Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

It's been a while since we've posted and so much has occurred in our lives over the last few months. First, Scott ran in his half-marathon. He finished in 2 hours and 22 minutes!! Ally and I saw him running and then met him at the finish line. We're so proud of him and the hard work he put into preparing for the race.

Ally has gotten all of her first year molars... it was a rough month or so for her but she loves her new chompers since they help her eat more things!! She had a great Christmas and so enjoyed the gifts she received. Ally and I went out to Cali for a visit after Christmas- photos and post to come- I PROMISE!!

Here's praying for another Healthy and Happy New Year!!

Love,

Alexis, Scott and Ally

Ally enjoying her ball collection after Christmas!

Playing with the Radio Flyer car from Grammie and Grandpa.

Playing in the playhouse Scott and I gave Ally on Christmas Day.

Allycakes and me on Christmas Eve.

Fridge Time at home!!

With MomMom at the park in DE after Thanksgiving.

Scott just after he crossed the finish line- 2hrs 22min. AWESOME!

Scott during the half-marathon... keeping up his pace about half-way done.

Coloring with Tadoodles after church.

Cutie pie, before church- check out the UGGS.


Ally on my old cell phone in the car... a little dark, but well worth the show- turn up the volume!


Ally in deep discussion- by far my favorite video of her, ever!!

Trick-or-Treat!

Happy Halloween! We had so much fun with Ally this year!! She was dressed as a princess; sporting a tutu, crown, and wand. She was so cute, as you will see in the photos, going to door to door. We walked around with our neighbors and Ally had a blast. We only walked around our cul-de-sac and down the street to a few other houses, but it was just prefect for Ally's first "trick-or-treat" experience. I also have added some photos of our pumpkins; Scott's first experience carving- he's quite talented! I think pumpkin carving will become a tradition for us each year, we all enjoyed it.

Ally has also gotten her 8th tooth in this last week and her first molar, in the top left! My suspicions were correct and I believe that she's working a bottom molar. It's weird looking into her mouth a seeing a big gap between her teeth and molar, but that's normal. She's just so much fun to play with and be around every day. Her new thing is saying "yes" and nodding her head when asked a question. Sometimes we think she doesn't quite understand what we're asking, but this afternoon I asked her if she wanted to run some errands with mommy and she said "yes" with a nod; walked right over to the door and reached up her little hand to try and open the door!! Her level of comprehension just amazes me! We feel so blessed to have such a healthy, beautiful and smart 14 month old! Enjoy the photos...



Ally pushing her baby in the drive way... Checking on her little pumpkins...
Our finished product! Pretty nice, huh?!?!

"Trick or Treat?!?!?"... our little Princess.
Happy girl...

Scott's favorite photo from Halloween...

Off she goes to her first house...

Checking out our candy after trick-or-treating.

Adding to her stash from our bowl!

Ally plays fetch with Rexi...

Warming-up for trick-or-treat...

Isn't she the cutest?!?!?!

Penn State football, new car and carving pumpkins...

Hi Everyone!

Here's an update on what's been going on with our family over the last couple of weeks. November 18-20 we were up in Delaware to visit with Scott's family and to attend the Michigan at Penn State football game. We were given tickets to the game from Scott's college friend Adam who now coaches at Michigan. So, Scott, his dad, Seth Penhollow and I drove up to Penn State Saturday morning while Scott's mom watched Ally in Delaware. We had a fantastic time and the environment was incredible! The drive up and back was long but the foliage, as you will see in the photo, was beautiful as we got into Pennsylvania. Scott and I both took Monday off and he played golf while I hung out with Ally and met up with her Aunt Kristen at the mall.

Then on Friday we BOUGHT A NEW CAR! Scott's car has been giving us trouble over the last year and although we were hoping to wait until the Spring to purchase a new one, our hand was forced when his car didn't start Thursday. Thankfully, my department chair at school has a good friend who's family owns a Honda dealership. We were put in contact with a general manager who was extremely helpful and we walked away with a 2009 Honda Odyssey at an AMAZING price! We feel very blessed to have been able to purchase this car and know that we will love having it for a long time!

Yesterday evening we carved 2 of our pumpkins. Ally wasn't too into it (as we expected) but she did enjoy playing with her little pumpkins, the pumpkin tops and the gooey insides! I will be sure to post some photos of our finished products all lit up! It was Scott's first time carving a pumpkin and I must say he's a natural!

Ally is finally over her cold, except for a little cough that usually only bothers her in the morning. We are thankful that she's better and that Scott didn't get sick while I only had a minor cold last week. Ally is also in the process of dropping her morning nap. Most days she's ok with just one long nap in the afternoon, but she has days when one nap is not enough. Thankfully she sleeps 12 hours at night to help with the adjustment. She's also babbling so much more and today on the way to her sitter we had a nice "conversation" about what she was going to do today and who she was going to play with at Lisa's house.

Hope you enjoy the photos and I'll be sure to update the blog this next weekend after Halloween with pictures of Ally dressed up and our carved pumpkins!

Scott doing some laundry with Ally's help!

Papa and Scott walking with Ally after breakfast.
The beautiful foliage on our drive up to Penn State.

Beaver Stadium during warm-ups.

Beaver Stadium- championships and luxury boxes.

Beaver Stadium- the press box... WOW!

Scott and I during pre-gam warm-ups.

Penn State student section- in ALL WHITE... they were SO loud!

The famous Penn State Marching band.

Michigan entering the field.

Ally testing out our new car.

She was so patient while Scott filled out the paper work for 2 hours!

I think she likes it!

Scott and Ally at the W&M Football game Saturday as it started to sprinkle.

Snuggling with her blanket on our way back from W&M.

Playing fetch with Rexi while mommy and daddy carved pumpkins.

Playing with the pumpkin top and gooey seeds.

Examing the pumpkin stem.

Taking a break to say hi to our neighbor Jason.

Playing with her little pumpkin.

"This one is just my size!"