We have ourselves a 1-year-old!

And here she is!

She's certainly come a long way from Day 1.

Here she is modeling her birthday shirt.

As of just after 1 p.m. April 26, Allison has been with us for a full year.

I can't imagine a sweeter, happier baby, although she has been asserting herself a little more of late. And climbing...I could definitely do without climbing.

But other than that, there's very little one can complain about when it comes to Allison. She's been such a good little girl who has brought us so much happiness.

Although we're keeping it low-key for the actual birthday celebration, Ally has been busy in recent weeks.

First, now that she's almost 1, we decided we'd let her dye her hair blond.

Just kidding...but Ally's first professional haircut did shear off all the brunette "baby hair," revealing the new growth and rendering her as blond as big bro. So, here we have our blond-haired, blue-eyed little sweetheart. If you need to find Brandon, he'll be busy polishing his shotgun for the next 30-some years.



Ally also enjoyed her first Easter. While Anthony asked for his "Easter toys" for every single day of the two weeks between the time he sniffed them out and the day of the actual holiday, the proceedings were a little less exciting for Ally, whose celebration mostly amounted to wearing cute dresses and an Easter bonnet.


Brandon dared to say he doesn't think this Easter hat is cute.

Ally begs to differ.





I think Javier approves, too.



What exactly am I supposed to do with there?









Not sure why, but this is one of my favorite pictures of Allison.

We also took a trip to the zoo in recent weeks.


Ally was mostly confined to her stroller, but didn't seem to mind too much.



We let her out to drive this old truck...

...get eaten by a dragon...

...and enjoy the relative safety of Daddy's arms.

Now, she's looking forward to year two of adventures. While she may not quite be the complacent, super-easy, always accommodating baby of old - and that climbing...ugh! - she's still as sweet as can be, and we can't wait to join her on those adventures.

Besides, we like her to have a little spunk!

I am woman, hear me roar!









Allison is 11 months old!

Allison hit the 11-month milestone last weekend, the last time her birthday will be measured in mere months. I really feel like she's looking more and more like a little girl rather than a baby, and she's following in her brother's footsteps to become a little blondie.

She's still a little sweetheart, though she is letting her opinion be known more forcefully these days. Things she likes - her brother, the cat, eating - get a big smile; things she doesn't like - being left alone in a room, being kicked by her brother, not eating when she wants to - get loud screams and tears.

And it's hard to know if it's intentional or not, but she could be saying a few words. Brandon has been on the receiving end of a few "dada's," I got a "mama" the other day, and she says "hi" when she waves her little Miss America-style wave:

We've had some fun times this past month.

The kids are taking advantage of the YMCA swimming pool while the weather is nice...

Anthony has also been taking swimming lessons. This is an adventure for all involved...one time he SCREAMED the entire 30 minutes; today he did a lot better and announced "I didn't cry!" when we were done. It was more or less the truth.

Ally doesn't get in the water quite as much, but she does rock a bikini:

Work it!

We also hit Hollywood's St. Patrick's Day parade earlier in the month:

This photo just screams, "Awwwww, mom!"

Happier faces:

We also went to Brandon's cousin's wedding in Orlando. The weekend was dampened by the fact that everyone got sick - a planned day at Disney was nixed, and three of four didn't even get to the wedding - but we did have some fun at the children's museum.

Anthony was scared of this odd-looking lizard...Ally, not so much:

Ally also liked playing in the garden...an early version of "he loves me, he loves me not"?
And the highlight for Anthony was "working" on this car:

We're all looking forward to the big birthday party next month - it's almost impossible to believe our little baby is almost 1.

Ally is 10 months old!

And mighty grown-up looking!

Out little sweetheart hit 10 months February 26, and somehow I managed to track her down and keep her in one spot long enough to take a picture for the occassion.

Ally is constantly on the go these days - she's a crawling pro, and recently added cruising to her means of transportation.

It's generally very cute - there are few things more adorable than the determined look of a crawling baby - except when it comes to changing her diaper and getting her dressed. I usually work up a sweat while she works up real tears of dismay at not being allowed to move for the next 60 seconds or so.

Naturally, the 10-month photo shoot had to be quick, as sitting and posing with the teddy bear is no longer entertaining enough for Ally.

That's the point at which I gave up.

Aside from those lovely shots, I'm ashamed to say there is scant photographic evidence of Ally's 10th month, as several of those weeks were spent getting ready for, enjoying and then getting reorganized after a Carribbean cruise.

We had a great time, but I will admit, even on days spent looking at this...

...I was pretty happy to get back and look at this (and big brother, too!)

Allison is 9 months old!

Month 9 finds Ally in great health, high spirits and 1-year-old clothes: the doctor put her in the 95th percentile for "height" and the 75th percentile for weight (19 lbs, 3 ounces), so I guess she's long and not-so-lean.
We marked the 9-month milestone with an amateur photo shoot that allowed Ally to show off some cute new dresses, as well as her bright blue eyes and pretty smile:

Aside from being so good natured its a little scary - she popped through four teeth over the course of a week with barely a frown - Ally spends most of her time engaging in pretty typical 9-month-old behavior.

She crawls all over the place, even coming to greet me when I pick her up at daycare.

She's a menace to get diapered and dressed, often trying to take off for greener pastures (toys, the cat, big brother, you name it) before the job is done.

She loves to play with her toys...

...but hasn't yet learned not to smack herself in the face with them. Poor baby.

She's also figuring out how to wave hello, play patty-cake and clap her chubby little hands.

But by far the most thrilling achievement, in Ally's eyes at least, is her recently discovered ability to pull up to the standing position.

It is her newest skill, and clearly her favorite. She wants to do it all the time...coffee table, laundry basket, bathtub, you name it. You'll be sitting on the couch minding your own business, and all of a sudden this little smiling face pops up to say hello.

For Ally, it is the stuff of true joy.

Of course, for us, so is she.