Miles 02-13-12

This little man has totally changed our lives.  He is tiny and sweet and melts my heart.  He tends to cry alot more than Anna ever did.  I guess he is a little high maintenance but that's ok.  :) 

He weighed in at 10 pounds 3 ounces at his 2 month check up.  I was so proud of him for breaking through the 10 pound mark!  At least he is growing right? 

I never thought I could love another child as much as I love my Anna, but I was certainly wrong.  He has me, Morgan and Anna all wrapped around his tiny little finger.

Good news: He slept 8 hours straight last night!
Bad news: He was snuggled between me and Morgan the whole night--little stinker

A LITTLE SUSSY: The Nursery Series: Dad & Babies

A LITTLE SUSSY: The Nursery Series: Dad & Babies

Some pics of little man...his first modeling gig at 3 weeks old :)

I Scream for Ice Cream :)

So we went to Farrs after dinner with Anna the other day. She was so hyper all night. But was actually very well behaved at dinner. Just so talkative. She steals my heart everyday with some of the stuff she comes up with. Whether it is about her imaginary friend Triss (Who I believe is her reflection in the mirror) or it is her wandering around the house talking to herself she makes me laugh.

This was the culmination of her craziness. She was literally shaking because she was so happy.

I hope she remembers times like this when she is older.

We sure love being her mom and dad.

Halloween through Christmas....sheesh i am a bad blogger

Soooo many things to catch up on.  I guess I'll let the pictures tell the story of the past few months.  Anna was Tinkerbell for Halloween.  This was my first attempt at making a costume.  I am pretty proud of the way it turned out.  All the credit really should go to my amazing mom who helped me.  I am now a pro though at threading my Singer.  :) 

Then in November we took our little trio to Disneyland for our first ever family vacation that didn't involve any other family/work/friends.  It was sooo much fun.  Anna asks me about every other day when we are going back.  It was her first time and she LoVED it!  Some of the highlights included freaking out at meeting Hickey Mouse as she calls him.  (Is it bad that I don't correct her?)  She wanted nothing to do with the characters but was all about the "Log Ride", the "ride into outer space" and the "really fast elevator."  My kid won't put her head under the water but as long as she is holding my arm she is willing to do just about anything.  We got some funny pics of her going on these rides.  All in all it was just nice to be together as a little family without any agenda or a care in the world.  Disneyland really is the best. 

She was pretty determined to get this out!

Pretty sure we logged about 5 trips on the Jungle Cruise.  Heard every lame joke.  :)

 Obligatory Dland Shot

Favorite Pic of the Trip. Last Ride of the Vacation.  Priceless.  :)


Then we had Christmas.  We went to the cabin with family and of course I forgot my camera.  Luckily I had my new Flip so we got lots of footage.  :)  She met Santa at the Nutcracker and he brought her just what she wanted...a Unicorn Pillow Pet!!! That thing doesn't get too far from her sight. 

Overall we had a blast over the last few months.  We are all happy and healthy and can't wait to see what 2011 brings us!  I really am going to try and do a better job at blogging...well we will see.  :)

four

Anna,

you are such a big girl.  I can't believe it has been four years since you were born.  Every day has been so special and you continue to amaze me with your sweet little personality and your crazy self.  You have brought so much love and joy into our home it is tangible. 

You are obsessed with your new toys and can't wait to play with them in the morning. 
You love Tinkerbell and Dora about as much as you love me.
You are such a girl and are so dramatic about EVERYTHING!  You cry at the silliest things sometimes but I love that about you...well...most of the time.
You are so sensitive and sweet.
You tell me you love me about 15 times a day.
You give the best squeeze loves.
You hate getting your hair brushed out and hide under the desk when I say you have to.
You love preschool!
You are shy.
You don't use a binky anymore.
You love your blankie(s).
You love to harass the cat even to the point of her biting you.
You love to play hide and seek and tell knock knock jokes.
You love to read books with mommy and daddy and then read them to your dolls.

I love you for ages little one.

Love, mommy

Preschool

So Anna started Preschool last month and absolutely loves it. It is so fun to watch her learn and grow although it seems like she has grown up so much in the past 6 months. Where did my baby go? I guess it is time to have another one. :) NOT pregnant. Just thinking about it. :)

Anyway, She is attending the Learning Tree Preschool where her teachers are Miss Julie and Miss Jen. Jen is a great friend from High School. Everyday she goes she seems to have learned something new and exciting. I am so grateful that she loves it because I must admit that I love having some time to actually be productive without her fun self around. :)

Hooray for Preschool!!

Circus

So we went to the Circus last Saturday.  Not sure if I agree that it is the "greatest show on earth."  Kind of spontaneous but we ended up having a great time.  It amazes  me that there are people out there that have dedicated their entire lives to performing in a circus.  How does one even break into such an industry.  :) 

Anna loved the elephants and the tigers the most.  It was funny to see all the performers so close up and to see some of their cheesy and some of their forced expressions.  Priceless. 

She ate and entire package of red vines, a large sprite and about 1/2 a tub of popcorn.  Well Morgan helped her a little.  :)

Too Close

So the other day I was working (I work from home) and I went into my bedroom where I have a big ugly filing cabinet.  Anyway, my little shadow Anna had to follow me to the back of course.  Just as I opened the filing cabinet drawer she stepped on the lowest drawer of Morgan's dresser which has our big old tv on top of it. 

It was like slow-motion.  It was falling...I was screaming...Anna was trying to get out of the way...

The drawers hit her in the face as they were falling open.  She was pinned between the top drawer and the bottom of the t.v.  It must have been one of those adrenaline mom moments for me because I was able to get her out before the full weight was on her little body. 

I have never cried so hard in my whole life.  It was such a close call and could have been so bad.  I feel like the world's worst mom and vow to never have anything so unstable in my home EVER again!

She wasn't knocked out so I just took her to the pediatrician.  He said she looked fine and just to watch her and to call him if she was vomiting. 

All she wanted to do after the doctor was go to her swim lessons where she splashed around and was her normal crazy self.  She has a few bruises but overall is just fine.

I know that there were angels looking out for my little one.  She could have been crushed.  Luckily neither she nor my heart were.

Anna the Drama Queen

Since Anna doesn't have any siblings and she is cooped up with me most of the day she has developed quite an imagination.  She constantly is talking and making up stories.  It is so cute to hear what she comes up with.  She is usually going on a safari in search of her stuffed animals (Thanks Diego).  Or she is wearing a pretend tiara that she takes everywhere with her.  Anytime her fist is clenched it means she is holding her tiara. 

The funniest though is that she has two voices for herself.  One is her normal voice and one is much lower.  Hopefully I don't need to be worried about this.  I always ask her name when she is talking in the low voice but she usually says her name is Anna.  Sometimes it is Erwin though. 

Anyway,  last Sunday we were having dinner at my parent's and she was downstairs with all her cousins playing.  After a while I heard her screaming and crying coming up the stairs.  From the sound of her I assumed she had lost a limb or had some major flesh wound. 

Nope. 

I asked her what happened thinking that someone maybe took a toy or pushed her. 

Nope. 

"She hit me!" was her reply through the sobs.

"Who hit you Anna?"

"Anna did!!"

ummmm how do I respond to this child who has crocodile tears streaming down her face? 

"Anna, say you are sorry."

"Sorry Anna" (she replied in her low voice)

and that was that.  Off she went to play.

Should I be worried?  :)

Earning her cookies

So I am the first to admit that I have resorted to outright bribes for potty training. You want candy or cookies? Earn them. :) So far it seems to be the only thing that has worked. She has a sweet tooth and I totally exploit it. I guess the ends do justify the means sometimes.

As she is my first child I really had no clue or even expectations for her potty training. I decided that I didn't want to be a mom that pushed too hard too early and left us both frustrated. Anna however, it seems would be content in a diaper or pull-up until she is 12.

Anyway, so far 5 days of pooping in the potty and counting. :) I guess we'll keep stockpiling cookies and candy!!

P.S. You know it is a messy cookie when you need to strip down to really enjoy it...

laugh

This made me laugh. :) Poor cat...

...Hair Day

So Anna's hair has always been a mystery to me. It has a mind of its own and ususally ends up with a mixture of syrup, and love by the end of each day. She likes to be au naturel so there is really no hope at this point. I can remember vividly requiring my mom to get all the "bumps" out of my pony tails. I don't think that would be humanly possible on this little lady.

A SuNBeaM

So yesterday was Anna's first experience as a Sunbeam in Primary.  She is a pro at Nursery and I have been a little concerned how she would do in Primary.  She thinks that church is all play time.  Needless to say...it was a complete disaster!! She was dancing all through singing time and at one point was inside of the podium with the little door closed.  Luckily I didn't have to witness it since I was substituting for the 8 year old class. 

We have about 16 new sunbeams and she is by far the worst behaved.  :)

Luckily she is pretty cute and her new teacher adores her.  At least for now...

Little Red

So I already posted this on Facebook, but I just love this pic of her so I am posting it here as well.  My mom made this fabulous cape for Anna this year.  She is the best!!  Anna had so much fun trick or treating.  She got totally into it and got lots of loot. 

She kept saying, "mom, my basket is full of flowers and goodies to take to grandma's house." I guess she has heard this story too many times. 

Picking Pumpkins

I always loved picking out pumpkins each Halloween.

As it turns out...

so does Anna.