Anna Banana Loves Her Bananas!

So we finally introduced Anna's first solids. We figured it was only appropriate to offer her bananas as her first encounter with "food." She got very excited and was making the sweetest faces and noises. To date, she's eaten them twice. (Her first experience was the most exciting for her and she was kind of bored by the second feeding =) In fact, she made faces and we stopped early because she just wasn't into it. We'll keep you updated on any other foods she eats. Enjoy the video clips - they're adorable!!

HAPPY 1/2 BIRTHDAY BABY GIRL!

Anna Gabrielle is 6 months old today. Wow has the time flown! Around this time last year Matt and I were chaperoning a trip to Washington D.C. with St. Henry for the March for Life. I can remember walking on the streets of the city holding signs and protesting abortion knowing that I had a little life inside of me.....at that point we had heard our baby's little heartbeat many times and had seen that little life in black and white. That trip was an amazing testimony to us of what a miracle life truly is. We always knew why we were pro-life, but I don't think we fully understood until we marched for what we believed in at the same moment a life was growing in my own body.

That was a very powerful trip for us. Anna was 3 months at the time. I'll never forget the 3 and 4 month gestational posters on the side of the march with a picture of a baby that said "I had a dream today." At 3 months, my little baby could dream?!? Wow, I hope little Anna was dreaming of how wonderful her life would be with us. I know we were. And the real thing has been far more than we could have ever imagined. I can't wait to see what the next 6 months hold!

Getting Better with the Bumbo

We're not quite sure if Anna really can't sit up straight or if she just loves to lean over and eat her toes. Here is a rare moment of her "sitting" in the Bumbo.

The Sling Thing

If you have a baby, but not one of these, YOU NEED ONE! The wrap is the greatest invention. A lot of people think it looks a little hippy (no pun intended), but forget your image and use it. Actually, it looks pretty cute. It's very comfy, versatile, and is guaranteed to keep your baby happy for hours. Anna and I have used this to take walks, travel through the airport, vacuum, cook, grocery shop, and many more fun adventures. As she gets older, she can be placed in it different ways to make her happy (it's all about her). It's a lot less stressful on my arms and back and I really don't have to hold her at all. She LOVES it!

We found a new way to entertain Anna. For so long, when we're not holding her, we have relied solely on the swing, a blanket on the floor, or the exersaucer. Recently, however, we remembered we had a high chair (it's been sitting in the closet) and decided to give it a try. She can sit in there for a few minutes and play with her toys, but then she gets bored (aka-she gets mad and cries).

A Very Special Delivery

Anna Gabrielle is proud to announce that she will have a new baby GIRL cousin in the summer! Yay! As you can see, she is very excited. Here she is modeling a snow outfit that her cousin will be sure to get more use out of in South Bend than she ever will in Kentucky. Baby Blaze, you can borrow this next year if you'd like!

Daddy's Little Girl!

Anna's Desk

Anna has really come to enjoy her exersaucer Grandma and Grandpa Z got her for Christmas. It's so cute because Matt calls it her desk and we tell her she's going to work when we put her in it. Since she does so much Arbonne work with mommy, we always tell her to "go do Arbonne". She loves it!

We can already tell by her brief moments in the exersaucer, that this girl is determined. She is going to be a girl that will fight to get what she wants and probably won't put up with anyone's you-know-what. When she goes for the toys, she works SO hard to pull them towards her mouth. She fights, and fights, and then lets out little screams. This little baby works hard at her desk!

Water Baby!
I'm so thankful we have a place to take Anna to go swimming. We headed down to Town & Country on Saturday and introduced her to the pool for the first time. She was a little unsure at first, but ended up loving it. We have another playdate set there in a few weeks!

CLC Reunion

I love these girls! This was their first Christmas break since heading off to college. We had a blast eating pizza, catching up and hanging out with Anna. (This was their first time meeting her. I found some babysitters for next summer!) I'm so thankful that we still stay in touch and I look forward to each summer and Christmas reunion in the future. It's great to still have my SHDHS girls!

Enjoying the Lazy Days After Christmas...

Baby's First Christmas!

That magical time everyone waits for....Christmas has such wonderful memories, especially from childhood, so introducing your baby to it for the first time is a much anticipated moment for new parents. This was definitely a highlight of our "firsts" with Anna. It was even better since Matt had a 12 day vacation built around it.

Christmas Eve started with 5:00 Mass (Anna was very good and even fell asleep). the rest of the night was spent celebrating the Polish tradition of Wagilia with Great Grandma Blaze. Christmas morning was crazy going to both sides of the fam and then ending with the Zumbiel's. It was tiring but wonderful. We're excited to see Anna next year when she understands a little more!

Mommy took about 100 pictures, but I managed to choose just a few for the blog. Enjoy Anna's first Christmas with us!

Anna's first visit with Santa Claus was so much fun! We headed to Florence Mall on the Saturday before Christmas (yes, we know we're crazy) and she got to sit on his lap for the first time. She was so cute and calm with him. After staring straight ahead for a few minutes, she decided to see who this guy was and turned her head with the sweetest gaze up to his face. She just looked at him and studied. (When I took her off of his lap, Santa said she was like the Gerber baby and should be a baby model - he thought she was adorable too! =)