ALLY IS ONE

A few highlights

"Life at grandma's...I am not sure what we are doing in the dishwasher...."

"The 10 year reunuion"

"A 5 k amongst our training for the Chicago Marathon"

"Ally's new friend - Jack"

"ally at my nana's - all dressed up and nowhere to go"

"the beach"

"charleston"

Hello to all....We have been a little busy this summer...so here are few pictures to highlight our busyness...Will and I went to Charleston, South Carolina for our 5 year anniversary trip (Ally did not come)....We had so much fun....We actually could go to dinner starting at 8:00 and eat for as long as we wanted without having to put more cheerios on the high chair....We went to Navarre Beach with some friends from Park City, Utah....Last time we went to the Navarre - Ally was in the belly...She did make this trip...and loved the ocean, sand, and pool...I signed up to plan my 10 year high school reunion....so that has come and gone....and Will decided months ago that he wanted to run in the Chicago marathon and wanted me to go.....so I decided if I was going to go to Chicago - I was not just standing there that I would run too....I thought surely I can learn to love running....Months into it and MANY miles later - I do not love running or even like running....and Ally's first year of her life has almost come and gone....She is getting so big - actually I think she is pretty small for her age....She is almost a year old and she is weighing in at 18 lbs....I promise I feed her but she is all over the place....She will not sit still for 1 second.....Snuggling is not in her vocabulary....So life at the mattern household is good...and it does not slow down...Will's sister is getting married....My sister is having a baby....and somewhere in between all of it Will and I trying to find time for ourselves...It is hard to believe sometimes - there was once just two of us....And we thought we were busy then....I love keeping up with all of your lives through your blog - sorry I am not the best blogger....alicia

Somethings to "write home about"...

We have covered a few things since I last updated...The easter bunny has visited..Ally's friends have had birthday parties...we have been dedicated...we are eating, crawling, pulling up, and trying to catch a few cat naps in between....I must confess that I do not have good blogging skills...I am not going to make excuses for my frequency of blogging....but I do not know how to move pictures around and make them look cute....so until I can get someone to teach me a few things - my blog will remain an unorganized picture collage...

Our 1st "big girl" bath

Hello fellow bloggers....I am always getting in trouble for the lack of updates that I post...I am sorry....Thanks to Kara and Jenny we discovered the $9.99 Target special of the duck bath tub...I felt that it was a need; Will qualified it is as a want - but none the less it was just $10....And well worth it...She loved it....It has been pretty rough at our house lately....Ally had the flu - I was pretty scared for a second because there is nothing you can give a 4 month old with the flu....It was not as bad as I expected and I am sure only the 1st of many scares in raising a child...It just made me sad to see her not feeling well....Then I got the flu....So my mom took Ally back to Hattiesburg to spend a few days at grandparent camp....Ally was fine - it was mama that had to adjust...1st night away from Ally, I was taking tamaflu, so I had to pump and dump (that is tramatic within itself),....but we survived and I was probably more productive in 3 days with the flu and no child than I normally am on a good day....Will never got sick - thank goodness...Other than that things have been good....

Happy Thanksgiving....Merry Christmas...Happy New Year....

hello to all....so I have been a huge slacker in the blogging world..I will post some pics to recap our life in the last two months....we are doing good...Ally is growing, smiling, laughing, rolling....I am trying to learn the balance of wife, mom, and career....the transition has been a lot easier than I anticipated because I have a wonderful husband and an amazing "Glenda" (a true God send that keeps Ally each day)....I want to be all God has for me to be in each role - Lynette Smith has encouraged me most in her words "give your most creative energy to your family even if work suffers" and that has been my constant prayer....

Trick or Treat

Our 1st Halloween - a sweet pea....We did not have many trick or treaters.....Mom can't wait until I can walk so we can gather up candy to bring home...

A Day at the Farm

Ally went to visit her Aunt Cindy and Uncle Jack on the farm.