Swing Away

Last Friday, I got the opportunity to babysit a friends baby.  He is 12 days older than Alice.  It was such a nice day, we took a walk outside and found the swings.  Here are couple pictures of the babies on the swings.  They both just laughed and giggled.  We will have to come enjoy them more often.

Crib Issues

Now that Alice is more mobile, we had to lower her crib mattress.  This has been challenging because she now just stands up and screams.  Yesterday, I took off her crib bumpers because she was standing on them and I didn't want them to get ruined.  Now she is not only standing, but she throws her pacifier and blanket out of the crib and then screams because she wants them back.

Today after throwing out such items a couple of times, I moved her into her travel crib where she can't stand up.  Finally after a couple minutes, it is quiet.  I went to check on her and this is what I found.

I am not sure it looks very comfortable sitting over like that, but at least she is asleep. 

11 Months

Current Stats - 27" tall, 18 lbs, and head 43.5 cm

10 month stats - 26"tall, 18 lbs, and head 43 cm

Alice is now 11 months old.  This month, she has learned to crawl on her hands and knees, got two more teeth (the top middle teeth), and has learned to pull herself up on everything.  

She learned to open cupboards and drawers, and one of her favorite activities is to empty her clothes and diaper baskets, and the tupperware cupboards.  We lowered her crib and she is struggling to go to bed more because it is just too hard to sleep in the standing position.

 

She has learned that if she drops her food from the table, Bella will eat it.  And Bella has determined that Alice is the best bet to get a tasty treat.  She loves food and sausage is definitly a favorite.  She is also a big fan of grapefruit and icecream.  She eats what we eat, and basically she expect us to share whenever we are eating something. 

She has now signs milk, please, more, and occasionally potty and water.  I think the signing is really starting to sink in.  She still loves to play with remotes and cell phones, and now she also loves books and balls. 

Her hair is down to her nose, so it ends up in a pony tail on top of her head most days.  I still love the bow on the side, but she prefers to pull it out and eat it. 

It is so fun to see her find a new face or sound that she can do and her eyes just light up when she does it.  Some of these more recent discoveries are that her tounge, she looks like a panting dog all the time.  Her teeth make a pleasant sound when she grinds them together, and she will sometimes get stiff and make this straining sound like she is constipated.  She then smiles and does it again.  It is hilarious.  She also loves to clap whenever she does something good or we say YAY! 

My baby is just growing up before my eyes. 

Market Day

Once again, the whole family ventured out to Pike Place Market in Seattle.  We usually walk around the same areas each year, but this year, we went around some of the hallways we don't typically go.  We found a cute little shop of vintage things, and we found a little shop of baby hats that I was very tempted to purchase.  We went to the centerhouse to warm up, and visit, and then we had a change of plans. 

We were supposed to go back to Grandma and Grandpa Woodward's recreation room, but they didn't have power.  We ended up coming back to my house, with LOTS of people.  My house isn't very big, but we got there a bit ahead, and cleaned up what we needed to and it actually worked just fine. 

We had a great time visiting with all the family, enjoying way too many treats, and had a fun gift exchange.

Here are some of my favorite market pictures.

Me with my baby

Papa with his baby

Great Grandma's Tile

Family Pig Portrait

New Stocking

This year, I got to make Alice a new stocking.  It was really fun, and I thought carefully about each item for her stocking.  Then I searched for just the right look.  Overall, I love it!  Maybe next year Bella will get a new one.

Happy Birthday Daddy

After Thanksgiving, we celebrated Dusty's birthday.  He let Alice help him open presents,

Oh look, a new pair of jeans

He also got his favorite dessert.  German Chocolate Cake

 

We love you Daddy!  Happy Birthday!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving this year was held in Olympia at my parent new house.  When I say new, I mean new as completed the night before the big event.  We had about 45 people, and it was fun as always. 

Breakfast was at my sister's house and was delicious.  We hung out a little bit there, took some pictures, played in the snow, and visited.  Then we went over to my parents to prepare and enjoy dinner. 

We had a lot to be thankful for this year.  On the top of our list was Alice, my ability to quit my job, Dusty's job, and being so close to family and being able to participate so much.  It was a great holiday and so especially so since Becky and Marcus could make it.  We can't wait to see them again,

I apparently didn't get any pictures of Thanksgiving day, but here are a few of what I do have.

Garrett sharing Bella's spot

Becky and David's turn to seal the floor

Mom getting the kitchen ready

Marcus hard at work

and Dad too,  We all helped where we could

In the end, it all worked out, and it was lovely.  Good job Mom and Dad for getting it all done.

Bathtime

Alice is a splasher.  She loves bathtime and would prefer to stay in the bath all day long.  Here are some pictures of bathtime in November.  She is about 7 months here.

Sorry for the lack of modesty

I want that!

Close

Closer

Got it

Yum

Halloween - Trick or Treat

On Halloween night, we went down to Olympia and went trick or treating with the Blakes.  We went to a little cute neighborhood with just the right amount of houses.  It started raining just as we were finishing.  Alice didn't get too much candy, just enough for Dusty and I to enjoy on the way home.  It was fun, and Alice was a cute little duck, Nige was an adorable little dinosaur, with Owen as a pirate.  

When we got home, Dusty was playing with Alice.  He has this stuffed soccer ball and Alice sure thought is was fun.  Then he was playing with Bella, and Alice just started giggling.  I know it is really dark, but she sound cute.

 The stare down

Halloween

This year for Halloween, we went over to the Quinton's to carve pumpkins.  We had a great time with family.

Daddy getting ready

Working hard

All the kids with their pumpkins

Alice hanging out on the giant pillow

Grandma doing what she loves best

And Grandpa playing with Alice

Finally the finished product

Eating food

At 6 months Alice got her first taste of food.  The first thing we fed her was mashed up banana.  She loved it and ate so well.  She didn't spit it out at all, and thought it was just fabulous.  She is a super eater now and actually, the only thing she really doesn't like is banana.  

 

Here are some pictures from the first meal.

 

 

 

First Haircut

Yes, I know, most babies do not get a haircut in their first year of life, however, I vowed to be a mom who always made sure her baby didn't look mangy.  That meant that I needed to cut her hair.  She had these whispies on her neck line and it was becoming a little like a mullet.  So at about 6 months, Alice had her first haircut.   She had another one at 9 months as well to address the same issue.  She was pretty good for me during the haircut and sat fairly still.  I am sure that will change in the future.

The before

The after - Doesn't that look better?

The remains.  I didn't keep a lock of her first hair, so the picture will have to suffice.

Another one just because she is super cute

And look we are sitting up too.  Also a new skill, blowing raspberries resulting in fun bubbles.

Catching Up

I know, it has been months since I have blogged, but as this is the best way I have of documenting our lives and Alice's milestones, please bear with me as I catch up the last few months of her life.  I have so many cute pictures of her that I want shared, so some of these may be a bit old, but I will try to do it in chronological order. 

Here we go...