'Tis the season to be jolly!!!

Merry Christmas! I am a little sad to say that there will not be any Christmas pictures with this post. You see, I am a list person. I wrote everything that I needed to pack on a list. And then I packed those things. I did not add camera to my list. So, just like last year, we have no pictures of Christmas. I can't believe that I missed taking pictures of Emma's first Christmas and her second!! Well, even though I have no evidence, we had an awesome little vacation in Alberta! Yeah!!! First time I've been home for Christmas in three years!!! Timothy did not get any time off from work because he works for FedEx and, as you know, the holidays are a little bit busy for those in the shipping business. So, we took off Friday afternoon. Saturday we were able to sneak in a temple session - I highly recommend that for Christmas next year, it really helped put everything in perspective and erase the commercial-ness that Christmas has become - then we went to Jen and Jeff's in Lethbridge. We opened some presents there, mostly the kids, and then moved the party to my Grandparents (my Mom's parents), also in Lethbridge. It was really nice to be with them and see my cousins. Sunday we went to church in Hillspring with my parents. The ward did a really nice sacrament meeting and it was a good note to start the Christmas Eve celebrations on. We spent the afternoon/evening/night eating and playing games at my aunt and uncle's house. My cousin Tracy and her five kids were there, Emma loved it! We did Christmas morning at Mom and Dads, it was very nice, Emma even opened her own presents, although she liked to play with the packaging from grandma's more! Then we went back to my aunt and uncle's for more food. Aunt Connie put on an amazing spread. We had a 31.9 lb turkey. It was delicious!! Unfortunately, we had to eat and run because Timothy worked today (boxing day...I think this country needs to convert to the 'right' way of observing holidays). All in all, it was tons of fun and so nice to be home! Thanks Mom and Dad for taking us in and showing us a good time! We hope that all of you enjoyed your holiday too!
Anyway, I know that Grandma Allred will not be happy without at least some pictures, so here's a few recent ones of Emma being a goof and just living life. I think her Daddy is her most favorite person in the whole wide world! If he's here, she doesn't leave him alone. They love to play!!!

A Too Late Update

Well, it has been so long since I posted anything, I figured we could use an update. Plus, I promised pictures of my newly recovered sofa, and finally took some tonight. However, I forgot to take 'before' pics, so, here's the pillow, at least you can see what the fabric looked like.














And, my sofa after! I absolutely love it!! The chocolate fabric has a really nice texture and we took the skirt off. I haven't finished the other pillow, because I'm lazy, but I have really good intentions. So, anyway, thanks Mom for coming down and letting me watch you work! You did a beautiful job! And thanks Linda for giving us the sofa! It's so much more comfortable than our old one!
Now, onto other things, last weekend, we went to Lolo to visit Linda for her birthday and Christmas, since we won't be seeing her then. It was a good trip and Emma loved seeing her Grandma. There was a little bit of snow that Emma loved playing in. Thanks for the great weekend Mom Allred!


















And another update, for those of you who are wondering, I am now 15 weeks along and *eeep!* not fitting into my clothes. This is coming on a little bit earlier than last time! I nearly cried when even my 'fat' pants couldn't do up...and now my hair elastic is even making the pants too small when I sit down. Heaven forbid I move into maternity clothes so early! Anyway, we're feeling good most days. Emma doesn't quite get it just yet, she just walks away when I tell her about the baby in my tummy. I think this spoiled little girl is in for a pretty rude awakening!!!

Big Girl!!!

I am constantly amazed at how fast Emma is growing up! She is becoming such a big girl! She is already potty trained, learning to drive, doing advanced calculus...well, that may be a slight exaggeration, but she is learning and growing sooo fast! She doesn't like to sit in her high chair a lot anymore, she'd rather be sitting at the table, and if you're not careful, she will take your seat while you're not looking! This picture was taken before dinner, but after I had set the table.
She sees the dishes come out, and runs for a chair. The last one at the table has to sit in the high chair!
My Mom was down last week for my birthday and to help with a 'little' project (pictures to come). Anyway, one day, my Mom was making biscuits for dinner and she had a little more help than she knew what to do with. I hope that you can see the flour on the floor!
Here's a shot of Emma in her cool sunglasses. They're kinda falling off but she likes to wear them around and have everyone tell her how cute she looks. We were trying to get her to give a thumbs up but she only managed the fist.

What a ham!

Well, last night before bed, Emma brought me her snow boots, and wanted to wear them. So, I put them on for her. Then, she brought me Wicket's little coat-thing (yes, my dog has a coat. It's cold here and he just got a hair cut. You wanna go outside naked? I didn't think so.) so I put that on for her, like a cape. She ran around like that for about half an hour. I have no idea where she gets her sense of style...anyway....She has also started smiling, uh, oddly. Once again, I don't know where she picked this up... anyone reminded of me 15 years ago? Um, yah. I didn't think a smile would be genetic but every time we pull out the camera, she smiles big. Like mother like daughter!

Little Angel

Emma really enjoyed Halloween this year. As you can see, she was an angel (Grandma Allred thought that wasn't really a costume for Emma!), and really liked her costume. As soon as we put it on her, she started posing for pictures! She's a vain little thing! Anyway, it was freezing cold here so we just took her to a couple of houses on our block, some neighbors who know Emma (and us). She was a little bit scared at one house that was fully decorated, complete with strobe light, but to be honest, I was too. She didn't get any candy (we wouldn't let her eat it, we don't like to give her a lot of unnecessary sugar) but she got plenty of complements! We had about 25 kids (and teenagers, and parents who claimed to be collecting for sick kids) come to our house. I had prepared for over 150 - why? I don't know. Anyway, the young women will be eating a lot of candy for a while. So, anyway, hope you all had a good Halloween!

Doe...a deer

This past weekend, we went up to visit Timothy's Dad and Grandparents in Seeley Lake (Montana). We had a little run-in with deer on our way up Friday night. It was kinda scary, I'm glad that Timothy was driving. We are all fine, but our car has some damage! I was at the auto body shop yesterday and the estimate was $3846.15!!! *cough cough* What? I am so glad that it was the new car, the one with full coverage. I'm waiting to hear from the adjuster today. Anyway, the pictures don't do it justice! Other than that, we had a lot of fun. We walked down to the lake (a block away) and then found the coolest elementary school playground EVER!! Emma loved it (not as much as her parents though!) We got to spend time with Larry and grandma and grandpa. All in all, it was fun and worth the trip! I think we'll put some deer whistles on our car though... I recommend it for everyone!

Doe...a deer

This past weekend, we went up to visit Timothy's Dad and Grandparents in Seeley Lake (Montana). We had a little run-in with deer on our way up Friday night. It was kinda scary, I'm glad that Timothy was driving. We are all fine, but our car has some damage! I was at the auto body shop yesterday and the estimate was $3846.15!!! *cough cough* What? I am so glad that it was the new car, the one with full coverage. I'm waiting to hear from the adjuster today. Anyway, the pictures don't do it justice! Other than that, we had a lot of fun. We walked down to the lake (a block away) and then found the coolest elementary school playground EVER!! Emma loved it (not as much as her parents though!) We got to spend time with Larry and grandma and grandpa. All in all, it was fun and worth the trip! I think we'll put some deer whistles on our car though... I recommend it for everyone!

Happy Halloween

Emma received a package yesterday from her Uncle Isaac, Aunt Jen, and cousin Mercedes (their dog). The sent a cute little Halloween shirt and socks. Emma is really getting into the Halloween spirit now! Thanks guys! She loves them and looks super cute!

She's a girl's girl!

I've told my Mom that Emma is my Mary Kay baby. She learned to clap while attending meetings with me (we do a lot of clapping there). But I don't think she really understood how much Emma really is a Mary Kay baby. I was blow drying my hair this morning and Emma opened up the drawer with my products in it, reached in, and pulled out some of her favorites. (Her favorite is the eye make-up remover because you can shake it up). Anyway, I wanted to get a picture so that you can understand how much this little girl values proper skin care!!

Just Life

Emma definately keeps us on our toes around here! She has so much energy, she is always moving! Sometimes I just sit and watch her destroy the house, there's just nothing else for me to do! She figured out how to lift the toilet seat lid the other day, thankfully, she hasn't figured out how to flush just yet. She loves to chase Wicket around, pulling on his ears and giving him loves. I feel bad for the poor dog, but he seems to miss her when she's sleeping, so it can't bother him too badly. Emma loves to stand on a stool in the kitchen and 'help' me cook, and of course, she always helps me unload the dishwasher. She and Timothy chase each other around and around the sofa, laughing hysterically. I can hardly keep up with the two of them!
Anyway, I wanted to post a picture of my two boys, after I tucked them in last night. They sure are cute! Timothy can't sleep without Wicket!

Poor Dog

Well, I guess this will work for posting pictures....I like the way Jen and Jeff's works better...I'll see what I can do. Anyway, for Halloween this year, Wicket is going to be Emma....I'm not sure if he should wear the pink onesie or the flowered dress...hmmm...decisions, decisions. Either way, he looks really pleased with his costume, don't you think? =)

I finally did it!

Well, I finally broke down and set up a blog. Why is it called a blog? I don't really like the name...but, what are you gonna do? I'm sure that this won't look as cool as somthing that Kevin would have set up for us but the poor guy is so busy, I didn't want to harass him. Well anyway, I'm not really sure what else to say here, I just want to make sure that this works out allright. So, that's all for now. I'm going to teach myself how to post pictures and I'll get back to you later.