Pigtails

I have been waiting to be able to do this!!! Not the nicest job but Alayna doesn't stay in one place for long.

Trimming the Tree

We actually put our tree up at the end of November but I've not been able to post until now...I promise I will try to be a better blogger ;)
Merry Christmas to all!!

Busy As A Bee

Alayna is walking!! She's been "zombie walking" for a couple weeks but now she's pretty stable and chooses walking instead of crawling most of the time. It's so fun to watch her! Here, she is cruising around the kitchen with her walker. She hasn't quite figured out steering yet so someone always has to be standing by for redirection.

Alayna's Halloween Costume

A few random pictures to show what she's been up to....

This illustrates some of her favorite activities: playing with jewelery and talking on the phone.

Party Pictures

Alayna is such a party animal, she had two parties! First one was in Pinckneyville and then one in Columbia. Alayna LOVED her cake and she was pretty good at opening presents. She got really excited and [I think] even said, "Yay!" and "Wow!" Thanks so much to our family and friends who came to celebrate with us!! As a 1 year old, Alayna has been taking several steps unassisted but reverts back to crawling when she feels the need, the need for speed (catch the movie reference??). She is also impressing me everyday with new skills. Recently, while eating veggies and rice, I handed her the spoon to see what she would do. She dunked the spoon right in the bowl and then to her mouth. It was empty but at least she understands the idea. We'll keep working ;) The other day I asked her if she had a stinky diaper and she said "no," and she was right. Enjoy the pictures...that are exactly one month late!

Almost 1!!

Alayna has been a busy little girl!! She now has 4 teeth (you can see the newest ones in the last picture). And she is getting close walking. She really likes to hold my fingers and walk in the yard. Newest words are "Yeah!" and "Wow!" (I think that's what she is saying anyway...) Alayna turns 1 on September 23 so my next post will be pictures from Alayna's 1st Birthday!!

Go Cardinals!!

Alayna went to her first Cardinals game over the weekend with Mommy and Aunt Laura. We all had alot of fun. I'm not sure she ever realized that there was a baseball game going on down on the field but she seemed to enjoy looking around the stadium. And eating, of course!! She clapped when everyone else clapped and even did a bit of cheering. Due to the threat of bad weather we left during the 6th inning...not soon enough though!! We got caught in the pouring rain on the way to the car. Alayna didn't seem to mind though. She sang in the rain all the way to the car. What a fun day! Oh yeah, and the Cardinals eventually won the game!

Pictures From Rosemary

We had an excellent week at Rosemary Beach. We drove all night Friday night and Alayna slept the whole time!! She would wake up to socialize a little when we stopped for gas but then went right back to sleep. We finally arrived at Rosemary between 10 and 11 Saturday morning. Our house had a pool so we usually spent mornings and evenings on the beach and afternoons at the pool. We did a lot of swimming and relaxing which was just what everyone needed. Alayna, however, insisted on getting up every morning at 5:30 AM!! So much for sleeping in on vacation!!

Alayna had a lot of "Firsts" on her "First Vacation"

First time in the sand

First time in the ocean

First time in the pool

First Ice Cream Cone...She LOVED it...just like Mom!

First Pedicure

Having fun in the pool with Daddy

Family Picture Night

We're Off To Florida!!

After a crazy week, its finally Friday and we're heading to Florida for a week. Alayna's first vacation!! Here are a few random pictures until I can post some sunny beach shots (hopefully!)

A Day At The Farm

We spent last Sunday at Grant's Farm in St. Louis. We had a party there for work and so Matt and I decided to take advantage of the day. We had a lot of fun!! Alayna met a lot of the people I work with and had her first sno-cone. She also rode the tram and got to see alot of animals . She LOVED the llamas!

On The Tram

Alayna's Favorite Llama

This is when Alayna was clapping for the llama. She was so excited!! It was really cute. Everyone was watching her instead of the llama.

Alayna met some new friends at the party....

I love this picture. Alayna was "cheering" during the presentations. We were trying to shush her so everyone could hear what was going on. Fortunately, no one seemed to mind.