Happy Birthday Jenna

Today we had lunch at the Johnson's to celebrate Jenna's birthday. We enjoyed ribs, cupcakes, ice cream and Mario Cart on the Wii and Annika entertained herself with one of her favorite past-times at Grammy and Grampy Johnson's: pulling the magnets off their fridge.

Happy Birthday Jenna - we love you!

SNOW DAY

The first blizzard of the season created an opportunity for Branden, Annika and I to have a week-day home together. Because of the REALLY cold temperatures we didn't let Annika get her first experience in the snow, but she had a lot of fun pressing her nose against the door and looking at all of the white stuff falling from the sky. Some people groan when snow is forcasted, but it's part of the reason we love living in Michigan.

Oh Christmas Tree

It always feels like the day that our Christmas tree goes up feels like the official start of Christmas. We love going through our ornaments every year and talking about the memories that each one brings to mind. This year Annika will start collecting her set of ornaments. A set that will build every year and that she will take with her someday when she starts a family of her own, just like our parents did for us.

9 Months

Annika turned 9 months old on Saturday. Today we attended her 9 month appointment and found out that our little girl is definitely a peanut - 10th percentile across the board. She's weighing in at 16lbs and measures 26 7/8" Everyone is always commenting on how tiny she is, but we think she's just right.

The newest development is that we've been struggling to get good pictures of Annika. This is due to a couple of factors: 1) Annika is constantly on the move. She has a blurry face in 3/4 of the shots taken. 2) She knows what a camera is and refuses to smile for it. Thankfully we catch her off guard every once and a while so we can share her silly (still toothless) grin. I know I'm biased, but I still melt every time she giggles or smiles.

Happy 9 months Annika

A Wonderful Thanksgiving

It's amazing how fast 5 days away from work can fly by, but both Branden and I are so thankful for the wonderful Thanksgiving weekend we had. We spent the thanksgiving holiday with the Peckenpaugh family and enjoyed some relaxing time with the Johnsons later in the weekend. We are so blessed to have our families, friends, home, jobs and God's never ending grace.

Here are some photos of Thanksgiving with the Peckenpaughs...

Standing & a Shiner

This weekend Annika has become obsessed with standing. Not only is she pulling herself up, but she is also showing her daredevil side by letting go and testing her own balance. She's still pretty wobbly, but can stand unassisted for a surprisingly long time. Starting to pull herself up has also resulted in a lot more tears. I'm starting to understand why some parents resort to protecting every corner in the house with foam. Despite all of her tumbles, her first goose egg came about this weekend when our dog Gordy toppled her over while she was crawling. She has quite the shiner to show for it. With every day that passes we're having to watch her (and everything around her) more and more carefully. Here are a few photos of Annika standing next to our coffee table as well as a moment I caught her balancing on her own.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN