Christmas 2009

I'm so far behind in updating the blog that we're now nearly a month past Christmas but late is better than never. AnnaBeth had a WONDERFUL first Christmas!! She got plenty of presents to keep her busy for a long time and we enjoyed spending Christmas Day and the day after Christmas with family (4 gatherings in all). I've put together a slide show of the pictures I have...didn't get any of the pictures from the Fritz gathering :( I could always get them and add them later. As you can see in the pictures, AnnaBeth had a good time opening presents and was curious about what was in each package. It was so cute to watch her take the time to look at each present before opening the next one. Her favorites seem to be the shape sorting bucket and cookie jar, the push walker, the piano, and the kitchen. She's starting to use the xylophone now and I love to listen to her pound away on it! She's quite the musical little girl :)

Still a little short for the zebra but rides it like a pro

Groovin' to the music!

Dancing and playing at the same time-talk about being multi-talented!

Walking with her new toy from Grammy and Grampy

9 Months

AnnaBeth had her 9 month appointment this past Tuesday and all is well! Her stats were 17.6 lbs (25%), 27 in (25%), and her head was 17.5 in (50%). The doctor was very impressed with her verbal skills which including saying mama, dada, nana, baba and a few other sounds, as well as understanding the words milk, bath, boof (referring to Bondo), kitty and no (even though she doesn't always obey it). She was also impressed with her physical skills of pulling up for the last 2 months and cruising around. She said AnnaBeth is way ahead of where they want 9 month olds to be. I went to the appointment expecting her to get shots but she doesn't need anymore until her 12 month appointment. She did get the flu shot however (which I thought was going to be the 2nd dose but apparently she never got the 1st dose at her 6 month appointment like I thought she did). They also pricked her heel to check for anemia and she's got plenty of iron. I was a little displeased that the nurse said "it doesn't hurt-I think they just don't like having their foot squeezed." Boy was she WRONG!! AnnaBeth bled like a stuck pig and cried more from the heel stick than she did from the flu shot. AnnaBeth has also been enjoying cantaloupe and scrambled egg yolk this past week. Here's some pictures from Emma and Hailey's birthday party last weekend.

Grass, leaves, dirt and rocks

I took AnnaBeth to the park across the street from our house yesterday and EVERYTHING went in her mouth but she had fun!

Trying a leafHey! What's that???It's a tasty rock!Dirt is YUCKY!

Hanging around and helping

Our little monkey

Already helping with the laundry!

Christmas Card Pictures

When we took the pictures for our Christmas card, it was after 5pm and had been rainy off and on all day. We realized after the first picture that we'd need the flash off so we wouldn't be washed out. Well, no flash plus dusk plus an active baby meant that hardly any pictures actually turned out. Here's a few that managed to come out ok :) Oh, and I've been waiting since October 2008 (when we found out she was a girl) to put this dress/sweater on her. I found it that day and just couldn't resist buying it!

Giggles and Being a Big Girl

AnnaBeth has a squeaky rabbit toy that she thinks is one of the funniest things in the world. Bondo thinks its his toy because of the squeaky sound it makes.

She also LOVES to be able to pull cheerios and puffs out of the containers herself!

Zoo Lights

Last weekend we went to the Phoenix Zoo for Zoo Lights. We go every December to celebrate Laura and Jill's birthdays. This was the first year for AnnaBeth (well, technically 2nd since she was in the womb last year) and she seemed to have a good time. She even rode the carousel! Here's a slideshow of some of the pictures and below is a video of the end of the "Dancing Trees" routine.

Sleepiness

Lately, AnnaBeth has had some rough nights, mostly I think from teething and some from nasal congestion. And unfortunately she has NOT been going back to bed easily when she wakes in the middle of the night. We've gotten to the point where if she does wake in the night, we end up just bringing her into bed with us for the next couple of hours until its time for me to get up for work. This morning was one of those days and when I went in our room to wake her and Daddy, I found her sleeping like this between our pillows.

1st Thanksgiving and a Few Videos

AnnaBeth had a wonderful first Thanksgiving, times two!! On Thanksgiving day, we went to Kent's parents to celebrate and AnnaBeth had some turkey, rolls and a little bit of vanilla ice cream. On Saturday we went to Nanu's and she had turkey, mashed potatoes, a couple of cheesy peas and some rolls.

Yum! Vanilla ice cream! (Don't worry, she had 2 very tiny tastes)

Figured out that if she shakes the TV tray stand, her container of puffs will fall down :) Happy with Aunt Geli Cousin Johnny

Practicing her walking

Our little musician

Bubbles and babbling