Favorite things: Your absolute favorite thing to do these days is to crawl around the house, upstairs and downstairs.. exploring your world. You love to pull yourself up on the side table or ottoman and then slap the table top happily, acknowledging to all of us your accomplishment! You LOVE to get into the cupboards, to pull aprons down, open boxes of crackers, fiddle with the dishwasher. You are so independent! And so happy to be on your own, crawling everywhere! Other favorites include playing with Mom or Dad, peek a boo, brother and sister Ev and Dane. You are still hesitant about Grant. You love to sit in your car seat, so long as all the kids are in the car with you! You don't like it so much when you are all alone and kids are at school. You are wonderful in your stroller and love to be outside or on errands. You love to play with toys and keys and all sorts of fun items mom finds around the house to entertain you! You are a great sleeper and go to bed at 7, wake at 7 or 8. You do still awaken at night-- usually only once, but more if you are sick or teething. You love music and are happy when we have tunes playing in the background. We have just started to teach you sign language and though you haven't picked up on it quite yet, you are definitely very interested! Your favorite foods are: yogurt, apple and cinnamon oatmeal, ANYTHING that we are eating! cheese, cheerios and turkey. You are very happiest first thing in the morning when you wake from your sleep.
Ways you have Grown: Anna, you are a perfect size! 50th percentile in weight and height! And you are in perfect health, all except for the occasional hiccup about once a month. Being the youngest of four, you tend to catch quite a few colds. But even despite being sick at times, you are always in a good mood and happy as can be! We will take you back soon to the heart doctor to check on your heart, and also the dermatologist to check on the birth mark on your neck. But so far, these have not caused any issue in your short little life. You are quite the little eater. You truly love to eat and you love to sleep. You love to play and you love to observe. You are always very entertained and rarely need mom to help you be happy! In fact, you are quite content with sister being there most often! You LOVE to take baths and showers! You love to spend time with your daddy! You are a big fan of Dad and your whole face lights up when he enters the room. You are quite certainly a mover. You are not worried or scared when mom and dad are out of sight. You are just happy and content to go from room to room all on your own without any thought of where the rest of us are! I would say that your personality is very easy going, very independent, very happy and affectionate.
Memories/Stories: We had such a wonderful first Christmas with you Anna! We traveled up to Los Angeles and Orange County to be with extended family. You were the hit of the show with your cute little red christmas dress. You traveled perfectly and always had a smile on your face. You slept well on the road. You never caused an ounce of trouble. Family thought you were perfect. On the big day, of course, you were more excited by all the wrapping paper and trash on the floor than you were of your actual presents!! But you did open a few gifts that you enjoyed very much. You loved a musical walker that Grammy and Papa gave you. You loved a ball machine that shoots balls up and around and plays music all at the same time. You enjoyed our french toast breakfast and then slept for most of the day while friends came over for dinner. Our family remembered back to last Christmas when you were in my tummy! We could hardly believe how blessed we were to have you here as a part of our family this year. What a joy you bring every day to our lives. You are a light and uplift for all of us. We absolutely adore you and love you more than you could imagine.
PS you had your first trip to Disneyland at 8.5 months old! You loved Pirates of the Carribean, the Ferris Wheel and Jungle Boat Cruise. You were a perfect angel!!
Soon to come!!!
