Anna's nine month birthday and other goings-on!

Another month has flown by, and it's once again time for a baby blog! :) Anna's three-quarter of a year mark is upon us. She's officially nine months old, so she's been in the world longer than she was in my womb. It's such a surreal feeling, because it feels like I was pregnant forever! My little baby girl is growing up so incredibly fast, right before my eyes.




She is so. big. I can't stand how fast she is growing! She is getting two top teeth, so soon enough she'll be eating table food with us. Right now she snacks on plenty of baby puffs and yogurt melts. She also loves squeezy pouches of puréed fruits and veggies every night at dinner time! Luckily, I found some refillable pouches at the store so I can make my own! The cost of baby food adds up fast! :P She also crawls all over the place now, and gets into everything! Her favorite thing to do is try to climb up my legs when I'm cooking, which obviously does not often end well :P She can clap, wave bye-bye, and say kitty! I love her so unbelievably much, and I can not believe she'll be double digits next month!

As far as the rest of the family goes, there's not much new t report. My New Year's Resolution to eat healthier has resulted in some rather inventive cooking! I've started making a lot of meals on the paleo diet, which has been really healthy and super yummy! I've taken to cut carbs by using cauliflower in place if things; cauliflower purée instead of mashed potatoes, and rice made out of cauliflower have been some surprising successes. Tonight we had chicken and veggie curry over cauli rice, and it was sooo good! No pictures, unfortunately, but just take my word for it. :P
Other than that, nothing much is happening! Andrew and I are currently obsessed with Downton Abbey (which is absolutely wonderful; if you haven't seen it I highly recommend it) and its become our Monday evening ritual. Being ever the graceful one, I stabbed myself in the leg on accident on Sunday, so I'm in the process of healing and hopefully learning a lesson. :P And now, as always, life goes on. Until the next time! :)

Proverbs 3:5-7Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

New Year's Blog!

I wanted to do a review of 2012 and a look forward into 2013! I realize it's now January 8, but I've been really sick the last few days and haven't felt up to doing much at all, much less any form of thinking. :P So without further ado, here is a look back at 366 days of 2012, and the 357 days to come.

Our family began 2012 as a family of two. Anna was still tucked away safe in my belly. It seems like so long ago that she wasn't here with us yet! I remember how much I wanted to hold her in my arms, and see her sweet little face. Four months of waiting passed, and then our lives changed forever. Anna was born at 4:31 on April 25, and since then, nothing has ever been the same. We became parents that day, and learned the true meaning of love. <3 The next few months were filled with sleepless nights, lots of new experiences, and some of the best days of my life! I was more exhausted than I'd ever been, and a colicky baby made for many tears and headaches, but they were truly life-changing. As the months passed, Anna grew. June came, and brought my 19th birthday. It's hard to believe that at only 19 I've been so richly blessed! The summer flew by with both Andrew and I working hard every day, and before we knew it our first anniversary was fast approaching. We decided to take a vacation and drive up to Pennsylvania so that Anna could meet her great-grandparents. That trip was so much fun, and I'm so glad we had the opportunity to spend that time together. The weeks continued to fly by, and Thanksgiving was upon us. It was another chance to spend time together, and with our family. The whole fall and winter season flew right by us, until now we find ourselves here, in a whole new year!

So, that was a very shortened version of our year. I thought about doing a month-by-month summary, but some months wouldn't have had much to report, and some would have gone on forever! 2012 brought us a new baby, birthdays, holidays, a celebration of one year of marriage, and so much more. It's so incredible how much one year can change you.

 This is our little family in the start of 2012...

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 ...and at the end! We look so wonderful with a little person between us. :)

 So now we look forward to 2013. I have a few New Year's Resolutions: I want to read with Anna a lot more than I do (we've already started reading The Chronicles of Narnia!) and I want to eat healthier when I can. 2013 has already brought us Anna's first word (mama!!), and will bring us birthdays, and holidays, and so many surprises that have yet to unfold. I am so excited to see what God has in store for us in the future! 2013, bring it on! :)

Jeremiah 29:11: For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Christmas season!

I know, I've been slacking on my posts. It's just hard to find time to sit down and write so much out, and sometimes it's even harder to find stuff to write about! :P But with Christmas and New Year's behind us, I now have plenty to say and time to say it! :) Since a lot happened, I'll just type out the (very) abridged version. :P

I guess I'll start with the Christmas week! My dad and Saskia came to see us on Saturday to bring gifts, since we weren't sure of our Christmas day schedule. Anna got her first set of stacking cups, clothes, and a book! Andrew unfortunately was sick that day, so he didn't get to hang out with us, but it was still lots of fun!
Christmas Eve, we had a special service at church that Anna didn't sit quietly through (shocker!), but after that we went to John and Rena's house for supper! Rena made a roast out of our own farm pork, and it was super duper yummy! :) After Anna went to bed we set up all of her presents and got ready for Christmas breakfast the next morning!
Christmas morning we all got up bright and early since we were having the whole family over for breakfast! We ended up with us, William and Hannah, and Rena and her two sisters all gathered in front of the fire! We had quite the feast, too! Ham, bacon, sausage, biscuits, croissants, pancakes, eggs, bananas, gravy, and a homemade quiche! Amazingly enough, we didn't have that much left over! After that we all opened presents (in other words, we watched Anna open her presents :P). Anna decided that tissue paper and boxes was much more fun than any new toy, so I'm sure some wads of chewed-up paper found their way into her belly. She got more stuff than I can even remember! It was a wonderful morning though :)

Anna buried under all her toys, and proving that the package is a lot more fun than the toy it contains!

After all of the family headed home, we left to go to Goldsboro to see my family there! My dad, Saskia, mom, and Dave were all there. We all opened our presents there, and Anna once again proved that the cuter you are, the more stuff you get! :P We stayed there for a few hours to hang out, and then headed back home, since we had to leave early the next morning.

The next day, we were all headed to Charleston. After some piddling around in the morning, we got underway and arrived a little after lunch. We took a horse-drawn carriage ride around the city to see all of the historic sites. It was a lot of fun, but very windy and chilly!

We were all cold, but I love this picture of our family! I also love how long Andrew's hair and beard have gotten! :)

That night we had supper at a place called Hyman's, which marks which celebrity sat at your table. We had Oprah, John McCain, Kevin Costner, Sarah Jessica Parker, and a few I can't remember. It was really yummy!

The next few days were full of plantation visits, walks around the town, and lots of time spent together! John was feeling terrible the whole time we were there, so he didn't get to enjoy it as much, but it was still a wonderful few days as a family! :)

Anna turned eight months old on Christmas Day! It is so hard to believe that she is so big already. She's been through her first stomach bug already, which was very un-fun. :( She also has been standing by herself for just a few seconds, when she lets go of whatever she's holding! It doesn't last long, but it's definitely worth celebrating. Her dexterity is amazing, as she recently developed her pincer grasp and watching her use her little fingers with such skill just fills me with so much joy. She's been eating more solids; in her Christmas stocking she got a container of rice puffs and a few pouches of organic pureed fruit (her favorite is mango!). She is still not crawling, but she is so so so close! She's also started having separation anxiety, which is frustrating for everybody, but I know it's just her telling me that she misses me when I leave. :) I love her so very much, and I can't wait to see what new thing she learns next! Here is her 8-month birthday picture:

She is just so beautiful. I can't believe how blessed I am to be her mother. <3

This post ended up taking a lot longer than I thought, and I am exhausted, so I will make a post for New Year's tomorrow. I just can't stay awake much longer! Good night. :)

Philippians 2:8-10 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.