March-ing To Her Own Beat...

March definitely came in like a lion...a lion with her 10th ear infection, that is. We have our date set for getting Allie the latest in ear canal accessories. At the end of the month she'll have a quick out-patient surgery to put in a set of ear tubes. We're not sure what kind of crazy energy this girl will have once she's healthy for more than 3 days at a time, but we may need to call in some reinforcements. Here's a parade of pictures to make up for my blogging delinquency of late! You may want to use the power-cord for this one...

Allie is a pro at hide-in-the-open-come-catch-me. It's the lesser-known cousin of hide-&-go-seek. Here she is in her favorite 'hide-in-the-open' cozy spot...

I should totally take my talent for hiding in the open on the road. I'm a natural.

Hah! And I'm even better at being found!

  Some of Al's favorite things thankfully include, in no particular order, smiles, hugs, shoes, Abs, her belly...proof to follow.

Hiya!

A priest, a rabbi, AND a lawyer? That's a GOOD one!

We have no clue...

And no explanation.

'C' my belly?

 She's very thorough, that one. Even the alphabet gets some lovin'...

'C' is for Cuddle. That's good enough for me!

 And, there are some things that just get passed through the bloodline, like a love of shoes, for example...

She loves shoes...

...all shoes...

...a lot.

It absolutely makes our day when she randomly flops into a full-belly hug for Abs. The fact that she stays put with our 25 and change lump of love smothering her makes us think that Abs just may like them too...

Hug-break!

 We're so old, she's moving into her round of 'Seconds' when it comes to the holidays. Here's our little not-at-all-Irish, but definitely a blessing, sporting her roomy shirt and 'tighter-than-they-should-be' green pants...

Top o' the mornin' to ya, Mommy!

'They're always after me lucky charms.'

Setting the GPS destination to 'pot o' gold' and...GO.

 While I ran my first post-baby half-marathon, Allie's Grandmom and Grandpa came up to visit and hang out with her while her daddy continues to compete in the CrossFit Games (a.k.a. the 'Don't mess with me; I eat raw-eggs for lunch and spit nails-Games'). Her Grandmom brought with her a homemade, calorie-free, chocolate bunny for an early Easter treat. Allie wasn't quite sure what to make of it at first. She knew she loved it...but preferred to love it from afar, thank you, very much.

Some-bunny's blowing kisses!

What do you mean I can't eat him?...Did he bring a chocolate friend?

She eventually gave in to the urge to hug and hopped on over for a squeeze.

Still watching for Rabbit's 'many friends and relations' to show up. (Shout out to A.A. Milne.) And yes...she's still waving her shoe.

We've been introduced to Fisher Price 'Little People' which is basically what I grew up with, minus the choking hazard, plus sounds. We get the pleasure of Old MacDonald dance parties with regularity these days.

Daddy sometimes gets confused by the animal names and noises, but we're working on it and he's coming along nicely.

 And, of course, there's our girl's first impression when she enters a room...that belly. We're not sure the world's ready for all that jelly, but sometimes it has a mind of its own, like when Mommy puts on a shirt that ends up being two sizes too small...

Hah! It can't be contained!

And, the side angle...oh yeah.

 To look at that belly, you may think she's eating all the food in our house. Not true, and here's proof that someone else is getting plenty of loving from the pantry as well. Hopefully the next update will be ear-infection free and proud to be!

Abs: Is that what I think it is...? Could it be?

'Shh.' (translation, 'Sit')

YAY!!! Everyone wins with treats!

And one more hug for good measure.