Talking and Sitting--Our morning in a nutshell

This morning Anneke was laying in her playpen while I was eating breakfast.  I heard her "talking" and discovered her talking to the teddy bear Aunt Katrina made for her!  I think she's made a new friend!

And we decided to try out her bumbo.  She's been in it a couple times for a couple minutes each time, but this morning she lasted probably close to 10 minutes!  She was smiling away and watching daddy while he was dusting!  (Yes, dusting.....that's what happens when you have to move things around....)

Geertsema Christmas

Geertsema Christmas this year was split into 2 weekend celebrations.  This made our annual sjoelbak tournament a little difficult, but with Skype you can overcome anything!  So we had a great time visiting everyone and giving lots of people the chance to meet Anneke for the first time.  We enjoyed lots of great food!  Both of us did great at sjoelbak this year, Dave made it to the semi-finals, and I made it to the finals, only to be beat out by Michael--we'll have to practice lots to prepare for next year!  Here are some pictures showing some of the people Anneke met (sorry, I don't have pictures of everyone....) and some of the things she did:

Something Anneke Does

Here's a picture of something Anneke has been doing lately... 

Count the number of fingers!

VandenDool Christmas at Our Place!

This year, we were privileged to host our family's Christmas at our house!  So what else do you do with lots and lots and lots of snow? 

Go Tobogganing!

Here's Dad escorting Anneke to Sunnidale Park's hill! 

Above, is how nicely Anneke was bundled up in her sled/car seat contraption.  (The car seat was placed onto the sled and tied on).

 Below... Nathaniel, Rachel, Steph and I wait our turns.  Then we get our turns.  Nathaniel and Rachel won the race....  I'm thinking that we should make a trophy, and have an annual competition....

 Matt is waiting his turn.  Studly man... holding that toboggan.

Anneke getting a present.

Rachel doing one of her favourite things when she's here... playing with Anneke.

 Mom, doing one of HER favourite things.... Taking pictures.

 And.... Anneke's Jungle Paradise.... A present from Mom and Dad V's neighbour.  Thanks Mr. Harwood!

Daddy Time

Last night Dave and Anneke spent some quality time together--watching hockey!  I guess you have to introduce them young!

A fashionable child, and the mall.

It would have been fun to have had a camera last night, when Steph and I took Anneke to a Mall in Newmarket.  But we didn't, so you'll just have to trust us that Anneke was pretty cute.  Usually, she stays asleep in the stroller (Yes, this is our way of getting a little extra winter exercise), but this time she decided to be awake for a little while.  Which is where we get to talk about how Anneke is developing a little bit.  Lately, like in the pictures we put up a couple days ago, Anneke has been enjoying, more and more, being held in a vertical position so she looks over our shoulders.  She used to do it, but not for long periods of time.  Now, with her neck being stronger and stronger, she enjoys being held this way and lasts quite a while.
So I got to walk her around the mall with Anneke looking over my shoulder...  And she was really quite entertained, looking at lights, and mannequins, and walls, and boots, and clothes.
Which worries me...!
I combine this with the fact that, from more than one person, compliments have been given on how fashion savvy Anneke seems to be (thank-you, to all you who have been given us clothing for Anneke!).  Being fashionable isn't a bad thing to be, necessarily.  But in combination with a mall-loving child....?
I'll probably be worrying about this for some time, or at least until I move her into the country, where plaid lumber-jack coats are fashionable. 

Weekends

Lazy Saturday morning hanging with Daddy

And some better "smile" pictures

I Spy

At eight weeks, Anneke is really becoming interested in her surroundings.  She spends lots of time looking around and taking it all in.  We put up the Christmas tree on Monday and she likes to look at all the lights.  And her new "worm" -from Josh, Corina, Isaiah, and Cara- is very fun to look at!  (Interesting note, this worm can be used to track the length of your baby because the back of it is a ruler - "inch worm" - but Anneke is already too long for it, it's only 2 feet long!)

NOW, I SPY WITH MY LITTLE EYE:

1 Church

1 Silver star and 1 Red star

1 Snowman with a Top-hat

3 Trees

2 Silver Balls and 2 Red Balls

1 Multi-coloured Inchworm

1 Baby Anneke

(For those having trouble writing comments on our blog--I've been having to refresh the page to get the verification code to show up, or I'll just press comment and the code will come up the second time--I'm still playing around with it, but haven't been able to fix the problem yet, sorry!)

First Smiles

Here are my attempts at getting a picture of her first smiles....didn't really get a good one, but you can see the beginnings....

Game Time

We had the Smith's over on Saturday evening for a game of Settlers and Anneke wanted to join in too.  She was passed around and even had her drink nearby--she fit right in!  Unfortunately the picture's a little blurry because she was fussing a bit, but still a great one!  We had an awesome night and a fun game.  Tom won and come to think of it, he was the only one who didn't hold Anneke during the game!  (At least that'll be the excuse for the rest of us!)

The Nursery

So the nursery has been finished for a couple weeks now, but I'm finally getting around to posting the pictures.  We like the finished result and I think Anneke does too!  She likes to look at the quilting squares on the wall beside the rocking chair in the middle of the night when she's supposed to be going back to sleep!

 

 

Six Weeks

Anneke turned six weeks on Sunday and today we had her six week appointment with the midwife (her last appointment with them).  So here's the update of our growing girl:

At birth:  She weighed 7lbs 12oz (went down to 7lbs 3oz in week one), her head was 35 cm around and her length was 53 cm.

At six weeks:  She weighs 11lbs 4oz, her head is 37 cm, and her length is 62 cm (which the midwife checked twice because she didn't think it was right!  But she's growing out of clothes like crazy, so I wasn't surprised!)

She's had her hearing and eyesight tested and everything is good!

The midwife said that she's very healthy and very calm (she doesn't see her in the evenings!), so everything is great!  We are so thankful that she's growing well and that everything is as it should be!  We're still waiting for the smiles, but we think they'll be starting soon because she looks like she wants to!

Bathtime

Anneke loves bathtime!  She's totally calm and quiet!

 And after today's bath we thought we'd try on the super cute bath set she got from Uncle Nathaniel and Aunt Rachel.  We thought we'd better try it soon since it's a 3 month outfit and she's already in 3 month clothes.  But it's still a little big--which is really good because it means we'll get lots more use out of it.

It's so warm and cozy that she fell asleep!

Chillaxin'

Well, Anneke is already one month old!  Crazy how time flies! 

So we finally pulled out the swing!  We had a couple of really challenging evenings with a lot of screaming.  So last night we thought we'd be proactive and set up the swing.  She liked it for a few minutes, until she got the hiccups.....but we'll keep trying!

Week 3 and Baptism

Anneke is four weeks old today--we can't believe it!  This week she had her 3-week midwife appointment.  They weighed her and she's already at 9lbs 11oz--she's growing!  It's amazing to look at her and see how much she's changed already!

Today Anneke was baptized and we celebrated with family and friends.  It was a great day and Anneke was great!  She didn't cry in church at all!  And this weekend she got to meet some of her cousins and another Aunt and Uncle!  Here are some pictures of our weekend: