Words to live by...

.... and definitely learn from.

Monday ramblings

I saw this idea on the blog Thinking About Pretty  and I really love it! Feel free to join the fun and let's make each other's Monday a little better :)

Making: A photo book of Allie's first year on blurb. So much work but I'm excited about it!

Laughing at: Some old pictures of Allie. Man her cheeks were BIG! They take over her face! It's amazing how much she's changed.

Seeing: An episode of Heroes. Gotta love Netflix.

Hearing: All the Heroes arguing about something or other.

Smelling: The Febreze I just sprayed all over the house *sniff* MUCH better. It was a bit stuffy.

Tasting: Nothing really. I'm drinking water and it doesn't have much of a taste.

Feeling: A bit warm. Maybe it's time to turn on the air conditioner?

Reading: Thicker Than Blood by CJ Darlington... meh.

Wishing: I had more motivation.

Loving: Pinterest. Am I the last person to hear about this awesomeness?? I'm on a stinkin waiting list, dang it! 

Craving: The beach. The hubs and I have talked about going to San Diego this summer and taking Allie to either the Zoo or Sea World, both sound fun but the beach is my fave. 

Anticipating: Summer. I'm ready for sun and water. 

And here's some added fun. Allie likes to help me with dishes. Isn't she so cute?
(Not my best picture, but it still makes me laugh.) 

Allie Jane

I did a photoshoot of my pretty little girl today, to celebrate her turning 1! You can view the photos on my photography blog.

Thanks! :)

My Princess

Today is Allie's first birthday! Can you believe it? I still can't. I've had a whole ton of emotions assault me today. I'm overjoyed at being a mother to such a wonderful little girl. I keep reminiscing the day I brought her into the world and the emotions I felt then: relief, joy, fear just to name a few, and it's making me feel the emotions all over again. If you don't remember my post about her birth, you can click here to read it again.

I love my little princess. She is the best thing that has ever happened to me (aside from meeting and marrying my husband, of course). Her laugh is contagious. Her smile is precious. She has gorgeous blue eyes, and her hair is such a pretty color. I love her!!!

Here's some more about Allie:

• She now has 8 teeth. 6 on top, and 2 on bottom. 
• She's crawling like a pro, occasionally doing the "stink-bug" crawl which is the most adorable thing ever. 
• She pulls herself up on everything and walks around the furniture.
• She dances to every song she hears, usually just with her head (turning it side to side) unless she really likes the song and then she'll add bouncing.
• She loves animals! Every dog or cat or bird she sees makes her giggle and point and act all excited. 
• She still sucks her thumb when she's going to sleep.
• She waves at everyone, can give "high-fives" and loves giving kisses to her mommy and daddy. 
• She loves having the windows down in the car and feeling the breeze on her face. 
• She loves when I sing to her. Her favorites are "ABC's", "Eentsy Weentsy Spider", "Head Shoulders Knees and Toes" and "If you're happy and you know it" where she claps her hands and giggles perfectly on cue. 
• She loves reading books, or at least looking at the pictures. She'll let me get through about half the book before she's done listening to me read the words and just wants to turn pages. 
• She greets me with a huge smile every morning. 
• She knows "nose", "eyes" and "ears." 
• She knows how to say "hi" and puts emphasis on the "h" so it sounds more like "hhhhhhhi" 
• She says "bye" perfectly
• She also says "mama", "dada", "nigh nigh" and a lot of other jibberish that I haven't quite distinguished yet.
• She points at everything interesting to her.
• We taught her the sign for "more" and whenever she's eating and wants more, she'll grunt while doing the sign. She also does the sign whenever she sees food and wants it. We were at the check-out in Walmart one day and a lady behind us had cookies. Allie saw them and started grunting and signing more. When we told the lady what she was doing, she thought it was so cute and insisted on giving a cookie to Allie. I think we're in trouble! 
• She loves bath time! Whenever she hears the water turn on she races to the bathroom and giggles as it fills the tub. We bought her some bath letters and she's great at sticking them to the wall. 
• She's a great eater. She practically eats anything we give her and a lot of it! We're amazed at how much she eats. Her favorite foods are sweet potatoes, avocados, mashed potatoes, pasta, cheese, cheerios, yogurt, bananas, bread, and pears. Her least favorite foods are strawberries, mandarin oranges, peas, and green beans. 
• She loves helping me with laundry. She's great at shutting the dryer door and pulling the clothes out of the basket as I try to fold them... she's also great at destroying my folded piles, but that's ok! She'll learn. She also loves helping me with dishes... mostly just banging on the dishwasher door and the puddle that forms there as I load dishes. I love her company though, and someday she'll actually be helping me.

The list doesn't end there but I'm afraid of boring you. Literally, though... I could go on all day! Here are some pictures from her birthday party. She had a great time eating her cake!