Trying to get back to normal

How adorable!
Our new thing to sit in! I can't really touch the ground yet, but it definitely keeps me occupied.
How can you not love this face!
Mom and Dad!

She looks a little freightened, but it's still a darn cute picture. This is Anna's new friend, Ethan. He's only a month older than Anna. :)
My current favorite picture.
What's going on out there?
Just chillin' while mommy takes more pictures of me.

I think we managed to kick the sickness out of the house today. Gary finally got something yesterday, whether it was something he ate or the flu just getting him now, but lets just say he didn't make it home in time. :) I'm feeling just fine and Anna is just about over her cold. Her cough is gone, thank goodness!

She's giggling all the time now, half the time she laughs at the wall or herself and sometimes for us. It's great! She's seriously the happiest baby I've ever known. She smiles and flirts with anyone she passes by. She only really crys when she's hungry, wet or just wants to be left alone. She still sleeps through the night and going to be around 8:30 every night. She has come to fear when mom's hand comes in front of her face b/c it's suck the boogies out time. :) She'll thank me for it later. She takes everything in and hates to miss anything (not like mom at all....). Gary and I talked tonight about how did we ever live life without her? She's so amazing and her life has only just begun!

This weekend is a big weekend for us. Anna is being baptised on Sunday at our church. All the grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends will be around. What an amazing thing it is that we can be a part of the family of God and what the sacrament of baptism is. We were able to take the baptism class last week and it was great to hear more in depth what it truely means.

We're starting to revamp my website and I'm starting to sell things on my newest addiction, Etsy. You can check out my items for sale at http://www.christabelle81.etsy.com/. Soon I'll have my new site up and it'll be linked to that site. I'm also partnering up with a good friend of mine and we're going to see what the two of us can do! So stay tuned for new sites and items to purchase!

We're sick of the snow and cold. Our jobs are going well. Cars still run. We're doing well. :)

Enjoy the pictures!

Love,

Christie, Gary and the Banana

The New Bug

Yet another Anna inspired gizmo. A walker that a bit to big for her little body, but she'll be cruising in no time! When Anna is naps at home, she enjoys being surrounded by her blanket. She pulls it until is in just the right place for her to nestle her head.
Mommy couldn't resist the adorable hat and jean jacket.
Anna just loves these shots. :) Ha!
Now dad, this is how it's going to be. Hehe. Anna telling dad that she rules the roost.

We thought we kicked the bug out, but instead a new cold and cough bug came for a visit and is still residing in our house. We got through the flu (Anna and I) and then we both started coughing and had a stuffy nose. Fortunetly I can take something to help it and I know how to blow my nose, but Anna is a different story. Attack of the blue bulb to get the boogies out has become a hated event by Anna. On top of that, we worked some nose drops in there to thin it out and more frequent burping to keep it all down. She wailed and probably thought we were the meanest parents ever, but soon after she realized we're ok. So I'm feeling better, about 85% and Anna is slowly getting better. Her cough has lessoned and we're constantly sucking out the boogies. She still sleeps through the night and takes good naps during the day most of the time. We've also bumped her up to a 6oz bottle as she got so mad for awhile there when her bottle was empty. We'll talk with the doctor at the end of the month to discuss rice cereal!

She is plumping up now, complete with dimples on her elbows and knees and her thighs are chubbin up! So cute. She smiles/flirts all the time. And we finally got her to laugh more than once, in fact, she did it for about 10 minutes straight! It's so darn cute! She does it best when daddy is holding her and I come up to her and say boo, she giggles away! Although we did find out that she got her "scared" feeling. Gary and I were playing with her about a week ago, doing boo to her, and one time we triggered it. She looked startled and started to ball! It was sad but kind of funny to see such a reaction.

She's truely coming in to her own person. Gary and I often talk about what she might be like when she gets older. What personality will she have, what her hair will look like when she gets rid of her mullet, all the things she'll say. I don't want this time to go by so fast but in the same right I'm curious and excited to see what kind of person she'll be.

We're out of car limbo! We got our grey Taurus last week (complete with remote starter). It's nice to have our own cars again. We're slightly contemplating a mini-van, but I really don't want one. We'll see, no 2nd child yet. :) Our jobs are going well, keeping us busy. We have baptism class this Sunday and on March 2 is Anna's baptism. It's exciting, another milestone for her and for us. Then the following weekend, Gary's off to DC for a few days for work. A conference this time. Should be cool.

Well hopefully we don't get dumped on this weekend, but good old West Michigan and that darn lake effect snow might get us again. Yay. Have a great weekend and stay warm!

Love,

Gary, Christie and the Giggle Butt

The Bug

Anna (3 months, almost 4) and Mason (6 months)A few photos after we started feeling better today!



Took a little morning nap with mom and dad before we headed to the doctor's
My favorite one from today!

Well we got it. The Bug. The Flu Bug that is. What all started out to be what we thought was a reaction to regular formula for a couple of days turned out to the be the flu for both Anna and I. It all started Friday when we picked her up from day care and we were informed that she spit up half her 2nd bottle and refused her 3rd. I thought, ok, it's the formula and I rushed home to get the soy again. I fed her some of the bottle as she "gagged" on the last couple ounces. I set her in her swing to eat and out came about 2 bottles worth. Scary for me. Soon after I stripped her down and she was smiling from ear to ear. Saturday morning was good, Saturday afternoon she threw up about half as much as the night before. Then I fell victim to the flu and knew it wasn't the formula. Sunday we all lounged around the house all day not feeling too great, nothing came out of Anna and I. Monday I stayed home still not feeling well and not wanting to be the mom who brought the sickness in, kept Anna home too. She threw up again. Fine afterwards. At this point we called the nurse and said to give her Pedialyte. We took it as give her that with the formula. Tuesday Gary stayed home with Anna and she threw up again. Called the nurse again and found out we were supposed to just give her Pedialyte. Had a doctor's appointment scheduled for today. Which brings us to now. I stayed home today due to the horrible West Michigan weather (it dropped 30 degrees in under 12 hours - going from rain on my way home yesterday to 1-4 inches of snow today with high winds!). We got her to the doctor, said she looked good. She didn't have a fever, breathing sounded good and were instructed to continue her on Pedialyte for the rest of today and start back on formula tomorrow. Whew. What a long long weekend it's been learning how to care for a sick baby for the first time! Now I know and we'll be more calm and know just what to do. :)

With that said, Anna now weighs a whopping..... 9 pounds 15 ounces! We almost have a 10 pounder on our hands. :) Hehe. Still a peanut but getting cuter with her smiles, talking and still trying to giggle again. She loves to try and sit up when you have her a semi-upright position, loves to stand when you grab her fingers and she'll stay there for quite awhile! She's moving onto 3 month old clothes when she's almost 16 weeks old! Hehe. I guess it's nice to not have to guess what size she it, she's the one of few babys that are actually wearing her size.

I'm feeling better for the most part, a few side effects of the flu still working there way out. Gary came out of it unscathed - he filled the part of caring daddy and wonderful husband as usual. :) We're still in car limbo. Ugh. Patience is a virtue. We're shovling our way out of drifting snow and going to work each day.

For anyone who is interested in coming, Anna's baptism is on March 2 at our church, Fairhaven Ministries in Hudsonville, MI. It'll be at the 10:45 service and we'll have a lunch/cake and coffee thing afterwards at our house. More details to come. Let me know if you'd like to come and we'll see where you can fit in if you come for the whole weekend.

Enjoy the few pictures I took since we got sick.

Love,


Gary, Christie and Pookie

Drool Monster

Anna has now figured out how to saturate her clothes before we even start the day! She has taken on drooling as a favorite pastime. Along with that, she is growing out of newborn clothes. They are becoming too short in the torso and arms, so we're packing them up after she wears them one last time. Kind of sad as her "coming home" outfit is wrapping up it's life until the next girl. Oh well, on to the next batch of cute clothes!

Not only is she getting bigger, but she's getting smarter! No bias opinion there. :) If she's laying down and you hold on to her finger, she tries to pull herself up to sit. From there, she really enjoys standing up. She holds her weight for quite some time. She may be a walker before she crawls. Oh dear. :)

She's also finding her fingers, but more so her thumb in a desperate need to suck on something, anything! We also think she's going to start to teeth soon. Instead of wanting to suck on our fingers, she wants to clamp down on our fingers, not the numerous teething rings she has, but just our fingers. When we do have her standing, she's much more interested in pulling our fingers to her mouth than working on the whole balance thing.

She's grabbing on to her "friends" on her play mat and pulling them (or trying to) to her mouth.She's sometimes is able to get Lulu the Ladybug to sing her the ABC's - only if she flings her limbs around enough. She's smiling all the time, still trying to get out more giggles. No more since last week. She's kicking around a lot in her bath tub, but still enjoying it and doesn't mind water in her eyes. I just tell her to blink it out. :) She's really turning on her little personality everyday. It's so much fun to see her grow and do new things each day. We really love this whole parenting thing (ask us about that in a couple years, hehe).

Here's the Gary and Christie report: Jobs going well, getting busier for both of us. Gary's trip to Norfolk was good, learned a lot and is still learning. I'm getting a few side jobs here and there, so that's a little extra money brought in. We're still in car limbo. Gary's driving the dying Taurus while I drive Gary's parents Sable as we await the new Taurus and finding out tonight that the truck has some more issues (Gary's dad is driving that). Stupid cars. The snow continues to fall and Gary continously digs us out. I'm trying to work out and eat better so I can beat my dad in a bet we have. Watch out dad, I got my new DDR mats tonight! Hehe. Otherwise, we're doing well and looking forward to the 40 degree weather we're supposed to have next week.

This is what Tuesday morning brought.

Hope all is well with everyone!

Love,

Gary, Christie & the Banana

Out of the blue!

Last night I was holding Anna in my lap and I was just about to lift her up to talk to her a little and she started to giggle! Just a few little giggles, but it was so cool! I wish I could have recorded it for Gary. He's still out of town. She did one giggle a little bit later but as we have now conquered the talking, we're on to master the giggle. So fun.

Fingernail Adventure

So I was trying to clip Anna's fingernails last night, all of them this time, not just the one or two as I had been doing, because she's brutal with those little razorblades for nails. I had her sittting on my lap facing out so I could hold her hands steady (or try to anyway). As I had my hand across the front of her, she started to vigorously suck on my arm! It was hilarious, that girl will suck on anything that's put by her mouth! After I detached my arm from her mouth, I clipped her nails the best I could without drawing blood. Hopefully that'll do for another week or so. :)

I thought that was funny. :)

Giggles and Smiles

Sleeping Beauty

Check out my spikey hair!

Posing for American Baby

Big Yawn!
Anna and her friend Lola (who gives us the abundance of clothes)

More than enough bottles to feed Anna for days

Cuddle time with Anna

Save me! I'm tipping over!

Too cute

Anna has found her voice! On Friday night is when she really started the constant babble. After she's been fed and her diaper is dry, she really gets into talking and smiling. She'll let out coo here and there, but the time to really get her going is when the belly is full.

Her tummy time is longer now, as she tolerates our love to see her bobble her head around and eventually roll over. She holds her head up really well and doesn't seem to mind it. She's not napping as much as she once was, but she'll let us know when she needs to be rocked or cuddled to fall asleep. I think she's getting heavier, she feels like she is. Pooping is going well. Our pooping aid, the prune juice, makes an appearance every once in awhile and cleans the system out. :) Her newborn clothes fit well now and some are getting small. Some of her 3 month clothes fit like her newborns fit when she was born. I have close to 3 full large bins full of clothes that don't fit her yet. If I had that many clothes..... that would be amazing. :)

Gary's taking his first business trip as an employee of Calvin. He flew out today to Norfolk, VA for a week long class learning more about the programming language he is working with. He's doing this trip on his own, but the one he goes on for a few days in March, he'll be going with the whole department. Alex has graciously obliged to stay with me this week and just keep Anna and I company.

You know how the last time I posted, our deer population decreased by 1? Well the following week, we decided to decrease the Taurus population by 1. My beloved Taurus, at 183,000 miles, decided to break down more than we wanted to pay for. So we're in car limbo, waiting for the new Taurus to get finalized which we were going to use to replace the truck, but now we're replacing it with the old Taurus. Sigh. Such is the life of cars.

Back to work I go tomorrow, carpooling Anna to and from daycare. So enjoy the pics.

Love,

Gary, Christie and Anna