Four Generations

This past weekend Allie made the trip up to Winona, Minnesota to visit her great-grandma!! She invited Auntie Kim, Grandma Whamond and I to go along with her. :) Unfortunately, Uncle Mike had a busy schedule so he wasn't able to join us. So far she has been a pretty good traveler. I was definitely a little nervous about upsetting the people in the assisted living home, but she kept her fussing to a minimum. The weekend was actually quite wonderful as great-aunt Pam, and the rest of the fam gave my sore wrists a rest and held Allie for much of the time.
Allie got a taste of a true girl's weekend. We spent most of our time talking, shopping and eating the infamous long johns from Bloedow's Bakery. :) I should mention that shopping in Minnesota where there is no tax is a dangerous thing for someone who is such a sucker for a good deal!!! Auntie Kim and I may have blown the bank while great-grandma and grandma watched Allie.

The best quote of the weekend came from great-grandma. She was telling me about her "conversation" with Allie. Her interpretation of some of Allies louder noises: "Allie had a few swears to say." :)
We were thinking about visiting my cousin Jill on our way home, but Allie was ready to get home. She sleeps great in the car, but it throws off her sleep schedule. :(

This is the Sugar Loaf, which is on top of the bluff that great-grandma used to live on.

Two Long, Crazy Weeks

The timing of Allie's birth was nearly perfect. I was able to take a full 12 weeks off, but I had to go back to work for the last week of school. I guess it really was the best timing we could possibly come up with as I would probably have had to go back in to clean up and finalize grades and stuff, so I might as well get paid for it.

Everyone and their mother, literally, offered to watch Allie. It was such a blessing!!! I was mostly nervous about the logistics of getting her to and from the current day's sitter and making sure she had everything she needed. Thankfully, Auntie Kim (and daddy) started off the race. They made the transition to work so much easier as Auntie Kim came to the house and watched Allie while Andy worked from home.

Tuesday and Wednesday were spent with the Wolfes, Thursday with Grandma Tucker, and Friday Auntie Kim came back. I'd have to say that she was in very good, loving hands. :)

During this week I got a taste of being a working mom, which included the oh-so-fun pumping!! I believe I may have mentioned this before, but just in case I didn't...pumping is not fun. I had to sit in a tiny room attached to a machine... I did get better at it as the days went on, so I feel a little better about the fall.

The next week I had one of the classes in the program that I had been a part of (working towards 30 more hours of classes to get the next raise.) That week Allie went back to PR and spend the day with Beth Nagel, as well as spend another day with Grandma Tucker. The majority of the week, though, was spent with her best friend Ella. Ella is 3 weeks older...so quite a bit more mature. :) Ella's mom, Kelle, and I have had a lot of fun watching the two of them grow. I love hearing what Ella is doing as I know that Allie will soon follow suit. Kelle was so great...she took tons of pics of the little girls as they played together. They even spent some time "talking," but she wasn't able to get it on video. :(

Look! Ella has a hand!! And a wrist!! And an elbow!!

Time for a photoshoot!! A is for Allie the Alligator. E is for Ella the Elephant.

Roll'n, roll'n, roll'n

It is a guarantee that every child will perform at least one "first" when mommy's not looking. Allie decided not to put off the inevitable...
We were getting ready to take a bath, so I had laid her on her back on the floor while I went downstairs to get a diaper. I came back upstairs...and she was on her tummy!!! I thought that it must have been an accident, but just in case I ran downstairs, and like every good mom, got the video camera. :) She, amazingly, graced her mom with a repeat performance, which is forever memorialized on DVD. I think I'm starting to get this mom-thing down.
Unfortunately, while she was able to repeat the rollover several times, the bath seemed to wash the memory of the newly acquired skill from her memory. When daddy came home we watched and watched and watched, but once she reached her side, as she still does now, she found her thumb and decided that sucking is more fun than rolling. Instead she showed daddy another new trick...rolling from tummy to back. Lots of fun milestones, all in one day. We're still waiting for a repeat performance.
I hope to soon work on loading the movie onto my computer so you can see for yourself. :)