Cousins

Watching cousins interact has always been a fun thing for me. (my oldest nephew turned 16 last month . . . . whoa!) I'm here to say its a million times sweeter when they are interacting with your own child.

The Allsop grandchildren: It was incredibly cute watching the older boys play (the girls basically just stared at one another) with Rylee, or get mad at her saying "NO Rylee!" when she would empty the dump truck of the cars he clearly wanted to be full . . . . over and over again while I watched and laughed (sorry dude). Or scare her because it would make her smile, endless tickles, and basically putting up with her stealing toys and turning around so they'd be "out of reach".

It was also incredibly sweet to hear of cousins getting excited to pick out toys for her, or tell others she is her sister that lives in Texas, lend her clothes and basically ask what 'tricks' she learned and how she's doing.

We love living here, but being so far from family is difficult - some days are harder than others.

white stuff

I suppose it was fitting for Rylee's first Chirstmas to be a white one.

Thankfully, the weather was nice enough (not "bitter", just cold) and by the time we stuffed the whole family in one room together I was wishing I'd packed more short-sleeved shirts.

Rylee is basically the result of a giant experiment, so we had to see what she'd think of the snow.

um, its cold.
Michael's dad got his hands on a couple snowmobiles and we were lucky enough to go out for a couple rides. We had a great time. Michael was a little nervous to let me drive, basing his fears off of previous experience with wave-runners. Not to worry, I'm a much "safer" driver in the snow. I loved the rows and rows of trees, the wild turkeys, pheasants and mostly getting out of the house TOGETHER.

on a trail
father and son.


We even took Rylee out for a little ride.

It was great to spend a week seeing and experiencing the snow, and then getting the heck out of there.

Rylee's 1st Christmas

Santa put a little camcorder in my stocking this year. Too bad he didn't leave a note to open that first (like before everything else was unwrapped) - I liked the surprise anyway :)

Hopefully my videography skills will improve with practice but here's a little Christmas montoge of Rylee opening and trying to eat some gifts. Since it was Christmas, we let her.

Rylee's 1st Christmas from tricia allsop on Vimeo.

Road Trip

We drove up to Wisconsin to spend Chrismas with Michael's family. Crazy? most definately. I was pretty nervous about the trip. More so than flying solo with Rylee last August, I dare say I was even more nervous than giving birth. Really? let me explain:
1. when the pain starts to kick in I have no "happy"-dural option
2. there isn't a professional that can "take-over" if need be.
3. if she screams the entire drive there is nothing I can do but let her scream. (no picking her up without adding an hour+ to the arrival time) and I'm stuck in a contained space with a screaming baby.
4. she's mobile and more independent every day
5. I was worried she'd hate being in her car seat from that moment on

Well, I'm pleased to announce she was a dream boat. We drove through the night (both ways) taking turns driving so she'd sleep. She was a bit better driving there than back, but was the best traveler out of the three of us.

I did spend a good chunk of the drive in the back seat- partially to pass around snacks/toys/books, partially to get more comfortable rest. Sadly we didn't use 80% of the toys or snacks I packed. Live and learn I guess.

Have I told you how much I love this mirror? best invention ever. And the sun in the eye trick just facilitates eye closing for naps. awesome.

Thankfully the roads were clear and I've turned into a big fan of audio books and the SA library. We all slept in this morning trying to recover from a fun vacation week. More on the trip and Rylee's 1st Christmas to follow.

lights

As many times as we've been to the river walk, we've never been in December to see the Christmas lights ON. So naturally, that was my goal this year. The lights were pretty and you can't beat walking around looking at Christmas lights in a jacket . . . . a jacket I tell you!!! (Have I mentioned I love San Antonio?)

We tried to hit up el marcado . . . . you know 'little Mexico' but we didn't have much time to peruse before they closed . . . . I wasn't really looking for a sombrerro or a poncho anyway. (they DID however have what might have been the cutest animal hats I've ever seen . . . . hard to explain and we were too cheap to buy one, so sorry). We walked down and around the riverwalk, grabbed a quick bite to eat and came home. My favorite part was probably the girl scouts riding in a river taxi singing Christmas carols. I loved it.

teething

I'm not sure which is more painful: having a tooth cut through her gums, or me trying to take a picture of said tooth. You may just have to take my word for it- One of her bottom teeth popped through (actually two weeks ago - its a pretty slow process) and she's workin on the other bottom one now too (at least I think so). Don't worry, I kissed those big crocodile tears right up . . . . . . as for the slobber, I wiped that on Michael. And yes, I've become a "flicker" if not for the biting, for the pinching.

Ho Ho Ho!!

It was 12 noon on Saturday. The ward Christmas party was in 6 hours and Santa hadn't RSVP'd.

tragedy struck. (dun dun dun)

That was until the activites commitee chair thought to call her son's seminary teacher to ask a huge favor. That favor being to put on a plush velvet suit (remember its about 80-ish degrees . . . some of us decided Santa puts on black flip flops when he comes to Texas) let about 140 "primary" age children sit on his lap, tell him what they would like for Christmas, and hand out candy-canes. Of course he obliged, and by the look of the line, was a hit. He said it was a little awkward at first (really is a strange thing we do) but quickly found his niche. Several elves commented he was a very sweet Santa asking each child their name, if they'd been good and what they would like for Christmas- even if he couldn't hear their answers. (stinkin' north pole hair and soft voices). There were a few kids that were scared but plenty that were awfully excited. Dreams do come true, even in the cultural hall.

I've never loved Santa more. I sure hope I've been good.