Our Trip to Florida!

We headed to Orlando this past weekend for the Bay Hill golf tournament and for Ali's Baptism.  Todd's mom lives on the 2nd hole, so it's always a big party at her house this weekend.  Ali saw her cousins Michael and Julia again, and this time she was very interested in watching the kids.  Jules was very interested in Ali as well and would give her sweet kisses.  Once again, Todd's youngest sister Andrea set up a concession stand in the backyard to raise money for her mission trip.  She did this last year and used the money to go on a mission trip to Ireland.  This year, she is using the money to go to the Dominican Republic.  We did take Ali on the course once in her stroller and walked around, but she usually hung out in the backyard with Grandma, Mimi and Aunt Jeannie.  For the most part, we sat on 2 and watched the golfers come through.  It was surprising how many people still follow Tiger, and Phil also had a large following as usual.  I really enjoyed watching Rickie Fowler (that kid has crazy outfits!) this year, and Martin Laird won the tournament this year. 

Do you think someone should call CPS?  Apparently Ali is already really intrigued by Todd's Bud Light bottle?  Could it be that it just resembles her bottle?  Don't be fooled by the pictures... we did not allow Ali to partake in under age drinking!

We also baptized Ali on Sunday at Todd's mom's church.  All of Kathy's grandchildren have been baptized at St. Luke's United Methodist where Todd and his siblings grew up.

Todd and I are not typically late, but we had a rough morning and literally RAN into the service 10 minutes late.  Apparently Reverend Barnes had been stalling and completely called us out as we walked in announcing that the guests of honor had arrived just in time for the baptism and asked up to come on down.  He said it in a joking manner, but I was mortified.  Todd and I pulled Ali out of her car seat and hurried up to the altar.  After the rush, we were able to calm down and enjoy Ali's baptism and the rest of the service.  Ali was a sweet angel during the baptism and service.  Although we were late, we were very happy to baptize Ali and make the commitment to lead by example and guide Ali in faith as part of a Christian family.

After the service, we headed to Crave for brunch.  The food was served family style, and we had a separate room for our party of 12.  It was a great place to celebrate Ali's baptism!

If you'd like to see more pictures from the weekend, visit our Picasa Web Gallery here: http://picasaweb.google.com/cindyhu

Sophie the Giraffe

I gave in and bought Ali a Sophie the Giraffe toy!  Todd gave me a hard time calling this an expensive doggie chew toy and said we should have just gone to PetSmart for this.  I have to admit, it is very similar to Coco's toys.  It squeaks like a doggie toy, so Coco goes nuts when she hears it.  I couldn't resist though.  I do think Sophie is very cute, and several of my mommy friends say their babies LOVE Sophie the Giraffe.  The manufacturer claims that it's the perfect toy for a baby since it stimulates all 5 senses.  Babies can see the contrasting spots, touch the smooth rubber, hear the squeaking noise when squeezed, taste the natural rubber fibers when they stick it in their mouth, and smell the natural rubber scent.  Whatever... I know I'm a sucker for all this baby marketing.  I'm just hoping she might chew on this instead of her fingers all of the time.  It really is the perfect size for Ali and fits perfectly in her hands.  I hope she likes it as much as I do! 

Happy 5 Month Birthday, Ali!

Time flies!  Ali is 5 months old and is getting so big.  I was at Babies R Us yesterday, and I saw a mother with a newborn baby who was only a few weeks old.  I caught myself staring at her baby trying to think of Ali being so small.  I know she was that small at one point, but it seems like a lifetime ago.  Ali is showing so much more personality these days.  She smiles at us, laughs at Coco, and plays with her toys.  She's rolling all over the place when you give her room to move.  She's an incredibly happy baby and very easy-going.  For that, we are so thankful.  We can tote her with us to most places, and she's content just taking in her surroundings.  I know I've said it before, but I can't say it enough - She really is a dream baby, and she's our dream baby! We love little Miss Ali!

Ali got her hair DID!

As I was walking into Ali's school today, I ran into another baby girl in Ali's class named Eva and her dad.  I stopped to talk to him, and I commented on Eva's ponytail on the top of her head.  His response was: "Oh just wait until you see Ali.  You're in for a surprise!"  Yikes.  I hurried down the hall and when I went in, I found out that Ali's teachers had a salon day at school and did both Ali and Eva's hair!  None of the other kids in the class have enough hair to put up.  Since Ali only has two patches of hair on the side of her head, she was the perfect candidate for pigtails.  Miss Kyndal said that she thought Ali looked liked Cindy Lu Who from The Grinch.  She was shocked to hear that my maiden name is Hu and that people used to call me Cindy Lu Hu!  I snapped a couple quick pictures before giving Ali a bath tonight.  I'm not sure if they really look like pigtails or if they look more like horns...

Cindy's Current Obsessions

I guess I can't keep blaming my craving for sweets on pregnancy or the holidays, huh?  I admit... I'm eating sweets like I'm still pregnant.  I keep telling myself I'll stop soon, but it's been four months since I had Ali and I'm still enjoying my daily serving of cookies and milk.  There are several things that I'm currently obsessing over, although not all of them are sweets!

1.  Garrett's Popcorn from Chicago - my friend Stacey brought us a bag of it when she came to visit, and I've been slowly munching on this to make it last as long as possible.  Garrett is famous for their cheese and caramel mix, but this one is a special caramel and nut mix - a perfect sweet and salty blend.  Thanks Stace!

2.  Girl Scout Cookies - specifically Samoas straight out of the box, frozen Thin Mints, and Do-Si-Dos dipped in milk.  I love Girl Scout cookie time.  Thanks to my favorite Girl Scout Mackenzie for my cookies!

3.  Roomba - my mom gave this to us for Christmas, and I can't imagine life without it now!  The roomba is an intelligent robot that learns your house the more it runs.  We have programmed ours to run automatically every other day.  It works well on all of our floor types - tile, wood, and carpet.  It used to get stuck under some of our furniture, but it seems to have learned how to avoid that.  With a hairy Coco beast and no time to vacuum, Roomba has been a lifesaver.  Although Coco was scared of the Roomba initially, she's gotten used to it.  We also have a maid that comes to clean every two weeks.  Between her and the Roomba, I don't ever vacuum anymore!

4.  Laura Mercier's Secret Mattifying Finish - I often feel like I start to look shiny throughout the day, but this product solves my problems!  This lightweight gel soaks up any oil and leaves you with a matte finish.  I actually put it on under my tinted moisturizer (which I use instead of a foundation), and I feel like it fills in some of my pores and then prevents me from getting oily during the day.  Although I've been trying to eliminate products from my getting ready routine, this is one product that I am willing to add.  I love it!

5.  The Bachelor - Yes, I know it's silly.  It's just another reality TV show, and Brad is really not all that exciting.  Plus, I've read Reality Steve's blog, so I already "know" the ending.  But, I can't help it.  I'm highly entertained watching it, and I'm really looking forward to tonight's final rose ceremony.  I LOVE Emily!

Way to go Gators, Way to go!

Oh how we love March Madness... It was a good win by the Gators today, and Ali was in full spirit!  We also upgraded Ali to her big girl stroller and took her on a walk around the neighborhood.  She's growing up SO fast!  After staying up to watch the game with Daddy, she quickly fell asleep on our walk.

Ali, What Are You Doing?

I think this is Todd's version of Peek-a-Boo.  Ali thinks Daddy is pretty funny!

Sleeping Beauty is on the Move!

Ali does not stay still when she sleeps.  This little girl gets a workout moving around in her crib.  This is how I lay her down in her crib at bedtime:

Often times, she turns to sleep on her side. Check out that crazy hair pattern.  We call her tufts of hair her "horns" since she has it on both sides.  It's perfect for our little Texas Longhorn!

Ali starts scooting around in her crib before we even go to bed.  Here she is starting her rotation.

In the morning, I walk into her room to find her in the opposite direction that I left her!

She really doesn't cry in the morning.  She just makes some noise and waits for us to come pick her up.  If you know me, you know how hard it used to be for me to get up in the morning.  Well, that has completely changed.  I can't resist getting out of bed to go pick up this sweet angel... even if it is 6am on Saturday morning.  I know this can't last forever, so I'll enjoy it while I can!