A few Christmas shots

Here are a few Christmas shots of Ally. Mary Ellen took these pictures at the Tucker girls Christmas party. We all had a great time. It is funny to think how our parties have changed over time. I think our first one was crazy with corn hole in the house, then we moved to restaurants, and now we are looking for houses with lots of room and stairs for kids to play on. It is crazy how life changes over time. I am just thankful I still have these friends to share these special memories with. 

Really cute video

Alright I have been trying to decide if I should post this video or not, and well I came to the conclusion it is too cute not to. The only thing is, that whoever watches it must dismiss my little stutter as I am commentating the video. It is very bad and I have no idea where it came from. I hope you enjoy.

Meeting Santa for the first time

Last Saturday we went to visit Santa at daycare. They had a breakfast with Santa so we got to sign up for a time slot and even spend a little time with him. It was great not having to wait in line. I think this is going to be our Santa for the next couple of years b/c it was so easy and he was actually a pretty good looking Santa also. I thought the picture turned out pretty good too. Now I am on the search for the perfect frame to put it in. I think a great picture deserves a great frame. We will see what I can find. 

Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving Justin and I decided to take a last minute quick trip to Louisville to visit his grandmother and family. It was a great trip. We made it up there with no problems at all. We left at 4:30 am to make sure we were in time for lunch. It also helped with the driving knowing the Ally would be sleeping most of the time. Thankfully she did not dissapoint us. She slept and slept some more. She is the best little traveler ever. One tradition we had to follow since we were there over the break was to help put up his grandmothers tree. This tree is pretty big and you have to put the branches in the right spot. It was a bigger project than I realized, but thank goodness I had some experts in charge so didn't take long. After the tree is up then comes the white teddy bears. Not just one, two, or even three... tons!! We couldn't resist taking a few pictures of Ally in the bears. 

Great pictures!!

Here are our pictures from our session in October with Ashleigh Peak. She is a friend of a friend from Memphis and she was coming in town to visit her and made time to do some pictures. We are so excited about how these turned out. If you are lucky you might even get a few for Christmas :).

Talking, talking

These past couple of days Ally has been exploring or experimenting with her voice. She has mastered the dadada sound which Justin just loves, but the funny part is she does it at different noise levels. We have heard the quiet version and the loud version. It is pretty funny when she yells b/c most of the time she is surprised she can do it also. She also has starting talking to Anna. It is really funny b/c it seems like she has her own language for Anna. Her voice gets very high and she kind of squeaks to her. It is very funny! We are working on a video, but she has learned what the red light means, taping. Whenever we turn on the camera and start filming she stops talking. I am crossing my fingers that in the next couple of days we can get something. We will keep you updated on the progress.

Halloween

Here are a few pictures from Halloween at daycare. Ally got to go trick or treating at daycare by visiting all of the other classrooms. After the trick or treating they did a class picture. The last one is in the car on the way home. She was one tired giraffe.

New food

At the 6 month visit the doctor said we could start introducing new foods to her. We have stuck with the cereal for months 4-5 and Ally was just eating it up like a champ. She loves her cereal, so I was excited to see how she liked other foods as well. The doctor suggested we start with the veggies first so we could hopefully get her used to eating the non sweet foods first. On the day the doctor said she could try new foods I got really excited and went straight to the store to get lots and lots of food. Yes our pantry is full of peas, green beans, carrots, and pears. So far we have tried peas, green beans, and carrots. I tried the peas first, and well the picture above shows you how well she liked the peas. Not her favorite at all!!! I was a little worried about the peas and what would happen next. So we switched to carrots for a week and she has loved them. She loves turning her face orange with carrots. Today I just tried the green beans with my fingers crossed and she likes them!!! I am surprised and excited. One reason I am excited is b/c if you remember what I said above is that our pantry is full of food!! Thank goodness they will not be a waste too.

6 months old!!

Our baby is a half year old. It is amazing to think back to where Justin and I were 6 months ago. It is hard to remember our life before Allyson and the things we had no idea about, like changing diapers, making bottles, watching Noggin, talking in high pitch voices, and hugging and kissing the sweetest thing on earth. So the doctor said everything is checking out great and Ally is growing and moving along very well for her age. She is 16 pounds and 26 inches long. The visit went well and she didn't even do that bad for her shots either. I guess now we just hope we don't have to go back to the doctor until 9 months. We will see what happens.

Working for her favorite toy

photos from the weekend

Busy, busy weekend

This past weekend we were so lucky to have a 4 day weekend! We have never gotten a four day weekend in October before, so this was very exciting. Now the down side of this is we didn't get paid for one of the days, but oh well all of the fun made up for no money. We started the weekend Thursday night by watching another Eagles win. They are 6-0 right now!! Then on Friday we had family chill day, and boy was it nice!! On Saturday we got some profession photographs taken. We had been planning on getting these photos taken for months now and the weather was not in our favor. There was a 60-80% chance of rain all day long. Needless to say we were totally worried that we wouldn't be able to get them taken. Well somehow every forecaster in GA was wrong b/c it didn't rain a drop on us we got our whole hour session in. Yea!! I promise you will see tons of these photos as soon as we do. Ally did great and I can't wait to see the results. On Sunday Ally and I went with some friends up to Ellijay, GA to a pumpkin patch and apple orchard. It was a blast, but crazy crowded. I think everyone must of had the same idea we had. I felt so bad b/c I put Ally between two pumpkins to hold her up. I was laughing so hard at this I can't believe any of the pictures came out. She looked so funny to me. Thankfully we got a few good shots though. Hopefully before the season is over we will be able to get a family photo together (Justin couldn't come b/c of football meetings and preparing for one of the biggest games of the season, lets go eagles!!). Then on Monday we went to go visit Great Grandpa. He was so glad to see us and show us off to all of is friends. Like I said it was a busy, busy weekend. I have learned though everything is so much more fun with Ally. I can't believe I am saying this, but it is so true. The weekends are the best these days!! Fall is here and we are loving it.

Try again honey

Before I explain the title I need to say something first. Justin is an awesome dad and Ally is so lucky to have him as her daddy. He helps with so much during the day and he doesn't even complain when it is his turn to change a dirty diaper. Well today we were both home because of the flood water in the area. It was a great surprise for both of us to hang out with Ally all day today. So of course she got sick and she needed to be changed. It was Justin's turn so he took her upstairs to clean and change her. This is the outfit she came down in. Look closely, she has strips on the tops and then purple pants with hearts on them. I laughed as soon as I saw her, and then Justin said, "What I looked and all of the colors match." This is when I said, "Try again honey."

Ready for the rain

With all of the rain we have been getting we decided it was time for Ally to try out her rain boots. I think she is ready for anything that comes her way :)

I am going to be an Aunt!!

I am so excited that Ben and Jess are expecting a little girl in December. The excitement of being an Aunt is just as much as being a mom. In some ways more, b/c I don't have to worry about spoiling and ruining anything. My job as an Aunt is to spoil!! Then another great part is that Ally gets another girl to play with. We can't wait. Jess it was great seeing you this weekend and I am so glad we were able to work out a shower for you, Ben, and little girl Champa. I know the pink was a little scary at first, but after you have seen enough of it you realize it is the best. We can't wait to add another December birthday to the family :).

Trying food for the first time

On Saturday we finally had enough time to try the food thing with Ally. We didn't know how it would go so I wanted to make sure Justin was around to help. To our surprise everything went great. I think she even kind of liked it. She was way more interested in the bowl and spoon than what was going in her mouth, but she seemed to keep some of the cereal in her mouth also. It was just so cute feeding her with a spoon. Here are a few photos of the event. I will post a video of the event soon.

Allyson is rolling over!!

We are super excited about the new skill Ally has mastered this week. Rolling over. She has done it for the doctor, daycare, and now finally the camera. She seems to really like doing it because whenever we put her on her back she is on her tummy in a second. 

4 months old today!

I can't believe Ally is 4 months old today. We have been dying to go to the doctor for another check up and the day has finally come. I remember making this appointment in the summer and thinking to myself I will be ready for a day off, and yes I am ready for a day off :). Two weeks in and I am taking my first day. Oh how life has changed. I am taking Ally to the doctor again for her 4 month check up and she will be getting shots. I felt to bad about taking her to daycare after the shots so I just decided to take the day off. I mean what are those family sick days for anyway :). Here are a few pictures we took the other day. Her new favorite thing is trying to stand up. She can't do it on her own, but she loves using her legs to stand up with support from you. 

It's football time..

The other night we got to experience our first "in season" game. The reason I say "in season" is that I took Ally to the spring game in May, but I don't really count that one b/c she was soooo little and I was soooo nervous about everything I don't think either of us really enjoyed the game. At least this game she was a little older, ok 4 months, but it does make a difference. She did great at the game and I am excited about even trying to bring her to a few more games. Here are a few pictures of her in her football gear.

So many options

Ally has become a big time thumb sucker. It started when she was just tired, fussy, or hungry but recently it has turned into an all the time thing. Tonight while she was sucking her thumb she was playing with her feet also. She discovered that her toe could go in her mouth also. So the next thing I see is her thumb and toe in her mouth at once. I couldn't believe it, it was one of the funniest things I have seen from her in a while. 

Talking video coming soon..

Ally is talking all the time these days. Ok not talking but she is mastering some of her vowels sounds and a few other sounds. It has been a blast trying to get her to make the sounds and try new ones. We will try for a video tomorrow. 

Dedication

On Sunday, Ally was dedicated at Smoke Rise Baptist Church in Stone Mountain. It was kind of a last minute thing to do it on Sunday, but it worked out great and we were thankful for everyone that could come. Ally performed wonderfully. She didn't cry or spit up while in front of the church!! Whew!! We were worried, but she looked beautiful and did a great job. 

Bounce... Bounce... Bounce

This past weekend Justin put together the Jumpero for Ally. It is a toy we have had before she was born and we have been dying to put it together for her to try. Finally the time came. She is still a little small for it, but I think she does like it because of the toys. She has not figured out the bouncing part yet, but she did like the toys and has started touching a trying to hold on to them.

The First Days of Daycare

This past week Ally has gone to Legacy Academy for daycare. We decided to start her a week before I have to go back to work so we could hopefully work out anything glitches before school started. Also I had not been in my classroom since April so I had a feeling I had a lot of work to do. On Monday, I felt like an awful mom. How could I leave my daughter if I don't have to? I was filling out some paper work and I look in her room and she is just screaming and crying. That is when I broke down at the desk. I couldn't believe it, I had never had this feeling before. Thankfully there was another mom at the counter who helped me make it through and told me she did the same thing. She even had a funnier story than me, so that made me feel even better. Once I left I continued to cry most of the day. I was determined to make Tuesday better. I still cried, but I did not cry as long and I made it out the door before I started crying. Then today, Wednesday, I did not cry at all!! I was proud of myself. I think the thing that did it, was they showed me a picture they took of her yesterday smiling. The picture is so cute! I was just glad to see her smiling some during the day. That meant if she is smiling I should be too. Now when she starts crying that does not mean I can cry too, but I liked the smiling attitude so I am going to work with that. I know we will still have some tough days ahead, but at least I am getting better at this. I love the teachers in her room and I am excited that she is going to even make a few friends :). I already met a mom in the class who is a teacher also and is preparing to leave her son for the first time. I have a feeling we will be running into each other a few times during the year. I wish I could stay with her all the time, but I know this is best. 

Playing on her mat...

Here is a video of Ally playing on her mat. She is doing great picking up her head and exploring the world on her belly. She has become more and more comfortable on her belly. Her other favorite thing to do is smile at you. If you watch the entire video you will get a special treat at the end. 

A trip to the park..

Tonight after dinner Justin and I decided to take a stroll through Norcross Park. This park is awesome and we can't wait until Ally can't take full advantage of it. It has swings, slides, a spider web to crawl up, a swinging thing to hang on, and more slides. They just redid the park and it looks great. It was packed tonight too. Alright I am done selling the park. Now, on to our experience. I have been wanting to try Ally in a swing for a while and they have a few of the baby swings and she was in a pretty good mood so we decided to go for it. She loved it!! She cried for a second, but it was because he swing had stopped and she wanted to keep going. It was a blast just watching her and trying to get a few pictures of her also. I have a feeling this is going to be one of our favorite hang outs. Here are a few pictures from the park.

Best Friends forever

Anna loves her new best friend Ally. We are so excited Anna and Ally are getting along great and we hope it continues as Ally gets older. 

July 3rd and 4th

Last night we went to downtown Norcross for the fireworks show. We didn't know how she would do with the fireworks, but she slept right through them. The train that came after the fireworks was not the same. She was not a fan of the train and its whistle. Justin and I were just thankful the train came after the show because two years ago we went and the train came in the middle of the show. The train was a double decker one which blocked all of the fireworks. Thankfully this year it didn't happen again. Then this morning we woke up early for the Stone Mountain parade. The parade was perfect because it was not too crowded or long and the weather was great too. Allyson really liked it, she slept through most of it :). She got a little break from her nap to see her Grandpa in the parade. Here are some pictures from the last two days.