Summer Time in NC!!

Summer is officially here. They're calling for highs in the 90s today! Allie LOVES being outside! Whenever she's fussy, all we have to do is take her outside and sit her on her blanket or put her in her pool or just walk around with her.

We bought her a little pool last weekend. She enjoys it and is looking forward to having some of her friends over to play. We also took her to the park for the first time, and she LOVED the swings!! When we first put her in she giggled and giggled and giggled. It was so cute!

We go to the doctor on Wednesday for Allie's nine-month appointment, so we'll post some details then. It will be interesting to see how much she's grown in three months! Also, she'll be nine months on Monday. In the meantime, enjoy a few summer pictures:

A Happy, Happy Girl

Allie is a very happy and active youngun'! She loves to play, go outside and attack her Daddy. One of her new favorite things to do is to take everything off the shelf in the kitchen, especially the phone books (which she is slowly but surely destroying). She likes to be wherever Daddy and Mama are, which can be a challenge when they're both trying to get work done around the house.

It's hard to believe she is eight-and-a-half months old!! Time flies!

Eight Months Old!!

It's hard to believe Allie is already eight months old! She is very active, curious, smart, funny and cute! She has SIX teeth--four on top and two on the bottom. She has the sweetest smile--it can light up a room. Her favorite thing to do is play outside. She loves meeting new people and being the center of attention (as we saw when we went to our first care group meeting at the church we've been attending).
We're not sure exactly how much she weighs or how long she is since we haven't been to the doctor since she was six months old; but she has definitely grown since then! Next month, we'll post an update on that after her appointment.
As Joy has been starting her photography business, she's had more opportunity to take portraits of Allie. Below are a few of our favorites from a couple of May shoots. Enjoy!

So Big to Be so Little!

Allie may be tiny, but she certainly doesn't act like it! She is so smart and so active. She is crawling everywhere, standing up constantly and getting close to standing without pulling up on something. She is also quite fearless, which makes us think she isn't too far from walking, too. She has four teeth and several more look like they could pop through anytime.

Yesterday, she kissed her first boy. Don't worry, we're going to have a talk with her. She loves to give kisses and was very anxious and excited to give her little buddy Wyatt a kiss; and she succeeded--she kissed him right on the mouth! It was adorably cute, but also quite disturbing!

Joy has been making Allie's food since Easter. Allie is doing great with it. She's now eating green beans, corn, sweet potatoes and most fruit without having it blended. Anytime we have anything to eat, she thinks she should be included. Tonight, she had spaghetti for the first time and really seemed to like it.

More Firsts!

Allie is battling her first cold this week, but she's been quite a trooper. She had her first bath in the "big tub" Saturday. She loves to play in the water with her rubber duckie. She is standing more and more and has stood unsupported a few times. Also, she has a third tooth with two more about to break through and one or two more looking promising!!! She'll be wanting to chow down on some steak before long!

Seven Months and Going!!

Well, Allie is now seven months and eight days old; but her seven month post is better late than never!!

After our adventure to the beloved Southland, we have been struggling to catch back up with everything around here. Once we got caught up with life, Joy got sick. Then, Tony got sick. And, here it is a week later, and we are starting to feel better. Thankfully, Allie has not gotten sick. What a blessing!!

Anyway, to catch everyone up on how our little miss is doing: She continues to crawl everywhere. She's getting into everything, of course, and loves to be outside. We're finally enjoying a beautiful sunshiney day today and hope to have one or two more before the temperatures delve back into the unbearable lows.

She pulled herself up to standing on Joy's birthday (April 1). She does it all the time now and has even taken one little step on a few separate occasions while holding on to something. She will be walking before long. When she wakes up from her naps now, she usually greets us sitting up in her crib with a big toothy smile on her face. Yesterday afternoon, we spent some time outside. Tony and Joy threw a football back and forth while Allie watched, mesmerized. Then, Joy picked her up and held her so she could practice kicking a soccer ball. And, she did very well--we may have a soccer player on our hands! She also loves to play with her basketball inside. She's learned to roll it to Joy sometimes.

Allie loves to pull herself up and peer into her toy basket when she isn't satisfied with the toys she already has. She knows what "no" means, but doesn't always choose to obey. Apparently, the computer cord and the trash can are very tempting items!

Here are a few pictures of Allie from the past few weeks. Enjoy!


She's growing, but she's still a little squirt.












We enjoyed a very special visit with "Aunt" Megan. Allie was quite interested in Meg's ring.


Allie often sits right at Joy's feet while Joy's getting dinner ready. It makes the process a little slower sometimes.






She is easily amused with simple toys--paper, boxes, wipes containers.


Allie's really outgrown her little tub. It'll be time for the big tub soon!!

Big Trip and Big Changes

Well, we haven't disappeared...we're back home after our big plane trip with Little Miss. Allie did great on the plane both there and back. Kudos to ExpressJet; what they lack in space on their planes, they make up for in service!! We had a good time with our family and friends in Slidell and Waynesboro. Allie struggled with sleeping for the first half of the visit, but we all survived that (though there were a few moments we didn't think we would!) Allie had her first carrot on her first plane ride, her first "biter biscuit" at Nonna and Papa's house and her first graham cracker and taste of grits at Grammy and Pappy's house. She got to see/meet grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. We also came home with quite a few more clothes, stuffed animals, etc. for Allie than we left with and had some concerns about the luggage weight limit!!

Enjoy a few pictures below from our visits. But first...

We have been quite busy since we returned. On Monday (3/24), Allie popped up on hands and knees and began crawling all over the place...and hasn't really slowed down since. On top of her new mobility, Allie has been unbearably clingie to Joy all week. In fact, Joy can't really leave the room without Allie bursting into tears and (yes, it gets worse) crawling after her while still sobbing uncontrollably. This has made household chores and sanity quite unreachable all week, to say the least! Yesterday, Allie began pulling herself up onto her knees from a crawling position and has shown some interest in standing as well. Now we really have to "batten down the hatches!" I'll post some more pictures soon!!

Allie with Great-Grandmother Kay


Allie with Pappy and Grammy


Allie with Great-Aunt Connie


Allie with Papa


Allie with Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Jane


Allie with cousins Jared and Jacob


Allie with Daddy, Nonna and Great-Grandmother Gizynski


Allie with "Aunt-Nanny" Carol and Daddy


Allie with Aunt Jane and Nonna


Allie with Great-Grandmother Rancatore


Allie with Nonna