Thanksgiving, Santa, and More!

We had a great Thanksgiving with Timothy's parents! Alexis got to eat some turkey, sweet potatoes, and a roll. I also buckled and gave her a small bit of pumpkin pie. On Friday, after the doctor's appointment, we went to the mall with Timothy's parents to see Santa. She did great and took about five good pictures before she started crying. Here are a couple of pictures with Santa.

Alexis also really took to walking yesterday and today. I stood her on the ground near a toy and she just took off. It was amazing to see. We love to watch her toddle along. In addition to walking, Alexis has become a big girl in one more way. She parted with her pacificer this week. It's been a bit rough, but we'd rather deal with a few tears now instead of fighting with her later on. We will be weaning her from bottles starting at the end of December.

We've posted more photos on Alexis' photo site today. So check them out!

Check Up

We took Alexis to her 9 month check up today; she will be 10 months on Tuesday. She weighs 19 lbs 8.5 oz which is between the 25th and 50th percentile for her age; so she gained about 2.5 lbs in the last three months. I'm surprised she didn't gain more. She loves to eat! She was 30 1/4 inches tall (in the 95th to 97th percentile for her age) and had a head circumference of 44 cm (in the 25th to 50th percentile for her age). She's getting so big now! She also had to receive four shots one of which was a dosage of her flu shot. Alexis was none too happy with the shots!

The doctor was very impressed with her development. She took her first independent steps around 8 months and she's getting much better at walking lately. She still prefers to use furniture or people for support but the doctor said that's just a mental block that she'll lose soon. She can also point which is so adorable and she learned to put items into containers this week which is advanced for her age.

We had a great time celebrating Thanksgiving yesterday with Timothy's parents and we will be visiting the mall to see Santa this afternoon once naptime is over! We'll post her pictures with Santa tonight. We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Photo Session

Yesterday afternoon, Tim, Alexis, and I went to have our first family potraits taken professionally. We did holiday backgrounds mainly. First were the pictures of us together. Alexis did great and had some cute smiles for the photographer. Then, we did some of just Tim and Alexis and just me and Alexis. These also went well. After the group pictures, the photographer decided to try to get some of Alexis by herself. I immediately imagined Alexis crawling away towards all of the cords that she could chew on. The photographer got out a white wicker bench and put Alexis and a Christmas teddy bear on it. She wanted Alexis on one end and the bear of the other. Yeah right! Alexis just wanted to play with the bear. However, Tim stood behind her and helped to keep her sitting up and we got a couple of cute shots. Then, the photographer decided to put Alexis on the ground with fake milk and cookies as props. She wanted them behind her back. Again I thought "Yeah right!" Alexis of course started to steal the milk and cookies. We got cute shots of her playing with the cookies, but none of her actually looking at the camera. After a few minutes of futility, we put Alexis on a small wooden bench and got a couple of cute shots. Then, we had to call it a day. She was fading fast. All in all, we got some adorable pictures and as soon as they come in, we will be sending them out! I've posted a picture that we didn't have printed as a sneak peak! Happy holidays!

Babies are funny!

Alexis' personality has really been developing recently. She has started throwing tantrums, getting rhythm, and accomplishing new tasks daily. Monday night, Alexis and I were having dinner at Tim's parents' house. I gave Alexis her sippy cup during dinner, and she proceeded to bang it on the table. When I told her, "no," she started crying and threw the cup on the ground. David and Jackie told me that she was acting just like Tim when he was her age. It's good to know that she doesn't get it from me :)

Here is a picture of her crying because I wouldn't let her get into a cabinet. How dare we stop her from doing something dangerous!! I've read that crying when told no is developmentally appropriate, so I guess we're doing something right :)

Alexis has also learned about shaking and banging to make noise. She will bang anything including her head to make noise. Last night, she was playing with her Leapfrog maraca when she accidentally hit herself in the head. We both started laughing. So then she decided to try tapping me with the maraca. This was evidentally even more hilarious as evidenced by her hysterical laughter. Now, she loves to get the maraca close to my face and watch my reaction.

In addition to her new discoveries, Alexis has been making some developmental leaps. Last night, I saw her stand up all by herself without the help of something to pull up on. This was immediately followed by a flop on the bottom. I was amazed nonetheless! Also, Alexis has learned how to wave. She will wave hi to everyone and everything including me and Tim, the dog, and the baby in the mirror (don't tell her that it's her. I don't think she's figured it out yet). And, Alexis and I are learning the fundamentals of playing ball. I roll the ball to her and she somehow smacks, kicks, or brushes it back. It is too cute!

We love each and every day with Alexis even the ones when she's cranky! It's amazing how much she changes from week to week!

Busy weekend!

Our first major holiday has come and gone. We had a great time taking Alexis out trick-or-treating. She dressed up as a spider and was so adorable. We went out to a neighborhood that is very busy with trick-or-treaters and we even went to a little haunted house. Alexis was not scared at all! We are already excited about next year when it will be even more fun for her. Here's Alexis on Halloween.

On Saturday, Alexis and I went to Orlando to attend Niki's bridal shower. We had an awesome time and Alexis stole the show. Sorry, Niki :) After returning from the shower and Alexis having a nap, Tim surprised us with tickets to the county fair that night. Alexis got to see a pony and all the fun of the fair. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to ride any rides. Daddy did win her a stuffed tiger.

All in all, we had a wonderful weekend. It's hard to believe that Alexis is 9 months old today. Also, I've uploaded additional pictures on Alexis' photo site. Check them out!