Catching Up with the Katchurs

Our Christmas Tree

2009-12-13T21:05:00.007-06:00

This year at the Katchur house, decorations are scarce. I don't really have a reason for that, but honestly I'm kind of enjoying it. We have the tree up and a few pictures and the stockings. This post is all about our tree. This was the first year that Anna had any interest in helping decorate the tree. She enjoyed helping hang the ornaments. And of course Daddy helped her to add the finishing touch of topping the tree with the star. She was so proud!

Next, I just thought I would share some of my favorite ornaments. I bought this one our first Christmas. I love snowmen and this one really caught my eye. I still love it. I love that it says JOY! It makes me want to bust out in song...Joy to the World...

My mother has always bought us ornaments for Christmas, and I mean always. I don't think she has ever missed a year. This ornament may be my favorite! She does a good job picking out for each person, but this one was the best for me. A flip flop!! That is an awesome Christmas tree ornament! I love that she thought of me when she saw it!!

And this one........is probably my favorite on the tree this year. This is the first handmade by Anna ornament. She made it last year at church, and I just adore it. I know that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.... :) but this one is beautiful to me!! I can't wait to see what she makes to add to the tree this year.

Thankful

2009-11-26T21:49:00.002-06:00

Wow, what a thanksgiving. I am an incredibly thankful for today. I am thankful that I have a family that was understanding and willing to change our turkey time today so that I could serve others. I am thankful that I was able to see Jesus today in those that I helped serve. I am thankful for the fellowship with friends while cooking pan after pan of sweet potatoes. I am thankful for a husband that understands my desire to serve. I am thankful for my kitchen that I was able to come home to today to cook more sweet potatoes for my own family. I am thankful for my beautiful and sweet daughter who can spend an entire day (including nap time) wearing a tutu and still not want to take it off when it's time to leave the house. All of this is just today and I could keep going and going.

Basically what I'm trying to say is that I'm so thankful for more than just my family, though I am very thankful for a healthy family, it's the little things that I notice and am so much more thankful for this year than any year in the past.

I am thankful for every opportunity that God provides for me in His perfect timing.

People!!

2009-11-19T22:31:00.007-06:00

Cake balls are where it's at!! I made my first batch tonight for Anna's Thanksgiving Feast tomorrow and oh my goodness!! They are amazing!! So seriously, go here and get the very simple recipe. And get to cooking!!! You will not regret it!

(I made strawberry cake and white chocolate coating with milk chocolate drizzled on top.)

Anna is 3!!

2009-11-16T08:00:00.000-06:00

Yes, it's true. She is 3 years old. Hard to believe, I know, but it's very real. She had two birthday parties this year. She thought she had definitely become a princess. Her first party was at her preschool. She had a blast sharing that party with all of her Snuggle Bug friends. Her second party was at Sonshine Gymnastics. That was a definite highlight for her. She had so much fun playing at "big gym" with all of her friends there.I believe it was the best 3rd birthday celebration that a girl could ever ask for.

Up

2009-11-15T22:38:00.003-06:00

I'm finally getting to watch the Disney movie "Up". I've been anxious to watch it since it was in the theater. I'm not sure why I have been so drawn to it, but it caught my attention from the beginning. I am about half way through it as I write this and it has not disappointed! I could probably watch those balloons carry that house across the bright blue sky a million times and not get tired of it. The colors are all perfect! And the characters are very entertaining! Carl is chasing the dream he and his wife always had. And Russell is a dorky little Wilderness Explorer trying to get his "assisting the elderly" badge. I can't believe that I'm enjoying it so much, but I truly am. Maybe you should watch it!

Update: Just finished the movie! I loved it!!!! The story was better than I imagined. I think this is going to be one that I purchase. And I'm so thankful they chose to have the balloons in all different colors! They are just beautiful!

The Beach..I love the beach!!

2009-11-08T23:24:00.007-06:00

Last month, we made a trip to Florida. This trip was for two reasons, but I'm only going to focus on the vacation part in this post. We stayed in Destin the last few days of the trip, and we all had an amazing time. Anna loves the beach as much as we do. In this picture, it looks like she's telling daddy all about how big the ocean is...

I'm not sure what she was thinking here, but it really looks like she's concentrating on something. Maybe she's trying to design the best sand castle ever and she's just not sure where to start...
We were even able to get mom out to the beach one day. Dad had come too, but didn't last very long. He decided he would rather sit in the car. :) At least mom got to enjoy feeling the sand between her toes...Of course there was some shopping too. Anna really loaded up at the build-a-bear workshop. And there was no way she was going to allow anyone to help her carry her new friends...But all in all, we spent a whole lot of the trip in the van. It was a long drive to Gainesville, FL then back to Destin, FL and then back home. But I don't think any of us would trade one single minute for anything different. The "Florida Trip", as Anna called it, was perfect.

What?? I have a blog???

2009-11-04T21:55:00.004-06:00

I guess maybe I forgot about it. Ok, not really, I just haven't taken the time to post anything in f.o.r.e.v.e.r. I could try to sum up the last 10 months, but really that would be ridiculous. I believe I will just stay in the now and move forward. So......

Anna is in preschool now, and recently she had her school picture day. :) So cute. Stay tuned for pictures from our recent trip to the beach...

Better than I ever imagined

2008-12-27T21:54:00.005-06:00

Yes, Christmas this year was bigger and better than I ever dreamed it would be. Anna had a blast this year, but this year was better for me because I slowed down to enjoy it. I am normally a person who can't sit still, mainly because I'll fall asleep if I do, but because of this I miss out on a lot of quality time with Anna. I changed my ways the past few days. I have played with her for hours and not touched the laundry or dirty dishes. And even though it will take me through the end of next week to get caught up on work and chores, I wouldn't trade it for the world.

This picture was right before leaving for our church's candlelight service on Christmas Eve. Daddy was at work, but the two of us went.

After our service, we went to my brother's for dinner and then to their candlelight service. Afterwards, we came back to their house and put the girls in their matching pj's. Sooooo cute!!! Here they are giving each other a goodbye hug.

I have lots of pictures of Anna with all of her new toys, but there are too many to choose from. I'm sure you will see them in pictures along the way, but she got a new wagon, a tricycle, a 4-wheeler, a kitchen...... and those are just the big things. Imagine all of the little things and all of the clothes that she got!!!! Yeah, she had a great time!! I hope everyone else did too.

We've got some catching up to do.....

2008-12-03T20:22:00.013-06:00

Let's go back in time a few weeks to November 16th. That was the day that Anna turned two!!! She had a great birthday party and got lots of perfect gifts. Let me share a few pictures...

She got a horsey!! And she absolutely loves the horsey. She got the perfect little tea set and a Mr. Potato Head. And she got a baby carrier. Do you think she likes it?????I promise you neither the tea set picture or the sleeping with the baby carrier picture are staged. Anna is responsible for both setups.

And here are a few pictures that Cherie did for us for Anna's 2nd birthday.

Ok, now that you've seen Anna turn two, let's fast forward to this past weekend. We put up the Christmas tree, and this year Anna got to help. She did such a good job, see.....

That's all for now, but the fun's just getting started. She's TWO!!!!

Trick or Treat

2008-10-31T21:55:00.004-05:00

Anna's first real Halloween experience was too much fun. She was a pirate, mainly because she is just too cute when she says "argh!!" We went trick-or-treating with some of her friends, and she got to ride in the wagon with a monkey. :) At first she was kind of confused about what was going on...

But she soon figured out that at each door, she would get MORE candy!!

By the end of the night, she was enjoying her candy too!!! (Notice the chocolate covered mouth)

A wonderful Saturday!!

2008-10-18T21:26:00.009-05:00

This morning, Anna and I packed up and headed to the Little Rock Zoo. Just the two of us. The weather was awesome. It was cool and crisp, I love it. And I believe 9 am on a Saturday has to be the best time to hit the zoo. For the first hour or so, I felt as if we were the only ones there, which was awesome because Anna could get out of the stroller and check things out for herself.

They have the grounds set up for the annual Boo at the Zoo, so there were some really interesting decorations to check out.

I love that Anna stopped to let me take her picture under this very appropriate sign. :)We got to see lots of animals, giraffes, lions, bears, you know, normal zoo animals, but I think the best thing that I saw was the great ape carrying around a stuffed bunny. You gotta love that.

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-13T20:28:00.014-05:00

Several of us headed to the Hardin Farms Pumpkin Patch a couple of weekends ago. We loaded up with kids, the wagon, ice chests and picnic lunches. The weather was perfect, and we all had a blast.

Anna picked her a pumpkin in the patch...

She rode the big slide and loved it...

Everytime she would get to the bottom, she would turn around and start heading back to the stairs. She would have stayed on the slide all day I believe, but there were other things to do. We had to move on...

She got her face painted with a cute little ghost with a pink bow and played on a little bit smaller slide (which she enjoyed almost as much as the big one)...

Oh, I really wasn't going to show this picture because I look like such a dork, but I'm just going to do it. Just don't ever tell me how hard you laughed...

Yeah, it took a lot of persuasion to get me on the slide. Obviously, I was not as excited about it as Anna was.

So there you have it, the pumpkin patch. :)

Pictures

2008-09-03T21:51:00.001-05:00

Go check out some of the latest pictures of little miss Anna. Go here and here.

Building a House

2008-08-17T12:58:00.002-05:00

Yep, I'm building a house. Not a house for me, but for someone else. You guys know that show Extreme Makeover Home Edition. Yeah, that's what I'm doing. They chose a family in Bigelow, AR, which is just about 30 minutes from me. So......I'm volunteering and helping build a family a new house. Yesterday was my first day there, it's an awesome experience for sure. If you want to follow along and see the progress being made, you should go to this website. See ya later!!!!

A haircut!!

2008-08-05T21:41:00.004-05:00

Yes, can you believe it!?!?! Her first haircut!!! She did great too!! I was so afraid that she would throw a fit and not sit still, but she did just the opposite. She brushed Barbie's hair while Sheila cut hers. I'm not sure she even realized anything was going on.

Then she turned into a little diva. She let Sheila blowdry her hair and "style" it.

I see many trips to the salon in Anna's future.

Fabulous Friday

2008-07-19T21:27:00.007-05:00

I got to take off work yesterday and take Anna to have some fun. Aunt Sandra and Cousin Katie joined us and we went to the AR Museum of Discovery in Little Rock. Oh my goodness, those girls had so much fun. They played so hard and were so good. Well, for the most part....there was this one time that Anna hit another girl because she was playing with a toy that Anna wanted to play with. Well, not hit exactly, more like swatted at, but regardless, it was not acceptable. Anyways, other than that, she was great and had the time of her life.

Here goes Anna when we first got there. Running around, checking it all out....

And here she is riding an eggplant???????

And now reading a book on a big plastic sofa.... And then she posed as a football player with pigtails.....

2008-07-13T11:55:00.003-05:00

Well, here we are, July 13, 2008.....exactly 6 years ago today, Howard and I were saying 'I do' to one another. We never thought about where would be 6 years from that day, and who knows where we will be in another 6 years. I love you, Howard, and can't wait to see where else this life together takes us!!!!

2008-06-24T20:44:00.006-05:00

We made it back from vacation!!! We had a blast, but it's back to reality now. :)

The three of us headed out to Destin a week ago, and had the time of our lives. We played in the sand, played in the water, and watched a very dear friend get married!! Thanks, Stephanie and Mark, for having your wedding in such a beautiful and fun place!!!

So this was Anna's first time to the beach and she immediately knew what to do. She absolutely loved playing in the sand....

She also LOVED the ocean!! She would have stayed in it for hours on end had it not been for those pesky jellyfish!! There were tons of little ones that would sting just enough to be irritating!
So she spent some time surfing on the sand instead of in the water...

Then when she was tired of that, she spent some time laying out in the sun....well, actually it was in the shade but she didn't know the difference. She was just doing what all of the other girls were doing...
Then there was the wedding, of course. This is the only pic I got of the bride and groom and the entire wedding party. It was a very beautiful wedding, on the beach at sunset!! Who could ask for more!!

We all had a wonderful time and can't wait to head back to the beach......next year maybe. :)

Busy, busy, busy

2008-05-31T20:05:00.002-05:00

But I guess that's the story of my life these days. And I'm loving it!!!! So we came back from the Memorial Day weekend with a short week at work. But for some reason, it seemed long. Maybe it's the fact that the boss is out for two weeks (last week and this coming week) and I'm having to fill those shoes on top of my own. It's a good feeling of accomplishment when it's all over and the department has survived, but right now, it's a bit overwhelming. But anyways, so work was busy and all this last week, but today, even though incredibly busy, was very much fun!! We got up this morning at 5 am, put on our running shoes (along with some other things), loaded up Anna, and set out for Little Rock. Howard and I both ran the Dino Dash 5k!! Not together (he's way faster than me), but we both did it. It was such a good time!!! My friend, LaMonica, actually ran it with me as my coach and encourager. She was perfect in every way. It got really tough about halfway through as we turned around and started running towards the sun. And the hills.....there were some big, long hills!!! It was a hard race, but I feel so good that I was able to finish. :) After the race, we met up with Howard's mom who had Anna for us while we ran, and we headed to the Museum of Discovery. Very cool place too!!! They have a space that is just for kids 6 yrs and younger, so it was perfect for Anna. She had a blast!! Didn't really want to leave, but we had to get back for cousin Katie's 1st birthday party!!! It's hard to believe that little girl is already one!! It was a great party, but I have to tell you, by the time we got home from that, I was tired! My head hit the pillow and I was down for the next hour. That was a wonderful nap too!! So here I am, Howard has run out to rent a movie, Anna has been asleep for an hour now, and I'm enjoying a diet coke (and some popcorn when Howard gets back with a movie)!! A perfect ending to a perfect day!! Oh, and hopefully I can post some pictures of these events at some point. I don't exactly have pictures on my camera, but will try to get some from those people who took pictures. Oh my gosh, I can't believe I forgot to mention the face lift!!!! Don't you guys just love it!!! I do, I think it's amazing. Christy at Be Design did an amazing job for me!!!

It was busy, but so much fun!!!

2008-05-27T20:46:00.004-05:00

We had quite the weekend. I'm still exhausted, but I'm going to try to make this post happen. We all went to Louisiana for the weekend as there was a very important wedding to attend. :) Since the wedding wasn't until Saturday night, we decided to take the girls to the zoo.

Luckily for us, we had the best tour guide money can't buy. :) Cousin Aaron is the most precious and amazingly smart 7 year old I know. He definitely kept us informed with all kinds of animal information. I'm telling you guys, he's like a walking encyclopedia. So anyways, a couple of hours and several gallons of sweat later (it was so ridiculously hot and humid), we decided the girls were done. Besides, they needed a nap before the wedding. So that's what we did. Then it was off to the wedding. It was beautiful, as was the reception. We stayed out till almost midnight that night. Anna hung in there the whole time. Apparently she is a real party animal. And she even slept in the next morning, till 11:00!!!! Once we got up, dressed, and our bags packed, we spent a little more time with the family before we headed back home. Anna and Katie kept us entertained as always. :) How cute are these girls!?!?!?

I'm afraid her daddy may be leading her down the wrong path

2008-05-20T20:51:00.004-05:00

Anna got a new toy.....a basketball goal. I'm not really all excited about it, as I would rather it have been her first ballet bar, but Howard didn't ask me what I wanted. So there you have it, her first basketball goal. And as you can see, she's figuring it out quickly..... or not.

She just needs a little bit of help, and daddy is right there to lend a hand. :)

Maybe in lieu of a ballet bar, I could just make her wear a tutu when she's playing basketball.

You never know what you might find

2008-05-18T19:25:00.005-05:00

It's like everyone says.... if they're in the other room and being too quiet, they're probably up to something.

Well, sure enough, she was up to something. I couldn't even be angry with her though. I loved that she was exploring, even if it did mean that half a roll of toilet paper was unrolled and on the floor. AND she was picking off every little piece that was stuck to the roll.

I did it!!!!!

2008-05-12T21:47:00.004-05:00

I finished my first ever 5k!!! This past Saturday, Kelly and I ran/walked a 5k! It was more awesome than I ever imagined it would be and I can't wait to do it again.

Good times

2008-04-27T22:19:00.005-05:00

Anna and her daddy spent a little time flying a kite this afternoon.

And just as she was getting tired.....

The neighbors showed up with candy and tractors!!!
Then all was well!!

Quick Update

2008-04-20T11:11:00.007-05:00

Yes, I realize it has been almost forever since you've seen an update from me. It seems like this last month has been so incredibly busy for us and I've just not a had a chance to sit down and do this. So instead of doing laundry right now while Anna's napping, I'm doing this. I hope you guys appreciate my procrastinating on the laundry to keep you all informed. :)

Anna has really started playing with her baby dolls. These have never really been her favorite toys, up until now. It's so cute too. I can ask her where her baby is and she'll run right over to the toys and start searching for her baby.

She also likes covering the baby doll up with blankets.......or whatever she can find. In this case, it was the dirty laundry. Yes, I made the mistake of leaving the laundry in the hallway, and Anna found it. You can see the little baby's head sticking out the top of the pile of clothes. :)

These next pictures I took just this morning. Anna found this gift bag in the closet. So I opened it up and sat her inside. She thought it was the funniest thing. Too bad I wasn't quick enough to catch the laughter. Instead I got this face.....

But once she got done playing inside of it, she threw one of the handles over her shoulder and started dragging it around the house with her. She loves to pretend to carry a purse. I guess she takes after her mother and likes big purses.

I didn't get a picture of it, but shortly after this picture was taken, I found her over in a corner of the kitchen filling the gift bag up with dog biscuits. She's a mess.

Happy Easter!!

2008-03-22T20:54:00.003-05:00

The Entertainer

2008-03-15T15:27:00.006-05:00

This is a quick post and the rest of the story will come later, but I'm tired so this will have to do for now. :) Thank you for understanding.

Last Monday, I kept both Anna and Katie. I did not realize that Anna was such an entertainer until I saw this.... (that's Anna under the bucket)

Then this.......
She was playing peek-a-boo with Katie.....with a bucket on her head!!

She loves to help with the laundry

2008-02-24T22:01:00.000-06:00

She does such a good job of helping me with the laundry. She'll take it all out of the basket, and then put it all back in. She'll do it over and over until I've finally taken everything and folded it...

or until I put her in the basket with the towels!!

Someone got a haircut....

2008-02-21T21:58:00.004-06:00

.....and it wasn't Anna. That would mean that it must have been me!!! Yep, I cut off more than 12 inches of hair!!! I'm guessing that you'll probably want to see what it looks like so I took a picture. Yes, I took it. I didn't ask my husband to, that would have made too much sense. Instead I took a picture of myself using the mirror. This would be ok except there's a smear on the mirror and it happens to be at my right eye, so please disregard. Oh, and also, let me just say, this is my hair after a workout so keep that in mind. It's not perfectly done or freshly washed and dryed, but you'll get the idea. And by the way, I totally love the new cut!!! Love, love, love it!!! I hope you guys do too.

And as a bonus, I donated my hair to locks of love. Since I cut off more than 10 inches, I was able to save it and mail it in (which is why I was able to get a picture of the ponytail with a ruler).

I can't wait to get her in dance class

2008-02-15T09:08:00.002-06:00

She's walking all over the place now, and she seems to be getting a little cocky about it. :) You can see in this picture, she's trying to dance!!!

She's just getting so big.

Time for an update...

2008-01-30T21:02:00.000-06:00

I have so many things to tell you guys about, I’m just not sure where to start. So I guess I’ll just start with the first thing that comes to mind……

Anna’s walking!! She's been taking 5 or 6 steps, but in the past couple of days, she's walking across the room and back. It's so funny to me to see her walking around like a big girl. A lot of the time she still prefers to crawl because I guess she realizes that it's faster for her right now. But I think soon, she'll be walking everywhere.

Next, let me tell you about all of the teeth she just recently cut. Wow! She had a few coming in at one time (two of them being molars) and that was a rough few days. We survived, but there were times that I wondered. She was not a happy camper. Running a fever, she had no appetite most of the days, and she was waking up a lot at night. Thank goodness it only lasted a week. At least this way I’ll get a break before the next one’s come in hopefully.

Ok, next up...Anna doesn’t say many words, but she talks ALL THE TIME!! She just rambles on about any thing at all. When we put her to bed at night or for a nap, she will lay in her crib for 30 minutes or more just talking to herself. You can tell she’s just chit-chatting with her stuffed animals or somebody. We joke that she’s talking in complete sentences; we just don’t understand the language. However, she is saying a few noticeable words, including “cookie.” Her babysitter has a dog named Cookie so Anna has started calling all dogs “cookie.” It really is too cute. Of course, I guess this will lead to some confusion when we offer her a cookie and she wonders why we want her to eat the dog. We’ll just cross that bridge when we get to it.

And to end it all, here's some pictures.....Last weekend, for mom’s birthday, we had some family pictures taken. We had a blast doing it, and the pictures turned out AMAZING!! I’m so excited to share them with you.

This may be a long one...

2008-01-06T10:28:00.000-06:00

I have a lot of updating to do, so I guess I'll just start at the beginning...

Remember how I said the first trip to see Santa did not go so well? Well, I have a picture to share...

See, I told you it did not go well. Poor girl.

Ok, moving on to something more pleasant....well, kind of. You see, Anna left some cookies for Santa...

Except, not all of them stayed on plate.

I guess she just wanted to make sure they were good. I mean, you don't want to leave Santa some bad-tasting cookies.

The next morning proved that the cookies were good. Santa left lots of presents, and not just at our house. He left her some at Grandma and Grandpa's and at Mamaw and Papaw's. Here's a sample:

This was first thing that morning.

I don't know how excited she was about the new clothes, but whatever. :)

Then it was on to Grandma and Grandpa's in North Little Rock. We had a very good time there having lunch and spending the afternoon.

However, the visiting did wear out little Miss Anna. She slept all the way to Mamaw and Papaw's.

Which was probably a good thing considering she had a lot of presents to open.

Needless to say, by the time we got home Christmas night, Anna was beyond tired and definitely ready for bed.

So the next day, mom, dad, Anna and I set out for Georgia so that Anna could meet her Great-Grandmother Cole. And before we go any further, I'm not good at remembering to take pictures. I almost always have my camera, but remembering to actually get it out and take pictures is somewhat challenging for me. Maybe I should make that one of my New Year's resolutions. But anyways, back on topic here... So I have only two pictures from our trip to Georgia, neither of which have anyone else in the picture except Anna. The first one was our first night travelling. We stayed in Birmingham, and I took a picture of Anna in the bathtub playing with plastic cups. I know, so exciting right?

And the next picture is our last night travelling. We stayed in Tupelo, and this picture was taken of Anna being silly playing with the curtains.I do apologize for not having any other pictures from our trip. I know there were lots of pictures being taken while we were there, so maybe I can get my hands on some to share here. If not, please know that we had a really great time seeing and visiting with everyone. And I have to say, it was definitely an interesting experience staying in one hotel room with my mom, dad and Anna.

Since the trip to Georgia, we have had Jason, Sandra and Katie over for dinner where I got the cutest picture of Anna and Cousin Katie (at least I think it's the cutest picture ever).

So that pretty much catches you up to date with us. Here's another possible New Year's resolution for me...I should start posting here more often. Just think, if I remember to take more pictures and post more often, you guys may not be able to keep up. :) Yeah, we'll see how that goes for me.

Anna tells Santa Claus what she wants for Christmas

2007-12-24T14:33:00.000-06:00

I have to tell you guys, this was our second trip to see Santa this year. The first one did not go so well. But the Santa today got Anna's approval. I got some really cute pictures and I believe I owe it all to the fact that she recognized Santa's voice. Underneath the red suit and beard, it was Anna's babysitter's husband. :)

Merry Christmas!!

2007-12-23T19:40:00.000-06:00

Check out these cute little girls...Upon my request, Mom made them matching Christmas dresses. :) I love how they turned out. Too bad I couldn't get a picture of them both looking up at the camera at the same time. Here's the only picture I have of Katie looking up...
Now if I could only crop the two pictures together, I would have a really good one. Oh well, maybe next year...

It's Christmas tree time!!!

2007-11-28T19:17:00.001-06:00

This is Anna as I was telling her about the Christmas tree and how it's decorated with lots of lights and ornaments and stuff... You can tell she was very excited about it. Ok, maybe I'm stretching the truth a bit, but it makes for a better story for these cute pictures. :)

So she made a new friend. I didn't expect it, but she was much more interested in the snowman than the tree.

They were introducing themselves to each other, but I'm not sure what Mr. Snowman said that made Anna make this face...She looks a little concerned about something, but that feeling soon passed as she moved on to eating his leg.

I just love that child.

Happy Thanksgiving.....yesterday!!

2007-11-23T21:30:00.000-06:00

I'm running a little behind I guess. But better late than never, right? Anyways, here's the Thanksgiving princess. :) If she could talk (in a language that we could understand), I believe that she would tell us that she is thankful that she was able to participate in the Thanksgiving dinner yesterday. She really enjoyed herself with all of the new foods. It was definitely more interesting this year than last. This is all she did last year...
Wow, things sure have changed. :)

It's a birthday party!!

2007-11-18T08:51:00.000-06:00

Here comes the birthday girl!!

Opening presents is too much fun...

That worm has SOOOO many legs...
Wonder what's in this big box?
"Mom, are you sure it's ok if I rip this paper?"

"Is all of this mine!?!"

"No pictures, please."

This is definitely the way to go...

Two peas in a pod. Aren't they the cutest!?!

Aunt Sandra can come back anytime and push little miss Anna around.

I would have to say Anna's first birthday party was a big success. The little girl had so many friends over, got lots of awesome stuff, had lots and lots of cake, and played with her new toys until she couldn't hold her eyes open any longer.

1 year old

2007-11-15T22:05:00.000-06:00

It's hard to believe Anna's already a year old. She's grown from this...to this...and from this...

to this...

and from this...

to this...

and from being the only grandchild...

to being one of the two...
This little girl is so excited to be one!!!

Anna will be one year old before the milk expires

2007-11-07T16:54:00.000-06:00

Last year at this time, I was VERY pregnant. I remember making a trip to the grocery store, much like I did this past weekend, and when I grabbed the gallon of milk, I thought to myself "this expires AFTER Anna is due to be born." At the time, that was so exciting to me. I remember it like it was yesterday. Feeling the excitement that she would arrive before the milk had a chance to sour. That I would be smelling poopie diapers before I would smell bad milk. I know, it's ridiculous, but I was excited about it. But this year is a different story. I bought the gallon of milk that expires after Anna's birthday. There is some excitement. Excitement for her first ever birthday party and her first taste of birthday cake. But I'm also very sad. I know I've talked about it here before, how it's hard for me to grasp that she's growing up. But wow! No one ever told me how much they grow and change in the first year. Or maybe they did, I just didn't realize the extent of the growing up. I know it's only been one year, but it seems to have flown by. Anyways, I just wanted to share the milk story even though it is totally irrelevant to all things. It's just one of those things that I think I will always remember about being pregnant. Maybe I'll share another story soon. I know you will all be waiting in anticipation.

Of all the insects in the world, I love only these two!!

2007-11-01T20:11:00.000-05:00

I thought it was funny that Anna and Katie both happened to be insects for their first Halloween. Anna was a great ladybug, and Katie was a killer spider!!

I think in this next picture, Anna was asking mammaw, "what's a ladybug?"

And then she probably asked, "why can't I just go back to wearing the pumpkin shirt? It's much more comfortable."

Update

2007-10-21T21:28:00.001-05:00

Since it has been awhile since my last post, I'll just update you guys by using some pictures. First up, here's Anna at the pumpkin patch a couple of weekends ago. I know, I know. You don't see any pumpkins. I promise there were pumpkins. We even brought one home. But I failed to document anything from the day other than this.Regardless of the lack of pumpkin pictures, it was a fun time!!

Second, here's Anna showing off her new babylegs! I love these things. They're basically leg warmers but made for babies. I recently found them on sale for half price so now Anna has 2 new pairs to add to the collection. I have a feeling they are going to be used A LOT this winter. They're perfect with a onesie when it's a little bit cool outside. And I'm sure you're thinking, "isn't that what pants are for?" And to that I say, have you ever seen pants look this cute with a onesie? Anyways, they're great. I wide highly recommend these to anyone with a baby or anyone buying for a baby. And that's all about that. Moving on...

Next, Anna got to explore the driveway a little bit. She wasn't real excited about crawling on the concrete (who would be?), but she did for the sake of exploration. And lastly, Anna and pappaw had a fun time tonight. He chased her around the living room...
She was giggling the whole way. She would stop and turn around to make sure he was still coming and then she would take off again (yes, he was crawling on the floor with her). Then he finally got her.
Well, that catches you up to speed with us. I'll try to keep you more up-to-date on all of the happenings at the Katchur house from now on.

Here's the latest

2007-10-06T21:08:00.000-05:00

I just thought this was too cute. I guess Anna wanted to get out back and play with the dogs.

So, it's been awhile since my last post. Sorry about that, I guess I've been a little bit busy. I don't have any one specific thing to update you guys on, so I guess I'll just share some random thoughts...

First, I think I've mentioned before how the Baby Einstein DVD's are my friend. (They allow me to shower in the mornings by keeping Anna occupied.) Well, I feel like she gets bored with the same old videos every day (or maybe I'm the one that gets bored with it), so I was trying to find something new. And you guys may have already seen these, but I hadn't and I'm quite excited about them. They're called the Praise Baby Collection. I bought the "born to worship" dvd Friday night, and I love it already!!! I watched it twice with Anna today just because I like singing along with it. Basically it's the same thing as a Baby Einstein except that it's familiar church songs instead of Beethoven or Vivaldi or whoever (which of course, there's nothing wrong with the classical music, I just get tired of listening to it over and over again). I can't wait to get all of the other DVD's (there's only 2 or 3 others) and maybe one of the CD's so we can even listen in the car.

Next thing, and this is more about me than Anna, but I'm just really proud of myself and I guess I want to boast a little bit. So I've been going to the gym the last few months and I'm very excited to report that so far I've lost 32 pounds!!! When I started going, I didn't really have much faith in myself that I could really stick with it, but I have surprised myself. I even went 5 days this week!! Yep, everyday, Monday thru Friday. I really shocked myself with that one. But anyways, I still have a long way to go, but with the progress I've made so far, I feel like the journey is possible now. I'll let you guys know when I've lost the next 32 pounds!!

I'm not sure what else I can tell you guys. There really hasn't been anything new going on with us lately. Basically just the new dvd and the weight loss, other than that, everything's pretty much the same. Guess I can't complain about that.

Swingin'

2007-09-23T20:14:00.000-05:00

Anna didn't smile much while she was swinging, but I think she liked it. She would smile and giggle when she looked at me, but there were so many other things going on at the park that had her attention most of the time. There were lots of other kids playing, an airplane flying over, some other people playing soccer, a little girl next to us that was swinging her baby doll, and a family walking their dogs. Now that I think about it, I wonder if Anna even realized she was swinging.

Happy Birthday Pappaw!!

2007-09-18T23:04:00.000-05:00

One more milestone reached

2007-09-18T22:31:00.000-05:00

I knew this day would come. I was just hoping it wouldn't be so soon. Anna's pulling up all the way to her feet, which in itself is not so bad. It's the fact that now that she is on her feet, she'll start walking. That's the part that I'm not ready for. But, wow, she's so proud of herself. And I think she knows that I'm proud of her too because I can't stop taking pictures of her standing up. She was really giving me the big grin tonight.

The Great Shoe Debacle

2007-09-08T09:25:00.000-05:00

This is how it all went down...

Here she was, just minding her own business, looking all cute...

then I go and mess it all up...

You can tell by the look on her face, she's not thrilled with these new things on her feet. But I thought, we can work through this...

I was wrong. She got one shoe off and before I could get it back on, she had crawled (very quickly I might add) across the room. She sat up and looked at me like, "what the heck are you trying to do to me?" Needless to say...She got the other one off too.

Maybe we'll try again later.

Someone warn me about things like this, please.

2007-08-28T21:13:00.000-05:00

Some of you know how I feel about a messy eater. I have taken precautions with Anna to ensure that she is raised to be a low-mess kind of girl. You can't really tell in this picture, but when she first started eating at 4 months, I would slip her little arms under the belt that held her in the bouncy seat. I know this may sound a little cruel, but really she didn't mind it. She didn't know any different, she just thought it was normal. And it did what I wanted it to do, it kept her little hands out of her mouth because you can see what a mess her mouth is. So anyways, with that said, I wish someone would have told me about these......

Yes, Anna loves them, but look at this ......

Next time I'll know that her clothes need to come off before she starts on a biter biscuit. Holy cow, what a mess. Needless to say, she went straight to the bath after this (it was bath time anyways).

Ok, so moving on...Anna's 9 month birthday came and went a couple of weeks ago. It's the weirdest thing, it feels like it hasn't been that long, but at the same time it feels like she's always been here. She's just growing up too fast. I had finally gotten to where I was accepting that she was crawling, and now the pulling up stuff. I may have to tie her down somewhere so that she can't learn to walk until she's 2!!! I just don't want her to grow up so fast. Before I know it, she'll be having her first dance recital, learning to play the piano, and going to her first slumber party. Maybe I should stop worrying about it and just enjoy today. Wow, what a novel idea! I'll have to give that a shot.

Ok, but for now, this is my self-assigned task. I think I need to be working on Anna wearing some shoes. (But first I'll need to buy her some shoes because I don't think she even has any in her closet. Poor kid.) I can only think of 2 or 3 times in her life when she's ever worn shoes, and they were probably sometime in the first 3 months of her life. I don't really think she necessarily needs shoes right now, but I'm afraid when it comes time for her to start wearing some, she's not going to like it. Then what? She can't go barefoot forever. Though if I did the tying up thing till she was 2, she wouldn't need shoes for awhile.

Well, I suppose that's it for now. I'll be sure to keep you guys posted on any messy dinners and shoe adventures with Anna. Oh, and don't worry, Judy, I'm not really going to tie her up. :)

*Update on the green cup situation: She only felt the need to sleep with the cup that one night, and there have been no fits thrown since then. Maybe she was just having a bad day.

I'm choosing my battles

2007-08-21T22:04:00.000-05:00

Anna has started throwing little fits when she feels something isn't going her way. Prior to tonight, she has only done it when I've laid her down in her crib to sleep and she's not been ready for that. I've learned to walk away and let her cry and kick her legs, because she only does it for about 30 seconds, then she's asleep. Well, tonight was something different. Notice in the picture, she's sleeping with a green cup. Yeah, that's a bath toy. It's her favorite bath toy. (I don't really understand that either, but that's another story. I mean, of all the bath toys, she chooses the cup, but whatever.) So tonight, she's taking a bath and I decide it's time for her to get out. Usually this is no big deal and she just goes with the flow. Notice I said usually. Tonight was such a different story. I take the cup from her hand (because of course she's playing with her favorite bath toy) and pick her up to dry her off. She loses it, ya'll. I mean, screams, like someone has just taken away her best friend. So, of course, I immediately set her back down in the water and give her back the cup. All is well. So I'm thinking, ok, she just needs another minute or two with the cup and then we'll be good to go. She plays some more and then I try the "take out" routine again. Same result. She screams. At this point, I realize that she's not ever going to be ready to leave the cup so I grab it and hand it over to her. Ya'll, she hung on to that silly cup thru diapering, putting on her pajamas (though she did have to switch hands with it) and then took it to bed with her. Apparently she's grown a little attached to the green cup with an orange rim. Who knew a cup could be so comforting!?!

2007-08-11T09:36:00.000-05:00

This is how I found Anna this morning......on her knees, just looking at me, probably thinking, "I got up here, but how do I get down?" I guess it's time to think about lowering the mattress. I'm sure it won't be long before she'll be pulling up on her feet, and although it's ok to find her like I did this morning, I do want to make sure she stays IN the crib.

Two states and the Mississippi River

2007-07-31T21:26:00.000-05:00

It has been a while since I've been able to post anything, so I have a lot of catching up to do. We have been doing a lot of travelling over the last week. Well, it seems like a lot anyways. Last Thursday we set out for Louisiana. Anna was a great little traveler. Friday morning we left LA for Mississippi. Anna crossed the Mississippi River for the first time in her life. (Exciting stuff, I know.) Anyways, we had an awesome time visiting with family. I have so many pictures that I can't post them all, so you'll have to head over to the photo gallery for the good stuff. But of course I couldn't do a post without at least one picture of Anna. :)

She's crawling EVERYWHERE!!!

2007-07-22T14:37:00.000-05:00

She started crawling last week, and she's not slowing down. In fact, she's getting faster.

She's crawling to any drawer that she can find...

She's crawling to the kitchen... (Because that's where the food is, of course.)

Pappaw came over, and she tried to crawl out the front door when he left...

But when she's this darn cute...she knows she can go anywhere and no one's going to stop her.

Howard was accepted to nursing school and I think Anna might like corn...

2007-07-17T14:46:00.000-05:00

No, those two are not related, but I already had the corn post going and then Howard just informed me that he was accepted to nursing school so I thought I would throw that in with what I was already doing. Anyways...

Howard is going to nursing school this fall!!! Woohoo!!!! We're both quite excited about this (can you tell?).

And the next item of news is...

Anna likes her some corn!! She worked on those ears of corn as hard as she could. And loved every minute of it!! (And really I just think the pictures are too cute and wanted to share them.)

Is this cute or what?

2007-07-12T06:57:00.000-05:00

2007-07-09T19:27:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to update you guys on the latest happenings at the Katchur house. (And for some reason it won't let me type in a title, so I guess that means no title this time.)

Anna has her 2nd tooth!! If you look real close (I mean, real close), you can see both of the little teeth poking up. Also, this little girl is about to be crawling. She is up on her hands and knees, rocking back and forth. I just know, one day real soon, she's going to be moving on those hands and knees. And well, I'm just not ready for that. But then I don't think she cares if I'm ready or not.

I think that's all I have for now. Those are pretty big changes and I don't think I can handle any more right now.

Happy 4th of July!!!

2007-07-04T12:21:00.000-05:00

Update: We have a tooth!!

2007-07-01T21:40:00.000-05:00

Well, not actually a whole tooth, but the top of a tooth. Yep, Anna's bottom left tooth has made its debut!! I guess all of the drooling paid off.

Shower, anyone?

2007-06-29T21:44:00.000-05:00

Anna would be happy to give you a shower with her new spitting tricks. Not so much spitting, more just spraying slobber all over your face. And not so much on purpose, more just because she likes the way it feels on her lips maybe. Or maybe she likes the way it sounds. Who knows, but whatever the reason, she is definitely enjoying her newest trick. I tried to get a picture of the crazy faces she makes while she's spitting, but I don't think you can get the full effect. I mean, she puts some power behind each one, eyes closed and all. And of course, when I start laughing at her each time she does it, I suppose that's only encouraging her to do it again and again and again. But oh my gosh, I just can't help but laugh...uncontrollably sometimes. Anyways, she's a mess and I'm loving every minute of it. I am definitely blessed to have her as my daughter. How did I ever get so lucky.

Let's give her a round of applause

2007-06-26T18:39:00.000-05:00

Anna has learned to clap her hands. It has to be the cutest thing ever. Well, maybe not ever, but it is at least the cutest things she's done today. I've been doing the patty cake thing with her for the past couple of months, and she's finally caught on to how to do it herself.

But I think she definitely needs more practice...

Evidence of the drool

2007-06-21T20:04:00.000-05:00

Do you see this? Do you see all of the drool? And this is just a couple of minutes after a wiping. It's all down her chin, her neck, yuck. And obviously she's proud of it, with that goofy grin on her face. Well, I guess we'll get through this, I'm just hoping it's quick.

If this is what it's like...

2007-06-21T06:56:00.000-05:00

I would rather just buy her some dentures. Yep, I think Anna is finally going to get a tooth. (At least I hope it's the tooth thing and nothing serious.) She has been acting crazy the past couple of days. And by crazy, I mean, she's been running a fever, drooling ALL over the place, and crying at all hours of the night. What can I do to make this stop!?! Or at least make it tolerable? For me and her? How many teeth will we have to go through before this is over...

I can't believe she's already 7 months old

2007-06-17T21:22:00.000-05:00

1st Father's Day - Anna is growing and changing like crazy. She's babbling ALL the time. She's saying things like....da-da-da-da and ba-ba-ba-ba. It really is fun to listen to what noise she's going to make next. She also has this really silly grin that she does. Normally she smiles with her mouth wide open, but sometimes she'll do this new grin where she keeps her mouth closed but it's a HUGE grin, I don't know, she just looks silly. But I love it.

No babies were harmed in the making of this photo

2007-06-03T13:10:00.000-05:00

Anna and I were at a friend's house Saturday, where we swam for a little bit before the rain ran us inside. Of course we were all hungry after our swim, even if it was a very short swim. So we were going to sit at the table to have some snacks, and Donna asks me, "Here, we can just tie Anna to the chair while we eat." I'm thinking ok, I do trust this woman with my child, but what the heck is she talking about, tie Anna to the chair, that can't be good. Well, I'm glad I let her show me. It's the most brilliant thing ever. I've never seen it done before, but since she showed me, I've already used the method again. Yep, I'm tying my daughter to chairs. And she loves it, mostly because she gets to eat if she's tied to a chair, but whatever.

Anna has a new cousin!!!

2007-05-31T08:29:00.000-05:00

Katherine Rose arrived at 9:12 pm on May 30, 2007. She weighs 8 pounds 10 ounces and is 21 1/4 inches long. She is absolutely adorable, just the perfect addition to the family!!

Like Mother, Like Daughter

2007-05-23T14:34:00.000-05:00

Anna's New Favorite Toy......

.....a calculator!! I think she's going to follow in her mother's footsteps. She'll be a wonderful accountant!!

Sick Day

2007-05-23T11:44:00.001-05:00

Anna is home sick today, so I thought I could take advantage of this extra time at home. I thought about doing something productive, like cleaning, but then thought otherwise. That's why I'm here, giving you a post. I have to share this picture with you because it's too stinkin' funny. But first let me set the scene...Every morning, Anna wakes me up around 6 am. I feed and burp her, then I put her in her swing to watch Baby Einstein. This is what I have to do in order to be able to shower and get ready for the day. (Thank goodness for Baby Einstein!) She loves this time in the mornings. I know this because if I try to skip it on the weekends, she gets cranky with me. Ok, so anyways, a few days ago, we were going about with our normal routine until Anna decided to switch it up...

Yes, she's in the swing totally sideways!! How did she do that!?! And what's really funny to me is that she was lovin' the new view!! You can see in the picture, she's as happy as ever sitting sideways in her swing. She's a smart cookie. Always coming up with new ways to use the same ole stuff. That's my girl.

Ok, I better get back to taking care of my sweet little angel. She should be waking up from her morning nap soon.

Trying to catch up

2007-05-22T12:31:00.000-05:00

It's official. I don't do a very good job of managing my time at home. Every day I make a list in my head of what I need to get done (like posting on my blog), and somehow the day is over before I have finished all of my tasks (actually, before I have finished ANY of my tasks). Therefore, my life is spent trying to catch up. But now that it's official, it will get better. Right? I mean, knowing is half the battle. Anyways, I'm going to quit complaining about my poor time management skills seeing as how that's just a waste of time.

On to the good stuff...

These pictures are from 2 weeks ago (better late than never). Anna went swimming for the first time this summer. She loved it!!! And she looked so darn cute!!

That's all I have for now. Taking pictures of Anna is on my list of things to do today, so hopefully I can at least accomplish that. We'll see...

Full of Life

2007-05-03T19:15:00.000-05:00

I know, I'm supposed to be updating at least weekly and it's been two weeks since the last post. I think it's going to take time for me to get used to this. It's not that I don't have pictures to post, it's finding the time to do it. Anna keeps me moving all the time. But anyways, enough with the excuses. Let's get on to the good stuff, the reason why we're here.....

Anna has grown so much in just the last week that it got me to thinking about how much she's grown since she was born. It's hard to believe she was ever just 6 1/2 pounds. She's such a chunk now. These pictures are Anna at 1 month, 2 months, (oops I forgot to take one at 3 months) 4 months, and 5 months.

Isn't she a doll? I wish you could see her little personality shine through in the pictures. She is so happy and full of spunk, all of the time. Such a blessing to her daddy and I.

As if the Jumparoo isn't enough, daddy has to make it bounce even more. Oh, yes, he's holding it up in the air so that she can really bounce!! She loves it. And what a great arm workout for daddy.

She is also still in love with her Exersaucer. I don't know how she doesn't get bored with it, but so far, so good. And the fact that it folds up, brilliant! It goes with us anytime we go to the grandparents' house.

Anna's Newest Trick

2007-04-19T09:25:00.000-05:00

Oh yes, she has a new trick. She's been working on it for a couple of weeks now. She works daily on her flexibility. She can only pull off this new trick if she has an adequate warm-up. She is, of course, the most talented baby in the world......she can get her toes in her mouth!!!

She's growing up so fast

2007-04-13T10:21:00.000-05:00

We had a great 1st Easter with Anna. Anna met the Easter Bunny last Friday and she loved it. (She looks like such a big girl sitting on the bunny's lap.) She went to church with us and did great, slept the entire time. She's definitely a sleeper. (She gets that honest though, from her mom and her dad.)