Anna's First Birthday

 Anna as a newborn.

Anna at 6 months.

 Anna at a year. 

Anna turned 1 on the 22nd. My how the time has flown by.  Anna is a sweet and happy baby.  I know this sounds contradictary but she can also be mean and she knows what she wants.  When Anna has thought of something naughty to get into I see a spark in her eyes and a smile starts to form. She then looks at me and shakes her head "no" before she decides to do the naughty thing.  She knows what she wants and is pretty good at communicating her wants.  I think this will make me want to scream at times but I think it will be a good quality as an adult.  Anna is now choosing to walk more than crawl. She has had the ability to walk for a while now but on her birthday decided she would walk more consistently.  She loves to get people's attention.  She will wave or yell at them until she gets a reaction from them.  Anna is usually a momma's girl, and will not go to the nursery at church.  Anna can say mamma, dada, uh-oh, ow, Anna, and hi. Sometimes I hear baba, Abigail, Sarah, and she will point her finger and yell something that sounds like no.  She is pretty picky about her food but usually loves whatever is on my plate (even if it is the same thing as hers.)  Anna loves her sisters and always wants to play with them. She thinks she is big stuff.  She has also been my cuddliest  baby and I love that.  She has a little blankie that she will snuggle up with when you give it to her.  She has added so much joy to our family and we all love her so much.

I thought it would be fun to compare the girls at one year.

Abigail



Anna



Sarah



Sarah is 4

Sarah is 4 years old today.  I know it is cliche but life goes by so fast.  Sarah is such a sweet girl.  She loves to play by herself with little tiny toys.  She usually chooses a small object for the day and plays with it all day.  Especially when Abigail is in school Sarah will go in her room and play for a long time by herself.  When I have gone in to play with her I am usually kicked out of the room.  Right now her favorite toys are squinkies.  They are so small and I never in a hundred years would have thought kids like to play with toys like that. I guess that is why I am not a millionaire.  Sarah is very creative. She does not think linearly like Josh and I.  Sarah is a home body and will almost always rather stay home than go anywhere.  Instead of going to dinner tonight she told me "I want peanut butter and jelly tonight, on my next birthday I can go to McDonalds." For her birthday she wanted everything. When I explained to her that everything wouldn't fit in our house she quickly responded "that's okay we can sleep at our neighbor Ashlynn's house."  I am a little afraid that she might be featured on the show Hoarders one day.  This made buying for her easy though because she was so grateful and excited about everything she received. She keeps telling me her birthday was so fun and that she loves all her presents.  She has matured so much this year and the drama has lightened up.  She refuses to wear jeans and loves to wear shoes.  Her favorite food is peanut butter and jelly.  She has gone from a big 8lb 10 oz baby to being a petite little girl... from crying all the time to giving more hugs and smiles.  She could not wait to get a booster seat for the car and feels so big that she gets one now.  I can not wait to see how she will grow next year although this year could go a little slower. I am not ready for her to leave preschool.