2-28-11 - slim jims!

One of the ladies who works at Ritchie B's Restaurant saw Anna Claire teething and told us that the BEST thing she was ever told to give her children to help with teething was a slim jim.  She said that they loved it because they couldn't break it off and it had flavor, so they would gnaw it white.  Figured it was worth a try!

Not too sure what it is yet...

But she likes it!

Turns out that this is probably going to be great - the little ones she was able to gnaw through and get chunks out, but the big wide ones are GREAT and she loves, loves, loves them!

2-27-11 - Na-Na-Na-Na-Na / my busy baby!

Well, because of a couple of incidents in the church nursery on Sunday morning last week, I thought I would try taking Miss Anna Claire into the service with me.  That was a big NO GO.  :)  I thought we would sit with Jack Thomas and so if one made a noise, then nobody would know which baby it was.  Well, that's what I get for thinking.  Jack was just as happy as could be to suck on his pacifier.......and that's it.  Totally content to do nothing.  MY BABY HOWEVER......wanted to grab the hymnal, and look at the bulletin, and play with a toy, and reach for the person in the pew ahead, and say DA-DA loud enough for Andy to hear on the stage, and.......shall I continue?  Needless to say, we won't try that again for a while.  :)  We ended up taking her out not five minutes into the sermon.  She did love the music though!

Then tonight on the way home from church she started saying another word - "na-na" - (we interpret it Nana!)  so we recorded it on my phone and emailed it to mom.  Of course, Anna Claire was crying at the time she said it, but it was still cute and mom got a kick out of it. :)

2-27-11 - Nursery

My sweet girl can sleep ANYWHERE!  (When she's is inclined to do so, that is!)  Today, the location for her siesta was Larry's - in the middle of the church crowd swamp, no less!

The nursery has become a problem.  For the most part, all the folks are great who are in there, and I don't doubt that any one of them would take good care of her.  But I do feel that some workers are particularly good to her and are attuned to her needs.  There are also some old school/new school politics at play that I don't like at ALL.  The past three weeks haven't been good for Anna Claire, as far as the nursery is concerned.  I talked to Ms. Gail, who's *supposodly* in charge of the baby part of the nursery, and we agreed that we would let her cry some and start to try to help her adjust to being away from us.  (She's becoming VERY attached to me AND Andy.)  So, in light of all this, it felt so good tonight to pick her up from the nursery and see her happily bouncing on Phillip Hunter's knee, as pleasant a baby as you could ask for.  He and Janet have been great with her, and I'm so grateful for it.

Then after church tonight we had SNAC - she entertained the table!

Laughing at Davidson Granberry:

2-26-11 - Asleep sitting up....

She can sleep in ANY position, I think!

As long as she's got her thumb!

2-25-11 - Tried Multigrain cereal

Today was a good day - nothing huge to report, but we're just having such a blast with Anna Claire's new maturity and ability to interact!  We got up and had a nice breakfast at McD's and then went and visited the Cowarts walking trail, which we'd never been to before.  It turned out to be a nice surprise.  Not the best landscaping ever, but it's nice still.  We walked a mile or so and then came home for a while.  Andy had to sing at a funeral, so our time was a bit limited. 

For lunch, I decided to try to start introducing some more baby food - closer to the Gerber suggested guidelines - so I fed her 1/8 cup of multigrain cereal and almost 1/2 jar of green beans and 4 oz. formula.  That seemed like a bit much to me. By the end, she was very blah about continuing to eat.  (Although I wasn't sure if it was becuase she wasn't excited about eating, or wasn't excited about eating green beans....)  It's hard to know how to do the introducing solids thing.  I do NOT want to start her out as an obese baby, and she's doing so great right now.  Gerber suggestions are nice, but it seems like an awful lot, and well, they have a bit of a conflict of interest in suggested amounts..... ;)

We took another walk tonight.  I've still got a good twenty pounds to lose, and it feels like I will NEVER get there. Which, I've only been exercising and cutting back - I haven't dieted SERIOUSLY yet.  I hope I can continue to lose without having to make painful cuts and really dieting....there's just too much going on in my life right now to have to worry with a full-blown diet.  I'm trying to be a "thin eater" instead.  :)

For a happy ending, check this picture out - I just LOVE it!! 

2-24-11 - Anna Claire is six months old!

Happy half birthday!!  It's FLOWN by!!  Mommy and Daddy LOVE you!!!

Got this email from Mom today:

"Our baby girl is 6 months old today. I know I don't have to tell you this little girl has brought much joy to our lives-we had no idea how much happiness she would bring. :) She is a blessing from the Lord. Give her a hug for me and Papaw."

2-23-11 - Rode in a buggy for the first time

Today Anna Claire got to ride in a buggy for the first time - it was a wonderful success, I'm pleased to report.  She liked looking at everyone walking by.  It was funny - she isn't around African-Americans very often, and she would watch them, fascinated, and then as they would walk by she would try to turn to follow them with her eyes!  Silly baby!

2-20-11 - Laurie, Leslie and the family visit - says "da-da"

Had a nice surprise visit this weekend from Andy's mom, Leslie, Nate and their kids!  Enjoyed our time with them!  Anna Claire and I stayed home to be with them this morning.  It was wild having two extra kids - kids who can walk and talk - in the house! :) I'll have to do some major child-proofing when she gets older!  Anna Claire got her first bruise - a little black eye - from falling over onto a xylophone (not the one below) that the kids had been playing with! :(  It happens though! 

While Andy was at church Anna Claire decided to say the much anticipated, "da-da"! So cute and clear! Add video.

Then after church we went to lunch at Mia's and then over to Eastgate Park to let Emily and Dylan play on the playground while we visited.  Anna Claire really hit it off with Leslie - I think they may be tight! :) 

She looked like a monster next to Chandler, who's just a month or so old!!  She doesn't know the meaning of GENTLE yet, so this is the only pic of her touching him we could allow!! haha

Then tonight I cooked a DELICIOUS meal, if I do say so myself!!  I made poppyseed chicken, green beans, rice pilaf and for dessert, some baked apple dumplings like piccadilly has! I was QUITE proud!!

2-19-11 - Walking at Landmark Park

Before our walk...

During/After our walk!  She's awful tired, considering that she was carried the whole way!! :D

2-18-11

Daddy LOVES giving Anna Claire lemons - and she seems to enjoy getting them!!  UGH!

And who says we are not born with gender-based qualities?  Anna Claire is multi-tasking already!!  Definitely a woman's trait!  She didn't want to put the bottle down to play with toys, so she just used her mouth! :)

2-17-11 - Asleep like a bunny...

Oh, and I sent Mom the video of Anna Claire laughing at her Daddy.  This was her response:

"She is toooooooooo precious, toooooooo cute, tooooooooo special.  We love that girl. Dad just chuckled with me when we looked at it this morning.  She is going to be a good eater-lemons of all things. :)"

2-16-11 - Riding toy / Cries in nursery for mom

Today was the first REALLY nice day outside of springtime weather, so we enjoyed it and got out for a little while.  Anna Claire got to try out a new (to us) riding toy!  She liked it!  Of course, it will be better when she can be on it by herself, but for now, this was great!

Tonight was a guilty pleasure.  I know that Anna Claire needs to stay in the nursery and not cry for me, but it's nice to be wanted.  ;)   They texted me that I was needed, so I went to see what was the matter.   Anna Claire was crying - BADLY - and no matter what Ms. Gail and Ms. Lisa had tried nothing had soothed her. I got my girl - and she was IMMEDIATELY quieted and asleep within one minute.  It was precious and made me so glad that I was able to comfort her.  She's just now starting to become attached to me and Andy and although I don't want it to get out of hand, I do want her to want me......she can't say "I love you" yet, but this tells me she does......silly, I know..... :)  No warm fuzzies like it!

2-14-11 - Valentine's Day 2011

Today, I went to get the mail and Anna Claire got a package (this might be her very first that was actually addressed to her, not positive, but I think so....) from Nana!  I opened it up and there were a couple of little things, a cute frame, some fruit feeders, but the really special thing was a sweet Demdaco figurine called, "Grandmother."   It was just precious - what a sweet first Valentine gift for Anna Claire! 

Saturday we got a card from her (even though she was with us! haha - she'd mailed it Thursday) and it was so special - it says, "It's a Little One's 1st Valentines Day!  Sometimes, said Pooh, the smallest things take up the most room in your heart. Happy First Valentine's Day to someone sweet and small and new."  Then she wrote, "Anna Claire, you are so precious!  We didn't know what we were missing until you came along.  Love you bunches, Nana and Papaw"  To us she wrote, "Andy and Rhonda, Happy Valentines Day to you, too!  Thank you so much for this wonderful grandchild.  God bless you all!"  The card will be cherished - and I'm not one to keep every single card, but this one's a keeper!

On a less exciting note, Anna Claire tried squash!  She liked it just fine.  Didn't LOVE it, like fruit, of course, but ate it without complaint!  I hope she is a good eater like her Daddy - he likes EVERYTHING! :) 

Here's a pic of her trying out the fresh fruit feeder with watermelon in it - it's a HIT!

My sweet husband arranged a babysitter for us to go out tonight - know where we are going??.....it's very romantic.......Denny's!  haha (FYI - this is by mutual consent - I LOVE breakfast food, and we've been wanting to try out the new Denny's here in town that just opened last week!) We aren't high on romance, but hey, we love each other and we love our little girl - we love our simple life!

2-13-11 - Anna Claire likes cantaloupe!

Today, Anna Claire tried fresh cantaloupe, watermelon and honeydew.  She liked them all, but cantaloupe was by FAR the winner!!  It's such a joy to watch her learn, grow and discover new things.  Having a child really does allow you the chance to go back and enjoy all kinds of little things anew!

2-9-11 - First time eating peaches

Today Anna Claire tried peaches for the first time.  She seemed to like them, but it wasn't anything major.  Frankly, she liked the teething cookie that we gave her better.  Kudos to us for keeping her from gagging herself!

I'm a little blah today - sometimes communication in marriage is a hard thing to master.

Plans change. At 5:30, after a 3 hour nap, Anna Claire woke up super happy and promptly threw up all over me. Then she cooed and played. At 5:45, I figured it was a fluke and we would go to church, so I cleaned us up. After which she threw up, again. All over me. No church for us tonight! :(

2-8-11 - First time eating green beans / sitting in highchair

Well, today was a great milestone - Anna Claire got to sit in a highchair all by herself at lunch today at Things-n-Wings (using the super-awesome Infantino highchair/stroller floppy cover-thingy we got at Kids Market)!  She was sooooooo much happier sitting up than laying back in that carseat, just as we predicted!  She's such an independent little thing! She was absolutely adorable sitting there so proud.  Now, we just have to learn how to keep her from getting her little hands on everything.  She grabbed for EVERYTHING within arm's length!  Very happy day!

She also ate green beans for the first time today, and I was really pleased with how well she liked them.  I've read that you should do vegetables first because babies may not respond well to veggies if you introduce fruit first.  Well, of course I read that AFTER I'd already introduced her to several different fruits. :) 

Not looking to the stinky diapers that all this solid food is going to bring! Breastfed baby diapers are great!

Isn't she a cutie!! :)

2-7-11 - Trip to Niceville

One of the best things about not working is that I can drop everything and go with Andy out of town when he has to do something.  Today was one of those days - he had to go to Niceville for a funeral for a church member and we took a family day trip to Niceville.  Anna Claire was too *happy* to go into the funeral - she wanted to talk - so we stayed in the lobby and she rolled around everywhere!  Happy as a lark!

2-7-11 - Sitting up (mostly)

Yay!  Anna Claire is sitting up pretty well on her own now - she topples some, but overall, she's doing GREAT! 

2-6-11 - poopy water!

Well, I know why my sweet baby has been so cranky.....her tummy hurt!!

Now it feels better!

BTW - I know she will hate these pics later, but they're just too hilarious to NOT take!!

02-05-11 - rubbing feet together while nursing....

Another new thing Anna Claire is doing - she's rubbing her little feet together while she nurses....it's so cute!

Mental spiritual warfare....

I don't know what is wrong with me today - I'm a little under the weather and it's been gray out for several days, so maybe that's contributing, but I'm just meloncholy and having trouble guarding my thoughts.  For some reason I am fearful - it's unfounded, and ultimately sinful, but today's been a mental battle.  Twice today I've heard sermons on the radio about the death of a child/trust in suffering, so automatically, I'm just grieved to tears for the parents.  One story talked about how the grandpa was brought to Christ through the death of the child, and I just beg(ged) God, "please do not use that means to reach my dad...."  Anyway, normally I would just shake it off, but then it's like the war began on another front - I've been afraid of autism for as long as I can remember, and I've really struggled with fear of that, even though there's no real reason to believe that Anna Claire has any autistic tendencies at all.  After all, she's EXTREMELY social, she's responsive to our smiles and being spoken to, she right on target developmentally.  Maybe I think she should be trying to use consonants more in her babbling, but that's asking an awful lot considering I didn't say "da-da" until I was 5 mos. 27 days (accd to my baby book).  I mean, as of today, she's only 5 months and a week or so.

God has been dealing with me about it - and I've been confessing my sin throughout the day as I let worry rise back up in me, but it's been an up and down battle today.  Tonight, my devotional with Andy was about teaching our kids as they grow to plug into God spiritually - to trust HIM and not us as their parents ultimately.  He reminded me that HE is in control and that HE knows what our lives are to be.

Also, Andy encouraged me by saying that Anna Claire will be exactly what God intends for her to be, and whatever she is, she will be perfect for us.  I thought that was profound....and so very true.  He's right - no matter what, we would love her the same.  She's our blessing from God - our good and perfect gift.  That really does help with my fearfulness about her development, but it doesn't help my fear of something happening to her.  For that, I've been reciting Philippians 4:8 - to think on what is pure, lovely, TRUE.....it is NOT true that something is going to happen to her, there's no reason to believe that something will, and I have no evidence for my fear - it's just baseless and a waste of my emotional resources.  It's Satan stealing my joy, except he isn't even having to work to steal it - I'm just giving my joy away - losing the happiness of the moment for nothing!

Also, a couple of days ago, in my devotion I re-read where Jesus told His disciples not to worry about tomorrow....I think I need to memorize that verse for posterity! 

Lastly, in my personal devotion today, I read about the children of Israel and how they were complaining about not having water - they were complaining about Moses and Aaron, but ultimately they were complaining against God - not trusting His provision and character.  How serious!!  But aren't I doing the same?  By worrying about what I can't control, aren't I suggesting that God won't take care of it, that He isn't good, that's He isn't aware, that I can change things all by myself?  Frankly, I'm not sure that I'm any better than the Israelites!  Shame on me!