We buy toys for their tags...

Ali continues to grow magnificently.

Ali's first time on a swing

She had a recent follow up with her GI doctor.

She weighed in at 17.9 lbs ... We'll just call it 18 lbs.

The doctor said since she is doing so well that once Ali is 11 months to start mixing some of her formula with whole milk to see how she tolerates it.

He said he doesn't expect her to have any problems with it.

(If you don't remember she had a milk protein intolerance.)

She is still not crawling, but she continues to sit up very well and plays on the floor for extended periods of time. We still give her tummy time so she can start crawling. We hope she learns soon., but she just doesn't really seem interested.
She pretty much skipped rolling over too, she did it a few times but never really did it again.

She has started to be more social, and she recognizes more of her surroundings.

(ie. she cries when she is left alone sometimes depending on her mood.)
Some of this is probably due to her new friend, Riley, that Jodi has started watching during the day.

But this little friend crawls...
and pulls up on things...
and is about to start walking...

We have also found out in the past few days that Ali has a fascination with tags.

Yep... she will grab her toy and if she stumbles upon the tag she will touch it with her fingers and put it in her mouth. Sometimes she just likes to feel the tag, though.
(Riley likes tags to, but she chews them off and tries to eat them.)

This is her favorite blanket

One morning we found her with her stuffed lamb "Lala", and she was just moving the tag back and forth with her fingers while quietly waiting for us to come get her up.

(Yes, she is still sleeping about 10-12 hours through the night, and she waits quietly and patiently in the mornings until we come get her. Unless, she is really really hungry, then she will start to let us know.)

Here is the video of her... She caught me in the act of taking it.

She also has taken a liking to her rubber ducky. (shout out to all of you Ernie lovers and that includes me)

She likes to squeeze it with her hands. You may say that it's obvious she squeeze it with her hands, but that wasn't obvious to her until recently. She likes to flex her fingers alot now.

Ali has also been showing her curious side.

She is learning to chew, and we give her little "puffs" to eat.

Well... she found them...
And enjoyed playing in them until mommy realized what was going on.
It was quite an accomplishment because she had to:
take the plastic bag out of the diaper bag,
get the bag open,
and dump everything out.

This is the first real mess she's made. Silly girl.

Ali is also pretty nosy. She likes to know what's going on and be right there in the action.
We'll try to get some pictures of this soon.

I learned to crochet a couple of summers ago (when I couldn't find a job), and I've finally finished my first project!

It is a baby blanket. Here are some pictures of it.

Mimi came to visit and brought someone for Ali to meet: Ali's Great Aunt Jackie (my mother's sister).

Here are some pictures of her hair-do after a bath.

We could not be happier with the progress she has made. We have looked back at her pictures from the NICU recently, and we are amazed at the hard journey she has gone through. We are also relieved to be past those difficult times.

I have a hard time looking back at those pictures. I know it wasn't that hard when she was in the NICU. I believe it's because I received strength from everyone's prayers and the love I know my Heavenly Father has for me and my family.

However, Ali is all smiles now... 

and so are we.

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