27 WEEKS

This week has been crazy busy. We spent almost everday running around trying to get our tickets, get scheduled for household good pickup, packing and running to stores to get last minute items for our trip.
On thursday we went to Daddys work for his Christmas party...it was nice but no Santa:(.
Yesterday we went to the beach in the morning. Anna loves the beach. She loves the water and the sand. I love to watch her face as she touches the sand. She has a perplexed look on her face, its so cute...like she is studying the sand.

Later in the afternoon we went back to Ko olina and tried to takr some family pics. This is one of our favs. By the end of our photo session Anna was done with the whole picture taking idea...but that was ok.

Anna crawled forward today!!!! She moved forward with one leg then fell on her face, then did it again and fell on her face again. It was adorable...i think she is gonna get it soon.
Today is a big day for Mommy and Anna...we are flying to the mainland today! Mommy is nervous but thinks everything will go ok. We cant wait to spend time with family. We do wish Daddy was flying on the same day and flight as us...but thats ok...(thats what happens when you buy a ticket with your miles..no flexibility).
MERRY CHRISTMAS!

26 weeks

Anna starting drinking from a this week. She loves apple juice!!!! We havent tried anything else because the commissary only had apple and pear juice. She loves applesauce but isnt very fond of pears so...we figured she would love apple juice and not pear juice. She is still working on tipping the cup to get everything out of it but she is learning.

Anna is still working on crawling. She will get up on all fours and rock back and forth but hasnt quite got the handle on how to move forward. Every once in awhile Anna will crawl backwards but its a rare occasion. She loves to roll and around to get where she needs or wants to go.

Anna still a big gabber. She loves to talk to herself or anyone that will listen. Ok not anyone...she gets shy around people she doesnt know.

I think everyday Anna looks forward to bathtime. She loves it sooooo much. She will squeal with excitement when she sees her little bathtub...its sooooo cute!

Anna has officially mastered sitting up on her own. She cant get up and situp on her own. But if you sit her up she will sit there and play and gab away until she see something she needs to roll to. she also loves to sit and "read" (ok...look at) her books.


Ohhh...currently Anna's favorite toy...an old laptop! She always tries to bang on the keys when she is sitting in our laps so we decided to let her play with an old one. She loved it!

25 weeks

We had a busy week this week. We had Anna's half 1st birthday, babysat for a neighbor, had a 6 month checkup, went to Kaneohe and spent the weekend with Daddy (Mommy had drill).

We wrote all about Anna's half birthday in the last post...she was sooooo cute attacking the little cake!

On Friday we had to babysit in the morning for our neighbor. Anna did so well with the other little girl who is 2. Anna spent her time rolling around on the ground, playing with toys and trying to sleep.

Also on Friday we had Anna's 6 month checkup. She weighed 13 pounds 10.7 ounces and was 25.4 inches long. The docter said she is still in the 5O percentile for height and is in the 16-17 percentile for weight. However, he said not to worry about her weight as breastfed babies generally dont gain as much weight as formula fed babies. So bottom line she is doing GREAT! Anna also got three shots, she did very good. She cried but calmed down very quickly.

Anna and Daddy had some quality time together this weekend. They spent part of it watching football and soccer. Anna got to cheer for UNC womens soccer team as they won the National Championship. Daddy said Anna loved watching the soccer game. She sat up indian style and seemed mesmerized by it at times...(maybe a sign of things to come...our little soccer player?)


Anna is still not sleeping thru the night. I seriously think her bed is uncomfortable. She will fall asleep in it but will wake up in the middle of the night.

HAPPY HALF FIRST BIRTHDAY

December 2nd was Anna's Half 1st Birthday. We got the idea of celebrating Anna's half birthday from a friend I had in college (thanks Sheila). Anna really enjoyed her half birthday. She had a mini-cake with a candle. The flame fascinated her or maybe she was reaching for the chocolate. Daddy let Anna have her first taste of chocolate! As soon as she tasted the icing, Anna dove headfirst at the cake!




Anna didnt do so good unwrapping her present. She tried to eat the paper...and promply gave us her mean face when she realized it wasnt chocolate!

Anna-Happy first half birthday. I cant wait to experience more bdays with you! Daddy and I love you!

24 weeks

Thanksgiving week and we have so much to be thankful for...most of all our beautiful healthy baby girl. Anna is growing so fast. She loves to talk to herself and to other people. Her vocab is expanding to "words" other than da da. She even said ma ma today! WHOOO HOOOOO! However, her new favorite sound to make is her fake laugh. I have no clue where she picked it up but it is so funny. Out of the blue she will just literally go "HA HA"! Nothing has to be going on...she can just be sitting there and she will do it. When you look at her she gets the biggest smile on her face and will often do the fake laugh again.
For Thanksgiving we went to the DFAC because Daddy had to serve the Soldiers. It was amazing how many families were there.
On Friday we had a first...our firt BLACK FRIDAY. We got up at 4 in the morning and headed to the mall. By the time we got to the mall, the line for toys'r'us was already about 200 people long...JUST TO GET IN THE DOOR. So needless to say we didnt get to that store. However, we did get a lot of shopping done and Anna picked out some new winter outfits. Anna did so good shopping we got her a new toy...its one of those bed bug bopper things (see pic below). SHE LOVES IT. Most of the time she just bangs the bugs with her hand (ok she is banging the entire bed) but there are times when she will use the hammer and try to bang the bugs. She gets so excited with this toy. Its so cute to sit her in her chair and watch her.


Two nights ago Anna crawled for the first time!!! BACKWARD!!!! She didnt go very far and hasnt done it since but it was funny to see her go backwards!
Anna is starting to get very picky with what foods she will eat. Currently her two favorite foods are prunes (no idea where she got this from) and applesauce.

Anna is also staring to whine a little more than we are used to. She doesnt cry, she just kind of whines. Not sure where this came from but we think it has to do a little with her teething.
Today Anna turns 6 months old! WOW!!!! Amazing. I think it will always seem like just yesterday she was born.

23 weeks...a bunch of firsts

Week 23 brought some more exciting firsts for Anna. On friday we went to our first movie in a theater. Anna really enjoyed the previews...but then fell asleep for the movie and slept thru the whole movie. Too bad I think she would have really enjoyed watching Bolt...
Anna also went to her first birthday party. She wasnt too fond of wearing her birthday hat...

but she did enjoy chewing on the hat...which we happily let her enjoy until we noticed her two little teeth (ok...the tip tops of her little teeth) were blue. She had little bits of the paper on her teeth. It was sooo cute but we took the hat away. She also dipped her feet in the pool for the first time. We had been afraid to put her in the pool before because her skin seems to be so sensitive. She didnt break out on her feet...so I guess she is cleared for the pool.
Anna went out to eat at Roy's with Mommy and Daddy for our anniversary. Before dinner we walked around and took pictures at Ko Olina.




Anna is starting to really enjoy tummy time. Although I dont know if she spends more time on her tummy or on her back. She has finally figured out how to get around...she rolls whereever she wants to go. Its the cutest little thing. She will roll over to her toy and then roll back....then roll over to Roxy...then back over. She is non-stop rolling if you put her on the floor. Here she is contemplating her next roll...


Anna also experienced her first Thanksgiving feast. We decided to have our Thanksgiving meal early because Daddy has to serve meals on Thanksgiving to the Soldiers. The feast was great...and Mommy and Daddy are still eating off of it (we cooked it on Saturday!) I think we will have turkey sandwhichs for at least a couple weeks!

22 weeks

Anna's new trick this week is putting her foot in her mouth and sucking on her big toe. Its so funny watching her try to get her foot to her mouth. She strains and struggles and is finally rewarded with her prize...her big toe! She does do it all the time, just sometimes when she is laying on her back or if she is sitting in her car seat but not strapped in. I am upset that I didnt get a picture of it...I did get a video but for some reason I have trouble loading videos to my blog. I will try to capture it again this week.

Anna also decided she was going to display her "mean" face this week. The first coupel time she did it, it was directed at Daddy. William would just be playing with her and then all of a sudden she would give him the "mean" look. I guess it meant she was doen playing. She finally showed me the "mean" look when I was feeding her pears the other day. Anna was doing fine eating and smiling..banging her hands around...gabbing and all of a sudden...I got the "mean" look. I guessed it meant she wasnt hungry anymore so we put the peaches away!

This past week both Mommy and Daddy were sick but luckily Anna didnt catch it. (YEA ANTIBODIES!!!) I think she got a little itsy bitsy bit of it because she broke out with a few bumps and one day woke up in the middle of the day and threw up but that was it. I am so glad she didnt get what Mommy and Daddy had....it wasnt fun.

Anna wore her cheerleader outfit again on Saturday for the UNC football and basketball game...it brought luck only to the basketball team...but that is ok...we will take that luck over no luck.

Anna continues to gab away. She loves to say da da. Oh and her two bottom teeth broke thru a little bit more this week. You can now see the very tops of them. She still hasnt been fussy over them...(trust me, we are counting our blessings on that one).

My little Tarheel!

ISNT SHE ADORABLE!!! MY LITTLE TARHEEL!

I cant believe I didnt show off my little Tarheel in my last post. These pics are from this past week (21st week). Nana and Poppop bought Anna a "cheerleader" outfit when they went to visit family in North Carolina.

Anna got to where the outfit as we watch North Carolina play football online! The Tarheels won so we are deeming the outfit lucky!

Anna looks so good in Tarheel blue! Somethings are just destiny...ok...I know I gotta let her make her mind where she wants to go...but I can give her a little nudge...and if she chooses North Carolina...well...lets just say WHOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOO!!!!

Anna had a great time sitting in her little Tarheel outfit...watching football and pretending like she was drinking Sundrop! She just couldnt get enough of that green bottle. Everytime Daddy would put it on the table she would just stare at it, lean towards it and grab at it! (oh and notice in the picture...Daddy is sporting Tarheel blue too!!!) GO HEELS!!!!

21 weeks

Anna had a busy weekend! We went to the beach 3 out of the 4 days (daddy had a four day weekend) We spent most of our time at White Sands. Anna even got to see her first Hawaiian monk seal...up close...(actually two of them). She didnt seem all that excited about them but that could have been because they were just laying there.



Although Anna wasnt very enthusiatic about the seals I am still glad that she got to see them. They are an endangered species that only lives in Hawaii (or so the volunteer told us)...the sad part is by the time she is mine and Williams age there is a good chance they wont be around. They were so cute. The volunteer told us that one was named Irma and the other Benny. Irma had had pups about two months ago and the reason she was onshore was to shed her skin...Benny came in everyday to "check in on her"...Irma didnt want much to do with Benny's checking!




We also went to Ala Moana Beach Park and hung out at the beach. It was a little chilly so we couldnt play in the water much. But Anna seemed to be really interested in the water despite the chilliness. She splashed around and smiled and then got all wrapped up in a huge beach towel to get warm. We definetely got to go back there again. We like White Sands for the surf but Ala Moana Beach Parks water is so calm so much better Anna to play in.



Anna is getting better at rolling from her tummy to her back...although she still gets upsept about being on her tummy...



she will "put up" with it. She really like to lay on her back and "scoot" around...I think we are watching too much UFC and she is praticing getting out of submissions.

Anna loves to eat her "solid" food. I think her two favorites are bananas and applesauce. She can eat a whole jar of those two in one sitting. The other flavors she likes (sweet potatoes, peaches, green beans and pears) takes her about two sittings to eat.

Annas interest in books seems to be growing she gets excited when you pull a book out and start reading to her. I love the smile she gets on her face as she looks at the book and then looks at whoever is reading to her. I also love watching her when she gets ahold of the book...she will study it...look it over...turn it upside down...turn it around...look at it...and then put the corner in her mouth.



Anna loves to go to the store and see all of the items. Her little eyes get so big to take everything in and she starts gabbing away so excitedly.
This weekend Anna picked out one of her nighties for Christmas. Now we need to get her one more so she will have one for Grandma and Grandpa Shoes house and one for Nana and Poppops house.

I am so excited for Christmas. I havent been this excited for Christmas in a long time. Im cant wait to take Anna to see Santa and to have her open her gifts! I know she might be a little too young to get it this year but I cant help but be excited for her. If we were spending Christmas here, I would have already gotten a tree, thats how excited I am.

Ohhhhh....how could I almost forget...Anna's two bottom teeth are really coming in. YOU CAN SEE the TOPS of them. They have broken through a little but still arent really above her gums. I am surprised because she hasnt been grumpy or run a fever yet...hopefully it isnt bothering her much and it continues not to bother her. I also noticed that over the last month she hasnt been drooling as much as she used to...she's learning to be a lady!

20 weeks

Anna said "Da Da"! It was sooooo cute! William was unloading groceries from the car and had put Anna on the counter. She was just sitting there babbling in her car seat, when all of a sudden she said "Da Da"! William was right there! He started saying...did you hear her? "Did you hear her?" Anna has only said it that once but it was still so cute, we both cant wait until she says it again!

This week was halloween and Anna was a pumpkin. She looked so adorable. We just laughed and laughed when we put her costume on. We didnt take her trick-or-treating since she cant eat the candy. Instead we all sat on the porch and passed out candy to all the trick-or-treaters. Personally...I think she was the cutest...call me biased!



Anna got to spend all weekend watching football with Daddy since Mommy had drill. Mommy missed Anna but Mommy is happy that Daddy and Anna got to have time alone.

Anna still cant roll-over from her tummy to her back. But she has become a pro going from her back to her tummy. Only problem is she doesnt like to be on her tummy...so when she rolls over she gets upset. I have tried to let "work it out" and see if she would roll back but no luck. I guess she knows Mommy and Daddy cant stand to her her cry and will roll her over.

Anna is doing great at eating solids. This week she really didnt like squash but loved applesauce, pears and bananas. Anna loves to grab the spoon and put it her mouth. She is pretty good with her aim. She hasnt quite figured out how to get food on the spoon and doesnt seem much interested in that aspect but loves when food is already there and ends up in her mouth

This coming weekend we have a four-day weekend with Daddy and CANT WAIT!

19 WEEKS

This past week was seemed like it lasted soooooo long...but in a good way. Daddy had a four day weekend so we got to spend a lot of time together.

Anna tried some new baby foods this week. She really liked peaches and sweet potatoes...she didnt like beef and gravy at all. She is really good at eating her baby food. She will open her mouth real wide when she sees the spoon and will often lunge forward at it. She does pretty good keeping most of it in her mouth...but when it does escape she still uses her hand to push it back in. Its so fun to watch her eat. I love the different faces she makes as she is eating. Sometimes it looks like she is making a face like "ewwwwww...what was that"...most of the time she does this on the first bite. Then she gets excited.

This weekend we went to the beach. Anna played in the sand with Daddy. She loves move her feet around in the sand. She also loves to look at the ocean. We tried to get pictures of Anna and us....but it was a little difficult because she kept looking towards the ocean. I guess we could have made it easier by turning around...but we wanted the ocean in the background.


We also went to the pumpkin patch. It was surreal to think that last year when we went to the pumpkin patch Anna was still growing in my belly. Anna liked the pumpkins she wanted to hold her pumpkin but...even though it was little it still was too big for her.


Anna is also getting better at rolling over. She likes to rollover from her back to her stomach but hasnt quite got the stomach to back down yet. Its fun to watch her rollover. She will rock on her back until she gets enough momentum to roll herself over. However, she still isnt really a fan of tummy time...so when she does rollover...she often gets fussy real quick.
Anna is sleeping better at night...but sometimes has a hard time falling asleep at first. She can be totally exhausted but will fight sleep. Sometimes holding her helps...most of the time it doesnt. Last night she woke us up a few times whimpering (like she was about to start crying). When I looked in her crib she was asleep. So I just said "shhhhhh its ok Anna" and she would stop. She does this during the day sometimes too...it makes me sad. I wonder what is she dreaming about that makes her want to cry. The only part that makes me feel good is most of the time she stops as soon as I talk to her.
Anna has become very interested in faces this week. Both William and I have noticed that she likes to grab our faces. She smiles when she does this and sometimes she has that studying look on her face.
She still loves her flash cards and gets so excited when she sees them. She loves to hold them and look at the pictures. It also seems that ABC's are still is still her favorite song (especially when i sign as I sing).
Anna got her first Halloween card from MawMaw and Granddad Durrette. We gave it to her opened and she had so much fun holding it and waving it around. When we took it from her to open it, she got upset until she saw the picture of the cat on the card. She smiled so big and grabbed the card and wouldnt let it go...eventually we had to take it from her because she decided she wanted to try eat it.



Everyday Anna seems to change...its so amazing watching her grow...in a few more days she will hit her 5 month bday...I still cant believe it!

18 WEEKS

18 weeks! Wow! It doesnt feel like its been two days since Anna was born. It feels like just yesterday but then I look at her and see how much she has grown. How smart she is becoming! How she is growing into a unique little girl.

This week Anna has continued to wake up in the middle of the night to eat. I think she is going through a growth spurt because she seems to be more hungry during the day as well. Anna tried baby food bananas for the first time this week. She made the funniest face when she first tasted it. It looked like she didnt like it at all. But when she was offered more she gobbled it up. She LOVED it! Now we gotta pick another kind for Anna to try. I think the next one might be beef...I dont think she will like it but I dont wont to just give her the sweet kind at first. Maybe if we mix up she will like the "not so good ones" too!




Anna and Daddy had an scary but exciting moment at the beach. While Mommy was out surfing Daddy noticed a huge shadow in the water really close to the shoreline. Daddy was really nervous...his first thought "SHARK". Daddy didnt know what to do...should he yell for Mommy to come in...but that would mean she would have to come near the shadow...or should he let her stay out and hope the shadow went the other way....so Daddy watched the shadow as it continued to approach the shoreline....all of a sudden...the shadow poked its head out of the water. It wasnt a shark...it was just a monk seal. Daddy took some pictures of it.



Anna also taught Daddy a new game. As we were driving back from the beach Anna started to cough. But it was a fake cough. Daddy was sitting in the back seat with Anna and asked her what she was doing. She faked cough again. So Daddy faked coughed and then Anna fake coughed...the played this games a few times before Anna tired of it. We both though it was so funny that she was copying Daddy...and that she fake coughed to get attention.

Anna still likes to play peek-a-boo whenever you change her diaper. She will grab her pants and pull them over her face until you ask where is Anna? Then she pulls them off and smiles. I want to get this on video but always forget the camera whenever we change her.


Anna did something else that amazed us this past weekend. We came downstairs in the morning and Daddy sat down with Anna on his lap. He noticed she was looking around. Then she started looking over his shoulder. We thought she might be looking for Mommy but noooooooo....when she saw Roxy she smiled. She also looked at the cat cage for the cats! So smart! She loves the animals!

Peek-a-boo!

Anna has picked up a new game! Yesterday while I was changing her I placed her pants up by her head. Anna rolled to her side and picked up her pants. She then rolled back to her back and put the pants over her face. So I said "where's Anna?"...and as soon as I said that she pulled the pants away from her face and smiled. She then put the pants right back on her face...so again I said "where's Anna?" and again she pulled the pants away from her face and smiled. She did this four or five times before she stopped.
She is such a smart baby. William and I have played peek-a-boo with her but not alot because she never really reacted to it. I just think its so smart that she picked it up.
So leason learned even though she may not react to a game...it doesnt mean she isnt paying attention and learning!

17 weeks

We had so much fun this past weekend. Daddy had a four day weekend (friday-monday) off and we went to the beach everymorning. The first three mornings we went to White Sands beach and Anna and Daddy watched Mommy attempt to surf. Mommy did pretty good each day she caught 3 good waves and was only in the water about 30 minutes each day. Anna loved the beached. One day after surfing we took Anna over to Iroquios Point beach. We were hoping the water would be calmer so Anna could play in it. It was a little bit calmer. Anna seemed to really like when the water would come up and hit her. She would watch the ocean as if she was waiting. When she got bored she reached down and grabbed a handful of sand. Luckily she didnt put it in her mouth! I think she would have but at that moment the water came up and hit her and she dropped the sand. She didnt squeal her happy sound but she didnt cry...so I think she enjoyed it...but was wondering what everything was. On Monday we went to the North Shore to watch the big waves. This time Anna spent the whole time in Mommy's lap kicking the sand. I think she liked the way it felt on her feet because everytime I tried to scoot her out of the sand she wiggled her way back into it.





Anna has continued to find her voice. Her new favorite activity...screaming! It would probably be annoying to someone if we were out at a restaruant or something but I think its hilarious. I just laugh at her. Its not an upset scream or anything like that its more just a scream to her herself...and boy does Anna love her own voice!

We have started putting Anna in her crib...which is hard for Mommy. I liked having her close. I liked being able to her breathe or feel her movements. So...the crib is right next to the bed. I am doing ok with it. I really like it when she has her binkie because I can her her sucking on it. I often find myself waking up when I dont hear it...most of the time its because she has let it fall out of her mouth. Anna is doing good with sleeping in her crib. We still have her sleep on the little mat so she cant roll over. She likes to "talk" herself to sleep...often "talking" Mommy and Daddy to sleep too! She loves to hug and pet her pink hippo as she falls asleep. Its so adorable to look in the crib, hear her "talking", see her eyes slowly closing and her hugging and petting the hippo. I take the hippo out of her crib once she falls asleep just because I am a nervous Mommy.

Anna has started a new habit....MIDNIGHT snacking! Not so fun for Mommy and Daddy. She wakes up anywhere between 1-3 hungry. So I get up feed her and she falls right back to sleep and normally doesnt wake until about 6:30. Its not bad. Honestly I kind of like it because I know she is ok

I love Anna's hair...the curls continue to pop up out of nowhere.


Anna is starting to really enjoy tummy time! She also likes laying on her back and playing. She is still working on the rolling over...She however has another talent. Somehow she turns her body and her feet end up where her head was and her head where her feet were.

Anna also loves her flash cards. She loves to take them from Mommy...look at it for a bit and then see how it taste! She gets so excited when she sees her flash cards. She really pays attention to what is on the card, its so cute to see the concentration on her face as I say the word and she looks at the card.