Anna's First Christmas

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity. Anna's first flight, first snow, baptism, four month birthday, first Christmas - whew! Anna enjoyed meeting tons of new people and having lots of new experiences. Mommy and Daddy are exhausted!

Between the baptism and Christmas travel we were able to see all of our parents and siblings - making this holiday very special. Anna was spoiled rotten by everyone and we are so grateful for everyone's generosity. We certainly enjoyed sharing her.

Anna's getting bigger everyday and has started doing lots of new things. Her ability to grasp things (especially Mommy's hair) is quite impressive. She can now hold her bottle on her own. She learned how to roll over while in Philadelphia, so the childproofing of our house has begun! She is making (unsuccessful) crawling motions while on her belly, but they do result in some impressive rotations.... she can turn about 90 degrees when you leave her on her back or belly. She has discovered her legs and feet and thinks they are the coolest things ever! Her latest trick is pinning Mommy's arm with her legs while she's getting her diaper changed. She is constantly experimenting with her voice and has quite a range of different sounds that we are trying our best to interpret.

We have had quite an incredible year and are looking forward to more fun with our daughter in 2010! We wish all of you a happy new year.

I really did try to pare down the hundreds of photos that we took on our trip... but there are still a lot. Click on the picture below, and enjoy.

Anna's First Christmas

Anna's Baptism

There was quite a "flurry" of activity leading up to Anna's Baptism on December 20th.

We arrived in Philadelphia on the 18th, just before a huge snowstorm hit the northeast the next day. All day Saturday we were on the phone with out of town relatives, trying to decide if it was safe enough to make the trip. In the end, part of Brian's family was unable to make it out of Maryland. Aunt Jenny, Anna's godmother, was delayed but was able to make it to the celebration following the ceremony.

The snow made a lovely backdrop for a special day. Anna looked beautiful in a gown worn by her grandmother, father, and uncle. She wore several baptismal rings from her father's side as well, and a beautiful St. Anne medal. She cried just a little bit when the water hit her forehead, but she quickly recovered and was all smiles. Her Uncle Mark and Aunt Jenny were proud godparents (and Aunt Laura, too, who stood in for Aunt Jenny as she was delayed from Ohio).

We gathered for lunch afterward and Anna was a good sport as she was passed around her relatives. It was a wonderful day, although we missed having some very important people there due to the snow.

Click on the picture to see more!

2009-12-20 Anna's christening

Anna's Early Christmas

Before we left for the east coast, we had a small Christmas celebration for Anna in our own home. Anna got some great toys and had a ball playing with wrapping paper and ribbon. It was good practice for her visit back east!

See the pics by clicking on the photo below!

2009-12-12 Anna's Early Christmas

Anna at 16 weeks

The holiday season is in full swing at the Perone household!

We started the holiday season with a visit from Uncle Mark and Aunt Michelle for Thanksgiving. We all woke up early on Thursday to participate in the Sacramento Run to Feed the Hungry... along with 28,000 other people. We joined the Christian Brothers team and had a great time hanging out with them before the race. This year we all chose to walk with Anna... but next year when Anna's big enough for the jogging stroller - watch out! We had a lovely dinner later that day. Brian made an amazing turkey and some great sides. On Saturday we spent the day putting up the tree and decorating for Anna's first Christmas. All in all it was a wonderful visit!

Grandma Barb and Grandpa Pat made a quick visit on the Sunday after Thanksgiving - with Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Thompson. It was great to see four generations together!

After Thanksgiving, Mommy had to face the music and go back to work. Luckily, I only had to go for three weeks until Christmas vacation. It is definitely hard to leave Anna in the morning! Daddy does daycare drop off and Mommy gets to be the hero and pick her up :) Anna seems to be thriving there and seems to really like her teachers, Ms. Van, Ms. Claire, and Ms. Renee.

Last weekend, Anna had the opportunity to meet Santa Claus! The picture came out really well. She will get to meet him again this week at her daycare Christmas party. This weekend we are busy having our own little Christmas celebration before we depart for the east coast. Anna has some presents under the tree that she will get to open when she awakes from her morning nap. Our flight to Philly leaves Friday, and we are anxiously awaiting seeing our families at Anna's baptism on Sunday.

Click below to see our latest set of pictures.

Anna - 16 weeks

Anna is 3 months old!

... and growing so fast! She's really developed her own personality (see her flirting with the ceiling fan in the previous post), and has changed so much already. She's in her second week of daycare, fortunately a short one due to Thanksgiving, and, as the only girl and the youngest in the infant group, has all the teachers wrapped around her finger. Not that we've actually let her stay there a full day yet, but we're working up to that slowly.

Anna - 3 months

As you can see from the attire, it's gotten colder in Sacramento, but Anna has weathered it in her lovely polar bear outfit, perfect for her walks with Mommy and Daddy.

Anna's crush - with video

So, Anna gives Mommy some smiles. She gives Daddy lots of smiles. But she saves the really big smiles for someone else. Who, you ask, could elicit such joy from our daughter?

Well, Anna has a crush on the ceiling fan. She loves it. She stares at it constantly and gets a huge smile on her face the second it comes into her view. We caught a bit on tape, so click on the link to get a glimpse!

Another cute video of Anna

Anna at 12 weeks

Anna turned twelve weeks old today... she's getting so big! She is reaching many developmental milestones. She can definitely recognize Mommy's face from afar, and she will start wailing if Daddy's been holding her and she's hungry. She knows how to reach for toys and grasp them. She loves her jumper and has figured out how to bounce in the right way to set the music off... and yes, that music is driving us a little crazy. She also has started to engage with the little toys on the tray of the bouncer. Smart lady!

Anna starts daycare tomorrow... at least for half days so she (read: Mommy) is accustomed to it. Mommy and Anna did a short visit with her teacher on Thursday and it went well. Anna seemed fine with Ms. Van but somewhat scared of the other infants. Anna is the only girl and the boys are all boisterous crawlers so it was a new experience for her. She's already having to fight off suitors!

Take a look at the latest pictures by clicking on the photo below!

Anna around the house

More Anna video!

Anna smiling!

Video - Anna jumps!

Take a look at Anna in her jumper! It's still a little too big for her but we solved the problem with a BC yearbook!

Anna in her jumper!

Pop-Pop and Halloween!

Anna had an exciting ninth week of life! First Pop-Pop came to visit, just in time for the World Series! He and Anna really enjoyed hanging out and cheering on the Phillies. Anna got to take long walks with Pop-Pop while Mommy got to run some errands. He even baby-sat so Mommy and Daddy could go out on a date night! We had a great time.

Halloween arrived and Batgirl flew in to save the day. We stayed in with some friends and gave out candy... all the neighbors were excited to see Anna dressed up.

Take a look at what's been going on by clicking on the picture below:

Halloween etc

Anna is two months old!

We can hardly believe it but two months have passed since Anna was born! She is doing new things every day. She is experimenting with her voice and making lots of interesting cooing sounds. She found her smile and is learning how to use it to her advantage... Daddy tends to get the most smiles so she is already wrapping him around her little finger. She has started to enjoy her play gym more and has started following toys moved in front of her and responding to bell and rattle sounds.

We went to the doctor yesterday and Anna weighed in at 11 pounds, 7 oz. She had her first vaccinations and she was a trooper! Three sticks plus some liquid medicine... she screamed a bit but quickly calmed down and slept the day away. She is in great spirits today. We celebrated her two month birthday with a walk to the duck pond in Land Park, followed by dinner out.

Click on the picture below to see more great pictures!

Anna - two months

Smiles!

Anna has learned to smile!

Anna - six weeks - pics and video!

Anna turned six weeks old this weekend! She is doing all sorts of new things... making new sounds, drinking the occasional bottle, even smiling a bit!

Grandmom Kreis came out for a visit the last weekend in September and she had a great time getting to know Anna. We were able to decorate the remaining untouched wall in Anna's nursery which remained bare before she was born as we were still debating her name. This weekend we hit the pumpkin patch in Dixon and got some great photos of Anna. The weather has turned a lot colder here, especially overnight, so we're digging out some fall clothes to replace the sundresses she could wear just last weekend when it was over 100 degrees!

We're having lots of fun! This post has both pictures and video. Here is the link for a video where Anna gives us a few smiles:

http://sharing.theflip.com/session/e093082a2a97cdcf0e09e4a7c9a11185/video/6554952

And if you click on the picture below, you will get to see some still shots of our last few weeks.

Anna - six weeks

New video

Anna and her bottle

Anna at one month.

Anna turned one month old on Wednesday! She is thriving and just about to hit the nine pound mark. We are still enjoying our twice daily walks, which usually include a stranger stopping to compliment Anna on her good looks :) Anna and I have been attending a "Mommy and Me" play/new mother's support group once a week which has been really nice - gets us out of the house and interacting with other babies.

We are working on "tummy time" during the day and Anna has been a very good sport about it (This will, among other things, keep her from getting a flat head from all that back-sleeping! Doctor's orders!) She is now able to lift her head up while on her stomach and turn it the other direction. Mommy and Daddy cheer like crazy people when Anna does this. Another development - Anna is beginning to enjoy her baths! Now that her umbilical cord has fallen off, baths can occur in her cute little tub. She likes the warm water, and we have to be super careful because she tries to scrunch down her neck to lower her mouth so she can drink it.

We are looking forward to a visit from Grandmom Kreis this weekend! Click for some more pictures!

Anna - One Month

3 weeks old - Hanging out with Mom and Dad

Anna turns three weeks old today, and it is already amazing to see how much she has grown. She is developing chubby cheeks and a nice double chin. She is much more alert and has grown much stronger (which we definitely notice when she tries to resist having her diaper changed!) We are starting to be able to discern different cries she uses for different things.

Sadly, Brian had to go back to work this week so Mommy and Anna had lots of time together this week. We took a walk every morning in her stylish stroller, and when Daddy came home we took a second walk using the Baby Bjorn. We set up her swing seat this week and think it is the best invention EVER! She loves it, and by that I mean she passes out into a deep sleep so Mommy can get a few things done around the house!

We are having a wonderful time getting to know our daughter! Here are some more pictures - click below.

Anna - 3rd week

2 weeks old - Perone visit

Anna got to meet Grandpa Pat, Grandma Barb, and Aunt Laura on Labor Day weekend. Highlights of the weekend included her first dinner and breakfast out, her first trip to church, her first LSU game, and her first winetasting! We went on a picnic at Bogle Vineyards, not too far from our house. We also got a visit from Aunt Sandy and cousin Bethany. Take a look at the pictures by clicking below.

Perone Visit

More photos!

Click below to see more photos!

Settling in with Anna

Anna's Video Debut

Click here to see some video of Anna!

Anna's Video
http://sharing.theflip.com/session/0eae8fa1686988da01651bb2279e586a/video/5920207

1 week in...

What a week it has been! Anna came home with us on Tuesday after being proclaimed in perfect health by the doctors. It has been a week of firsts: first bath, first walk, first doctor's appointment, first spit-up.... the fun never ends!

Anna turned one week old yesterday! She had another doctor's appointment this morning and she weighed in at 7lbs, 4 oz, up from her birth weight of 6 lbs, 15 oz. The doctor was impressed with her weight gain, but her parents expected no less as she has been eating non-stop all weekend long! Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop Lannutti have been with us all week and head back east on Tuesday. On Friday, Grandma and Grandpa Perone and Aunt Laura arrive for Labor Day weekend. We have even more visitors scheduled in late September and early October.... Anna is a popular young lady!

Brian and I are totally in love with Anna and thoroughly enjoying parenthood. We are overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support from our friends and family. Thank you all!

Love,
Brian, Karen, and Anna

She's here!

Anna Claire Perone, born 8/23, 6 lbs 15 oz, 20"

Pictures

Anna Claire Perone

And we wait...

Still no new developments. But we did venture out to the CA state fair today, where Karen commiserated with a fellow pregnant lady (see photo). She's due the day after Karen!

The hope was that a day of walking and fried foods would be "productive", but all that we got was sore feet. On the plus side, I managed to avoid the temptation of the battered, deep-fried White Castle burger this year. The garlic fries, not so much...

Witty rebuttal

I'm not impatient, I'm just eager. And I need someone to make use of my office-turned-nursery, right now it's just sitting there empty!

In response to popular demand...

Welcome to the Perone Family Blog! We plan to use this space to provide updates on our daughter to family and friends. She is due one week from today, on August 24th, her maternal grandmother's birthday!

Okay, so here goes... we've had many requests for a "pregnant Karen" picture, so against my better instincts, I've provided a picture here of my big ol' belly at 38 weeks.

Things are going very well; I've had a relatively easy pregnancy. Now we are just playing the waiting game. I know you are all SHOCKED by this - but Brian is more impatient than me for her to arrive (I know, I know, you are all saying, "Brian? Impatient? No!" :))

We will make sure to post information here as soon as there is any news; although I imagine our Facebook friends will have a jump on the info as it will be easier to update from the hospital. Thank you for all of your prayers and well-wishes!

Love,
Brian, Karen, and Baby Perone