Miss Mischievious!

I had heard before that after a baby turns one, they turn into this "little person" - and, boy, has Ali ever! Not that she wasn't so full of life before her 1st birthday - but, now all she wants to do is roam the house and carry things around! She is a ball of energy and wants what SHE wants (not what I want) but, also, it is different b/c she does not want me to hold her all of the time. :) :( Not sure how I feel about that - b/c it means she is growing up!! Her three favorite words right now are Daddy, Bye bye and Ali! She kind of uses bye bye interchangeably with Baby (although it is more like bah bah) and Baxter. Last night, we went to Publix and she loves grocery shopping, so she was in the best mood. I would tell her to say one of these words and she would repeat it right after me (very loud!) and was so excited! Then, I told her to give me a kiss and she laid a BIG wet one right on my face! Her kisses are hilarious b/c she just opens her mouth wide and puts it on my face and gets slobber all of my face then pulls away and makes a "ma" sound. I love it! Also, she is catching on to so many things! The other day, I asked her where Winnie the Pooh was (we gave her a Pooh for her birthday that knows her name and always says "Let's play, Ali!" - she loves it when he says her name!) and next thing I knew, she brought Pooh too me! I was so impressed! For the first year, you spend so much time doing everything for them and thinking they can't understand a thing - and then, all of a sudden, they prove to you that they've been listening the whole time!

Here are some pictures of Ali (and Baxter) today - she just travels all over the house. Her favorite destination is the kitchen to our little island where all of her snacks sit. She usually picks them up then comes to find me and hands them to me - in hopes that I will give her one! ha! If there are not any snacks there (and I need to go to the grocery store!), I have caught her just sitting in the little cubby hole where the snacks go, instead! Her other favorite thing to do right now is to CLOSE doors. Last night, Ryan and I played with her for at least five minutes while she went in her room and closed the door and said "bye bye" to us and would leave her little tiny hand on the door for us to see. It looked so cute! She then opens the door a little and peaks her head around and we shout "hey!" (another word she likes to say! or maybe it's "hi" - I'm not sure which one she actually says) and then she would shut the door all over again! Here's a picture of her saying bye bye as she closes the door - not a great picture but you get the idea! (she kind of looks like she is singing in this picture!)
Or, her favorite door to shut - the playroom door (that leads to the computer - where her mama is typing!). There is one pane that does not have glass and is the perfect spot for her little head to fit so I can hear her cracking up as she thinks she is playing some big practical joke on us by shotting me and Baxter in here! ha! Ali and I went to her one year check up at the doctor's office the other day (11/12/07) and everything looked great! I found the same little report card from a year ago (well, 11/13/06) and compared her stats and it's amazing how much she has grown!

11/13/06 11/12/07

Height 22" 97% Height 29.5 " 75%

Weight 7lbs 8 oz. 50% Weight 21 lbs 2 oz 50%
Head Circumference 14.5" 90% Head Circumference 19" >100%

Ali is in 12 month clothing right now but her head is so big that sometimes I can not fit 18 month clothing (without buttons) over her head! The girl has a big head which is great b/c that means that it is full of big brains! (as if we didn't already know that!) :)