Annika is such a funny little girl. She's started dancing. If you sing or if there is music on the radio or TV, she'll bounce along to the beat. Girl has rhythm! Saturday while I was nursing her, she could here the radio on in another room and her little foot was tapping along to the beat. She cracks me up!

Annika can also crawl up the entire stairway - all the way to the top. Of course, Kris or I are right there so she doesn't fal down but she does it all on her own power, climb, climb, climb right to the top! Last night I tried to teach her how to climb back down but she wanted none of that. i want to only go up Mommy!

We spent Saturday vising Kris's family. Annika and I attended the spring tea at Great-Grandma Betty's church along with Grandma Lona and Great-Grandma Florence. Great-Grandma Betty didn't know where were coming so when she was us there, she exclaimed "Kristina! And Annika!" That scared Annika and she cried. All was better after a few hugs from Mommy. We all had a great time and Annika behaved like an angel. She sat in a highchair and ate Cheerios and generally was adored by all. My precious angel. After the tea, we went over to Great Grandma Betty and Great Grandpa Walter's house to visit for the afternoon.

Yesterday, we had a showing of our townhouse so we ran a bunch of errands. We drove to the new house to check on it's progress. They started framing last week and have it 95% done already! All that's left to do is frame the bedrooms upstairs and put on the roof. By the end of this week, it will even have windows! Grandma Lona and Grandpa Dale wanted to see the house too so they met us at a restaurant for lunch and then we drove back out to the house. After running some more errands, we returned home to play for a while before Annika went to bed.

I uploaded more Annika and house pictures last night. Go take a look!

Yesterday we had two showings of our townhouse. The first was at 3pm. Kris left for work and Annika and I headed to Target and grocery shopping. We arrived back home around 4:30pm only to get a phone call saying we had another showing at 6pm. I didn't have any more errands to run, so Annika and I headed to the mall by our house to walk around and window shop. The mall also has a kid play area that has padded carpeting and lots of things to climb on. Annika had a great time in there. She climbed on things and stood next to things and crawled after or towards the other kids. She squealed and screamed in delight and generally had a great time. I told Kris he should take her there on rainy days. It's free entertainment, right? :)

Last night Annika and I went for a walk to the park and Annika rode on the swings for the first time! She loved them! I thought she would since she really liked her infant swing. The next time we go back I'll try to get a picture of her. Or I'll take some video since I just ordered us a video camera today!

I uploaded a bunch of pictures last night. There are 22 new ones in the Annika #3 album and there are 5 in the New House album. Take a look!

Annika doesn't laugh when she's happy or excited. She snorts. Kris and I think it's the funniest thing. I got a picture of it. Go look at the picture titled "4-18-05 7". She wrinkles her nose and breathes really hard through it. What a weird little girl!

And last night, Annika was standing, unsupported, while playing with my pump bag. I got pictures of that too! Before I know it, she's going to be walking! That's why the video camera is so important. I want to get some video of her crawling before she starts running! She's such a big girl!

I don't know if she's teething or if she was too hot last night, but baby girl got up every hour. I am one tired momma today.

Friday night, Annika started eating finger foods. Her first? Cheerios, of course. It was so cute to see her little stubby, chubby fingers try and grasp the Cheerios and get them into her mouth. Most of them made it, but of course, a lot of them ended up on the floor too. She thought it was great though. Once in a while she wouldn't gum them enough and she'd choke a little. A few pats on the back and she was fine. Saturday morning, when we gave them to her again, she did much better and by Saturday night, she was a Cheerio eating pro. Saturday night we tried giving her some pieces of cooked carrots. Kris would give them to her or put them in her mouth and she would spit them right back out!

Saturday, Annika and Daddy went shopping at the Mall of America with John and Michelle and the kids while Mommy had a Pampered Chef show. It was raining pretty hard all day but Daddy didn't want to be stuck in the house. I think they had a good time. Mommy had a good show ($130.00 for 4 hours work isn't bad!).

Yesterday, we went and visited our hole in the ground again. All the block work is done and they have the tar waterproofing stuff on as well. Next comes the basement plumbing and poured floors. They're moving pretty fast and should have it framed in a couple weeks time! This time I had a camera with batteries along so I took some pictures. I'll post those this week along with some more Annika pictures.

We also went to Babies 'R Us yesterday where I purchased Annika a swimming pool! It's one of those small 5 feet pools but it folds up really small. She'll love that this summer when she's home with Daddy.

Then, last night we had dinner with Grandma Lona and Grandpa Dale. Annika had her first taste of saltine crackers at dinner. She gummed those up pretty good too! Now we just need her to eat her veggies!

I think Annika and I have made it through her initial biting phase with our breastfeeding relationship intact. She hasn't bitten me since Sunday. I'm getting better at reading her cues and knowing when she's hungry and wanting to eat versus is tired, is in need of comfort, wants to play, etc. Now I just need to finish healing (she broke skin a couple of times) and we'll be fully back on track.

Last night Annika and I went for a walk around the neighborhood. I counted 11 townhouses for sale just in our area! No wonder ours hasn't sold yet. There's so many on the market! Not one of those 11 had a sold sign on it. We're having another open house this Sunday from 2:30-4:30pm. After our walk, we played in the grass on our front lawn for a while. Annika chewed on toys and I basked in the sunlight. It was beautiful.

I don't have a lot to update you about Annika. She's as cute as ever. Sometimes I just have to scoop her up and give her a great big bear hug and then smother her face with kisses. She doesn't seem to mind. I gave her some turkey baby food last night. First, that stuff smells nasty. Second, Annika wasn't too impressed and didn't eat very much. She's had all the first baby foods and so we're starting on the seconds. Last week, she had apricots for the first time. Those weren't so bad. She does seem to like her fruits. Of course, they're sweet so who wouldn't like them.

We need to take more video of Annika. We took some at the hospital and some of her in the bathtub and one of her rolling over. But we haven't taken any in months and the video camera that we have (which is very, very old) has a terrible battery. So, if anyone has digital video camera recommendations, please send them my way. I will be buying one this week yet because I really want to take some video of Annika crawling. She keeps getting closer and closer to walking and then I'll have missed it!

We stopped by our new house last night. Well, we stopped by our hole in the ground. Yep, it's there. They actually have most of the block work done for the basement. Kris counted and yes, they did put in a 13 course basement like we're paying for. It's getting exciting! We need to start investigating flooring options because we need to get that on order. And Kris is looking into light fixtures that we can order ourselves. That way, we can get a better deal than what our lighting allowance place can give us, and then we can use our lighting allowance place to upgrade some of the lights through them. So many things to do!

Life is good.

What a beautiful weekend it was here in Minnesota, well at least Saturday was beautiful. Annika has a new car seat. We had it installed and inspected on Saturday morning. So far, she's not a huge fan of it, but I think it will be okay. She didn't like getting into her infant one either but once she was in it and had toys to play with she was fine. I suspect the same will be true for this one. We came home from the appointment and all 3 took a nap together. Then, after cleaning up for a bit, we headed out to do some shopping while there was a showing of our house. And later that night, Uncle Dusty and Aunt Kim came over to grill with us, mmm, yummy brats and hamburgers on the grill. Yesterday, Annika and I went lunching and shopping with Grandma Pat and Auntie Krystle. It was Grandma Pat's birthday yesterday. I hope you had a great day Grandma! We also had an open house yesterday. Our realtor said 3 people came through and one realtor who also has a townhouse for sale in the area. I don't know if anyone's interested so we may have another open house next weekend. And here we are at Monday morning again. I hate leaving Kris and Annika in the mornings. I especially hate leaving them when they are all snuggled in bed together. I just want to join them! At least I'm not crying about it anymore. Working from home on Wednesdays seriously saved my sanity I believe. I didn't tell too many people, but I cried most mornings when leaving the house. I'm so glad I asked my boss if we could try other work arrangements and I'm so happy I work for a flexible employer. I don't think I had post partum depression or anything that serious, I just think I really want to be a stay at home Mom and I knew I couldn't do that, but it didn't make leaving my baby any easier. OK, I must go get some work done now. Have a great week everyone!

Kris and I are in big trouble now!

Last night, Annika figured out how to climb up the stairs by herself. She was crawling around on the floor, chasing a toy, while I was in the kitchen warming up my dinner. Suddenly, everything was quiet (always a bad sign with kids in the house!) and what did I find? Annika was up on the first step, trying to reach the dirty bibs I had thrown there. Yikes! We just put a baby gate at the top of the stairs. It looks like I'll be needing another one for the bottom!

This morning I was talking to Kris on the phone while I was at work. I asked him if he and Annika were having fun. He turned around and asked Annika then told me that she was standing in the middle of the room. Yep, just standing there, not holding on to anything. Then, she fell on her butt. It's a good thing baby butts are padded by diapers, isn't it? People - she's standing on her own! She's going to be walking before I know it! Where did my little itty bitty baby go! She's gone!

Guess what! Kris and I don't have any plans for tomorrow (excpet Annika's car seat inspection at 9am). It has been SO long since we have had a day to ourselves. Just us. No time constraints or meetings. I hardly know what to do! And then I got a phone call from our builder. They're digging the hole today for our house! I think tomorrow we may have to make the drive and check it out! How exciting! Wow - a day to ourselves with no plans. I'm almost giddy with excitement!

Sunday is Grandma Pat's birthday. Annika and I are going to spend the afternoon shopping with her to celebrate. The grown-ups need outfits for a family wedding later this month. Little Annika already has a pretty dress to wear for it. We're also having an open house at our townhouse on Sunday so Kris will need to find something to do too.

It's been so nice out yesterday and today that Annika has gone on a few walks. I might take her on another one tonight. I'm glad spring is here.

Happy 7 month birthday Annika!

Wow, 7 months already.

My friend, Jen (who commented a couple posts ago), had a baby today! Welcome to the world Ava! You're friend Annika would like to meet you!

Annika was up again last night for a couple hours, waking at 12:30am. I think she might be teething. If she wakes again tonight, I'll give her a shot of baby Tylenol. My poor baby.

Kris is so wonderful. Not only is he a super involved dad, but he also helps me during the night when Annika does her waking thing. I try for a while to calm her and put her back to sleep. When it's not working for me, he comes to my rescue, takes Annika and tries himself for a while, kissing me goodnight and telling me to go to sleep. Then he cradles Annika while rocking her, shushing her and talking to her in hushed tones while calling her sweetheart. It's enough to melt me into a puddle, is what it is. Poor guy is so tired though. He does get home late from work after all and then has to get up in the morning when Annika does (usually around 6:30am). This morning, he took a 2 hour nap with her. I am one lucky girl. That, or I just know how to pick 'em. :)

I'll take a picture of Annika tonight for her 7 month photo and then I'll try to get a bunch of them uploaded.

I don't know if Annika is going through a growth spurt or if she's teething, or what. However...

She's still biting me. Each time she does, I say No. No bite. Then I stop nursing her. I figure she'll eventually get the message. Thanks for the messages on this Jen and Mindi. I don't think Annika is ready to wean. She still lunges towards me when it's time to eat. And she's a bit of a momma's girl so I think she's still pretty attached to nursing. I think she bites when she's not all that hungry so she doesn't latch on well, and then thinks it's play time (weird little girl) and so she bites. She bites and chews on all her toys and books, she just needs to learn that she can not bite Mommy.

Last night she woke up at 1:30am and was awake until some time around 3am. This is so unusual for her. No, not the waking at night, the being up for more than a few minutes at a time. Annika still doesn't sleep through the night but when she does wake, it's only for a quick snack, a cuddle or her pacifier and then she's out again. Last night, she was all ready to go at 1:30 - wide awake and ready to play.

And for the last couple of days, she's hardly eaten anything. We have so much milk ready to go in the refrigerator. And she's not eating solid foods to make up for her lack of liquid intake. I think it may be teething because of this. Before her first two came in, her appetite went down. I'm hoping that the biting has something to do with this to.

On to other topics...

Kris and I are going to start teach Annika sign language. I picked up the Baby Signs book and we both have been reading it. I don't think Annika is too interested in talking right now. At least, she doesn't show any of the signs mentioned in the book of babies that are interested. The book says some babies are focused on other things (like being mobile) than they are on developing language skills. Since Annika rolled over at 3 months and crawled at 6 months, I'm willing to be she's more motivated by movement at this time, than by words. She still eats all her books instead of looking at the pictures. But, if Kris and I start showing her signs for different ideas (like more or done) and objects (like cat and dog), then when she is ready, maybe she'll pick up on them faster. This book has some interesting research in it. They found that teaching hearing babies sign language actually helps them to talk sooner and with a larger vocabularly. Some might think the opposite would be true, that if you teach a baby to sign then they will just sign and not bother with the words. The authors compared it to crawling. Most babies crawl as a step in the walking direction. Crawling doesn't stop a baby from walking. I can't wait until Annika signs back at me. How cool will it be when she can tell me that she's hungry or needs a diaper change or just saw a flower? I think it will be great!

Last night Annika slept for three hours in her crib before she woke up (7:05 pm to 10:15pm). I actually laid down on the couch figuring I'd either wait until Kris got home so I could spend some time with him or wait for her to wake up and take her to bed with me. Then, tonight, she slept for 30 minutes before waking and needing to be rocked back to sleep. Then she slept for another 20 minutes or so. I finally just rocked her for a while before putting her in our bed, where she's been for the past 45 minutes or so. I think I'm going to go join her. :)

What a jam packed weekend we had here. Saturday, we were gone from 8am to 7-7:30pm. We had lots of house stuff to do and finished it off by visiting Grandma Lona and Grandpa Dale. Yesterday, Annika and I were off to go shopping with Auntie Krystle - all day! We had a great time though! I am so lucky that Annika is such an easy baby.

Lately, Annika has started her night by sleeping in her crib. I'm just too scared of her falling out of our bed to leave her in it alone. She usually wakes up after an hour or two and then she comes and sleeps with me. I'm usually heading to bed at that time anyway. We had to lower her crib mattress too, now that she can pull herself up to a standing position. She was too tall and I was scared of her climbing out of there too!

Last night, Annika bit me. Later, during the night, she bit me again - on the other side. I need some mommy advice here. For those moms who have nursed a baby with teeth, what did you do to resolve the biting issue? Please leave a comment below or e-mail me at nina @ ninabina.com with your suggestions. Thank you!