Sad day for the Hill's

Anyone who knows us knows that we LOVE our animals just like members of the family. Priorities have changed a bit though since we brought AnnaJo home. The four-pawed members of the family have all adjusted pretty well to her, but as she becomes more mobile, things are changing a bit. She loves to watch all four of them - both the cats and both dogs. And usually things are fine. She chases them in her walker and squeals as she gets close to them. And if she hits them - watch out! She nearly comes out of the walker, just to claim her prize! Remind me of this around carnival time...she is going to LOVE bumper boats and bumper cars! Anyway, we have decided that Jersey needs to be in a home without babies. She has always done great with my nephews - they are older and a little more deliberate in their actions. She has let them wrestle her all over and just lays their and takes the abuse. However, she is very leary when AnnaJo is around and it makes me nervous to have her in the floor with Jersey at face level. For anyone who hasn't been around her...Jersey is a very loving, devoted friend. She stays off the bed, unless invited up and she likes to sleep at the foot of our bed, on the floor. She loves being around people and will follow Cliff to the end of the earth. She is a great swimmer too...she is a lot of fun to take camping! She is a house dog though...doesn't like being outside without a human being to watch. She prefers to hang out and nap most of the day...watching what happens outside, from the comfort of her own pallet. If you know of anyone who would take extra good care of her, let us know. She is a great dog and we'll want to visit her occasionally, so keep it close, please.

8 months old...big girl!

My little princess is getting big! This picture is from Dad's house on Sunday, May 25...just a few days before her 8 month mark. She woke up in such a great mood! She is such a cutie, but I am certainly biased.

Still no teeth....

She is eating up a storm...anything i put in front of her. She had her first taste of pork chops on Friday night at TJ's. We went to dinner for Terry's graduation from the 8th grade. I took my food mill along and she had pork chops, sweet potato and green beans. Makes me hungry to think about.

On Monday we took her to Donna and Gary's so Cliff and I could get some housework done. She started doing the army crawl there... and then on Tuesday at nana's went from a seated position to her tummy, did the army crawl and sat back up like a big girl! Nana said that she did it twice, but I have yet to witness it.

She went to her first softball game last night too...loved it. She enjoyed the company - Evan was there and Missy brought Rogun too. We'll have to take pictures next week!

What a difference a year makes!

A year ago, at 17 weeks of pregnancy, I was giving you the great news of AnnaJo being "AnnaJo" instead of "Wyatt". I was also sharing the news of being sentenced to bed for what I imagined would only be a few weeks. Boy, was I wrong! Or should I say, Girl, was I wrong! (LOL) Can you believe a year has passed already? Here's a recap of my year's lessons and thoughts:

1. Bedrest doesn't mean "do less", it means keep your ass in bed unless you have to pee

2. Sudoku can pass the time away....lots and lots of time!

3. There is a reason that God made high thread count sheets - they ARE worth the money

4. Wimbeldon and other huge sporting events need their own channel. There is no need to disrupt normal TV programming.

5. Matt Lauer is pretty good looking

6. Young and the Restless and Days of Our Lives can be watched once a year and it's not hard to get caught up.

7. Waking up without an alarm clock is fabulous

8. Heartburn sucks and it's worse when you're horizontal.

9. Pepcid AC is also fabulous.

10. A weekly outing to the dr's office can be a wonderful excursion to someone who is bedridden.

11. Friends are a God-send during bedrest

12. Operating a shop-vac sucks for someone who is 35 weeks pregnant.

13. Five months of bedrest is totally worth it when you can have a blue-eyed little angel as wonderful as I have.

14. As AnnaJo gets older, those 5 months seem to fade away little by little and now I'd love to be told to stay in bed for a day.

enough lessons...i'm tired and i can't think of anymore. :-) Here are some of the latest pics and news. She is just getting over her first ear infection - it was a nasty one. We ended up going to Urgent Care in Springfield last weekend on a trip to a wedding in Eureka Springs, AR. Needless to say, we missed the wedding. Her picture is purple was taken that day...pretty good for a sick baby, huh? She started saying "da-da-da-da" on April 19. I don't think she realizes that it's Cliff yet, but that's okay. She also said "cat" the other day. She is very aware of what that is! She is still a great eater - added peaches, squash, green beans and peas to the mix. She loves it all. That's my girl!

AnnaJo - 6 months old

OK....she is 6 months old. We had a big week last week. She had a cold, she had her first professional pics taken and she had a half birthday. AND we had a 6 month check up. She is such a big girl. She weighs 17 1/2 pounds now and is 26 inches long...wearing 9 month clothes already. She is a marvelous baby. She is eating solid food and is loving it. As always, please remember that this is my baby tracker, so you will see some info that really only matters to her mama. I will need this info in a few years when I make her first baby book! :-) I'll keep that info at the end though, in case you decide to stop reading.

Check out a teaser of her pictures at http://twoviewsphotography.blogspot.com/ If you decide to have Jill take your pictures (i totally recommend!), let her know that I referred you. I'll get a discount on my orders. Thanks Lauren for recommending her to me! My favorite so far is the one of her asleep on my shoulder. She was such a happy baby when we got there and then she got hungry. She didn't nap most of the day either, so she was tired too. She is her mother's daughter...she is a bear when she is hungry and sleepy. Once the rest of the pics are edited, I'll give you the website to check out. If they are all that good, I'll have to order them all. I could just surround myself with her pictures! Not sure if I'd be laughing or crying...she is just so adorable! Here is my fave...

Friday was her half birthday. Papa Rod came for a visit with the nephews while Jodi and Doug were in STL. She is going to love playing with them soon...she just likes to watch them right now. Harrison was very sweet with her...loves to touch her face. I worry about them being rough with her, but I have a feeling that she'll be knocking them down and bruising them just as much, if not more!

****** Here is the record keeping stuff ******

Started Rice cereal - 4 months old (to the day). Transitioned to Oat cereal at 5 months. Started veggies and fruits on March 15...Mommy is making them herself!

Sweet Potatoes - loves them!

Avocado - not sure about it, but with cereal and banana it's good stuff!

Bananas - LOVES them. Nana gave her the first taste of banana 3/24.

Sweet Peas - yummy

At 6 months - crying when Mommy leaves the room. She is very whiny if I'm in the room while someone else has her.

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I love Shutterfly!

I'm a little obsessed with these collages on Shutterfly. I love them! Here are the latest...Thank you notes that I'm giving my ultrasound tech, who is much more than that. She is my friend too. And for my drs. they are 8x10's which is a little big for thank you's, but she is a special baby. She is with Nana today...enjoying working in the yard. She's going to be my little outside baby. Mom said that she's been so good...just watching her work in the flower beds.

Cliff and I have done a lot of talking and a lot of praying, well I've been praying at least. I'm still not sure if Cliff prays like he should, but that can be a later topic. I really want to be at home with AnnaJo. I know it's going to take a lot of work and a lot of determination, but i think it will be good for all of us. I like our babysitter, but i feel like I'm missing out on a lot. I think I'll have to become a couponing queen and a deal finder. Any tips or advice would be welcomed! I'm still going to sell Pampered Chef, so if anyone is interested in hosting, let me know. I don't really want to rely solely on that for income though..that takes some of the fun out of it. Prayers are most welcomed too! Everyone has told me that I'll never think we have enough money, but if we are determined to make it work, we can. So...it's a big leap of Faith...one i hope to make by August!

Times are a changing!

Here's a little tidbit of info about me... Since the time I was 12, I've washed my face both morning and night, trying to avoid that nasty acne! It was easy back then as Mom sold Mary Kay, so all I had to do was grab it from the inventory shelves. Even in high school and college...I could be falling over from exhaustion (possibly from overconsumption of alcohol, but not likely! my child may read this one day!) and I would ALWAYS wash my face before passing out. Well...little Miss AnnaJo has put a kink in my routine. I've started going to bed without washing my face! Eeewww!

You might ask....why the need for sharing this info? I'm trying to win a contest for some very cool products! Check out this company... www.rosyglowbeauty.com/home.htm If I don't win, I think I still might order the Baby Your Face wipes. And when the Rescue Your Hair is available...I'll have it. Who has time for daily showers when a baby is around!?

First day of daycare

Oh my goodness...this was the hardest morning I've has as a Mom. I had to take AnnaJo to daycare for the first time today. This is the first time that she has stayed with someone who isn't a family member or a super close friend. I told her last night that we were going someplace different this morning. And I told her all about my babysitter, Lyndall Bridges, and how much I loved her. The kids there were very excited to see her and she was very curious about all of them. She did great...all smiles and laughing before I left. Mommy, on the other hand, did not fair so well. I was a crying mess while I was driving to work. I called Cliff and he is having a good day of fishing, but still freezing his toes off! He said that he had to stand in the water this morning just to warm up! Crazy, considering it's Spring-fed water! He is coming home tonight...can't stand to be away from his baby girl for any longer. My...how life has changed!