Where Did My Baby Go?

I know I have been watching my little girl grow up for the past 14 months but really....when did she quit becoming a baby! She walks, talks, feeds herself, has a mind of her own....if only she would change her own diaper (or potty train herself).

Selfishly I am sad that she does not need me as much. I know what some may say...just wait until they are a teenager, driving, etc and really dont think they need you.

I am excited to be seeing her little personality become more apparent:)

She is tender hearted toward her baby doll, putting it to bed in the pot-holder drawer, putting her doll in the high chair to eat, and in the carseat. All this is until she sees me holding the doll. Then she grabs the doll and throws it on the floor as hard as she can. (good thing we are not crossing that bridge anytime soon )

She will play with anything that is not a toy. (and some toys too) The other day this was her 'toy' of choice....

The non-stick spray lid and a travel laundry bag. Even more fun when Papa puts the laundry bag on top of her head. It becomes an instant tent. I thought she would throw it off her head immediately, yet she wanted to play inside!

She is also VERY opinioniated! She wants to use any dipping sauce she sees someone else using, wants me to put a bow on her head or her necklace around her neck. (for some reason I cannot find the photo of her in her high chair eating ... necklaces and all. ) She even insists on me putting her green crocks on her whenever she finds them. It does not matter if she already has other shoes on, or if she only brings me one shoe! She insists!

I have LOVED every minute being a mom and look forward to cherishing every moment to come! Annaka is so much fun! I love....
when she runs to give me a hug....

when she backs up toward me in order to sit on my lap...

when she takes a break from watching Veggie Tales to grab my arm and point to the tv to 'show me' what is going on...

when she dances around the living room with me...

when she uses the sign language she knows to tell me she wants 'more' or says 'please' to try to get out of taking a nap...

when she pats me and says in her sweet little voice "mama"

.......my heart just melts!

(I just had to throw this photo in too! She has ticklish legs! This is the photo we get when I am trying to get her to smile by tickling her leg.....she giggles and cannot sit still for the photo! )

Cheese

Cheese! Annaka now almost has 10 teeth. 9 with another one that is just about to poke through. I can feel the pokes under a thin layer of gum. She is such a ham:)

Photo Blog of Little A

I am totally taking this opportunity to not write much. Yes, you read correctly. Here are our past few months in photos. There are several events that are not documented because I am horrible at pulling out our camera to take photos. I dont know if it is because I just dont think about it or I am frustrated at how it doesnt always work correctly...either way, I rely on other people to take photos so if you have some of Annaka... may I please have a copy?:)

Easter 2009. Hiding among the stuffed animals at the Metskers house. What a fun tradition!

Aunt Natalie graduated from college in May! Congratulations! Annaka liked the cap and tassle.

Then she had enough. When Aunt Natalie needed her cap back she simply went for the shoe! There is always something to keep her happy:)

Annaka's first tript to the beach was this summer! We spent a week in Nags Head. Our little independant girl liked to push the stroller which was a great clue that she needed a doll stroller for her birthday! (Yes, she loved wearing her hat and sunglasses and mostly kept them on! )

Here's the hat and glasses again as she plays in the sand. She LOVED the sand and the waves! (and the baby pool too!)

Quite the ham in the beach house.

Next we headed to Portland for a month long culture training. It was there she definately grew out of a few outfits, grew a ring of curles around her head, learned to say many more words such as boy and car, and made many, many, many new friends! (P.S. if anyone has photos of Annaka with any of her new friends at WV I would love to see them!!!)

"Look! My book came with me!" She LOVES to read!

Annaka had the best view of anyone on 6'4" Papa's shoulders!

Watching the swing band performance...

Having fun riding a tricycle...

On one of our many daily walks!

Stuffing her face with cheese and bread at the Chinese Classical Garden...

Mommy painted Annaka's toe nails for the first time ever. She did not really know or care...but everyone else did!

One of our many new friends? Nope, just a mirror!

Giggling after bath time....if you look close, I love that you can see her little tongue!

Then time to crash! Asleep during Mamma and Pappa's team meeting.

Actually this is more a photo blog of Annaka at different stages...not necessarially the event, but that is all you come to this blog for anyway :) Its been quite a busy summer and now we can post regular and not feel guilty for missing major events this summer.

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:)