1. Her first month was such a blur as most moms would probably agree to. We brought her home from the hospital weighing a whopping 5 lbs 13 oz, so they wanted her eating every 2-3 hours during the day and 3 at night. So as you can see, we were on survive mode! We had Mario's sister in town for a few days and then the in-laws for 2 weeks. My mom was up all the time too! We were very spoiled and her first month was here and gone in a blink of an eye. We noticed from the get go that she was a very "easy" baby. She was so chill, so lovable, and we could hold her forever. During this month we tried to establish a Feed, Wake, Sleep schedule and she even started sleeping in her own bed. She was immediately attached to the Wubbanub! Of course we were in Love with what our God blessed us with....a child....a girl....Annalise!
2. That August we transitioned back to school. Annalise stayed with a friend named Melissa who loved and cared for her while we were at work. She was great with keeping her on a schedule which was important to us. Weekends and evening were the best because we were with our girl. She loved her swing and was even starting to give us a few smirks. Colic Calm was very helpful this month as we worked through gas issues! Daddy was a pro at leg pumps...maybe a little too much. One time he decided to pump her legs without a diaper and I'll leave to rest to you :). Annalise started sleeping through the night...whew! 10-5 was sleep for us and was much needed being back at school working full time.
3. I remember month 3 being so much fun. She was now "talking" to us and her animal friends. After she was born she lost all her hair in the front. We joke all the time about our skullet baby, well it finally started slowly growing back this month. Every Sunday she went to Sunday School and of course they loved having such a little one in there. I loved that we didn't have to worry about winter colds, the flu, etc as much since we had her in the summer, so as soon as she got her 2 mo shots, I was completely comfortable putting her in Sunday School.
4. My mom bought Annalise her first Halloween costume...a Giraffe. What else of course? She was attached to her giraffe wubbanub so it was only fitting that she be a giraffe! I know it's sad because time goes by so quickly so I don't remember a whole lot about 4 months except that she just kept getting so much fun! By 4 months she was sleeping I think 10 hours a night which didn't leave much of an afternoon with her but Sleep at this age is so important, so we cherished our weekends together! She loved going to see Melissa each morning. We had an awesome opportunity to stand before our congregation at church and pray that we as parents were going to commit to raising her in a home that knew Jesus and would teach her God's faithful word...so humbled that God would entrust us to raise his precious daughter to know Him!
5. The day she turned 5 mo was the first time she got "sick". Annalise and I stayed the night with granny and it was the first night since she had turned 5 weeks that she woke up in the middle of the night...yes she's a sleeper. I remember that night like it was yesterday...sad. Having a sick child is the worst. She couldn't breathe through her nose and had a horrible cough. I thought she had RSV but thankfully just a stinking Cold/Allergies. Yes, she has allergies already,..bummer. Annalise was still super chill at this age. You had to really work to get her to smile because she was so content just hanging out with Whoever wanted to hold her. I loved this about her.
6. I loved 6 months! Her little personality was really starting to form! This month was so exciting. We got to spend time at my parents for Christmas, my mom came up to see Annalise before we headed out and then she got to experience her first plane ride to Miami. If she would have stayed in Texas she would have had her first ever white Christmas, but that's okay, we had a blast with Mario's family in Florida! We stopped swaddling her this month because she was finally trying to get out so she could find her wubbanub so mommy and daddy wouldn't have to go in in the middle of the night and put it in for her. Some might say we swaddled to long but honestly she LOVED it, she could be going crazy and as soon as we got her in that thing...immediate difference; calm and ready for the lights to be out! She is talking all the time now and even got her two bottom teeth. I swear by the amber teething necklace...no symptoms. This month we introduced food to her diet :) so much fun seeing what she liked and didn't like at this age.
7-10. I bunch these months up together because I honestly can't remember month by month...I know...sad! She switched daycares when we got back from Miami. Melissa was awesome but I wanted her to be around more kids and the teacher of her new class was in absolute love with Annalise. Everyday I would go to pick her up and I would ask how it went..."perfect" was a very consistent answer. She said that Annalise was the easiest baby (don't worry...read ahead to month 11 :) ). Annalise loves being with all the other kids and they love her!! Everyday....baby Annalise is here! She is the youngest so she is the "baby". She ate like a champion during these months liking pretty much everything but yogurt. We got to get all dolled up for her first Easter. Oh wait, backup, she had her first Valentine Party at school...yes I saved her valentine cards. Maybe a scrapbook in the near future! Annalise unfortunately went from having two dogs to one dog during this time, but it was what was best for our family without sharing all the details...I do miss Abbie though ;(. Annalise has really taken notice of Wade during these last few months. Are we mobile yet? nope but definitely showing interest and starting to scoot with her booty by 10th month.
11. Month 11 has been a game changer for the Arroyave Family!!! Wow, Annalise has gone from being so chill and content to moving EVERYWHERE. She crawls like an "injured soldier" as I call it...one leg dragging in the back. So funny to watch! She no longer wants to give us mouth wide open kisses all the time but more of her hand in our face. But, despite the times that I think "oh dear", the next second I'll be lying on the floor and she'll come over to me and lay her head on mine and kiss and love on me. We have a Sweet Sweet girl with a dash of Sass as I say!
12. One year old and she is pulling up on everything and standing for short periods of time before she plumps down on her bottom. We are no longer using a bottle! She is eating food and drinking her whole milk. We will either give her pancakes, waffles, or eggs with either fruit or yogurt. She will also drink her milk during this time. For lunch and dinner she'll eat whatever we eat with her milk and for snacks she'll have a little something with water. She transitioned like a pro...didn't seem to phase her at all! She actually eats like a boy. There is nothing this girl doesn't like, except spicy salsa that dad tried to give her :(. We are loving our summer with this One year Old! We took a visit to the zoo, I'll blog about that adventure another time, we swim which she loves, and we play play play!
Annalise has been such a blessing to us. I tear up thinking about how God entrusted Mario and I with this sweet girl and I couldn't be more happy. I can't wait to teach her about our Creature, our Father, our Savior! Right now when I pray with her and read to her out of the Children's bible she's not very interested but I know how important it is to keep doing it and instilling in her God's word! Our pastor was preaching a couple of weeks ago about fathers pastoring the home and he asked this question (in my own words). If your child didn't have Sunday School or church but only you to teach him/her the word of God and being a light for Jesus, would they know it? We have such huge jobs as Parents and I'm so thankful for our God of Grace! My prayer is that Annalise will know Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior one day, how sweet would that be!
Goal: keep blogging. Hope everyone is enjoying their summer!
