Smiles

Awwwwww... ain't that the cutest thing?

 

Overdue Update

Once the holidays begin, everything else goes into suspended animation mode, but today it’s time to wake up.  I’ve had my coffee, Anna’s had her milk; we’re ready. 

This Christmas season has been more fun that usual simply because Anna is so much more aware and willing to participate in what’s going on. We have a local group of moms that we meet up with every week, and last Tuesday we all got together for a cookie swap party.  Now, when Anna and I first met all these people, she was bashful and emotional and couldn’t let me out of her sight.  Well, the times, they are a changin’.  Anna was a new baby at that party.  In a room packed with adults and children and noise and cookies, Anna sat happily on the floor, playing with the other kids and didn’t even look for me.  I actually got to stay in the other room and talk to people, it was a Christmas miracle!  She also let several other people hold her without protesting, and was generally a very happy girl the entire time. 

We went to the zoo with my friend Jen and her daughter, Olivia, on Thursday last week. As usually, the giraffes were a big hit, though the meerkats are always a close second.  The weather here in the mountains has been very mild for almost two weeks now, and the zoo, which sits high up on the side of Cheyenne Mountain, was quite pleasant and not at all busy.  We walked around and the girls looked at everything and tired themselves out with all the excitement.  Anna, who almost never falls asleep in the car anymore, was out like a light about two seconds after we left.  That evening, Lisa brought over the kids and we exchanged gifts in a mountain of wrapping paper, ribbon and boxes.  Lisa gave me this really beautiful handmade sweater and a cool crochet journal to log all my projects.  It has inspired me to actually branch out in my crocheting and try some new things, as well as actually complete the handful of projects I have all over the house. 

Friday morning I got up bright and early… and very sick.  About 2 in the morning I had woken up with a bad stomach bug, but I thought I’d still be okay to go pick up my brother in Denver.  Boy, was I wrong.  About halfway there, I started to get a fever and horrible aches all over my body, and the wait at the airport was pure torture.  I could barely lift Anna, who is by no means a heavy girl.  Valentine was a trooper, and even though he was exhausted from his travels, he drove us all back to the Springs.  Once we got home, we found Kurt weak and in bed, having come down with the same thing. What a great way to spend your first day of work in a month, right?  Val took over, sent us all to bed and started making dinner for the family.  I started to feel better as the evening approached, but Kurt, poor guy, spent the entire day in bed.  Mom, Kent and Terry came over that evening for dinner, which Val had spent the day preparing.  We would have canceled dinner due to plague, but it was a surprise for mom that Val was there at all.  He and I had conspired to have him fly in almost two days early- he was originally supposed to get here late on Christmas Eve.  Dinner was delicious, (pot roast, yum!), and by morning Kurt and I had almost totally recovered from our illness. 

In the Schwartz household, we celebrate the holiday on Christmas Eve, opening presents in the evening after dinner. Kurt’s parents were both European, and it’s the way they celebrated when he was growing up.  It’s also very convenient because we can have our own private family Christmas in the evening, and then join mom and everyone over at her home on Christmas Day. 

This year was our first year with just the three of us, since Monica is in Virginia with her new little baby boy and family there and Otto, Kurt’s dad, was in Brazil.  We had a great time and Anna loved ripping into all the paper.  She got a Leapfrog Baby interactive book and several Sandra Boynton board books and a new pine toy chest for all her things.  It’s beautiful and designed especially for kids, with a lid that won’t snap little fingers and bench on top. Afterwards, we snuggled up and watched, “It’s a Wonderful Life”, which I had never seen entirely before.  Then we got Anna out of bed and joined the rest of the family at church for the candlelight service at 11 pm.  That’s a tradition from my side of the family and something I have always enjoyed. 

Christmas Day was wonderful too, over at mom’s house.  There were more presents, lots of yummy things to eat, games to play and pleasant company. We received a surprise call from my Uncle Paul in North Carolina.  He and Val hadn’t talked in years, so that was a nice treat.  Terry cooked up a delicious Christmas dinner and by the time we were ready to go home, everyone was stuffed to the gills and groaning from the feast.  We spent the beginning of this week over there for dinner, too, and I have never seen so much food disappear so fast! Val left last night to carouse in Denver before his early flight this morning, but not before getting to spend some quality time with his little niece and the rest of the family. 

All in all, a wonderful Christmas!  Now it’s time to get Anna back on her normal schedule, (she’s supposed to be napping right now, but is instead singing and yelling in her crib…), catch up on chores, and get back in touch with all the people outside my immediate family whom I’ve neglected for the past two weeks or so.  Oh, and my brand new treadmill has been looking a little desolate and lonely downstairs, so I’m going to go spend some time with it today, too.  I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!  Pictures will be up, soon. 

 

Anna's Christmas

Here's our girl sitting in her wonderful new present from Terry Bear. It's a little chair and table that lights up and plays music. She LOVES it. 

Ryan Andrew!

Look at this adorable kid! Look at all that hair! And he's got natural Bon Jovi highlights, it's amazing! So cute and, at least for now, he really, really looks like his dad. :) 

I'm an Aunt!

He’s here, he’s here! Monica is now the beautiful mamma to a beautiful baby boy, Ryan Andrew, born this evening. He weighs 7 pounds, 13 ounces and is nearly 21 inches long, with a full head of light brown hair. Mom and baby are doing well, I’ll fill you all in after I get a chance to talk to her more tomorrow. Everyone say a big, “Welcome!” to my little nephew!

Spoke too soon!

Well, Monica just called. Her water broke this morning and she’s a couple centimeters dialated and been having moderate contractions since 4:30 a.m. They’re on the way to the hospital now! I’m so excited! Everyone say a little prayer for Mo and keep her in your thoughts. I’ll keep you updated!

mobility

Ah, the joys of a mobile baby.  Anna may not be getting around in the traditional sense, but, oh boy, is she ever getting around, and into, everything.  Luckily, for the most part, she’s ignored the presents under the tree, choosing to expend her energies towards more fascinating things.  For instance, she loves to get up close to the gas fireplace while it’s on, reaching her delicate little hands out towards the painfully hot glass. Or she will roll herself over to the vacuum cleaner, neatly parked in a corner, and start kicking and pulling it in an attempt to crush herself beneath it.  She also seems fascinated with getting herself half under the coffee table and then trying to sit up- thereby totally knocking her head on the edge of the table.  So far she hasn’t discovered the joys of kitchen cabinets, but it’s only a matter of time. 

This will be, as always, a good Christmas. I’m very excited because my brother, Val, is flying out to visit.  He hasn’t seen Anna since her christening in April, so there’ll be a big change. She’s actually a little person now, not just a little baby bundle.  John won’t be coming home this time, but we hope to get together with him next summer for some kind of family vacation.  Other than family, I’ll also have friends around, with Lisa and her kids both being in town this year.  I can’t wait to give everyone their presents! 

It’s possible that Monica, Kurt’s sister, will have the best present of all this season, since she’s due with her first baby any day now.  She had a bit of a false alarm the other night and I know was disappointed that the baby wasn’t ready yet (since she is SO ready), but I’m thinking that some time this week she’ll be a new mom!  That’s my guess, anyway. We’ll see when the time is right! 

Hope everyone has a safe week of holiday prep and travel. It’s off to the post office for me, as soon as Teletubbies is over!  (I know, I know, I shouldn’t have left it, but I did, so now I deserve the lines I have to stand in.)

On the Move

Anna has developed this strange crawl/sit/roll maneuver that seems to really be working for her.  Every time I look up, she’s in a different part of the room!  I guess my carefree days as a mom of a non-mobile child are over now, huh?  J  As for genuine crawling, so far Anna has only managed to go backwards, but she’s really, really trying now so everyday it feels like she’s about to really get it figured out.  Maybe today will be the day.  What she does is start in a sitting position, reach far over for something, until she’s on her belly.  Then she sort of squirms/army crawls towards the object of her desire, and then she rolls a bit, pushes herself up with her hands, and ends up sitting again.  It sounds complicated, but she’s gotten so good at these things that she is really getting around quickly. 

It’s funny when she tries to crawl, though, and only ends up going backwards.  It clearly frustrates her, but still, she’s moving, so it’s exciting for her too.  Her major development these past few days, and one that we’ll have to adjust the crib to, is that she can sit herself up all on her own now.  I’ve gone to get her from her nap several times lately and she’s been sitting up in her crib, waiting for me and pulling on the crib bumper.  Kurt and I plan to lower the crib mattress tonight so she can’t pull herself up and out, too. 

It has been ARCTIC around here this whole week.  This morning we woke up to a balmy -8 degrees!  I haven’t taken the baby out of her pajamas all week, it’s just been too cold.  It doesn’t really matter anyway, since we’ve hardly left the house at all since Monday.  I finished all my Christmas shopping that day, and have spent the rest of the week (and the weeks to come, I bet) working on all the hats I’m crocheting for people for the holidays.  A hand-made Christmas gift sounds nice… but then there’s the actual hand-making part that you have to do!  I’ve become a hat fiend.  Most of the ones I am making are for children, and Anna has been a willing size model, thankfully.  She loves to pat her head, which means ‘hat’ in sign language, and try to put the hats on and off. 

It’s amazing how much she’s grown-up just in the past few weeks!  She’s no longer so shy of strangers, she’ll let me leave the room (briefly) without crying, and she has let several other people hold her without any complaint.  She is still very shy and nervous of men, but that’s fine with me!  We’ll just hope that lasts into her teenage years, right?  Really, she seems to be losing some of her sensitivity to new situations, which is a relief.  She still gets nervous, of course, but a lot of the time now she’ll just go with the flow and play and be herself, regardless of where we are or who’s around. 

Mostly, though, she is just displaying a lot more initiative and curiosity to explore her surroundings and it is so fun to watch as she discovers new things and gets excited about what she can do. 

Happy Birthday to my brother Val, he turns 30 today!  Congratulations, we love you and can’t wait to see you in a few weeks! 

Anna's Top Ten

Ten Things I Like to Do This Week

1. Beat the drum with my drumsticks.
2. Beat the cat with my drumsticks.
3. Beat my parents with my drumsticks.
4. Lick my drumsticks.
5. Refuse to eat my dinner, but act starving at all times.
6. Attempt to crawl, unless someone is watching, in which case I cry helplessly.
7. Pull myself to a sitting position all by myself!
8. Use my drumsticks to pull far away toys closer to me. 
9. Talk in random babbling connections of syllables that sound almost like English… but aren’t.

And Finally…

10. Lick other people’s shoes vigorously, preferably the bottoms, where all the good stuff is.