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...

Party Girl!

Anna went to her first ever birthday party this weekend! Her buddy (and future prom date) Matthew Broome turned one on Saturday...

The girls--Anna with Melanie (aka "Nanny Mel") and Emily (Matthew's sister)

Anna with the birthday boy himself and Joey (Matthew's proud papa)

The "Super Fly Hoochie Mamas"....now pretty much just "mamas"! Mandy with her adorable little ones--Matthew and Emily...Anna and me...Whitney with her new beautiful bundle of joy, Owen!

Highchair happiness

Anna had her first meal in a highchair today! She's starting sitting up on her own for short periods of time, and sitting with a little assistance really well, so we decided it was time to graduate from having dinner in the swing to the highchair! The first picture is from when Clint first built the chair and let Anna try it out...she thought it was the neatest thing ever! And, the second picture is her first meal in the highchair. She seems to like the chair, and definitely has room to grow into it!

Happy Half Birthday, Half Pint!

"I turned 6 months old today, and all I got was a mouthful of squash?"

Sorry DoodleBug...I tried my best to come up with a cake recipe using your current palette of "baby approved foods", but there's just a limited amount of things you can do with rice cereal, mangos, and green beans! :-) Six more months, sweetie, and you can stick your whole face in your birthday cake...

Go Jackets!

"...if I have a daughter, sir, I'll dress her in white and gold. Bring her on the campus, to cheer the brave and bold..."

(please forgive any incorrect words to that segment of the Georgia Tech fight song...this is the "non-yellow jacket" posting this pic...)

Clint and Anna enjoyed some serious father-daughter bonding time during Georgia Tech's first football game of the season. This has been a much-anticipated event in our house (I think Clint's been counting the days since...well...the end of college bowl season last year...). While GT didn't quite pull out the win against (#2 ranked) Notre Dame, they did have a good showing. And, Anna got to experience the "other Daddy" that Clint turns into while intensely watching sports. The yelling startled her at first, but then she kind of got into it! I think we may have a little sports fan on our hands...

Brown-eyed girl

We can't tell for sure yet what color Anna's eyes are going to be (hazel? green? brown?), but they are definitely getting darker than the blue eyes she was born with. Her eyes and that smile definitely melt Mommy and Daddy's heart, though...

Ole!

To ensure that Anna shares our undying love of Mexican food, we decided we should introduce her to "baby guacamole" at an early age. It was really just mushed up avocados...we decided we should wait to add the jalapenos and tomatoes til she's a few months older.

We think next week we'll try some picante sauce...

School days

Yesterday was Anna's first day of "school" (ok, ok...its really just child care, but calling it "school" somehow makes me feeling better about it...:-) ). Here she is in her new dress, with her first lunch box (fully stocked with bottles and pureed pears!) and backpack (aka diaper bag).

I think yesterday was definitely harder on Clint and me than it was on her! Her teachers said that she did really well--they said she had the normal "first day" fussiness for a little while, but overall seemed to have a good time. We hope that she really enjoys school and that it helps her to make new friends and enjoy new surroundings!

Fan me...

Anna is a girl of simple requests...I mean, what baby doesn't need to be cooled with a little portable fan while she naps in the back of the car?

"Deans" List

Anna was blessed to meet her great grandmother, and namesake, yesterday in Caldwell, TX. My mom and dad (Grammie and Grandpa) went with me to introduce Anna to Grannie. Anna's middle name--Dean--is Grannie's maiden name (Bernice Dean Williams). Dean is also my mother's middle name (Joan Dean Williams Ramsey) and my middle name (Susan Dean Ramsey Baggerman). What a treasure to have all of the Deans together yesterday!