Another big week

We've got another big week to talk about! First of all, Annabel got her tubes put in her ears today... we went in at 6:15, and were done at about 8:30. Things went great - she was an angel before, especially considering the fact that she was awake for a full hour and 15 minutes beforehand with no breakfast! Afterwards she had a hard time coming out of the anasthetic, and was pretty upset over it. She had some pain this afternoon, but she seems to be doing much better now. She's been in really good spirits all afternoon! Oh - and for those of you who are keeping track, they weighed Annabel before surgery, and she is now officially 19 lbs, 1 oz! That means in the last three weeks she has gained a pound and a half... oh my....



Yesterday we had a big 'first' - Annabel rolled over from her back to her stomach! She has been almost there for about a week or so, but yesterday she finally got her arm out from under her, and got herself up on her elbows after she rolled over. She was ticked off at first, but once I started cheering and clapping she got excited about it too.



This weekend was very busy for us... Annabel and I went to Lafayette on Saturday morning, where we visited with Ryan Timmons (friend from high school), his wife Rebecca, and new baby Barrett for breakfast. It's been years since I've seen them, so it was a lot of fun catching up. Then we had lunch with my mom and grandma, and then went to Lisa's parents' house for a swim... it was a perfect day for it, and Annabel seemed to enjoy the water. Then Saturday night I left her at my parents, and Nate and I went out for dinner and drinks with our friend Ethan and his girlfriend. It was so fun to be out on a Saturday night again! Of course we missed Annabel, but enjoyed ourselves all the same. My parents and Annabel had a blast, and she was pretty well worn out when we picked her up the next day.



Ok, picture time... enjoy!

Annabel and Lisa at the pool

Annabel plays with a new toy from grandpa and Nana

Annabel gets better at sitting up every day - she's going to be doing it all by herself very soon!

Annabel loves her daddy!

When we took Annabel to the hospital, they gave us these pajamas that were made for a 3 year-old. She looks so small in them! Nate wasn't sure what to do with the pants... this was his solution.

These are pictures from this afternoon - you can see she is back to normal!

And now for the great unveiling - after a lot of blood, sweat and tears, Nate has finished remodeling our guest bathroom. I think it looks great! First, here are pictures of the "pink" bathroom before:

And now, the new and improved AFTER:


GREAT JOB, NATE!


Here are a couple of videos for you - the first one is a video of me reading Annabel a bedtime story. The other is of Nate blowing air in Annabel's face. Everytime he does it she smiles, and she never seems to get tired of it!

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.