Oldies but Goodies

These are random, somewhat older, photos that were on Sebastian's phone, but I wanted to make sure I posted them--more for my sake than anything else. Oh, and for Oma and Grandma. I know they love a little Aliyah in their days from time to time. :)

This photo was taken on my company's annual end of the season trip in August, which was in the Dominican Republic this year. Since we're in shuttle, Aliyah isn't in a car seat and that made me a little nervous, no doubt. You can be sure that she was buckled in and I had her in a strong hold the entire 10 min drive. The trip, by the way, was awesome. A little humid (we've been spoiled living in California and Arizona), but Aliyah had a blast swimming every day. She's a little fish, that one.

Next up showcases Aliyah's love for any type of sport ball and her ability to give her Dad the look so he buys it for her. We probably have at least 10-15 different types of balls in our place for no apparent reason. Just a couple of weeks ago, Sebastian came home with a football for her, and I just looked at him and thought, What is she going to do with a football, honey? She's a year and a half. But I gotta give Sebastian the benefit of the doubt, because I mean seriously, could you say no to this face? She gets us to give in more often than we'd like to admit.

Next, we have a photo from one of our Saturday morning family walks. I think this was the photo that I realized she was no longer a baby. She is a full grown toddler. And look at that mouth full of teeth. She's got some chompers. I should know, since about every other week (sometimes more) I get a report from daycare saying she bit someone. If anyone has any tips on this I am all ears. She knows not to bite her Dad and me, but I can't seem to get her to stop at daycare. From what we've observed so far, she's an emotional kid. When she's happy, she shows it, when she's discouraged she lets us know. My instinct (or mother's bias--you pick) is that at daycare she just gets frustrated (since usually the incident involves another child taking something from her) and she can't convey her emotion through words, so she bites. I'm hoping this phase is a short one.

And last, here's the most recent one. After getting professional photos taken over Christmas with my family, she learned from her cousins, Faith and Grace that when a camera comes out you say, "Cheese!".  Here she is with a mouth full of PB and her cheese grin. I think this girl could eat toast and peanut butter for every meal.

And that's Aliyah for you. Like any toddler, she keeps us on our toes, but also has us laughing and gushing over her almost all the time with the things she learns each day and her cute sense of humor. Someone once told Sebastian that as kids get older, it just keeps getting better and better. I completely agree.