Allison's New Bike

Allison got a Radio Flyer trike one year for Christmas, but she has been quickly outgrowing it.  She still tried to ride it, but her knees would hit the handle bars.  Obviously it was time for something new.  We told Santa (grandma) that Allison might like a new bicycle for Christmas.  We opened some presents on Christmas Eve, and then Santa had one big present left for Allison.

She had to get all the paper off the box before she could completely look at it.  She was very excited to see a new bicycle and she gave hugs to grandma and grandpa.

Unfortunately it was in pieces, so we had to wait until after Christmas to get home and put it together.  Then she was finally able to get on her bicycle and ride it around our neighborhood.  Next, we need to find her some kind of helmet so she can be a safe driver.

Preschool Christmas Party

Allison's teacher wanted to plan a little party for all her kids outside of the classroom, so we had it at the house to keep costs down.  We told the parents to bring something to share with everyone else and made it into a pot luck.  I was stressing out about not having enough food, but we had more than enough and everything was delicious.

Ms. Rafay organized a craft for the kids to do.  They made Santa masks from paper plates and cotton balls.  Allison still has hers and insists that her daddy put it in front of his face and say "Ho ho ho!"

I put up the felt tree for the kids to play with too

But I think they were way more interested in Allison's room

The teacher asked that everyone bring a wrapped book for the kids to exchange.  They each drew a number for the book they would open.  She is really good about promoting reading to all the kids, and I think it has made a difference in their lives.

They were so excited to see which books they would get.  Ms. Rafay bought them each a book too. 

 Allison was ecstatic to receive a Pete the Cat book.  They have become her favorite thing lately, and I've had to hold back from buying them for her.  Her favorite song to sing is "My buttons, my buttons, my four groovy buttons."

She got a few other books that she loves as well.  I think she really enjoys Ms. Rafay reading to her.  We were very fortunate to be able to have a teacher for the past two years that loves her kids and actually wants to spend time with them outside of the classroom.  Weird, huh?

The kids enjoyed playing with the cat toward the end of the party.  They all wanted to pick her up and chase her around.  I think the cat was grateful to be out of quarantine for a bit.  She's not coming back out till the tree comes down.

The party was a great success and I think everyone had fun.  My house has been overrun by small children before, but these kids were better behaved than any others and their parents are some of the nicest people.  I would not hesitate to do this again.

Outdoor Tree Decorating

Now that Thanksgiving is over, we have free rein to decorate for Christmas and enjoy the holiday music and lights.  Allison wanted to help grandpa decorate his outdoor trees, but she needed a little help reaching the branches.  She wanted to pick the ornament colors each time.  She especially liked the smooth ornaments and how they felt against her face.  She has been asking to put up the Christmas tree for months, so I think she will be happy to decorate our house once we get back home.

 

Holiday Haircut

We decided it was time for another haircut.  Allison's hair grows so fast!  She hadn't had a haircut in a long time and I thought it would be cute for her to have the bob that she had last year.  I took a Tootsie Pop along because I know that suckers help her focus and listen to the stylist better.  She paid a lot more attention to what was going on this time.  She watched the lady cutting her hair and even got upset about it a few times as she watched it fall to the floor.  Now I'm hoping she doesn't take the scissors to her own hair one day soon.  She even had her hair fixed for the first time with a flat iron.  She thought it was weird that it made her hair feel hot.  She would touch her hair and make a face.  I'm still trying to decide what her hair is supposed to look like.  The stylist cut all kinds of layers in, so we'll see what it looks like after a bath.

 

Ren Fair 2013

We're turning it into kind of a tradition to go to the Renaissance Fair every year with grandma and grandpa.  This year we all decided to dress up.  Allison was a Tinkerbell fairy of course.

 I've been going to the Renaissance Fair with my grandfather since I was about Allison's age - maybe even a little sooner - so I think it's only fair that I include a picture of me and my Papa.

Allison loves music, so I took her into a shop that had all kinds of musical instruments to play with.  She really liked the drums. There were drums of all sizes that made different sounds.

I bought her a jingle bell bracelet because it seemed to go along with her costume.  Didn't Tinkerbell jingle in the original Peter Pan?

 

Grandma was dressed up as Tinkerbell too and grandpa came as a pirate.

 

 

We wandered around and ate lots of good food and shopped around for a while.  Then it was time to head to Allison's favorite spot - the petting zoo.  She always ends up spending the most time with the rabbits.

 

 

As we were walking, we found a wooded trail, which helped relieve us from the heat.  We came upon a fairy garden, so of course my beautiful fairy had to take her rightful spot on the fairy throne.

 

 

And play in the flowers.

 

 

We had lots of fun like we always do, but we were exhausted by the end of the day.

 

Allison loves spending time with her grandma and grandpa.  We will see them again soon!