Pulling Up

Annabelle first started pulling up to a stand on things in mid-December. Now, she's a pro! At first, she could only do so on very short things, such as her upside-down toy bin.


Then, right at 7 months (December 27th) she started pulling up on the couch at my parents house. We have a picture, but it's inaccessible for now.
She is now pulling up on EVERYTHING...the couch, our legs, her activity table, her carseat, etc. She can also cruise a bit, but prefers to get down and crawl because it's faster. We can tell she can't wait until she can start climbing. She pushes up onto her tiptoes and lifts one leg and then the other just wishing she could somehow figure out how to get UP onto the couch (or leg, or table, or carseat).

First Christmas Presents

One of the Christmas traditions we decided to start with Annabelle is to give her pjs and a book on Christmas Eve. Turns out, the 6-9 month pjs I bought several months ago probably won't fit until she's about 12 months old...hm...maybe I'll need to exchange them for something non-fleece... Wonder if I still have the receipt...
Ok, now on to the pictures.

First thing is first...get this bow off...


Now she's concentrating really hard on that little corner we've started. Didn't even notice when Daddy "decorated" her head.


Oh wow! You got me tissue paper!!!


That's nice...now it's time to explore that bow some more...

No posts for so long because...

Annabelle got very sick just before Christmas. In fact, we were worried we wouldn't be able to travel to KY to visit with family. It would have been really upsetting to us because it was the first time Annabelle met her YeYe and Ama :)
But, she was well enough on the 23rd to get the green light from the pediatrician. We had a wonderful time in KY and Annabelle was spoiled by all four of her grandparents. However, when we returned, Annabelle was sick again. Apparently, the ear infection had not completely cleared up from the first illness. So, she is just about finished with the second round of antibiotics...hopefully this will do the trick (fingers crossed).

First Snow

Annabelle's first snow!

We actually made it outside while it was still snowing this morning. She stuck her tongue out if we faced toward the wind, but otherwise didn't seem too interested in the falling snow.



She really checked out her surroundings and you could just see her thinking "what is all this white stuff." I picked some snow up for her to touch. Didn't try...

New Accomplishments

No pictures, but here are a few things Annabelle has been working on.

The other day she "threw" on of her toys into her Bumbo seat. She was able to push herself up onto the seat with her left arm, grab the toy with her right hand, and then use her left arm to push herself out again still holding onto the toy with her right hand.

She's been trying bananas, sweet potatoes, and rice cereal...but spits them all out...maybe she's not ready for solids yet?

I put a cheerio on her high chair tray this morning for her to try to pick up. After about 3 minutes of trying, she succeeded! But, she picked it up using her pointer and middle finger?!? And, of course, since it's food, as soon as she put it in her mouth, she made a face and spit it out :)

She's learning to fall asleep without mom or dad rocking her to sleep and then sneaking her into bed. It took her 15 minutes (with checks) to fall asleep last night and 2 minutes to fall asleep before each nap today. Now, if only I can get those naps to last longer than 30 minutes!

Last, but not least, she can pull herself up onto her knees using the edge of her exersaucer. I think our couches are too high for her to use (or she's too short!)

Christmas Portrait Outtakes

We decided to take Annabelle's Christmas pictures at home instead of fighting the crowds and taking our chances at JCPenny or Sears or what-have-you. We ended up with some great pictures, but today I'm going to share some of the funnier moments.

She was very interested in her shiny shoes...


She's great at sitting and can do so for quite a while, but sometimes it's just too much work...


The Santa hat was cute...when we could get her to keep it on her head!



"I'm done!"

Annabelle on the Move

Well, Annabelle's at it again.
Now she's taking a few "real" crawling steps at a time...