4 month checkup!

Yesterday was Anna's 4 month check-up and she is doing great! She weighed/measured in at:

15lbs, 15oz (90%)
26.25 inches (greater than 97%)
16.25 inch head (80%)

Anna is right on target for developmental milestones: reaching for toys, holding her hands together, laughing, holding up her head and pushing up on her belly. And as a bonus, she rolls over! :) We have the go ahead to start a little rice cereal once a day...pretty much helping her learn to eat because she actually won't "eat" anything for awhile (she will just spit it out...good photo op says the Dr.).

Dr. Ewing also gave some suggestions for bedtime and it seemed to work last night. We will see how it goes from here!

Anna also had her second physical therapy visit last Thursday and it went great. Her torticollis is almost completely healed...we worked VERY hard this week! Now we are working on the strength in her neck and keeping her off the flat spot. Dr. Ewing thinks we will wait until she is 6 months before we discuss helmeting. Because so much growth happens over the next 2 months...we are confident it will get better! We will go back every Thursday.

Photoshoot!! SO we had a photoshoot on Saturday with Brooke Kelly...and she is AMAZING! We got some "teaser" photos...and can't wait to see the rest!

Rock star in the making..

Big day in the Roberts house...

So last night...an amazing night. And you want to know why? Our little scoot slept 8.5 hours STRAIGHT! No fuss, no muss. I woke up at 5am, grabbed my little clock and then immediately thought something was wrong. I grabbed the monitor and cranked up the sound to hear Anna breathing...and she was. But I stared at that thing for about 10 min. She woke around 5:30am, nursed until 6am and then slept until 8:15. Unbelievable! We were just at the dr's yesterday (details below) and she assured us that it was still very normal for her to wake in the middle of the night because she was still breastfeeding. So we were feeling good about her 3am feedings...now we have tasted the sweetness of sleep.

I honestly almost woke John up because I was so giddy. haha!

THEN...because of our appt with the dr (again, details below) we are to keep her on her belly almost exclusively unless she is in her bumbo chair or being held. Dr. Ewing assured us that allowing her to cry while on her tummy was ok, and necessary at this point. So I was not really looking forward to the cry-fest that would happen today. So, I put her on her tum on the bed...she cried and then kicked right on over. SHE ROLLED OVER! Amazing. Thinking it was a fluke...I put her back on her tummy..and BAM, she did it again. And laughing after she got over. It was a little bi-polar moment for her. SCREAMING, then puff...fits of laughter!

Later today I put her on the floor and it took all of two seconds for her to kick on over. Over and over we did this! I promise to upload the videos soon...the first is almost cruel because she is crying, but the second, I barely got the lens off before she flipped. This is getting interesting.

OK..so here is the update from the dr. Anna has been diagnosed with torticollis and plagiocephaly. Torta-who? Plagio-wha? Basically a neck strain (probably caused in the womb or delivery) which keeps her head to the right or tilted to the right...which caused the plagiocephaly (flat spot on the right side of her little head). She will have to go through a minimum of 4 weeks of physical therapy and NO time on her back unless she is sleeping. It is going to be a rough week until she gets used to it because she LOVES to kick on her back. And I promise, I have not kept her on her back for 3 1/2 months, flat spots are normal, hers is just more pronounced because her neck strain keeps her head completely still while sleeping.

If it doesn't improve by 6 months, then we see a cranial specialist and possibly get fitted for a helmet. :( I have all confidence her little noggin will pop back out with ease!

15 weeks...

So according to our home scales and measuring tape, Anna is 14lbs (about 88%) and 25 1/2 inches long (off the chart!). She has gotten so tall already. Looks like she will have my legs and Johns torso...runway, here she comes!

It is amazing the change with her over the past couple weeks. So much more awake time, goes down for a nap so easily and seems to continue to add a couple minutes each night before waking up for a pre-morning snack. She has the biggest smile and LOVES to kick and hold her hands together. She still isn't really interested in rolling over but she sits in her bumbo chair like a pro.

We have a small concern about the back of her head with her flat spot so our pediatrician will be examing her on the 22nd (her 4 month check up!). Hopefully it will get better now that she is sitting up more and having more tummy time (although she decidedly does NOT like tummy time).

Speaking of pediatrician: we just found out that Dr. Ewing is moving back to her hometown and is being replaced by another Dr. I was really, really upset as we LOVE Dr. Ewing, but she will be with us until June so we do have a couple more months with her. Hoping the new doc is just a great. We will definitely be staying with Green Hills Pediatrics.

Here is a picture of our house after our snow storm!

A new family...

Anna has become the great love of our lives. She has grown at an exponential rate; amazing and thrilling both of us each day with new movements, new expressions and a new fundamental understanding of the world around her. She's begun to play games; she's begun to recognize our facial expressions. Her capacity for growth is unlimited. Each day is a new opportunity to teach and be taught.

There are few things out there that approach the feeling of becoming a parent and realizing that instead of fear, you're beginning to find that most days bring joy in having a role to play in the growth of a child. We know we're lucky: We have a business that supports us and a roof over our heads. We have our educations and family all around. Frankly, we spend time now wondering why we don't have more wants. Which I think leads me to my point: We're learning that more than anything else we're blessed.

Whoosshhh (the sound of time flying by)

So Anna is almost 3 months old and honestly we can't believe how fast the time has gone by. Everyone says to enjoy every minute...and they weren't kidding. Anna is able to hold her head up most of the time and really starting to interact. She coo's, says "ah-goo" and even giggles a little bit! She always has a huge smile when I lean in to love on her...which just melts my heart.

She is still getting up in the night to nurse...most of the time around 3am. We are really, really looking forward to that blessed morning when we wake and realize she slept through the night! Seems like all the other babies around me are sleeping through the night already, which had me a little down in the dumps yesterday. I am learning not to compare...it doesn't do anyone any good.

John's business is booming like crazy already and we have some great marketing plans in place to move it even more!

Anna and I are headed to Atlanta this weekend to hang out with the family and visit Lindsay and her new little one, Luke. I can't wait to meet that little guy! I will post pics from the weekend when we get back.

the blogger photo upload isn't working...will try again!

Happy New Year!

2009 is officially over and we honestly can't believe how fast it went. We spent the majority of the year counting down the weeks until Anna arrived which we attribute to it moving with the speed of light. I feel extremely grateful for all that we have...great jobs, a wonderful house, 2 loving pups and now a wonderful daughter. Couldn't ask for more.

So, today is Jan 2 and I am giddy with excitement for what will come in 2010. A few goals:

1. LOVE on Anna!! :)
2. Run/walk the Music City Half Marathon
3. Lose baby weight (see above...)
4. Grow B Creative Design and start Art by the Glass
5. Be thankful everyday.