Ian's CHRISTmas Program

Last night we got to watch Ian sing his heart out for his school program. It was packed when we got there so we had seats way in the back. Not the best pictures but you can see him.

Daddy took Ian out yesterday to buy "Christmas clothes" to wear to his musical debut. Anna wanted to wear hers to (Thanks Aunt Pam).

It was so cute and Ian had a ton of fun. I think he had the most fun ringing his bell. We had the most fun watching him ring it. We did catch it all on video for those of you who want to see what I am talking about.

Anna's First Year

This year has went so fast. I know the next 17 will to. Scary thought. I just wanted to look back at Anna's 1st year with you all.

ANNA'S BIRTH

We were to be at the hospital at 6:00 a.m. on December 9, 2005 for a scheduled C-Section. The night before it snowed and snowed and snowed. Shane was so nervous he couldn't sleep and at 4:00 a.m. went out to shovel the driveway. At 10 till six I had to yell out to him that we were going to be late. His mother, Mema, was going to stay with Ian in the morning and then bring him up to the hospital later. However, she got snowed in in Ossian and wouldn't be able to make it by 6:00. So Brett Browand, friend and Shane's co-worker, came down to stay with Ian until Mema could arrive. All went well and we finally got to meet all 7lbs. 10 oz, 21 1/2 inches of Anna J-Lynn Heath.

JANUARY & FEBRUARY

The first two months took some adjusting. We were used to having Ian around who was pretty independant by then. She did what most babies do: eat, sleep and poop.

MARCH, APRIL & MAY

Anna started becomeing more active with each month. I loved dressing her up in the cutest clothes and then taking her picture. In the picture from April, she was watching TV with Ian. In May, Anna began to roll. She would roll into the strangest places. Here she is on Lexy's bed waving.

JUNE

June was a very scary month for the Heaths. At a regular "well baby" check-up it was discoved that Anna had, what was thought to be a collapsed lung. She was rushed to Lutheran Hospital by ambulance only to discover it was actually Congenital Lobar Emphysema. A birth defect where her middle lobe was too big and squishing everything. This was causing her to spit up anything she took in and what she kept down was getting burnt up faster than it came (she had only gained 3 oz in two months) . On June 23, 2006 she had surgery to remove the middle lobe and all was good. It is just a waiting game now to see if she will have any long term problems.

JULY & AUGUST

We spent some time at the lake and discovered that Anna loves the water. Good for us since that is one of our favorite places to be. She began crawling and the race was on.

SEPTEMBER & OCTOBER

We got to take Anna to the free fall fair and the pumpkin patch for the first time. I don't know about her but we had fun. Anna also had a follow-up with the surgeon and the lung specialist...all was good. She will have to see the specialist again next year and however many to follow.

NOVEMBER & DECEMBER

The holidays are such a fun time because you get to spend the

m with family and friends. Anna started walking and that race I mentioned earlier got faster. We also got to celebrate Anna's first birthday.

All in all it has been a great year. We have learned that Ian and Anna are now and will be two completely different people. Anna has this fight to the death attitude and those big blue eyes that make it hard to say no. She loves her brother and laughs and everything he does. She has started walking and is everywhere and into everything. She still loves food, baths and duck duck. Her six teeth, with a gap between the front two, are one of the cutest things about her. Her hair is begining to curl out and be uncontrollable, something I noticed in my baby pictures (sorry Anna).

Thank you God for this little angel you sent us. We pray that you watch over her and guide her through another happy year.

Happy 1st Birthday Princess

Anna's 1st Birthday was saturday. We have had so much fun with her. We decided to just invite family since it had to be in the house. It turned out really great. Anna got some new clothes (which I love) and some dolls and such. Shane said something about going from trucks and balls to dolls was wierd for him. So true. Here are the pictures:

Most of our family was able to make it. We missed those that didn't. 1) Family picture 2) Shane's stepmom, my grandma, my sister, my nephew, & my dad 3) Anna, Shane's dad "Poppaw", Grandma Jenni, & Grandpa J 4) My dad "Pappy" with Anna

These are the cakes. My Aunt Deb is the best cake maker in the world....yum.

At first Anna wasn't sure what to think of her cake. She just touched it for a few seconds and then figured it out.

Ian had to help her taste it.

This is a picture of the cousins. Ian, Tailur, Anthony, and Garrett around Anna.

I worked so hard for this last picture. She kept moving, putting the balloon in front of her face. You name it she did it.

Keep them Busy!

Friday night Mema came over to keep the kids busy while I cooked and Shane cleaned for Anna's party on Saturday. I got a Gingerbread House kit for us to do but Ian wanted Mema to do it with him. So we put Anna in her high chair with some food and Ian and Mema created this master piece. I told Mema this may become an annual thing.

Is Christmas here yet?

Ian has anxiously been awaiting Santa's arrival. He is constantly telling me "I could like to have..." Last night Shane and I tried to get the kids together in front of the tree for pictures. (We need to get Christmas cards out.) This was not an easy task.

Here they are sitting on their Santa chair in front of the tree. I had to take the pictures fast because, as you can see, Anna is ready to move.

They look so sweet don't they. If Santa only knew how ornery these two are.

After trying to get some of both of them, I gave up and just took some fun ones of each of them. Ian loves to pose for pictures. Can't wait till Anna does.

I just love this time of year!

After all of that, Ian went right to sleep waiting on Santa.

(OK so I made him do this, but isn't it cute.)

GIVING THANKS

This year for Thanksgiving we went to Shane's Grandpa's home. This was the first year in my life I have not been to my Grandmother's and was a bit bummed about it. With both of us working and such we thought it would be easier. I am glad we did it that way. Grandpa J told us many times how thankful he was to have the whole family together.

Now, Grandpa J has his own park so Ian had tons of fun. There is a basketball court that Ian schooled the boys on. Grandpa J even bought Ian his own basketball for the occasion.

There is a swinging gate. We all thought it was fun to spin Ian around and around than then watch him walk to us. Yeah we aren't right. Did you really think we were. This is Popaw spinning Ian on the Gate.

There were two things Ian loved most of all. They Maypole and the big hill. This next picture is Popaw pushing Ian on the maypole. He loved it and if you look close, you can see his HUGE smile. He giggled the whole time he spun around until he "needed a break."

At the back of Grandpa J's property the land goes downhill into some woods and a pond. Ian loved running down the hill as fast as he could. He didn't fall at all, suprisingly. At one point, him and Uncle Eric had to pick weeds so they were not in the way when he ran down. Don't ask.

Throughout the weeds there were those flowers that you make a wish on and then blow and if you get all the little seeds off your wish comes true. Well Ian brought me one and I wished he would give me a kiss. Then I blew with all my might and got them all off and yelled with excitement "my wish came true" as he kissed me. He looked at me so serious and said "My wishes never come true." I asked him what he normally wished for and he told me that "Batman was real." I told him he just needed to keep wishing....I think Daddy may have to buy a Batman suit soon.

Thursday night my sister came up and spent the night with me. Then at 4:30 a.m. we left the house to go shopping friday morning. This was a first for me. My sister explained the rules to me on the way to Ft. Wayne. You push and shove if you have to, you don't apologize, and you get what you came for and get out. Anything else wastes time. PRECIOUS TIME! I actually had a ton of fun and I think my sister and I may go again...eventually with Anna. The only thing we missed was the boys to carry all of our bags.

On Friday evening we went to Shane's mom's for Thanksgiving dinner. It was great and Anna pigged out on the turkey. She looked as though we never feed her. After dinner the kids were playing and climbed into the toy box at Mema's. It was so cute.

On Sunday we then went to Shane's father's home for home made pizza. It was so good. Grandpa J was there and was pulling quarters out of Ian's ears, nose, and chin. Ian says "I didn't know Grandpa J had magic in his hands."

I love spending time with family. Wish we could do it more often.

Something to make you laugh.

Shane and I were cleaning our room last night when I noticed Anna climbing on things again. This time she had climbed up into her toy basket and sat down. She looked so cute that I asked Shane to take some pictures. This is what transpired....

First we have a picture of her sitting in her basket happy as can be.

Next, she wanted to get her drum out of the basket. However, she was sitting on the drum stick that was attached to the drum....it was stuck. I had enough time to say "you are going to tip over Anna J" and

There she went. So mad (not hurt) at that drum. If you notice, the drum stick is now wrapped around her leg.

Just thought this was funny and I had to share.

11 down, 1 to go!

So they say "time flys when you're having fun." Well, Anna must be having tons of fun because she is 11 months old already. You can really see her personality forming and let me tell you....look out. She is not afraid to tell you when something makes her mad, happy most of the time, has a sense of humor that is great and she's a little dare devil. This child is not afraid of anything.

She is taking a few steps on her own. Seems like more and more each day. She can really zoom around the couch and coffee table. Not only is she starting to walk but climbs on everything. This is why we call her the dare devil. She will get up on her bike or toy box and look at you like "I'm gonna jump!" Not a hint of fear in sight. She has even begun climbing into her swing, sitting backwards, and pushing herself. Oh yeah, she loves the stairs.

She is finally eating the Gerber Graduate foods and drinking from a regular sippy cup instead of the one with handles. She continues to sleep well at night with few naps durning the day. She loves to play with Ian and they are starting to have more fun together. Last night she was holding a cup up to her mouth and making noises into. She copied every noise Ian made and he laughed so hard. They are both water babies and Ian will fight to the death to get to sit in front in the bath. Anna never really complains as long as you let her in the water.

The cutest thing she does is waves and says what sounds like "Hi." I swear. She knows when to use it to. Joni, the sitter, said she walked into the bathroom holding Anna and Anna saw herself in the mirror and said "Hi" as she waved.

I think Anna has had to be a tough little girl from the start and she isn't going to stop any time soon. It is so amazing to see her grow into a little person right before our eyes. I know that she has a great support group of family and friends to help lead her down the right path. I mean after all, look at Shane and I! Scary thought I know.

There's a new Sheriff in town.

Some of you have seen these but I just had to post them. These are from Phil Snover's Graduation Party. These costumes were bought simply as props but it didn't take Ian Scott long to find them. He had a good time playing and thanks to Phil and Lori got to take the whistle home. So nice of them. We will be sure to return the favor some day.

This next picture is of Ian with his "Ian's Angels" shall we say. Very cute but could kick some butt if need be.

Since I am sharing these pictures I will go ahead and share the others Lori sent me. This is one of Shane and Matthew with their babies. Cute as can be. I think the word Lori used was "frameable."

This next picture is of Brett and Gina Browand with Anna. They all look so cute, don't they?

The last picture is from Phil's actual graduation. Barry, Shane, Phil, and Cory had a great time going out and celebrating this graduation. I think it meant so much to Shane to have Phil (and Lori) finally join the Auburn family. Thanks for the pictures and welcome. Can't wait to make tons more memories. Have some kids would you (Brett and Gina to)!