Merry, Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! We hope you had a wonderful holiday. Allison enjoyed her first Christmas and had lots of fun with her family! We spent the holidays pretty close to home this year as we still have to limit Allie's contact around others.

Santa was very good to Allie bringing books and toys and of course lots of cute outfits. Her favorite gift was from Aunt Erica, Uncle Kyle and cousins Jackson and Tyler....Elmo Live! She just stares and smiles and watches him over and over again. Mom and Dad admit that they are pretty amused with Elmo Live too!

Allie is doing amazing and continues to grow so fast - she is now about 13 lbs, loving her baby cereal and has tried a few different fruits . We did get Allie a cranial helmet to help shape a flat spot on the back of her head (very typical with preemies) - she'd adjusting to it well will hopefully just have it for a couple months. Allie has also been going to physical therapy one time per week to help strengthen the left side of her neck (she tends to favor the right.) Her therapist anticipates that she won't be there long and we'll just keep working on some stretches from home.

We look forward to sharing 2009 with all of you and may it bring you and your family good health and happiness!

Best Wishes,

The Shepards

Gobble, gobble!

As we prepare for Thanksgiving Day we want to give a special thank you to all our friends and family for their love and support over the past months. We cannot thank everyone for all your kind gestures for Allie. We all have a lot to be thankful for and many given blessings.

It's hard to believe that she's going to be 7 months old on Thanksgiving! Allie is doing amazing. She is babbling so much and loves to "coo" and laugh at her toys. She is starting to notice Boomer more and even decided to crawl up on him and give him a big hug (with Mom and Dad's help of course.)

Allie has been busy with Mom the last few days preparing for Turkey Day. We've made hand-traced cut out turkeys for decoration and some kiddie cornucopias (not that she can eat them, but Mom had fun!) We'll spend Thanksgiving at home this year. All the grandparents will be over along with Uncle Mike and Uncle Mark (who will be meeting Allie for the first time.)

From our home to yours, we hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Love,
Matt, Nicole & Little Turkey (Allie)

Happy Halloween!

Hi Friends and Family,

Halloween was extra fun at our house this year. I dressed up as a ladybug and loved it. Mom and Dad enjoyed picking out a costume for me. I stayed in this year and passed out candy - next year I'll get to go out and trick or treat.

I had a check-up with the pediatrician on Halloween and all is well. The doctor said I'm about 11 pounds and 23 inches long. He said that I'm very healthy and everything looks and sounds great, hopefully we'll continue on that note. Unfortunately I had to get some shots too, so I was a little fussy - those shots really hurt!

The doctor was impressed with my head control and movement and thought it was great that I'm rolling now! We got the green light to go ahead and try some rice cereal.....mmm, that stuff is yummy! Although, I enjoyed playing with it more than eating it - cereal was EVERYWHERE!

It's been so nice out lately and I've enjoyed going for long walks with my puppy dog Boomer. Mom went back to work 1 day a week and Grammy Karen comes over to stay with me. We have fun and like to read and sing together.

Now with Thanksgiving approaching, I'm going to try to sneak some goodies on Turkey Day....do you think Gerber makes pumpkin pie baby food?

Love and kisses,
Allie

Growing Up Fast!

Time is flying by and it's hard to believe the end of October is approaching! Allie has just been such a joy to us. She loves to babble and chat and yesterday she rolled over for the first time! She enjoys playing on her Baby Einstein mat and is starting to like "tummy time" more and more. We would guess her to be close to 11 lbs now, but we'll know for sure when she goes to the doctor at the end of the month.

We've had some visitors over to meet Allie and we certainly appreciate everyone's cooperation with following our "health guidelines" to ensure we keep Allie super healthy.

Allie enjoys her visits with Grammy Karen and will get to spend this weekend with Nana and Papa Shepard as they are coming down to stay with Allie and Matt while Nicole is on her first overnight weekend (girls weekend) away from Allie. Yes, she is going to miss her like CRAZY - but she knows she'll be in great hands.

Boomer continues to be intrigued by Allie. We've caught him giving her feet "kisses" and often he lays right under her swing. It will definitely be funny when she can start feeding him goodies!

We hope everyone is having a nice Fall and hope you have fun this Halloween. Allie will enjoy her first Halloween as a ladybug!

Love, The Shepards

Happy Fall!

What great Fall weather! Allison has been doing lots of outdoor activities taking advantage of being outside while we still can. We've been going to the park and out on long walks and she loves to sleep the whole time. Boomer likes to walk directly in front of the stroller and "lead" the rest of us - it's so cute!

Allie had a check-up with her pediatrician yesterday and he said that she looks great and is doing just fine. She weighed 9lbs 6oz and is 21 inches long.

Allison babbles quite a bit and likes "tummy time" on her Baby Einstein mat. She continues to be just a bundle of joy for us and we are so grateful for her good health.

We hope this message finds all our friends and family well.

I Love Being Home!

It is so nice to be home with my family! I've been getting big and am adjusting well. I now weigh 8 lbs and have a big appetite! Most of my days I spend time cuddling with Mom and Dad, doing "tummy time" and going for walks in my stroller. Big brother Boomer is very curious about me. He watches me and peeks in my crib when I cry. I can't wait to pull his tail and feed him Cheerios!

Mom and Dad are taking good care of me. I'm still using oxygen and a monitor, but have started weaning off both. I enjoy "Daddy/Daughter" time when Mom needs to run errands. Dad is teaching me all about football.

Hope everyone is well!
Love, Allie

Finally settling in

Yes, it has been a while since this update but we have a good excuse. Allison is doing great but she does take a lot of our attention, probably since we don't have the nurses to oversee any longer...