A lot to blog about!

Hi everyone! I hope you're ready for a lot of pictures, because we've been busy! Before we get to the recent activities, I'll give you an update on Annabel... After the big first roll over, we haven't seen another one since. That's ok, though. She seems to be close to rolling from back to stomach, but never quite finishes it. Her motor skills are getting better with her hands... her aim is much better when she decides to reach for it. Still not really good with objects once she has them, but that will come soon I'm sure. To the extent that she can, she tries to put everything in her mouth and is drooling up a storm.

Her eating habits have changed - namely that she no longer wants to take the time to do it. She is so squirmy, and generally unpleasant to feed... maybe that's why everyone gets so excited about the solid foods! I thought I'd never want to do that because bottles are so much easier, but that was in the old days, before she got squirmy. This week we started putting a little rice cereal in her bottle, and ever since we have, she's slept through the night. Thank goodness! When I first went back to work she was sleeping through every night, but the past two weeks have been awful. I guess the poor girl was just hungry!

In other news, we went to the ear nose and throat specialist last week, and it was confirmed that Annabel needs to get tubes in her ears. We go in for the procedure next Thursday, so hopefully that will be the fix to her hearing problems and we'll be all set.

Today we made some progress in the sitting department... Amber and Brooklyn came over for a play date, and all of a sudden I let go of Annabel and she sat for probably about 30 seconds all by herself! You can tell in the pictures that I'm excited. Luckily Amber had the presence of mind to grab the camera.




Ok, now for more pictures... the first couple are just cute pictures of her zonked out in funny places:

She couldn't wait to be put to bed this night!

Last Friday we took advantage of the great weather went to the State Fair with our friends Amber, Nathan and Brooklyn. We ate lots of unhealthy food, saw some animals and some cars, and rode the carosel. All in all, a very fun night!

It won't be long before we can't put food in front of her.

Soon, those fries would be hers!

I like the fair!
This was at the end of the night... too much fun wore her out!

Stroller buddies



Brooklyn chewing on her mommy





Me & Annabel with Amber, Nathan & Brooklyn
Nate thought we were silly, but Amber and I decided to take the girls on the carosel. They didn't really get it, and I think it's obvious that we had more fun than they did... Well, I'd say that's true for Annabel, who didn't really care. Brooklyn, on the other hand, had a blast.

Zooming by.....

We got lots of "awws" when we took this one... (nobody told me how bad Annabel's hair looked!)

On Saturday we went to the Children's Museum with Annabel's cousins, Hannah and Abby. Annabel was mostly along for the ride, but I think she enjoyed watching all the people and riding around in her stroller.
You can't really tell, but this room was in the mirror maze, and there were all kinds of lights spinning around in the room, in kind of a strobe light effect. Annabel was very interested in the light show!

This is what happens when Daddy does her hair after bathtime

Getting sleepy...
Last night we decided to go see an Indianapolis Indians baseball game after work. The weather was perfect, and Annabel had a great time. She really enjoys being outside now that it's been cooler. Here are some pictures from the game:

This is my new favorite picture!

Time to go home!
Finally, here's the bathtime video. I will be honest, it's not the most exciting video I've ever posted, but I know how people love naked baby bellies!

The elusive giggle

Annabel has been laughing for about a month now, however it's very unpredictable and impossible to get it on camera. Today would not be the day I would expect for her to be laughing a lot... despite our best efforts, Annabel caught Nate's cold, and she's been very congested all day. That plus the ear infection, and poor Annabel doesn't have a whole lot to laugh about! However, when we were having breakfast today and she needed us to suck the snot out of her nose with the nasal aspirator (aka snot sucker), suddenly she found it hilarious! (Note that she was not amused when we had to do this all night long so that she could get some sleep) So we watched her laugh and laughed with her for a few minutes, before it occurred to me to get the camera. The video at the bottom is of the last minute or so of it, before she grew tired of it. The other two pics are just of our day. It's been a quiet one, since we're basically quarantined.

A day of firsts

HELLO!!! Sorry that this has taken so long... it's been a LONG week at the Saxe household. Poor Nate has been sick all week, and poor Mommy has been playing single parent as we try to keep Annabel from catching whatever disease he had. To make matters worse, Miss Annabel has decided to stop sleeping... so needless to say, we are all looking forward to the weekend when we can catch our breath (and hopefully some ZZZ's).

Crappy week aside, today was GREAT! First of all, today Annabel wore her first hair bow. :) (see picture above) My friends have been telling me for a LONG time now that I was crazy not to be taking advantage of all those lovely locks and putting bows in her hair. So, I finally got some, and doesn't she look cute? Second, we took Annabel to her 4 month doctor's visit. Annabel weighed in at 17 lbs 5 oz (she's finally slowing down - thank goodness!), and 25.5 inches. That puts her in the 97th percentile for height, and 90 or 92nd for weight. A little chubby, but still proportional! The doctor said that thigh rolls indicate good brain cells - because you need fat to produce brain cells, and if you have enough extra to build up on your thighs, then that means the brain cells are good! (Leah, your daughter and mine will be geniuses!) So, once we got all of that out of the way, we moved on to the developmental tests. I no sooner told the doctor that she showed no interest in rolling over and looked like she never would, when she put her on the table and Annabel made a liar out of me! We both watched as Annabel rolled over for the first time - so fun! It was very slow, and I don't think Annabel really understood why the two of us were standing over her and cheering, but it was great all the same. I'm so glad that I got to see this 'first' myself! Annabel also impressed the doctor with her 'almost sitting' skills - she said she thinks she's close, and that sitting is typically a 6 month skill. Hooray for our big girl!

The down sides of the appointment were the shots at the end, and another ear infection. We go to an ear nose & throat (ENT) specialist next week, so hopefully he can get this taken care of and make these things go away. I have a bad feeling that tubes are in our future - but, if that is the biggest problem we have, then I suppose we are very fortunate. Maybe this ear infection is causing her sleeping problems... that's what I'm telling myself, so that I can believe it's going to get better again.

Well, that's all the news I have for now.... Here are some pictures from the past couple of weeks:

Pretty dress from Grandma

I still love Mr. Duck!
Look at me - I hold stuff now!
IU!!
My family and former roommates may see a strong resemblance between me and Annabel in this picture. I don't think she's going to able to sleep on the good pillows either...

Sleeping Beauty
There's nothing like curling up with a good book!
I also enjoy eating a good book...
More fun in the bouncer...

Wouldn't it be nice if weekends were longer?

Hello! This was definitely a great weekend. We weren't doing a whole lot, so we spent a lot of time at home playing with Annabel. I don't know how it's possible, but I really think I grow to appreciate her more and more every day.

These first few pictures are from Saturday night, when our friends Amber, Nathan and their daughter Brooklyn came over. It's really fun to watch Brooklyn and Annabel together.... Brooklyn is 12 weeks older, so she is a lot more interested in Annabel than Annabel is. But, Annabel is getting better and will spend a few minutes at a time talking to her. There's a video of this at the bottom...

My sweet Annabel

Brooklyn - you can't see them here, but she got her first two teeth this weekend!

Playtime

Annabel's Sunday brunch - two fists over easy

One day, I really think she will succeed in fitting them both in there.

Nap before church

Happy girl!

New dress and matching shoes... thanks Aunt Heather!

Here's the video of Brooklyn and Annabel. They were both starting to get a little bit fussy, which you can tell my their tones. But still, it was fun!

Bounce with me, bounce with me...

Hi! This has been a fun week for Annabel, because she got to stay home and play with mommy on Wednesday, and daddy on Friday. Lucky girl! The biggest news of the week is that we took the pack 'n play out of the living room, and replaced it with Annabel's bouncer. We weren't sure if she would be ready for it, but she loves it! We did have to put a box top underneath her, because she's not quite tall enough for it yet, but she loves to bounce, and is starting to become interested in the toys on it. At the bottom I've attached a video of her in it... Nate will probably tell me that it's too long, but I don't care. If you get tired of it, then stop watching! I thought it was cute because she's bouncing and also doing a lot of talking. That girl has turned into a chatter box! Tonight she probably talked for a half hour straight while we were eating dinner. So cute! Poor Nate... I think he's going to have two talkers in the house now. :)

Annabel continues to be such a sweet baby... I really think we are the luckiest parents around. She has such a sweet temperment, and really only cries when she's hungry or tired - and if we're paying attention we can avoid that a lot of the time. She is also growing like a weed. She hasn't been measured for length since her two month appt, but when we took her in for a check up on her ear infection she weighed 17 lbs 3 oz!! I can't wait til her appt at the end of this month, when we can see where she falls on the growth chart (if she's even still on it!). Developmentally she keeps getting stronger... still loves to be on her feet, and is getting better with tummy time. I still don't get a sense that shes' anywhere close to rolling over, but I'm sure she'll just surprise us one day.

Here are some pictures from the week... hopefully I'll get some more good ones this weekend!

Yes, she will hate us one day for posting these... but how could I not?

This is my little sleeping buddah. :)

Here's a new outfit from Nate's mom - thanks!

She is so cuddly... when she needs a cat nap, we race to see

who can get there first and pick her up!

Annabel bouncing on Wednesday with Mommy

Not quite sitting up on her own, but getting really close! She definitely gets excited when she does it on her own.

Annabel's first jean skirt - thanks Megan!

Bouncing with Daddy...

I leave them alone for one day, and this is what happens... At least it's not black and gold...



Here's the video of Annabel in her bouncer. Enjoy!

I have to say that I'm glad Annabel has arrived so that Nate has someone new to pester. This video shows exactly how sweet Annabel is - I don't think any other kid would handle this kind of abuse so well. :)

We live for Wednesdays...

Happy Wednesday!!! Today was my first Wednesday off with Annabel, and I loved it! I think this one day every week is really going to make a huge difference for me. It was great to spend a leisurely day with Annabel, and we have a lot to talk about! We had two big firsts happen today - first of all, check this out:


This is a BIG DEAL! Annabel HATES tummy time, and typically just plants her face into the floor and cries. But today, all of a sudden, she decides to be a big girl and hold her head up at a 90 degree angle for a couple of minutes. Hooray!

The second 'first' is that I heard Annabel laugh for the first time. Her grandma claims to have heard it before, so it may not be a true 'first,' but for me, it was. It was so stinking cute! First, she did it during her bath, and only did it once because it caught her off guard and I think freaked her out a little bit. Then later this afternoon when she was fussing for my dad, he started mimicking her and making faces, and she started cracking up! Complete with squeals. I loved it! Luckily we got some of it on video, so Daddy could see it too.

That's the big news - we spent the afternoon with my mom and dad, and had a great time. Now it's just two more days to the weekend...

Check out my cute new outfit - thanks Aunt Sarah!!

Annabel LOVES to stand up now. She is such a big girl!Hanging out in the bumbo...

Standing again - this time she pulled herself up from the sitting position. She gets so excited every time she does it. My sweet girl

Why are naked babies so cute? I couldn't resist taking a picture of this little moment - on her feet again!

Another naked shot, hanging out in the bumbo.

Annabel's first professional pics

Hello! I have survived the first two days at work, and am getting ready for my first Wednesday at home. I can't wait! It was so hard to leave her, and I'm so anxious to come home every night... I always heard people talk about how hard it is to go back to work, but I don't think you can ever really understand until you do it yourself. But we will survive! On a happy note, Annabel seems to have no problem at all adjusting, and the people at daycare seem to be crazy about her. I guess that's about all you can ask for!

So, I wanted to post the pictures that we got from Annabel's first professional photo shoot. I love them! Here you go -