9 Months!

As the stats show, Anna is dropping in percentiles and losing her chub :( Thankfully she still has her cheeks :)

Weight: 19 lbs ~55%
Height: 27.5 in ~50%
Head: 44.25 cm ~55%

It seems like this month has been a big month developmentally for Anna, so I want to document some of her milestones before I forget!

(It's getting harder and harder to get a picture of her sitting still. She is clapping in this one.)

I showed her how to flip the lightswitch so now when she notices one, she whines until I let her flip it.

After weeks of only being able to go in reverse and finding herself stuck under the bed, she can now go forward in an army crawl. Most of the time she prefers to sit in the same spot playing with the same toy. I joke with Brad that I'm not worried about her having ADD because she can focus on one thing for so long!

She has started "talking" a lot more and finally says "ma ma ma". The other day Brad was trying to get her to say da da and she kept saying ma ma. When I try to get her to say ma ma, in her sweetest little voice she babbles says da da da da. Silly girl.

She is starting to feed herself table food and tonight ate everything that was on my plate - penne pasta, chicken, and tomatoes. Part of me is happy because I make her food and this means I won't have to use the food processor as much. Another part of me is sad because she is slowly becoming a toddler.

She has had a doll for about 4 months now, but has just recently taken a liking to her. She gives her hugs and kisses, pats her, and will hold her. Wonder where she gets it from???

(mommy circa 1980)

When she is tired she puts her thumb in her mouth and grabs her ear with her other hand. When we give her Rosie, her lovie, she immediately does this because she knows it is time to sleep. So sweet.

She can pull up on things and likes to cruise, especially in her crib.

The other day, I walked into her room to get her up from her nap and found that she had taken off her diaper! Lucky for me there were no surprises in the diaper. She wears cloth diapers with velcro closures so they are probably easier to take off than disposables. (no picture necessary for this milestone :)

She got her first two teeth this month. They are on the bottom, so she likes to stick her tongue out and run it over them.

She just started putting her arms in the air if we do and then she clapps for herself.

Give Mommy Kisses

The other day we were playing with Anna on our bed and I was making kissing noises at her and telling her "give mommy kisses". She would lean towards me with her mouth open to kiss me and she did this several times. Of course, I had to get the camera to document her latest trick. Watch the video to see what happened when I tried to get kisses while the camera was rolling.

Texas Pride

We were so sad to see our beloved Horns lose the National Championship after Colt McCoy was injured on the first drive of the game. My heart welled up with pride and my eyes with tears during Colt's interview after the game. As always, he showed great character and acknowledged the greatest influence in his life. Here is an interesting article on this year's team. I'm hoping he will return to UT one day to coach with one of my other favorite former Longhorn quarterbacks, Major Applewhite. We are looking forward to next season when Garrett Gilbert will lead the team!

On a more positive note, Anna and Luke looked really cute for the game and the UT men's basketball team is ranked #2 and undefeated. I would gladly settle for a basketball championship this year!

8 Months!

Another month has flown by and Anna continues to grow and change. Her hair decided to suddenly start growing (although still no teeth), so now I can adorn her head with cute little barrettes. It's funny because when I found out I was having a girl, I swore she wouldn't wear big bows in her hair and poofy skirts and pink all the time. I've come to discover the reason those things are so popular for little baby girls is because they are so cute...and I cannot resist a few of these items for her wardrobe. The other day I even found myself searching for "twirl skirts" on ebay! Here she is in all her 8 month old girly splendor:

Here are just a few more cute pics from the last month:

Gotta have the monthly pic of her in the recliner with her monkey.

Hanging out with Noah and Emery Kate at church.

She pulls herself up to stand and play at this cube that she loves.

Playing with her buddy Sam.

Merry Christmas 2009

I have to say this was the most joyful Christmas we have had in a long time. All of the little ones made it so much fun. We stayed with my sister who cooked some amazing (sorry Karri, I just had to use your favorite word) meals. We also started some new traditions that created a sense of togetherness and memories.

Last year I took piano lessons so that I would be able to play music for my children. I just learned the basics and don't play for Anna nearly enough, but I was determined that we would sing Christmas carols as a family this year. I was on keyboard, Brad was on the trumpet, and Lucas was on the Jingle Bells. It wasn't pretty but it sure was fun!

As a family we put together a 500 piece puzzle within a two day period.

We got a new advent calendar and Brad and I decided on different verses in the Bible to read for each day and then found a little toy or trinket that went with the verses. (Maybe next year we will actually do the readings everyday!)

On Christmas day we read the Christmas story out of Luke together as a family taking turns. Luke 2:19 says Mary treasured up all these things in her heart and pondered them. That is how I felt this Christmas.

(I think they got a little overstimulated in the end :)

Pre-Christmas Celebrations

Our Christmas celebrations began at Robert and Sandy's house with Anna's four cousins on the Bruce side. With four kids, their house is always full of fun, energy, and activity. It gives me a picture of how our house will be one day when Anna is the oldest child and not the baby anymore. She loves to be around all of her cousins and observe them since she is used to just seeing me most of the time. We exchanged gifts and ate some yummy holiday snacks.

A couple days later, we went over to Grandy and Grandad's house so that Anna could add to her ever growing Christmas loot. All of the men in Brad's family play the trumpet and they have a tradition of going Christmas caroling. Brad is never very excited about this because it is the only day of the year they play their trumpets and he thinks they sound horrible. To the untrained ear (like mine) they sound great! We had to settle for an indoor show this year, but Anna enjoyed it and immediately tuned in once they started playing. We are looking forward to continuing the tradition next year, so if you are in the Dallas area be warned!

Austin Visitors

A few days before Christmas, the Garcia family was coming through Dallas on their way back to Austin so they stayed with us. You may remember their twin boys from a few months ago. Well, now they are crawling and always on the move. I was exhausted just watching Frank and Holly keep up with them as Anna sat in the same spot, still immobile. It was very entertaining.

Brian and Jean also happened to be in town so they came over for dinner. They gave Anna two precious children's books for Christmas - the bedtime classic, Goodnight Moon, and the bestseller, On the Night You Were Born. I cried when I read On the Night You Were Born to Anna for the first time. Jean is a Child Psychiatry Resident as well as a published children's author (sorry Jean...I had to brag on you for a second) so I knew books from her would be good ones!

We are so thankful for these friends and are glad to have remained close since we moved to Dallas.