Time to Decorate the tree!

On Tuesday night we started to decorate the Christmas tree. Anniston was a big help.

She really had a lot of fun, the lights made her laugh and smile...she was a big help.

It was a lot of fun to watch her as the decorations went up. While she enjoyed it this year, I know we enjoyed it more. Next year she will have a blast, and I am sure that all of the decorations will be on the tree where she wanted them.

Lets get a Christmas Tree

Anniston woke up on Saturday and told us...she wanted a Christmas tree...and that we needed to go pick one out. So we did. We went down to a local church that sells Christmas Trees and picked out a nice tree. Anniston enjoyed it, she was very curious about the trees. She helped us pick out a nice one. I will have to load the picture of that when we get home, we took that picture with Andrea's camera, and I have not downloaded them, and don't have the camera with me.

Anniston's First Thanksgiving

Last week was Anniston's first Thanksgiving. While she may not remember it later in life, we will, and we have pictures to remind her of how much fun she had. She got to see a lot of family on Thanksgiving. We are lucky that a large part of both families lives so close.

She got to spend time with Nama...pronounced more like gnaw-ma, and her cousin Rory. She loved Rory's long hair. She loved it so much she put it in her mouth, much like she does with everything she gets her hands on.

We finally got to take a picture of her with both cousins, Ethan and Rory.

After Thanksgiving lunch at Rick and Alicia's on Thursday, we went to visit with my parent's for a little while on Thursday night. Anniston was quite tired from all the activity of the day. She did not get her regular naps, and started to get pretty grouchy. We had to make it an early night. We got together with my side of the family on Sunday for another big meal...as if we needed more food. We had a good time, and had the chance to take a few more family pictures...so that we can show them to Anniston when she is older of course.

Abbey was feeling left out of all the fun, so we made sure we included her.

It was a good first Thanksgiving. By the end of Sunday night, we were stuffed, tired, and ready for a nap...so was Anniston.

5 Months Old

That's right, Anniston is 5 months old now. Well, she was about two weeks ago. We have had trouble getting a picture taken, with the time change, it is dark before Andrea gets home, and I can't take these pictures by myself. So, here she is at roughly 5 months old...she is so full of personality, and really is a happy baby.

Another First

We are pretty confident that Anniston is teething now. She has some spots on her lower gums that are not as soft and toothless as they used to be. The teething process is rough on her, her gums seem to hurt a lot, and it makes her very tired. She has been taking a lot more naps lately. She likes her naps, especially when she is curled up on the couch next to mommy.

There really are 4 of us.

Our family really has four members, not just the three that show up here all the time. Abbey counts too. While she might be a dog, she is as much a part of our family as any of the rest of us. And Abbey turned 4 last week. And just like we will do for Anniston, we had candles and treats for Abbey. The candles still puzzle her a little.

The Arrival of the ExcerSaucer

There are some things that need better descriptions. The mental picture you get when you hear words, or a description of something don't always match reality. The new Excersaucer is one of those things. When it was described to me, I pictured the little wheeled round seats that we were put in as kids...but stationary. When I opened the trunk of the car to extract the box, I was presented with something much larger, and louder than the mental picture in my head. It took over an hour to assemble, has as many pieces as a small car, and Anniston loves it.

The ExcerSaucer is designed to help infants develop some balance, and strength in their legs. I think it does that. Anniston tries to stand up in it, and thankfully, she can't fall over or out. She really enjoys all the noises it makes. But like anything else, after a little while she is ready to move on. But at least she likes to play in it.

Anniston's First Halloween

Despite her cold, and not feeling good...today is still Halloween, and that means, she still gets to put on a costume. Mommy picked out a nice fuzzy pink bunny wabbit...wascally wabbit!

She did not feel too good, so the number of pictures was limited. We did get one with mommy, and then one with me, I will get to those later. For now, bath time is over, she is being fed her dinnertime bottle, lets hope she gets some rest.

Updates: October 30, 2011

It has been a little busy around here. We are not really sure where the time goes each day, we often sit and wonder what we did with all of our spare time before. Because we don't have much now. Anniston has started to roll back to her back now. Not a lot, but she has figured it out, and when she remembers it, she can get off her tummy now, without help. Most of the time. This mobility also resulted in her first tumble today...she rolled herself right out of her "Boppy" Pillow, off the sofa and onto the floor. She is fine, didn't even leave a mark. I suspect it scared her more than anything...scared mom too! For those that don't know...a "Boppy" Pillow is a horseshoe shaped pillow, you can prop your arm up, or prop a baby up in them...just don't let them roll out! Anniston likes her Boppy Pillow...I just think they could have come up with a better name for it.

And the last bit of news, the poor baby has a cold, her first cold. She gets a clogged up nose, and a wet cough. We feel bad for her, not a lot we can do. We are doing what the Pediatrician told us we can do, which isn't much. Hopefully she will get over it soon. I apologize now for the run on paragraphs...the blog software does not want to let me add in a hard return...it wants it to be one long paragraph...that is a new glitch...

Rice Cereal....yummy!

Today Anniston tasted something other than formula for the first time. The Pediatrician told us that it was time to introduce Rice Cereal...sounds yummy doesn't it?

She actually did a good job with it. She did not spit it all out, and she only made a minimal amount of mess. We expected her to reject the notion of eating rice cereal...but she did pretty good.

Abbey really wanted to know what was going on. I don't think she would like it much either...but she was a good distraction for Anniston.

She did not eat a lot, but she ate some, and so far has kept it down. Then again, she went right to sleep. Rice Cereal must make you sleepy.

talk about putting your foot in your mouth...

As promised, once I could get a picture of her with her foot in her mouth, I would share it...poor kid, she will find this blog one day and wonder what was wrong with us, sharing all of this. Anyway, she thinks her foot is a Popsicle. She likes to stick both of her big toes in her mouth, sometimes she tries to do it at the same time. Apparently, one day this week, she fell asleep with her big toe in her mouth. I am glad to know this is normal behavior, because if you ask me, its kinda weird. Sorry for the poor cell phone quality picture, she stops these antics if I get the regular camera out...so the cell phone had to do the job. Cell phone cameras are not what they are sold as...

A couple of firsts.

Anniston has had a couple more firsts. She has started sleeping un-swaddled. She was the baby Houdini in the swaddle, no matter how tight we wrapped her up, she would end up with both arms out, sucking on her thumb. So we decided to let her sleep un-swaddled. It took some adjustment, and she had a couple rough days from not sleeping as good at night. She is getting used to it now, and sleeps a little better. She tosses and turns all night, sometimes turning 180 degrees in her crib.

Late Friday night or early Saturday morning, Anniston slept on her tummy for the first time. She slept for about 3 hours on her tummy, which is a record. Then she took her Saturday morning nap on her tummy. She is getting really close to rolling back over from being on her tummy. IF she can just figure out what to do with her arms. She gets on her tummy, and then can't get back, at times she gets frustrated, then gives up and resorts to falling asleep.

On Saturday, she managed to get her foot in her mouth. Unbeknownst to me...this is normal behavior for babies. I know she will put anything she can grab in her mouth, but did not realize that one day her foot would be included in the list of things she puts in her mouth. I don't have a picture of this accomplishment...yet. She continues to discover new things every day, she is more and more curious with each passing day. It is fun to watch her develop.

Its Pumpkin Season!

That's right...it's pumpkin season, and what better time to take Anniston to her first Pumpkin Patch. We chose Burt's Farm Pumpkin Patch in Dawsonville, Georgia. It is about 75 minutes from home. I had never been to a big pumpkin patch like this one. While you did not get to go pick your own pumpkin off the vine, it was a neat place. They had pumpkins of all sizes, shapes and colors. There were so many pumpkins, everything turned orange, and then everyone was wearing orange. We were not the only ones with the same idea of taking our children's picture in, on and around all the pumpkins. There were so many people there, it was a madhouse. But Anniston did really well with it. She was pretty tolerant of all the noise, and the picture taking. I think she is getting used to having a camera pointed at her...she ought to be, it seems we take her picture everyday.

Both Grandmas were there to be part of the excitement.

Great Grandma Ruby was even there...breaking the rules and sitting on the pumpkin for her photo op.

I am sure we will go back in years to come, it will make a nice family tradition.

Wakoola Water Garden

Last weekend we loaded up in the family truckster and headed up to a place called Wakoola Water Garden. I have an upcoming photo shoot for some friends next weekend, and I wanted to check the place out to be familiar with it. We also thought it would be a good opportunity to take a few more pictures. We don't think we have enough pictures, so any chance to take some more...well, we jump on it. I am learning that working with infants, is a tough job. Anniston gets distracted by the slightest things, she is so curious about her surroundings. Getting her attention is tough, keeping it even more difficult. And since she does not know her name...she does not respond to it yet. She does not listen to Daddy all that much, hopefully that will change as she grows up! We thought we would share the best of what we came away with last weekend.

The biggest challenge is when I step from behind the camera, and have my picture taken...I prefer to be the one taking the pictures. But I am happy to get a couple pictures with my baby girl...she won't be a baby for long.

And one of all three of us.

A look to the future...

New parents, and old parents for that matter often wonder what their baby is going to look like when they grow up. They often think they will look just like they did as they grow and mature. Andrea and I have a theory that we know who Anniston is going to look like...and while she might have some traits from us, we think she is going to look a lot like her cousin Rory. I will do this more in depth at some point, maybe this weekend. Andrea and I have already looked at the comparisons in picture albums. For those that have never met Rory, she is a firecracker, but I think that Anniston will look a lot like her. We have already looked at the baby pictures side by side...there is more than a strong resemblance. So, if our theory is right...here is a look into Anniston's future...

Fine Dining

Anniston got to add another first to the list of firsts. She got to go out to dinner to a really nice restaurant on Sunday. It was in honor of Andrea's birthday...her age wisely being withheld...it was an interesting evening. Anniston has been out to eat with us, but never to anything nicer than the local beer and wing joint, or our favorite Mexican eatery. This was a nice place, where people were paying a chunk of change for their meal and the ambiance...I am pretty sure they did not want the ambiance added to by Anniston. Much like the previews at the movies now, where they ask you not to add your own soundtrack to the movie...that is how I felt at dinner. While I should have lightened up a little, and just gone with it, I could not do it. Anniston and I spent a good bit of time walking around, she liked the outdoor patio, plenty for her to see. She did get to spend some time at the table with family. Here she is with Aunt Alicia.

We had a good dinner, and a good time with family. But this outing taught us a couple of things. One, we need to be home by 7:45, or sweet little Anniston loses her cherub like demeanor, and gets a little cranky. Two...dad needs to learn to chill out...this will likely be the harder to work on of the two lessons.

10.5

10.5...10-1/2 no matter how you put it...that is how long Anniston slept last night...10.5 hours. That is longer than the Petit LeMans race at Road Atlanta in a couple weeks...you could almost drive to Houston Texas in 10.5 hours. Most people don't work that long in a day, and most adults don't get that much sleep in a night once they have graduated from high school. But that is how long Anniston likes to sleep at night...at 3 months old. That means that mom and dad get to sleep, unless they are updating their blog at 10:25 PM. Anniston also decided that yesterday was a good day to roll onto her side, and eventually on to her tummy. She did it while my mother was here watching her yesterday, and again once I got home from work. I would post a picture of it...but I left my cell phone on my desk at work. Anniston has also decided that her feet are fun toys to play with too, good thing we keep those monkey feet clean! This weekend I might get the camera out and see if she will sit still long enough for me to take her picture some more...sometimes she will, sometimes she won't. Hopefully she will.

3 Months Old

Believe it or not...Anniston is 3 months old. It seems like just yesterday we brought her home from the hospital. Her personality develops more and more everyday, she is such a happy baby, and we are such happy parents. Her smile gets bigger and bigger everyday, and you can't help but smile back when she looks at you with that big grin. She is adjusting really well to Andrea being back at work. She is spoiled, she gets to see both Grandma's every week, something that most kids would cherish, I know as she gets older she will enjoy that time more and more too. We are blessed with a wonderful little girl, who is just as happy as can be.


We tried to take some pictures that looked different than what we have been doing with her, we went outside! Anniston was willing, but mommy started to get a little antsy...I take too long setting pictures up.


Anniston lets you know when she is getting tired of the paparazzi treatment, she starts to make funny faces and wiggle around too much...

Playing Dress Up

One of Anniston's favorite times of the day, is the 10 minutes before bath time. She plays in her crib while we get everything ready for bathtime. A couple nights ago she and mommy played a little dress up with hats.

She enjoys this time of night, she can be in a bad mood and crying when we head upstairs, but her demeanor will change as soon as she realizes what is going on, and what is next.

Back to work blues

Andrea is starting to suffer from the back to work blues. As hard as it is to believe, she has been off from work for 11 weeks and 6 days. She has to go back to work on Wednesday. She won't be able to hang out on the couch all day, with Anniston in her arms. They enjoy hanging out on the sofa, talking to each other all day.

While this phase is coming to an end, it means that this must be the beginning of a new phase in our lives. One that I for one, am looking forward too with great anticipation.

Scarface

Anniston may not look like me, but there are some things aspects about her that she takes after me. One of those things is the rate at which her finger nails grow. Mine grow so fast, that cutting them once a week, usually results in Andrea telling me that they have gotten too long. Anniston is no different. The difference...hers are really sharp. The poor thing has not figured out that her hands...are hers. She does not have full control over them yet, and has a problem with scratching her face. So, we call her scarface!


We have to stay on top of cutting her nails, to make sure she does not do permanent damage.

Personality

Anniston is really developing her personality. More and more everyday, she transforms from a baby who just, kinda, sits there, to a little girl with attitude. She smiles at us more and more, and she is developing what can only turn into a mischievous personality.

Whatever it is turning into, it is really fun to watch it develop.

2 Months Old

It is hard to believe that she is 2 months old. It seems like just yesterday we walked in the front door with her...and wondered what we were doing, and who let us take the baby home with us. While she has lost most of the hair she was born with, she is developing a personality all her own. She is a joy to be around, most of the time. She can't wait to meet all of you that she has not met yet.

Anniston Paige Rhoads at 2 Months old.

Four Generations

I guess this is out of order in the time line of life...but when you are behind, the timeline takes a back seat.

Just before Anniston started to have her skin issues, we went up to Andrea's mothers house, to do a picture with all four generations of Andrea's family. We found a nice place in the shade under a big old tree to take the pictures.

All Smiles!

Anniston has taken to smiling like a fish to water. It does not take much, and she gives us a big no teeth smile! It is fun to get her to smile, and you can't help but join in the fun. It is a great way to come home from a long work day, and relieve some stress...having a smile competition with a baby!

Updates!

Well, when we last left you all, Anniston was suffering from what we were told was the same as diaper rash, but she had it around her neck. She was not sleeping much, and she was always agitated...and I don't blame her. Well, after a week of putting ointment on her neck, we realized that while her neck was looking marginally better, the rest of her was not, and this rash had spread to many other parts of her little body.

So on August 2nd, we went back to the pediatrician. And before we knew it, there were three doctors in the room, and they were all trying to decide what was going on with out sweet little girl. They had ideas, grand ideas, ideas of changing formula, but first and foremost...off to a Dermatologist.

On our way we stopped at home to feed her, the new formula that we were supposed to put her on for two weeks. Now, anyone that knows me, knows I am something of a very finicky eater...apparently so is Anniston. She wanted nothing to do with this new formula, and we could not blame her, it stunk, bad. 1/2 a bottle in, we set out for the Dermatologist.

We arrived at the prescribed 15 minutes early, 3:45 PM to fill out papers. We were promptly seen at 5:30 PM. They were really lucky that Anniston actually slept the entire time we were in the waiting room.

The dermatologist did not think it was formula related, and advised against switching that, thankfully. He did think it was a strep infection of the skin. The slight case of cradle cap that she has had, got infected when Andrea had strep. So, antibiotics and ointments were prescribed.

Over the next few days, she started to clear up, her skin was looking better, she was happy, and she was sleeping better. Then the doctor calls to tell us that the lab results showed an MSRA Staph infection, at which point I started to freak out a little. Turns out, we all have a little Staph on us, sometimes it just flares up, or so we are told.

Anniston is doing better now. She is sleeping 7-8 hours at night, eating regularly, and feeling much better.

Quick Update

I have not forgotten about updating those that are keeping up with us via the blog. We have just been pretty busy. Anniston is doing well, despite a skin irritation that started about a week ago. She has a pretty bad rash around her neck where her extra skin is growing faster than she can fill it out. It looks pretty bad, and it is causing her some discomfort, but the doctor tells us that it is normal, and gave us some ointment we have to put on it 4 times a day. Poor thing hates that part, and as a result of those applications, she found 11 on the volume knob...wow, she really has found a new level of wail when she needs it. But I think it is getting better, slowly, but it is not as bad as it was on Monday night a week ago. So, I have not taken many pictures lately, because of this rash. It is predominantly around her neck, but has little areas that it has spread to on her arms, and legs. Poor thing. Hopefully it gets cleared up by the 8th of August for her 2 month old pictures. Which will happen no matter what.

We are planning our first overnight trip out of the house. We are going up to stay with my parents while I cover a racing weekend as part of my photography side project. I think Anniston will do fine, she loves to spend time with her grandparents, she is an angel around all of them.

For about 4 days now, Anniston has been on a fairly steady schedule. It has worked out really well to get her into a routine, she sleeps and eats better now. She has gained more weight, when I took her to the doctor last week for the previously mentioned rash, she was up to 11 pounds and 5 ounces. The doctor was impressed with her gains...but it is the reason for the rash! Anyway, she is doing good with her schedule. And it helps us too. Especially since Andrea has to go back to work on September 1.

That is about it for now. We hope that everyone is doing well.

Playtime!

We decided to get the playmat out, and see if Anniston liked it...we think she loves it. In no time at all, she had turned herself 90 degrees on the mat, and was batting at the toys, and making fun noises. Since I was on the ground taking her picture, she could not see me, I was too far away, but if I called out to her, she would turn her head in the direction of my voice...which is a good sign that her ears are working pretty good. That is something she has started doing when either of us walk into the room she is in, she turns to our voice.

On to the pictures of her playing and having fun.




Playtime tuckered her out, and now she is sleeping in her crib...hopefully for long enough to get some much needed rest, for her and us.

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Well, I know it has been a while since I have provided any sort of update. We just don't seem to find a lot of spare time in the evenings to get online and let everyone know what is going on. So I will try to go back in time a little and see what I can remember.

Last Sunday, July 10 we were back out at my parent's house for my Grandfather's 86th birthday. Andrea and I had been up a lot in the days leading up to it, and it was nice to have family around to help us feed Anniston, and give her some more attention. She always seems to behave better around everyone but us.

She spent a lot of the day with her Aunt Sarah, I think she enjoyed it.


We also had a chance to redo the Rhoads family pictures, and they turned out much better this time.


The 4 generations of the Rhoads family.


I can't remember what day it was, but we started to take pictures of Anniston on the blankets that various people made for her. We did not get her picture done with all of them yet, she decided she was done with the picture taking, so we will have to finish the rest of them next time we do some pictures. Thank you to all of those that made blankets for us, we really like them, and Anniston does too!








The week we just finished was a long one. It had its ups and downs. Anniston had another doctor's appointment this week, and she continues to grow. She is know 22 inches long, and 10 pounds 8.5 ounces. Anniston has had some long nights, with mommy by her side. She has slept good, and she has not slept. We are trying to get her onto a more routine schedule, with some success.

We also had another visitor this past Friday. My friend Gordon visited from Chattanooga, and got to spend some time with her. I think she liked him a lot. He brought with him a Bilibo, a Swiss seat for babies, we have not figured out how to use it yet, but Gordon says that she will love it. His kids still like top play in them, and they are 11 and 8, they have them for bigger kids too.


Abbey has also been getting more curious about Anniston. She likes to be in the same room with her, and tends to follow us when we leave the room with Anniston. I think she is going to be protective of the new family member, even if some of the attention has been taken away from her.


Right now, I need to take a few pictures of Anniston playing on a new toy, she has moved herself around a lot under this new toy...so I am sure I will be back in a few to post those pictures too.