Congratulations!

Congrats are due to some more new parents... James and Laura welcomed their new baby boy Jack this morning! He wanted to come a month early to enjoy Christmas with his family! Mom and baby are doing well from all reports. What a wonderful Christmas gift!

Here's a fun side- note... Laura and James are the SAME Laura and James whose wedding we attended the weekend before Alyssa was born. Check out this post with pics of my VERY pregnant self dancing if you want a good chuckle!

Christmas Comes Early

I have never been patient. About anything. Christmas is no exception! Growing up, we were given a new set of pajamas to wear on Christmas Eve (a tradition I plan to continue with Alyssa). As we got older (and more crafty with our pleading) we got to open a present or two on Christmas Eve. For the last several years, my parents have been giving us Christmas socks and jewelry weeks early so that we can wear them for the weeks leading up to Christmas.

Since Mike and I have been married, I am not sure if there has been even one Christmas where we have any presents left to give each other on Christmas Day! I am usually too excited (and too impatient) to wait! And since we previously did not have kids to wake us up on Christmas morning, we weren't upset about getting to sleep in, either!

Now that Alyssa is old enough to sort-of understand what is going on, I am having an even harder time waiting until Christmas to give out presents! She has been so interested in the ornaments on the tree and the packages underneath. She has been carrying them around and pulling off tags, but has only really opened one or two. We have had such a good time watching Christmas movies and watching her dance to the Christmas music that I can't help but be in the spirit. I just want to give her all of her presents!

Yesterday, to appease my need, Mike agreed to one present each... I gave him a blanket for his game-playing comfort, he gave me a GREAT book on the making of the Twilight movie (yes, I also have been sucked into the teenage- girl crazed phenomenon... I couldn't put any of the 4 books down! I'll be glad to share it with my obsessed friends who shall remain nameless... you know who you are!), and we gave Alyssa a princess tent. She loves it! She has been having so much fun going in and out and putting all of her jewelry on while inside, peeking out the windows at me, watching her morning shows from the front door, etc. I have had so much fun watching her... I've had the giggles all morning! Check out the pictures!



Princess

PS I am trying out a new way to share the photo albums... leave a note and let me know how it works for you! Is it any quicker than the previous ones from Bubbleshare? Do you like the controls any better? How does it look in general? Thanks for your input!

Simple Pleasures

I love the fall... right through the holidays. I love the change in the weather and the colors and the general atmosphere at the end of the year. No matter what else is going on, I always feel better when October arrives. Now we are into December and I am very much enjoying life with a munchkin. Some of my favorite things that we have been experiencing...

• Walks in crunchy leaves


• Watching Alyssa discover things for the first time


• A munchkin carrying her bucket on walks and picking things up for her collection... pine cones, leaves, seeds, flowers, pine needles. A true nature lover already!


• A very polite little girl... "da do!"= thank you, "peas"= please. I'm so proud!


• Thanksgiving dinner... all my favorites including stuffing, cheesecake, and card games with my wonderful family


• Evening strolls... checking out the lights, pointing out the moon and the stars


• Having my sister home for a while... we've missed having Allison around the last 3 years while she's been out making a difference!


• Baby dress up. See below!


• Weather that is cool enough to warrant jeans, sweatshirts and hot chocolate or tea when we get home!


• Decorating for Christmas. And then redecorating after Alyssa has removed all the "pitty" ornaments within her reach!


• The tell- tale jingle of bells on the tree as tiny hands get curious, and then the grin that follows when she knows she's been caught!


• Being duped by a little monkey! She'll ask for "joosh" (juice) or some sort of snack, wait until I'm in the kitchen, and race me to the computer to play! I think she'll love her own mini laptop... full keyboard and mouse for her to click away like Mommy and Daddy!

Best of ALL my fall and Christmas favorites? Voluntary kisses from sweet little lips and "I ya you!" I'm putty in her hands!

Thank heavens for simple pleasures!

Back from Texas

It's official: Alyssa is now a cross-country veteran.  In other words, she has successfully flown from North Carolina to Texas and back again unscathed.

Since my parents can't make it here for Christmas this year, our little trio made a trip out to Richardson, Texas for Halloween.  Not only did we have a great time, but Uncle Jeff was also able to stop by for some Alyssa face-to-face time.

Check out the photos below for some of Alyssa's reactions, including her first trick-or-treating experience:

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To the Fair

We took Alyssa to the fair for the first time last weekend. We had a great time... perfect weather! Allison came with us, but unfortunately I managed not to get any pics of her. We all enjoyed watching Alyssa check out the animals (and people, too... she's a real people watcher!) We had lots to eat including roasted corn, apples, fresh grape and apple cider, Mt. Olive pickles (which Alyssa loved!), fried pickles, peanuts, and my favorites, honey cotton candy and fried twinkies. Yum!

We got to see some of the characters from the PBS shows (including some stand-ups of Curious George, Elmo and other Sesame Street critters) and Alyssa thought it was great. I held a baby chicken for her to touch... she wasn't too sure about that! She was also quite fascinated by the cows. It is funny to think how gigantic they must look to a baby since they are bigger than us as adults. What a shock to see them up close!

Check out the pics!

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Tutu Cute

I made Alyssa a tutu a couple of weeks ago... I had gotten the idea from various websites I found in my quest for crafty things to do this Fall. She wasn't too sure what she thought of it at first, but she really enjoys it now. She is becoming quite the little girly- girl... she loves to wear jewelry and carry purses and dance and sing into her microphone (or anything that looks like one). Check out the pics!

Also included are a couple of pics of her now curly- blonde hair. What a difference a year and a half makes! Her hair is curly like this in the humidity, on a windy day, or after a bath. I love it and am so jealous!

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Score: Bike- 1, Jennie- 2

Ha! I'm going to win! In his post, Mike alluded to MY biking experience. It has not exactly been a smooth ride, but I will survive!!!

To begin with, we had the odyssey of getting both bikes home (mine from my parents' house and Mike's from the store). We were both wrecks... driving highway speeds with a bike strapped to the car did not seem very stable, even with the bike rack. My bike was relatively simple to get into working order (we thought). It was in pretty good shape considering that I haven't ridden it in at least 12 or 13 years. Just some cleaning and a bit of grease for the chain!

Assembly and modifications took a bit longer than expected, however! Mike's bike had to be assembled. That took a few hours, thanks to the ridiculous directions that were included. I had the fun tasks of assembling the baby seat and mounting it on my bike and also changing out the seat on my bike. Just a short test ride with the old racing seat was very uncomfortable, so I decided I needed a new w i d e r seat to accommodate my new w i d e r Mommy backside! We were very glad that my parents kept Alyssa for the afternoon... she may have picked up a few expletives otherwise!

Our first ride went relatively well. Alyssa wasn't wild about the helmet, but we had a few ideas on how to make it better. My brakes weren't great, but we figured it would be easy enough to tighten them up. The problem was with stamina. Good grief! I knew we were out of shape, but I really struggled with the hills in our neighborhood. I guess we'll have to work on that!

In hindsight, I'm now thinking that it wasn't wise to ride two days in a row... the second ride started out okay, but quickly got painful. The gears decided to change in the middle of a small hill! My feet slipped off the pedals and I nearly ran into a neighbor's car (thankfully, I only had to use it to catch myself with my hands... no damage done). The pedals ran into my shins! I got a HUGE knot on one of them, as well as a nasty gash and multiple bruises. My legs look like I have been through a battle. Thank goodness for jean season!

By the end of the ride, my thighs were so tight that I could barely walk to get into the house. My shins were sore from the bruises and the gash. I was exhausted and got into a fit of laughter (you know the kind where you are so tired that everything is funny?) This used to freak Alyssa out... maybe she thought I was crying? But this time she got in on the game and was fake laughing with me. She was actually bending at the waist and slapping her knees while cracking up. If only I'd had the video camera out!

So, long story long, we have our work cut out for us with the new hobby! My brakes need some work, and we are getting a new baby seat that goes in front under the handle bars... we're thinking that Alyssa might enjoy the scenery more than the view of Mommy's w i d e r rear. I'm tired just thinking about it!

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Side note about the pictures... Alyssa is playing with her Little People farm lately and LOVES it! Thanks Karen! She is really imaginative for being so little. I've actually seen her making the animals "walk" around the barn and putting them to sleep in the stalls for the night. She even kisses them and gives them hugs!

Alyssa’s first wheels … sort of

Jennie and I have been itching to get out of the house more often now that summer has officially retired.  My immediate suggestion was to get some bicycles and a child seat so that all three of us could benefit from the beautiful fall weather.

After retrieving Jennie's old bike and making use of my generous birthday gifts (my birthday was on the 9th), the three of us recently participated in our first family bicycle trip.

As you can see from the photo, Alyssa was pumped up and couldn't wait to get her helmet on.  Actually, her reaction to the helmet wouldn't qualify as a highlight of the ride, but overall she seemed to enjoy the trip immensely.

And how did her parents fare?  I felt a bit out of shape, but the new bike performed up to my expectations.  In particular, it seems that gear shifters have come a long way since the old mountain bike I owned back in middle school.  Smooth and much easier to determine the shift points.

Jennie, on the other hand ... well, I'll just let her make a post about it.  :D

P.S. I just noticed that I haven't made a real post since the beginning of the year!

Howdy!

Have a great day!

No, No, No!!!

As much as I hate to say it, we hear this a lot right now! The little monkey has picked up a few bad habits to which we respond "NO!" Now, on top of the habits, she also says "No, no, NO!" back to us, most often with a little finger wagging to boot!

Yes, she was telling me "No!" about her socks!

We have a climber! Alyssa has figured out that she can climb on the couch. This by itself is not a big problem. It IS a problem when she uses it to get on the end table (with the glass insets) or the half wall (Yikes!) Just today she decided to make a game of it... she climbs up high enough to get my attention, waits until I head over to get her down and then throws herself back into the seat, giggling the whole time! It is nerve- wracking (and funny, I can admit... just not to her!)

We've had a bit of trouble with mealtimes for the last couple of months. We're never quite sure of the reason, but she very often throws food on the floor. We thought we had thought of (and tried!) everything to fix the problem! We thought it could be just that she was testing us... a little bit of defiance (you can just SEE the gleam in her eye as she dumps some banana!) We thought she didn't like what she had in front of her (except she'd still eat some of it). We just didn't know!

Thank goodness for blogs! I happened to read my friend Rachel's blog... one of her kids was up to similar antics! Although we had tried (and failed) with munchkin utensils, we hadn't tried them again since the food- dropping began. Rachel said that they had started giving him a spoon just to hold during mealtimes, so we tried it. Bingo! Alyssa is getting good feeding herself if we help her get the food on the spoon and the spoon is enough distraction to keep her eating. Yay! Now we have a strategy! And we just clean her up and let her get down to play if she starts tossing food after she has eaten enough to be satisfied.

Oh, and she likes to play with light switches. She is fascinated with what they do! Such a smarty!

Happy Birthday!

July and August are big months around here...

Happy Birthday to Tula today! I won't mention the number, but we love you very much!

We have also celebrated birthdays with Ashleigh, Allison, Grammie (Mike's Mom), and Gramps (Mike's Dad) in the last few weeks.

Happy 1st birthday to Kristina's baby, Audrey, this past weekend, and Happy Birthday to my bestest bud Amy.

Hugs all around!!!!

Beach Baby!

Well, we got back from our first vacation with Alyssa a little over a week ago... what fun! We got to have a mini family reunion at the Outer Banks. Alyssa got to spend the week with 12 admirers and even 2 kids in the same house! We had a great time.

Some highlights...

• Alyssa's first time on the beach... she wasn't so sure she liked the cold water or the sand, but she got used to it! She enjoyed playing in the buckets of water. For some strange reason, she even liked licking the wet shells (whenever we weren't fast enough to stop her)!
• Driving on the beach in Ashleigh's "Optimus Prime"... let's just say we were thankful there were lots of other 4WD vehicles and boys who were quite ready to help her out of the sand! We had fun until the storm came in and Mom had to race us off the beach. She said it was quite a rush (after the fact anyway, when she wasn't so worried about Ashleigh's car!) flooring it and getting some air!
• The aquarium was fun... Alyssa did not want to be carried! She really enjoyed marching around like the big kids and checking out all of the fish. I don't think she stood still for more than 2 seconds at a time!
• Mike got to have 3 big seafood dinners... hopefully he is set for a while!
• Alyssa learned lots of new words... beats (beach), Axe (Alex... my cousin), Ha-y (Hannah, my other cousin), Thanks (yes, she even uses it correctly! So polite!), Gi-Gi (the name my grandmother, formerly known as Mama now wants to be called). Most words are also now accompanied by an emphatic head nod.
• She FINALLY figured out how to use a straw! She LOVES Capri- Suns now!
• Alyssa LOVED getting to see everyone every day. She got up with the sun every morning (no sleeping in for Mommy and Daddy with an early riser in the room) and usually had breakfast with my Dad. She woke up calling him every day last week even though we were at home!

A while ago, before we went on vacation, Alyssa named my Dad on her own! We were just calling him Grandpa (because we figured his wish for "Seanachai" would be a little difficult, at least for a while). My Mom would play with her when he would leave the room... "Call Grandpa!" and show her to cup her mouth (like a megaphone). Out of the blue, she started to call him Poppie! So cute! Now, any time we say Grandpa, she says "Pop-pie" with a pause in the middle. He loves it! So from here forward, Poppie it is!

She is also saying "WOW" a lot. She started that on July 4th because of our response to fireworks. It usually comes out "Wow- OW!!"

One last thing for now... Alyssa has her top 2 front teeth now. Total count is up to 4! The poor kid has really had a hard time with the teething!

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Updates!

Lots to tell...

• Alyssa is practically running now. Her walk looks less like a waddle, too!
• She is saying several words (and appears to connect the word with the object or person!) including
  
  • 'nanas (as in the yellow fruit),
  • bottee (that is how she pronounces bottle),
  • pretty (to mean anything sparkly or colorful, especially flowers)
  • Too-ah (as in my Mom, Tula!)
  • Dah-ee (which she screams when he comes home in the evenings!)
  • dod (the barking variety of pet)
  
  
• If we ask her if she is hungry or wants lunch, etc., she says "Mmmmmm!" if she wants something to eat! If she wants something specific, she'll point at it and say "Mmmmm," too. This is making it so much easier to keep her happy!
• She has discovered phones! She holds them (or anything else that she can pretend is a phone, for that matter) near her ear or her neck and babbles away. She even paces around while she does it (I think she's been watching Daddy on the phone... he's a pacer!) She has even figured out how to turn them on and off... nearly everyone who calls now gets cut off at some point or another.
• She has mastered the remote. She can change channels, turn it on and off, and even change the volume. We have to be very careful when we turn it on now!
• She knows how to turn on some of her electronic toys (ex: the Fridge Farm I showed you in her birthday pictures). She likes to carry it (and some others that "sing") around like a boom-box so she can dance!
• She is really enjoying the pool this year. She has become a daredevil and wants to jump out of our arms and put her face into the water. Time to look into swim lessons, maybe?
• She enjoyed the sprinkler at my parents' house over the weekend. Again, face right in the water (on purpose)!
• She likes to take the shapes out of the cookie jar shape sorter from Uncle Jeff and put them back inside. She can even get the lid back on if she tries! Now, if only we could get her to put her OTHER stuff back when she takes it out!
• She is imitating any sounds we make now... the latest is singing "E-I-E-I-O" at the end of "Old Macdonald."
• Height and weight at her 1 year check up (I know, over a month ago!) 29 1/8" tall, 20.5 lbs., 52.5% for her age in each.

I am sure that there is more, but I can't remember anything for the moment. The pictures are from Mother's Day, Uncle Jeff's visit a couple of weeks ago, and some other random items. Enjoy!

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Alyssa Loves Elmo!

For her birthday, Mike and I bought tickets to take Alyssa to see Elmo Makes Music! at the RBC Center. We went on Saturday night and had a great time. As anticipated, she loved seeing all of the other kids. She was very excited as soon as the characters came out on stage... pointing and shouting "OOOOH!" We were there for about an hour and a half and she was great the whole time (she only got restless for 2 short intervals during some talking and a slow song!) She enjoyed dancing with the music (of course!!!) and watching everyone else react. She got the most excited when they started to play "The Hustle!" She was dancing like I have never seen her dance! And you should have heard her squeal when the turned on the disco ball! (I guess we have a disco- maniac on our hands!)

We also thought it was funny to see her reaction to the applause... each time she waited until everyone was done clapping before she started it herself, and she always threw in a holler herself. Everyone around us was giggling at how cute she was. We all really enjoyed ourselves and are really glad we went!

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Happy First Birthday, Alyssa!

Yay! Alyssa turned 1 year old on Saturday, May 24th. The weekend was too crazy to even think about making a post, so here's a recap!

Alyssa and I ran around Raleigh picking up party supplies on Friday and she was such an angel! Everywhere we went, people were talking to her and remarking on how sweet she is. She kept her birthday princess tiara on throughout the stores! Several people commented on that as well... she obviously knew she was the queen of the show!

We had a birthday party for her at the Rolesville Park on Saturday afternoon and lots of friends came and celebrated with us. She wasn't quite sure what to make of the birthday song (kinda like "what are all of you looking at me for?")! We had fun watching her eat her very own puppy dog birthday cake like a little princess... very dainty and pretty tidy! She picked up bits of icing and cake with just the tips of her fingers and barely made a mess! This was very unlike her treatment of the watermelon... she had 4 or 5 wedges and got completely soaked!

Present time was fun. Like most kids, she enjoyed the wrapping and packaging just as much as the gifts! She got the hang of opening her presents in a hurry and can now do some serious damage to a bag with tissue paper. She got lots of adorable clothes and some really cool toys... puzzles, Care Bears!, Cabbage patch dolls, shape sorters, a chatter phone, a See & Say, some really nice books, a trainer shopping cart, tub toys, and lots of other neat things! My parents gave her a really nice Radio Flyer wagon that seats 2 kids with a canopy and a bunch of neat options. She loves it!

We all enjoyed watching her play with Gavin, our neighbors' nephew. She followed him around the picnic table for a while and they sat together in the wagon... check out the pictures below!

Before the party, Alyssa's Uncle Jeff stopped by for a few minutes to visit (he was in town for a bachelor party and was on a time crunch). We were all so glad to see him!

Thanks to everyone who came, and to everyone for all of the wonderful birthday presents. This child is so loved! We just can't believe we've already been able to love her for a whole year already!

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Firsts…

We've had a fun, busy, and VERY EXCITING week! Over the weekend, we took Alyssa to pick strawberries with my parents (a first for her Daddy, too!) Once she discovered that the red berries were very tasty, there was no stopping her! We sat her down between the rows and she was after any berry that she could reach. The juice was running down her chin and arms and she loved every second! Thankfully, Tula was quick with the Zout! and all the juice came right out of her dress.

After her bath, Alyssa got to ride on the tractor with Seanachai... she was waving frantically and squealing with delight. Another converted John Deere fan!

Finally, I told you that she has been standing on her own a bit over the last week or so. I told my parents on Thursday of last week that I thought she'd be walking by the end of the week. I was one day off because SHE STARTED ON MONDAY! At first, she was taking a step or two and then clapping for herself (a balance hazard on wobbly legs!) which made her fall down. She spent all day yesterday practicing her new skill... she would set herself against the windowsill or the bottom stair and then push off to give it a try! By the time Mike got home yesterday evening, she was able to walk 5 steps to get a hug from him! And the chase is on.......

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11 Months (Exactly this time!)

I can't believe we are really down to one month before the big O-N-E! Time really does fly (at least when you are past colic and sleeping through the night)!

Alyssa is so sweet... her personality is really coming out when I bring her to the office on Thursdays for the big switcheroo (trade-off with Mom for afternoons with Tula)! Today she was talking to everyone and giving everyone this funny pageant- grin. She has been coming out of her shell more and more with large groups of people in the last month. She used to get really quiet and serious when I would bring her in to visit. Cathy, a coworker, even said one time that she had never seen her smile (but she had seen her many times)!Not so anymore! She is showing her flirty side and even waving and blowing kisses. So cute!

I told you a while back that she was trying to climb the stairs a little... now she can go the whole way! We have a very long staircase (16 tall stairs in a row with no landing) so Mike and I are very nervous when she does it. We don't let her go above the second stair without us right behind her (we leave a gate there the rest of the time), but she is tickled when she gets to climb. She likes to turn and make sure we are with her and waves and squeals if the other one of us is watching. When we have the gate up, she likes to go up to the second stair and slide down on her rear. She gets to the bottom and yells "YAY!" and claps until we join her.  Definitely into the praise!

Again, I think we have a smarty pants on our hands... Mike says that she figured out how to use the roller on the mouse yesterday! She'll be playing World of Warcraft with him before she can talk!

Last tidbit... she is considering walking! All week we have seen her try to stand on her own without anything to lean on. She doesn't generally last too long. Until today! She stood in the bathroom with me for a full 30 seconds! I was completely stuck! I wanted to get the camera and also watch. So, sorry, no picture of it yet!

Well over 10 months old…

OK, call me a slacker. It's okay. I'll just say we've been busy! The latest accomplishments of little 'Lissy...

• Full arm wave (at the TV, cars driving by, anyone she thinks will respond)
• Dancing... the bounce move, only now she does it to any music (even commercials!) She still prefers the Irish music, though!
• Dancing in her seat (particularly when Seanachai gets her going) by bouncing just her shoulders in time to the music
• Clapping!
• Flirting (again, especially with Seanachai or other men)... she pulls her chin to her chest and her ear to her shoulder and grins this adorable grin. She gets ANYTHING she wants!
• Temper, temper... if we take something away from her, she'll put her hands to the sides and holler. AAAAHHH!
• Pointing! She points with her index finger at something she wants or wants to show you...
• Including Elmo! She recognizes and can point out Elmo in a book if you ask her to. Tula discovered this one on Thursday... She even has her own way of saying his name!

She got to meet my Uncle John and his wife Michele (and their dog... she has decided she LOVES dogs... they make her giggle!) over Easter. Our friends Bob and Bonnie from Vermont and my Uncle Mike from Minnesota have also visited in the last couple of weeks. We've been busy!

Some pics...

Happy Easter!

#2!

No not THAT kind! Tooth #2! Alyssa now has a second tooth on the bottom. No more chewing on Mommy or Daddy's fingers!

She is walking with the help of furniture and windowsills (and Mommy and Daddy, of course)! She can get around pretty quickly if there is something she can grab onto, but she definitely prefers crawling. She really flies on all fours!

Last Friday, she started a couple of new things... waving and playing "Sooooo big!" We were out shopping with my Mom and Grandmother when a salewoman waved at her. She waved back! Not the kind of wave where you move your hand back and forth, but the kind where you move just your fingers. She does it constantly now! She has been having fun looking at herself in the mirror lately, and now she likes to wave at her reflection and say "Baba!" It is so cute to watch! My grandmother started "Sooooo big"... if you ask her who is "Soooo big," she'll raise her arms (or sometimes just an arm) over her head and sometimes even wave. It has been fun to see!

One last item... she's a climber! She has discovered that she can climb the first stair all by herself! She has only done it a couple of times, and each time she gets so nervous that she has to get right back down. The first time she tried to sit (and went right over backwards!) She is a little less cavalier about it now and just slides down on her stomach if she can. Ah, the ever- increasing level of terror in a house with a baby!

Congratulations!

Another new baby! Congratulations are due to my friends, Angela and Kevin Page who welcomed their first child, daughter Aleigha Grace Page March 11, 2008. Stats... 8 pounds, 1 ounce, 20 inches long (the EXACT same stats as Alyssa!)

Congratulations on your beautiful little bundle!

9 Months Old (and something’s peekin’!)

We have a tooth! Mike was kind enough to watch Alyssa all day on Saturday so I could scrapbook with some friends. So, of course that was the day the she was cranky all day from teething. She now has the top of her bottom left tooth peeking through her gums. She has done pretty well since then and I don't think it has really bothered her much. Yay!

Other milestones... She is now very mobile with the crawling, so the cabinets are babyproofed, the gates have been purchased, and the pack and play has emerged from the closet (so thankful Amy gave it to us!)

She is also pulling up to stand by herself every chance she gets. She'll pull up on a chair or the wall and yell until I look, then give me a huge grin. It's like she's saying "Look at me, Mommy! See what I can do!?!" So cute!

Pictures of the tooth will have to come later... it is currently too small to get a decent picture. Here are some pics of the recent activities, though!

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Happy Valentine’s Day!

8 Months Old (and then some!)

Time for a baby update... Alyssa is doing something new every few days!

She has started crawling! She started by moving forward or backward several steps before deciding that she would rather just roll to her destination. It was pretty awkward for her, and so cute to watch! While she is testing out her skills, she occasionally pulls off some yoga poses... she does a mean downward dog! On Friday, she started for real. She is already able to cross the room with her new skill.

She has learned how to feed herself snacks. She LOVES Cheerios and Gerber snack puffs. She gets so excited when you put a bunch in front of her that she usually squeals and grabs some with each hand. It has been a real treat for Mike and I because we are able to eat in peace! We've even ventured out to eat and had great success. Yay for babies entertaining themselves!

Over the weekend, she has figured out how to pull herself up to her knees by holding the couch or the stairs. Mike said she even figured out how to pull herself into a sitting position! He found he crying yesterday morning at about 2:45 holding her blankie and sitting up. He thinks the poor baby had a nightmare or something :-(.

For a few weeks we have had a little babbler in the house. She started with bababa and mamama around Christmas. She has recently started with dadada and it hasn't been quiet since! She likes to shriek and squeal when she is tickled with herself (which is very often since she is so busy trying new things). Just yesterday she shrieked as we sped up to get on the highway... she has always liked high-speed driving, and now she can tell us so! We're not sure that anything she has "said" qualifies as her first word since it sounds mostly like babble and isn't really associated with anyone or anything. Thoughts, anyone?

I am sure there is something I am forgetting, but it will have to come later!

I never put these pictures anywhere except the photo gallery... Christmas Card photos! They are some of my favorites!

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Baptism… a while ago!

Sorry, yet again, for our tardiness in posting! The Sunday BEFORE Christmas, Alyssa was Baptized at Hope Lutheran Church in Wake Forest, NC. Most of the family was able to attend (we very much missed Aunt Allison, though, who was at work in Winterpark, Colorado)... great grandmother, grandparents and aunts and uncles on both sides! It was a very nice ceremony and she didn't make a peep (at least, until AFTER we sat back down!) She wore the dress that Tula made for Aunt Ashleigh's Baptism when she was a baby, and a sweater made by MY Great Grandmother! The Seam Team made her a beautiful quilt to remember her day, and Aunt Ashleigh and Uncle Jeff (the Godparents) were given cards to send her on her first 12 Baptism Birthdays. We had a really nice day!

Tula and Seanachai gave Alyssa her very first cross to commemorate the day, as well as a cute hat and purse set. Grammie and Grandpa Harke gave her an engraved picture frame. Aunt Ashleigh made her a beaded bracelet. The Schandert family gave her her first Bible and a sweet picture frame. As always, what a lucky little girl!

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Christmas with the Baby

We had a very busy Christmas... Mike's family came to Raleigh to see Alyssa's first Christmas for themselves. Mike's Dad Ron got to meet Alyssa for the first time! My parents hosted Christmas Eve dinner for both families (ham and shrimp cocktails and the BEST prime rib I have EVER had... way to go Dad!). We stayed at my parents Christmas Eve night so that we could do Christmas morning together. Add in other family dinners, a bit of work and a Baptism (more on that in another post), and you have a crazy, fun Christmas! Check out the photos!

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A little catchin’ up

No photos yet (I'll let Jennie handle those), but I figured I could bring the blog up-to-date a bit with some status reports on Alyssa's recent activities.

Most importantly, Alyssa is finally sleeping through the night!

For the past few months, we've been using a swaddler to get her to sleep. The upside to the swaddler is that Alyssa calms down quickly enough to get her to fall asleep in her crib. Unfortunately, she rarely slept more than a couple hours at a time while using the swaddler. Starting sometime around the weekend before Christmas, Jennie and I decided to try bedtime without the swaddler. The result? 8-10 hours of nonstop sleep for baby and her parents ever since.

A few weeks ago, Jennie mentioned Alyssa's discovery of rolling across the room. Well, in the past few days, she has also displayed signs of wishing to crawl. She will push herself up with her arms and start rocking forward and back. Just the other day, she even crawled backwards a few inches. Looks like it is time to baby-proof the house.

I'll wrap up this post with Alyssa's latest measurements: weight is 16 lbs., 15 ounces and her height is 26 inches.

More to come soon!