Sledding with Alice

Last weekend we had Alice over for a playdate. She came equipped to and with a request to go sledding. I went shopping and Becky walked with the girls to a nearby park, to go sledding.

Such vibrant snow gear against the white snow!

And away they go

I guess its a very big hill!

I heard that they only sledded one or 2 times and then played in the park. I think they were happy to be outside together and in the sunshine.

Washing Dishes

The background here is that we were at the supermarket and we needed some new dish soap. Ally asked what I was buying and I told her it was dish soap. So she proceeded to ask if she could wash dishes. I of course said yes she could. I kind of figured she'd forget about it, but no. After dinner she said, now is it time for me to wash the dishes? Becky gave me a funny look, when I told Ally yes, but I got out the step stool and after Ally cleared the table she started to wash her dishes. She loved it. I had her take off her dress so the sleeves would not get in the way.

So diligent getting all the soap off.

Sudsing it up.

And because its too cute to resist - the rear view.

Annual Tradition

Long time readers may remember last year's infamous photo of me with a snake around my neck. Well it is that time again, Ally's friend Olive's birthday party. Every year her parents have a "critter guy" come and put on an animal show for the kids. Ally was so good and patient and she loved it! Before the show Ally of course found a place to climb and swing on, and yes Grandma Debbie, Ally wears her necklace everyday. For the party she also donned a silver and turquoise bracelet from cousin Jake. I was rummaging in my jewelry box for a necklace for myself and Ally was curious about what was else was in the box and we discovered she is finally big enough to wear it without it falling off. She loves it, frankly I am afraid she will want to wear it every day too now.

At the start of the show the host showed the kids how to hold their hands together when they hold an animal.

Ally holds the flying squirrel while Thora (to the right of Ally) and Max (on the left) look on.

Ally and Thora so excited to see what is next.

Its a snake! And Ally was so excited to touch it.

Then came the skunk.

But Ally wanted nothing to do with the skunk - she leaned way back and out of the way.

The lizard was neat, I even held that one.

Ohhh the chinchilla was so soft.

Then came a bigger snake, a rainbow boa. Ally was all about petting him too.

And she even wore the rainbow boa snake like a necklace!

It was so cool, and Becky and I were so super proud of her!

Here Ally is waiting for her turn to hold the tree frog. She was so patient and waited her turn with her hands in the proper position.

After the animal show it was time for cupcakes.

Ally and her friend River getting ready to eat their cupcakes. Of course all Ally really ate were the candy ears and could licks of frosting.

It was a fun party and great to catch up with parents we hadn't talked to in a long time.

New Pajamas

It was a hard week at work so what do I do - shop for Ally of course! I actually got a ride over near school to pick her up on Friday afternoon and went to the gap and found these adorable pajamas on super clearance. They are 4t which is actually too big for her, 3t is her size right now, and I bought them for next year, but when I showed them to her Ally said she really liked them and asked if she could wear them. They match the snow girl she and mama made!

Of course, the Cheer Bear socks complete the outfit!

Library Visit

Last weekend Becky took Ally to the library on Sunday afternoon. Ally thought she was so grown up wearing her backpack.

They watched the gerbils for a while. (yes our library has pets)

The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs, By Alexander T Wolf

In Ally's class they are pretty into the 3 little pigs and one of the teachers brought this book in to give the kids the other side of the story. Ally was so excited to get the book to bring home and we read it every night. It is pretty interesting to fin out that the Wolf was framed by publicity seeking reporters and he really just had a cold and sneezed when he blew the houses down.

Thanks Great Aunt Panny

One of the gifts Ally got for Christmas was a Target gift card from Great Aunt Pammy (and Uncle Tommy). Whenever we go to Target Ally likes to look at toys, in particular the Princess display and the puzzles. One day she spotted a Tinkerbell puzzle. It's an age 5+, 100 piece puzzle, which is the right level for her! One of Ally's favorite things right now is Tinkerbell and her fellow fairies. We have 2 of the movies and I have to admit, Becky and I even like them. They are all about girl/female/fairy power and strength and friendship between the fairies. So she asked for the puzzle, and I explained that she had some Target money from Pam and Tom for Christmas and she could use that to buy the puzzle. Ally loved the idea and was so happy, as you can see to get home and put the puzzle together.

I also wanted to say thanks to cousin Mandy for starting us off with Tinkerbell, Ally takes her bag with us most of the time when we got out, and the movie is a hit.

We are so lucky that so many people love Ally.

Snow Day

Well we got 15 inches of snow here today! It was a snow day for Ally and Becky, and while we had no projects running I worked about a half day. In the morning, after I spent almost an hour shoveling Becky and Ally went outside to play.

This is as close to an artsy picture as I can take - I thought the light and snow and look on Ally's face made a neat image.

Ally loves the snow!

Bryce - does not like it as much, but it did not stop him from running out of the house. Ally even threw a snowball at him (and hit him) but that was not enough to get him back inside!

Mama got a big snowball.

I heard Ally and Becky talking on the side of the house, so I went to Ally's window and this is what I saw - they were making a snowgirl outside of Ally's bedroom, so Ally can look at it from her room!

I went to get a hat for it and when I cam back I found Bryce ready to jump out the window!

Ally decided it was a snowgirl and insisted on buttons for it.

So I dug around in the sewing basket and found some buttons, and passed them out the window.

The finished product!

After they came inside and dried off, we bundled up again and walked to the Square to meet some friends from school for lunch. Ally rode the whole way there and back on her sled. She loved it!