Learning to Stand

Standing on our laps is Anna-Kate's new trick. On Saturday, she surprised us by standing on my lap. She knew that she had done something great. She looked at us, grinned, and then threw her head back and started laughing. This video is our attempt at capturing that on camera; she never does it the same way when we try to recapture it.

Good Morning!

I realized that I have not been getting out the camera lately. I think I am going to try to get a set of sleeper pictures. I love her in her cute sleepers! True confession: wanting to see her in sleepers is one of the reasons I stopped swaddling her. That, and she hated being swaddled.

I love mornings in the Simmons house. Will and I get ready before waking our sleeping cutie. I get Anna-Kate up and take her downstairs. I turn on the news and Will joins us on the couch. When Anna-Kate is almost done eating breakfast, Will fixes our breakfast. Then the three of us hang out on the couch with Good Morning America in the background. Much toooo soon, the clock hits 7:25 and it is time for me and baby to head to work. Those 30 minutes in the morning are some of my favorite minutes of the day!!

"Morning Mom, where is dad?" She literally had just turned her head to follow Will's movements.

At least 9 out of 10 mornings, it is Will that gets Anna-Kate's first smile of the day. I pick her up from the crib. She starts fussing, ready to eat. I say, "Let's go say 'good morning' to daddy." She fusses until she sees him. Stops fussing. She watches him until Will looks at her. He starts talking to her, and she smiles really big. Then she remembers that she is hungry, looks at me, and starts fussing again. Will loves this morning advantage.

PS. This sleeper is 3-6 months. Look at how her height fills it. My tall baby! We go this afternoon to her 4 month appointment. I can't wait to find out how tall this baby is. She is going to be in the next size clothes before I know it.

Jeeper

Where am I? This place is great!

Cool! I am in daddy's jeep. I wonder if my feet could touch the pedals.

On the count of three....here I go!

I took these pictures to surprise Will. Anna-Kate smiled the whole time she was in the driver's seat. Will seems to think that her smiles while in a jeep are simply proof of her genius.

Trip for Two

Last Friday, I ventured out with the girls for the first time. I was very adventurous and drove them straight to my house. Who is going to wake these sleeping babies?

Neither girl remained asleep when I got them out of the car.

Look at these happy faces! "We are girls on the move! Watch out world!"

The view that few people get to witness. This is actually yesterday. My sister Amanda came to work with me. My favorite quote of the day was, "Your job isn't hard; I haven't done anything."

Whose Baby is this?

Will's dad found this snapping turtle. Look how small he is! This is the turtle as he compares to Will's hand. Who knew that a snapping turtle, which can grow well over 100 pounds, starts this small?

New Trick

It's a record. Anna-Kate has rolled over 4 times today; I caught the third time on video. It is hard for me to believe she is already this strong. At the end of the video, I thought I might also get her to laugh but she was way too enamored by the video camera.

Hard Work

"Mom, this is hard work. How does she hold her head up that high?! Maybe soon...."

My favorite part about keeping Mary-Knowles is how happy Anna-Kate seems to be. On Friday, MK was in her jumper. I sat on the floor with AK, who then smiled and laughed just watching MK jump.

New Discovery

Anna-Kate has discovered her feet! I am working on capturing a picture of her bringing them up to her face and then stretching them all the way out. I am waiting for the toe in mouth moment!

Anna-Kate has also rolled over (tummy to back) almost once a day this past week. Her favorite thing to do is to wait until I turn around and then roll over, so I have only seen her do it once!

Confession

What has been one of the biggest adjustments about becoming a mom? I have a baby who sleeps wonderfully (even though there are nights like Tues where she woke me up at 12:30 and again at 2:30). So, sleepiness is not the biggest complaint for me. Anna-Kate also eats well, so that doesn't get the number one spot. She is not colicky.

One big adjustment for me has been getting used to the new dynamic with my husband. There is another girl in the house asking for his attention and/or taking my attention. I love my little girl, but I miss the un-interupted time with my husband. Many thanks to my in-laws who took care of Anna-Kate last Friday night so Will and I could go out to eat. Date nights are more than necessary.

The funny part....we had only driven half a block from the house when I almost turned around to check on her. And, I think we had been away from her about an hour when I realized I was re-charged and could go back to pick her up whenever we were ready. I do love our cute little distraction!