Anna is 18 months

So much has happened during her short little life so far.  She really is so special to us.

She is a hugger.  Sure, our other kids give hugs and kisses, but Anna does it all the time.  We have even made a game out of it.  We kneel on the ground and hold our arms open to her and she runs and hugs us.  That is "one."  Then we let her walk away a bit.  When she gets a few feet away we call her name and hold our arms open to her and she comes running and gives us another hug.  That's "two." We just keep repeating until she finally doesn't walk away.  You can also play with more than one person receiving Anna hugs.  She gets quite the workout!

When you make her bottle of milk she won't take it if you hand it to her.  She waits for it to be ready and then books it out of the kitchen.  She will then lead you to where she wants to drink her bottle.  In the morning it is usually on the couch watching "Handy Manny" or "Dora" or something similar.  In the afternoon it is to her crib for a nap.

Anna is also our resident "artist," literally.  She LOVES to draw and color.  We have to be SUPER careful about any sort of writing utensil being left out at any level she might be able to stand on her tip toes and stretch high to reach.  One day it took me a hour to erase (pencil, thankfully) from a 10 foot section of wall.  The other kids would scribble for a minute or two.  (5-10 if you color with them.)  But Annalise will draw all by herself for as long as she can, or until she gets caught, usually.  Then there is serious crying when you make her stop.

She loves to make a cheesey grin for the camera.

She didn't walk until she was almost 15 months and she still doesn't talk much, but she is in Speech Therapy to help with that.

She says:

• no (not always meaning no, it is also her favorite "sound" to repeat over and over and over)
• mama (I think this means anyone in our family)
• bubbles (she might have been repeating, but she has said is about 3 times while blowing bubbles)
• bye
• more (the speech therapist thinks she says it, but I am not convinced)
• mine (this one is a little tricky to understand, BUT at the same it is obvious by the yanking away of a toy from a sibling)
• bebe (binky)
• uh-oh

She can sign "more" but usually only uses it for food.  She will occasionally sign "all done," but mainly when she is prompted, or asked if she is all done. 

She has quite a few teeth.  8 front teeth, 4 molars, and 2 incisors (the top 2.)

She most likely will have asthma.  Technically you can't diagnosis it until 2 years of age.  But she always sounds so horrible when she gets sick, and wheezes a good deal even when not sick.  She just got a home nebulizer.  She HATES using it, though she is getting better.  I haven't had a chance to take a picture of her using it yet.  I guess there are just too many things to work out and juggle before I can snap a picture.

We are so excited for her to start Nursery at Church.  What a big step for a growing girl!

Her life in Pictures

Born 10/5/08 at 12:52 pm 

8 lbs 15 oz

 20 in.









At 1 month she began to smile

She was our Anna Banana

She has had a lot of tests done.  Poor thing.  This was her Barium test for reflux.  Yup, she had it.  If she wasn't sleeping or eating she was crying.  We began Zantac a few times a day and the whole family was much happier.

Her blessing was at home because we were sick. 

She spent her 1st Christmas in the hospital with RSV

I didn't take many pictures of her during her "failure to thrive" phase.  I think I was just too stressed.  Also... it was hard to get a picture of her where she seemed happy.  She just wouldn't gain weight because she wouldn't drink from a bottle.  It took finding the right bottle.  (Thanks Nuby for making THE bottle)

I wore Anna in a wrap a LOT of her early months.  It was just easier with her "issues"

5 months  

Once we got the bottle down and she plumped-up a bit we started with some solids.

6 Months 

8 months
At 8 months she had the chance to visit her Dad at school in the clinic.   

At 9 months we moved her out of her co-sleeper into the crib

            9 months 

Every once in awhile she will have a weird allergic reaction.  This one was the first at 9 months.  This time they thought it was a yeasty diaper rash she had. A little Benadryl did the trick!

12 Months  

Just a few of teeth poking through at a year

We didn't get a chance to celebrate her birthday until she was 14 months old!  She LOVED it!

17 Months

18 Months