Alden's Latest Tricks

I needed to blog soon so I wouldn't forget some of Alden's latest things...

- She is really interested in the picture album of her first 4 months (and the onlly album I have actually printed pictures off for) She likes to look at all our family and even finds the picture of Dr. Christie, and says "Doctor"...except any word with the "k" sound in it, ends up with a pause...like "da - pause- er".

- The past week she has been going to get a diaper and coming to me and laying down to be changed. Most of the time, she wants to be changed in the corner of her room between the crib and the window. Strange.

- She has really enjoyed "dancing" her babies around to the ABC song on the leapfrog fridge thing. And today on our walk, she was dancing the baby to the "Diaper Dance" song from Baby Signs. The only thing that distiguished it from Alden's other "songs" was the "whooo" at the end. The last part of the song goes "jump it, bump it, dump it, whoo". She has been doing the whoo all by herself lately.

- The other night, she had a bottle of saline nose drops and would act like she was putting some on her hands, rub them together, and then rub them on her face. We thought maybe she was putting on aftershave like Matt, or maybe washing her face like me. Who knows???

- Alden's favorite Christmas presents are definitely her books. She loves the alphabet books from Grandma and Grandpa, and is always asking to read. She also really likes the book about the New Baby, and the Sesame Street book about heroes. I am about ready to hide the hero book. I think we read it 6 times today.

- Just the past week, she has been reaching for our hands to hold. Walking in the hall at the Y, coming down the stairs, leading us into another room (most likely towards her books). It is really cute and melts our hearts.

- During my shower today, she sat on her potty (completely clothed) the whole time and read books out loud to herself.

We joined the Y this past week, which is a great Christmas present from the Wyatts. Alden and I went swimming the first day, and she did not want to get out, even though her lips were purple. It is an indoor pool, but it was a little chilly. Maybe because it was 26 degrees outside! What is up? However, our subsequent visits have been short, due to Alden's screaming hysterically in the child care room. The other night, the girl with the white board came to find Matt, and tonight, I ended up getting her during break from Zumba class. She better get used to staying there pretty soon, because Matt and I are really pumped about getting to work out!

This past Friday night, we had dinner at Nana's house with Kitty Scott and Dickie. Alden has been scared of Uncle Dickie for some reason, but finally warmed up to him. By the end of the night, they were big buddies.

The weekend went by fast. We enjoyed getting to be outside now that the weather has turned to a more appropriate 70 degrees, and even got Cold Stone as a treat on Sunday.

Today, Alden and I went to the mall. She was so good, and I had a great time with her. I know I have said this, but since Christmas, she seems so much older. I am trying to really be intentional about enjoying this time with her before the baby comes, knowing it will never be just us again. She is starting to feel more like a friend than a responsibility, which is fun. Although, I think we may be starting to get a glimpse of the terrible twos.

And did I mention?

That we are expecting another child? I keep meaning to make a special post for that announcement, and I never do it. Knowing my blogging history, I know you are not surprised.

Our first visit to the doctor was right before Thanksgiving, and we were able to tell our families. Alden sported an "I'm the Big Sister" T-shirt when my family showed up on Wednesday night, and it took them about 10 minutes, and finally some prompting from us, to get it. They were thrilled, of course. Ashley and Nana showed up a little later, and Ashley said "So what does that mean? I don't get it." And here we thought we had spelled it out pretty clearly.

We had to email Matt's parents the picture since they were visiting Leigh and Eric in Phoenix. They, too, were excited, but a little puzzled at first. We didn't realize it was going to be such a shock and surprise!

It sounds like the due date is July 19, which sounds unbelievably far off, and very close all at the same time. It is really hard for us to think about repeating another first year, but, ultimately, we didn't want Alden to be an only child.

My second doctor's visit was December 20th and I had to sit and talk with the nurse about health history, what to eat, not eat, etc, and I got my blood drawn. Alden was so good during the long visit, and even did the "hurt" sign when she saw me get my blood drawn. That night, when I was telling Matt how good she had been at the doctor, she did the sign again, and signed "mom". I told her it didn't hurt anymore, and she seemed satisfied with that.

Luckily, I am being spared from morning sickness again, but have still been pretty tired. However, I am almost 12 weeks now, so hopefully, in the next couple of weeks, that will go away...at least for a few months.

Our next visit is in a couple weeks, and we are anxiously awaiting getting to hear the heartbeat. We should be able to find out the sex sometime in February, hopefully around Valentine's Day. It will be fun to have an identity for "Number 2" and to have time to think of some girls names, if necessary. We didn't really have any back-ups after "Alden".

New Year's Resolution...

... TO POST ON BLOG MORE OFTEN SO I AM NOT TRYING TO RECAP A MONTH AT A TIME.

That said, I am starting where I left off, which was us heading to Aiken for the weekend to spend with Matt's parents. It was great to be down there again, and to see Grandma and Grandpa, since it had been a while. We got to hike in the woods, walk around the bay/dried up pond, and enjoy relaxing. A highlight was getting to visit with our good friends, The Bagby's, who are on YL staff in Aiken, and were so kind to us during our time there. Alden had a great time playing with their 4 kids, and harassing their cat. Other highlights from the weekend include Alden climbing in and out of her booster seat like it was the coolest thing in the world, eating at Fatz...YUM, Lily bounding out of the house to greet next door neighbor Jan, her husband, and their dog Sunny, reading books with Grandma, and turning the lights in Grandma and Grandpa's room on and off, on and off.

After the weekend, it was crazy how quickly Christmas crept up on us. We had couple play dates that week, and Jessica, Rob, Lydia and Miles dropped by for a quick visit while they were in Gastonia. Matt's parents came up to our house on Friday and graciously agreed to babysit while we headed to my friend Stacy's house for a Christmas get together. It was a blast to stand around and have adult conversations with my playgroup friends and their husbands, without being interrupted every 10 seconds, or having to run off and intervene in a toddler crisis. We filled the weekend with making Christmas cookies, visiting Matt's new model homes and neighborhoods, watching football, and just enjoying the Christmas season. It was great to get to go to our church again after a couple weekends away, and we were so thankful there ended up being a nursery for Alden. Christmas Eve service would have been pretty short for us if she had to join in. We had an incredible Christmas Eve dinner - Matt grilled out steak and salmon, and we all ate too much.

Christmas morning was a fun, as we all got up and opened presents, and had a great french toast breakfast. Alden let me down a little, because I was expecting her to just tear through her presents and be so excited...after all, one of her gifts is destruction. She opened her first present, a box of Alphabet book, and was so enraptured, that we ended up unwrapping the rest for her. She got a ton of books, which is great, and some really cute clothes from Matt's parents. After breakfast, we headed to the park to walk off some of the french toast and to let Alden play on the playground. She had a blast going up the stairs and down the slides...kind of surprising us since the swing is usually her favorite.

Christmas afternoon, we all headed to Nana's house for the festivities and craziness that take place there. It was such a good break for me to be trumped by Grammy as the go-to person for Alden. I am so thankful that she chooses my mom over me! I need it! Matt, Dillon, and Scottie played tag in the yard, and Alden had a great time with cousin Scottie. The traditional spaghetti casserole was on the menu, as well as a lot of great snacks. Yum, yum. Being together with everyone on Christmas and Thanksgiving is really what makes those days seem like holidays to me. Our time at Nana's is always so special.

The day after Christmas, we packed up the car and headed to Raleigh. We had a mini-Christmas with my family, and Alden was a little more into the present deal. I think it took her a while to get into the swing of things. She got a baby doll and stroller from Santa, and a grocery cart from Grammy's friend Marcia, which were the highlights of the day. That night, we went to my friend Kristen's house for a high-school-friend gathering. It was great to see Mendi and Colleen's new babies, and to enjoy a night out without ours!

The week at my parents was sooooo relaxing. My mom and Ashley completely took over the care and maintenance of Alden. Matt and I were able to get out and see a movie, and do some returning at the mall and REI...where, by the way, I snagged some sweet shoes at the garage sale.

Alden seemed to really grow up over Christmas, and just seems a lot older to me. She surprised us a couple times, saying "Chocolate" "Amber", "Rainbow egg", "Hot dog", among others. This is not to say she says these things all the time, but a few occasions, they just came out perfectly. She spent a lot of time running up and down the greenway, and "riding" her tricycle. She was also very interested/concerned about boo-boos. At dinner one night, my dad had a bandaid on his knuckles, and Alden was talking, talking about something. Finally, we pieced together "boo-boo" and "Pop-pop". Then, she kept bringing it up for the next couple days.

We came back late on Sunday night, since Matt had to work on Monday. On the way home, I was reaching back to get Alden something, and my seat started reclining and smashed her leg before I could stop it. She wasn't hurt, and didn't cry, but then preceded to talk/sign about for the next half hour. Like I didn't feel bad about it already. Why do I feel like we are moving into a stage of hearing the same stories over and over?

New Year's Eve, we went to my Aunt Vickie's for dinner and a bonfire. Alden had a blast seeing their animals, and it was fun to visit with them and spend time at their place. We got Alden a winter coat for Christmas, which is huge on her, and we all laughed a lot as she tried to waddle around, and would sometimes fall over and not be able to get back up. Maybe that is a little cruel, but it was hilarious. Dillon came back to our house for the night, and helped us take down Christmas decorations the next morning. It felt good to get the house somewhat back together, and all our bags unpacked. Now I have to figure out what to do about the toy situation.

New year's night we had our friends Bill and Ashley over for dinner. It was great to spend time with them and the first dinner where none of us were holding a child while we were eating. Hallelujah! Alden and Ella played so well by themselves, and the parents definitely enjoyed it!

And that brings us to today, our first day back in the groove. Alden was a super-fuss today...Like she had her paci basically all day. It really made me wish that we still had a lot of people around to pass her off to. We went to our first class at the Rea Road library, which she enjoyed after some initial skepticism, and did our grocery shopping. We read almost every book in her room, and she really made me laugh pushing my cell phone around in her stroller. She has started linking signs together, and tonight signed "Dad" "Wash" and "Pacifier" when Matt was washing hers off. Thank goodness she is finally in bed though...it is a hard adjustment for mom to go back to being solo during the day!