Anna Kate has a crush...

With Daddy and the great pumpkins!

Saturday morning special

Daddy was the first one to hold her- and no his eyes aren't just red from lack of sleep! :)

I am convinced our little girl has her first crush. I am very happy to say that it is on her wonderful daddy! I am sure that he is relieved that it is him too! Everyday when Jason comes home, Anna is so excited! I am glad for this fact, but it doesn't end there. As soon as she knows that he is home she has to have her eyes on him at ALL TIMES! If he leaves the room for any reason she starts crying! I think it is sooo cute! Our little girl absolutely loves her daddy and he returns the favor with his own adoration. SO I thought I would post a couple pics of our girl and her first love- we hope it stays this way for a long time! :)

8 Month Pictures

Anna and I went last week and had her 8 month pictures taken... I am going to have a really hard time choosing, but here are a few of the photographer's favorites. You can see the rest at www.kellybittlephotography.com - go to client proofing and the password is annakate.

8 months old

I can't believe that our little girl is 8 months old today! It seems like just yesterday that we were bringing her home from the hospital! She is growing almost daily and her little personality is sooo fun. Anna Kate is very strong willed and she knows what she likes and what she doesn't- lately she has been pushing whomever or whatever she isn't interested in away. You can't convince her otherwise! She knows the word "no" and will stop whatever she is doing and look at you if you say it. Then she smiles really big as if to say "can I if I am super cute?" Jason and I have such a hard time not smiling back, but I will say she listens as long as we keep our straight face. She is the most pleasant child- even when she is sleepy or doesn't feel good. I truly think she is going to skip crawling as all she does now is stand up. I have to admit I wouldn't like crawling on wood floors either! Below are some pictures that capture just a little of her growing personality... Her ugly face- as we call it, but she loves to make it!
Surprise!
A smile with her always present hands- I have never seen a child who loves her hands so much!

Standing Tall

Well, we aren't sure that our long little girl will ever crawl as she tries, but finds rolling to her destination so much easier than trying to get all of her body off the ground. She definitely likes standing much better! Here are some pictures of her standing by the chair- she is so proud when she is standing by herself. One problem we are learning though is that she has NO FEAR of letting go! She gets so excited that she goes no hands and ends up toppling, but she will learn soon enough...

Sitting pretty, at least for a second. It is so hard to get a picture that isn't blurry!





Still holding on and so proud!

Who could possibly resist this face? Certainly not her Daddy!

Fair Warning...

Ok, I am so sorry that I have been missing in action for so long! In my defense I gave you all warning that I might not be so good at keeping up with blogging!
We have been super busy the past couple of weeks with regular life. Anna Kate is growing so fast and is into everything!!! Jason was bested by her quickness a couple of times this weekend!
We have gotten to see a lot of family in the recent weeks, Jason's mom came for a visit last week and we have gotten to spend some time at the river since it is perfect fishing weather.
I am afraid that Jason is now addicted to fly fishing! He is getting pretty good- he even got to help my dad guide 4 brothers! What an experience!
We are looking forward to a visit from Uncle Chad and Auntie Shana for Thanksgiving!

Pumpkin Carving

Today was a beautiful day here! Jason decided to carve Anna's pumpkins today and they turned out incredible- so I have to brag on my artist husband! He surprised even himself by the way.

Jason working on Goodnight Moon
Anna and Daddy with the finished products
Goodnight Moon all lit up
And of course Anna had to have an owl pumpkin! :)

I think next year will be a little more fun since Anna will actually understand, but Jason and I had fun this year anyway!

Fall Fun

Weather has finally turned a little colder here in the past couple of days! I am so happy! Anna's hands have been getting cold on our walks and blankets have done no good because she has to have her hands out- so today I went for the hat and gloves! (I know you Arkansans might think this a little overboard, but our walk is mostly under tree cover so it gets pretty nippy.) This was a first so I wasn't sure it was going to fly, but she did great! I think she just didn't know what to do with the hands that were much harder to coordinate. Here are some pics of our almost 7 month old today after her walk... Anna with her funny new hands
That still crazy smile

Pumpkin Patch

We got to go to the Pumpkin Patch this weekend and we all had a ton of fun! Here are some pictures of some of the things we got to do while we were there. I won't bore you with all of the pictures! Anna and Daddy sitting on a HUGE pumpkin!
Sitting on the scratchy hay
Picking sunflowers with Mommy
Everyone in the old Model T that still runs!

Jason was totally amazed by it.

Anna Kate's new favorite face for the camera-we have no idea where she came up with it!

My house now has fall decorations inside and out- thanks to my wonderful husband who humors me and my obsession with fall!

HAPPY FALL!!!

6 month checkup

We went to the Dr. this week for Anna Kate's 6 month checkup. Thankfully she told us what we already knew- Anna is healthy, happy, and smart. She weighs 16 lbs .4 oz is 27 3/4 inches long and her head circumference is 17 inches. Her head and weight are right around the 50th percentile, but she is obviously taking after her Daddy and her length is in the 96th percentile!! I am so glad that she is going to be tall! Although it already proves interesting in finding clothes- she needs 12 month length and her little waist is not big enough to hold any pants up! :)

Just some pics

I made the last post without any pictures so I thought I would post some of everyday occurances here at the Linville house...

Anna LOVES to eat! Somehow she gets really messy when Daddy feeds her!
Still not crawling.

The rolly polly about to start action.

Have I mentioned how much fun I have with her everyday? I love it!

6 months!

I can't believe it, but our little girl is 6 months old!!!
She is growing up so fast I can't believe it. She is doing so many new things almost every day. Anna is quite lovable and cuddles up so sweet. She laughs a lot just like her mommy. She is also an incredibly great eater already after just a month. Her favorite food right now is avocado with pumpkin a close second! (I like making her baby food so she can get used to all kinds of different foods!) She is a professional roller and seems to be quite content to simply roll wherever she would like to go, although the coffee table often gets in her way! She is getting really good at sitting up and is getting pretty proficient at using both hands while sitting up, although she still falls eventually. We can't really get her to the crawling thing, she pulls her legs up and is looking pretty good, but then decides it is easier to roll over. She is such a talker, and she babbles all the time, mostly to herself. We haven't gotten mama or dada yet either, but she is getting close with mmmm!
Anna Kate is absolutely positively in love with her daddy, she just sits and stares at him, and I have to say that Jason is pretty content just to stare back.
Also, I am one of those moms that the AAP would string up, but Anna Kate now has a walker, and she loves it! Our house is all one level so it is not as bad as you may think and I am pretty sure it will save my back in the long run.
Anna also has the best lungs in town. We decided to leave her in the nursery for the 1st time on Sunday, and I made it through half of the sermon before they called me out. She was SCREAMING and did not want anything to do with that nursery- in her defense she didn't cry the whole time and only started after about 30 minutes. I felt bad for the sweet couple that was in there, but I decided to stay with her to try to at least get her used to the room. I think maybe they tried to hold her the whole time and my little independent one didn't like that idea one bit. We will try again this week, but I think I will stay for at least a while.

A Tooth!

We have a tooth! I am afraid there will be more soon, but we do know that they are really coming! The bottom left middle tooth finally pushed through and Anna is super cute as she is constantly feeling it with her lip. She has definitely been in a better mood, but the gnawing continues...

Teething...

Ok, I have said many times that I have been blessed with the happiest child ever. I mean she started sleeping through the night at 6 weeks, she has been a pro eater, and she laughs all the time. Well, I am missing my baby! Teething is the worst thing I have experienced so far as a mother. She gnaws on her hands all the time, she is fussy, she had about 10 bms the other day which led to our first diaper rash ever, and she wakes up at night because of pain. The worst part is that there isn't much I can do to help her with any of this. I guess this is what it is like to be a parent, there are just some things that they have to go through themselves. I can't wait for these teeth to make their appearance so that life can maybe get back to a little more "normal"!
By the way, she is still a pretty happy baby in spite of all of this...I think I am just really spoiled!

Forgotten Freebie

I thought I would share with you one of the things I have remembered as one of my favorite things to do as a child and that I have vowed that Anna and I will definitely do often...go to the library. With all the talk lately about how expensive everything has become, I have been trying to find "budget" entertainment that is also educational.
I remember going to "Story Hour" as a child and I LOVED it! I have just forgotten about the library in recent years and now I am thinking about how much money I have spent on books I read once and will sit on a shelf forever or get sold in a garage sale for 25 cents in several years. Now don't get me wrong, I think there are some books you just can't do without buying, but in general the library is an awesome benefit to all those taxes we pay- so why not take advantage of it? I mean, as long as you return your books on time, this is a totally free outing that also provides hours of entertainment when you get home!
I hope that Anna can look back in the years to come and have great memories of going to the library just like I do.
So for today, let me encourage you to support your local library, as I am afraid they may soon be all but forgotten.

5 month pictures

We just got Anna Kate's 5 month photos back. I can't believe how fast she is growing up! I haven't gotten to go through them all yet, but here are a couple that I liked.

She definitely has her daddy's eyes!

Future Olympian 2028, just haven't figured out which sport yet, swimming or gymnastics!

Already she has the attention of all the guys, and loves it! (Although somehow I don't mind that she gets so much attention from all these guys!)

She is actually wearing her dedication dress that was mine almost 28 years ago!

Family Visits!

We have been so blessed for the past 3 weeks to have family in town. Anna has gotten to meet 2 of her great-grandmothers for the first time, so now she has met all 4. That is very special to me even though she might not remember meeting all of them, a couple are not in good health and may not get to see her in person again.
My dad's mom, aunt and sister came 2 weeks ago from PA and spent the week. We had a great time doing "girl" things like shopping for jewelry and getting massages. I enjoyed getting to spend good quality time with them since I haven't made it to PA in several years.
Last weekend, Chad and Shana came in from CHI Town for a wedding. Although they had a busy schedule they did get to fit in some good Anna time with Uncle Chad and Auntie Shana- she loves them by the way! Which is good because they sure love her too. We also got to have some family photos taken with everyone here. Anna was a little ham!
This weekend Jason's mom and grandmother came all the way from New Mexico for a visit on the holiday weekend. We don't get to see them very often either, in fact, we haven't seen Nanny since our wedding. Anna is enjoying getting to show off her new tricks!
It has been fun for everyone to see our new house. Jason has done such a great job on everything, and I have loved being able to host everyone for at least one meal while they are here. Space is a wonderful thing!!
Even though we have enjoyed having all kinds of visitors, I think I will breathe a huge sigh of relief when things get back to "normal"!

Joining the Masses

Ok, I have joked with many of you about being a blog stalker until this point and so I guess I am joining everyone in posting snippets of our life so that everyone can keep up. With so many family and friends far away I hope you enjoy getting to silently participate in our life, and I hope that sometimes we will hear from you just to know that you are out there reading!