SHE'S ONE?!?!?!?!?!?!

How did this happen? Where did the time go? How is my newborn 8lbs 4oz daughter now a toddler? I just cannot grasp where this year went. I know, day by day, but my problem is with how very fast those days went by. It has definietly been a year of growth - for Anna and for myself. I've learned A LOT from her and I hope she has learned some things from me. I feel complete now that she is here. I don't think I have ever laughed more or smiled so much as I do when I am around her. I guess I just didn't know what a HUGE impact such a small girl could have on my life.

Here are just a few pictures from her Birthday at the Zoo and her first trip to the pumpkin patch. We've had a very busy and great October:

This was Anna's first trip to the zoo and I just couldn't believe how well she did. We were there for almost 2 and half hours. Anna didn't get fussy at all until we were heading out of the gift shop. By then she was tired and ready for lunch and her nap.

My sweet little one year old. She is now teaching me what a heart attack feels like. She's learned how to walk!

SUPER SMELL

So I've come to realize that I can smell EVERYTHING! This does not mean I suddenly realized that I have a nose. Nope - it means ever since the day we brought Anna home I've had a super sense of smell. I can smell when the kitchen trash needs taken out from the back of our house. I can smell the fruit tree outside the front our house and the fact that the fruit is now rotten. I can smell when Anna needs changed from across the room. I would say this is a blessing except for when Anna needs her diaper changed! That one is the worst. I walk in the door from work and guess what hits me in the face? I thought maybe I was just the best mom ever and had a special connection with Anna that made me really look at her face and know what she needs. No - just a super nose. That is the worst superhero power I've ever heard of! Maybe some other mom out there has a super sense of hearing and we could combine our powers to be the best super mom in the world. Or maybe I'll just buy nose-plugs!

First Day of Summer

Today we had such a blast at the lake! We live about ten minutes from Afton Lake and while I have been there a few times, Matt hasn't. Anna is just about eight months old and at her last doctor's appointment I specifically asked if I could take her to the swimming pool and the lake and I got the go ahead. I've just been waiting for the perfect day to take her swimming. I got off work and had to stop and get Matt some swim trunks and then we headed straight out. She did GREAT! I knew that she liked her nightly baths but I just wasn't sure about cold water. But we went in slow and Anna really seemed to like it. The water was nice and there weren't that many people there. I also got some really super pictures.

"OK dad, I'll help you hold your nose!"

We were getting ready to leave and daddy was helping
Anna dry off. So cute!!

What a Good Smile!

I got Anna's six month pictures done today and she was sooooo good. I was very afraid she would be overly tired or have a teething episode or be too hungry or one of a million other things would happen that would keep her from smiling. But our photographer was super and really seemed to put Anna at ease. And I asked Grandma to come with us so that Anna would have another friendly face to look at. If she wasn't looking at me then she was at Grandma and we got some really beautiful pictures. And of course I could not make up my mind between two dresses so they let me do a wardrobe change on Anna and took pictures in both dresses. Here are just a few of my favorites:

Dress Number 1

Dress Number 2

This little angel could not take a bad picture. She was so happy and even put up with her head-band! These are going up on the wall of Anna:)

One Happy Girl

My Anna is just about six months old and is really starting to show what a wonderful personality she has. She has some favorites toys that she just loves to yell at which is so funny! She really gives it to them. Then she will turn around and snuggle so sweetly with us that I'm just sure I have an angel for a daughter.

She's learning to move on her own now and I love to watch her figure things out. She turns over whenever she wants and is trying so hard to crawl. Pretty soon she will be all over the house exploring her new world.

The other side of her is the demon that comes from teething. Anna has her two bottom teeth and while her smile is taking on a new life I could do without the constant screaming. The last couple days have brought a relief now that the teeth are through but we still have a whole mouth to go! I know it's not her fault and it really could be much worse but oh how tired I am.

Winding Down

As my wonderful husband puts our daughter to bed after a particularly hard day, I have to stop to count my many blessings. My family is everything to me and I can feel the love we have for each other like a big comfy blanket. No, I don't get to be a stay at home mom like I want but I do have a wonderful sister-in-law that I trust completely watching my child. And that leads to the fact that I have a job I can enjoy when I'm not thinking about/missing Anna (which takes up a good portion of my day, but there are rare minutes when I'm working with a customer I happen to like that I remember why I applied for this job in the first place).
This morning was Anna's four month appointment and she had to get her second round of shots. Why do I mention this in a post about my blessings? For this reason, even though she was sore and out of sorts, she still laughed! It is the most amazing sound in the world and there is no substitute for it. I'm so thankful that she smiles and laughs at her silly momma because it makes my world go 'round. My healthy, beautiful girl is 14 pounds and 24 inches long. I have never known such a blessing as her and it hit me so hard this afternoon while we were playing that I started to cry. She is an angel and my treasure and I thank the good Lord every minute for her.

New Moms

My wonderful friend sent this to me from a site she found. I'm totally stealing it to share with everyone!

We are sitting at lunch one day when my daughter casually mentions that she and her husband are thinking of 'starting a family.'
'Do you think I should have a baby?' "It will change your life,' I say,keeping my tone neutral. 'I know,' she says, 'no more sleeping in on weekends, no more spontaneous vacations.'
But that is not what I meant at all.
I look at my daughter, trying to decide what to tell her. I want her to know what she will never learn in childbirth classes.
I want to tell her that the physical wounds of child bearing will heal, but becoming a mother will leave her with an emotional wound so raw that she will forever be vulnerable.
I consider warning her that she will never again read a newspaper without asking, 'What if that had been MY child?' That every plane crash, every house fire will haunt her. That when she sees pictures of starving children, she will wonder if anything could be worse than watching your child die.
I look at her manicured nails and stylish suit and think that no matter how sophisticated she is, becoming a mother will reduce her to the primitive level of a bear protecting her cub.
That an urgent call of 'Mom!' will cause her to drop a soufflé or her best crystal without a moments hesitation.
I feel that I should warn her that no matter how many years she has invested in her career, she will be professionally derailed by motherhood.
She might arrange for child-care, but one day she will be going into an important business meeting and she will think of her baby's sweet smell. She will have to use every ounce of discipline to keep from running home, just to make sure her baby is alright.
I want my daughter to know that every day decisions will no longer be routine. That a five year old boy's desire to go to the men's room rather than the women's at McDonald's will become a major dilemma. That right there, in the midst of clattering trays and screaming children, issues of independence and gender identity will be weighed against the prospect that a child molester may be lurking in that rest-room.
However decisive she may be at the office, she will second-guess herself constantly as a mother.
Looking at my daughter, I want to assure her that eventually she will shed the pounds of pregnancy, but she will never feel the same about herself.
That her life, now so important, will be of less value to her once she has a child.
That she would give herself up in a moment to save her offspring, but will also begin to hope for more years, not to accomplish her own dreams, but to watch her child accomplish theirs.
I want her to know that a cesarean scar or shiny stretch marks will become badges of honor. My daughter's relationship with her husband will change, but not in the way she thinks.
I wish she could understand how much more you can love a man who carefully bathes the baby or who never hesitates to feed, change or play with his child. I think she should know that she will fall in love with him again for reasons she would now find very unromantic.
I wish my daughter could sense the bond she will feel with women throughout history who have tried to stop war, prejudice and drunk driving.
I want to describe to my daughter the exhilaration of seeing your child learn to ride a bike. I want to capture for her the belly laugh of a baby who is touching the soft fur of a dog or cat for the first time. I want her to taste the joy that is so real it actually hurts.
My daughter's quizzical look makes me realize that tears have formed in my eyes. 'You'll never regret it,' I finally say. Then I reached across the table, squeezed my daughter's hand and offered a silent prayer for her, and for me, and for all the mere mortal women who stumble their way into this most wonderful of callings.

Lazy Afternoon

Anna has really discovered her play mat and has taken to it with obvious delight. It has tons of toys that hang down to just the right level for her to bat at. It also has a mirror that Anna can check her hair in ( Well....not quite!) and a music box that she just loves. She kicks her feet almost in time to the music. So far she still hates tummy time on the mat but I think that will come along in time. For a kid that doesn't sleep anyway but on her stomach she sure doesn't like to play that way. She has been playing for a full 30 minutes this afternoon and Matt said she did 30 minutes this morning as well. That's a lot of play-time for a 3 month old!
Yesterday she played so hard she fell alseep right on the mat in the middle of a swing at one of the toys!
This is the one where Anna fell alseep right in the middle of playing!

She was squealing with laughter in this one!!

I was hiding the camera behind one of her toys so that when she would smile real big I could grab it without her giving me the 'I'm terrified of that gray thing in your hand' look!

Year in Review

So this is my year in a few short sentences per month.

January - I could not stop crying because it seemed like everyone, and I mean everyone, I ran into was pregnant. We had been trying to get pregnant since May '08 and I was so disappointed.

February - We finally found out the greatest news. I was pregnant and we could expect the baby in October.

March - We told our parents the good news and got to share with our friends and extended family how incredibly happy we were.

April - Matt and I both turned 25 and I tried my best to have a quarter-life crisis but just couldn't come up with anything good. We also moved out of the house in Augusta and moved in with Matt's parents so that he would be close to his new job.

May - I was just barely starting to show and had to start answering the same questions over and over every day. "When are you due?" "Do you know what you're having/are you going to find out?" (I heard these same questions for the rest of the summer!)

June - Our 5th wedding anniversary! It was a blast and we got to find out that we were having a baby girl. Most exciting day of the summer.

July - We moved, AGAIN, to our house in Cheney and tried to get things pretty well set up for the baby. I know, way early, but it was so much fun.

August and September - The longest months of my life!!!! The air-conditioning kept going out at work and I was already so hot alllllllll the time that this was honestly the most uncomfortable I have ever been in my life.

October - My daughter arrived and proved that the best things are worth waiting for. She came into the world just perfect and is my super little angel.

November - The first holiday with my new baby. She slept right through it, but it was fun to know we had the new addition to the family.

December - Anna's first Christmas and it was FANTASTIC!! Of course she didn't know what was going on but again, it was so much fun with her here and picking out cute little presents for her. Both of our families went crazy over her and just showed us over and over how much they all love her. Well, that's my wrap up and what a wonderful year it has been. I have to go back to work on the 25th this month and the thought of it makes me sick. I know I won't be gone all that long from her but any amount of time that is not with my baby is just heartbreaking. I'm absolutely certain I will hate every minute away from her.

Already One Month

My perfect daughter is already a month old! Where, oh where did that time go?!?! I just blinked and now she is smiling at me and learning to lift her head off of my shoulder. We went to the doctor on Monday this week and she has gained one pound, 6 ounces since our last visit. Anna is up to 9 pounds, 12 ounces and 22 inches long. Everyone says she still looks little but she seems huge to me. Way too big to be my newborn. I put her in a very cute onsie and pants yesterday to go shopping and the outfit was almost too small for her!! This is the same outfit that I put her in to go to the doctor for the first time just last month! She is starting to fill out some of the 3 month outfits that I have for her and leave behind her newborn stuff. While I am estatic that she is healthy and growing at a normal pace, I am sad that she will very soon want to pull away from me and start to explore things. I know I'm getting ahead of myself and she will need me for many more years to come, but how quickly are those years going to go by? I would swear to myself that it was just yesterday I was jumping up and down and hugging Matt so tight I think he thought I was trying to strangle him because we had just found out I was pregnant. And now I have this amazing little work of living art and she is sprouting up before my very eyes.
How on earth do mothers deal with this???

My Beautiful Anna

My newborn is all of 5 days old and is absolutely perfect. I had a wonderful pregnancy and probably complained way more than I should have.
We went to the hospital Monday night to check in and I was really thinking that they would induce me at that time. But no! They just hooked me up to five different machines just to monitor me and the baby and left me to try and sleep in a strange room. Poor Matt had to try to sleep on this little pull out couch with those awful hospital pillows. Then the doctor comes in at 4:30 a.m. and gives me the medicine to start my contractions. Then throughout the day I met more nurses than I could keep track of. They were all super great and I wish I could have gotten to know them all better.

Then at 3 p.m. Melissa (my nurse at the time) told me I was finally ready to push. My doctor barely got there in time to catch Anna on her way out! She was born at 3:32 p.m. and I don't think I have stopped smiling since. I love her so much and am super happy with my little family.

Anna's very first picture ever!! She's beautiful :-)

Daddy and Daughter in the hospital room.

I have the adoring new mother look on! I think it's funny.

I LOVE FALL!!

I was driving home from work today and I saw some trees that have already changed from green to gold. I LOVE it!!!! I think it is the most beautiful season and I look forward to it all summer long. Here is my top five reasons for why Fall is the best:

1. We have had our windows open and the a/c off for the last 4 days because I don't have allergies in the fall.

2. I can wear jeans without getting hot. This is on the list because I HATE shorts and almost refuse to wear them during the summer.

3. The colors are amazing and different on almost a daily basis.

4. Stores put out Halloween candy at the end of August. Bigger bags for less, there is nothing better!

5. September is the start of my decorating season. From Sep. to April I have decorations that I have been collecting for years and years that I love to put out.

Baby Projects

So I've gone a little crazy on the baby room projects. It's only because I am soooooooooo excited. I have come to realize that the baby is not going to care about all of this for a very long time, so really the nursery is for me. Oh well, I think it is super cute.

I should have done a better close up because there is no way to see the cute little honey bees that made me fall in love with this fabric. The yellow goes so well with the green walls and I added pink lace at the bottom to really give it a girly feel. Now I just need to finish the set for the South windows.

I wanted to find some really cute, classic pooh wall-hangings, but everything was either the modern pooh or way too expensive. So I bought some 8X10 painting canvas and traced these pictures onto them. By no means do they look professional but they turned out pretty good.

This is one of those things that Anna is not going to care about. I took the left-over lace from the bottom of the curtains and hot glued it to this plain white lamp shade.

I need to finish this project but I like the way it is turning out. It's the biggest item I've tried to knit and so far so good. It looks blue but the colors are actually purple, silver, yellow and blue. I might add pink if I get around to it. I've been working on this project the longest, since about the week after we found out we were having a baby.

This was a plain white bear cutout that I painted pink and stenciled on. If I could write straight it would really help!! The Anna turned out way crooked but Matt says it just adds charm. He's sweet:)

Maybe I should cool it after I get all of these done. I just love having something to do!

Our New Place

I'm so excited about our new house. It's been so long since we've had a place that felt like home. While we were staying out in Augusta all of our stuff was stored out in the garage so most of what we were using was borrowed stuff. It will be so super nice to have my kitchen ready when I want to cook, nothing in the bathroom but MY stuff (and Matt's I guess), and the nursery ready and waiting for the baby. Here are some pictures of the house that is now our home:

This is the stuff we've collected for the baby so far. The picture doesn't show it very well but the room is a very pretty green.

This is going to be our music and my craft room. It has these great built in shelves that will hold all my little craft items. The piano will be perfect in there.

This is the kitchen and little eat-in area. It's a really great yellow that's not too bright but still draws the light in.

Best Anniversary EVER!!

Friday the 5th was my 5th Anniversary and it was absolutely wonderful! I took the day off from work and Matt and I got to spend the whole day together. We haven't gotten to just hang out for a while now and it was so super nice. The first thing on our list was my monthly doctors appointment. But this one was special because we got to do a sonogram. The baby was so active and I think she really liked the camera on her. That's right, we found out our baby is a girl!!! YAY! We went a little pink crazy once we got done at the doctors office. We bought little tiny onsies and little booties and a perfect little pink baby book. I can't wait to start entering in all the little bits of information I've been writing down on post-it notes into the baby book. Then we had a wonderful dinner at this great Italian resturant where we decided to stay with the name Anna Grace for our daughter. It's the only girls name that really sounded right to us and we really just love it. It's classic and beautiful and sounds great with our last name. I can't wait to see our daughter. That sounds strange and amazing all at the same time.

The second piece of good news is we got the house in Cheney that I wanted. We moved in some stuff yesterday and the rest of our stuff is going to be moved next weekend. I cannot wait to be in our home getting the nursery ready. I've really missed being able to do all the stupid little things that mean home to me. Such as, doing all of our laundry at the same time. Or, making a special dinner because I want to. I love doing that kind of stuff and in our new place I'll be able to do it all! I'll have my piano there and a little craft area and still plenty of room for our girl to get into trouble. I LOVE IT!!

Baby Stuff

I had NO idea how much stuff there is for a baby. Not all of it is practical or even reasonable but it is advertized as absolutely required. There are some things that I would love to have but I know that the baby really will not miss out if I don't have it. Still, that doesn't stop me from wishing!

There are several items that I've been looking around for and I still cannot seem to find a good deal. Maybe what I consider a good deal is just not out there. I don't feel it's necessary to spend a fortune on things the baby is not going to use for very long. Garage sales have been very good, but we've mainly found clothes and blankets so far. Now I need some of the bigger items like a dresser, maybe even a dresser/changing table. A classic crib that's in good shape would be nice too.

In other news, we have an appointment to see a house in Cheney on Tuesday. Hopefully it is in good shape because it would be so easy to have our home be in Cheney. It's about half way between Matt's job and mine so neither of us would have to drive forever. It's still close to Wichita so getting the shopping done won't be that hard but we won't have to live in Wichita. It really seemed like all of the good neighborhoods were out of range and the ones we could afford were in the worst places. Cheney is super cute and I already know that I want the house there. Positive thinking goes a long way here!

SUPER exciting morning!

This morning at work was awesome!! At 9:27 this morning the baby moved for the first time. It was the strangest feeling ever but super great! I was talking to a co-worker and stopped mid-sentence with a gasp. She asked what was wrong and I said I could have sworn I just felt something. She asked me what it felt like and I told her it was like a tickle coming from the inside. Then for the rest of the morning every few minutes that same little tickle came in the same spot. I couldn't help laughing and I'm sure my customers were really wondering what I was laughing at. I'm just glad I could tell what that feeling was. I was really afraid I would miss the baby moving because I didn't know what I was supposed to be on the "look-out" for.

I am a little worriied that if the baby is this active now what is it going to be like toward the end? The baby is going to kick me to death!! Bring it on little one:-)

Moving

So we've moved, AGAIN! It's very unsettling and slightly frustrating. We had to move to Augusta in October and that worked out all right but we knew it was always temporary. We made it through the winter without any major problems and I didn't have to call in to work once because of weather problems. But it was an hour each way to my work and we couldn't get internet at the house so that made job hunting for Matt a lot harder, so there were draw backs. Here we are six months later and all of our stuff is once again packed up and in storage and we are staying with Matt's wonderful parents while we start over in looking for our own place. But I forgot the good news that made us move. Matt got a full time job with a company in his home town of Norwich. It's a new home for troubled teen girls and Matt's job is third shift security/office worker/anything they need. There was just no way for Matt to drive from Augusta to Norwich every night and then drive back in the early morning. So I'm driving about half an hour to my work until we move (AGAIN!) to west Wichita and then Matt will drive the half hour. We decided on this plan because there is absolutely no way I am living in Norwich. I just don't think I would ever be able to adjust to it. It will be nice to be closer to the family. Augusta was just a little farther than I wanted. It was alright but I like being in Wichita.
Anyway, I'm just starting my second trimester and I think things are starting to stabilize a little bit. My sick days are coming farther apart and I'm not as tired as I was in the beginning. I have a tiny bump that looks more like I'm sticking my stomach out than anything else. But I know so that's all that matters to me. I can't wait to find out what we are having (a baby, I know Matt!) so I can start thinking of the perfect name and start getting the personalized things that I want for the baby. I can't wait to buy the first frilly dress or the tiny little suit! So many things to look forward to!!!!!

Our First Sonagram

So we went to the Doctor's yesterday for our very first sonagram. Matt got to go with me, thank goodness, because it was a very emotional experience. When the the baby came up on the screen I cried. Then all day long all I wanted to do was cry. Thankfully no one was mean to me at work or I would have! We saw the heartbeat and everything is looking normal. We get to find out what the baby is next month on the 4th. I'm so super excited about being able to think about my baby as a little girl or boy with a name and everything. I guess what I'm happiest about is that everything is going very well so far. I hope everyone will join me in a big loud Thank you Lord for this wonderful blessing!!

A bit of other good news. Matt found a job and will be starting in May. It is only part-time for now so Matt is still looking around for either another part-time or even a full-time job. The manager at his new job seems very nice and told Matt that if he does find something else they will work with him so he can do both. What can I say other than God truly is looking over us. There is no way we could do this without Him. Another loud chorus of Thank you Lord for your wonderful blessings!!!

Time To Update :)

Things have been very busy for us but not for the obvious reasons. I haven't started any new projects because I have been so wiped out. On February 20 we found out we are expecting our baby!!!! We could not be more excited and anxious for Oct. 22 to get here. We had been trying for about eight months and it finally happened. I never realized how awfully tired I would be though. I am sleeping about nine hours a night and still I get home from work and all I can do is sit in the chair. I had about two weeks of upset stomach and now it's not too bad. I really only feel sick if I let myself get too hungry. As long as I eat healthy meals and a few snacks during the day I've felt just fine. I'm about nine weeks along and to me they are crawling by. I know it's because I'm looking forward to this awesome thing but still, I could wish they would go by just a little faster. I've gotten some really great advice from the mothers around me which I greatly appreciate. We are planning to tell our families, probably as I start the next trimester. That seems appropriate I guess.
We've been going over names already and a couple that we like are; Anna Grace or Robert Loyd. Actually I really like the boy name but I might have to let it grow on Matt for a while.
I bought the baby its' first outfit and I think it is so cute. It's just a little onsie with green words and a picture of a puple stroller. I figure when we find out what the baby is we can buy either green or purple pants to go with it and a cute little jacket (since it will be Oct. in Kansas, so COLD).
Now on to all the shopping that comes with a baby. I'M SOOOOOO EXCITED!!