Hey! Do I look like a boy to you?

I guess this outfit makes people think boy?? Today we went to Ukrop's and had 3 people refer to her as a boy. Not only did she have pink socks on, but she also had 2 pink blankets in the cart with her, as well as a big pink butterfly attached to the handle. Next time she wears this outfit I'll add a pink bow! Today was the first day she sat in the cart by herself. She's such a big girl now- and I LOVE not having to carry that car seat around anymore!

Just for clarification...

Mommy's little helper

I'm getting Anna started early on chores...It just happened that we were in the basement and the laundry was finished, so instead of going upstairs to put her somewhere, I decided she fit just fine in the laundry basket and she agreed!

Today was our first sick visit to the doctor, and I'm so glad we went. She's had a cough for over a week now, and last night it started getting wheezy, plus she woke up a lot. She woke up when Grey's Anatomy came on (she's a GA junkie like her mom) and only calmed down when she saw Alex (her favorite). But after she fell asleep nursing, she woke back up screaming the minute I put her in the crib, which just isn't like her. So this morning she didn't eat well, and I thought we'd better get it checked out before the weekend- turns out she has her first ear infection! She also received a breathing treatment for her wheezing. So now she's on an antibiotic and albuterol for her wheezing. She doesn't act too sick- just a little more fussy around naptime. As you can see in her picture below, she looks just fine!

This is my favorite new outfit (courtesy of Old Navy's baby sale!) Even the socks have squirrels on them- you can't really tell in the picture, but the top is the short sleeve look with the long sleeves underneath...so cute. Did I mention before that Anna is sitting up? Well, she isn't 100% yet, but is getting better everyday! You still have to watch her closely or she'll do a quick dive-bomb for a cat or Madeira!

The 6th month old! I'm having a hard time believing this kid is half a year old already! We are having so much fun with her the time is just zipping by! If you look closely in this picture you can see her two front teeth! This might be my favorite picture so far!!

She got to stay at home yesterday for her "birthday" with John and Grandma, so she had a great day until the evening when she vomited in her crib (prunes and bananas!) and proceed to cry for 2 hours straight. I rushed home from work to find her red-eyed, full of mucus, and half-gagging and coughing. She was so upset it was hard to figure out what to do! We suctioned out her nose and mouth which helped, gave her a teething tablet, thinking that maybe her teeth were bothering her, then I nursed her, and she seemed to calm down after that. At that point when we put her in the crib and she tried to go to sleep there was the issue of whether to suction out her nose again, because she couldn't breathe well with her thumb in her mouth! So we did that once more, and she settled down. She was so exhausted, poor thing. Not a great way to end her "birthday"! It was the worst thing that's happened to her so far- John and I checked on her multiple times during the night and she slept well, thank goodness.

This morning she is back to the normal Anna! We even think she said "bye" to John as he left for work!!! It was as clear as day- we'll see if she says it to me when I drop her off at daycare! Haha.

Great-Grandma and the 3 monkeys!

(7 mo Sean, 5 mo Braxton, and 6 mo Anna)

We had a fun weekend with the cousins. Grandma had beautiful weather for her cookout and her whole family made it to wish her a happy 94th birthday. She looks wonderful!! Sean and Braxton faired really well considering their routines were messed up by being in a new place, but both of them are little travelers so they hung in there! We just wished they lived closer so we could spend more time with them! They've all changed so much since the last time we saw them and we won't be together again until Christmas, so they'll be totally different babies again! Sean is crawling and can do a mean exersaucer bounce, and Braxton is a giggling wiggler who loves to hear funny noises (or maybe it's the crazy way we look when we make those noises??)

Anna had fun watching the babies and occasionally grabbing one of them. For some reason, she was the party pooper in all of the pictures...maybe she needs more personal space??? Hahaha. We'll have to work on that!

Her new favorite food is applesauce! OH! And she's officially cut her two front teeth, with the bottom left front leading the way!

Sean's on the move!

Braxton the happy boy

Braxton, Anna, and Sean

Anna the frog

Anna can now tripod! Woohoo! I've attached a picture below. She also can rotate 360 degrees in her exersaucer and knows how to play with all the different features on it! She's noticing the phone and the remote control now- wanting to taste them and hold them.

I'm looking forward to Mimi coming to stay with us and Aunt Lori (John's sister) visiting this weekend. Pops will also be here this weekend but will be busy with a soccer tournament. And next weekend is great-grandma's 94th birthday- we're having a cook-out here and all the cousins will be up! I can't wait for the 3 monkeys to get back together again!!

My little girl is so smart. This morning when I put her down for her nap, she rolled over, then propped herself up to look over the new bumper to see me. She knew I hadn't left and was curious to see what I was doing (putting away clothes). That's the first time I've seen her actually prop herself up to look- before she just kind of stayed in one place and didn't notice much if it wasn't right in front of her. Now she's exploring! I have a feeling she'll be mobile soon! She's kicking her legs a lot more when she's on her tummy, and scooting her knees up under her when she sleeps...very cute, by the way. I'll have to get a picture soon!

How I eat my carrots...spoon, then thumb.

I love carrots!!

I don't know why I consider this a milestone, but buying the next size up in diapers gets me sentimental!! Anna is now in size 3!! We weighed her the other day and she's a little over 16 pounds...but I think her chunky thighs are what puts her in the bigger size diaper! Anyway, after 2 leaks we realized it was time for a change (of course AFTER I bought the new pack of 2's).

I heard Anna's belly laugh today for the first time and it was fabulous- it made me so happy I got tears in my eyes and I wish I could have recorded it!! I can't wait to get her to do it again!

She now has peas on her menu, but they're not her favorite- I'm tempted to try some fruit, but am afraid she'll prefer those and not want her veggies anymore. Today I added a tiny bit of apple juice to her rice cereal. She loved it!! She seemed a little constipated after the butternut squash and carrots, so I figured a little apple juice might help that situation!

Our 5 month old looking more like a little girl every day!

Anna's now eating butternut squash and carrots- yum! Just one time a day, and we've learned to just feed her in her diaper and bib- she loves to suck her thumb after she eats the food off the spoon- it's a mess but so cute!

Anna's buddy Madeira

Getting puppy kisses (more like snuffles)

This past week we had Mimi stay with us to watch Anna while John and I worked - it was absolutely wonderful to have her at home with Anna- unfortunately it made me wish we had a nanny- it was ideal to leave Anna at home and not have to take her to daycare, as we were able to follow more of a routine and not expose her to excess germs and stimuli she doesn't need right now! She is starting to teethe and I can see the outline of her bottom 2 teeth on the inside of her gums! I just found out tonight that this teething process lasts for at least 2 years....geez I have so much to learn!

Anna's favorite tummy time blanket

I can't believe I didn't try this out sooner- she loves feeling the fringe on the blanket and it helps her forget she's on her stomach! My manager's mother made this blanket for her- I love it!



Anna and the otter at Maymont!

We had a great day at Maymont Park- Anna enjoyed seeing all the animals, and her mom and dad look forward to the days when she can run around and spend all of her energy here!! What a great FREE place to go right here in Richmond!

I had no idea how many animals lived there- I can't wait for Sean and Braxton to join us at this park when they come visit!






Anna watches John feed the goats

Attempting rice cereal

Right now, there's more cereal to clean up than she's eating, so we're just trying it out a little at a time to get her used to the texture and flavor (is there any?)

Anna and I both have minor colds right now. So far just stuffy noses- I realize this is the first of many since she is in daycare, but I hate it just the same- my milk supply seems to have dropped off and Anna's not sleeping as well- we're trying a vaporizer in her room and Vicks BabyRub- both seem to help! Wish us luck!

4 1/2 month check-up

Anna weighs 15 pounds, 2 ounces, and is 25 1/4 inches long! She's in the top 15th percentile of her height and weight! She did get 4 immunizations but Dr. McConnaughey gave me a sugar water solution to give her right before and during the shots and she only fussed with 2 of them- she really didn't act like they bothered her that much- unfortunately he said this would probably be the last time it works...oh well, it was great while it lasted!

Today we're going to Maymont park and maybe the Duck race- we'll see how the park goes and go from there....

So Anna decided today that Grandma Barrow would be the first to see her new trick! She rolled from back to front for the first time unassisted!! She's done it a few times since then and now is down for the night- we'll see if she decides to try it tonight while she's sleeping!

Doing a jig in my jumping seat!!

Hey Aunt Meighan, does that look like a dance step to you?

We're having a fun week observing new things, like the basement, the fish tank, and outside.

Anna is almost rolling over on her own- I just hope she doesn't do it for the first time at daycare...

Tomorrow we go in for her 4 month check-up (which is closer to 4 1/2 months) and I'm curious to see how much she weighs. I think she has to get more shots, so I'm not TOO excited about taking her by myself! Maybe we'll go to lunch afterwards as a treat.


I had to post this next picture because I love Anna's little face peeking out from under the covers- I was on my way to work in the morning and after feeding Anna I put her in bed with John, hoping she would go back to sleep- no such luck for him!!

Happy 4 month birthday, Anna!!

Today our little sweet pea turns 4 months!! For her "birthday", daddy bought her a johnny-jump-up- she loves it and has already christened it with spit-up! Pictures of her playing in it to come soon!

Here are some pictures from today and then a few days ago playing with her toys...

Hangin' with the hedgehog

Elmo IS the coolest monster!!

Thanks Aunt Lara for my first Elmo!

The training of a future LPGA player...

Ever since Anna was born, John has wanted to make every Sunday afternoon into a family golf outing. So yesterday we had perfect weather and we went- it was fun to see parts of the course I've never seen, and Anna enjoyed the cart ride and feeling the grass under her feet! Daddy taught her all about bermuda grass and how it's cut short in different places. We saw ducks, birds (a lot of bluebirds!), squirrels, a horse, a beaver, and a rabbit- one of these days we'll see the deer that John talks about... Anyway, I hope we can continue this tradition as long as possible- it was a great way to end the weekend as a family.

For July 4th we went to the pool- Anna's first trip! I can't believe we didn't get pictures!! We'll be going more often now that we know she enjoys it, though! I did get a picture of her in her patriotic dress, though...

I can't believe she's almost 4 months old! She's making new faces, "talking" more, and is showing interest in Madeira, Whiskey, and Rye. She even stops nursing so she can look for Madeira when she hears her collar clinking! She's also using her hands more to hold objects and touch things. Her most recent toy, the Touch and Cuddle Hedgehog, is a favorite already. I'll post a picture of her with it when I get one...

Anna and Rye

I love my exersaucer!!

Beach time!

The Bathing Beauty

We had a fun time at the beach- we spent the week with Mimi, Pops, Uncle Bryan, Aunt Lorie, and Braxton. Uncle Kevin, Aunt Meighan, and Sean met up with us, too! Anna wasn't a fan of the wind- so we took her out once for a short time on the beach- whenever the wind blew, she would startle and catch her breath. Poor thing- she liked the golf cart rides, though, and enjoyed being in the new house! Mimi and Pops felt the need to add some room at the beach with the addition of their 3 grandkids, so now we have a neat house that was the first one built on Bald Head!

Anna learning about the most important sport in the world (according to Daddy)

Braxton, also known as "The brown one"

Anna and Braxton

Anna and Sean

Return of the 3 monkeys!

Sean (4 months) Anna (3 months) Braxton (2 months)

So it's been a while since I posted- and a lot has happened with Miss Anna!! She is now 11 weeks old, smiling a lot, making new noises everyday, and holding things more. The other night she made a 180 degree turn in her crib- I was completely surprised to find her in the opposite direction of where I put her down! She's wearing 3-6 month clothes now and has just moved up to size 2 diapers!!
She's slept through the night twice- 9:30pm to 5:30am- how lucky are we??? I feel truly blessed to have such a great baby. She rarely cries, and when she does, it's for a good reason, like dirty britches! Her next doctor's appointment consists of 4 immunizations....and I don't want to take her because I don't want to see her cry...it breaks my heart!

I've gone back to work and it's challenging to schedule the feedings around my work hours- and then finding time to pump at work is really difficult!! It's interesting to work with women who used to breastfeed and not feel any support about pumping at work...oh well, I've realized I just have to look out for myself! It's time like these that I wish I had a desk job...


The four generations on Mother's Day!

From left to right-

Jacqueline Marie Carpenter Barrow
Marie Jacqueline Chappelle Everett
Anna Jacqueline Barrow
Jacqueline Hale Everett Carpenter

Daddy's birthday!

Today is John's birthday, and we had a great relaxing day! (Well, John actually did a lot of yard work, but we had some down time, too!)

The 3 cousins

Sean Elliot

Anna Jacqueline

Braxton Everett