Thoughtful Annie

Annie was very nice on Tuesday and wrote a little letter. She is really growing up!

Our Little Caucasian Jumping Bean

If you've read our blog at all, you know Annie likes to bounce. Thankfully, she now wants to bounce herself! The big blue ball just doesn't have the same calming effect that it used to.

Just to warn you in advance, the video starts off nicely enough and then about 5 seconds in, you're going to need to rotate your head 90 degrees to the left. I wanted to get her feet in the video to give you the full effect, but I forgot that would make viewing it a little more challenging. (And I'm sure there's a way to rotate it; I just don't know how! And dad...if you're reading this...we need help figuring out how to download/upload video from the video camera!)

Annie's Photo Shoot

About a month ago, Annie had her pictures done by Nolen Photography in Birmingham. It was a hot, muggy day at the Botanical Gardens and Annie wasn't much in the mood for smiles or poses, but I think Erin got some cute ones! It's crazy how much she's changed in just a month! Enjoy!

http://www.erinnolenphotography.com/toyfall09

Happy Half Birthday to Me! (And Annie's 4 months old)

I can't help but notice but no one besides my husband has wished me a happy half birthday today. (And he only did because I had him plug it into his Blackberry calendar.) Thinking about the grand celebration of my half birthday only serves to remind me that poor Annie won't ever have a half birthday. She's a little bit like a baby born on leap year, except for not really. But still, it's unfortuante for her to have been born on the 31st. (But fortunate for me because if she would have been born on the 1st, it would mean that I pushed for 4 hours. And that would have been terribly unfortunate. I digress....)

Annie turned 4 months old sometime between September 30th and October 1st. Here are the stats:

Weight: 14 lb, 7 oz (75%)
Height: 25 in (75%)

Head: Peach Fuzz BALD and 16 in (50%)

Here's what Annie's up to:

- She loves her jumperoo exersaucer and just figured out that she can bounce herself in it. And she LOVES it. I need to update video of her jumping.

- She has learned to bat at things that hang down in front of her...namely the little toys that hang off of the activity gym and the bouncy seat.

- She rolled over a couple of days ago from tummy to back. She's been trying for weeks to roll over from back to tummy and is so close, but that one arm keeps getting stuck!

- She can hold her head up at about 90 degrees for while when she's on her tummy...so glad she doesn't just face plant and scream anymore.

- She smiles all the time and has become a pretty calm baby as long as she's not hungry or tired. Several strangers have commented that she's such a happy baby!

- She's eating 4-5 times a day now and is sleeping 10-11 hours every night....from about 8:30 to 7:00 or 7:30.

- She's just started turning her head toward voices and noises and sounds. I have to keep the TV off most of the time, or else she just stares at it!

We love her more and more everyday. She's such a fun little blessing!

"I don't have a birthday this month?"

Old School Game Day Pictures

Feeling a bit nostaligic about Georgia football....

In the grove before the Ole Miss game

In Athens with Hairy Dawg!

The Great Pumpkin Patch

I was kindly reminded by my husband that we have a blog that hasn't been updated in quite a while. My lack of updates has certainly been because of my lack of creativity...not the lack of activities going on at the Toy house!

On Saturday, our friends Matt and Jennifer invited us to go with them to Gentry's Farm. There's so much to do there... a pick-your-own-pumpkin patch, hayride (minus the hay...lucky for Matt's allergies), a corn maze, animals, slides and tire swings, a nature trail and a bunch of other fun things for kids to do. Annie couldn't quite enjoy it yet, but Matt and Jennifer's 1-year-old and 3-year-old certainly did!

Here are a few pictures from the outing!

Annie looking somewhat concerned about the bumpy hayride.

Our fearless leaders, Matt and Seth, were not so sure of how to exit the corn maze.

Annie at 3 Months!

I was actually going to be ON TIME with this post, but now...11 days later, I'm not so much on time anymore. Regardless, Annie, here's what you've been doing the last month:

- You started sucking on your hand (you prefer your left one!) around 10 weeks
- You started cooing and making noises around 9 weeks
- You "giggled" for the first time while bouncing on the exercise ball!
- You've been consistently sleeping around 7-8 hours, but every once in a while will throw in a 10 hour or a 4 hour. You're kind of unpredictable like that!
- You wiggle all around your crib now, so we had to take out your little wedge. You can wriggle all the way from one end of the crib to the other.
- You smile all the time now!
- You put weight on your legs when we hold you up.
- You're wearing 3-6 month clothes and have almost outgrown your swaddlers we wrap you up in at night.
- You don't stay still. Ever.
- If we prop you up on your tummy, you love it and can hold your head straight up. If we just put you on your tummy on the ground, you face plant and scream.
- You have your dad wrapped around your little fingers and your mom's a big fan as well!

Her Monogram is ATM Because She is MONEY!

As expected, Annie is quite the sports fan. You can occasionally hear her getting rowdy during a game or cheering with her eyes wide assessing the competition. At three weeks, she went to a Nashville Sounds game to see her friend Brooks' dad pitch and at nearly three months she made it to a Cincinnati Reds/LA Dodgers game with the Toy clan sporting her "First Dodgers Tee" from Mrs. Gayle. She also sported a Miami rattle while she watched the first half of the Miami game and then a donned a homemade UGA onesie for Georgia's opener (both via TV). Lastly, she loves a good walk or jog. She was spotted wearing a Baby Armour hat, fleece outfit and socks on a recent jog.

Annie's Nicknames

After much anticipation, I (Matt) figured I would reveal to you the many nicknames of little Annie. The most used nickname is panda or sleepy panda from the VeggieTales movie, "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything," where the quote reads, "I'm like a sleepy little panda." Other variations include little panda and baby panda.

Other names include:
Bobblehead - due to her bobbing head
Snake - due to her constant tounge going in and out of her mouth
Horseeee - due to her grunts that sound similar to "neeeah"
Baby Bear and Baby Bear Cub - due to the fact that she has a bear cub coat
Charles Barkley - due to her round mound of rebound head
Smokey Bear - Not sure the reason for this one
Raggedy Annie - Due to my parents being Raggedy Ann and Andy for Halloween one year and the fact that Mrs. Blankenship made her a very cute doll... and because her name is Annie.

Annie's First Date

Alternatively titled: My husband thinks our baby looks like Charles Barkley.

On the way back from Cincy this past weekend, we stopped in at Fort Knox to see our friends Catie and Aaron and their 10-day-old baby boy, Jack. It was officially Annie's first date and she doesn't look like she was really enjoying herself; she called me from the bathroom on her cell phone about midway through the date and mentioned that she was really looking for someone who can hold his head up. I think she's also looking for someone who can sleep through the night. But she was digging his full head of hair and striped outfit, so I wouldn't count him out just yet!


(A special shout out [Is that term still relevant, or am I stuck in 1998?] to Catie and Aaron who catch up on their blog reading during the late night feedings! We loved seeing you guys!)

I should also mention that the word that comes to mind when looking at this picture of Annie is "round." Round face, round eyes, round nose. A couple weekends ago, Matt said she was looking "less like a baby and more like Charles Barkley." Baby girl just likes to eat...nothing wrong with that!