Ally Potter

Ally's forehead had a run-in with a reading lamp on top of Auntie Jane's piano (cousin Aleana helped with the introductions, but it was an accident). 

Jokingly we've called her "Ally Potter."  The quick response is, "No!  My name is Ally Kelso"

Side Note:  She also has Jacob's name down now - "Jacob Ernest....that's Dada's name too!" 

Shopping With Ally

I am so thankful for the semi-flexible schedule that I have with work, but the last couple of weeks I've been putting in a lot of extra hours.  I get to work around 8, working until 5:00 or so (usually I get off around 4:30), get the kids, get home, and get online for a 6:00 conference call.  I make an appearance around 7 to nurse Jacob and put him to bed, play with Ally for a few minutes, and then I'm back on the computer by 8 working until 9 or 10.  Then it's bedtime for me, and it starts all over the next day.  I even had to work 10 hours in the office on Saturday - I hardly ever have to go in on the weekends.

So, because of all of the hours I've been putting in lately I've been feeling guilty about neglecting the kids (though Ernest is getting a lot of quality time with them!).  After working my 10 hours on Saturday, I decided to get the grocery shopping out the way.  I had a feeling I was going to crash once I stopped moving.  On a whim I asked Ally if she wanted to go with me, and of course she said yes.  I wasn't real sure about it, because I would be taking "No-nap Ally" with me (she fights it hard on the weekend). 

We went to Aldi, and she did a great job.  She was eager to help me put things into the cart, so I just had to keep an eye on her.  Anything (non-breakable) she would throw into the cart.  Aldi is a small enough store, and there were few enough people that I let her stay out of the cart, which she loved.

Next we went to Wal-Mart to get the remainder of our list.  I made her get into the cart this time, but she still did pretty good.  We walked into the store, and they had a huge Christmas Tree inside.  I guess she didn't remember last year, because she was asking me what it was.  I told her it was a Christmas Tree, and then she said, "Look, there's red and green tomatoes on it!"  It took me a moment to realize she was referring to the glass ornaments. As we walked away she shouted out that there were yellow (gold) ones too.  Funny girl.

Driving home, we went along Shawnee Mission Parkway.  They've had the snowflakes up on the light poles for a few days now, but she hadn't seen them lit up.  I told her the other day that they were "Snowflake Lights" and she's started calling them "snowflights."  So driving home, 45 miles per hour, she's seeing them out the window. "One light, Mama!  Two!  Three!  Four!  Five!  Six!  Eight! (she skips seven still)  Two more!"  And then she started over at "one."

Still while driving home, we came to an orange traffic light.  Now I have to explain that she's learned how to play "Red Light Green Light" and loves to run around and tell you which light to call out.  Her cousin, Hannah, was playing with her the other day and yelled out "Orange Light!"  Obviously it confused Ally, so we told her it meant Slow Down, which for some reason she had a problem with, so we replaced it with "sneak."  She is a pro sneaker, tip-toeing very quietly and hunched over.  So, when she sees an orange traffic light, of course she says, "Sneak!"  At this particular light I stopped, but it was kind of a fast stop.  Ally pipes up from the back, "Whoa, Mama!  Nice Stop!  You get a medal."  I asked if the medal was like getting a blue ribbon and she told me, "Yes, but it's yellow (gold)."  The whole conversation made me laugh.  To top it off though, after we were home and she was supposed to be asleep, I was going to bed as well, and she came wandering into our room with a purple turtle beanie baby.  She handed it to me and told me it was my medal, then turned around and went back to her room.  It's such fun being a two year old :)

Car Conversations

Driving to church last week (late again, but that doesn't really contribute to the story). 

Ally:  Dada, I see clouds moving!
Ernest:  Yes, they are moving fast.
Ally:  How do I get in the sky and go through the clouds?
Ernest:  You go on a plane and can go through the clouds.
Ally:  How do I get on a plane in the sky?
Ernest:  You buy a plane ticket.
Ally:  How do I buy a ticket?
Ernest:  You save your money and you buy a ticket.  Plane tickets are expensive.  Are you saving your money?
Ally: (dejectedly) Noooo.
Ernest:  Yes, you are.  Remember your piggy bank?
Ally:  Oh, Mama and Dada save money too?!
Ernest:  Yes, we save some money, and we give you some money to put into your piggy bank, remember?
Ally:  How does a ticket get me in the sky?  (this one cracked me up)
Ernest:  You save your money and buy a ticket.  Then you go to the airport and you get on a plane.  Then the airplane goes in the sky with the clouds.
Ally:  Does it use engines?

I'm not sure, but wondering if maybe this is the beginning of the "Why?" phase?

Funny Stuff

Ally was walking in from the car the other night and decided to run through the leaves towards the house.  She tripped, caught herself, but still nearly crashed into the front porch.  It was funny enough to watch but then I hear, "Whew!  That was a close one!"

Auntie Jane was explaining to Ally that to Maddie (Ally's new 2nd cousin) Jane wouldn't be "Auntie Jane," but would be "Grandma Jane."  But, Lucy (Ally's cousin) would be "Auntie _____."  Ally filed in the blank alright - with a great big "Jane!"  We were talking about it in the car later, and Ally continued to insist that Lucy would be "Auntie Jane." 

Getting ready for dinner the other night, Ally was wandering around talking and singing to herself.  She turns to me, gives my leg a hug and says, "I love you guys."

Jacob has started to tilt his head and try to look around things to see what is going on.  It is just so funny to see.  Then if he notices you are looking at him, he smiles and giggles. 

I don't know where she got it from, but Ally has started saying, "But but but..." if you tell her not to do something.

Earthquake!

Saturday night.

Around 10:53pm

I was at the kitchen table on the computer and noticed the table shaking.  My thoughts:  "Ernest bumped into the table.  But no, it's still shaking.  He must be stomping around in the kitchen.  But no, he's not stomping.  The washer's spin cycle can't be felt at the kitchen table from the basement, can it?  No, don't think so.  Am I imagining this?  Is it an earthquake?  What do I do?"

So I asked Ernest if he felt it, which of course he didn't.  By this time I have both hands on the table top like I'm going to take off or something.  I asked if it was an earthquake, so he came over to feel the table....and it stopped.  I thought I was still imagining it until I saw on Facebook the next morning that half of my friends had felt it.  So.  My first earthquake.  I'm a pro with thunderstorms, ice storms, and tornadoes, but my mind goes blank when the earth shakes.

There was a post on Facebook on Sunday that I thought was hilarious.  I can't find it now to share, but essentially it was a cartoon that said, "In the event of an earthquake, go outside BEFORE facebooking about it."   

(technical details: 5.6, 44 miles ease of Oklahoma City)