Smart Cookie

OK…so, this may not be amazing to some of you...I am not entirely unaware of the phenomenon known as "my baby is an amazing genius" aka "parent pride".....but Matt and I were in utter disbelief when the following scenario occurred. First...here is some quick background info…..I just bought the Wii Fit (a gift from my mom for my 30th - it's a little early but I was never taught patience when I was little! HA!) and it came with 4 additional “feet” to put on the bottom of the board in case you have a thick carpet. They are these little, round plastic discs. Anyway, Alida liked them so much that she decided to take them and put them in the playroom and add them to her toy collection (along with the cinnamon from the spice rack and the Pam Spray from the pantry!!). I found them two nights ago but couldn’t find the fourth one to complete the set. I placed the three that I found in the living room….Alida discovered them again the other night and brought them to me as I was relaxing on the couch watching TV with Matt. This is what happened next:

“Onny mama monmon nah bop.” (Alida hands the three discs to me)
“Thank you Alida. There’s one more and mommy can’t find it. Can you go into your playroom and find it for mommy?” (Me)
“Unh– huhh.” (Alida)
She proceeds to go into her playroom as Matt and I stay in the living room.
“There’s no way she’s going to find it and bring it to you.” (Matt)
“I know…I’m just playing around.” (Me)
Alida re-enters the room with the fourth disc in hand. Looks of disbelief appear on the faces of mommy and daddy.
“Did that just happen?” (Me)
“I think it did…” (Matt)
“I feel like I should call someone to tell them what just happened.” (Me)
“Go ahead….call your mom” (Matt)

This was one of the craziest things that Alida has done. How the heck did she understand what I was saying?! And how the heck did she know where that disc was amongst all her other toys when I couldn’t find it for the life of me!!!!!! OMG!!

Smile for the camera!!

When asked to "smile" for the camera these are the expressions that I got! At least she was trying!!!! HAHA!!

Purses Galore

Alida might just be a girly girl after all! Look out Daddy!! If you are wondering what's around her neck in the one pic it's a furry headband from a Halloween costume...for some reason she likes to wear it around her neck!

Introducing the next American Idol....

Alida LOVES to sing (and dance)! It is the cutest thing. Often times when we take walks or when we are driving in the car you will hear this little hum in all different pitches coming from her. She tends to like the higher pitches the best and sometimes the song ends with her little screams…which Daddy is not too fond of. HA! Alida will also sing when asked….well, usually! Her current favorites are: Itsy Bitsy Spider – where she puts her hands in the air simulating the spider crawling up the web, You are my Sunshine, If you’re happy and you know it – where she stomps her left foot and claps her hands on command, and Jesus loves the little children. She may just take after her mother and perform a wonderful rendition of “God Bless America” at the top of her lungs while standing on a dining room chair during a family get together someday!! :-) Let’s just hope she doesn’t get her father’s tone deafness!!!

BEDTIME??

The dreaded "I don't wanna go to bed" stage is fast approaching. The past few nights Alida has been difficult to put down. She is like the Energizer Bunny when it comes to bedtime. It's hard to know when it's really time for her to go down...she's so happy and plays so nicely! We keep trying for the 7:30 or 8:00 bedtime but the way things are ending up these past few nights we are lucky to get her down by 10 or 10:30!!! We are hoping this is a phase! It has to be!! How can anyone get anything accomplished with a one year old running around?? Did you ever try to clean a toilet with your baby at your heels? It ain't happenin'!

10 of Alida's favorite things...

The following is a short but descriptive list of Alida's top 10 favorite things (order is completely random):

1. Shoes....wearing them, carrying them and taking them off. Again and again and again....

2. Blowing raspberries on mommy's belly.....she is sooooo good at this! This makes daddy laugh every time! Poor Mommy can't lay down on the floor without being attacked these days!!

3. The "I'm gonna get you" game....it throws her into fits of giggles and makes her run somewhat lopsided since she keeps trying to look back to see how close you are to actually getting her.

4. Going outside....once you say it you better do it or else.....

5. Giving kisses....just ask and you shall receive! And sometimes there's no need to ask!!

6. Mom-Mom.....poor mommy is a second rate citizen when Mom-Mom is around!!

7. BLUEBERRIES....still her favorite and a staple at the Lewandoski household.

8. Grabbing things she isn't supposed to have then running away with them as quickly as possible, she looks back to see if you are about to grab it...realizing she can't get away fast enough she throws the item across the room before you can get it!! This drives me CRAZY...but it's so darn cute (and smart!)!

9. Dogs, cats, cows, etc, etc......she always has a smile for them even through her tears.

10. Carrying a purse.....so adorable. She'll load her arm with bags bending her elbow to keep them on and walk around the house with a look of triumph.

She melts our hearts and pushes our buttons ever day!!!

All better!

Alida’s neck is 100% better!! Thank God! I felt as if it was never going to heal. The doctor ordered an X-Ray and we put it off until the end of last week. On Friday morning Alida’s neck seemed so much better! So, we skipped the X-Ray. It looks as if she has made a full recovery. It was seriously starting to scare me! A doctor that works with my mom pulled up some information on torticollis (aka wry neck)…it is caused by an underlying illness. It doesn’t make much sense to me but we administered some Benadryl (relaxes the smooth muscles) and continued with the Motrin. Not sure what did it…time, medicine, prayer…maybe all three! We’re just glad it’s better!!

Poor little stiff neck :(

She will be going for an X-Ray of her hand in the coming weeks. The hand therapist didn’t think it was trigger thumb which is good to hear. She seems to think that over time it will get stronger…that we need to encourage Alida to use it more and correct her when she holds things awkwardly. I do notice that she sometimes uses it the right way…more often than not she tucks it in and makes a fist though. So…we’ll see what the X-Ray says and we will work on some play therapy!

Let's play peek-a-boo.....

Alida has started carrying a purse around. It is the cutest thing! I guess she is so used to seeing me carrying different bags on my shoulder that she wants to do it too! It all started will her small cooler bag…she has been dragging that thing around for a few months now. I pulled out an old purse of mine and ever since she loves to carry it around swinging from her elbow. SO cute! She has also become obsessed with shoes…she tramps around the house with one shoe on a good amount of the time. She will come to me bringing one shoe with her and point to her foot; she will then sit down waiting for me to put it on. She rarely brings both shoes so being the lazy mom that I am…I put one on and don’t worry about the other!

Look how long her hair is getting! Time for pigtails!!

We are still waiting for the little lady to start yapping away!! We thought she’d be spitting out all kinds of stuff by now….but it’s still just ‘mama’, ‘dada’, the occasional ‘ball’ and lots of whining! Last night during a thunderstorm she sat on the floor with me staring out the sliding door at the rain coming down. She was very still and quiet….when the thunder would crash she would look at me very serious in her expression and say a different nonsense word each time….”bauble”, “daba”, etc….it was adorable! I wish I had it on tape!!! She has also started singing! SOOOO adorable! Words cannot describe how cute it is to listen to a little baby try and sing a tune! HAHA!!

Alida is always reading...she even babbles as she turns the pages! :)