The Verdict Is In!!!

For quite some time now (probably since the day she was born) I have been told by many......friends, family, strangers....that Alida looks just like her daddy. I didn't want to believe it....I still don't. Of course I love that she resembles him...but couldn't she look a little like me too?? Unfortunately, it has been confirmed this evening that Alida resembles her father 100%!!! I hate to admit it but it's true. Here is the proof.....you be the judge!

Matt around 1 year old.

Alida at 10 1/2 months.

Erin at 13 months.

Alida's Play Room

Alida’s 1st birthday is fast approaching and like any first time mom I am soooo excited!!! We are going to celebrate her birthday with a themed party at her grandparent’s house. The theme will be “the very hungry caterpillar”!! I am really excited about it!! HEEHEE!! I have yet to find any decorations that go along with the theme….I guess Eric Carle’s book hasn’t been all that popular for creating a birthday party. Alida absolutely loves the book though and I think the whole analogy is very fitting….she is emerging from a caterpillar into a beautiful butterfly more and more every day (I know I am very korny!! I can’t help it!)!!

Matt and I are going to turn the office into a playroom as her gift. I don’t have a completely baby-proofed room yet so I plan to make the play room just that. The poor girl is always finding something that she can’t have and I am tired of hindering her curiosity!! So….I plan to paint the room a vibrant 'granny smith apple green' and I found a “recipe” for chalk board paint that I am going to use on the bottom half of one of the walls. We are thinking of covering the top half of the same wall with cork. All in all I think Alida will LOVE it!

Alida has been a bundle of FUN lately! She always seems to be smiling, giggling, babbling....such a happy girl! She is a pro at saying "DaDa" but has yet to attempt the more important "MaMa". I work on it each and every day!! She toddles around the house with precision usually carrying her "shoes" chanting "da-da-DA-Da-da-Da-da". She can now get to a standing position right from the floor! She almost has three teeth....two on the bottom and one is popping in up top. I have to say that her eating and sleeping habits leave much to be desired. Predictability is not Alida's middle name. One day she could take 2 long naps and eat all her meals with vigor. The next day she could sleep 10 minutes and pick at her food like it was foreign to her. I still don't get it! She really is a lot of fun these days and if all we have to deal with is a picky eater and a non-sleeper then I'll take it! Even without sleep she's a pleasant little angel...well, most of the time. I can't complain much about her nighttime sleep habits though. She is a stupendous sleeper at night!! At 6:30 (without fail) she is ready for her bed...she sometimes "jumps" into bed and even occassionally lets out a happy giggle! She rarely wakes up before 6 am anymore. I still have this idea that it would be nice if she slept until 7 am but I will certainly take what I can get.

Party Time

A few weeks ago we attended a B-Day Party for Alida's best friend....Olivia aka Livvy! Livvy turned 1 on March 12th! How quickly that flew!!! Alida got a little practice in by trying on a birthday hat and taste testing the cake. The hat didn't last but she loved the cake!!! She was a good little girl the entire time...not much of a peep from her! Party goers commented on Alida's ability to walk....whispering things like 'she's too little to walk. look at her legs, they are only a few inches long!' Matt was proud to hear someone comments on her cute little features....calling her a perfect little doll. Geez, I hope Alida's head doesn't get any bigger!! It's already in the 95th percentile!! HA! Here is a picture of Olivia one year ago....the day she was born (Alida is in my belly!!).

I love my cousins!!

Easter weekend was fun...very busy but fun! We spent most of the weekend visiting with Aunt Kwree and her boys, Carter and Cole. They came up from VA for the weekend which was very nice!!! Alida was taken by them...she gave them zillions of kisses and held their hands for pictures. So much fun!!!! On Easter we went to church with Mom-Mom and had dinner at Matt's parent's. It was nice to spend time with everyone!! We ended the afternoon at my Aunt Joan's for a quick visit. By the time Alida was home she was ready for bed!!! Next year we will probably go all out with the Easter festivities!!! :-)

It's amazing that we were able to get them all to sit still without crying and all looking in the same direction (even if it wasn't at the camera!)!!!!

The Lewandoski Siblings and their babies!!

In her Easter Dress!! We didn't visit the Easter Bunny and we didn't do an egg hunt....and sadly, Matt and I didn't even get her an Easter Basket. Somehow I think I was more upset about it than she was!

One of many, many, many kisses that Alida gave to her cousins while we they were visiting for Easter weekend!! She LOVES them!!! I think it's her way of telling me that she wouldn't mind having a little brother of her own soon!!! HAHA!

9 Month Stats!!

The 9 month stats....a little late but nevertheless……17 pounds 8 ounces (25th percentile), 27 inches (25th percentile) and for the first time ever her head was in the 95th percentile!! I forget what the measurement was exactly (bad mommy!) but I was surprised to hear that it was so big! Looking at Alida I don’t consider her to have a big head. I hope things even out….she’s so petite and probably won’t be happy with me if she has a huge head her whole life (I'll just blame it on her dada!).

From sleeping to playing!!

My first bruises!!