Hugs are Free

New Cousins, Same Bragg

This past weekend, Harry, Alaina, and I visited my sister and her family in Fayetteville. They just recently moved back to the area from Yuma, AZ after Edward, my brother-in-law, was transferred back to Fort Bragg. He will be deploying to Afghanistan mid-July so we wanted to visit them before he left. 

This was the first time Edward and my niece, Madison, and nephews, Luke and Alex, were able to meet Alaina; all of the cousins had a great time getting to know each other. 

Luke, Alex, Alaina, and Madison playing together with Alaina's new iPod. 

There were a lot of hugs this past weekend, especially for Alaina. 

Alex and me after a nap (his, not mine, unfortunately).

 

Martha and Alex after a tattoo session; thank goodness for washable markers.

Madison, Harry, and Alaina all look pretty happy.

Our Water Baby

Since I'm on summer vacation (yay!) Alaina and I have been spending a lot of time at the pool. Alaina LOVES swimming. She is learning how to kick when we hold her out and loves to splash and chase her swimmy turtle around the pool. She is not a fan of adult swim time (10 minutes each hour). She wants to be in the pool or crawling around the pool, which would not be so good for the skin on her knees. 

Here, Alaina is impatiently waiting for adult swim to be over; as you can tell she was talking up a storm and was most likely saying how unfair it was that she couldn't be in the pool. (How cute is she in her bathing suit?!)

Happy Father's Day!

To all the wonderful dads out there... thank you! Especially these great dads:

My dad, Martha, Clay, me and our horse Hasan

Harry's dad and Harry

Harry and Alaina

Dancing Queen

Today, Alaina showed off her dancing skills while listening to Harry's computer (he was listening to Lady Gaga).

You know you are tired when...

...you fall asleep like this.

(And yes, those are tiger kitties in submarines looking at fish on her PJs.)

Strolling Along

Alaina got a stroller/walker from my parents a few weekends ago and is just now getting into walking with it. Up until now, she has played with it while sitting on the floor or stood with it; but the past few days she has been walking with it.

Before very long, she'll be walking unassisted!

9 Months Old!

Today our little Alaina turned 9 months old. She is crawling, pulling up and standing, and talking... a lot!

Current Likes:

crawling, playing, swimming in the pool (both baby and big), opening and closing doors and cabinets, eating finger foods, and being independent

 Current Dislikes:

her car seat and any other restrictive device and getting out of the bathtub

Jump, Alaina, Jump!

Alaina got a new toy at Target today, a Johnny Jump Up. We've put off getting one since we only have 2 door frames downstairs (our bathroom and laundry room); however, with summer coming, I know I'll spend more time at home and upstairs where Alaina can enjoy it.

She had a hard time using the jumper for its intended purpose; she wanted to walk in it more than jump. Harry commented that it is acting more like a tether than a jumper, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.