Ice cream cone

Look what Allie was eating when we got to daycare to pick her up today! Other kids were having ice cream cones and they gave her one. She ate it really well. We were impressed! It helped that its winter and the ice cream wasn't melting. Its funny though because as ice cream goes, Allie could take it or leave it. Today she took it!

She loves her pretty shoes

Saturday was Aunt Jeni's rescheduled baby shower. Mama wasn't quite feeling well, but as an organizer I wasn't going to miss it! Allie was feeling better from being sick all week too, so down to Rockford we went.

Unfortunately I forgot my camera, so I don't have any pictures of my own to share. It was a fun, though exhausting, afternoon and hopefully I can steal some pictures from other people to post here soon.

Allie really liked getting dressed up and even let me put a hair pretty in her hair, and didn't take it out! What she really enjoyed were her pretty shoes. She loved the tapping they made on hard floors. When we got home on Saturday night, I took them off her and put them on the book shelf by our front door where we usually keep her other shoes.

On Sunday she found them on the shelf and asked me to put them on her again. It was so cute, how could I say no? So of course I had to get a picture. I love this look with the pajama and the glittery dress shoes! What a cutie!

Back in the land of the living

To say the Durso pack has been under the weather for a few days is putting it lightly. The Durso pack has been sick for pretty much the whole month!

Dada and Allie were a little sick around the time of the Super Bowl. Right after the Super Bowl Mama had some asthma problems that I thought were going to become an issue, but they didn't. The it was Dada's turn. He was sick for about a week and even had to stay home a couple days. Then when he got better, Allie got sick!

She kind of had a little of everything, but the main problem was a low fever and lethargy. We were a bit concerned just because she'd never had a fever that long before; it lasted six days. She was home all last week. Mama stayed home two days and then Dada stayed home the last three days because Mama didn't have enough sick time.

Unfortunately by the time Mama went back to work, Mama was getting sick again. Then Dada got sick again. We've been passing this around all month! It was hard for both of us, but maybe moreso for Dada because at the end of the week even though she was still sick, Allie started feeling better. Its hard to look after a feeling-good Allie when we're sick!

I can't even count the number of times we've watched Toy Story over the last week!

Mama ended up going to the doctor and getting a prescription for prednizone because my ashtma flared really bad and my inhaler wasn't helping. Its been at least seven years since I had asthma complications with a chest cold. I have sinusitis too, but right now its probably viral. Ugh, its been viruses the whole time! But this doctor gave me an antibiotic prescription I can fill Wednesday if I'm still not better.

Today was the first day in a week and a half that all three members of the Durso pack left the house to go to work! Back to the land of the living... Allie is all better, though we've figured out she has her 2-year molars coming in, which may have played a part in her sickness last week as well. Dada I think is better, though not all the way. And Mama feels better than she has in a few days, but unfortunately nowhere near 100 percent.

Our hope for March is that it will be sickness-free!

Bedtime

Bedtime is such a precious time. We've been blessed that Allie's always been a great sleeper. I enjoy bedtime now, though it certainly wasn't easy when Allie was really little and I know when Allie gets a bit older she won't always go to bed so willingly.

We have our routine, but Allie has learned how to delay the inevitable. Its always followed the same basic pattern. Going upstairs and getting a diaper change and putting on jammies. Into the bathroom to brush teeth and hair. Read a book. Get into the crib and sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." Give hugs. Lay down and say good night, though for awhile I had to just make Allie lay down and quickly run out of the room. That was a time when she wasn't so willing to go to bed.

Allie likes Dada to brush his teeth along with her. She likes to rinse her brush and put it back in the holder and then get a little water to rinse off her face.

Now we read two books. We read her current favorites, which she is infatuated with. For awhile it was "Brown Bear Brown Bear." Then it was "Olivia." Now its "Olivia Says Goodnight," and "Hand Hand Fingers Thumb." Dada wants to read books, but Allie only wants Mama. She says "mama read it," and thats that. Olivia is the first book and after Mama is done, "Allie read it." She takes the book and turns the pages acting like she's reading, while Mama reads the "monkey book," as Allie calls it.

Then its to the crib. We dance and move around while we sing. Then she goes to Dada to have only Dada sing the song. After that is a bunch of hugs. Depending on her mood and how tired she is, its literally a ton of hugs and kisses. Dada leaves and Allie yells for him and hides behind Mama. Then Mama gets a few hugs and its time to lay down.

We put a little throw pillow in the crib awhile ago that she lays on when I tuck her in but doesn't usually stick with all night. She lays down and then her friends "jump" down to her. Those friends are Hippo. Penny (the penquin) and Taggie lay down, and Allie says who she wants to jump when. Then its finally time to tuck the silly kid in. She has two blankies and Mama covers her up nice and tight like a mummy. By mummy, I mean arms and sometimes her friends tightly tucked into the two blankies.

I'd say the last part is the cutest, but every part is the cutest. When she's all tucked in nice and tight I tell her I love her and blow kisses to her. I whisper "I love you" and she whispers back. We whisper "night night" and then Mama is out the door. Its been awhile since the time when she would cry at bedtime. These days she plays hard and is usually pretty exhausted by the time bedtime comes around. We're also still usually blessed with naptime, which usually has just as long a routine unless Mama manages to get away with reading just one book.

On a lot of weeknights bedtime is the only real quality time we get. Between making dinner and getting chores done, I'm usually a bit torn between letting Allie stay up to play with her or putting her to bed so I can sit down and relax a bit. So the act of going to bed means a lot more. The days are passing so quickly!

The new chair

Allie really likes her new booster seat. She does well with it, but doesn't understand that she has to stay in the chair until we clean her up and let her get down. The seat doesn't fit too well in the chairs that we have now, but soon we'll have a new dining set with some better chairs.

It was a little bitter sweet this morning as I decided it was time to take the high chair down to the basement. I also moved some other things around to make a little more room in the dining room. Its so strange not to see the chair there!

Future football player?

Lazy Sunday

While awaiting the Super Bowl this past Sunday, Allie and Dada relaxed on the couch and watched Allie's favorite movie, Toy Story. I think Toy Story is becoming Dada's favorite movie as well.

Trying new things

We've recently started experimenting with drinking out of a cup without the lid.

She seems to like it. She does it pretty well considering she's just starting out.

But, like any new and exciting skill, when she's working on that new skill, other tasks like dinner go untouched.

So we have to try and balance the new skills with getting proper nourishment.

Its not always a successful endeavor. That kid has really gotten those terrible 2 tantrums down.

Big girl chair and family breakfast

This morning Allie decided she didn't want to use her high chair anymore at meal times. We have actually been talking about this, but I wasn't prepared for Allie to make that decision!

She did pretty good, for the most part. We had to experiment a bit because she doesn't sit up very high in the chair. But she didn't want to sit on the phone book and the pillow slipped out too easily. So she just sat on the chair. Eating took second fiddle though, which also happened at lunch. I'm sure she'll either get hungry enough or the excitement will wear off so she'll actually eat when she's in the big girl chair!

Saturday mornings we have breakfast together, usually pancakes. For a long time now Allie has loved helping making the pancakes by mixing them. Today we had chocolate chip pancakes.

While the pancakes were cooking, Dada started unloading the dishwasher and Allie decided to help!

She did pretty good at helping. We just have to be careful that she doesn't get the sharp knives or breakable dishes. I wonder if she'll be this enthusiastic about doing the dishes in a few years?

Then it was time to eat. She enjoyed eating the food she helped make! She sat better at the table when Mama and Dada were sitting there too, though we did have to remind her many times that she had to sit on her butt.

Ribbit!

Allie is very into animal sounds. The other night, we had fun playing animal motions! We all took turns hopping across the room like frogs do and saying ribbit!

Its exhausting to squat like that and then hop! We all got a workout that night.

We also did cat, cow, lion and penguin. Those were all pretty much the same but with different sounds. I think Dada made a pretty good penguin!

A for adorable

Here's a few of the adorable things Allie has been doing lately.

Allie got a boom box for Christmas. At first she was confused about this pink box with music coming out. But she caught on. Her favorite part of the boombox is turning it up to full blast.

On any given day Allie has a lot of stuff to carry around. She's got a brush, a necklace, a whisk, Woody, Buzz and blocks.

So Dada had the great idea to put all stuff in her purse! Allie likes to take toys upstairs at night and in the car on the way to daycare. Her favorite activity is taking stuff out and putting it back in, so this is a fun game in addition to being functional.

While we haven't quite discovered dress up, Allie does enjoy going into the princess dress up chest once in awhile and taking out her princess rings or slippers. The other night she took out one of each. She liked these slippers so much that she tried to wear them to bed.

Allie loves the camera, but on this night she decided to be camera shy.

Every day when we get ready to leave the house we get our coats. Allie always makes sure to get my coat and bring it to me... though sometimes bringing Mama's coat means throwing it down on the bottom of the stairs.

And here's our big girl eating a tomato. When we get home from work we're starting to go without the gate a bit, so Allie can go where she wants. She likes to open the fridge and get her cup of milk out. Tonight she opened the fridge and took out the cherry tomatoes. So I cut one in a couple pieces and she sat at the table like a big girl eating it. We're hoping to buy a new dining set soon and I think we'll be transitioning away from the high chair.