Change in lifestyle + Surgery info

Greetings from our busy little family! Life sure has changed since the last post. A month ago, Annika and I were spending the majority of our days in comfy clothes and bathing suits, taking naps at our leisure, and trying to find things to keep us occupied. Now, I'm back at work, which meas no more comfy clothes or naps for me, and I am certainly not looking for things to occupy my time! The transistion from home to work has been a good one overall. After many tears the night before and the day of my first day back at work, we all seem to be adjusting well. Annika spends 1 day a week with Grandpa and Grandma Kruithof (along with cousins Kirstyn and Erika), and she spends the other 4 days at Lakeshore Little People's Place at Providence Church in Holland. Annika loves daycare, especially because my sister, Katie, works at the daycare and visits Annika often. I think she may get a bit of special attention over there! Her caregivers say she's a very happy baby (and Katie says they wouldn't lie to me). For Ross, the adjustment comes with less shock factor than for me, but he's had to do some adjusting as well, getting up a bit earlier so we can all be out the door on time, getting things ready with me the night before, and helping with things I used to do during the day. We're finally feeling like we have things under control for the season!

Also, we got the official paperwork today for Annika's upcoming surgery! Her surgery is scheduled for Friday, November 12 with a pre-op appt. on October18 and post-op appt. on November 18. We're not nearly as anxious about this one, because we know what to expect in general this time around, and this surgery is actually less invasive than the last one. This time around, they will only be touching the lip, but not the gum areas.

Finally, Annika has made some fun developments since last post! She can roll from back to tummy, but not the other way around yet...we're beginning to think she may never learn that part. She's also sitting up almost completely independently! She makes some VERY loud noises, and we're still trying to figure out who she gets that from. Finally, she has developed an attitude even further than it was before; she refuses to drink her whole bottle (something we used to be so prideful of), she fake burps, so we stop bothering her, and she grunts when she sick of playing with something. In all seriousness though, we have a very happy baby on our hands. All it takes is a smile at her and a "hi" and she's wiggling and laughing and squealing.

Unless something dramatic occurs, I'll update again after her pre-op appt. in October. Thanks again for keeping up to date with Annika's developments and for your prayers for her surgeries. We can all start praying now that she doesn't get sick just before her surgery!