Where's Evelyn?

It amazes me that Alivia can't talk yet, but she understands commands. The first one we taught her was "Where's Evelyn?" When you ask her she scans the room to find her baby doll, crawls over to it and lifts her in the air. We ask, "Can you hug Evelyn?" and boom, she hugs her. "Can you give Mommy/Daddy a hug?" Jackpot. I love every minute of this motherhood thing.


Not only does Alivia still love doing the "Tripod," but she can also do this command. Now only if she listened when we say, "No...." oh well.

Must Be Santa, Santa Claus!

Grandma Sprafka and I took Alivia to meet Santa in Hudson this past weekend. Alivia was all about the big guy-touching his bell bracelets, making eye contact. The best part was that there was a 1 year old in line behind us and when it was her turn, she sat on Santa's knee and bawled her eyes out. I know it might be a less than desirable experience next year, but I was a proud mommy.

Bling, Bling, Bling.

Nice beard big guy!

Well, I want a pony and...

In other Holiday news, Alivia hyperventilates every time we walk upstairs and see the Christmas tree. We're talking arms and legs flailing and screeching. Since she's not old enough to know about presents, Brian and I left a couple of her gifts under the tree unwrapped. Oops. There is one toy that she crawls under the tree for--her first Cabbage Patch doll. She crawls under the tree, picks up the box, brings it to the center of the room and talks to it.




This was my attempt at getting a nice picture of Alivia in front of her first Christmas tree. Oh well, Tripod Freddy strikes again. She might be doing hand stands by New Years.

The Gap: The Wrong Target Market

Alivia never pays much attention to the television. She's so consumed in her toys, her dog, or standing on her head that she never acknowledges it. That is, until The Gap came out with their Holiday 2009 commercials.

There are a few commercials in this series. Some with kids, most with adults doing different jingles/dances. One day this one came on and Alivia dropped everything she was doing and started bouncing on her knees, bobbing her head and humming along. Curious, I rewound the commercial and yet again she danced with the same enthusiasm. I now keep at least one recording of the commercial in our DVR lineup at all times in case she's in a bad mood.

As for the other commercials in the series-Alivia pays attention to them, but clearly doesn't find them dance worthy.

Downward Facing Dog...a.k.a Tripod Freddy

Alivia's first hidden talent has been exposed!

Her new favorite past time is standing on her head. Seriously, she does this more times that we can count each day. I checked for baby tumbling/yoga classes through ECFE. Baby yoga isn't offered until age 3. Sounds like she might be teaching the class by then.

Professional

Squish

Is Daddy home Yet?

When Porky gets in trouble, he gets shooed out of the basement and has to stay upstairs. Instead of keeping himself busy he'll sit on the other side of the door and wait to be let in. Alivia figured this out and often checks under the door to see if he's there.

Looking for Porky has turned into looking for anyone, especially Daddy. If we hear a noise upstairs and I point to the door, Alivia bolts to the ground in an army crawl and peers under the door. I thought this picture was cute when she and Porky scope the premises out when Daddy came home from work.

Alivia's Greatest Hits

I felt like the world's worst mom when this happened, however, I promise you Alivia didn't even cry. It's amazing how strong those little (in her case big) heads are! She sat up and tried to get right back on her scooter. You go girl!

About 3 months old...and a little gassy.

Discovering she can see out her crib....during naptime.

Breaking News!!!

I've been surprised how gradual most of Alivia's milestones have been. Holding her head, sitting up, crawling....

So I was astonished (and a little horrified) Friday evening when out of nowhere she stood up at the back of her riding moped/scooter and started WALKING!!!! This isn't the best video, as she now has it mastered, but you get the gist. I can't believe that in addition to having a 10 month old, she's starting to walk!




Sidenote: I just got around to figuring out how to upload our home videos, so there will be more to come.