Alleyn Family Adventures: Christmas 2015 & Stuff

I think a month in between blog posts is kind of how this year (2016) is going to go. I mean, we are lucky if we remember to pick up the camera and take pictures these days and the iPhone pictures are dwindling by the second because my phone seems to constantly be FULL no matter how many text message conversations, photos, videos, etc. I keep deleting.

So. Christmas 2015.

Unlike Charlee's first Christmas (of which we have virtually zero documentation) this Christmas we actually took a few photos! But first, check out this photo Joel recreated with Charlee and Franklin.

I think what's most impressive here is that we have both the preemie size and 18 month size of this onesie!

Moving on.


This is pretty much the best shot we could get of Charlee "sitting" in front of the Christmas tree!


Okay, we did snag a shot in front of the tree, but it took some effort.

My parents, sister and grandma came over to our house for Christmas morning and breakfast. Everyone opened the gifts we got for them and Charlee opened a few presents from my family. After breakfast Charlee had a rest and everyone parted ways until around lunch time.

Our tree, crooked star and all.

My parents' tree, which my dad claims is "the most gorgeous tree they've ever had". Karen, if you are reading this, it was a Noble Fir!

Between November 6th and December 25th Charlee really developed her skill of gift opening. On her birthday she was relatively uncertain about the whole paper ripping thing, but by Christmas she was ready to rip and destroy! She rocked her gift opening.

Here is Charlee posing in her first ever Dirndl. This dirndl was the only thing I desperately had to buy when we were in Germany this past April. I thought it'd be a few years before Charlee got to wear it, but here we are! Thankfully, I have my own tiny dirndl Charlee can wear once she outgrows this one.

Charles and her Pa, just doing their thang!

Proof that we actually did Christmas this year!

We finished off Christmas afternoon and dinner at my parents' house. On Boxing Day we headed to Vancouver and stayed the night with my Auntie and Uncle Doug before heading up to Shuswap the next day to spend some time with Joel's family.

This is a familiar scene in our house...Joel chasing Charlee around while FaceTiming with his parents.

I think the best highlight of our whole Christmas holiday was getting to spend some quality time with our Co-Fam, Ryan and Nikki. These two are not only our dear friends (who we visited in Prague this past April), but also Charlee's Godparents. We had the pleasure of having Ryan stay with us in May for a few days while he was here in Victoria on business, but we hadn't seen Nicole since mid-April when we (tearfully) parted ways at our hotel in Vienna. It was so so sooo great to see these two again - man, we missed them!

Charlee adores Ryan. It's actually crazy how much she loves him. Outside of our direct family I think Ryan is her most cherished human.

We love our Co-Fam!

Charlee girl with her Godparents, who love her more than she'll ever know.

Ryan got a whole bunch of smiles and giggles from Charlee during this visit, but Nicole was still being kept at an arm's reach for some reason. One very special moment was when Ryan and Nicole were leaving our house after staying with us for a few days over the holiday. We were saying "Goodbye" and Charlee leaned out of my arms to rest her head on Nik's shoulder and fully embrace her. It was SO special, not only for Nik, but for me! Love how much our girl shows her love.

And now for the "Stuff" part of this post! Here are some shots of random things and poses that have been happening at Alleyn Acres lately.

Charlee continues to LOVE our kitties so much. She's loved these guys since the moment she realized they existed, but now she points and talks to them AND she head boops them all. the. time. The best part is that they could care less about the incessant head boops.

In this photo I think Charlee looks 100% like Joel's baby photos, which is rare for my eyes to see. That said, I know for sure that Joel never cruised with a tres chic & hip Herschel backpack. My grade 8s are jealous. Thanks Allie for the sweet gift!

Our sweet girl continues to be happy nearly all the time.


I love that Joel was able to capture Charlee's sign for "water". Charlee knows four signs now: more, hungry, water and all done. Over Christmas, at 13 months old, she signed her first sentence: "More water".

Just posing with her sweet Nike hightops - this year's special Christmas gift from her Pa. We've decided to make it a tradition each year to separately buy her a gift that is a surprise for each other too.