June!

June has been a pretty chill month for the Lovetts. We've been having a lot of fun at home and getting settled into our new home, and mostly just relaxing and spending time with our friends here in Champaign! Not much else to say except that we're surviving the heat one day at a time and Anna is growing so fast. She is quite the crawler now, and loves to explore all day! She is in to everything! She's also started pulling up onto furniture and becoming more interested in her world every day.

Following mom into the kitchen

Father's Day--Anna LOVES Alexander and gets super excited when she hears him coming in the door from work.

Loves playing with pretty necklace from Aunt Stephanie

fun toy!

Teeth!

Other fun things:

• Loves cherries, strawberries, and bananas
• Eats bites of pretty much anything off of mom or dad's forks
• Squeals with excitement at the sight of Benjamin or Levi (4 and nearly 2, our neighbors)
• Loves books
• Claps when we say rhymes or "good job"
• Interested in putting things into and taking things out of containers systematically. 
• Has 3 teeth! Her two bottom central incisors and her left top lateral incisor. 
• Likes the pool and loves it even more if there are little kids there to watch. Doesn't like the way mom smells after the pool and won't nurse until after a nap and mom takes a shower so she doesn't smell like chlorine.
• Favorite toys are: stuffed lion, peanut butter jar (empty) with a ball in it, pink dog, and random household items including a baster, oatmeal containers, drip pan, and aluminum foil roll (makes her voice sound cool when she talks into it)
• Is still afraid of the vacuum, loud sneezes and coughing, and dogs when they open their mouths and pant.
• Dislikes: getting her face washed, going to bed, being left alone in a room, and getting her favorite toys taken away from her (usually keys, sunscreen, and yesterday, a jalepeno at the grocery store. yeah. that was my baby.)

Summer is upon us!

YAY! It's summer! We celebrated by taking a trip to Florida to visit friends as well as lots of time outside and moving to a new apartment!

Anna turned 10 months old today, and she is sprouting her first tooth. She is up on all fours, trying to crawl and she is so close! She is really laid back and loves to roll around on the floor and play with her toys. She was a great traveler and charmed all whom we met. Alexander is spending his summer busily finding something worthy of a PhD. I am working on delicious food, reading, and sewing projects galore. I also started my first painting project--an accent wall in our new apartment. Here are some pictures to prove that we're having a blast!

In her Easter dress and fascinator, made lovingly by Mom

Proud of her new and developing locomotion skills.

Ready for the beach

Enjoying pizza in Hyde Park

Loving the pucker face at a friend's birthday party

Atlantic Ocean with Daddy!

Family on Merritt Island

Kennedy Space Center

Plans for the rest of the summer include: finishing moving to our new place, visit to St. Louis for the Visa gymnastics competition to support Alexander's cousin, lots of playing at the park at our new place, perhaps a trip to UT in August, and mostly staying home and enjoying our own little family. If you're headed this way, we'd love to see you, though! Champaign is an excellent stop for lunch on a cross-country road trip.

8 Months

Really?!?!?! My baby girl is 8 months old. We're loving her emerging personality. This month, Anna:

• Continues to roll tummy to back
• Squirms around on her back trying to reach toys, but doesn't roll yet.
• Traveled to Nauvoo for a few days
• Loves oatmeal and fruit for breakfast
• Giggles when tickled
• Grins when daddy gets home
• Has mastered picking up cheerios and eating them.
• Enjoys being around little kids and squeals with delight when she gets to play with them.

Now, for some pics!

Sticking out your tongue is silly!

Ready for summer in 80º weather

At Carthage Jail

Mom and Anna at Carthage Jail

Easter Dress for Anna

I found a sew-along for an adorable dress at this blog and decided I could make Anna's Easter dress for way less than I could buy one of the same quality. So, here are my spoils:

Front of dress

back of dress (invisible zipper closure) also, check out the AMAZING lining up of the contrasting fabrics.

Sleeve and contrast detail. I don't know why it didn't occur to me to sew the sleeve trim on with red thread, but no way am I going back to fix it! (okay, maybe I will. It might bug me that much)

Soooo, that's that for now. I'll be sure to take some cute pictures of Anna wearing it and post for your pleasure.

Quickwater Macaroni and Cheese

I LOVE macaroni and cheese, and this variety is my favorite--one pot, creamy, cheesy goodness. Yes, I did just say one pot. I promise that you'll never go back to baked, boxed, or any other type of macaroni and cheese after you've tried this one!

It's named after the place where I discovered it--Quickwater Ranch in Victor, ID. I spent many summers there in my teenage years, and anything to bring back the memories of that wonderful, beautiful, amazing place is welcome.

Quickwater Macaroni and Cheese

4 T butter
1 onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced (I love red, but green is always cheaper. Sometimes I use one of both!)
1 1/3 C elbow macaroni, uncooked
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp ground mustard
2 C water
1 T flour
1 12 oz can evaporated milk
8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated

Melt butter over medium heat in large skillet or medium sauce pan. Add onion, pepper, macaroni, and seasonings. Stir until onion is tender and transparent. Add water and bring to a boil. Cover and cook until pasta is tender (about 10-15 minutes). Sprinkle flour over pasta and mix well. Reduce heat and add evaporated milk. Mix well. Add cheese and stir. Heat through until cheese is melted. Serve warm.

Anna--Month 4

Anna is growing up so fast. We went to her four month appointment yesterday, and Dr. Porter says that she's doing great! She is 14 lbs 7 oz and 25.5 inches.

This month, Anna:
Met all of her cousins on the Lovett side of the family, and her Lovett grandparents.
Visited 2 new states: Kansas and Oklahoma.
Went to Amish country.
Gave mommy and daddy her first really belly laugh (we're just waiting for the encore--we haven't gotten another laugh since).
Learned how to yank her toys off of her play-gym. One of her cousins rigged it so that the c-ring was sideways so that the toy can be yanked off of it. Now, Anna won't play with it if she can't yank the guy off and chew on it.
Started chewing on everything she could get her hands on, including her plain ol' hands. Her favorite things to chew on are her hands and the toy cardinal on her play gym.
Pushes up on her arms and scoots herself in a little circle.
Smiles a lot (although she doesn't like to smile for the camera--when I'm set to take pictures of her cheerful self, she gets all serious and mostly just stares at the camera like it's scary).
Was given a name and a blessing by her father.
Still loves the bath and is getting to big for the bathroom sink.
Refuses to sleep unswaddled--she is too busy hitting herself in the face.

okay, on to some pictures.

Anna with Grandma and Grandpa Lovett, Dad, and Mom

Anna in her blessing dress. I use this picture to demonstrate her HUGE eyelashes.

Anna smiling at her silly  mom.

pretty little girl in a big poofy dress.

She loves to sit in the bumbo and watch me walk around the kitchen getting dinner ready.

smiley baby!

Although she smiles a lot, this is her default. Fingers in mouth, looking around.

huh? also, i LOVE these panda jammies.

hi mom!

precious baby toes

and precious baby fingers.

trying to fit them all in at the same time.

she learned how to stick her tongue out and now thinks it's a hilarious joke when she does it.

my baby. <3

Anna is 3 months!

Hello everyone! Anna turned three months last weekend! My in-laws visited this weekend so I am finally getting around to posting some pics from her third month.

 Anna's happy face greeting me in the morning--she is SO excited when someone comes to get her from her crib in the morning or after naptime.

 More smiles from the happy girl

This is her favorite place to nap--snuggled up with mom!

smiley girl!

Anna and her friend, Lincoln. He is 9 weeks younger than Anna.

Love tummy time!

The weather is turning colder and Anna looks adorable dressed up to go outside.

Anna and daddy playing. She loves "talking" to him and the funny noises he makes.

getting big and showing off her cloth diaper!

Anna dressed up as a snowflake for halloween--it was a hit.

After bathtime. Baths really help her calm down so she can go to sleep.

Wide-eyed!

Anna is a drooler! 

More of Anna's personality shows up all the time. She is really aware of what is going on and very trusting. She does not like to be left alone and will often just look around to make sure someone is there with her. If someone isn't there, she'll squawk until someone comes, and then coo and smile when she sees you. She loved having grandma and grandpa Lovett come visit and especially loved playing with grandma. She is happy and very easy-going, and we couldn't ask for a better baby!