Parkin' it Up

A few days ago, Harry, Alaina, and I went to Jetton Park for a little exercise and to enjoy the beautiful weather.

A view of Lake Norman from the park.

Alaina and I after she woke up from a nap.

Harry and Alaina enjoying a good swing. 

I didn't take this to advertise for Medela (but if they want to buy the print, they can) but I love that Alaina is holding hands when she drinks from a bottle now. It's so darn cute! 

Our baby's profile, I think she is so beautiful!

Yep, we had a great day.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving at our house was the most enjoyable ever. Harry and I hosted for the 6th year and were happy that both sets of our parents and Harry's sister, Laura, were able to make it to dinner. We missed my sister, Martha, and her family as well as my brother, Clay, and his family (but I think that would have been more people than this new mother could handle). We had a great time with all of our family members and our little lady was on her best behavior. 

Alaina and her Grandma Huffman watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (one of my favorite Thanksgiving traditions; I'm thrilled I get to share this with Alaina as she grows up).

 

Alaina Playing in her gym.

Alaina, Joey the cat, and I playing in the gym. 

 Alaina and her Grandpa Thompson. Whenever Alaina gets fussy and he is around, he can always get her to go to sleep. She looks pretty comfortable (and adorable).

Snuggle time with my little angel. 

Our feast; the dinner was delicious and Alaina slept through the first half. 

After dinner Alaina played with her Aunt Laura. 

Laura and Harry played Beatles Rock Band while the rest of us watched. Laura was making Alaina laugh while Grandma Thompson played with her.

A family picture; it turned out pretty well considering we were all very tired.

Thankful For...

It's Friday and I haven't posted in a few days so today I'm continuing the "Thankful For" posts. I got the idea from Karen who got the idea from Carrie.

1. Every moment I get with Alaina. This week I counted out when I go back to work; it is sooner (much sooner) than I want.

2. Alaina's nanny when I return to work. She and I spent the day together shopping yesterday with her beautiful daughter and I'm thrilled we chose her to take care of Alaina. When I go back to work, she will be in good hands.

3. Flailing arms and legs. Alaina plays in her gym or new pack and play after each meal (except her 3 AM feeding) and loves it. She is gaining control of her extremities and it is wonderful to watch her grow.

4. Clemson games. Harry and I are going to the game tomorrow (sans baby) and while I'll miss her terribly, I think it will be good for me to be away from her. I should also add I'm thankful for Laura, Harry's sister, because she is babysitting for us.

5. DVR. Daytime T.V. is not very good, at all. With DVR I get to watch all the good evening shows that I can't stay awake for during the day. 

The baby is up and needs to eat, so that is all for today. I guess you could say I am thankful for that last nap so I could get online. :-)

Alaina's Two Month Stats

Alaina had her 2 month check-up today (yep, she got shots... the picture to the left was taken before her doctor's appointment). She was very good for her check-up and cried only a little bit after her shots. Her stats are as follows:

Weight - 12 pounds and 5 ounces (82nd percentile)
Height - 23 inches (67th percentile)
Head Circumference - 16 inches (86th percentile)

She is growing up so quickly!

Not Another Work-Out Video

Aren't you tired of those work-out videos that make you feel bad about yourself because you are watching TV? This is not one of those videos.

Southern Christmas Show

Today, for the first time ever, I went to a Christmas show; not just any Christmas show, but the Southern Christmas Show... the south's premier Christmas show (according to the website). It was a lot of fun to see all the beautiful Christmas decorations and the people watching was out of this world!

 Alaina and I at a decorated doorway. The door was fake, but the greenery was real. And yes, Alaina is wearing a Christmas outfit complete with a tutu!

 Joanne and Alaina at one of the thousands of decorated trees. I can't even imagine how long it took to set up all the decorations (and I don't want to imagine how long it will take to take them all down, my least favorite part of Christmas).

Alaina, looking cute as ever, had such a good time that she passed out.

Finally, a short video a Alaina working off some of her energy after we got home (she spent a lot of time in her car seat).

2 Months Old!

 Today is Alaina's 2 month birthday. It is hard to believe how much she has grown in just 2 months. She is now on a great schedule of eating every 2 and a half hours, playing for about an hour after she eats, and napping for about an hour. She is now going to bed around 9 PM, wakes up at 4 AM to eat, and is back up for the day around 7:30 AM. She is already wearing 3-6 month clothes and she is smiling a lot these days. Harry and I are loving every minute of our time with her.

Another Playdate... Updated!

Today Alaina and I went to have brunch and hang out with Jessica and Liam. Jessica and I enjoyed spending the day together (adult conversation... during the day!) and the babies seemed to have fun playing as well.

• Jessica got a great video of the babies playing. Check out her blog. 

 Liam playing with his feet and his puppy dog. From what Liam says, the puppy is a great conversationalist; or maybe Liam is the great conversationalist and he will talk to anybody (and anything) that will listen.

Alaina gave Liam's Bumbo a sit and decided she liked it! I think Harry and I will be purchasing one of these for our house in the near future. 

 

Liam and Alaina playing together. Liam rolled over to see Alaina and she decided to touch his face. It was incredibly cute.  

Too Tall!

In the past week Alaina has outgrown most of her 0-3 month clothes because she is simply too tall! Her little 5'1" mother can't believe it and blames it on her 6'3" father. Just one more part of the baby that looks like him; I promise I carried this sweet baby for 9+ months, even though you can't see much (if any) of me in her looks. Check out how big our little lady is!

Here's Alaina playing on the floor. I love this picture because she looks so happy-go-lucky... like she might be dancing a little jig. Check out that long torso and long legs! She's getting so big!!!

 

A close-up of her face; what a cutie!!!

 

My baby in her gym. Again, check out how long she looks! I think she's grown overnight. 

Here we are together; she looks a little grumpy because she was getting ready for a nap. Gone are the days when she peacefully drifted off into sleep. She now fights her naps with a passion. You would think she would need all the sleep she can get with all the growing she is doing. I'm sure that's a phase and she will grow out of it... right? right?

Our First Airshow

On Saturday, Harry took Alaina and I to our first airshow. It was chilly and a little loud but we had a great time and got to see a lot of really cool planes do some dangerous maneuvers.

 

Harry's favorite planes, flown by professional pilots.

The up-close version.

Amateur pilots passing each other. These pilots eventually joined up with 4 more amateurs to do a 10 plane fly-over.

My favorite plane name and picture... very WWII.

Alaina, all bundled up and enjoying the day.

8 Weeks Old!

Current Likes:

• Pacifiers
• The Activity Gym
• Squirming on the Floor
• Being Held
• Rocking in the Rocking Chair
• Eating
• Napping in the Bouncy Seat

Current Dislikes:

• Going to Bed
• Getting Out of the Bathtub

Thankful For...

Taking a cue from Karen, I'm posting about what I'm thankful for today.

1. Alaina... and snuggling.

2. Harry. He loves us and has endless patience, even when I don't.

3. Family. They support and encourage us and are always willing to lend a hand.

4. Good Friends. We call them our family, too.

5. Coffee. I have an 8 week old, need I say more?

I wanted to stop at 5, but Alaina just reminded me of another.

6. Sleep smiles. What are you dreaming about, little baby? Hopefully your Daddy and me; we love to make you smile.

One Tough Workout

Alaina really got into her gym workout yesterday.

Time for the Crib

Up until today, Alaina had never slept in her crib. She naps in her bouncy or car seat (or in our arms) and sleeps in her cradle in our room at night... up until today. Recently, Harry and I have noticed that Alaina isn't sleeping as soundly. She used to be able to sleep through Harry's alarm in the morning and his getting ready; now she stirs and spends a good bit of the morning grunting as he gets ready. She is also getting too large for her cradle. The other morning I woke up to find her rubbing her fingers along the bumpers on the sides of her cradle (yep, she can touch both). At about 12 pounds, it's time to move to the crib. Harry and I are having trouble with this move, we will miss having our baby close by (even though her room in steps away) but we realize it's in her best interest.

Today, Alaina tried napping in her crib. She seems to be enjoying it. I am so thankful for the video baby monitor Carrie and Ruth got us. I can spy on her any time I want (which is often).

Play Date!

Today Alaina had a play date with Ayla and Liam. It was cuteness all around!

Ayla (1 month), Alaina (almost 2 months), and Liam (5 months)
The trio had a lot of fun and all wanted to touch one another; I guess they enjoyed being around other babies.

Alaina and Liam holding hands.

Ayla and Alaina holding hands.