Christmas 2007

Well, here at the Bateman household we had a very merry Christmas indeed! We had my mom over to celebrated Christmas morning here at our house. We listened to Christmas music as we opened presents and enjoyed a lovely breakfast together. We got everything we wanted and more; my wonderful husband surprised me with a beautiful strand of pearls and matching earrings. He is just too good to be true!



Then we made a quick stop at my Dad’s for hugs and our gift exchange. (Note the pearls!)



Finally we went to my sister’s house for the big family meal, good times, and, of course, more presents!



But the biggest surprise wasn’t a gift at all, but a white Christmas! The snow came down all day and looking out the windows we felt like we were inside a snow globe. It was simply breathtaking.



Oh and we all had a great time breaking in the kiddos new Nintendo Wii. I think the adults may have had more fun than the children!



I hope you all had a great day. You can see all the pictures of our holiday in the
Christmas 2007 gallery.

Pureeing. Again.



Just when I thought I was done pureeing foods, I am back at it again! Only this time the foods aren’t just for Ana. My friend Bridget recently shared a fabulous cookbook with me:
Deceptively Delicious. It is this amazing cookbook about getting your kids (well, your whole family really!) to eat healthier. Jessica Seinfeld (yes, Jerry Seinfeld’s wife) created all these recipes that have pureed vegetables in kid-friendly recipes to really up the nutritional value, as well as end the “Eat your veggies!” battle. I have been trying the recipes practically every day since I borrowed Bridget’s copy of the book and I love it. In fact, I went out this weekend and bought my own copy so I can continue to keep trying out more recipes (I figured Bridget would want her copy back eventually!).

Now Ana is not the picky eater in our family (yet, anyway! Knock on wood!) because she eats anything and everything we put in front of her. Simeon and I, on the other hand, are not the best at remembering to eat our veggies. We are WAY better now that we have Ana, since we cook them for her, we end up eating them as well. But the recipes in the book sneak veggies we wouldn’t normally eat into foods we love. Over the weekend I made Scrambled Eggs and Pancakes for breakfast and homemade Macaroni and Cheese for lunch; all of which were packed with veggies…and we didn’t even realize it! The recipes are simple and call for ingredients I typically have on hand; both very important criteria when I am trying out new recipes. If you are skeptical, like I was, borrow a copy from a friend or the library, or just try some of the sample recipes Oprah has on her website, but I guarantee once you realize how delicious eating your vegetables can be you will be getting a copy of your very own!

Our First Recall

With all the product recalls in the news lately, particularly those affecting children’s toys, it makes Christmas shopping a little scary. You don’t want to buy something that may end up hurting your child through faulty assembly or the ever-popular lead paint. Luckily, we have managed to dodge the recalls.

Until now.

We came home today to find a voice mail from Ana’s pediatricians office. Now, that is never a good thing. They were calling to inform me of the Merck Hib Vaccine Recall. Ana received her latest round of vaccinations at her 12-month doctors appointment on Monday, and naturally she received one of the 1.2 million potentially contaminated Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccines (Hib vaccine). Ironically enough, the vaccine is suppose to prevent serious bacterial infections (including Meningitis and Pneumonia) however the vaccine itself me be contaminated with bacteria.

While I was searching for fair pricing mailbox in our locality. The nurse I spoke with wanted to reassure me that Ana will not need to be revaccinated, there was just some concern about sterility of the machine that manufactured the vaccine. Lovely. So we need to keep an eye on Ana for the next week to make sure she doesn’t develop a fever or a rash.

I guess on the up-side, at least Ana did receive the vaccination. Due to the recall, there is expected to be a severe shortage of the vaccine.

Please note: I am not mentioning this to start a vaccination debate. I am a firm believer in vaccinations. I believe that the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks and that vaccination has been one of the most important public health advances in history. I am simply letting everyone know what has happened and not inviting any comments about my being a bad parent for trying to prevent avoidable childhood diseases. Thank you.

Party Pictures

On Sunday we celebrated Ana’s first birthday with our family and friends.



My mom and I made Ana a special mermaid birthday cake. A little girl just doesn’t turn one every day!



I had to help Ana blow out her candle. She wasn’t sure what was going on, but she was having a good time anyway!



We gave Ana her own part of the cake and she was quite happy to dive right in and eat.



We let Ana have a little ice cream to help wash down the frosting…



Then she returned to eating her cake. I think she was prepared to eat the entire thing. We finally took it away from her because I didn’t want her to get sick on her birthday!



Ana received a lot of fun toys, adorable clothes, and memories that will last a lifetime. A big “thank you” to everyone who shared this special occasion with us!



You can see all the pictures from Ana’s big day in the
Ana’s First Birthday gallery.

12 Month Doctor’s Appointment

Ana had her twelve-month doctors appointment this morning. Here are her stats from the appt:

Height: 30 1/4″ (85th percentile)
Weight: 20 lbs 3.5 oz (40th percentile)
Head: 45.6 cm (70th percentile)

Along with checking all her measurements and making sure she is on track with her milestones, she also got 4 shots: one in each arm and each leg. Ouch! After the shots, her father no longer has any remorse about getting her ears pierced! Anyway, everything is looking great and we aren’t due back in until Ana is 15-months old.

A Letter: Twelve Months

Dear Ana,
Happy Birthday my little bug! Today you turn twelve months, or one year, old. The other day a lady asked how old you were and I said “almost twelve months” to which she promptly replied, “Oh! A year!” Then it hit me that I have really got to get use to not saying your age in terms of months–you are on to YEARS, baby!



Once people hear how old you are, the first thing they ask is if you are walking. While not technically “walking” you are definitely taking steps. Last week you started doing what we refer to as “the pivot.” You would be holding on to something, step, and grab on to the next thing. Only one of your feet actually moved; hence the pivot. But in the last couple days you have taken full on steps. You are still incredibly cautious and only take small, manageable steps between things, but it is progress!



While I love that you are learning new things and meeting all your milestones perfectly, the best thing about you walking is how excited you get. When you take a step you are so proud of yourself you squeal and shake your hands or clap in sheer delight. Watching you take chances and dare to try new things makes me so proud to be your mother.



Naturally as you get older the way we do certain things has to evolve and adapt to your needs. This has happened with getting you to sleep. For the longest time I would nurse you and then rock or cuddle you to sleep. However, as your mobility increases and your desire to GET UP AND GO! is physically possible, the rocking and cuddling is no longer an option. We have started just putting you in your crib and within a few minutes of pathetic whimpering you fall fast asleep. However from time to time, you like to express your displeasure with being in bed the only way you know how. The result? Stuffed animal carnage. You have started emptying the contents of your crib one thing at a time until your bedroom floor is littered with stuffed animals. The only problem with this is that you quickly run out of animals and tend to throw your blankie and binky (which help you sleep) out as well. So on nights like this, your father or I come back in your room, return all the items to their place, hand you your blankie and binky, which you promptly accept and drift off to sleep. Silly little girl.



Speaking of silly sleep issues, I am fairly certain that you have inherited your mother’s sleep habits. You see, I have been known to do strange things in my sleep, ranging from sleep walking and talking, to yelling at your father to take the sheets off the bed in the middle of the night. A few nights ago I went into your room to check on you before I went to bed and as I walked into the room you stirred. I quickly froze, afraid I had waken you up, when you rolled over onto your hands and knees and started crawling. I was sure you were awake, except that as you crawled, you bumped into the edge of the crib, crumpled down and started snoring. You totally sleep crawled! It was simultaneously the cutest and creepiest thing I had seen you do. However, it does help me to understand how you end up in such strange sleep positions!



This month you have really started acting like a girl. Not only do you love to get into your Mama’s make-up drawer, but you love talking on the phone. As soon as I set down the phone you quickly rush over, put it to your ear and say, “Hi…Da-dee.” In fact, it doesn’t even have to be an actual phone. Just about anything you find becomes a phone…



Or a hairbrush. If something is not suitable for chatting into in your own little language, it promptly gets run through your hair. It is just about the cutest thing ever.



Well, that’s not entirely true. In my opinion, everything you do is the cutest thing ever. However, I am pretty biased since I did MAKE YOU. But in all honesty, you truly make everything better. I love seeing the world through your eyes. Books are more exciting when you are turning the pages. Ice cream tastes better when I share it with you. Things are funnier when you laugh at them with me. Thank you for each and every moment we spend together. It’s been an amazing first year.



All my love,
Mama

Year in Review

As Ana’s first birthday quickly approaches, I have been looking back at all the pictures from the last year. It simultaneously seems like she was born yesterday and a million years ago at the same time. Watching her grow has been an amazing adventure, one of which I want to share with all of you in a pictorial year in review. Enjoy!


One Day Old


One Month Old


Two Months Old


Three Months Old


Four Months Old


Five Months Old


Six Months Old


Seven Months Old


Eight Months Old


Nine Months Old


Ten Months Old


Eleven Months Old


Twelve Months One Year Old

Can you believe how quickly she has grown? Because I know I can’t…and I have seen it first hand!

Finally! We Have Pictures!

Behold! I have the pictures I promised! We have Miss Ana playing in the bathroom at our hotel in Bend:

Playing in the pool. Ana sure loves the water:

Ana’s first Thanksgiving, which we deep fried the turkey (it is suppose to look like that, I swear):

Getting Ana’s ears pierced, while poor Daddy holds her:

My first attempt at putting pigtails in Ana’s hair:

And even pictures from last night when Simeon and I attended Megan’s 1920’s themed Murder Mystery Party:

All the photos are in their respective gallery:
Ana Eleven Months,
November Bend Trip,
Thanksgiving 2007, and
1920’s Murder Mystery. I know it is a lot all at once, but I am sure you can manage!