"Lia is 1"...says the Easter Bunny

Happy Birthday, Lia! My sweet girl turned 1 on the 3rd of April...the day before Easter.

At her year appointment she weighed in at 21lbs 2oz and 28.75 inches tall. As always, Lia is a happy baby. She quit nursing around St. Patrick's Day... Yep, just up and quit. So no weaning for her...it was I who needed some time to adjust. It was good because that was shortly after the teeth started coming in. ;) Lia has 2 on the bottom, so far. She's still eating her homemade purees and drinking soy milk and formula. (Yes, she's still allergic to milk.) So far her vocabulary consists of "Mama," "Hi," "Bye,' "Uh-Oh," "Dog", "Duck" and the occassional, "Dada.' She can sign "Milk" and "Eat." I've even heard Milk come out her mouth once, too. lol And according to Mary Ann and Gene (the baby-sitters) she has said, "Mary Ann," "Bella" and "Alexander." Lia is really fascinated with reflections and images of herself... If you walk by a mirror, (or a picture of herself) she'll say, "Hiiiiiiii!" As far as motor skills...she's really good at putting things into other things and taking them out. She even put the lid on her milk bottle the other day. Mary Ann just taught the girls how to blow kisses as well. (It's really cute.) She's been crawling since 9 months and pulling herself to standing since a little after 10 months. Lia is nearly walking and can stand on her own effortlessly...she even can sway her hips while standing when music is playing! Right now, she's crusing on everything and broke her 3-step max record the other day...taking 4 steps on her own.

We had a small party for her on Saturday and Alexander helped me make her Bunny Cake and Color Eggs the night before. We even did a mini Easter-Egg Hunt...it was a blast!:














And we can't forget my sweet Alexander... :D
Alexander hit is 2.5 year mark on March 18th. He's become such a BIG BOY. At his appointment he was 28 lbs and 33 inches tall. (Yes, Lia will be catching him in no time... lol) Alexander's vocabulary continues to grow each day and he forms more and more sentences. Just the other day he asked me what I was doing...in a whole phrase, "What are you doing, Mommy?" It's crazy to think that 18 months ago he was like Lia. :) His "Aww Man," "Awwwww" and "Oh, OKkkkkk..." responses when he's just settling for your terms are comical. He continues to be a good big brother. He can help me feed Lia with very little mess and is really quite helpful. However, the fights have begun! The two of them can be seen pulling on toys and I've even seen them hit each other. I didn't think it would be so soon... Really need to start potty training...but he's still not quite ready. (Diapers still pretty wet over night, etc.) We'll see... Alexander has been becoming more independent too. He has mastered putting in DVDs, feeding himself and tries more and more each day to dress himself...putting on shoes, jackets, etc.

We spent a wonderful time in Lisbon for Easter and were able to get this cool "family picture". :)




I am truly in love with my family!