Anna makes her video debut

UPDATE: I changed the YouTube settings so all the videos are public so it is easier to view. Let me know if you have any problems!

After failing multiple times to upload videos to this blog last week, I realized that I needed to post them to YouTube first and then put them on here. They took FOREVER to download but I hope you all enjoy them. Our little angel is growing up so fast!

This first one is the day we took Anna home from the hospital which was taken on June 26. You will have to either turn your head sideways or turn your computer sideways as I have no idea how to make this video upright. We had her all bundled up but the nurse made us remove some layers as it was 100+ degrees outside and poor Anna was sweating!

This is just a few seconds of little bit sleeping when she was just a few days old.

This next video was taken on July 15...Anna is starting to be more alert each time she is awake and as I told my brother the other day, it is a lot of fun watching the world through her eyes. I know it will only become more exciting and fun each day she gets older and she starts to see more of the world. 

I love taking videos and/or pictures as Anna is waking up. She is so cute and animated each time. It makes my day!

Here is another one of little Anna during our playtime. I can't really "play" that much with a newborn but each day she is becoming more aware of her surroundings and it is such a joy to watch her. There is just something about babies; where I could just stare at them all day long.

Here is one of her in the early morning hours while we were on a little road trip to Midland...I'll write about our adventures later this week!

Anna absolutely LOVES her swing and these next 2 videos are of her smiling, cooing and in awe of the noises around her. There is a mirror directly above her head which she loves to stare at and look at herself. She gets so excited! These were taken on August 22.

Anna's Sip & See in Dallas

Janet & Hal jumped at the opportunity to show off little Anna to all of their friends as soon as she was 6 weeks old. Our pediatrician recommended that we keep Anna away from large crowds and lots of people until this age so on Sunday, August 14 "the Gang" all gathered at the Denton's house to celebrate. Janet really outdid herself with some amazing food and yummy mimosas that I definitely indulged in.

Luckily (or unlucky for the guests) Anna slept the ENTIRE time during her party. Most of the guests were able to hold her and she didn't even so much as open an eye. I was thankful she was sleepy and in a good mood so that everyone would get a chance to see her.

All the yummy food on display.

Mollie enjoying Anna's company

Margaret held her next...

then Susan...

I just LOVE this picture of Anna - she looks simply angelic!

Proud Grandma

Grandma & Grandpa

The happy family of 3 

Now you know where Anna got her beautiful eyelashes! Thanks dad.

Of couse she finally wakes up for the car ride home...

We had such a special brunch for our little girl and a huge thank you to Grandma and Grandpa for hosting a party for Anna. Janet also wrote a blog about the party so check it out here.

Visit from Aunt JuJu

Aunt JuJu came to visit us shortly after Mutti left! Have I mentioned that we love company and are so happy that Anna is loved by all.

Uncle KW was away in Denver for a few days which meant that we got to have Julie stay with us for a few days as well. So fun! Anna made her first trip to Fuddruckers...we met Keith for lunch one day and then another night we took Anna to Pappasitto's for a wave margarita at the bar while we waited for our fajitas. If you've never had a "wave", I highly recommend it as they are fantastic. I've drug Anna all around the city since she turned 6 weeks old and it is liberating to know we are not housebound anymore. Woo hoo!

Anna loves her aunt JuJu!

We had a really nice, relaxing visit with Julie and are always thankful when she comes to visit...hopefully we'll get to see KW soon as well. We're excited for Labor Day weekend in Houston/College Station and Anna's first Aggie football game.

Mutti meet Anna; Anna Meet Mutti!

My grandmother (Mutti, which is German slang for mother if you were curious! I am the first born grandchild on my mom's side of the family and so I got the privilege at a very young age of naming my grandparents. I named my grandfather PawPaw and wanted to call my grandmother PeePee...she of course wanted NO part of that name so she named herself Mutti) came to visit Anna August 3-5. She flew into DFW and Anna picked her up on a Wednesday afternoon. Mutti didn't even want to sit in the front with me, but rather wanted to sit next to Anna in the back seat. This was the first time Mutti was able to meet her in person although I had sent her dozens of pictures and gave her updates from day one. It was such a special three days to be able to spend with Mutti and she had all that time to hold and play with Anna one on one and she didn't have to share with anyone except Keith and me. :)

Anna smiled a lot at Mutti and I'm thrilled I snapped this photo!

Six weeks old on August 5...isn't she cute?!

This day was a BIG day in Anna's life as I was finally allowed to take her out in public so Mutti and I went to Big Shuck's (an oyster bar/seafood restaurant) and this is a picture of Anna on her first outing. She did beautifully and slept most of the time.

I learned a lot about when Mutti was raising her kids and how things sure are different now than what they used to be.  My grandfather worked in Alaska for much of the time when my aunt Karen and mom were born and for the first 6 weeks of Karen's life, Mutti lived with her mom while PawPaw worked in Alaska. All three of Mutti's kids were formula fed babies which was quite rare back then but they all turned out wonderfully. My grandfather was afraid of holding infants so he didn't hold his kiddos until they were a few months old. I asked Mutti if he was better with holding his grandchildren and she said he fared much better with my cousins and me! I also learned that Mutti had to use cloth diapers on all 3 kids and when they lived in Wyoming (my mom was born in Laramie), the diapers froze outside quite often while on the clothesline dryine. I can just picture it now...

I am blessed to have such an amazing grandmother in my life and am thankful she will see little Anna grow up and be able to spend a lot of time with her.  Anna will grow to love "my Mutti" just as much as I do!

Aunt Hattie

Anna's namesake is just crazy about her and comes to visit any chance she gets. Harriet is really busy at work but we've been able to catch up with her a lot over the last few weeks. Keith and I even made the hour long drive out to her house (sorry, no pictures...what was I thinking?!) to spend an afternoon with her and Jarrett.

Is she one happy aunt or what?! 

We love you Aunt Hattie!

Dinner party at GM/GP

When Julie was in town when Anna was just 3 weeks old, we loaded up Anna and took her to Hal & Janet's (aka Grandma and Grandpa) for her first extended outing. Yes we have been to the doctor's office countless times, but for this adventure, we were gone for many hours. I think we double and triple checked the diaper bag to make sure we had everything we needed and headed off on the 15 minute drive. (Have I mentioned how thankful I am that we have family so close to us? Keith's mom lives only 15 minutes away as well and although my mom is probably dying reading this since she is 5+ hours away, I am so blessed to be surrounded by family both near and far.) We had a yummy dinner of steak and salmon (a staple at GM/GP's and is always so yummy) and of course we had to document the experience.

It is rare that I have pictures with my precious Anna since I am usually the one behind the camera constantly taking pictures so I had to put this picture on the blog. I think I look a little sleepy!!

These next two photos were taken after we got home from dinner. You know she is exhausted when her she can't even hold her hand up. She was making us laugh and there was no way anything could wake up our sound asleep baby. Priceless!

I just LOVE LOVE LOVE her!

Nap time!

Anna is truly a good sleeper and especially loves her naps during the day. I try to take advantage as well and we typically always have a morning nap together after her 6 am feeding. I never used to get us early but with a little one, life changes! We will probably have Anna sleeping at night in her crib within a couple weeks so I've been introducing her crib to her during nap times so here are a few photos of her sleeping soundly in her crib. We had to work through a few crying fits but thankfully after less than 10 minutes, she looked like this:

I don't think I look this peaceful sleeping...especially now since miss Anna has entered into our lives. I swear I wake up at every rustle or sound I hear coming from her pack and play and haven't gotten a good night's sleep yet. This is a part of parenthood and I hear I won't really get a good night's sleep until she's off at college!

Hittin' the bottle

Not what you think exactly although I have enjoyed a few alcoholic drinks since Anna has arrived!

We gave Anna her first bottle a couple weeks ago (July 31 to be exact) and although mom and baby are doing fantastic at breastfeeding, we wanted to introduce her to a bottle so we would be able to leave her with grandparents/aunts/uncles/babysitters for any extended amount of time.

I let Keith do the honors since I am leaving Anna with him for a day and a half coming up shortly and need to be able to leave milk for them to get by for that long. I know he will do a great job with her!

This picture tells the story quite well as Anna wasn't too sure why I was standing right next to her and she was having to eat her meal out of a plastic bottle. She was very unsure at first but ended up finishing the most of the bottle. We've given her a bottle a few times since this day and while it's not her favorite thing in the world, she usually does a good job at eating. 

We've reached another milestone in our little one's life! 

Anna's first admirer

One of my very best friends from high school (Jill) was visiting her parents in Van Alstyne, TX from Birmingham and I took the opportunity to make the hour drive and visit her. Jill played soccer at the University of Alabama Birmingham where she met her husband, Mark. Each year we were in college, I made the trek to visit her and she even got married in Alabama years ago. Her hubby is also from Alabama so there was no way any of us could get her to move back to Texas! We have been friends for almost 15 years and I am blessed that she is still a part of my life.

To my surprise, both of her parents were home that Monday afternoon when I went to visit along with her brother and his wife.  Jill has two little boys: Landon is 3 years old and little Judah will be two in November. As I was driving with Anna to visit Jill, I wondered if she was pregnant again...not sure why that thought popped into my head but shortly after I arrived, she shared the good news that YES she is pregnant again and due in February. I am secretly hoping she has a little girl but I know she would be terrified and wouldn't know what to do with a girl having had two boys already.  I didn't get a picture of Judah but he is a mirror image of his older brother. They both have absolutely beautiful blond curly hair and I have a feeling they are going to be heart breakers when they get older.

Landon holding "Baby Anna"

Jill making sure Anna's head didn't flop all around!

Jill had been talking to Landon about Anna coming to visit and he called her "Baby Anna" the entire afternoon we were there. He gave her lots of kisses and pet her head dozens of times. He loves babies and was so sweet and gentle with Anna. She was sound asleep for a lot of the visit but didn't mind at all when Landon was holding her or kissing her. He is such a sweet big brother and I am so happy Jill and her family were able to meet Anna. They will be back to Texas over Christmas and I'm looking forward to another visit in six months. I am a little sad to think how much bigger Anna will be by then...she is already growing too fast!