One year old

You know it's true what they say...time flies! It seems so hard to believe that a year ago we were snuggling with a little helpless baby who could do nothing for herself and functioning on very little sleep. Oh how much can change in a year. While Alyssa still needs us for a lot she is becoming much more independent - walking on her own, feeding herself, playing independently, etc. We can even tell her "Go get your jacket" and she'll get it and bring it out to put on. It's amazing how fast they fast grow up.

We celebrated Alyssa's first birthday with all of her grandparents and Auntie Stacy and Ryan. The day got off to a normal start - breakfast, playing, nap, lunch, park, rest, and then party. Alyssa was a little off for her birthday as she wasn't real sure about Nana and Grandpap and she really didn't like being left alone in a room with them or even worse put in a high chair near them. But once the party began, she loved being the center of attention. And let me just say, she sure is spoiled. She got so many different toys from all her Aunts and Uncle and Grandparents. She wasn't quite sure what to make of it all. And I think she would get a little upset because we had to keep her "moving" on opening the gifts to get them all opened and all she wanted to do was play with her new things. Some of her new favorites: lego blocks, sit 'n spin, a drum, ball popper, trucks, xylophone, a phone, snow boots, and shoes. I'm afraid the shoes may have been some of her favorite (Aaron is fearing that we may have a shoe lover on our hands.)


After gifts a quick nap, we all enjoyed a "cookout" dinner and then it was time for cake. Alyssa was quite confused at first by her cupcake and a little upset that the icing stuck to her fingers but then she LOVED all the sugar. She even shared some with Aaron and I (she's so generous to shove cake & icing covered hands into our face!). And then finally she was able to play with all her new toys.


Grandpap Fleming made Alyssa a toybox, brought it in his suitcase, and he & Aaron assembled it for her too. So we're trying to teach Alyssa to put her toys back in there - slowly but surely, depends on her mood.
Alyssa had her one year check up about a week ago. She weighed in at 23 lbs, 5 oz (82nd percentile) and 31 inches long (96th percentile). The doctor thought she looked really good other than some fluid in her right ear which also showed diminished hearing. So we're following up this week with an ear, nose & throat doctor. I guess she has me to thank for any ear issues, we'll see how the appointment goes later this week. He wants us to try to switch to whole milk with her and also get her off the bottle over the next few months. We'll see how that goes. At this point, she just spits the milk back out after she drinks it from her sippy cup.While at the doctor's, she got 5 shots - yes, 5! Chicken pox, MMR, Hepatitis A, seasonal flu & H1N1. Poor little thing. She sure is a strong little bugger, writhing to get away from that mean nurse. They also had to do a blood test for lead and hemoglobin, which meant taking blood from her finger. It was a rough day. We're not sure if all this caused her to not sleep quite as well , loser her appetite, and have a rash on her tummy & back during the past week, but thankfully she seems to be doing a little better. Now she's got a cold. But over all, we're so thankful for a healthy kid.

Grandma Menke treated Alyssa to one-year portraits at Flash Photography this past weekend. Despite Alyssa not quite being herself (see above paragraph), there were still some cute photos. We look forward to sharing all of those with you soon.And a few other little fun things about Alyssa...she's quite the music lover. She loves to make all her toys play music and her eyes light up if you put one of her CDs on, she claps her hands, and she'll even sway/dance. She does this in church also during hymns, she perks up for the music. She continues to enjoy reading and is even starting to let us read some of the words on the page before she turns it. She's now shaking her head no, raising her hands when something falls or is all done, and making a surprised face. Her little expressions just make us laugh; we wonder where she picks them up.


Aaron & I are both doing well. He's busier than ever at work, and I'm trying to plug away at my dissertation while continuining with the job search. I've had two phone interviews and we're hoping that in the coming weeks I'll have a few more. We'll keep ya'll posted.

Thanks to everyone who sent cards, texts, e-mails and just wished Alyssa a happy birthday. We wish she could see you all more. We miss you!

Cock-a-doodle-doo (or trick-or-treat)

Alyssa celebrated her first Halloween this weekend, and thanks to Aunt Dena, she made the cutest little rooster/chicken ever. She started her outing by visiting daycare and two of the neighbors who were outside. Because we told him that she didn't need any candy, the one neighbor gave her the change out of his pocket - 29 cents. We then traveled to Auntie Stacy's where her basket was filled with bananas, and finally we made our way to Jordan where we made a few stops at Great Aunt and Uncles' houses before arriving at Grandma & Grandpa's. Her special treat there were some Gerber puffs - a real favorite! All in all, it was quite the first Halloween outing. We wish you all could have seen her in her costume. Sending big hugs to all of you!