December - whew a busy month for sure

Hello, everyone! We are actually still around and did not drop off the face of the earth. Good news to us for sure. It was, however, a very busy month for us - as I'm sure it was for you, too. We have so much to update you on, but where do we begin?

Of course, it was December, so there was shopping and Santa visiting and socializing. There was also about 3 trips to the Pediatrician only to be told Allie has a cold. He was very nice about it, but at that point I think I was hoping for something we could actually treat! There were 3 appearances of Pink Eye - the last occurring for Mommy and was actually confirmed. There was very cold weather and a trip to sunny Florida - only to discover it was cold there, too.

Many wonderful things were accomplished as well. Allie began pulling up more often during December and by the end of the month had it mastered and is very much wanting to walk on her own - although we aren't there yet. We are climbing like a monkey, however. And, speaking of a Monkey, our signing vocabulary has multiplied - and most signs Allie's parents and teachers can figure out - there are some that still leave us baffled, but she seems to know what she is saying. She is enjoying signing the Zoo animals, like Monkey, Gorilla and my favorites - Kangaroo and Penguin. She has also mastered how and when to sign "NO". Depending on my tone, she seems to know my next word after "Allie" is going to be "NO", so she will turn and sign it for me. Another things she seems to enjoy is she will start toward something she shouldn't be at - like the dog's water bowl for example - turn to look at me and sign "No, No, No" all while moving her mouth. So.... she has learned to talk back - or should I say sign back? She also likes to play with this to get me to chase her or stop her. Allie has also gotten a few more sounds to her "vocabulary" and I'm most certain I heard her SAY "Cracker", "Get Dressed", and "Block". But, we are still far from that happening regularly, I believe. We are pointing to pictures more frequently in books, following instructions more consistently and we are demonstrating a lot of 2 year old Independence. (I say this like it is fun, right?). Seriously, Allie is growing by leaps and bounds in many ways. We still struggle with her weight - as she remains just under 16 pounds, and being sick literally all month did not help it at all. But, she seems to be getting taller regardless. She has also begun to show a slight interest in food lately. Sometime in November (or October?) she decided she didn't want much food - crackers, cookies, veggies, meat... nothing really appealed to her. Luckily, she did drink her milk which is all the doctors really want her to have anyway.

Until I can post more specific stories and details of all the fun and holiday festivities, I wanted to give you all a glimpse into our month with this group of pictures. I hope you enjoy getting a glimpse into our December.

We hope you stay warm as temperatures everywhere are chilly! Today, our high here in Alabama was only about 25. It is a chilly 19 degrees now, but "feels" like 11 according to the weather channel. And Florida was getting sleet today! Oh my!
Love,
The Lovell Family