Annika at 22 months

I haven't written anything about Annika for a long time and she is so funny, cute and mischievous right now that I must write about her. Annika wakes up at the exact same time each morning no matter how much sleep she got the night before. Putting her to bed later doesn't seem to change anything as we found out over Thanksgiving break when she just kept waking up early even though we wanted to sleep in. When she wakes up she immediately yells, "Ashlin Ashlin Ashlin What!" She wants Ashling to wake up and say What to her. Then she might get desperate and yell for Ali or Daddy or sometimes Mommy. (I am very unlikely to be the one that gets her out of bed in the morning so she isn't interested in me.)

Annika is discovering her love of clothes. She wants to pick out what to wear in the morning although most of what she picks out is actually pajamas. Her favorite clothes are a pair of thermals that are 2 sizes too big that Mandie gave us. She loves to wear these clothes and tries to get you to put them on all day. She also loves shoes and practices putting them on and taking them off all day.

Annika loves her pacifier or as she calls it her "pa fa." But due to the concern of 50 million viewers telling me how her teeth are going to be ruined and how awful I am for allowing this pacifier I have taken it away from her at all but bed time and nap time. This is what she has decided to do instead. Obviously she is not slow to think of new ideas to solve problems. Now she is sucking her fingers and I find myself wanting to give her the pacifier again all the time so she won't get in the habit of sucking on fingers. It is much harder to break.
Annika is happy and loves to make people laugh. She is also compassionate and after pulling hair or kicking me she will say, "sorry momma" if I expressed that it hurt me. She loves to give hugs and the older girls have started fake crying just to get Annika to give them a hug. She says hi and bye to everyone and calls people older people grandma or grandpa. I think this is an especially good idea since they melt and she gets the smiles and attention that she wants.
Annika loves to sing and dance. If there is music on she is responding to it. She dances in the shopping cart, dances in the mall, dances in restaurants and of course dances at home. She loves to sing itsy, bitsy spider, old mc donald had a farm, and twinkle, twinkle, little star. Annika really likes it when her daddy sings her this song while he takes her outside to look at the stars.
Annika recently realized that there is a big world outside of the car. She looks out the windows with such interest. Her favorite things to see are the moon, the lights and down the hill. She says, "I see it. Moont. I see it. Light. I see it. Look Momma, Look. I see it" I don't think she knows exactly what she seems when looking down the hill at the distant city and lights but it is beautiful and she notices it. I like how she says things and wish she would stay this age forever.
Among the troubling aspects of Annika's development is that she has learned that coloring is her favorite activity. She grabs a pencil, crayon, or marker and sets to work making my walls look beautiful with her artwork. I have spent a long time scrubing walls and I am nowhere near done cleaning off her artwork. I have taken all the crayons away from everyone and put them up high. Then when Annika wants to color we put her on a stool she can't get down from and then give her the crayons. The problem isn't totally fixed but hopefully in a couple weeks she will understand where she should draw. I hope time out works for her!
We love having Annika in our family and it is amazing to see what a unique personality she can be when we already have two wonderful girls.

Annika at the beach

There is something about babies at the beach that is just so appealing. I had to have my own post just for Annika. Stacey took some amazing pictures of Annika and she looks so cute in the new bathing suit that she found. Annika really enjoyed the beach. She ran right out in the water and screamed a little when she realized just how cold it was. (The ocean is still especially cold for this time of year.) She managed to enjoy playing in the waves until one knocked her over, grabbed her and started dragging her out to the sea..... (It wasn't really bad but to her it seemed like the sea was alive.) After that she was more content to dig in the sand. She enjoyed chasing the sea gulls and throwing sand on a little boy who chased her around. It was a great beach day

for her and she didn't even get burned!

My favorite Toy

I thought I should show Annika with her puppy. She loves all dogs and for Christmas the girls gave her this little dog. It is some sort of Vtech toy and I think it is very cool It has a bone that works like a simple remote control. It dances, sings, talks about its body parts and will follow you if you hold its bone. The bone will also make the thing sing and dance. When she touches a part of the dog then it says what that part is called. We keep the dog in our kitchen where the floor is right. Annika spend more time with it than almost any other toy and the girls are very excited to play with it too. I like that while I am cooking dinner or doing the dishes she is occupied and where I can see her. (I also think that Rice O roni will keep an 11 month old occupied for forever. But when she was tired of that she went right back to the toy.)

I recommend this as a must have for any child ages 1-2 years old. I managed to find it at Walmart. I NEVER shop there but this time I am glad I decided to branch out in search of new quality toys for Annika.

Annika 10 months

Annika is 10 months old today. Sometimes I just want to curl her up and hold her like she was a newborn. I wish I could hold on to the moments where I can still cuddle her in my arms but they seem to be slipping away with great speed. She has us all wrapped around her finger and when she whines 4 of us come running and fight over who gets to solve her problems. When she gets herself in trouble she has 4 people who make sure she is safe. And when she laughs she lights up our whole world.

She is hard to cuddle as she is always on the move. We enjoy having her as part of the family. She is great fun. She loves to dance and loves to listen to rock and roll music. She learned to climb up the stairs but is still struggling with understanding how to go down the stairs. She likes people food now and is refusing to eat anything she can't feed herself. It makes meal time a little difficult. She likes to have a bottle and will accept anything in it; apple juice, formula or just water. But she still nurses just as much too.

Annika likes to bite everyone and everything. It is hard to teach her not to. She doesn't understand that this hurts us. She uses biting to communicate the fact that she is hungry.

She is also getting pretty good at communicating. She doesn't cry very much but tries to find a word to explain what she wants. She rubs her eyes when she is tired, she says ba ba when she is hungry, she screams when she wants her sisters to stop and she shakes her head, "no." She does not seem to have much stranger anxiety but is instead very social. She will say, "hi" to anyone and loves other babies the most.

She loves that brown box in the picture and is always climbing on top of it. She also likes to play with the little people and she likes to open and close doors. She likes to ride in the backpack and doesn't appreciate the stroller nearly as much. We love Annika and are glad we have had her in our lives for 10 months.

Annika Stats

Annika went to the doctor's yesterday. She weighed 18 pounds 10 ounces and was 28 3/4 inches long. That is 50% for weight and 75% for height. I guess she has slowed down slightly which is good news in my book.

She has learned to sign "more", learned to shake her head "no", and learned to ask for a "ba ba" each and every night after I finish nursing her. I guess she is just hungry for a little more than I can provide. I am trying to be okay with that but I am not really. I never gave the others a bottle ever.

Annika is 9 months

Annika is now nine months old. She is learning a lot everyday. She says ma ma, da da, A.... for the girls, dog-dog-dog, and ba ba. She loves music.... she dances to it whenever she hears it. She loves to play the piano and "jam". She is just learning to crawl the right way. She does not like the kids to pick her up and move her and really complains when they take her away from something she likes. She loves to play with the little people and can entertain herself forever with a string or a cord. She loves Baby Einsteins and watches it in her swing. She loves going on hikes in the backpack carrier but does not like it when the backpack carrier is put on the ground. She gives kisses to me and crawls over. She is standing up on everything and very proud of it.

Annika is 8 months old

Annika is now 8 months old! It is unreal how fast my baby has grown into an actual person with her own thoughts, opinions, and voice. She learned quickly that the most important word in her vocabulary would be da de. I am already wrapped tightly around her and she doesn't even have to say my name. Dad's are a little harder and so saying his name has won her the prize of having Daddy's full attention. (Talking runs in our family and you must be adept at it to belong.) She says da de all the time to get Cameron's attention.

Annika also loves music. Anytime Cameron whistles (not me because my whistles are not musical,) she dances to it. I would love to get video and will have to sometime but I am not able to put that on my blog... yes I blame the computer once again.

She is also on the move. Her army crawl is perfected and she can crawl where ever she wants. She is also capable of a couple of "steps" of regular crawling before she gives in and goes down to what is still faster. I put up the baby gate to celebrate her 8 month birthday.

She loves her sisters and watches them wishing she could get up and run and dance too. Ali danced with her the other day and she was laughing the whole time. She also has become interested in Sierra and crawls over to her and then pulls her ears or fur. Sierra isn't too intersted in Annika but knows better than to complain. We have taught Sierra to move out of the way because Annika is in charge.

Annika graduated from the infant car seat to the convertible car seat that is still facing backwards. She also had to graduate to sitting up in the shopping carts when shopping. At costco Annika got very tired and was falling asleep while sitting up. She kept laying over on Ashling. I laid her all the way down on Ashling and Ashling held her while she slept. (I know I should have took a picture but I didn't.)

The last thing that Annika has decided is that she loves to be home. She isn't too sure of the rest of the world and for sure wants to be in her own bed when sleeping. She does not sleep well anymore unless she is in her own crib. This month has been quite fussy and I think I have gotten less sleep than anytime since she was 3 weeks old. I hope that trend ends soon!

We love Annika and can't imagine life without her.

Post-edit: Last night she slept all night... and I loved it. I exercised today and everyone is much happier. Thanks Annika!

7 months

I was looking at a tiny baby yesterday and imagining Annika that small. I almost can't remember it. I almost can't remember the tiny clothes, the cuddly baby who molded to my arms, the tiny body that couldn't do anything for itself. I can't remember the baby who slept for hours and hours during the day and who I could lay in one place and expect her to stay there until I moved her. I can't remember when she couldn't only smile with her eyes and the only window to her mood was her cry. I can't remember that tiny cry that motivates so quickly.

I have a big 7 month old who wants to be just like her sisters. She is constantly moving. She rolls, scoots, kicks and grabs with her hands. She pinches, feeds herself, plays with toys, watches movies and mostly watches her sisters. A lady at church told me that when she walks she will be running and I expect that she will. She never wants to sit still. She loves to go on hikes as long as we keep moving but when we stop she is ready to get out and explore the dirt. She does not even like to sit because it is too still for her. Sometimes she doesn't even seem like a baby and I miss it.

Last night I got another glimpse of my tiny baby. I wrapped her up in her swaddle blanket and laid her in the middle of a big down blanket on the floor. We were at a friend's house and it was past her bedtime. I checked on her a little while later and she had her arm out of the blanket and was cuddled against the edge. She still looked like my little baby.

teeth grinding!

This morning I heard the distinct sound of grinding teeth coming from Annika's mouth. And I realized that she has her top right tooth!

She weighs

She weighs 16 pounds 2 ounces and is 27 3/4 inches long.

She weights 58 pounds 4 ounces and is 50 inches long. And she is going on vacation without me to learn how to backpack and "get to the top" and I am sad because I won't be there to see her experience it for the first time. And this is just the first of many things I will not be there to experience with her for the first time.

Look who's sitting!

Annika is mostly sitting up now. But she thinks that sitting is a little boring. If you are wondering where she got her cute little outfit it was from the Gap. And her nice and very generous auntie gave it to her. I couldn't resist her and did a whole photo shoot of pictures of her cute little self.

Annika is 6 months old!

Annika is now 6 months old! How time does fly. She is getting so big and learning so much. Her favorite thing to do is roll around on the floor and go from one end of the living room to the other and then roll back. She also likes to scoot on her back if she can't get where she wants by rolling. She likes to play with all her toys and puts anything in her mouth.

Annika likes to smile at everyone and she is starting to wave hi when she feels like it. She likes Daddy to lay on the floor by her and laughs at him. (he is pretty funny looking.) She is starting to like to participate with her sisters in their activities and loves to look at what they are doing.

Her all time favorite game is peek a boo. She will get part of her dress or a blanket and put it over her face and then peek out. She loves it when you say the words for her. She loves to sleep on her tummy now that she can roll. She is so cute rolled on her tummy and sleeping. So much for sleep on her back! Happy 1/2 Birthday Annika!

She's Growing up

Last night I went on a bike ride. And not just any bike ride but a ride with a child. My child. And I realized that it was fun for me. Not just fun because seeing your kids do anything is fun but because I had a great time with her fun. I pedled myself up the steep hills and rode fast down them. I raced my daughter down the hills and pushed past her as we climbed up. I didn't have to stop and wait and slow myself down to her level. Instead she was already at my level or at least close enough to be fun. We stopped and rested and listened to ourselves breathe. She told me all about butterflies, lizards and fun places to ride bikes.

Today we went shopping and it was fun too. She looked at things and discussed them with me. We talked about what we wanted and how we would spend the 200, 000 dollars some casino was promising we would win if we played. She would buy me a Kayak and I would buy her a doll house. We even got smoothies and although they were small we both couldn't finish them. She evaluated things, looked for deals, counted her money and made her her own purchases and I made mine.

I never thought that would happen so soon. My baby girl has turned into a interesting, engaging person that I like to hang out with as a friend too. How could this happen and how can she be growing up so quickly? I don't know but today I think I really like it.

Annika is 4 months old

Annika is now 4 months old. Some things that she has learned this month are to use her hands with purpose and grab and shake all her toys. She has also learned to roll from her back to her tummy. I put her on her back several times and she just kept practicing rolling to her tummy. She is also looking at things and rolling to get them and moving by scooting on her back. She also received her first tooth while we were on vacation.

She is fun to have around. She is mostly happy and loves to smile and coo at whoever will look at her. She has her favorites: she loves to look at her sisters. She also has spent some time with her grandma Sue and seems to really enjoy being with her. She will stop everything to say hi to daddy when he comes home. I am the favorite of course which is the best part of being a mom.

Annika is 3 months old!

Annika is now 3 months old! I can't believe how fast time flies when you are having fun! And we are having fun! She is sleeping through the night and still sleeping much like a newborn. She goest to sleep so easily. I just lay her down in her crib all swaddled and she is asleep soon without any crying!

She is laughing and giggling and cooing for everyone. She loves to play with toys and is beginning to hold things in her hands although she is not always sure how to do that. She loves her sisters and wants them to play with her although she is not as keen of their many hugs and kisses (called smothering). She rolls over but only sometimes and not always when she wants to. She is not happy when put on her tummy and spends her time trying to get out of that position and whining. (This is about the only time she whines.) She puts her entire fist in her mouth and loves it being there. I think she would sleep all night that way but I still swaddle her so she can't get her fist into her mouth. Instead she has a pacifier that she holds on to even when she is crying!

Last time she was weighed she was 12 pounds 10 ounces and so I am sure she is now about 13 pounds. She is growing and growing and looks a little chunky and rolly polly just like a 3 month old should look! I love having her to keep us all jumping with her few demands!

She is sooo tall!

I took Annika to the doctor today. She had her two month check up. But she was a little sick so we did not do shots. This is the only picture I could get of her today. She looks like she has a cold and she doesn't feel good. She weighed 11 pounds 11 ounces and was 24 3/4 inches long! Wow for her height. She is now in the 95th percentile for height. I can't believe she grew so much . But I guess that is why the 0-3 month clothes are getting too short.

My favorite thing about Annika right now is rocking her to sleep. She is cute. She cuddles up against my arm and closes her eyes as soon as I swaddle her. I love spending the time to rock her to sleep. Although I only do it half the time because I want her to sleep on her own too.

Shhhh... be quiet... Anni is sleeping.

I have been trying to teach the girls the art of being quiet with a sleeping baby. It hasn't been easy. Either I hear, "Mommy guess what I saw...." or "Ali" followed by crying, or someone is telling on someone else. All of these screams do not make it easy for Annika to stay sleeping. I don't know how I managed to get a light sleeper for my third child but she is a light sleeper.

Each and every morning I wake up and feed Annika and she plays in her big crib while I shower. She is content and happy until about the time the older girls wake up. Then she is ready to go back to sleep. The problem is that I don't have time to rock her to sleep while getting the girls ready and so I wrap her up already buckled into her car seat. And then she screams.... and screams.... and screams... for what seems like forever but is really only 5-10 minutes. I still don't have time to take care of her as I am doing hair, making breakfast and making lunches. So Ali loves to play the mommy and puts the pacifier back in her mouth and whispers soothing words to her. She is my very persistant child and eventually she succeeds in putting Anni to sleep.

This morning was especially difficult. Anni cried, fell asleep, and then dropped the pacifier and woke up screaming... Ali kept fixing everything and getting her back to sleep. Finally Anni seemed to be sleeping well and Ali tip-toed away from her car seat. "Shhhh... be quiet everyone" she whispered. She kept reminding us. . . .

My Blessings

So this post is a little of everything. We had no school Monday for the holiday and no school Tuesday or Wednesday for snow. I am grateful for lots of snow because it means water for us and it is fun to play in now.

I drove down the hill on Tuesday with the girls to take Annika and Ali to the doctor and Ashling to preschool. It was raining and snowing a little. I slipped and slid in one spot enough to scare me for the rest of the drive down the hill. I am grateful for the skills to steer and remembering not to use my brake that caused me to not get in an accident.

We found out why Annika makes so many noises like she is a squeeky toy. She has something called Tracheomalasia. Her trachea is not totally formed and so it makes noises by collapsing a little when she breathes. She will grow out of it eventually and it is not life threatening but concerning when she gets a cold. I am grateful that this is just a minor birth defect and not something more major.

Wednesday was a beautiful sunny day but there was still no school. I took the kids down the hill for the day. First we went to the park while I nursed Annika. Then we drove next door to the Highland City Library. It is a library/ learning center and they had the coolest things. There were fish, birds, reptiles and insects to look at. They had a center all about recycling and things to read about the local flood control dams and other reading things. They had a cool tree that they have story time puppets shows from and also computers for the kids to play on. The best thing was the roof garden with every kind of plant on the roof. The view from the top was amazing and the sun felt so very good. We then went to Costco and had a cheap costco lunch of hot dogs and soda. The costco treats inside were not the greatest but we did sample a little. Finally we went to Chalon's house and played with cousins. The girls tried to catch butterflies which is pretty hard without nets. Chalon fed me yummy salsa and made us home made pizza dough to make pizzas later that night. I am grateful for beautiful sunny days, fun places to go and fun family to hang out with.

Wednesday was major lay-off day at Cameron's work. This is the third set of layoffs they have done. And some people have also left for greener pastures. He survived this third lay off and was told they don't intend to lay off him. (Hopefully sometime the economy improves or their intentions will mean nothing.) I am grateful that he still has his job and we have great medical benefits in case Annika needs anything more to fix her problem or if she ends up in the hospital with a cold.

Friday was also a fun day for us. Ali has ski school in the afternoons. All the parents wait until the appointed time and all the ski school kids get out of school early and head to snow valley. Up at Snow Valley the kids ski and the mom's sit in the lodge and talk. I also went skiing a little bit on my new skis. (Which are new only to me but given to me by a very nice friend who didn't need them anymore.) Thanks to friends who watched my cute little baby up there. I also took Ashling down one run. I love living in Running Springs and having the small town feel and I love having season ski passes at snow valley. Thanks Cameron for hosting! Ali continued skiing with her friends. It is nice for her to have the opportunity to ski with friends. I can't express how much I love living here and can't imagine anywhere else being quite as nice. I am grateful for good friends, good snow and places to go that are inexpensive (at least to us.)

On a down side I came home and Cameron told me that his work is going to a four day work week twice a month! I absolutely hate our awful slow economy. It is going to be difficult to find the things to cut from our budget for this last cut in our income. It is the third time in a year that our salary has been reduced and this time it will really hurt us. In the mist of trying to find a way to earn more I am grateful for a husband who is willing to work hard and take care of us and continues to help make it possible for me to stay home with my three beautiful girls who keep me happy.

Annika also slept through the night for the third night in a row! I am very grateful that she is a very early sleeper. She seems to crave a schedule and routine. She is learning to go to sleep on her own which I am very grateful for. She is happy and alert and learning to do new things every day when she is awake and sleeps cuddled up in a very cute swaddle-me blanket. (She started sleeping through the night the day I got this in the mail from Angie. Thank you so much!)

Overall I guess this week couldn't be better and even though we will have to become very creative with spending money I am grateful that we have some money still to spend. I will pray for a nicer economy for next year.

P.S. I am also grateful that we still have a washer and dryer because my three loads of laundry daily would be really hard to wash all those clothes by hand!