Yesterday Miss Anika Iris Kathryn turned 5 months old. 24 hours delayed I took our “hop hop” pictures this morning with Anika. “Hop hop” is the pink rabbit Nathan bought Anika when she was born. We take her picture next to it each month to compare her in size. Today she was not alone in her photo shoot. Big brother Hunter and big sister Elizabeth joined Anika.
Our baby girl has grown and changed so quickly since…
July 3rd when we brought her home from the hospital.
Anika prefers her tummy now and if you lay her down on her back unless she is exhausted, she will roll immediately to her tummy. She also prefers to sit up but cannot sit solo yet so she often sits in her Bumbo chair. She scoots on her tummy around her crib and on the floor a bit too. She is our peanut but growing quickly. Anika stretched out this month out of her 3-6 month sized clothes and now is working her way through her 6 month sized clothes into 6-9 month sizes. Her diapers are bigger and she has lost that “little baby” look all together.
Anika is cuddled and held daily by Hunter who just cannot get enough of her and is wonderfully helpful each day with his sisters. Actually we all love to snuggle with Anika. She is sweet, quiet and positively still the best baby in the world. We think Anika looks more and more like her daddy and Gpa Eldon. Her eyes are still blue most days but are darker and sometimes look more green and hazel in color.
Elissa the big sister has already made a best friend in her little sister. Anika is amazingly patient with her big sister’s constant caring for her. We can already tell in five short months that Anika is going to be willing to go with the flow, flexible and understanding to her big sister’s strong and (maybe sometimes bossy) ideas.
An example of Anika’s big sisters ideas…insisting on wearing her new adorably cute pink cowboy boots today and then packing herself a packet of instant oatmeal in her purse before we left the house this morning. Then she looked in the mirror when I was holding her to walk out the door and said “Oh mommy yook (look) at my hair! Me need hah (hair) cut!” Boots on, oatmeal packed and she needs a haircut. It wasn’t even 8AM yet. Anika is sure to get plenty of guidance and instruction from her sister!
Speaking of little sisters getting instruction from their big sisters…here is another example of that:
My little sister Kirsti is eight years younger than me and has had to deal with my (sometimes bossy) ideas her entire life. But she takes it all in stride.
(Sidenote for inquiring minds, Miss Kirsti is the creator of my blog headers which you can see is now updated.)
Last Friday, Kirsti and I had a sisterly experience together with girlfriends and our particularly favorite men. We were focused on wedding details. When it comes her wedding planning experience, Kirsti needs no instruction or direction from me but we have been enjoying the wedding planning process together. It is an experience I hope our girls will share together one day as sisters and friends. I tell Kirsti I will only give direction when she asks me for it. And yes I have been following that. Kirsti has a eye for detail and design will make Mike and her wedding fabulously gorgeous and a memorable day for everyone.
The latest detail Kirsti needed to tackle was doing some dress shopping. We went bridesmaid dress shopping with Dana Elizabeth and Miss Rebecca. Dana is like another sister to me. She was a bridesmaid in our wedding. I was her “babysitter” for years and she has been my sister’s dear friend since kindergarten. Rebecca…I remember when she was born very clearly. A mid-January day in 1990. That alone makes me feel especially “mature” that I will now be a bridesmaid with her. Rebecca and her family were our neighbors for decades and our families forever friends. And I also babysat Rebecca and her brothers many times. Kirsti and Rebecca also have been lifelong friends. Together we all met up on Friday afternoon. “Black Friday” does apply to bridal stores because it was relatively quiet. We tried on numerous dresses and Kirsti made an excellent decision for her maids and oh yes and me the MATRON, not a maid. You can see the debut of the dresses next May 29.
It was not just a girls day of shopping. The boys joined us. My parents watched the girls and Hunter played with his cousin Logan at the farm. Nathan and Mike picked out tuxedos and all the accessories. And Kirsti approved.
Kirsti and Mike will tie the knot in just less than six months. It will be a proud big sister moment for me!
fun! How does Kirsti know how to do blog headers???