It's Beginning to Look A Lot

Like Christmas!! Anna Claire recieved her first $50 bill a few weeks ago from Aunt Patti and Uncle Jim. I've been meaning to get a picture of her with it, but I have to DIG it out of her Piggy Bank. Thank you Aunt Patti and Uncle Jim!!!

We started making our Christmas rounds this past Saturday (the 15th). We had Christmas with Kerry's Mother's side of the family. It was fun and Anna Claire loved the presents. She wanted everything out of the pacakages ASAP!! We did manage to get hom w/ 2 still in the box. Here are some pictures of her w/ her gifts once we got home. The train was still in the box, but everything else was out. The train was out before the night was over.

Well....

First things first, I PROMISE I'm going to send out Christmas cards!! The Photographer told me Monday that they are ready to be picked up, but I haven't made it to Murfreesboro to get them and she hasn't made it to Shelbyville to deliver them to me. If I don't have them by this Saturday I'm going to pick them up on our way through Murfreesboro. I'll address them and have them in the mail by Monday the 17th!!

Anna Claire attended her first Christmas parade on the 8th. The weather was nice for December, so we went. I cried when the parade got to us and Kerry looked at me like I had lost my mind. It was her first parade and I know she will not remember it, but I will. I cried again when the Fire trucks came through in the parade bc Uncle Josh was riding in one of them and was hollaring out the window for Anna Claire. It was so sweet!!

Here is a picture of her and Fallon waiting for the parade to get to us.

Here is one of my favorite pictures here recently. This shows her personality and how silly she is.

She had just eaten a bitter biscuit, squash, and was in the process of eating some dessert. Excuse the mess!! I let her have control of the bitter biscuit, so it was EVERYWHERE!!

Who-ville!!

I visited Who-ville this morning and we now have our Who-names. For those of you that are confused, Who-ville is the city in the Grinch that Stole Christmas. We have the book, but I really need to get Anna Claire the move. She loves Dr. Suess books.

Kaptain Kerry Powder-blue-Who
Romantic Robyn Powder-blue Who
Aggie Anna Claire Powder-blue Who
We are the Powder-blue-Who's!!

If you want to, go to www.grinched.com
Enter the site
Drag the magnified glass over City Hall and click on it
City Hall is where you can get your Who-name!!

Milestones! Milestones!

Anna Claire seems to learn something new daily now. She has mastered crawling. I do have a few videos that I will try to post at some point. Of course they are of her on the kitchen floor bc I think Daddy enjoyed watching her struggle on the slick floor. LOL!! I haven't heard Da Da very much since about 2 weeks ago, but I have heard Ma Ma for the past 3 DAYS!!!! I'll try to getting a voice recording of one of the two this weekend. She loves the Christmas lights. We finished putting the lights outside Saturday, or I finished them. I worked on them from about 9:00am until 6:30pm Saturday. I was so exhausted, but when Anna Claire came outside she was so excited that it made the long hard work totally worth it. She has been under the tree more than once and Kerry finally just pulled her present out bc she kept going in after it. You cannot turn away for a minute anymore. Kerry lost her the other day and found her in the bathroom. She is the best gift we could have ever been given!!

The pictures are ready to view: www.pictage.com
Look for Christmas cards soon. I haven't gotten them yet, but they are ordered and just gorgeous of course!! ; )

Anna Claire's best friend Brylee Taite arrived at 3:40pm on 12/3/07!!

Momma has a picture somewhere of me when I was little with a piece of the plastic play money on my mouth. I'm going to try to find it and post it bc Anna Claire and I look just a like in these pictures. (Aunt Patti - you don't happen to have a copy of it, do you?)

Playing at Granny's with Christmas Tigger and yes, Granny bought her, her own Christmas rug!!

I Forgot!!!

About 2 weeks ago after I got off of work I went over to Momma's to get Anna Claire. When we got home she was sitting on the couch with Daddy and I. For 30 minutes all I heard was Da Da Da Da Da Da Da!! I kept looking at Kerry and he was grinning ear to ear!! I WAS not. I called Momma and told her that I had heard Da Da for the past 30 minutes and Momma was like, "yeah I've heard it all day." We were disappointed bc everyone has worked so hard on Ma Ma, but never the less, Kerry was extatic!! So there you have it, Anna Claire's first words were Da Da!!

~Whatever!!~ LOL!!

We've Got Movement!!

Anna Claire has been attempting to crawl for the past few days. Today she mastered it. It's not the perfect crawl, yet. She gets up on her knees makes a move, then pushes her butt up in the air. Repeat this about 20 times and you can travel about 10 feet. She crawled from the Christmas tree to the kitchen this evening. We were playing on the couch after this and I sat her in the floor to play with her toys. She got on her belly, crawled back to the couch, and grabbed the cushion. I couldn't not pick her up!! I would love to show everyone, but my cell phone only takes a 16 second video and her crawling is a very long process. LOL!!

She also learned this week how to hold her own bottle. She always holds it for her Daddy, but if I'm feeding her, then she usually makes me hold it for her.

And if anyone has been wondering......
Anna Claire is such a MOMMY'S GIRL!!

I'm proud, if you can't already tell.

Anna Claire's new best friend should be here sometime Monday. My friend Misty is going in to be induced Sunday night at 8:00pm. I am so excited!!

Since I have no video of her crawling, I'll post a few of my favorite pictures that I took of her this week.

She's a Cutie!!!!

She's wild and nosey as well!! She found the Christmas tree tonight. She was after the Gingerbread Man and once she crawled/scooted to the tree she decided to get under it. She got a present out from under the tree, which just so happened to be hers.

Then she fell asleep under it.

We did a little photo shoot tonight in some of her Christmas outfits.

She wanted to tell everyone "Hello."

Happy 7 Month Birthday!!

Today Anna Claire is 7 months old!! Time goes by so fast. She's grown so much and is so smart!! I love her more everyday!!






Here is a sneek peek of her 6 month pictures!! I'll let everyone know when they are all up!!

Baby's First Thanksgiving

Today is Anna Claire's First Thanksgiving!!

She'll be 7 months old on Monday. My how time flies.
Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Oh Santa!!

Today Anna Claire, Daddy, and I took a trip to Franklin to see Santa Claus. Anna Claire was very interested in him. Once I started quacking at her, she was able to focus on having her picture made. Enjoy!!
Waiting in line to see Santa!!



Apparently this is how all the "COOL" kids ride in their strollers. Notice the left arm hanging off and the right foot propped up!!

Anna Claire

Anna Claire is so silly these days!!! She has learned to suck in her bottom lip in the past 2 days and now does it all the time!!

She is sitting up VERY well. She loves that she can sit up and play with her toys. Anna Claire has also learned to raise her arms if she wants you to hold her. If she is sitting somewhere and you walk by, DON'T EVEN THINK about walking by her and not speaking to her!!!!!!!!!! No matter where she is sitting, be it in the floor or in someone's lap, she will scream bloody murder if you do not speak to her. She loves to eat and if you're eating she thinks she needs to be eating as well. The only problem is that she thinks she should be eating and drinking what you have, not her food and baby milk. We had chilli at Momma's last night and I had to share my chilli and Sprite with her. She only got very very small tastes of the chilli juice and loved it. She is her Daddy's child!!!! She really likes Sprite, but if you say, "Anna Claire it's water," she'll leave you alone. I gave her some Apple Banana juice the other night and I didn't want her to have to much since it was 7:00pm and the Baby juice has a lot of sugar in it, so I gave her an ounce of juice mixed with 3 ounces of water. Yeah, she wouldn't drink it!!

Baby's First Halloween and Dr. Visit

We went for a re-check with Dr. Bradley on Halloween. I am so glad we did bc Anna Claire left her office already sounding better, so by the time it was dusk outside Anna Claire was ready for the Trick or Treaters. At the Dr's appt we found out that the ER Dr did not know what he was talking about. He told us her Bronchitis was more infectious and not viral by looking at her WBC. He gave us an antibiotic to help. I told Dr. Bradley yesterday that she was not any better than she was on Sunday at the ER, other than the fever was gone. Dr. Bradley checked her out and while she was waiting for the x-rays and blood work from the ER, she gave Anna Claire a breathing treatment. It helped SO much!!! Once the information was given to Dr. Bradley, she came in and told me (and Anna Claire's Granny) that Anna Claire's Bronchitis was infact viral and that an antibiotic would not help or cure her. That explained why she was not any better. She said her x-rays should the blockage in hr broncular tubes, but there were no signs of pnemonia. What a relief, so we were sent home with a breathing treatment machine to help open up her broncular tubes and then with a medicine to help heal them. She takes the treatments every 4-6 hours for 4 days and the other medicine she takes once a day for 4 days. She's already much better!!!
Here is some pictures of her in her Halloween costume taking her breathing treatments. It's rather sad!! Be sure to check out the Rhino mask!!

Now on to Halloween!! She LOVED the Trick or Treaters!!! We didn't go anywhere bc she was still sick, so we stayed with her Granny so that she could see everyone. We took her to the door every time a Trick or Treater came up. She would kick and squeal every time. She stayed so excited that by 7:30pm she had crashed in my lap. She had so much fun that she just couldn't handle anymore!! Her first Halloween was wonderful!!! Here's some pictures!!

Sick Again :(

My poor little girl is sick again. Anna Claire turned 6 months old on Friday. We went for her 6 month well visit, and she got 4 shots. While we were there I told Dr. Bradley, before her shots, that she was congested and was having difficulty breathing from her nose. Dr. Bradley listened to her chest and looked at her ears. She told us it was just a cold and that everything looked normal. Anna Claire got her shots and she did GREAT!!! Dr. Bradley's nurse was MUCH better with her, than Dr. Johnson's nurse was. She weighed 16lbs and 2oz, and was 27 1/4 inches long. She is in the 50 percentile for her weight and head circumference and is in the 75 percentile for her length. Here is Anna Claire on her 6 month Birthday!!

About 3:00am Saturday morning Anna Claire woke up coughing and choking. Kerry grabbed her and stood her up, as I push on her back. She was trying to get some of the flem up. After about 45 minutes she coughed up A LOT!!! She was so pitiful. She continued to cough and have a runny nose until Sunday. She refused to sleep!! I called the Dr's office about 12:00am Sunday morning bc she had been screaming for 45 minutes and I just could not take it anymore. Mind you, Kerry was laying in bed not helping at all!! I finally made him get up to help. The Nurse called me back within 10 minutes and told me to give her a warm bath and some Tylenol. So, we did. Yeah, that helped for about 2 hours and she was screaming again. I talked to the Nurse twice Sunday morning bc her temp got up to 101.4. They kept telling me the same thing over and over!! Give her a warm bath, suction her nose, run the humidifier, give her Tylenol, and let her sleep elevated. I HAD BEEN DOING ALL OF THAT FOR ALMOST 48 HOURS AND IT WAS NOT HELPING. Finally I called my co-worker, his sister is Dr Bradley, our pediatrician. Dr. Bradley said that if I had any doubt that I needed to take to the ER. Momma, Lindsey, and I then took Anna Claire to the ER in Murfreesboro. We got there about 1:50pm Sunday afternoon. We waited maybe 3 minutes and they called us back. Her temp was then 102. The Dr came to the room to see us and ordered chest x-ray and blood work. The ER Nurse had a VERY hard time getting blood. It took me and another Nurse to hold Anna Claire still. The Nurse dug and dug in her little hand trying to get a vein. She got a little blood and then gave up. Her exact words were, "I'm not sticking that Baby gain. I'm hurting her and refuse to try again." They then called the lab to get them to come stick her heel. Next we went for X-rays. I took a picture of the baby x-ray machine, that Anna Claire HATED!!!

I had to hold her little arms up while the X-ray tech put the plastic pieces around her little body to hold her in place. After the X-rays and the needle stick in her hand, her and I were both exhausted. She took a 30 minute nap while her Granny held her and I went outside for a break. That was a lot to take in. 3 hours later the Nurse come in the see if the Lab had been to stick her heel and they had not. About 45 minutes later the Nurse came back with another Nurse to try to stick her heel on their own bc our main Nurse was very upset that we were still there. It took them about 30 minutes to get enough blood from her heel. As soon as they finished, low and behold, her comes the lab tech and all her attitude!!! The Nurse was not very nice to her for taking so long and told her that she had already done it herself. Finally about 7:30pm the Dr came back and said Anna Claire has Bronchitis. He said that he could see some infection in her lungs and that her White Blood cell count was borderline high. He said he felt like it was more infection than viral, so he let us go home. He gave Anna Claire some antibiotics and we go see Dr. Bradley on Wednesday. Anna Claire was so Happy to be home. Thank goodness Momma was with me bc it took us both to take care of her. Pray that she gets well very soon and that we can go sick free through Winter!!!

It's Been a While!!!

I know it's been a while since I've updated, but having an almost 6 month old keeps me very busy!!! Kerry and I have joined the gym, so that we can both continue to work off our Baby weight. I've lost all of mine, but would still like to loose more. I go to the gym at lunch everyday bc I don't have the time after work. Last week and the week before we all battled a stomach virus. On Friday, October 12th about 12:45am I woke up to Anna Claire throwing up in our bed. I thought I heard her throw up and as I rolled over to check on her, she threw up again. She threw up for about an hour and after that she just had the poops!! She had just now gotten her appetite back this week. Once she was sick, then her Daddy got it, then her Granny, and Big Daddy. I was the last to get it. I woke up sick about 3:00am Monday, the 22nd. We're all better now. I help to host a Baby Shower for Misty, who is due December 2nd with Anna Claire's best friend Brylee Taite, on October 6th. Momma and I went to the Bell Buckle Craft Fair on October 20th and this weekend Kerry will be going to the Jack Daniel's BBQ in Lynchburg with Anna Claire's Big Daddy. Anna Claire and I will not be attending bc she gets her 6 month shots on Friday. When Daddy gets home he will have to carve Anna Claire's first pumpkin. We've got her costume and she's ready to go, not they she will be Trick or Treating, but she still had to have a costume, or at least I thought she did!! My Granddaddy had his colon surgery on October 18th and everything went well. They hope that they got all of the Cancer, but will not know until the lab work comes back, so please keep him in your prayers!!

As you can see we've been busy and in the midst of this, we're working on buying a new house. We will NOT be leaving the neighborhood though!! I LOVE living beside Momma. My Granny will be buying our house and Kerry, Anna Claire, and I will be moving in the house that connects backyards with them both. Soon we will own the neighborhood!!! LOL!! The house is much bigger than the one we currently own, so Kerry will have his own room upstairs to decorate how he wishes. We've already been buying stuff for his Tennessee room. The house is 4BR with 2 full baths, so Anna Claire and I will no longer have to share a bathroom with Daddy!! We've been approved, so now we're just waiting for the neighbors to finish their new house and move!! We hope to be in our new house for Christmas. Speaking of Christmas, Santa has already done his shopping for Anna Claire. Yes, it's October and we already have her Santa stuff, her Granny does too!! She's very spoiled, but I don't mind!! As long as she is happy, Kerry and I are happy, and trust me, she is a VERY happy baby!! Now that I've got everyone caught up, here are some pictures!!

One of many Halloween outfits!!

Anna Claire can now roll from back to belly and belly to back, she can sit up, and LOVES to spit!!! I know it's a terrible habit, but I can't stop her. She is now eating cereal, fruit, and vegetables. Her favorites are Sweet Potatoes (YUK!!), Bananas, and Applesauce. She was doing well with her cereal, but has now decided she would rather just eat the vegetables and fruit. She is still drinking about 28 ounces of formula a day as well.

Granny and Big Daddy went to Florida

And all I (Anna Claire) got was..................................

No, not this lousy t-shirt!!!!

Enough stuff to cover Mom's kitchen table!!!

As you can see Granny and Big Daddy keep her very spoiled!! She got numerous Halloween outfits, Christmas outfits, everyday outfits, new shoes, toys, etc........................

Last year Granny could not buy for Anna Claire yet bc I was only about 7 weeks pregnant, so she made up for it this year!!!

Happy Anniversary!!!

Today is our 3 year Anniversary!! It's hard to believe that Kerry and I have been married for 3 years already. We have a wonderful new family and I'm looking forward to many more years together!!! With Kerry working 3rd shift our time together is limited, so this past weekend we celebrated. Friday night, Kerry, Anna Claire, and myself went to Olive Garden. Once we finished there, we went over to Babies R Us, which is a must now when in Nashville!!! Below you will see a picture of Miss Anna Claire munching on some of the wonderful Olive Garden bread!!




Then on Sunday we went to see the Titans play the Colts. The Titans lost by 2 points, but getting to see Ole' Peytie Poo get sacked twice in person was totally worth it!!!! Kerry was very excited when I called him Friday afternoon and told him that I had been given tickets. He is an avid Titans fan, so I knew it was the perfect gift!!!

Strolling

Anna Claire loves to be outside. It has finally cooled off enough than we can stoll. Here's a picture of Anna Claire in her stroller one morning last weekend. I think her and I were the only ones in the neighborhood outside playing at 8:00am!!! You will also notice the new toy on the stroller as well. She seems to have toys on everything!!! (Thanks to her Granny!!)

She Love's the Dogs!!!

It's been a while, so I'm going to try to catch up!!!!

Sunday, September 9th, 2007
Here is a video of Anna Claire playing with Harley. She has really started to pay more attention to the dogs and absolutly LOVES them!!! Turn on your speakers!! It sounds like she's crying, but she is actually laughing harder than I have ever heard her laugh. She got so tickled when he was trying to play with her. I hope you enjoy!! I know Kerry and I did.

Me and My Daddy

It's no secret that Anna Claire loves her Daddy!! Even though, she's a little bit of a Momma's girl right now, but I'm sure once she's able to run around that will change!! Here are a few pictures of her and her Daddy this past Sunday in their matching outfits.

This picture has nothing to do with Anna Claire and her Daddy, but I was so proud of it!! The two black and white pictures I fixed myself. They were color photos. I made them black and white and added the color back in to them all on my own!!!

Look What I Can Do!!!!

Anna Claire rolled over for the first time on Friday afternoon. Angie, the photographer, was at the house for Anna Claire's 3 month pictures and laid her on a blanket in the floor to do some pictures and she rolled over!!! It was GREAT!!!!! Momma and I, both, have been working with her on rolling over and crawling. It has paid off!!! Kerry did miss it and by the time he got home Friday she was just too tired to do anything because all that modeling just wore her out. He did get to see her roll over on Saturday and I made a little video of it. You will see her look at me as she gets ready to roll, and I can't decide if it was for reassurance, or to make sure I was watching her. Enjoy!!!!

Wasn't that just GREAT!!!! You just gotta love her!!!!

Whew!!

Kerry has changed jobs!! He starts his new job tonight at 10:30pm. It has been a very uncomfortable situation the past 2 weeks with him not working. I say not working, he's been helping Momma at the Arena and helping Cliff do whatever is needed of him, but it's not the same pay by any means. His new job will only be a 27 cent per hour pay cut, which is no big deal, his benefits will be better and cheaper, and instead of driving to Smyrna everyday, he will be driving right inside of Murfreesboro, so it cuts down on the drive time as well. He seems very excited!!! I'm trying to be excited for him, but it's hard because Claire and I have gotten so used to him being at home when we are, that it's going to be hard for us to get used to Daddy not being home all night. We will manage, but I don't really like it!! ; )

The good thing is that he can now be at all her pictures sessions and her Dr. appointments, even though he doesn't want to. I told him that he may have to go with me to her 4m checkup in August, if Momma is not able to go. He asked if he could wait in the waiting room and I said no. He frowned at me and just shook his head. He doesn't like to see Anna Claire in pain, but who does!!!

Keep a watch out!! The photographer will be at the house of Friday for Anna Claire's 3m pictures. I'll let you know as soon as they are on-line. I have a link posted to the left. If you live in Middle TN you should really check her out!! She's done our engagement and wedding pictures, my bridal portraits, my maternity pictures, Anna Claire's first day in the world, and her newborn pictures. We have her paid up until Anna Claire starts kindergarten. She is AWESOME!!!!!

Visiting with Great Grandparents

This weekend Anna Claire went to visit her Great Granddaddy at the nursing home. Kerry and Anna Claire waited out front, while I surprised Grandaddy (Anna Claire's Great Granddaddy) with our visit. Last time Granddaddy saw her, he was very hesitant to hold her, so he chose not too. This visit was better, he was very anxious to hold her, which was very exciting for me!!! Granny of course holds her every time she sees her, but this was a very momentous occasion because this is Granddaddy's first time to hold his very own Great Granddaughter!! One lady was out in the lobby and made the comment, your Grandfather has all girls!! Kerry has already made the comment that he is surrounded by 4 generations of WOMEN!!!! I have posted some pictures of them together!!




As some of you already know, Granddaddy, Anna Claire's Great Granddaddy, has been diagnosed with colon cancer. Please say a little prayer for him. He goes for all of his test this week and if they can get all of the test done, they want to do surgery Friday to remove the mass on his colon. Once this is done, they will be able to see if it has spread anywhere else.

He has been my Hero since I was a little girl.......

3 Months Old

Happy 3 Month Birthday to Anna Claire!!!
This time exactly 3 months ago, I had just given birth to Miss Anna Claire at 7:51am. She has changed so much!!!

Anna Claire at 8:06am on Thursday, April 26, 2007

15 Minutes Old

Anna Claire at 8:06am on Thursday, July 26, 2007

3 Months Old

Please excuse the picture clarity.... I asked Kerry to take a picture of her at exactly 8:06am. She was asleep in our bed and he didn't want to turn on the light. I had to do some work on the picture to be able to see her.

Nothing Like a Jumperoo!!

New Hair Bows!!!

We finally received the hair bows that I ordered off of E-Bay this past weekend!! I was so excited that I immediately started changing Anna Claire's clothes and putting different bows on her head. She has no hair, so I had to order the bows on the stretchy headbands. Anna Claire doesn't seem to mind them. I was able to change her clothes 3 times before she got aggravated with me. Once we finished she passed out in the recliner, but only for about 15 minutes!!

How cute am I in my new outfit that my Granny bought me, sitting in the rocking chair that Mommy had when she was a little girl!!

Napping after my fashion show with my favorite blanket, in my favorite sleep spot, Daddy's recliner!!!