Ally's Favorite Things

Just like Oprah, Ally has many favorite things in her life - though she's not giving them away to you for free. We'll just tell you what they are:

1. Binkies - binkies (or pacifiers) have been a favorite of Ally's for many months now. Since she's learned to crawl if she spots a binkie she will go as fast as she can to get to it, put it in her mouth, and then discard it for something else. She's even pushed away a bottle for a binkie only to cry for the bottle back.
2. Blankies - Mike says I'm crazy, but Ally loves to have her blankie at bedtime. She has three and is not partial to any particular one as long as she has one. You know she's tired when you hand her the blankie and she rubs it on her eyes and buries her head.
3. The Winnie-the-Pooh Mobile - she's loved this since she could see it. It hangs over her dresser and used to distract her during diaper changes. Now she looks for it whenever we get her out of the crib and she loves to bat it around and grab the characters only to let them go again - it's like her version of fishing.
4. Food - we have yet to find a food that Ally really doesn't like, although now that she's able to feed herself she prefers that to being spoon fed. She loves Cheerios, had pasta last night, devoured some Goldfish today, and even tried a Buffalo Ranch Dorito that she found on the floor. She liked them all and was liking her lips for awhile after I took the Dorito away.
5. Herself - doesn't matter if it's in the mirror or a picture, Ally loves to see herself. She gets very excited to see pictures of herself after you take them and has loved watching both the digital picture frame and video of herself on the computer.
6. Bath time - for the first month of her life Ally screamed during bath time. Since then she can't wait to get into the tub. As soon as she gets naked she knows what's happening and will start bouncing in excitement. Her favorite things to do in the tub - splash as much as possible and chew on the rubber duck.
7. Elmo - like every other little kid in the world, Ally loves Elmo. We don't see him too much on t.v., but she really likes the books and toys. She has my old tickle me Elmo, though he is no longer ticklish. Aunt Lisa got Ally some Elmo slippers for Christmas but they don't stay on her feet as they make better toys.
8. Dogs - Ally loves dogs. She's even starting to say 'woooh - woooh' when she sees a picture of a dog. She especially likes when they lick her face.
9. The Outdoors - ever since she was born Ally has liked being outside. And despite the cold and snow Ally still enjoys heading out. The wind is big thrill for her, although she did not care for the hairdryer. She even likes the snow now that mommy let her eat some. We spend quite a bit of time at the window just looking outside.
10. Sleeping - thankgoodness for this one. Ally still sleeps about 11-12 hours a night a naps 2-3 hours during the day. She's even started gathering her binkie and blankie and bringing them to me at nap and bedtime.
11. Books - Ally really loves her books, despite a recent paper cut while turning pages. She enjoys spreading them across the living room and leafing through them at her leisure. Right now her favorites are 'Brown Bear Brown Bear' and a My Little Pony book that plays music.
12. Cell Phones - She's already made her first call, sent a text message, and we caught her downloading a Brittney Spear's song.
13. The Remote Control - She will work very hard to get her hands on the remote. She only wants the one that works the t.v. We tried to give her one with no batteries, she pushed a button, looked at the t.v., and when she saw nothing happened she discarded it for the real on. Mike was excited the day she changed the channel to ESPN.
14. Banging on stuff - She likes to smack anything - the floor, the window, the couch, her own head, two toys together, her binkie on the side of the crib, her head into the couch, mom, dad, anything; which is why she got some drums for Christmas
15. Music - another reason that she got the drums. She also got a piano that she likes to bang on, although she prefers the real piano at Nana's house. Ally's favorite song - the Itsy Bitsy Spider. She tries to do the hand motions to the original, but she prefers the Itsy Bitsy Ally version we sing. However, I am wondering about that Brittney Spear's song...
16. Climbing - I think we have a little monkey on our hands. She learned to pull herself up on Monday and it has been non-stop since. You'd never knw she just learned as she does it so effortlessly now. Today she discovered climbing on the stairs and I can hardly keep her away.