Birthday Celebrations

After getting caught up on posts from vacation it seems I was a bit blogged out and I've pretty much neglected the month of August. In an attempt to get caught up before we leave for an out of town wedding this weekend I'm going to try and get caught up again.

It seems that August 16th is a very special day since there are three important people in my life who were born that day. Hailie, Lindsey (my roommate all through college), and Brian. We weren't able to celebrate with Brian but we did get to celebrate with Hailie and Lindsey.

Kevin, Anna, and I headed over to my parents house for dinner, cake, and gifts. This is the first birthday we've been in town for since Hailie's 5th b-day and I was so glad we could be there.

The birthday girl and Anna

 Hailie is very much into zebra print right now so many of her gifts consisted of zebra print items. Luckily for us zebra is popular right now and it wasn't difficult to find items to please her.

Hailie also requested a zebra cake. I made an attempt at it and while there are some improvements I plan to make next time it at least had stripes!

I don't think this photo was taken that night but I thought I'd include it. TWO kinds of chips...can life get any better?

Happy 12th Birthday Hailie! We love you so much! 

Later that evening we headed out for a surprise birthday party for Lindsey. Lindsey is currently living in Denver but was back for the weekend. It was great seeing her although we didn't really get a chance to talk to her as much as I would have liked since there were so many other people excited to see her as well.

The picture we took with her didn't turn out very well but we managed to get one with our friends Ryan and Kara. They drove in from Emporia for the party and it was fantastic getting the opportunity to catch up with them. The last time Kara and I got together we had our girls with us so it was nice having a chance to talk baby-free.

Kara and I enjoying a "Loopsey Loo"... Lindsey's signature party drink.

Ithaca Waterfalls

We really wanted to check out some of the waterfalls around Ithaca during our stay. The night before there had been some rain so all the falls were booming when we went to check them out.

This first one is Ithaca Falls and it is practically in downtown Ithaca. Moria told us she can usually get much closer but we stayed back because of the wind and mist.

The next one was a little further away. You can walk down much closer but the stairs had lots of standing water and Anna fell asleep so she was with Brian in the car while we took a look. 

Laughingstock Falls

 Next stop on our little tour was Cayuga Lake...the longest of the Finger Lakes.

Family photo

 Moria and Brian with their little flower girl. Anna was destined to be in the wedding since before birth!

Anna warmed up almost instantly with these two and it was so fun watching Brian and Moria play with her. 

We even had time to stop by Robert H Treman State Park which is where Brian and Moria's wedding reception will be held. It's a fall wedding and I'm looking forward to coming back to see the colors changing!

Normally this waterfall leads to a swimming area but with the rain it was definitely closed. The falls were bringing lots of rocks down and the area around the lifeguards chair was just covered. I wouldn't want to be in there anyway! 

After our tour of the beauty surrounding Ithaca we got cleaned up to head out to dinner. We went to Bandwagon Brewpub which was in downtown Ithaca and only a short walk from where Brian and Moria live. Anna seemed to enjoy the walk.

Our flight left early the next morning and we were sad to leave. It was awesome that it worked out for us to go back with these two for a little extra time together. We're so glad that we'll get to see them again in just a few months! Thanks Brian and Moria for having us!

Next Stop....Ithaca!

After the wedding Kevin, Anna, and I were headed to Ithaca, NY with Brian and Moria to stay for a few days. Before leaving Vermont though we made a stop at a maple syrup museum. A bunch of people from the wedding went as well so it was fun hanging out for that much longer!

The museum itself was just okay (Kevin seemed to like it quite a bit but I found it a little bit corny). One thing we could all agree on though was that the best part was the samples at the end. It wasn't all sweets and included a few savory items as well but we were all pretty sugared up by the time we left.

The drive from Vermont to New York wasn't a terribly long drive but it felt longer with a baby in tow. 5 plus hours is the longest car ride Anna has been on and she was pretty ready to get out of the car. The next day, although we were pretty tired, was nice because we didn't have to be anywhere in particular. Just had the chance to enjoy the company of our great friends and meet their dog, Strider.

Hanging out by the water!

 We went for a walk with Strider and made a stop to do a little swimming. The water was a little chilly for Anna but that didn't stop the doggie!

Go Strider Go!

 It was nice having some time to visit. We hadn't seen these guys since Christmas. I think they enjoyed playing with Anna. She was only a month old last time and has obviously changed a ton in the last 6 months!

Gimme that!

Anna is pretty used to dogs since we are currently living with three of them but Strider wasn't quite sure what to think of this tiny person. 

He was pretty curious though and he seemed to learn to relax a little more the longer we were there. 

Anna was just loving the couch and loved staring down Moria.

Hanging out and enjoying Brian's latest home brew.

 

8 Months!

Anna is 8 months old now! We've seen lots of changes in our little bug this month.

While Anna has been sitting up for quite some time now she is so incredibly stable now. She doesn't really ever fall anymore unless she is reaching behind for an object and loses her balance and even that isn't very often. 

While she isn't crawling quite yet we think it could happen anytime. She leans forward and gets one leg back and will rock back and forth. Where she runs into trouble is with that second leg and by the time she gets it under her she falls to her belly. We are reminded to enjoy it because once she starts we will really be in for it!

Early on this last month I noticed her carefully examining her hands. Since then I've noticed a huge improvement in her hand-eye coordination. Anna truly enjoys using these new skills to play with lids, cups, and bowls. They can keep her entertained for a very long time.

Our little babbler has been saying both mama and dada a lot but it is still pretty indiscriminate. We look forward to the day when we KNOW 100% she is directing it towards us. Anna has also been using her lungs to screech and scream in delight. You can go back and forth sometimes which is pretty fun. 

During our vacation Anna started the bouncing up and down in excitement which we absolutely love. It's nice being able to tell when she is truly pleased with something! I wouldn't be surprised if it turned into a scoot one of these days but we will have to see. 

We're also in the stage where you wish you'd majored in professional baby wrestling. This bug hits the changing table and immediately wants on her belly. You try and hold her in place and there is some major twisting going on. Pair that with a poopy diaper and you know you're in for it :)

Anna also started clapping and now it seems she can't get enough of it. We can sometimes get her to do it in response to something specific which is fun but since basically she just claps whenever she is happy so it's quite a bit. 

Clap those hands!

Right at 8 months and Anna has just now begun teething. It started last weekend and it seems like it may be the bottom right tooth but nothing yet. It's strange talking to people with much younger babies that already have several teeth. Daddy didn't get teeth until after a year though. I'm counting myself lucky since I'm still nursing!

Her objections to getting something taken away from her have gotten much louder and involve mini fits. Usually they go away pretty quickly but it's funny how she shows her anger now!

It's been such a fun month and we're excited to see what the next month brings!

S & J's Wedding Day

After a wonderful nights rest we were ready for Sarah and Jonathan's big day!

The wedding and reception were at the house where Sarah grew up. There was a hayride organized to take everyone from the hotels to the house but I got dropped off a little early with Anna. Even though I missed out on the ride it was nice having a chance to visit with Sarah while she was finishing up getting ready.

 

Hayride fun!

Sarah's parents were kind enough to let us have a room where we could put Anna down for naps. We brought our monitor too so we were able to still enjoy the festivities. 

They really lucked out on the weather. It had rained the night before and even that morning but it cleared out in plenty of time for the wedding. It was still hot but not nearly as hot as the day before which made being outside much more enjoyable.

They Newlyweds!

It was wonderful having the flexibility with Anna and we had so much fun celebrating with everyone.

Anna did well with getting passed around all of our friends and was so good for us. Everyone was so surprised that she was able to sleep through all of the noise but I think they are underestimating the power of a loud fan!

One of the coolest parts of the reception (besides the wedding cake that Sarah made herself) was Sarah and Jonathan's first dance. They had a Stanford friend compose a slower piano version of Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" that was incredible. This is Sarah's all time favorite song and it only seemed fitting that it would be their first dance.

It was a great wedding and I can't express enough how wonderful it was to see so many California buddies. Luckily we have two more weddings still this year where we will get to see even more of them!