The ABC's:

In an attempt to drive me absolutely crazy, my good friend Tessa got Alanna this fridge toy for her birthday.  It says the name of whatever letter you put in it, and then what sound it makes.  Cie-J and I swore to each other that we would never have toys for Alanna that make noise.  HA!  Boy how that rule went right out the window.

 Needless to say, she loves it and plays with it non-stop.  The good news is...she can now sing her ABC's all by herself!!  I am trying to catch it on video so I can put it on here.  It's too cute.  

 She dances and sings and instead of "LMNOP" she says "Elmo a Me." 

 

 

Merry-Go-Round:

We were at the mall with some friends and we all decided it would be fun to ride the merry-go-round together.  The girls LOVED it and we let them go on it three times. =)

 

 Alanna, in her Minnie Mouse shirt from

Gunkle and Jes.

This is Lucia.  

She is a sweet girl and about to be a big sister!

This is Annabelle.  

She is also a sweetie and loves this ride and protests when it's time to leave. =)

MONKEY MONDAY: A Girl's Best Friend

Alanna LOVES her dog, Asha.

  I mean she REALLY loves this dog.

 REALLY REALLY loves this dog.

  A lot.

 

Friday Funnies:

We were at a friend's house yesterday and the kids were being SO GOOD and quiet and playing nicely.


Well, so I thought.......

Happy Birthday Big Girl:

 It all started with this unexpected sight...

 Then I got huge...

Then we brought this precious sweet pea home.

Happy Birthday Monkey!!

It's hard to believe you are two!  We love you!

Ready For Church:

I bought this outfit when Alanna was a year old and it just now fits.  She was too cute for words on Sunday. It cracks me up that her named was spelled out on her shirt, yet the nursery worker STILL spelled it wrong.  Oh well, I guess I asked for that since I messed with the traditional spelling.  I've seen "Alana, Alannah, Alanna, and Allana" all as spellings for her name.  Thankfully "Brown" isn't to difficult to mess up.

Alanna has been saying some really funny things lately and I want to be able to remember them all.  You think as a mom, that you will remember every little thing your child does, but you don't.  Shoot, I barely remember last month!  HA!

So, she says "okie" for yogurt still, she just recently started calling Mickey "got-gah" again just to be silly, and banana has become "bala".  Some of her favorite phrases are "all day long", "far away" and "for a minute".  For example, she might say "Mama, Alanna eat cheese all day long" or "The sky is far away" or "Alanna hold the keys for a minute."

She also says "hold you" when she wants me to hold her and when I say "no, it's hold me Alanna" she comes back with "hold you me!"  I love it.

Sometimes she says words or phrases together and doesn't realize they don't go together all of the time.  Like "bow hair" or "buckle seat".  She asks for a "bow hair" in her hair.  Or when we go grocery shopping, she wants me to "put buckle seat on" to buckle her in the cart.

Sorry, I know this turned out to be long and if you made it to the end, you get a gold star!  It's probably kind of boring by now, but I just want to document this fun stage in our lives so we don't forget it!

 P.S. Tomorrow she will OFFICIALLY be two.  WOW.

Papa Do It:

 Papa got to "fix" Alanna's hair for the first time.

 They were both pretty excited.  She sat there like such a big girl and held still until he was done.

YES!  She finally has enough hair to do this with!  YAY!!

 

She looked super cute - too bad they didn't last very long.  She said "no piggies!"

 

Monkey Monday:

 Cowgirl Alanna!

 

Friday Funnies:

We were visiting a friend this week,that lives on a big ranch on the outskirts of town, and it was time to leave.  I told Alanna we were going, and to please stay with me.  She of course promptly ran for the door and went outside on her own.  Little toot.  We had just had two days of constant rain (that we SOOO needed) and the driveway is made up of caliche.  Alanna was running straight for a mud puddle.  The thing she didn't realize, was that the puddle was about 5-6 inches deep.  She fell in head first and was soaked from head to toe.  We all just busted up laughing SO HARD!  She just sat there on her rear looking at her hands and saying "Make a mess!"

Had we not been tired and hungry, I would have thought to snap a picture, but I didn't.  Thankfully our friend let us come in and grab a quick bath.  I don't know how I would have gotten her home otherwise.

Conversations with Alanna:

Daddy: Hey look, it's raining.
Alanna: Why?
Mommy: Because we needed it and God sent it.
Alanna: Why?
Mommy: Because we prayed for it.
Alanna: Why?
Mommy: Because the ground is dry.
Alanna: Why?
Mommy: I don't know why Alanna...it's just raining.
Alanna: Why?
Daddy: Alanna, it's raining because the air is unstable.
Alanna: Oh, okay.

AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

We have discovered though, that if we give Alanna an explanation using big words, or words that she doesn't understand, she will be satisfied and stop asking why.

  

Throwing A Fit:

I love this little monkey, and most days are really great days with lots of fun things to do.  But some days are like this picture above.  I want to remember the good days, but I also want to remember days like this.  I also want to be able to come back to this picture some day and show Alanna what a little toot she could be. HA!

 

Sparkly Chime:

One of Alanna's potty prizes was a wind chime.  She LOVES it!  She called it a "sparkly" for the first few days and then we finally got her to say chime.  Now it's the "sparkly chime."  Cie-J will sit and tap it with a broom stick while she is swinging just so she can hear her chime.  So sweet.  I love them both.

 

Monkey Monday:

 She watched a whole Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episode this way.  Silly girl!

Friday Funnies:

One day this week, I went in to the kitchen to take my  daily medicines.  Alanna followed me in and watched what I was doing.  She said "how wrong mama?" (she says 'how' instead of 'what' - so cute!)  I told her I was taking medicine.  She thought about it for a second and then said "mommy tummy hurt?"  I told her no, that I had to take medicine for my thyroid.  I could tell she was thinking about it for a little bit and then said "Mommy ty-woid hurt?"

I just busted out laughing.  She is so sweet and caring, yet just trying to figure the world out on her own.  It's amazing to see her wheels turning and learning new things each day.

Have a great weekend!

Alanna's Flowers:

Cie-J bought me flowers last week, and every time Alanna would see them, she would ask for "Lanna's flowers."  

So....a couple of days ago, he brought her home some flowers after work.  She was THRILLED!!

 

They are fake (for obvious reasons with a two year old) but she LOVED them.  He even sprayed them with some lavender oil so they would smell for her.

This just makes makes heart go 'awww' and melt.  He is such a good daddy to her and she is learning how a boy should treat her.  When she is MUCH MUCH MUCH older of course. HA!

As you can see, they had to go outside with her while she was swinging with daddy.  They also had to go in the bathroom while she pottied, in the kitchen while we ate, and in her room while she slept.  So sweet.

Iphone For Kids:

 Alanna knows EXACTLY how to use my iphone.  She can turn it on and find her apps and games.  She can switch from one game to another.  She knows how to turn on the music and listen to it.  I am just amazed at how well she navigates it at still one year old! (almost 2)

She has learned to recognize several animals and what sounds they make because of it and she recognizes many shapes and colors too due to the games she plays on the iphone.  Her favorite games are "Monkey Preschool Lunchbox, tozzle, and Peekaboo Wild"  

I know this isn't a funny post, but I want to write this stuff down so that I can remember it.  Or maybe I just want to let my husband know that my iphone was a MUCH NEEDED purchase and that it is getting good use, as well as, educational benefits!

Thanks babe!!

Kitty Cat, Kitty Cat:

We went to Dallas to visit Gunkle Clint and Aunt Jes and to attend their baby shower.  We had a lot of fun...but Alanna's favorite part of going to Gunkle's house is seeing the kitties.  

 The kitties don't always love her as much as she loves them.  But this particular day, Spades sat outside on the porch and let Alanna pet him for a good 10 minutes.  She was in heaven!

It was 104* outside, but she didn't care.  She would sat out there and melted for an hour, just to pet that kitty.  Isn't that dress so cute?!?  One of the Minnie dresses I had made for her birthday.

 Just two short weeks until her birthday party!  WOOHOO!

Monkey Monday:

 Hands on hips....oh my...