Let's Catch Up

Blogging has fallen so far on the back burner that it would take me forever to do individual posts on everything.  Hopefully I can stay caught up after this and make it a point to blog a few times a week.

First, Drew lost his job.  His company closed their doors and everyone but a few keys employees was terminated.  It came as quite the surprise to everyone.  Apparently, the company has been bought now.  Drew is waiting to see if they are going to ask him to come back.  He's been applying for other positions, both here and in other states.  I'm torn about whether I want to move or not.  On one hand, it would be a great opportunity and a chance to try out a new place.  I've only lived here in Illinois.  And we've got to face it, this isn't exactly a great area for aviation.  On the other hand, it will be hard to leave our families.  We've both got extended family in other parts of the country, but it will still be hard to leave our "home".  We're both just saying lots of prayers that Drew gets a job quickly and that he is able to grow and expand his skills in it.

We recently took a week long, extremely spur of the moment trip to North Carolina.  Drew's BFF, Drew, was talking to his dad one day when we arrived at his parent's house.  He was talking about how he was going to start laying some laminate hardwoods that weekend.  Drew decided that we should go out there and help him.  So, we left the next evening.  Annelise did such a great job traveling and while we were there!!  For some reason, her bedtime was extremely late every night.  Not quite sure what that was about.

Drew spent the whole time laying the floors and didn't really do anything fun.  Poor him.  Annelise and I were busy little bees.  Jen and Emma took us to a place called Discovery Zone Kids.  It was a blast.  There was a huge place for Annelise to play.  When we first got there, she spent about 10 minutes just looking around at everything.

But, once she warmed up and had a chance to take everything in, she had a great time.

She especially liked playing in the water table.

I had the awesome opportunity to meet a lady that I've been friends with for quite a few years.  We met while we were both planning our weddings on an online chat forum.  Lindsay only lives about a half hour from where I was at.

She also has an adorable daughter named Lila.

There are a lot of blue eyes in that picture!!

Drew decided that he wanted to travel back home during the day, so that we could see the mountains as we drove through them.  That idea was all fine and dandy, until night fell and we ran into a snow storm in Indiana.  And then, we got stuck on a closed highway that got shut down because of an accident.  So basically, a 12-13 hour roadtrip turned into 18 hours, and we didn't get home until about 4 AM.  Not so much fun!  It was definitely the second worst road trip ever.

Now that we've been home, we just been focusing on getting stuff done around the house.  Hopefully we can knock out a bunch of little projects that have been on the back burner while Drew is off of work.

Ten Months

Dear Annelise,

My goodness girl, how fast time is flying now!  I swear that since you've become mobile, the days, weeks, and months are just zooming by.

You finally have teeth!!!!  Daddy and I were beginning to think that you'd be toothless your whole life. You have four teeth, two bottom and two top.  They came one right after the other.  The first one came in, your bottom right, then a few days later, when I feeling the first one, I noticed that the second bottom one had popped through.  Just a day or two after that, we were playing and I noticed that your top right one was showing.  A couple of days later, your top left one.  It was so weird to see your with teeth and not the gummy smile that we've grown so accustomed to.  Sometimes, I still get caught off guard when I see them.  Every once in a while, it sounds like you grind them together.  I think that you are probably wondering what they are.  You've bitten me while breastfeeding a couple of times.  That hurts, A LOT!  I would appreciate it if you didn't do that ever again!

You actually cut those teeth pretty well.  I've heard horror stories about kids teething and I have been dreading it with you.  You did very well and, honestly, weren't really much different than your usual self.  I hope that the rest of your teeth go just as well.

You have become such a pro at crawling and cruising.  There is no stopping you now.  You crawl everywhere and pull up on things like you've been doing it forever.  You are definitely a lot happier now that you can get to where you want to go.  You are very good at cruising along the couch and then dropping to your knees to crawl to get somewhere else.

You think about taking some steps, but then you get scared and drop to your knees.  You took one step while we were visiting some friends in North Carolina.  I held out a puff to you and you took one step and then fell.  I've been trying so hard to get you to walk, but you don't show a lot of interest.

While we were visiting some friends in North Carolina, you learned how to climb the stairs.  At first, you climbed one and then didn't really climb anymore.  Then, a little while later, you saw their cats upstairs.  You started climbing the stairs like you've been doing it forever!  I guess all it takes is the right motivation to get you moving!

You continue to be a lover of food.  There isn't much that you don't like.  At this point, I think that the only things that you definitely are not a fan of are bananas and avocados.  You love yogurt, and will usually have some yogurt and fruit in the morning for breakfast.

Sleep is still pretty consistent and not much has changed from last month.  I'm so thankful that things are going well here.  Let's just continue, ok!

Little lady, you absolutely adore Maya!  I think that your love and fascination for her grows everyday.  You love to climb all over her and rub your face into hers.  You love it when Maya gets hyper and runs around.  In return, Maya tolerates you climbing on her, and loves it when you eat so that she can get some treats.  You have started to love Leo too.  If he's near you, you'll scurry over to him and then grab onto his fur and start screeching.  Leo is not a fan.  He usually tolerates it until he can run away.  Simon doesn't even let you come anywhere near him.

You are quite the opinionated, headstrong little girl.  You know what you want and you won't stop until you get it.  The tantrums are out of control.  You throw a fit about practically everything.  You throw a fit when you get put into your car seat, when you get put down, when someone else holds you, when you don't get fed fast enough, when something gets taken away from you.  Basically, it's temper tantrums all day long.  Boy, I'm certainly looking forward to the toddler years.  Ha!

You are still wearing 12 month clothes and in a size 3 diaper.

I cannot believe that we are getting so close to your first birthday.  I have started planning your party and I am so blessed to be able to plan a first birthday party.  You are so much fun lately and it astonishes me to watch you grow and learn.  I love you so much my darling!

Love you always,
Mommy

Nine Months

Dear Annelise,

Every time I sit down to write you one of these letters, I can't believe that another month has passed and that we are getting closer and closer to your one year birthday.  How can you be so grown, but yet still so little?

You haven't had many milestones this month, but you have had a bunch of firsts.  Daddy and I took you to see Santa for the first time.  You did a lot better than I thought you would.  You were very hesitant at first, and you had your serious face on the whole time.  We did manage to get one picture where you are smiling a little bit.

You are a crawling and climbing machine!  I laugh because you are still new to the whole crawling thing and you get so excited and try to get to where you are going so fast that you slip.  I can always tell when you are excited or trying to get somewhere in a hurry because you do this short, fast crawl.  The sound of your hands on the floor is the cutest thing ever to me!  You pull up on anything and everything.  You have started to cruise along things, but only a little bit.  I secretly hope that you'll walk by my birthday, but I don't think that will happen.  Maybe you'll surprise me.  Sometimes I'll take you downstairs and see if you have an interest in climbing the stairs, but you don't seem interested at all.  You'll pull up on the first step, but won't climb them.  I know that it's only a matter of time before I can't keep you off of them.  You have even started to let go of whatever you have pulled up on and balance on your own.  It doesn't last long before you either grab back on or fall onto your booty.  You are surprisingly very good at it!

We celebrated Christmas with you for the first time.  You had no clue what was going on, and you weren't even interested in opening the presents.  Mom and Dad made some great memories though.  We can't wait to celebrate more Christmases with you!

Lady, you LOVE to eat!  You get so excited when I put you in your high chair.  You know that food is coming and you are excited.  You have really loved everything that I've given you.  I gave you hamburger the other day with some noodles and you chowed down on the hamburger and left the noodles.  You eventually ate the noodles, but not until you had finished all of the meat.  You also do a great job of clearing your tray.  I absolutely love to watch how excited you get when you eat.  You babble and shriek the whole time.  I can't help but smile.

Your sleep has gotten so much better!!  Naps are a bit touch and go most days and don't even come close to resembling a pattern.  However, your night sleep has dramatically improved.  You get a full bottle of breast milk at bedtime.  By the time you've finished your bottle, you are usually so sleepy that you don't need any rocking.  Sometimes that varies.  You've started sleeping through the night on a consistent basis.  Every once in a while, we'll have a rough night where you'll wake up.  I am so proud of you and how far you've come in this area!

You still don't say many sounds.  You've definitely got "ma" or "mom" down very well.  You'll make a sound while you're eating that sounds like "nom", which is very cute.  That's really about it though.  Most of your other sounds are shrieks or babbling.  And giggles!  Love those baby giggles!

I am kind of amazed at the temper tantrums that you can throw.  I really didn't think that it was possible to start them so intensely at this age, but you have proven that wrong.  You know what you want and you are out to get it.  You are definitely headstrong.  I'm pretty sure that that is both good and bad.  I'm also pretty sure that if your tantrums are this bad now, I'm hosed when you're a toddler.  I'm frightened. Please go easy on me!

You are 17 pounds 13 ounces and are 26 inches long.  You are in the 8th percentile for your height.  Looks like you are going to be short like your mama!  You are still in 12 month clothing and size 3 diapers.

My girl, I love you more than words can describe.  I am so blessed to have you and watch you grow.  You are turning into such an amazing little girl.  I am so proud to call you mine!

Love you always,
Mommy

A Brand New Year

I'm so excited to be starting a new year.  2012 was so good to us.  I am beyond blessed that my beautiful daughter is here and that I get to be her mother.

Jess and Eric are still in town, so we spent the day hanging out at Drew's parent's house with his family.

Of course, I can't let the day go by without a special outfit!

I don't really make resolutions, but I want to set some goals for this year.  I really want to stop cussing.  I have a mouth like a sailor and I really need to get it in check since it won't be long before I have a little someone repeating everything I say.  Drew needs to work on this one also!  I have a bunch of personal and family goals that we'll be working on this year.  I'm so excited to see what this year has in store for us!

Christmas Take Two

Jess and Eric arrived in town today, so we had Christmas on Drew's side of the family right away.  Basically we all hung out and ate and opened gifts and had a great time.  So, this is just going to be a big photo dump for memories.  Enjoy!

Annelise's First Christmas

We decided to celebrate our family Christmas on Christmas Eve this year since Drew has to work Christmas Day.  And, Annelise doesn't understand the whole Santa thing and that he's supposed to come Christmas Day yet.  Annelise must have been a good girl because Santa brought her a pretty neat gift.

I ordered this activity cube a few months ago and have been so excited to give it to her!  She's still warming up to it, but I really think that she's going to like it.

After we let her play with the cube for a little bit, we opened her stocking.

She got a few things for the bath tub, and a bunch of books.  After her stocking, we opened up gifts and then took a few more pictures.

We always have the family party for my side of the family on Christmas Eve.  Annelise was a little shy at first, but eventually opened up and explored some.

"Can I have some of that, Auntie"

We've had such a great day and I'm really looking forward to a couple years from now when Annelise understands what Christmas means and is excited about it.  Of course, Jesus is the reason for the season!  I already have plans to buy her a cute nativity scene for next year!

Tragedy at Sandy Hook

Tonight, my heart is heavy.  It's so hard to form words for how I feel after the events that have transpired today.  How do you talk about a classroom of kindergartners that had their lives ripped from them?  How do you talk about the adults in that school that lost their lives trying to protect young ones?  How do you talk about all the grieving that is being done in the town of Newtown, Connecticut?

I didn't learn about the shooting until around noon today.  I instantly turned on the news and stayed glued to it for most of the day.  I watched Annelise playing on the floor and cried.  Tears flowed from my eyes as I imagined the pain that those families must be feeling.  But, I can't imagine.  I can't imagine the pain of losing my child.  I can't imagine sending my child to school only to learn that I would never see them again.

Before Drew and I had Annelise, I would often question my decision to have kids.  I asked Drew on multiple occasions if it was fair to bring children into the crazy, messed up world that we live in.  It hurt me to think that my children would grow up with events like what happened today at Sandy Hook Elementary going on around them.  It hurts me to think that, one day, my child could be involved in a senseless act of violence.  As a parent, I'm supposed to protect my child.  I'm supposed to shield her and keep her safe.  How can I do that if she's not even safe at school?

My prayers go out to the people of Newtown, and all of those affected by this hateful crime.  My prayers go out to all of those who are forced to remember other crimes of the past.  Most importantly, my prayers go out to those who lost their lives today.  I pray for healing, not only for the victim's families, but healing for those who could commit crimes like these in the future.  We need these tragedies to end.  We need peace.  We need love.

Eight Months

Dear Annelise,

The growing and changing that you have done this month just astonishes me!  This has been such a big month for you.  I keep going back and forth between wanting to speed everything up, and wanting to slow everything down.

You had your first Presidential election this month.  Mommy and Daddy went and voted and you just looked around at everything.  We got you a sticker, but you much preferred to pick at mine.

We've had some relatively warm days here this month, and one day I decided that I needed to take you to the park to swing on a swing before winter came.  I put you in the stroller and brought Maya and we walked to the little playground by our house.  I put you in the swing and I could tell that you were a little hesitant about it at first.  After you realized what was happening, you loved it!!!  It was windy on the day we went, and you kept trying to stick your tongue out and "catch" the wind.  You were smiling and giggling up a storm.  Now, I'm even more anxious for spring to get here so that we can go back to the park.

Solids are going very well.  You love to eat Puffs and your pincher grasp has gotten very good.  You really have liked everything we've given you, and you are so eager to eat.  I can't sit down and eat anything without you trying to make a grab for it.

You went on your first road trip/vacation this month.  We drove down to Georgia to visit Uncle Eric, Aunt Jessica, and Wes for Thanksgiving.  Mommy and Daddy decided to drive overnight and we hoped that you would sleep all night.  You did amazing!  You fell asleep about five minutes into the trip and slept until we had to stop and get gas.  You ate, played for about half an hour, then fell back to sleep until we got to Uncle Eric and Aunt Jessica's house.  Amazing!!  The trip back home went just as well.  You had a great time while we were there and loved watching Emma and Wesley play.  Your sleep regressed a bit, but that's to be expected.

Your sleep is definitely improving!  I am so proud of you because you weaned yourself from the swaddle.  I was so worried that putting you to bed without being swaddled would be a nightmare, but since you've become mobile, you prefer to sleep without it.  You like to be able to roll and move around.  The minute I put you down to bed, you roll onto your side.  You usually spend most of the night, or naps, sleeping on your belly.  I think that all of your new sleep positions are absolutely adorable!

You are now officially a mobile baby!!  You roll from belly to back, and back to belly now.  You can put yourself into a sitting position from a laying position.  And . . . you crawled for the first time while we were in Georgia for Thanksgiving!  You also started pulling up on anything you can get your hands on.  I have been waiting for you to crawl for two months now and I love watching you move around.  It is so amazing how you get better and better at it everyday.  Your favorite thing is to crawl over to the entertainment center and spin the volume knob on the receiver.  We'll be getting a new entertainment center soon that has some doors on it so that you can't get to the buttons.  Sorry!  You even know that you aren't supposed to play with it.  When you're crawling over there, you put your head down in a determined little crawl and practically sprint there.  Once you get there, you pull up onto your knees and then start spinning the knob.  When I come over, you look at me and grin.  It's a good thing you're so darn cute!

I was so surprised that you clapped for the first time a few days ago.  I don't really clap that often around you and you all of a sudden did it.  You've been giving high fives for a little bit now.  Now, you clap often when you want us to be proud of you for something, usually after you crawl a little ways.

Still no teeth!  You chew on things a lot, but I don't feel or see anything on your gums.  I think that your teeth might be starting to move around towards the surface some because you've been whiny and clingy some days.  That's not very typical of you.

I haven't really talked about it too much, but we're still breastfeeding very well.  I never thought that I would enjoy breastfeeding as much as I do.  I love that time that we get to spend together.  I feel so close and connected to you, and I feel my heart just swell with love when we're snuggling as you nurse.    You have started to tug at my shirt and put your head on my chest if you want to nurse.  I think it's adorable.  I am so, so thankful that breastfeeding has gone as well as it has with you.

I just transitioned you to 12 month clothing, but they are still a little big on you.  You are still wearing a size 3 diaper.  I'm assuming that you are around 18 pounds.  I look at you and can't believe how big you've gotten, but you still look so tiny to me when you stand up.

Every day, I don't think it's possible for me to love you more than I do, but then tomorrow comes and I love you even more.  I want nothing but the best for you.

Love you always,
Mommy

Thanksgiving in Georgia

I had every intention of blogging during our trip to Georgia, but things just got busy and I didn't.  So, I'll just recap the trip and throw in a few pictures.

Saturday Evening/Sunday
I had been so nervous for this road trip for weeks. I really had no idea how Annelise would do traveling that far in the car. We decided to leave when Drew got home from work and drive overnight. I hoped that she would sleep all night, making every one's travels much easier.

When Drew got home from work, we packed up the car and headed out. We got on the road right before 8 PM. About five minutes down the road, Annelise was sound asleep. Drew started off driving and I napped off and on. We made it to Metropolis before we needed gas. And boy, did we need gas. I'm pretty sure our car was running on fumes at that point.

Annelise woke up while we were getting gas, so I feed her a bottle, she played in her car seat for about half an hour, then fell back to sleep again.

Drew made it to just past Nashville, about 4 AM before he got tired and needed to switch. That means that I drove through the mountains. That's a little scary doing that for the first time at night and while tired.

We made it to Jess and Eric's house shortly after 8 AM, which means we got down there in just over 11 hours. Not too shabby!! And, Annelise slept practically the whole time!

We spent the majority of the day hanging out around the house and visiting. We went to dinner at Uncle Maddio's. It's a pizza restaurant that has a bunch of specialty pizzas. Drew had a steak and blue cheese pizza, and I had a turkey panini. After dinner, we went grocery shopping for the week.

Monday
Eric had to work, and Jess had a dentist appointment and some other things to take care of, so Drew and I made plans to go visit with some friends of ours.  Ryan and Rachel used to live near us, but moved down to Georgia a couple of years ago to be near her family.  We went over to their house for lunch and to visit.  Jackson, their son, is seriously adorable!  He loved Annelise and kept wanting to bring her toys.  He really wanted to hold her too.  So sweet!

Rachel sells Scentsy, which I really didn't know much about, so she started showing us some stuff and giving us her little sales pitch.  During this time, Annelise started to get fussy and I thought she was just tired and ready for a nap.  So, I tried to snuggle and rock her in the hopes of putting her to sleep.  I was sitting on their couch and Annelise threw up all over me.  I mean, she really threw up.  My child has never puked like that.  It was all over her, me, their couch, their floor.  I felt awful!  And I looked and smelled pretty awful too.  I always have an extra outfit packed for Annelise, but Rachel had to give me some clothes to change into.  I was so embarrassed.  She acted fine afterwards and didn't seem off at all after that.  Weird!

After we visited with them for a while, we went back to Jess and Eric's and ordered chinese food for dinner.

Tuesday
Eric had to work at home and Jess and I went and did some shopping.  They have a consignment shop near them, Once Upon A Child, that has a TON of clothes, especially girl clothes.  I've been waiting to get Annelise's 12 month sized wardrobe until we went down there because I knew that I could get a ton of clothes for very little.  Jess and I had a ball picking out clothes for her.  I managed to get 29 items and paid a little over $150.  I seriously love everything we got for her, and some of the stuff still had the original tags on it.

Drew, Jen, and Emma arrived that night from North Carolina and we visited for a little bit before all heading to bed.  Emma has gotten so big!  It's crazy how much these kids grow in between times seeing them.

Wednesday
Jess asked me to take some family photos for them for their Christmas cards, so we all went to Stone Mountain.  We went to a couple of different spots to take pictures, then went inside to take advantage of some of the stuff that is offered there.  By the time we went into the attraction part of it, it was starting to get dark.  They did a lighted parade, which was neat to see.  We took the train around the mountain, but since it was dark you couldn't see it anything, which made it pretty lame.  We stopped at a place called Spiced Right that my friend Whitney recommended.  Unfortunately, by the time we got there, they were out of ribs, brisket, and some sides.  It's hard to judge a BBQ place that is out of some of the main staples of BBQ.  What we had was pretty good though.

Thursday
Ahhhhh, Thanksgiving.  We decided to eat more towards lunch because then all the kids could participate.  That was all fine and dandy except that my child would not take a morning nap and then was cranky all morning.  I finally got her to sleep, and then the food was ready.  I was so bummed that Annelise missed out eating her first Thanksgiving meal.  I seriously had to fight back tears.  I know that she won't remember it, but I want the memories and pictures for me and to show her when she gets older.

After she woke up, I put her in her special Thanksgiving outfit and took a bunch of pictures.

The onesie basically says it all.  I am so thankful for my precious little girl.  God has blessed us so much with the gift of her.

Jess wanted to get one of Wes's Christmas presents that was a Black Friday special at Walmart.  So, Jess, Jen, and I went to Walmart around 7 to get ready for the sale that started at 8.  I've never been Black Friday shopping.  Before Drew and I got married, I worked in retail and always had to work that morning, and last year I was pregnant and tired.  I was amazed at how psychotic people get about it!  Jess got the present she was looking for and we were home in record time.  Drew and Drew went to Dick's at midnight to get some ammo to go shooting the next day.  And my Drew got a new pair of tennis shoes.

Friday
The guys woke up bright and early and went shooting.  Earlier in the week, Jess made a cute fleece blanket for Wes for a Christmas present and I really wanted to make one for Annelise too.  So, Jess and I left all the kids with Jen and went to JoAnn's to get the fleece.  We found some super cute patterns, stood in the fabric cut line forever, and then came home.  I made one blanket that night and it came out really cute.

Saturday
Drew, Jen, and Emma went to visit some of her family for the day.  I made the other blanket while they were gone.  We all didn't really do much and just hung and visited.

Sunday
Drew, Jen, and Emma left late morning to go visit some more family and head home.  Drew and I took our time getting packed up and ready to leave.  Eric and Jess bought a new dishwasher, and after a huge fiasco of getting it delivered, it finally arrived and Drew helped Eric install it.  We got on the road around 3 PM to go visit a friend of mine in Knoxville.  I'll save that visit for another post.

The drive back home was pretty uneventful, and we were so happy to back home.  Traveling with a baby is hard work and I think that we were all glad to be able to get back into our routine.

Oh Mr. Sandman

While I was pregnant, I'm pretty sure that I prayed everyday that I would get a good sleeper.  I mean, I really, really prayed that my baby would sleep and wouldn't fight me about it.  My prayers weren't exactly answered the way that I would have liked them to be, but Annelise isn't too terrible and she's getting better.  Sometimes.

When we first brought Annelise home, she slept next to our bed in her Rock N Play.  She loved it, she slept well, and us parents were pretty happy.  When she turned four months, I knew that it was time to start working on transitioning to her room and to her crib.  And this is where I blame every single one of my parent friends for not knocking some sense into me.  Why didn't anybody tell me what a bitch transitioning to the crib is?  Huh???  Why didn't anybody tell me that I should work hard on having her sleep in her crib from day one?  Huh???  I mean, I'm not saying that I would have listened, and that she would have been in her crib full time from the start, but a little warning might have been nice y'all!

But, Drew and I trudged on.  We managed to get her sleeping in her room in her Rock N Play.  That was actually pretty easy.  Then, I worked on transitioning to her crib for naps.  That was a challenge, but we (read - I) did it.  Then, came nights in her crib.  O.M.G!  That has been a battle.  She still doesn't sleep all night every night, but we're getting better.  We had to trial and error a bunch of different things to figure out what would work.  We eventually landed on swaddling and a sound machine as the magic combination.

Now, we're working on breaking her of the swaddle, and putting herself back to sleep.  Now that she's starting to become more mobile, and her hands are out of the swaddle, she's starting to sleep in some of the cutest positions.  I seriously have been waiting for this time!  I love when babies sleep in cute ways. I mean, really love it!

Here you can just barely see the bottom half of her.  I'm pretty sure her head must have been right up against the rails.  Not sure how that is comfortable, but she slept like that.

As soon as I lay her in her crib, she turns on her side, and then later, she'll roll onto her belly.  I'd also like to point out that my child thinks she's pretty slick.  In the 7 1/2 months that she has been alive, she has never once rolled from her back to her belly.  I know that that is a pretty tough task because she has to use a lot of effort and momentum to swing herself over, and I never really pushed it too hard.  The first time she rolled from back to belly, was in her crib.  Drew watched it on the monitor.  She also did it a bunch of times afterwards, but only ever in her crib.  Silly girl would never do it while I was watching her.  She finally did last night for me.  She'll push up on her knees in her crib too.  If she crawls for the first time in her crib and I have to watch it over the monitor, I might just be a little bitter about that.  Girl just needs to crawl for me!