{8 Month Update}

At eight months old, Anna….

… wears 6-9 month size clothing and sleeps in 9 month sleepers.

…eats 3 X’s a day…your favorites seems to be carrots, squash, green beans, pears and cinnamon, mangos, corn, and apples. Not really into different textures of food yet. We have given you puffs to eat, but you would rather feed them to the puppies:)

…has two front teeth and is working hard on some more!  From the few recent sleepless nights, we are certain more with be popping up soon.  Thank goodness for teething rings - they make us so happy!

...still rocks the jumperoo and exercauser!

…Starting to babble a lot – says “mama” – it just melts mommy’s heart! Still working on “dada”

…is obsessed with playing with electronics…DVR, cable box, xbox controller, cell phones, TV remote...
…reach out to everything (and everyone) that you want to touch with your little pointer finger. Too cute!

…Love to watch Sesame Street, especially love Elmo's World and Abby's Flying Fairy School….its our favorite!

…You are officially mobile! You started crawling at 7 months and now are starting to explore leaving the room mom and dad are in. Love to go for the puppies’ water and food bowls. Anna thinks it is pretty funny when we say, “Anna Rae, No, No!” :)

…Can pull up to a standing position while holding on to something. Is very big into standing up against the couch and looking outside. You also love to play with your favorite toys while bouncing on your knees.

...Also like to play "Jungle Gym Mommy" and "Jungle Gym Daddy"

…Love it when mom sings,“I’m a Little Teapot” while eating your breakfast...

…I can’t keep a hat on you in the car. Every time I go to get you out of your car seat you have it off. Hopefully spring will come soon!

...Starting to go through the "timid around strangers" phase...but once you are comfortable, you smile away!

I am having a hard time with 8 months old.  I can't help but think that 8 is only 4 months away from a year.  And while I cannot wait to celebrate Anna's 1 year birthday, it officially marks the end of the "baby/infant" stage and starts the transition to toddler.  This will be such an exciting time, but somehow I cannot help but think it won't be long before we hear, "Dad, can I borrow the car?"  or "I need some money to go to the mall"   Ahh, where does the time go?  Everyone says to enjoy every moment, because it goes by so fast, and boy, they were not kidding!  Amidst hectic work schedules, family commitments, keeping up the house, and all the other things that seem to pop up on a daily basis, we just try to savor every moment, smile, messy face, cute look, hiccup, sleepless nights (okay, we could do away with those!), and all the firsts we get to experience with Anna, she sure does keep us on our toes:)

Below are some pictures from Anna's 8 month "photo shoot."  I have to say while each new month brings on more challenges (Anna just doesn't seem to sit still where I put her anymore, imagine that!) it is very entertaining to watch her play and move about - we are just so busy!  - so we did our best and had some fun with it!  Enjoy!

{SURPRISE!}

This past weekend, the Willis family celebrated my dad’s 60th birthday in a BIG way - with a surprise birthday party up at Titletown. My mom has had this idea in her mind the for the past year and asked me if I would help her plan it. I was more than happy to help out - I am all about this kind of stuff! So a few weeks back we got to work. The surprise went down like this:

Wording from the invitation -

Mike said no party, get me golf clubs instead,
But when have we listened to a thing he has said?
So we decided to invite those he holds dear,
to help him celebrate his 60th year!


Friday morning Michele and Mike flew into Milwaukee and drove up to Green Bay. That was a surprise in itself, he had NO IDEA they were coming in for the weekend. We got to work getting things ready, ran some errands and went up to Titletown in the afternoon to decorate and get ready. Around 5, my mom went and picked up dad from work and brought him to Titletown to have (what he thought) would be their normal mug club fish special Friday night dinner. Needless to say he was shocked to see Michele and Mike with Bob, Anna, and I at their normal table upstairs.

SURPRISE!

We then shared that this night was a little different than most normal Friday nights. This night was about him and 50 of his closest family and friends were coming up in an hour or so to toast to him and help him celebrate the big 6-0!

Elizabeth and Brett were in charge of the cake - great job guys, it was perfect!

The party was a huge success - we all had a great time and it is was so fun to see everyone that came.  Certainly a night my family will always hold dear to our hearts. My dad was thrilled and so appreciative of all the work we had done. Good job mom - WE DID IT!

I will let the pictures share the rest of the night - Enjoy!

Anna kept busy before the party started!

Dad with Bob and Mike enjoying a beer before the party started.

The party begins

Michele and I

Dad with his fellow coworkers

Anna Rae with my dad's mom and sister Colleen

Dad with his best friend from elementary school, Dave, Dave's brother Skip, and Brett's father Jay

LOVED watching these guys play pool, friends since elementary school, it was just like watching a bunch of little boys play, so cute!

Brett, Michele, and Bob hanging out

Toasting dad

We got him!!!

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE

{An Accountant's Attempt to be Artistic}

I few weeks ago I decided that since Anna was already 6 months old, if I wanted to make her a scrapbook of her first year, I better get moving on it.  (I should mention that I started a wedding scrapbook for Bob and I to enjoy 4 years ago.  I know somewhere around our house I have a few pages complete, but I couldn't tell you where they even are.  So the fact that I have made progress on Anna's already is a huge accomplishment for me!)  I thought I would share some of the progress I have made so far , no judging please, I am an accountant and we are not very creative!   I try to keep it simple, clean, and fun!

Welcome Anna Rae!



Our Little Cuddle Bug!



10 Little Fingers...

3 Months Old

Baptism

6 Months Old

{You can call me Miss Mobile}

As I mentioned in my previous post Anna has become quite the little mover these days. Literally the day after my last post Anna went from "scooting" to an all out crawl! My mom called me at work that morning and said, "I think she is crawling!" I could barely concentrate; I was so excited and couldn't wait to get home to see it for myself. Sure enough, Anna would see something out of her reach and crawl forward to get it. In the past week she has gotten better and better at it and Bob and I watch love to watch in amazement as she sees something she wants to play with and takes off to go and get it.  Her typical targets are the cable box, an x-box controller, TV remote, or our cell phones - was is it with electronics? But she also loves to go from toy to toy and play.  Her favorite seems to be her Vtech Alphabet Train, in which she loves to take out each block, one after the other.   I absolutely love to watch when she gets so enthralled in something and you can see that little mind working in overdrive.  We are very proud of Miss Anna and her recent accomplishment - way to go Annas!

Started from accross the room to get to the toys!

Success!

Cutie Patootie!

{Our Happy Little Valentine}

Bob and I were very excited to celebrate our first Valentine's Day with Anna.  I was off of work Monday, so Anna and I got all dressed up in red and went out to lunch with my mom and grandma.  When Bob got off of work, we met his parents for dinner before heading back home to exchange our Valentine's Day gifts with each other.  Bob and I have never really made a huge deal out of Valentine's Day, but it was so fun to spoil Anna with a few gifts this year.  We gave her a new bath toy (which she already absolutely LOVES and it hasn't even made it into the bathtub yet!), a pink and white stuffed elephant, some cute new pink shoes and tutu (because what girl doesn't need new shoes and tutu?) and a very cute "Daddy's Sweatheart" sleeper.  Anna was pretty wiped from a full day of being out and about so she crashed pretty quickly after opening her gifts and spending some time scooting around the family room (more on that below!). 

I also want to give a big thank you to my dad for such cute cards this year for both me and Anna.  My dad has been making my sisters and I Valentine's day cards since we were babies and this year he got to do one for Anna as well!  He has been doing this for nearly 30 years now and I still have a hard time picturing him down at his office, in the middle of tax season, cutting out pink and red hearts out of construction paper, but he does and every year the cards seem to get better and better.  My favorite line from my card this year...

"You and Bob did a great job bringing into the world Anna Rae,
and soon you will realize that having children will make you pay!
Thank you very much for making me a grandfather,
And remember that for me, taking care of Anna is never a bother!"

And my favorite from Anna's...

"I look forward to watching you as you grow,
and learn all the things a little girl should know.
So I hope for you today only good things and such,
And always remember Grandpa loves you much!"

Thanks dad, these cards are such a special gift!  We know this is such a busy time for you - we so appreciate your dedication to make them so special!

So speaking of scooting from above, this little girl is on a roll!  I am absolutely amazed how well she can get around these days!  While Anna is not officially crawling yet, she is demonstrated that if she really wants something out of her reach, she can "scoot" herself forward with her feet to get to where she wants to go.  It is so fun to watch her work so hard to get around and really is absolutely amazing to see the progress she makes from day to day.  This new development led us to start "baby proofing" the house this past weekend.  We pushed back our coffee table to give Anna some extra room to explore and bought outlet plugs and cabinet hooks to install on our cupboards.  We just need to buy a baby gate for the stairs.  Of course nothing in our house was built to a standard size, so we have to return the one we picked up at Target for a bigger size.  Hard to believe Anna's is already getting to that "mobile" stage, but it is so fun to watch her play!

Of course, I cannot resist an excuse to dress Anna up and take some pictures and Monday was no different.  Below are some pictures of Anna all dressed up in her Valentine's Day outfit.   Enjoy!!!





My Favorite Shot of the Day!

Opening her Valentine's Day Gifts

 



{6 Month Update}

...Weighed in at a whopping 15 lb, 8 oz – you are getting sooo big;)

...Loves to eat carrots, green beans, apples, pear and cinnamon, and Ella’s Kitchen organic Broccoli, peas, and pears …not so sure about avocado, prunes and bananas (who could blame you?:)).

...Love to drink out of a sippy cup with your "yum-yums" – such a big girl!

...Starting to get into a really good nap routine. You take a morning nap right about 9:00 each day and sleep for 1-2 hours. You take an afternoon nap for an hour or so and typically crash pretty early at night.

...Love to watch Seasame Street - Love that Elmo!

...Love your bath, especially kicking you legs in the water and playing with your bath toys.




...Still like to be swaddled at night. You nap fine without it during the day, but still seem to like it at night. We hope to start transitioning you out of it in the next few weeks – no pressure little lady! :)

...Bedtime Routine - You like to read books, especially turning pages and touching different textures. (Love to read That’s Not My Teddy Bear) Also very intrigued by Scout, your talking puppy {“Hi Anna, do you want to sing a song?” or our favorite, “I want a puppy, it’s my favorite animal, and I want him to be pink, it’s my favorite color, and I will feed him carrots, that’s my favorite food, and I will name him Anna, just like you!”}.  You crash super early at night, sometimes even as early as 6:00 PM, but typically around 7:00 or 7:30 and sleep until 7:00 the next morning.  You often wake once at night typically around 3:00 AM.  A pop in of the pacifier or a quick rock typically gets you to doze back off to dreamland:)



...You are a busy girl – can roll over both directions and roll to your tummy all the time. You are starting to push up on your legs and rocking; we think you will be crawling in no time. Very good at sitting up on your own and will tumble down to your belly when reaching for something. LOVE to bounce – jumperoo or no jumperoo - just the words, “bouncy, bouncy, bouncy, will get a big o’ grin out of you! Love to put on a show in the bouncer, especially when people over , I think you know how just stinkin cute you are!

...You reach for EVERYTHING within reach.  You love to sit up on the kitchen island in your Bumbo and help mommy and daddy cook dinner. It's fun to watch take it all in, smell food and spices, and touch new textures.

...No teeth yet!

...Love to go, go go, and very social, will smile, coo, and giggle at just about anything or anyone. Especially those puppies - Love to watch them play.

...You are the happiest baby - I cannot tell you how many times I get asked "she is so happy - is she always like this?"

...Love to take off your socks and suck on those cute little piggy toes…

...How is it that you are 6 months already? Crazy to think how long 6 months of being pregnant seemed to be and how fast our first 6 months with you have gone! Hugs & Kisses Annas!

Our Little "Rae" of Sunshine!

I wanted to take a quick minute to share one of our favorite moments with Anna. Bob and I absolutely love getting Anna up from her crib in the morning! Anna is such a happy baby all day long, but the mornings are by far so special. She never seems to wake up crying. After getting ready each morning, I come into the kitchen, let the dogs out, make breakfast, and pack a lunch. Typically somewhere in that time Anna wakes from her slumber. Instead of crying, she lets us know she is awake and ready for her day with her precious coos and babbles. This typically continues all the way to my mom’s house as she continues to “sing” to me in the car. Bob and I have been meaning to take video of happy Miss Anna Rae in the morning and finally did, complete with her morning sneezes, eye flutters, and stretches...Enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uf_lrFSa4RM