Alena's big weekend!

Alena had a lot of fun this weekend. The big news is she got a new high chair last week. She likes to sit in it and watch Mom and Dad in the kitchen. She is like a queen on her throne! On Saturday she brought her old snowsuit to her cousin Tillie so they could go for a walk together. (Notice Alena's new polka dot snowsuit.) Then on Sunday, we made cookies. We made hearts for Valentine's Day, and maple leaves for Canada Flag Day. Dad tried to sing a rousing rendition of "O Canada," but the only words he knew were "O Canada." It was a short song, but a good attempt.

Celebrating a job well done!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Alena and Dad surprised Mom at work yesterday with this fun video. Alena said it would be alright if Mom shared it with everyone.

Blowing raspberries

Today is Alena's 4 month birthday! To celebrate, she is going to hang out around the house and play with toys. Yesterday she stayed with Grandma Diane all day. She had a fun time watching the cat walk by and visiting with people who stopped by to say hello. There are a lot of things to see at Grandma's house! Alena's new skill is blowing raspberries. Here she is doing just that. Listen closely for the surprise ending.

Visiting Dad at the studio

Today was Mom's day off, so we packed a lunch and brought it to Dad. He was working on making mugs at Mt. Mercy. Alena has no recollection of the lunch visit as she fell asleep on the way there and didn't wake up until afterward when we were in the checkout line at the grocery store.

Alena hanging out in the Bumbo, planning her day's events

Nice mugs, Dad!

Alena is a good girl

Alena was a very good girl yesterday! She sat in her bouncer chair and watched Mom put away clean clothes and sort dirty ones for washing without a complaint. In the afternoon after a fun walk outside, Alena laid on the floor of the bathroom and played with a washcloth while Mom took a very long shower. She carried the washcloth with her downstairs and played with it for hours. We are lucky to have such a sweet baby! And she seems to be back on track for sleeping. The superbowl party she attended was so exciting that she had to wake up the following two nights to talk about it. The previous two nights she was back to sleeping her normal 11 hours.

Alena still likes to be swaddled for sleeping. Unfortunately, she is getting too big for her swaddler. She is getting too big for all of her clothes, and is officially moving out of 0-3 month size.

A big stretch is always required after a long night's sleep

Look how much she's grown--this is a picture from her first week. She is almost 4 months now!

Superbowl

Alena went to Grandma and Grandpa's house to watch the Superbowl. The game didn't interest her too much, but Grandma was fun to play with!

Alena in her kerchief.

Alena and Great-Grandpa Harold

Fun with Dad

Alena started out the morning by having Dad read her a book. This time we tried an age-appropriate one (thanks for the advice Aunt Angela) and Alena enjoyed it. She finally has the attention span to read books! Then she went over to visit her cousin Tillie where she slept the entire time. This afternoon was warm so we went for a hike. Alena started out facing Dad in the carrier (the only way she has done it in the past) but got frustrated that she could not see all of the fun things. After he flipped her around she had a fun time--so much fun that she soon fell asleep. On our way home we visited the neighbors. Caroline and Emma said they can't wait to play with Alena outside once it warms up!

Alena and Dad pretend to be tigers

Fun with Mom

Alena and Mom had a fun day Thursday on Mom's day off. We went to the grocery store and looked at all of the tempting food in the morning, then we went for a walk around the neighborhood in the afternoon. Usually Alena likes to ignore Mom in favor of Dad or the singing star, but not yesterday! She didn't want to take a nap all day because there was too much to see. Finally, at 6 pm she was worn out. She went to bed at 8 and didn't get up until after 7am. Will Dad manage to get Alena to take a nap today?

Alena shares her grocery list.

Dreaming of all of the fun she had.

Aunt Kristina visits

Alena could not resist showing off her jumping skills to Aunt Kristina. Is anyone paying attention to me? I am very talented!

Alena visits Tillie

Alena has a new cousin! Tillie Melissa Cahalan was born Saturday morning at 6 lbs and 19 inches to parents Melissa and Andrew. Although you can't tell from this photo, Alena was very excited to meet her.

Jumping

Alena wanted to try out a new toy last night, so Dad put together the jumper that Alena got from Mom's coworkers. It said 4 months on the box, but we knew that Alena was a little more advanced than the normal 3-month-old. Unfortunately, her legs were not quite long enough to touch the floor. The kitchen provided a stool to give just the extra lift that she needed!

Alena talks

Bundle up!

It's another cold day. Make sure to put on your squid hat and bundle up warm!

Alena removes her shoe

It is a cold day today. This morning it was -24 degrees and the high is predicted to be -10. It is a good day to wear warm clothes! Alena got dressed in her fleece-lined jeans, a fleece shirt, and socks and shoes. But socks and shoes are short-lived on a baby. Here is the story of Alena's shoe removal:

Ambition: This shoe is unnecessary, so I shall remove it!

Excitement: The shoe has been removed!

Anger: Now my foot is cold!

Resignation: I guess I'll have to live with my decision.

Bunny love

Alena has several bunny friends. Here she is having fun with Hip Hop Bunny.

Bathtime!

Alena always likes to look and smell her best, so that means the occasional bath.

You brought a camera in here? This isn't going to end up on the internet, is it?

That washcloth looks tasty.

Mom's birthday

Mom's friends Misti and Kirstin braved the wintry weather to come and visit her on her birthday! In January 10th tradition, it was very snowy--we woke up to 8 inches of snow. Another tradition that was carried on was the eating of fried mush. Dad did a great job frying it to Mom's specifications. It was a good birthday.

Alena and Kirstin

Don't be fooled--Alena actually likes hanging out with Misti (Misti gave her the spiffy outfit that she is wearing here.) For some reason this is the only picture we got. It is a good example of Alena's baby rage, though.

Dad made a small cake for the occasion. He says that there will be another cake on Sunday, so he didn't want a lot of leftovers. He is a practical guy!

Fun with Mimi

Mom, Dad, and Alena went to visit Great Grandma Horak last week. She made a yummy lunch including dessert options of pumpkin pie and peach cobbler. Alena had to stretch big after such a big meal!

Alena was watching The Sound of Music for the first time a few days ago. The music was so good that she couldn't resist the urge to dance!

Alena visits the lab

Alena went for a tour of Mom's lab yesterday so she could see where Mom will be going next week. She saw some fun stuff including a pretty swirly shirt and some glassware. She even got to spit up on almost every lab member! We then went to the mall with Grandma Dee and Aunt Kristina. Grandma carried Alena around so Alena could see all of the pretty lights. It was a busy day.

Rolling

Alena had a big day today--she rolled over for the first time! Dad had been practicing with her for about a week, and this morning she flipped herself over! We tried to get her to do it again, but she just got mad. So the video isn't of her rolling over, sorry.

Corrective lenses

The always fashion-forward Alena was thinking about spicing things up a little with some fashion frames. Give your opinion on the right.

Stripes

Alena loves wearing Lily's clothes because they remind her of her cousin and all of the fun they will have! Dad thinks this outfit looks like a prison jumpsuit, only from a feminine prison. Mom thinks it just looks cute. Here Alena is having fun looking at the singing star on her play mat and kicking. Every once in awhile she would take a break from the action and admire herself in the mirror.

Alena after a long nap in her swing. She doesn't have much hair, but the little she does have is sticking straight out.

Alena plays music

We visited Alena's great-grandparents on the Jensen side yesterday. Great-grandma suggested that Alena try out a music station that she purchased for her older great-grandchildren. Mom thought it would be a little advanced for Alena, but Alena was very interested. Dad helped her push the buttons to make music play and lights flash. It was very fun!