The Truitt Family

I See Some Blue in Our Future

2010-05-21T14:39:00.006-04:00

We had our second ultrasound today and the doctor revealed (very confidently) that we are having a BOY! I am so excited!!! Of course, I would have been excited either way, but it will be neat to have one of each and get to experience the similarities and differences between the two genders. Ally will be a great sister to a younger brother.
I know for some people, they like the surprise of waiting to find out the gender of their baby, but for me it is a nice treat between a horrible first trimester and what potentially could become a pretty lousy third trimester. It is a nice "reward" and takes my mind off of watching my sugar, non-stress tests and trying to find clothes to fit into. :-)
I can't wait to see what our little man looks like as I snuggle him in my arms. For now, though, here is a peak at what he looks like hanging out in his mama's belly. Isn't he gorgeous?!?

Happy Birthday, Aunt Lou!

2010-05-17T08:20:00.003-04:00

Today is my "middle" sister's birthday...she is 30 (shhhhhhhhh...don't tell :-))!!!!! We hope you have a really great day, Laura! We love you!!!

Mother's Day 2010

2010-05-10T12:30:00.003-04:00

I had a WONDERFUL Mother's Day this year. Not only did David let me sleep in (greatest gift EVER), but I also got a new tree to plant in our front yard (once I pick it out that is), some new sudoko and word search books (YAY!) and a gift card for a pedicure (heaven!). I was truly spoiled. David made me a bagel as I requested for breakfast, though he thought it was kind of boring and was hoping to make me a big breakfast. A girl wants what a girl wants. :-) Ally carried it over to me and had the biggest, cheesiest smile ever while delivering it to me. It was ADORABLE!

We got ready and made a stop to see David's step-mom. (We visited with his mom and Grandma on Saturday and had a wonderful lunch...YUM!) Then we went to my mom and dad's house to have dinner with my mama and to see my Granny and Grandpa who are back for the summer from Florida. It was so nice to see them and I know they have been itching to see Ally and Dylan. We had a DELICIOUS meal of chicken and steak kabobs, with salads and potatoes and then chocolate and angel food cakes for desert. YUM again!

I was a big flake and didn't remember to bring my camera all day, but we got some pictures with my mom's camera and I am so happy to have them, especially this one of Ally and me:

This one isn't super flattering of me, but it is really cute of Ally and my beautiful mom:

And this last one is nice to have, because my Granny is in it. The kiddos were over having pictures taken at this point, but it is cute anyway:

It was a great day, but most of all, it was nice to spend it with people that I love and adore so much. It is exciting to think that next year I will have two little ones to spend it with! Hope all of you fellow moms had as great a day as I had! You all deserve it!

Happy Birthday, Maw-Maw!

2010-05-04T08:52:00.000-04:00

We are looking forward to celebrating with you on Thursday, but we hope you have a great birthday today! We love you!

Twinkle, Twinkle...Ally Style

2010-04-27T14:53:00.005-04:00

Please don't mind the messy hair and orange drool on her face...it was a special day and she was enjoying her treat! :-)

Boing, Boing, Boing!!!

2010-04-25T10:00:00.007-04:00

Last night we took a trip over to Julie and Brian's house for a little cookout with them. We had such a fun night just hanging out, relaxing and playing some games (David and I apparently are NO GOOD at 80's trivia, but Brian rocked it out!). We had great food. Brian is a master at kabobs and Julie has a new signature dish in her potato casserole, if you ask me. :-) The highlight of Ally's night, though, was getting to jump on the trampoline with Jillian. She LOVED it and we had a really hard time getting her off of it when the rain started. We will definitely have to do that again soon. Jillian is such a pro at jumping already! It took ally a little bit to get used to it, but by the time it started to spinkle, she had really gotten the hang of it. She had the best time! Thanks to the Martins for hosting such a fun evening!

Ryan is 6!!!

2010-04-25T08:57:00.001-04:00

I cannot believe you are six years old already! Boy has time flown by since I first held you in my arms...you were so, so tiny! You are such a sweet boy. We love you, Ryan and hope you have a great day!

I'm baaaaaaaack...with some news!

2010-03-10T11:12:00.003-05:00

Well, no, I didn't fall off the face of the earth (though some days I have felt like I would like too), but I do have a pretty good excuse for not blogging in months. The Truitts are expecting a little package come September...a tiny baby package! We found out we are pregnant with our second little bundle of joy! Ally is going to be a big sister!

We are very excited, though we were a little bit surprised by the news at first (we didn't exactly plan this one, but we were planning to try for one later in the year, so what's a few months, right?).

I have been SUPER sick with this pregnancy, worse than I was with Ally and for those of you who remember that pregnancy, I was pretty sick then too. I will be 12 weeks tomorrow and I am starting to feel a little better, so I am hopeful that my second trimester will be a good one. And, I am hopeful that I will be able to find energy and time to blog again. I have lots of things to catch up on. I have been super tired, but I hear that is the case with your second one, especially since I am chasing a very active almost two year old around the house all the time.

Our due date is set at September 28, though the computer when we had our ultra sound seems to think it is more like the 23rd, so we'll see.

Below is a picture from our first ultrasound from last week. Our baby is floating upside down in the picture, but he/she was waving to us and moving like crazy the whole time the doctor was doing her thing. It was so neat to see and it brought back tons of memories from seeing Ally for the first time. Ultrasounds are so awesome!

Well, I hope to be back soon and will try to keep everyone updated on our progress.

Here we go again!!! Let the madness begin!

Get off the roads!!

2010-03-09T08:32:00.001-05:00

Our beautiful niece, Kayla, is 16 years old today! Yikes! How could she possibly be 16 already? Where does the time go?
We hope you have the greatest 16th birthday ever, Kayla! We love you!

Happy Birthday Mom!

2010-01-19T15:34:00.003-05:00

Happy Birthday to the best mom in the world...MINE!!! You are always so supportive of everything I do and dream. Thank you for always being there. We hope you have a great birthday!! It was fun celebrating with you last night. We love you!

Rainbow Pirate

2010-01-14T16:53:00.003-05:00

Early this morning I received an e-mail from the hubby that read, "Yarrrrrrrr! The rainbow pirate is lurking!" and this is the photo that accompanied the message:My husband loves pirates (or at least talking like a pirate) and I guess that's what Ally reminded him of this morning. Regardless, the picture made my day...she's so cute! Thanks, Bud, for the early morning giggle!

My Future Ski Bunny

2010-01-12T09:32:00.006-05:00

On Saturday, I spent about 20 minutes getting Ally all bundled up, so I could take her out in the snow for approximately 5 minutes (nice). She had been asking to go outside for DAYS and even though we had just been to the doctor with her the day before, she was in a great mood and I figured 5 minutes of cold when she was bundled up like the kid from A Christmas Story, was not going to do her in any harm. We would spend a couple minutes walking around and looking at the snow and then we would collect some of the fresh snow and make snow ice cream (will post on that later). Ally LOVED being outside in the snow. She wasn't crazy about getting it on her face (she fell forward once and since the snow was almost up to her waist, she took a face full), but once I wiped her off, she was fine and spent most of her 5 minutes walking up and down the driveway, repeating "Snow White, Snow White" over and over again. Before we went inside, we scooped up a bowlful of snow and I shoveled our walkway (AGAIN! What is up with all this snow?) so David wouldn't have to when he got home from work. Ally cried when I said it was time to go in, but she was fine once I served up lunch. :-) We had a quick, but fun time in the snow.

**On a side note (and to explain the title), I think Ally looks like she should have skis and poles in her hand in these pictures I took...so cute! It makes me so excited about the possibility of teaching her to ski next year! We love to ski and have always said we will teach our kids to ski at a very early age (they learn better and faster when they are small). Fun Truitt Family ski outings in our future!!

Hope you are all staying warm!

A Birthday Dinner Celebration

2010-01-10T21:12:00.000-05:00

Today we went to Dave and Lori's house to celebrate Dave's birthday with a yummy lasagna dinner (well WE all had lasagna and the birthday boy had prime rib...either way, who loses? Yum! :-)). We had a large crowd (large enough that we are outgrowing the kitchen table!), which meant lots of noise, but lots of fun. Even David's Aunt Karen and Uncle Brian joined us and it is always great to see them. After dinner there was some drawing and Wii playing and wedding planning and all sorts of good stuff. It was a nice evening. I hope you had a great birthday, Dave! So glad we could be a part of the celebration. We love you!

One, Tuu, Tree, Boor

2010-01-05T08:50:00.003-05:00

In case you were wondering about the title, that is "Ally Speak" for- one, two, three, four. Ally can count to TEN! Nineteen months old and she can count to ten...proud mama over here. :-) Some of the pronunciation may be a little off, but you can understand every number she is saying and she counts in order every time. Just wanted to brag a little, because she so darn cute when she does it! If I can catch her on video, I will post it here, but she is stubborn when she sees any kind of camera so I am not making promises. I'll try though!

Hi No!

2009-12-27T22:42:00.001-05:00

As we were finishing gift opening tonight with my parents, it started to snow. Ally and Dylan were having the best time standing in the glass doorway watching the snow fall (and getting their grubby little hands all of over memaw and papaw's front door) together. Ally would yell, "Hi No!" and Dylan would just grin and clap his hands. So cute!!

Second Christmas Stop....the Truitt House

2009-12-25T22:12:00.001-05:00

After we had our bellies sufficiently stuffed with the best Christmas food ever, we hop, skipped and jumped down the street to David's dad's house to spread some Christmas cheer over there. Grandaddy and Uncle Jerry were in town and it is always a pleasure to see them. We exchanged gifts and Ally and Jillian played with their new toys and had lots of fun. The girls were real troopers through all of the holiday madness and napless days this year...they really are great kids! Lori was excited to receive the Wii we all gifted her with this year and we even broke it out a gave it a try while we were there.

Merry Christmas...again!

An Italian Christmas

2009-12-25T22:00:00.001-05:00

Stop #1 on Christmas day is to Grandma Lang's house. David's Grandma makes a HUGE and wonderfully yummy Italian meal every Christmas day...and it is all handmade. She makes her own sauce, meatballs AND pasta! We look forward to it for months, it is just that good. In addition to the food, though, we always look forward to seeing the family and the last couple years have brought several additions to our family, so it is fun to see the little ones all running around. Ally had so much fun playing with her cousins. We filled our bellies and are already looking forward to next year. Merry Christmas!

Christmas Morning

2009-12-25T10:20:00.001-05:00

We had a wonderful Christmas morning. We didn't get back from Cincinnati last night until about 1:00am, but Santa was prepared this year and didn't need much help from us, so David and I were able to get to bed by around 1:30 or so. Ally actually slept until around 9:00, so we all woke fresh and ready to go. Look what Santa left for us!

Ally was very excited and ran right over to the tree, but stopped short when she saw her new table and chairs. She wanted to sit right down on her new "seat".

And then Daddy sat down in one of her seats and she thought that was pretty funny...
We finally convinced her to open some of her other gifts and she had a ball! She got so much stuff from Santa (a little too much stuff, but whatever)...
Then Daddy opened a few gifts...he got some books, a new hat, some clothes, some fancy playing cards, etc..
Then I opened a couple gifts...a very nice shelving system for the garage that I have been wanting, but have been told I don't need (I wonder if Santa was just trying to trick me into thinking I wasn't going to get it :-)) and the most amazing gift I have ever received under any tree...
This photo doesn't do it justice, but in this picture are my two Ally's...my daughter, Allyson and my grandmother who passed away four years ago. My Ally is named after my grandma and she was one of the most important people in my life. Our time with her was far too short, but at least now I have this amazing reminder of her. David has been planning for months for this gift and I was in total shock! A lady he works with is an artist and sketched this beautiful photo for me, so that I would have a picture of Ally and my grandma together. I think I sat and stared at this picture for ever, after I was done crying tears of joy that is. Thank you, David for the most amazing gift! I can not put into words how much it means to me. Here is a picture of Ally and me, after I had cried my eyes out for 15 minutes. :-)

After we finished all of our presents (including some that came all the way from Florida to us...thanks GG & GG-pa Clark!!), we let Ally have a sucker from her stocking. Then she preceeded to lose her mind, because she wasn't allowed to have another one. :-) After we calmed the meltdown, I fixed eggs and biscuits for breakfast and we relaxed and played with new toys before heading to our first of several Christmas stops for the day. What a fantastic morning! Merry Christmas, everyone!

Cutest 1 Year Old in Town!

2009-12-25T06:16:00.002-05:00

In addition to Christmas, we have something else to celebrate around these parts...today is our nephew and Godson, Dylan's, 1st birthday!! I cannot believe a year has gone by already. Seems like just yesterday that my mom called to say Laura's water broke early Christmas morning and she was in labor (Dylan wasn't due to arrive for another month). Dylan is an absolute joy to be around and one of the cutest kids I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. I am so proud to be his aunt and Godmomma. Happy Birthday D! We love you and look forward to celebrating with you tomorrow!

Christmas Eve

2009-12-25T01:45:00.002-05:00

We made our annual trip to Cincy on Christmas Eve to see my mom's side of the family. This is one of my most favorite days of the year. I love getting to see most of my family and chatting late into the evening, eating yummy food and hearing the poker stories when one of the guys finally comes up from the "man cave". I love seeing my cousins adore Ally and Dylan...they are oh so sweet to the little ones. It is just a great, relaxing time for my family.

The kids had a great time! After we exchanged gifts and played a couple games, they colored and built a gingerbread train and just played like crazy!

The babies were great in church, making their Memaw swell with pride over having her entire bunch lined up in one pew together. And several giggles were had by all over Dylan and his sippy cup, David singing above everyone else and of course the choir member who continues to think that she can hit the super high notes year after year. I didn't get any church pictures, but you aren't really supposed to take pictures during mass anyway. ;-)

I am happy to report that David won the annual poker game, earning more basement finishing money (good work, Bud!) and ticking off my uncle yet again (Sorry Scott! At least you have one or maybe two kids who will be taking everyone's money in a few years after all the practice they are getting playing with the "big kids").

(Here is Alex getting silly-stringed by his Adam, during the poker game. This didn't go over well with the "big kids". :-))

We also started some new traditions this year, including a gift exchange game with silly prizes and a Mike & Ike taste testing contest (see Grandpa concentrating real hard below, trying to figure out if it is lemon or lime!). Funny!

After much effort, Laura got Dylan to fall asleep...

But, Ally would not even think about sleep, until we were in the car headed home, so she was up late. We arrived back to Columbus around 1:00 in the morning, but it was well worth the late night to spend such quality time with everyone. A great day had by all. Thanks "young" Halseys for hosting again this year!

Here Comes Santa Claus...

2009-12-05T17:48:00.004-05:00

Today Santa came to visit David's office and spread some Christmas cheer! Every year, the Coldwell Banker office in Gahanna invites all of their clients, family and friends to come and enjoy an afternoon with Santa and eat lots of yummy treats. It is free to those who come and they collect food and clothing items to donate to a local shelter. I love that his office does this...I think it is a great way to say thank you to family, friends and clients and it is a wonderful day.

Ally was fine with Santa from afar, smiling and waving to him, but when we tried to sit her on his lap, it was a no go. Mommy ended up in a couple picture (oh, joy), which she happily smiled in,

but then Daddy had to bribe Ally with a candy cane to sit by herself on his lap. She held on tight to the candy cane and sat on his lap, but no one said she needed to be happy about it (as you will see in the pictures below). Oh, well...there is always next year. Ho-Ho-Ho!!

Happy Birthday Girl!

2009-12-03T19:41:00.001-05:00

Today is my sister-in-law's birthday and I hope Brian spoils her rotten today, because she deserves it! Happy Birthday, Julie! We love ya!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T22:48:00.004-05:00

David and I were just saying how truly blessed our life is and how thankful we are for our beautiful daughter and our wonderful family and friends. We had a busy, but fantastic day and ate so much! We are so thankful that we are able to be with most of our family at the holidays (we miss the ones we don't see, though!) and that Ally will grow up with such love and support around her. Thanks to everyone who filled our bellies today. A Happy Thanksgiving from our home to yours!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
(Will post a few pics later...)

A Heavy Heart

2009-11-19T21:12:00.006-05:00

My thoughts and prayers go out to the Spielman family. Stefanie was an amazing person and had such an impact on so many lives. She will be truly missed.

Trick-or-Treat

2009-10-30T09:22:00.007-04:00

We had our first (now to be annual) Trick-or-Treat party last night and it was so much fun. We had quite the crew of Ally, Dylan, Ryan, Alyssa and Jillian all out on the streets collecting candy! All the kids were wonderful (no complaining, fussing, fighting, etc.) and even the littles made it to at least 20 houses. We weren't even planning on taking them, except to a few neighbors, but they were in to it and ready to go so we forged on.
Ally would not let go of her candy bucket, to the point that I thought we might have to let her take it to bed with her (and then steal it away after she fell asleep). She had a great time and ate too much candy!
David got his fill of scaring all the kids in the neighborhood (he is really quite good and funny when he does it) and we had lots of laughs and ate yummy pizza and snacks.
What a fun night!
Trick-or-Treat!!

Are You Going to Take a Picture of That?

2009-10-28T23:15:00.004-04:00

Our conversation tonight:

Me: Ok, Ally has her Halloween party tomorrow at daycare. Her costume is all ready to take and is hanging on the door.

Him (as he looks towards the door): Are you going to take a picture of THAT?? I guess I need to get used to this kind of stuff (he loves the pink that has invaded our home in the past year and a half).

Me: You know I am and yes, you do...

Happy Halloween!

A Few Things I Would Like To Remember:

2009-10-19T13:29:00.004-04:00

Ally says some of the funniest things as she learns to talk more and more. She is a very verbal child and a good percentage of things she says actually come out coherent, but it is still so cute to listen to a child who is learning to talk. I keep saying to David that we need to get her on videotape more, but life seems to always get in the way and we forget. Well, there are a few things in particular that I don't want to forget, so I thought I would put them down in writing here. It's not the same as actually hearing her say them, but at least it will help me remember some day. :-)

Gobbee, gobbee (that's Ally talk for gobble, gobble...like a turkey)-this is one of my favorites! It is so cute the way she says this and when you ask her what a turkey says, she always answers, gobbee. She knows pretty much all of the animal sounds and between gobbee and her southern version of neigh (comes out Naaayyy, with a southern drawl), she keeps us in stitches. So far, Ally can tell you what a cow, turkey, cat, dog, pig and sheep says. She usually will say, grrrr, when we ask her what a bear says and an interpretation of 'roar' when we ask her about lions, but we haven't perfected these yet. We are working on duck, because when we ask her what a duck says, she says, "Duck"...funny. She recognizes most animals and will say either the sound they make or their actual name. Smarty pants!

She loves Dora for some reason. I say "some reason", because we have NEVER had Dora on the TV at our house (in fact, we don't watch a lot of cartons at all) and the only thing Dora we own is a pair of her pajamas that were given to her for Christmas last year. The babysitter doesn't let them watch TV very often, but I guess she must have seen Dora there and feel in love. :-) Anyway, she recognizes Dora regardless of what she is on and how she is dressed and when she sees Dora she calls out her name. It is so cute and comes out like 'Dowra'. Sometimes she gets stuck on the 'D' and it takes a few seconds for the whole thing to come out, but she says it and it makes me smile every time.

Rocka bay-bee! The other night when I was rocking Ally at night, the room was quiet and dark and I thought she had fallen asleep. All of a sudden she blurts out, "Rocka bay-bee" and I about busted a seam! She is funny, that kid. That's what she says now when she wants you to sing Rock-a-bye-baby to her. She also says it when she has her dolls clutched under her arm and rocking back and forth. She loves her babies!

Ally can not only say, "Buckeyes", very clearly, but she also can recognize them too! She points to the logo and says, "Buckeyes" and the other day when the team was running onto the field she turned around and saw them on TV and yelled, "Buckeyes" and when you ask her what her favorite team is, she (without hesitation) hollers, "Buckeyes". No, we did not brainwash her, but apparently when we bleed scarlet and gray, so does our child...and that's the way we like it! Go Buckeyes!

These are just some examples of the funny things Allyson says right now, that I want to keep fresh in my mind. I will try to post some other funny things as the come along and I will see what I can do about getting an actual video of her posted, so you can hear it for yourself. So cute!

As Seasons Change, So Does Our Book Basket!

2009-10-16T13:10:00.004-04:00

I have decided to "steal" an idea from my Aunt Carey (thanks, Carey!) and start a seasonal/holiday book basket for Ally (and future little Truitts, wherever they may be).

Ally LOVES books, can't get enough of them and we have a giant pile of them that we keep in a large basket on the floor, so she can get to them (pretty much all board books at this stage in life, though). We read everyday day, multiple times a day. She really does love books.

Over the years (long before I had Allyson), I gathered a very nice collection of books, some signed by the authors (thanks, Mom!), some hardbacks, some older books from relatives...my children will always have plenty of books, which I am thrilled about. Ally also received many very nice books at one of my baby showers.

We don't let Ally "play" with some of the nice books yet, because they have more delicate pages and I don't want them to get all ripped up, but we do read them to her and she loves them.

My aunt keeps a basket on the bakers rack in her kitchen and in it she displays books for her kids to read about the current season or holiday. I love this idea, because not only will Ally get to learn something about the different times of the year, but this is a good way to display a lot of the really nice books we have that we usually keep tucked away on a shelf away from toddler fingers. I put the basket on the table next to our couch, so the books are handy when we want to read one to Allyson, but still out of her constant reach, so they stay nice and neat. As she gets older, the idea will be for Ally to be able to read the books in the basket as she pleases and put them back when she is done. I will change the books out as the seasons/holidays change. It also makes a nice decoration (especially once I get some festive ribbon to add to the handle of the basket).

Here is our Autumn/Halloween selection currently being displayed and a picture of Ally checking out the books:

Way Behind

2009-10-16T12:41:00.002-04:00

I am WAY behind on posting to my blog lately and I apologize to those of you who check in on a regular basis. I have, as usual, taken on trying to do way too many things and this time of the year is crazy enough as is. I will be making an effort to get caught up some here and there in the next week or so, so please scroll through or check my archives for older posts I may have snuck in there that you missed.
Thanks for reading my little online journal and don't be afraid to leave me comments (nice ones, though, as I don't like meanies. :-))

Happy Birthday, Dad!

2009-10-16T10:00:00.000-04:00

Today is my papa's birthday! He is on a boys only trip through the Bourbon distilleries of Kentucky and Tennessee, so although I am sure he would love to see us all on his birthday, he's probably having an OK time without us, right? :-)

Hope you have a great time on your trip, Dad and HAPPY BIRTHDAY! We love you and can't wait to celebrate with you when you get back!

It's Paw-Paw's Birthday!

2009-10-14T13:04:00.000-04:00

Today is David's step-dad's birthday and although we already had fun celebrating with him Saturday, we hope today is a special day for him! We love you, Dan! Happy Birthday!!!

Welcome Fall!

2009-10-05T13:51:00.004-04:00

Making Applesauce

2009-10-04T21:46:00.001-04:00

Ally was up bright and early this morning (like 6am bright and early...UGH!), so I decided to make applesauce with the apples we picked yesterday and have Ally "help" me. She did a GREAT job...such a good helper and she REALLY enjoyed eating the finished product. I love that she is getting old enough to start doing little crafty projects with me. So fun! :-)

First, I peeled and sliced the apples and put them in the crock pot (I used a variety of apples).

Next, I put the ingredients (sugar, cinnamon and water) in little bowls that were easy for Allyson to pick up.
Then I put Ally up on a chair at the table and let her pour each ingredient on top of the apples. She did a great job and only needed help with the sugar (She was close to the edge of the dish and started pouring backwards...only minimal amounts of sugar was lost.). She is really into pouring things or throwing things away, so this was right up her alley!

Next, it was time to stir up the apples and get them all coated with sugar and cinnamon. Ally liked being in charge of the wooden spoon!

Once the apples were all stirred up, I put the lid on and turned the crock pot to let it do it's magic!

Several hours later, this is what we had! Yum!

Ally's favorite part was testing her work at the end of the day. She is getting better with using a spoon, although you can see from the pictures that some ended up on her shirt and pants. Oh, well, it was the end of the day. :-)

Ally liked the applesauce so much that when David tried to take it away from her to give her a bath, she started crying and stayed mad at him until bedtime! Must have been some good applesauce, 'cause that girl loves her Daddy! So much fun for this little girl and her mommy!

Pigeon Roost Farm

2009-10-03T22:00:00.015-04:00

Today we went to a WONDERFUL place called Pigeon Roost Farm. It was a lot of fun for the kids and adults and a great day to spend with family. I have never seen so many pumpkins! We had excellent weather. The skies were beautiful and the air was crisp. Perfect fall day. I highly recommend this place, if you have never been. It is a bout 30 minutes east of Columbus and a nice little roadtrip. It is the perfect fall fun!

Caution: Crazy mom (aka: Me) yielding camera took a TON of pictures, so don't be alarmed by the length of this post! I love fall pictures...the colors are amazing. Enjoy!

4 Years :-(

2009-10-02T08:30:00.001-04:00

I love you Grandma and I miss you as much today as I did four years ago. I know you are watching over all of us and thinking about that makes everything a little easier (just a little). You are the best guardian angel a family could ever ask for. We love you and you will always remain our role model and hero. Your spot in my heart will never be filled.

Wagon Ride

2009-10-01T20:14:00.002-04:00

It ended up being a really nice day today and both David and I were home from work by 5:00, so we decided to get the wagon out and take Ally for a little ride around our street. She LOVED it and was close to throwing a HUGE fit when we told her it was time to go inside for dinner (I could see it in her eyes, but she calmed herself down when she heard she was going to get her beloved "Mulk" (or, milk, to the rest of us), if she came inside). I think she would have slept in the wagon if we would have let her. We are going to take it with us this weekend when we got to the pumpkin farm and the apple orchard with Dylan and we just hope Ally will let him in it with her...she was a tad bit possessive about it yesterday (as you will see in the picture where David tried to sit in it with her...not happening Daddy!). :-)

Here she is trying to push David out of the wagon. He, apparently, did not get an invitation to play, nor was he ever going to get one. :-) His job is Wagon Puller, according to Ally.And here she is in almost fit mode, because we told her it was time to go inside.
Thanks to Alecia, Greg, Megan and Evan for handing down the wagon to us. It's like brand new and we are looking forward to getting lots of use out of it!

OSU vs. USC

2009-09-12T23:01:00.001-04:00

Well, we may have lost the game, but I think the Buckeyes played a tough game and should be proud (I know not everyone agrees with me though).

We went to Julie and Brian's to watch the game and had a great time, as usual! Danny and Jersey came in from PA and joined us for the game and it was so great for the girls to get to play with their "older" cousin. We don't get to see Jersey as much as would like, since she lives out of state, so any time we are all together it is a lot of fun!

What a Life!

2009-08-24T10:35:00.012-04:00

Here is a look at Ally's weekend through pictures. It really is great to be a (almost) 15 month old!

Saturday:

Dumping out every toy in the basket (and then later dragging the basket around the house for half the day)...

Staring contest with Riley (although I don't think he realized this is what was going on)...
Being silly with Mommy...
Playing in the clean, warm laundry that mommy just pulled out of the dryer...

Afternoon snack, picnic style and with toys (and note she is still in her pj's!)...

Sunday:

Late morning snack on her picnic table outside (still in pj's...again!)...

Whatcha talkin' 'bout Willis!?

Playing dress up in her big floppy sun hat...We eventually got dressed and dropped David at the office so he could put in a quick bid for a client, while Ally and I ran a few errands. We stopped for ice cream at McDonalds on the way back to pick him up, which Ally really enjoyed (so did mommy and daddy!). It was a lazy weekend (although we did manage to get a few things done around the house, including cleaning out the garage!!), but it was a great one!

Picture Perfect Cousins

2009-08-19T15:32:00.009-04:00

A few weeks ago, we took Ally and Dylan to get pictures taken together at JC Penny. Sure, we have a GAZILLION of them that I take on my camera, but we had not done the "professional" ones yet and since they are both growing so fast, we thought this would be the perfect time to do it.

It can be pretty challenging to get a 14 month old and a 7 month old to both cooperate at the same time and although these are not my all time favorite pictures of Ally, I still think they turned out cute and I am glad we had them done. Dylan's OSU pictures are classics...boy knows what's important in life! :-)

Here are some of my favorites of the bunch (okay, so there are a lot of favorites...I guess I like them better than I thought :-))...

And, here are some that just made us chuckle a little (and a couple that made me wonder if my child has a little bit of a devilish side to her)...:-)

Double Trouble

2009-08-19T15:07:00.006-04:00

My parents have had to go out of town a couple times this summer and when they leave, we inherit their dog, Maddy, for a few days. We LOVE Maddy and we enjoy when she comes to stay, so it is no problem. She is a wonderful dog and is great with kids. She mainly chills around the house all day, so it really isn't a big deal to take care of her. Ally and Maddy spend a lot of time following each other around when they are together and Maddy loves that Ally is always (despite the many attempts from mama to stop it) willing to share her food. Here are some cute photos I got of the two of them together and you can see how happy Maddy makes Ally, by the grins on her face (you can't tell from the pictures necessarily, but Ally is giggling like CRAZY at Maddy licking her fingers and her toes)...

What a Day for a Dip in the Pool

2009-08-18T15:30:00.005-04:00

We let Ally play in her baby pool this past weekend, while we gave an extra deep clean scrub to our shower doors (made them squeaky clean...like brand new!). She had a blast (even with only a few inches of water!) and stayed in the pool spashing around for almost 45 minutes! She didn't want to get out. It was a great way for her to stay cool (and let us get some work done at the house) and have some fun on a very hot summer day.

Zoo-tastic Day!

2009-08-09T20:29:00.005-04:00

We had a really wonderful day at the zoo today, despite it being VERY HOT! David had an open house today, so Ally and I met mom, dad, Laura, John and Dylan at the zoo. We all got in free, between the membership we have and the one the Hendersons have. So...on top of having fun, it was free and I LOVE free! :-)

We got to the zoo around 10:00 and headed straight to the elephants in hopes of seeing little Becco and much to our delight, he was outside playing! There was a small crowd of people, but I was still able to get a few pictures. He looks so tiny in the pictures, but the zoo employee that was there answering questions said he weighs over 600 pounds!

Next we headed over to see the lions and tigers and bears...Oh MY! Ally loved the bears! We could barely drag her away from them. She was not a big fan of having her picture taken with Grandpa on the lion statue (perhaps next year)...

It's hot out here isn't it, D?

We saw this cute little tiny monkey who was just born recently. Doesn't he look like a beanie baby??

Then we passed by the one place at the zoo I refuse to go...the wolverine exhibit (GO BUCKS!!)! But...we did solve the mystery behind why Michigan can't beat OSU (read the second "Did You Know" fact on the sign):

A few other animals and miscellaneous sights at the zoo:

Ally and Dylan got an up close and personal visits with some goats that hang out at the zoo... And Dad got really close to some pretty Lorakeets...

Laura and Johnny end the very HOT day with a sweet treat...

We spent most of the late morning and early afternoon at the zoo and were able to see many wonderful sights. Thanks so much for the zoo pass Laura, John, Dylan and Ashley! We are really enjoying it!

Showering Hannah with Love and Daisies

2009-08-08T23:00:00.001-04:00

Today I helped host a bridal shower for my good friend Hannah. She is getting married in October, in Myrtle Beach, to our childhood friend, Kyle. David and I are both in the wedding and we are very excited...should be tons of fun!

We had the shower at my house and all the bridesmaids helped out. We had tons of yummy food and lot of Sangria to go around. Hannah got some really nice gifts and I think she had a good time at her party.

Congratulations Hannah and Kyle! We can't wait to be a part of the big day (or should I say week?)!

Somebody's 30 Today and Her Name is TONYA!!!

2009-08-08T11:59:00.002-04:00

HAPPY 30th Birthday Tonya!

Sorry we couldn't make it to your surprise party, but we had a great time at the Pub with you!

Some pictures of our evening out...

Hope you had a great birthday, Tonya! We love you!!

Doing the Fair-2009

2009-07-30T21:45:00.016-04:00

Today we made a trip to The Ohio State Fair. I left work a little early and met David and Ally, my mom, Laura, John and Dylan and Julie, Brian, Kayla and Jillian all at the fair. It was a little rainy, but after a half hour or so, the sun started to come out and it turned into a really perfect evening to be at the fair. It was not very crowded and it was one of the first few days the fair was open, so it was a great day to pick to go. We mainly just wandered around and saw the animals, including pig races!, people watched (one of my favorite things to do) and ate a bunch of yummy fair food. Here is our day in pictures...

Visiting the sheep barn...Little D is all ready for the fair!He loved it!And they're off...the Martins on a mission to find the best fair food they can find.The Ferris Wheel...one of the tell-tale signs of the fair!KiddieLand! We quickly found out (much to David's dismay) that Ally and Jilly were too young to ride any of the rides, including David's beloved carpet slide...maybe next year, Bud!We visited the nature preserve area and saw all kinds of fun things. In the picture below, Ally is touching a giant tree log... And Smokey the Bear was there and he even knew Ally and Jillian's names! :-) Ally loved him...Jillian wasn't so sure...she was outta there!Pretty flowers (and if you look closely you can see some butterflies) in the Butterfly Garden... Just like her Daddy...Ally makes friends wherever she goes.Taking a break to rest up and for more Fair Food...YUM!Time for the pig races! Ally was so excited to watch these. We had to keep a close eye on her, because she really wanted on that track with those pigs! The races were hilarious and we were glad we got to watch them. The big fatty pigs at the end of the race were the best!Ally LOVED the petting zoo area and would have stayed all day. I don't know what was going on with the lighting when we were in there, but my pictures all have this red look about them. I think they must have some warming lights in there for the animals and alas, I was not paying close enough attention to the settings on my camera. Oh well, I still got some cute ones...

This guy was 161 years old and 303 pounds! That is a long time to be alive and be that heavy!

The fair is over for this year, but we will hopefully be back in 2010! It was a very fun time for all!

A Morning Walk

2009-07-26T11:18:00.006-04:00

Ally and I were up early this morning and it was SO nice out that we decided to take a little walk up to our neighborhood park. I was such a great day out for a walk- not to hot, but not chilly at all. Ally loved looking around and pointing at all the fun things she saw and when we got to the park, we were the only ones there, which was kind of nice. I let Ally run around on the playground and she really had a good time on the swings. We spent about 20 minutes playing, before we headed back towards the house. What a great morning to spend with my little girl.

Ally and her signature hip-shaken dance move. This is seriously HILARIOUS in person...picture doesn't do it justice! This girl was born with rhythm!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ASHLEY!!!!

2009-07-25T11:50:00.001-04:00

My baby sister turns 26 today! (I feel old) Happy Birthday, Ashley! We love you so much and we CANNOT wait until you are home with us!

When Did We Get a Bunny?

2009-07-24T19:44:00.001-04:00

So, there is this bunny that has been hanging out in our yard for the past several weeks (possibly due to the height of our grass until this morning) and I have been trying to get a picture of him for a little while now. Every time we see him, it seems I am without my camera and as soon as I run to find it and get it ready, the bunny takes off. Well, this evening he was in our backyard just nibbling away on grass when we were out on the deck and he stayed for quite some time. Not only was I able to get some pictures, but David also got Ally to say rabbit. She was just yelling like crazy fot that rabbit to pay attention to her and she thought it was so funny. It just amazes me the things she is able to do now. She is so smart and is getting smarter by the day!
Here are some pictures of our summer yard guest and of a little girl who wanted to make sure that rabbit knew she was there and saw him! :-)
Oh, she also yells at airplanes too (she looks a little angry in the picture below, but she really LOVES airplanes...she was just really trying to get its attention. We just happen to live in a landing path for the airport, so she is in heaven with all the airplanes that fly over)...

Happy Birthday Alyssa!!!

2009-07-19T11:44:00.001-04:00

Our niece Alyssa is celebrating a birthday today...4 years old!!! So sorry we won't be at your birthday party, Sis, but we will have a present waiting for you when we get back from vacation! We love you!!! Happy Birthday!

Happy 4th of July!!

2009-07-04T23:37:00.000-04:00

We had a very nice 4th of July this year, spending time with friends and family and enjoying Ally and her first parade!

We attended the 4th Annual Henderson Parade Party and it was the first year we have actually made it in time for the parade! Ha! :-)

Ally really enjoyed all of the music and the people. She watched the parade without really moving much for almost the entire time! She was really taking it in.

After the parade, we enjoyed great food and drink, a little cornhole and even a "Bouncy House" for the kiddos.

Late afternoon, we headed home for Ally to take a nap and then we just relaxed for the rest of the day...so nice!

Thanks to John, Laura and Dylan for throwing yet another great party. We had so much fun!

Happy 4th of July, everyone and thank you to all of our men and women who fight for our freedom everyday. God Bless America!!!

Jilly is 1 Today!!

2009-06-27T08:00:00.002-04:00

Jillian turns one today and we are so excited! I can't believe how fast this year went by. It seems like just yesterday that Julie and I were pregnant (and miserable :-)) together and now we have two adorable and amazing one year olds!
Happy Birthday, Jilly! We have so enjoyed watching you grow this year and we are excited for your birthday party today. We love you!!

Martin Family Beach Photo Session

2009-06-23T11:38:00.010-04:00

On our last night of vacation, I did a little photo shoot on the beach for my brother and sister-in-law and their girls. I am, by no means a professional photographer, but I have a great love for taking pictures and a really nice camera (thank you to my loving and generous hubby!!) and I am always snapping photos of everyone, so I was glad to do it. I have often thought of fine-tuning some of my camera skills and taking pics on the side, but who has time for all that with a one year old and a full-time job?? Maybe some day, right?? :-)

I am really proud of how most of the pictures turned out and hope Julie, Brian, Kayla and Jillian will enjoy them for years to come.

Here are some of my favorites...

Myrtle Beach Vacation-Part 1: The Beginning

2009-06-20T23:38:00.009-04:00

We just got back from our first vacation with David's family and although we are tired, we had a great time! There were sixteen of us, all staying in two condos that sat right next to each other on the beach in North Myrtle Beach, SC. Ally had 5 cousins on this trip, all ranging in age from almost 1 year old to almost 16 years old. The kids really enjoyed their time playing together and spending quality time that they don't normally get together. For most of the kids, this was their first trip to the beach, so it was very exciting for everyone.
At night, it was nice to sit around with all of my brothers and sister-in-laws and just hang out and share a lot of laughs. We don't get to all be together very often, so it was nice.
While we were there, we celebrated the 25th wedding anniversary of David's mom and step-dad. I would like to thank them again for wanting to celebrate their anniversary with us and for taking us all on this wonderful vacation! We will cherish these memories forever!

I literally took almost 1000 pictures while we were at the beach and though I won't be sharing all of the photos, there are quite a few that I would like to show, so I will break them up into several posts.

This first set of photos are of our drive down and Ally's first time seeing the beach and the ocean!
Our first water sighting!!
We are so close!!!
Ally sees the beach for the first time and LOVES it!!

Myrtle Beach Vacation-Part 2: Our Days at the Pool

2009-06-20T23:15:00.010-04:00

We had a great pool at our condo in Myrtle. Not only was it on the beach and in plain sight of our condo balcony, but we had a large pool, baby pool, hot tub and a lazy river! The kids had a blast floating around all day and it was never overly-crowded, which is a HUGE plus in my book!

A Butterfly Birthday Party

2009-06-06T22:34:00.000-04:00

Today we had Ally's first birthday party and oh what fun we had! She was surrounded by tons of loved ones and we so appreciate everyone helping us celebrate this special day with our baby.

We had the party at our house and enjoyed GREAT weather and lots of yummy food and fun. Ally did a great job eating her butterfly cake and was not shy about it all (we weren't shocked by this, 'cause the girl loves to eat!). Mommy ended up doing most of the gift unwrapping, while Ally played with all of her new toys. :-)

Thanks to all of our wonderful family and friends who came over for Ally's party and for being so generous to our little girl. You all helped make this day wonderful for us and we appreciate all of your love and support, especially over this past year with our Allyson.

Mass quantities of pictures coming your way... :-)

Happy Birthday, My Sweet, Sweet Baby!!

2009-06-03T05:28:00.004-04:00

I really don't know where this year went, but sure enough it did and our baby girl is ONE today!!!

Happy Birthday, Allyson!

Mommy and Daddy love you so much and we cannot begin to express what a wonderful addition you have been to our lives. You continue to amaze us and make us laugh every day. You are a complete joy and we could not have asked for a happier first year with you. We look forward to learning, sharing and laughing more with you. You are a very loved little girl and we are so proud that you are our daughter.

We love you Ally!

Love,

Mommy, Daddy and Riley

It's a very GRANNY Birthday!

2009-06-02T11:45:00.003-04:00

Today is my Granny's birthday!

We love you Granny and hope you have a really fabulous birthday! We are looking forward to seeing you Saturday for some celebrating.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

And, for those of you keeping track, this time last year I was in labor...hard to believe!

I've Got My Eye on You...

2009-05-26T11:40:00.006-04:00

For the second year in a row now, we have a little birdie's nest in our lilac bush outside the kitchen window. At the very beginning of my maternity leave last year, I can remember the constant chirping and birds flying back and forth between the nest and the fence post and tree and another fence post and blah, blah, blah... The mama and papa bird kept constant watch over their lovely nest. While it was adorably cute and touching at first, the chirping, I have to admit, got a tad bit annoying after awhile. And, I am not the only one who was practically driven to the brink by chirping little birds...Riley literally almost made a break for it through our window screen about 50 times last spring/summer.

Well, I had my hunches a couple weeks ago that our bird friends had taken up shop in our bush again, because the chirping became louder and more constant outside. And, sure enough, when I pulled some branches back and strained my neck...there was a beautifuly crafted nest perched way inside the lilac bush. Unfortunately, I can't get a good enough angle to get a picture of the eggs (the nest is much further back this year), but here are a couple pictures of the nest and Riley at his post (taking a break to eat, of course) making sure the birds know he's got his eye on them...

The Smiths Come To Town

2009-05-25T23:50:00.002-04:00

This weekend was a great weekend and it was made even more special by the fact that David's brother and our sister-in-law and our niece were in town from Pennsylvania. We don't get to see them near as often as we would like and our niece, Jersey, is getting so big and she is such a beautiful girl with all her curly blonde locks.

Most of David's family gathered at his mom and step-dad's house today, after the guys played a round of golf, to enjoy Maw-Maw's famous, Baked Spaghetti and Porkchops (YUMMMMEEEEEEEEE!!) and to visit with the out-of-towners. It was a great chance to chat, laugh and watch the small cousins play together.

Danny, Joey and Jersey- It was really great to see you and we are SO looking forward to catching up with you in a few more weeks at the BEACH!!! Thanks for coming to see us!

Aunt LuLu Has a Birthday!

2009-05-17T11:17:00.001-04:00

My sister, Laura, celebrated a birthday today and we were lucky enough to join her last night for some pizza and brownie "cake"! We had a fun time hanging out at Eagles Pizza with the family and then going back to mom and dad's house so we could sing to Laura and gorge ourselves on brownies with jiffy icing...YUM!

We sure hope Laura had a great birthday! We love you, Aunt LuLu!

Ahhh...Spaghetti...

2009-05-13T20:43:00.000-04:00

Tonight we actually got to sit down and have dinner together (Hooray for Family Night!) and at David's request, I made spaghetti. Ally is a really good eater and she is close to a year old now (Yikes, where did the year go??), but she has never had spaghetti before, so we figured this was the perfect opportunity to introduce her to the wonderful world of Italian food. She absolutely LOVED it! After she tired of eating (which was a long time), she proceed to rub sauce all over her face...cute, but messy. :-) It was so much fun to watch her eat her "big girl" meal. She is growing up so fast!

My First Mother's Day

2009-05-10T20:19:00.010-04:00

Today was an absolute wonderful day! I started my day off getting to sleep in just a wee bit (thanks, Bud!) and then woke up to two smiling faces. I jumped in the shower, knowing that we needed to get moving, because our first stop was at David's dad's house and we needed to be there by 11:00. When I got out of the shower, David and Ally presented me with a very beautiful and touching gift...a necklace and earrings that David had custom made for me, with Ally's semi-precious birth stone. It is a beautiful set and I was totally shocked! All I asked for was to have a tree taken out of my yard that I have wanted gone for two years (and I got that too! David yanked that tree right out of the ground after we got back from our day of festivities!) and I got so much more than I expected!! The thoughtfulness of the gift meant so much. What a great way to start my day.

We hit our first stop to see David's step-mom, Lori and we had a picnic breakfast with her (kitchen construction encouraged the picnic style eating), which was nice and something fun. We also got to see David's step-brother Duane and our niece Hayley, who came from Cleveland to spend the day with Lori. We don't get to see them very often, so it was an extra special treat. After we ate, we presented Lori with our stepping stones that the kids made and we had to be on our way to our next stop.

We arrived at Grandma Lang's house a few minutes late, so everyone was eating when we got there, but we were so full from our first stop that it didn't matter. It was just nice to see everyone and share in some nice conversation and good laughs. We did footprints on the stepping stones for Maw-Maw and they turned out super cute. So far everyone seemed to like them.

Our last stop was over at my parents' house to see my mama. Granny and Grandpa came up from Cinci and Laura, John and Dylan were all there. We had a really yummy dinner and ate on the patio. Ally had her first whole slice of watermelon and she devoured it! Dylan and Ally were both getting sleepy, so while we gave my mom her stepping stones, we decided to try the footprints at a later date. She loved them anyway!

My first official Mother's Day (I was pregnant last year) was really wonderful. Thanks to my hubby and my baby girl for giving me such a special day to cherish. I love you both very much!

And, Happy Mother's Day to all of my fellow mommies! I hope your day was as wonderful as mine was!

Happy Birthday MIL!!!

2009-05-04T14:44:00.000-04:00

Today is my mother-in-law's birthday and we hope she has a fantastic day! We love you maw-maw and had so much fun celebrating with you Saturday!!!

Confirmation and Communion

2009-05-03T22:36:00.005-04:00

Congratulations to Alex who celebrated his Confirmation and to Abby who made her 1st Communion this weekend! We traveled to Cincinnati with Laura and Dylan today to help celebrate with all of the Halsey gang. It was very nice to see all of my family...I haven't seen many of them since Christmas. Ally and Dylan did very well on the car ride down, but by the time we got home to Columbus in the evening, Ally had developed a fever and was not feeling well. Looks like I will probably be home from work tomorrow with her. I just hate it when she isn't feeling well.

Thanks to the Halseys for hosting such a nice gathering. It was great to see you all!

Double the Birthday Party Fun!

2009-05-02T23:06:00.014-04:00

This evening we had a double birthday party for both Ryan and Monica. We celebrated by cooking out at Julie and Brian's house and it was a ton of fun! We had hamburgers, hot dogs, all the sides you could want and a delicious strawberry birthday cake to top it all off...yum! There were presents to be opened and lots of pictures taken. It was a great evening had by all! Happy Birthday(s) and thanks to the Martins for opening their home up to all of us! Hope we didn't destroy your house too much! :-)

Here are some pictures (ok, a BUNCH, but they were all so good I couldn't decide!) of our evening...

A little play time for the cousins before dinner...

Maw-Maw and Alyssa make a "Ryan sandwich"...Ally gets a little patty-cake help from her big cousin, Ryan...And a little sippy cup help from Alyssa...All the men had to "help" Brian with the cooking...good looking group, though...Dining al fresco...Sisters...Ally giving her Aunt Julie a big hug (or maybe my little sparkley object lover was trying to get a hold of those pretty hoop earrings)...It's present time!!!! Now, let's cut that yummy cake...A little jumping on the trampoline for the "big kids" after eating. Kayla is the best big cousin in the world. She takes such great care of all the Littles... A little cuddle time with maw-maw and paw-paw before everyone went home...

My Little Prairie Girl

2009-05-02T22:54:00.000-04:00

We were getting out some of the clothes that Ally received when she was first born and can now fit into and we came across this cute little bonnet. Isn't she just too cute in her duckie jammies and little hat? (Never mind the food caked to her face from dinner...it just adds to her character. We gave her a good scrub down before bedtime.).

Being 5 is Great!!!

2009-04-25T14:39:00.001-04:00

Happy 5th Birthday to my adorable nephew Ryan!!! I can't believe you are 5 already, Ryan! You are such a sweet, smart and fun boy. We love you and hope you have a great day!

Teeth Update

2009-04-23T14:52:00.001-04:00

Just for the record, if anyone is keeping track, Ally now has 4 teeth! Two on the bottom and now two on the top! The top ones are just barely peeking through her gums, so when they come in more, I will post some pictures of our smiley, toothy baby!

Happy Earth Day!

2009-04-22T08:52:00.005-04:00

Even if you don't know a ton about "being green" (like me), there are some simple things that everyone can do on a regular basis to help the environment. I have decided to make an effort to increase my own "green-ness" and want to teach Ally about the things she can do to help the environment, so she and one day her children will have a nice place to live.

Some Simple Earth Day Tips:
*RECYCLE!!!
*Buy and use the reusable grocery bags
*Unplug your cell phone charger from the wall when you are not charging your phone
*Turn off lights and electrical appliances when you are not using them
*Wash your clothes in cold water (cold water gets your clothes just as clean as warm water)
*Donate your old clothes to charity (or maybe our friend Crys can turn them into great new green fashions for her green clothing label: Label Yourself!!)
*Switch to paperless billing and pay your bills online (Really, all you folks out there who are scared of paying bills online...you'll be fine!!! I have been doing it for years and have had no problems that I wouldn't have had with paper statements!)
*Turn the water off when you are brushing your teeth or washing the dishes
*Slow down in the car...stop speeding! (studies have proven that for every 5 mph you go over 65mph greatly reduces the gas mileage you're getting)
*Plant trees in your yard and community
*Get some live plants to help with the air quality in your home
*Carpool when possible
*On nice spring and summer days, line dry your clothes (you will be helping the environment AND your clothes will smell great!)
*Set your thermostat comfortably low in the winter and comfortably high in the summer. Install a programmable thermostat that is compatible with your heating and cooling system
*Lower the thermostat on your hot water heater to 120° F
*Clean or replace filters on furnaces at least once a month
*Turn off kitchen, bath, and other exhaust fans within 20 minutes after you are done cooking or bathing

HAPPY EARTH DAY EVERYONE!! Please take care of our Earth...we only have one!

Label Yourself

2009-04-19T21:32:00.003-04:00

We had a very busy day today, but had such a great family filled day together. I REALLY love days like today.
After a morning of picking up around the house and trying to get a decent nap in for Ally, we rushed out the door to make it to Goodale Park by 2:45. Our very talented friend Crystal (or Crys as she is known in the Fashion World) was part of a fashion show at the Earth Day Celebration today! We made it just in time to see the start of her show and it was great! She has redesigned some really great pieces and despite the rain, there was a good turnout for her show.
Over the past couple years Crystal has developed, Label Yourself Studio: a Green Redesigned Fashion Line. She takes recylced clothing and she redesigns it to make it wearable and fashionable again. She uses Eco-friendly paints and buttons and her husband, Eric, is her photographer and he also designs and hand-cuts all the stencils Crys uses in her designs. They are both very talented. Crys' studio is located in her home in Gahanna and she will be holding an open house in July...I will post details closer to the open house. She is currently working on a new children's line of redesigned clothing. Can't wait to snag a custom designed outfit for Ally!
Unfortunately, because we were rushed to get there, I didn't get pictures of the actual show, but I did get some after the show of Crys and the models (and of course some cute photos of Ally!).

The fabulous Crys Lappie...Crys and some of her models...

Ally was really watching everything going on around her. She LOVES being outside!Hanging out with Daddy and Rosie!
Ally has been attempting to lean over and pick things up lately. Here she is trying to get a hold of some grass to play with...As you can see from the picture, she usually finds it easier just to plop down and get whatever she was after.
I am so glad we could make it out to this event. You did an amazing job Crystal! We are very proud of you!! Thanks for inviting us to your show!

After the fashion show ended, we made a quick scan of the Earth Day festival and grabbed some really yummy ice cream from Jeni's on our way to the car. We even let Ally have her first taste of ice cream (Salty Caramel) and she LOVED it! She cried when we took it away, because she wanted more (she was fine again once the stroller started moving...so easily distracted at this age!). :-) We had to scoot out of there fast, because David had made an appointment for 4:00 with a client who also happens to be a co-worker of mine, so we didn't spend a ton of time looking around.
Thanks to my friend Lindsay who let me and Ally tag along after the Earth Day Show for the walk-through of her new condo that is being built. Lindsay is working with David to purchase a condo in a great development near Goodale Park and I was really excited to see it in the process of being built. I get to hear all about it from Lindsay at work, so it was nice to see it in person. I am so happy for Lindsay...the place is going to be gorgeous!!

After leaving the downtown area, we made a quick stop over at David's dad's house to pick up some cute outfits/jammies that Aunt Kelly got for Ally. She loved her duck jams! Thanks, Kelly!
Then, we started for home, making a quick stop in for some City BBQ for dinner...YUMMMM!
All in all, it was a super day!

"Hoppy" Easter!

2009-04-12T21:59:00.000-04:00

I'm sure my husband is getting REALLY tired of me saying this, but I think it is a cute play-on-words! Our Easter was VERY "hoppy" and was Ally's first. She had a blast and got almost as much loot as Christmas (thanks to everyone who gave her Easter presents)! It was a really nice day to visit with family.

I will let the pictures take you through our very busy day...

Riley started off the day by sniffing out everything the Easter Bunny left for Ally...only thing that really caught his interest was of course the plastic Easter grass (weirdo cat!)

Then Ally and Daddy made their way downstairs to find the Easter baskets that were left...

This was VERY exciting as you can see (you can also see by the looks of their hair that they had both just woken up).

Yea! Cheerio filled Easter Eggs...my favorite!Ally wondering what IS UP with this weird plastic grass??As you can tell by the preceeding pictures, Ally made out like a bandit this year! Three baskets filled up with fun stuff for babies...a brand new sippy cup, a stuffed bunny, some crayons made just for littles, a brand new beach towel with her name on it and...some candy for daddy. :-) After baskets, we all got dressed and in our Easter best and headed to mass with Grandma and Grandpa C. We thought Ally would sleep through the whole thing (the reason we decided to wait and go to noon mass), but she was more interested in waving to everyone around us and looking at everything she possibly could. After church, we made a mad dash to Grandma Lang's for a nice Easter lunch. It was great to see everybody. While we were there, Ally snuck in a short nap in Maw-Maw's arms...

Cousin Jilly showed up in her Easter finest...pretty girl! We wish she would have been feeling better on her first Easter, though...pesky colds! (Get better soon, Jilly!!)Cousin Kaylie was putting on a show for everyone, looking as cool as can be in Aunt Tiffany's sunglasses. :-)We woke Ally up from her nap and made a beeline for Grandpa and Grandma T's house, where Ally got a new pinwheel which she enjoyed very much. Grandpa T. showed her how to get it to spin and she really tried hard to do it herself (she'll figure it out soon enough!). Granddaddy came down from Mentor, OH and it was very nice to see him, as always. We had another Easter meal, giggled at Ally and Jillian playing together, got some great shots of Ally in her pretty dress and then we were off to our next stop...

The last of our stops for the day was to the Henderson's for Easter dinner and red velvet cupcakes...yum. It was DELICIOUS, even after all the food we had already eaten. Of course, like at the other two stops, Ally was showered with gifts. She got finger puppets, a new outfit and...

BEACH TOYS...yea for vacation only being a couple months away!

Cousin Dylan was all dressed up and looking as cute as ever in his little sweater vest...Here, he and Uncle Dave share some time on the couch watching The Masters...
Ally and Grandma enjoy some time and smiles together after dinner...It was a great day and thank you to all of our wonderful family for a wonderful Easter. We love spending time with each and every one of you and we miss those of you who were not able to be with us. Happy Easter everyone!

EGGS-TRAVAGANZA!

2009-04-11T21:17:00.001-04:00

Today we had a little egg coloring party at our house to celebrate Ally's first time coloring Easter eggs. We invited all of the local cousins and the Aunts and Grandma's and we even asked a few friends, though they already had plans. It was a last minute decision to have the party, but it went so well that it has been suggested we make it an annual thing, which of course, I am totally for (those of you who know me well, know I ADORE planning parties and I ADORE traditions even more!). We will look forward to an eggs-tra special time next year! Ha-Ha!

The gang's here and ready to color eggs!!

Here's Ally taking a stab at dipping her first egg:

And here she is with blue egg dye all over her :-) :

Jillian says, "Where's my egg? I'm ready to make something pretty!"Aunt Pam reading to Dylan:A little play break was needed:

A little cookie decorating is always fun...Jillian didn't want to pose with her egg...

And Ally just wanted to eat hers...

Dylan is all snuggled up and ready to go home and eat. See you next year!!

Easter Pictures

2009-04-08T21:35:00.005-04:00

We had Ally's Easter pictures (and what was supposed to be her 9 month picture, but was more like an almost 10 month picture...mommy was a little behind this time) taken a couple weeks ago and I was able to pick them up today. I thought I would post some to share with anyone reading our blog. I am very pleased with how they turned out. I think she looks adorable, especially in her cute hat!

Opening Day!

2009-04-06T08:06:00.002-04:00

Today is Cincinnati Reds Home Opener and I can tell you that there is at least one happy little Truitt at our house this morning (and it isn't Ally)!! ;-)

David has been counting down the days until the Reds start playing and I have to say I have been a little anxious about the start of the season too. Even the spring training games have made my mind wander to warm summer days and ballpark hotdogs! We are not huge basketball fans, although we do love our Buckeyes and we generally enjoy March Madness, so the winter months get very tiring for us while we miss Football and anxiously await the start of Baseball. (At least we have had the Bluejackets!!!) I am really hoping for a good year of baseball from my favorite team from the 'Nati and we are hoping to get to at least one game this year and plan to take Ally for her first Major League Baseball Game!

Here's to hearing a lot of..."And this one belongs to the REDS!!!!"

Carry the Flag!!

2009-03-31T23:01:00.001-04:00

Tonight, David and I went to a Bluejacket's Game. He got free tickets from his Office Manager and they were great seats! We were within 10-15 rows from the glass and literally right under the infamous Cannon! The BJ's won 2-1 against the Nashville Predators and it was a really great action-packed game. The BJ's are looking even better now for the playoffs!

Ally stayed with Grandma and Grandpa C. while we were at the game and she had a good time, depite the cold she has had for the past several days. Thanks, Mom and Dad, for watching her...she always has fun with you guys and Maddy!

It was a really nice time spending the evening with David and walking hand-in-hand through the Arena District on such a beautiful night! I always enjoy our time together, especially now when it doesn't happen near as often.

I only got one picture, with my phone, from this evening because I forgot my actual camera, but it is of David in front of the cannon. It's not a great shot, but the best I could do with limited resources. :-)

The "Tennessee Truitts" Visit Ohio

2009-03-27T23:18:00.004-04:00

This evening we had a very nice visit at Dave and Lori's with some of David's extended Truitt family that I have never met before. Dale and Elaine (my apologies if I didn't spell names correctly) were in town visiting Grandma and Grandpa Truitt and the rest of the family and they spent some time visiting with us and having dinner. It is my understanding that Dale is Grandpa Truitt's brother's son. :-) It was so much fun to meet them, as I have heard a lot about the "Tennessee Truitts", but never had the chance to know them. They enjoyed getting to see/meet all the kids and grand kids and we did a lot of laughing and playing. We got some really nice pictures from the evening (Julie, Tonya and the kids had to leave early, so unfortunately, I didn't get them in the pictures) and I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I do!

Here's most of the group before the end of the evening:

Ally enjoying her dinner:
4 Generations of Truitts-Grandpa Truitt, Grandma Truitt, Ally, Dave and David:

Dale and Elaine from TN:
Some random pictures from the evening (too cute not to include):

Just for Fun

2009-03-25T08:12:00.005-04:00

I found a fun little quiz today when I was checking out someone else's blog and the result of the quiz tells you what part of spring you are (I don't know, it was just fun). :-) Click on the link at the bottom of the post to take the quiz yourself (it's only 4 or 5 questions)! Here are my results (they are fairly accurate!)...

You Are Baseball Games

You like old fashioned things. You're one of those people who values tradition.

You enjoy a slow pace of life. You believe that life is all about enjoying every moment.

You love the changing of the seasons, and you look forward to what each season brings.

You are smart and a bit obsessive. You become very immersed in your interests.

What Part of Spring Are You?

Spring! Spring! Spring!

2009-03-20T09:00:00.002-04:00

Today is the first day of spring and although I would love to have a little warmer temperatures, so far it seems like a nice day. I can not begin to say how happy I am to finally see warmer days on the horizon. It has been a long, cold winter and I am not a fan!

HAPPY FIRST DAY of SPRING!!!

Happy Birthday Hannah!!

2009-03-18T23:26:00.002-04:00

Today was my good friend Hannah's Birthday and I helped her celebrate by joining her and Emily and Libby for a Bluejacket's game! Originally, I was supposed to join them for dinner and drinks in the Arena District before the game, but guess whose husband's car decided to break down on her on her only night out by herself in FOREVER!!!!...uh, umm, yea...that would be...ME!

When I left work, excited to be heading downtown, I jumped in the car and...nothing. I couldn't get it to start. I finally got a hold of David and he came to get me and right as he pulled up, so did Uncle Rodney. While David and Rodney tinkered with the car, I patiently (or not so patiently...whatever) waited to be taken to my night out with my girls. They finally decided there was nothing they could do, so we ditched the car in my work parking lot for the night and zipped on over to Nationwide Arena, where I met up with Hannah, Lib and Em for the game.

Despite my car troubles, the evening was a lot of fun and the BJ's gave us a victory, so it was good night. It was great to see the girls, because I hadn't seen them in awhile. We talked about babies, the upcoming wedding, Hannah's bridal shower, boyfriends, etc. and it was so nice to catch up. I think Hannah enjoyed herself and after the game, I drove us back to Hannah's house (in her car), where she and I hung out and chatted for a little while longer.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HANNAH!!! I hope you had a fun day!

We love ya!

(Good luck with the tattoo tomorrow!)

Here is a picture of us girls at the game:

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

2009-03-17T20:21:00.000-04:00

Hope you are wearing your Green today! (Ally's is under her pick jacket, if you couldn't tell).

Happy St. Patty's Day from The Truitts!

Lost: Me Time-If Found Please Call...

2009-03-11T08:20:00.010-04:00

Please excuse me while I get my thoughts out for a minute...

I'm not completely lazy. Odd way to start out my blog entry today, I know, but it seems appropriate to clarify that. What am I talking about you ask? Working out. Yuck.

I used to be very active and therefore, physically fit, so I never really had to dedicate a specific time to "working out", because I was always practicing something, or going to some two-a-day or dance class or something. I was involved in about every sport you could imagine at some point in my early life, from softball and soccer to competitive dance and snow skiing. I love to be outdoors and I really get enjoyment out of going to sporting events. So what happened to me? Life happened. Don't get me wrong, I am not making excuses. I do need to get myself back into shape and be more healthy...I know that. It's just sometimes it's hard to fit that into the rest of my adult life duties and especially with the addition of motherhood and all of it's added responsibilities...where do people find the time?

It has been an ongoing "issue" (let's just keep it nice and neat) in our home about when I am going to be able to find time for myself, to take care of myself. David has a very demanding job (especially with today's market), one that requires him to often work long evening and weekend hours, and this usually leaves me to manage the other aspects of our life and work my "9-5" job at the same time. I really am not trying to get your sympathy, but I don't think some people really understand how much that really means and it is an on-going source of frustration for me. We know that all of David's time spent with his career is going to pay off and help our family in the long-run, so I am happy to assist him as much as possible and it is so exciting to be a part of the early stages of what I know will be a long a successful career for David, but it can be very tiring and demanding for me too.

When I went back to work after having Ally, I switched my hours to a 7:30-4:30 schedule, so I could get Ally picked up from the babysitter by 5:00 and avoid a lot of the traffic issues I had faced before. In order to make it to work by 7:30am, I have to leave my house NO LATER than 6:45am. That is pretty darn early folks (at least for me who has NEVER claimed, even for a minute, to be a morning person)! In order to leave my house by 6:45, I have to be up and out of the shower by 5:30 (and I probably should get up even earlier than this). I spend 45 minutes on myself (which is probably why I look the way I do some days, but another topic for another day) and then spend 1/2 hour to 45 minutes getting Ally ready, before waking David up to take over baby duty so I can head off to work. It's a pretty rushed hour to hour and a half most mornings and I feel bad for having to rush Ally, especially.

Why don't I take "me time" at night and work out then? Well, anyone who has ever had a child that never stops moving and takes very few naps, can answer that question. Between dinner and baths and bedtime routines and I don't know, maybe spending a few minutes of quality time with my child or trying to keep up with the house duties, the few hours I have at night before I need to get to bed, go by before I even know it and then it is time to start the same routine again. And, who wants to work out at 10:00 at night when they get up at 5:30?

I love my life, I have it VERY good...this I know, but if I could wish for something, I often think I would wish for more hours in the day. :-) I'm sure there are a ton of moms out there that often wish for the very same thing.

Well, to bring all of this back home...yesterday, David and I were once again having the "I don't have enough time to work out!" "discussion" and I mentioned that if David were to get up with Ally in the morning and get her started, I would workout when I got up at 5:30 and then finish getting ready during the time that I would have normally been getting Ally ready. Now, I should probably state that David is also not known for being "of the chipper morning variety" and it normally takes at least three rounds of me harassing him before he is actually out of the bed (not blaming him one bit, just saying). I didn't really think this whole "why don't you get up a half hour earlier so I can work out" thing would really go over very well with him, but to my surprise he agreed with pretty much no hesitation! We have two vacations planned this summer and we are both in a beach wedding for good friends of ours in October, so David knows how important it is to me to get in better shape before any of those events. It's important to him too, so he has been working out every morning with his dad, after he drops Ally off at the babysitter's, for the past couple months. I am so proud of him for his commitment to getting healthier, but I think David realizes I don't have the luxury of that kind of schedule or time, so maybe that's why he is so willing to get up extra early to help me out.
I don't know, but I hope he knows how much I really do appreciate it!
I started my new workout routine this morning and it was a little rough to go from nice cozy bed straight into lunges and crunches, but I feel really good about doing it. I have realized, once again, that I am no where near as young as I used to be and am not able to do what I used to be able to do, but I am hopeful that I will get there soon or at least closer. I am hopeful that this will help me to have more energy and feel better about myself and to set a good example for Allyson. OK, let's be honest, I am most hopeful that I will be able to continue to get my rear-tail moving that early in the morning and that my husband won't decide he was crazy for agreeing to this new routine...it has been only one day after all. :-)

To Bud, my wonderful hubby,
Thank you for helping me carve out some "me time"! It really does mean a lot to me and it has rejuvenated me more than you know!
I love you and your willingness to be so supportive!
Can't wait for our summer on the beach together!
-E

Wish me good luck and good use of my new 1/2 hour of "me time"!! I will keep you all posted on our quest to get in shape!

Let's Go for a Walk!

2009-03-10T21:44:00.003-04:00

It was completely beautiful out today!! It is such a welcome change to be able to toss aside the heavy coats, drive with the windows down and...take walks around our neighborhood! Tonight after David got home from his model home, we got Ally all buckled into her stroller and we set out for a nice long walk. It was great! We chatted and said Hi to neighbors, some of whom we have never even seen before and some that we haven't seen since Fall. Everyone was out and in great moods. The neighborhood park was packed, so we decided to come back another day to let Ally try out the baby swing for the first time. Ally was really loving the breeze and all of the people and David and I enjoyed discussing what we liked about different houses and landscaping and getting ideas for our own home. It was a really great evening for a walk and I feel so much better after getting some fresh air.

Here are some pictures from our walk...

Happy Birthday Kayla!

2009-03-09T14:45:00.002-04:00

Today is Kayla's actual birthday, so we wanted to be sure to wish her a great day. HAPPY 15th BIRTHDAY, KAYLA! We love you!

We Have a Crawler, Ladies and Gentlemen!

2009-03-09T13:20:00.006-04:00

Ally started crawling this past weekend, Friday night to be exact! She was chasing after a dumbbell that her daddy wouldn't let her play with and it turns out she wanted it badly enough that she decided to crawl for it. She moved forward just a few feet at first, but in no time at all she was cruising all over the place and hasn't slowed down since. Boy are we in trouble now!
Below is a video of our newly mobile baby going after Riley (poor cat, he has no idea what is in store for him)...

Lunch with the Birthday Girl

2009-03-07T19:59:00.006-05:00

Today we had a nice family lunch at Max & Erma's to celebrate our niece, Kayla's, 15th birthday. It's hard to believe Kayla will be driving in a year! Boy I feel old! :-)

We had a big group for lunch and took up one big section of the restaurant. After we all ate and embarassed Kayla by having the entire serving staff sing Happy Birthday, we ate cake made by Lori...a cute yellow cake with sugar flowers and trick candles!

We hope Kayla had a good time and we certainly enjoyed seeing everyone! Ally loves any chance to hang out with her cousins.

Happy Birthday, Kayla!

Can you believe it has been 9 months?!?

2009-03-03T15:00:00.008-05:00

Ally had her 9 month (she is 9 months today!) check-up with Dr. Dan today and everything went really well. Dr. Dan must have said about 10 times how cute she is (duh!) and he said her growth is fantastic! She weighed in at 19.8 lbs (50 percentile), she is 28 1/4 in. long (77th percentile) and her head measurement is 17 1/2 (75th percentile...lots of brains!). As usual, Ally put on quite a cute show for everyone at the doctor's office, smiling and jabbering the whole time. She even gave Dr. Dan her new head tilt and wave combo. She is quite the ham...not sure where she got that from (typing in my most sarcastic tone). :-)

Below are pictures of Ally being weighed (she looks much happier to be being weighed than mommy ever is) and messing up the sheet on the examining table (check out the belly!).

Our Godson Dylan

2009-02-28T22:39:00.006-05:00

Baby Dylan was baptized today and guess who Laura and John picked to be his Godparents...David and me! We were so thrilled when we were asked and are very honored to be Dylan's Godmother and Godfather.

Dylan was a good boy during the ceremony and didn't hardly cry or anything. We took some pictures with him at the church and then after the actual baptism, Laura and John had a nice dinner for all the family back at their house. They had a great turnout for the party, even Granny and Grandpa came in from Florida and Ashley was home from Cali. It was really nice to see everyone.

Here are some pictures of the event and the man of the hour...

Game Night with The Martins

2009-02-21T14:27:00.003-05:00

Last night we went to Julie and Brian's house to hang out. It was a really fun night and one we have decided to repeat on a monthly basis. Julie put out some snacky foods (YUM!) and had Grape Splashes ready for us (my new favorite drink!) and we let Ally and Jilly play for awhile before feeding them and putting them down to sleep. While Julie and I put the girls to bed, Brian and David got into a little Battleship match (it is important to note that Brian would like a rematch very soon!...I feel he would want me to add that) and then after both littles were nestled comfortably in bed, we broke out the Yahtzee game! I have not played this in years, but it was a lot of fun. We ended up playing until almost one in the morning at which point we decided it was time to call it a night because Julie was already half asleep on the couch and David could only keep about half an eye open. I think Julie won and I know David was the loser (sorry honey...that first round just killed ya!) of the evening. We will have a rematch soon and hopefully David can redeem himself. Thanks to the Martins for having us over~it was a super-fun night! We always love hanging out with you guys...next time is at our place!!

Happy Birthday Joey Lynn!

2009-02-19T11:26:00.002-05:00

Today is Aunt Joey's Birthday! We won't get to see her for her birthday, but hope she has a really wonderful day! We love you!