Project 52: Week 2

This weekend we went out to do a little shopping for our upcoming trip to the beach.  Anniston needed proper footwear, and she was keen to pick them out herself, being the independent big girl she is now.

Swimming with Dad

Thursday we were back to SeaVentures for more swim lessons.  This time, I got in the water with her, and mom had the camera.  Not my favorite place, on the other end of the camera...but Anniston enjoys swim time with both of us.  She is getting the hang of swimming now too.  She kicks her legs, and likes to splash the water all over the place.  She won't keep her mouth closed, which means she drinks the pool from time to time.  She also keeps the instructors entertained with her smiles and laughter.

Play Time

Almost every afternoon, I have Anniston all to myself.  We play with her toys, she chases Abbey, and we have a good time.  She likes to play Pee-A-Boo, a lot.  She understands the concept of it now.  Last week, she was hiding behind the chairs in the dining room while I was in the living room.  It was too cute, and I had to get the camera out and take her picture.  She didn't mind that either.  

Project 52: Week 1

After work yesterday Anniston and I went out on the back deck to play with her new toys.  I also took the opportunity to take the camera and get the first picture for my Project 52.

She still like to play in her new car, and that face still tells us that she is having a lot of fun, and is a happy child.

Project 52

In the photography community, photographers take on projects, some take on what is called a 365 project, they push themselves to take one creative picture a day for a year...this project will be similar, but it will be once a week...and my subject will be Anniston for each of them.

We did this for her first year, with one picture a month to document her growth and change over the course of her first year.  Now I am going to do it for the next year, once a week.  I will share each week's image here, so that anyone that wants to can follow along.

My week starts on Sunday, and runs through Saturday.  Hopefully I will keep more up to date with the blog in the next year too.  I don't want anymore emails...

Happy Birthday!!!!!!

Anniston's first birthday was upon us...no matter how much we denied that our little baby was now a one year old toddler.  We had been planning for weeks, the nights leading up to it were long nights spent making last minute preparations, and getting everything lined up.

When  Anniston first came out onto the back deck, she was not sure what to make of all the decorations...and there were no people yet.

She quickly started to realize that all of this...was all about her.  And she loves it when she is the center of attention.

 The tables were set, the food was prepared, and the people were there...it was time to have some fun, and celebrate Anniston turning 1!

 She has really started to warm up to people other than mom, dad and the two grandmas.  She spent some time having fun with Grandpa Rhoads...making her happy face.  When she makes that face, we know she is a happy camper.

 She also got to try a lot of new foods...Grandpa thought she needed to try cheese balls...now she is addicted to them.  We don't let her have many, but every time she sees the giant bucket of them, she wants them.

 She had fun being the center of attention.  She walked all over the place, and everyone wanted to be around her...we barely got to play with her...everyone else took all of her time.

 She got to play in the ball pool with her cousin Rory, everyone loved the ball pool.

 Poppy Moore gave Anniston a car for her birthday...she loves it!  She likes sitting in it, being pushed around in it...just loves it.  It is the biggest toy she has.

 Anniston's favorite part of opening the gifts...were the cards.  At Christmas she was enthralled by the wrapping paper and tissue paper covering the gifts.  Now, all she wants is the card and envelope.

 Anniston has so much fun all day.  She was all smiles, and I tried to capture as many of them as I could.

 Another new thing for parties, is to have a "smash" cake.  This is a cake, all for them, that they get to smash to bits, eat what they want, and in general just make a big mess.

 Anniston was much more calm than I thought she would be.  Rather than just tearing into it, she tested it, stuck a finger in, grabbed a little frosting and tasted it to see what was up.  She did not tear into it like we thought she would.  She much preferred the frosting to the actual cake.  Soon, she was laughing and giggling on a sugar high.

 After most of the guest had left, Grandpa Rhoads was pushing her back and forth on the deck in her new car...I think they both had a lot of fun.  Grandpa was a little winded, but Anniston's laughter kept him going.

When it was all over with, Anniston was caught texting her friends while sitting in her car.  She had a great day, and we enjoyed the time with all of our family and friends that could be there to celebrate with us. 

For those that could not be here this year...wait till next year...I think Mommy already started to plan the party!

Lets Party!!!!

A child's first birthday party now, is much different than anything I can remember when I was growing up.  Now, it is a big production, with games, food, cake, balloons, favors and more people than will fit in our little house.

The preparations started 2 months in advance.  A list of people who might be able to attend was created, plans were made, and supplies started to be bought.  Andrea's mom came through in a big way helping with all of the decorations.  Good thing, I am not very crafty!  My mother and my Aunt Sandy collaborated to make the dress Anniston would wear on her big day and a date was set for the big shindig!  Now we just had to wait for the day to arrive.

Passport Day

Anniston will soon be a world traveler...but first she will need a passport.  Little did we know, that in the last 4 years the process for getting a passport has changed a little, it is harder, more time consuming, and more expensive.  We could no longer walk into the Post Office on a Saturday and fill out the paperwork...we needed an appointment.  Because we waited so long, we had to find a location that could actually get us an appointment.  Standing in the long first come first serve line with a child under one for an unknown number or hours did not sound like fun to us.  We found a location up in Gainesville that could get us in, so off we went!

When we got there, being the big girl that she is...she wanted to walk in, rather than be carried! So independent...we are doomed.

The process went very smoothly, Anniston sat on the little chair like a good girl and got a good picture for her passport.  Now we just had to wait until it arrived.

Kids SWIM!

Anniston made it through her first four lessons and was making good progress. We decided that we should keep going, we don't want her to be afraid of the water, and we want her to be very used to it by the time we go on Vacation to the beach.  Good thing swim lessons continued with a new session in May.

She was really starting to splash around in the pool.  She looks like she is finally starting to enjoy it, rather than just suffer through it!

We have to work on getting her to kick her legs.  She is good at splashing her hands, staring at the other people in the pool, and playing with the little toys.  Kicking her feet is not high on her priority list...we will keep working on it.

We already have her signed up to keep going to swim lessons starting in June.

11 Months

May 8...Anniston Paige is officially 11 months old.  She is within a month of being one whole year old.  At 11 months, her stability is improving, she is starting to move faster, and that keeps everybody on their toes.  All the time.  She is a healthy eater.  She eats almost everything we put in front of her. Except eggs and potatoes.  She has never really cared for eggs, but liked potatoes a lot... not so much anymore.  She is not talking yet, but she is pointing, and knows what she wants.  She is also high maintenance.  And spoiled.  Rotten.

We setup her 11 month picture to coincide with the photo that we wanted to use for her birthday party announcement.  Andrea came up with a pink lemonade theme for the party, so I built a lemonade stand for her, and we set it up at the curb...she did not make any money.

It was hard to keep her hands out of the lemonade.  So we put a lemon in her hand, that that made her happy.  She had something to play with.  She has gotten so good at having her picture taken.  She looks right at the camera and smiles big for me.  I can't help but take her picture.  

Swim Lessons #1

Once Anniston was 10 months old, she could start swim lessons.  Since we are not blessed with a pool in the back yard, Andrea found a place locally called SeaVentures that does swim lessons for all ages at an indoor pool.  I was not available to take pictures for the first swim lesson session.  I was there for the second session so that I could take a few pictures of Anniston in the pool with mommy.

At the beginning she is a little hesitant about where she is, and what is going on. She is a little un-trusting, but in mommies arms she knows she is safe.

Once she warms up a little and gets used to the water, she starts to have fun.  We are trying to get her to learn to kick her feet, and splash her arms.  She caught on to the splash your arms part pretty fast.  

At 10 months, she is still very unsure of strangers, despite the friendly teacher Mrs. Karen, Anniston was having nothing to do with being taught to swim by anyone other than mommy.  

 In her third swim lesson, I got in the pool with Anniston.  I started out in the pool without my glasses...and she was not sure who I was, and wanted out.  She is not used to seeing me without my glasses on.  I think it scared the poor thing.  Glasses on, she decided that I was in fact Daddy, and was ok with being in the pool with me.  We continued to work on her kicking and splashin...mostly splashin! 

10 Months Old

Shortly after we returned from Kansas, Anniston was 10 Months old.  By now, she has started using walking as her primary mode of transit, and does not want to be held.  She is mobile now, and does not want to be contained.

Now that she can stand up all by herself, without the magic hand, she is more mobile for her pictures too.  We returned to the outside for her 10 month picture.  She did not cooperate like Mommy wanted her to.  Mommy had all sorts of props for this picture...but the one thing Anniston had the most fun with, was Daddy's plants and flowers in the flower bed.  She so desperately wanted to rip them leaves off the stems.