14 Month Update

Wow...

I seriously have a 14 month old daughter??  Where the heck has the time gone!?!  And when the heck will this shock wear off?!  Seriously!

I have loved each and every day with this little human being we've created.  It still amazes me how smart Annaliese is, how much she has grown and how much of her own little person she is already.

She is very kind and will share her food and drink with mommy and daddy.

Said has said " book", "cat", "duck" and tries to repeat other words that we say.  She goes on and babbles all the time now.  She also says "woah" and "wow" a lot!  Hehehe  I love it!

She loves to walk and run around!  She doesn't like being held too long unless she is really sleepy.

And because she is walking and running around all the time, she also falls a lot more and really hurts her pride (and tush) sometimes more than anything else.

She is still in 18 month clothes and can still fit in most 12 month pants.

She loves spaghetti and mac and cheese!  But for some reason she isn't fond of bananas anymore.  :(

She also LOVES water!  (thank God!)  She doesn't really want anything to do with any kind of juice just yet, but water is just fine.

She still doesn't want to drink milk from a sippy cup either, so we still have a morning bottle and a night time bottle.

She has somehow transitioned herself into only taking one 2 hour nap a day.  I'm okay with that!  It had to happen eventually!  :)

She still loves playing with other kids and hearing them laugh!  I love the smile she gets on her face when she hears other kids laughing.  It's like they have their own little baby code or something!

She can put her toys away as long as mommy and daddy show her how to the first few times that night.

She points to almost everything in the house now.  Then she mumbles.  She's learning!

She loves to play with pots and pans and make music :)  She is also slowly learning to put the correct shapes into her learning toys.

She knows what the tree is (Christmas tree), she knows what a nose is, she knows Sammy (the cat) and she knows her favorite stuffed toys (Teddy, Mickey Mouse, and Pippi, her doll).

She loves going to playgroup and meeting new friends to play with!

She is so very close to using her spoon or fork with 100% success on every bite! 

Here's some pictures and a video to enjoy!

Made a friend, Norah, at playgroup

Went for a walk outside on a 65 degree day in December

Using a fork! (excuse the crazy hair) haha!

Sitting pretty eating a graham cracker

Playing with her Disney characters

She still sleeps on her belly with her butt in the air

She still loves to cuddle

She enjoys eating mini bologna and cheese sandwiches 

She loves watching other babies laughing on YouTube

She loves running around at playgroup

It still amazes me more and more each day of how beautiful she is and how precious life is.  We are so blessed to have a healthy little girl who fills our days with so much love and joy.   :)

I Could Have Been Blogging...

Over the last 5 days...

I could have been blogging but instead I was cooking a dinner for 7 people.

I could have been blogging but instead I was spending time with family all under one roof.

I could have been blogging but instead I was cleaning the house preparing for company.

I could have been blogging but instead I was visiting with family that drove 4 hours to see us for the weekend.

I could have been blogging but instead Justin and I took out the Christmas decorations.

I could have been blogging but instead we put up the tree and decorated it while the little one napped

I could have been blogging but instead I snapped pictures as Annaliese gazed up at all the lights on the tree.

I could have been blogging but instead I played with Annaliese and made her belly laugh so hard!


I have been trying my best to keep up with NaBloPoMo for the month, but it has been very challenging to actually write a post every day.  I think maybe I would've done better in March or something, when nothing else is going on.  November has so much going on and it's hard to write every day (but I assume that's why it's this month, so we have something to write about).  :)

But like a blogger friend once told me, you have to live your life in order to have something to blog about.  I will never forget those words, because they are so true.

Annaliese And Her Two Feet

I can't even begin to tell you how I feel right now!

I woke up yesterday morning, to a funny girl reading her book in her crib.  Just an ordinary day.  Nothing new...
(I gave her the book...she doesn't normally sleep with a book)


Then by around 3pm in the afternoon, she's walking!  Just.  Like.  That.  Walking!  And she's been walking around the house like a pro, ever since!  Cutting corners, pivots, everything!  And everywhere too!

(Video was taken after dinner and a bath)



It's truly amazing how in literally just a blink of an eye, everything changed and another milestone was met.  Justin and I are SO proud of our growing girl!  Her aunts, uncles, and grandparents are all so very proud too!  Thanksgiving will be really fun now, with a good game of tag after dinner ;)

FALLin' In Love

For today's #NaBloPoMo post, I'm just trying to get caught up with everything, including blogging daily.  Now that this post will be posted on the day it was actually written, I feel like I'm a little caught up at least.

Anyway...

Today's high was about 62 degrees.  Perfect day to do some yardwork.  So while Justin was outside mowing the lawn (hopefully for the last time until spring) he was nice enough to rake a pile of leaves together for Annaliese and I to play in.

This is how we enjoyed our lovely fall day. Prepare to be flooded with cuteness!  :o)

On a side note, THANK YOU to all of our Veterans who have served, fought and died to keep our great nation free.  God Bless America!  Happy Veterans Day!

Walking Hard

Annaliese has found her courage, she is willingly peeling herself from the furniture and excitedly walking towards mommy and daddy!  Although now she just has to learn to slow down.  This girl is RUNNING!



No babies were harmed in the making of this video.  Had I not been taping, I would've been there to catch her fall, but instead she learned a lesson from it (hopefully).  Running - stopping = face plant.

My baby is walking!!!! AHHHH!!! 

11 Month Update on 9/11

Our dear Annaliese is 11 months old today!  Here's what's been going on in the last month.

She has 6 7 teeth!  3 front top and 4 front bottom teeth!  I never thought she would have more than 2-4 at this stage!  

She sits and spins on her tiny tush using her feet on the hardwood floor.  

She loves to "dance" (or bounce) when she hears music.  

She loves to stand facing backward on the couch and lean into the back support and laughs hysterically when she falls over.

She is even more obsessed with chasing the cat.  Where there's a kid, there's a cat.  But they play nicely :) [supervised]

In this video, Justin was using a lazer light to distract the cat.  Annaliese loves when Sammie runs around in a playful way :)

Annaliese and her BFF, Sammie

She's good to give you a kiss when you ask for it.  This melts me.  

She can crawl like a pro, give high fives, stand on her own (but is still afraid to walk more than a step without holding onto something.  

She is really close to being able to pull herself up and can almost stand up from the ground.

She can walk while she pushes her little lawnmower thingy, yes that's the technical name for it.  

[and gets a little upset with herself when she can't do something she wants to]

She loves to truck down the hallway in her little walker and end up at our full length mirror and laugh at herself.  It's so cute!

She's figured out how to press some buttons on her toys to make them talk or light up.  And she likes to play with all of her toys at once.

She reaches upward with both arms and clings to our legs when she wants picked up.

She's mastered pulling of the protective rubber along the edges of our coffee and end tables.  When we catch her in the act we tell her a stern "No!" and she backs off.  Sometimes we have to do this twice and eventually she loses interest.  Can't hurt to try to teach her the meaning of "no" already.

She has grown just enough hair for me to put it up in a little clip! :)  She doesn't keep the clip in long, but it's still cute.  Her bangs are down in her eyes, so I try to do something with her hair do it doesn't annoy her.

She loves to lay on pillows and watch TV (Mickey)  :)

She still has blue-ish / grey-ish eyes, although mine are hazel - green and Justin's are hazel - brown.  Justin jokes with me about me and alleged blue-eyed the mail man.  Ha!

She has a fancy new car seat now (with cup holders), that she will be in for a long time.  Still sitting rear facing.

If she's sitting on the floor, 9 times out of 10 her legs or feet are crossed.  :)

She still drinks 3 bottles a day along with 3 meals a day and snacks in between.  Her favorites are chicken and pasta, lasagna with meal sauce and the first solid she ever ate, sweet potatoes.  She still loves her carrots, peas, and green beans too!  She loves to drink water (YESSS!) from her big girl cup. :)

She still wakes up with a huge smile on her face, unless she is having a bad teething day.  She sleeps from about 9pm-5am and still takes 1-2 naps during the day.  She is such a good baby and a happy baby.

With today being the anniversary of 9/11/01, I would also like to take a moment to thank all of our U.S. troops for laying down their lives everyday and helping to keep our country free.  We will never forget the lives lost in the tragic event that happened today, 11 years ago.  Our thoughts and prayers will always be with the families who suffered the loss of a loved one. 

United We Stand.

Friendly Photo Dump

Here it goes again.  Need to clear some space from my phone AND our camera...so I'm sharing some pictures (and video) to hopefully bring you even a little smile in the process :)

Crawling to her pal, Mickey

My handsome hubby courtesy of the CamWow app

Me with a "nose job" via CamWow app

A relaxed Sammie 

Apparently the strawberries were sour in her mesh teether

Snoozing on mommy

Playing with her blankie

Mid-yawn...hehe

Tickling the ivories with daddy

Looking like she's up to no good

Lazy Sunday with mommy

Hope you have a great Friday and a great weekend! xo