Birthday girl!!

 On Friday night we exchanged gifts with Auntie Katie and Uncle Todd.  They dropped off her birthday gift too.  It was wrapped in "functional wrapping"... All Saturday, this was pretty much what we saw.

Hmmmm... what do I do with this, mom?

Finally, she just gave in... and started playing with it.  It was cute.

                                     

 Well, on December 15 at 4pm we had a birthday party with our closest family and a few friends.  There were about 40 people in our house.  It was pretty much borderline ridiculous.... but hey, it was fun.  And there isn't a single person I wouldn't have wanted there.  Anna is loved so much!  It was such a blessing to have our family and friends there to celebrate with us.  I'd also like to thank Aunt Launi for taking most of the pictures (or at least allowing Jeremy to use your camera to take pictures,) and then sending them to me.  Without you, this blog post would not happen!  :-)

We matched (sort of).

Eating dinner

Our little princess had a MOUNTAIN of presents.
It started out well... she sat on my lap, and actively helped
me open presents...

Yay!  She claps!  So excited!

A musical soccer ball.

4 "odd balls"

About this time, she was starting to realize that we were opening them...
and putting them aside.  This was not an acceptable action.
She really wanted to play with that soccer ball!

She crawled away.

I got her back!

I held her captive with a book!  (this girl loves books!!)

Saying hi to her cousin

This shirt says "silent night. I don't think so."  Pretty much our motto.

This shirt says "Daddy's little snow angel."
Ridiculously cute when paired with some gray pants.

this outfit has matching purple pants.  Also, super cute.

She crawled away to play with her Aunt Kimmee.
(Ann loves her more than she loves books!!)

She got a shape sorter... that kept her there as well.
She played, while I opened her presents.

Some books from her Great Aunt.

Hello in there!!

What she's playing with now is a light up pyramid type thing.  The
shapes are stars.  And they get smaller as you go up.
It's one of her favorite toys.

Our cake!  It was so cute!  And SOOOO YUMMY!
Thanks Candi!

A gluten-free cupcake for the princess.
(We had to warn people not to do a loud "yay" since that made
her bawl at her cousin's birthday. Hahaha Our guests
behaved, and there was no loud ruckus.)

yay!  Song time!

Very serious!  Not sure what to make of this.

Oh, there's daddy... he's singing too!
(Mommy and daddy helped me blow out my candle)

Not sure what to think of this....

She was super dainty.

she picked at it a little bit, and ate some of the frosting. : -)

Then she decided to take the decorations off her high chair.

She got a little fussy after a while... so we put her on Aunt
Kimmee's chair, and then went for a very little ride.
(she was sad when we took her off...)

Grandma Corbett & Grandma Leeper are playing with her
and her new farm toy.

Grandma C

Showing her how to press her buttons.

You can appreciate her tutu a little bit more in this picture!

Hey, what are you doing with my toys, mom!

Her song bike... or whatever we call it.

The next day, Sunday, December 16 was her actual birthday.  Went to church, and showed off a few of her birthday presents as well.  :-)

Showing off her Rapunzel hat that Uncle Todder's mom made.
(Thanks Carol!)
She really does like it, despite the sad look.

This is another hat that Aunt Launi, and Grandma & Grandpa Leeper gave her.
There are also matching mittens!!

She wore this shirt all day. (It says "I'm the birthday girl!")
For church she had her tutu skirt on, and after naptime she had some
stretchy brown pants (show here.. sort of)

Aunt Teresa sent us a wagon.  So naturally daddy put it together while
mommy took a nap.  When we both woke up, we took it for a spin around our house.
Needless to say it was a hit!
(Later that evening we went to the mall, and took the wagon with us too!)

We finished off the end of the day with a birthday bath!

Well it's hard to believe Anna is 1 year old.  We are so blessed to have so many people love on our little girl (and us)!  We will have lots of fun in the weeks and months to come playing with our new toys!  Thank you everyone!!

52 weeks!!

We went to a birthday party that had a lot of families from our birth class.
This is Scarlett.  It's so cute, because as you can see they're holding hands.
...it's even cuter, because Anna HATES when people hold her hand(s).  So
it was sweet that she didn't object!! :-) Instant bffs?

Crawling toward the camera when I was trying to take the picture.

Hi, Mom!

Boy, am I thirsty.  I can't decide... bottle, or water... maybe both?

We went to the last Christmas program practice at BCA (where I taught).
Anna is posing with Miss Tucker the kindergarten teacher
and great friend!

A shout out to the Uncles!!  They don't get
enough publicity!

Well... 52 weeks ago today, started our very busy few weeks of the Christmas season!  It was going to be a non-stop 72 hours of yuletide fun!  However, our God and our little princess had another plan!  Around 8am my water broke, around 9:30 I was in a doctors' office, around 12:30 we were headed the hospital.  Around 6 I started having constant contractions, and at 7:27pm we had the beautiful baby girl!  It has been much joy and laughter since.  I remember pretty much being in a daze for the next few days (maybe even weeks or months), because I couldn't believe she was here!  But God is good, and now I look back at this past year, and wonder where our time went??  I believe everyone when they tell me, "Enjoy the time, because it goes by fast."  Even in our sleepless nights... this year has gone by so fast!!  I eagerly anticipate the many, many more to come!!  Happy 52 week birthday, Anna girl!!  We love you so, so, so much!  But, more than that, our Father, God, loves you!!   Thank you Jesus for such a precious gift!!

Well, this week was busy.  We had many Christmas festivities, work, and all the while I was trying to clean our house for our joyous celebration this week!  Miraculously and with the help of well... everyone... we got it all done.  I'd like to say a little thank you to our very special Grandma & Grandpa Leeper for keeping our little jewel so I could go home and clean like a mad woman all by myself without interruption.  That was GREAT!!  Thank you!!

I plan to post a whole blog post on her birthday.  We are having a party tomorrow to celebrate her first birthday, and then as most of you know her actual birthday is Sunday!  Soo yay!!  So stay tuned for that one!

Here are the current stats....
We'll start with talking!  Boy is Anna a chatter box!  She tries to say a lot of words, but the ones she can say most clearly are: mama/mom, dada/dad, papa, baby, and baba.  She definitely attempts to say duck, but it comes out "du", and grandpa (but it comes out a 2 syllable word that sounds more like papa.  But she says it every time the same way right after my dad says "grandpa.  So we'll give it to her!)  And some times she says Nana, or Anna.

I don't know how much our little monkey weighs, but we go on the 20th to our 12 month appointment where of course she'll be weighed.  But I do know that she is mostly in 12 month clothes, but we still wear quite a few 6/9 month clothes.  But the pants seem to usually be too short, however the 12 month ones some of them she has a hard time holding up and sometimes are a little too long.  I guess we're in a weird size state at this moment.... but definitely closer to the 12 month than the 6/9.  And we are still in size 3 diapers.

Sleep is going well.  We seem to be in a good groove.  Anna usually takes 1 nap a day, but if she wakes up earlier than normal, or goes swimming a lot of times she'll take two then.  Her 1 nap is usually at least 2-3 hours.  At night, she usually goes to bed between 8:30-9:30.  She'll usually wake up about :12 or 12:30 eat, and then sleep til 8ish.  Although some nights she actually lets me get a little bit of sleep before waking up... But, I don't mind it... sure I'd love for her to sleep through the night completely... but at least I usually get a decent stretch one way or the other.  :-)  And when I think about it, it's a whole heck of a lot better than what it used to be!!  Praise the Lord!!

Food is still sometimes hit or miss.  Although, I do think she is a pretty good eater.  I'm hoping that with the addition of her first birthday to our history, that maybe we can expand our potential food list.  :-)  I'm excited for her to try new things.  Although, right now, cheese, bread, and grilled cheese are at the top of her list.  I am proud of my little girl for always at least trying the stuff I put in front of her.  It makes me smile!



Anna is very mobile now.  She crawls everywhere!  She does a little bit of furniture walking, and doesn't do any walking by herself at all.  I'm not worried though, she'll get there!

Anna is definitely a people person!  Friends have commented a lot about how she is just so smiley, friendly, and likes people!  I am thankful for this.  It makes it so much easier to drop her off at grandparents' houses, and the nursery at church.  I might have a small heart attack each time if she didn't do as well. 

Well, I think that's about it for right now.  I will post plenty of pictures from our birthday bash!!

Happy 52 weeks princess!!

51 weeks!!

We have worked for several months with Anna using
some basic sign language.  Here, she is
signing "All Done" at the end of her breakfast.

Bath time. 

Super tired after swim lessons.

Now she's up!!

She spends  a lot of time playing with her jumper.

Now a pose for the camera

Crazy hair during bath time!!

Oh my goodness!!  I cannot believe we are in the final week of our 1st year with our little princess!!  It just seems like it can't be true!  But, we are SO blessed by our little princess. We can't imagine our lives, now without her.  I have laughed more, cried more, pondered more, sang more, laughed a lot more (again), done many things I have never thought I would do to entertain a sleepy baby, prayed more, taken more pictures, seen more family all because of our sweet little Anna!  What a blessing!!

We had a great week with our dear.  It was pretty busy.  I worked twice this week, like always, so she went to her grandparents houses.  We saw Aunt Jill & Uncle Dawson, we went to swim lessons, we went to Mastering Motherhood at church (where the little Angel had her halo held up by her horns.... aka... she got kicked out for lowering morale in her class.... she was crying too much.), and we got to play with some great friends!!  All in all, it was a great week, busy, but great! Our busyness has no end in sight until after the holidays, really.

Anna still only has 1 tooth.  However, there are 3 more teeth just about to break through.  It is very possible that she will have 4 teeth by her first birthday.  If not, I am enjoying her cheesy little 1-tooth smile. 

Anna is doing pretty well eating table food.  I'm hoping that when we see her doctor on the 20th, we'll be able to expand her food varieties to possibly include those foods they recommend NOT giving babies (due to allergies).  Some days, however, she does eat better than others.  She still likes those baby food pouches!!  But she really, REALLY likes when I make her some grilled cheese.  She loves cheese, and bread, so cheese with bread, is just an awesome idea!!  I still can't really get her to eat bananas by themselves, but she will eat banana flavored pouches.  (figure that one out!)

I have put most of Anna's 6-9 month clothes away, but there are a few I am still holding on to.  A lot of pants still have room to grow both in waist and in length.  So i imagine we'll be in 9-12 month pants for a while.  Although, like most women's clothing, it really does just depend on who makes it.  She's still in size 3 diapers, and size 2 shoes. 

Anna is still usually waking up once at night.  Most of the time this week she woke up between 12-1:30.  I'm not a fan of that, BUT the perk is that she then sleeps  from that time til 8  or 9.  So, I usually get to sleep for 6-8 hours straight.  Which, when I think of it that way, isn't really that bad.  So I'll take it!

Anyway, next week is going to be very busy for us.  I make no promises to have the blog updated on Anna's birthday... but we'll see!!  The day before her birthday we are having our families over for a celebration of our little princess!!  I can't believe she's almost 1.  That's pretty much what I find myself saying all the time.

I am so blessed, and humbled to have such an amazing daughter, and an amazing support system of family and friends.  I know that I could not have made it through this past year without your help and encouragement.  There were many sleepless nights that the encouraging words are what kept me sane.  So for that, I thank all of you!!

Thanks for checking in on us!!

50 weeks!

Oh. My. Goodness!  I love this baby!
Her smile!  Her belly... the whole package!
(she's getting ready for a night of feeding herself some yogurt...
hence the lack of clothes)

I was trying to get a picture for her uncle Todders
she spent most of the time trying to crawl on me.

I finally set her on my lap, and took a picture with her...she was so serious!

This is Wednesday night... her first yogurt experience.

see the video below, for more of the fun
(Then you can appreciate why I disrobed her for the next try)

She did have a lot of fun.

Any time the refrigerator opens it, she makes a mad dash to see whats in it
So naturally, I took a picture  (And for those of you concerned... I don't just let her play in the fridge)

We had to wait for something, so I was in the back of the car
playing with her... she was a hoot!
(See video)

 She also was helping me unload the dishwasher.
(See video above)

We wanted to give kisses this AM

We went shopping for a baby gate.  I happened to read the Babies R Us
ad, and saw that for $75+ you could get this free Minnie Mouse doll.
So I definitely took BRU up on their offer.  :-)  I think it will be a present
for the princess  (Shady, I know)

Last Saturday we had pictures taken with the family... here's a pic of Anna with her
cousins, and her Nana and Papa.

My in-law family!
The families are split up by color.

We also took the chance to get a family picture.
(They will be better quality, except this one, I took a picture... of the picture on my computer.  It's not great
but it's not terrible either.  You get the idea...)

Well, this past week was a fun week.  We were constantly on the go.  I can't believe that in 2 weeks we will have a 1 year old.  I was looking at the pictures of Anna this week, and oh my goodness... it is so much fun to watch her grow, learn, and develop an awesome personality.  I am sooo blessed.  I know it was crazy for a time (and it still is...) and I know that it was rocky for a LONG, LONG time... but I love this little girl so much! 

Well, this week went enjoyed our swim lesson, as always.  We did a new first... we went under the water for the first time.  Let's just say she wasn't thrilled.  She didn't bawl, but she didn't love it, or even really like it.  But, she did do well with it.  Anna loves her swim lessons, and LOVES being in water, and playing with water... whether it's a bath, a bowl of water, a pool, a cup, or a puddle on the floor.  Anna loves to play with water!!

This week, she has done pretty well sleeping.  She has become very snuggly when she is tired... and I love that!!  I will take this snuggle business as long as it's around.  I think it's just a phase and it won't last, so I'm going to take it while I have it!  She can put herself to sleep with some crying usually, but she will do it in just a few minutes.  She goes to bed usually between 8-9 still, but a few times this week she went to bed a little closer to 9:30.... one night she went to bed a little later since she had 2 naps that day, and her one nap was a little bit later in the evening.  But that's ok.  She's a bunch of fun to play with, and when daddy's home to help me with some stuff, I can usually multi task and get dinner done, while mixing in some play time  (and since daddy is home... I don't have to worry about where she is and if I can see her because he'll have an eye on her for me-- Love him!)!  I mentioned Anna's naps.  She typically only takes 1 nap a day.  It's usually at least 2 hours, sometimes it's closer to 3 hours.  Which is nice because I have been able to do an exercise video, take a shower, and still get a short nap in all while she is napping.  So, that's a blessing!!

Anna has done better this week eating.  I keep trying to throw in a different variety of food.  It's so hard since we are keeping her on a wheat-free diet, til she's at least 1 years old, to find a good variety.  This week's new items were pesto chicken wrap (although, I didn't give her the wrap, just the inside which was chicken, pesto and some rice... delicious, I might add), egg yolk (no whites), and some quinoa.  She liked them all.  She especially liked the yolk when I put a little cheese with it.  Anna LOVES cheese!!  Loves it!!

This past week I put a bulk of Anna's 6-9 month clothes.  While her 12 month clothes are fairly large on her, I was tired of pulling down her shirt, and pulling down her pants because her ankles were showing.  So, I got her 12 month clothes out.  The pants are long.. and as long as they are stretchy pants, the bigger waist will stay up on her.  She has a pair of 12 month jeans, that kept falling down, so we'll have to wait a little bit longer for her to wear those.  She is still in size 2 shoes (she has itty bitty feet), and size 3 diapers.  I had her weighed this week, and she was 18 pounds 5 ounces.  So, I doubt she'll hit 19 by her first birthday... but we'll see. 

Anna likes to chat almost as much as I do.  She is developing her words.  Her favorite word this week is definitely "dada".  She wakes up saying "dada" even when she sees me!  Although, her dada tells me when he has her, that she says a lot of "mama" to him.  (But I think he's trying to make me feel better.)  I think it's cute that she's a daddy's girl!  She likes to also say "baby" a lot.  She will also say "papa", "baba" and "nana".  And will shake her head "no", especially if you've already told her no when she's doing something she shouldn't (like stand on a chair) or something like that.... it's kind of cute, but I wish she'd just obey, and not just repeat what we've told her.  Guess we have some areas to work.

Well, I think that's about it for now!  The countdown has begun to her birthday!  Can't wait! 

Thanks for checking in on us!!