Alaina's getting closer!

Yesterday, Alaina finally took some steps. I say finally because Paige walked at 11 and 1/2 months, and I thought since Alaina crawled at 5 and 1/2 months, she for sure would walk by a year. Don't get me wrong, I have been perfectly content having her crawl. I'm just really excited that she is showing signs that walking will happen. She took (the most at any given time) 8 steps yesterday. She consistently gets 5 steps. She still prefers to crawl, but if you stand her up and sit a few feet away, she will walk to you. I did get some video, but haven't taken it off the camera, yet. More to come. . .

Worm!

It's been rainy here for the past couple days. As I was unloading groceries from the car, I saw that there was a little worm in the garage. I thought Paige would like to see and possible hold it, so I picked it up and brought it inside. She was fascinated! She even wanted to hold it and told me it tickled. I was very proud of her for being brave.
It really was a tiny little thing, but very active.

The girls all watching out the window.

Must be interesting!

Nathan's Famous Franks

Those of you who know me well, know that I LOVE hotdogs. Any kind of dog really. . .corndog, chili-dog, pigs-in-a-blanket, etc. Well, I have found my one true (hotdog) love. Nathan's Famous Franks!!!! They are fabulous, all beef, juicy, longer than the bun, pure deliciousness. I must say they are a bit more spendy, than the regular, throw all the extras in casings, hotdogs, but totally worth it, in my opinion. I don't even feel bad feeding them to my kids. . .they are all beef, you know! Now that it's grilling season, they are a must have and I wanted to share my new favorite with you! I hope you enjoy!

Pizza Ranch

We always pass Pizza Ranch on our way to and from church. Paige knows exactly where it is and always wants to go. Today on the way home was no different and it was 10:30am mind you.

P: "I want to go to Pizza Ranch."
(Her Daddy and I try to ignore the statement)
P: More adamently, "I want to go to Pizza Ranch!"
M: "Oh Paige, we aren't going to PR."
(Insert fussing and whining.)
P: "I don't want a cookie."
M: "What?!" (There was no mention of cookies prior to this.)
P: "I don't want a cookie!"
M: "What do you want?"
P: "I want to go to Pizza Ranch. . . .I'm hungry!"

We did NOT go to Pizza Ranch, we came home. The girl does like her pizza.

Happy 4th Birthday Casey!

I know, I know, I'm about to post our dog. Casey's 4th birthday is today. I'd like to say we are going to do something special for her, like make her a doggy cake or something equally obnoxious. Nope, all she gets is Happy Birthday sung to her by Paige and myself, which I'm sure was a beautiful rendition. Casey has been a wonderful pet to our family. She still is a little skittish around over friendly kids, but has come a long way toward loving my girls. And her poor underbite makes her all the more endearing. I hope we have many more years to spend with her.

Flash Portraits

We had the girls' pictures taken at Flash Portraits last week. If you would like to see them click here. Apparently, our last name is spelled saflly and the password is girls. Happy viewing!

Supper Conversation

Last night at supper. . .
P: "Look Mom, a bird." (pointing outside)
M: "You're right!"
P: "It's a Honk Honk bird!" (Mark and I laughing) "A Honk Honk Bird, Mommy"
M: "Really."
P: "Yep. . .it goes 'honk, honk'"


I think she forgot the name. . .Goose, and it was really a robin. Details, shmetails, it was just too cute.

It's a bird, It's a plane, It's a. . .

High flying Shark Kite!

Paigey flying the kite all by herself!

More interested in mowing the park.

It did get up in the air, after many tries.

Daddy, Papa, and Paige working on getting the Shark flying.

I think we are calling it quits.

Paige was equally excited to see a real plane fly overhead.

This is the best picture we got of Nana and the girls. (And I cut off her head.)

The United Tour Concert

Last fall Mark took me to a Michael W. Smith/Steven Curtis Chapman Concert in Waukegan. When we found out they were adding another tour and stopping in Peoria, we called my parents, who are huge MWS/SCC fans to see if they would want to go with us. The tickets were only$18, so it was very reasonable and we decided to go for it. Once again the concert was amazing. Their messages are so full of hope and their love of Christ flows abundantly. It is such a worshipful experience.

Mark, Melanie, Sue (Nana), and Russ (Papa) just waiting for it to start. I also have a confession. I'm one of those people who buys the cheap seats, then looks for a place closer to move to. We started out in the nose bleeds facing center stage, but saw that there was a whole section just up from the floor where all the seats were empty. Thirty minutes in, those seats were still empty, so we moved and had an awesome view of the concert.

Sorry the pics are little blurry, it was very dark and we forgot our good camera.

Steven Curtis Chapman

On stage from the left: Caleb Chapman, Geoff Moore (from Geoff Moore and the Distance), MWS, and SCC

Easter

We were going to kick off Easter weekend by going to the park for an Eggstravaganza. It was advertised that there were going to be 10,000 eggs, face painting, bounce houses, music and other things for kids to do. We thought that they were going to have the egg hunt at 2 because it was advertised from 2-4pm. We got there at about 1:45 and left at 2:15. There were like 10,000 people there and the hunt wasn't going to start until 3pm. The lines were ridiculously long to any of the activities. Paige did get to decorate a tile, which you see pictured. They had the eggs fenced off by age group with about a 5 foot wide entrance into each age groups area. We thought by the time the last kid gets in the gate, there aren't going to be any eggs for them. We booked it out of there. I felt bad for Paige, but we told her we would have her find some eggs at home. It was much more fun! At least we know not to do that again.

I just love Paige's smile in this picture.

Sisterly fun!

Paige and Alaina are starting to play together. It's so fun to watch them interact with each other.
Paige can be such a loving big sister. Then, there are times when she doesn't want Alaina to play with her toys, or she takes whatever Alaina is playing with. They are learning.

Daddy and the girls playing in the tent.

All ready for church!

Daddy and his girls! We gave the girls a bath while Mark and I were getting ready. Mark came into the bathroom all dressed and Paige proclaimed, "Daddy, you look beautiful! You look beautiful, daddy!" I think that has to be the best compliment ever!
Austin, Ellie, Aubrey, Hannah, Paige, Abby, Cameron, and Alaina at church.

Paige having her first Cadbury Egg. Yummmy!

The girls got a carrot bowling set. They had fun playing with it.

"Uh Oh!"

Yesterday, at church, we kept Alaina in the service with us because she was tired and I thought maybe she would sleep. No dice! Shortly after the service started there were a couple baptisms. Alaina was just babbling, but getting pretty noisy, so I dug around the daiper bag and pulled out a couple small containers of play dough. I gave her the containers and she was content to play with them, until she dropped one. She leaned over my lap and said, "Uh Oh, uh uh oh." Mark and I were chuckling. She kept looking for it (it had rolled up a couple rows) and proclaiming, "Uh Oh!" She had just started using this phrase this last week. I wasn't sure she really knew what she was saying. Yesterday, before church, when I was getting her dressed, she dropped the hanger she was playing with and plain as day said, "Uh oh!" We really did think it was a fluke at that point. Not now, she definitely uses it in context. And it is way cute!

The Wheel's On The Bus. . .

Lately, Paige has had an obsession with buses. We see lots of them when we go pick her Daddy up from work. Today, she saw one while we were out running errands, so I thought it would be fun for her to ride the bus home with Daddy. I dropped her off at the hospital and they rode the bus to North Liberty together. She got to bring along a bag of jelly beans to share with Daddy. I think she had a good time. One the way home I asked her what color the bus was. She said, "Balue" (which she says is the color for every bus she sees so good thing he rides a blue bus. She then told me, "The school bus name is Balue. Yep!" (And all buses are school buses.) Thanks Daddy for taking her on a fun outing!

Alaina waves!

Alaina waved for the first time tonight. Daddy was carrying her up the stairs and she started waving. . . .at Casey! Go figure, the dog would get the first wave.

Happy 1st Birthday Alaina Kate!

Alaina Kate April 5, 2008

Alaina Kate, April 5, 2009. She had to have more cake on her birthday. Yellow with chocolate frosting this time. I think she is excited.
She is such a delight.

She once again devoured her cake and loved every minute of it.

"I'll take milk with that!"

My happy girl!! We had to take a bath after that.

Alaina and Auntie having lots of fun.

Paige gave Alaina this fish bowl. It comes with 3 fish that rattle and when you put them in the bowl it makes sounds. Paigey was even helping Alaina play with it. She's a great sister.

Alaina opening her gift from Mommy and Daddy.

We gave her a Little People Zoo with animals from A to Z.

Happy 1st birthday Alaina,

You are a precious, precious gift from God. It's so amazing to watch you grow up. You have a contagious smile that truly lights up your face. We've had our ups and downs, but are finally figuring each other out. You are a very good sleeper. . .13 hours at night and you still take two naps a day. You don't walk yet, but are starting to want to take small steps to Mommy. It's fun to watch you play and you love to climb. You climb on top of the teeter totter, the picnic table, and anything else we put in the path to block you from the steps. And when you finally make it to them, you squeal in delight as you climb them as fast as you can. You are a Mommy's girl and we know you are tired when you snuggle in, suck your two middle finger of your right hand, then stick your left hand down mommy's shirt. You love the feel of skin when you are tired. In your crib you rub your neck or tummy with your left and and suck your fingers of the right to fall asleep. You love to watch Casey and Paigey and don't seem to mind when Paige carries you around. I love you sweet girl!

Alaina's 1 year stats:

Height: 28 and 3/4 inches = 50%ile

Weight: 16.5 lbs = 3%ile (yes, you are a peanut)