Alaina's First Thanksgiving

Cousin Alysa holding Alaina

Alaina giving Aunt Sarah Thanksgiving kisses

Alaina's first Thanksgiving was celebrated in Iowa. We went to Des Moines to spend Thanksgiving weekend with Nate's family. We enjoyed spending time together. Nate's parents had not seen Alaina since Labor Day so they had fun watching Alaina show off her new tricks (rolling, grabbing, babbling).

We also made a trip to Iowa State while we were in Iowa. We took Nate's niece, Brianna, with us. I have not been to Iowa State for a very long time so I was happy we made time to go visit. It was an especially special trip because we went on November 27th. Nate proposed to me five years ago on November 27th. We took Brianna to the exact spot on campus where Nate proposed- the armory. Of course we forgot to take our camera with us when we went inside the armory. It would have been a perfect picture moment. Instead, we have a picture of both of us in front of the campanile.

I was a little nervous about how Alaina would handle the 4 1/2 hour car ride. She had a rough ride on the way to Des Moines. We had to stop three times for feeding, diaper changes, and a meltdown. However, she surprised us on the ride back home and slept the entire time! I don't think we're ready for an overseas trip yet, but she's a fairly good car traveler.

Ready for Winter

It's getting colder outside. Since Alaina loves to kick her blankets off, we decided we needed something else to keep her warm in her carseat. We found this really neat carseat cover at Babies R Us. It's really warm inside! It zips up the front so it's very easy to get Alaina in and out of her seat. We're offcially ready for cold weather.

Nate and I are taking Alaina to Iowa tomorrow morning to celebrate Thanksgiving. We are looking forward to seeing Nate's family. Alaina has grown so much since the last time they saw her. This morning I made chocolate chip pumpkin bread to take to our Thanksgiving dinner. Alaina sat in her bouncer on the kitchen floor and kept me company. She is able to amuse herself with her toys for longer periods of time. She really enjoys her musical caterpillar. She was just so cute that I had to take a video and share it. Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!

My Two Ladybugs

Happy Halloween! We went to my parents' house, ordered pizza, and passed out candy. I loved watching all the trick-or-treaters, there were some really great costumes. Maybe next year Alaina will be old enough to go trick-or-treating too. We dressed Alaina and Zoe as ladybugs this year! Alaina didn't seem to mind wearing her costume, but Zoe kept trying to eat her costume. Zoe's costume had to be taken off well before the night was over. Below are a few more pictures from tonight. Hope you all had a fun Halloween!

At the end of the night, both Alaina and Zoe were asleep on Grandpa's lap.

Congratulations Cari and Dan!

Last weekend Nate and I went to Iowa for my friend Cari's wedding. Cari and I were both Early Childhood majors at Iowa State. The wedding was in Dayton Iowa, a small town northwest of Ames. Nate and I spent the night in Iowa and drove back on Sunday afternoon. My parents watched Alaina while we were away. This was our first overnight trip without Alaina. It felt strange not having her around. I kept waking up throughout the night thinking that I was hearing her cry. I wonder if I'll ever be able to sleep through the night again. I'm so used to getting up with Alaina. We had a great weekend, but it's great to be back home!

Four Great Years

Our Wedding

October 1, 2005

Thanks, Nate, for the best four years of my life. I love you. Take a listen to our first dance song, still one of my favorites. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMNKh0Zp4pw.

Alaina's Best Friend

As Alaina gets older she is becoming more and more interested in Zoe. She is able to lift her head and watch Zoe run by. Today Alaina was enjoying some tummy time while Nate was playing fetch with Zoe. Alaina watched Zoe catch her ball and run down the hallway. As you can see from the video, she thought this was hilarious. Her little laugh is so adoarble. I can already tell that Alaina and Zoe are destined to be best friends.

Alaina's 4 Month Stats

Alaina had her four month check-up this week. She weighs 13.5 pounds and is 26 inches long. She has more than doubled her birth weight! The doctor told us that Alaina is ready to start eating rice cereal. The video above shows the first time we gave her some! It wasn't a huge hit, but we're hopeful that Alaina will learn to like it after a few more feedings. She wasn't too sure how to take food from a spoon. As you can see in the video slip, she spit out most of her cereal. After Alaina gets the hang of eating cereal, we will move on to fruits and veggies. We're so excited to watch Alaina try new foods. :)

Our friends Dana and Keven came from Phoenix a few weekends ago. Their son, Sanjai, is 8 months old. We had so much fun watching Alaina and Sanjai play together. It was intersting to see what Alaina will be able to do at 8 months. What a difference 6 months makes! Below are some pictures from our Alaina and Sanjai's play date.