quick update -- 6 months, 1 week

hey everyone.

so sorry we've been away from updating the blog. it's been a rough few weeks. anna jae is teething, and with her, it's a bitch. she's obviously very uncomfortable, and probably in a lot of pain, and she's showing it. her sleep patterns are a wreck, she's in a terrible mood, and she always wants to be held (but she won't sleep in your arms, so that's just problematic). she's still great when out with people or in group settings, but when she's at home alone with me, it's awful. i've been having a hard time working or sleeping, my neck and head are worse than before, and i've just been a bit beaten up.

that being said, when she has a good night's sleep and isn't in so much pain, she's her usual wonderful self with me. this morning was one of those mornings. she's even been down for over 2 hours now for her morning nap. sometimes life is good. =)

just a few updates: anna had her 6 month appt. last week. she's only 15lbs, 1oz. but she is 26.5 inches long!! she started on solids -- loves rice cereal, hates peas, and is sort of undecided on carrots. =) she is now watching sesame street and loves it (great distraction when she's pissy), and for some reason also loves dr. phil. i think he looks like a muppet. ha! her hair is starting to grow in more, which is great. and she's still miss social butterfly, so being out and about meeting new people is certainly her thing.

we will see grandma earlier today (i have a nutritionist appt., so anna is going to hang out at grandma and grandpa's house), and then nana will be over for some playtime and dinner later this afternoon. this weekend is aunt pearl's 94th bday party, and we will see the whole block/katz family then, even those that have yet to meet anna jae. so that will be lots of fun!

okee dokee. i'm outta here. gotta go grab the girl. =)

pics: coney island on the 4th -- hot dog eating contest and boardwalk fun

finally, we have pics of our trip to coney island on the 4th of july! yep, we go to the hot dog eating contest there every year, and decided that anna needed to attend her first one. uncle larry was good enough to join in.

"where the HELL have you taken me? and what's up with these weirdos?"

funny! the weirdos are SOOOO funny!



unhappy?

anna jae and uncle larry.

brothers!

silly daddy...



the announcer at the contest presiding over the crowd.

apparently anna jae didn't think it was all that exciting. she fell asleep at the end, just as joey chestnut won and the crowd was screaming. ha!

coney island shots: the parachute jump...

the cyclone...

shoot the freak (which one?)...

nathans on the boardwalk, and the immense crowds that day...

the boardwalk, with the wonder wheel in the background...

one of my favorite things, the bath house on the beach by stillwell and surf...

people on the boardwalk...

gotta love 'em...

pics: uncle larry's visit

uncle larry got to spend some good quality time with anna jae during his new york city visit. since he hadn't seen her since she was first born, this was necessary bonding time! and they clearly had a blast together.

pics: anna sits up all by herself!! and takes a bath in the sink.

the same day anna slept without her swaddle (tuesday june 30th), she sat up by herself for the first time. it was so cool! and thankfully, she didn't decide she hates sitting since. =) because she is outgrowing her bathtub, we decided to try to bathe her in the sink now that she can sit up. she loved playing in the water and with her toys!!

pics: the short-lived "no swaddle" days

we were so excited when anna went to sleep for a few days without her swaddle. unfortunately those days are over. after a week of working on it, she got worse instead of better, clearly letting us know that she wanted her blankets back. so now she's back in her swaddle. still, it was nice (and awfully cute) while it lasted.

pics: sometimes she looks like her mama!

it's funny -- certain pics of anna reveal her daddy in her, and others make her look just like me. this particular june day she looked just like i did when i was a baby. =D

pics: father's day weekend without daddy

daddy wasn't around father's day weekend, so we went to aunt maria and uncle richie's house without him. anna wore her new outfit, courtesy of her cousins chris and debbie.

pics: trip to see aunt kira

anna drove of course! no, just kidding. but she was really into the steering wheel when she finished eating at a pit stop. i love how she tried to use her feet -- just like our little monkey girl!

pics: mama group

these are some shots over different mama group get togethers that we have every thursday. i need to get more shots...

joanna and her lucas.

joanna's lucas.

anna and lucas.

a small snapshot of the group (there are lots more of us, but we usually can't ALL make it every week).

anna and her buddy zoe.

love of elmo

yes, anna jae is in LOVE with elmo. it's hysterical! she doesn't really watch tv shows or anything, most of the time she plays on the floor with her toys. but the other day, we put on sesame street to entertain her when she was feeling a bit lazy with us, and she showed a genuine interest in elmo specifically. kicked up her feet and let out an excited sound.

well, yesterday she was crying because of her teething, and sesame street was on but ending -- which meant that "elmo's world" was on. i put it on to distract her and opted to dvr the remaining few minutes. well, she started letting out a yell every time elmo was on screen! only elmo too -- she seemed to like ernie and slimey the worm, but when elmo was on screen she just got so happy! the rest of the day yesterday was up and down -- teething is causing some serious mood swings -- and every time she needed a distraction i would put on those few minutes of elmo and she was just the happiest kid in the world. =D

so now i'm recording sesame street the 2 times a day it's on, and that way i have episodes to use during the day if necessary. i'm not really interested in anna jae watching television just yet, but sesame street is educational and she seems to love it, so i'm going to go with the flow on this particular show.

"first word"!

yes, i think we have our official first word. =D anna jae has been exercising a version of "mama" for a while now, usually only coming out when she cries and wants me. but yesterday, while we were hanging out together, she changed the game a bit. she sounded like she was trying to say something, so i said, "say mama!" and as usual, i overemphasized how i said it. after repeating it about 3 times, she said it! and then she said it again! "mama", clear as day. woohoo!!!

she knows that it means me now -- so this is exciting. not just mimicking, but actual understanding of the word.

that's our girl!!

funniest video ever!

i have a lot to report, but i'm beat. anna has been putting me through the ringer. damn teething and addiction to a swaddle...

in the meantime, while i build up my energy to update the blog, you should watch this video. it cracked me up! why do i have a feeling this will be anna soon?

sitting up! sleeping without a swaddle! such exciting days!

little miss anna jae has been very busy at new things these days! yesterday, all in a few hours, she fell asleep for a nap without a swaddle (woohoo!!!!), and also managed to sit upright, for a long time, without toppling over. it's amazing what these kids can do all at once, isn't it? honestly, the swaddle seemed as though it'd be on forever, but now we're on the track to being without it completely (we're going without it for naps only for now, and eventually we'll do it for night sleeping). she did it again this morning and slept for almost an hour!

and the sitting... well, we've been sitting her up and helping her work on it for a couple of weeks. she was getting better, but still a little topply. but yesterday, i sat her up, and she pushed up straight and STAYED THAT WAY! crazy! she did it for about 40 minutes straight while i cooked dinner yesterday, just watching me and laughing and playing while i looked on from the kitchen. after a while, i went and sat next to her on the ground, and dave came in to find us sitting next to each other. LOL... he cracked up.

what great stuff! i can't get over it. of course i have pics AND video, but i have to download it all. so they'll be coming at a later time.

sorry i haven't been on here in a week+. it's been pretty busy for me around here. but i am back!

cousins meet!

we went up to rochester this past weekend to meet anna jae's new cousin, mila isabella. she is just beautiful!!! and such a chill baby -- she actually sleeps! dave and i were quite jealous, remembering back to the days of 1-hour a night. =)

anna jae tried to show her love to her cousin, but we had to keep her from being too enthusiastic. ha! anna looks HUGE next to little mila. it's amazing how fast they grow and change.