We're having.....

A Girl!!!!

We're so excited that Anna will be having a baby sister. I wanted to post this along with a 20 week belly shot and a cute picture of Anna around pink balloons but we've been so busy with the house that it just hasn't happened. 

Profile shot of our little girl

Everything looked great with the baby and at the ultrasound she was measuring 10oz and was right on her estimated due date. 

Her little foot!

 We actually got to see this new baby giving us a thumbs up and the tech got a picture but it wasn't as good as seeing it in person. 

I'm almost 22 weeks along now and so far everything is going very well. At my next appointment they will check my amniotic fluid just to make sure but we're optimistic that everything will be just fine. I'm definitely feeling more pregnant than I did at this point last time. I feel bigger and much more tired...probably from chasing Anna around all the time! Kevin has been staying late at the house working on projects and we'll both be relieved once we get moved and start to get settled in our new place. Getting rid of the commute will be amazing!

Walking Walking Walking

While Anna took her first solo steps mid December it was a few weeks ago that she really took off and is now walking all over the place. This video is just a short one. We have better videos from our video camera but they are all longer and whenever I try to trim them down blogger won't let me load them. Oh well...

After Anna first took her first steps I started trying to get pictures of it but it hasn't been easy. At first there just weren't very many of them and catching her at it was a challenge. Then she was taking more steps but would practically attack the camera making it difficult in a different way. It's much easier now that she can walk all around. 

Hi Mommy!

 We love watching this little lady get around and explore things in a new way. It is also a bit exhausting sometimes though too. Even though I'm not getting as much exercise right now (between a toddler and the cold weather) she definitely keeps me moving!

In addition to walking , Anna has also started to talk more. She can say da (dog), dada, mama (although it's usually in reference to Maddie...her stuffed dog and the Kent's husky), eyes, button, baby, bow, ball, and ba (bottle). She's also attempting to sound out all kinds of other words so I think our list is going to grow a lot in the next month.  It's so fun seeing her recognize things and point them out when you say them. She is so curious about everything around her and it is amazing watching her grow and learn. 

Just watching some basketball!

 We've also gotten a glimpse of Anna's little temper. She can throw a pretty good fit when she doesn't get her way which has been "fun" to deal with. Overall though she is a really good baby and does well when we go to the store, out to eat, etc. 

This last month Anna has also been cutting out her second nap of the day. The transition has been a little difficult but we're getting there. It started when she began refusing her afternoon nap even though you could tell she was tired.  We finally managed to push her morning nap back and get it longer so she can more easily make it through the rest of the day. There are days, however, where she wakes up early and has to nap too soon and it makes the afternoon and evening long. Sometimes she'll take a second little snooze but it isn't easy to get this one in and can't be guaranteed. I like that her nap is nice and long (making it easier for us to get out and about in the morning and providing me with a nice chunk of time to accomplish things around the house), but I wasn't really ready for her to go down to one quite yet. She didn't ask me though...

I have a pregnancy update coming soon. I'm hoping to get it up this week but we are closing on our house this week and starting projects so it might get a little crazy!

Christmas

Christmas morning we woke up and had our own little mini Christmas. We started out with some snuggles though.

It was fun seeing Anna so curious about the gifts and getting involved in unwrapping the presents and playing with the paper. Much different than last year with a newborn! 

Since Anna loves her "Maddie dog" so much we actually bought 3 more and put them in a stocking for her. She was pretty excited about seeing so many of her dogs and didn't know what to do since she didn't have enough hands to love them all at the same time. We had our own reasons for stocking up on Maddie dogs. Now we have back up in case one gets lost or left in the car. It also makes getting it washed a little easier to manage. 

Anna kissing her Husky tree ornament

 Next on the agenda was heading over to my parents house for breakfast and more gift opening. 

Before getting started we buried Hailie in gifts which Anna seemed to enjoy quite a bit.

Is this one for me Mom?

After getting a nap in we were headed out to Auburn for lunch with the rest of the Copp clan. We had so much fun hanging out and catching up with everyone.

Plenty of playtime with Grandmom too!

Magnets...yes please!

I know I said it before but it is so wonderful being back and getting to spend the Holiday's with family. After spending the afternoon at the farm we headed back to my parents to hang out and play games. The perfect end to a perfect day!

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve we were celebrating with Kevin's family. We started the day off with a trip to Dillion's to visit Santa. It was Anna's first time seeing him and we were a little nervous since she seems to be a little scared of white beards.

All smiles beforehand!

Adell, Grandma, and Anna

One look at Santa though and shy Anna came out.

Please Daddy keep me safe!

We placed Anna on Santa's lap along with Adell. She was a little confused at first and we managed to get a few pictures taken. Then Anna turned around and saw who she was sitting on. We had to take a break after that.  

We wanted one of just Anna and Santa so we placed her there again hoping for one good picture. This is all we got...

Poor Anna 

After a delicious meal with the family it was gift opening time. Much different than last year. Anna actually participated in some of the unwrapping and enjoyed inspecting her gifts...at least until she saw some more wrapping paper or another new item to explore.

Adell helping Anna 

 Anna also enjoyed "helping" Uncle Scott hand out gifts.

Taking a little break to help Daddy do some opening. 

One of Anna's new presents from Grandma...her very own chair! She enjoys sitting in it but has a little trouble getting out without toppling over with the chair.

Mommy's turn for some help.

We had such a great day. Although our Christmas was lovely last year with Brian and Moria it was wonderful to be able to spend the holiday with family. It's so great being back in Kansas!

A Shower and a Basketball game

Normally this would be two different posts but in an effort to get to caught up I'm combining them so I can get to Christmas.

At the beginning of December my wonderful friend Amy and her fiance Brent came into town from Phoenix for a couple's shower thrown by Amy's mom. I was so excited to get to spend some time with these guys.

My mom was able to make the party and it was fun getting to hang out with her as well. Amy's mom did a fantastic job planning the shower and we had a blast.

Grandma Patti and Grandpa Kevin were able to watch Anna for us so we could enjoy our night out. I stayed out past midnight...something I hadn't done in a long time. I was very tired but it was worth it!

It's hard to believe that the next time I see this lovely lady it will be the week of her wedding! Can't wait to visit Arizona in March and get this girl hitched!

Anna had a fun month and was able to attend her first basketball game. Kevin and I took her to the Hayden-Washburn Rural girls basketball game with Grandma and Grandpa. She loved it!

I thought maybe it would be too loud but she just enjoyed taking everything in. The game, the scoreboard, the clapping, the cheerleaders and their back handsprings, everything.

We didn't stay for the boy's game since it was getting late and a toddler can only be expected to sit in the stands for so long. She enjoyed it so much though and we will definitely have to take her again.

Catching Up: All our exciting news!

Before moving on to many of our December activities I thought I'd better get a couple of big things posted. Most people reading this more than likely know this stuff but I wanted to get it posted anyway. I've been soooo behind and that is the only reason I haven't posted yet!

We are excited to announce that our little family of three will become a family of four this June. I am due with Baby #2 June 14th.  The first trimester was pretty rough but similar to last time. I think it just felt worse because I couldn't just nap or rest whenever. At 16 weeks I'm feeling pretty good (for a pregnant person).

I found a doctor in the Kansas City area that we like and so far everything is looking great. There is no reason to think that I will have the same issues with the placenta that I had with Anna but as a precaution they will be checking my fluid levels at every appointment starting at 24 weeks. As long as everything continues to go well and I go into labor on my own I should be able to try for a VBAC (vaginal birth after Cesarean) which I am excited about. It may not end up working out which is okay but it's nice that I have an experienced doctor who enjoys and supports VBACs.

16 weeks pregnant. 

We have our anatomy ultrasound scheduled and will hopefully find out the gender of this little one at the end of January!

Our second bit of exciting news is that we found a house that we liked, made an offer, and it was accepted! Currently our closing date is set for January 27th. The house is located in Olathe, KS and is only about 10-15 minutes from where Kevin is working. I will eventually post pictures of the interior once we get settled but here is an outside photo.

We look forward to eliminating Kevin's commute and getting moved in our new home. We are so incredibly grateful that Kevin's parents have allowed us to stay with them for so long and we will never truly be thank them enough for all the help we've received in getting back to Kansas. I'm sure they are ready to have their house back!

1 Year Old!

This is going to end up being more of a 13 month old post since I'm severely behind but I didn't want to skip the post. We finally managed to get these 1 year pictures taken so I'll try and get updated so I can get caught up on other posts too.

Month 12 was a big month for Anna in terms of teeth. After only having two bottom teeth for several month we now have 4 teeth on top! It makes her look so much more like a toddler.


At the beginning of November Anna started using the sign for "more" that we'd been trying to teach her. Over the summer I had been trying to teach her several signs but had sort of stopped when all of a sudden she was doing it. Since then I've started trying to teach her a few more basics like "please" and "thank you". Not much luck yet but we will see if she eventually picks some up. 

Around the same time Anna began nodding her head "yes" a lot. At first it didn't seem like it meant anything but over the last 6 weeks it's pretty clear she is nodding yes with intent. A few weeks after mastering "yes" we started getting the "no" head nod. Anna can also say no and will do so with gusto when she really doesn't like something. Sometimes I have to hide a smile when she purses her lips, shakes her head, and says "no no no no no". 

Another less fun thing Anna has begun doing are have little mini fits when she doesn't get her way. They typically don't last a long time but she certainly is turning into a toddler. Anna received this little doll wagon for her birthday from Grandma Patti and absolutely loves it. While not meant for real babies to be put inside we of course have done so and pushed/pulled her around. She'll say "wee wee" as she goes for a ride.  Anna LOVES this. So much in fact that we had to stop putting her in it for a while because every time we took her out she had a meltdown. She's better about this now and also enjoys pushing the wagon around the house. She'll laugh and smile. It's pretty entertaining to watch. 

Last month Anna also mastered climbing up the stairs which she also really loves to do. Of course we are right there behind her to supervise her. Anna is also pretty good at going down the stairs but prefers climbing most of the time. She's also climbing over lots of things to get to where she wants to be. We haven't had to lower her crib to the lowest setting quite yet since she is still pretty short but that is likely to happen in the near future since she does like climbing. 

Anna's 12 month appointment at the beginning of December went very well. She's right on track developmentally. Anna weighed in at 19 lbs 13 oz (50%) and her head was once again at 100%. For her height they measured her at 27.75 inches (9.2%). This made us laugh because that is the exact same measurement they had for her at her 9 month appointment and by the number of pants I've packed up since then I know she has grown. The doctor said most likely the last measurement was off because at this age it's very difficult to get the height accurate all the time. Either way though...we have a shorty on our hands :) 

I think I mentioned in the last monthly update that Anna was saying her version of dog. She has said a few other words here and there like "bye" and "hi" and "dada" but really jabbers all the time. She started saying "ding ding ding ding" and does so all. the. time. Not sure if it means something to her but we enjoy it. It's always hard to know for sure but with the way she's trying to repeat sounds it seems like more words are just over the horizon. 

We've seen a ton more imitation from our little bug over the last couple months as well. It's so fun seeing her start to communicate with us more and soak in the world around her. 

Less than two weeks ago Anna took her first couple of steps! She has since taken up to 5 little ones and I think she could do more but prefers crawling. We keep trying to get a picture of it or a film but she sees the camera and camcorder come out and just wants to crawl to it. Hopefully once she gets more steps going I can get a good video to post. 

The last couple months have been so much fun as Anna becomes more interactive and is playing with us more. It's still crazy that she is over a year old. We love our little bug so much and look forward to watching her continue to grow and develop.