The Inzanas

Welcome baby!

2011-10-21T16:16:00.000-07:00

Ethan John Inzana

October 21, 2011 at 11:46 am

8lbs, 5oz, 19 ½ inches.

Ethan was not due to make his big appearance to until the 26th, but at my 39 week visit to the doctor’s office, she recommended getting induced the next morning since in her words, “I don’t want you to go into labor and not make it to the hospital.” (in my words: “eek!”) AJ and I got to the hospital at the ungodly hour of 5:00am on Friday. Up until the contractions started I wasn’t worried about giving birth again, but Annaleigh’s birth (2 hours of pushing and an epidural that didn’t work) suddenly was very vivid in my memory! Luckily this time everything was wonderful – the epidural was awesome and Ethan was born very quickly. Of course we are head over heels for our little guy. His big sister calls him “braba” (brother) and hates when he cries. She is very interested in everything that we do with him, and each time she wakes up she immediately asks “Baby? Braba?” Let’s hope she stays interested and doesn’t get too jealous!

It’s the great Pumpkin (Farm)!

2011-10-19T16:23:00.000-07:00

Once again we went to the Silo Christmas Tree Farm for their fall pumpkin patch. Even after 6 years in Texas it is still weird to go do fall activities in short sleeves!

While we were there Annaleigh painted a pumpkin to take home, fed the goats, llama, and sheep and went on the hay ride. We had a great time!

First Day of Preschool!

2011-09-06T16:30:00.000-07:00

Annaleigh had her first day at St. Richard’s Episcopal Preschool today. She is in the “puppies” 18 month to 2 years class, but is the only kid until after Christmas when the rest of her classmates finally turn 18 months! In the meantime she is with the 2 year old class, so most of her ‘classmates’ are a little older than she is. We have been talking a lot about preschool to get her excited for this very new experience (she has never been with someone other than one of my family members for an extended amount of time). We recently made a trip to Barnes and Noble and picked out a new book for the occasion, Maisy Goes to Preschool, and read it every night. Now whenever we mention preschool Annaleigh says “Saisy!”, her version of “Maisy”.

Since I had to work AJ is in charge of preschool drop off and pick up. I was a bit concerned about this since he is so softhearted- I thought for sure he wouldn’t be able to leave if she got too upset, but he said that she was very excited to play with all of the toys and start on the morning activity when she got there.

It is hard to believe our little girl is so big!

Port Aransas

2011-08-25T16:35:00.000-07:00

I never imagined that going on vacation could be so stressful! About a week before we were supposed to leave my car broke down and required way more work than I even want to get into here (or know how to explain). AJ finally got finished fixing it on Sunday just a few hours before we wanted to leave, so we packed up and headed out. Everything seemed fine until we pulled into a Wendy’s for dinner and the car died the moment we got into the parking lot. AJ looked at it and tried to get it started again abut after a few hours we realized that it wasn’t going to happen. We ended up calling a tow truck to tow the car up to Round Rock and had my brother go get our other car to meet us on the way there. Unfortunately the tow truck was a three seater and we had Annaleigh in the car seat so lucky AJ got to have me sit in his lap for an hour (remember that I’m pregnant – I thought his legs might fall off). Chris met up with us quickly, we moved our stuff into the Jeep and got back on the road while Chris rode the rest of the way to our house in the tow truck. We ended up getting to Port Aransas after midnight, with a very sleepy kid.

After exciting start, our vacation got a lot better! We had a great time at the beach, jet skiing and just relaxing. Annaleigh was awesome the whole time! She loved the ocean and especially playing in the sand, and had no problem sleeping in a strange place.

We also went to the aquarium while we were in Port Aransas. We got to see one of the aquarioum employees feed a sting ray by hand, and got to touch some ourselves. Annaleigh loved all of the fish, and especially the otters!

What started out the most stressful “vacation” ever turned out to be great- hopefully we will be able to do it again next year!

Busy, Busy

2011-07-12T16:36:00.000-07:00

Funny how everything seems to happen at once – it seems like lately we have been encountering changes everywhere we look!

As you know from our last post, we are put our house up for sale a couple weeks ago, and we already accepted an offer on our place! We are thrilled that it happened so fast – with a new baby coming I was afraid of being 9 months pregnant and trying to move too! If everything goes as planned we will close by August 12, which means we have to start looking for a new home immediately. Ideally we are trying to find a place that has at least 3 bedrooms plus a living room, loft or other room we can use as an office/music room. We are also hoping for a lot big enough to eventually build AJ a nice workshop and put in a pool. (Obviously in the distant future!) There is one place that is just about perfect, so after we look at a few more houses later this week, we will make a decision.

I also am officially the new librarian at Deep Wood Elementary! I started my master’s degree last summer, and decided not going to look for a new job this year once we found out I was pregnant. However the librarian at my school retired at the last minute – it seemed like too good of a chance to pass up, so I interviewed and got the job! I am so excited for this new change. It will be great to be able to work in a place I love in a new capacity. Getting ready for this job will require lots of extra staff development, plus I go back to work a week earlier than the teachers, so I will be very busy getting started in the new job!

This summer AJ has also had the opportunity to teach guitar summer camps at the school he works at, so he has been gone most of the day getting home in time for Annaleigh’s bedtime. It hasn’t been an issue until this week when my car broke down. Now he gets to work from 10:30-8:30, then get home and work on the car, lucky guy. Being stranded at home with no car is about to drive me crazy too.

On Sunday we leave for Port Aransas for a quick vacation. This will be our first vacation in Texas, and our first vacation ever with Annaleigh. We can’t wait to get out of town and relax before moving into a new house and heading back to work.

Moving on up!

2011-06-27T09:17:00.000-07:00

With our new addition to the family due in October, we are in serious need of a bigger house! AJ has been very busy working to get our place ready to sell, and we finally put it on the market last week. We had a showing the next day, so keep your fingers crossed that it sells soon!

Here are some pictures of our place , both before and after.

The living room when we moved in:

And after new paint, hardwood flooring, lighting and skylights.

The master bathroom before. The vanity area was open to the bedroom, but the toilet and tub area was so gross we never used it until...

AJ and my dad did a complete tear out and remodeled the whole thing. This was a huge project but it turned out beautifully!

The master bedroom before...

...and after new flooring, paint and light fixtures.

Annaleigh's room (the before pictures are so nasty I won't post them here.)

The second bedroom which we use as an office when we moved in...

...and after new flooring, closet doors, paint, and lights.

The hall bathroom.

This was the last project that we completed - new tile flooring and tub surround, counter tops and fixtures.

The kitchen before (complete with floor to ceiling mirrors and a screen door into the garage.)

After new flooring, sink, light fixtures, bead board on the ceiling as well as a laundry room that we added on (thank again Dad and AJ), which is through the pocket door at the end.

18 months!

2011-06-22T08:52:00.000-07:00

It is so hard to believe that our little peanut is already a year and a half – the time has flown! Annaleigh is able to do more and more by herself everyday, and we see more of her personality too! (She may look like Daddy, but acts more like Mommy!) Annaleigh loves to make decisions for herself – what blanket and stuffed animal to take to bed, what toys to play with and which snack to have. She is also starting to talk more, with her most recent addition to her vocabulary being “no”. She likes to tell the dogs “no” when they try to eat her snack, and she also says no when she knows that she is doing something that she shouldn’t. (I found her playing in the dog’s water bowl recently and as soon as she saw me she stood up and pointed at the water and yelled “no”, like the water was misbehaving). Other words she can say (or we can decipher): Kitty, David (from her favorite book), snack, no, banana, mommy, daddy, quack, yucky, and bubble.

She now has a favorite TV program too, Bubble Guppies, a cartoon on Nickelodeon. It is one of the only things she wants to watch – she even gets her blanket and sits on the couch with the remote asking to watch it!

Some of Annaleigh’s favorites at 18 months:

Eating anything with a spoon

Playing in the laundry

Putting bowls on her head

Playing in the empty bookshelves

Dipping her food ( in BBQ, Ketchup, Jalapeno Ranch…whatever- this is her licking the ketchup off the plate.)

Escaping from the bathroom at bath time to run around naked

Sitting at the table in a big chair

Reading books (Especially No David)

We are so lucky to have such a great kid!

It's a ...

2011-06-10T08:49:00.000-07:00

Boy! I think that we were both expecting a girl, and were surprised to find out we were wrong! I can’t wait to see him “helping” Daddy, just like Annaleigh.

Daddy's Little Helper

2011-06-01T13:53:00.000-07:00

Annaleigh loves when Daddy works on a project, and loves to help even more! Projects she has helped complete so far:

Baseboards

Putting bumpers on the car

The list may be short, but that may be because all of her “help” makes each project take a bit longer than intended.

What do you mean, "Bath time?"

2011-05-15T13:49:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when Annaleigh helps plant flowers.

Easter

2011-04-28T13:41:00.000-07:00

We did the usual Easter stuff this year – Church, family dinner, and for the first time an Easter Egg hunt. Annaleigh was so excited to be outside (as usual) that she didn’t notice that there were colorful Easter eggs to find. Once she noticed the eggs she was psyched.

After finding each egg she wanted to stop and eat the snacks that were inside (mostly fruit chews, with a couple of jelly beans and M&Ms). It took a long time to find the six eggs that I put out – maybe next year we’ll try for a dozen!

2011-04-21T13:36:00.000-07:00

So if you haven’t heard yet – We are expecting another baby on October 26th! AJ and I were very excited when we found out, of course and we were lucky enough to have AJ’s parents in town when we told our families the good news. We went out to dinner at one of our favorite local places, and before our meals came I changed Annaleigh’s shirt to her “Big Sister” shirt. My mom saw her when she came out and said, “That’s a cute shirt,” but must not have actually read it since she said nothing else after that! Finally Kathy asked what it said and when we stood Annaleigh up, both of our moms figured out what was going on. (Both my dad and John were still clueless until we finally spelled it out). Needless to say, everyone was thrilled!
As a result of this new addition we are desperately in need of a new house – we have only three bedrooms, and AJ’s guitars need a safe place to sleep too, so in addition to a new baby, we will hopefully be moving into a new home as well. We are sure in for a lot of changes this year!

Lions and Tiger and Bears, Oh My!

2011-03-17T20:12:00.000-07:00

It was great to be off over spring break! AJ and I got a change to take Annaleigh to the Austin Zoo, somewhere we have never been before. The Zoo is mostly rescue animals, and started out as a sanctuary/rehabilitation center. It was neat to see how the animal enclosures have been worked into the Texas landscape - it is a lot less manufactured that other zoos that we have been too - especially the Buffalo zoo, right in the middle of the city! Annaleigh was not in the mood to ride in her stroller, so we ended up pushing my purse and her diaper bag around, while trying to keep up with her! She loved the chickens and peacocks that roam free outside, as well as the birds and monkeys - I think that she was attracted to all of the noise that they made. One of her favorite animals was the pigs (so exotic) since they were near the edge of their pen and so easy to spot. I think that we may need to get one for our house too.

My favorite part - watching the tortises eat rrrreeealllllyyy sslloooowwww.

Super Bowl & Tub time

2011-02-06T19:58:00.000-08:00

While the adults watched football, Annaleigh and Braden had their first coed bath. Annaleigh was not sure at first why some boy was in her tub, but she warmed up a bit by the end.

Snow Day!

2011-02-04T20:03:00.000-08:00

Two inches of snow is no biggie in NY, but here in Texas we get a snow day! The day that we brought Annaleigh home from the hospital (Christmas Eve) there was a tiny bit of snow, and that was the last time that she saw snow. When we saw our white yard, we couldn't wait to get her outside! She was not sure what to do at first but once she saw how our feet made prints and she got her hands on some snow she was thrilled. Since it doesn't usually get too cold here we don't have winter boots or snow pants, so after she started to sit on the ground we had to come in since she was getting wet. It was great to get a day off from work and to have an unexpected day at home!

The Force be with you

2011-01-22T19:55:00.000-08:00

Daddy's little Jedi.

No clown can scare me!

2011-01-16T19:46:00.000-08:00

Clapping for the tigers

Watching the trapeze girls

We were not sure what Annaleigh was going to think of the Circus - she has a short attention span and hates to sit still, so we were holding our breath to see how this would go. Aj and I shouldn't have worried because she was totally enthralled the whole time! She met a couple of clowns ad smiled at both of them (AJ held her - we didn't want a Santa repeat). When the lights went off for the beginning of the show she didn't know what to make of it- she spent about the first 20 minutes completely stunned and trying to watch everything that was going on. We had a great time, and can't wait for next year!

You can't ride in my little red wagon

2011-01-12T19:43:00.000-08:00

Annaleigh got a wagon from her grandparents for her birthday and she LOVES it! Even when it is pretty cold (as it is here) she loves to go for walks. Luckily she hasn't tried to stand in it. yet.

Christmas 2010

2010-12-25T13:34:00.000-08:00

Last year at Christmas my most vivid memory of Annaleigh was that she screamed like a banshee every time we set her down to try to get a picture of her. This year she was so excited to check out all of her presents. Present opening took a long time since she wanted play with each present as she opened it. Eventually I got to open a lot of her presents, otherwise we would have been unwrapping until the new year.

The monster and her presents:

Happy Birthday Baby!

2010-12-22T18:56:00.000-08:00

I know I say it each month, but we can not believe that Annaleigh is already one year old! We have had the best year watching our sweet pea grow up, and the changes have been tremendous!

This month Annaleigh has gotten very fast. She loves to run towards things she knows not to touch (dog food, toilet paper) and laughs hysterically when we catch her. Annaleigh is also in love with the cats and will follow them down the hall yelling. She also lays on her tummy to look under the bed for them. Luckily the cats are fast and Annaleigh has not figured out how to sneak up on them yet.

Annaleigh will eat just about anything that you put in front of her, and has a special love for spaghetti, pizza, and fruit snacks. She has three teeth, two on the bottom and one the top, with the second top tooth on its way. We are also lucky to have a great sleeper- about 12-13 hours at night with a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon.

We have been so blessed!

12-22-2009

The Zilker Tree

2010-12-22T13:13:00.000-08:00

Last year AJ and I went to the Trail of Lights at Zilker Park with the hope that some walking would make me go into labor. This year there was no Trail of Lights, but we still had a great time taking Annaleigh to see the big tree and spin under it. Neither AJ or I have done this before - I was a bit to big an uncoordinated last year - but we finally got to see what all the fuss is about. Here is a quick video of what you get to see as you stand under the lights and spin:

At first Annaleigh wasn't sure what was going on - she couldn't figure out that she needed to look up. However, once we had her lie in our arms, she was thrilled! She got a bit unhappy whenever we tried to stop, and every time we sat her up she would try to lie down again. The best part was when we set her on the ground - she could barely walk two steps without falling down!

Santa fail.

2010-12-20T19:14:00.000-08:00

I would love to post a cute picture of my kid sitting on Santa's lap, smiling for the camera. I really would. However it is not to be.

After going to the Domain and spending 45 minutes walking around trying to locate Santa (including a call to my dad to check online since my phone is still in the ice age) we finally found an elf at Toys'R'Us to let us know that we were in Phase I of the Domain and Santa was in Phase II. (Seriously, what mall has Phases?) We loaded Annaleigh back in the car and headed over to Phase II and found Santa. And his line of kids waiting to get terrified by the fat man in the red suit. After hemming and hawing about whether to bother with a picture that was going to cost AT LEAST $25!!!!!!!!! we waited in line for another 45 minutes. Annaleigh was surprisingly calm and patient with all of this crap. When we got to our turn AJ sat on the chair with Santa and Annaleigh was fine. Smiling, laughing as Santa tickled her. As soon as she was handed off to the big man all hell broke loose. She looked up and started screaming like she has never screamed before. There was no getting her back. Santa was the thing that nightmares are made of.

The thing is the pictures were hysterical! Santa looking at her a smiling, her looking at him and screaming. However, $25 is a bit much for a screaming baby picture. Oh well, maybe next year.

Party Time!

2010-12-19T19:29:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Annaleigh's first birthday on December 19th, she had a great time opening presents and smashing cake everywhere!

Cupcakes for our little cupcake.

Annaleigh liked to open the presents, but was easily distracted by the paper that she ripped off. Each piece had to be inspected and tasted.

She loved the cupcake, especially the candle!

Playing with her kitchen.

This is a race track that spins cars around and shoots them out. Annaleigh prefers to think of it as a jungle gym.

Dutch and Emory are glad that she has a new tail to pull now.

O Christmas tree!

2010-12-19T19:09:00.000-08:00

We finally got around to getting a Christmas tree on December 17th, though we weren't sure it was going to happen - we like to support the charity groups that have trees each year, but they were all closed so we had to go to Home Depot. Not quite the tree shopping experience of my youth, but it was cheap!

Annaleigh enjoyed the trees, though she wasn't sure what the point was. She likes the tree much better with all the fun decorations that she can remove each day.

Puppy Love

2010-12-15T18:51:00.000-08:00

When we first brought Annaleigh home the dogs were not bothered by her too much - a little crying and some yummy poop smells - she had both pros and cons.

There are still some pros and cons in their opinions:

Pro: Throws food of high chair
Con: Plays in dog food and throws it on the floor

Pro: Still makes awesome poops - In the house!

Con: We still have to poop outside.

The dogs pretty much ignore her still, but every once in a while Annaleigh wants a puppy snuggle. Luckily Dutch puts up with it.

A seriously good dog.

Swing Swing

2010-12-05T19:00:00.000-08:00

This kid loves to swing! Her hands were like icicles when we left the park, but I think she would have stayed for hours.

11 months

2010-11-22T18:44:00.000-08:00

This month Annaleigh has been perfecting her walk - Butt out. Tummy out. She can really get moving and loves to hide from whoever is on baby patrol. She is developing quite an opinion too, and she lets you know what she likes (or doesn't)! She likes to feed herself, especially in the morning, she likes to drink her milk before eating anything and she dislikes anything that is neatly put away. (clothes, dish towels, Tupperware, her toys... these things are immediately thrown off of selves, out of drawers and baskets.)

This is the only picture she would be still for. I think she wanted everyone to get a good look at her tummy.

If these don't make you smile...

2010-11-14T19:59:00.000-08:00

Apple juice in the tub...

2010-11-11T17:43:00.000-08:00

...almost as good as a glass of wine.

Musician in the Making

2010-11-11T16:56:00.000-08:00

Halloween!

2010-10-31T19:57:00.000-07:00

When I decided to make Annaleigh's costume for her first Halloween I thought it was a great idea to make a spider costume, that way when she crawled around she would look just like a creepy crawlie. However, I didn't think that 2 days before Halloween she would decide that crawling was no longer the thing to do! None the less, she was too cute in her Halloween costume, though she refused to wear the little black hat that went with it. Instead we went with the orange bow to let everyone know that she is a girl spider.

It was a challenge to get her to hold still for any pictures - we had to settle for a bunch of blurry ones instead!

Checking out the pumpkins.

Our first year as a three-pumpkin family!

Hockey Night

2010-10-30T19:41:00.000-07:00

I was way psyched when I saw that the Sabres would be playing the Dallas Stars in Texas this year, and was even more excited when my parents got AWESOME tickets to the game. Chris, Sarah, AJ and I drove up to Dallas the day before Halloween to watch the game. We had diner at the Hard Rock Cafe, which always makes me feel like a tourist, and walked to the arena. As much as I love HSBC Arena, the Dallas Stars arena is gorgeous - It even has a huge screen outside on which we could watch the World Series while waiting to get in.

We were impressed with how many Buffalo fans there were. We even got a pretty good chant going! However, all the Buffalo pride in the world couldn't have helped the Sabres. Didn't someone tell them it was my birthday? The 4-0 shutout was a bit of a downer, but we still had fun. It just means that the next time the Sabres are within driving distance we will have to go to the game to watch them redeem themselves.

At the Hard Rock

At the game - while we were still smiling!

Lalime doing what he did all night - nothing.

The Great Pumpkin

2010-10-29T19:50:00.000-07:00

Though we went to the pumpkin patch in Temple before Halloween, we decided to wait until closer to the actual holiday before we bought pumpkins. You northerners would not believe how fast a pumpkin will rot down here, as we discovered our first year in Texas when we woke up to pumpkin mush on our front porch!

Annaleigh once again loved the pumpkins, and got to pick out her own little pumpkin for the occasion.

Pumpkin Farm

2010-10-25T17:04:00.000-07:00

A week before Halloween we went to Silo Christmas Tree Farm in Temple with the Kruger's for the pumpkin patch and fall activities that are held there each year. We had a great time with the kids - both Braden and Annaleigh had a ton of fun. We went on a hay ride, paid $3 to feed some goats (crazy considering we know two goats that would love to be fed for free) and checked out all of the pumpkins. It was a lot of fun, and a great way to get ready for Annaleigh's first Halloween.

Someone loves the pumpkins.

Stephanie, Braden and Dustin on the hay ride.

Our own little goat chowing down on some hay.

Annaleigh was unsure about the goats. After my extensive experience with goats, I don't blame her.

Every time we see Braden I am impressed with what a good big brother he is going to be - he loves to share!

This is Annaleigh's new "excited" face. She is crazy.

Rock On

2010-10-23T15:58:00.000-07:00

10 months!

2010-10-22T16:46:00.000-07:00

This month - once again- has been full of changes. Annaleigh has been "cruising' along the couch and coffee table for a while now, but this month she started to take steps all by herself. She is still pretty wobbly, but she is quite proud of herself! Crawling is still the favored mode of moving, and I think it will stay that way until she can walk faster than she can crawl. If you haven't noticed yet, she has two bottom chompers, and keeps sucking in her top lip like the top gums are hurting. I think it will just be a matter of time until she has some top teeth too. (I will be glad when AJ stops singing that annoying "All I want for Christmas" song too!)

I think one of my favorite things that she has started to do is crawl to someone to pull herself up on their legs. She looks straight up at you with the cutest face - who can resist picking her up?

Nine Months

2010-09-22T19:45:00.000-07:00

At her nine month doctor's appointment, Annaleigh was 27 inches long and 18lb 10 oz. She is near the 50th percentile for height and weight so we have some hope that she won't be a shrimp.

This month she had to start wearing the 12 month pjs, and size three diapers. It seems like Annaleigh has gotten so big all of a sudden! She has gotten to be a super-crawler and can squat down and stand up if she has a wall or table to balance on. This month she has started to pay more attention when we read at bed time - her favorite part is turning the pages. (From right to left too!) She has started to show some preference for her stuffed animals too - she will put a foot into her mouth to carry Winnie the Pooh when she crawls around.

Delish

2010-09-20T19:35:00.000-07:00

If you know how picky I am, you would be amazed at what Annaleigh will eat. Luckily she got her love of all foods from her dad! This crazy kid will even pass over apples to get to broccoli. Who does that?

Sadly she is less messy than my 4th graders after spaghetti day.

Notice the star stuck to her face?

Her first foray into pizza. That dazed look is because she can't get over the cheesy goodness of it all. Please check out the cheese in her hair.

This is a "Magic Pop" - like a glorified rice cake. Before mastication it was a big as her head.

It's a date

2010-09-20T19:23:00.000-07:00

We recently got together with the Krugers to watch some football and let the kids play. Braden proved he will be a awesome big brother in March when Stephanie has baby #2! He was so sweet to Annaleigh, and AJ and I got a taste of what we will be in for in about a year...

Braden loved to feed Emory- she loved it too.

Going for a ride in the duck.

Annaleigh is not old enough to realize that swings are scary. Braden is a bit more savvy.

In, Out, On, Under, Above, Through

2010-09-15T19:04:00.000-07:00

As you know, my kid is a genius. Lately she has been demonstrating her understanding of prepositions.

Chin on the ball

Pants upon the head

In the toy basket

Amid the dirty laundry

Under the activity table

Beside the dog

Behind the curtain

Eight Months

2010-08-22T18:56:00.000-07:00

Annaleigh is growing by leaps and bounds - every day she seems to learn something new. This month's big accomplishment has been getting crawling down pat. As soon as she figured out how to crawl she managed to start pulling herself up too. We finally had to finish baby proofing our house too - though even with safety measures in place "danger" is still her middle name.

As you can see from the pictures, getting her to sit still is a thing of the past.

***Our computer went kaput in August, so I am just now getting around to posting all of the pictures and new milestones. The posting date reflects the approximate time that these things happened.

A Day in the Life

2010-07-26T20:23:00.000-07:00

When you are a baby there are lots of important things to accomplish each day. Here are some of the highlights of Annaleigh's day...

--check e-mail and stocks

--Choose the next book. (The Very Hungry Caterpillar is so yesterday)

--Eat the purple elephant's foot

--Choose which toys say "cool and sophisticated"

--Pumps some iron at the gym (and show off your guns)

--Chill in the tub

--Make all the other babies jealous of how cute you are

Phew! What a busy day!

Go me

2010-07-25T21:15:00.000-07:00

Look what I put in all by myself.

Excuse me while I sprain my arm patting myself on the back.

Seven Months

2010-07-24T14:00:00.000-07:00

Here are a few things that have made this month so fun and full of changes:

- Annaleigh is thisclose to crawling - she can gets up on her hands a knees and rocks - she recently figured out how to move her legs, but has not mastered the hands yet

-She loves to feed herself - cheerios, bananas, blueberries - anything small that she can pick up

- We found the first food she doesn't like - pork loin (honestly it wasn't that good - maybe she would like it if I was a better cook)

-Annaleigh gets distracted by her so-suckable thumb while trying to get the food from her tray to her mouth

-the sippy cup has been mastered! She still fusses a bit about drinking formula out of the cup, but LOVES applejuice (like mother like daughter)

-Hide and seek is her new favorite game

- The dogs provide lots of entertainment. Annaleigh yells at them until they look at her and then laughs like a maniac

-She also loves the bath tub, espceially when we spray water on her.

This dog isn't safe from the drool (Dutch and Emory, watch out!)

6 Month Portraits

2010-07-07T14:27:00.000-07:00

We were a little late getting Annaleigh's 6 month portraits done, but in the end they turned out too cute! We had a great photographer who even convinced AJ and I to get in the pictures.

One of the few shots where she wasn't eating the flower.

Doesn't she look like a porelain doll? (Though those dolls are creepy and Annaleigh is not)

Our happy family!

6 months

2010-06-22T13:10:00.000-07:00

AJ and I are constantly amazed by how much Annaleigh seems to grow up every day. She is really starting to show her personality more and more! She definitely knows what she wants - and will try her hardest to let you know what that is. This month she has also taken a real interest in the dogs. She loves to lean over the side of her bouncer and look at them, and if either dog gets close enough she will try to grab them. Luckily both dogs have short hair, but Dutch has some extra skin that her little fingers will wrap right around. It is a good thing he is very patient!

Annaleigh also likes some 90's dance moves. When she gets really excited while on her stomach she tries to do the worm!

Here is our peanut (Our 16 pound peanut!) at 6 months...

Father's Day

2010-06-20T12:58:00.000-07:00

On Father's Day AJ got the best present that he could ask for - a whole day with no home improvement projects! He was going to get out of making dinner too, but he couldn't resist the siren's song of the grill. (Actually I just didn't want to hold the baby while wielding the grilling tongs)

For Father's Day Annaleigh was a sweetie and posed beautifully for some pictures for her daddy. She was so good - it was well past her bedtime by the time the photographer got to us, but she smiled the whole time! I think she know that the pictures were for her favorite daddy! She wore her Fender tee shirt and drooled all over AJ's guitar.

Annaleigh is lucky to have such an awesome dad!

Here fishy, fishy, fishy

2010-06-07T14:09:00.000-07:00

Summer is finally here and boy have we been enjoying it! I love being able to stay home with Annaleigh now that school is out. I'm not sure if AJ loves it as much as I do since summer usually means lots of home improvement projects. (We we bought 8 gallons of paint at the Home Depot. eeek!)

When we aren't covered in paint at home we have been spending a lot of time at my parent's house - both because they are super cool and have a pool. Annaleigh seems to take after her parents and be a little fishy.

I bought her a bathing suit when she was about 4 months old - it is supposed to fit babies up to 18 pounds. I think the manufacturers may have mislabeled it since she looked like a baby sausage. As you can see it barely covered her baby boobies.

Here she is in her bathing suit with little horses on it. This one is the nine month size and fits a lot better. (Thanks Uncle Tom and Aunt Karen!) Check out her cool shades.

Annaleigh got a great crab floaty from AJ's parents. It has a sun roof and a little area to splash in - she loves it!

5 months

2010-05-22T15:27:00.000-07:00

Can you believe that our peanut is five months old? I know I can't! The time seems to be flying by - I can't wait for my summer vacation to start so I get to spend more time with her!

As you can see by the pictures Annaleigh definitely likes to boogie. It took about 10 attempts to get one where she was smiling and looking at the camera without fingers in her mouth.

Four fun facts about the fifth month: (A lesson in alliteration)

1: Fingers are fantastic and stop fussing until food is fed. (She loves to suck her thumb)

2: The sweet pea sleeps soundly for seven straight hours at night! (Actually it is 11 hours, but for the sake of the figurative language...)

3: Her tubby tummy needs size two diapers. (I over-bought size one diapers and have been squeezing her into them for a couple weeks. I finally gave in today with about 20 left. Now what to do with the extras?)

4. Bounding in the bright bouncer blocks babies from bawling. (She loves to jump and hit the piano keys in the bouncing chair)

Mother's Day #1

2010-05-12T14:52:00.000-07:00

It was a little surreal to wake up on Mother's Day and realize that I am really a mom. I am responsible for another person, and I'm sure many of you find this a bit frightening. So far I've done pretty well if I do say so myself. I haven't dropped her on her head. I avoided liquor when pregnant. I didn't ride a horse and get thrown off while carrying my unborn child. (MOM!!!) All in all the whole 'mom' thing has been pretty fun. And I got a whole day to myself to celebrate everyone's favorite thing--Me. Annaleigh even made my day by showing me what a great bassoon player she will be.

It was on Mother's Day last year that we told our parents that there was a little one on the way. It is amazing what a difference a year makes! This ultrasound was done on May 6th last year - that blob the arrow is pointing to is the baby.

Mmmm Mmmm good...or not

2010-04-29T15:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Annaleigh first foray into the 'solid' (we use that term loosely when talking about baby food) food arena. I'm not sure if any of the rice cereal wound up actually in her mouth. It is a good thing that bib has a little trough at the bottom to catch the drips. We will try again tomorrow.

Or maybe we will just start to feed her blankets.

We are Family...

2010-04-29T15:05:00.000-07:00

We have had a busy week recently! On Sunday we had Annaleigh baptized, and we were lucky enough to have AJ's parents and my grandma come into town to spend some time with the peanut. AJ's parents came in on Tuesday the 20th. His mom had been here before to see the baby, but this was is dad's first time to see her. Of course, Annaleigh had them both wrapped around her little fingers...just like the rest of her family. My grandma came in the following day, and was just as excited to see her.

Annaleigh and Grandmama

On Saturday we all went to the Oasis, one of my favorite places, for dinner. Annaleigh was a party girl.

We told her not to drink the whole thing. . . light weight.

Chris came too. Doesn't he take a nice picture with his grandma?

On Sunday we had Annaleigh baptized. She was silent through the whole service, and as soon as we went up to the front she decided that she didn't want to be the center of attention. Luckily she settled down by the time the pastor took her. She was very good while he held her. I think that she felt the water and was hoping that it was bath time!

We had some people over to my parent's house afterward. We had some delicious "fried" turkey (made in an infrared fryer) and cake. This was my first attempt with fondant - please ignore the wrinkles.

We had a great week with all our guests - we can't wait to go to NY this summer to visit!

Four months

2010-04-22T14:53:00.000-07:00

I think that this month has been the most exciting one yet - Annaleigh reached her first big milestone - rolling over. it took her a while to get the technique down, but once she got it, there was no stopping her. The night that she finally figured out how to roll over I had her on the floor and looked away for a moment and she had almost barrel rolled into the coffee table! Now she loves to try to roll over on the changing table, the bed, the couch...anything she can fall off of! (Luckily we have avoided that so far)

Annaleigh is also devloping quite a personality. She loves the bath tub- no matter what mood she is in she cheers up as soon as we go in the bathroom. She smiles when she knows we are going to pour water on her, and opens her mouth really wide when her face is washed. She also takes after her parents - she loves music. At church she is silent until the sermon starts, and when she is in her jumper she yells as soon as the music stops. AJ and I have frequent 'discussions' about whether she will be a guitar or double reed player. (I say her tiny hands will fit around an oboe better than a guitar. He tends to disagree)

At her four month appointment she was 13 lbs 10.5 oz and 23.25 inches tall. Are we suprised that she is only in the 10th percentile for her height?

Milestones

2010-04-18T17:34:00.000-07:00

Annaleigh learned to roll over about three weeks ago. Let's just say she learned that feat a lot faster than I learned how to use Movie Maker.

An official Texan

2010-04-12T16:15:00.000-07:00

We recently went to take some official "Texan" pictures of our little girl. Nothing is as cute as babies in bluebonnets, right? Well, our kid thought there was nothing cute about it at first! It was a pretty hot and sunny day, and Annaleigh decided that she wanted nothing to do with the whole thing. She did cheer up towards the end and we got a bunch of cute pictures. (Check out the drool string in the second one!) We are looking forward to next year's pictures - she will probably be walking through the flowers!

Annaleigh's 1st Easter

2010-04-12T15:54:00.000-07:00

Annaleigh's first Easter was a busy one! We did not get to the mall for the requisite screaming baby on the Easter bunny's lap - we will save that treat for next year! On Sunday morning I had to play in the orchestra for two church services, leaving AJ to get Annaleigh dressed and to church without me. I wish that I was able to sit with them during the service, but AJ sat where I could see them. I made sure to point out my cutie to the other members of the orchestra, and it is official - she is the cutest kid ever!
After church we had my parents and our friend Amber over for dinner. We watched some classic TV (no, not the Ten Commandments - The Sound of Music) and had too much food. All in all it was a great day!

Here she is in her Easter dress on Mommy's lap.

Our first Easter as a family of three!

Flip the bird: The act of rotating an avian creature through more than 90 degrees.

2010-03-27T20:09:00.000-07:00

or more likely...

three month portraits

2010-03-27T18:19:00.000-07:00

This IS my first rodeo

2010-03-24T11:37:00.000-07:00

We are making sure to instill in Annaleigh a love of all things horsey-related, so it seemed fitting to take her to the Austin Rodeo last night. (It was also a good excuse for her to wear her bandanna shirt again.) She liked sitting so she could see the arena and all of the rodeo events - every time I turned her around she upset! Grandma took her to look at all of the animals and she attracted more attention then the horses! She even had people taking her picture (further proof that she IS the cutest kid out there) The best part of the night was when she slept through the Doobie Brother's concert after the events!

Here she is with Grandma, sporting some awesome headphones.

3 months

2010-03-22T11:20:00.000-07:00

I can't believe Annaleigh is already three months old! We have had a couple big changes this month - I returned to work (boo) and Annaleigh started sleeping through the night (yea!). We have seen a lot of changes it what she is capable of too. This month she has started to do prop her self up on her arms when lying on her tummy, and she has started to grab objects that are in front of her. Everyday she gets closer and closer to rolling over! We are having a great time watching our little girl grow.

You spin me right round, baby...

2010-03-16T15:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went to my favorite store and picked up this cute tummy time toy. It is a flower shaped mat with an elevated tray thingy in the center. You put the baby on her tummy in the center and then she can spin around and play with all of the fun stuff on the mat. Annaleigh had a blast with it! Her favorite parts are the leaves and butterfly wings that crinkle when you grab them.

Daddy, I told you it didn't fit.

2010-03-15T12:47:00.000-07:00

Yee-Haw!

2010-03-12T12:35:00.000-08:00

Thursday was World Cultures night at DeepWood. All of the kids and teachers dress up and come to school to celebrate and learn about cultures from around the world. The fourth grade students spend the year learning about Texas history in Social Studies, and the cultures of North America in their specials classes. On World Cultures night the fourth grade kids all dress in their western gear and square dance in the gym. Annaleigh is a bit young for the square dancing part, but she did rock this bandanna shirt that her super-cool mommy made.

2 months!

2010-02-22T18:26:00.000-08:00

It is amazing how much Annaleigh has changed in the last two months - when we brought her home she ate and slept (good thing too!), now she keeps us constantly entertained!

At her two month appointment, she weighed 11 pounds 2 ounces and was 21 inches long. This month she did the most exciting thing yet - she started to smile! She loves to smile at Mommy and Daddy, and occasionally gives us a laugh too. Annaleigh has started to reach for things that hang above her. She has a bouncy chair with animals above it, and she loves to stare at the animals and try to grab them. She also plays the "kissy game" I give her kisses on her cheek and then bring her face to mine and right before making contact she opens her mouth! (I'm sure she is hoping for food, but I prefer to think that she is giving kisses.) Her favorite place at night is the "nook" - snuggled in Daddy's arms.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-16T11:16:00.001-08:00

We are working towards evening the ranks

2010-02-08T14:04:00.000-08:00

Some people may not know, but here at the Inzana house, we have lots of pets. In fact, animals in the house used to out number AJ and me three to one! (not including the horses!) Since bringing Annaleigh home, we are now only two to one. The animals have been quietly making their opinion of our new addition very clear.

I'm pretty sure this item is meant for the baby to play on, not as a cat bed...

Dutch is still not sure why we need another human. "Wouldn't a dog be better?"-- Dutch
Theodore has nothing but disdain for the creature that is taking up his personal lap space.

Say Cheese!

2010-02-07T17:52:00.000-08:00

This week Annaleigh reached one of the most exciting milestones yet! We have seen lots of smiles on our little girl, but they usually seem to coincide with suspicious noises coming from the diaper area. This week, she has started to smile at both AJ and me when we talk to her! I have found that I will do just about anything to see that adorable smile!

Here she is modeling one of my favorite outfits and showing that beautiful smile!

Guess who dressed me?

2010-02-07T17:48:00.001-08:00

Yes, I have buttons on the front and ruffles on the back...

**Hint: It wasn't Mommy**

The many faces of Annaleigh

2010-02-03T11:37:00.000-08:00

The "I'm not sure what is happening here"
The "I'm easily distracted like my daddy"

The "I'll go Chuck Norris on your ass"

The "Climb the rock wall"

The "Gazing into the distance"

What a goof.

One month!

2010-01-22T11:25:00.000-08:00

I can't believe we have been parents for a whole month! In some ways it feels like Annaleigh was born yesterday, but already we can't imagine our lives without her! This month has taught us a lot of lessons...

1. You CAN live on three hour naps

2. No matter how tired your arms get you still want to hold the baby

3. Girls can pee everywhere too

4. Pregnant ladies eat ALL THE TIME because their babies want to eat ALL THE TIME

5. There is nothing on TV at 3 am but infomercials

6. No matter how long you wait after feeding her, she will still spit up all over that cute outfit

We are so excited to watch our baby grow!

Check out my new kicks

2010-01-18T20:02:00.000-08:00

Thanks Stephanie and Megan! I'm styling now! --Annaleigh

Hey there handsome!

2010-01-18T19:51:00.000-08:00

The Kruger's and Ibarra's came over recently to visit our new addition. Braden, (who just recently turned 1!) was pretty interested in a person even smaller than him!

Annaleigh looks less than impressed, but really she is thinking "I'd share my pacifier with him any day!"

Happy (2 week) birthday baby!

2010-01-05T15:45:00.000-08:00

Annaleigh is a whole 2 weeks old today! We had our two week appointment today at the doctor's office. She now weighs 7lbs 15.5 ounces - a whole pound gained since last week- and is 19 inches long. She also had to have her heel pricked for a blood test. After having to hold her while she screamed bloody murder for 5 minutes makes me consider sending Grams to her 2 month appointment for the first round of immunizations! The good thing was she soon forgot about it, but Mommy and Daddy have much longer memories...

After our appointment, we accompanied Daddy to one of his favorite places - Chinese Buffet! Annaleigh slept through lunch leaving everyone able to eat with TWO HANDS! We also got some pictures of her with a normal-looking mom.

Jeepers creepers, where'd you get those peepers?

2010-01-04T15:39:00.000-08:00

Just to let you know, our peanut does have eyes, though they are usually closed! They are a beautiful blue, and as the days go by we get to see more and more of them. Isn't she pretty?

rub a dub dub

2010-01-04T15:27:00.000-08:00

Annaleigh had her first bath in her bathtub today!

At first she was scared...

then she decided cleanliness was overrated...

Finally, she thought about it and realized it wan't so bad.

Final product: Clean baby!

1 week

2010-01-02T16:36:00.000-08:00

I know I'm a bit late, (I've found that I like to sleep like a newborn...all the time) but here is our peanut at 1 week. to commemorate this exciting day, a list of 1 week milestones:

0: Nights spent in the cradle

1: diaper that was poop-free

2: car rides

3: loads of baby laundry done (after 5 days home)

4: number of nighties worn the first night home (she has an uncontrollable pee-er)

5: smooches from the dogs (eww)

6: lbs 15.5 oz: weight at 1 week appointment

Everyday we are more amazed at what a sweet blessing we have been given!

NEW ARRIVAL!

2009-12-25T20:53:00.000-08:00

She is here!

Annaleigh Rae Inzana

12/22/09

3:06 pm

6lbs 14oz, 18.5 in

Giggidy Giggidy Goo Goo Ga Ga

2009-12-04T19:59:00.000-08:00

Here in the house of sophistication we watch only high brow television shows like "Family Guy". If you are a fan of this particularly esoteric program, you will fully appreciate the following:

From: http://www.fox.com/

Episode Recap: When Quagmire assumes responsibility for a baby who looks just like him , he quickly realizes he is in over his head.

This may seem like nothing, but were surprised (read: horrified) when Quagmire, the pervy-est character ever imagined, decides to name his child Analee. For those of you who don't know, AJ and I spent a lot of time discussing names that were not too common - and finally decided on the same name as the character who has wonderful moments like this:

"Hello, 911? It's Quagmire. Yeah, it's caught in the window this time."

(Analee- and any variation of- do not even register on the Social Security Baby name list) Of course, the predictable jokes ensure; Quagmire trying to score while the baby cries and of course an "Anal-ee" comment or two. (Luckily we have decided on the less joke-inspiring spelling of "Annaleigh")

I thought that perhaps AJ would find this to be a sign that we picked the best baby name ever (he laughs at Quagmire so hard I think he might pee himself), but he showed remarkable paternal feeling, and was appal ed by the whole thing. Thank goodness Quagmire comes to his senses and gives the poor child up for adoption- only to end the show with, "Maybe I'll see her again in 18 years...giggidy, giggidy". Yuck.

it keeps growing and growing and growing...

2009-10-27T16:20:00.000-07:00

In case you haven't been lucky enough to witness the chub that is now my belly, here is a brief pictorial summary of the past almost 8(!!!!!) months!
I actually thought this qualified as a belly - lets say my perspective has changed.

During the "That girl needs to lay off the wings" stage.

The "I think she is pregnant, but I don't want to get hit if I ask her when she is due" stage.

Whoa! How brave am I to put a bare belly pic on the Internet?

How you know your husband is ready for kids...

2009-10-08T15:48:00.000-07:00

1. Now when he smiles at a baby, it's first reaction isn't to scream bloody murder.
2. After putting together the crib he comments: "I think that we need some steel beams for reinforcement on the bottom."
3. He refuses to relinquish control of the scanner when registering at BOTH Target and Babys R Us.
4. Therefore, you find things on the registry that you never even saw...nor wanted
5. Stroller shopping includes getting a Kelly Blue Book value rating.
6. He doesn't roll his eyes when looking at baby clothes.
7. The car restoration is no longer priority one.
8. You actually have disagreements over baby hats with bear ears versus baby hats with rabbit ears.
9. He doesn't complain about cat pan duty.
10. He now likes a fat belly.