Tomorrow...

Annika Joy turns two.

Two years ago tomorrow, when she arrived, I experienced a rush of emotions I was not expecting... and the Lord has taken me on a journey in Mommyhood I did not see coming. What a gift.

Oh, Annika. I am so thankful for you.

You remind me to laugh, and that being silly never gets old...

and it makes me laugh when you start to cry and then get distracted by something and totally forget you were upset...

I love that you can play all day with just your Tupperware cups and a spoon.

I love your resourcefulness and creativity... how boxes are for playing in, and buttons can be cookies that are "yummeeeee" or flowers that "'mell. good."

I love that you are SUCH a sweet big sister. You make each other giggle and I thank the Lord for the fun you have and are yet to have...

I love that you are starting to love books... and I love when you say the words along with me:
"Chicka, chicka... BOOM BOOM!"

I love that you love your desserts: "more? Pease? more? pease?" and will do or say almost anything to get more.

(Daddy makes you say "I love you" before most bites.)

I love that you love to dance with me: "Mama? Dance."

It doesn't get much better than dancing with you while praising the Lord and laughing... those are the moments where I think "wow, and Heaven is going to be better than this...!"

What joy.
Love you, sweet girl!

Five Months Old

Annika added the hat.

Sisterly love

(this is one of the many kisses Alexa gets attacked with throughout her day!)

Ava helping... it worked out good for me!

My (newly engaged!) dear friend Amy came by to meet Alexa last weekend.

We love her! (and we like her Andy too!)

Cookie Cutters

After a recommendation from a friend, I took Annika to Cookie Cutters. I was a bit apprehensive how she'd do, but she walked in the door, marched right over to the playground and went down the slide, then picked out her chair (a pink car), and was so excited to pick Veggie Tales to watch. She loves her Veggie Tales! She was so engrossed in the movie, she barely noticed her hair being cut (with the exception of when someone was blocking her view!). Such a great experience!

She got to pick out a clip for her hair too.

I feel like she looks even more grown up now!

Mamaw messy.

I'm totally enjoying this phase of new words and new phrases. It's amazing to watch how fast she is learning right now.

My Mom and Dad caught a good one:

Alexa's 4 month checkup

Let's just say we confirmed that she's a big girl. :)

Alexa's 4 month checkup info:

Weight: 16 pounds 1 oz, 90th percentile

Length: 25 inches, 75th percentile

Head: 16 1/2 inches, 75th percentile

And she rolled over for the first time yesterday!

And because of course you want to know how Annika compared at this age, here is Annika's information at 4 months:

Weight: 14 pounds, 6 ounces- 70th percentile
Length: 24 1/4 inches- 50th percentile
Head: 40.5 centimeters- 40th percentile

"Gasses"

We got her glasses on Saturday, and so far she's been doing great- actually, way better than expected so far. She keeps them on almost all the time, and seems to really be pleased when she sees herself in the mirror (often putting her finger on them, tilting her head to the side, and saying "gasses." And that would explain why the lenses will almost always be dirty!). They need to be readjusted because they keep sliding down her nose, but I think she looks adorable.

She is, of course, saying "Chee!" here.

She looks like such a big little girl, doesn't she?
*sigh*

4 Months Old

Oh, Daddy, you are so hilarious.
(I think this is too cute.)

One of the first tries in the Exersaucer... she just hangs out and looks at everything. It definitely entertains her.

...because I know you love those cheeks too...

Annika's eye appointment

Our day started out WAY too early... we woke the poor girl up about an hour and a half before her normal wake-up time!

We went to the doctor for Annika's strabismus, got her eyes dilated, and the doctor confirmed it was accommodative esotropia. In case you're interested, here's some info about that type: "common form of esotropia that occurs in children usually 2 years or older. In this type of strabismus, when the child focuses the eyes to see clearly, the eyes turn inward..."

Then we ordered some glasses for her, and should get them within a few weeks. The doctor thinks she will eventually grow out of her need for glasses.

She was quite a delight the whole time we were at the office- I was thanking the Lord almost constantly for her good behavior. (It definitely helped that there were kids movies showing in the waiting room and exam rooms and she had an almost constant supply of snacks!)

My sweet girl wearing "gasses" waiting for her exam:

Oh Annika Joy, you make me smile... I'm so thankful for you!

When it rains, it pours

We got water in our basement. Again. This time, though, we have to get new carpet. So now we have to haul EVERYTHING out of the basement. And we have a LOT of stuff down there. And I'm coming down with some bug, so I'm exhausted. And on, and on...

...but in the midst of my complaints, God reminds me of so many blessings. So I choose thankfulness (most of the time!).

I am thankful...

The girls are blessed with having their grandparents (who love them and like to be with them!) close by...

and some great-grandparents too!

(I love this picture... if you know Grandma Joy, you can just hear her when you look at this!)

We have a very healthy, happy baby... and a silly girl who makes us laugh...
the sisters like to play (sort of!)

but I am so excited that they have each other...

We have really nice neighbors-

Our neighbor girl just turned 8, and instead of donating her dolls and doll stuff to charity, she wanted Annika to have them (they have a cute relationship). Annika has been keeping very busy feeding and caring for her babies.

October so far- Annika

A few things on Annika... she is still loving that sister of hers, giving lots and lots of kisses. It makes me more and more excited for them to have a close relationship.

Right now, I do "peekaboo" a lot with Alexa... and a lot of times just say "boo." Well, Annika does it too, but hers comes out "Booze! Booze!" We did NOT teach her that. :)

Andy took her out on a date for ice cream and to see the fishes (or "shiby," as she calls them... I don't know; it doesn't make sense to me either)

Dressed and ready for her date with Daddy

They ended up at Toys R Us. Andy looked at the princess stuff with her, but then she spotted the footballs. How proud her Daddy was that she wanted a football... and then she slept with it. Seriously.In other news... I thought she was just being silly when she said "cheese" and her eyes crossed.
It went from being very sporadic in the last month to being almost all the time in the last week.

We went to the pediatrician, and he has referred us to a pediatric opthalmologist in Peoria- we go at the end of the month. They will dilate her eyes and figure out what's going on. Our pediatrician believes that it's nothing serious and that it should be easily corrected with glasses (I know- she is going to be super cute with glasses!), but of course wants us to find out for sure.

Sweet girl- it doesn't seem to bother her much most of the time, but I'm anxious to get on the road to (hopefully) correcting it.

October so far- Alexa

You don't understand- her life is very hard.

Oh, she is so yummy.

She is giggling and cooing more and more...

More cheese

Wearing Daddy's hat

Listening to music before church with Daddy

Three Months Old

She's three months already!

From the moment they told me to push (okay, maybe even before that), Alexa's life has felt like "What?! Already?!" to me... and I'm pretty sure it will keep feeling that way.

More sister love

Ready for church

Church was apparently exhausting. :)