A Christmas Post

'Tis the night before Christmas vacation. Bim came home from work and we did a little happy dance while Ally looked on from her high chair. Her face is very expressive and when we're acting strangely I see a spectrum of emotions pass over her, as if she's not sure whether to be delighted or afraid. Just to be safe, she laughs and then cries a little.
I know the feeling. Lately I've been staying up a bit too late. I get all wound up with holiday excitement and (admit it) tension after long days of running around "getting stuff done." At night I just have to sit for a while. Wednesday night I was doing my sitting in front of the TV wishing for a nice holiday movie, preferably something in black and white. No luck. Instead, what I got was "The Real Housewives of Orange County." Have you seen this show? If you had, would you admit it? Trust me, it will really bum you out.After about 30 seconds I knew it wasn't going to make me happy. After about 5 minutes, I was sick at heart. Why take it so seriously? I guess because these unwitting scapegoats of our consumer culture represented more to me than self-indulgent ciphers looking for 10 minutes of fame (apparently oblivious to the fact that the rest of the world is laughing at them). They reminded me in a very ugly way of myself, minus the makeup. I've never wanted to become so attached to material things that I rely on them for happiness. But I have to confess: when I am feeling low or inconvenienced by the necessarily tedious parts of my life, my first thought is usually, 'what can I buy to fix this feeling?' Then I buy something my grandmother or mother would never have wasted money on. Then I regret it. And then...like a dog to its vomit...I do it again.
So maybe my materialism is small-time. But maybe it's not. I could go on...(I haven't even mentioned the third world, or the poor in our own country) but tonight I am going to just say NO! No more stuff!

Okay, let's be practical.

Christmas may be commercialized beyond recognition in the department stores, but as a worthy holiday, I celebrate it. For me, Christmas provides a much-needed platform for reconsidering what is important. I had a wake-up call this week and I think the feeling in my stomach is going to stick with me at least through the first months of 2008.

And so, with these small thoughts, good night friends and family. If you are reading this, Merry Christmas. Thank you for all the holiday cards, emails, phone calls and good thoughts. Those acts are everything. I love you.

Happy Birthday, Elyza Jo!

Ally's cousin 'Lyza Halverson turned 1 year old on December 11! Happy Birthday, pretty girl! We love you!

Songbird

We miss Grandpa!!! He left on the jet plane today and we cried all the way home. Ally will have to console herself by watching videos of our fun time together. Here she is dancing (and singing) along with Pink Martini.

Merry Christmas Baby

I can't decide which dress to use for Ally's Christmas picture. Any votes?

The Year of Living Dangerously

Baby girl is one year old! We celebrated at a park in Sunny Isles on Miami Beach with some of Ally's little friends: Samuel, Nixon, Jane, Bailey, Trae and Telsey, to name a few. We swung on the swings, slid on the slide and smashed some cake. Ally got her first baby doll and two fun bouncy balls.

I have said this before, but I really mean it this time: this is my favorite age yet. Allyn has always been "alert," to quote every stranger who ever stopped to admire her, but she is increasingly interactive and gets better at communicating every day.

Ally was happy to be left with her cake until she started rubbing it in her eyes. That made her sad, but not enough to stop eating.

Some special party guests:

Santa Jane

Bailey

Some of my favorite things that Ally does at age 1:

• Says "mmm" as she gives her "babies" kisses and love pats
  
• Holds her fists tighly to her chest while she walks
  
• Shakes her head, "No" when she means Yes
  
• Follows grandpa Tom around the apartment
  
• Takes food out of her mouth with her finger to make room for another bite
  
• Chimes in with a fake laugh after someone else laughs
  
• Reads books to herself and chatters constantly
  

Some of Ally's words at age 1:

Dut (duck)
Baby
Uh oh
Mama/Dada
Boppa (Grandpa)
Up
Socks
Ayee (Ally)
EYE! (shouted, while poking said appendage)
"A-pane" (while pointing to the sky)
Yay! (while clapping)
Oh Wow! (as one word)
Whee! (while turning circles on her bottom)
Pap (diaper)
Ba (bath)
Hi!
Bye-bye

A few other milestones from this first year: Ally rolled over on Easter, at four months old; got her first teeth at 5 months; crawled at 6 months; and walked on her first birthday, with lots of encouragement from Bim.

I never thought my baby would be one and now that she is, I still can't completely believe it. In some ways I feel like I have always known and loved her. A strange contradiction of feelings, I guess, but parenthood seems to be full of those. One thing I know for sure:
Ally = Fun. Let's have another year like this one.

Stepping Out

Here she goes!

Ally Walks

Bim worked with Ally all weekend to prepare her for her first steps. On her birthday the effort paid off. My baby is a toddler.

Disney Daze

More Disney World? With a one year-old? I can explain. When we were there for the 4th of July we bought a 3-day pass to use when Bim's family came to visit. Unfortunately they had to change their plans, so we decided to use the last 2 days over Thanksgiving weekend before they expire. Here are some of our "magical moments."

The Thanksgiving Post

First, the Parade (what else?), then the beach. For dinner, Chima (Brazilian rotisserie) in Fort Lauderdale. We are so thankful for our year in Miami!

Thousands of Words

Like, What Little Likes

Some Things Little Likes:

Swimming with Dad & duts (ducks)

Piggy-back rides

Friends at church

Current Dislikes:

nap time

"no-no"

the bathroom door (closed)

the vacuum
getting out of the bath tub

My Anthropologies

Oh, my goodness.

Countdown to Grandpa Visit

Ally with Grandpa Tom

As Ally clung to Bim this morning (and only reluctantly came back to me when he left for work), she made me wonder. Can she actually be getting tired of her mother? Could I be...boring? Lucky for me, new winds are blowing in from the beach, just in time for the holidays, and my dad is coming with them. Ally will soon have a new play buddy and--if I'm lucky--I might get to be her hero for at least a couple of hours while she gets familiar with him again. Yeah for grandparents!!!

Veteran's Week

David Earl Richardson (Bim's dad)

David Earl at Basic Training, Fort Ord, California
D.E.R. is 2nd row up, 2nd from the left

D.E.R. serving in the Army, National Guard

Thomas L Halverson (Krista's grandfather)

Grandpa Halverson on the right

...with the other flyboys

...with his brother, Harry

...with his brother, Don

... in his speedy plane

...with a friend

Really cool plane!

Thomas Lyman Halverson (Krista's great-grandfather)
and his brother, Vernal

Today we officially honor our veterans, but I have enough pictures here to last the whole week. I love these old photos, so I'm including all that I have; I don't have the discipline to choose between them. To all our loved ones who have made these great sacrifices for us, we are so grateful.