Puppies!

Allison has started to notice Alex and Maggie this last month. She watches them all day and reaches out for them when she thinks they are close enough to touch. She is especially fond of Alex, but the feeling isn't mutual. Alex knows he's been replaced with my baby, so he has to be bribed to sit next to her. The first time Allison got hold of Alex she grabbed a big chunk of his hair on the back of his neck and wouldn't let go. I can totally feel his pain. She's been doing that to me a lot, too. :)

These pictures are from a couple of weeks ago since I'm still trying to catch up on blogs from the last month. Just three more to go! Stay tuned...



Doesn't he look thrilled?

Apple-WAHHH!!

In the last couple of weeks I have been slowly introducing Allison to baby food. I promised myself that I would wait till she was five months, but I couldn't help it. The anticipation of seeing her experience something new was too much for me. She is slowly but surely learning to eat from a spoon, and it's precious watching her understand to open her mouth when she sees the spoon heading her way. So far, she has tried applesauce, bananas, rice cereal, and sweet potatos. There is a darling two year old little girl next door who always refers to her applesauce with a very emphatic "apple-WAHH!" - complete with her fist in the air and everything. It's so cute! So that got stuck in my head and every time I talk to Allison about her applesauce I accidentally call it apple-Wahhh. lol. I tried very hard to capture all the horrified faces she made when trying new foods, but they were very quick expressions and by the time I switched from spoon to camera it was gone.

Happy Halloween from our Little Punkin'

More Pictures

I also took my "good" camera with me to Fossil Rim since there would be a variety of new subjects there. Here are my favorites!
*Hint - you can click on the slideshow to see a bigger version of the pictures!*

Brave in my head

Frank's birthday was last month, and we decided that we wanted to celebrate by going to Fossil Rim, but we couldn't fit it on our schedule until yesterday. His mom came with us, and my mom stayed and watched Allison all day. It was about a two hour drive to Glen Rose, and we spent about three hours in the park feeding and petting the wildlife.

Frank and Jackie (Frank's mom) were very brave with the animals. They were fine with feeding them out of their hands and petting them. I, on the other hand, was not. I was very afraid of the animals touching me - specifically with their teeth - but I very badly wanted to get as much out of the experience as possible. The first animal we encountered was a single ostrich that was aggressive about getting his food and I ended up squealing in panic and yelling at Frank to floor it. The rest of the animals were much nicer about getting their share and I was pretty comfortable with feeding them after a while.



But then as we were about to leave the park I saw the chance to redeem myself from the embarrassing display earlier. Just ahead was a pack of ostriches. We barely had any food left for them but I decided I would just let them peck the food out of the bag - even though there are signs everywhere warning that that is not the proper way to feed the animals. I was brave in my head. I had convinced myself that I could be close to these towering birds and manage to feed them without freaking out.

I rolled down my window and offered the bag to the approaching ostrich. He wasted no time sticking his head in the bag and I was shocked at the force with which he attacked the food. Of course, I immediately freaked out, but he was about to peck for more. I quickly decided to abort, and tried to throw the bag out the window to avoid being pecked at again. Unfortunately, I was in such a state of panic that I couldn't even accomplish that small task. Like a spaz, I ended up throwing the food all over the car and a good portion of it landed in my lap. Survival mode kicked in, but since I was too afraid to roll up my window I instead lunged for Frank's lap. He saved me by rolling up my window, and the ostrich stood there pecking at my window in his attempt to further intimidate me. I was having flashbacks from the movie Jurassic Park. lol.

After I again humiliated myself I tried to convince Frank that he thought my "spazziness" was cute. I'm still going to count this as an accomplishment. Fake confidence is better than none, right? Enjoy the slideshow!

Rant or Rave?

I just got home from shopping at Target, and I had originally planned to blog about my baby girl, but instead I feel like I need to rant about my shopping experience - so you will have to wait until tomorrow to see darling pictures of Allison eating her first solid foods. Sorry! You can leave your complaints in the comment section. :)

I first have to preface this rant by saying that I have never found an ounce of enjoyment in doing grocery shopping, so me finding it unpleasant is not new. I also have an extreme aversion to Wal-mart, which is where Frank likes to shop. When I took over making the grocery runs I told him I could only do it if I was allowed to go to Target, because I love Target! I could spend hours wandering the isles just looking at the cute things. Unfortunately, though, even that has been tainted for me now.

There is a big difference between shopping for pleasure, and shopping with a baby - the two don't mix. The whole time I'm out with Allison all I can focus on is how long we have left until she needs to be at home for a nap. Don't get me wrong - she's a great happy baby, but even her limits can be pushed too far. I did that today.

My list was long, and while I'm grateful that I can shop for everything in one store, I found it difficult to find everything I needed without retracing my steps to find an item I'm missing. I still haven't found my groove there yet. I have a general idea where to find the bread, canned goods, and dairy products, but past that I'm strictly wandering. I find myself walking down the same isles over and over - passing the same stocker who I'm sure would ask me if I needed help if I didn't have such a mad/frustrated look on my face. Ok, so that part isn't so bad. I'll eventually get the lay of the land, right?

Enter: The hoverers. I don't mind sharing the isle with other people, but today I felt like I was being stalked. Have you ever been at the the grocery store and realize that you and a fellow shopper are on the same path? You find yourself bumping into them on every row until you eventually have to acknowledge them at least with a polite smile as if to say "oh, you again!". That happened to me today, but the lady stalking me would inevitably want to be standing in the exact spot that I had occupied. See, when this happens to me, I pretend to be looking at stuff on the shelf a little ways down to give the other shopper a chance to retreive whatever it is they are looking for. Then, once they are gone I swoop in and get my items. That sounds stupid when I write it out, but I really don't like to rush other people, or make them feel like they are in the way. Not this lady. She had no problem standing RIGHT NEXT TO ME. So I'd move over and mutter an apology for being in the way, and she'd move closer to me again! How about 'excuse me, I just need to reach for ___'?! I can handle that happening once, but this lady was everywhere.

I ran around the store for over and hour and I was still missing 4 items on my list because I was too busy running from the crazy lady with no personal space, but I gave up because at that point Allison had taken up fussing every time the shopping cart stopped moving. So I make my way to the check out lanes, and there are only 3 open. I choose the one with what appears to be the shortest line and wait patiently while rolling the cart back and forth to keep Ali from disturbing everyone. Just then I thought my luck was about to change - a new checker walks up and offers to take me first! But then she says this: "You're welcome to put your things on this check out lane, but I have to run to the bathroom to pee first, so if you don't mind waiting I'll help you when I get back. I promise I can pee really fast!" What??? When did Target start hiring people that I would have expected at Wal-Mart? Really, I didn't need an update on her personal 'business'. Needless to say I opted to stay in my previously chosen line since I didn't think it would be polite to ask her if she planned to wash her hands afterward.

The checker I got wasn't much more refined either. She was an older lady who was only enthusiastic about the gum she was chewing. She scanned my items at a snails pace while commenting on each thing I had chosen. I'm grateful that I didn't need any personal items on this trip, because that would have been very awkward small talk. By the end of the transaction Allison is really winding up for a big scene, but the checker has still not picked up on my sense of urgency and offers to let me save 10% on my purchase by applying for a credit card! I know it's part of their job, but come on!

Anyway, that is my rant for the day. Petty, yes - but I felt the need to say it anyway.

Wild One

I mentioned in a recent post that Allison has started rolling over, so I wanted to update you on her progress. She is now much more confident rolling her hips, so instead of the timid movements she displayed last week, she is now throwing her hips back and forth. She still hasn't figured out how to get over her left shoulder, so when she is on her stomach, she is also laying on her left arm. Yesterday I was watching her try to alleviate the problem by putting weight on her head so she could lift her shoulders - that was quite funny! She has the strength to use her arms, but she hasn't gotten the coordination down yet.

I've decided that personality comes with mobility, because Allison has been displaying some new behaviors since learning to roll. The most obvious one is that she will no longer sit still on her changing table. She used to lay there sweetly and talk to me while I fitted her with a new diaper, but now she has better things to do. The second her head hits the changing pad she throws her neck back, arches her back, and rolls her hips towards the wall! The first time she did this, I figured I could just realign her and go about my task, but NO. She was determined to be on her stomach. This kid has an iron will. The whole time I was working on her I had to hold her feet in the air with one hand, which is nothing new - but now she is kicking and squriming. Oh, but she's not just kicking and squirming...no, she is arching and pulling. If I could clone myself I'd take a picture and you'd see her on her table with only her head touching the pad, flailing in mid air while I hold her feet up! I lost my grip at one point and she stuck her foot right in to the poopy diaper - that was fun.

I have to admit that in the past I have left her on her changing table for a second because I had to run get the phone, or pick out her clothes, etc. Bad mom, I know. Those days are long gone, though. She's gaining her freedom, and I'm losing mine!

*(Sorry for the random picture - I didn't have a related one!)