Allie at her best

April brings rain and it also brings lots of activity! We've been busy every week for what seems like a really long time. This week has been especially busy leading up to Jeni's wedding this weekend. So unfortunately I haven't had much time to blog and I don't know when I will get the time!

But I do have this video to share. We went out to dinner on Monday night, sort of a "get out of cooking and relax a bit before things get really crazy" dinner. We went to the Great Dane where is was loud and interesting, so Allie wasn't the least bit interested in her food. She was in a great mood though. I'd left my cell phone in the car, so I got Doug's phone to take a few pictures and discovered that his phone has a camcorder! Allie was really hamming it up so I filmed a bit of her antics. The picture is on its side because I didn't know which way was up on the camcorder. But its cute so I wanted to share!

Hopefully I'll return soon to tell of all our adventures! I'm looking forward to getting some nice family pictures this weekend when we're all dressed up.

Spring Saturday

Saturday was a beautiful day, so we took advantage and headed downtown for the afternoon. We walked around the Capitol and up and down State Street.

Allie and Dada took in the sights.

Allie and Mama practiced walking and holding hands. We're going to walk down the aisle together at Aunt Jeni's wedding this Saturday!

Allie and Dada walked together too.

And then to top it all off, we went to The Chocolate Shoppe for ice cream. It was Allie's first time having ice cream. She loved it, but didn't seem too interested in eating a lot. Thats good Allie! Don't eat a lot of ice cream! Its better for your health and it leaves more for Mama and Dada.

It was such a nice and fun day. We're looking forward to all the fun things we get to do outside now that the weather is nice!

Lovely skin

Allie is messy. So messy, in fact, that we often have to remove her shirt after she eats. She doesn't wear bibs. We quit trying to put them on her because she always yanks them off. Anyway, last Sunday, we had to change her shirt twice after she was especially messy at both lunch and dinner! After dinner we didn't have another shirt downstairs to put on her, so we let her go au natural. Of course, the messes all happened after giving her a bath that morning, so we had to give her another one in quick succession.

She's so funny when we get her undressed. Its like she forgets whats under her clothes. She always thinks its the funniest thing in the world to go shirtless. On this particular evening, she was also infatuated with Mama's water bottle.

I think the green socks make this outfit.

Choo choo blocks

Most days we come home from work and Allie goes straight for her blocks and the train they are stored in. These blocks definitely were a good purchase!

Pretty pretty princess

On Saturday we bought Allie's flower girl dress for Jeni's wedding. I wasn't sure she needed to try it on but when I saw it, it did look a little small. So I took her in a dressing room to try it on, just over her clothes. It was harder than it looked to try it on though partly because Allie was squirmy and also because she was more interested in the mirror! So Aunt Jeni had to come in and help out.

I bought the dress at Burlington Coat Factory along with some adorable silver glittery shoes. We got everything for a steal: Only $32! I wish my dress could have been such a great deal!

Play date

After nap time on Friday, Mama and Allie had a play date. First we stopped by Target so Mama could buy a bridal shower gift. Then we went to the mall! No shopping though, this trip was all about Allie.

At first Allie was more interested in the people sitting on the benches around the border of the play area. She got into a few purses. Luckily no one seemed to mind.

After awhile she caught onto the object of the play area and was running around crawling through tubes and up ladders with the best of them.

Then she discovered how much fun it was to make Mama chase her as she tried to run out of the play area! Luckily it was soon time to go so we didn't play that game for long.

Look how big she is! We had a great day together. Unfortunately it ended with a lot of crying as Allie was hungry since she hadn't eaten much for lunch! But luckily once her tummy was full, she was in a great mood again. I love this kid.

Travel partner

It was a busy weekend for the Durso pack, well, two-thirds of the Durso pack. On Friday, Mama and Allie stayed home because daycare was on spring break. We had a nice relaxed morning and then enjoyed some shopping and then playtime in the afternoon. Then on Saturday we had a long day trip down to Rockford for wedding-themed day.

Friday and Saturday were my first time traveling with Allie since we switched her carseat to face forward. It was fun! I adjusted the rear view mirror so I could check on her from time to time. Almost every time I looked at her she smiled at me. The smarty pants could tell what I was doing! When she was really wound up, she'd do something silly when I looked at her.

The day started with Mama going to a bridal shower and Aunt Jeni babysitting. They had macaroni and cheese and went for a walk, among other things. Then Jeni had an appointment, Allie had a nap, and Mama got to hang by herself for a bit. After that we drove to Rockton to see Grandma and Grandpa Swanson. Next it was Burlington Coat Factory to buy Allie's flower girl dress. Then we went to get Mama's dress. Unfortunately it didn't fit, but I know it will on Jeni's wedding day! After that we all went to dinner and then it was time for Mama and Allie to head home.

It was two-thirds of the Durso pack because poor Dada was sick all weekend. The plan was for Dada to stay home Saturday anyway, but it wasn't so enjoyable for him! He stayed home from work today too. So again it was the two girls getting ready and heading off to work. We ate breakfast together and it was a lot of fun.

Allie's getting older and we need to try and let her do more on her own. My left arm hurt all weekend and I finally realized it was because I was carrying her everywhere. I should have let her walk! I've been letting her use the spoon more and more, and she's actually getting really good at it. But she won't get better at all this stuff unless I let her do it!

Allie is a good travel partner. We have a lot of fun together. I've spent a lot more time alone with her the last few days than I have in awhile. Probably the last time we spent that much time together was when she was 3 months old, before I started working. She's changed a lot since then!

Anyway, pictures from our weekend adventures will be on their way soon.