Atley is 1!

Atley had her first year check-up a few weeks ago. Her stats are:

Weight: 17lb 8oz (2%)

Height: 28" (12%)

Head:17.5" (28%)

Atley is our little peanut and we love having her in our family! Her personality is starting to come out and I think she is going to be a little spitfire. Here are just a few of the things she is doing now:

• Crawling everywhere, cruising along the couches, and pushing her toys around
• Is a great eater, but will definitely choose fruit over anything else
• Loves to carry stuff in her mouth and crawl around
• Loves to do "crazy baby" and laugh with her brother
• Loves stuffed animals - especially her dogs
• Points and says "this" to anything anyone else has
• Can say - Asher, chicken, nana, no no (while shaking her head), and dog

We can't imagine our family without her! She is so much fun and we can't wait to see what the next year brings!

Setting up the Tree

When we got home from Arizona it was time to get all the decorations up. The kids helped put up the Christmas tree and I made fabric ornaments that we hung (I am sure I'll keep using these for a few more years!) that are perfect for taking off and throwing! Then we hung the outside lights and slowly but surely got the house ready for Christmas. Asher has loved all the Christmas lights this year and seeing all the houses lit up. It has been so much fun to see his excitement. Atley had gotten into some of the decorating as well. Whenever she passes the candy dish with m&m's she points and says "this"! I can't wait for their faces on Christmas morning.

Christmas Party

As usual my mom threw a wonderful Christmas Party and we had so much fun, though we missed the Gerrards! We ate delicious mexican food, the kids whacked the pinata, the adults played Minute to Win It and then the karoaking began. I think Tanner, Bennett and Asher could have sang all night. They loved it! Start planning now mom because we can't wait until next year!

Arizona Trip

Since the first Friday in November was Ryan's friday off, we took off Thursday right after work and headed to Arizona. The kids were great and slept in the car Thursday night until we stopped around midnight. It was so nice to actually sit up front and talk to Ryan for a few hours. The next day we took our time getting up and then stopped in El Paso to eat. After El Paso Asher finally fell asleep and we were able to drive all the way to Gilbert without stopping. It worked out so well. While we were in Arizona we were able to celebrate Atley's birthday with her favorite food, pizza, with the family, have her first birthday party, see a steam locomotive drive through Gilbert (and wow was it loud), play and play and play with all our cousins, ride bikes, do a quick photo shoot, have an awesome Korean meal and Thanksgiving, some shopping and have an awesome time at the Christmas party (seperate post). Here are a few pictures of all the fun.

Atley's First Birthday Party

Since we would be in Arizona for November we decided to celebrate Atley's first birthday with all our family there. We drove Thursday and Friday and then set everything up to celebrate Saturday evening. We threw her a fairy party and all the kids had lots of fun. All the little girls had tutus and headbands, the big girls had fairy drawing books, and the boys giant pixie sticks. We played ring toss, pop the balloons for prizes, ate, talked and had lots of fun with our family. Atley loved all the new toys and things she was given. They were perfect to have at Grandma and Grandpa's for the next few weeks. I just love having parties and I'm pretty sure my kids do too!

Halloween

Since Halloween fell on a Monday and we had already celebrated that weekend we had one of our favorite families, the Hudsons, over for dinner. The kids played and the adults ate and then we sent the boys trick or treating and the moms and babies stayed in. Atley loved seeing all the boys spill their loot on the table and floor. She was pretty good and getting to what looked good. It was so much fun and we were so glad to see the Hudsons before heading to Arizona.

Boo Zoo

The Saturday before Halloween we took the kids to the Zoo since they were having some Halloween festivities. We got there early and since it was cold most people waited until we were leaving to show up, so it was perfect. Asher and Atley loved the animals, riding the carousel (well until Atley hit her head on the pole), feeding the giraffes, picking out pumpkins, and getting candy at different stops. We need to head to the zoo more often!

Trunk or Treat

Our ward had our annual Trunk or Treat the Friday before Halloween. It decided to get really cold so we bundled up our Mickey and Minnie the best we could and headed out. Asher and Atley had lots of fun seeing their friends and getting a bucket full of candy! We are so glad that we have such great friends in our ward!

My kids love Jamie and Alayna! We are walking buddies so we are lucky to get to see them a few times a week!

The Worm

Atley started moving right before Halloween. Ryan nicknamed it the worm, since she wouldn't crawl on her hands and knees. Instead she did:

Scarecrow Festival

Ryan was gone yet another weekend for scouts so I decided to take the kids to the Scarecrow Festival at Fulshear Creek Crossing. Asher had lots of fun decorating a pumpkin, watching a puppet show, and sitting in the firetruck. I threw on Atley and Asher's costumes so they could get a goody bag and then we shared a shaved ice since it was so hot (yes only in Texas can you expect to never know what the weather will be). We had a lot of fun, but hope Ryan can join us next year!

Dewberry Farms

The BEST picture all day!

Today our ward playgroup went to Dewberry Farms. Ryan was off so it worked out perfectly that we could all go. We had lots of fun, other than the fact that I almost had to beat down a man trying to butt his way into the tractor line for the pumpkin patch! We hadn't been able to go on a weekday before since it is for field trips only, but it was especially great in the afternoon when almost everyone was gone and we could go and do whatever we wanted. Asher loved the jumpers and the barrel ride. Atley loved looking at the animals and riding with dad on the barrel ride. They also had a great indoor jack-o-lantern walk through with some amazing carvings. We fed the goats, played on the playground, and played cornball. We will definitely be headed back next year!