The new crawl

Alison created a new crawl yesterday. She's ready at all times to stand up and when she's moving she's trying to find something to climb up. She's even stood alone for a couple of seconds! We're so proud of her!

Please solve our debate!

Is this a cow or a hippo?
Please leave a comment with your vote

New words and tricks

Alison's favorite noise this week was making smacking noises with her lips. She also started waving "bye-bye" and will occasionally say "ba, ba" with it. Of course she never does it when we want her to, but it's still a step in the learning process. She went from sitting in her crib to standing and thought it was quite funny to throw her pacifier across the room, but it wasn't all laughs when she couldn't figure out how to lay back down to go to sleep. We've also run into a bit of a food challenge. Out with baby food, in with anything that's on our plates. I made pancakes this morning with formula and was very impressed with my creativity. But I was quickly defeated. As soon as she saw my plate of normal pancakes with syrup she wanted no part in the pieces of her pancake on the tray. So if anyone has any suggestions throw the advice my way.


Our biggest news this week is Alison welcomed her first cousin to the world today. Katherine Marie Chang was born this afternoon and is 6 lbs, 10 oz. 20.5 inches long. Both Beth and Kate are healthy and doing great! We can't wait to meet her!

Wow! She's really taken off!

I missed the perfect picture opportunity this morning. I was awaken by a sad cry, the cry Alison has when she's awake and doesn't want to be. I went in to get her and she was sitting in the corner of her bed holding onto the sides. She looked half asleep and confused how she got there. It was the first time she's sat up in bed and I had to laugh when she did it again at her morning nap. After lunch she crawled all over the house and went from laying to sitting to pulling up. Every time I've changed her diaper today she's rolled away. The baby who refused to roll is now impossible to catch and hold down to get a diaper on. It brings tears to my eyes how she's changed over night. Oh, I think I'm going to miss my little baby.

HURRAY ALISON!!!

Ben declared today the first day that Alison really crawled. Although it's still not the "orthodox" way to crawl, she gets across the house fairly quickly. They say things happen over night and I found that to be so true today. In a matter of hours Alison fell in love with crawling to us and pulling herself up into our laps. She also began pulling herself up in the bathtub which made me realize that bath time is now a two man job. The first thing she wants when we put her in the tub is a washcloth to put in her mouth and tonight as I was trying to wash her she climbed up me and tried to escape out of the tub. I was laughing so hard I could barely finish the bath.

New Website

So I started my own website. It's a content driven website designed for people interested in youth ministry and reformed theology. Sound like a niche market huh? While it will never be the next hot spot on the internet it does have resources for youth pastors (and an arcade). It's also a way for me to market web design for people needing an affordable website. Go take a look:

http://reformedyouthpastor.com

Happy Birthday to me!

I learned today that Alison thinks the "Happy Birthday" song is very funny, especially the end. Laughter can be the best present sometimes. Ben surprised me last night with a date out. He asked one of our friends to come over while Alison was in bed and we went out to dinner and a movie. We got free desert because our dinner was a little late getting to the table (we tried to tell them we didn't mind sitting and talking) and he let me pick what movie we went to see. I picked the only chick flick out right now and although it wasn't a very good movie, I enjoyed every minute of Ben sitting there next to me. I felt like we were in high school again.

First trip to the Zoo

Alison and I went with some other moms and their kiddos this morning to the zoo. Alison had a friend her same age but all of the other kids were old enough to appreciate the animals-Alison couldn't have cared less. She spent the entire time watching people which is one of her favorite things to do. I tried to get some pictures of Alison in her stroller and an animal in the background but every time the animal would move and Alison would start trying to eat the stroller (her top teeth are coming in so everything is a chew toy).

There's a camel somewhere in that background.
We had a lot of fun walking around the park and I fully appreciated Alison not crawling yet as I watched all of the other kids running around and their mom's chasing after them. Believe me, I know we'll be there some day, but it's nice to have some time when she just sits and watches. As we were leaving the park I noticed Alison got really quiet. I looked down and found this...I guess it's hard work looking at lots of kids.

We have proof

We went to physical therapy again this week and the therapist still feels like Alison isn't using her left side as much as she should. She asked us to video tape what we see at home and bring it to her on Monday. This is one time in Alison's life that fussing is getting her out of something. Since she's starts crying the moment we step into therapy it's not productive to go and we're told that she needs to "take a break". I'm pulling the parent card and saying we're done. I can say with confidence that Alison is developing normally and if you have any question about it you can watch this video and see her using her left hand wonderfully.

Dreams

Ben and I have always dreamed of having bikes and being able to take long rides at the park. Our dream was fulfilled this last week. We got two bikes and a trailer for Alison. Our good friends Kyle and Lydia also have bikes so we thought it would be fun to meet up with them for a ride. We learned several important lessons yesterday. First, it's not a good idea to go for a bike ride when the forecast calls for thunderstorms and second, it is a smart idea to see if your baby likes the trailer before going on a long ride. The minute we pulled into the park it started raining. We hung out in the car until it stopped and then we loaded up the bikes. Alison's trailer is enclosed so we knew it would be okay if it sprinkled some, but we weren't prepared for the thing to scare her to pieces. She screamed the whole way and every time we went over a bump she got louder. We had to stop at this lake to calm her down, but after a few minutes it started raining again. So we headed back to the car in the rain with a crying baby. I think we gave everyone we passed a good laugh. I still had a wonderful time-the park was beautiful and I got to see some great friends.

Not Hungry

So even though I don't feed Alison as often as Jen, it seems she is never hungry. In this video she is doing her typical food refusal. Mid way through it sounds like she says, "I'm full!". She can't talk, but when she wants her bottle when we're feeding her, she does say "ba ba".

We have movement!

Alison surprised me this morning my beginning to move forward! It made my life!