Every Day: A New Accomplishment

Today, I propped Allie up on the sofa with some pillows. I turned around to set her play gym on the floor; and, when I looked back, she had leaned up from the pillows and was sitting upright on her own strength!! She is amazing!

We went to the mall today with Tony's parents, brother and grandmother who are in town for Christmas. Allie, of course, loved it. She wore her big red Christmas bow and looked so precious. Everyone who saw us oooohed and aaaaahed over her. She is definitely a beautiful baby girl.

Getting ready for Christmas

Allie continues to bring us joy every day with her smiles, laughs, coos, squeals and growth. She is growing up so fast! She can lift her head above the bumper in her crib when she's on her tummy. She can stand pretty much on her own power. She is getting stronger at sitting up, and her neck strength is amazing! She will be sitting up on her own very soon.

We are preparing for family coming in tomorrow. We will have a week of visiting with Tony's parents, brother and grandmother and then my oldest brother and his family.

Since I haven't posted in a while, I just wanted to update you with a few pictures of our beautiful baby!

Learning and Growing

Well, Allie continues to grow. She is growing out of several clothes and has graduated from newborn diapers to size 1! She has also learned she can make her butterfly on her play gym light up by grabbing it as well as by kicking it--how smart!!!

This is a brief blog, but I just wanted to share her new accomplishments and a few fun pictures to keep you posted! Enjoy!

A Fun Day

Just wanted to share a few pictures from the day...Enjoy!!!

Allie loves her Foxy. Here, you think she's going to kiss him; then...



she bites him instead!!



She had fun sitting in her chair, playing with her links while I cooked dinner tonight!







She also enjoyed "tummy time" twice today. She laughed and smiled the whole time she laid on her tummy playing with her "worm."

What a Gift!

This fall, we are most thankful for Allie, our precious gift. A lot of things were put into perspective yesterday when we got a knock on our door. A neighbor came to ask for prayer for a couple who live down the street. Their two-month-old died Sunday night. We don't know any details other than the baby was crying and all of a sudden stopped. How scary.

During Allie's fussy time last night (which is much shorter now than it once was), neither of us got annoyed. Tony told Allie she could cry all she wanted, and I agreed. What a blessing that we have a three-month-old daughter who is healthy, happy and alive. She is a precious child, and we have learned not to take her for granted. Life is very fleeting and can be snuffed out in the blink of an eye.

Please pray for this young couple. I cannot imagine how terrible this time must be for them. But, they do have an amazing support group through their church, the school and their neighborhood.

As you pray for them, please continue to pray for Allie's health and well-being.

Below are a few pictures from today. We had a great morning. I sat Allie up for a while while she played with her fox and worm. She is quite a cutie and continues to grow each day. She has just this week begun to squeal--it's so cute!

3 Months and Growing!!

Along with achieving a higher weight come other achievements and losses. Allie is beginning to grow out of some of her clothes. Some of the newborn-sized clothes are a little too snug and some of her 0-3, 3M and even 3-6 clothes are beginning to fit. She wore her jeans for the first time Friday (11-30). I have to admit she looked a little bit like Fred Mertz from "I Love Lucy," but I couldn't wait anymore to see her in them. I looked everywhere for jeans that fit, but couldn't find anything smaller than 3-6 mo.

Also, Allie has outgrown the inner part of the head support in her car seat. We discovered that Saturday morning (12-1) when we were strapping her in to go to Wal-Mart for our weekly trip. I have to admit I got a little emotional and, of course, had to take a picture to capture the momentous occasion.



She is also able to sit up with some support. Check out this picture--by the way, in the next shot, she had tumbled to the side--ooops!





Yesterday, we began our Christmas decorations with the "big" tree (when you see it, you'll know why I chose quotation marks). Today, we put up Allie's little tree. I don't have a picture with the little one yet because we waited until after the Saints game to do it, and it was getting close to Allie's bedtime; so she was a little fussy. Allie loves the lights!



Speaking of the Saints, the LSU Tigers won the SEC championship game yesterday and clinched a spot for the national championship against Ohio State. Our deepest condolences to our Georgia friends!! Allie loves the images on TV, of course; but football games clearly capture more of her attention than anything else. She is absolutely mesmerized by it! That's our little fan! (As you can tell, we don't have cable. Thank goodness for rabbit ears!)



Today was Allie's three-month birthday. This afternoon, we went to the "Walk Through Bethlehem" at the Presbyterian church up the road. They have it every year. We enjoyed it and look forward to next year when Allie will be able to appreciate it more and we can go at night when they have all the actors, etc. Allie showed her interest by cuddling down into her warm blanket in her Daddy's arms and falling fast asleep--I guess there's just something about cold weather! The experience began with a brief film, then we walked through the marketplace to sample food and drink from the time period and watch some of the crafts of the time being made. After that, we stepped into Bethlehem and saw replicas of Jesus' life from the inn and the manger to the cross and the grave. This picture is in front of the inn where there was no room for Him.



Well, I leave you with a few more pictures--a pouty face (how pitiful!), playing with Daddy while Mama decorates the little tree, hanging out in her "Good Things Come in Small Packages" onesie and the signature "Allie smile." Enjoy!

Finally...

After about three weeks of frustration and going back and forth to our pediatrician's office because of their concern with Allie's weight, or lack thereof, we have made a significant breakthrough! When we began this saga on November 7, Allie weighed in at 7 lbs., 6.5 oz. Today, she weighed 8 lbs., 9.3 oz. This just goes to show that babies will grow in their own time, and over-educated people need to learn to throw their books and growth charts (that are outdated and inaccurate anyway) out the window! We will go one more time next week to make sure this week's growth isn't a fluke, and then we'll be home free until her regular four-month well child visit when she'll get her next round of shots--ick!
I am glad that our backward version of The Biggest Loser's weigh-in is almost over; Allie's no worse for the wear, but Mama doesn't enjoy running up the road for constant visits with our lactation consultant (even though we have fallen in love with her and know she is a God-send). Thank goodness for Michele and for the fact that the office is only ten minutes from our house!

2 1/2 Months going on 12...

Allie continues to amaze us every day from her adorable little laugh to her big smile that makes us melt to her first words we swear she said (in case you were wondering, we think she said "OK, Daddy").



Today, she showed the most interest in her "touch and feel" books. While I read to her, she reached out to touch the fur, etc. of the pets and farm animals in her books. And, she even tried to turn the page. She did pretty good, but her best attempt was turning the page backward instead of forward.



Allie is a Daddy's girl and loves snuggling and getting kisses. Her favorite place to nap is her Daddy's chest.



Allie has the cutest mannerisms. Sometimes when she smiles, she does her shy, flirty smile where she turns her head to the side and halfway covers her smile with her hands. How precious!!





We spent Thanksgiving day with some friends from church and school, Nathan and Leah Finn and their one year old daughter, Georgia. Allie enjoyed meeting a little playmate and smiling at her.

Play Time

We ordered Allie a play gym and got to pick it up on Sunday evening. Within 10 minutes of being introduced to it, she already figured out how to kick her feet up, hit the butterfly and make it light up and play music. She has been trying to grab at the ladybug (she's really not to the point where she can grab anything--except her burp cloth and our shirts!), but has only succeeded in swatting it. This evening, she almost grabbed the tag, so it won't be long before she takes a hold of it. Also, Allie started yesterday looking more at the mirror on her gym. At first, she seemed almost disturbed by it. But, tonight, she was really checking herself out. Another cute thing--she turns to the bee (on the pillow next to her) and chews on its antenna.
She is a very dainty, girlie girl in many ways. When she kicks at her butterfly, she crosses her feet at the ankles and lifts her legs and bottom together. Also, while she's nursing, she points her toes and kicks them like a ballerina. She is a very happy baby and loves to laugh and smile.
She continues to grow; and, while the pediatrician still wants to keep an eye on her weight, she has gained quite a bit since last week's appointment. We were up to 7 lbs., 14 oz. today. We love our lactation consultant, Michele, and would be miserable without her.
Enjoy the pictures of Allie playing with her gym. Tony took the other picture this morning while Allie and I were sleeping on the couch after her first early feeding.
We videotaped Allie with her gym the first night we got it. As soon as we can get a cord to hook up the camcorder to our computer, we will post it so you can watch her play!