The First 100 Days

Since everyone calls attention to the First 100 Days of any incoming President, I thought I would provide an update on what happened during our First 100 Days of being home with Alina.

Pediatrician Visits
Alina has seen her new pediatrician 3 times since being home. The first visit was a couple days after we got back so that doctor could assess her overall health. Generally speaking, she passed with flying colors. One unfortunately incident though was they had to collect a urine sample, so they put this baggie over her little girlie area (trying to be PC here), and we had to wait for her to pee in it. She wasn't being too helpful, so we took her next door to a place where they could collect a blood sample. At this point, the appointment had lasted a while, and I had to go into the office for a meeting, so I left. Well apparently, Alina didn't like getting stuck by the needle, so she preceeded to cry and released all the urine in her little 23 lb. body: some of which the bag caught, the balance of which ended up on Brandon's lap. The second visit was for routine shots, and the third visit was because she had the croup around the holidays. Alina has deemed the pediatrician's office as an unpleasant place given that she always gets a shot when she goes, the poor baby.

Holidays
We've been able to share Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas with Alina, and they were all a lot of fun.

For Halloween, she was a monkey, and greeted everyone that came to the door with a big grin. She was quite a hit! Brandon also took her to a pumpkin patch, and she kept trying to deadlift different pumpkins of varying sizes.

For Thanksgiving, she was a bit on the fussy side given that my side of the family all descended on her territory at our house. But after a nap, she was right as rain and enjoyed some tasty turkey.

For Christmas, is was the DFW tour, as we went to Cleburne 3 times in 1 week to visit Brandon's various relatives, Keller to visit my brothers, and polished off the holiday with Brandon's extended family coming to our house the Saturday after Christmas. All the celebrations were fantastic, and Alina loved each of them (obviously so because she got a lot of attention and was spoiled with presents). We thought she might get a little cranky with her naps being cut short on Christmas Day, but she showed us her extra gear. We got home about 10pm that night after an hour drive from Cleburne, and laughed because she talked/jabbered the whole way home. Well, that is until 5 minutes before we got home and she fell asleep. Sadly, she doesn't make the transfer from car to crib quietly, so when we put her to bed, she talked for another 20 minutes before drifting off.

Growing like a Weed
She has gained about 5 lbs. since coming home, and continues to get taller. She went from 9 month clothes being "just right" on her, to being slightly undersized for most 18 month clothes.

Our Pets
Alina loves our dog Bailey and our cat Rasta, even though they are all still trying to figure out how their relationship is supposed to work.

Bailey is our 3 year old, 70 lb. English Pointer & Hound mix. She does not realize that she is so big, solid, & strong, and believes that she is a lap dog. When standing on all fours, she is slightly taller than Alina, so it's a bit intimidating as you can imagine. Alina usually runs to the safety of one of us when Bailey starts running around the house, or barking. But when she is laying like a sweet dog on the couch, Alina likes petting her nose. The cutest thing though is that Bailey has taken to getting up most mornings and waiting outside Alina's door for us to get her up in the morning. She'd go right in her room if we didn't have a baby gate up to keep her out.

Rasta is our 15 year old, 8 lb. Blue Russian. She is a bit of a scaredy cat by nature, so she doesn't take too kindly to guests, new people, or other animals. She spends most of her day in our bedroom lounging around as most cats do. When she hears an Alina high pitched, excited shrill (which is what Alina usually lets out upon seeing Rasta), Rasta immediately begins looking for the escape route to the closet. On occasion, she lets Alina per her, but it usually doesn't last long.

Food & Fun
Alina loves to play at the mall playgrounds. Brandon will meet friends who have kids around her age, and let her go nuts. The great part is that the things the kids climb on are super squishy, so she doesn't get hurt in case she takes a minor spill. Granted, the biggest thing to watch out for are the crazy kids running around nuts without their parents paying close attention. There should be sign that says "ADD on display" outside each one of these areas.

Food wise, Alina loves chicken, peas, fish sticks, potatoes, carrots (usually), yogurt, oatmeal, and apple sauce. In fact, she loves apple sauce so much that she is saying the word "apple" almost non-stop on some occasions. We try to get her to say momma, dada, or the other couple words she knows, but she responds with "apple". It's quite cute.

She loves music, and dances or sways her head when she hears it. She's not a huge fan of TV shows, but does like the Backyardigans - not so much for the story, but the music. I have a video of her dancing to the intro song in front of the TV, and it's a riot. Just imagine this tiny little thing throwing her hands in the air (and yes, waving them like she just don't care), spinning around, crouching and jumping up all in one swift motion. Just brilliant.

To sum it all up, it's been a great adventure, and we are so thankful to have a beautiful, smart, fun little girl in our family.