independent reading

I can honestly say I have loved every stage and age that I have experienced with Allie since she was, well before, she was born. Every one has it's own special qualities and things that I just treasure and adore. I cannot believe how much she has changed and grown in the nine short months she has been in my life. I love watching her experience new things!

I have been reading to her since before she was born. I love kids books and thoroughly enjoy sharing them with her. She has loved reading since she was old enough to sit in my lap and look at the pages. I remember the first time she ever reached out to touch the pages, then the day she learned to turn them. That is still one of her most favorite things to do. Although up until recently you had to read very fast because the most exciting part of reading to her, was turning the pages. 

Now she looks and studies each one before deciding when to turn the page. It is the cutest thing! I read with her every day and look forward to this time. Whenever she crawls over to her book baskets and starts pulling books out we read. 

On Saturday she started getting books out all by herself, sat in the floor and "read" them! She will hold the book, stare at the page (whether it be upside down or not!) turn the page or flip the book over. It is the most adorable thing! She will do it for long lengths of time now and I just love to watch her. She even reads while Mommy changes her diaper!

She also watches my mouth when I read the books to her. I know she is studying trying to figure out how to talk. I love to hear her babble and say mama and dada. Melts my heart!

We have all of our Valentine's Day decorations out now. I figured since we were waaaaaaay late at taking down our Christmas decorations I'd be early for Valentine's! (That reminds me... Nick needs to take the Christmas lights off the house!!) Allie has enjoyed playing with all of my stuffed animals from past Valentine's gifts Nick has given me. Also today she starting smiling at the camera when you take her picture. You can't fake her out though, Nick tried! You have to actually take the picture, where the flash goes off. But I got some of the cutest little smiles today!

I love this little girl more than words can describe. I just hope she knows how very much her Mommy loves her. I can't wait to get up tomorrow and play and love on my sweet girl!

lazy Saturday

Today was a nice, relaxing day. We stayed in since it was rainy and dreary outside. We stayed in our pajamas all day and just played in Allie's playroom! I love days like these. We had no where to go, no place to be. It was so nice! Allie has done so many new things this week. On Wednesday Nick was with her in her playroom and he said, "she's walking all by herself with her walking toy." She crawled over to it all by herself, pulled up and pushed it without any help! 

I told Nick after that she would be running at her birthday party! She is so independent and I love that. She loves to go and can't wait to walk around. That same night she crawled up into her chair and stood up, all by herself. She is such a mess! I love watching her learn and explore. I say it all the time, but it is so true, she learns something new every day. 

Today I was in the kitchen and Nick was playing with her and said she was reading all by herself. 

She loves to read. She loves for you to read to her and then she turns the pages. She's so cute. 

I look over and she is sitting in the floor with a book turning the pages and looking at each one. It was so adorable. Of course I took way too many pictures of her reading, but it was just so sweet! 

She also found one of the teddy bears Nick had given me for Valentine's a few years back and she was holding him and reading. It was just precious!

I am reminded every day of just how lucky and blessed I am that my husband trusted God when he was led to quit his job and start his own business. Also that he allows me to stay at home with Allie. I love it that he works from home and is here for everything. My parents came over on Thursday for supper. Nick ran to the store to grab some white chocolate chips that I had forgotten at the store and Allie was walking behind her walking toy. My mom reached out her hand and Allie grabbed it. She let go of her toy and then my mom started to let go of her. I told her she wasn't going to walk and if she did I'd knock her down (the look on my mom's face was priceless, until I finished my sentence. Then her and my dad laughed!) because Nick was NOT going to miss her first steps. Please know I would never knock down my daughter if she did take her first steps without her Daddy being there. I'd grab the video camera, get her walking then grab her and cover her sweet cheeks with kisses. But I would hate it if he were to miss something like that! 

I love that I am here with her every day and that I get to see and experience every time she learns or does something new. I love being a stay at home Mommy! Thank you sweetheart for giving me the best job in the whole world!

bubbles, bubbles

Yesterday Nick had to go out to a client's and afterwards he ran to Wal-Mart to grab a few things. When he got back to the house he told Allie he got her something. Nick is the best at picking out tub toys. He finds all the really neat ones. He went out to the car and came back in with a bubble machine for the bath tub!

Allie has a book that is one of her favorites. It's called "Bubbles, Bubbles". It's a Sesame Street book and she loves it. The words are perfect with the pictures I took.

Bubbles bubbles on my nose.

Bubbles, bubbles on my toes.

Bubbles, bubbles in my hair.

Bubbles, bubbles everywhere!

Bubbles, bubbles float on top.

Bubbles, bubbles pop! Pop! Pop!

Bubbles, bubbles are so much fun.

Bubbles, bubbles for everyone!

I know that there will be so many fun times to come in the bath with this new toy! She kept trying to push the button to turn it back on. She's so adorable!

9 months

Allie you are 9 months old! I can't believe how fast the time has gone by. I love you more and more every day. We went yesterday to have your nine month pictures taken. Mrs. Anna posted some last night and they are SO good! Here is what you are up to:

You wear a size 3 diaper.

You can still fit into some 9 month clothes, but are mostly wearing 12 months. Your sweet little chunky thighs won't fit into 9 month jeans!

You are eating and loving baby food. Your current favorites are Gerber organic brown rice cereal, Gerber organic apple cinnamon oatmeal, Earth's Best: pumpkin apple, sweet potato cinnamon, pears, squash, apple butternut squash and apple turkey cranberry. You also love puffs and Daddy found some organic ones that are apple flavored and you love them!

If we try to feed you anything except cereal and oatmeal for breakfast or supper you freak out! You like your breakfast foods and only eat other things for lunch.

You are still nursing a few times during the day and in the middle of the night. I hope to continue at least until you are a year old. But I have decided I will let you wean yourself.

You are taking, on average, three naps a day. You sleep anywhere from 25 minutes to an hour at a time. You take your best naps in the car when we are out. You are a good little shopper and love to ride in your stroller.

You are crawling all over the place! If you see something that you want you turn on, as Daddy calls it, your "turbo mode" and you crawl super fast! You know what toys are yours and which ones are not. And you love to play with the ones that are not yours. You definitely are your Momma and Daddy's child. You love technology. If there is a laptop on the floor you are on it banging the keys and grabbing the screen. You love to talk to Daddy on my iPhone. You get so excited when I ask if you want to call Daddy. Then you stare at the screen and wait for him to answer. It is the cutest thing! You do not like to be sent to voice mail.

You love bath time. Daddy puts on his bathing suit and gets in with you while Mommy bathes you. You love it!

You love bath time, but HATE to get out. You scream when we get you out. You don't like when I put lotion on you. I think you just want to go and anything that keeps you from doing so frustrates you.

You are a bit of a challenge now to change. You do not want to lay on your back to have your diaper changed. You also do not like to change clothes. Most of the time you get dressed sitting up or standing. It isn't the quickest way, but it keeps you happy!

Bless your heart you are cutting three top teeth, maybe four, all at one time. Your poor gums are hurting so bad. We ordered you an amber teething necklace. It came the other day and I am hoping that if you wear it every day it will help. We try not to use Tylenol if we can help it.

You are really enjoying your playroom, although right now your favorite thing is to try and escape! You crawl as fast as you can to the foyer. Daddy even said yesterday morning you crawled to the bedroom and pulled up on the door looking for me!

You love all of your toys and seem to play with all of them at least once a day. You are most attracted to one if I am cleaning it up. If I put your books back in your book basket you come crawling really fast and pull them all back out. It is the cutest thing! You do have a few favorites though. You love your little maestro table from your Grandma & Grandpa, your kitchen from Uncle Tony & Aunt Cathy and your dinosaur toy we bought you. You love your room that is all yours. 

You fight sleep so much right now. When you are really sleepy you will cry or even scream until you give it up. But sometimes you just keep your eyes wide awake. You will let me stand and bounce you, but will do whatever you can to stay awake.

You are pulling up on everything, even the wall! You will pull up on anything and anyone. You have always loved to stand, but you love it even more now that you can do it all on your own.  

You sleep for about 3-4 hours at a time at night and then wake up to eat. I am hoping that after these three or four teeth come in you will be able to sleep for longer periods of time. I know you need it.

You have a little diva personality at times. If you want something or don't like something you will scream at the top of your lungs to show your anger. If you are crying, which you can make yourself do, and then I come to get you, the minute you see me you stop and smile.

You love to play "my baby". It's a game we made up. Daddy and I were standing in the living room and I handed you to him and you turned back and reached for me. I grabbed you and said, "my baby". You grinned and reached for Daddy and he said it. We went back and forth a few times and then we squished you between us and you looked back and forth from me to Daddy. You love it and play it any chance you get!

You fake cough really well and love when someone says, "oh my goodness!" and pats you on the back. You are babbling like crazy. I love it when you talk to me. You say "momma" and "da-da". I swear last night when you sneezed and Daddy said, "bless you" that you said, "thank you". It sounded just like it!

Yesterday Daddy got you after you woke up from your nap. He knew you were awake not because you were talking or crying, but because he heard a loud banging. You were reaching through your crib to your night stand and grabbing your piggy bank and banging it on your night stand! We moved it last night.

You love to watch Special Agent Oso and Choo Choo Soul. You love the intro songs to them both.

You absolutely love music, but Casting Crowns are still your favorite. You have to have them playing when you fall asleep.

You have the best fake smile. I don't know where you learned it, but it is so cute. It's like you think you should be smiling, but you aren't really that happy or something isn't really that funny to you.

You have the best, most infectious laugh. You are very ticklish on your neck, chest and sides. You will wiggle and squirm and give the best laugh! The palms of your hands are ticklish too and you love it when I tickle them.

Ever since you were little I would always sniff your feet and say, "shoowee stinky feet!" You LOVE it now and think it is hilarious. I do this especially when I am changing your diaper. It is a really good distraction and keeps you from rolling over. 

You love the dogs and think everything they do is so funny. If the run by, you laugh. If they scratch, you laugh. 

When I am bouncing you to sleep you will snuggle your face as close to my neck as you can and you hold my arm with your sweet chubby hand. I love that time so much.

You love it when Daddy flies his little helicopter in the house. You will sit in his lap and watch as it flies around. You will also look down at the controller and then reach for it trying to help Daddy fly. He has made a lot of really good "emergency landings"! You want to fly it yourself so Daddy will play his simulator on his laptop and let you use his controller.
You are at such a fun age and I can't wait to see what the next month holds. I love you Allie!

da da

I know it bothered Nick, although if you asked him, he'd never admit it. Allie's first word was Momma. Makes my heart smile! I never thought that would be her first word, I was sure it would be da da. After all that is one of the easiest sounds for babies to make right? Allie loves her Daddy, always has, but she is a Mommy's girl... until recently. She LOVES her Daddy. In fact on December 30 she said, "da da" for the very first time! I thought Nick was going to squish her to death. He was so excited!

 love the way she looks at him

She will now let him do everything she lets me do. He can feed her cereal (as long as I am not in the room!), rock/bounce her to sleep, change her diaper and take her out without Mommy. Oh and all those ADORABLE daily pics of her smiling. She is laughing at Daddy running around the house like a crazy person saying, "buh bye! buh bye!" She loves it!

She loves it when her Daddy acts like a goober. If he runs she thinks it's hysterical. If he tosses her in the air, it is the funniest thing. Heaven forbid he run through the house with her. She cracks up! 

She also finds it extremely fascinating when he sticks his tongue out. Every night Nick gets in the tub with her and she loves bath time with Daddy. 

I love watching the two of them together. You can see the love that they share. She has him wrapped so tight! I know she will be a Daddy's girl, just like I am. I am so thankful God gave me such an amazing husband, who is the best Daddy to my precious baby girl. Love my sweet little family.

play time

We converted our dining room into a play room for Allie. I suggested it after Allie received so many toys for Christmas. I have to admit I was a little sad to move everything out, but mostly excited. The dining room was the first room we painted in our house. It was the room I had envisioned since we registered. But I am so excited to have a room just for Allie!

I have already told Nick I want to repaint it! Not to mention the green will completely clash with her birthday decor of pink and brown! 

We have spent every day since we converted it, playing. Allie loves her room and we love that she has so much space. We have a few things we want to add to it such as a book shelf and a shelf with cubbies, but I love that she has a space that is just her own. 

And, for a girl that loves tv so much, I love that it is away from it! She hasn't watched tv, nor has it been on more than an hour a day since we moved her in there. 

We contemplated putting some toys away and rotating them in and out when she got bored, but there isn't a day that goes by that she doesn't play with literally every toy in her room! 

I love that there is so much natural light and she has room to crawl, learn and play. I find us playing without the tv on or even music playing. Her voice is the sweetest thing I have ever heard. I pray she will always talk to me.

 She loves when Taylor comes and joins us. Taylor is the most patient dog with Allie. They are all good with her, but Taylor is by far the best. She will lay there as Allie crawls on her, plays with her paws, uses her to pull up and grabs her fur as she learns to pet. She is so very patient with Allie. 

She has so many wonderful toys that encourage her to learn and interact. Many teach cause and effect, some teach and help aid with fine motor skills and gross motor skills. And of all the toys one of her most favorite toys is her jumparoo. She doesn't want you to put her in it, she just wants to pull up on it! She has a standing table, walking toy, chair, riding toy and her little maestro toy, but she would much rather pull up on the most unstable toy in her playroom. She also loves to crawl under it. I just love watching her play!

 

 I look forward to getting up with her every day knowing I get to play with her all day. Sometimes I miss the kids I taught, having my own classroom and teaching in general. But I love that they only stress I have is wondering if Allie will nap today. There is no paper work, SST's, report cards, or benchmarks. Just reading for fun, watching my sweet girl turn the pages and get excited when we read her favorites. I am the luckiest girl in the whole world to have the opportunity to stay at home with my baby girl.