A Visit to the Country

Last weekend we went to The Gould Family Cider Press about 20 minutes from our house.  It's family owned and totally homey and cute!  It's basically their property with a little cabin behind their home that they sell goodies, gifts, and press apples to make cider. 

We stocked up on some more yummy apples, amazing taffy apples, and cider.  What can I say, our stash was running low!  The taffy apples were like a snickers bar but on an apple.  So that makes it healthy, right?  They crushed the peanuts so they molded into the caramel.  It was MMM MMM GOOD! We ate our apples by a campfire they had going near their home.  Anya sat in her stroller like a big girl.  She loves being able to see out and thinks she is 5 years old or something.

My favorite part of the trip was taking photos with my guy and baby girl by the beautiful colored leaves.  Our neighborhood doesn't have big trees since we are living in a new development so taking photos for my Autumn scrapbook pages was a must.  Anya was in awe of the leaves.  She just stared at them the whole time, and when we put a leaf in her hands for her to hold she wanted to put it in her mouth.  Everything goes in her mouth these days!  I'm thinking we need to make this into another October tradition!

 When we got home I made my first apple pie.  It turned out sooo good, if I do say so myself.  I think I'll go get a piece now;-)

My Little Newton

We've had a ground breaking discovery in the Nilsson household today...
My little physicist has discovered gravity!

We're going to play on the floor a lot more now;-)

Anya's Dedication

Yesterday at church we dedicated Anya to the Lord.  It was such a special day for our family.  I've been looking forward to this day since she was born.  You might ask, "What is baby dedication?  Why not baptism?"  Child dedication to us is when we, as parents, vow before the congregation and God that we will raise our daughter in the Lord, and that we will teach her about Jesus and pray that one day she will accept Him as Lord and Savior and get baptized. Yesterday was also a day when we acknowledged that Anya belongs to God and that she is His.  It was so refreshing to make this promise to God and brought us much encouragement to hear the support from our church family.

Anya wore her classic pink, poofy dress and looked adorable.  I was so glad it still fit her since it was a 0-3 month dress.  Ever since we got that dress I thought it would be perfect for her dedication day...and it totally was=)
After the service we had our family and a few friends over for brunch.  We had a great time and Anya enjoyed all of the love and attention...and gave her little friend Zeke tons of kisses!! 

Random things like Peas, Sitting Up, and Great Grandma's House

Anya has a new favorite food...PEAS!  And boy are they messy.  It's amazing to see these photos I took two weeks ago...she is already getting much neater believe it or not!  Josh and I always laugh at the faces we make when feeding her.  Without realizing it we make the faces we want her to make...

I guess you have to see it.

 Anya is getting so strong.  She is just about able to sit up on her own now.  She loves seeing things from this new perspective.  Here she is just about to tip over.

 Columbus Day weekend we traveled to Ohio to see Aunt Cindy and Uncle Tony.  Anya got to see Great Grandma again too!  The weather was beautiful so we have BBQs on Grandma's back porch.  Anya loved looking at her big trees, as we don't have any big ones in our new community.

 How many Auntie's does it take to feed Anya?  TWO!!  Anya loves her rice cereal.  If you don't give it to her fast enough she gets upset.

 Bathtime at Grandma's was so much fun for Anya.  She fit perfectly in Grandma's sink.  It was like washing a turkey on Thanksgiving.  A very cute turkey!

 Anya got the pumpkin hat from Uncle Tony's mom.  He wore it when he was younger...shhh, don't tell anyone!  Driving home I sang "Five Little Pumpkins" with it and Anya was laughing so hard!

It was a great weekend visiting family! See that Jack-o-Lantern makes me giddy for Halloween!

Fall is HERE!

One of the things I love most about living in the Midwest is getting to experience all four seasons.  Call me crazy, but I can honestly say I love them ALL...yes I include winter too!  Autumn is such a beautiful, refreshing time of the year.  For our family, October is a favorite.  These days are filled with trips to pumpkin patches, orchards, baking fall goodies, sips of hot apple cider, and snuggles in front of our fireplace.  Oh, and I should mention that I make sure to light our Macintosh and Pumpkin Spice candles.  Fall just doesn't seem complete with their sweet aroma in the air!  Last weekend we celebrated the first weekend in October by going to Goeberts Pumpkin Patch.  We're so lucky to have one so close by...you can literally see the giant pumpkin on the roof from the street by our house.  The only problem is the cost....$10 per person!  Is it just my frugal self or is that WAY overpriced?  Needless to say, we enjoyed the Goeberts Store and pile of pumpkins by the entrance. Ha!Ha!

Anya and Zeke headed to their first pumpkin patch outing!

Our famous pose in front of the mums!

We are looking forward to one of our favorite things about October...Pumpkin Fest in Sycamore!  It's held in a nearby town and is so much fun.  There are craft fairs, a parade, pumpkin decorating contests, treats, and friends!  Since I worked in Sycamore we know many people who attend it.  It's fun to run into old friends and former students and their families.  Maybe we'll even bring Charlie this year!

Dear Anya, Happy 5 Months!

Dear Miss Anya,

Happy five months!  These have definitely been the happiest five months of my life.  You are learning and developing in new ways literally every day!  Life is so much more joyful with you in it.
This month you...
~ Started rice cereal at dinnertime!  You reach out for the spoon and pull it into your mouth and then stick you thumb in to suck.  We keep telling you the cereal isn't coming from your thumb, but you do it anyways=) 
~Love being sung to!  Every night Daddy sings "Go Fish" to you at bathtime and you love singing along.
~Everyone can't believe how long you are!  You just starting wearing some 6-9 month outfits.  Mommy just put away all of your summer dresses...it was a sad moment.
~Aare becoming more and more social every day!  Your friend Zeke came over yesterday and you talked his ear off.  You love your friends in the nursery at church and when we go to "play" groups!
~Love smiling all the time.  But for some reason Mommy has trouble getting it captured on camera! You commuicate your excitement by fake coughing.  There have been a few occasions where you let out this big girl giggle, but it doesn't happen regularly yet.
~Roll over both ways!  You always end up in a different position than when I last saw you.
~Have been doing small sit ups...you are determined to sit up on your own this month!  When I put you in a sitting position you balance yourself shortly and then tip over. Most of the time when I get you to sit you straighten your legs because you want to stand. I'm going to have my hands full with you!! 
~Use your paci a lot less than you used to.  Only when going down to sleep.  You now use it as a teething toy.
~Drool on everything and everything is always in your mouth! 
~Still wake up in the middle of the night for a feeding.  Sometimes more than once.  Needless to say, Mommy is tired!!
~ Your favorite book is "Isty Bitsy Spider".  You love trying to read it with me.  It's so cute!\
That's all I can think of for now!
I love you little Miss Anya Violet!  Happy 5months old!
Love,
Mommy