The Phillips Family

Jack Paton Phillips

Jeremy — Tue, 15 May 2012 06:03:24 +0000

He was a week late like his sister, but big Jack Paton is finally here! Our midwife knew he was big, but led Annie to believe in our visits leading up to the delivery that he was probably around 7 pounds. But everyone, including her, was surprised to see him come in at 9 lbs 11 oz! He arrived at 10:43 on Saturday morning after Annie labored naturally for nine hours. I will write a more detailed birth story soon. He and his mom are thankfully very well. We spent one night at the hospital but are now home enjoying the service of Jan and Steve, who have been busy loving Jane, making meals, and generally waiting on us hand and foot. Jane has been very sweet to Jack and will be a great big sister, we are sure. Thank you, Lord, for the blessing of a new child, safe and beautiful, amazingly crafted. “God bless you, my son! Your father’s God prosper you, and keep you from all evil!”

Warmer Weather + Learning to Walk = Fun

Annie — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 21:08:35 +0000

Jane was not fast to start walking. In fact, she took her first steps sideways. After a few days, she got more confidant and started moving forward instead of to the side. Now she runs, steps down stairs, jumps, and head dives off the futon. It’s fun to see her get more confidant in her abilities. It has helped to have some beautiful weather and new opportunities for exploring the great outdoors. And she’s not the only one itching to get on their feet and get outdoors. She and Jeremy have gone for a couple of hikes lately. So far she’s a pretty serious hiking companion, but I think she’ll warm up to her time in the hiking backpack.

Ani Difranco Concert in Boulder

Annie — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 18:18:58 +0000

I have been a fan of Ani DiFranco since I was 19 and a brand new poetry student at Texas A&M. I finally got to see her in concert in Boulder, thanks to my sweet husband, who surprised me with tickets. Our last “babymoon” date was so nice, especially since we had babysitting provided by Kate and her assistants, Reb and Brigitte. Ani was amazing in concert. She played 4 different guitars and is a tiny powerhouse.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Annie — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 18:43:00 +0000

Jeremy is not a huge fan of Valentine’s Day, despite the fact that our first Valentine’s Day together was spectacular. Needless to say, every since that first one, it hasn’t been a very big deal for us. However, now that we have Jane, every holiday is more fun, and she and I partied it up this year. Inspired by some ideas I found on Pinterest, I made a wreath for the front door, and she made a Valentine’s sign. Then we cut out red and white construction paper hearts and wrote “so-and-so loves Jane” for every member of our family, from cousins to great-grand parents. Jeremy and I also wrote things we love about Jane like “Jane is gentle with animals;” “Jane is a good dancer;” “God made Jane unique,” etc. I taped the hearts above her crib and her changing table. This may become a tradition at our house; I think it would be a great way to affirm older kids who can read to have hearts on their doors when they wake up on Valentine’s Day. Oh, and here’s a belly pic, too.

Tiny Girl Shoes

Annie — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 00:49:59 +0000

There are tiny girl shoes in every room of my house. Most days Jane will devote a good amount of time delivering shoes to me. Most evenings, Jeremy and I comb the house and return all of Jane’s shoes to her room. One day last week, I dragged out a drawer of her shoes, grabbed an empty basket, and let her go to work sorting them. She had a blast. It’s possible she’s a girl after her mom’s heart.

Animal Party

Annie — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 22:23:26 +0000

I’ve been trying to do at least one new thing with Jane every day, especially on days when she has a cold or it’s too snowy to go out. Sometimes it feels like we do the same thing every day: we feed the cat, I cook while she plays in her kitchen, we play with Legos, she takes a nap, she takes all her shoes and diapers out of their bins, we pick them up, she chases the cat, we have a dance party, we unload the dishwasher, she unloads the silverware, day after day after day. Ok, it doesn’t just feel like we do the same thing; we really do the same thing most days. Those are our staple entertainments, and motherhood can be a little monotonous. But lately we’ve been a tiny bit more inspired. The following posts will contain a few of our recent activities.

On Valentine’s Day I announced we were having an Animal Party. I brought out all her stuffed animals and lined them up on the couch. When she saw them, she went down the line, picking each one up and hugging and kissing it before setting it down to love on the next one. Then she rolled around on the floor snuggling them. What a sweet, funny girl!

Big Snow

Jeremy — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 21:24:57 +0000

Over the past few days we got a sizeable snow of about 15″ and deeper in places. Shoveling the driveway was exhausting, I have to say. But it was Jane’s first time out in lots of snow at an age where she can begin to enjoy it and play in it. She took to it right away, so we built her a snow slide. She loved it.

Jane Update

Annie — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 04:18:55 +0000

Jane will be 15 months old in 8 days. This means she’ll be a big sister in 3 months- whoa! Just a couple of days ago, she started walking. She’s been walking on her walkers for awhile now and could stand and dance and clap for long periods of time, but was too cautious to risk taking a step without holding onto something. Then last Wednesday we were sitting around visiting at a friend’s house and she casually walked from Jeremy over to me. Jeremy announced, “Excuse me but could we just take a moment here because Jane is walking!” We all cheered, and she got embarrassed and buried her head in my lap. Oh, and I should clarify that she mainly sidesteps. It’s the same movement as “cruising” along while holding onto the couch. To walk over to me a couple feet in front of her, she’ll turn sideways and do a little half circle of side steps until she’s in my arms. It’s pretty funny. And really cute.

She also started singing last week. It took us a few moments for Jeremy and I to realize what she was doing because she sings in this really soft little sing-song voice. Our favorite song was while we were driving to church two Sundays ago, she was singing our names over and over again. So we sang “Sweet Jane” back to her. She doesn’t sing with us or to us; she sings to herself or her animals and we eavesdrop.

Jane has a real soft spot for anything cute and furry, especially kittens. One day she and Jeremy were working on an alphabet puzzle book, and she picked up one of the pieces, held it to her chest, scrunched up her nose and started cooing at the puzzle piece. We thought “how odd, to cuddle a wooden puzzle piece.” Then we realized it was a piece with a kitten on it. Now every time she goes to that puzzle, that is the piece she pulls out. She knows which books have a picture of a cat in them and always turns to that page. She also carries around my cat calendar (last year’s pocket calendar with a cat photo on each month). She keeps it in her play kitchen along with a birthday card with a cat on it. She coos and kisses the cats and waves to them throughout the day. Trust me, this is not how she sees me interact with our real cat, so I didn’t teach her to act like this. It’s so fascinating to me that some behaviors are innate. Speaking of our real cat, Jane loves Sophie and is really gentle and sweet to her… most of the time. (Occasionally, it is just too exciting to see Sophie up close and she has to make a quick grab for some fur). In fact, right now Sophie has a wet ear, proof of a juicy baby kiss.

Jane’s imagination is starting to show. My dad sent her a cute play kitchen shortly after Christmas. He was “in the mood to buy a kitchen.” Jane loves to pretend to eat her felt food or imaginary food from an empty bowl and loves to offer Jeremy a spoonful, too. After he accepts a bite of her play food, she will toss her head back and cackle in delight. She loves to open and shut the doors and rearrange her food.

I can’t imagine a more delightful or sweet tiny girl. We are head over heels for you, Jane Phillips!

My husband is an architect!!!

Annie — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 02:43:44 +0000

After 2 architecture degrees, 6 years and 9 exams in 2 states, and more IDP hours than I can count, my husband, Jeremy Phillips, is officially a licensed architect! I am so proud of him. Way to go, babe!

To help us celebrate, my dad generously sent us out on a date to Pappas Seafood while we were in Houston. He also provided babysitting for Jane. It was such a fun night and a rare chance to go out just the two of us and eat a fancy meal (lobster for me and almond crusted snapper for Jeremy). Thanks, Dad!

Tyler, TX 2012

Annie — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 02:43:27 +0000

I stayed in Texas an extra week after Jeremy returned to Denver so that Jane and I could visit her great-grandparents in East Texas. I was a little nervous about traveling the 5 hours each way in the car with Jane, but she did pretty well. It didn’t hurt that Grandpa bought her a Cinnabon and Starbucks pumpkin bread or that Mimi sang “Pop Goes the Weasel” with a bunny on her head. Our family roadtrip to Tyler included 3 hotel rooms, 4 cars, 8 Carpenters, and 10 hours of driving. We had a great time, enjoying some TX bar-b-q and visiting with my grandparents. Thanks for the hospitality, GM & GL! We love you so much!