Anya's 1st birthday was great! We went to Veteran's park in Richfield and had a picnic of sandwiches, chips, fruit, potato salad, and cake. The kids got to play on the huge playground they have. Anya got a ton of wonderful gifts, so thank you everyone!! It was a beautiful 85 degree day but we were in the shade of the shelter and there was a breeze. Here are some new pictures of the cutie pie!

Anya's 1st birthday!

Well, Anya is officially 1 year old!! The new things she is doing now are:
She points to things and just today we got her to put up her index finger when we ask her how old she is...theres a picture of that.
She say's "up" a lot...there's a movie of that.
She does "so big"...there's a picture of that.
She has taken 4 steps all on her own.
She can do the sign for Jesus when we sing "Jesus loves me". It's where you point to the palm of each hand...
She does the sign for "more" and says "num num" when she eats.
She drinks from a sippy cup and only has a bottle before bed.
She can eat just about anything we eat..she loved Dan's lasagna the other night!
And she is just starting to blow kisses...

Yesterday was the first time ever that she cuddled with me. She has cuddled with Dan on his birthday and father's day, but she is just usually too busy to cuddle, but yesterday she layed on the couch with me and watched cartoons for an hour!! It was probably the best thing in the whole world.

swimming!

Auntie Kelley and Uncle Dan got Anya her first swimming pool. It is a really cute dragonfly or butterfly and the wings fold up so that you can cover it when you are done. It also has an umbrella to keep her shaded. The suit she is wearing is also from Dan and Kelley. SUPER cute! Dan and I were giggling when we saw her in her bikini. I told dan at least one of your girls will wear a bikini! Funny.

First Official Steps!

Anya has been practicing for this big day since May 21st. She has been walking while holding onto something for about a month and a half now. She has also been freestanding for a while as well. she could stand and clap or stand and play with a toy. I read in a book today that if you give them a toy to hold they might think they are holding onto furniture and take a few steps and it totally worked! This afternoon we were downstairs and we got her to take her first step all on her own. She started by daddy and then took a step toward me! By the time she was almost ready for bed she was going about two steps. There would be a few times where she would look like she was going to fall or sit, but she would catch herself and straighten back up! I bet she will be full out walking before her 1st birthday! She is such a good girl.
Here are her accomplishments so far (I'm mostly listing them out because I haven't put them in a baby book yet and I want to be able to look back at this):
Her vocabulary right now is Daddy, momma, hi, and boy. She can pull a blanket over her head and play hide and seek and then pull it down. She can put her arms way up for "so big". She claps. She dances. She eats better when you sing "if you're happy and you know it", "the itsy bitsy spider", "the wheels on the bus" and "Jesus loves me". She knows where to look when we say mommy, daddy, and bottle. She does the sign language for "all done". She understands "No-No" and is starting to get pretty good about stoping in her tracks and turning around when you say it. We had some issues with her and the dog food, but that's better now. Oh and she's made it up 3 stairs and can come back down. That's all for now. Here are some recent pictures at grandma and grandpa's house doing gymnastics in her daddy's old Lil Sep shirt!

Sometimes I can't believe how cute she is

oh my gosh, the last few times I've taken pictures of Anya, she has just been a ham for the camera. I also have been thinking that she lost her curl, but I'm not so sure anymore. I played around with her hair tonight and this is what we got-just with my fingers and water! There may be hope that she's got curly blond locks! what a cutie!!

11 months

Anya is almost 11 months old! Can you believe it? Today she was really snuggly and wanted to be by Dan and I all day. I wonder if she is getting more teeth or something because she is usually to busy to snuggle. So on Father's day, Dan got lots of hugs and kisses from Anya. Here are some pictures of her reading her favorite book "I love you through and through", snuggling with dad and her blankie, and hugging dad.

swimming!

Anya went swimming for the 1st time! (which really was no different than taking a bath but with a swim suit and no soap). She will try the real pool with daddy soon. Anya "swam" with her cousin Gabriel and they had a great time splishing and splashing around.