Happy Halloween

Here's my little Anna Panda all dressed up and ready for her Halloween get together with her friends. It has finally gotten colder here in NC which is good so that Anna doesn't sweat in her costume. We do not have any plans for tonight except to hang out around the house and hand out glow sticks and candy to the neighborhood kids.

Milk

Part of being one year old includes the transition from formula to milk. Anna has done great with the switch! She drank the cold whole milk the very first time I gave it to her. Per the doctor's request, we also transitioned from bottles to all sippy cups. Anna was getting a bottle when she first woke up, after her nap, and before bed. Now I give her a sippy cup with milk (about 5 oz a time) with each meal. She does not always drink it all which the doctor said is fine since it is just an extra source of fat and does not provide the iron that formula did. The only side effect we have had was a little diarrhea for the first two days (which is typical), but this has gone away for the most part.

I was most concerned about not giving Anna a bottle before bed because I thought it was a crutch we were using to get her to sleep at night, however ever since we stopped giving her a bottle before bed, she has actually been going to bed easier (knock on wood!). Other doctors at the practice are not as concerned with getting rid of the bottle right away, but for us, making this transition early was a good choice especially with a new baby on the way.

Baby Dedication

Today we had Anna dedicated at church. At our church we do dedications rather than infant baptisms since we believe each individual person must choose Christ as their Savior before being baptized. A baby dedication is when parents take their children on the stage before the congregation and present their children to God and the congregation. Today was Anna's day. The life verse we chose for Anna is Proverbs 16:3 - Commit your plans to the Lord and they will succeed.

While it is a wonderful and meaningful time, I must admit that taking a one year old on stage before 1000 people while a pastor talks and prays was very nerve racking. Prior to going on stage, Anna was participating in the praise and worship with us. She had fun for a little while and then started to get fussy - oh no! After a long 10 minutes, it was time to go on stage with the other kids and parents who were being dedicated. Anna screamed out a few times, not crying, but just making sure she could be heard. We had our hand full of goldfish for just such an occasion and used them at times. We were probably up on stage for 5 minutes, but it felt much much longer. As soon as the dedication part of the service was over, we took Anna to the nursery where she could be free to run around and talk all she wanted. When we left church today, my husband and I both had the same thought - next time we will do this when our child is an infant and sleeps through the service :).

One Year Appointment

Anna and I got up early (for us) and hit the doctors office for Anna's one year checkup. It was a rough visit with a finger prick to check her Hemoglobin levels and then three shots (Prevnar, MMR, Vari Vax). Once again, Anna was way more upset by being held down than the actual pricking. Everything looking good and Anna even shot up in height.

Weight: 24 lbs 1.5 oz (80%)
Height: 30.25 in (80%)
Head: 47.75 cm (95%)

The main discussion this time was regarding nutrition. The doctor would like for Anna to go ahead and switch to whole milk and to receive 6 oz. in a sippy up 3 times a day with her meals. This will be a big transition for us since Anna is accustomed to having a bottle when she goes to bed at night. It will probably take us a little while to adjust. Anna also has 2 upper molars coming in. The doctor showed them to me and they looked painful (puffy and blue around the gum). No wonder Anna has been drooling so much lately.

Anna's Chair

We got Anna this chair for her birthday from Pottery Barn. We put her in it to read books and for snack time so that the puppy doesn't eat all of her snack.

Good Morning Birthday Girl!

We had a wonderful and busy day today! Of course I had to get a picture of the birthday girl first thing when she woke up.








Then we had our birthday walk with friends.












Then we went to playgroup.









Then we had a yummy lunch of grilled cheese sandwiches and cupcakes.









Then we went to the new Marbles Museum in downdown Raleigh. They had different centers for Anna to play in including a post office, grocery store, farm, hospital and even a fire engine. Anna enjoyed the grocery store the best because she could put vegetables in her cart and take them out..... then put them back in her cart and take them out again. While the museum was really neat, Anna was one of the youngest kids there and would probably find it more interesting when she is a little older.


And finally we ended the day with a potluck dinner with our bible study where we celebrated once AGAIN with cupcakes. I know Anna will not remember her first birthday, but I will :).

Goodnight my sweet Anna

Tonight as I rocked Anna before laying her down to sleep, I reminisced about our first year together. Just a year ago, at midnight tonight, I woke up with contractions and Anna was on her way. I thought about how a year ago I worried if I would know what to do as a mom - how do I change a diaper? how does this breastfeeding thing work? I worried whether or not I should leave work for good; what am I going to do all day? Those fears have all gone away and are replaced with a sense of satisfaction that this first year has been wonderful and tons of fun! Tonight I put Anna in her car seat facing backward for the last time and I thought about the first time I put Anna in her car seat to leave the hospital - what a scary and fumbling experience. There are so many thoughts and so many memories (and thankfully so many pictures!) to reflect upon. Tomorrow starts a "new" phase - my little girl will be one year old. Tomorrow we will celebrate!

1st Birthday Party

Yesterday was Anna's first birthday party! We decided to have a family party to limit the number of attendees but still ended up 16 people. Anna wore the cutest little outfit courtesy of her Mimi who works at a children's clothing store.

We had a nice lunch and then it was time for cake. I made cupcakes for the adults, but Anna had her own little cake thanks to a program Harris Teeter (local grocery store) has where they give a free cake to children for their first birthday. We sang 'Happy Birthday' and then I put the cake in front of Anna to do with as she pleased. For some reason I thought Anna would dive right into the cake or smash it on the floor, but instead she slowly and deliberately picked the pink icing off of the cake and ate it.

After the sugar rush, it was time to open presents. Anna was not interested at all in opening the presents, but was really interested in some of the toys inside.

Poppin'Pals


Bee Bop Band


Finally it was time for the party to end and Anna to take a nap. What a wonderful day!

Anna goes to the Fair

Yesterday Anna got dressed in her overalls and we headed to the North Carolina State Fair. The Fair is filled with rides, livestock, and of course anything you could possibly want fried. This year's specialty was fried pb&j sandwiches. Anna did great! She loved watching all of the people and bright lights. We saw cows and chickens and were careful not to touch anything after the e. coli scare a few years ago. Our fried indulgence of the evening was an apple fritter than Anna and I shared.

Brushing my teeth and having so much fun...

Part of Anna's after bath routine is to brush her teeth. She actually does a fairly good job by herself running the toothbrush over all of her teeth. She likes brushing her teeth so much that she often cries whenever she has to give up her toothbrush!

Playing in the Yard

This is going to sound strange, but I think yesterday was the first time ever in Anna's life that we took her outside to play in the yard. Maybe it's because she is now walking and has shoes or maybe I was afraid she would get sun burned this summer??? She thought the grass was fun and kept trying to pull it out of the ground. Here are a few pictures.

Recalls

With all of the recalls in the past few months for kid's toys, cribs and most recently, infant medicine, it is hard to buy anything for a child with the confidence that it is safe. As a parent it is important for us to keep our eyes and ears open to new recalls (such as through the website www.recalls.gov) and to watch our kids with any new item to make sure there are not any potential problems with them.

Where has the morning nap gone?

For about a week now Anna has been skipping her morning nap. I have still been trying our usual routine of rocking and then laying Anna down after our morning walk, but now Anna just plays in her crib. This is the about the same age that many of Anna's friends stopped taking an afternoon nap so I'm guessing it is inevitable. Without a morning nap, we are more easily able to make our neighborhood playgroup - but on those other days, I selfishly miss the morning time to myself to read and make my game plan for the day. Anna now starts her one nap of the day around 1:00 and has been sleeping 2 1/2 - 3 hours. I guess its now time to catch up with those friends we haven't seen in awhile since their kids wanted to play while Anna was sleeping in the morning.

Word Recognition

It is amazing to watch Anna grow. Each day I feel like we learn something new whether it be verbal or motor skills. As Anna explores more, the word "no" is becoming one that is heard fairly often. Many times just saying the word "no" will cause Anna to stop what she is doing and turn and do something else. Just yesterday I noticed that Anna was recognizing the word "kiss". I say "give me a kiss" and she opens her mouth wide and leans forward for a wet kiss. "Bye bye" elicits a waving of the arms and she definitely knows who "da da" is. It makes me want to teach her everything!

Best Buds

Anna in her shoes.

Anna's New Shoes

Last night we went to Stride Rite to get Anna a pair of shoes. I had been forewarned by other friends about the cost of the shoes (more than I pay for a pair of my own) but like them, I felt that Anna needed at least one good pair of shoes. I also prepped my husband so he wasn't sticker shocked :). It was such a "big girl" experience - they measured her feet and whenever she tried on a pair of shoes, she would walk around the store (so cute!). We ended up with a pair of brown and pink velcro shoes in a size 5. The lady said that as long as Anna didn't go through a big growth spurt, the shoes should last about 2 1/2 to 3 months (THAT'S IT?!?) . Overall, it was a great experience buying Anna's first pair of shoes.

Anna is going to be a big sister!

That's right! In April, Anna will become a big sister and I will be the mom of 2 kids (yikes!). I've had several people ask me if there has been any difference in this pregnancy versus when I was pregnant with Anna and there has been. With Anna, I was still working and so most of my days were spent sitting at my desk in front of a computer. Whenever I got tired, I could take a little break or take a nap during my lunch time. This time while it's great being at home, I'm also trying to keep up with an 11 month old who is getting more mobile by the day. I try to take at least one nap a day while Anna naps and so the housework, errands and blogging have suffered over the past few weeks. I am also trying to exercise more this go around by keeping up with the daily walks with my mom friends. This time I also know more of what to expect and so I'm not running to my What to Expect... book with each change.