Alita's first words

We have been trying to keep track of Alita's words as they come out... but it's a little tough to discern exactly when something is a "word" as opposed to just a repetition of a sound. She says things like "cheeees" when we feed her string cheese but also says it when we feed her yogurt. She pants like a dog when she sees a dog, and she responds enthusiastically with "ooh-ooh-aah-aah" when asked what a monkey says. She even does a two-tone "hee-haw" when asked what a donkey says. Other fun words/actions:
- blowing kisses goodbye
- finding her bellybutton
- playing peek a boo behind her hands
- "awawawa" = avocado
- "teees" = trees
- "ay-toe" = tomato

Today Ben and I decided to start a blog to keep track of everything that happens in our lives.

As we were driving back from our first weekend-away-from-baby backpacking trip in Desolation Wilderness, we started talking about how we want to capture all of the events, moments, and memories of Alita's first year(s), so we are launching our very own blog.

Two days in Desolation Wilderness was just what we needed. We bagged Mt. Tallac, we hiked until our hips got sore, and we drank wine out of a box while we watched the clouds roll across the mountaintops. We spent one night in the backcountry at Aloha Lake, a breathtaking and enormous lake in the heart of the wilderness.

Meanwhile, Alita played with Grandma and Grandpa Saenz for two nights and with Grandma and Grandpa Tobey for one day.