Signs of a Toddler

I've noticed things here and there that Allison is no longer a baby and is starting to become a toddler. We installed our new TV in the basement the other night, so the next day, I brought Allison downstairs to show it to her. We were watching something on PBS that really caught her attention. She was sitting next to me, playing with her feet. Then she laid down on the pillows and was watching the show, like a a true couch potato. It just struck me that she was getting to be so big.

Speaking of the basement and TV, we are almost finished. We are so close. Basically everything is done and put together, with the exception of the bookshelves. They are assembled and put in place, Brian just has to put his books out and make it look nice. Once that happens, I promise to put pictures up. Hopefully after this weekend, unless he is waiting for AT&T to come install the cable, then it would be at least until Thursday. Well I am off to watch the Olympics on our new big screen.

Thank You Aunt....

Thank you Aunt Jodi, Aunt Keri, and Aunt Lori and all their families. For Allison's birthday, they got her a gift certificate to Toys R Us so we could get her a sandbox. I found this one on their website for a great deal. It included a little picnic table, which I had eventually wanted for the kids, so it worked out great. She loves her new sandbox and spent a long time playing in it this afternoon.

Allison taking a seat at the table before she tested out the sand box.

As you can see, the sand box is a hit.

She loves the table because she can set stuff on there and she also likes to stand in the box holding onto the table.

Our Overnight Adventure

We decided to take a short getaway on Sunday and drove up to Pentwater and Ludington. I decided that we should leave at 10 am, hoping that Allison would take her morning nap in the car, however Allison being Allison, that was a no-go. She very rarely sleeps in her car seat, only when she is extremely tired.

We arrived in Ludington and had a picnic at the beach and spent some time playing in the sand. She was the hit of the beach. Everyone around us kept commenting on how cute she was crawling in the sand and on her bathing suit.

We then checked into the hotel, hoping that Allison would take her afternoon nap. Again, that was a no-go. She cried so hard, which I don't understand. She has taken naps in her pack-n-play before without a problem. I guess she was afraid she was going to miss out on some fun.

Finally after 45 minutes, I gave up and got her out. We took her swimming which she loved. We then went to dinner in Pentwater. Considering how tired she was, Allison did great. We ordered her first meal off the children's menu (Dad had to help finish off the grilled cheese). She did get a pickle which was a bonus, as you can see. You can also see how tired she looked.

After we got back to the hotel we put her down to bed, which luckily happened without too much fussing. Brian and I watched a movie on the portable DVD player to pass time. I made the mistake of bringing a comedy which caused Brian to laugh a little too loudly. About 45 minutes after Allison fell asleep we heard " HA HA HA." Our little sleeping angel was standing in the pack-n-play and joining in on the fun. I tried ignoring her, hoping she would lay back down, however Brian started cracking up because Allison was standing there waving at me like "Hi mom, I took my nap, I'm good to go some more." Needless to say, we knew she wouldn't be falling back to sleep anytime soon, so we got her out and let her look at books for a little bit. Luckily she went back down around 45 minutes later.

The next day we walked around Pentwater and looked at the shops. It was getting to be too warm and muggy to do much else, so we just drove home. We stopped for a quick lunch, when I realized that I hadn't wished Brian a Happy Birthday yet. I felt awful. I knew it was his birthday, I just didn't think of it that morning yet.

Later that evening, I took Brian out to Famous Daves for dinner. We were going to go to the park, however it was starting to get overcast, so we walked around the mall to burn off dinner. Overall it was a nice little family getaway.

Does Ozzie Smile?

We had several people comment that it looked like Ozzie was smiling in the photo below. Based on these pictures, we would like to think that Ozzie does smile as he is a happy doggie.

Life is Back to Normal

I just love this big ball of fur

Life is back to normal at our household. Nothing too exciting going on. Allison had her 12 month appointment this week. She was 28 1/4 " long and weighed 20 lb and 15 oz. She did great at the appointment. She really likes our doctor, so she enjoyed seeing Dr. B again. She was in a happy mood until she got her shots - needless to say she wasn't prepared at all for what happened. She didn't do too bad in the office, but you could tell she had hurt feelings afterwards. We went to Applebees for lunch and as I was waiting for our table, I looked down at her and she looked like she was about ready to start bawling her eyes out. Her bottom lip was puckered out and her eyes were all teary. She was that way for about five minutes. Luckily sliced cheese and mandarin oranges saved the day.

As you can see by the picture, she loves Ozzie. That is her buddy. She is always rolling over him, giving him hugs, etc. She is walking along furniture and with our help, but isn't showing any interest in doing it herself. We have weaned her from bottles. It wasn't an issue at all. She hates sippy cups but will drink from cups with straws. I feel like we conducted a science experiement trying to find a cup that she will take and doesn't either leak or is hard to drink from.

We are just about finished with the basement. We are in the process of putting the furniture in place and the decorations up. I can't wait to post pictures. Brian did an amazing job and worked very hard. I can't thank him enough for all his efforts.




On the pregnancy front, I am 27 weeks and 5 days along. I can't believe it has gone by this fast. We meet with the new doctor this week. Because Dr. B. is a family practitioner, she isn't able to do my c-section. I decided to continue to see her during the first two trimesters and transfer to St. Mary's OB office at 28 weeks. I'm feeling pretty good still, although get tired a little quicker. I really need to get a few things done around the house before I get too far along. I want to do some deep cleaning. I feel like I can't have this baby until I clean the baseboards. It is really bugging me. I also need to clean out my sock drawer - it is very pressing.

Birthday Recap

Allison's first birthday has come and gone. It was a great day and the weather was perfect. We couldn't have asked for a better day. In total we had 35 guests at the party - Nana and Papa, Aunt Jodi and Uncle Rich, Aunt Keri and Eric, Aunt Lori, Jo Ann, many cousins, Grandma and Grandpa, Uncle Dale, Aunt Lynn, Uncle Mark and family, "Cousin Amy", Jai and Mahrya (and Paityn), and Dave and Linda.

Everyone was happy to see Allison and enjoyed spending time with her. She was in a good mood all day and let people hold her. She enjoyed opening her presents and had lots of fun eating her cake.

Allison in her special birthday outfit.

The kids made cards for Allison for the future. Each year she will receive a card from one of her cousins from age 2 - 13. I had the adults make a card for when she turns 16.

Allison inspecting her birthday card.

The only family photo that we took that day.

Allison's own birthday cake baked by mom and decorated by dad.

Trying to figure it all out....

Dad showing her that she can eat the cake....

Getting the hang of it....

Having fun smashing her hands in it...

Too busy watching her cousins to eat any more cake. She is probably trying to figure out why they keep yelling "DUNK YOUR HEAD IN IT"

After all the cousins left to play in the backyard, I gave her some more cake to play with. This is when she really started to have fun with it.

All the cousins

A very tired little girl at the end of the night. Needless to say she slept very well that night. She slept in until 8 am.

Happy 1st Birthday

Allison,

It's 9:01 pm and you are officially one, however you are out cold in your crib right now, so you don't even realize it.

When they raised you above the curtain and I saw you for the first time, the first thing I thought of was "look at the cheeks." You were so cute.

It was a long and hard labor and delivery, but you were so worth it. I remember feeding you the next morning and I looked down at you and all of sudden I felt an overwhelming sense of love for you. It hit me at that moment -- I was a mom and I loved it.

You had a wonderful party today. You were in such a great mood. We will have to post pictures tomorrow so our blog readers can see them. You were such a doll eating your cake, although I have to say you were a lot daintier than I thought you would be. I think you were too curious about what your cousins were doing to eat the cake.

Now it is time to rest and recover. I think all three of us will sleep well tonight.

Love,

Mom