HAPPY HOLIDAYS & WELCOME BACK!!

Thanks for visiting us here at The Baird Bulletin ~ it has been a long time since we've made updates here, but we are committed again to keeping everyone up to date.  We decided to 'go green' this year and save the paper (and time!) of printing our annual letter...

First off, we must say, "Whew, we made it!" ~ life with a toddler is a lot harder, while also a lot more enjoyable than we ever thought it would be.  Allie took her first steps shortly after her first birthday in February, and it's been go-go-go ever since!  Standing tall at just over 30 inches and nearly 30 pounds, she continues to be at the top of the growth charts wearing 2T-3T clothes already.  Her vocabulary is growing every day - she's putting together 3 and 4-word sentences and is VERY aware of everything going on around her.  Of course, she has her downtime too - enjoying watching Mouse (her name for Mickey) and any movie with a princess, whether it be Cinderella, Snow White, The Little Mermaid, or Finding Nemo (yes, in Allie's world, Nemo falls in the princess category!).  It seems we have quite the 'girly girl' on our hands - she loves to wear necklaces and sunglasses and recently, wearing her hair in pigtails even!  Don't get us wrong, she isn't a complete angel - most days she is bossy, ornery, cranky, and throws at least one temper tantrum - pretty much par for the course at 22 months :) She attends school 2-3 days a week with Oma and Grandma watching after her the other 2 days of the week - she seems to really enjoy school (once she gets over being dropped off - DRAMA QUEEN) and her teachers are fantastic.  It even looks like she may be close to being potty trained before her 2nd birthday, thanks to the great coaching at Phoenix Children's Academy.  On the days when she visits Oma & Grandma, she is ecstatic to see them calling out their names as we pull into the driveway each time.

Despite the demands of parenthood, we were able to take a few fabulous trips this year. In March, all three of us took the long haul to Washington, DC - Jonny & Allie stayed for four days and then flew home alone (brave, isn't he?).  In April, we managed to sneak away for 2 nights in Las Vegas (sans Allie; thanks Oma & Grandaddy!) to see Garth Brooks - what an amazing show!  At the end of July, the biggest event of the year took place....we went to ALASKA (again, sans Allie; thanks Grandma & Papa!) to celebrate Erin's grandmother's 80th birthday.  Beginning in Anchorage, we took a three-day land tour through Denali National Park along with a stop at Mt. McKinley, followed by seven wonderful days and nights aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship.  We sailed for two days, stopped in Skagway, then Juneau, then Ketchikan, sailed another day, and finally disembarked in Vancouver.  It was a trip of a lifetime - celebrating 80 beautiful years with ten family members total!  This fall, we were able to take our first vacation with just the three of us - a full week in Pinetop, AZ.  We spent a lot of time bonding with Allie, taking long walks, and just relaxing.

We are looking forward to Allie's 2nd Christmas ~ sharing the wonderful joy that she is with all of our near & dear family.  We hope your holidays are warm & cozy ~ stop by again soon to see what 2011 may bring for the Bairds!

Love to all & to all a good night,
Jonny, Erin, Allison, and of course, Roxy!