Summer Vacation

We took three weeks off from Vegas and drove to Arkansas to Michigan and back. This would be the first visit for Alora to meet everyone. It was a long, dreadful drive, but worth it. Heath and I took a combined total of over 400 photos of which I have sifted through and found the ones of family and my personal favorites. Those were posted on facebook and myspace. I have a few that could go up here...

Alora's First Summer

Since Alora sat up on her own on April 22nd, it's been nonstop entertainment! She has been trying to get Cole to play with her showing him toys, rattling them at him, following him, babbling at him...she started solid food and was reintroduced to formula on May 3rd. She shuddered at the first taste of the plain rice cereal. Since then, she has been eating well...eating anything! She seems to save her milk for naps and bedtime sipping on it throughout the day. Alora was still pushing backwards at the end of May in an effort to crawl, but did not take steps FOREWARD until July 2nd. She would only take two steps at a time for the first couple of days, then four steps, stop, sit up, and try two or four steps again a short while after. She started waving the first of June. She would also clap and babble in excitement!

She now crawls exploring all the edges of the house, following Cole, her beloved big brother only now he will play with her. Alora's face lights up, she smiles big for Cole. He says Hi to her, hugs her, gives her kisses (if you ask!), and brings toys to her. I was so hopeful and still am that they will grow close and stay that way as life-long friends. She cries when he leaves the room in a hurry and she can't follow quickly enough. She is pulling herself up getting ready to walk. Soon she and Cole will be running around together! She signals me when she's tired and ready for a nap by pulling on my leg or resting her head in my lap. When she wants to feed herself, she bangs on her tray. When she wants picked up, she holds out her hand. When she's thirsty, she'll crawl into the kitchen! What more can I say, but that I am truly blessed! I wouldn't be surprised if she was walking in the next couple months.

Crawling Soon...

Alora is just a little rollie-pollie! She definitely wants to play with Cole. I watched her yesterday, roll one way towards Cole on one side of the house, and then Cole was on the other side of the house, and Alora rolled in the other direction...and rolled and rolled! She is also asking for things. She will clap her hands on her pudgy thighs concentrating on what she wants as if to summons it. I tried it out...she was doing this with Cole's piggy and coin toy, so I brought her within reach and she grasped onto it as if trying to pick it up and examine it! It was adorable! TBC...

March Milestones 09

It's official. Alora rolls! Last weekend, she rolled onto her side and then her belly. We had just seen the doctor for her four month shots and they said not to expect her rolling over completely until she was six months old. Well, she did it again Saturday and Sunday. She now tries to roll over if you take too long changing her! This past weekend, she's even popping her little behind up and clutching whatever she can. The swimming starts next. She's already kicking! Anyone who said it goes by quick wasn't kidding and by quick...every week there's something new...just like with Cole, the first year is almost gone. I'm so glad for photography or I would forget everything!

Alora at Four-Months-Old

Most babies, they say, will sleep through the night by four months of age. Cole definitely was, and still does most nights. Alora had a couple nights when she did sleep ten hours. Of course, I still had to get up to have enough breast milk for the day...but Alora still wakes up between 12 and 2 a.m. and then every three hours after that. It's all worth it! Look at this gorgeous girl! She's a happy baby and it shows. Sleep? I can hope that when she starts solids in May, I might be able to get more than three hours of sleep a night! Enjoy the photos!

Cole's Second Birthday

This year, it was just us. We got Cole a cake and littered the house with balloons which we had recently discovered, on our way home from eating at Red Robin, that Cole loves balloons. He paddled the Red Robin balloon all the way home laughing hysterically the whole ride.

He knew something was going on when all the attention turned to him to blow out his candle. And then...a present! He has been stealing Heath's pen out of his uniform and from the computer desk or wherever else he can find them. He tries to draw with them on anything in his way. What perfect gift than a coloring set? Washable markers to be exact. You expect a two-year-old to try and color on the tables, the walls...but what Cole wanted to do was eat the markers! He actually bit the tip off one! We color with him and he likes that, but as soon as you turn your head, in his mouth go the markers! What a terd! Heath and Cole had fun static-ing the balloons to the wall and sling-shotting them up in the air. Surprisingly, none of them have popped yet, even the ones Cole insisted on jumping on! All in all, it was a fun day.

Desert Snow!

Maybe you heard...it was probably in the news...it snowed here a week before Christmas! It was very exciting. I was at home with Cole, Alora was sleeping. "Look, Cole! Snow." We watched it fall for awhile, then Cole got bored. I couldn't stop watching...I thought how unlikely it was to have a white Christmas in Las Vegas, but here it was! It was beautiful. I had seen it snow here a couple times before, but the snow had always melted as it hit the ground or soon afterward. This snow lasted at least four days. There was about five inches on the car. It weighed down the branches of the tree in the front yard so much so that they touched the driveway! Heath and I threw snowballs at each other as I tried to make the second snow man ever in my life! I would have been nice if Cole could enjoy it the way we did, but maybe in a couple more years when he'll willingly agree to wear gloves!