Hot times in the summer. Almost one year!

Trying to update the blog with both kids nearby is an interesting exercise. Let's see what Annika will put in her mouth while Elliott is playing with her toys. He was supposed to be entertaining her so she wouldn't lunge at the computer.

Anyway, here are some photos from June and July. Annika is getting more interested in trying food but still tongues much of it out of her mouth. Someone gave us one of those plastic/rubber bibs with a pocket and it turns out she loves to pick stuff out of it that she's dropped in. Who knew? So now she can sit at the table for a good long time masticating and pincer-grasping.

But she still -- again? -- wants to nurse every few hours in the night.

And she has teeth and is not as gentle with them as her brother was.

And if she's perfectly happy but I walk past her, she realizes she needs to be attached to me and comes to tug on my pantlegs.

Her dad now puts her to bed much more effectively than her mom. She gets sad when Daddy leaves for work.

She still is not walking but does stand well with just one hand and is cruising a little more, though not a ton.

She can wave.

She makes lots of sounds but still doesn't have any words.

Her cheeks are no longer the first thing anyone remarks about when they see her. She weighs just under 19 lbs still and is about to need to get out of that infant carseat! She sure protests and arches when we put her in, but she still falls asleep and sometimes stays asleep in it.

It is very hot here. She knows how to sweat.

Okay, Elliott is now watching over my shoulder so I'll push publish. btw, I think he took that photo of her with her arms as though balancing above.

Approaching 10 months

The garden has grown a lot since the green hoodie photo! And Annika has gotten much worse at sleeping. Now that she can stand up in the crib, she won't just roll over and go to sleep when I put her down unless she's solidly out. So life is a lot different around here! Her brain is just too darn active. That means mine is more like mush!
An attempt to do family yoga was a joke, as is most everything I try to do while she explores trash cans and the like. She's still a lot of fun, but she's also a lot more work to keep up with!

Oh, and she has two teeth (lower) but still is not eating any food and has never really taken a bottle. We tried again the other day after a month or two since our last attempt, and she just pushed the thing away from the sitter. I got her to drink a little, but nothing much to speak of. But give her some paper, and she will chomp away!

Approaching 9 months old...

Here we have:
-Watching, caged in the other room while her brother gets to put on a show for his parents without anyone eating his props


-Can you spare a dime?


-Matching PJs (on Daddy)
-The splits? And a playdate with K (who has a three month and many-haired advantage on Annika)
-I don't know the story with the broom, but it just looked so ridiculous, I had to snap a photo
-Baby's first dress! (Thanks, Mom!)

Annika continues to enjoy babbling but no longer enjoys one toy as much as another; if she was playing with something, she wants that thing! Often it's something shiny, dirty, or made of paper.
Annika can stand in the pack n play or crib if we set her on her feet and is close to getting there herself but is not cruising yet.
Elliott spotted one tooth poked through almost two weeks ago but it's hardly gotten more visible since then.

videos

Here are a few videos to let you in on the babbles. She's "talking" up a storm. I swear sometimes she says Nana Nana when I approach.


She can sit up with a little support but can't get there on her own yet. She likes being more upright in the stroller. She wasn't napping well, so I took her on our longest walk yet on a lovely day. Well, until a wind and rain storm came up on our way home. She stayed dry. I did not.

Annika loves to smile at anyone who gives her any attention, and she continues to find the world quite humorous. And tasty -- she constantly wants to eat the newspaper.

And my face. She'll be happy and non-oral with John but then I take her and she just plants a big open-mouth kiss on my cheek and starts chewing on my chin.

We just brought up the booster seat last night, and she really enjoyed being at the table with us. The only food she's had so far, though, is a little cod liver oil and a tiny bit of homemade chicken broth.

(The bruise on Elliott's chin is from him falling on her carseat one day he refused to come in and I had to lock him in the car, take the baby in and then come back out for him. By then he had lost his tantrum and was going to play a chase-me game to move from the front seat to the back, until he fell.)

Annika's first winter (sort of)

Annika had a rough week a few weeks ago but has been very chill this week, perhaps because of an osteopathic adjustment. She is a dream during the day, happily amusing herself in a Pack N Play for long stretches while I cook, and she's been pretty good about going down for naps this past week. She is often woken up to go get her brother, but yesterday we stayed home all day, and she napped 9:30-12:30 and 2:30-5:00. Wow.

When on the floor, she rolls all around and can move quite far that way, but she's not yet crawling. She wants to put everything in her mouth, even doing baby push ups to lick the floor, and she's particularly fond of gnawing on the table and chairs.

If placed in sitting position on a soft surface, she can stay there, but she can't get there on her own yet.

She makes lots of fun sounds, blows spit bubbles, and belly laughs at her brother.

What she does not do is sleep for super long stretches at night anymore. So her mom is tired.

We are also not introducing any food just yet, though we did let her gum a cucumber wheel the other day. She still has no teeth broken through.

We don't know what she weighs, but I would guess about 17-18 pounds. She's a chunker, and everyone comments on her cheeks.

Here are some pics, including the new closet we had built (still need to get the hooks up).