Giger Escapades: Spring has finally arrived!!!

I apologize for my lengthy silence. I've decided that it's a lot of work to be a stay-at-home mommy and work part-time! I do want to keep everyone updated on our lives and (what everyone really cares about) how Analise is growing and developing. She is 9 1/2 months old now, and this is such a fun stage!! She is curious and fun, she smiles almost all the time, she loves to play and dance! She is now able to sit on her own, crawl, pull herself into a standing position, pick up tiny objects with her finger and thumb (and immediately put said tiny objects in her mouth, causing mommy to gasp loudly and dash to baby's side to pull said tiny object back out of baby's mouth), and is developing a definite opinion about many things. Analise has several musical toys, and every time one starts playing, she will start dancing to the music. She has fun banging on the piano while sitting on my lap. Reading books is one of her favorite things to do. In fact, the first time she crawled was when she saw some of her books across the room and wanted to get to them!! We read a little every day, and she knows how to turn the pages and how to lift the flaps in her "flap books". Two of Analise's teeth have come in (the bottom middle) and while I'll miss her toothless grin, this is also incredibly cute.

Daniel's parents came up from Mississippi in March, during Dennis' spring break. We had such a wonderful visit with them. They were, of course, very impressed to see how much Analise had grown and changed, and had a great time playing! It was really good to see them.

Our big house news is that we finally saved up enough to get rid of the carpet in the kitchen and bathroom. We replaced it with a high-end vinyl that looks like tile. I love it!! No more being afraid of Analise feeding herself or splashing in the tub. :)

Spring has been late in coming, so we haven't been able to take Analise outside as much as we would have liked, but we do what we can. She loves being outside! She smiles and cackles and kicks. She has such expressive "dancing" hands and feet when she is happy or excited! Daniel and I gave Analise her first ride in a swing a few weeks ago, which she loved. In fact, I took her to the park this afternoon, and she hollered at me when I took her out of the swing to go home. Remember that part about her developing her own opinion?!

Analise's first Easter wasn't so fun. She came down with a high fever the Friday before, and it lasted for almost a whole week. We went to my parents' house in Springfield, but ended up having to stay inside most of the time. Daniel and I switched off staying with Analise so that we could each attend different services at church on Sunday. Even with a sick baby, it was so nice to get to spend Easter with Mom and Dad. Monday we went to see the pediatrician. Turns out Analise has yet another urinary tract infection...her second! Hopefully we can figure out how to prevent these from occurring. She's on antibiotics now, and already feeling much better.

Daniel has been very busy at work lately. One of the projects he has been working on is creating a program for the carriage horses that work in New York City! His job keeps him busy and challenged which is a good thing most of the time. :) My "outside job" is going really well. I've settled into a good routine of working while Analise sleeps and when Daniel is home, and am really enjoying the ministry I do.

Mike and Kristina are coming to stay with us Saturday night so that they can attend church in the morning for Analise's Baby Blessing. I'll be sure to write again next week so I can post pictures of that.

These pictures span quite a time period (January 'till now!). Enjoy!

Her eight month pictures: