Allie B

Last Monday for FHE we took a scenic drive on the Nebo Loop to see the fall leaves. Jeff wanted to go take some pictures, and I coerced him to take some of the kids, so we could use them for Christmas cards this year. We did get some good pictures that we will probably be using, and I will post our favorites after we have chosen which ones we like. These are a couple that we aren't using, but I love them. I love this one of Damon with the fuzzy background. Jeff told me what he did to get that effect, but I can't remember what he said. I'm glad he is into learning about photography, and I hope our family will benefit from his knowledge for many years to come.


This next picture is quite possibly our new favorite one ever. Jeff was just getting ready to start shooting the kids and asked Damon and Allie to pose. Damon obliged happily, but Allie wasn't into it. It's so typical of these two, and we just crack up when we look at it. You probably know Allie well enough from reading my blog to understand why it's so classic.


I have been reminding myself (almost daily) why I love this little girl and telling myself I'm going to be so sad when she has grown up a little (although Jeff is wishing she would grow up a little faster). Here are some things I love about Allie, lest you think she is the devil's love child:

1. She is such a conversationalist. I think she says the funniest things and I'm always cracking up just listening to her. She is also really good when it comes to expressing her feelings, even if she doesn't always use the right words. She told me, "reading books is too boring," in a voice that told me it was too hard. She was getting frustrated and said, "I'm so disappointed!" and, while not exactly what she was trying to say, I understood.
   
2. She is petrified of getting cavities. Jeff may have explained in a little too much detail what happens when kids have to have cavities filled, and she will rush to the bathroom to scrub her teeth after eating something with sugar in it.
3. She is the ultimate food taster. She wants to try everything, but rarely finishes anything (including desserts). She just can't pass up the opportunity to try something that looks good.
4. She loves V8 and is constantly sneaking upstairs to grandma's pantry to pilch a few cans for snack time.
   
5. She is great at entertaining herself while Kyla is napping, which is so nice for me.
   
6. She loves music and is always impressing me with her knowledge of pop culture. I was listening to the new David Cook song on my Playlist, and she said, "Is this David Cook?" I was blown away. I tested her on a few more, and she is pretty good about identifying Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift and any other well known song on the radio right now.
   
7. She is also a great singer. She knows a lot of songs and sings with such feeling! She was belting out the two lines of "Connected" from Barbie and the Diamond Castle that she knows at the park last week and I just sat back and smiled.
8. She is very self-confident. She thinks she is great at everything, even when her performance doesn't really back it up. I love that about her. She is so pleased with everything she does.
9. She has a great imagination and "reads" herself great stories. For some reason, she loves chapter books with no pictures, and I find them in her bed sometimes. I don't quite understand it, but it's always fun to hear what she's going to say next.
10. She loves being a girl. She loves makeup, phones, changing her clothes all day long, playing with babies and cooking in her kitchen. It's incredibly obvious that girls and boys are born with inherent differences and she is going to be an awesome mother someday.

Well, it wasn't really that hard to come up with 10 things I love about Allie, which just goes to show that even my biggest challenge comes with a lot of blessings. I'm glad for that reminder.