Tis the season for a BIRTHDAY!

That's right... It's Birthday time for the Aligs. Ms. Madelynn officially turned 1 yesterday. We had a birthday party for her last Saturday. I had a great time, and lets face it- the first birthday is more of a celebration that the parents made it through the first year. And in birthday tradition, Madelynn got her own cake. She was very lady like and hardly made a mess, despite my attempts to "help."

During "birthday week" we learned that a balloon can be your best friend.

We continued with Birthday celebrations yesterday. Okay... we had pictures taken; got the booster for the H1N1 and then headed home. So, I guess we didn't exactly burn the house down celebrating. But we did have round two with the cake. This time we were old pros at it, and Mom learned how to get icing out of a nose (a skill that I'm sure will come in handy).

I can't believe how big she has gotten and what a little person she has become. She is so smart and funny. I never knew that a baby could have a sense of humor! I am utterly dazzled by her! Thank you to everyone who helped us celebrate Madelynn's first birthday- we know that December is a busy time.

SANTA- the sequel

On Monday my office hosted a kids Christmas party. And not to be outdone by any other kids Christmas event, Santa was in attendance. As we stood in line Madelynn was preoccupied with the other children and the many adoring adults. She hardly noticed where she was headed until I plopped her down on Santa's lap. She was not happy! Maybe next year.

Santa Round One

Brian, Madelynn and I headed off to the Mall this weekend to meet Santa. And as expected, the introduction wasn't exactly joyful for Ms. Madelynn. She smiled and cooed at Santa until it was her turn to sit on his lap. And then the lip quivered, the eyes welled with tears and she reached for Mama and Daddy. (Meanwhile, mom and Dad are ear to ear smiling). With the help of Papa and Grammy we've been practicing what Santa says... "Ho, Ho, Ho." By Christmas she should have this down pretty good.

The Giggle

I started this blog with the hope of uploading video of "The toddle"- however, my IT skills are lacking and I can't figure out how to convert it to a useable format. So instead, I've uploaded my very favorite video of Madelynn. Her little giggle absolutely melts my heart. I am putty in her baby hands!

Finally!

Madelynn FINALLY has her first tooth! Without a runny nose and very little drooling or fussiness her first little tooth made it's debut three days ago. Lookout steak- here we come!

Hair and other fun adventures

Having a daughter means- learning to do hair. And most of you know that I'm not really the girly type. I rarely spend more than 15 minutes (drying not included) doing my hair. But I am so anxious to do Madelynn's hair! We attempted our first official ponytail. It lasted a few hours- she apparently is not much of a hair person either.

But my favorite time to do her hair is right after bath time- how cute is she?

But not all of our endeavours end so.... clean. We currently are experiencing our first bout of independence. Madelynn very much wants to fed herself. Really, who can blame her. But the outcome looks like this...

Yes folks, she does have food in her hair; in her nose, and I believe there might be some in her ear. Honestly, it goes everywhere. And so far the cat is not much help. All I really need for Christmas is a puppy to clean up the floor. Mom and Dad- I was kidding- PLEASE don't go get me a dog! Even though the messes are horrible and time consuming- she's so dang cute and she tries so hard.

My Little Monster

Our first Halloween was a huge success! We limited our ventures to the Grandparents'. We (mostly me) had a great time dressing up. We added a pink bow to Madelynn's costume to add a touch of feminity. (Now that I think about it, I'm not sure why- all the grandparents know that she's a girl). Madelynn was such a good sport and despite being about 5 degrees warmer than normal- she hardly fused. I was only able to get a few pictures (in focus anyway). I need camera lessons on how to capture a moving child. We had so much fun this year- we can't wait for next year. Maybe we can get dad to dress up with us?