One Year Old!!!

Stats

Alice you weigh 22 pounds, no clue on the height though.  You are in 9-12 month onesies, 12 month pants and size 2 shoes.

Firsts

Your first St. Patrick’s Day and St. Patties Day parade! You took your first unassisted steps.  You also, on your birthday took your first unsolicited steps and made it 5 steps before you toppled over.  You have learned to turn lights on and off, you ring the door bell everywhere we go and you even use the garage door opener.  You can now say “shoe”, “shoot”, “uh-oh”,  “up”, “no”, “bath” and I am sure some more things, but you don’t say any of them consistently.  You are all the way off your super expensive non dairy non soy formula!  You are on straight soy and you are doing great!!!  You have slept through the night consistently and are sleeping less throughout the day.  Alice, you are so lucky and you drove your first motorized vehicle and loved it, although you are not that great at steering. You had your first cake and did not like it at all, on a side note you didn’t like having the sticky frosting on your hands either (you are definitely your fathers daughter).

Tricks

You have been eating everything and are getting so much better at feeding yourself.  You throw everything you can out of the dog door and trap Sir Winston outside. You have been getting better at reading books and will almost sit all the way through one now.  Alice you are blowing kisses to people when they leave, or when you do.  You are throwing things for he dog and he loves the little treats you give to him while you eat.  You are throwing full-blown temper tantrums when we don’t let you do something you have your little mind set on. 

Wrap Up

Alice you are a healthy happy and wonderful baby who is fast becoming a toddler.  You flirt, play, laugh and talk to almost everyone.  You are so much fun and are learning new things every day.  Mom and Dad are amazed by you and love you more than we can say.  We are so happy that you became a part of our family one year ago and can’t believe how fast the time has flown!!!

Love,

Mom and Dad

So Close to a Year… Happy 11 Month Birthday

Stats

Alice, you are getting so big and we love it.  You weigh 22 pounds.  You are in 12 month pants, 12 month shirts and 9-12 month onsies.  You wear small socks and size 1 shoes.

Firsts

You had your first Valentines Day, you got some books, some treats and some clothes. You are now saying “Dang” and “Bye” a lot.  You are able to climb on everything now and pull yourself up on chairs.  You started climbing onto the couch and opening every drawer and cupboard.    You finally got your top teeth.  You have been working on your top teeth all month and just this morning three of the four top teeth broke through.  You are learning to throw and catch balls.

 

Tricks

We had a photo shoot with cousin Quinn for Grandma’s birthday surprise.  You had so much fun and hammed it up like no ones business!  You are destroying everything in sight, if there are things neatly put away in your drawers you take it all out, if there are things put away in cupboards you take them out and if anyone especially Quinn stacks blocks you tear them down.  You put your hands up to your cheeks and pose all the time now.

Wrap Up

Alice you are learning new things every day.  You yell and scream and play hard every day.  You are so funny and caring and love to spend time with people.  We totally lucked out in the baby department with you!

Love,

Mom and Dad

Happy 10 Months on Earth!

(You and uncle Dalan pulling faces)

 Stats

I have to be honest, I have no idea what you weigh or how tall you are.  I can tell you that you are in size 9-12 month pants, 9-12 month shirts/ onsies and 12 month skirts.  You are tall enough to play the piano at Grandma Sellers house while standing on the ground.

Firsts

Alice you had your very first Christmas! You loved the lights, the tree and even the presents.  You liked the wrapped boxes as much as you like the gifts in side.  You attempted to help open the presents however you got disinterested quickly and moved on to other things. You sent your first Text message.  Jessi, whom you love was the recipient of this text and she enjoyed it!  Your first New Years was spent sleeping as midnight struck.  But when you woke up on New Years Day you sprouted a new tooth, your 2^nd!  You said “hi” when we walked into Grandma Sellers house.  Every morning as we walk in I tell you “Say hi to Grandma” and this month you looked right at her and said “Hi”.  You then said it again to Papa Ron.  Now you will say it randomly but not when asked to say it to people… hopefully we will get better at this and start greeting people. You had a 2 week period of “stranger danger”.  You struggled going to anyone other than mom.  You even struggled to go to dad a few times, sad.  I was happy that this only lasted 2 weeks and you are now back to your normal, happy and personable self.

Tricks

Alice you still love to walk around and do so on anything that you can hold onto.  You have taken one successful step without holding something.  You don’t seem too interested or eager to walk on your own yet.  You ham it up for the camera and give big cheesy grins any time you see one.  You clap all on your own and can even make sound when you do it.  You clap when you are happy with something you have done and expect others to clap for you as well.  You are getting into some crazy yoga poses, mostly when you are in the bath which scares mom to death!  You are using many different toys as phones.  You hold almost everything up to our ear, laugh and babble, it is so cute.  You are really good at correcting or righting your balance which is helpful and you are falling over less.  Grandma Little let you play with her tablet.  She has a fun application that lets you touch the screen and color and make lights flash.  You loved it and now are obsessed with wanting to play with everyone’s tablets.

Wrap Up

Alice you are loving, energetic, talkative and funny.  We love you and the whole family can’t get enough of you!  You love spending time with both grandparents, all your aunts and uncles and your cousins too.  They get excited to be around you too and are entertained by your hijinks.  You are growing daily and learning new things constantly.

We love you very much!!!

Mom and Dad

Happy 9 Month Birthday!!!

It’s beginning to look a lot like your birthday hehehe.

 Stats

Alice you weigh 19.6 pounds (66%), 28.2 inches long (74%) and your head circumference is 17.5 inches (64%).  You wear size 6-9 month onsies and size 9 month pants.  You can still wear jackets and coats anywhere from 6 months to 12 months depending on the brand.  You are wearing hats like a champ too!

Firsts

You had your first multi person bath.  You and your cousin Luke took a bath together and he taught you to flop on your tummy and play with toys in the tub!  You tried your first solid food, these little cereal type things that mostly dissolve in your mouth, and you loved it.   You are starting to walk while holding peoples hands or stationary objects, you seem to enjoy it and do it daily. You went to your first Christmas party.  You went to the party with mom but spent most of the time hanging out with your boyfriend Sam. You two are two months apart and seem to really enjoy each others company which is awesome to watch.   While there you opened your first present, you didn’t quite understand what to do but uncle Dalan and cousin Quinn helped! That same day, December 8, 2012, while you went to your first tire store with mom I found that your first tooth came through!  It is your bottom front, right side.  It is a sharp little sucker and super cute.  You had your first bubble bath and loved it.  You still like your baths but now require toys.  You started to play with Sir Winston, really play with him.  You will take his toys and crawl towards him, get his attention and then play tug of war.  You giggle and squeal and he is very gentle.

Ticks

You are a dare devil!  You love to climb on anything and everything.  You are so smart and figure things out quickly, you started clicking your tongue after listening to Quinn and Grandma singing songs.  You learned to say wow and are saying it constantly now that there are Christmas lights up.  You have started to rub your bottom lip on your new tooth, which pushes your bottom lip out till it almost touches your nose.  You have started growling at everything and everyone, you are always happy when doing it and it makes everyone smile and laugh. You have started “dancing” to music.  You bounce your legs and move your head around until the music stops and often times you are pretty close to being on beat.  You are also starting to wave at people.  You move your hand open and closed, but it is usually facing you and you do this not only to say hi or by to people but also just when you are hanging out by yourself.

Other Things

Alice you are a strong and adorable little girl.  You are still talking and singing all the time.  You continue to love being in public and thrive on others attention.  You are so interested in playing with others.  You pester Quinn to play with you all the time and you pulled her over this month when she just wanted to play on her own.  You can push chairs across the floor to get to what you want.  Alice you are still a fun, loving, smart and active little girl.  Mom and Dad love you so much and can’t believe you are getting so big.  We can’t wait to see what you learn and do next!!!

Love

Mom and dad

Thankful for a Beautiful 8 Month Old Baby!

We were lucky enough to celebrate your 8 month birthday on Thanksgiving day, in Montana.  We are posting this now that we are home, but that doesn’t mean that we were not celebrating on your big day!

Stats

Alice you weigh 19.3 lbs and I have no idea how long you are.  You are in size 6 month onsies and 6-9 month pants.  You can not wear the straight 6 month pants, they are too short and too tight.  You can fit into size 3-6 month jackets and sweaters all the way up to 9 month jackets and sweaters.

Firsts

Halloween, you were an elephant.  You got to go with mom to work for a while and went “trick or treating” around grandma’s neighborhood and to your aunt grandma Mary Lou’s house.  Everyone loved your costume and you thought it was awesome to see others all dressed up. You went to the aquarium with dad.  You loved the penguins and sharks the most and cried when you had to leave them.  You got to see mom and dad vote in your first presidential election and watched the beginnings of the results on t.v. (you were asleep by the time the official announcement was made).  You are starting to teeth.  IT SUCKS!!!!!  We feel so bad for you and you get so sad that your little mouth hurts.  We can feel teeth starting to come to the surface, but then they go back down.  No break through yet, but we hope that it happens soon so that the pain will go away for a little while.  You are starting to throw temper tantrums, yes this is very early, but you really are.  When we have to take something away from you or move you for your safety you cry, flail and kick your legs.  It is pretty dang funny but you get so mad.   You slept in a pack and play all night long.  You are truly mobile and can sleep (overnight) anywhere we want to take you!

Tricks

You started to crawl and stand up on anything you can get your hands on.  You are really good at crawling and do it all the time, but when you get really tired you still prefer to roll.  You enjoy standing and pull yourself up on lots of things, even your crib in the mornings (it totally freaks mom out).  You sucked on your binkie in multiple different ways but your preferred method of binkie usage right now is shoving the whole thing in your mouth.  You enjoy knocking anything over and giggle at the tumbling debris.  When you don’t like a food you stick your tongue out and spit.  Mom has worn many different foods now in her hair thanks to your unique tastes. You are playing the piano and singing, it is awesome and when you are done you turn and look at people in the room to give you a round of applause.

Other Things

Alice you are talking up a storm and getting more and more independent.  You love to snuggle and give lots of open mouthed kisses.  You are very interested in other kids and want to play with them.  Mom and dad are still the luckiest parents there are.  We love you so very much and can’t wait to see what next month brings.

Love,

Mom and Dad

A day Late and a Buck Short Happy 7 Month Birthday

 Sorry we are a day late in posting this one, Alice, we just were having too much fun!

Stats

You weigh 18.4 pounds (home scale weight).  You are getting longer and longer last known height was 26.5 inches, but I know you are longer now.  You wear size 6+ month onesies and 6+ month pants.  You look so cute in all of the warm clothes, sweaters and hats!

Firsts

You started your first swim lessons.  You love the pool and you are doing so good with splashing, kicking and dunking your head under the water.  Alice you are by far the youngest in the class, but are more happy and compliant than many of the toddlers.  You said your first word, well kind of.  You have said “MOM” multiple times however you mostly say it when you are distressed or very sad.  I love that you are saying mom however I am not sure how I feel that you whine it when you are upset.  You had tried rice cereal a few times, but this month you officially started eating food.  You have eaten avocado’s, pee’s, squash, zucchini, sweet potatoes and more rice cereal.  You are pretty sure that you like most of the foods, but you know that you love the sweet potatoes! You had your first major ouchie, you bumped your mouth on a tractor trailer.  It didn’t cut through too much, but it did bleed a little.  You cried for like 30 seconds then you were such a big girl and you “brushed it off” and were happy again.  You picked out your first ever pumpkins.  We went to two different pumpkin patches and you had so much fun!  You loved patting the pumpkins and trying to lick them.  Alice you went on your first corn maze, you were more interested in pulling on the drying corn stalks and getting the little dried out corn cobs that were left behind, but hey it’s a first.

Tricks

Alice you still are not crawling yet.  I have a feeling it could be any minute, or another two months.  You are getting better and better at the monkey crawling and you use this method of transportation the most, you still roll too and do this if you want speed.  You get up on all 4’s and do a little hop thing with your legs, which pushes you forward, but you don’t have the confidence to move your arms yet.  Alice, you are such a stinker and you steal everyone’s toys!  You take blocks, books and anything stackable from both Quinn and Sir.  If someone else has it, you most likely want it (I am worried for what is to come).  You are fairly good tempered when we give the toys back to their owners, but you continue to go after them.  You show your disgust for things by sticking out your tongue and scrunching up your nose, or by a fake cough.  You are starting to use a sippy cup all by your self!  You have to help hold your bottle and when you are tired you try to drink your bottle and suck your thumb at the same time.

Other Things

Alice you are a dream come true!  You are sleeping 8-9 hour stretches consistently and are waking only once per night to eat.  You are really liking the idea of sleeping in now that the sun is not up at 6 am.  You are playing more independently and consistently going to some toys while completely ignoring others.  You are funny and smart, you love animals and are very interested in them.  You love your Grandma and Papa Ron and keep them entertained every day.  Aunt Jessi thinks that your hair is getting lighter and lighter and I see more and more red in it. Your eyes are still a dark brilliant blue.  Your look is changing all the time, yet you remain the same beautiful baby that we love.

We Love You!!!

Mom and Dad

Half a year down and lots to say about it! A 6 month birthday blog

Half a year down and lots to say about it!

Stats

You weigh 15.8 pounds (according to our scale at home).  You are definitely longer, but we wont know exactly how long until next week when we go to the doctor.  You are still in the size 2 diapers.  You wear 3-6 month onesies, the 6 month ones are still too big.  You wear lots of leggings (6 months) and leg warmers.  You wear 9 month dresses (you are too tall for the 6 month ones and they look like long shirts on you hehe).  You still wear size 1 shoes.

Firsts

You went to the zoo!  You were not too sure what we were doing there, you looked at the large animals and didn’t understand they were real until you met Zuri (the baby elephant).  You got so excited when she started moving around and you finally got that they were animals and they were alive.  You enjoyed the first zoo trip with cousin Quinn, Aunt Jessi, Uncle Dalan, BFF Ali, McKay and of course Mom and Dad. You had your first formula.   Mom and Dad could not deal with the two hour stretches of sleep any longer, you cried it out for the first time.  Alice you did so well, you cried for 2 minutes then put yourself to sleep.  You have been putting yourself to sleep since with very minimal crying!  After meeting with the doctor it was hypothesized that you have a milk/ soy protein intolerance or sensitivity.  The month of dairy free was helpful but just didn’t cut it.  You went 10 days on a soy/ dairy free formula and you rocked it!  You started sleeping for longer stretches (6 hours) and you didn’t have the tummy aches.  Mom started a soy and dairy free diet.  After the 10 days you started breast feeding again.  After 7 days back on the boob juice it was very clear that you were digressing.  Sleeping less, having tummy aches and a ton more gas.  After much discussion, tears and debating mom and dad decided that you would do better overall with just the formula.  So 1 week before you turned 6 months you became a formula fed baby.  You seemed to deal with the transition without problem, mom was a total wreck for about 3 days.  You are now sleeping 7-8 hours at a time without waking up or needing to be fed!!! You went in your first swimming pool.  You loved hanging in the turtle floaty and kicking in the cool water during the hot summer day.  You were able to go on your first splash pad.  Our friends Hammond and Stacy let you play in the water jets that shoot up in the air and you giggled and smiled the whole time.  You watched your first college football games.  You are helping mom and dad cheer on the University of Utah (Go Utes) and University of Montana (Go Griz).  You are not too interested in the games but you love when we cheer and you help us out with that.   You got your first cold 3 days before you turned 6 months old.  You currently have a very slight fever, a very stuffy/ runny nose and a cough.  You are so sad that you don’t feel good, but are surprisingly still very pleasant, just want to be held all the time. 

Tricks

Alice you are almost crawling, you do this half monkey crawl and or you get into the crawling position, your left side works to crawl and your right side just goes limp.  It is funny and adorable, I will never forget it!  You are sitting up on your own.  You last for a minute or so then get distracted with some toy you want so you flop over and steam roll (still your fastest mode of transportation) to it.  I am not sure if you are getting smarter or lazier but you are dragging toys towards you like mad!  You move towards objects then when they are just within reach you stop moving and grab the toys and pull away.  You are iteracting more with cousin Quinn, you are starting to play with her and toys.  You are a tricky little devil though too, you get Quinn to come in close to play then you reach up and pull her hair.  She lets you and still loves you, but you are getting vicious with those hair pulls.  You still put everything in your mouth but are now rubbing them against your gums to sooth your teething little mouth.

Other Things

You are a social butterfly who would much rather be out in public than at home with just mom and dad.  If you are having a bad day and we take you out, you instantly become happy again.  You are still totally fine with other people holding you and don’t have that stranger danger sense yet.  Alice you laugh and giggle a lot and are jabbering more and more.  You are starting to jabber and sing yourself to sleep, it is so cute!  When you get tired you start to get giddy and have a giggle fest over the most mundane things, and it is awesome.  Alice we are so lucky that you are healthy and happy.  Your personality is coming out more and more and we love you!

Love,

Mom and Dad

Happy Birthday Alice… volume 5 (months that is)

Happy 5 month Birthday to you!!!

Stats

We don’t have them as of today, but will get your weight at least tomorrow when we go to the doctor (more on that later).  Wearing size 2 diapers, no exceptions now!  You are still in size 3 month onsies , some 3-6 month ones fit but they are all very loose on you and still just fitting in your 3 month pants most are still too big.

Firsts

We start out back in Montana, the day after you turned 4 months… you had your first boat ride!  You loved it and ended up going comatose after being on the boat a little while. You watched your first Olympics!  You especially enjoyed the gymnastics, swimming and beach volleyball.  You did not like the cycling and marathons.   You had a month of mom being dairy free, we think this helped your little belly, but we are not convinced that this is the problem that keeps you up at night and screaming from time to time.  Alice you tried rice cereal for the first time 3 days ago.  The first time, you were not too sure about it, but it seems like you are enjoying it as the days go by.  However it possibly is a reason for increased stomach aches so we didn’t give it to you today. (we will see what the dr suggests we do when we see her tomorrow)

You are watching the Olympics, upside down... cause it's what the cool kids do!

Tricks

You started putting multiple things in your mouth at once, thumb and binkie, binkie and toe, toy and toe, etc.  It is pretty funny and you get very frustrated when they don’t fit in your mouth the way you want.  You are able to pick up your binkie and put it in your mouth all by yourself, although you are not good at looking around to find your binkie when it isn’t right in front of you.  Alice you are able to move objects from one hand into the other hand. You are pushing your self around all over and “steam rolling” everywhere you want to go. (rolling over and over until you reach your destination) Even though you can roll both ways you prefer rolling to your left.

Note she is shoving my thumb and hers in her mouth!

Alice we are still trying to figure out your tummy problems and are not finding any consistent relief for you.  We are so sorry but are diligently working on improving this  and willing to do whatever it takes.  You are still not sleeping well.  We have started doing some sleep training with your, but not much has changed yet (another thing we will talk with your dr about tomorrow).  Alice you are getting more and more talkative, you love to mimic sounds (this is still very minimal but you are trying it).  You are cuddly and loving and we are still very lucky and blessed to have you in our family.

What an adorable face, who wouldn't love it?!?! (pictures courtesy of Jessi Sellers)

Love

Mom and Dad

31 flavors of VaRonica

I wanted to describe myself for my own birthday… and since I am turning 31 today I decided that I would come up with 31 flavors of who I am

31. hungry

30. tired all the time (now that Alice has joined us)

29. busy

28. someone who loves my job

27. productive (most of the time)

26. talkative (which is good for my job)

25. loud (I don’t think anyone has ever accused me of being quiet)

24. someone who loves to laugh

23. a person who loves to nap

22. snarky

21. vacation lover (I would spend all of my money on vacations if I could get the time off)

20. consumer of trash TV

19. future/ closet biker babe

18. Pug tamer

17. movie lover

16. baker

15. an exceptional stacker

14. an “I’ll try anything once” type of girl

13. crazy/ funny singer

12. jokester

11. lover of animals

10. a person who actually likes change

9. an adventure seeker

8. a texter

7. friend who loves

6. an avid reader

5. aunt

4. sister (in-law mostly)

3. daughter

2. wife

1. A fist time MOM!

Happy Birthday to me!!!!

Happy 4th Birthday Alice… a week late on the post.

Alice

You turned 4 months old last Sunday, and you were in Montana to celebrate (hence the late post).

Stats

At your 4 month check you Weighed 13 pounds (34%) Head Circumference 16.1 in. (50%) and Height 24.5 inches (57%).  You are wearing the 3-6 month onsies and are finally fitting those 3 month pants without problems.  You are just getting into size 2 diapers (although dad thinks the size 1’s still work, you have too many leaks for my taste so I just moved you up in sizes)

Firsts

You got your first haircut when you were 3.5 months old. You went out of state for the first time, in fact you entered two new states just before you turned 4 months old!  You met a ton of new cousins and second cousins and first cousins once removed (I looked up all of the definitions of these and it’s true she met all of these relations)  You started sucking your thumb and you are putting everything in your mouth, it’s quite entertaining.

 

Tricks

You are rolling all over the place.  You flip from your tummy to your back regularly and at times you will roll from your back to your tummy.  You like to stand and are very strong.  You LOVE to arch your back and look at the word from an upside down perspective.  You are still a bit stingy with your laughs however you get the giggles and will laugh out loud for 15 minutes at a time with us. (we love these times)  You have also found your toes and you love them.  You are constantly pulling your feet up to your face and putting those little toes in your mouth (thanks to cousin Quinn for introducing you to your “toe guys”)  You are starting to put your binkie back in your mouth when you spit it out, but you don’t quite know how to get it in the right way.

Alice I have been so sad for you, this month your acid reflux has gotten worse and you are having problems with being gassy and it is very uncomfortable for you.  We have tried different things with your meds and can’t find relief for you yet, but we are still trying and working hard to figure it all out.  You still remain one of the happiest babies I know.  You are smiling, laughing and cooing most of the time, but when you are sad, hurting or hungry you cry which is hard to watch!  You are so loved by everyone around you and your smiles are contagious.  We love you and are excited to see what month 4 brings!!!

Love,

Mom and Dad