Von meets Ann

We took video of when Von first met Ann. It's not exactly action-packed, but you might enjoy it.

Welcome, Princess Ann!

After being admitted to the hospital on Monday, I gave birth to our beautiful little princess on Tuesday, October 1: Anberlin Beatrix Rae. She weighed in at 8lb, 9oz, and measured 21.5 inches long. We had chosen the name Anberlin Beatrix when I was pregnant with Von (Anberlin as in the band, Beatrix as in Potter) and saved it just in case we ever had a girl. Then after my Aunt Vicki died this spring, we decided to name our little girl after her by using her middle name as a second middle name. We are calling her Ann, and she is just the sweetest, chubbiest little thing! Von even thinks so--he pats her gently, tries to suction her little nose, and gives her toys when she cries. He makes this really adorable, quiet clucking sound when he interacts with her and loves to point out her tiny ears.
Please forgive the pictures--the first two were taken with my cell phone and the lighting was not great in the others. She is jaundiced and quite yellow! I'll continue to try to get some better pictures of her as her color improves.

Von is walking!

Von's first official steps were on July 12 (Mother's birthday :) ). We were in the kitchen, and he took three steps to Papa. Since then he will occasionally take a few steps until he realizes what he's doing. Then he stops in his tracks and either grabs something nearby or drops to the floor to crawl. He can easily walk holding on to something or one of our hands. Many of you have encouraged us: Once he decides to walk, he'll take off! You were right! Last night he all of a sudden just started walking around the house. Tonight I attempted to get video. This first video was a total fail, but he is so cutie and you can hear him laugh--this is typical Von. He is so happy and laughs and giggles all the time. The second video actually captures a few steps, but he is tired and doesn't make it very far. He went to bed right after this, so hopefully I'll be able to get him walking on video when he's not so tired and can catch his balance a little bit better. 

New shoes

Other than a couple pair of soft-soled baby shoes, Von hasn't had a real pair of shoes until now. We've kept him barefoot, but he is definitely ready for a solid pair of walking shoes. Mommy found the perfect pair for him and here he is trying them out for the first time.

Out for a drive

For Von's birthday, Marmee got him the coolest gift ever--a brand new car! Von absolutely LOVES it, as you can imagine. Aaron had today off, so we decided to walk as a family to our neighborhood coffee shop, but Von wanted to drive. So he drove while we walked. :)

Baby Rockstar

The ladies who work the nursery at church call Von their "baby rockstar." He is easy and content and happy and kind and gentle to the other babies. But before we can go to the nursery, we have to wait for it to open. Since we have to get to church super early, this means Von and I hang out while Papa helps set up. Once things are set up, Von gets pushed in his stroller right up with Papa so he can have a front-row look at Papa practicing for morning worship. Von goes crazy whenever Papa pulls out his guitar, and he even knows how to strum. Auntie Polly gave him a melody harp, which he plays with every day. Music time is special time for Baby and Papa, and on this particular day, I caught it on camera. Von sits at Papa's feet for as long as it takes Papa to rehearse, and then Papa will let him play, too. Enjoy!

Are you hungry?

We have tried baby sign language with Von, but he's really just not interested. He has his own little sign language and language. When he is finished eating, he waves his hand and tells me he's done. Well, we've discovered that he'll use the same language to tell us if he's not hungry in the first place. We did catch it on tape, but as you'll see, he gets tired of us asking. (sorry about the quality--obviously the lighting was not great and I don't know enough to do anything about it. :))

Baby faker

A few months ago, Von went through a pretty serious teething episode. He is such a happy, content baby, so when he cries, I know he's serious. Well, he caught on during that teething period that when he cries, Mommy comes running. So he's figured out how to fake cry. It's really funny, although Aaron says we need to nip it; I know he's right, but I can't help but laugh. Von also fake laughs now--he sees that it gets everyone else laughing. On this day a few weeks back, Von had been fake laughing, so I grabbed the camera, but then he decided to fake cry instead. This is for Aunt Erin.

Anniversary Trip

I am sorely behind on blogging, but I hope to get caught up tonight! For our sixth anniversary in June, we made our annual trek to Ouray; however, this year we didn't camp or hike for obvious reasons. Instead, we stayed in a hotel right in the center of town and spent our days lazily wandering Main Street, taking family naps, and eating out. One day we spent in Telluride, which was super fun. We even met up with our friends Jason and Kara who were camping nearby. It was a delightful trip, but I do look forward to camping again next year.

The view from the top of the mountain where the gondola dropped us off in Telluride

More Telluride

Telluride

Telluride

Getting coffee at our favorite Ouray coffee/chocolate shop--Mouse's

Celebrating 6 years at our regular place in Ridgway

The view from our hotel balcony

More view from the hotel

Von unsure about the grass at a park in Gunnison where we stopped for lunch on our way home

This little clip is Von exploring. We were at this beautiful park in Gunnison right off the campus of Aaron's Alma Mater, and Von was unsure about the grass for about two minutes before he decided he loved it.

Playing with Papa

I've had requests for more Von videos, so tonight I filmed him playing with Papa. He gets a bit distracted by the camera, but I think we captured the fun. And yes, that is a brief shot of my pregnant belly.

Dirty Hippie Baby

Aaron and I didn't bathe Von for 6 or 7 weeks after he was born. I loved finding vernix in his creases and cracks and rubbing it in to his soft baby skin. We called him our dirty hippie baby. :) We would wipe his chin cheese with wipes, but eventually it was time for a bath. And, he hated it. Because his skin is so sensitive and he has eczema, we bathe him only when necessary, and until recently, he would scream and cry. But Aunt Erin sent him bath toys for his birthday, and that has helped him enjoy his bath a little more. Also, now that he's so big, he's in need of a bath more often and he has grown to really like it. He squeals when he sees the bathtub, and he LOVES his rubber ducky--often, he wants to sleep with it. So tonight, we taped a bit of his bath time so you could see how much fun he has. And, as an added bonus, you can see him doing his head bonking.

One-Year Pictures

It's hard to believe that Von is almost 14 months! I love this stage where his personality is really starting to develop. He has a super sweet disposition and is very patient, except when waiting for meals--once he's in his high chair, he thinks he's dying of hunger. :) Otherwise, he rarely ever cries; however, a few weeks ago he was teething pretty seriously, and he did cry a few times. When he cried, I ran to him right away--I knew that if he were crying, he was definitely not okay. So now he's figured out that crying is a sure way to get me running to him, and he tries to conjure up a cry. He wrinkles his face and makes a squeaky sound. It's REALLY funny, and I'm trying to get video of it. It reminds me of when Lindsay Bluth tries to cry.


Anyway, I wanted to post his one-year pictures. He is so much fun! I hope you enjoy.