Allie at 8 months...

At 8 months, Allie is as entertaining as ever. She continues to work on crawling....getting closer every day. She can pretty much get around anywhere that she wants to now, but not in a typical crawling fashion. She gets on her belly, pushes up on her hands, and then gets up on her toes and pushes forward....who crawls on their knees anyway??? She's more of a yoga "downward facing dog" type of crawler.

During the past couple of weeks Allie's discovered how to go from her belly up to a sitting position. She thinks this is great! She's no longer stuck on her belly, and she can sit up and move around in her crib! Personally, I don't think this is so great, as she has decided that when it's time to lay down for a nap, she'll just sit up and play and play and play! I've put her down for naps a couple of times when she decided that she would rather sit up in her crib and play (and cry) for an hour and a half before sleeping. Oh how I miss the days of laying her down and knowing that she couldn't go anywhere! So it goes....

Below are some recent pictures of Allie from the last few weeks....she's been hanging out with Mommy, eating banana pudding at Granny's house, and shopping for spring clothes with Mommy and Granny!












My little angel......


Nikki

Any day now, she'll be on the move!

Allie's made much progress over the holidays in her ever continuing efforts to move....as you can see, crawling is only a matter of days away! While we were in Florida the week after Christmas, Allie discovered that she could go from sitting to her belly, and then to her hands and knees. From there, she began rocking and pushing backwards. For now, she continues to go in reverse, but I expect her to put it in drive any day now! I'm not sure that I'm ready for that.....

Oh, and let's not forget Allie's other accomplishment over the holidays! After much "patty cake, patty cake", Allie mastered clapping. We were with Daddy at the driving range watching him practice when Allie decided to cheer for Daddy's every swing with her new clapping skills! And of course, he loves that he has a little cheerleader now that doesn't discriminate between a good shot and a bad one....






Stay tuned!

Nikki

Allie's first Christmas

Allie's first Christmas was a busy one! We began by celebrating with my family in Auburn on December 20th. We had a great weekend with our family, and Allie entertained everyone with her first experience opening presents. Of course, she loved tearing the paper and playing with the ribbons and bows the most.

On Christmas Eve morning, David, Allie, and I had our Christmas celebration together at home. While still in our PJs, we opened presents from Santa (yes, he came to our house a day early) and from Mommy and Daddy. What a fun morning and a much anticipated event for a baby's first Christmas! We then packed up the car and headed to Granny's house where we stuffed our faces with lots of goodies, and of course, opened lots more presents! Allie was the center of attention, and by this time, she was really getting the hang of opening presents. We spent the night with Granny that night, and woke up at her house Christmas morning.

It was then off to the airport to fly to Jacksonville for a week long Christmas vacation at Grandma and PawPaw's house. Allie met many new relatives on this trip, including all of her aunts and uncles and many of her cousins. She even got to meet some great aunts and uncles! And yet again, Allie proved to be the center of attention. She was a champ at opening presents, and stole everyone's heart when she leaned over to "love her baby" that she received from Uncle Brian and Aunt Lauren.

It was beautiful in Florida....80 degree weather! At the end of the week on New Year's Eve, Allie, Daddy, and I drove made the quick drive to St. Augustine for lunch and a stroll. We then headed back to Jacksonville to pack up and prepare to travel back home the next day. As fun as it was to have a Christmas vacation, it sure was nice to come back home....

We will always cherish Allie's first Christmas, and we look forward to many, many more wonderful celebrations with our families.

Allie's first Christmas tree....notice the lack of ornaments. We figure that we'll just collect those in time...no rush, right? Hey, at least we got a tree with lights up for her!


Our stockings....one for Allie, one for Mommy, and one for Daddy. There's even a tiny stocking for Charlie Cat.


Christmas in Auburn...


Christmas Eve morning at home with Mommy and Daddy...


Christmas at Granny's house...



Christmas in Jacksonville at Grandma and PawPaw's...See Allie loving her baby!


A beautiful New Year's Eve stroll in St. Augustine


Hoping you all had a wonderful holiday season...

Nikki

Changes, changes, changes....Allie is growing so fast!

Over the past month. Allie has truly become a little girl. She's no longer a "baby". It all hit me today when we put the "big girl carseat" in our car....Allie no longer needs the infant car seat. She's all grown up :(

Here are just a few of the changes that Allie has made over the last few weeks: she got her first and second tooth, she's sitting up by herself, she goes to sleep by herself without being rocked or held, she no longer has to be swaddled to sleep, she babbles "ma, ma, ma", "da, da, da", and "ba, ba, ba" all day long, she's eating stage II baby foods in her new high chair, and she's playing with a sippy cup. I'm sure there are many more changes that are slipping my mind, but it is certainly evident that our precious baby girl is not so much of a baby any more.

See Allie's beautiful chompers! She has two shiny new teeth!


Allie learned how to nap like a big girl...after 45 minutes of "crying it out" the first time, Allie quickly adapted to laying down and going to sleep by herself. She loves to have her "taggy" when she goes to sleep, and she often covers her head with it while she snoozes.


Allie learned how to sit up and play over the last few weeks. It's so much fun to watch her play and discover her toys from a whole new perspective.


Allie knew just what to do with her first sippy cup, and she loves her big girl high chair...

Happy Fall Ya'll!

What would fall in the South be without football, pumpkins, and turkey day with the family? Allie has had a great first fall. She's traveled to Auburn for a great weekned of football, she's been to the pumpkin patch to pick out her first pumpkins, she dressed as Pooh Bear for her first Halloween, and she spent her first Thanksgiving with her family in Auburn and her Granny in Atlanta. Oh, and don't forget TWO trips to Philadelphia in October! Our Allie continues to be a very busy little girl....

Our little Auburn cheerleader!


Go TIGERS!!!


3 of our favorite Tiger girls...Allie, cousin Anna, and Auntie.


Our little goblin....


Fun in the pumpkin patch!!!


Allie made new friends while looking for her first pumpkin


Is that Pooh Bear in the pumpkin patch?


Granny came with us to the pumpkin patch...


And don't forget BAMA football! Roll Tide Roll!


Allie's first American Society of Human Genetics meeting, and her SECOND trip to Philadelphia!


Allie celebrated her first Thanksgiving in Auburn with Pops...


Allie also had a great Thanksgiving dinner at her Granny's house in Atlanta, and Allie had her first bite of real mashed potatoes with gravy! YUM!


And finally, now that fall is coming to an end and winter is just around the corner, Allie reminds us that Santa should be on his way to her house! After all, she has been a very good girl this year!

Family Fun! Fall, 2008

Allie has had a wonderful time visiting with her family this fall. She made a trip down to Jacksonville to visit Grandma and PawPaw, a trip to Auburn to visit with Auntie, Britt, and "the girls", and a trip to Peachtree City to visit with Uncle Mike, Aunt Lisa, Robert, Sidney, and Pops. She is quite the little traveler! Everyone has been so surprised to see how much Allie has grown and changed over the past couple of months, and she never failed to entertain everyone. Just ask Auntie about Allie's cheering during the Auburn football game!

Allie with Grandma at Amelia Island


Allie with Auntie, Anna, and Maddie early in the morning! All the girls just rolled out of bed...can you tell?


Eating dinner at Auntie's house in the highchair that Pops used when he was a baby!


Sleeping peacefully with cousin Sidney (our future babysitter!)


Watching BAMA football with cousin Robert...


YUM! See, Sidney is clearly on her way to being our personal babysitter! We can't wait!


So, if you've ever been to Peachtree City, GA, you know that most folks get around in golf carts rather than cars. Here's Allie with Daddy in her first Peachtree City golf cart ride. She loved it!

Full of Suprises! The life of a 4 month old...

Allie is making new discoveries every day....rolling over, eating new veggies, and blowing bubbles are only a few of the new tricks that Allie has joyfully brought to us in the last couple of weeks. And, of course, don't forget the screaming at the top of her lungs (happy screams, fortunately!), and the fake cough that she has come to master. It seems as though Allie learns something new every day, and she practices and practices until she perfects each new trick. Along the way, she keeps us rolling with laughter and joy...

How can anyone be happy eating mushy green beans???!!!


We love the Bumbo seat. Allie will be sitting up on her own in no time!


Doesn't she look mischievous?


I bet you can't do this!!!


Drool. Yes, drool. Every day. All day. And, drool perpetuates bubbles. Every day. All day.


Are these sad eyes or sleepy eyes? I would guess they are sleepy eyes since Allie has decided that sleeping at night is no longer necessary!


Golf lessons....already? Well, not for Allie just yet, but just as soon as she can hold a club, Allie will be Anne's youngest golf student!


Allie with her future golf instructor at Amelia Island. Watch out, Sam (Tiger's daughter)!


Sleeping...a rarity these days!


Getting the required tummy time....it's easy these days since Allie learned how to roll over this week!