Thanksgiving 2006

Dear Lord, I've been asked, nay commanded, to thank Thee for the Christmas turkey before us...a turkey which was no doubt a lively, intelligent bird...a social being...capable of human affection...nuzzling its young with almost human-like compassion. Anyway, it's dead and we're gonna eat it. Please give our respect to its family... Berke Breathed, "Bloom County Babylon"

Red Barn Tree Farm

We enjoyed our morning with our friends Paul and Susan and their daughter, Jasmine at the Red Barn Tree Farm. Since I'm not pregnant this Christmas, I took longer than thirty seconds to pick out a tree. Last year: 30 seconds, 12 ornaments, one string of lights. Not priceless. Probably worth about $5.75. It was funny to open the boxes I packed away in the attic. You can tell I was one tired woman this time last year. Surprisingly, I'm much more rested this season. We're so excited to celebrate this first Christmas with Anali.


Note to concerned mothers of the world: The candy cane is in the wrapper.
Ani will have no sweets...ever! Until I cave, at least. But since she can't talk, she can't talk me into it! She can have candy, if she doesn't mind sucking on it through the wrapper. Then her dad eats it.

 

Five Months Old

Mind you, she doesn't do this often. Hence, a picture-worthy event!

We let her unwrap her Christmas present early!

 

First Snow

Anali was so tired after our ten minutes in the snow, she wiggled her hat just so and promptly fell asleep.

We had a beautiful day yesterday! Saturday afternoon, Brandon thoughtfully brought home two pairs of snow shoes and a child carrier for an adventure on Crystal Mountain. We were excited to introduce Anali to her first snow, and our merriment was evident in the serious overpacking we did. You should have seen our 18-gallon Tupperware filled with scarves, hats, pants, socks, boots, gloves, coats, vests, granola bars, extra scarves, extra hats, extra socks. And that was just for Brandon and me. We packed three different fleece outfits for Anali alone, in addition to the one she was already wearing! We wouldn't be left out in the cold!

It wasn't until we were bundling up at the lodge on Crystal Mountain that we realized we had left the only truly essential item back home in our kitchen: the diaper bag (No, not our baby. I know you tried to go there, but really, Who does that? Not us...yet!). That glitch dampened our plans a bit. We recognized our fault - without needless blame-shifting, I might add - and made the best of our adventure. And anyone with a baby and no clean diapers knows that's an adventure. I can see that as the next big reality show. Survivor: Dirty Diaper!

We walked up the hill a bit to give Anali a taste of the snow, and she loved it! I can't remember the last time I had so much fun! It was windy and cold and perfect! We snapped just enough pictures to keep us oohing and ahhing for the rest of the winter at the precious moment Anali discovered God's beautiful, sweeping snowscape.

Crystal Mountain

20 Weeks Old

She is actually eating his hair!


She's getting so much better at sitting up.
Still a bit tippy, but she likes to play with her toys while sitting.


When Anali was first born, I couldn't wait for her to be four months old. It only took me a moment, of course, to realize that in the difficulty of the moment, I was wishing away days I would long for again. I learned quickly that each stage is my favorite. She is so active lately. It's great fun to play with her down on the floor.

Anali's new tricks include rolling over, scooting (inches, mind you), screaming (with glee, though sometimes I have to be looking at her to realize she's happy), passing toys from one hand to the other, and somehow always managing to smell like vanilla muffins. I'm trying to teach her to recognize her own name, but I'm having a hard time referring to her by the name we gave her and not as "Muffin."

 

18 Weeks Old

Anali looked so precious in her little dress this morning. I couldn't wait to show Grammy. We didn't make it to Grammy's before I had to change her, though. I can' t tell if it's the diapers I'm using or the incredible vitality of her bowels. When she struggled so much with gas in those first couple of months, I prayed and prayed that the Lord would perfect the inner workings of her digestive system. There is always that discrepancy between what we pray for and what it looks like when God answers, isn't there? Today, my prayers looked like a poopy dress.




A day or two after Anali was born, Grandpa held her and marveled at the length of her beautiful fingers. I have no doubt that one day those lovely fingers will make music at the piano, just like her grandfather's fingers do.

Four Quick Months

We asked Anali where she'd like to go to for her first bite of solid foods, and she just couldn't decide between a local burger joint or an authentic Mexican cafe. We compromised and took her to Chevy's, Tex Mex. For such an occasion, they bust out the sombreros. OK, I'm kidding, kidding. We were there for my mom's birthday. First, I'm not ready to feed her solids yet. She's just a baby! Second, we decide where to eat, since her schedule determines when we actually eat - it's usually cold - and when we leave for a nap. Third, that's not even Anali under that big ol' sombrero; it's her stunt double. I mean really, who would torture their precious baby with a giant hat for a silly photo? 

Personality!

Brandon's idea of teaching Anali to sit up.
His mother confirms this is how they did it in the good ol' days.

Yummy Piano!

I bought Anali a new toy today. It took me about an hour and a half to find a toy that makes noise, but not too much noise. Noise that I can handle hearing seventy-five times in a row. Noise that isn't a patented-name-brand frog-voice that guarantees my daughter will ace her SATs and establish a $90,000 nest egg by 25. Instead I chose a toy that makes noise and guarantees she will be able to open her mouth wide enough to actually eat a triple-decker BLT. 

14 Weeks Old

 

Some children talk with food in their mouths...others...fingers!

Like mother, like daughter

Three Months Old

Five seconds!

 

These blue eyes are here to stay!

Anali is gaining coordination.

It's fun to watch her reach for things and move them about.

She can even grab her Soothie and put it back in her mouth

if it falls out onto her chest. Amazing!

She's started giggling more readily.
Pat-a-cake does it for her this week.
Next week, she'll have us standing on our heads doing the Hokey Pokey.

Gaining Balance

My new students joined me at work this Monday. Grammy and Grandpa boarded a plane for Europe on Friday. And my mom and dad are on their way down this evening. We've got a lot going on. While Tana is certain Anali will forget her during the three weeks they are out of town, I am quite sure she will remember the sweet smells and smiles of Grammy's house. If she didn't coo and squeal when I walk in their house each morning, I'm not sure I could leave her for those few hours to go off to work. Teaching has been going well...better than I expected. I like my new students, and I'm finding that a part-time day does go quite a bit faster. Brandon's landscaping ventures are tapering off as the air cools down, and we'll be enjoying evenings by the fire any day now...if I'm allowed to turn on the gas..."You know with gas prices so high these days..." Yeah. Yeah. Even my dad let me turn the heat up to 68 degrees...if I rubbed his feet. Can you believe I'm already talking heat? It was 80 degrees not a week ago. It will be nice to have my parents with us for a while. They're excited to live with Anali this week. Who can blame them? She's pretty much our television these days. At 7:00 we have our own "Entertainment Tonight," complete with celebrity blow outs. After a bath, it's CUsLie - a.k.a. bedtime (Brandon's doubtful anyone will get my super-dorky joke.). Oh, yeah. And you thought we were the life of the party before! Oh, no! I have mom humor now! I can just see the eye rolling of 2019! I'm stopping now. And I'll be sure to delete this blog before my baby turns 13...though it's pretty stinkin' hard to picture anyone so cute rolling her eyes!