11 Months

This month really seems like she is moving from a baby to a big girl.  As much as I want her to be a baby forever, she is really fun at this age.   It's perfect that spring is here right when she is very interested in her surroundings and is becoming more mobile.

She is currently dealing with her first respiratory cold.  It appears to be a common cold with runny nose, congestion, and cough.

We've been joking that she may not have taste buds because she still thankfully eats about anything.  By the speed at which she downs raspberries and blackberries, I think it's safe to say she loves them.  She also seems to like beef, chicken, bread and loves, loves, loves cheese!  I suppose she can't help it, having two cheese-heads for parents.  She is doing better with taking bites of food (well, the best you can "bite" with no teeth!) rather than just shoveling in all she can fit in her hand.

My grandma said my mom didn't have any teeth until she was after a year old.  I have heard teething can be hereditary, so maybe Annabel is taking after my mom.  Supposedly there is a decreased chance of cavities for babies who get their teeth later; that would be great!

She absolutely loves to have us smell her socks or shoes and respond with "pee-ew" or "stiiinky."  It never gets old.

One morning I opened her door and actually jumped a little when I saw her standing in her crib!!  She hadn't even been pulling herself at the couch much, so I was quite shocked to see her standing there proudly!  The first time she attempted pulling up by the couch, like it was in slow motion, she put both hands up and then bit the edge for a third point of stability....so funny!  She's not furniture walking yet and really doesn't seem to enjoy standing in general very long, but is up on all fours crawling and up on her knees to get to things.  Occasionally she gets into a bear-crawl position.

We've had gorgeous weather the past couple weeks, so we've walked the river a few times.  Conveniently there are a couple ice cream places along the walk.

This past week my dad was talking to her on Skype and asked her about her shirt and pants and she was pointing to them.  I had no idea she knew what those words meant.  Since then, we've been asking her about her hair, toes, belly, and ears.  She also seems to know who her cat Pierre is, what toy is her chicken, what a bib is and some of the basic things like change diaper and eat.  I think one of the neatest things is having babies reveal what they know.  It's especially cool to see the things they just pick up on by listening and through observation.  

I like this stage because although we are teaching her what to touch and what not to touch, there isn't discipline.  Although, it appears we may be on the edge of that or maybe not quite yet. I don't know how this all works!  All I know is that part does not sound fun.

Eric and I have been laughing at her level of excitement lately.  At church, she really bobs her head, waves her arms and claps to the music.  At a local elementary school play, her favorite part was the end when everyone clapped for each cast member.  She loved that we were clapping multiple times and she was yelling "yea" while clapping herself.  We were at a dinner the other night and everyone was introducing themselves and Annabel was clapping after each person said their name!!  She really knows how to show her support! 

Her latest sleeping position has went full circle back to the fetal position.

This week she has LOVED looking out the window onto the busy street.  She enjoys this for 15 minutes at a time.

She started swimming lessons and she seems to really enjoy the water.  This has been her first time swimming and I'm glad I didn't take her earlier, especially with the work of packing up and undressing, dressing, etc in the winter.  The younger babies do just fine, but of course get tired, hungry, and cold sooner.  

It's hard to believe that next month Annabel turns one!  We are really looking forward to celebrating with family!   

Happy Mother's Day!

This Mother's Day was quite different than last year.  I was 8 months pregnant, wearing a sundress, wedge sandals and heading to church.  Eric and I were talking as we walked in the dirt parking lot and I lost my balance as I stepped in a pothole.  Down I went and caught myself with my hands and then on my way up, I went down again landing on my knees and hands and even hitting my chin a little.  Eric said it happened so quickly and he tried to catch me on my second fall, but I wasn't entirely very "grab-able."  Hardly anyone saw it, but I was embarrassed and mad at myself for wearing the wedge sandals.  I was all shook up so we went straight home, I laid down, and made sure everything was okay.  I never hit my stomach with the fall, but at that stage in pregnancy, I didn't want anything to risk early contractions.  After I rested, we decided to go to the next service, where they ended up handing out carnations to all of the mothers.  I stayed seated (in the back row, like a good Lutheran) when an older man in the congregation told me to go and get one.  I said, "Oh, that's okay, I'm not a mother yet" and he kept insisting and others joined in insisting, so I went up to get a carnation.  With heightened emotions from the earlier event, I started tearing up on my way there and was bawling to the point I had to leave the sanctuary on my walk back!!

This year I made it to church with no falls, had a successful bake sale for our church mom group, and enjoyed a sweet baby.  My emotions were a bit more in line this year and I accepted my carnation with pride!  I really, really enjoy being a mother and can't wait for many more days to celebrate the privilege!  Eric has been working to try to get Annabel to say 'mama,' but so far she just looks at him and responds with 'dada' or looks at him like 'who is this person that you speak of?'   

I really wished we could see family today, especially to be with my mother on Mother's Day.  I know that is my least favorite part about living far from family; not seeing people on holidays.  We had gorgeous weather today, so Annabel and I went for a walk to the store (our family's third trip to the store today---geez).  I was able to take a nap and Eric is making barbequed ribs, red potatoes, and coleslaw for supper.

Happy Mother's Day to my mother and to Eric's mother!  And, Happy Mother's Day to all of our friends and family members and a prayer for those who wish to be mothers.  It really is a blessed gift.

Mom and Baby Trip

Hard to believe it's been a couple weeks ago when Annabel and I traveled to Wisconsin for a week-long visit.  Eric had a work trip with students to Kansas City, so Annabel and I flew to see family.  She did great on the 2 hour flights and in all of the airport time.  She slept for half of both flights and played the other half.  We read a few books, she played peek-a-boo with the flight attendants, and we had an empty seat next to us both ways which was really helpful.  I traveled with her in a front carrier, which worked great and I checked my luggage, which was necessary.  I learned a few things for future trips, one being that upon landing and the plane braking, the middle arm rest can fly down.  It hit Annabel right in the head, not hard, but enough to make her start crying.  There are a few hidden dangers, sharp edges and areas fingers could get pinched.   

Grandma with her two grand babies, Annabel and Ava

 We had a great visit, despite terrible weather.  It was 32 degrees and had been freezing rain with reports of cars in the ditches, so our initial drive to Wisconsin from Minneapolis was not the most fun.  My mom did an excellent job driving, but we were exhausted by the time we arrived and we all slept a lot the next day in stress recovery.  A lot of the week we were at my parent's house with bad travel conditions most of the days.  When we planned an April visit, we thought for sure it would be full of walks and the park.  We had lots of family visitors and got to enjoy a supper at Eric's aunts Jan and Jean's with Eric's brother and wife and their new baby, Annabel's first and only cousin.  Ava is so cute; it was so great to meet her!

She must have been predicting that Annabel's next move was to pull Ava's hair

Cousin Ava, about 7 weeks old

Cuddles from Grandma

Aunt Chelsea graciously took a few days off work to spend time with us.

Grandpa made a fort to play under one day and Grandma taught her pat-a-cake.  Both Grandmas showered her with Valentine's Day and Easter gifts of clothes, dishes, books, and a little quilt.  She enjoyed playing with the dancing, singing, egg-laying chicken Grandma June gave her and learned how to put the eggs back in the hole. 

Fun to have a little backyard scenery to look at during meals

She was still recovering from a stomach bug though mid-week of our visit

Sitting in an old family rocking chair.

She was really going to town on those keys!!

Grandpa Terry showing her chords 

 

Playing with a truck with Great-Grandpa Schwegman