Grabbing Her Ear

When I was a little girl, I always grabbed my earlobe and held on to it ... kind of a security blanket type of thing, I guess. Well, last night Jimmy and I were sitting on the couch listening to a Rob Bell sermon in preparation for this week's LifeGroup, and we noticed Anna doing something a little odd. Check it out:

She was hanging on to that ear for dear life! While it wasn't her earlobe, the gesture was close enough to my childhood pose for me to take notice and get a good laugh. In the last few days, Anna has also grabbed her hair and my hair (not fun). I don't think she understands what she's doing just yet, but it's fun to see her explore with her hands.

Eventually, she chilled out:

And minutes later, looked like this:

One-Month Update

Anna had her one-month check-up last week, and her doctor gave her glowing reviews! Anna weighs 9 pounds, 11 ounces and is 21 and 1/2 inches long. She's in the 6oth-75th percentile for both (I can't find the little sheet that tells me the exact percentiles). Her left arm is moving perfectly, so Jimmy and I don't have to take her to physical therapy anymore - yeah! Overall, she's just a happy, healthy little girl --- we're thankful!

Here is a video taken on her one-month birthday ... she gets fussy towards the end, but it's cute to hear her coos and baby sounds:

Anna got her first shot at her doctor's visit along with her first bandaid. It was the same size as her thigh!




Jimmy was out of town all last week, and, in desperate need of adult interaction, I spent a lot of time out of the house with friends. Saturday I hung out all day with my friend Emily and her almost-three-year-old daughter, Aunika. We had so much fun!

This is how Anna napped while we were there:



Aunika loved getting to hang out with Anna, who she has dubbed "Baby Anda." She kept bringing me toys, Dora the Explorer juice cups, and strawberries and grapes for Baby Anda ... it was adorable! Here she is helping burp Baby Anda:



Jimmy came home late Saturday night and was amazed at how much Anna had changed in one week. She was all smiles for him! We had fun last night giving her a bath together and cuddling with her in bed (while watching season ten of Friends). Enjoy the pictures!

Here she is with Daddy pre-bath:
(I'm an idiot and can't figure out how to format the picture vertically.)


Jimmy captured this HILARIOUS picture of our chubby, cross-eyed sumo-baby:


All wrapped up with Mommy:


So cute! Bath time was a blast!

More Four-Week Fun

Thought I'd share some pictures of Anna's afternoon. Enjoy!

Anna started focusing on the toys hanging from her bouncy seat ... look at where her eyes are looking in each picture!

Not digging being in the chair anymore ...

The beginnings of a smile?!?!

Proof that Anna is not always as peaceful as she appears on the blog:

I will say that she calmed right down after this outburst ... it was time to eat ;-)

Anna is Four Weeks Old!

Anna has been super spoiled the past two weekends with visits from her Leitsch grandparents. She has also been experimenting with new sleep positions, as you'll see from the pictures below:

With her Grandma Patty, Anna preferred a stretched-out, let-it-all-hang-out sleep pose.

With her Mamaw, she found a curled-up-tight, slung-over-the-leg position much more to her liking.

And just a plain ol' cuddle with her Pop Pop seemed to work just fine.

Yet again, Jimmy and I are so thankful for our families and their visits. We've been so spoiled by all the meals and extra hands to hold Anna (and all the showers and naps I've gotten to take!). THANK YOU Leitsch grandparents! We love you!

Today marks Anna's fourth week with us. She's already changing so much! It's been really crummy down here in Tennessee ... near constant rain ... so Anna and I have had to find other things to do in place of our daily walks with Layla. Here she is enjoying her play mat. She is actually starting to look at and focus on the hanging toys, and she accidentally hits and kicks them when she moves around. Hopefully she'll learn the cause-effect thing soon ;-)

She's also been getting better at tummy time on her Boppy pillow (thanks, Aunt Melissa!). She can push herself up and hold her head up for longer amounts of time each day. I went a little overboard with pictures today, but I hope you'll indulge me!

Isn't it fun to see her open eyes?!?! She's been staying awake and alert for longer bouts of time, which has been fun. Everyone always tells you how fast the time flies, and I'm beginning to see that for myself!

Catching Up

Anna's second week of life was even more eventful than the first. Here she is enjoying her play mat (I'll try to post an accompanying video later).

She's also been enjoying lots of walks around the neighborhood with Layla. She doesn't seem to mind the stroller at all (a HUGE blessing) and usually konks out for the entire walk. I look forward to our walks and the time outside in the fresh air! Here she is wearing the cute denim hat Papa Herdeman picked out for her (don't worry - she'll grow into it!).

Labor Day weekend included a fun visit from Papa Herdeman, Uncle Evan, Aunt Melissa, and Uncle Jed. We had a full house! Everyone got to hold Anna to their hearts' content (I think she got spoiled napping in everyone's arms). We had tons of good food and fun playing Settlers ... Anna, Jimmy, and I can't wait to see everyone again!

Check out Anna's hands in the next two pictures ... I think she's praying, "Dear God, please let my Papa keep holding me!"

I gave Anna a bath after her whirlwind weekend and really washed her hair for the first time (before I had just been rinsing it). The result? A fluffy mowhawk! Her hair stayed like this for the whole day ... I was thrilled Jimmy got to see it when he came home from work!

I'll do my best to post three-week pictures soon ... our girl's growing fast and opening her eyes a lot more ... I'll try to catch some cute moments on film ;-)