my2doodlebugs: January 2012

I am so blessed to have two such wonderful little girls with their very own personalities! I love them both for filling my life with more joy and happiness than I ever dreamed of. Looking back at my blog, I've been posting a lot about Lauren, so today, it's all about Allison. Allison is my girly girl. She loves to wear pretty clothes, have her nails painted, and play with her dolls. She would wear a dress every day if I let her. She's very emotional, very affectionate, super cuddly, and very sensitive. If you look at her with the slightest bit of disapproval, or if you reprimand her for any reason, she'll burst into tears. On the flip side, she has the most awesome laugh!! One of my favorite sounds in the world is to hear her laughing while watching her favorite show, Curious George.
She absolutely ADORES her big sister. I love to watch the two of them play together. I love to imagine what they will be like when they are older, confiding in each other and being there for each other.
One of her favorite things to do has always been to play dress up. That's the first thing she'll ask to do as soon as we walk in the door. In the picture below she is dressed up in her Sleeping Beauty princess dress playing with her Minnie and Mickey Mouse stuffed animals. On the far right of the chair next to Allison is her baby Rebecca whom she loves and sleeps with and takes everywhere!

I love you my sweet little girly, girl Allison!

I can't believe it is already January 17! Seems like we were just celebrating Christmas, and now January is more than half over. I'm going to just record a few highlights from our holidays, since I didn't manage to post any thing after Christmas Eve. After celebrating with Bill's family on Christmas Eve, we enjoyed a fun Christmas morning with the girls. After waking up around 7:00 a.m., we hurried downstairs for the girls to see what Santa brought them. A few of their favorite presents were roller skates, new baby dolls, new crib and stroller for Allison's doll, new bike for Lauren, clothes, and new jammies. Mommy and Daddy got a new camera for each other, Daddy got a new Bible, Mommy got a new red casserole dish (which I was really wanting), a new hair dryer, an electric razor, and some new pots and pans! The girls had fun skating in the house while Daddy cooked pancakes and sausage for Christmas breakfast. After breakfast we loaded up and drove to Mom and Dad's. We enjoyed lunch together before opening another round of presents. We ended the day going church in Bristol.

The next day, Dec. 26th, Bill and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary. We got to check out the after Christmas sales, and then had dinner at the Chop House! We had a very nice time together. While we were at Mom and Dad's we got to see Aunt Susie, Jim, Susan and her family. Uncle Bob also came over for a visit.

Tuesday, December 27th we all went bowling. Lots of fun was had by all! We came back to Knoxville on Wednesday and enjoyed the rest of the week at home. We didn't have any big plans for New Year's Eve. Bill bought me the movie, The Help and we watched that on New Year's Eve. The girls camped out together in the Bonus Room that night, but were asleep before the New Year arrived.

Monday, January 2nd, we took the girls to the Pancake Pantry and Ober Gatlinburg for the day. It was a fun family outing.

That Friday, I celebrated my ?? birthday! Mom and Dad, brother, Sue and Tim, and the four of us went out for dinner. The next day Lauren had her first Upward basketball game which was lots of fun to watch. After that game we raced to UT to watch the men play 8th ranked Florida! UT pulled off a big upset beating the Gators! What a great game to see!!

Lauren's basketball season lasts through the end of February with a game every Saturday. This last week, Lauren got to play most of the game because one of the team members was not there and another one did not want to play. Lauren scored 3 baskets and had a few assists where she dribbled the ball down the court, passed to the open team mate resulting in a score! We were so proud of her! She is really enjoying playing!