One Step Ahead

Because of baby AJ's sickness, we have been staying close to home and entertaining ourselves in the house. AJ's Dad and I have been trying to "encourage" AJ to walk. First, we have been helping her to stand on her own. She will stand for about 10 seconds . . . giggling and smiling, full of pride and excitement. Then, you try to get her to stand again and she crumbles to the floor with "jelly legs," we call them.

Yesterday, we were practicing standing. AJ was standing by herself for a few seconds and she suddenly got a little nervous. She was within a step of the bookcase, so she took one tiny step forward toward the bookcase to catch hold. HER FIRST STEP! She is definitely not walking, but one little step will certainly lead to many big steps.

Who knew?

AJ's paternal grandparents visited this past weekend and we had a blast. (I hope Grannie A will send her pictures our way because we don't have many . . . how did that happen?) Because of the weather, we did a lot of hanging around the house and, of course, our fair share of eating. We even got to celebrate Grandpa J's birthday. Happy birthday, Grandpa J!

On Saturday, while we were hanging around the house, we noticed that AJ had some goopy gunk oozing from her eye. We kept an "eye" on it (pun intended!) and decided to call the doctor, just in case. The doctor assured us that it was probably nothing and told us to keep watch. Then, the goopy gunk spread to the other eye . . . yuck. AJ didn't seem affected. She was her typical jolly self. On Monday, I decided that I should take her to the doctor to eliminate anything serious. Well, it turns out that AJ has an ear infection in both ears and pink eye in both eyes . . . poor baby!

So, we have started the drugs . . . antibiotics for the eye and the ears. UGH! Not fun! Hopefully we are on our way to better health!

It's Hard to Wake Up

AJ woke up from her nap the other day and AJ's Dad went in her room to get her. He picked her up and snuggled her (she is in this AWESOME phase where she is so snuggly after waking up . . . AJ's Dad and I fight over who is going to get her up!). He walked her out into the living room where I was sitting. AJ said, "Ma Ma." It totally melted my heart. I don't know if she knew what she was saying or not (she does say "Ma ma ma ma" a lot), but it was the sweetest sound.

Thinking Inside the Box

We received our Christmas gifts in the mail the other day courtesy of Nonna and PopPop. (Since we traveled to Virginia and it costs an arm and a leg to check baggage these days, we decided to ship all of our gifts back home.) I was really excited for AJ to play with all of her new toys! What, you ask, is her favorite toy of the season? Why, the big box all of the toys came in, of course. This box will provide AJ with hours of entertainment! I can't bring myself to throw it away!

One of My Favorite Things (To Do)

One of AJ's favorite things to do is take all of the books off the shelf. She loves grabbing the books and watching them drop to the floor. For some reason, this drives me a bit crazy and I find myself anxiously awaiting the time when I can put them back on the shelf (in order by size, of course). Maybe I need to chill out because this harmless game makes my little girl happy!

Saturday Outing

We just got back from a wonderful Saturday afternoon outing with some friends in their new neighborhood. They just bought a house, so we got to check out their new digs. Their new place is great, perfect for the new baby that they expect in mid-summer. There are some other townhouses for sale right next door . . . maybe we should be their neighbors????

Creative Thinking

I guess Santa should have brought baby AJ a walking toy for Christmas because she is certainly on the verge of walking. Instead, AJ has created her own walker . . . she pushes her play table across the room to get from one end to the other. Very creative!

Happy New Year!

We are back from our FABULOUS trip to the east coast to visit AJ's maternal family! We had lots of fun - from partying with family and friends to riding bikes in frigid weather. Although we spent much of our time just hanging out, we are exhausted! We definitely need a vacation from our vacation. (Luckily, I only work one day this week! AJ is catching up on sleep as I type!) Here are some pics from our holiday trip! We can't wait to see everyone again. When are you coming to visit?