Playdate

Anna and her friend Alessia taking turns in the stroller*

*I'm pretty sure this stroller was not made to withstand 25 lb toddlers but they were having so much fun!

Behind the wheel

Last night Todd called me out to the driveway to see "something really cute." And he was right. It seems that Anna has been watching our every move from her carseat, filing her observations away until she finally had a chance to get in the driver seat and give it a try. She spent most of the time adjusting the mirrors and then, of course, had to see what tunes were on the radio.

I'm so glad we had the video camera handy.

New toy

Taking baby doll Georgia ("Gee-gee") for a spin.   Please note the crazy, post-nap hair.  It's getting totally unmanageable.  Emily and I tried out a few different hair products on Anna the other day, but nothing seemed to be able to tame this blonde poof!

Breakthrough!

Anna had a walking breakthrough last week when Emily and Océanne were over for lunch. I was in the kitchen and Anna walked over to me from the living room all by herself - completely unprompted! My back was turned so I missed it but Emily saw it happen out of the corner of her eye. We started clapping and cheering each time she walked so now that's what she does too. I'll turn around and she's just standing there, clapping her hands and saying "yay!" It's so cute I can't stand it.

Anna's still not walking all the time but I think it's mostly because she's not feeling very well and is extra clingy. She has four molars coming in at once and is fighting a little virus on top of that. That can't feel good.

Nana and Papa came to town!

The last couple of weeks have been busy and fun! My parents came to visit and meet little Océanne. The timing was perfect as we were able to spend Mother's Day together. We celebrated by having a picnic on the beach in Sausalito. It was Océanne's first outing and she did great!

The Moms

The Cousins

Anna loved having her Nana and Papa around. In between visits to Océanne's house we've been having lots of fun showing them her favorite activities, including a visit to the Discovery Museum.

The "lily pond"

Fish!

But mostly we've all been doing a lot of baby holding. Océanne is the sweetest little thing...

Proud Nana

Proud Papa

Proud Mama

It's a girl!

Welcome to the world, Océanne Marie!

Emily gave birth to a beautiful baby girl early this morning. Her name is Océanne Marie Sarrazin (pronounced "Oh-say-on") and she weighs 7 lbs 2 oz and is 18 inches long. As you can see she has a thick head of hair and is quite lovely. Both she and Emily are happy and healthy!

Congratulations Ben and Emily!

Nosedive

Poor Anna. She took a nosedive onto the carpet and got her first rug burn. Ouch! She was actually taking a few steps on her own when it happened. Todd and I were cheering like she had won the Superbowl or something and I think she may have gotten a little too excited, tripped and was unable to catch herself.

I know it's only the first of many boo-boos to come - especially once she really starts walking - but it was heartbreaking to watch all the same.

Normal, everyday stuff

Nothing very momentous to write about this week which means Anna still isn't walking! Here are some highlights from the past couple weeks:

• Her first two molars are cutting through on top
• She started eating peanut butter and loves it
• When asked, she now points to her nose, belly, mouth, and toes
• Words: mama, dada, ball, hi, bye, "nana" for banana, "sshh" for shoes
• Words that only a parent could understand: kitty, dog, and belly which sounds more like "bow"

Now we're anxiously awaiting the arrival of Anna's first cousin. Emily's due date is May 14th and she looks fantastic!

Showing Auntie Em the fish at the Discovery Museum

Dressed up for Erica & Maher's wedding in the city this past weekend.

Airplane Anna

Catch and Release

One of our favorite places to go these days is the Bay Area Discovery Museum in Sausalito. They have a special area just for toddlers and Anna loves to play in the stream with the fake, but very realistic looking fish! Here are a few pictures from this afternoon.

Ball

"Ball" is one of Anna's favorite words. So far it's the clearest and most easily understood word in her little vocabulary. I've been trying to capture it on video for while now but Anna usually clams up as soon as she sees the camera. We caught her by surprise the other morning. Here it is!

Anna still hasn't taken those first steps alone but she loves to walk everywhere with our assistance. I can tell her legs are getting stronger and her balance is improving so I have a feeling it won't be long.

Easter

We had a lovely Easter brunch over at the West's house yesterday. Anna wore her new dress from Nana and we managed to get in a few pictures before changing her into a more "crawling-friendly" outfit. Later, everyone headed down to the park for a little Easter egg hunt and basketball. What a fun, sunny day!

Sitting pretty.

Auntie Em and Uncle Ben

"You're mine, egg."

"Almost got it..."

"Yeah. I'm pretty good at this."

Surprisingly, nobody broke their ankle playing in flip-flops.

Birthday Video Highlights

(have patience - it requires a bit of buffering)

Playing Dress-up

I couldn't resist putting Anna in her new tutu this morning. Thanks Laurie and Marissa for the adorable birthday gift!

Anna turns one!

What a weekend! We had so much fun celebrating Anna's first birthday. My parents flew in from North Carolina, Todd's mom came from Florida, and Todd's sister Lee flew in from Phoenix. On Saturday we had a party for friends and family at our house. It was a beautiful day - just like the day Anna was born!

Here are some of her current stats:
- weight 23 lbs 8 oz
- height 30 1/2 inches (please note this is almost half my height!)
- sleeps from 6:30pm - 7:30am
- naps twice a day for about 1 1/2 hrs each
- favorite foods: cheerios, cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, broccoli, banana, and cantaloupe
- favorite toys: kitty, cell phones
- says "mama" and "bye-bye" (with a wave)
- cruises all over the house and can stand on her own for approximately one second
- has eight teeth - four on bottom and four on top

Anna and I went for a walk in Tennessee Valley this afternoon. It was a gorgeous day. Three more days until her first birthday!

Dance Party

I don't know exactly when or how it started, but "Eminence Front" by The Who has become our nightly dance party soundtrack. Anna just recently started to dance on her own (assisted by her trusty walker, of course) and we caught it on video the other night. If you're wondering what's in her hand it's a packet of formula that she did not want to give up!

Walking her socks off... sort of.

Spring Fever

We took advantage of the beautiful weather last weekend and headed outdoors...

Anna at Muir Beach (eating, surprisingly, very little sand)

"Toonces," Anna's favorite new toy.

Shannon & Ella, heading out to Tennessee Beach

The Sisters Mann

Emily at 26 weeks.

Julie & Natalie

Sweet little Natalie

11 Months

Here's our little girl at 11 months. I can't believe it's been almost a year since Anna was born. I'll probably be saying that a lot this month! She has six teeth and two more breaking through on top. She's getting more and more curious - especially about anything behind closed doors or drawers. She's also cruising around the furniture and using her little walker - practicing for the big day.

January was our breakthrough month in terms of sleeping through the night. So far we've had 31 days of Anna sleeping from 6:30pm to 7:30am - but who's counting? Ahh...I almost forgot what it was like to get so much sleep!