Fall Fun

This has certainly been a busy fall, and I am loving every minute of it. I love to step on the fall leaves to hear them crunch under my feet. My great grandma Nellie and Aunt Naomi visited for a week in October, and it was wonderful to see them again! I did my best to entertain them while they were here, and they say I succeeded. This year, I was invited to 4 Halloween parties, and I went out trick or treating on Halloween too!

Another new thing for me is The Little Gym. I've been going there for 7 weeks now. Mommy and I go together every Monday morning. It is a non-competitive gymnastics program, where I am learning to roll and all sorts of new activities every week. The first few weeks, I was very clingy to mommy, but I am really starting to come out of my shell. I love exploration time, where I can run all around and do anything I'd like! Here I am with my instructor Ms. Lauren practicing a backwards flip over the bar.

Here's one of me on one of the balance beams. I love to walk across the beams. Mommy is working with me on using my airplane arms. Here I am at my first Halloween party. It was with a play group in O'Fallon. There were about 20 kids all dressed up in their costumes!

This was my second Halloween party. Aunt Cheryl invited us to the city party. It was very crowded, but I had fun!

Mommy and I walked in a "parade" with all of the other kids, and at the end I got a treat bag!

One Sunday after church, Mawmaw and mommy took me out to Relleke's Farm. They had a toddler play area that I loved. I got to ride around on tractors, and instead of a sand box, they had a corn box! After we were done playing, I got to pick out my very own pumpkin!

The next Halloween activity I did was Boo at the Zoo at the St. Louis Zoo. Aunt Anna, Elijah, and Mawmaw came along with us, and we met some other members of one of our play groups there too. I even got to ride the carousel. I wasn't sure what to think of it at first, but once it was going, I loved it!

The fourth party was at my gym. There were lots of bigger kids there, and it was VERY crowded, but that didn't keep me from playing along with the parachute.

Halloween morning with my unicorn and baby Sally- I love to pose!

HUGS!!! Getting dressed up as a ballerina

Posing!

Ready to go!

Trick or treat! I said "trick or treat" while walking down the street, but would not say it when mommy took me to the door. I did, however, tell everybody "Thank you!"

I grew tired of trick or treating, so mommy let me ride in the stroller and eat a sucker.

Next, we visited Uncle Nick, Aunt Kim, and Bella. They took me trick or treating to a few of their neighbors' houses too!

When mommy took me home, I even went pee pee on the potty!!! All in all, it was a great Halloween!

Here I am once more just to show you what a beautiful young lady I am becoming!

A young lady

I continue to grow in every way every single day. I am of course physically growing , but more so, I am growing cognitively, socially, and emotionally. I am well past being a baby, rushing through being a toddler, and well on my way to being a young lady. I continue to enjoy reading books, and I am starting to pick out new books to read rather than always requesting the same books like I used to do. I do still like a good rendition of Goodnight Moon. Mommy has noticed I am inclined to pick stories about mommies and babies. I am as happy as ever and LOVE to smile and laugh. I am quite ticklish, especially on my shoulders. Recently I learned to give "butterfly kisses" with mommy; we both love these!!! Although I do well with other family and friends when mommy is away, she and I have an increasingly special bond. Overall I behave well, but I of course must test my limits just to know how much I can get away with. I like to throw the pieces of my gear toy across the room just to see how mommy will react. She usually looks at me sternly and asks, "Was that necessary?" I respond with a deep belly laugh, and then we repeat the process until all the gears are all over the living room. I do pick them all up and put them right back where I got them when we are finished. I am a good big sister to Bailey and love to give him hugs and kisses. I also like to give him a little hit when he is bad, but I always follow it up with another hug and kiss. My manners are also improving. I know how to say "please" and "thank you." Though mommy often has to remind me to say them, I know exactly what they mean and when to say them. This evening, mommy gave me a cup of water, and I told her "thank you" without any reminder at all! I had my 18 month pictures taken on August 16. Would you like to see them? What a silly question; of course you would! Enjoy!

Here are some more recent pictures from my busy life:

This was a trip to the zoo with mommy and daddy on one of daddy's days off
I love the zoo!
Look at that beautiful smile!
The elephants were my favorite!!!
They entertained us for about half an hour, swimming and playing!
Mommy and me near the giraffes and zebras
Here I am trying to run away at Theresa and Don's 50th anniversary party
My cousin Elijah and me with Maw on her birthday
Read me a story!
Mommy wouldn't read to me, so I decided to read to Bailey instead
Such a big girl!

Accomplishments

As promised, here is a list of some of the cute, big girl things I have accomplished:

• I say "Amen" at the end of prayers
• I try to cross myself at church and during prayers anywhere by pointing to my chest with all of my fingers
• I say "The End" when mommy finishes a book
• I love to dance, especially to the "hot dog" song at the end of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Usually when I dance I squat down, flail my arms, and kick my legs
• I enjoy drinking from cups with straws
• I keep getting better at using utensils to feed myself. Today I even kept my yogurt between the cup and my face.
• I say "Woah, woah, woah!" Mommy's favorite time I say this is when I'm walking and lose my balance. I say it while trying to catch myself. I also say it to Bailey if he takes something belonging to me.
• I know I am supposed to wear shoes to go outside and will bring them to mommy when I want to go out.
• I brush my teeth every day, but I don't like it when mommy tries to brush my teeth for me!
• I go to bed on my own for both naps and bed time. If I am tired and nobody puts me to bed, I will grab a blanket and maybe a pillow and lay down on the floor or the couch.
• I love to play games saying "hi" and "bye" while playing peek-a-boo or hide and seek.
• At the grocery store I am a social butterfly saying "hello" to everyone we pass.
• I still love talking on cell phones and am starting to really try to have conversations. I get frustrated sometimes when people pretend somebody is on the phone. I prefer the real thing and have been known to make phone calls from mommy or daddy's phones before 7 A.M.
• I try to count and have said "one, two, three, four." Usually I say "two two" or "three three three" when counting to 2 or 3, respectively.
• I'm starting to understand more and more and am mommy's little helper. I almost always do exactly what she asks if she asks me to bring her something. I also like to help take clothes out of the dryer and fold the laundry.
• I try to dress myself sometimes and am very good at getting tank tops off. I know where on my body all of my clothes go. I will play games, pretending to put my shorts on my head or my arms, then I laugh and try to put them on my legs where they really go. I wish they did go on my head though; they are much easier to get on there than on my legs!
• I know most of my body parts and point to them if you ask me. Some of the parts I know include: eyes, nose, mouth, ears, cheek, tongue, chin, tummy, belly button, eyebrows, knees, fingers, toes, hands, feet, hair, head, and teeth.
• I love to clap along to any music. One of my favorite songs is "If you're happy and you know it"; I always clap exactly when I am supposed to. Of course I always applaud when any song is over. This makes mommy feel much more confident about singing, especially when I make her sing as we walk through a store. I also do the movements for itsy bitsy spider.
• I love to draw pictures and give them to people I love. I MUCH prefer coloring with markers than crayons.
• I say "All done" and do the sign for it as well.
• I say "Sshhh!" while putting my finger to my lips if I think anyone is sleeping or if you just need to be quiet. I do this especially when my brother Bailey is sleeping or if one of my baby dolls is taking a nap.

Becoming a big girl

With all of the excitement of having our new puppy, I forgot to mention I finally have started walking. I've been walking efficiently for a month now. I took my first steps when I was 13 months old and it has been a gradual process over the past few months. For quite some time I was able to walk and simply chose not to. Then I spent a couple of months walking short distances always stopping to grab the nearest wall, object, or person. Finally when I turned 16 months old and Bailey joined our family, I decided walking is definitely the most efficient way to get around. Bailey had a lot to do with that. I love my brother, but any time I am on the floor or crawling, he thinks I am playing with him and tries to punce on me. Now I get up and walk as soon as I see him coming. As long as I am walking, I always have the upper hand on my brother!

The more I walk, the more comfortable I become. I have mostly dropped my arms from the high guard (or Frankenstein) position when I walk and have MUCH better balance. I'm also starting to walk backwards and trying my hand at running. This of course leads to increased falls, but so far nothing TOO bad has happened.

Also, as of yesterday, I no longer drink from a bottle. Mommy decided I was a big girl and could drink my milk from a cup, so we threw away all of my bottles. I still miss them a little, but I am doing MUCH better than mommy expected. Whenever I want a bottle, I always lead mommy to the fridge and get one out. Now when we get to the fridge I find a cup where my bottle used to be. Sometimes I forget that we thre the bottles away and fuss for a couple of minutes, but mommy just reminds me that I am a big girl. She lets me search all through the fridge until I remember that the bottles are gone. Then I take my cup of milk all by myself.

Physically, I am becoming a big girl too. I keep getting taller and my body is leaning out. My face no longer looks like a baby at all! I think the walking makes me look much more mature as well. I sure am a big girl! Mommy likes to talk and brag about all of the cute things I do. Soon I think she and I will make a list of some of those things to share with all of you.

I'm a big sister!

Before you get too many ideas in your head based on the title, let me tell you my new baby brother has 4 legs and is covered in black fur. Mommy, daddy, and I talked about getting a puppy for a long time. Daddy and I had to work a bit of persuasion on mommy though. Then we went to a friend's graduation party from church and met a puppy named Cinco. He along with his mom Uno and 9 brothers and sisters were rescued by an organization called Stray Rescue of St. Louis. Cinco and his brother Once were staying with their foster mommy and daddy when we met him. He is a terrier/lab mix. He looks mainly like a lab, but there's definitely terrior in his face. Mommy and I fell in love and daddy wasn't far behind. A few days later we filled out an application for him, then his foster mommy brought him to our house to visit. He has already had all of his shots and mommy says he is microchipped and neutered too. I don't know what those things are, but mommy just tells me he has an "owie." Our visit was on Monday, and all week long we thought about what his new name should be. Mommy and my cousin Erin kept showing me his picture and asking me what the doggy's name is. I kept telling them his name is "Bailey," but it took them a while to figure that out. They thought I was just saying "Bay", so they looked up many lists of dog names and told me all names starting with B until they got to Bailey. I nodded my head excitedly repeating "Bay-Bay." And that is how Bailey got his name. Friday night I stayed with Maw and Pawpaw while mommy and daddy went to pick up my new brother. Though we don't know his exact birthday, it is estimated around April 20th, so he is 10 weeks old now. It was almost bed time when Bailey got home, but I still had a little time to play with him. Mommy thought for sure I would not sleep with Bailey home but I surprised her by sleeping as good as ever. I haven't been napping lately, and as soon as we brought Bailey home, I began napping well again. I have so much fun and use so much energy playing with him that I am more ready for naps! Bailey and I get along great. He likes to play with my toys sometimes, but I like to play with is toys too, so it's an even exchange. Mommy says he is teething just like me so he likes to chew a lot. I feel for him, so I gave him one of my rubber duckies to chew on. Another great thing about Bailey is that he loves his kennel. He even goes into it when he doesn't have to. I like to try to shut him in it too. We have so much fun playing together! I love my new baby brother!

Here he is on his car ride home. Isn't he cute?
Here I am playing with him when we first got home. I wasn't quite sure what to think of sharing my home with him at first.
Bailey plays my V-tech better than I do!
We both love cuddling with daddy!
Play time!

Adventures of a 1 year old

Many new things have been happening in my life in the nearly 3 months since I last posted. The question that seems to be on everybody’s mind is am I walking? I’m not sure why everybody makes a big deal out of this walking business. It’s really more efficient to make mommy carry me. However, more and more lately I am wanting to go places without mommy, and mommy doesn’t always want to go everywhere with me either. I am slowly trying out this skill you call walking. I’d do it all the time, but I’m afraid that may cause too much excitement and commotion, so instead I’m easing my way into it, you know, just to make it easier on everybody else. I love to walk around the house holding furniture, walls, and anything else I can get my hands on. I also like walking when somebody holds my hands. Ask anybody at church about this one. I definitely no longer sit quietly in the pew! Since I was about 13 months old, I started letting go hear and there. I usually take a few steps just enough to make everybody happy, then I go right back to holding on to something or someone or crawling. The past few weeks, I like to walk between mommy and daddy or somebody else I love. This seems to make them happy too. I get an awful lot of kisses every time I walk. Maybe I’ll start doing it more.

I love to talk and read books. Sometimes mommy tries to repeat me and doesn’t get it right. I speak very clearly; those silly adults just don’t always understand. Some of my favorite things to talk about are cars, ducks (I especially like to quack like a duck), cats, dogs, eyes, eyebrows, mouths, teeth, teething rings, cups, seats, sheets (I distinguish very clearly between those last two and call all blankets sheets), keys, shoes, socks, cheese (which I say when you take my picture), outside, and kisses. I of course also love to talk about people. I ask for mommy and daddy by name and recently starting calling my mawmaw “ma,” which delights her to no end. I say “see” every time there is something I want to share with you. If I say this to you, please acknowledge what I see. I get very frustrated if you do not do this. I also love to point to everybody I know in pictures, and I’m starting to try to say their names when I see them. There’s a picture of my cousin Drew on Ma’s refrigerator and I talk about him while pointing to it. Mommy is working on making me a book with pictures and names of all of the people who love me. It’s taking her a long time though. Apparently there are a lot of people who love me.

In April (18 - 21), mommy, daddy, Nina, and I flew on an airplane to California to visit Grandma Nellie for her 90th birthday! The day before we left, mommy took me to the doctor. I used to like the doctor’s office, but not so much anymore. Every time the doctor or nurse walks in the room I scream just to let them know I don’t want to be there. The doctor said I had a cold and an ear infection, and made me take yucky medicines for a couple of weeks. I had a little trouble breathing, and they made me sit there for a LONG time with a mask on my face attached to a noisy machine. Needless to say, I did not like this one bit and fought it until it was over! Mommy made me use an inhaler afterwards too. It wasn’t as bad with just mommy and I, but I still did not like it! It wasn’t much fun to be stuck on an airplane with an ear infection. To show mommy my dismay, I did not sleep at all while we were in California. Though I didn’t feel well, it was still a nice trip. It was wonderful visiting with our family and meeting more family for the first time. I’m so glad we got to share grandma’s birthday celebration! They even had a dinner and a cake for mommy’s birthday. I especially liked eating the cake!

When I see the camera, I almost always say "cheese" and close my eyes when I smile!
I waved to the men outside, and they waved back! We spent a lot of time in the car!

Mommy taught me how to wear makeup!

Look at me wear mascara!
Uncle Hal, Aunt Naomi, Grandma Nellie, and Nina at the restaurant for grandma's birthday
Here I am enjoying the view.
Mommy, daddy, and I outside of the restaurant

Everybody in the family liked seeing me. I didn't mind the attention much either =).

Daddy and Nina!
Here's grandma opening her presents. Aunt Kay and my cousins sent her this huge card that plays loud music. Everybody loved it!
Grandma also received a beautiful scrapbook with all of her pictures
Here she is with her cake
The 2 birthday girls

Mommy and I on the flight home
Cuddle time with daddy. His shoulder is perfect for cuddling.

The next week we celebrated Pascha at church. This is mommy and daddy’s favorite time of year. The services are so beautiful, and everybody shouts “Christ is Risen!” And “Indeed He is Risen!” we went to church after my bed time Saturday night into Sunday morning for a special service. I slept through most of the service but woke up in time to share the Paschal feast afterwards! Sunday mommy and daddy gave me an Easter basket and a new toy to play with in the backyard. Then we went to church for another service and the Easter egg hunt. Ma helped me find candy and eggs!
I love rubber ducks! They taste good too!

Here's my new toy! I already love trying to climb up the slide!
There's a captain's wheel at the top. I am Captain

Alexandria!

My Ma, Pawpaw, and I after church

Just mommy and me
Yay! Time for the egg hunt!

Me with my friend Macarius
I can be very possessive of my daddy. I will let you know he's "my dadada"
Kisses for my cousin Elijah. I do love to give kisses!

Here are a few more recent pictures:

Me with my cousin Erin before she went to prom. I was fascinated by the sequence on her dress.
Ma, Elijah, and me. My cousin is starting to rival me in cuteness. He gets more handsome every day. At least he's a boy.
Just my Ma and me. Aren't we cute?