Festive Filled Weekend

We had a fun filled weekend with family and friends. We had my 10 year high school reunion, a potluck at my sisters house, and ended the weekend at La Salette shrine to see the Christmas lights! I was exhausted last night but it was well worth it because we had a blast :-)

Thankful Day

Today was our first Thanksgiving as a family of 3. We went to my cousin Shawn and his wife Kim's house. They have 3 beautiful children and we also were able to see my aunts, parents, and grandmother. The girls LOVED Anya and treated her like a doll. Anya loved looking at the other children and making 'talking' sounds to them. They were great little helpers and so sweet. Their son Jonathan had fun with Dwight and the rest of the guys playing baseball and football outside in the nice weather :) I loved having family to hold Anya while I had some adult conversation and some wine - yum. The food was delish and we all had a great time. Anya started saying 'dadadadadada' today.. She is such a sweet little girl and was tired at the end but just sat on the couch watching everyone with my dad...
So very much to be thankful for this year.
Much love.. thanks for reading..
Here is the pumpkin pie recipe that I made.

Hand-me-down love

Can you see the excitement in her face? My best friend that lives in Texas sent us a box of hand me downs and it arrived this morning. This whole outfit is from her girls and we got many more cute outfits! She even sent Pediped shoes. I am so excited and can't thank her family enough. She travels up to New England a lot and it does get cool there in January so she had some winter clothing.

This next photo is from Sunday when we were visiting my parents. A man was walking his alpaca down the street! We yelled hello and he stopped to talk to us. He has 3 alpacas, chickens and a rooster and lives across the street from my parents. It was so fun to see!

Family play date

Today Anya turned 6 months! We went to Stephanie's house for a family play date with the babies, moms and dads as well this time. It was a great time and it was so nice to meet all of the husbands :) Here are some photos from our day... Anya likes to reach out to the other babies :-)

We got a photo of the moms and babies :-)

Reading on Momma & Daddas bed

I put her in this snowsuit the other day and she was a little unsure. It was handed down from Madelyn.. so cute :)













We have such intellectual conversations ;) I think we were discussing the latest baby trends, pureed food, childrens music and our deep love for each other. I have been putting her on our bed for story time at night. It's nice and comfy and we have a lot of room. I got up to get more books and she looked so small in the middle of the bed with her book. She really enjoys books and likes to turn a page back and forth.


I finally got a photo of Anya touching my face. She has been gentle with it the past few days and will touch our cheeks and nose and smile. It is sooo cute when she does this.

Currier Museum Gallery Talks

Today I went to the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester with my friend Natalie and her son Kai. Every third Thursday of the month they hold parent and baby gallery talks. The one today was on "American Glass". It was so wonderful to listen to the tour guide talk about the history and technique of glass blowing. There were some beautiful pieces, especially the paper weights. The intricate designs were amazing. I am definitely going to go back again for other gallery talks. It was great because we used our local library's free pass so we didn't pay a penny. We could have stayed and walked around the rest of the museum after the hour but I am saving that for another day :o) Here is the website and the info for the new parent talks:
Currier Museum of Art
New Parent Gallery Talks
Every third Thursday of the month, 11 am – 12 pm
Has your new baby reduced your vocabulary to coos and other nonsensical words? These gallery talks are designed for new parents (with baby in tow) to get a personalized tour of the museum. So pack up the baby stroller and stop by for some much needed adult conversation.
NEW PARENT GALLERY TALK THEMES:
November 19 - American Glass
December 17 - Brett Weston: Out of the Shadow

November walks and nearing 6 months

Yesterday was such a beautiful fall day that we took an hour long walk. I am going to try and get out there today as well. We have music class, grocery shopping and cleaning to do but we will hopefully find time :-)


Here is a picture of Anya in her highchair in the morning. She had bed head and was ready for her breakfast. She will eat peaches now without making faces. She likes them when I add them to oatmeal. She is also a fan of peas. We tried those for the first time on Sunday. She definitely loves her veggies!

I feel that as we near her 6 month day (coming up this weekend) she is really changing. She seems to be doing all sorts of new things. She surprises me every day.

* She shakes her head back and forth a lot now. I am not sure if this is her trying to tell me she is finished with whatever we are doing or if she just likes the feeling of it.

* If I am holding something she will try and take it. She grabs at everything and anything. She flipped over her bowl of squash the other day while I was on the phone with my sister. I had put it down for a second and it was flipped. I went to get more and she almost grabbed a muffin off the table! I really need to watch what is in reaching distance now.

* She is still touching our faces and my hair. She likes to play with my hair when she is having a bottle.

* We are loving peek-a-boo. I hide under her highchair and pop up and say peek-a-boo and she laughs away at me.

* She is reaching for more toys on her exersaucer and on her farm toy.

* We tried out frozen mango out of the mesh teether. She loves it! However, once it starts to melt enough for a lot of flavor she is done.

* We are giving solids 2 times a day. Morning and late afternoon.

* She loves books and will touch every page as I read to her. When I make silly voices while reading she looks back at my face.

* If you are on the other side of the room and start talking she will immediately look and try to find where you are.

* She still loves music and singing to her will make her smile at any moment.

* She is still practicing using her lips to make 'p' sounds and raspberries. She laughs at me when I do it back to her. She laughs when I copy the sounds she makes.

* When we see our little friends they reach out to touch each others hands now. It is so cute!

* She either sleeps through the night or wakes up one time for 2 ounces and goes right back down. She usually takes 2 naps a day. They are usually around an hour but sometimes they are 45 minutes and once in a great while we will get a 2 1/2 hour long nap.

* She has 2 teeth on the bottom.. no more .. yet. The 2 teeth are so cute lol.

* Where is the time going?! How is our baby turning 6 months? I am amazed at how time is flying by. I am enjoying watching her grow and change every day. I am loving staying home with her. It is the best time of my life right now. :-)

Turducken

We went to our friend Ski and Tiffs house for a turduckin meal last night. A turduckin is a chicken stuffed in a duck and the duck is stuffed in a turkey. It was a delicious meal and Anya, Ella and Billy got to play together! We kept Anya up way past her bedtime and she did well. We started packing up our things at 7pm. She is usually in bed for an hour by 7pm. I put her pjs on and she fell asleep on the car ride home. When we got home I had to change her stinky diaper and then gave her some formula and she was ready for bed. I am happy it worked out okay because I was worried she would get cranky. I think all of the people and other children to look at kept her awake. :)

She sits up!!

She has gotten better at sitting without falling over right away. I still need to be right there and she is wobbly but I think I can say she is sitting on her own.. what do you think?

Alfalfa

Anya's baptism

Anya got baptized on November 8th at St. James Methodist Church in our town. The day was sunny in the mid 60s (warm for November here). Anya was born on the hottest day in May (90s!).. -I think she brings good weather! She wore the same dress that I wore when I was christened. This dress was made from my grandmothers wedding dress. My mom's wedding dress was made from this dress as well. Four generations of women have worn this material.. very special indeed :-) Anya looked adorable in the dress.. and she was so well behaved and happy. My sister and Dwights brother are her godparents. It was wonderful to have family and close friends at the mass and celebration afterwards. Our after party lunch was at a Chinese restaurant. The food was yummy and it was great for many family members to meet Anya for the first time.

During the actual baptism Anya was touching the reverends face and smiling at her. When the baptism was finished the choir sang a song while the reverend held Anya. She smiled away at the congregation. It was funny how she was so happy to be the center of attention. We are lucky to have found a church that is so welcoming and that we enjoy going to. We received many nice gifts for Anya. We have a college account already in use in which the monetary gifts will be put in. There was one gift with two adorable Carter's outfits (1 purple and 1 pink) that had no card. If you are the gifter please come forth as I want to thank everyone for their generosity. Here are photos from our wonderful day... Update: We found our gifter.. thank you to Maura!!