15 months check up

On Thursday, we had Arianna's 15 months check up. They took her measurements: 31.5 in height, and 21.8 lbs weight. I was a bit worry in the weight department since she only gained a bit less than one pound (and she does eat), the doctor said that it was normal and since she started walking (jumping and running) she burns more calories. She also had one more vaccine (the second one that she needed was a booster that is in shortage so they are giving them to babies 4-6 months first. She said it was ok since she had it, and she is in the list for it). They also took a bit of blood from the finger to check her lead and hemoglobin. She is fine in both :) So, more veggies and fruits for her!
It was traumatizing seeing her blood coming from the little finger, and since it was hard to put a band aid, it kept coming (a little, but it felt a lot to me) so we started singing Twinkle and Itsy Bitsy Spider and she calmed down. Oh, she would start to whimper again everytime she saw the band aid so we put a glove on it. Thank God no fever or other reaction so far... One more appointment at 18 months for some vaccines, another at 2 or 2.5 and then just the general yearly appointment (unless a cold or something else pops up), but no vaccines (except for flue shot if you want) until she goes to school (around 4-5 yrs).
In other news, she loves the Christmas tree and the snow! She played just a little since it was too cold while I made a path from the garage to the house. Yeah, it was hard since the snow was more like ice! When it was time to go inside, she did not want to. I guess she was having too much fun :) This was the "evil band aid"!

Pictures from our backyard

Since I am still at home taking her of Arianna. I, sometimes, can grab my camera and go crazy taking pictures of our backyard. We have a lot critters living around like squirrels, bunnies, birds (such as cardinals and woodpeckers, and I had seen a hawk, and two (sadly) stray cats - one black that I had not taken pictures yet.
We tried to give them as much food as we can, so some days my yard looks amazing... So, here are some pictures for you to enjoy.

Our cats no longer safe...

That was the time when Betsy and Misty could go up, up on the top of the sofa or recliners to the safety they provided against our "squiggly Arianna", but no longer...

Yes, she can go up and down. It is easier for her to go up on the sofa, but she can managed if she wants to.



She was almost there, to get Betsy....but she saw the camera and decided to climb down and posed for a picture. She says "cheese" now. [She is also saying "papa change" which translates to pamper change! and she says "ba time" for what else her favorite thing, bath time]

Also, we went to Target today and she found this glass. She liked it so we bought it. We did not tell her that it was a glass or what to do with it, but she knew!

So, she is in a climbing mood... and she cannot sit in the chairs yet (by herself). So, I helped her before she got too frustrated. She sat for awhile playing with one of her favorite toys.

And finally, she likes to sit in the recliner with a blanket, boppy, and her sippy. She was so tired, after this picture she went for a nap.

Nice picture of Arianna

Yes, this is one of her new "spots". She likes to watch the birds, bunny, and the tons of squirrels that we have in our backyard.

Arianna's first car ride!

We went to the Aurora Outlet mall over the weekend and I will not go there in a long, loooooong time. It was crowded and not many stores that I like except for Lindt chocolates and the Swarovski Co. (but too expensive to buy usually). This time I actually bought a Steiff bear with a swarovski crystal ornament for 56 dollars which is actually a deal. The bear was too darn cute, and it will be for Arianna eventually.
The reason that we went is to buy one gift for the gift exchange with my family. It so happens that the store that we were looking for is either at this mall or in Michigan City. Anyway, while shopping for some yummy chocolates, Mike decided to take Arianna to one of the kid's cars. Here goes the quarter and this is what happened:



It was more challenging this time with Arianna because she wanted to walk too. I mean I don't blame her, she can do it now. So, we took turns while my sister or me went into stores. She was very happy and was smiling to the people passing by when she was let "loose". And those are the pictures of us happily leaving the mall.

Thanksgiving Part 2

After the museum, we went home for a bit so Arianna could take a nap, which she did (about 2-3 hrs.) Then, we headed to Tiffany, Glenn and Dave's house for diner. They had a nice turkey with all the sides that go with it. We ate plenty and then we went to the living room to play White Elephant. It was fun. The kids played together for awhile and then Arianna got too tired. I tried to put her in Glenn's crib, but she did not stay. So, after a bit longer we went home.
Here is a picture of Bobo, their bunny. He is so cute. They also Ruby, a goldfish (I think), and Apollo ( I forgot the type of reptile he is - so help me Tiffany). I forgot, for dessert they had some nice brownies and I brought a pecan pie (which I never had before, but I did not like it much, I think I prefer pumpkin and then sweet potato pies.)


Here are some other pics:

I love this one! I took this picture right after finishing the food. Can you tell? No one could move for awhile :)

Arianna loves Christmas trees, from this tree she liked the bear ornament that you see in the front of the tree.

I asked Glenn to smile for a picture and he did. I finally took a nice picture of him, usually he is too quick for me.

I wonder what made Dave and Tiffany laugh this way. I am sure it was the white elephant's gift!

And I finished the event with a picture of Arianna and Glenn playing together!

Around Thanksgiving

Well, let's see Arianna still loves her bear as you can see in the pictures below. I love the one where she is looking at the fridge because she did not know that I was taking the picture, and she is going about her business :) The other picture, you can tell that she was telling me something " BEAR"! Yes, we know is your bear sweety...
[ In other words, she makes the sound for monkey and dog. Knows her nose, ears, and sometimes mouth. She can say blue (blu). Asks for her bottle. Tells you when she is hungry. She hugs and kisses her bears and us! ...and some more that I cannot think right now...]

How this ladybug got into Arianna's shoe is a mystery. When we got home and took her shoes, I saw something inside. First , I thought it was a small pebble, but once I went inside to get it and moved, it startled me until I figured out what it was. I took her outside so my cats were not going to " play " with it.

On Thanksgiving Day, we went to the Museum of Science and Industry as it has become a tradition. Most of the trees were beautiful, but I have to say that the Mexican tree this year was not nice. :( Hopefully next year, they can do something better. I even told Mike I would try to save or make some ornaments for next year if I can find out who is doing it next year. I always pick my favorite top 3. This year were: Poland, Japan, and Native American!
In this visit, we had a pretty group: Arianna, Arianna's grandparents, Uncle Ron, Aunt Ann, Mike and me. This was the first year that Arianna was walking around and touching gently some of the ornaments. She liked this doll that was next to one of the trees. I guess she started to like babies. We also ate a little so we could still have a big appetite for the wonderful dinner that Tiffany, Dave and Glenn did for us later in the day. Here are some pictures of the Museum!

Wait for the second part of the Thanksgiving Day!