Well, it has been a long time since I've updated our blog, and I decided I had better get after it, since our little one has now reached the 1 year milestone! I can't believe how quickly this past year has gone by. It is amazing to see all the growth and development a little one can go through in such a short amount of time. Here are a few of the things Alyssa is doing.
. She is walking all by herself, and has been doing so for about a month now.
. She can say ball, mamma, dadda, ah-oh, clock, and tries really hard to say anything and everything else we ask her to say. She also makes lots of animal noises. For dog she says "ff, ff" she can roar like a lion or tiger, and loves to make monkey noises. She is a very vocal little girl.
. She loves to clap and dance to any and all music.
. She also loves to climb in and on anything she is able to.
. She loves to pull faces. Most recently, when you ask her where her eyes are, she closes them really slowly, and sometimes even rolls her eyes at you.
. She still uses a lot of sign language. She signs "baby" for pretty much any little kid she sees, whether they're a baby or not. She signs "eat" pretty much all day. She eats like a pig, even though at her 1 yr checkup she weighed in at only 17.8 lbs. She is on the chart, but at the very bottom. She still signs "ball" even though she can say it. Some of her other signs are; more, please, bath, milk, mommy, daddy, story, play, and all done. She is just the love of our lives, and we can't imagine what life would be like without her. She is such a joy, and brings a smile to our faces almost all the time. She really is a good baby, and we don't have much to complain about where she's concerned.

Cheesin' it up!!!

One of her favorite faces she pulls.

Here she is climbing into the recipe book drawer. This is what she loves to do when hanging out in the kitchen with mom.

Climbing into her "toy" box. Usually she climbs into the box and throws all of her toys out.

She still loves spending time with cousins, and wishes more of them lived close enough for her to spend time with them.

Here she is at Grandma Deb's with another cousin. Grandma loves to play Blind Melon's "No Rain" video for them. They LOVE it!!!

"Don't I look cool in my birthday shades?"

Now that she's walking, it is hard to get a good picture of her.

Most of them are from this angle.

Here she is with the ball daddy got her for her birthday.

It's almost as big as she is, but she still loves trying to carry it around.

Silly Alyssa!!!

"Why did mom and dad keep chocolate cake a secret

from me for so long?? This is awesome!"

"I can't get enough!"

"Sometimes I think my toes come in a close second to chocolate cake!"