Ally Makes Some Big Changes

Although we didn't do much of anything, Matthew, Ally and I really enjoyed our nice long weekend together. I took a ton of pictures of the little peanut because I hadn't sent any to her grandparents for a while. I've posted the best of the bunch.

You can never have too many pictures of a naked baby in the tub!

Ally has finally figured out how to sit up in her armchair!

It was very cold on Friday so Ally was all bundled up- she didn't really like having her hands and feet covered up.

What a mischievous little grin! She continues to charge straight for the dog food bowl.

Ally is now eating cheerios! We've reached a whole new level of messiness now. Thankfully Morrison camps out under her highchair to clean up any mess on the floor!

A nice family portrait taken after church on Sunday.

Two happy girls!

Just being silly in the kitchen.

Ally had just finished an entire container of baby food in one sitting! This was a huge accomplishment!

As you can see from this last picture- we've had a major breakthrough in the eating department. Last week when we went to feeding therapy we met with the director of the speech pathology program and she felt that it was time to stop being Mrs. Nice Guy with Ally. It has come down to a battle of wills and Ally was never going to start eating normally at the rate we were going. It was by far the hardest and most productive session we've had. I held Ally's arms down while the therapist forced her mouth open and deposited some bananas while repeatedly saying "open, open, open, open...." I was near tears for a while because she was so unhappy, but by the end of our appointment she was willingly accepting spoonfuls of bananas when I said "open!"

Over the last week we've built up to three full servings of food/ day and have even begun to introduce some veggies. Ally likes sweet potatoes, carrots, and squash but is definitely not a fan of sweet peas- she gags with every bite. We'll be trying green beans this afternoon. She's also eating some cheerios and yogurt melts. She's still behind on the eating curve compared to most babies, but she's made huge progress in a short amount of time. We're very encouraged and are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Ally and I go back to therapy today and we're very excited to show off all we've accomplished!

Ally has also made a lot of progress on the crawling front. She's gotten a lot faster and a lot more confident in her mobility. The minute we put her down on the floor she makes a beeline for the dog food and water bowls and she's figured out how to crawl over obstacles like a pillow or a leg. She likes to follow the dogs around, and is content to putter around in the kitchen when I'm in there preparing meals. She also pulled herself up into a standing position with the assistance of her activity table for the first time yesterday! We're obviously so proud of our little peanut!

In other news, Matthew will be checking out of his squadron on Friday. We're leaving very early Saturday morning for Florida to attend a wedding and spend a few days in Tampa with the Martins. When we return Matthew will check in to his new position as the Mini Boss on the USS Baton. The Mini Boss is an assistant to the Air Boss who oversees operations on the flight deck, hangars and air-space near the battle group. It is a non- flying billet so he'll be stuck at a desk for the next few years, which he's not too excited about, but I'm hoping he'll find some things to like about the job. At least he's worked for the Air Boss and the Executive Officer of the ship before and he'll know all the pilots and aircrew man that deploy with the ship since they're from his old squadron.

That is all for now. Thanks for checking in with us. More soon!