18 months... a little late

Things have been crazy and I'm really late posting this..... but, Allison turned 18 months on January 22. She has such a personality now. She also makes it quite clear what she wants and will tell you when she is not getting it. She loves her big sister and wants to do everything that she is doing. We have also found out that she is quite the climber. She likes to get into drawers, and sit in them, and has also been found several times on the kitchen table. She is also starting to talk more and will say, "There it is", "Abby", "Paigey", or something close to it.

We love her a ton and love all the energy that she brings to the house. This week she has been a little less active because she has been sick, she had a fever of 104 the other morning. It's strange that I don't freak out when her fever is 103, but that extra degree scares me. She seems to be doing a little better and I hope it goes away soon!

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the last few months....

Holiday Season 2009

Ok, I'm really behind on posts. This has been a very busy Holiday Season and we have enjoyed every moment of it! This post will hopefully catch up the holidays, minus New Year's which I'll post later. We had a great time with our family this year. I was really glad that RJ, Shaun, and Jimmy were able to make it to town for the Holidays. The only thing missing was my grandpa. He was really missed this year. Mike did a great job taking over the egg duties, though.

We started the Holiday Season with two ice skating performances. Paige performed with the Silver Blades Synchro Team and was amazing. One was the Light the Night in South Jordan, which I missed unfortunately. The poor girls were so cold because it was outside and windy. The other was at the County Rink. At the County Rink they also had public skating. Mike, Rylee, Paige, Travis, Bennett, and Bronwyn all went skating. The rest of us watched. :) After the skating we went to our house for pizza and then the whole group headed up to the Zoo Lights. It was really fun, and the kids had a blast! Of course the one year we really bundle up it wasn't that cold, go figure....

Jimmy came to town and was able to see Paige's school performance and helped make some candy. It was nice to see him and I'm so glad he made it for the Holiday Season, even if he had to leave before Christmas. RJ and Shaun were able to make it out the week of Christmas and it was great to catch up with them too. Since I'm working nights I didn't get to spend as much time with our visitors, but look forward to seeing them again in DC in May. That reminds me, we need to book our airfare.....

Christmas Eve was great! We had a very nice dinner at my Mom and Dad's and then opened some presents. Alli did great, she was just a little unsure at first. She couldn't figure out why we were letting her open presents instead of telling her to not touch.

Christmas was really nice! We didn't get up until around 8, which was great! The kids were spoiled by Santa! Paige got a new Mac and Alli got a bunch of noisy toys. We were all spoiled though, thank you everyone. Thanks honey, I love our new dining room furniture! Then we headed to Mike and Robin's for Christmas breakfast; it was delicious. Then off to Mike's Dad's house. We had a great dinner up there and opened more presents.

All in all it was a great Holiday Season, but I'm exhausted and glad we have a year to recover!

Thanksgiving Weekend

We had a great Thanksgiving this year. We had an early dinner with my family. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures then. Then we went to the airport to pick up Grandma EJ, Burny, David, and Bess. We had another dinner in Lehi with the Siirola side of the family. It was really nice to see Mike's Mom, Burny, and the kids.

Paige had ice skating on Friday and Bess and David decided to give it a try. They did really well and I think they had fun.

Saturday Paige had two ice skating lessons and then we went to breakfast. After breakfast we went Bowling at Fat Cats. Paige did awesome as always and had some strikes and spares. Allison even bowled her first strike. She loved bowling, but just didn't want to take turns. Later that night we had dinner at Mike's Grandma's.

Sunday we went to my Mom and Dad's and we made Christmas cookies and Gingerbread houses. The Gingerbread house turned out great this year and the kids had a ton of fun.

It was a great weekend and I'm thankful we were able to spend it with our family. We love you guys!

Florida and catching up.....

So I'm a little behind in posting this. Sorry Shaun...... Things have been a little crazy since we've been back. I started my new job the Monday after we got back. I love my new job and I think I'm catching on pretty well. Sometimes it feels like they are speaking greek around me, but slowly it is starting to make sense to me. I'm now working at Intermountain Medical Center in Central Processing. Central Processing cleans and prepares all the surgical equipment, OB equipment, crash carts, etc, etc, etc.... I'm working with a girl I worked with at Kennecott years ago and it has been nice to see her again and catch up. Thanks Mel for your help!

We had a great time in Florida. Allison and Paige both did well on the flights, which I am so happy about! It was nice to spend the time with my parents and really nice to see my dad be able to walk around without his oxygen! :) RJ and Shaun met us down there and it was nice to catch up with them as well. It's nice to talk in person, not just on Skype. On Mike's Birthday we went to Epcot and went diving in their aquarium. It was really cool to be diving with all the tropical fish, sharks, and turtles.

During the trip we went to the Magic Kingdom, SeaWorld, Downtown Disney, Epcot, Universal, and Busch Gardens. It was really nice to spend the time together as a family. Paige also went on her first official big rides. Unfortunately for her she ended up with my genes and wasn't able to go on all the rides she wanted to.

I 'm being kind of lazy and am only doing one slideshow. Just to warn you, it's long!

Halloween 2009

We had a great Halloween this year! Paige went to two different parties and had her school party also.  I had to dress Alli up and take her to the school too.  She loves going to the school to see Paige.  On Halloween we went to Mike and Robin's house and had dinner.  All the kids had fun and got a ton of candy..... too much if you ask me.  

I could have been an interesting Halloween..... After I left work on Friday I almost had a head on collision with an idiot that was driving on the wrong side of 201.  Luckily, the Audi handles well and I have mad driving skills! :) I'm sure that a head on going 60+ miles per hour would have not ended well!

Paige before her Girl Scout Halloween Party.

Paige and Alli at the Elementary School.

She doesn't look amused here, but I promise she had fun....

Logan, Paige, Kori, Rylee, Shaun, Bronwyn, Alli, Bennett, Liv, Kate, and Gracie. It was hard to keep track of all of them!

Stray Cat Strut

Paige had her Halloween Show on Friday night.  She did awesome! It was a lot of fun to see all the kids dressed up in the cute costumes!  She really loves ice skating and I love to watch her progress and learn new skills.  To me, doing anything other than going around the rink is impressive! Great Job Miss Paigey! We love you!

Scouts and other random pictures

Paige has started Girl Scouts again. Tonight we had her Opening Ceremony. She had to get up and say a few lines in front of everyone and she did great!! We love you Paige! Now I'm just waiting for cookies! She is looking forward to summer camp this year because she will be going to one of the overnight camps.
Alli was a handful there, because all she wants to do is get down and walk. Thanks Mom for your help with her. Alli really wanted Grandpa tonight! Grandpa thinks she is trying to butter him up before the trip. He's probably right!

The kids have a new toy.....the toy bin. Wish I would have known how much fun this was sooner. The bins are a lot cheaper than the toys! They are such funny kids, I love watching them come up with new ideas. Paige helps Alli along the way, she is such a good big sister!

Alli's new passion is helping Daddy when he's on the computer. Whenever he is home she wants to be with him. She loves wearing his head set and typing on her computer (his Blackberry). It's so cute!