{A Hippitty Hoppitty Easter!}

The Seidel Family would like to wish everyone a very happy Easter!  We had a wonderful holiday!  Saturday evening, Bob, Anna, and I finally had a night at home and had the opportunity to dye Easter eggs.  I can remember dyeing eggs last year when I was pregnant, and wow, what a difference a year can make!  It is hard to believe how far we have come.  Anna enjoyed dying the eggs, although I think she was more interested in eating the final product more than anything, as you will see below!

Bob made a egg for Anna...

And Anna thought it looked good enough to eat:)

We woke up Sunday morning to find the Easter Bunny had paid us a visit - Anna was very excited to see that he had come!

The Easter Bunny brought Anna a basket filled with goodies, including some new toys, a new hat, and a new onesie.  He also brought some colorful play mats to use this summer outside - Anna had a lots of fun playing with them and discovering a new texture.  He also included a card that said while this year he didn't hide Anna's basket, next year it won't be so easy to find:)  Below is a link to a video of Anna checking out her basket...as you can see, the easter grass was a big hit!

After breakfast and a (very) quick nap, we all got all dressed up, went to mass, and then spent the day at my parents for Easter dinner.  We were happy to share the day with Bob's parents, Elizabeth and Brett, and my Grandma, and Aunt.  After an exciting Easter egg hunt, we enjoyed a wonderful Easter dinner complete with a traditional ham AND deep-fryed wings (because who wouldn't want to have wings for Easter dinner?).

Below are some more pictures from our weekend - Enjoy!

See my new tooth?

Bunny Butt!

Love my new play mats!

Not so crazy about the bunny ears...

All dressed up!

Thank you for all my new Easter gifts!

{Our Week in Pictures...}

This Week We...

...Tried people food!  We love cheese!  It's our favorite!  We also like to eat peaches, pears, green beans, and carrots.  (Grandmas Willis - there are those teeth you wanted to see!)

...Pulled ourselves up on EVERYTHING!

...Ate cottage cheese with mommy!

...Popped out our third tooth!  We have been working so hard on this one.  For weeks, literally weeks, Bob and I have noticed her top gums were so swollen.  After a few sleepless nights a few weeks ago, we thought for sure some new teeth would pop soon and they never did.  Then, just this morning, I noticed the top front left FINALLY come through the gum.  It looks like the one to left isn't too far behind, but we will have to wait on see.

...Hung out with Uncle Brad and Aunt Ann!

...Got into EVERYTHING, including Grandma's Tupperware!

...Had our first swim class and loved it!  From the moment we got into the pool area, Anna started to squeal and kick with excitement.  This excitement continued through the entire class as we sang songs, kicked and splashed, and blew bubbles.  Needless to say, both Anna and Mommy had a fun time!  We are looking forward to going back next week - Bob has next Friday off so he will get to join in on the fun as well!  I bummed I forgot my camera in the car, but we will be sure to take pictures next Friday:)

...Mom and dad watched a TON of Glee, we are offically obsessed with that show!
And finally....

...Cheered for the Brewers!  (Judging by that face, we were very concerned they might not pull out a win!)

We are looking forward to celebrating our first Easter celebration with Anna.  We have an exciting weekend to look forward to - Parker's first birthday party tomorrow, possibly some Easter egg dying Saturday night, hoping the Easter Bunny will come with some goodies for Anna Saturday night (wink, wink) and of course celebrating Easter Sunday with family. 

Happy Easter and have a wonderful weekend:)

{Hippitty, Hop, Hop, Hop..}

{M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E!}

Elizabeth and Brett went to Florida and boy did Anna make out well!  In addition to a very cute sweater and some stuffed animials, they brought back Miss Anna her first pair of mickey ears and new sippy cup! 

Thanks Auntie Liz and Uncle Brett for thinking of Miss Anna - we can't wait to hang out again soon:)

{Fly Away With Me!}

The other morning Bob took Anna "flying" around the house....I didn't think to grab my camera until 10 minutes into it or so, but still managed to capture a bit of the "squeal fest" that ensued!  Enjoy :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pb2km0ANgnk

{Happy Birthday Daddy!}

It certainly was a busy weekend for the Seidel family.  Friday night Bob and I went out to celebrate some of our friends birthdays.  We had our first non-relative come and babysit for Anna.  Bob and I were very happy that both Anna and Emily had a great time together and all went well.  It was great to be able to get out for a few hours and know that Anna was in very capable hands and having fun.  Saturday morning we celebrated our friends little girls first birthday, the second of four 1st birthday parties we have this spring.  (Remember the year of weddings?  It is now the year of 1st birthdays!)  It was a great party and we had fun helping sweet Ava celebrate her big day!  Saturday night Anna had a sleep over at Grandma and Grandpa Seidels and Bob and I had an evening to ourselves.  We celebrated Bob's birthday with dinner at Chives, a favorite restaurant of ours, and then stopped at wine bar for a glass (or two!) of wine before heading home.  Our dinner was absolutely amazing, and it felt so good to get out and be an adult again!  After a lazy Sunday morning we continued the celebration by going out to brunch with our parents and then came back to our house to enjoy the 75 degree weather and sun - it was fabulous!  A beautiful afternoon led to grilling out for dinner, cake, and present opening. 

(Sorry for the black and white photos...I did not realize my camera was on the black and white setting)

Anna enjoying the sun and warm temperatures

Grandma and Grandpa Seidel

Grandma and Grandpa Willis

Happy Birthday to Daddy!

I like to suck on my toes!

Unfortunately, a cold front moved through in the evening, producing some very intense thunderstorms and tornadoes.  No sooner did we get Anna down for the night and the tornado sirens went off, so down to the basement we went.  I am happy to report we had no major damage and survived the storm just fine, but it certainly added some excitement to an already busy and exciting weekend! 

I just want to give a quick shout out to Bob - a very happy birthday sweetie!  Anna and I were so excited to celebrate with you this weekend!  We love you to pieces and are so thankful for all you do for us!   LOVE YOU!



Anna was more than happy to help daddy open his gifts!



{This Week We...}

…Ate puffs for the first time! We have actually offered puffs to Anna quite a few times in the past month or two, but she has never shown interest in them. Typically they ended on the floor for the puppies. And if they did somehow end up in her mouth, she coughed them right out (incidentally sending mommy’s heart rate through the roof - while I have been certified on infant CPR, I hope to NEVER EVER have to use it). This past week I put a few on her tray and she actually picked them up, gummed them and swallowed. YAH ANNA! (And what a relief for mommy!)

…Also tried a new food – cottage cheese…and we cannot get enough of it!

…Demonstrated that dropping the level of the crib is well overdue!

…Slept through the night every night this week! Which leads us to believe the teeth may have stopped moving around for a little while. This assumption was confirmed as last night we had another restless night…we can see the top right teeth right at the gums, we are so close to cutting some more!

…Practiced pulling ourselves up on EVERYTHING, but our favorite is our Leapfrog Learn and Groove table…

…Played Peek A Boo…

…Enjoyed a weekend of doing a whole lot of nothing but play with our toys, going out for dinner, running errands, visiting Grandma and Grandpa Seidel, and spending Sunday home with our daddy!

{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!