I'm a cheerio girl living in a cheerio world

Well I looked at my blog this week and I realized it has been nearly a month since I have posted anything. So sorry to all of those who look forward to the ramblings of Kelsey and 100's of pictures of Annalise. It has been a busy month and also quite exciting.

A few weeks ago we got to participate in Darlynns recital (one of my girls in young women). Well we were the intermediate distraction while the little dancers got ready. We sang Take Me Out To the Ballgame and Blackbird. It has only taken me six years to get Kevin to perform with me. So a round of applause for him......he was very nervous, and I am sure if you want to see the video Brother Hitchner will put it on Youtube for you. Congrats to Darlynn for putting together a very good recital!!

Annalise received visits by both her grandmas this month. Grandma Stott drove from Cincinnati to visit her favorite grandaughter. It was going to be a nice relaxing weekend.......and then we got a call from Matthew (my brothers) mission president. His knee was not doing so hot......again (for those of you who don't know him he has been out three times now coming back twice for two different knee surgeries.) So this time it looked like the last time to be greeting him home. He has done an amazing job keeping his focus for the last year and a half, and I know he has changed many peoples lives. Anyway, so he ended up coming back home to NJ where he left. Therefore he crashed at my place with my mom while they figured out what to do. And Matt's girlfriend Lauren is currently a nanny in NJ....... so she came too. Well he got released on a Tuesday morning, then by that afternoon they were taking engagement pictures.........yeah, it was an exciting week. So we got to go to many fun places to take pictures here are some of them:

Here is Longwood Gardens (but no flowers in this picture...sorry)

And then we went to the shore where Annalise discovered sand......the best part was eating it, yuummm!

Then we took some pictures on the Princeton campus and train station where flat Ayla came to also. (For those of you who have read the childrens book Flat Stanley you will understand why.)

So it was a very busy week for us, but we had a lot of fun. Then my family left and Kevins mom came into town (actually one night we had all three of them here two grandmas and my brother, maybe we shoud start charging per night.)

Well while Grandma Lawrence was here Kevin and I had a lot of church obligations, so we spent Saturday with the youth at the Special Olympics at Council Rock HS, and Sunday at Ward Conference meetings. So Annalise got to spend a lot of time with Grandma Lawrence (which is good since she fly's accross the country from LA every month just to see her.) But Annalise was having so much fun she would stay up late every night, and get into grandmas make up bag.......

So in the meantime Annalise has been doing all kinds of exciting things, like growing teeth (yes her first tooth came in), rolling around more (but still not that much, she loves everyone to come to her and treat her like the princess that she is), and she has also been improving her facial expressions as you can see:

Yeah, she loves the camera.

And as you can see she has been also growing a lot of hair, and I can't wait until I can make little pigtails....

Well I think I have done enough bragging for one night. I hope to be better about posting more this month, but no promises. Tomorrow we are going to NYC and spending the day with Kevins sister Amy, going to the Bronx zoo and a Yankees game......so the excitement never ends. Happy Spring to everyone!!!

Da, da, da, da da

Annalise has definately found her voice these last couple of weeks. She recently figured out all the sounds that she can make with her mouth and loves to hear herself talk. Her favorite thing to say is Da, da ,da. I am really trying to get the ma, ma, ma out, but I figure that will come with time. She is even trying to immitate sounds too, it is so fun to hear her talking.

Besides listening to herself talk she also found out that she has a tounge, which is never inside of her mouth anymore, rather it is sticking out to taste the flavor of the air. I think it is so cute (for the time being), and she almost looks like a little frog.

She has been doing so many new things lately I don't even know what else to mention...... Both of her Grandmas are coming to visit this month and they will wonder if I switched her out with a new baby. She has been rolling around a lot more and bearing her weight on her legs also. I try to lay her down on her stomach and she does not last long (because she hates being on her tummy), so she rolls right over and laughs every time she returns to being on her back. There is that tounge again.....she is too fun. Well I think that is all the bragging for now. Good weather is on its way to philly, so anyone who needs to get out and take a walk.....Call Kelsey and Annalise, we would love to play!

Spring is here....

It is so wonderful that the weather is getting warmer, and I am getting excited to finally be able to take walks with Annalise again. On Easter it was a very nice day (atleast where we were...in Ijamsville, Maryland) and we had a lovely weekend with Kevins family. Annlalise got to spend some time with her Grandma, and she even stayed in a good mood all day Saturday without mommy around (who knew she could live without me?) Kevin and I got to attend the DC temple with the youth, and it was very wonderful to be back at the temple.

This last Saturday we got to spend some time around center city checking out some historical sites with my brothers girlfriend Lauren. We also got some cheesteaks for lunch from Geno's, but I have officially decided now that I like Pat's better. We had a lot of fun, and the day went entirely too fast. But Annalise looked very cute as a five dollar bill.

Piano Prodigy

Well as you can see, Annalise is already learning her fingerings on the piano and is soon on her way to becoming a professional pianist. It is really fun to have her sitting up so well now, she can do a lot of things that she couldn't do before.....like play the piano. Maybe not Fur Elise, but I am sure with practice it will come.

Well I am very relieved to say that our Relief Society Birthday program is over (as of last night). I got the opportunity to sing several songs for the program, and it is nice to be done. However, it was a very nice program that a member of the church wrote about the Ten Virgins and their individual stories. It is times like this that I know that music can be a powerful tool to feel the spirit....lots of thanks to Lindsay for being an awesome pianist!

This weekend is going to be a busy one, but very fun. We are going down to Maryland to be with Kevin's family, and his mom is flying in, so we get to spend Easter with her, and Aunts and Uncles. Annalise is all prepared with her Easter eggs:

While we are down there we are also going to the temple with the youth, so there will be no dull moments.

Well I hope you all have a lovely weekend, especially this Sunday as we think of our Savior and the sacrifice he has made for us. I am grateful for Him everyday as I go about everyday and make my stupid mistakes, but I know that I can be forgiven for them because of Him. Happy Easter :)

I will leave you with a video of Annalise playing with her new favorite toy:

6 Months and counting!!!!!

It has been an amazing 6 months since Annalise was born. I was just thinking back today to when she first came into this world. I haven't been able to write much about it yet, but I am finally the point where I can. So for those of you who want to hear our story, here it is. Annalise was due on August 17, 2007 (on mom and dads fifth anniverary), but two weeks later she still had not come. So despite my wishes we had to have our baby at the hospital rather than at the Birth Center. When we went into the hospital we were so excited to find out if we were going to have a boy or girl (although Kevin already knew it was going to be a girl.....his dreams told him so), they prepared me to be induced the next morning by getting me ready with some cervidil (http://www.birthingnaturally.net/birthplan/intervention/induction/cervidil.html ) which put me right into labor. After a short 10 hours she came out so beautiful and big. I got to hold her on my chest while Kevin cut the cord, but after a minute or so she wasn't breathing right so they took her away to try to help her breath. Then the nurses said that they were sending her down to the NICU to try to figure out what was wrong. I don't remember much from this day, but a little later I got to go down and see her attached to all of the tubes and ventilator and other machines that beeped a lot.

I was told she had CDH (congenital diaphramatic hernia, http://fetus.ucsfmedicalcenter.org/cdh/learn_more.asp), but I didn't even know what that was. We went back upstairs to get situated in a recovery room, and then they said they were going to transfer her over to Saint Christophers Hospital so we should come down to say goodbye. Needless to say, that was really hard. She was stableized and brought over to the NICU at St. Chris' where she spent the night while mom and dad stayed in Bryn Mawr Hospital to recover. It was hard to see her hooked up to all of the medicines and moniters when we finally got to see her the next morning. But she was so beautifl. We were not allowed to touch her, or talk very loud, because she was too sensitive to be around much stimulation. After five days she had surgery to repair her diaphragm, and it took longer than expected because she had two holes instead of one. After that she did very well and she came home after three weeks of being in the NICU. Annalise did have some feeding problems, and still struggles with reflux, but now, six months later she is a healthy happy baby. I am so grateful for her strength and the blessings she brings to our family.

Here is a video that Kevins uncle made that I love. Happy 6 months Annalise!!

Oh is it good to be home!

So Annalise has started to sit up on her own. She is getting so strong, I love it, but it also makes me nervous, because that just means she is closer to moving around the house, which means I will have to baby proof for real. Today we are working on rollng over. She has rolled from her tummy to her back by herself now (well once) so we are working on those little baby muscles.

I am sure Annalise is going to miss her Grandma and Grandpa being around because they are leaving soon. My mom has been watching Annalise while I work, so Annalise has been able to spend a lot of time with her, but like my mom said, it is shame she wont remember any of it. But we wish them the best of luck in Cincinnati.

Well it is so great to be home. Annalise and I got to take a fantastic trip accross the country, through many different states starting in Pennsylvania all the way to Arizona. We even got to stop in Nashville for some awesome BBQ. The best part was being able to stop in Austin and see my sister and her family. The kids had a lot of fun together. They got to go to the park and ride the train, they loved it, and it was a good break for the kids as we were in the car all day the rest of the week. What a crew of kids....look at them...

As for other news, Matt (my brother) is back out on his mission in Northern California, hopefully his health will stay strong this time. We are praying for him everyday. And Steve (my other brother) and Ellie are pregnant, so Annalise is going to get a new cousin soon.....yeah!

Annalise is discovering new things everyday. A couple of days ago I was washing my hands in the sink, and she seemed very interested in what I was doing. I let her reach down into the sink and she was desperately trying to grab the stream of water, but every time she would get her hand to the water it would just flow right over her hand. She still hasn't figured out why she couldn't grab the water.....I am sure it will come with time.

Well Annalise and I are leaving on our journey across the country with Kendy, Angel and crew tomorrow. I am excited for our adventure accross the country, it will be Annalise's first time to a lot places (also her first time to be in the car that long....so lets hope for the best.) She had an appointment with her surgeon on Monday and she is past 15 pounds now, and doing great. We got to visit some of her wonderful nurses that took care of her in the NICU, it was a fun day for her. But probably not a good day for Kevin since he was home sick for the first time ever (by a virus that Annalise gave him.....and I am sure it won't be the last time she does that.)

The next time I write something in this blog Annalise will probably be rolling over, she is very close.....but not very interested. (which is fine with me) I hope everyone has a lovely Valentines Day!