week 43

I'm 43 weeks old!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At cousin Brad and Ali's wedding in Lewisburg, PA

A much different smile from Gina (see post around  December 23, 2011... she looked petrified.)

How do you occupy a 9 1/2 month old while waiting for gym class to start?

By taking pictures where she can see herself, of course!

Despite the fact that her eyes are closed... I turned my head briefly, only to look
back and see that she dumped the entire container of puffs.  Stinker!
(And of course, what do I do?  Grab my phone to document it all! Haha!)

Another meal... silly faces.

Grandma C thought we needed some shoes, so she bought Anna these ones!
LOVE them!  They're sooooo cute!

We went to the zoo on the sort of chilly Friday.  But we had a lot of fun!

As the weeks pass, I get a little more anxious that I'm closer and closer to having a toddler, as opposed to a baby.  However, we are making GREAT strides each and every day (and week).  Some nights I'm so excited to wake up in the morning and be about our business for that day... Anna is an AWESOME baby!  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE her personality... and every day, it seems to get better.  Sure we have good days, and probably still some bad days too, but we're awesome.  It's amazing how different a tune I am singing a month after starting our dear on pepcid.  It is like night and day.  I thank God once more for a doctor who was willing to listen to a hopeless mother, and for medication that works!

Anna's sleep habits are getting better and better each day it seems.  Most days this week she woke up once.  Many days it was about 2:30am, once it was 6am,and last night she slept THROUGH the night!  When she does wake up, she eats, and goes right back to sleep, and then either wakes on her own, or I wake her up around 8-8:15.  Friday, we slept in until almost 9.  It was heavenly!!Last night she went to sleep a little bit before 9, and woke up at 8:20 on her own.  What an awesome night!  Many of the parents from our birth class would talk about how their babies would sleep 12 hours at night.... I longed for that day, and even doubted we'd ever get there.  This is the first night that she actually came REALLY close to 12 hours without waking.  I could soooooooo get used to that!  She's asleep now, after falling asleep about 8:45.  So, we'll see how tonight goes! 

Anna is also doing very well eating.  As the picture above shows, she enjoys the baby food that comes in the pouch... and has even done very well feeding herself from those.  I like when she does that, but it's kind of sad that she doesn't need my help as much any more.  However, I take it all as a sign that she is developing well (and of course, is a baby genius!!).  Every now and then she tries to smack the pouch when it's on her try to make a mess... but Jeremy and I are pretty good at catching her telling her "No" and taking it away when she does this.  Anna is also enjoying puffs, cheese, gluten free bread, chicken, rice crispies, and yogurt melts.  She will eat yogurt, but only a bite or two.  I think it's because I have to feed her it, and she can't do it herself.  In time, little girl.. in time.  I love that she's usually willing to try a food item, and very quickly you find out if she is going to like it (for that sitting) or not.  She is still nursing every 2-3 hours... but many times it is closer to 3 or more.

Anna and I were busy on Thursday so I don't know how much she weighs.. it must be at least 18 pounds by now, I imagine, if not it's very close to it.  She is still in 6-9 month clothes, and still in size 3 diapers.  This week, Grandma C took her shoe shopping.  We went to Stride Rite where she got 3 pairs of shoes (the shoes pictures above, slipper shoes, and boots -- mommy couldn't resist the boots... they were on sale!).  They're really fun to have her wear.  Anna is "almost in size 2" shoes.

Crawling has been mostly Anna's preferred mode of transportation.  She isn't too fast, but she can get to wherever she wants to go.  I have seen her trying to pull herself up on a few things in our living room (the jumper, her toy basket, or an ottoman).  So, she's trying. 

Our little girl is so precious. We just love her so much!

That's about it for now.... thanks for checking in on us!!

42 weeks

We had the wedding for Lindsey & Dennis on Saturday.

While we were at the wedding,, Anna stayed with her Aunt Launi,
and Grandma & Grandpa Leeper.  They took her to the park, and she had
A LOT of fun!  (She must have because she slept through the night!!)

They also had story time!  Anna LOVES story time.  Here she is
with Grandpa Leeper.  (Hope the designation of Grandma & Grandpa is fine, guys. 
Try it out for size, and let me know if it works!!)

I found that I can take pictures of her with my camera, where she can see herself
as I take the picture.  She was facinated!

Sporting her bathing suit before our swim lesson.

This week, Anna started to crawl on her hands and knees, not just army crawling.

I even got it on video for you to enjoy!

Shopping with Mommy & Aunt Jill.  If you can't read the titles
They say "My Grandpa is Special" and "My Grandma is Special."
Made us laugh because she has some "special" grandparents.  hahaha

Sporting her jammies before bed.

She loves her remote!  (And I love instagram!)

Well, this week has been another good week.  I love this little monkey!  She's such a ham!  Her personality is starting to shine (and so is her temper.... she definitely lets you know when she doesn't want to do something!  We're working on it!)

Sleep this week has been good.  She has only gotten up once in a night, or not at all.  It has been absolutely WONDERFUL!!  We've been getting up between 7:45 and 8;15 every day.  Anna takes 2 naps.  The first nap is shorter, and the 2nd one is AWESOME in that it allows me to take a nap too!!  She typically goes to bed between 9-10, but sometimes it's later.  We are working on trying to get it earlier... but, it doesn't work so well.

Anna is still doing well eating solids.  She loves to feed herself, and if I can give it to her where she can feed herself, I have a better chance at her eating it.  She tries most things that I give her.  Anna still LOVES avocados!  She eats a lot of turkey, chicken, gluten-free bread, rice crispies, cheese, yogurt, sweet potato puffs.  These are her current favorites.  She still is eating every 2-3 hours on average.

We continue to work with Anna on using 3 basic signs.  We do "more", "eat", and "all done"  Sometimes she seems to sign "all done."  Or at least we call it "all done."  She doesn't do a lot of "more" it seems to be clapping.  And she claps all the time...

Anna is still in 6-9 month clothes, and size 3 diapers.  I think we'll be in both for quite a while still.  Which is ok, I love some of the clothes that she has in this size!

41 weeks old

 

She's been caught a few times this week on her hands and knees.
Not quite crawling, but we are soooo close. (Sometimes she moves her hands and feet)

After she woke up at 6:30, she spent most of the time crying until it was time to get up at 7:45. 
(That's why she looks so rough in this picture.)

Love my little snuggle bug.

She enjoyed her walk with me this afternoon.

She still enjoys playing with her sock monkey.

I put this up again, because people have told me this is by far one
of the cutest pictures of Anna. (We get this face a lot more these days.)

Smile!

Again, I love this little cutie!

Well, I want to give myself a pat on the back... I'm actually blogging on the day I should be!  Today, my little princess is 41 weeks old.  It's incredible to think.... 11 weeks and we'll have a 1 year old!  YIKES!  (That also means we have about 12 weeks til Christmas!  Eeeeek!)

This week has been a good week.  As far as sleep goes, she has made HUGE strides in this department.  I will attribute it largely to the vast quantity of people who are praying for us.  I also attribute our sleep success to the twice daily dose of pepcid that we give her as well.  This week she has been waking up about two or less times... most of the week it was 1 time, and twice (the last 2 nights) she has gone from 10-6, or 10-5.  It's amazing how GREAT I feel just because she is sleeping better.  I don't feel like I"m dragging as much, and I can actually be productive during the day and not just a lump on the couch feeling guilty for not doing anything.  So, sleep this week has been A LOT  better.  Praise the Lord!  I don't know how much longer I could have gone on with the every hour business and hearing her wail and wail and wail.  Also, it's great to know as a mom that there was something that could be done and it's not just my own "crappy parenting."   I know it defies or odds in that she was "old" to be diagnosed with acid reflux, but it all just seems too "coincidental" to go from horrible, horrible sleep to much much better.  (I must note she is on pepcid for a trial basis, and hasn't actually been diagnosed with  acid reflux... BUT I'm sure when i talk to the doctor, Anna will be....) 

Anna is still in 6-9 month clothes.  It's been pretty cool lately, so we've been enjoying all the fun "fallish" clothing.  Nothing like a cute fleece outfit, or sweaters on a baby!  Anna is still in size 3 diapers and will be in them for quite a while still.  I had her weighed yesterday and she was tipping the scale at 17 pounds 7 ounces.  (And let me tell you, it is quite a feat to get a squirmy baby to hold still long enough to get a scale to register.... but she's so "go-with-the-flow" that eventually, she holds still long enough for the scale to recognize the weight.)

Our little cutie is doing really well with food.  At first it was slow going... more with getting ME in training to get her in her high chair 3 times a day.   But now, it's a good habit we have.  Anna LOVES to eat anything she can feed herself.  I'm also, very proud of the fact that she seems to at least try what I offer her.  Although it doesn't usually go too far from there.  She just isn't a fan of eating anything off a spoon.  Anna does like those "pouches" of baby food though.  She knows that if she just puts her mouth/lips on the little spout, we'll squeeze some into her mouth.  That works well for us.  It's not so messy, and they come in a variety of flavors. 

I don't have any pictures of it since I couldn't do it myself... but this week Anna had her first swim lesson at the Y.  We loved it!  It's actually a 2 part class.  We have a 25 minute gym lesson, and then a 5 ish minute of transition, and then a 30 minute ish swim lesson.  It was a lot of fun!  They have this smaller "instructional pool" that's about 3 1/2 feet in the deep end.  We choo-chooed around the pool wall, we practiced turning around, and sliding into the pool on our bellies, we wore life jackets and floated around on our backs and then were on our bellies, we sang songs with motions, and we went down a slide.  Anna loved each part.  It was a lot of fun.  Since Grandma C used to teach these types of classes, it was fun to hear the old songs again, except this time play with MY baby during them.  We will be going again this coming Tuesday.  This is going to be a long term thing, as I want my child(ren) to know how to swim.  It's an important skill to have.  So, until we have "watch day" I probably won't have any pictures since there really isn't a good place to set my phone or camera.  But, you can use your imagination as to how cute my baby (and the other babies) looked in their teeny tiny life jackets! 

Anyway, that's about it!  Thanks for reading and checking in on us!!

40 weeks old

Enjoying her lunch

modeling a new outfit

Another day, another meal

All smiles

Hey, Mom!

LOVE HER!!

Anna has some of the prettiest eyes!!

She started eating some rice cakes!  And enjoyed them.

This is my view most of the evening...

Well, this is Anna's 40th week!  We love her so much, and cannot fathom our lives without her.

 I am happy to report that our 40th week has improved our sleep.  We have been faithfully giving our darling pepcid as prescribed by the doctor.  It seems to be helping.  Of course this week we have struggled more with getting her to go back to sleep in the middle of the night (as opposed to frequency). (One night she was up for the bulk of 2am-3:30am)  So, prayers are still appreciated.  We are improving and making great strides.  We have faith that one night we'll get it all together!

Anna is doing well with food.  She still prefers food that she can feed herself.  It's actually kind of fun, because she tries everything I give her.  And she definitely tries to get everything I get her in her mouth.  Anna's pincer grasp is improving, and when she wants food in her mouth she'll stop at nothing to get it in there.  :-) I keep trying to get her to "like" using a spoon, but she'd much rather eat finger food.  She has started taking a liking to those "pouch" baby foods.  Those are definitely an interesting blend... but she seems to like them.  I was always planning to make my baby food, but she's so finicky that It's hard to make baby food and not have a ton go to waste.  So we've compromised.  She also is a BIG fan of the Gerber graduate's "lil crunchies"  (They're kind of like cheetos, without all the crap.)  She eats some yogurt still, but definitely hasn't eaten as much of it as she did the first day.  :-)  Oh well. 

Anna is still in 6-9month clothes.  Some of those tend to be big on her, especially pants.  So, I think we'll be in them for a while.  We had to make an "emergency run" to the consignment shop to get some pants and long sleeves.  A lot of her 6-9 month clothes were summer clothes, and it has been chilly here (very fall like) so we needed some more fally type clothes.  I will say that I absolutely LOVE consignment shops for baby clothes.  I was able to get 15 outfits (plus I had a sweater and  pair of pants extra) all for a little less than $50.  A few of the clothes were even brand new!  So, you can't beat that!  I love when I can tell Jeremy see this outfit??  It cost $2. :-)

Anna is getting closer and closer to crawling.  I've caught her numerous times on her hands and knees.  I also like that she is getting better at making transitions from sitting to getting on her belly without smacking her face on the floor.  She still prefers to 'army crawl" or drag her body using mostly/only her arms.  She is definitely mobile!  One of her favorite activities is to sit next to her toy basket in our living room, and slowly take the toys out.  It's really cute... and she doesn't take all the toys out either.  :-)  One of these days I will teach her to take a toy out, and put a toy back.  Hahaha.... I can hope!

Anyway, I think that's about it for now!  Thanks for checking in on us, and reading!

Have a great week!!

39 weeks

Enjoying her first serving of yogurt!

My 39th week birthday fell on Grandpa C's 61st (year) birthday!! 
So we did the only logical thing... wish him happy birthday!

Loving on her glow worm.

This past week was very dramatic... mostly in regards to sleeping.  It went from bad, to really bad, to terrible, to down right nightmarish.  I discovered that I am NOT a nice mommy at 12:30, 1:30, 2:30, and 3:30.   Although, somewhere between the hours of 2:30 and 3:30 I decided that Anna needed to see her pediatrician.  There must be some reason for this frequent wailing.  So, we went to see Dr. H on Friday morning.  She graciously listened to my plight.  I asked her if it was possible Anna had acid reflux, and the doctor thought it was unlikely due to her age, however... she agreed to let us give it a try.  (And since the report on it would be part of the 40th week blog... you will have to wait to hear how it is or isn't working....)

Either way, I have found myself saying that I am soooo glad that she is super cute...and happy... because night time has been awful.  I must also say, I am so blessed to have people in my life that are willing to put out a call to others to hold us up in prayer.  I can definitely feel the hand of the Lord working in this area... so thank you to those who are praying for us during this time.

Anyway, here's her current stats.

As mentioned we went to the doctor on Friday.  She's measuring in the 50th percentile for height, weight, and head circumference.  She is 27 inches tall, and weighed 17 pounds 2.5 ounces.  (I cannot remember her head circumference... 42 cm?  unless that's super big... then it's not 42 cm.)  She is still in size 3 diapers... and also still in 6-9 month clothes.  Although there are a few of her pants that are 6 months that work well still... and there are still a bunch of 6-9 month pants that just don't fit they fall off like crazy.  (Poor girl she needs suspenders!)

Sleep well... last week was terrible (as the opening section said).  So.. .we're still working on that.

Anna is still nursing every 2-3 hours, although it is closer to 3 hours most of the time.  Also, she is doing a great job eating.  She doesn't prefer pureed food, and likes anything that she can feed herself.  This week she tried some yogurt or the first time and loved it!  She also had some cheese, too, and enjoyed it as well. (See the picture above) Her favorite foods include small pieces of bread, sweet potato puffs, turkey, chicken, cheese, Gerber Graduates Lil Grabbers Cinnamon Maple flavored.  She also likes this veggie puree that I got as well.  It came in a little pouch and she likes to suck on the one end while I gradually squeeze it.  It's a good relationship.

She is making GREAT strides toward crawling.  She is almost there.  She tends to crawl more on our bed then on our actual floor.  But... she is getting closer on our floor.

Also this week she said "papa" and continues to do so.  It's cute!  She still prefers "mama" over "dada" but is now throwing papa in their regularly.

Anyway, as always... I am blessed beyond blessed to be Anna's mom.  I love her so much!  Even though sleeping isn't her strong suit... I find myself more and more in love with her each day.

Anyway thanks for reading!!

38 weeks

action shot of breakfast!

Happy little baby

She swiped a penguin from the bathtub.

Anna always enjoys baths.

Well, this is a very late 38 week post... but, my goal is to always have the week post BEFORE the next week turn over.  While that may be tomorrow... I still am meeting my goal.

It's been a busy 2 weeks.  So, there hasn't been much time for blogging.  Not to mention, we have once again struggled with our phone issues.

Here's the basics...

Anna is still not sleeping through the night.  Some nights are definitely better than others.  But, most nights are frustrating to say the least.  (That is all about that.)

Anna is still in 6-9 month clothes.  Some fit really well... and other's I need suspenders for!  Ha!  She is still in size 3 diapers.  I didn't have her weighed this week... but I'm sure she's just over 17 pounds.

Anna is doing well eating, although she really, really likes to do it herself.  If she can't put it in her mouth on her own, there is very little chance she will eat it.  And, she tries really hard, but most of it ends up on the floor.  Her pincer grasp is doing a lot better.  At dinner on Friday night (her 38 week birthday) she was using her index finger and thumb to grasp most of what she was eating.  So, she's doing well.  I just keep the broom and/or dust buster handy.

Anna still isn't crawling, but she is awfully close.  We got a rug for her Saturday (the day after her 38th week birthday) in hopes that a little friction will push her over the edge of crawling since all we had were hardwood floors.  I don't think it will be long now.  She does get around.

Well, that's aabout it... I do plan to blog the 39th week earlier (maybe even the day off), so there will be more to read... and hopefully a video showing off her skills.

Thanks for reading!

37 weeks old

So cute after bath time!!

We visited Great-grandma and Great-Grandpa Surso
this week.  Grandpa played with me!

I helped mommy with the laundry (then I helped pull out all the folded laundry).

Enjoying Watermelon... I didn't like it so much on 4th of July, but now I'm digging it!

A fun photo with Aunt Kimmee at the Captain's game.
Boy do I love my Aunt Kimmee!!

Well our dear Annie-Bananie has officially been out longer than she was in!  It's crazy to think about it.  Our lives have been completely flipped upside down... in a good way of course.

Anna is developing such a personality.  She is a regular ham.  Last week I caught her making fart noises while slimming her arm.... it was hysterical.  She laughs at funny things, and in general, she knows when she is being a goofball.  I love it!

We were really busy this week and weekend, thus the late posting...

Anna still isn't sleeping great, but she is sleeping better than she was... she will typically wake one or two times a night... and then again about 7:30 in the morning.  Usually Jeremy will take her downstairs for me, put her in the swing, and let her swing for  bit.  That usually buys me some time, and she'll sleep til 8:30 or 9 which is NICE!

Anna is still in her 6-9 month clothes.  Some are big... some are small, and some are just right.    She has a whole slew of summer clothes.  They are absolutely darling.  This weekend, while we were camping, Grandma C and I went to a Carter's outlet... and we scored a killing at REALLY good deals.  It was a lot of fun.  We got a coat, some long sleeves, and even a dress for Thanksgiving.  It was a lot of fun.  Anna wasn't weighed this week... so I don't know how much she weighs... but she is still in size 3 diapers.

Anna is still eating every 2-3 hours, but most of the time it is closer to 3 hours.  I've been working really hard this past week to get Anna sitting in her high chair eating real food.  Anna LOVES to feed herself.  She will let me feed her sometimes, but prefers to do it herself.  She's getting a lot better with it.  Her favorite foods are gluten-free rice crispies, avocados, chicken, turkey, sweet potato puffs, green beans, and new to her this weekend was gluten-free bread.  SHE LOVES gluten-fre bread!!  LOVES IT!!  She even tried some gluten-free pancakes.  (Now some may wonder why she is eating gluten-free... well, I read a while back, that if a close family member has celiac disease, then it is better to wait til 1 year to introduce wheat into their diet. And since my mom has a gluten-allergy, we are playing it safe and waiting.  We're making due.)

Anna does a lot of babbling.  Apparently she has gotten my "gift of gab"... most of the time she is just babbling "mamama" or "dadada" (but mostly mamama).  She is full of all sorts of sounds.. it cracks me up to watch her all the time come up with something new. 

Anyway, I think that's about it...thanks for reading!