First time at the Beach

We go to the pool a few times a week, but we can officially say that Aleigha is a beach bum. We have finially made it to the beach this summer. We have come to Virginia Beach to see my niece, Little Lexi get blessed. We are having a great time visiting with Bob, Chambrae, and Lexi. We still have a few more days, so I'm sure I will have more pictures and more stuff to say in a few days...but we had to get a few pics and videos up for Daddy, whose back at home, to see. Aleigha absolutely loved the ocean. It def. helped that the water felt wonderful. We had a great time.

New Puppies

Yesterday was a pretty good day. We woke up yesterday morning, and couldn't find our American Bulldog, Saddie. I looked around and couldn't find her anywhere. Knowing that she was due any day, I figured she found a place to give birth to her puppies. When Chris got up, he found her under the porch...and sure enough she had her pups...12 of them to be exact. They are all really cute, and I'm sure will get cuter as they grow. Later, when Chris went to work, Aleigha and I went to Katie's house to hang out for the day. We made this really awesome picture craft. It's hard to explain, so I'm going to post a picture of it soon. We were really proud of ourselves...we did a pretty good job if you ask us. Then we had some friends over to play games. I'd have to say it was a pretty fun day. Here are some pics and videos of the new puppies.

Saddie with all her pups.

Close up of one of the pups.

Aleigha wasn't sure what to think.

Aleigha being "Not-So Gentle"

Becoming a Little Swimmer

Well...it's summer time, and Aleigha and I don't do a whole lot but go swimming. We try to go on just about every nice day. I'd say we usually go about 4 times a week. Like I've said in other posts, Aleigha loves the water. She is now actually swimming (about the way any 9 month old would swim). She was sitting on a step, playing with a ball in the water. She let go of the ball and it floated just out of her reach. So she did what any baby would...kicked herself off the step, went completely under the water, and grabbed the ball. Don't worry...her Uncle Wade was there with her the whole time, and I was just a few feet away. But that was when Wade grabbed her and she came back up. Now of course, it all happened in about 1/2 a second. He then showed me what she was doing. So we kept putting her back on the step and each time putting the ball a little further away. And each time, she would go as far as the ball. I was really excited about it. I went home and looked up baby swim on the internet. I know that it's easier to teach babies to swim then it is to wait until they are older. But I have never seen it before. I found some really neat videos online. I want her to "really" learn...the proper way how to swim. Next time I go to the pool, I will def. be bringing my camera so I can catch this amazing feat on video.

Fun Week

It's been awhile since I have last written a post. The last week has been pretty busy. On Friday, we went to my niece Allison's birthday party. She turned 14 years old. It was held at the water slide. Although we didn't go down the slide, we had a good time. Then we went camping for 4 days. We really enjoyed ourselves. This has been our 2nd time camping this summer. However, the first time we went, we got set up late and then it rained the whole next day so we only stayed the first night. Good thing too because it didn't stop raining for the next 3 days. Aleigha likes to camp. She enjoyed just sitting by the fire and watching it. She fell asleep staring at the fire on more than one occasion. Here are some pictures and videos of the last week...sorry there is so many...I had a hard time picking only a few. I had over 300 (just from last week) to choose from.

Aleigha insists on stuffing her mouth.

Aleigha in the baby pool

She loves the baby pool b/c she can stand in it all on her own.

Playtime while camping.

A campground attendant who Chris works w/ has this special talent of balancing
things on this chin. Here he is balancing a card table.

Now he is balancing a tiki torch...on fire.

Aleigha is inside a tunnel at the playground. She's looking out the whole and
showing me what she found.

Aleigha loves twizzlers...this is the face she made the moment she saw her Pe-Pa.

Waking up in the tent

This shot is taken through the pack-n-play screen....
I thought it turned out really neat.

Playing in the tent...she thought it was so cool.

Daddy and baby sitting by the fire.

I think this picture is priceless.

I love them both soo much.

Aleigha and Pe-pa

Maddie, Abbie, and Aleigha...taken at Allie's party.

Abbie and Aleigha

With her twizzlers again.

Mommy and baby...she is standing all on her own in this pic.

The three of us at the pool...having a good time.

Sunglasses shot...Chris had to hold Aleigha's hands
down so she wouldn't take them off..haha.

Beach Bums

Chris is working as a campground attendant at North Bend State Park. One of the perks of him working there is a free season pass for the family to the pool. Although Chris has a hard time taking advantage of the membership since his schedule is usually during the same hours that the pool is open, Aleigha and I have been living the life as beach bums. Since the pool has been open, we have gone on just about every nice day. Aleigha loves the water. As soon as I get my foot on the steps of the pool, she's trying to dive in. I put my hands under her as she moves her arms and legs in the water as if she's swimming all on her own. It's so cute. She also likes it when we sit her on the edge of the pool, so she can jump (more or less push her self off) into our arms. We always have a blast when we go. I don't have any pictures of her actually in the water. I will soon get some so I can post them. These are ones of us hanging out outside the pool.

Abbie and Aleigha

Taking a nice long nap at the pool

Such a smile (you can kinda see her tooth-bottom middle)

Pretty in her Little Hat and Bikini

She never makes it home awake.

Little Lost Creature

Last night, Chris was outside doing some things in the yard when he heard a car slow down out front of our driveway. He then heard what sounded like our cat being ran over. When the car pulled off, Chris walked up to see if indeed out cat of the victim of this car. Did he find our cat? No, instead, he found a baby kitten. Someone decided that our house was a good place to drop of this little creature. I think they still think my mother-in-law lives here. At this time we are not quite sure what we want to do it with it. For the mean time, I suppose we will feed it and take care of it. If it's a boy, I am more ok with keeping it. We already have a male cat, so we certainly don't need any more kittens. We recently found out that our American Bulldog is pregnant. Luckily her pups will be pretty easy to sell, much easier than kittens anyways. Here is a picture of this little creature that was dropped in front of our house. Any suggestions on names?

Poor Aleigha

On July 7 we were at my nephew's baseball game. We were having a good time watching the game and playing in the grass. Aleigha was getting to play with her cousins Maddie and Abbie...so of course she was having a great time. Well, towards the end of the game, Aleigha and I were sitting on the grass. I looked down and saw that she had picked one of those white little flowers (technically a weed) and rubbing it between her thumb and her index finger. I pulled her hand up closer to realize it was a BEE!!!! I freaked, and picked the bee from her fingers and threw it. It was then that she let out a blood curdling scream. I looked at her finger to see the stinger stuck in her little index finger. Thank goodness my mom was there, while I was freaking and crying...she was getting the stinger out. Sometimes moms need moms. I was nervous that she might be allergic to them. Her finger swelled a little. Luckily there was a concession stand at the game, so I was able to put some ice on it. Aleigha cried pretty hysterically for about 5-7 mins. Once I realized she wasn't going to blow up like a balloon, I decided to give a cure that I knew would hold up. And the sure fire cure was nursing her. After about 3 mins of nursing...she smiled and came up to play. Her finger stayed swollen for a couple of hours. When she waved bye-bye to her Mee-Ma and Pee-Pa, all her fingers made a fist...except for that little swollen index finger..it stuck straight out. I felt so bad for her. It was sooo sad. My little girl is a trooper...she recovered well and quickly. A little more quickly them me even.

9 months old today!

Well, Aleigha turned 9 months old today. Oh how time has flown by. With every day, Aleigha is getting bigger and bigger. She is reaching another milestone with every passing minute it seems like. She has been such a joy in our lives. Chris and I couldn't be happier. She is such a blessing. We thank God everyday for her.
Lets see, at 9 months old Aleigha weighs aprox. 15.5 lbs and 27 inches tall (the height is just an estimation). She has one tooth, her bottom right middle one. She crawls faster than you can imagine. She pulls herself up and can walk along the couch, crib, or whatever else she might pull herself up on. She can climb the stairs (which scars me to death). She can stand up w/out support for up to 10 secs. She loves to clap. She enjoys doing the hand movements for "Itsy Bitsy Spider" (the spider part at least) and "Patti-Cake." She is also doing baby sign language. She frequently does the signs for "eat," "milk," "love," and sometimes "more." Which by the way, she loves to eat. She also loves to dance. The second she hears music, the dancing begins. She also loves to laugh. She plays peek-a-boo...she pulls the blanket over her own face. She shakes her head "yes"...a very dramatic "yes" at that. The other day she called 411...thank goodness it wasn't 911. She sometimes blows kisses, but always waves. The advancements seem endless.
Today we celebrated her 9 month birthday by eating Oreos. She loved them. Here is a video and some pictures of her from today.

Class Reunion

Chris and I went to our first class reunion...which was 5 years. We had a good time. There wasn't a whole lot of people there...about 1/5 of the class. That comes to about 20 people. However, we only went to part of the reunion. The first part was at the park for a dinner, it was then followed by a dj and drinks at a hotel...we opted to just go to the park. I think more will show up for the second part. Now we have to look forward to our 10 yr reunion. It was nice to see some old faces. Once again, Aleigha had a blast b/c she got to show off. We are very fortunate to have such a happy baby that we are able to bring her along with us to events like this, and her have a good time too. She looked so cute today in here little outfit...so I'm posting a picture with her in it.

Independence Day

Our July 4th went pretty well. It was pretty nasty outside so fireworks were canceled which was a bummer. Aleigha and I spent most of the day at home, cleaning and relaxing while Chris was working. We decided we had the latest 4th of July picnic ever, which got started around 9 pm. When we are talking about my family, every one arrives late...so the second part of the family didn't get here until 11 pm, but that was ok..b/c a second picnic we had. We all had a very good time though. Aleigha got to wear her cute little Fourth of July dress, which she looked adorable in. She also had a blast showing off for her Mee-Ma and Pee-Pa and her Aunt Katie. Then later on she had a great time playing with her cousins. Her and Maddie are really starting to interact with each other...it's really cute to see. Here are some pictures of Aleigha in her July 4th dress.

Getting Started

I am new at this blog so it might take some time for it to get looking good. Then hopefully, I can keep it updated. I think this is an awesome idea to keep in touch with family and friends.