Poor Baby

Aly has had quite a few difficult weeks. This is a picture from the last time she was at church, which was four weeks ago! She has had ear infections nonstop since November and has been on six different antibiotics. A couple of weeks ago, she caught a virus that was so bad that we spent four hours in the emergency room thinking it was RSV or pneumonia, but thankfully it wasn't. Then we found out at a follow-up appointment that she caught the flu from the doctor's office! Donny is still recovering from hernia surgery and shouldn't be lifting her (which he still does) and I just got over the flu myself. This morning we had tubes put in her ears, so we are hoping that this is the end of all of the ear infections. The whole procedure only lasted about nine minutes and she did great. The doctor said one was just full of a watery fluid, but the other ear had fluid that was the consistency of an egg white and it would not have ever gotten better. The worst part was when she came back to us and was disoriented from the anesthesia. She just cried and cried, bless her little heart. She has done great since then and hopefully we will see a big difference in how she is feeling. We had so many people praying for her to get better and praying for her procedure to go well and we are so thankful. Even Cousin Holly prayed for "Baby Alyson" at every meal and at bedtime. There's nothing like the faith of a child!

Think, Think, Think

Aly's newest obsession is "My Friends Tigger and Pooh". On the show, the characters point to their heads and say, "Think, think, think". Uncle Anthony and Aunt Sarah bought her the Christmas movie for Christmas and she has about worn it out. It's her favorite. As soon as it's over we hear, "Think, think, think?" and we have to watch it again. She asks as soon as she wakes up in the morning and keeps asking all day long. For Valentine's Day, she got another Pooh video (thinking we might at least have some sort of variety) and a new Pooh doll from Daddy. How can we resist that little finger pointing to that sweet little head?

Happy 1st Birthday, Caroline!

Aly was invited to her first 1st birthday party by her best friend, Caroline. Caroline is such a good hostess. She is very good at accepting gifts and always acted very surprised. She ate her cake delicately and enjoyed herself very much. We had such a great time! Bonnie and I are so blessed to get to share times like these with our girls!

A True Razorback Experience

Aly had the privilege to get to go to her second Razorback basketball game last night. However, this time it was a conference game, she had a better seat, she had a brand new authentic cheerleader uniform and we had a great win. She finally got to experience the hogs like every Arkansas native should. She loved watching the cheerleaders dance and she made sure that everyone sitting behind us got a polite wave and a "hi" from her before the night was over. Momma and Daddy got lots of kisses during the game as Aly expressed her gratefulness for bringing her along this time. We never could get her to call the hogs with the crowd, but she had a look on her face like, "How does everybody know my trick?"

Aly is such a big girl!

Aly is growing up so fast! I think she is officially a little girl rather than a baby. I wish that all of our friends and family could spend more time with her so they could understand why we are so crazy about her! Her little personality warms our hearts and makes us laugh out loud every day. We are so blessed to get to be her parents.

Aly talks on the phone and says,
"hello" and "bye"
(With a southern accent, of course.)



She loves giving away kisses, especially when you are telling her not to do something she really wants to do.



And hugs to her best friend when she hasn't seen her in a while.



Bath time has become an event.



Her expressions are new every day.



She has to do all of the work around the house.



























She is just so exhausted from all of this growing up she has to do.

We love you, Aly-Cat!

Aly Claire's First Birthday Party

Aly will turn one on December 20th, (if you ask her, she says she is two), but we celebrated a little early with a family party on Sunday. Aly loved opening presents and eating cake in her own little dainty way. We had so much fun watching her reactions to a very confusing, yet exciting experience.

Aly had her own special "smash cake" to eat on her own.



Aly loved having her best friend and her favorite cousin at her house at the same time!


She started out in her fancy pink and brown dress for presents and then had a wardrobe change for cake. Aunt Kristi made her a special birthday outfit. So cute!!































What a fun way to celebrate the most wonderful year of our lives! Happy birthday, Angel!

ALY WALKS!!!!

Aly took her first steps yesterday morning (exactly 2 weeks before her first birthday) and has taken several more since then! Her record stands at five steps in a row so far. I fear my life is about to drastically change, but I'm so excited about it! I can't wait for dance class!