Weekly Update

Annabelle had a good week. She got to spend every morning with her Grandma, who she thinks is the funniest person in the world, and she got a visit this weekend from her Nana and Uncle Kevin!

The little girl is still growing fast...she weighs 17.2 pounds now. She has been eating three meals of solid food a day and doing great with it! She's also still working very hard to sit up unassisted, is starting to like peek-a-boo, she clicks her tongue when I click my tongue, and she grabs at absolutely everything in reach! She's even starting to reach for me when she wants me to hold her. That's very sweet.

I don't know how I'm not going to lose my last 10 pounds of baby weight once Annabelle is more mobile. I can see it now...my entire day is going to consist of chasing after her and making sure she doesn't get into too much trouble! You can just tell that she's dying to explore EVERYTHING! She's very hard to hold onto now because she squirms so much trying to get into anything in sight. I'll be burning some major calories keeping up with her!

Never, Neverland

Dear Annabelle:
If you don't stop growing up, we're going to be forced to take you to Neverland, where you'll always be an adorable little 7-month-old. It seems like every day, you learn something new, get bigger and become more independent. You are such a joy to watch, but at the same time, it breaks our hearts to think about how fast you're growing up. We love you so very much, and we absolutely love to see the world through your eyes. You are the most precious thing in the world. But slow down, pretty please, or we'll take you to Neverland where you'll never grow up!
Love,
Mom and Dad

A big week for a little girl

Annabelle has had a big week...
She now has two bottom teeth that have broken through her gums. Tuesday got very bad for her. She screamed most of the day. But they are finally peeking through and them seem to not be hurting her now. Now they just need to grow in some more.
She is packing on the pounds. She just feels like she's putting on weight daily! I weighed her yesterday, and she ways over 16.5 pounds. That's almost a pound in a little over two weeks. That's big. It must be all of the solid food she's eating. She's eating two meals a day of either rice cereal, oatmeal, or barley cereal. With her first meal, she eats vegetables (she likes peas now!) and she eats fruit with her second meal. She also tried some real peas and carrots, some cheese and a small bit of chicken.
She's starting to sit up on her own. She's finally starting to get the balance necessary to sit up without our help. Today she sat up several times for a couple of minutes each time. She does come crashing down, but it doesn't seem to bother her!

I've posted some pictures of her sitting and playing.

Annabelle's first tooth

I discovered a little something hiding in Annabelle's mouth...the top of her first tooth! It's on the bottom, and just the top of it is peeking out so far. Today, she seems pretty miserable. It really seems to be hurting her. I'm giving her some homeopathic teething tablets that I've always heard work wonders. I can't tell if they're helping her or not.

Anyway, here are some pics from earlier.

Do they make full-body bibs?

Gross...Annabelle is really starting to get into her food. Last night, I fed her a container of carrots and a bunch of applesauce. She loves different textures, so she insisted on feeling every bite I put in her mouth. She also would start to suck on her high chair while her mouth was stuffed with carrots. Now the tray to the high chair is stained orange.

I think that I'm going to have to start stripping her down to her diaper for meal time, or cover her in a trash bag!

New Camera Shots

I got a new camera for my birthday and have been snapping away. It takes great pictures of our little girl. Here are some new pictures taken with it. One is me and Annabelle at my birthday dinner.

Every Girl Needs Mouse Ears

Annabelle received some pink ears from Disney World from her cousins Ryan and Brandon. They're huge on her, but she doesn't seem to mind! She looks adorable in them. Thanks Brandon and Ryan!

Some new pictures

Here are some new pictures I took last night. Annabelle is always reaching for the camera now!

My little comedienne

Today, Annabelle and I went to lunch with Jan and my former dental hygenist (actually, the entire Austin Ewert family's former dental hygenist) and her twin sons. Annabelle put on quite a show for the restaurant.

As I ate and was holding her (since she doesn't like to be in her car seat for long), she looked over my shoulder almost the whole time and squealed and screeched throughout the restaurant. She was hilarious. Nobody seemed to be bothered by it, and it seemed like most of the men in the place really enjoyed her antics.

She used to be super quiet in public, but she's finally found her voice and likes to share it with everyone around her. She seems to like being the center of attention!

6-month checkup

Annabelle went to see her pediatrician today and had to get three more shots...poor baby. But her checkup went great.

She is weighing in at 15 lbs. 13 oz., which puts her back up into the 50th percentile. She is 26.5 inches long, which is the 75th percentile (I thought she was long) and her head circumference is also in the 75th percentile (she has her Dad to thank for this).

The doctor said she looks great and is right on track developmentally. He tried to look into her mouth to see if any teeth are on their way, but she showed him her toughness and fought him like crazy. I think that because we've been giving her medicine since she was 6 weeks old, she does not like for anyone to mess with her mouth. She's always afraid something's going to get squirted in there! So he wasn't able to tell.

She doesn't go back for three months, and she doesn't even have to get shots at that appointment. Just a quick blood test for anemia!

She was real brave though, and after screaming her head off and shedding some giant tears, Annabelle was in a pretty good mood the rest of the day considering what she went through. And she got a stuffed zebra we've named Zeus from her Dad for being such a brave girl!

Updates

Annabelle has had a good week this week. She has decided she really likes peaches, continues to get stronger and closer to sitting up on her own, and she's learned how to manipulate us at nap and bed time to keep us around!

Tomorrow she goes for her 6-month checkup and her third round of shots. I dread those days. I feel soooo bad for her when she gets FOUR shots in her pudgy thighs. Her screams break my heart. I make Chris hold her when they give her the shots and I look away. I have a hair appointment soon after her doctor's visit tomorrow, so Chris will have to deal with the aftermath. She's normally pretty pitiful for the rest of the day because she's sore. We'll see how his afternoon goes.

And I'm excited to see her weight! I've been dying to weigh her these last few days, but I'm holding off until her official weight tomorrow so we'll be surprised. Surely she's gone back up to the 50th percentile!

Funny story from this week: We went to dinner at Chris' parents' house on Thursday night, and Annabelle was sitting in her little seat next to us at the table. She was quite a gassy girl in the middle of dinner and just kept passing gas, quite loudly, while everyone was eating. Then, her face started turning purple while she sat over there straining. Chris asked her if she needed some privacy. It was very funny!