Allie is cuter and cuter by the day. Yesterday she amused me by blowing on her food when it was too hot. I do that all the time, but she did it by herself and it was OH so cute. You had to be there.

She also was practicing her "running" skills this evening. Should only get more fun from here, right?!?!

Oh, and one not so great development. Last week, Allie had her first "grocery store" meltdown. She hit her head while in the cart and would not stop screaming. I took her out and calmed her down, but she refused to get back in. After much ado, I definitely left a cart full of groceries in the middle of the store!! Oh well....

=)

Hello Everyone!

This past weekend Allie got to go to Florida for a visit with both sets of Grandparents! The Chastain's: Jamma and Jampa, and The Gandy's: Mimi and Papi.

Meanwhile, John and I sailed away to the Carribbean on a cruise! We had a great time and met a really great couple that we hung out with pretty much every night! We got to go visit the Mayan ruins and I had fun ice skating and rollerblading on the ship! If only every weekend could be a cruise weekend!!! Wouldn't that be nice?!?!? Anyways, it was nice to get away for awhile and reconnect with each other.

Allie is doing well. Just getting over a cold. We will all be glad when "cold and flu season" is gone. I heard the birds chirping out the window today. I think spring is coming!!! =)

My first Blog Entry Ever

Wow. So here I am. My cousin, Rebecca, coaxed me into starting this blog about my firstborn child: Allison Sarah Chastain aka: Allie, Alligator, Allie Cat, Allie Baba (Lisa, I still don't like that one!!)

Allie is.....
17 months and 1 day old
a Virgo
has blue eyes that look like jewels
curious
adventurous

She...
seems to fit in well in any socal situation
says "Hi" to most every stranger
likes books
likes balls
likes climbing

At 15 months, she surprised us by climbing an 8 foot ladder by herself and then climbing back down!!!

These days, she says about 30 words and is repeating most words you say. Although, she very rarely says "Momma." Go figure! She also is showing signs of potty-training readiness, although I still think it will be a few more months. Wouldn't that be nice!! No diapers....Sigh...Excuse me while I daydream a bit =)

She is an excellent sleeper. She sleeps until 9am most days and naps every afternoon. Don't hate me! I trained her well!! She is also a very good eater. Her favorite food is probably berries and chocolate. She is also into grapes and hot dogs right now. She doesn't like juice that much. Maybe that is because I water it down. LOL

She doesn't have a stuffed animal she is attached to. I tried to avoid that. And she only uses a pacifier for sleep, but I am contemplating nixing that soon too. She actually gets excited when you say, "Do you want to go Night-Night?" and she will run to the stairs. Again, don't hate me!!!

Overall, she is an amazing little tot. Many of my good friends are jealous of her good, easy-going nature. I must say I would be too!!!! =)

This has been a hard year for us. The past 6 months I have been battling cervical cancer. I am proud to say I am cancer-free now and am starting to move on with my life. Although I cannot have any more biological children, I am very blessed to have my little girl. In some ways, she is my "miracle baby." I have been ready to have another kid since Allie was 1 year old. We have found an amazing woman to be our surrogate mother and are meeting with a surrogacy lawyer when we get back from vacation.

Ok, well I am off to finish packing. We are leaving tomorrow for Florida where we will drop Allie off with the grandparents while John and I head to Mexico on a cruise! Adios!!