11months

Well, she is coming up on her 1st birthday, but I took this picture on her 11 month mark. As you can see, she almost has enough hair to put it up like Pebbles!

First Steps?

Of course I didn't have the camera ready, but she did take 3 steps today completely on her own! I was so surprised! Of course with coaching I couldn't get her to do it again. Well, it was late and she was tired. It was funny - I just told my mom earlier today she didn't seem to be in any hurry to walk!

Halloween Festivities

I took her to the store in her costume and when I went to take a picture she got into the spirit of things and her goofy side came out.Full Make-upShe didn't actually go trick-or-treating, but she helped pass out candy.

So Chic!

She's the best dressed person around our house.

Halloween Dry-run

Leave a comment and Vote for your favorite costume!
(Thanks to Nick's friend at work for passing these along.) Flower Child

Tigger!

Hiking Adventures

We went on a "walk" that turned into a hike in the Prince William Forest Park. It was a beautiful day and Alison loved her vantage point atop Mt. Daddy.

Sunday Dress Photo Shoot

If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands!

This last trick she learned from Grandma Suzie!

Weathering the Storm

We went to Williamsburg on one of the rainiest days this fall. This is how we kept little peanut warm and somewhat dry. She didn't care, she had a great time.

Family Ties

Sporting the Hjorth Family TeeTaking advice from the dentists in the family. Although - she's only figured out once that floss comes out of that. I'll give her a few more years (and some teeth) to teach her what to really do with it!

Bedtime?

No, we were just having a photo shoot. If it had been naptime, she might not have looked so happy!

Swinging and Squealing

I knew she had outgrown the baby swing when she would reach out and grab the pole to stop it. However, we discovered she loves this kind of swing. She squeals and giggles and could stay there all day I think!

9 months!

So she is wearing some 6-9 month clothes finally. I took her to her 9 month check up today and she weighed in at 17 lbs 7 oz and 26 1/4". Her head is 17 inches around. She's in the 25 percentile for all of this, so that makes me feel better. This doctor was great and assured me that she was growing just fine and very healthy. Alison did a good job. I think she was worried she was going to get some shots - but not this time! She doesn't have to have anymore until around her birthday - lucky her!

Slow and Steady

This picture was taken just a few days ago - she's now nine months old! She has this same fleece on in some pictures from the day she turned 4 months old. It was a little big then - but it still fits! These are her friends Sam and Alex - they are 4 months younger! She's growing - just slow and steady. I'm reassured that we named her properly. Alison means "small and truthful". With the teething and other discomforts of that it also means cranky and clingy.

Dirty Laundry

I guess she was trying to tell me it was time for a bath!

Standing Tall

From the time we left on our trip (1 July) to the time we got here (21 July) she went from the Army crawl, to hands and knees crawling to pulling herself up on the furniture. A few weeks into August and she was experimenting with standing all on her own! She's even started maneuvering around the furniture while standing - uh oh!

Pool Party!

Somebody loves the water!

Baby Jazzercise

Alison loves her little exersaucer! She enjoys chewing on everything and eating Kix out of the food tray. She also manages to figure out a sippy cup. Her second tooth just popped out yesterday and she learned how to clap this week. It's very cute!

Gidget Makes a Friend!

This is Philippa's new scooter - in Alison's signature color! Her name, the scooter's, is Gidget. Very fitting. This was taken on Alison's 8 month mark - also the day her first tooth cut through - finally!! (note that Alison is not wearing pink - in an attempt to prove to Philippa that she doesn't ALWAYS wear pink!)

More Road Trip Tales

She had not seen a horse before and she thought it was pretty amusing. She was laughing out loud at their snorting and funny noses.

This is the face of a child who is SOOOOO happy to be out of her car seat!This is how she spent most of her time in the car - most of it. We found she also loves playing with wet washcloths, eating finger cereal snacks, and complaining. She had never cried in the car until this trip. I guess if I were strapped into a seat like that for hours on end, I'd be mad too. She was a trooper!

Olympic National Park, Washington

This was at the Hurricane Ridge Visitor's Center. A group of British folks were so enamored with her that they took this picture of us on our camera as well as some with theirs. Someone on the trail called her Heidi - hiking up in the mountains like this with that hat. It was funny.
This park is one of our favorite places on the planet. There were deer happily grazing, wildflowers, billowing clouds, and spectacular vistas. It is so naturally pristine. It makes you wonder what the earth looked like before we took over. The park is enormous and we only touched a few places on it. There are also beaches, Crescent Lake and waterfalls. Here's their link: Olympic National Park

These are some of the pictures we thought we lost when our camera went missing. It's amazing how on the road and with a baby you have so many things to keep track of, even the most together person (not claiming to be one) starts to forget! I like to call it mommy brain. I kept calling the Visitor's Center and lucky for us someone finally found it and turned it in the day we were leaving. We were so relieved. We were more worried about losing the pictures with Nick's grandparents than anything.