Daddy's Girls

Daddy's girls just can't get enough of him when he gets home from work. Last night he got home and both Bella and Allie were literally trying to climb up him. You can tell they love their daddy!

Happy Friday!

14 months of blessings!

Today Allie is 14 months. Oh how time is flying! At the same time I am celebrating Allie's 14 months, I am also reflecting on the loss for a family in my old community in Minnesota.

A week ago a family in South Minneapolis suffered a devastating tragedy when their 2 year old son died. I feel like the combination of my baby getting older and more independent and praying for this family and their unimaginable loss, has brought me to a place where I cannot help but reflect on what a blessing and gift parenthood is. Today in my mom's group we discussed the importance of praying for our kids. The speaker made a comment that our kids are not our property, but God's. What a difficult concept grasp. I just want to cling to Allie and keep her close so that nothing bad could ever happen to her. The group this morning really helped me to realize that this is not the right answer. Yes, it is my job to protect Allie, help her to grow and be healthy, pray for her, and raise her to know the Lord. But, then I must let go and live in faith and not in fear. As I write this I still struggle with this concept, but I know God is placing it on my heart because it is true.

So, on Allie's 14 month birthday, and in remembrance of a 2 year old red headed little boy, I celebrate her beautiful life more than ever.

At 14 months Allie:

--Started walking! On Sunday she took about 4 steps. She is like her mama and very cautious, so she's taking her sweet time with this walking thing!

--She is talking even more. Here are words she says in context: dog, belba (Bella), mama, dada, nana, uh oh, WOW!, no, more, ball, book, nuk, Allie (she only said this once, but I'm still counting it!) :)

--Has started to be a little clingy with me. When I drop her off at my mom groups she now cries and tries to hang on to me for dear life. I'm told she becomes her happy self as soon as I leave, but it is hard to walk out the door while she's screaming bloody murder!

--Throws temper tantrums. I'm talking, throwing herself on the ground, arching her back, kicking her legs and screaming. Her Kindermusik teacher says she "attacks life". Meaning, she feels BIG emotions. When she's happy, she's on top of the world and if she's sad, she hits rock bottom. This emotional swing can happen by taking a toy away from her, not allowing her to stick her hand in the toilet water, not allowing her to pull Bella's hair, or simply by putting her down when she wants to be held. I think she is a bit of a diva. I wonder where she got that from? :)

I know I say this every month, but the last 14 months have been such a blessing. How could it get any better than this?

Love you little one!

Look mom I'm standing!

On a Roll!

I'm on a blogging roll this week! I guess it is because I think Allie is so stinking cute at this stage of her life, so I always have the camera ready. She also has taken two naps a few days this week, so plenty of time to upload photos! Oh how I miss those two nap days!

Every day I put socks on Allie and every day she takes off the left one. Is this weird? Maybe she's a bit quirky like her mom. :)

Bella has taken to moving to higher ground when Allie comes near. This is self preservation since Allie has a tendency to pet Bella, then pull Bella's hair. Poor puppy!

My sweet, smiley girl!

It's time to put away the camera when Allie crawls over, grabs onto my legs, and screams to be picked up. Nap time.

And some peace and quiet for sweet Bella!

Nap Quality

The quality of Allie's naps are typically measured by her bed head. Meaning, if she wakes with a perfectly coiffed hairstyle, she probably didn't sleep well (or at all). The crazier the hair, the better the nap. Today's nap was a good one!

St. Patty's Day

Happy (early) St. Patty's Day!

Allie squeezed into her only green outfit, which is a 12 month sweat suit, because her buddy Ryan hosted a party at his house to celebrate. His mom is an elementary teacher and you could tell because her house was decorated so well!

Allie and Ryan playing.

She loved the party so much she had to give Ryan a kiss on the hand. So sweet!

Here's the entire group. I couldn't believe how well all the kiddos posed for the pictures.

We were the first to leave because Allie was so tired. She doesn't take a morning nap anymore, but some days (like today!) she really needs to. She's still cute, even when she's exhausted!

Daughters

Let me just say that I love having a daughter. I know if we have a son someday, I will love him just as much, but for now, I love having a daughter. When I do my makeup she sits next to me, playing with my make up and watching me put it on. She loves it! Yesterday we went shoe shopping for some new shoes for her. We both had a blast. I have visions of teaching her how to do her make up when she's older, taking her shoe shopping as a teen, and (of course) going wedding dress shopping with her someday. If Allie grows up to hate make up and shopping and never gets married, that will be okay too. I am just thankful that God blessed me to be her mom and I wanted to take a moment to reflect and say how incredibly thankful I am that I get to be this sweet girl's mom. Can somebody please remind me of this post when she's about 13 and a total diva? :)

How cute are these shoes?

In other news, Allie is still not walking, but getting SO, SO close! As I wait patiently for her to walk, she still cruises around by crawling.

She still loves to make this face. It never gets old.

Allie loves this toy.

But I think she likes her ball popper more.

Here she is talking to it!

What a happy, happy girl!

"Allie"

Tonight before bed Allie and I were playing with her princess mirror (yes, she has a princess mirror, which makes me retract all previous statements that I have made regarding princess toys!). I pointed to Allie's reflection in the mirror and said Allie. She looked at herself and repeated her name perfectly for the first time. I love this stage where Allie is learning to talk and really able to communicate. Hearing her say her name for the first time rivals the first time I heard her say mama. So exciting (for me anyway!).

In other news, anytime I say "Oh No", Allie will stop whatever she is doing and slap her hands against her cheeks, or cover her eyes with her hands. It cracks me up every time she does it, which is why it has turned into a bit of a game for us. It usually looks something like this:

Happy Friday everyone! Enjoy your weekends!

13.5 months

I missed an update when Allie was 13 months because we were in Florida. So, this is a 13.5 month update.

Allie was laughing and having a great time playing with our phone until I brought out the camera. Then, this is what happened.

But, I was able to distract her and actually get a picture of her smiling!

At 13.5 months Allie is:

--Talking nonstop. Words she says in context: mama, dada, nana, hi, book, more, ball, uh oh, no (or no, no, no, no, no if she means serious business)

--She is a great communicator through her words and pointing. I had thought about doing a sign language class with her, but find I can already understand her really well. It is so fun to be at this stage where we can communicate.

--Allie still isn't walking on her own. I think she's on her mama's timeline as I didn't walk until I was 14 months. I also think getting SOOO sick for almost 2 months slowed her down a bit! She does stand on her own, but not that often. Overall I think she is pretty content to cruise along by crawling, or walking along furniture.

--Allie is all smiles...most of the day! I have at least a handful of people comment on how much she smiles everyday. Yesterday it was a new mom in our play group, our landlord, and a stranger at the store. Today all four women who watch her while I go to a mom's group at a church spoke to me independently about Allie's smiles. I just think Allie loves people and her worst days are ones when we stay home all day just the two of us.

--Allie loves to take any object, make it a phone by holding it to her ear, and talk, talk, talk. Usually she mentions the word dada at some point in the conversation, so I'm pretty sure she's calling dada at work! Sometimes she grabs my cell phone and screams dada until I call him at work so Allie can say hi. Somehow I don't think he minds the disruption! :)

--Allie has been healthy for almost a month! This is a record for us. Mama finally got smart and hired a college student to babysit 2 afternoons a week so that she can still go to the gym, but Allie doesn't have to attend the germy gym daycare. So far it seems to be working!

--Favorite foods are string cheese and mac and cheese, but she still refuses to drink cow's milk. I've tried everything (warming up, adding flavor, different kinds of milk) and she'll take a sip, spit it out, shake her head and say no, no, no. At this point I'm just forcing her to drink a tiny bit at each meal and hoping she will like it soon. This is expected coming from the girl that refused a bottle until she was 10 months old and only forced to take it when I left her with her dad. She's not a picky eater, but clearly a picky drinker! :)

Allie continues to be so happy and such a joy to be around. She literally has me laughing all day as she can be a bit goofy. I feel so blessed to be able to stay home with her full time and see her grow and change each day. Life is GOOD!

Love you Allie!

Spring is NOT in the Air!

I can't believe earlier this fall I thought this would cut it for winter in Canada.

The first couple of days in March are showcasing temperatures of a balmy -30 F. Unbelievable, I know! But, as I was driving to a mom's group yesterday, the sun was shining and I saw a rainbow. I think the rainbow was a message from God reminding me that it is March and winter can't last forever. We will survive, but I promise to never, ever complain about a Minnesota winter again!