Happy Birthday Grandpa Dan!

Things are crazy busy at work so I don't have much time to update. After tomorrow's big meeting, it should slow down a little bit again. Anyway, I wanted to update you all on what's been going on lately.

Friday night, Annika and I were playing in her room after Daddy went to work. I asked Annika how big she was and she threw her arms into the air when I said "so big." We've been playing the game for a while now but Friday was the first time she raised her arms herself. Of course, she wouldn't do it again all weekend, so maybe it was a fluke.

Saturday we stopped by the house. The brick is on the front and the ceilings are sprayed. They forgot to knock down the ceilings though so they'll have to re-do them. Then we went to a graduation party for 2 of my cousins. Annika got to see lots of family that we rarely get to see. Another cousin had his less-than-a-month old baby there. She was so tiny! After the party, we went to the horse track. That's where Daddy's family was. Uncle Adam had flew in the night before so we wanted to make sure we got to see him. Annika had only had a 1 hour nap that day, so we had to leave before the last race before Annika had a melt down. Hopefully we can see Aunt Carrie and Uncle Adam again before they head for home.

Sunday was my birthday. Happy birthday to me! It was a busy day. Annika and I had pictures taken together that morning. They turned out pretty good! We also then had 9 month photos taken of Annika. I'll post those pictures soon for you all to see. After pictures, we headed to Fort Snelling State Park for a BBQ with Jon and Michelle. It was a beautiful day. There, Annika got to meet a little boy who was born just 1 day before her! After the BBQ, we headed home where Mommy's family was meeting us for a birthday celebration. It's Grandpa's birthday today and Uncle Mathias' birthday on Friday so we had a lot of celebrating to do. :) While my family was over, we were all playing in the living room after dinner. Annika was starting to get tired so she was getting a little crabby. I got out another toy for her to play with and her eyes lit up when she saw it. She was standing by our recliner when she saw the leapfrog table come out. I set the table on the other side of the room and in her excitement to get to it, she walked across the whole room! Granted, it was only 6 feet or so, but she walked the whole thing! Usually for long distances like that she gets down and crawls since it's still faster. She then happily played for a while.

Yesterday Annika and I went to the park when I got home from work. It was an absolutely beautiful 80 degree day. She had a fun time on the swings. This time I remembered my camera and took some pictures. When we got home we were playing with toys in the living room and again, she walked from the coffee table to the entertainment center. I think she's getting more and more comfortable walking. We better get the video camera out soon. I want to get some of these toddling steps recorded before she becomes proficient at it. She's getting so big!

Thursday she has her 9 month doctor appointment. I wonder how big she really is!