Lucky Little Lady is ONE!

This Lucky little lady had quite a wonderful celebration......or two! We were on the east coast for a month raising support and a little time off in the middle to have a party with both families at the beach!

She kneaded her cake as if it were bread dough....

Then she realized how good it tasted!

Stuff it in!

Then on her actual birthday we celebrated with a Polka Dot Party! These are the only three I have on my computer right now... I will post more next week!

She actually was pretty dainty as she ate her cake...until she had some help from Papa to get her face messy! I dont think she minded much:)


One of her favorite toys is her doll stroller. I think it may come in a tie with her ball.

She would put her doll in the stroller.....then put the ball in the stroller.... and push/pull it everywhere!

She had to leave all her toys behind two weeks after her birthday. I am excited to see her re-discover them next week when we return home after a month away!

Sorry for the random post with not much information, I have began this post many times. Sometimes with stories...sometimes creative ways to talk about Annaka and her birthday. Time is flying by and there was not even a post of her birthday parties so I am just going to piece something together and will write more later! :) We have been in Portland for a month long training and will be in the midwest next week.

Happy 10 Month Birthday!

To celebrate our 10 month birthday we:

1. Got up a little early because I needed to stretch my legs.

2. Walked around in the house in circles many many many times 

3. Moo'd like a cow while carrying our purple cow as we walked around in the house many many many times.

4. Ate half a grilled ham and cheese sandwich and green beans for lunch. Ate so much mommy had to cut me off! 

5. Took a break from walking and eating to play with two easter eggs that were forgotten when decorations were put away. 

6. Climbed the bean baggy block type stairs then rolled down them in  the nursery  ... then kept trying to run away from mommy while she was talking to people after church. (yes run)

7. Ate a second dinner at 9pm when Aunt Natalie came over....Who can resist not sharing food with me....?

8. Tried to stay up late but could not help but fall asleep in daddy's comfy arms.

What a fun day! Can you see todays theme? I love to walk and eat!

Texas and Teeth

We took a trip to Texas to raise support this month. It was fun and we saw a lot of Texas! I am apparently not very good at remembering I have a camera and forget to take photos. I ended up with a few of Annaka with our friends youngest son Jeremiah, some at the Cadalac Ranch and at the Big Texan ...

and two of our friends Keith and Patty's youngest wrapped like a mummy in a sari.

This only represents three of our seven + stops/events. I dont know if I tried to take some pictures and failed or if I simply did not try very hard.  

We came home with a baby who is intrigued with two things. 

1. She LOVES to have her teeth brushed! I hope she does not grow out of this one! Every time I brush her teeth for her she then looks up with a goofy grin and smiles showing all of her teeth. Of course she does not show off her new smily face when I began trying to catch it on video....

2. She loves to walk. Everywhere. I have to say it is very strange to be in the kitchen and have a little mini person walk in the room. I still have to do a double take to realize I am not imagining things:) Again, of course the video does not show the real picture of her walking as she is so interested in the camera and tends to focus on that. *note* you cant her it well but she growls at but all you hear is me growling back at her. ha ha

Quack Quack Quack

Quack Quack Quack, Quack Quack Quack Quack......yeah that song will be stuck in your head permanently (as it is in mine) once you watch this video:) 

Clints mom sent Annaka some fun summer dresses and this duck in a package last week. I have to say this is one of the most adorable little toys! Annaka loves it! She has not learned how to turn it on herself yet, but gets so excited when it is singing and dancing. She quacks like a duck and, when standing, dances as well. This video only captured her getting excited and she says quack at the end. I will try to post another video soon with her quacking! 

She went through a phase of mooing and quacking a lot and now only does it when she wants to. I will keep trying to catch it on camera to share too:) 

Quack Quack Quack....sorry this song is still stuck in my head! 

Clints mom sent Annaka some fun summer dresses and this duck in a package last week. I have to say this is one of the most adorable little toys! Annaka loves it! She has not learned how to turn it on herself yet, but gets so excited when it is singing and dancing. She quacks like a duck and, when standing, dances as well. This video only captured her getting excited and she says quack at the tale end. I will try to post another video soon with her quacking!

She went through a phase of mooing and quacking a lot and now only does it when she wants to. I will keep trying to catch it on camera  to share too! 

Quack Quack Quack....sorry that song is still stuck in my head...goodbye!

Our little Carnivore

Check out the difference! 

Annaka and Daddy at one week old..... 

Annaka and Daddy at 8 1/2 months!  

She is longer than his torso now! What a big girl:)

At our 9 month old appointment they told us we could have introduced meat at 8 months. We had read that but wanted to keep her a vegetarian as long as possible. We decided today is the day we would begin the meat adventure. Start her addiction to protein:) The nurse said to try meatloaf so I found a great recipe online. (I will put it at the bottom incase anyone wants to try it) I made it in muffin tins so we can keep the left overs in the fridge for later this week.

Clint put the meatloaf on her tray and she pushed it around for a little bit. One taste though and she was sold! She ate a whole muffin of meatloaf!

She knows how to wear her food well:) It was on her head...smashed in her hair, all over her bib, in her ear, inside her onsie, all over! We had to take her directly to the bath tub! 

What a fun experience! I will have to fill you in on our eventful morning at the pediatrician's office in the next post! I will leave you with the meatloaf recipe:)

Babies 1st Meatloaf

    1/4 lb ground meat (beef or turkey)

    1/2 c. pureed or shredded veggies (I used green beans and butternut squash)

    1/2 c. bread crumbs with romano cheese (I had plain bread crumbs and a shake of the parm/romano cheese)

    1 Tbs whole milk or formula

Mix all ingredients and cook at 350 degrees for 20 min.

Enjoy!

First Steps....Annaka's Birthday gift to Papa

Happy Birthday Papa!   To celebrate Clint's 30th birthday(March 8th), Annaka decided to give Papa a birthday present! She took her first steps!

She has liked to stand up for a while now....but the brave attitude has only just began! She now lets go....claps....and takes up to three steps toward something. This is all until she gets tired or frustrated, looks at her feet, decides crawling is faster and purposefully does a belly flop to the ground to crawl where she wants to go. It does mean that we cannot leave here to play in the living room anymore while getting things done around the house. I have turned my back for mere seconds to find her at the other end of the room or with a fist in my moms potpourri. 

Rub a dub dub

I love bathtime. Almost as much as Annaka does! I love seeing her splash and hearing her make noises almost as if 'talking' to the water! Kkkkkkaaaaaa, Kkkkaaaa, Kkkkaaaa. (She picks a new noise/sound every day too....so far her favorites are Bbbaaa Bbba, Paaaaa Ppppaaa, and Kaaa Kkkkkaaaa)

I realized that I had not had any studio pictures taken of Annaka. We have two friends who are great photographers and always took pictures for us. Now we are far from both of those people and decided we should take her in for '6 month photos'. I seem to be a bit behind on everything right now which is reflected her as well. Her '6 month photos' were actually taken a day before she turned 7 months old. Just barely made it in under the wire! Would it be so odd to have a 7 month picture and a 12 month picture side by side?

Here are a few of the shots....first my favorite....
Next...I did not realize they would have me in some of the shots as well. I have to say I like the green hoodie in the shot:)
Lastly, come on now...what did you think a 6.9 month old would do with fun little fake suitcases!

For You

For you who do not have facebook....here is another video:)

New Uses for a Rubber Spatula

Little did they know when pampered chef was inventing these expensive little cant-cook-without gadgets and other kitchen must-have's that they were inventing multi purpose items. Not only are these rubber spatulas (or rubber scrapers as a good friend calls them) used for scraping the rest of the brownie batter out of the bowl....but are also wonderful for teething babies.

Annaka was having quite a rough day/evening after cutting her third tooth. She just wanted Mama to hold her...so as I was blanching the broccoli for dinner... I handed her the rubber spatula thinking it would buy me some time to finish dinner. Little did I know it would be Annaka's new favorite toy and that she would gnaw on it while I finished making dinner AND while we ate dinner! She would bite on one end, pull it out of her mouth to inspect it, turn it around and bite on the other end. So my recommendation for my many friends who have had babies this past year...........no need for expensive 'teether' toys and such just give 'em a rubber spatula to chew on! Tylenol, Orajel, and teether toys did not work today...just the rubber spatula:)



P.S. Ku won again today. Annaka is their #1 fan:) She likes watching sports until people shout at the TV....then she cries. At least she looks cute during the games:)

Two of our many new tricks!

I have learned how difficult it is to capture things on the camera! As soon as I get the camera out, she does not smile....does not wave....does not do anything on command. She is more interested in the electronics:) I will try to get a better video soon but here is our first shot......

"Clapping"




"The Wave"
(Sorry I dont know how to turn the video.....so you will have to turn your head)

Our little girl is growing up! Soooo Quick!

Christmas....was soooo much fun! Annaka has learned to tear paper on presents and loves having all eyes on her! She even will wear the bow on her head if I take it off a gift and put it there.
Grandpa got her a Christmas dress. This is the only picture we have of her not lifting the dress up to chew on it. :) It was so cute! Grandma B also got her a Christmas sweater. I have to say one cousin did comment on how many wardrobe changes Annaka had in one day! She is a baby...she is allowed:)



One last thing about Christmas...Holidays have not been quite the same since my Grandma passed away two years ago. I am very sad my Grandma did not get to hold Annaka or experience her first Christmas with us. An amazing thing happened though. My sister decided to hold Annaka up to a picture of my grandma on the wall to 'introduce' them. All of us sat in amazement and tears as Annaka would 'talk' jabber and hug the picture. Every time Natalie would show her the picture Annaka would get so excited, kick her legs and do the same thing. It was like she already knew Grandma.


Skipping steps....I find myself saying quite often that Annaka has 'skipped a step' or is doing things a little out of order. It started at birth with forgetting to be born first before trying to suck her thumb. The day Annaka turned six months old (the 29th of Dec) she busted a move and showed us her independence. Forgoing mastering the crawling skill, she has now walked (while holding onto the edge of the toy box) from one side of her toy box to the other to get a toy she wanted. With out me holding onto her. Of course then she forgot she had to hold on, let go to grab the toy and fell backward. She thought she was so cool while it lasted:) She has done this more than once so I know it is not a fluke.

She has yet to walk on her own but she went straight from the army crawl/scooting around to now wanting to stand up all the time. She wants to walk from one things to another but after taking a few steps (while holding onto someones fingers) she steps on her own foot which prevents her from picking up her opposite foot. We can just see the frustration of "why isnt this working?" on her face!

I do have to say though, the biggest step she has skipped so far is sleeping through the night! She has conquered many things but still cannot make it all the way through the night. What a party we will have when she finally does it consistently and not just every blue moon!

To my surprise...Annaka can now pull herself up. She skipped a step here too. She cannot get from laying down to sitting up on her own but she can get from sitting to standing on her own. I set her in her crib with a toy while I picked up her room when to my surprise, she grabbed the bars and stood up. Later today she was sitting beside me when she grabbed my arm/elbow and pulled herself up to a standing position again.


Also to my surprise...baby teeth are razor sharp. Annaka bites on EVERYTHING! Anything that gets in the way...your finger... her toy... the hem of her pant leg... use your imagination... everything. One of her favorites is the side of her crib....


Well, this post is too long as it is so that is it for today. I will post more later this week.

:)

Little Bunny Foo Foo

Favorite Things (3 1/2 months old)

Oh where to even begin. I will put a disclaimer at the beginning here warning that this is going to be a long, photo-filled, post...and the favorite things are in no particular order.

Favorite thing #1: Luk2 and her Bumbo Seat

Luk2 is Annaka's new best friend. This little green stuffed elephant is soft, cuddley....and tastes good too. He and her lion that lives in the carseat keep her happy....which in turn keeps mommy happy too:)

Favorite thing #2: Little Red Wagon

Our friend Rhonda brought over gifts for Annaka and Harper. They both got clothes, books and this fun red wagon. Neither of them know how to sit up well yet so we just put them in it for the picture. No, Annaka is not eating Harpers hand, but I think Harper is trying to escape.

Favorite thing #3: Her Pink Blanket

This photo was the day last week that Annaka started to notice little details. She had messed all over her outfit so after I cleaned her up, I put her in the swing wearing only a diaper. I put her pink blanket over her to keep her warm while I cleaned up the rest of the mess. When I came back in the room she was holding the edge of the blanket in her hand and was moving it closer to her face, then farther away from her face. She was noticing the light brown trim around the edge. I grabbed my camera and could not get the video to work so this is the best I got.

Favorite thing #4: Exersaucer

A friend is letting us borrow this wonderful toy. It is so much fun for her and is building up her attention span. Kind of. I think she is just learning how to do what every woman does best.... Multitasking. Except for when the little dog head on a purple spring (cut out of the photo) scares her. Then she cries and wants to get out of dodge....quick!

Favorite thing #5: Friends

Annaka has her first boyfriend! :) She and her friend Jackson were playing today. They were both smiling and having fun looking at each other until we put them side by side. As soon as they were close together this is what happened...

I guess Jackson thought Annaka had cooties or something. Actually we did not even know this happened until we saw the photo. I love how you can see Annaka's little cheek smooshed through the blurryness. Her daddy needs to teach her to not let boys push her around! Really though, they are good friends and love to play on the colorful mat together. He is ten days older and is such a cutie!

Favorite thing #6: Meeting New Friends

Maybe I should say Turbans. She was smiling at her new friend...then her eyes jogged upward and she stared at his turban. She was still smiling:)

Ann-a-ka

I knew when we named our little girl that there would be a bit of explanation when first meeting someone. People are used to a different pronunciation. Many think On-a-ka and we simply smile and tell them its Ann-a-ka.

Since Annaka was born at a birth center and not a hospital, and with midwives rather than doctors, the pediatrician wanted to see her two days after birth. Clint and I took her in and were sitting in the waiting room when we encountered a pronunciation we had never expected. *Note to self here...I was still dealing with crazy hormones and no sleep with a 2 day old* The nurse opened the big door to the examination rooms and called for A-nok-a. "What? Surely she does not mean us" I thought. I felt my face turn red as I got offended. My calm husband simply got up, chuckled as we walked past the nurse and said "That rhymes with Binaca!" I had to stop and laugh. Here I was getting overheated about it and he simply made a joke. I am so glad he was with me.

I was reminded of this story on Friday because I had to take Annaka to the pediatrician's office and yet again they got her name wrong. (dont worry at least it was closer than A-nok-a this time) She was sick for the first time. Oh my! It broke my heart to hear her wheezing all congested and sad. She was so cuddly and slept a lot during the day. She did not sleep at all at night and would not eat at all! She then slept mostly in her swing so she could be upright....
The Dr. said her congestion was in her head and not in her chest yet which was good. She did scream when they were taking her temperature in a not-so-normal place. I was holding her hands and talking to her...reminding her that it is not as bad as the five shots she got at her last appointment. Annaka was not amused, though the nurse seemed to be. Sometimes I dont know which is worse though....her 5 shots, having her temp taken at the Dr's, or using that squeegie ball thing on her nose. Hmmm, the hardships of being a baby.

Then Saturday Clint and I got sick too. All I could think of was "Oh no! I hope she did not feel this bad!"



She is balding. Definitely has the 'old man' head right now. I am hoping her hair will grow in soon...but it is unlikely since I was bald until age 3. I mean come on...this bald spot is as smooth as her cheek. Not even any stubble or peach fuzz.

I had better go for now. Its almost bathtime.