It's Beginning to Feel A Lot Like Springtime!

This is the Friday before St. Patrick's Day. Manitowoc has a parade in celebration, so we had to attend! It was kinda cold, though! She loved the big burner that is used underneath hot air ballons... especially when he "lit 'er up" with a big POOF!

Her first swimming class :) She is probably the youngest kid there, even though the class is open to kids 6 months to 3 years old. She is much more at home in the water than quite a few of her older classmates! She LOVES it!!

***

Another thing she LOVES is being outside! It's so nice to be able to spend hours in our yard without worrying that Alena is getting too cold! She loves the sights and sound around the yard.

***While working in our flower planter, she decided to try some rocks (mama took those away right away), sticks (she learned her lesson), and dirt. I figure, this isn't going to be the only dirt she eats in her lifetime, and maybe she'll learn that it tastes, well, like dirt! She didn't like it :) she actually tried to scrape it off of her tongue! It was so funny to watch! I quickly ran inside to grab the camera... I had to capture this oh so precious moment!

***

Giving me the dirty look, "why the heck did you let me eat that dirt?" I'm gonna go find a better Mama!

***

Next day: She met Eric in the driveway when he came home from work. All day, nearly everyday since Eric has been on days, she asks "Dada?" I always tell her, "Dada's at work. He'll be home later." I think she misses her dada daughter time that they used to have in the mornings! I used to have to tell her during the day, "Sssshhhh, Dada's sleeping!" She certainly doesn't hear that anymore :)

She is super cute, though, with her walker! We bought her some new/used shoes and she seems to like them. Maybe she'll be able to have shoes on more often! Anyway, she cruises all over the house and yard with her walker. She's still too wimpy to walk unassisted! Our neighbor, Lorraine (who's 84), commented that when she gets old, she'll need a walker again! Alena enjoyed walking over to her house the other day :)

We're hoping for many more nice days this spring! It would be a joy to have to put up a fence to keep our curious daughter in our back yard while she plays (when she gets a little faster)!

Alena Turns One!

On the day of her birthday, she got a special present from Mama and Dada! She was pretty excited to have another toy, especially one that makes music when she pushes a button.

Our guests are waiting for the real action to begin.

After a quick nap and a diaper change, she makes her grand entrance!

Aubrey says hey. They love each other and are so cute together!

Opening some gifts with Mama and Dada.

Aubrey (and her parents) gave Alena this turtle. When turned on in the dark, it shines stars in real constellations on the ceiling! Aubrey has one of these in her room, too. She was a big help in opening some of Alena's gifts!

Auntie Angie made these two beautiful cakes!

Auntie Angie is showing Alena the cake that's just for her!

She really didn't like it when we started singing "Happy Birthday!"

After she demolished the top part of the cake!

Around the House

Are you going to tell me that I'm being "naughty" or that this "isn't for babies?" She just made her mama giggle instead. Mama says, if Dada leaves his stuff out all the time and the baby finds it, she can have it!

She loves to stare out the window and watch the traffic. Soon, she'll be able to watch more people walking by (hopefully with doggies), birds, and see the flowers she'll plant with Mama.

Aren't I cute?

Cruisin' around the living room! She can't get enough!

Stair Climber

As soon as we take the much needed baby gate down from the bottom of the stairs, Alena takes it as her cue to climb up the stairs immediately, and nearly as quickly as possible. It was only a few short weeks ago when she didn't climb stairs at all, but now she climbs up the whole staircase every time. I think that she only did partial crawls about 3 times before taking on the whole thing every time! She loves pushing doors open at every possible opportunity and especially playing with the springy door stops behind the doors. Quite frequently, we'll hear a "boing" as she's playing in the kitchen!

She's Multitalented!

I was trying to get a few videos that exhibit her newest and funnest skills. Some of these sweet talents include: Telling me what a monkey says, walking with her "walker," crawling, talking, cool stuff like that. She really cooperated with me... all on one video, too!! She really is always on the move. She tests her boundaries all the time, and, as mama and dada put it, excels at being cute.

Unloading Laundry

She Falls A Lot

So, Alena was standing, holding on to an end table, when she fell into her toy basket. She didn't hurt herself or anything, but she couldn't really get out on her own. When I saw her, I kept on hearing the toys in the basket make noise below her! It was so funny that I just had to get a video. Sorry that the video is so shaky, I was trying so hard not to laugh, but I really couldn't help it! Eventually, she got mad, started crying, and then I helped her out :)