March for Babies

This weekend Ivy, Alex, and I along with several of my friends from School and their families walked in the March for Babies! I surpassed my goal of $150 thanks to the support of friends and family, and I am SO proud of our team which together raised more than $1200!!The South Newton Tiger Cubs...

Ivy and I with her wonderful godmother...

I guess it's no surprise if I report that Ivy is in to EVERYTHING! She has definitely reached the place where her curiosity far out reaches her understanding of danger. This morning alone she climbed on to the kitchen table and stood up, climbed into the desk chair to roll around the living room, and climbed on to the toilet in her bathroom to reach the "sho-shin". After she got the lotion she proceeded to take it to her room, open it, and squirt it on to the carpet. Oh my, she DOES keep us busy!! But, we love every minute of it!!

I think I'm going to start a regular feature on the blog reporting her new words of the week. It'll be fun to show her later... This week's new words are: "lock," "fluh-fly" (butterfly), and "mar-mo" (marshmallow).

17 Months!

When you ask Ivy to show you her teeth, you get a smile! Hooray! Finally a way to get her to smile for the camera!

What a wonderful weekend we've shared!
A little mischief in the kitchen...

A little music on the harmonica! Since her birth, we've always know that she's got good lungs!

A little dress-up for church (thanks, Madrina, for the cute dress)...

A little bikini action!

On Saturday we decided to take a dip in the pool. I bought this bikini for Ivy last year... I just thought the ruffles were so cute! When I held the swimmy diaper open she grabbed my arms and stepped right in! Then she stepped into the bottoms, too! To me, this is just another little sign that we are leaving babyhood...a little sad, but the emotion that I feel most is awe.

Then, as if I didn't think she was growing up too fast, today she put two words together. We came if from snack outside and she pointed to Alex's drink and said, "Papa cup...Papa cup." Such an amazing little girl, but then I guess I'm a little partial :) !

Big Girl!

God has blessed us with a really nice week at the Alfaro house!

On Tuesday evening Alex and I bought bicycles in an effort to reclaim our youth...wait maybe that's just my effort! In the area where Alex grew up, bikes are more a way of life than a hobby. He's so comfortable on a bike that after more than 7 years of not riding one, he took Ivy for an 8 mile ride. I've never been much of a rider, but I'm definitely improving!

Here they are finishing snack before their ride...

Getting settled in... And they're off for the inaugural ride...

Then Wednesday we enjoyed dinner with friends...Ivy tried being the center of attention which is kind of new... and she got some lovin' from her godmother.

She's growing so fast...here she's drinking from a big girl cup. She'll have it mastered in no time, I'm sure! Cheers!

What's new?

Ivy is growing like a weed! Going through some of her newborn clothes I found a newborn diaper as well... it wouldn't even cover one cheek now!

It's been a bit of a rainy week, but we've made the most of it! We've done some coloring...

We've shared some snack...

Ivy has been practicing her climbing skills... into a kitchen chair and then onto the table, into the roll-y chair, in and out of the bathtub, and then I showed her how to climb onto her old potty seat to reach the sink to wash her hands! I debated showing her how to climb anything more, but I figure it's better to show her the appropriate ways to climb...

We also had a little do-si-do jam session... Papa is on harmonica, Ivy is providing the dance moves... I think she taking "Spin your partner" a little too far!

Then today, the sun came out, and Ivy officially dropped her morning nap a couple of weeks ago, so we even made it to church this morning! Thank you, God, for your many blessings!