Beenie baby

As we were preparing to brave the cold weather of the North on our trip to Michigan, I was trying hats on Anna. As a pregnant lady this time last year, I got hit with the "nesting" bug and decided to knit Anna a hat (seen here). I tried it on her in the hospital the day she was born, and it covered her whole head (face included). So, I assumed we would wait and use this hat this fall/winter. Yeah...maybe not. Although Anna's petite little body keeps her in the 10th percentile weight-wise, she does have a 95th percentile head. Smarty pants.

Four generations of Baggermans

In the final posting of our trip to Michigan, we had to capture this wonderful picture (the photo's not great, but the moment was!) of FOUR generations of Baggermans!! Pictured here are Lisa (aka Auntie Lees), Finn, Grandpa Baggerman, Grandma Baggerman, Clint (aka Daddy), Anna, and Pete (aka Grandpa).

We are family...

Anna had such fun hanging out with the Baggerman family in Michigan! Here she is at the dinner honoring Grandma Baggerman's 90th birthday with (l-r, t-b) Auntie Lees and Uncle Shawn, Uncle Thom and Aunt Laurel, Melanie (Clint's cousin..Anna's second cousin), and with us and Grandma.

Kissin' cousins

Anna truly enjoyed getting to meet her cousin, Finn, on our adventure north last weekend. Given her limited verbal skills at this age, she decided that the most appropriate way to express her love for him was to just grab his head, lunge at him, and plant a big wet one on his forehead.

Luckily for her, Finn's a bit of a lover himself so happily accepted her affection. In his zeal to return this kiss, a few teeth kind of got in the way and he gave her a bit of a nibble. Oh well...I think she understood what he was trying to say.

He did attempt to make amends the next day with a peace offering (no pun intended).

Bonding with her great grandparents

Anna had such a great time meeting her wonderful great grandparents in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Here she is at Grandma's birthday dinner (top) and at Aunt Mary's house (middle and bottom).

These boots were made for walkin...

...or, at least for attempting to crawl.

While her affection for these boots was short-lived (we didn't even make it out of the state of Illinois with them still on), she definitely liked them at first! We didn't quite get the snow we were expecting so the snow boots may have been a little bit of overkill, but they were cute just the same!

Executive breakfast

In our effort to streamline our packing, we (of course) did not pack a travel highchair for Anna. But, she was able to make do just fine eating her meals in the "executive" chair in the hotel room. I think we may have a future CEO on our hands...

First flight

Anna went on her first "cross-country" trip this weekend...to Michigan (by way of Chicago) to meet and visit Clint's family for his grandmother's 90th birthday celebration! It was such a great weekend that I'll be posting pictures/anedotes from the weekend for the next few days. These are just the first of the pics!

This is Anna in the airport security line, and then with me on the airplane. She was a trooper for the whole flight! She slept for about an hour, and then just played and ate the rest of the trip. She got a little agitated at the end, but that was most likely because of her little ears and the pressure changes. Overall, she was a great flyer! (At least for the trip to Chicago...we won't talk about the trip home...we're trying to make that part of our distant memory...).

Too much Halloween fun...

After joyfully greeting about four groups of trick-or-treaters at the door in her monkey costume, Anna quickly came to the conclusion that the Old Navy infant costumes are in fact made for northern babies where its cold on Halloween. That monkey costume was a bit warm for our Texas climate! So, she was none too upset when we decided to strip her down and let her eat dinner au natural.

Happy Halloween!!

Our little monkey wishes you a swingin' Halloween!

Pumpkin Patch

Ok, here are the requisite "baby in the pumpkin patch" pictures that every child must have. Don't worry...there will be the requisite "baby in the bluebonnets" pic in the spring...:-)

Seriously, though, Anna had such fun "helping us" pick out a few pumpkins at our local church. We waited til the last minute this year so didn't quite get them carved into jack-o-lanterns...maybe next year...

Bloom where you're planted

This is the Halloween costume that didn't quite make the cut. But, I thought it was too cute to not at least get a photo before I returned it...

Baby on Board(walk)

Anna had such fun this weekend with Grammie and Grandpa here to visit! We went to the Kemah Boardwalk to celebrate Grandpa's birthday (pic above), did a little shopping for a winter coat (photo to come soon!), and did a lot of hanging out around the house...

Fall Carnival

Anna had such fun at the Fall Carnival at her school this Friday! Here she is enjoying the festivities with her teachers--Ms. Teresa, Ms. Sandra, and Ms. Teresa. She was so happy to see them (I didn't work on Friday so she had been at home all day)...they have made such a difference in making this whole "leaving Anna at school while I go to work" thing successful!

Kickin' the khakis

I don't know why, but I just love Anna in her little bitty khaki pants! Here she is showing off not only her stylin' trousers, but also her new favorite position as she tries to transition from sitting up to crawling. She hasn't quite yet mastered getting from the sitting position to her hands and knees, but she's getting closer and closer everyday!

Every girl needs a favorite pair of jeans...

...and, since mine are still on the "goal-clothes-to-fit-into-once-I-lose-all-this-baby-weight" shelf of my closet, I'm just going to enjoy Anna's with her! She's fully appreciating our first real cool front of the fall by sporting her long-sleeves and jeans--she didn't even know it got this chilly outside!

Breakfast with Nana

We had a wonderful time with Nana during her visit this last weekend. Anna had her first adventures (at Mely's and, pictured above, Cracker Barrel) with sitting in a high chair and eating like a "big girl" at a restaurant! She did fabulously! We don't think she's quite ready for chips and salsa at Mely's yet, but she was pretty content with puffs and pear juice...

Miss Independent

Anna is growing up right before our eyes! She's decided that its much more entertaining to feed herself than for us to feed her. She's mastered the "puffs", and now is taking on the challenge of the sippy cup...

Go Texans!

Anna's enjoying football season almost as much as her dad is! She and Daddy cheered on the Texans yesterday. I don't mean to overestimate the powers of an almost 7-month old, but this is the first week that she wore her Texans outfit...and, its the first week that they won. Coincidence? I find that a little hard to believe...

And, Anna's no fair-weather fan...she loves the Texans even when they're a "little behind"...

Cousins

Anna had a wonderful time last weekend celebrating Grammie's birthday at Grammie and Grandpa's house with her cousins Sydney and Natalie. The girls out on a walk with Grandpa. (Sorry for the fog in this pic...I just thought it was too cute not to post)

Anna getting some love from Sydney...we can tell already that Sydney is going to be the "big sister" to Anna. Anna's a lucky girl...

Babies and daddies...here's Natalie with her father ("Uncle Roger") and Anna and Daddy.

P.S.--sorry for the long time between posts. I've gone back to work now (part-time, at least), and am still figuring out the whole "time management" thing with work and my real life...