A Christmas Letter 2013

So I have taken a hiatus since this summer...a journalistic "cat-nap" if you will. I've been lounging around the house mostly, when I am not trying to outrun Allison as she chases after me screaming out my name. (She is much louder than Eddie or Chirssy, that's for sure)

Anyway, I thought the holiday season is a good time to get back to writing and I wanted to start with a Christmas letter about the family.

Back in January we celebrated Allison's 1st birthday with some friend's and family to join us. She liked seeing everyone and had a good time with opening presents and digging into her cake. Of course back then she had trouble sitting on her own (just the way I like her - not able to chase me).

That spring, Eddie and Chrissy took a short trip to Vegas for a little vacation, leaving Allison for 4 days with both her grandparents.The grandparents had a good time with Allison, and Eddie and Chrissy got some much needed R&R sitting by the pool, gambling, eating at nice restaurants, and seeing a show. But then it was back to the real world for them

Once back they took Allison in for a quick photo shoot as this was her first Easter at home. What better way to enjoy that then some time with bunnies.

That took us to May when Eddie and Chrissy celebrated their 5th Anniversary. However the trip to Vegas was their gift to each other so they just enjoyed a weekend together at a friend's condo on Bainbridge Island. But it was a nice getaway.

That summer they all made their annual trip to Lake Chelan for some sun, food, fun, and swimming (which was much warmer as they went later in July than normal). I heard Allison wasn't very fond of the lake, but loved playing in her little pool.  Of course cats were not invited but I enjoyed having the house to myself so I could climb on any furniture I wanted.

That took us into fall where Allison was getting ready to go to day care 3 days a week. This was going to be exciting as she was getting to spend more time with kids her own age. Eddie and Chrissy found a place they really liked called the Goddard School that is really close. When she started in September she knew a few words like "yah" and "mommy" and "daddy" and could sit, crawl and sort of stand against solid objects. So she was placed in a class with kids at a similar level. I'm not sure I like that day care, because in no time at all, she was walking and talking up a storm (and chasing me all over the house). She won't be 2 until this January but her Preemie Assessment has her at the vocabulary and coordination closer to that of a three year old. Although she is still pretty small, only around 18-19 lbs.

And now we are enjoying the holidays. They had fun at the pumpkin patch and went trick or treating for Halloween with Allison in her lady bug costume. Then spent time with both sides of the family during Thanksgiving. Followed by a trip to see Santa this Christmas.

They also had some family photos taken earlier this year that I thought would be a good way to finish this letter up with. Merry Christmas to you all and I promise to update my blog more often now.

Homeward Bound...1 year later

1 year ago today. That's when Eddie and Chrissy brought Allison home from the hospital for the first time. It's when I got to meet Allison for the first time too. So what's been happening since then? Well she is up and crawling now. It's getting harder to quickly get away from her when she is on the move. She is also standing and walking along tables and couches.  She has a few words down; dada, mama, yah (she doesn't say no yet, just "yah" to everything), Goos (for me, Gus).  Still not very big yet; maybe 17-18 lbs. But always smiling and waving. They spent the weekend out in the backyard and then at the zoo. Here are some pictures

Here are the zoo pics along with some of the animals they saw

It looks like it was a fun weekend and a great way to celebrate a year of freedom from the hospital.

Watching too much Dance Moms

It seems Allison is taking to music. She really likes dancing to her favorite hoedown as you can see from the video below. Girls got better moves than her daddy. At least she's not chasing me around the house as much anymore.

Got to meet the Easter Bunny...or An Easter Bunny

So things have been a little hectic for this cat around the house lately. This is why I have not posted for a while. I have had to learn to keep on my toes as Baby Allison has become mobile. Thats right, she is crawling around, commando style. She learned to pull herself up on tables, crib sides, cube toys that tip over when you try to stand up from it (she hasn't learned that yet).

She did recently go down and get some pictures with an Easter Bunny. Thought you would like to see.