to recover from last weekend. Last weekend Annaliese was baptized in one of the neatest baptism ceremonies I've seen. Pastor Sara had the whole service revolve around baptism, and as we were standing around the water, Annaliese was trying her best to get out of my arms and get into the water. I think if she could have, she would have gladly taken a bath in it.
Super excited by the water.
Giving a blessing
Annaliese's gown was my baptismal gown
I was so happy my sister, brother-in-law, and nephew were able to come. My in-laws brought my other nephew so after Annaliese's baptism, we had 4 kiddos at our house under a year. Unfortunately with naps, we weren't able to get a shot of all of them together.
Ian, Annaliese, and Oliver
Me with Ian, Owen, Annaliese, and Walter
The day before her baptism, we headed to Pooley's Pumpkin Patch with both sets of grandparents. I think a great time was had by all!
We had a great fall morning this morning driving up the interstate to Mondamin to Small's Fruit Farm and then back down among the Loess Hills. It was such a gorgeous day for the drive. And once again I am so thankful the man I married is TALL!
Fall has arrived here in Omaha and I couldn't be happier! We've been spending lots of time this week outside. Ian's been riding his bike like a pro now (it only took all summer to coax him to even put his feet on his pedals). It was a big deal for him and us taking the attachment off the back of his trike that let us steer. He still freaks out a bit and heads for the grass when he feels like he's getting too far out of control.
Annaliese had a great spot on the grass to watch her big brother cruise around.
Darrin and Ian headed to the zoo yesterday while Annaliese slept and I cleaned the house. Darrin had some of his aunts and uncles stop by to visit yesterday as they were returning from vacation to Iowa. While she was awake, Annaliese spent some time snuggling with Alice.
Today we headed to the park to take advantage of the weather. Annaliese experienced her first ride in the swing, as well as the feel of sand on her feet. Darrin and I were talking about just how different she is from Ian, as he hated the feel of sand and grass on his feet for the longest time, and she doesn't seem to mind at all.
As Ian went to bed tonight, he was able to snuggle under his tractor quilt. I got it finished just in time for the cool fall weather. Now to finish up some baby gifts before they become toddlers!
I also have done a bit of scrapbooking, completing my first layout for Annaliese's scrapbook and another for Ian's.
A few videos tonight to make up for my lack of posts lately.
Ian reading "Three Silly Billies" The three billy goats are trying to cross the troll bridge, but they don't have $1 for the troll, so as other characters cross (3 bears, Little Red, Jack) they hop into the goats' car "pool" and eventually sweep the troll away when they drain their pool. Ian's picked that book for bedtime the last 4 nights, and decided to read it to us instead:
Ian loves preschool. Every night he asks, "When I wake up, it's preschool?" If the answer's yes, his response is usually, "Yeah, I'm so excited!" If not, there are quite often tears. He's gotten sick of us asking about it when we pick him up, saying he doesn't want to talk about it, even though that's all Darrin and I want to know about- what he does while he's away from us. He has started Sunday school now, too. The teacher commented on how quiet he speaks. I told her just to wait a few weeks. At both places, the teachers have commented on what a model he is for the other students, which makes my teacher-loving heart burst.
Annaliese is mobile. She doesn't opt for the traditional crawl, instead exerting more energy to do the army crawl. She's proficient enough at it to get into her brother's things now, which doesn't make Ian the happiest. He is, however, very willing to share with her when he's sure the toy is a safe one for her. We definitely have to keep a more vigilant eye on her than we did Ian- there weren't any small toys around for us to even worry about with him.
She had her 6-month check-up two weeks ago. She was 27.25 inches and 17 pounds 11 ounces. While there they discovered she had an ear infection, the 2nd of her life. We had to go back to the doctor just 5 days later because she wasn't acting like herself. Her ears hadn't cleared up, so they prescribed a stronger antibiotic. She still doesn't seem like herself, but between her ears, her two teeth that are coming in, the new foods she's trying, and the congestion in her chest, I just have no idea what's the problem. We just might be making another trip by the end of the week, as her pediatrician wanted to see her again if her congestion doesn't get any better. She does have two teeth on the bottom, and LOVES her food. So far, she's had peas, green beans, squash, and peaches, all homemade by me. She'd probably have sampled a lot more if we were using the store bought kind, but she has to wait for me to make them first.
It was amazing to get that picture because Annaliese has been "moving" around the house lately. She fails to move her arms, instead pushing with her feet, driving her face into the floor and propelling herself forward. Then she digs her arms out and starts the process all over again.
Using this method, she was able to get Ian's firetruck. She's so much more infatuated with his toys than hers lately.
It didn't really work very well for getting her bottle, though.
And everyone in our family loves hanging with baby Walter when the Witchells come over.
Today we found ourselves again at Sears for pictures. This time for Annaliese's 6-month pictures. I had high expectations as it was at Ian's 6-month pictures that we had so many fabulous ones. She was a VERY serious girl during pictures, and we got very few wide smiles, but she's a cutie none-the-less.
I love long weekends, especially if they were like this Labor Day weekend, but oh how I dread the work week that follows. There is the same, if not more, work and meetings crammed into this week than a normal week, and this week is no exception. I am completely exhausted. I really love my new job, though, and am so happy I made the change. I love working with the teachers and working together to come up with ideas to implement in their rooms. I am also challenged by some of the students assisting the teachers with, as they are far different from those I worked with during my teaching years. Yet I love the challenge of figuring out what will work for them.
This past weekend was great. We spent it back in Iowa visiting family. Saturday we spent with Darrin's family. His sister and her hubby were up with our nephew, and it was great to see them. Owen is crawling everywhere, standing on his own, and cruising around furniture at only 8 months old. I am NOT ready for Annaliese to hit any of those stages. The house will need to be baby-proofed again and we'll need to be on our toes more. Ian loved "playing" with Owen, trying to get him to crawl after him and chase him or play tractors.
Sunday we spent with my parents, enjoying the wonderful cool weather. It had been a long time since Ian had ridden his tractor. He had been refusing every other time we were home. This time, though, he was big enough to peddle on his own, though Annaliese was a bit of a heavy load for him to haul. Monday we swung by Iowa City to visit my sister, brother-in-law, and Oliver in the NICU before heading back. It was a good day for Oliver as he was headed to a different bay as he didn't need as much care as he was getting.
And it's taken me so long to write this post that it's now the following weekend. Goal for this week: be more current with my posts :)
