Movement in the Night

I promise that we put Anika to bed normally...really, we do!  When Ben and I left her room last night she was lying in the middle of her crib, with her hat on, tightly swaddled with the "super swaddle" technique, the blanket tucked over her feet, lying lenghwise. 

At 6:30 this morning I awoke to the Anika Paging System (APS) and this is what I saw when I went into her room:

She looked slightly confused and I was baffled...I guess its time for the sleep sack!

By the way, I was starting to kind-of worry that the APS was broken since Miss A. has been sleeping from about 9:30 pm until sometime between 7am and 9am...I found out this morning that it wasn't broken.  Most likely a growth spurt!  Not that 9:30 pm to 6:30 am is anything to be upset about!

Adventure Wear by Anika

We received a Baby Bjorn from some friends Ben and Anika have been breaking it in.

Anika falls asleep pretty quickly in her carriers - we know its not a reflection on the excitement level of our adventures!

I primarily use the moby wrap - its a hugely long piece of fabric that you wrap around yourself.  Its pretty comfortable, albeit a bit cumbersome at times.  I had to watch a ton of YouTube videos to bolster my confidence with tying it before I got the courage to put Anika in it.  Now I wear it often enough that the dogs think that everytime I put it on we're going for a "stroll" (code word for "walk", which they know...not sure why they never figured out "stroll").  When its chilly out (or snowing), I wear my trusty Wells Fargo fleece (gift from my old co-workers in Denver) - its big enough to cover the both of us and long enough to catch Anika's feet. 

Here we are the other day:

Here are a couple of other moby wrap shots - I was also wearing it in the Girl Time post:

And here's one of the many YouTube videos:

Anika also has a snowman bunting - I think its super cute!  She fell asleep in it...I guess that's an approval!

Sleepy baby eyes - so sweet!

Skijor Cam

Long ago when Peli was just a young pup, Malinda and I were scanning the globe for ways to tire that dog out and take the edge off for the evenings.  Well, one of our friends suggested the sport of skijoring - dog(s) pulling you on skis.  Peli was a natural, that whole husky thing.  Biz is a little more timid, but when pull comes to shove (hahaha), he goes just as hard and they run very well together.  Peli, Biz and I even made brief appearances on ABC World News Tonight a few years ago as the Olympic Committee was considering skijoring for an exhibition sport in the Vancouver olympics coming up this year.

Now, since we have a snowmobile and grooming equipment for cross country skiing trails, I am able to tire the dogs out without driving multiple hours in I70 traffic, in fact, all I have to do is go outside! Enjoy the following video entitled,"Dog Butts, They ARE All They're Cracked Up To Be."

And of course, can't do a blog post without a picture of Miss A.

Happy 3 Months to Anika!

Anika is 3 months old today!!! I won't have any updated statistics until next month (her 4 month check-up is Feb. 23rd), but she is certainly growing and exploring and delighting us every day. She's been sleeping from about 10pm to between 4:30am and 6:30am for a few weeks now. After she eats, she's back down until about 10am - we are very happy to have this little sleeper!!! We have discovered that swaddling is awesome for getting and keeping her asleep. She has become a bit of a Houdini with regard to escaping her swaddle, but the other night Ben invented a new containment technique to keep Little Miss A contained. The inspiration came from http://www.miracleblanket.com/. Thanks, Jori, for the tip! As Ben mentioned in the Christmas Eve post, Anika has been a champ with her playset. Here's a video of her showing off her stellar bapping ability and her rock-hard abs - leg lifts are nothing for this kiddo!




And, here is her official 3-month picture on her quilt!

I also had Miss A do a couple of her tricks today...




Here she is doing a modified tummy time with her boppy. She really enjoys looking at the octopus mirror!

Bumbo seat time! Anika has been holding her head up so well and her bumbo time has been getting longer and longer.

For the sake of comparison, here she is right before Christmas...tipping over :-)

I've been trying to take pictures of Anika with her eyes open, but I just had to take this one a few minutes ago - I'm on the couch writing this blog entry, and she is snoozing away next to me. What a peaceful little girl!