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CUTENESS!!!!

Celebrating One!!!

With another crazy week, we didn't celebrate Alivia's birthday on her actual day. So today, Saturday, we got her a critter cake at Wal-Mart and let her have at it. I must say, I thought she was pretty doggone cute getting into her cake!!! Hope you think so, too. Her Sissy helped a little at the end when she wasn't actually tasting it. Then she realized it was pretty good, but still enjoyed squeezing it between her fingers much better than eating it. The end to her fun came when she decided to throw it on the wall - and then she was off for a quick bath and me for a quick cleanup of the kitchen!!

Our Youngest Turns One Today!!

Here's our sweetie pie at 1!!! Hard to believe we've had her home only about 5 months. Seems like she has been ours forever. She is still cruising and we expect her to walk any day now. She is waving bye-bye and showing us items in her hands. She is saying words we think are "dada, mama, kitty, hi" but can't be 100% certain. She still laughs the best at her sister and they have a riot together. She is waking at night some, but I think she is teething again (upper teeth). The weather is getting cooler here, so we went to the park at lunch yesterday and I put her in the baby swing. She started out very happy and then suddenly started crying. We'll try it again today or tomorrow while it stays cool. We aren't having a party for her today as it's just a crazy busy day with little time, but we will let her get into her first cake on Saturday.

I was wishing her a happy soon-to-be birthday before bed last night and thinking how wondrous that is when I suddenly thought of her birth mother. It must be hard knowing you gave birth but having no clue as to what your child is doing, how she is developing, or what she even looks like on one of the most important days as a mom. So today is really a celebration of Alivia's milestone and of the precious gift her birth mom delivered to us.

Alia Cooks

Here is our own "naked" chef. While she may never get her own baking show, nevertheless she enjoyed baking banana nut muffins for us. We skipped the Easy Bake Oven and went straight for the big oven. Wow, did we clear out those muffins when they came out - delicious!! I've got to start her cooking now so that she will be ready in a few years to take over cooking duties (isn't that why we have kids???). Her dad would be the better choice for teaching her. Otherwise, she may end up like her mom who only specializes in canned, boxed, frozen, eat in, or take out!!

On the Go

Alivia just amuses herself sometimes. She loves to spin, as evidenced here. She thought it was pretty cool to use this silky blanket. What a card!

Alivia's New Pics

Here's the wonder kid wondering why she can't stand up all the way and why she has chocolate pudding all over her face. She's working on standing without aid so badly you can feel it! And Daddy said she ate a whole thing of Jello and part of a thing of pudding - maybe those thighs have something to do with not being strong enough to stand up fully by herself yet, hmm? She cruises furniture in the standing mode great. What a sweetie!

Fay Didn't Like Us

Tropical Storm Fay on the surface wasn't really too bad. A day off work, wind, rain, lots of TV watching and Wii playing. However, as careful as we were to catch the leaks that appeared after Hurricane Charlie, somehow we missed something and our kitchen floor became wet under our new laminate flooring. The laminate swelled in several areas where the water puddled underneath. We decided the best course of action was to remove it. Here you see the end result of our removal efforts. Our Labor Day weekend was pretty much taken up by this project. What started on Friday as deciding what to put down instead ended up being a bit of a fiasco. Our original intent was to take up the laminate and the old vinyl beneath, remove the adhesive, and stain our concrete a fetching color. Alia helped tear it all up. BUT, the paper backing on the vinyl stayed down. No biggie - just get the proper recommended nontoxic cleaners and it will all come right up - theoretically! Tried 3 different removers and while the paper will come up some, the adhesive below would not budge a bit. Tried the hot water method - no luck. So after a very, very frustrating Saturday, we ran over our options. Do another floating floor, put down ceramic tile, get fiercer chemicals and see if that works, rolled vinyl, or carpet. Well, anything that is floating or carpet may most likely get wet again. We don't like rolled vinyl and don't want toxic fumes. So we are going to have tile installed. Got a really good deal on some beautiful tile at Lowe's (our favorite home improvement store) and our installer will call within a few days. What an unexpected mess. Stayed tuned for final results......