Meeting St. Nick

The library had Santa for a visit today, so I bundled the girls up and took them to meet him.  I would have taken Maria last year at the library, but she happened to be sick that weekend.  So, this was actually her first time seeing Santa in person.  She was talking before we went all about being brave and sitting on his lap, telling him what she wanted (a violin, drum, piano...gee, is she interested in music or what? Good thing we already have some musical instruments as part of her present!).  We were one of the first there, so we sat and read a couple books waiting for his arrival as more kids showed up.  When she heard him coming in she got a bit nervous at first, but then was okay.  He read a couple of stories and then had the kids come up on his lap and had a chat with them.  Maria went right up to him on her own and her put her on his lap, but lost all of her "braveness" and instead chewed on her finger.  She wouldn't tell Santa what she wanted or how old she was...nope, no talking to Santa.  Oh, well at least she didn't cry!  Then I put Anna on his lap with Maria and Anna just stared at him, checkin him out.  It was fun and magical to see Maria's reaction.

Notice in most of the pictures Maria has her hand on her chin...can you tell that is her nervous thing she does, and looking away from Santa.  If she doesn't look at him, he's not really there right??

storytime

"hmmmm, I want..."

"I can't see you!"

still can't see you!

Anna had her Mrs. Claus hat on.

We have plenty to praise God for; the childhood magic of Christmas!

growling

I was playing with Anna today and growling at her.  She then started to repeat the noise.  It was pretty funny to hear so we got her on video...of course it took her forever to actually do it for us.  She loves to watch the red blinking light on the camera.  And since she was wearing her t-Rex outfit, we weren't sure if she was pretending to be a dinosaur or a bear?  Now if she would only learn to say "mama" as easily.

turkey day

Don't you like all the drool...maybe it will lessen now that those two bottom teeth are in.

Cousin Zach

Maria and cousin Joshua had a great time playing.  This is where they spent the majority of the day...laying on the floor playing.  You can't even tell Joshua has a cast on, but about 3 weeks ago, Joshua broke his leg.  He has a couple more weeks in the cast.

The farm was a big hit.

We have plenty to praise God for; family to be thankful for and spend the day with.

two front teeth

Well, Anna got her two front teeth, just in time for Christmas(you know the song, right?).  look closely...they are there, I assure you I have felt them!

We have plenty to praise God for; the teeth are through, now maybe the drooling will lessen a bit!

have a happy

birthday brother!

We are thankful

Off to celebrate with family.  We hope you have a great Thanksgiving surrounded with loved ones, and a full thankful heart.

We have plenty to THANK God for; but we begin with everlasting life and forgiveness.

smocked

My mom had a small smocked piece that we weren't even sure where it had come from.  I liked it and decided to try and incorporate it into something for Maria.  I took a dress pattern and then added the smocked piece into the bodice.    I think the colors worked pretty well with it and the yellow turtle neck made it even better.  Maria liked it too.

Family Portrait

Today while we were doing some drawing on the chalkboard I told Maria to draw a picture of Anna...

and she did!

Then she proceeded to draw everyone in the family.  She even drew Daddy's stubble, and her bow.

We have plenty to praise God for; recognizable drawings.

Happy 1/2 Birthday

Sure enough Anna turned 6 months old today.  

She has figured out how to roll.  Mastered front to back, so essentially tummy time is over as far as she is concerned!  She did back to front once, ironically the first time she rolled, but never again.  

She likes to sit upright while on our laps or the couch.  She can't quite do that on the floor yet, but does a good job in the high chair and the swing(whose batteries died long ago and it just functions as a seat that she can swing herself in by rocking forward and back...it's pretty impressive actually!).  

We have quite a social little girl as she loves to watch people and give them grins when we are out and about or at church.  She does not, I repeat DOES NOT, want said people to hold her, however!  Two different people at our mom's playgroup wanted to hold her.  And even though I was literally right next to her she did not like that.  Big crocodile tears started rolling out of her eyes, she got a huge pouty lip and cried a sad forlorn cry, like she had been abandoned.  So, she has entered the "stranger fear" stage already, we suppose.

It's pretty evident she likes to watch our faces, and even seems to want to grab and pull us close.  We are unsure if she wants to maul our faces or give us a big, slobbery, open-mouth kisses.  Let's just say we're thankful she doesn't have any chompers yet to find out which of these she is intending.  

We started her on some solids, which she LOVES.  I have to remember to get a video of her and her baby bird mouth waiting for the next bite.  She likes all that she's tried; avocado, banana, sweet potato, and peaches.  We have lots more scrumptious things to try...maybe some pumpkin this week, but we don't think she's quite ready for turkey yet! 

 We have plenty to praise God for; a 6 month old.  Geesh, seriously, she can't be already!

tricks

Maria has worked on doing a somersault for a while now...she can get it every once in a while, but the other night it was pretty consistent, so we thought we better document it.  She was pretty proud of herself...don't mind that she is shirtless...it was almost bedtime!

say cheese

Okay, so I get a bit carried away sometimes...it's just too fun!  The full album of pictures is found here.  Enjoy!

laughing!

Maria sure has a way of making Anna giggle...don't mind Larry in the background on the phone!

click and run

Thank goodness for the self timer!

And that's all folks!...

rollin', rollin', rollin'

We think she has finally figured it out...her first time last week was from back to front, but this time it was all front to back...she couldn't be stopped!  Just watch her go!

carry me baby

I had made myself a mei tai carrier and my friend was interested in having one herself.  She picked out the fabric and I whipped it up.  The tutorial I used is no longer online, luckily I had printed it out from the first one I made myself.

Anna just had to try it out...don't mind all the spit up and baby drool...we did wash it before delivery!

So this is the final result.

I designed a bag to carry it in also.

check out those rolls

Only on a baby can you say that rolls of fat are cute...and oh, look at those rolls.  Is it possible to have rolls on the rolls?

Anyway, we figure Anna isn't hurting in the eating department.  She has had a couple meals of solid and really digs her oatmeal cereal and avocado mixed with mama's milk.  She has also stopped her night time feed and diaper changing session.  She wasn't really into eating much then anymore.  She thought it was a social visit and would start chattering with me.  So we quit, cold turkey.  She has been fine.  Sleeping from 8pm till usually past 8am if big sister is quiet enough.

We have plenty to praise God for; a healthy eater!

and she rolls!

Finally Anna decided it was time to get a move on.  She rolled...once, and only once.  But we predict more is on the way.  We are in no hurry as we know all too soon she will be walking around like she owns the place.

Anna just after her first roll, looks pretty proud of herself.

We have plenty to praise God for; a beautiful daughter who is learning new things every day.

dedication

My brother took pictures during the dedication and just sent them, so I wanted to share them with you.

Anna was SO good for Pastor Brian the whole time, not uttering a peep.  Just checking him out and chewing on her hand.  She was talking plenty before and after the dedication as we sat in the pew.  She knew it was her special day and could do whatever she wanted I guess.

She wore the same dress and sweater set that Maria did.  The dress was something Aunt Michele bought and is so cute that we had to have Anna wear it also.  The sweater, bonnet, booties were knit by Anna's great-great Aunt Ida (Nana's sister) for Larry when he was a baby.  They just barely fit Anna; we thought the bonnet was going to pop right off her head!

A kiss of blessing.

We have plenty to praise God for; His blessing on our lives.

belated wishes

Well, I knew I missed their anniversary at the beginning of October, so when my brother sent this picture of their dinner out, I knew I had to share it.

Happy Belated 4th Anniversary to my handsome "little" brother and his gorgeous wife.

2005

Our Sweetheart