In our yard

We don't have our own yard in our condo, but we do have a yard with interesting activities to play! We all go out together when we get home from work. Dada takes Monk out to do her business and also gets the mail. Allie and I play, but more often I just watch to see what she'll do next.

One of Allie's favorite things to do is sit on the porch.

She likes pulling leaves off trees and picking the grass.

For whatever reason, there's a manhole cover in the middle of the yard to the side of our building. Allie discovered it and loves playing on it.

She also enjoys picking up the rocks and tossing them around. She gets mad when I take them out of her hand when we go inside. But the rule is rocks, sticks and leaves aren't allowed in the house. We enforce that rule for both Monk and Allie!

And of course Allie likes to just run around.

Aren't these great pictures? I took them all on my phone! I figured out how to upload them to my online photo album too, so its a lot quicker to get them onto this blog. I don't have to mess with the camera cable and uploading them onto the computer before uploading them here. Not to mention the camera on my phone is a lot faster and in the right light takes better pictures. I'm really enjoying playing with the new phone!

Little pink piggies

I call Allie's toes piggies. We like to play "this little piggie went to market." She even calls them piggies too. And today at daycare Bridget's daughter Teagan, whom Allie absolutely loves, gave Allie her first pedicure! You can almost see the pink on her little piggies. I was amazed that she sat still for it. They said she was just fascinated. I think Allie's feet are so adorable anyway, but with the light pink on her little piggies makes them even more adorable!

A purse of her own

Today Mama got a new purse. So what do you think I did with the old one? Well, seeing as how we've got a little girl in the house who loves all purses, I gave it to Allie! And she loved it!

She kept bringing it to Mama and Dada to unzip, open it. Then she'd ask right away to close it. She put funny things in there like her shoe, her toy tea pot and her milk cup. It was cool to have her ask for us to open and close it because we didn't know up until then that she knows those concepts! Allie's collecting all sorts of grown up stuff. Dada gave Allie his old phone last night but when I gave Allie the purse, the phone was charging.

Catching up with technology

What a great picture of Allie! And I took it on my phone!

Yesterday was the day that both Mama's and Dada's cell phones became eligible for upgrade. Mine has been eligible for a year or so, but it took another year before Dada's was eligible. Seeing as how we both hated our old phones and were really excited to get smartphones, we went to the Verizon store at the first possible opportunity, right after work yesterday!

We spent a good amount of time with the salesperson learning about data plans and how the smartphones work and stuff before we made our decision. We had a pretty good idea but it was confirmed with what we learned in the store. We got the Droid X2 and so far they are awesome! Its strange though trying to figure out some of the functions, and discovering all the new things! The first thing I did was post a facebook mobile status! I was up until 10 last night and the time went by so fast because I was playing with that phone.

I figured out the camera this morning and took this sweet picture of Allie. The camera on this phone is 8 megapixels. I think my regular camera is only 5! Talk about quality. I was able to upload the photo to facebook, but I haven't yet figure out how to upload directly to the blog. I have a Picasa web album, which is part of my blogger/google account, but for some reason the upload failed the three times I tried. So I went to send a picture message to my email and realized I could just send an email! So I'm mastering the new technology. I've played so much with my phone today that my battery is just about dead, at 3 p.m. Surely once the newness wears off the battery will last a bit longer.

Where's the camera?

It was a beautiful day today, especially when we got home from work. It was nice and cool and breezy, more like a fall day than summer. We hadn't been to the playground in awhile because we don't like going when its super hot. So we got home from work and off to the playground we went.

Doug has taken Allie to playgrounds a few times when I've been busy with other things. So it came as a surprise to me to see her playing so independently! Not so much on the playground equipment, no, she was more interested in swishing the rocks around and climbing one step and going down. But she just ran and ran and acted like she owned the place. I wished I had brought the camera to take a few pictures and document the difference I saw in her today versus how she was the very first time we went to that playground earlier this spring.

We came home from the playground and gave her a quick dinner. She seemed tired since she hasn't napped well the last few days. She stayed up playing in her crib for almost an hour though! We talked at the playground about giving her a bath after dinner and Dada went up to start the bath and Allie started asking for the bath! Every day she's showing off new skills. Things that make Doug and I ask each other, "Where did she learn to do that?"

In the car on the way home from work she likes to sing. She kind of grunts and we sing the ABCs or The Wheels on the Bus. She asks us to sing more before we've even finished the song! She sings along too, in her gibberish. Dada is better and figuring out what she's saying than Mama is though. We also count to 5 and she counts some numbers with us if she's in the mood. Even if she doesn't count she'll put her fingers up like Mama and Dada do.

She really likes this pink water bottle that I have. It can't be anywhere in her sights or she fixates on it and won't give up until she has it. I can't drink out of a water bottle in the car either or else she cries for it... and promptly dumps the water all over herself.

Its just funny the things that Allie picks up on. She was enjoying the ride to the playground in the stroller and I asked her if she likes the wind in her hair. She smiled this beaming smile looking upside down at me and put her hands in her hair and shook her head. So cute!

I remember when Allie was only a few weeks old, people coming to see her and telling me to cherish this time because they don't stay small for long. They were right. As much as I'd like her to, this kid isn't staying small forever. At least Doug and I get the pleasure of seeing her learn new things and make new discoveries every day. This is why I became a Mama, for the moments like these.

Big kid spoon

Yes we do occasinally feed Allie in the living room. But thats not why I posted this picture. I made a rhubarb crumb cake yesterday and we gave Allie her own piece. She seemed to like the cake but I think she was way more excited about the big spoon we gave her instead of her baby spoon. She's getting pretty good with the spoon, though not so much the big spoon.

How we spend a Friday night

We spend our Friday nights with lots of playing and laughing. Well really, we spend any night this way and feel really privileged to do it.

She's such a goofball! And did I mention she's oh-so-smart! She's really talking a lot these days and eating well with the spoon and running and jumping. She keeps growing up even though I'd like her to stay small forever.