Woof woofs and Meows

Just about every week I do some errands at the Coleman shopping center where conveniently our bank is, Chili's is, Target, Trader Joe's, PetSmart, L & L Barbecue, Una Mas, and Michael's. There's also a Starbucks there if I ever need a pick me up! ;) When we meet daddy for lunch, we usually meet at one of the eateries there.

Sadly, Alyssa knows this shopping center so well that the minute I turn into the parking lot she asks to see the "woof woofs" and the "meows". In this particular PetSmart, there's a doggie daycare where we can see them play from a clear glass window. One should see Alyssa's delight when she sees them. She is such a dog lover...certainly took after her daddy! In another area of the store are the cats (Alyssa calls them meows). The last couple of times we have been there Alyssa started by picking up a cat teaser toy and running towards the cats that are waiting to be adopted. I feel like the poor kitties are being harassed by this almost 2 year old but perhaps they are also having fun while Alyssa waves the teaser up and down, left and right. She laughs so hard when she does this...it really is funny to watch. Here are some pictures from our last trip to PetSmart.

Bad Mommy, Bad!

I have been a bad mommy and I haven't updated this blog in a very long time. It's August tomorrow so let's see - I'm about 9 months behind. Do you know what can happen in 9 months? Hmmm...A LOT!

Well Alyssa is 21 months old. She certainly has quite a personality. She has always been very strong and she knows what she wants but since we are approaching the "terrible two's" her frustration level and tantrums have definitely increased. She's slowly getting the hang of time-out though she is still very testy. You tell her no...she'll do it again, you give her a warning, she does it again, then it's time for time-out and not until after then will she stop whatever it was she wasn't supposed to do. I'm aware it's the age she'll push and try to get away with things and see if she does. She doesn't get very far with me or Mike. When will she learn? LOL...

She's using words really well at 21 months. She knows her 1-10 by seeing the numbers and probably half the letters in the alphabet. We really have to watch what we say around here now because she's starting to repeat what you say. One of her favorite things to say right now is "I'm stuck" and "that's MINE". She is great with her manners - she says please and thank you when appropriate and we are so happy about that! She loves to play with her dolls and pretend to feed them, stroll them around and change their diapers. She also loves her tea parties and will "cheers" you with a swing that she winds up for. It's quite hilarious. I'm going to try to get it on video soon. One of her favorite things to do is tease her Tito Neil by calling him "Ning Ning". She loves how he reacts to it so she continues to do it when she sees him.

So much has happened in 9 months. The incredibly short version is: we went to the Philippines in Dec, we came back to the US in Jan. Then mom and Mia visited in April/May and since then I have been busy working out, taking Alyssa to some classes and just surviving each day by trying to keep Alyssa (and my dear husband) happy. In June we went to Auburn for a weekend to visit with Mike's aunt, our cousin Carla came to visit too and for July 4th, we went to Mike's cousins for a party. Since then we have been party hopping and going swimming and just enjoying the summer.


The challenge we have had lately is with Alyssa's sleep. She just can't seem to sleep through the night without waking up at least once or twice and crying for Mike or I. We assume it is night terror by the sound of her screams. She seems pretty desperate and she won't calm down until we go into her room. This has been going on for about 3 months now and Mike and I are usually walking around the house like zombies. Her doc says this is a phase that some kids go through. She must have some crazy dreams. Oh well, we will ride the wave until it calms down. I hope soon!

Here are some pics from the summer. Hope all is well with you and your family! I don't want to promise when I'll be back cuz needless to say I've been a bit inconsistent. What I need desperately is a YAYA (nanny)!

November Fun!

VIDEO TAKEN FEBRUARY 20, 2008

We had a busy November with my birthday and a trip to Aunt Julie's in Auburn for Thanksgiving. Alyssa was gaining back her strength and weight from her sickness. It was also during November that Alyssa really started to walk. She continued her obsession with Elmo and dogs!

We are so delinquent with this blog!

Hi everyone. So sorry but life has gotten in the way of updating this blog AGAIN. Here are some pics from October - including some birthday pics (though she wasn't feeling too well on her birthday). Following her birthday party, Alyssa got a stomach bug - she couldn't stop vomitting, etc for days. She suffered from dehydration and had to be hospitalized for 2 days. She had lost 10 % of her weight (almost 2 pounds) and she was pale and weak. It was hard seeing our baby like that but she recovered well.

She was walking really well holding onto something in October but didn't gain the confidence to walk on her own until November.

11 months old!

Alyssa is 11 months old! We have less than a month to her 1st birthday party which is going to be held at a local park with some of our friends and family. We have sent invitations out and I have been working hard at planning the details. It's going to be GREAT! We only wish that Alyssa's Lolo and Lola could partake in this incredible milestone. First Alyssa learned to laugh and squeal, then sit and stand and now she can walk if you hold her hands. How time flies!

It's just crazy how fast it came and went. The picture above is of her at 11 months...

Alyssa - 10 months old

Just wanted to share a couple of pictures I took of Alyssa when she turned 10 months. This is how I find her every morning and after naps. :)

Where did the time go???

I can't even believe Alyssa is almost 10 months old. It seems surreal. I was just looking at pictures of when she was this tiny little newborn the other day and can't seem to grasp how much she has fluorished since. She is an energetic child to say the least. She is a master crawler and climbs like a monkey. Thus far she seems pretty fearless which is scary to me. We have to watch her like a hawk. She has even stood on her own for a couple of seconds. She really is enjoying her newfound mobility. I don't doubt she'll walk before her 1st birthday. This girl wants to get places...fast!

We've had a busy summer. We have gone out of town to Mike's aunts house up in Auburn a couple of times. We love going there. The place is like a vacation resort. It's HUGE with a pool, spa, countless bedrooms, and a theatre room. It really is amazing. Alyssa went in the pool for the first time there and really enjoyed it. She splashes and kicks like a natural. She loves her bath so we weren't surprised. It's like a giant bath tub to her! We also have been busy with playdates, birthdays, lunches, etc.

Alyssa is growing so fast! In her last check-up with the doctor at 9 months, she was almost 18 lbs and 28 inches tall. She is in the 70th percentile for height in girls her age. As far as weight, she is in the 32nd percentile. She was born around the 30th percentile in weight so I think that's really where she ought to be. She's getting better with her reflux since she started solids. We are going to start to ween her from her medication soon. She has finally started to enjoy food - in the morning we feed her oatmeal and some sort of fruit (apple, pear, banana, peaches). At night she eats rice cereal with chicken and/or vegetables. She LOVES chicken, just like her mommy and her great grandma (Leah's Lola). She also really like avocados. She tried cantaloupe for the first time today and loved that too! She currently has 4 teeth and there are 2 on the top that I can see are erupting as well. So really she has 6 teeth.

Her favorite toy is her laughing Elmo. She squeals everytime she hears him giggle and laugh. She likes to play with blocks and anything that has music so she can dance. She loves playing with other babies and gets really excited when they are around. This weekend we have 2 kid's birthday parties to go to. I'm sure Alyssa will have a blast! :)

As for Mike and I, we are doing well. Just plugging along as usual. Mike just celebrated his 30th birthday. We are toying with the idea of starting our own company in 2 years with a couple of partners. We are hoping this market gets better so that lenders will give us a chance to start out own business. Right now it is so hard to get a loan and banks are being cautious with their money since so many have defaulted on their house payments. What did they think was going to happen when they were giving out loans to people who should not have qualified during the last few years? Anyway, our equity in the house isn't enough for us to start our own company so we will need some help from the bank. We are hoping they get it together by then...

Hope you are all well! Until next time...