Good Java

Since Anni loves dogs so much, and Ross is tired of being alone while we're at work all day, we all pitched in and got a new family member. Java is a 3 month old, purebred chocolate lab. (Java comes from his color, of course, but is also a nod to Ross's computer programming.) He's a bit on the hyper side, but I guess that's just a normal puppy thing. The only dog I ever had was Poncho, and he was the same age as me. We're working on training. He knows sit, but doesn't always listen. Stay is coming along slowly (no pun intended), and heel is working pretty well. He still pulls a little when we go for walks, but no where near as much as he did at first. He whined and cried a lot the first few days, but he wasn't used to being alone. He's got a few good toys now and some bones to chew on and is doing better. He loves playing tug-o-war and chewing on his rawhide bones. Anni loves him, but we don't dare let him get too close yet because he still nips a little bit when he gets excited.

9 Months Old

Anni is 9 months old now. She talks constantly, and crawls very quickly when she wants something. She won't crawl if she thinks one of us will pick her up and carry her. She sleeps for about 11 hours every night, and only wakes up if her teeth bother her. She has her 2 front bottom teeth and is working on a third one, but we're not sure where yet.

She says a few words, like Mama, Dada, Baba, and Anna, but I don't think she knows what they mean yet. Her bouncer and her stuffed puppy are still her very favorite toys.

Cousins

Kelly, Sarah, Abigail, and Josh came to visit yesterday. Josh is huge! Sarah said he weighs about 24 pounds, we think Anni weighs about 18. Her 9 month appointment is on Monday the 4th. Abigail just loved Anna, and played with her quite a bit.

Josh is doing everything faster than our Anni. Crawling, standing, walking, you name it. That's okay though, we love our little monster no matter what. :)

New Friends

I spent my day yesterday visiting friends with Anni. First, we went to see Sharlott and baby Skye. She's about a month or so old now, but is still just tiny. Anni thought she was pretty cool, but didn't compare to the dogs. Anni loves dogs. Sharlott has a black lab and a black... something. Anna just squealed and bounced while they barked and ran around, but wouldn't pet them. They were just too big.Then we went to see my friend from work, Rachel. She has a cat and a little Pomeranian. Anni liked the cat, but adored the puppy. She tried to pet him and wasn't scared at all.

She's going to be a little animal lover.

Annika's First Easter

Anni had a lot of fun on her first Easter. Here are the picture highlights.

She got to play with Grandpa. She got to cuddle with Aunt Lesa.

Her best friend, Woofie, was there for all the fun and games. Grandma LeAnn and cousin Isabelle were so happy to see her.

Cousin Jasmine couldn't get enough of her.

She loved playing with the eggs.

She had even more fun chewing on her plastic eggs.

All of the cousins after the egg hunt. Anni and Cooper contemplating the mysteries of the garden cart.

Let the Sun Shine In

Now that some nice weather is finally rolling around I've been able to take Annika outside to play. She loves it. Going for walks are one of her favorite things. I was the same at her age. My mom kept a calendar of my first year with all my milestones and various interesting things. It's pretty cool. She worked part time and kept really good track of things. Anni rolled a lot earlier than I did, but that could be because Mom never put me down.

I got both my bottom teeth at the same time, just before I turned 5 months old. My two top ones came in at the same time too, at 7 months. By 8 months I had 5 teeth. I was sick quite a bit, but overall a good baby.

I crawled just after I turned 10 months old and got into EVERYTHING. The quote from mom was: "What happens when you walk? Heaven help us!!"

At 11 months my first word was "kitty" followed by "ouch" 2 weeks later. I would sing and hum with the radio too. At 12 months I'd walk between 2 people, but wouldn't try it alone. I started to walk at 13 and half months and started to run a week later.

On Sunday I went and visited one of my best friends from High School and Junior High, Sharlott. She had a little girl about 3 weeks ago. Skye is just tiny. She was a bit over 5 lbs when she was born and is somewhere around 6 and a half pounds now. I was afraid to hold her, I thought I was going to break her. Anni was never that small, even when she was brand new.
She's a sweet baby and Anni was pretty enthralled with her. She got upset when Skye started to cry and jabbered at her, I assume to tell her it was okay. It's going to be a lot of fun when all these little angels are old enough to start playing together.

That Was So Fun, I Think We Should Do It Again In 4 Months!

We are moved. We forgot our linens the first night and ended up sleeping in our sleeping bags with laundry for pillows. Anni had all of her stuff though. I made sure I knew exactly where it was. Not the case with our things. I still can't find stuff (it took 3 days to find my socks) and still haven't gone grocery shopping or even emptied our our bins of dry foods, but we're here. It's taking some getting used to, but it's a nice place in a good neighborhood. The commute is a pretty annoying, but it gives me a little time to wind down after work.

The move itself did have some funny moments, resulting in a few memorable quotes:

"The blinds work fine, so long as you don't touch them."

"How can something so little stink so bad?!"

"I think I blew an O-ring!"

"I've got to get my O-rings tightened before we lift that again."

Anni has warmed up to Ross and seems to enjoy having another person around to dote on her. She's learned to sit up by herself. I put her in bed, on her back, a few nights ago, went to check on her a half hour later, and she was sitting up in the corner grinning from ear to ear. She was so proud of herself, I just had to pick her up and cuddle her. She'll do it a few times everyday, especially when we put her in her crib and she's not pass out tired. She rolls over onto her tummy and worms her little legs underneath her, pushes up with her arms and just kind of tips backward. I don't think she knows exactly how she's doing it, because she always seems surprised.

She loves to play peek a boo, especially when she gets to control the blanket (or pajama pants, as the case may be).