Ball Pit Fun

Alice did not actually "open" her Christmas presents from me and Larry. We assembled her new toys and just let her explore them. One of her new presents was a ball pit.The ball pit only came with 50 balls, which was pretty lame - not enough to even cover the bottom of the pit, so we bought 175 more - THIS is what MADE the pit. Add balls - instant fun!

Two sides of the pit are open, but the other two sides are closed. One closed side has holes in it to stuff the balls. The other side has 3 plastic "windows"

Alice loves to smash her cute little face into the plastic windows, which gives us a good laugh.

Christmas 2008

Alice's first Christmas went by in a blur. We spent time with both sides of the family and Alice was a sweetie. Of course she got many, many presents. I'm sure we will be opening and putting together toys for a couple of weeks.

We arrived late Tuesday night in Dallas on the day before Christmas Eve. We had bought Alice a new "big girl" car seat for the trip to Dallas and she slept well on the drive. Once we got there - she was up for a couple of hours, which was exhausting but expected.

On Christmas Eve day, Alice got to participate in the Meadows womens' tradition of going to Neiman Marcus downtown to eat brunch in the Zodiac Room and to shop Neimans sale racks. Alice did very well at brunch, trying all sorts of new foods. I think she really enjoyed the orange souffle, mashed potatoes, kiwi, and pasta. She even got a taste of the dessert tray. I think she ate all of the cheesecake. Shopping is not quite Alice's forte as yet, but I'm sure the skill will develop with time - watch out dad! (Nieman Pics to follow when Aunt Pappa gets a copy to me!). That evening, Alice went with Grandma Didi and Pop to the candelight service at their church. Reportedly...she enjoyed the spectacle and was adored by all.


Christmas morning, we all gathered and opened presents in the morning. Alice got a Little People's Garage and a Bounce and Spin Pony, just to name a few.

The extended family came over at lunch and we all ate Christmas dinner together. Alice sat in her high chair and ate off of mom and dad's plates. Her first Christmas dinner was great.


The day after Christmas we saw the Bickel/Meisse side of the family. We pretty much did a repeat of Christmas day there too. Open presents, eat dinner and hang out. Again, Alice ate off our plates and did a great job. Some of her presents this day were an air ball toy and a stuffed puppy that talks and sings. Alice enjoyed watching and playing with her cousins, and we were all exhausted at the end of the day.

Mark off "Baby's First Christmas" - it was a huge success.

Can't wait till next year! (well....maybe I can ;-)

First Steps

I've been saying all along that Alice would be walking before Christmas, and my predictions came true. About a week before Christmas Alice took her first unassisted steps. I'm not saying my child is a prodigy...well, maybe I am, but thats my right as a mother - to think my beautiful daughter is the most smart and talented baby in the world.

PS...The hat was her dad's purchase, but she loved it and looks absolutely adorable in it....see - I'm not prejudice at all ;-)

I can't believe that Alice is almost 1 year old. She is such a part of our lives now, it is hard to believe only 1 year ago, we were still waiting and anticipating her arrival.

Alice is getting more teeth. She now has the two bottom and two top teeth, and more top teeth are starting to emerge. It's kinda cute and funny how her two top teeth are bigger than her bottom teeth and there is a gap between the two.

Alice's personality is really starting to develope. She loves bath time, yogurt, cheese, macaroni, and juice. She hates having her nose wiped, getting her diaper changed, and especially hates putting on her PJ's.

We have finally gotten the kitchen cabinets baby proofed, but we kept one set of cabinets with plastic ware opened for Alice to explore. She has started playing peek-a-boo with the mixing bowls (see picture above), and will scoot across the floor with plastic containers under her hands.