Hanging Out At Home

When we returned from Shadywood Farm, we had 3 days to get ready to leave for Florida. This meant that there was lots of laundry and packing to do and a lot of time spent at home. It was kind of boring, but Allie didn't seem to mind. She got to play in Mommy & Daddy's room which doesn't happen very often. Here she is playing on our bed:

One of her favorite activities is crawling up and down the hallway, especially if we're chasing her. She'll crawl down to the corner and just sit and laugh. It makes me question why we buy toys when things like this keep her so entertained.

She also got to sample some new finger foods in an attempt to keep her entertained and away from the suitcases. She seemed to be slightly more interested in playing with the food and making a mess than she was in actually eating the food. Oh well, she's still the cutest baby ever!

Shadywood Farm '09

We spent the majority of the month of August traveling as a family to various locations across the country. We were away from home for 19 out of the first 24 days in August and either visited or drove through 9 states (Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, Virginia and North Carolina). Allie was a total trooper the entire time. Much better than we expected.

Our travels began with a trip to Butler, PA for the annual family reunion at my Grandma's farm. It was so wonderful to spend 4 days with family and just relax by the pool. We also got to meet the twins, Sophie and Sebastian, for the first time. They are a few months younger than Allie and it was really neat to watch the three of them, plus big sister Charlotte, interact. We didn't get a chance to visit the cows at the dairy farm next door but hope to do that next year. We had a great time and are looking forward to Shadywood Farm in 2010!

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the trip.

Allie and her Great-Grandma!

Hanging out with Daddy by the pool.

Enjoying a picnic in the grass.

Allie loved the mirror at the top of the stairs. She kept giving the baby kisses. It was so cute!

Miss Sophie being her adorable self.

Big smile from Sebastian!

Allie loved swimming in the pool.

Sophie must have told Allie a really funny joke.

The three babies. I think they're second cousins or something (Their Mom is my Dad's cousin).

The rest of the pictures from our trip can be found here:

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AZtW7hy4btWLDDA

We'll see everyone again next year!

8 Months Old!

Yes, I know that this over a month late, but how could I not post these adorable pictures from the day Allie turned 8 months old? Allie has turned in to quite the little monkey. She will no longer sit still and play, she's either crawling or pulling up constantly. She's mastered Mama (the sweetest sound EVER!) and Dada and continues clapping and waving like a pro. She gets cuter by the day if I do say so myself!

The Updates Are Coming!

I have not abandoned the blog, I promise! We've been in and out of town the entire month of August and I just haven't had a chance to get everything updated. Expect a ton of new posts in the coming days!

She's Crawling

Allie's been getting around pretty well in the past few months but now she's full-fledged crawling! It amazes me how quickly she can get somewhere and how brave she is. Our "toy area" in the living room is not cutting it anymore either. In fact, she wants nothing to do with that area and would rather be exploring some other part of the house. She's definitely keeping us on our toes these days.

I don't think the boys are too happy about her new-found mobility. She has an obsession with stealing their sippy cups. She's awfully cute for being a thug!

Our Little Pilot

Nick's parents have a swing shaped like an airplane in their backyard. Allie loves swinging in general but there's something about this swing that brings shear joy to her face. Maybe we have a future pilot on our hands?

All Tuckered Out

Allie fell asleep in the car the other day. When we got home, we found her like this:

I guess she was either playing a wild game of charades or trying to pick her nose. The world may never know.