Thanksgiving festivities...

We spent Thanksgiving at Grandma & Papas with the Swansons & the Grubbas. We had a great time, though we missed Uncle Jeremy & Auntie Lindsay!!!!

The fabulous Abbey Montana!

Abbey & Alana

Abusing Melmo...

Elmo had QUITE the night with Grandma, Papa, Aunt Linda & Uncle Roland....I guess this is what happens when you go to bed and leave a talking Elmo alone...

Crazy girl!

Hopefully you can see the trail of terror behind Alana. I worked from home on Wednesday, and she was in quite the high spirits. She must have known it was almost Thanksgiving! She pulled out pretty much every toy and laughed hysterically. As usual, the only way I was able to do laundry was with her "assistance."

Just a few more bday party pics!

A few more bday pics

Here she is on the morning of her birthday! She actually slept in, so we were able to do some decorating before her big day. She was mesmerized by the happy bday banner!

Ready to "unwrap" her kitchen with Dad. We thought pulling a blanket off would be easier than wrapping paper!

Alana's "smash" cake--Melmo!

She tolerated the crown for about 2 seconds!

Birthday girl!

Alana's first bday was a success! She had a blast at her birthday party last Saturday. She particularly loved opening presents and, as you will see below, absolutely loved cake! I think we have a choc-o-holic on our hands! She started the morning getting a brand new kitchen set. She mostly throws everything on it around, but seems to love it. She received tons of fun gifts, including some GREAT new clothes. She especially loved her "Melmo" doll from Grandma & Papa.

At 1 year, our baby is now pretty much a full time walker. She has 2 teeth, and it looks like her 2 top teeth will be busting through any day now! At her one year check up, she was 29.5 inches and almost 21 lbs! Apparently she is between the 50th and 75th percentile for height. She must have gotten that from her Dad! She is quite the squealer and a little chatter box. She is trying to sound out more & more words..I feel like she is going to be quite the talker!

Almost 1!!!

I can't believe that Alana is turning 1 on Saturday! Wow, time really does fly. Alana is walking more & more everyday. She is probably about a 70% walker, 30% crawler. She is still so proud of herself when she walks, and loves to clap when she gets to her destination. There is never a dull moment with this child! She loves to laugh and loves it even more when she makes us laugh. She plays with everything and still loves her Pooh Bears. Her new love is "Melmo" (Elmo)....I hear she might be getting her very own Melmo doll for her bday. I can only imagine the fun and excitement this year will bring!!!

Big Mouth Baby!

Alana continues to be quite the loud mouth baby girl! Here are some pics of her laughing hysterically the other night. She was jumping up and down on her knees, tackling the pillows and screaming and laughing hysterically at the top of her lungs. Erik and I were dying of laughter, which, of course, only made her even more hilarious. Quite the character she is becoming!!!

A Few Halloween Leftovers...

Here are a few pics I did not post from the pre-Halloween festivities! Here is Alana with the pumpkin that Grandma carved for her...note the mouth says "Alana"! The pic below is from a Halloween event we went to on Damen with a petting zoo....Fun times!

More Halloween fun!

After our party at Bubbles Academy, we went and visited Dad at work. It was such a beautiful night, we spent it sitting outside on the stairs waiting for trick or treaters. Alana did some trick or treating of her own up and down the block. Poor girl did not get her candy, though! Auntie Alicia then came over and we grown-ups watched Prom Night 2008 (NOT very good).

Our little chickadee

Alana seemed to LOVE halloween. She was surprisingly compliant with her chubby chicken and her costume was pretty hilarious. We went to a Halloween party at Bubbles Academy with Liz and John Stucker. The kids seemed to have a great time and particularly loved the cookie decorating. We wisely skipped the painting session and spent a chunk of the time in the music room where they played. I never thought was going to fit through this tube in her chicken outfit!