7 Months Old

Today is a big day for everyone- we close on our house, my last day at work, Ally's last day at day care and she turns 7 months. She is at a really fun age and is working towards two major milestones: crawling and teeth. She is so close to crawling on all fours! Right now she moves backwards really well but isn't so sure about going forwards. She has a little trouble getting on all fours from the sitting position because her one leg just doesn't seem to want to get out of the way, but once she gets to her tummy she wiggles in all directions. She moves quick too and likes to make her move towards tables, book, dog treats, cords, electronics and anything else she can get her hands on. She is grabbing things like she wants to pull herself up but she just cant quite figure that one out yet. It wont be long. We already have made plans to baby-proof the apartment by lowering her crib mattress and removing the coffee table.

As of this morning it looks like her lower right tooth is starting to pop through. Of course she sticks her tongue out every time I want to look but there is definitely something there you can feel. She has been a little congested and extra hungry all week so we think it all ties together. She constantly is putting things in her mouth and drooling like crazy but she has been fairly happy through it all.

Ally still is a wonderful eater and sleeper. She is moving on to the second foods and some of the mixtures like apple/cherry and sweet potato/corn. She also enjoys cheerios, strawberry yogurt melts and banana puffs. We give her tastes of other foods like ice cream, frosting, mashed potatoes, breads from our plates too. She is very advanced when it comes to eating and does very well grabbing the small pieces and putting them in her mouth. She can grab off her tray or from your hand and as long as she keeps it in her finger tips, she can land it in her mouth. Ella certainly doesn't mind the ones she drops!

We are really looking forward to warmer weather and all the cute summer clothes she has. She has some 9 month summer dresses that fit but she can also still wear 6 months onesies and 6-9 month shirts, shorts and pants. We have moved onto the size 3 huggies this week so she needs some more room in those bottoms!

With all the craziness of packing and moving, I didn't get a ton of pictures this month but here are some to enjoy.

Moving Day

Well... we are officially out of our house in West Lafayette. The truck arrived at 8:30am yesterday and was completely loaded and gone by 11:30am. It then arrived at our apartment in Chatham (suburb of Springfield) at 9am this morning and was unloaded by noon. The house still needs some cleaning and we have a few minor things to pick up before we leave this weekend but its almost totally empty. It looks so dirty and sad right now! With some major help from Karl's parents and my dad, we were able to get everything boxed, things taken to storage here in town and staged to be loaded in the truck on time. The storage we have here is packed full with furniture from our spare bedroom, winter clothes, lawn care items, pictures, shelves, etc... and we made a sizable donation to Good Will of various items.

Ally, Ella and I are spending this week at Henry and Sharon's. Friday will be my last day at work and Ally's last day at day care. We also close on the house Friday morning and surrender our keys to the new guy. The good byes have started and its sad but its also exciting to move on to something new. Stressful but exciting! We will be in town for a little going away party Saturday night then we will load up the rest of our stuff into our two cars and head for IL on Sunday.

Below is a photo of our giant trash pile that was put out today. YUCK! The before and after photos of the house are soon to come too. I would add it to this post but its on my digital camera and surprise, the cable to upload to the computer went to Springfield! Hey- if that's the only thing I'm missing this week, I think I did a pretty good job packing.

A Serious Effort Towards Crawling

Last Week in the House

This weekend was very busy with working a ton of events and trying to pack up our life. The moving truck will be at our house a week from today and there is still so much to do. Its sort of sad when I think that this is the last week in our first house, I love it so much and would pick it up and move the whole thing if I could! The house was our first investment and our first leap of faith since we purchased it when neither of us had solid careers. Since we bought the house in June of 2006 I got a job, we got Ella, Karl started and finished grad school, Karl got and later quit a job at St. Elizabeth, we added a deck and professional landscaping, we had Allyson and Karl got a new job at St. John's in Springfield. We don't close on the house until next Friday, the 30th but because of the moving truck availability and Karl's schedule we have to get it all cleaned out on Monday. Ally, Ella and I will be staying with Grandma Sharon, Grandpa Henry and Bob next week while I finish up at work. In retrospect, agreeing to stay until the end of April was way too nice of me because last weekend and this weekend are full of every event possible! Working has left little time for packing but we will make it work. I'm thinking about creating a little photo tribute to our house but I just don't have the time for that either. Instead, enjoy these photos of Ally from the Spring Football game on Saturday. This was her first football event and she seemed mesmerized for the first few minutes then slept through the rest! I was busy working so daddy and Grandpa Joel kept her entertained on campus all day. The weather was cool but sunny so she got to tailgate, sit in the expensive club seats, walk around spring fest and see a little baseball.

6 Month Photo Shoot

To commemorate Allyson's half birthday, we wanted to get nice professional photos done. We tried the JC Penny's pictures when she was first born and that was a less than ideal situation so I was looking for a private photographer this time. I have a few friends that have done the in-home pictures and they always look so great so I set out to find a person in the area and landed on one of my former interns! Kim was one of our graphic designers a few years ago and she now has a side photography business with her husband while she is in grad school. Kim and Brandon came over to the house last Saturday and took pictures of Ally for an hour and a half! She was fairly cooperative and Ella was very interested in what was going on. Between the two cameras they got a ton of great shots and I have no idea how we are going to decide which prints to get! We did some of just Ally alone, some with Ella and some family shots as well. Here are a few of my favorites:

To view the album of all the edited shots click here and enjoy!
There are also some on Kim's website Kim Davis Photography. They do a great job, I highly recommend them for all your photo needs. And yes, they do travel!

Springfield Update

Our house is officially sold and we are waiting for the closing on April 30. Karl is still commuting and working from home two days per week but that will end on May 3 so this week Allyson and I went with Karl to Springfield to get to know the area better and try to find a place to live. We looked at a townhouse, an apartment and a duplex and decided that the 2 bedroom, 2 bath newly renovated apartment fit our needs best for the short term. We will be signing a 6 month lease and the moving truck will be loaded from our house on April 26. Obviously we wont be able to fit everything from our house in this small apartment so we will still keep a few things in storage here in Lafayette until we get into a house.

While Karl was at work, Ally and I had a chance to drive around the area and check things out. We walked around the downtown area on Tuesday and checked out some of the local shops, state capitol, and various Lincoln historical sites. We enjoyed a traditional Springfield horse shoe for dinner at D'Arcys Pint (as seen on Man vs. Food) then took Ally for her first dip in the pool back at the hotel. Wednesday it was raining so we ventured out to the mall and had dinner with another couple our age. Karl randomly met a class mate from high school that also works at the hospital so we were able to meet her and her husband. Thursday we had lunch at the hospital with Karl then drove around town to check out Lake Springfield and did some more shopping. We also stopped at Barnes and Noble to read a few books and play a little before getting back in the car. Ally was really great the whole time, she napped while we were in the car and seemed to enjoy taking in the sites from her stroller. Its tough to sleep in the same room with her since we aren't used to it, but she slept well at night and was pretty happy most of the time.

On our way back home last night we were able to stop in Bloomington to have dinner with Corey and his girlfriend Jen. Ally was excited to see Uncle Corey! We are a few steps closer to our big move but there is still a lot of things to be done in a short amount of time.

Taking in the historical sites












Horseshoe= texas toast + meat of choice+ fries+ cheese sauce
These were half size pony shoes











Ally's first swim









Visiting daddy in his new office and reading books at Barnes and Noble

Hoppy Easter

I tried all week to get Ally to the mall for a photo with the Easter Bunny but my work schedule and the events during the week just didn't work out. With Karl here on Friday, we made it in to see the bunny right before they closed. She was so happy and didn't mind the scary looking bunny at all!

I had to work all weekend at baseball but Ally had a fun first Easter at home. She started the morning with some play time with Ella on our bed. It was so cute and we have video to post as proof that they are now friends! We then moved into the living room where she found a basket full of goodies including a stuffed bunny, a new toy to hang from her stroller, a sippy cup to try, yogurt melts, a summer hat, plastic eggs and a card from mom and dad. She was definitely most interested in the handle to the basket and the packaging to the melts than anything else. Obviously she hadn't had breakfast yet since everything she touched went directly into her mouth. I went to work and Karl spent some time with her at home before coming to visit at baseball. The weather was beautiful! They headed over to the Albrecht's for some play time with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Sue, Jill and Bob and I made it there just in time for dinner. We took a walk when we got home and wrapped up the evening with some play time on the floor before bed. Ally seemed to enjoy the festivities of the day and slept great last night. She decided to now sleep on her tummy so Karl and I were nervous about it and kept checking on her all night but she seemed to love it! Here are some pictures from the day:

6 Month Check Up

Today Allyson had her 6th month appointment and last visit with Dr. Ho. She checked out great! A little bit of fluid in her ears still but that sort of seems to be the norm with her. No antibiotics right now but he wrote a script for us to have just in case it develops into something more while we are in the midst of our move. She had to get 4 shots today and she was more unhappy than we have ever seen her. She screamed and cried all the way out the door and all the way to day care....poor baby :( Normally it would have just been the same 3 shots she has been getting but now that she is 6 months she also had to get an H1N1 vaccination. We feel so bad for her but its for her own good. At least now she is finished with shots until she is a year old!

She weighed in at 16 lbs, 12.5 ounces (50th percent) and is 25.25 inches long (25th percent). Her weight gain has started to slow down and she is getting taller/longer so she is working across the growth chart just perfectly. That's what we like to hear! Now to find a new pediatrician in Springfield that can come close to being as wonderful as Dr. Ho....