Of course, I'm terrible at keeping people updated on this blog because, simply, I just don't make the time to do it, and when I do I usually get so frustrated with the blogger that it's no fun anyway. I have been trying to keep a short running list of some of the things AnnaLynn has been doing.
Here it is so far:
Week of Christmas 2010 - started "army" crawling
Jan 9th ish - started saying ba ba ba ba ba
Feb 22nd ish - started pulling up to a standing position
March 8, 2011 - started crawling with a "normal" crawl
March 11th ish - Since I don't think AnnaLynn needs a pacifier when she is awake and in a good mood… When she wakes up, I say "May I have your pacifier, please?" and then take it out of her mouth. She has never complained or fussed. Then around March 11th ish after she woke from one of her naps I said "May I have your pacifier, please?" and as I went to take it out of her mouth she spit it out! After the next nap she did the same thing, and then I realized that she knew exactly what I was saying and was responding without my making her!! So cool!
March 17-19 - first beach trip. She was unsure about the sand at first, but after being slowing introduced to it, she loved it. She also went swimming in a pool for the first time. I thought she would not like it, she still gets a little overwhelmed in the bath tub with water goes in her face. But she loved it! She was kicking her feet and moving all over the place. It was too cute!
March 22 - started saying ma ma ma ma ma
3rd week in March - started getting mad when she didn't get what she wants or what she wants was taken away from her
March 25 - slowly starting to "cruise" on the furniture. She needs a motivator which is usually Eastwood our cat, puffs (little rice treats that she loves!) or mommy or daddy.
Updates on the parents: Tony and I have been doing really well. We are still getting everything here in Denham figured out. Tony is having a hard time being motivated for school right now. It's amazing how much hard it is to be motivated when you are taking online classes. He is about to really get hit with a ton of stuff. April and May are going to be crazy months for our church. We will be starting a new casual worship service which Tony will be apart of the worship team. We are also putting on the first annual Youth Silent Auction which is the largest fundraiser for their mission trip. Many other end of the year things will be happening around here too. All of this along with Tony's final tests and papers and papers and papers. :) Prayers for his diligence and perserverance would be wonderful!
I am starting to take on a little more responsibility with things at the church. I'm helping out a lot with the silent auction and have stepped into a leadership position with the greeter team for our new church service. I am very excited about this because I really want people to feel welcomed and to be excited to be at church! I am also considering/praying about other areas that I might serve. I have been reading through and discussing the book Battlefield of the Mind by Joyce Meyer with another lady in our church. It has really been a great book so far. I find myself thinking about the things she talks about in it more than I expected. It's all about taking control of what we are thinking about and not just letting our minds drift. It's about realizing that our minds are important tools that can be used for good or bad and we need to make the choice of how ours will be used. Very interesting stuff, and I'm glad I'm reading it slowly and discussing it with a friend. I do hope that this meeting time can really develope into a woman's Bible study where we are not afraid to go deep into the Word and challenge each other and ask questions and prayer for each other - a way to get to know the women that I am serving with.
Anyway, life is so good. I praise the Lord for all of the many, many, many blessings He has given to me. I often sit and wonder why would the Lord bless me so much. I am doing the very thing I have always wanted to do - be a mommy, and I am blessed enough to have a husband that completely loves and supports me staying at home to care for our precious, loving, healthy, wonderful daughter. My family (my whole family) is the greatest gift the Lord has given to me. I love you all! Ok, time for some cute pictures:
Typical after-dinner picture.
AnnaLynn is so funny how she sits in her booster seat. She likes to hook her two big toes on the tray table and just leave them there. So cute!
She loves listening to (and sometimes playing with) daddy on his guitar. 
