I have a lot of miscellaneous photos of Anna and thought it would be a perfect way to show how much she's grown over the last couple months. Enjoy!
Day One
At my grandmother's church at the end of each Sunday service, the congregation raises their right arms and says loudly "to the cross" and when Anna was doing this in her sleep, I had to capture the picture and immediately send to Mutti. We all thought it was pretty funny!
Keith's HR department had this blanket made for Anna from Pottery Barn...fancy!
Anna fell asleep one night on this pillow and Keith raised her a few feet off the bed and she didn't even blink.
Favorite sleeping position!
This was Anna's first trip to the mall...notice the shoes in the background.
Driving home from Tilly's birthday, we stopped to see Jason & Jessica's new little baby, Rowan. Sam, Veronica and Isabelle were there visiting as well. All little girls which means their dads are in trouble!
We love that Nana comes to visit us during her lunch break whenever she can get away. The first few times she came to visit, Anna would be napping so we've worked out a better schedule so Vicki can play with Anna when she is awake. It is a world of difference to see her cooing, talking, smiling, laughing and playing with her toys rather that just sleeping in her swing or on her play mat napping.
I think this is the first time Nana saw Anna with her eyes open and I was there to capture the moment!
Anna is finally big enough to put in her bumbo seat! She can't grow much taller or I won't be able to sit her on the counter anymore since our cabinets are pretty short. But for now there is about a 2" clearance so she was helping me cook the other night and of course I had to bring out the camera. We have been so blessed with happy baby, one who sleeps through the night, had such a playful personality and is generally in a good mood 95% of the time. I don't have any secrets and haven't done anything extraordinary; I just think we are lucky!
We only give Anna a bath twice a week and we're lucky that while she doesn't hate bath time, she kind of just looks in shock the entire time. I'm not sure when we're supposed to bathe her more often, but for now she just gets one a couple times a week.
This is one of my FAVORITE pictures of Anna - so cute!
Keith goes through withdrawls when its not football season so every Labor Day weekend is a big deal for him because it is opening college football weekend. Luckily for him it was our off year from the ranch so we got to see the first Aggie football game in person rather than on our DVR since the ranch doesn't have much of a tv selection. Keith picked me up from the Houston airport Sunday around noon (they survived the night without me perfectly fine!) and we all headed to College Station. Of course we had to make a few stops to pick up some A&M merchandise and then headed to Julie and KW's house a few blocks from Kyle Field. We all agreed that it was too hot outside for Anna to attend the game so Julie offered to watch her at the house while we all went to the game. Thanks Aunt JuJu!! We tried taking some pictures of Anna decked out in her cute Aggie onesie and bow but as you can tell from below, we really didn't get any great shots of her, but I sure tried!
The Aggies beat SMU pretty bad and are ranked #8 in the polls as of today. Gig 'em!! BTHO OSU and we can't wait for all the SEC games next year. :)
When I received an email from the Chapman women's head soccer coach earlier this summer, I jumped at the opportunity to be a part of their first home game. This was to be a special soccer game because they were dedicating the game to my dad and also dedicating a seat in the stands in his honor. My dad played soccer and lettered all 4 years in college at Chapman University and even coached after his graduation. Who would have thought my dad would end up in sunny southern California for his college days, but among the palm trees and ocean, he excelled both on and off the field. My dad never ceased to amaze me and from getting a double major in Political Science and French Literature from Chapman (what a combination, right?!) to helping the women's team for their 2010 season, he will forever be in the hearts of the players who he helped along the way. My dad recently got involved again as an alumni and for the entire 2010 soccer season, he not only helped with recruiting and scouting players, but he helped build their strength of schedule, hosted elaborate team dinners all across the country (Oregon, California, Texas) and provided unyielding financial and emotional support to a team of soccer players that he lovingly adopted. My dad had a giant porcelain panther on his desk as a coach at Chapman and it sat on his desk in Oregon until he gave it to the women's soccer team right before their 2010 season because a panther is their mascot. The girls take the panther to all of their soccer games and he usually sits on the bench with the girls for their road games and is in the locker room during home games. They came up with all sorts of nicknames for the panther: Brutus, Brucifer, Bruce Almighty, just to name a few!
The girls first home game just happened to be Labor Day weekend and while I would only be in L.A. for 24 hours, I knew the trip would be worth it and I wouldn't have missed the game for anything. This meant that I would be away from Anna for the very first time on an overnight trip but my wonderful brother in law (we lovingly call him KW) upgraded my seats to me to an emergency row on the way there and to first class on the way back. I haven't sat in first class since my sister and I used to fly as unaccompanied minors and we got to sit up there if the seats were open. It was such a treat!! Anyway, I flew into LA first thing on Saturday morning and immediately raced to the rental car place to make the 11 am soccer game. My dad's youngest brother, Chris, lives in Del Mar and he made the 75 mile drive to Orange to meet me for the game. In typical Burrow fashion, he beat me to the game by about 15 minutes and had already made his way into the game for free, met the coaches and the players, sweet-talked his way onto the field and was talking to parents of some of the players and those that knew my dad. He was deeply touched (as was I) with all the kind words the players/coaches/parents had to say about my dad. Chris said to me that he really thought my dad was trying to find meaningful things in his life as of late and wanted to be a philanthropist and to really make a positive impact. I think he truly found this with the Chapman women's program. He found such joy in helping with all aspects of the team and I know he would be proud that Chris and I made such an effort to attend this game. The coaches and players did my dad's dedication at halftime and one of the captains put together a 2 minute tribute of kind, thoughtful and endearing quotes from all the players. Here is that tribute:
A plaque was unveiled on the 50 yard line with my dad's name on it and from that moment on, there wasn't a dry eye between Chris or myself. My dad truly left a legacy and an imprint on this team and my heart swelled with pride.
Sadly, the girls team lost 4-0 but it was a spectacular day to be a part of. Chris even took 14 of us out for a late lunch afterwards and I jokingly said to the team that all the Burrow's are alike because if my dad would have been at the game, he would have also taken everyone out to lunch! My sister and I hope to be able to someday soon have a scholarship in my dad's honor that benefits the women's soccer program at Chapman. As he would always say, "A closed mouth doesn't get fed." and we feel like it is very important that we continue with helping the program as much as my father was able to. We love you dad!
I fell in love with an Aggie in college and years later were married in what Keith calls a "desination wedding" in Midland, TX! We have a golden retriever (Cason) and a chocolate lab (Kayli) that have filled our lives with adventure, many trips to the vet and great memories. I am blessed with a wonderful family and fantastic friends who keep me sane and get me through all of the ups and downs in life. I am also a first time home owner trying to transform my home with "great bones" (as one of my interior design friends told me) into something my husband and I can be proud of! Three years later, a lot of laughs, a few tears and a do-it-yourself attidute, we have accomplished some truly amazing things. Now we have a wonderful little addition to our family; Anna and this blog has become mostly about her!
