Sugar Land House

Well, it's been quite a year so far and I haven't done much updating to the page like I intended!

As many of you know, we've gotten moved in to our new home in Sugar Land, Texas and are absolutely thrilled. We couldn't have been more fortunate with how everything worked out for us. We listed our home and it was sold within the first week, travelled here to find a home and had our offer accepted before we had to travel back home and even had one of my sister's come home from Oregon for a visit before we left. My sister, Maria, drove down with us (what a blessing she was) to help with Aanika and to be my relief driver. Poor Kevin, he and the cat had quite a ride in that truck! It was 3 very long days of fighting the wind, not moving very fast and being just plain cramped, between Aanika and the cat I think that neither of them is looking forward to any kind of trip in the near future! Maria really kept things moving once we got here - you'd think that we've lived here for years! It's really quite amazing....the house looks like it was built for us and for our furnishings. The curtains that were left behind match our couches perfectly, the main paint color is EXACTLY the same as in our condo with a lighter shade in the other areas and it's scale is wonderful for our oversized furniture. We're really looking forward to living here ~ who knows what might be in store for us!

On the move South

Wow! We've sold our house already ~ it was only on the market for 1 week! We had a wonderful realtor named Jason who came in with a great attitude and got it done. We are so relieved to know that we can go into our house-hunting venture knowing that things on this end are set and ready to go. Well, we're taking Aanika on some more airplanes and she isn't the quiet "sit still" kind of girl anymore...it oughta be a very interesting trip considering that our seats aren't together - hopefully the airline will be able to fix our seating!

With the weather finally getting nice enough we've been able to get out for some afternoon walks. We bought a Burley (bike/run/walk) stroller this past Christmas so that we can take her with us no matter what we want to do outside. We've got to get her a little helmet so that we can go riding with her but until then she loves going out running with Daddy. It's been wonderful for her because she can take a snack/drink, toys or blankets and is totally comfortable. It has shaded screens to keep out the sun and bugs and it even has a windshield you can pull down if the wind is too chilly!

Walking

Aanika's a certified 'walker' now and is making up for lost time! The other day she walked around the dining room table for 2 hours while we talked with a realtor. At the end of the two hours she was literally stumbling and falling down but simply refused to stop. I was getting tired just watching her!

Well there's big news in our family as many of you know. We're on the move again and heading south to the hot and steamy land of Houston, TX. Kevin is taking a new position with Memorial Hermann Healthcare System in Houston so that we can get out of the cold! We're not looking forward to another long, cold winter here in Michigan - we got very spoiled living in North Carolina! We both love the hot and hate the cold so we're pulling up stakes and hitting the road.

We're looking forward to "vacationers" looking for somewhere fun and warm to visit. Apparently the winters there are great so we'll plan on seeing some of you next winter!

Baby Dedication

Well, we have a ham. Aanika was dedicated to the Lord on Sunday, March 7th and brought down the house! She and her "cousin" Hannah (also from China) were up front with Pastor Tim when Aanika decided to be funny and start flirting and making faces at everyone in the audience. Wouldn't you know it, it's a very serious moment and nobody can keep a straight face (laughing out loud), I'm hiding behind Kevin's shoulder because I was laughing so hard and Kev's doing his best not to look at her (he was holding her). Yup, you guessed it - the more we laughed the more she did it! All in all it turned out wonderfully and we have some great video to show her later.

The newest thing is that she's very aware that she's funny. A couple of days ago she was showing off, covered her mouth with her hand and doubled over at the waist with laughter. Let's just say that it's gonna be an interesting ride! She's an absolute riot.

Our other big hurdles are finally coming together. It used to be that we couldn't get her to put things in her mouth to eat and now we can't stop her! Oh the joy of Cheerios and Cheddar Gold Fish from Peppridge Farms. The other thing we had trouble with has now been solved with something as simple as a straw. Aanika simply would not drink from a sippie cup and was a disaster without a lid so out of desperation I tried a straw. I've never seen a one year old able to master a straw but hey, yeah for us!

Cheerios!

All smiles after the Cheerio eating lesson!

Aanika is now a whopping 24 pounds and growing like a weed! She's generally happy and cheerful but, unfortunately, the girls of the household (even the cat) have been battling a cold these last two weeks. I think our bodies are rebelling against us for being cooped up for way too long! I can hardly wait for Spring to get here so we can get out and play.

I think we're going to have a 'talker' in the family. Already she can say Kitty, Daddy, good job and a variation of it's all gone and I'm all done. She's also been learning some sign language so that we can have a two-sided conversation. Her comprehension of what you say to her just amazes us. It's great to see her react in positive ways when you mention something that she enjoys. Seeing that big grin is a great payoff!

We've also (thanks to Holly) finally gotten her to start putting things in her mouth. She's still working on letting GO of the Cheerio, but at least she's understanding that there's a benefit to it. I don't know how she learned NOT to put things in her mouth, but I must say, it's been a challenge assuring her that it can be a good thing when it comes to eating.Sounds like someone's waking from her nap - gotta go.

First Birthday

Today is Aanika's 1st birthday! We had a little celebration - just the 3 of us. She didn't seem to interested in her cupcake but we had fun nonetheless and got some cute video and pictures.



What a sweetheart of a child. We've been so blessed by having this little one in our lives. Our days are spent playing, sleeping and eating but boy, do we have fun in the process! What did we do with our time before? She's growing so fast it's just amazing. Her hair is becoming very thick and dark, her skin is soooo soft, and she's really becoming a beauty.

Christmas was spent in Missouri with Oma and Opa. It was a wonderful trip and we really enjoyed our time with them. They will be making a northward trip in March for Aanika's dedication. We've got the basement finished (finally) and have really made a great space for ourselves and visitors - it's quite cozy.

First Week Home

Well, it's been a few days since we've posted. Things have settled down nicely and we seem to finally getting into a family groove. Mom and Aanika had their first full week alone while Daddy went to work (dad didn't want to go). With both of us learning schedules it was pretty interesting but we were able to go out on a couple of adventures together! (very successfully we might add!)

The sickness is finally making it's way out the house and we're all pretty excited about how things will be with all of us well! We think Aanika is cutting another tooth because the drooling has started. We've been pretty fortunate not to have gone through the previous 8! With all that she puts out, she's gonna be drenched by noon.

We're making plans for a trip to Oma and Opa's (Grandma and Grandpa Sprecher) house in Missouri for Christmas. We'll be driving over the course of 2 days with a stop in the Benton Harbor area to see relatives - oughta be interesting. Aanika did great on planes when she wasn't strapped down...I don't think we'll have as much luck with the car seat. She hates being sedentary AND strapped in!