Yeah, yeah yeah

OK, I know I have been bad about this blog. And I know the four of you who read it are crazy angry. Settle down! Get mad at me for something else - like not calling you. See how much you're seething now that I brought that up?

So, my sweet Annika. She is great - went to swim class today and she had a wonderful time. At swim class they actually submerge my precious girl below water level. Her little eyes have learned to shut, but have to be honest I'm not sure how much water/chlorine she's ingesting. But I try not to think about it. Neither should you.

It's been busy here at Casa Hakes. The little girl has decided that she needs to get to sleep a little earlier than in months passed. So now I only have about 2 hours to see her during the evening before she goes berzerk. This is good and bad. Bad, of course, because I don't get to spend nearly enough time with her. Good because I get to go to bed earlier too! Yes, I'm that selfish. Bedtime around here has been, oh, 9:30 - 10 p.m. And that's still late. I'm still ready to collapse on my Tempurpedic and never wake up again.

Also, we're starting weaning. Yes, it's true. My parents will be happy to hear about this since they have been worried about my hospital visits, pain and overall complaining. Of course since we're almost done with breastfeeding, now I miss it. How's that for fickle?

Finally, baby girl now has four teeth. The top two teeth are making their way through her sensitive gums, ans she's been surprisingly okay with it. Now, she does get bitter occassionally, but has learned to self-soothe. Good girl!

Quick note

I had this "big" idea to watch all of the video we've shot of Annika since she was born. We watched it last night, and it's just amazing how different she looks...so cute then, but in a different way than now.

Sad to say that the first video we actually took of her was in mid-September - when she was about two and a half months old. Bummer. However, she had "skinny" legs back then! (It's all relative).

Also, Annika was just captivated by her own image on the TV. She was especially responsive to her own voice and the sounds she made on the video. Chris and I wondered....does she understand what she was saying?

Happy Birthday from your daughter

Dear Mommy,

Happy Birthday! Today my gift to you is....sleep and shopping!

As you know, I slept until 8:45 a.m., which I unheard of. I have to say...staying asleep that long is just too much. I'm not exactly sure how you do it. However, I hope that you enjoyed the extra time.

Also, I asked Daddy to stay home from work today to hang out with us! He took you to the mall (which he hates) without any "guff" as you say. He also took us to Starbucks this morning, which he also dislikes. Wow, Daddy doesn't like a lot of things. But I digress.

At the mall, you bought a shirt for your new job and at Starbucks you got your "usual." I was an angel and everyone remarked at how cute I was. Aren't you lucky to have me??

Happy birthday! I heard you telling your friends that today you are "turning 29 forever." What does that mean?

Love you,
Annika

***

Dear Annika,

I love you too - thank you so much.

Love,
Mommy

Big foot

Baby shoes are just so adorable. They're tiny, and cute and decorative. They really complete an ensemble. However, my baby rarely wears completed ensembles.

The trouble is she has big feet. Well, more accurately: Fat feet. They are fairly wide, and the ankles don't really have...definition. Her leg is just sort of attached to the foot. This makes shoe wearing and purchasing difficult.

She has approximately two pairs of shoes that really fit - shoes that she can wear and won't tear off or fall off. One pair is from Payless Shoe Source (you could pay more - but why?). They're sneakers and they are "wide." Who knew they made wide sizes in baby shoes?

Then there's Robeez. What's cool about these is that they are elastic - and fit her wide foot quite nicely. And she has little success in ripping them off. And so stylish...you can see for yourself in the picture. See how "complete" this ensemble is?

Bad hair day

For those of you who haven't seen Annika's hair in real life (the blog being "fake life") might not realize its quality. It's very thin, light and easily manipulated. It's also what we call in our house "crazy." It's not quite long enough to look girlish, and not short enough to look neat. It's just...everywhere.

It keeps getting longer and weirder, though it really just adds to her charm. Unfortunately, its strangeness happens to coincide with our recent attempts to get her to sleep in her crib during the day for naps. (That's what they say).

When she's put down in her crib during the day, usually she's not too happy about it. She writhes, screams and makes her way to the top of the crib where the bumper is. When her head reaches the top, she rubs her head back and forth, back and forth...when you take her out after she finally falls asleep, you find a staticky-haired child with some other strange bends that form a sort of...fro?

You decide -------->

Told you so

So, as I suspected, Chris was reticent to believe that Annika was ready for the swings. However, I convinced him it was "all good" as those crazy kids say, and we went for a trip so he could see himself.

Though he still seems a little worried about the whole concept, "she doesn't seem big enough for this thing..." he still enjoyed the smile on her face as she swung back and forth. So did I.

Swing

Two posts in less than 24 hours...how will you people keep up???

OK, so I took Annika on her first trip to the park swings today. I had been telling Chris for a few weeks that I was going to do it, but he kept indicating he didn't feel she was big enough. I think he forgets how far she's come. Also, he hasn't been to the park where I see these tiny kids swinging, and I know she's much bigger. And perhaps he forgets what a daredevil she is - she loves to be tossed in the air, flipped upside down, and in general, "play rough." (Ask her grandma). So, I knew she'd be ready, and I knew she'd like it.

And she did! She giggled each time she came flying back to me. At first, I think she was trying to understand where she was, but she very quickly got the hang of it, and seemed to grin wider and wider the harder I pushed. I think we'll be going back.

We're back, baby!

OK, OK...I have received a few complaints/death threats about the state of this blog. i.e. the lack of updates. I was actually a little surprised since, well, no one reads this, but, well...maybe they do? Then I have to remember the subject of this blog is Annika, and who *wouldn't* want to read about her?

So, here's the scoop: We've been busy. And by busy, I mean sick. The last blog post was Valentine's Day and the reason it was so timely because I was at home with the baby and the in-laws who were helping me watch the baby as I tried to battle this horrendous cold and get some work done. Work got done, the battling did not, and I wound up being sick for the rest of the week and most of the weekend. I say I had the flu, but Chris says I'm a crazy wuss and that it was a cold. Laid up for nearly 10 days? YOU DECIDE. Anyway, the baby also contracted this virus, but on a much smaller scale, which I am grateful for. In fact, she was probably happier and easier to care for during her illness than most of the time. She had a nasty cough, though, and that proved annoying to her when trying to sleep - not that we could blame her. But she actually managed to sleep pretty well during the stretch of her cold, and right now, we're both healthy on that front.

Then about 2 days after I started feeling better, I started feeling worse. Not a cold this time, but a breast infection. Sparing you the details, let's just say it doesn't feel good. And part of that process is to have 'flu-like symptoms.' So I had it again! So, to wrap this up, I wasn't in a blogging "place" for the last two weeks, not to excuse myself, but to explain that I am a very weak person.

So, Annika is GREAT! She is funny, laughs a lot, does an excellent ventriloquism act...ok, not the last one, but she's quite the entertainer. As her personality starts to develop, we see how she loves to be entertained and to entertain. She loves people - especially people she knows - she loves food, and hates taking naps because she doesn't want to miss the action. In short, she's my daughter.

Because Annika has been such a champ lately, we finally went where we've never went before...on a date night. Uncle Ben watched the little one from 5 - 11, and we actually went out to dinner (!) and to a show! It was a fun night. Now, let's remember that this date was right in the middle of my "cold" (flu) and my breast infection onset...so I was a little tired. But nothing was going to stop me from going out! Chris was also exhausted from watching us both for weeks on end...but he also maintained and I think we had a great evening. I'm looking forward to more, but not sure if Uncle Ben is up to the task...any other takers?