February 14th, 2019- The Valentine's Update

Time for another Ally update!  Seeing as I'm a bit behind schedule I thought Valentine's Day would be an appropriate time to update everyone and share the LOVE!

Since September, things have gone relatively well.  Ally loves her new school.  (For the record, I do too- hers and mine!)  She loves her class, being in the same school as her brothers, and ESPECIALLY riding the bus!  She has done really well in school, knows all her letters and sounds, and on her fall PALS test she scored at spring levels in almost every category!  In a few weeks we will be registering her for KINDERGARTEN!(Gulp!)

One really interesting and special thing we learned early on in the year from her teacher is about her friendship with another student in the class.  Ally would often come home and talk about this student (we'll call her Sarah), and we soon figured out that Sarah was in a wheelchair but we didn't know anything else about her really.  When I had a phone conference with her teacher she told me more about Sarah- that she was in a wheelchair and had significant delays.  However, she said that Ally loved playing with her, and was very good about actually including her in the play (not just playing next to her, but with her).  It made me teary- Ally could just as easily been in the same physical situation as Sarah with her Dandy-Walker, and she was befriending her and including her in play.  I will say that I have figured out her motivation a bit from something she told me once- Sarah is much more baby-like to her, and Ally LOVES babies.  So I think she liked the idea of having to care for her like a baby.  But regardless I think it is amazing that she is so considerate of a classmate with special needs.  Her teacher said she really needed to be a special education teacher someday.  We will see!

In the fall we took our annual trip to the local pumpkin patch.  We always have a good time there every year in the corn maze, on the hayride, riding the barrel tractor train, playing in the corn crib, and of course picking out pumpkins.  Halloween was not long after this trip and Ally decided to repeat the Care Bear costume from last year since she loved it so much and it still fit!  She would crack us up while trick or treating- we went to Russell's parents neighborhood which is pretty quiet and doesn't get really heavy traffic.  Some people would just hold out the bowl to the kids and let them pick out their candy.  Ally would sometimes take a whole handful, and one time we saw her put her hand back in the bowl multiple times (we counted about 6!).  People didn't want to still have candy at the end of the night so they would just let the kids take what they wanted- and she obliged them!

On the tube swing

Sunflowers!

Barrel train over and over...

One group shot on the hayride

Halloween: Care Bear take 2, Jack Skellington, & Harry Potter

Ally also started ballet and tap lessons this fall!  She has been loving her dance class each week and they are gearing up for their recital in a few months.  Her teacher is awesome and she looks forward to dance each week.  I think she will continue next year and is interested in the baby hip hop class they offer as well.  Once we have her recital we will see what she decides for next year!

I took Ally to see her first musical at the local children's theatre in December.  They put on Annie and she very much enjoyed it- though not quite as much as Frog & Toad last summer I think!  We will be looking for more theatre opportunities in the future- I love taking all the kids to see shows.

We've had several fun events at the kids school that Ally has gotten to participate in as well.  In September the PTA did a color run fundraiser.  The kids had a blast running the track and getting covered in color!  Last week we also had a family dance at the school.  We all got dressed up and Daddy took Ally to McDonalds (Mommy and the boys wanted Subway) and then spent the evening dancing in the school cafeteria.  It was a lot of fun and the kids had a great time.  Ally found several friends from her class and spent a lot of time dancing with them (and holding hands and dragging them around the dance floor- that's our Ally!).

Color Run Fun!

Ally is the blur being swung by Ben at the family dance

Christmas was wonderful as usual.  We enjoyed our 3 Christmases (Christmas morning at our home, later at Papa & Grandma's, and a few days later at Nanny & Gramps').  Ally once again was very good- among other things she got some new Cozy Critters playsets, Crayola scribble scrubbies pets, an American Girl TYPE doll (not the actual thing), and a Care Bear Cheer Bear to match her Halloween costume!  Leading up to Christmas we enjoyed seeing decorated Christmas trees and lights as well.

Thankfully we don't have much else going on.  Ally has been in good health and hasn't even had a stomach bug, even when both boys did.  She has complained about headaches more often (though not enough to be concerned) and I had to talk with her about being serious about headaches and not just trying to get sympathy because of her shunt.  I'm not sure she completely understood but we'll keep talking to her as she gets older.  One thing that has really bothered me is the idea of sometime in the future if/when she needs to have her shunt replaced, and being older and more understanding of what might be taking place and that it will be unpleasant, uncomfortable, somewhat painful and maybe scary.  When she was a baby we handed her to the doctors and she wasn't the wiser.  The older she gets the more aware she will be- I am dreading the day I have to explain about needing surgery for her shunt and what that will entail.  However, it is not something I lose sleep over and does not often cross my mind.  Ally is a very spunky, healthy little girl who is doing very well.

Speaking of getting older, the next blog post will be super exciting because our Ally girl turns FIVE in just a few weeks!  So we will have lots to update on her birthday, parties (yes that's plural), her first t-ball season (she's super excited to get to play this year!), spring break, her dance recital, and summer plans.  We love all of you and thanks for keeping updated on our Ally girl!

September 3rd, 2018- The Labor Day Update

Another summer has come and gone!  We are in the full swing of a new school year (3 weeks down, 33 to go!) so we must take some time on this labor day to recount Ally's summer adventures.

Ally and I ended our school year in May and said goodbye to both our schools.  The boys finished in early June so we enjoyed some time just the two of us, having playdates and visiting playgrounds.  After the boys were out of school, we joined the pool for the summer and spent many happy hours swimming and playing together.  Of course we also did swim lessons in June and July, which Ally-fish enjoyed and aced!  This was the first year I haven't had to get into the pool for swim lessons with any of the kids- hard to believe!  We also had a bit more 'just girls' time at the end of June while the boys went to a half day camp at a local church- Ally wasn't old enough to attend.  We also did our usual library time- Ally is now my only child young enough for story time, and she quite enjoyed the ones we were able to make!  Our local library has many programs for kids in the summer, all free.  One that we took advantage of was a local theatre company traveled to many libraries and put on 'Frog and Toad' for free!  The boys have been to many plays with me at the children's theatre but this was Ally's first play and she LOVED it!  It was a great production and as a result this fall when I purchase season tickets for the three children's theatre shows, I will be including one for her as well.

 Solo at the playground!

At the pool!

We went on several trips this summer.  The first was to visit my parents while Granny was up visiting from Florida in June.  We had a great week with them, and Mom even took all the girls to tea one day!  She found a tea shop about 45 minutes from her home and treated us all to a tea time lunch.  It was SO much fun, we all dressed up and picked out hats at the shop.  Ally wore a Cinderella dress Mom had bought for her and found a tiara among the hats.  While all the big girls ate tea sandwiches and snacks with a pot of tea we had each picked out (hot cinnamon tea...mmmmmm) Ally got a 'wee tea' with chicken nuggets, smiley fries, strawberries, and a bagel bite, with a tea pot full of lemonade!  She was so well behaved and we all had a great time!

 Princess Ally!

 With her 'tea'

 Her super cute tea pot!!!

Just look at that pinky!

In July we took a trip to the Outer Banks with my family.  We shared one big house and went to the beach and played in the private pool.  We played mini golf, had a few meals out on the town, and drove to the Cape Hatteras lighthouse.  Unfortunately Ally wasn't tall enough to go up the lighthouse (crazy, they had a height restriction and she BARELY missed it) but at least we got to see it up close so it was interesting.  We really appreciate these trips that my parents work hard to provide for us every few years.

 At the Cape Hatteras lighthouse- tallest in North America!

 She's been learning to write her name- she's still having trouble with the 'y'.  

We went to Jeanette's Pier to fish.  Ally lasted about 5 minutes...

A few days later we went to Pawley's Island for a long weekend with Russell's family.  We never went to the beach but we spent some time in the nice pool right next door and got to go to an indoor fun zone when the weather wouldn't quite cooperate.  The kids had such a good time visiting with all their family and we really appreciated our family coming together to provide this family trip as well.

While I went back to school for work week, the kids stayed with my parents alone for about a week.  They got spoiled with trips to the children's museum, trampoline park, and many lunches out (plus, iPads for everyone at once!).  This was Ally's first time away without Mommy and Daddy (in the past it had just been the boys who got to go) but she loved her time with Nanny and Gramps and had a lot of fun. 

School started the next week, and Ally was so excited to go to school with her brothers, and ride the bus with them too!  She got to meet her teacher a few days before and explore her classroom, and we got to give the Dandy-Walker/hydrocephalus/low muscle tone what-to-watch-for talk.  But it has been fine and she loves school as we knew she would.

First day of Pre-K!

Ally had her yearly neurosurgery appointment in July.  We saw a new resident and he has said we don't have to come back for regular appointments anymore!  We just need to bring her in if there are concerns we need addressed.  We are soooo thankful for the continued blessing of a properly working shunt- June was four years from her original surgery and counting.

Some shots from our family photo shoot on July 4th.  All credit of Beth Preston at Rebel photography 

The fall looks to be fun and eventful- Ally starts ballet and tap lessons this week, and started back to AWANA Cubbies as well.  We will be having many fall adventures together as a family, which we will update on by the end of 2018!!  Thanks for your continued interest and prayers for our Ally girl!

May 23rd, 2018- The Bittersweet Changes

Another May, another post.  So much to update!

Ally had a great fourth birthday and a super fun party.  The day of her birthday we actually had some really crazy wind that brought down a lot of trees and signs outdoors- so much that I had school cancelled for the day!  We sent Ally to school anyway though because she was bringing Krispy Kreme donuts to share with her class for her birthday treat.  That evening we went to McDonald's for her birthday dinner- mostly to play in the play place.

Ally's party was the next day.  My parents and brother and his family came in Friday night.  The next day Ally's brothers and cousins and a few friends from church went to a local skate center where they have a large indoor play place.  They got to play a long time, ate pizza and birthday brownies.  She and everyone there had a great time and all my kids slept REALLY well that night!

Ally got to do swim lessons again at school.  She LOVES the water and would always give me a glowing report about what she did at lessons ("I went all the way under water Mommy!").  We are looking forward to swim lessons again this summer for all 3 kids.

The boys started baseball again a few weeks ago.  Ally was a bit distraught that she was not on a t-ball team too- she has been going to ball games since she was a baby so she's ready to get in on the fun.  While she actually could have played this season we decided that it would be best to wait until next year to start t-ball.  Ben started at her age and he would get very impatient and didn't really seem to enjoy it all the time.  She also told me in the car the other day on the way home from school that she wanted to do dance, so we will be looking into that for the fall too.

Ally finished her first year at Cubbies!  She had a great year and learned a lot of verses and Bible stories.  She finished her book and got her book award.  We are so proud of her and she was excited to get her award- but sad that Cubbies is over for the summer.

Besides swimming lessons, we have lots of fun things planned for the summer.  We will be spending a week at the beach with my family and a long weekend at the beach with Russell's family.  We will also spend a week at my parent's home when my grandmother comes up to visit from Florida.  While we are at home we will be visiting the pool, playgrounds and creeks, and having playdates with friends.  We are all excited for another lazy, fun-filled summer.

We are excited to announce the biggest change, which affects Ally and I the most.  I have finally, after many attempts, gotten a job in the school district where we live!  Instead of traveling 30ish minutes one way, it will be somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes!  Since I will no longer be at my current school, not only do I have to say goodbye to my friends at work, Ally will have to say goodbye to her friends and teachers at her school.  We have loved the Land of Wonder and we are sorry she can't finish out preschool there, but Ally is excited to attend a new school next year- which will be the boys' elementary school, where she will attend Kindergarten in the fall of 2019!  They hold pre-k spots for children of teachers in the district, and thankfully their school still had openings this late!  She will get to ride the bus with the boys and we will all be on the same schedule.  This is truly God's timing; everything has really come together with the the school I will be teaching in being one of the closest to home (our district has 5 high schools) but not the one our kids will attend (not sure if I want to teach in the school they will be going to at the same time), the schedule changing to one very similar to my old district (Ally and I get a normal summer- the boys get a shortened summer) and having a spot in pre-k for Ally with the boys.  God has truly blessed us and we are so SO grateful for his provision.

May is another Dandy-Walker Awareness month- so wear some gray for our Ally girl this month!  Ally does not have to have an MRI this summer (yay!) so just a check-up at neurosurgery in July and she is getting larger inserts for her shoes to replace the ones she is quickly outgrowing.  We'll update again at the end of the summer with all the fun times and any news we find.

January 18th, 2018- The Un-exciting Update

Snow days are always a sign that I need to update the blog!  

One fine fall day...

In October we took our yearly family trip to the pumpkin patch.  The kids enjoyed seeing the animals, playing in the corn crib, eating apple cider donuts, and taking the hayride to the corn maze.  They also all shot either the corn or pumpkin cannons!  Once we got out of the maze they got to slide, swing, and ride the barrel train.  Then we picked our pumpkins (they had some white ones this year, which was neat) and headed back.  They also grew beautiful fields of sunflowers, so we took some pictures there too!  We always have a good time there each year.

Corn cannon!  She would only shoot it once, even though she got 2 shots, so Daddy took the other one.

We had a great holiday season!  It all started with Halloween.  We went to the consignment store and found costumes for all the kids again.  Ally was a Care Bear- Cheer Bear to be exact!  This was absolutely the cutest costume, and she loved it!  Care Bears are not her favorite thing anymore- she hasn't watched the show in quite some time- but she loved how fuzzy it was and she was sooooo cute in it!

It even has the heart on the butt like the stuffed animals do!

She had her Halloween party at school, where she went trunk-or-treating with her class and then we ate goodies and got to go on a hayride.  Then we came home, ate, and went over to Papa & Grandma's house to go trick-or-treating in their neighborhood.  When they are done we head back to their house and they are allowed to eat as much as they want out of their treat bags.  They had a great time together!

This year we were a Care Bear, a ninja turtle, and a werewolf!

Daddy found this at Wal-Mart and got it to surprise her on Halloween.  Ally loved having a matching costume with him!

At Christmas time, Ally's class and school worked hard on their program for their party.  They all made and wore Christmas-y headdresses and sung Christmas songs, then we ate goodies.  She had so much fun and did a great job!  She also got to sing Away in a Manger with her classmates from the 2s and 3s Sunday School class in front of the church during service.  She loves being in front of people!

Christmas itself was a lot of fun.  Ally was obviously a very good girl, because she got gobs of gifts.  Of course, there was the usual clothes and candy and trinkets, but she also got 2 baby dolls, a pink power ranger costume, an Ariel costume, a Belle doll, a Unicorn Surprise, a Calico Critters doll house and restaurant with accessories, a tricycle (that can be pushed by a parent- it 'grows' with the child), and probably other stuff I'm forgetting. 

Christmas Eve- going to church and PJs afterwards.

Her Ariel shoes.  She didn't put on the dress in the excitement of opening gifts.

More gifts- baby doll and doll house

Medically there has not been much going on (thankfully).  She has not had any doctors appointments except for a routine dental cleaning about a week ago (which she did great and there were no problems).  She now only has to go to neurosurgery once a year (so that will be this summer) and her checkups are near her birthday in March.  We did go back to the orthotics place to check on her inserts and whether she had outgrown them.  Since it had been about a year since she got them they thought it might be time for new ones but these are actually still going strong.  I think its in part because I refused to cut them and we just got a bigger shoe for her to wear with them.  We will be back in April to see if she needs bigger ones then.

Ally did give us a scare in the fall (can't remember exactly when it was).  Her school actually called me and left me a message, (which I didn't get until after I picked her up- when I'm at school my phone stays on airplane mode) and when I went to get her she was in the director's office because they were so concerned.  They said she was on the playground playing and all of a sudden just burst into tears.  They couldn't figure out why- there were not any kids right there with her that moment to have hit her and she didn't fall or anything like that.  She just cried and was grabbing her head saying her head hurt.  Well of course they know all about her shunt so they took her temperature and called me and brought her inside.  She was playing happily when I picked her up.  It made me feel good to know that they were taking these things seriously and letting us know if something unusual was going on.  We kept an eye on her for a while after that, but nothing really happened except that occasionally she would say that her head was hurting- sometimes she would mention the shunt, but I still don't think she really knows what's going on with it.  Since she had no other symptoms and it was very occasional we did not take her anywhere.  I have a theory about what might have happened that day (and maybe some of the other times too).  My in-laws met a man at their church who has a shunt, and he told them that sometimes he can feel it working- meaning he can feel the pressure easing when the valve releases excess fluid.  I think that's what Ally felt- it may have been an uncomfortable and unpleasant sensation and made her cry.  She's had this shunt for 3 and a half years now, so I'd imagine she's felt this before many times, but that's the only explanation I've been able to come up with.

So for now, that's pretty much it!  Not too exciting, but that's okay- we don't want exciting on THIS blog!  We do have a lot of exciting things coming up soon, including a certain little girl's FOURTH birthday (how is that possible???).  We've already booked her party plans and she's super excited about it, and disappointed she can't invite ALL her friends.  So if all goes well, next time we update we'll have birthday news and predictions for summer plans.  Thanks for keeping up with our girl!

September 25th, 2017: The Summer Gone By

Another summer has come and gone!  (How is it that they go so fast???)  The kids and I had another great summer together, full of fun times and family memories.

The first (and probably craziest) thing that Ally and I did this summer, was that in the beginning of June Ally had a follow-up MRI.  We knew she'd be getting one from her neurosurgery appointment back in January.  Once we finally got it scheduled and all the details worked out, the day finally came.  Luke was still in school, and Ben stayed overnight with Russell's parents.  Ally and I went to the hospital in the morning and checked in, then went to the imaging floor and waited for them to call us back.  (One interesting thing- during our wait, there was a man who was deaf in the waiting room with a woman and an interpreter, probably provided by the hospital.  Ally kept trying to talk with them and when I explained that they couldn't hear and talked with their hands, she was pretty fascinated.)

When we got to the room, they asked all the standard questions of both her and me, since I would be with her, mostly about having metal pieces in our body anywhere.  We got Ally into a hospital gown, and took her into the room with the machine.  She was not going to be sedated for this one, which I was glad about, but I also didn't know how she'd do with the machine either.  The got her laid down, padded her head real good and put headphones on her, which pumped Disney tunes the whole time (but doesn't come close to drowning out the noise of the machine).  They put a pillow onto her legs, and I laid tummy-down on the pillow and held her hands- which meant yes, I was inside the machine too!  I had no idea I'd be getting an MRI that day too!  They then put a device over Ally's head that had mirrors on it- so without either of us moving, she could see me and I could see her.  It was neat- I'd never seen anything like that before.  So I got to talk to her the whole time.  I think she was a bit scared at first, and tried to sit up as they were 'packing her in', and again when the noises started.  But I think once she realized it didn't hurt, she was okay.  I kept talking to her, and when the noises would start I would say, "OK, they're taking pictures now, so we've got to be real still."  The whole thing took about 20 - 30 minutes, and she did SO great!  When she was done, she got to pick out a prize from a bunch of toys they had, and she found a Minnie Mouse puzzle and latched onto that- she still loves Minnie!  I wish I could have a picture taken of us on/in the tube, but of course having a phone in with the machine is a no-no, so I just have this cute picture of her after it was over.

We went to neurosurgery for her check-up in July.  We saw the same resident we saw in January, who said the images from the MRI showed her ventricles holding steady and she's doing great!  They would not be ordering another MRI again in the near future, and we didn't have to come back for a year this time (unless she started having problems).  One thing the resident did tell us was that if we did end up in the ER due to possible shunt problems, we are to direct the staff away from CT scans and x-ray shunt series, since it exposes her to radiation, unlike the MRI (it was non-contrast).  Since her hydrocephalus is a life-long condition, the less radiation she is exposed to over time, the better.

Speaking of appointments, Ally also had her first dentist appointment this summer!  I usually don't start them at the dentist until they are about 5, but we just got dental insurance back and its a family plan, so what the heck?  We're paying for it!  However, this turned out to be an adventure I wasn't expecting.  When they did the consultation and found out Ally had shunted hydrocephalus, the hygienist said she needed to check with the dentist about whether they could do her cleaning.  She came back a few minutes later saying she needed clearance from her doctor to have her appointment.  I was dumbfounded- I had no idea this would be an issue.  I asked what doctor it had to come from, and they said the one who took care of her hydrocephalus- which meant neurosurgery.  Great...

So while Ben had his appointment (his first, I might add), I tried to get in touch with neurosurgery to get clearance for Ally's dental cleaning.  I finally got through to someone who said they would fax it over.  However, Ben finished up and it still hadn't come through.  They received it as we were leaving, but her spot was already gone.  I was so frustrated, but they said if we came back at 3 they could see her, and so we did.  So she had her first cleaning (no x-rays, she's too young) and they said she was great and she did really well.  As they started with her they said they hoped she didn't have any cavities, because if she did they wouldn't be able to treat her without more consultation with her doctors, but everything was good.  I asked about it later on the Dandy-Walker parent page, and a few parents said that their kids have to take antibiotics before going to the dentist- with the risk of cutting places in their mouth, it can lead to infections, which could make their way to the shunt.  Hopefully next summer I'll be able to get her neurosurgery appointment before her doctor's appointment to figure all of that out!

June was a busy month for all of us.  We spent about 6 days at my parents' house, visiting with my family and especially Granny who had come up from Florida, as she does every year at this time.  All 3 kids also went to VBS at the church where they attend AWANA.  I was surprised that they allowed kids Ally's age, but they did and she had a great time.  We bought the CD of the songs they sung that week and have just about worn it out in my car.  All 3 also begged for a t-shirt, so Papa and Grandma supplied the money for all of that.  Every morning when I would drop them off, I would return home and work on Ally's room.  It had been the same since we moved in and Luke was a baby- tan walls, with red, blue, green, and yellow bedding with peek-a-boo animals on it.  It was time for something different (and girly).  So Ally now has a pink and purple room (when I ordered purple paint, they mixed a gallon instead of a quart.  Lucky mistake- they sold it to me at quart price!  So she has a purple 'accent wall'.)  I painted not only her walls, but her name letters, bookshelves, and mirror trim.  We moved a dresser out and some other things around and it now looks like a little girl's room, complete with princess pop-up playhouse for tea parties!  I must REALLY love Ally, because I REALLY hate to paint.

At the end of June we took our first family vacation with just us- ever!  We stayed at the Thomas bed-and-breakfast (also known as Mom and Dad's house) and four days drove up to Springfield where we took the Metro into DC.  We went to a Nationals/Cubs game (Go Cubbies) on Monday night.  Tuesday we went to the National Zoo.  Wednesday we went to the mall to see the monuments (Luke really wanted to see the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial) and went to the Spy Museum.  Thursday we went to the Natural History Museum (fav!) and a little bit of the Air & Space museum.  The kids loved riding the Metro everyday, and really enjoyed our outings.  They got a bit tiring (we walked A LOT), but thankfully we had great weather and it wasn't super hot.  Ally still takes naps, so we would put her in the stroller and lean the seat all the way back and she'd nap as we walked around and between museums.  (It was also great for carrying our stuff, because we packed our own lunch everyday along with phones and water.)  It was a lot of fun and I think the kids enjoyed it- they all said the zoo was their favorite.  Luke especially thought it was so cool to see these places that before he'd only seen on TV or in pictures.  

 With the lions (top left, lying down- get it?)

July brought with it swim lessons.  We'd been swimming all summer as we usually did, and Ally has gotten extremely brave- she will now jump into water up to her chin without holding anyone's hand!  She LOVES the water so much, and she did great in her swim lessons.  The instructor was so impressed after the first lesson with her she felt she could have moved up to the next level, which is completely without a parent, but felt she was so small she'd get lost in the shuffle so we ended up keeping her where she was.  It's hard to believe this was my last summer having to be in the pool with one of them for swim lessons!  They are growing up so fast!

In August our pool membership ran out (I go back to school in August) so we went to the water park a few times.  The kids had a blast, and there was one water slide (the purple slide) that even Ally was tall enough to ride.  The rule is you can't sit on a parent's lap- it's one at a time ONLY.  Of course, that didn't stop Ally.  Just put a life vest on her and wait for her at the bottom and she's good!  She went down over and over again.  She even got to the point where she'd try to be sneaky and cut in front of other kids close to the top!  The lifeguards would put a stop to that- smiling at her cuteness as they did so.

Ally went back to school the same day I did.  She is now in the 3s room- the Green Room.  I wasn't sure she was going to make it with her potty training, but she has done great and is now completely potty trained- she just wears a diaper at night because she hasn't quite mastered that yet and still sometimes has accidents at naptime- especially if she's REALLY tired.  She was my hardest one to potty train, but she made it!  (We didn't even do swim diapers.  I was nervous about this, but she did good.  It helped one day to show her the EMPTY water park that had closed down due to a biohazard and say to her- "See that?  They had to close the pool- because someone POOPED in the pool.  So if you have to go potty, we need to get out and go on the potty, or else they have to CLOSE the pool and we can't swim anymore."  Problem solved!)

First day of Green Room

Anyway, Ally loves school and is doing really well.  She has done very well being there without big brother Ben, who started Kindergarten this fall.  Of course she has lots of friends and (for the most part) does what she should.  The funniest thing is she has a new friend there who started in the Red Room (2s).  Ally LOVES her because she looks SO MUCH like a baby.  This girl has all the baby pudge and almost no hair, making her extremely baby-like.  Ally LOVES babies- she points them all out to me wherever we are, and wants to go talk to them, touch them, etc. (much to my- and sometimes the other Mom's- chagrin.)  She's such a little mommy!

We also started AWANA at the end of August, and Ally is now a Cubbie!  She has been so excited to go to Cubbies since Puggles ended in May.  She loves working on her Cubbie book and listening to the CD in the car.  Apparently one night I found out that during 'story time' in Cubbies Ally was called on to answer a question and basically gave the whole Gospel story- the leader kept shushing the other kids and trying to let Ally finish talking!  She is one smart and blessed little girl, and we pray that all that she is learning will take root in her heart and lead her to a strong faith in Jesus.

We are now back to 'normal'.  Everyone's in school and back to work (Ally and I have now had 7 weeks of school as of today!) and we are getting into the swing of things.  We are excited for our fall events, including our annual trip to the pumpkin patch, and Halloween (we already have costumes, and I won't give Ally's away but it is the CUTEST thing ever!).  Thanks, as always, for your interest in our girl!

Every year we do family photos.  Enjoy some photos of Ally and family courtesy of Beth Preston at Rebel Photography.  Aren't they great?