Cuttings and Carvings

We carved pumpkins yesterday-- well, I carved the pumpkins. (I don't let the 15-month-old play with knives.) But Alison "assisted" by playing with the pumpkin funk and seeds, helpfully returning seeds to the pumpkin hollows as I was digging them out. She loved the lids, pulling them off each pumpkin and switching them around, trying in vain to make the "wrong" lid fit a certain jack-o-lantern. We carved the three big pumpkins we picked up on our pumpkin patch trip, and she was interested in the process until I got almost finished with the 3rd pumpkin. That translates to close to an hour, so that's a pretty decent stretch!

I also gave Alison a quick haircut, the first I've ever attempted. She had her first cut at the salon where I go, but I thought that it would be silly to keep getting it professionally done. I may rethink that plan. I only trimmed her bangs, which means I maybe cut 2-3 locks of hair total, and it took forever, because despite having her in her highchair, I still had to practically pin her shoulders with my feet while I tried to cut with her thrashing and shrieking, and I managed to stab myself at least once.

She does look cute. (Then again, that's not hard for her!)

That's My Bag, Baby

Alison is evolving into a bit of a lady. Case in point: she likes to carry around any kind of handled container in the crook of her arm like it's a purse. She does this with baskets, with buckets, with her Peek-A-Block carrier. She may not have anything in it, but she'll take it wherever she goes. She looks like Queen Elizabeth-- it's hilarious. I keep asking her if she'll switch arms to let her lady-in-waiting know she needs rescuing from a stifling social situation.

I'm not too big on the whole boys-are-boys and girls-are-girls thing-- I hate putting people into boxes based on gender-- but it's funny how a lot of those traits seem to be inherent. We had a playdate with the moms from my running group, and all of the other kids are boys. They were all wrestling each other while Alison pranced around the room, pretending to dust furniture, a plastic Halloween jack-o-lantern in the crook of her arm. She doesn't get this stuff from me!

Pickin'-tures!

It's almost Halloween and yesterday Boo was big enough to go on her first pumpkin-patch adventure. She loved rolling the pumpkins and beating on their hollow-sounding hides. We ended up picking three, as well as getting some Indian corn and some gourds. Yay fall!

We also went on our first hayride-- Alison's, Jeff's and my first hayride!

It was really cute and perfect for the little kiddies. They had a gorilla that came out of the woods and then stood there waving and doing the twist, and later a coven of witches came up to the cart and handed out candy. It was just Halloween-y enough without scarring anybody for life (me included).

Here's another shot of Boo bonding with a pumpkin. Enjoy!

Hey Man, Nice Shot

Alison had her 15-month well visit yesterday and I'm happy to report that she's coming along quite nicely. She's 32" long, almost 24 lbs. and is in good health. She of course HATED her immunizations, but she seems to have bounced back and is playing and happy this morning. Usually those can hit her pretty hard, so I'm pleased that she seems to be doing so well. Maybe that day-care immune system is starting to pay off!

On a non-health note, she is starting to recognize similarities in shapes. She was looking at the puzzle book that Randy and Ashley gave her and pulled out one of the circles, then flipped to a different page, pointed at the circle on that page, and held the circle puzzle piece she was holding up to it. Also, we were doing one of her two wooden puzzles, and while we were working on one, she went and got the board for the other, which shows that she gets that they're the same idea.

She is "brushing" her own hair now and the other day said "haaahhhhh" while doing it. So she may be on her way to another word.

Boo Bites

Some of Alison's current favorite foods:

* broccoli
* peas
* green beans
* applesauce
* yogurt
* cheese
* pasta of any kind
* beans
* cookies
* Cheerios
* chicken
* salmon
* ice cream
* bananas
* roasted red peppers

And not so favorite:

* tomatoes
* onions
* soup
* apples
* carrots

Boo Bits

Here's a small grab bag of what she's been up to lately:

* she dances to any and all music by clapping her hands and doing this hilarious little knee bounce maneuver, all the while staring at you with this "watch THESE hot moves!" expression;

* she's figured out how to ride the bike Ron and Navada bought her for her birthday (steering is still, um, interesting though);

* she's also figured out how to climb up onto the couch;

* she now knows to sit on her little fanny and scoot down the stairs; and

* this morning, she greeted Sam with a swan dive onto his back--not a belly flop or a fall, a full-on Greg Louganis leap.

Sam was thrilled.

Road Trip

We went to Uncle Randy's in Blacksburg, VA this weekend. Future Aunt Ashley had a family emergency out of town, so we only got to see her briefly (unfortunate, but understandable). Uncle Randy was a great host and kept us entertained and well-fed despite the lousy weather. We managed to get out to the duck pond and walk the path beside the VT farms, so Alison could see ducks, cows, horses, sheep, a hawk at pretty close range perched on a fencepost, and, of course, "daws." Woof. Alison also loved making laps around Randy and Ashley's main level, trying to get at their collection of cute knick-knacks, and torturing poor Jessie, the Heflin-Shew family pooch. Randy and Ashley were gracious hosts, setting up a cute crib for Alison in the guest room complete with baby seal and heirloom quilt (!), putting mints on our pillows, making hot hors d'oeurves and generally being very cool, and we had a terrific time.

On the way back from Uncle Randy's, Alison stayed in her first hotel. She loved the plastic cups in crinkly cellophane wrap and ran around the room waving them and beating them into each other. Jeff also took her hiking around the parking lot-- it's a great age where really simple things like pebbles and leaves rock their world, and it's a nice Zen time of life that won't last long, so we're trying to savor it-- and re-learn to notice the little things as well.

Anyway, that night, Alison saw herself in the full-length mirror.

LOVE at first sight. "Who is THIS adorable baby?"

She sat there laughing at herself for the next twenty minutes. I even caught her kissing her reflection. Oh dear.

"Uh-Oh!"

That's her new phrase, uttered when she's usually dropped (or thrown) something on the floor. She does it in this little singsongy voice and it's SO freaking cute. "UH!-oh!" I have no idea where she got it, since I usually whisper some sort of unsavory four-lettered word when I spill or drop something, BUT I'M REALLY GLAD SHE ISN'T APEING ME IN THAT REGARD. She's just classier than her mommy.

Pat This

Alison's latest craze is books with touchable elements-- yes, Pat the Bunny is a huge hit with her, and I found another board book that's full of farm animals that the reader can touch (pet the velvety horse muzzle, pat the dog's furry chest, pat the pig's rubbery snout). She loves texture and loves books that she can interact with, as opposed to just look at. If I couldn't read, I'd feel the same way.

On a related note, when she gives hugs, she's starting to pat your back. So sweet.

And yes, she's feeling much better. One ear is clear and the other is on its way. Yay!

Where My Dogs At

If Jeff and I were both drowning, and Alison could only save one of us, she would save Sam.

Alison loves dogs, like most toddlers, and I've heard that "dog" is a common first word, and it looks like that's where she's headed. She can be in the worst mood while we're on a walk, and if she suddenly perks up and starts pointing, sure enough you can follow her little finger and there will be a canine in that general direction, even if it's 500 yards away. She loves them all.

The nicest suprise of all of this how Sam has reacted to her clumsy and (I'm sure) painful attentions. Sam the Spazz just lies there and takes it, and if it gets to be too much, he pushes her hand away WITH HIS TONGUE (Jeff and I get the teeth in a similar situation) or just gets up and moves. She loves to play with his floppy ears, with his tail, and with his license tags. Sam is a warm, breathing, stinky, real-life Taggie blanket for her...and he licks her, which she thinks is just hilarious. We know she's done with her meal when she starts hanging over the side of her high chair to feed her leftovers to Sam, who is only too happy to accept them.

Alison can pick out dogs anywhere. The other day I was changing her and she grabbed her Coppertone sunscreen bottle, pointed at the dog on the front and crowed, "DAW!" She picks out the dogs on her baby-wash bottle, on the TV and in books.

Good thing we already have a dog...and good thing Jeff and I are already used to taking care of him!

Our First 5K

...no, I didn't make her run it on her 10" legs.

She rode in the stroller and I walked. We did it with our walking group, which was fun because we got to see some of the moms and kids whom we haven't seen since I started working mornings. We had to stay in the back, and I volunteered to be officially the last "athlete" across the finish line. Ha! Hey, we did pretty good considering that I have a cold and had to carry Alison for a mile because she was so cranky.

I discovered the reason for her crankiness at the post-race celebration: she had an ear infection! I had no idea, since she was fine and in good spirits that morning and had been wearing her little bear hat with earflaps, so I didn't know until I popped it off of her little head and saw the crime scene. Jeff took her to the ped and got her some eardrops, which was good because at dinnertime the OTHER ear went off like a bomb. Oh well. She's actually very active and peppy, despite the funk, so we're assuming she's on the upswing. I have now made a note in the Mommy File to check her ears in the morning (not to be hysterical, mind) and not just assume that because she's smiling and not yanking at them, that everything is fine.

Anyway...we're telecommuting for the next few days, looks like.