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...