Anna Grace 11 month old

It's hard to believe that this little angel baby will be a year old next week!!!  Where does the time go??

45 WEEKS OLD

 Anna Grace doesn't have her helmet on in a few of these pictures because she can't wear it when she has fever or when outside in the heat.  It's always nice to get to kiss on that sweet, bald head!  Well, I say bald head....she is getting some dark fuzzy hair.  The other day William noticed it and said, "Awww my baby's getting hair!  I'm so proud of you Anna Grace!"  #wordsfrombabes #meltmyheart

46 WEEKS OLD, headed to her first baseball game!

Weight:  Almost 20 pounds  

Eating:  Not much has changed in this category (5 bottles and 3 meals a day).  We have been giving Anna Grace more table food.  She's still not too sure what to think.  The other day I caught her with a mouth full of green beans.  I guess she think they should be dissolving like her puffs.  :)  We've started giving her a sippy cup to practice with.  Right now, she just bangs it on the table.  Every once in a while she'll put it to her mouth and laugh. Anna Grace recently tried raspberry, blueberry, spinach and pumpkin.         

Development:  Baby girl is getting so much stronger.  She can pull herself into the crawling position, but is still working on moving forward.  I always find her pushing herself backwards.  As long as she can get to where she wants she is happy. Baby girl has started waving HI and we get some claps out of her every once in a while.  Anna Grace recently qualified for Occupational Therapy.  I was a little disappointed that we were going to have to add one more appointment to our list every week, but was willing to do whatever she needed.  Luckily, at her first appointment they found that she was already doing better and wouldn't need as much help as they originally thought!  Great news!!!  I think baby girl has a time table of her own.  I love the saying It's not about where you start but how you finish.   

Clothes:  Moved up to size 4 diapers and 12 month size clothes.

Sleeping:  Baby girl excels in this department!  She's basically been sleeping through the night since she was 2 or 3 months old.  We of course still have nights that she cries and needs help getting her paci back into her mouth, but overall she does awesome.  This sweet girl will even put herself to sleep.  Just lay her down in bed and she is fine.  I prefer to snuggle with her for a few minutes after she finishes her bottle.  :)  We put her down around 8pm and she gets up between 6 and 7 in the morning.  At home she takes a 30-60 minute morning nap around 9:30 and then an 1.5 hour afternoon nap with William.  At daycare she doesn't usually sleep much.  I guess there's just too much going on?!?!      

Other:  Anna Grace went to the lake for the second time and went to her first baseball game (Astros vs The Rangers).       

Things She Loves:  She loves zooming around the house in her walker.  She runs into everything (include our feet) and is always grabbing things off our shelves.  William usually calls her "my baby" which is followed by the cutest squeal from Anna Grace.  She currently loves to play with William's farm truck and animals.  She'll sit on the ground for 30 + minutes playing with them.  We've noticed that she has stopped chewing on everything she comes into contact with.  Don't get me wrong, she still chews on things a lot....but she is showing interest in what the toys are doing.     

Things She Hates:  The doctor looking in her ears, anyone wearing a hat and strangers.  The stranger danger thing hit Anna Grace earlier than it did William!     

Mommy Stuff:  I'm down to pumping 3 times a day and having a hard time accepting the fact that our baby is almost a year old!  LOL      

Health:  Right after Anna Grace turned 10 months old she saw Neurosurgery for the 3rd time.  Unfortunately, her head didn't grown much in the 8 weeks between visits.  No growth means not much head shape change. BUT, the flat spot didn't get any flatter and the width of her head stayed the same.  Both of those are good things.  Since baby girl isn't crawling and lays on her head more than most kids her age the decision was made to leave the helmet on for another 6 weeks.  We have noticed that Anna Grace wants to sleep on her right side versus her back now.  Hopefully, when the helmet comes off we can keep her sleeping on her side/stomach instead of her back.  Also, right after her 10 month bday baby girl got a high fever and was wheezing.  She had to have blood work done, a CXR and breathing treatment.  Luckily, she was better within a few days.  We've had a lot of medical issues with AG, but I will say I'm so grateful that she's never had an ear infection or needed to be on antibiotics.  #itsthesmallthings    

If you know me, you know that I'm in full blown party planning mode!  I can't wait to celebrate you next month, sweet rainbow baby.

Anna Grace 9 months old

Sweet Anna Grace turned 9 months old while we were at Horseshoe Bay with my family.  It was her first trip to the lake!  Baby girl loved the boat rides.  I never did a 9 month post, :( but here is here 9 month photo collage.  This is the month she started to sit up on her own!  This meant she got to start participating in splash time at school on Tuesday and Thursday morning.  Water + Anna Grace = Happy Baby Girl.  xoxo

Anna Grace 8 months old

I forgot to post this 8 month update....better late than never!




Eating:  Anna Grace has continued to be an excellent eater!  Baby girl loves her food. :)  Up until she was 7.5 months old we were giving her food at lunch time and dinner time.  The week we were at the beach we started to do breakfast, lunch and dinner.  She usually nurses when she wakes up around 6 and then has 3 bottles at school and has one more bottle after dinner/before bed.   

Development:  Sometime after Anna Grace turned 7 months old she started rolling over both directions.  She is sitting up a lot better (but not completely on her own).  When she talks she can say dadada and bababa.  This big girl has TWO teeth now!!!  

Other:  At 7.5  months old Anna Grace went to the beach for her first time. She took lots of naps down at the beach and enjoyed our daily bike rides.  

I had to stop swaddling baby girl somewhere around 7 months old.  Her physical therapist said it wasn't recommended with torticollis.  I was sad because it helped her sleep so much better, but she has adjusted well.  

Things She Loves:  Bath time is still her favorite time.  When she hears the water come on she starts kicking and squealing.  She loves splashing in the tub.  She will just laugh and laugh.  Being thrown in the air is still a favorite as well.  Whenever she cries William will sing either Twinkle Twinkle to her or the ABCs.  Singing to her usually calms her right down (William is her favorite!).  Her favorite toy is her keys and she will chew on anything she can get in her mouth.  

Things She Hates:  She is still an easy going baby.  Tummy time is always a struggle and she tends to cry a lot during physical therapy.  But honestly, who can blame her!?!?  Her muscles are tight and all the stretching and exercising they have her do isn't comfortable/hurts.  

From The Doctor:  We haven't seen Anna Grace's PCP since her 6 month check up but we've seen a million other doctors in the last two months.  We have been busy.

Easter in West Texas

Since Easter was forever ago, and I've done a million and one things since then.....I can hardly remember what even went on over the weekend.  The day that we flew to Midland for Easter weekend was the day of Anna Grace's MRI of her brain.  Not a fun day.  They had a hard time getting an IV started on our poor baby girl, so she had to be stuck 3 times.  Since this is an area I really excel in as a nurse it came very close to me having to start her IV.  {insert crying emoji}  Luckily, one of my co-workers was able to help us out!  A few weeks later, I'm sad to say, I did have to poke our baby girl for some blood work that was needed.  I will say that we were happy to have the MRI behind us, and a long weekend in Midland ahead of us!  It was good timing to be in Midland with my family (aka help with the kiddos), so I could get phone calls made and emails sent regarding baby girl's health issues.

The Saturday before Easter we had the BEST time at the country club meeting the Easter bunny, doing face painting, eating lunch, watching a balloon artist and doing an egg hunt!  Watching William run after those eggs will be a memory I smile about for the rest of my life.    

Going to church on Easter Sunday, where I grew up, was just what my heart needed.  We are so very thankful for our children and the wonderful life God has given us.  To think that Jesus gave his life for us brings me to tears.  That we get to watch these sweet little people grow and learn is more than I could've ever asked for.  I always read things about people over using the hashtag #blessed.  But, it's the only way to put it.  Even when things have been scary with Anna Grace, and her future uncertain, we are so blessed to have her and William, just the way they are.  There really is nothing better than spending Easter with the people you love.

AGG 10 months old

The picture below pretty much sums up Anna Grace's life....."what the heck is going on with these people".  I'm pretty sure she thinks we are CrAzY!!!  But, let me tell you something, the love that these two kiddos have for each other is unreal.  I couldn't have asked for things to be more perfect between my babies.  Obviously, they won't always adore each other this much.  For now, I'm enjoying every single second of the love, kindness and toy sharing!

42 weeks old

Sweet William now calls Anna Grace his baby.  "Where's my baby"  "Why's my baby crying?"  "Awww, my baby's so cute!"  "It's okay, baby."  "I wanna kiss my baby."  Seriously.  Melt. My. Heart.  

This little love bug has continued to wrap us tighter and tighter around her little finger.  She is such a fighter with the BEST personality.  She could be the poster child for Duck Dynasty's "Happy, Happy, Happy".  She is seriously always smiling and happy!  Here's what our little lady has been up to.

41 weeks old

Weight:  19 pounds (up 3 pounds in 3 months) 

Eating:  Anna Grace still loves to eat.  She is eating food 3 times a day (still pureed) and drinks 5 six ounce bottles a day.  She loves eating puffs and mum mums (William wouldn't touch anything solid until after his first birthday)!  We've tried giving her solid food but she's not quite sure what she thinks.  I don't think she's come across a food she doesn't like.  She recently tried blueberries and apricots.  I'm still making her baby food, so I mix most fruits with a little banana (to help with the tartness).        

Development:  Right around her 10 month birthday two more teeth came in.  Anna Grace now has a total of 6 teeth (4 on top and 2 on bottom).  She can pick up her puffs and put them in her mouth, she is doing excellent sitting up by herself (she started doing this more around 9 months), she isn't crawling but can roll anywhere she needs to go! 

Clothes:  Size 3 diaper and 9-12 month size clothes.  This girl has some long legs (and chubby thighs!).  

Other:  We spent Anna Grace's first 4th of July in Midland.  The week after that she had her parents to herself for the first time ever (while William spent a week in Midland).     

Things She Loves:  Bath time is still her favorite.  This child loves being in water!  She just loves to splash, splash, splash.  Since she's able to sit up better now school is letting her do "splash day" two days a week.  They say she has the best time!  She still sees most toys as just another thing to chew on.  She cracks up laughing when you play peek a boo with her.  She has a stuffed animal giraffe that she really loves.  This girl also loves to jump!  She will stand on your lap and just hop, hop, hop.  The exersaucer has become a favorite too.  I'm pretty sure baby girl would rather go straight to walking and avoid crawling all together....sad for AG this is not what physical therapy wants.   

Things She Hates:  Physical therapy is not on Anna Grace's favorite list.  Since we moved her appointment time to the morning she has done better, but it's still a lot of work for her.  Every day she gets stronger but she has a long road ahead of her.  We are working on getting her into the crawling position and from there back to the sitting position.  Stretching her out and getting her to use her weak side are other areas/things that get worked on as well.

Anna Grace's little personality is really starting to come out.  Baby girl is very vocal about what she does not like.  We call her our little firecracker.  :)  William was always pretty laid back....this little lady has no problem telling us when she wants something done differently!  With that being said, she's still one of the happiest babies I've ever met (just has some spice to her!). 

Mommy Stuff:  Right around AG's 10 month bday my milk production decreased significantly.  I went from making 48 ounces to 18 ounces/day.  Still not sure what in the world happened.  My stress level could play a part in this?!?  Also, around this time Anna Grace stopped nursing (so all I've done is pump 4 times a day).  It's like one day she woke up and decided she just didn't want to do that anymore.  It definitely made this mama sad, but with 6 teeth it was probably for the best.  haha!  I still have my linea negra, but it has nearly faded away.   

Health:  Right after Anna Grace turned 9 months old we had a follow up visit with neurosurgery (who prescribed the helmet).  They re-scanned her head.  They then compare the before and after images and calculate measurements.  We saw great improvement over those 8 weeks, so they asked us to have her continue wearing the helmet for at least 6 more weeks.  Luckily, the helmet doesn't bother Anna Grace one bit.  She is a trooper.  At 9.5 months Anna Grace was admitted to the hospital for 48 hours of EEG observation.  Getting all those probes glued onto her head was NOT fun.  Getting them off wasn't too great either.  But, the in between went really well.  Anna Grace and I just laid around all day playing and staring at each other.  :)  We were in a room that was monitored 24/7 (audio and visual).  Since we were trying to catch her doing one of her "stare off spells" I literally never took my eyes off of her.  Unfortunately, baby girl never had a spell, so we still don't know what is going on.  On a good note she's been having the stare off spells a lot less over the last 3 months and there was no seizure activity found during her 48 hours of monitoring.  

Ready to G-O!

We still don't have many answers about what's going on with this sweet baby girl.  What we do know is.....it doesn't really matter.  We will always support her and help her in any way we need to.  No matter how much or little she can do.  She is a happy little baby girl that we all love to the moon and back.  Every day she gets a little stronger and learns something new.  We feel very happy with her progress, and are so grateful to live in a town with a wonderful children's hospital.  

Anna Grace, you are a breath of fresh air.  You make our hearts so happy.  I am forever grateful to The Man upstairs for giving me these TWO precious babies.  They are our world.  #bestillmyheart