Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

Happy 1st Birthday Alemitu!

Our baby girl just turned one. Allie is doing so well. She is now in the 10th percentile for weight/height (18 pounds/27 inches) versus the 4th percentile when we brought her home. She is also cruising around the furniture and standing a little bit on her own. She says "ma ma" and "da da" and occasionally will say "Ciao Ciao" (bye bye) or "ut-oh". She loves to wave hello/goodbye, clap her hands, blow kisses, and blow raspberries. She flirts with everyone from afar, but if you get in her personal space she will cling to mommy or daddy.

She sleeps 12-13 uninterrupted hours each night, and she takes two 2 hour naps each day. Her stomach issues are getting better, but there are still some minor feeding concerns so she will be going to therapy at Phoenix Children's Hospital soon. She will probably have to take a probiotic daily for at least several years, if not the rest of her life.

Allie loves:

• Her brothers. Allie's grandpa was so happy that she would have brothers, and I know he would be so proud to watch that relationship grow. Her brothers are probably her favorite people and are constantly making her laugh. She looks for them every morning when I wake her up. The boys are just as smitten with her and have not uttered one complaint about her.
  
• Water. Allie is a sand eating fish. She is not terrified of water, including the ocean. She crawls right into those waves. Sand, shampoo, saltwater, etc -- gets in her eyes but it doesn't bother her. (You would understand why if you saw her nannies give her a bath in Ethiopia.) She loves to go completely underwater, swim, drink the water, etc.
• Animals. She thinks our dog and cat are funny. She likes to pet (pull out their hair) whenever they let her get close.
• Move. This girl can't sit still. She has found freedom and is constantly on the go.
• Give kisses. She loves to cuddle a few seconds at a time and give lots of wet kisses. Normally if you say "that's nice" or "be nice", you will automatically get a big wet kiss.
• Stealing food. If you put table food in front of her, she'll throw it on the ground. If she can steal the food from your plate, it will end up in her mouth.
• Her swing. My sister gave her a patio swing for her birthday. She sits in it most nights and will swing and swing and swing. I mowed the entire lawn last night while she sat there happily swinging.
• Dancing. Anytime she hears music, that body starts moving.
• Laughing. She laughs all of the time. She laughs at herself and her brothers the most. She has a great, deep belly laugh.
  

Allie doesn't like:

• Sitting still. Which is why I won't be flying with her again anytime soon. She doesn't like to sit in a car seat when the car isn't moving. She doesn't like to sit in a stroller if you aren't moving. She doesn't like to sit down while you hold her. She needs to move and cruise.
• Brushing her hair. She is getting better, but I have to wet down and brush out those curls everyday. She gets excited to put her head under the faucet. She hates it when I comb through the many tangles. Unfortunately, she has to develop a tough head at a young age.
  
• Normal baby toys. She likes her brothers' army guys, swords, etc. She likes cups, keys, phones. She doesn't really care to play with baby toys.
• Being told "no". It is hard not to laugh when we tell her no. She will look at us with this awful face with a mix of being shocked and sad at the same time. This lasts for about 30 seconds. Then she opens her mouth and belts out some screams.
• Doctors. Since we brought her home 3 1/2 months ago -- if a doctor touches her at all, she starts screaming.

Allie is a great baby. She rarely fusses, and she is just a happy girl most of the time. We feel so blessed to have her in our family. We love her dearly, and I can't wait to see what this next year holds for her and our family.