Making up for delayed blogging...

So today Anna must have known I griped about her lack of eating yesterday. She had no problems with any meal, and she even had a little snack of goldfish (the baby kind, on sale at Ukrops!) with diluted pear juice. It's amazing how picky she is with sippy cups- the one we found that she'll actually drink from is this one, the Take'n'Toss sippy cup. Of course we're not tossing it anytime soon, but I won't hunt it down at school, either.

I've always wondered if kids could move in sleep sacks. I love putting them on Anna when it's cold because they keep her nice and toasty. Anyway, Anna put it to the test the other night! She reminds me of Maggie Simpson, minus the pacifier.

Anna's newest hobby is chewing books. She will occasionally sit still long enough for us to read to her (not counting bedtime books), but would rather chew away her beloved books. I don't know whether to discourage her or just let her "explore" her books by eating the cardboard. At one point I was even thinking that these books would last through multiple children...I'm guessing that idea wasn't one of my best.

Anna waves bye-bye to the passing cars...

One of Anna's favorite Christmas presents is this house. She opens and closes the door, crawls through it, rings the doorbell, pushes the different sound buttons, and LOVES to get mail. She rarely will let a letter in the mailbox go untouched!

Another one of Anna's new antics is flossing her 6 teeth with string. I guess this feels good to her gums??

What child can get by without one of these bathtime pictures?? Anna's hair is getting longer, and with that growth means more of it to get messy! Anna loves to rub her hair with her hands during mealtime, and of course that equals bathtime. We might as well get used to the daily bath!

Anna at 10 months

Moving on...Anna is no longer a 1 room baby!! She loves to crawl into the dining room, kitchen, and down the hall. So far she hasn't found the steps (the door to the basement is closed). Funny how she can climb the steps at Grandma and Great-Grandma's houses with no problem. Did daycare teach her this?? They do have a mini-gym in the infant room with a few steps and a ramp. It's amazing what she's learning everyday. Her favorite off-limits item is Madeira's water bowl. Yuck-she'd climb in it if it was big enough! Instead, she dips both her sleeves in and sloshes all the water around. Maybe we should bathe her more often to get her water fascination taken care of! I can't wait for the summer so we can go to the pool!

I've been wanting to capture this pose for a while!

Anna loves her lovey, and her thumb, too! We have 3 loveys now, 2 for home and 1 for school. At school the other day, I watched her crawl over to her crib, reach between the slats, and pull her lovey out. I thought that was so smart!! I'm not so sure the rules are being followed there, (lovey is supposed to stay in the crib!) but oh well, if she needs it to soothe her at school, that's fine. One of the home loveys is down to one eye- I'm wondering if I should repair it (since back-up lovey has 2 eyes) or just let it be one eyed??

Madeira waits patiently for scraps

Mealtimes have gotten frustrating- one day she'll eat diced peaches, the next day, forget it! I feel like we're in a food rut- she's not eating as much as she used to because she refuses to eat what she used to! I've tried carrots, green beans, sweet potatoes, tofu, peaches, pears, bread, pasta, egg yolks, veggie rings, and every jar of baby food under the sun. She does eat some bread, but she used to eat a whole slice- now she won't even eat half a slice! I know she does eat, but I don't want to get into feeding her puffs or crackers the whole day to count as a meal. She loves crackers and baby cookies, but she only gets those maybe once a day (if at all). I just wish I could find something she liked that was healthful!!

Thanks Angela and Brooke for my new "smooshie" frog!


For some reason, Anna likes to hook her toes under the feeding chair's tray. It reminds me of how closely related we are to monkeys. And yes, she got her toes from me (unfortunately!).

Anna's new word for the week- Duck! She's also said/waved Bye-bye for different people. It's really cute when she does it for strangers! At the doctor's office she waved to a family leaving and after everyone else said goodbye, she waved and clearly said, "Bye-bye!" Everyone laughed and I was one proud mama. She has her 3rd ear infection now, so maybe that has something to do with her appetite? I look forward to having a hungry baby again!

One of John and my Christmas presents for each other was our new dining room table and chairs. Anna has found a new jungle gym!! Now that she's crawling everywhere, she likes to head into the dining room and check out the cats sunbathing or view the scenery in the backyard. These pictures capture her with one of Rye's toys (he's had it for years...it's his special friend). Madeira took a liking to it when she joined the family so my mom bought her one, too. Now Rye is in caterpillar heaven with one nearby at all times! Haha.

Anna's new antics....

John's way of feeding Anna- you feed me, I'll feed you!
Anna is learning to give kisses, point, pull up, dance, and bite. She now has 6 teeth- 4 up and 2 down! Her first word (other than Mama and Dada) is "Kittycat" !! We think she said "Baby" the other day, but the verdict's still out as she hasn't said it again. Today Rye helped us play with bubbles and Anna laughed out loud when he swatted at them. I wish I had videotaped it! Her laughs are hard to come by, so when I hear them, I want to bottle the sound.
This weekend was spent mostly inside- I came down with some flu-like bug so John kept Anna entertained while I slept all day Sunday. Needless to say, we were asleep when the New Year rolled around. I am very thankful that John is so wonderful with Anna- I had no doubts that she had a great time with him, and while I was upset I lost a day of spending time with her, I knew she was getting quality time with her sweet daddy.