all kinds of noises.
NOT: Being quiet

HOT: Scooting/Semi-crawling around my crib, rolling around, and best of all--pulling down my crib bumpers so I can look around my room and see what's going on, and also to see if Mom has left the room after she lays me down. (although sometimes i bump my head on the crib slats).
NOT: Laying there and going to sleep...BORING!!!

HOT: Throwing things off the side of my highchair, then leaning way over to the side to see where they fell.
NOT: Sitting straight up, patiently waiting for each bite Daddy or Mama is feeding me.

HOT: Venturing off the blanket the grown-ups put me on so I can slap the tile floor, as well as scratch the little grooves. It feels so cool! I love textures!
NOT: Playing with baby toys on my blanket.

HOT: Wiggling around however and whenever I want!
NOT: Laying still when my diaper is being changed, Mom and Dad forcing my arms into my shirts when they're changing me..ugh!

HOT: Having my VERY FIRST TOOTH break through my gum today!! Being a big girl who's almost 9 months old!
NOT: Staying a toothless little baby.

Get ready Mom and Dad, I'm getting bigger, more independent, more mobile, and I'm loving life more than ever!