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!

Five Months old......no way!

Annalise is five months old today, and she had quite the busy day for her five month birthday. This morning Grandma Stotts alarm did not go off, so Annalise got to come to work with mommy. She loved it, especially all the attention that she got (until she got hungry that is.) I was a little worried how she would do with all the other kids around, but she ws great.

After her trip to mommies work she got to go straight to Gymboree to do a play class with some of mommies old friends. She also loved going there. It was interesting for me to go back to Gymboree after being a teacher there, and now I am going as a mother, it feels a lot different. It was wonderful to get out and play with Annalise outside of our apartment floor, and she got to play with bubbles for the first time too. She also did some tummy time (longer than usual, so maybe we will eventually learn to roll over.) For now Annalise is quite content laying on her back, and not going anywhere.

Next week Annalise and I get to take a trip accross the country with Kendy and Angel. We are going to help out and have fun while doing it (all the way to Arizona.) We will see how well she travels.


On Monday Annalise has her next appointment with Dr. Moront her surgeon. I expect it will go wonderful, she has been growing and learning right on track, and I am so grateful for that. She couldn't have done it without the wonderful people at St. Christophers. It is amazing how things work out with a little faith. Yeah for a happy health five months!

5 Month appointment!

Today Annalise had her five month appointment. I love going to see how big she is getting, but I hate it when she has to get her shots. She will actually be five months next Wednesday, I can't believe it. At her appointment the Doctor weighed and measured her, she has almost doubled her birth weight, she is now 14 pounds and 13 1/2 ounces, but the best part (and the reason I married Kevin int he first place), is that she is 27 1/2 inches tall (off the charts.)

She is the cutest thing in the world (according to me), and I am loving being home with her. This morning she woke up just after 7, which is about and hour and a half earlier than she usually does, which did not make me happy. But then when I got up with her she was making the cutest baby sounds and sat on my lap and told me a whole story (I don't know what she said, but she seemed to understand), so I couldn't even be mad at her for waking up early.

Well my whole family came out for Christmas and we had a lot of fun together this year. Our family just keeps on growing as people get married and have kids, and it can get a little chaotic with everyone around,but it is still fun to be together. Well as you can see Annalise got to take pictures with her cousins while they were here, and they definitely look related. She did so well taking her pictures, she was smiling the whole time like a perfect little baby model (she takes after her mom in that area.) We spent new years out in Ocean City, NJ, and they weather was quite nice most of the time. Kevin and I even got to take a bike ride on the boardwalk, it was lovely.

Since Christmas and New Years not much has been going on around here. The Hokies lost the Orange Bowl and Kevin mourned. I got to go ice skating with the youth last week, and it has been a long time for me. And for those of you who don't know, I used to compete in ice skating....yes me, and I could to a double axle and all that stuff, but it has been 10 years since I could do that so it was a little rough, but still enjoyable. Other than that Annalise and I spend our time shopping and cleaning while dad is at work.

For those of you have been asking, Annalise's health has contined to do very well, and we expect her to keep up her normal baby stuff. She will be turning five months on the 30th!