Feast of St. Thérèse

Today was a much better day.  It was the feast of St. Thérèse, and because Colette's middle name is Thérèse (named after The Little Flower herself), I wanted to celebrate a little.  However, I didn't want to get too crazy with food since Anni is just barely past clear liquids and it's really not fair to tempt her with goodies.  I picked up some roses and made the table look a little pretty (a feat since I tend to be a table piler) and we just tried to keep the day happy, despite poor Anni wanting to eat everything and being a little cranky that her meals consisted of things like rice and toast.

We also prepared for Daniel to come home... oh, so exciting to get my dearest back!  We missed him, and it was only a few days!

We did make a zucchini lasagna for dinner (zucchini in place of noodles... who would've thought?!), promised Anni we would save her some, and watched Colette quite enjoy some zucchini.

We even got a little outside time in for our little convalescent.  A trip around the block in our little red wagon was just what the doctor ordered (which is funny, since Papa is a doctor and he's the one who re-did the wagon for the girls). 

Colette loves this pillow.  She kept leaning back during the story so she could rest on it.

Have a beautiful week, friends! 

Slow Motion

We had a busy weekend celebrating a second birthday and a long-awaited baby and the in-betweens were filled with Grandma snuggling, eating a ridiculous amount of produce from my dad's garden and calling Daddy while he's away at a conference across the country.

Sunday afternoon, while I was away at a tea party to pray for a sweet baby on her way into the world soon, my mom called to let me know that Anni had woken up from her nap and proceeded to throw up more than she had ever seen come out of a little girl (which is pretty impressive seeing as my mom raised six children and is a nurse).  I finished up praying (it was such a beautiful prayer and blessing for a beautiful expectant mommy!) and headed home.  Since then, things have felt like they are going in slow motion.  Meals are quiet and at odd times so Anni doesn't have to watch us eat, night-time is fluid, with baby and Anni needing comfort, but with an extended morning sleep as my mom loved on the girls in between feedings and let me rest.

Anni hasn't been able to hold down anything but a couple tablespoons home-made pedialyte, and she spent much of the morning sleeping on the couch (pretty rare for her even when she's sick).  Otherwise, we're filling the quiet moments with puzzles, books, and videos on the ipad.  When Anni gets stomach bugs, the battle isn't getting rid of the virus, but helping her stomach recover.  It takes a long time for her tummy to accept food again, even when the virus is gone.

We're holding our breath, hoping she starts to recover and hold a little more down and that the rest of us stay healthy.

In the meantime, my friend, Sarah, introduced me to this this morning after asking if I needed a little beauty in my day (always, but what perfect timing, without her knowing my babe is sick).  (Sarah, you are just amazing.)  

I rocked Colette to sleep to it... such beauty.  So, here's to our slow motion day, that our little gets some fluids in, and that we all stay healthy.  Happy Week, my friends!

Timing

Last Friday, Anni sneezed a couple of times.  Had a couple small coughs in the night.  With most kids, these things seem inconsequential.  But a mother knows, right?  Anytime she gets a cold, it starts this way, and the next night we're propping up her mattress, suctioning her nose and desperately trying all of our tricks to help her stop coughing long enough for all of us to get some sleep.

Oh, and changing my prayers to a, "Maybe tonight would *not* be the best time to go into labor..."

We had constant nose wiping, sad sick eyes and lack of sleep for a few days, but the last couple of nights have improved enough to where my hopes of heading into labor with this little munchkin have returned (three nights of braxton hicks has only encouraged that).

We still have a bit of the nose wiping and sick eyes, but we were able to make it out today for Ash Wednesday Mass up at my husband's office (major advantage to my husband being a missionary at a Catholic organization with a chapel).  Anni was extraordinarily talkative (which can be a little disconcerting in such a small space), but luckily everyone there is sweet and patient about her sweet noise.  Well... some of it was sweet.  The screaming "No, no, I don't want to!" every time we asked her to use her church voice/ whisper was less than sweet. 
  

However, it was lovely to get showered, dressed, and see hubby in the middle of the day.  In fact, here are my favorite reasons for going to daily Mass at the DSC:


1. Everyone is so patient with our noise, despite the fact that someone's noise seems to increase with the smaller size of the chapel.

2. We get to see Daddy... which makes our whole day a whole lot better.

3. We have a reason to get ready and dressed in the morning (but, thankfully not too early since Mass is at noon). When would I otherwise have an excuse during the week to get Anni all adorable in a cardigan and pearl necklace (she told me it was just like Baba's)?

4. I get to talk to adults in the middle of my day... sometimes even other moms who have their own littles there: it's a great break for Anni *and* I :).

5. We make it to daily Mass.

Tonight has been quiet.  Hubby and I discussed our Lenten plans, enjoyed the fact that there have been no coughing fits from the sweetheart in the room next to ours and fired up the contraction counting app for what is probably just another few hours of braxton hicks (though my back is aching just a little... so... maybe?)  

Welcome to my week...

I reread the Hobbit for the first time since 4th grade... it went much faster this time.

Anni actually went in the potty four times... three of which she told me beforehand that she *needed* to go, and none preceded by an accident.  We may be taking a step forward in the potty training world!

I had to scrub the entire bathroom down with bleach yesterday.  A) I hate using bleach.  B) It was necessary.  C) You can throw your shoulder out plunging a toilet... just a forewarning.

I got sick with a nice, basic cold.  That basic cold made feel like death warmed over the first night, migraine included, but has actually been pretty mild otherwise, which is awesome because normally it takes me several weeks to get past a cold.

I'm putting together a couple "boxes of sunshine"; however, it seems all the people I'm putting them together for have necessary dietary restrictions (gf/low sugar etc)... so any thoughts on adorable (yellow & happy) things to include would be lovely, as most examples include a lot of candy.  

My sister will be having her little guy any day now!  I'm still amazed by the amount of things she gets done being 40+ weeks pregnant (there is no procrastination bone in her body... I think I got hers in addition to mine).  We were pregnant at the same time during my first pregnancy as well, so I always know I can start my countdown once her baby is born (her third baby and my first - Nugget- were supposed to be born 12 weeks apart and ended up being only six, but these two are supposed to be six weeks apart... so I'm hoping for at least a few more weeks and some time to soak in her sweet little boy's pictures before Lil' Bit makes her debut). 

We've started house hunting!  That's about it... as we have really *just* started, but we're hopeful and excited.

And, just a few of the things on my menu for the week (you can skip this, but I love when people post their menus... it gives me ideas to mull over for the next week): Meatless WW Lasagna & Bread (making an extra with meat to freeze!), Homemade Sloppy Joes (We leave out the brown sugar and replace half of the ketchup with bbq sauce...mmm...), Stew (the best for basic stew because it's so easy to customize and add extra veggies we like... and remove the mushrooms that we both really, really don't like), Cottage pie, Zuppa Toscana (I replace the cream with half and half sometimes... it's delicious both ways!), Chicken Pot-pie Soup (trying for the first time!), Brinner and some kind of chicken and rice casserole.  Yum.  I always love days when we get back from the store, because Anni and I sit down and eat fruit almost immediately (fruit goes fast in our house and seems to run out about a day or so before we can make it to the store again).

I had a newborn shoot pop up this week at the last minute, which meant randomly having a backdrop set up in our living room for a few hours.  Anni got to be my light tester, and while she mostly pulled the backdrop down and tried to lie face first on the ground (it is a pretty soft backdrop in her defense), we pulled off a couple of sweet photos in the space of five minutes. 

There you have it.  A pretty average week in our household.  My goal for today is to love my family and make their day special with a clean house and yummy dinner... barring that, I'll at least try to keep my pregnancy hormones reigned in and be a cheerful wife and mommy :). 

Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving celebrations at the in-laws became at risk when Miss Anni threw up everywhere the day before.  See, we had it all worked out.  Daddy would get home around noon, we'd pack up the car, stop in a town on the way for some playing at a park while Mommy had a photo-shoot (and maybe throw in a haircut for the ridiculously shaggy mop on mommy's head), then proceed to in-laws and spend the next several days eating, playing and being happy and merry.

Well.

We had a few tears while we worked out a plan and just decided to wait it out.  I headed out to my shoot, Daniel and Anni watched cartoons, and I picked up ingredients for a lasagna... just in case our Thanksgiving feast needed to wait a couple of days (I have the best in-laws ever... willing to hold off their own feasting for us).  Thanksgiving morning dawned with no more vomit in sight and Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on the computer (Anni and Daddy had watched Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving the day before, so she was pretty excited to see a Charlie Brown balloon).  While she seemed to be doing well, we didn't want to infect the entire family, so we called, discussed, watched her a little more and discussed even more.  The in-laws decided they wanted to risk getting sick for the sake of having everyone together (Daniel's brother was home for the first time in over six months), so we started to pack and plan our visit.

Of course, it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without a big ole shot of progesterone in your hiney, right?  To be honest, I'm so grateful for this shot and the chance it has given us at a healthy baby.  As my test results come back every other week, it's pretty obvious that I'm just not a great producer of it for myself, so, heck yes, I'll take a shot every few days to keep my little chickadee where she belongs as long as she needs.  Side note: I hadn't actually looked at the needle in months as I'm usually lying down by the time my hubby has it all ready to administer... it's longer than I remember!  

In the end, we actually made it to Thanksgiving, a good 24 hours after our little drama began.  While Miss Anni didn't get to participate in any of the feasting (a fruit popsicle and crackers kind of counts as feasting for a two-year-old, right?), there were stickers, crayons, paper and family ready to love on her as much as possible. 

This face makes me giggle every time I see the picture.

And while Anni didn't feast... oh, my, the rest of us did.  Turkey, cranberry relish, potatoes of two varieties, green beans, gravy, bread and more... ahh... soooo good.  We were pretty worried about Anni feeling left out from the feasting, but she ate her crackers and applesauce and spent most of the meal dancing around the table.

She ended the night snuggling up to whomever was available to read her books, and off to bed she went.

We; however, continued our feasting just a bit into the evening.  I was in charge of desserts this year and here was my spread: chocolate pudding pie, traditional pumpkin pie and mini pecan pies (which I LOVED because they didn't have any corn syrup in the recipe).  I even whipped up real whipping cream (with the guidance of my mother-in-law)!  I had a few little mishaps... a few of my pecan pies stuck to the pan and looked worse for the wear (next year: add more flour) and my pumpkin pie crust folding in on itself a bit while baking, but everyone said the taste was more important, and luckily, everything seemed to be pretty darn scrumptious!   

Despite the rough nights and cranky moments we had (by 5 am, Miss Anni was too hungry every morning to stay asleep, especially the night she threw up all over the room after her tummy refused the banana we gave her for snack), it was wonderful for Anni to soak in some family time and not have to focus on being sick yet again.  And... wonders of all wonders...

No one else caught the bug!  

Happy week after Thanksgiving!

Baby, don't worry...

 

We've hit a spell of bad luck.  Not terrible luck, mind you just eensily, weensily, bad as Anni struggles with the cruddy cough that immediately accompanies any case of sniffles she picks up (thank you, preemie lungs).  We went to the doctor today, just in case he thought we should check those oxygen stats since she has a history of needing extra oxygen when illnesses get a little long.  Happily, O2 sats were 99%, respiration was good, ears looks good, lungs were clear and really, we just have to wait it out.  

Oh, and things are about to spiral into the random.  Don't worry, I don't know where it's going either.

I have a little over half of our Christmas gifts planned... mostly because we are going as simple as possible.  This year was supposed to be the year we hang out with my family for Christmas... but as I'll be 32 weeks on Christmas Eve, and Anni came at 33... and we have no positive answer to *why* she was early, well, it's going to be Christmas in Colorado.  I love Colorado, but I haven't seen my family since this summer and I miss them rather terribly (just check how much time I spend calling my sister and mom).  Disappointment and homesickness aside, there are now 21 people just on my side (parents, siblings, their spouses and their kiddos), so everything needs to be easily shippable.  I think I've come up with a good solution... but, I happen to know my sisters read my blog, so I can't share everything quite yet!

Speaking of Christmas, what are your favorite Thanksgiving traditions?  We'll be at my in-laws for several days surrounding, so I'm trying to think of some fun crafts Miss Anni and I can do together to bring with us.   

I voted this week.

God is love.  first.  foremost.  and last. the end.

Tomorrow I turn 26.  I had to do the math... I kind of forget how old I am sometimes.  I think it's because most people assume I'm about 10 years younger.  

We did family pictures last week.  It makes me smile every time I look at them, at this little moment in our lives, when Anni is just two and a half and Lil' Bit is growing away inside and we are still oh, so, painfully new at all of this.  It will pass, and I am so glad to remember it.  Jenny, if you read this, thank you for documenting it for us... I don't think I can ever repay it!

I will always be good at picking apart my appearance (I wish that wasn't so), and so it is hard to get past myself sometimes and realize that our memories as a family are more important than that.  I like that, that they're teaching me what's important.  

My dear hubby, he has a secret surprise for me tomorrow.  Well, not so secret, because he has such a hard time keeping a secret that he had to tell me he *had* a secret just to keep from telling me what the secret is.  I love that we are so used to telling each other everything that it's hard to keep even happy little surprises secret.  I'm trying to help him out by not guessing at all this year. 

He's also making me manicotti.  That's not a secret, because he wanted to make sure it sounded good to my pregnant tummy.

Gosh, I have it good, guys.  Really, really good.

Happy weekend, my friends.

Every little thing's gonna be alright.

Changin' Fast

I feel like we've been in a bit of a twilight zone for the past couple of weeks.  I mean, has it really been two weeks since our day at the corn maze?!  My brain can't seem to wrap itself around that fact.

Two weeks ago it was warm, fall-ey, and can I just mention that I think my husband is super handsome?

Mentioned.

Following Anni's little, erm, overflow on the way home from the corn maze, we didn't leave the house for nearly a week. 

And then, just as she stopped waking up in the middle of the night to share whatever we had attempted to satiate her "hungee" tummy with, I joined the club.

Pregnancy and stomach bugs are a strange, unhappy combination.  I would get sick if I didn't eat (pregnancy) and would definitely get sick if I did (stomach bug).  Luckily, a couple days of Anni getting to watch way more of the PBS app than she ever has, Daddy coming home early when he could, and me lying as still as I could, and we were kind of back in business.

Because, you know, two days after picking up the bug, I had my last wedding to shoot and an engagement the next.  I think I'm still recovering from that weekend... luckily my clients are amazing and I'm ever so grateful I get these chances to document their lives.

The following days were full of editing, mommying and more editing and then some extra toddler cuddles to make up for all of the working.  Knowing that this season of being able to concentrate so fully on our sweet, quirky, happy, little two-year-old is quickly coming to an end, I've been trying to take more time to breathe in those happy little moments of right now.

Recently, our "little" Nugget's personality is shining through loud and clear.  She spends nap time singing, usually her own made-up songs.  She loves to sit and read not only her own books, but mommy and daddy's as well (it works well for her that we just leave piles of our books on our nightstands). 

She gets me moving more than anything else could during this pregnancy.  As much as my mind does a little tired yelp when she so sweetly requests, "Mommy, dance wif me?" I know there isn't anything, anything at all, else that I should be doing at that moment.

Just shy of two weeks after that warm fall day in the corn stalks... we had our first big snow!  It actually started the evening I had safe environment training and I felt like a little kid who didn't listen to their mama when I walked out into several inches of snow and had to brush off my car in short sleeves.

Luckily, oatmeal cookies and homemade hot chocolate were on the menu when I reached home, so it all balanced out.  

I am definitely a fall/spring girl, but the cold is worth it to see Anni's pure excitement at the snow (especially that it was "in the twees").  When we first peeked outside to look at it yesterday morning, she informed me, "It's so booo-tiful mommy."  I've heard "I wuff the snow," more than once in the last two days... I think it's going to be a good winter (though I will quite, quite happily welcome fall and it's more temperate beauty back for a few more weeks with our warm spell next week).

One downside to our little winter storm has been that the moon is hidden by clouds in the evenings.  In the past week, Anni has added to our nighttime routine by requesting to go out on the porch after prayers.  She'll point out all that she sees (cars, trees, clouds, moon and lights) and then tell each of them good night before we head back in to bed.  The last night we could see the moon, she informed Daniel, "I want to hold the moon, Daddy."

 I am continually amazed, and humbled, by this sweet girl growing up before my eyes.  I am so grateful to have the chance to grow and learn with her.    

Have a beautiful weekend, my friends! 

The post where things got a little rough...

I realized that in the excitement of the pumpkin patch photos, I didn't share the bad part of that day... which really, probably means that the good outweighed the bad that day.  See?  Optimism.

We ran some food out to some friends and upon returning to our car... it wouldn't start.  Nary a blink, twitter or urp for a few minutes.  So, of course, our friend, newly returned from the hospital, helps Anni and I jump the car.  While it's charging up... it dies.  Apparently this is a bad sign, an expensive sign.  We call dearest hubby as his name is on the AAA... 45 minutes later, we've moved the car seat, overstayed our welcome with some very sweet friends whom we owe a much better dinner now and are on our way back home. 

Luckily, after dealing with an auto shop that attempted to gouge our wallets and therefore overpaying for a battery (thank goodness, right?!  The battery was just more than dead!), we still have a few things we'd like checked out with a mechanic we trust, but the car is running smoother than it has in a little while, and we're hoping for no more dead cars half an hour from home.

Welp, just a day after getting our beloved Max back (yep, we name our cars, we're those people), we decided to brave a corn maze/ pumpkin patch with Daddy and a few friends.  (I promise photos... just in a happier post!)  Anni was a bit quiet, but seemed to enjoy all the activity (and yes, soon to be regretted junk food).  We hopped in the car a little sooner than we were ready, as I had a shoot that afternoon and we had an hour drive to get me there.  20 minutes into our drive...

well...

puke.


Yep, that's enough explanation on that.  Let's just say we ended up on the side of the rode with a naked baby, a shirtless husband and a gagging pregnant me. 

Oh, and me calling my client and frantically trying to decide if this shoot was going to happen.

An hour later, sickie and shirtless husband were home and I did manage to make it to my shoot (albeit a bit late).  Poor hubby had to spend the evening scrubbing the carseat, car, bags from the backseat, and Anni's bed when she lost her crackers (literally, she had had a few crackers before bed) in the middle of the night.  Let me take this opportunity to thank him... dearest, you are amazing.  Seriously.  I felt awful I couldn't help... but adding easily nauseated pregnant lady vomit would not have been all that helpful.

So... here we are.  We've spent the last couple of days attempting recovery, feeling a little bit stir crazy in our little apartment.  We set ourselves back with another middle of the night episode after we tried just a little too much for dinner last night, but we're hopeful that another few days of applesauce, 7-up and rice, if we're brave, will get us back on the right track. 

The beautiful thing is, that's the worst of it.  And if the worst of our problems is a sick toddler and a wonky car, well, our lives kind of rock. 

The end. 

Sick week...

The day following our lovely apple adventures, Anni started dripping snot and then, just to keep us on our toes, spiked a fever.  Luckily, the fever passed quickly, but she and I spent the rest of the weeking fighting colds.  Her, with her ever-present cough that drops by to say hello anytime her nose drips, and me, well, let's just say colds and pregnancy don't mix and I got to welcome my dear friend nausea back with more frequency than I would hope.

We made the best of the week; though.  We read books, watched far too much Dinosaur Train, drew on steamy bathroom mirrors and tried our darndest to get well enough for a sweet friend's birthday party.

Saturday morning we dropped Daddy off at the airport.  We're daddy-less for four days and I am disproportionately sad and missing him.  (Seriously, to my family and friends who are missing their hubbies almost more often than not, you are tough. and amazing!)  

However; we did make it to that birthday party!  We double checked with our favorite health professional (you know who you are) on the contagion factor, wrapped up our present and headed out for happy festivities.  I, of course, ended up sneezing every 30 seconds (maybe I'm allergic to adorable decorations... or sunshine?), which made me just feel a little silly (and sorry for anyone around me... even though I was pretty sure I wasn't contagious, I tried to touch people as little as possible)!    

 

We were pretty happy to have an adorable one-year-old (and amazing food, and friends) to take our mind off Daddy being gone... it was a good way to start off the next week! 

  Here's hoping for a less-sick, equally fun week ahead!  (20 week ultrasound on Thursday!!)

Sometimes... I don't know what I want

After another run-around on my tests (I'm always having to remind people where they need to send these things, for some reason), I talked to my doctor today.  He told me I had had some kind of an infection which caused the hormones and that I shouldn't need medicine.  He'd see me in two months.

um... okay?

See, at this point, I was disappointed.  While it's great that it shouldn't be a long term thing, what about all those symptoms I was attributing to the thyroid issue?  The relief I felt that maybe I'd feel better than I ever had?  Kind of dashed some hopes there.  I mean, when I go back, there could still be an issue, but it could also mean that the anxiety, depression, fatigue, weight gain, etc etc were all just that.  Their own issues that I need to figure out from square one.  I think I was most disappointed that I couldn't solve all of my problems in one disease.   I think I was a little disappointed that the specialist didn't take a moment to say "and if you still feel like ... poo... we should look into this further" or explain things.  Yes, I should have been my own advocate and asked more questions, but I get a little stunned and over polite when I talk to people who are smarter than me that hold my medical records.  My mom, being the dear, sweet, super smart nurse that she is, spent pieces of her day researching for me and coming up with a little nugget that often they still treat the symptoms until the virus is all cleared up.  She told me I could/should call back and figure some of these things out, and she's probably right (my mom usually is, she's good like that), but I'm not sure if I have the guts yet.  Maybe I'll just start feeling better?  I'm seeing fruit, dance parties and a whole lot of cleaning in my future to try to bully myself into a better attitude.  Anyway, this is a whole lot of rambling, but I figured I could say it, and you could read it if you want. 

and if you skip ahead to the cute picture, I don't mind one bit.  Sometimes I do it, too.

A whole new journey

Earlier in the week, I went to the doctor to get my blood drawn - not for anything specific, just to make sure my thyroid was functioning and all that good stuff.  We didn't worry too much as Anni's lazy eye worries stemmed from that appointment, leading us to a great diagnosis.  Later that afternoon, Anni went to hang out with some friends that live down the block, and I settled down to work.  As the afternoon waned, my phone rang with my doctor on the other line.  He informed me that I had hyperthyroidism (over-active thyroid) with the most likely cause being Graves' Disease.  Oh, and I should make a call to my favorite endocrinologist, if I had one (I would have laughed here if I hadn't been scared, close to tears, and trying to google what the hey I was diseased with).  He suggested an endocrinologist and proceeded to explain both hyperthyroidism and Graves' Disease to me (you'd be better off googling it than letting me explain it, but it isn't as bad as it sounds... Graves' disease is the worst name ever for a non-fatal disease).

So... this is why walking up two stairs or picking up my baby winds me so bad that I thought I must be REALLY out of shape (I probably still am, but this was bad).  I don't have the bulgy eyes as of yet; though... kind of hoping to avoid that.

So, yeah, I don't really know much at all of what I'm facing, but I know I'm not exactly thrilled.  I mean, sure, I wanted to know why I didn't feel all that well... but I kind of hoped it was something easy.  Who doesn't like easy?  It means putting off some plans, dealing with some medication...

but, let's be honest.

I'm not going to die (yet).

We ate ice cream to celebrate that (and Anni's lack of lazy eye).  I mean, sure, this could stink... probably will... but dying and leaving my family would suck worse.  So, congratulate me - I could feel a whole lot better soon, and I'm not dying.  You know, the good stuff. 

Rosettes - we made them!

Today my sweet friend Sarah came over to visit.  We decorated the tree a little and made these super cute rosette bracelets/sashes "following" this tutorial.  I had seen these around on headbands and sashes, but didn't know they were so simple to make!  Really, we just glanced at the tutorial and then started off, making both of these within an hour.  I think we did great for our first attempt!  We made a cute bracelet for Sarah (see above) and a sash for Anni (below).  Anni's obviously isn't really meant to go with that outfit, but I wanted to show off how cute it will be (looks like I need to trim the backing a little).  The biggest piece of advice I would have if you try to make your own is to keep in mind that the rosettes will have big gaps in between if you don't almost overlap them.  Welp, that's about all I've got.  Miss Anni has been sick all week and we've missed all of our normal outings and will be missing an ugly sweater party tomorrow, so it was really nice to have a friend keep us company.  Here's to a weekend of recovery (and gingerbread... because we need to pretend we're partying even if we can't go to one)!

Miss Nugget at 15 months

Sweet little Anni has reached the ripe age of 15 months! Of course, I can't actually give you any stats, because she again managed to postpone a doctor's visit with illness. Do you see a pattern? Because the last time she was sick was... exactly 3 months ago... on her birthday.

Anyway, onto the exciting things... she is growing and changing so fast! I feel like moments are just slipping by. Luckily, she's super snuggly lately, and during one of our many rocking sessions throughout the day, I just breathe that sweet, spunky little girl in and pin that exact moment to my memory.

 

She finally started standing!  This actually happened a couple of weeks ago, but it is still a fresh and exciting feat.  She can even, on occasion, stand up by herself.  I can't even begin to tell you how proud we are.  I'm pretty sure we called our entire family the day it happened.

She has definitely picked up on the lovin'.  She spent several days crawling around making kissing noises and if you were lucky and caught her at the right moment, she would lay one on you.  Best.  feeling.  ever.  Most often; however, her dolls are the ones that get the kisses, hugs, and rocking.  She had mostly ignored her collection of dolls for a while, which really, was fine... she can play with whatever she wants (within reason).  Then one day, she started picking them up, rocking them, and giving them kisses.  Both hilarious and heart melting-ly (I know, so not a word) adorable.  She has also started to pat Daniel and I on the back when we pick her up and she wants to hold extra tight.  It's funny... but that little pat from that little girl can definitely lift my spirits.  

She's such a character.  I love watching her learn and grow, even as I yearn to hold her back and keep her as my baby forever.  It's so fun seeing her express her likes and dislikes.  She currently loves anything that involves music - especially something with a strong beat.  When the metronome plays or the washing machine is running with a beat, she does this quirky little swaying dance to it.  You can see a little bit of it around second 6.
 

Really, she just likes to move.  When she's in a good mood, she loves mommy and daddy to walk her around (which, I am extremely proud to say... she can do holding just one hand!).  She also likes "jumping" on the bed and then throwing herself into the pillows.  She also likes to crawl on and off things... especially mommy's lap.

She has also figured out the whole "dressing up" game... which cracks me up!  I really didn't expect that for awhile, but one day one of my shirts was sitting on the the floor and she spent a good 10 minutes trying to put it on.  Nearly everything she tries to put on ends up being worn like a scarf... which works well since I have amassed a rather large collection of scarves which are now being mostly utilized by the little munchkin.

Nugget now "lounges."  It didn't work quite as well in the above picture as it usually does for her, but she generally just throws her whole body forward or back and lies there for a few moments before continuing on with her baby ways.

One of my favorite new Anni-isms is that she talks... a lot!  She will sit and tell us entire stories.  I'm excited for when I can understand what in the world she's saying.  She does say a few words clearly... each of which could have their own blog explanation.  I'll try to keep it short.  Momma, Dadda (which occasionally is "baba"... I assume because I refer to him as papa sometimes), cheese (also said with a big grin... so not my child in that), please, hi!, poop and Jesus (only referring to an icon we have of the Holy Family, I love that He's a child in the image - she loves other children). 

There's so much more, but I think I'll leave it at that.  It is such a marvel how all these tiny little quirks and accomplishments, any of which another child is doing, but none in this exact unique combination, make up our sweet little girl.  She's my big girl... but, at least for now, she's still my little one.

Pardon the er... curtains.  She has some really adorable ones coming, but until then, we have the ones my sister made for her old window (the purple ones in back) that are too short, and my most favorite quilt over top to keep the light out.  I can't wait to share her finished room... it's so close!