Brrr...

Annie's having her first real taste of cold this weekend, with temperatures this weekend not supposed to get above -1 degrees (and then wind chill makes it even lovelier--negative 20 and the like). We bundled her up for church this morning and she seemed to do quite fine, complaining far less than I did. We have kept a pretty low-key weekend, not wanting to venture out too much. Last Tuesday when it was still a balmy 20 degrees, we all went for a walk--Annie in the new back carrier which she seems to just love!!!

This past week has not seen any major milestones, instead we've seen her sharpening the skills she has...She can get around the house now with ease, and is becoming more and more proficient in pulling up. She thinks games of chase are quite exciting. Needless to say, the baby proofing continues. We keep experimenting with new finger foods, one of her new favorites is tofu.

Annie has always been quite the little talker, but it's been fun in recent weeks to listen to her wider and wider range of sounds, some of them quite sweet sounding, others down right goofy. Mealtimes can turn especially silly. This week we've also worked out perfecting the wave, she's been waving "hi" and "goodbye" for awhile now to Eric as he comes and leaves for work during the day, she loves to sit in the big picture window in the living room to do so. For awhile, it seemed she couldn't transfer the wave beyond the picture window occasions, now she'll wave like crazy whenever anyone says a word anywhere close to "hi."

We are having quite fun with her developing independence, she is so very clear about what she wants and doesn't want, and it's been incredible to watch her learning to express this.

The Clean Plate Club

Well, Annie's been reinstated as a member. Her membership had been revoked about a week and a half ago when she started making it clear that food delivered to her on a spoon was incredibly undesirable. The only thing she seemed interested in eating was Cheerios. Now, for a little girl who'd previously eaten anything we'd give her, this took us by surprise. After some meals where we'd get one bite into her and then rely on the Cheerios to fill her up, the light bulb went on. We have a nine month old, who--right on time with everything we've read--is expressing her independence at mealtimes. We attempted to let her feed herself with a spoon, but that was a disaster. The answer to our dilemma was then: dice it. Diced sweet potatoes, apples, avocados...basically, anything she's given to pick up and feed herself, she'll eat. Once again, she's finishing well-balanced meals. She gets to feed herself, that makes her happy. She's eating a variety of foods, that makes us happy. All is well.



In other Annie news, to celebrate her Uncle John's birthday last week, Annie started crawling! In the first few days it was definitely just to get something: a toy, her mommy. But, as the week's progressed it's been more about exploring her little world. This has led to some pulling up, some attempts to climb stairs, and other such fun. Needless to say, we will be spending time this weekend crawling around ourselves, to make sure that all is safe for her.

Besides this, we've been attempting to get back into a routine after holiday craziness...We so much enjoyed being out and about and seeing friends and family, but this weekend are enjoying relaxing...

2008

We welcomed in 2008 with a relatively calm night with friends--here are Annie and Daddy heading out for the first time in 2008! We hope everyone's year is off to a wonderful beginning...

Wedding Time!

After spending Friday trying to get our wits about us--we headed on Friday evening to Eric's cousin Cheryl's wedding. We got to be there for the beautiful ceremony, and for just a few minutes afterwards to visit with family before heading to college friend Mattie's rehearsal dinner. When we returned home, we were greeted by friends visiting for the wedding from Washington and Arizona, one of whom was staying with us.




Saturday morning some dear college friends came over for a pre-wedding brunch, we enjoyed getting to see many of the out-of-towners, and especially watching Annie play with the other kids, Meagan (2 1/2 years, Scottie, 4 years, and Brody, 1 year).




Once the brunch was over we quickly got ready for the wedding then headed off. It was a beautiful and sweet ceremony, and we were so happy to participate in it. The reception was a ball--Annie loved playing peek-a-boo with anyone who would look at her, and very much enjoyed dancing through the night.



In fact, at one point, we were getting ready to go (getting Annie into her pj's) when a song started and she started her little head dancing thing...needless to say, we couldn't deny her one more dance before heading home.

Annie's 9 Months!

Our last couple of days in Arizona were somewhat relaxing--some people were sick, which slowed down things--filled with playtime, games, and visiting. On Annie's 9 month birthday she got to spend the afternoon playing with Aunt Tonia while Jenia attended a funeral for an old pastor (Eric was sick in bed). Jenia was very glad to be able to be at the funeral and got to see many people from years ago...Annie and Tonia had fun getting lots of time to play together.

Then, we had to pack up and head home--we took a red-eye flight from Arizona--Annie once again did a great job traveling, she fell asleep during take-off, and then slept through the flight, landing, baggage claim (including having to stand in line because one bag did not make it!), taxi ride, and getting into bed, and woke up in the morning FAR more ready for the day than either her mommy or daddy!

Christmas Eve and Day

We had a wonderful time with Annie on her first Christmas. Christmas Eve we headed over to the Deans' for a tasty dinner fixed by Uncle Alex before going to the family service at Grandma and Grandpa's church. Annie loved looking at the Christmas trees and listening to the carols (singing along in her own way!).


Christmas morning she was delightful--she was quite excited to see her stocking, in particular the ball that rested upon it...that kept her busy for much of the morning. We had a relaxing morning opening presents, and then the Deans joined us for our traditional brunch...We relaxed, played with cousins, toys, and napped for the rest of the afternoon, and then headed to Uncle Larry and Aunt Tina's for dinner with the whole Olson family. Annie enjoyed playing with her cousins, and Jenia's cousins, and had great fun looking at the tree there with Aunt Tonia.

Christmas fun...

We've very much enjoyed the last week here in Arizona. Aunt Tonia and Uncle John arrived on Tuesday, Eric arrived on Wednesday, and the Dean family has been visiting each day--needless to say Annie is getting to spend wonderful time with cousins, aunts and uncles, and Grandma and Grandpa Olson.

Annie's mastered going from laying down to sitting up on her own, is seeming more and more interested in books, and is loving bath time in the big bath where she can splash and kick all she wants. She's enjoyed time with other little people--playing with cousin Elliott and closely observing and patting cousin Kate.

Annie's been introduced to Cheerios and is quite proficient at feeding herself, she would eat them all day long if we'd let her.

We're very excited to celebrate Christmas with Annie, and are enjoying simply being all together!