Miss Anna ~ 1 Year Old

We took Anna's first year "photo shoot" as an opportunity to get the whole family in on the deal and they turned out GREAT!  Anna was actually 14 months in these pics...growing up so fast it makes me wish I could just slow each day down and savor it even more.  Already as it is, I carry her around with me everywhere I go (an arrangement we both prefer :)  She's so lovable AND loving...always giving hugs and kisses, and snuggling at every opportunity.  And a happy girl for sure ~ she smiles and laughs all. day. long!!

Anna is getting really good at using sign language. She can "say" More, Milk, All Done, Bath, Please, Poop (as in: "I need a diaper change"!) and Help Me. "Help Me" has become a frequently used sign, and it's really helped us avoid lots of crying and whining, because whenever she's playing or eating, etc, and needs help getting a toy down from a shelf, opening a lid, peeling a banana down more, you name it...she just comes over and signs for help, and we follow her over to whatever she needs help with and problem solved! It's great since her spoken vocabulary mostly consists of Dada, Bye, More, Uh Oh, La La (I love you), Up and Mama. Oh, and na na na na na....that is what everything else is called right now, ha!

Her favorite things to do at this age are take a bath, try on Mama's shoes (she picks a certain red pair of flats EVERY time!), and bee bop to music.  Also, eating is pretty high on her list!  She carries around a snack cup of Cheerios or Goldfish most of the day, just grazing.  She's great at eating all kinds of foods, too, as long as it's baby food in a jar :)  I guess I don't blame her for not being too crazy about some "big people food" though, because she still only has six teeth!!

We have adored this first year with our baby girl. She truly is our princess :) Every day, we are amazed again at how much happiness she brings us and our whole family ~ a special girl we are so thankful to God for!!!

Halloween Cuties :) 2012

We had a great Halloween this year!  Ben was a shark, and Anna was a cupcake.

Here is Ben making his "shark face"...

...and Anna in all her cupcake-cuteness :)

We went over to a friend's neighborhood and met up with all of their little buddies to go Trick-or-Treating.  Ben and Sophia led the way!!

Anna is, of course, too little to eat candy and just started walking.  So, she got to be chauffered in the wagon from house to house.  Sweet  little thing had on so many layers, she just sat there in the wagon with her arms sticking out like the kid from "A Christmas Story"!!

Getting some help from his big brothers!!!!

Anna, quite the trooper :)

And one more - I  just couldn't resist!  Doesn't it look like he's contemplating EATING YOU!?!

14 Month Roundup!

You may have noticed I'm not posting as frequently as I used to. Being back at work, school starting, and buying a new house have been totally zapping my time and energy!! So, I thought I'd wrap the past two months into one big round-up!

In Ben's 12th month, he got his first two molars and said his first word other than Mama and Dada..."Light!" He says it all the time, and would be content for hours for you to hold him near a light switch and let him just flip away!

Ben got his second haircut, which cut a whole lot more off than the first. He did pretty well once we gave him his all-time favorite toy: Mama's keys. You can see him here "starting up" one of his toys. I love how he'll go around and say, "Brrrrmmmmmmm!!!" to anything and everything - a box, random toys, the fridge - while turning the keys on it!

He also learned how (or got tall enough) to climb up on the couch, coffee table, chairs...you name it, he's a little monkey! This is a bit worrisome for safety reasons, but he is very good at "going backwards", meaning obviously that he will turn around and inch off backwards so he's not plunging off head first. We taught him this at the beach this summer, and made a big deal about how great he was doing, so he does it VERY frequently. It's hilarious to see him turn around, drop to the floor and scoot backwards over a drop of a few inches....so cute!!!

We've been super busy at the new house getting it ready to move in. Ben loves running around all the open space, but hasn't proven to be a very good helper when it comes to painting (HA!) In fact, we were over once when Mark was painting, and even with four of us in the room, he managed to bolt over to the paint tray and dunk both hands before someone got to him!!

At 13 months, Ben got two more 1st molars, and says Up, Out, and All Done. We went on an all day road trip to the "Carpet Capitol of the World!!!!!", Dalton, GA - 9 hours in the car that day, and he did GREAT! He's starting to not want his second nap of the day somtimes, and weighed 21 lb 3.8 oz at our follow-up from his 1 year visit (25%-ile). Daddy taught him to blow bubbles in the bathtub :)

We're down to two bottles a day (morning and night) and drinking from sippy and straw cups. Ben's a pretty picky eater - fruit, pasta, cubed ham, cheese and yogurt are our staples. Sometimes it can get messy around here!!!

Ben is now 14 months old and says "Off" when he turns off the light and says "Bye Bye" and waves really well now. He got his first sickness, a very short (thank GOODNESS!) tummy bug at 1 a.m. one night. He's outgrown most 12 month-sized clothes, wearing 18 months and size 5.5 shoe. He's also started really testing us on whether or not we mean "No." .....

This look can only say one thing: "Am I in trouble??"