Winter 2017: Everyday Cuteness

I titled this post "Winter 2017" even though these first pictures came from the beginning of November. I figure it counts as winter this year because the temperature dropped significantly on the 1st and we even had snow on the 3rd and 5th. It was cute to watch the kids and the cats watching it.
Someone (whose name starts with "T" and ends with "yler") colored all over Allison. Thank goodness it was washable marker, though the markers did get a pretty big time out after that damage.

On the left is sweet Allison being cute in the waiting room playing with trains and pointing out the animals on the wallpaper.

Oscar offered Tyler a bowl of Taco meat or a burrito. Tyler replied that he wanted a burrito bowl, so Oscar made one for him.

Here's sweet Allison with a Fairytale finding book from the library that she couldn't get enough of. I'll have to look for more books from this same publisher.

Spinning daddy!

Allison scared the life out of me once while we were outside waiting for Tyler's schoolbus to come. She ran off and hid from me during the brief amount of time it took me to put something in the trash can. I searched everywhere panicking and screaming for her with no response. Usually she makes a few noises if I call for her when she's out of sight (like at home when we're on opposite floors of the house), but I got nothing that morning. I was terrified she had climbed under the fence behind our neighbor's yard and was lost in the bushes of the townhome complex behind us (you can see from these pictures that there's enough space for her to climb underneath). To make things worse, Tyler wouldn't stop chasing me around though I begged him to stay and wait for his bus, so now I had to worry about both kids' safety. My heart was racing and I didn't know what to do. Tyler's bus was coming any minute and I felt he should still get on it so I could know he was safe before I called the police and searched more extensively for Allison. Just as I'd concluded she couldn't be anywhere nearby, she came gleefully out of the space between our home and our neighbor's home running into my arms smiling and giggling. She'd hidden behind our neighbor's trash cans and was very pleased with herself for not being found. Tyler's bus came within less than a minute, and I spent the next 10 minutes just holding Allison and thanking God she'd returned unhurt.

The next day I took these pictures above when I figured out where she'd been hiding. I followed her right to those trash cans and watched her "hide" behind them, even though I was staring at her the whole time. I hadn't looked behind the trash cans because I'd been busy running frantically from yard to yard. She was wearing the blue version of the coat from these pictures, and I'll never forget the relief that flooded over me when she ran into my arms. I dearly hope I never lose a child again.

These crazy cute kids were adorable running together at the YMCA. Allison ran up a ramp she wasn't supposed to go on, so Tyler ran after her, grabbed her hand, and they ran back to the car together.

Allison is climbing EVERYTHING these days, and she thwarts our attempts to stop her. We put the chairs up on the table, but she still finds a way to get up there somehow.

I sang an hour long program for the Arlington Nativity festival this year, but I didn't have anything to practice on. Our digital piano had died several months earlier when something went horribly wrong in the sound board. Meledie, my accompanist in the festival, was sweet enough to lend me a keyboard until our new digital piano arrived from Costco.

Sweet dancing girl at library storytime

Pullups with daddy!

Tyler gets his turn too, but he's a little too heavy for daddy to lift him up with his legs.

Allison always enjoys taking a walk to see the duckies in the Mill Creek town center.

 
The kids enjoyed helping us put the tree up this year. Apparently it was so exhausting that Tyler fell asleep on the couch that same afternoon.

Here's Allison with Bree and Amy, the young women who watch her and Tyler while we go to choir practice. Allison climbed up those chairs all by herself of course.

The kids spent a lot of time in the nursery room this winter while our choir prepared for the Christmas program. I got to sing a solo (O Holy Night) accompanied by the choir this year, which was super cool. I love having a choir behind me! I feed on their sound and energy.

Oscar randomly decided to make Allison a toddler bed in the middle of November. I wasn't thrilled at first since I'd wanted to keep her in a crib as long as possible, but soon after I watched her climb in and out of a friend's baby's crib. She would have figured out how to climb out of her own within a few weeks.

Love these silly kiddos!

The only way to get this girl to eat her veggies is in crunchy chip form.

Sweet kids lazing around. I had just gotten Allison out of a messy shirt and came back with a new shirt to find them lying on the couch like this. Tyler was supposed to be eating that pizza at the table.

My sweet little spining dancer, who of course stops being cute as soon as she knows she's being recorded. From this link you can view another video of her dancing for about 12 seconds before she becomes too distracted.

Daddy taught Allison how to clean the toilet. I hope this behavior continues for 16 more years!

Allison likes pretending to be put to bed with Tyler, though I'm sure she'd never actually share a bed with him for the night. She'd giggle too much to fall asleep..

Tyler likes when we lie down for cuddles with him right before bed. Allison automatically assumes that means it's play time.

Here we are at Oscar's company Christmas party. Comcast Christmas party! I let loose and got into the line dancing this year.

I told Oscar to wear the 💩 hat since he's a winter Grinch while I'm the Christmas lover. 🎅

Here's my little doll singing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" after knowing exactly where to find it in her lullaby book.

Tyler's school class put on a gingerbread house decorating party. I was able to bring Allison along, but she was definitely challenging. She doesn't do well at keeping things organized (and not eating candy in bowls).

Oscar bought a new phone and gave me his old one when my phone stopped being able to take a charge. His new phone is an updated model of the one he passed on to me, but with a better camera. It takes adorable shots of the kids.

Mom came for a visit on Saturday December 9th just in time to see me perform at the Nativity Festival (though her flight got redirected to Portland due to heavy fog, which was a bit nervewracking). On Monday I dropped her off at Kohls so she could do a little Christmas shopping before I took Allison to the YMCA. Allison ended up throwing up all over herself just as I pulled into the parking lot. I wasn't sure if she was carsick or real sick, but I didn't want to leave her in the car after a 30 minute drive. I took her into the parent child class so she could at least get a little break from driving, but I didn't have anything long sleeved to change her into. Poor girl was shivering, but she did have fun in the class, so I figured she must have just been carsick.

Later we figured out it was real sick. Poor girl had a fever and didn't feel well for about a week. I also had to clean her car seat in the bathtub and the cover in the washer. Nibbler decided the cover was his new cat bed.

Here's Grandma and Allison waving goodbye to Tyler before he goes to school. Tyler loves waving goodbye these days.

My sweet girl reading her My Little Pony book with fun buttons and sound. I found this for free at the church swap meet, but hadn't replaced the battery since the screw was too stripped to open. Allison recently started loving toy ponies, so I had to figure out a way, even though it meant breaking the plastic.

Allison recently became aware of the Ipad's existence. Before she couldn't understand it well enough to care about it more than any other toy. Now I have to limit her exposure (which she hates, of course).

She still loves books, though. Sometimes she'll randomly decide she's done with one and throw it across the room. She's tried that a few times with the Ipad too, but it's heavy so she only throws it about a foot on the bed.

It's so sweet seeing her starting to do a little hopscotch

And cuddling with her kitties.