Pumpkin Hunting with our Pumpkin

A few weeks ago we took Ally to the Apply Barn Orchard in Chatham to pick out her very own pumpkin. With the weather being as hot as it has been lately, we waited for a relatively cool day after Karl was done with work so it would actually feel like fall. Ally loved looking at all of the rows and rows of pumpkins. She carefully picked out a very round little one and we picked out two other medium sized ones to complete our pumpkin family. Not sure exactly what we are going to do with them but at least our patio looks somewhat festive.

First Birthday Photo Shoot

A few weeks ago we had Ally's pictures taken by my former intern, Kim and her husband. We loved how Ally's 6 month shots turned out so this time I wanted some outside. The weekend we had the pictures scheduled Ally ended up getting sick but we did them anyway. It turned into a very quick shoot at Happy Hollow park. There were some nice shots but we can also tell that she wasn't her smiley self (come to find out later, she actually had a fever of 103 while we were taking these). Overall we were happy with the ones we got and more pictures just makes it harder to chose the prints! Here are the best ones from the day:

Again, I highly recommend Kim Davis Photography. She is more than affordable and you get a ton of pictures to choose from. And yes, Ally's hair naturally looks like that! How she got so adorable we will never know.

Birthday Celebrations

Ally had a great birthday week full of presents, family and food! We started with a small get together at Grandma Sharon's a few days before Ally's birthday. It was a cupcake party complete with a cake made out of cupcakes, in the shape of a big cupcake. We ate BBQ and mac and cheese, then opened some presents. Ally was much more interested in climbing on the steps than anything else so she really wasn't in the party mood. We sang Happy Birthday and gave her a cupcake with pink frosting hoping to get a good reaction but instead she stick her hands in the frosting and freaked out. She hated it and wouldn't even put it near her mouth! Instead of cake she got a bath and the party was over.

On her actual birthday we invited Uncle Corey over for dinner and presents at our apartment. She got a fun singing Farmer Cookie Monster from Corey and a few toys and clothes from us. I sat her in my lap and gave her some cupcake off a fork and she enjoyed it much better. She loved playing with Corey and her new toys.

The next day we loaded up and headed to Oshkosh for a big party at Grandma Julie's. Everyone was really looking forward to seeing Ally and she had a great time. She decided not to nap much during the day so we feared that it would be a repeat of her first party but she was great. She played with everyone, opened TONS of presents, ate snacks, and even got the cake in her mouth on her own with no melt down. We took tons of pictures and some video of all of the parties so I have put together a little of everything. A big THANK YOU to all of our wonderful friends and family for making Allyson's 1st Birthday so special!

One Year Check Up

Yesterday Ally had her one year check-up and passed with flying colors. She measured at 21 lbs 5 ounces and 29.5 inches tall which puts her in the 97th percentile overall. We were really shocked to see that she only gained a pound and grew an inch in three months because she feels so much heavier and so much longer to us. This slow down in growth is completely normal for this point in her development and she will continue on this plateau for most of this year. Ally might be wearing the 12 month clothes and size 3 Huggies for a while longer as they fit just right. She got three shots and took them like a champ. One interesting thing is that we had to do a lead exposure questionnaire and we will have to take Ally to get a blood draw in the next few weeks to test her lead and hemoglobin levels. We had never heard of this but apparently its required in Illinois, even though we have only lived here a few months and answered no to all of the questions. I am not looking forward to taking her in for the blood draw, I can't even handle getting it done on myself let alone watching them do it on my baby.

We got the ok on our front facing car seat and the switch from formula to whole milk so those are exciting milestones. We need to work for more table foods and phasing out the bottles by our next visit in three months. We should also begin a routine of brushing her four little teeth. Two thumbs up for Ally and another great check up!

Year in Review

Ally's Favorite Activities:

Climbing

Waving

Reading books

Pulling items out/off of their place

Petting her dog

Visiting family

Drinking from a straw

Our Favorite of Ally's Activities:

Laughing

Smiling

Clapping when you say good job

Getting a big smile and a wave when you go in to get her in the morning

Productive nap times

Best Buys/Gifts:

Video baby monitor

Graco convertible products- we love both the travel system and high chair systems

Boppy pillow

Flip video camera

Pottery Barn blanket

Bouncy seat

Works in Progress:

Meal times- trying to work for more self feeding and to try to put more in her own mouth than she gives to the dog

Separation Anxiety- since she is with me all of the time, she is sometimes hesitant to go to Karl when she needs something. She is ok with others if she doesn't see me leave which is obviously very common at this age

Riding in Cars- she is great on long trips but anything shorter than a half hour is a disaster most of the time

Walking

Proudest accomplishment for myself in the first year: Sticking with nursing for six and a half months despite the stress and struggles

Biggest area for improvement in year 2: Better communication with Karl about the small things related to Ally and let him do things his way and I can do them mine, as long as they get done and she is happy

We are beyond lucky to have a very easy going, healthy and happy girl. My goals are to stress less about the small things and enjoy all the fun things that are ahead. Although I know she is "normal" and all kids go through some struggles I can't let a bad trip in the car, refusing her lunch, a day with no nap, waking up a time or two at night or any other minor one time problem ruin my day.