Lucky Number 7

Today Annistyn is 7 months old, but she thinks she is 17.



Every month she learns so much and starts doing so many new things!!! It's hard to list them all.

Over the last month Annistyn has...
...became VERY mobile- she can get anywhere she wants to go and she can move FAST!
...gotten really hard to dress and change her diaper.
...learned to pull up on things.



...started eating level 2 baby foods and drinking juice from a cup.
...started getting a bath in the "big tub".
...been teething like crazy! The tooth that has been coming in for 3 months is finally peeking through the top of gum.
...gotten very silly! She laughs and giggles all the time!
...learned that she likes to jump. You are supposed to hold her up while she does it.
...REALLY started enjoy toys. She is very easily entertained. She loves ANYTHING that sings or talks, animals, and purses. Her all-time favorite is a book.



...started eating "puffs".
...eaten yogurt for the first time.
...started chewing on teething "cookies".
...learned to pitch a fit just to get her way.
...learned to balance a lot better. Now I can leave her sitting up without worrying about her doing a nose dive. She catches herself with her hand when she starts to tip over.
...started crying when Mommy leaves the room! :(
...started wearing a size 3 diaper. They are a little big, but fit over her chunky thighs a little better.
...figured out that we are eating when we sit down at the table. She thinks she has eat too.
...decided she wants to feed herself.
...learned to use her two hands to do two separate things.
...started trying to make her sounds into words. She said "mama" the other night, but wasn't talking to me...just to herself. Hey- at least she can say it!!!
...LOVED playing peek-a-boo. She will even reach up and try to pull your hands off your face.
...started dropping toys from the highchair just to watch them fall.

I know I am probably forgeting some things!

She loves toys, books, Finley Dog (and all animals), dolls, purses, any kind of baby food fruit- especially the mixed kinds, juice (and tea thanks to her Grandaddy), jumping, being on the floor, pulling up,

She is so busy! She loves for us to put a blanket on the floor, throw a bunch of toys down on it, and let her go. She will crawl all over it and drag out every toy. She likes to sit up and play, but can get down to her tummy without falling face first. She has figured out how to lower herself down gently. She moves SO fast. She doesn't get to play on our bed anymore without close supervision.

Once she learned to pull up last weekend, that is ALL she wants to do. It doesn't matter what it is. She even pushes up on her toys trying to stand up. Now that she pulls up, she likes to let go with one hand so she can turn around and look behind her.



She wants to walk. She is not scared of it at all and actually balances pretty good.

She amazes me at how deeply she analyzing things. The other day at Mom's, the cat was laying right in front on the couch. Annistyn couldn't reach the edge of the couch, but figured out that if she got on top of Kitty, she could. She kept trying to do it over and over. I couldn't believe that she can already think things through like that. She does that a lot. She is WAY to smart for her own good.

She has also turned into a stinker. She has always done her "fake cough" to get attention, but now she also knows how to pitch a fit to get her way. She gets really mad when you take away a toy (or a cookie!) and will instantly pitch a fit. She turns it off when she gets her way.

She is pretty social. She likes to be the center of attention and makes sure that she is. During church, she likes to stand up and look at the people on the pew behind her. When people talk to her, she smiles and then hides her head on my chest pretending that she is shy. She is really nosy. At restaurants, she'll turn around and stare at people beside us or behind us. When people give her attention- she eats it up! If they don't- she yells at them until they do. I don't know who she got that from! :)

Several times lately, she has started crying when I leave her. She is fine when I get there to pick her up in the afternoons. She just lights up when I walk in. I usually go strait to the bathroom and scrub down since I'm coming from school, but I have started having to wash my hands and arms at school before I leave. She has gotten to where she will start crying when I walk out to wash before I pick her up.

It breaks my heart that she doesn't want to be held all the time and that she is quickly losing the "baby" look and looking more like a little girl. But at the same time, I feel like I'm seeing the world for the first time again. Everything she does is new and I just light up inside everytime I watch her figure something out. She is fun to play with and can really interact with us now. She is a great shopping buddy.

She wanted to give a shout out to her Aunt Laura in Ohio for sending her the cute bibs! When I grow up, I want to be Aunt Laura. I'm pretty sure she shops all day every day! We get packages at least once every couple weeks. It just proves that you can spoil your great niece while living 3 states away!



She also has one that says, "I love my Nana and Papa", but it is currently soaking in Oxy Clean to get the baby food stains out of it. Mommy forgot to swap it with a plastic one! She also wants to send her Aunt Laura a kiss on the nose... ;)

Congratulations to Samantha and Matthew who got married today! Their wedding and reception were beautiful. I kicked myself the whole night for not taking my camera. I would have loved to have shared pictures from their special day! I just LOVED their reception with all the southern food and decorations.

We took some pictures when we got home. Annistyn got her first pumpkin at Wal-Mart the other night. This one was closer to her size. She thought it was really fun!



I made 3 of my favorite pictures into a storyboard. I may actually touch this up and order it for our wall. It would be cute to put out every year during the fall.



At school last week, I took down my "beginning of the year" decorations that had been up since August. I took a quick picture before I tore it down. I thought I would share. I really liked it.



I also took a picture of our art that was hanging in the hall. On the day that we did alphabet letter "V", I did a mini "V is for Van Gogh" lesson. We painted a sunflower painting. I cut out the vases for the kids, but I promise they did EVERYTHING else. I gave them square sponges for the yellow flower, the letter "X" sponge for orange, letter "Y" and "V" sponges with 2 different greens, and we used t-shirt paint to add texture.




They all did FANTASTIC and I have had a lot of nice comments about them. We don't really have time to do a lot of stuff like this, but kids need art to be a part of their life. Everybody succeeds in art- even kids who struggle academically. It is a self-esteem booster for them.

We did a taste test and made this apple graph in math on Johnny Appleseed day.



Alrighty...it took me an hour to get Annistyn settled down and in the bed! I am EXHAUSTED from traveling today and I am going to get in my bed- which, by the way, has a new comforter set. I will share it later.

Have a great weekend! It's started to feel less like mid-July and more like late August! Too bad it's October! Maybe we will get those temps back next week!!!!