Snow!

I know, I know. Five posts in one weekend is probably overkill. But it's feast or famine with this blog!

We had snow this weekend! And since this was Erik's week off, he and Abigail got to enjoy it together. Sadly, I was too comfortable inside in my pajamas to come out and take a picture of them both.

Right outside our condoAbigail kept calling the snow "sand." Maybe the beach toys were confusing her.

Can't play in the snow without getting a runny nose!

Is she testing the snow or licking the runny nose?? Hmm...

Christmas!

We're going backwards! Here are some pictures from Christmas...

Helping Daddy decorate the tree The Christmas countdown chain Abigail and I made
One of Abigail's favorite toys is a "Little People" Christmas Nativity set, which she plays with all year long. She loves to reenact the story of Jesus's birth--starting with the angel's announcement to Mary: "Don't be afraid, Mary. God has chosen you!" (It really cracks me up to hear my two-year-old say this!) But her favorite part of the whole thing is crowding all the people and animals around the manger to look at baby Jesus. ("Come see the newborn King! Everyone can come!") This is the part she always drags Erik and/or me over to see. So precious!

Christmas morning at our house, opening a present from Grandma Weiler, who knows the perfect gift for a two-year-old...

Oh, someday I'm going to miss this wonderful age when breakfast cereal is no longer the most exciting Christmas present ever...

Later on that afternoon at Grandma Heiss's house: Here are Erik's dad and younger brother, Ben--one in his Christmas pajamas because he got to sleep in and the other in his hospital scrubs because he did not get to sleep in!

Making a cool bead necklace with Grandma Heiss, definitely a big hit. She wore it around her neck till she went to bed that night.

Waiting patiently for her next turn...

We all enjoyed watching Abigail open her presents. It was the same reaction every time: the jaw would drop as she started to unwrap the gift, we would all ask in unison "What is it?!" Then, still wearing her this-is-the-best-present-any-kid-could-dream-for expression, she would say, "I don't know!"
A cookie set!
Looking through Great-grandma Bankhead's new "brag book" from all the grandkids!
Wonderful Aunt Gayle taking care of Anne

We even witnessed a Christmas miracle: they all played with their own presents!

Except for Uncle Dave. He played with Emmy's.

Great-grandma and grandpa Heiss came down from Michigan to celebrate too.

Here's Abigail trying out the gift Santa brought for Mommy and Daddy!

The sweetest gift of all

Somehow I don't have any pictures to show for the time we spent with my side of the family! (probably because I'm always too caught up enjoying the company and conversation that I never think of getting the camera out of the diaper bag...) Guess I'll have to "borrow" some from one of my more responsible siblings and post them later!

"We a whole family!"

We're just so happy to have our little Anne with us. After four weeks of hearing about but never getting to see her little sister, Abigail is quite protective of her "baby Anne." When Erik had to take her (Anne) to the hospital this week for a hip ultrasound (routine for breech babies--the results came back normal), Abigail became quite distraught, sobbing "Don't take baby sister to the hospital!" until we distracted her by offering to take her across the street to cousin Clark's house to play. She was very glad to discover, upon her return, that Daddy and baby Anne were safely home.

Our little Anne has definitely put on some baby fat over the last three weeks she's been home. Mommy's milk is the best!

Come on, Anne--don't be shy! Baby fat's a good thing!

During Anne's time in the hospital, Abigail would often remark during mealtimes, with a sad face, that "we were not a whole family." Now whenever we're all sitting together on the couch or kneeling down for family prayer, she takes the opportunity to point out, with that heart-melting two-year-old smile of hers, "We a whole family!"

Yes, we are.

Happy New Year!

Here's our 2009 family newsletter, which I've finally gotten around to writing.

Dear family and friends,

Happy New Year!

This past year was an exciting one for our family! This summer we were delighted to discover that baby girl #2 was on the way! Her expected arrival was in early January, so we told Abigail for several months that baby sister was coming around Christmas time. As it turned out, baby sister couldn't wait that long!

Anne Marie Heiss took us all by surprise on November 16th, when she decided to join our family seven weeks before her due date. She weighed 4 lbs. 3 oz. but measured the same--18 inches--as Abigail did at 39 weeks. She was a little jaundice, and her lungs needed some help opening up, but other than that, we were blessed with a strong, healthy little girl. Her lungs matured quickly, and she made steady progress in the NICU over the next four weeks. It was a challenging time for our family, but we had much to be thankful for, especially to have the love and support of both our families here in Atlanta. The prayers and faith of friends and family sustained us, and we were delighted to have Anne home with us for Christmas and to introduce her (finally!) to her big sister.

"Big sister" is thrilled with her new role in the family and loves to hold baby Anne whenever Mommy lets her (and sometimes when she's not looking). Abigail has astonished us this year by how much she has learned and grown. Sometimes--like when she's throwing a tantrum on the floor or flatly refusing to get out of the car/into her bed/away from the candy at the checkout line or insisting that candy cane-striped pants and a hot pink cupcake shirt do match--we are reminded that she's only two years old. At other times--like when she's giving us the nutritional breakdown of the food we are eating at breakfast ("Do you know that milk has lots of calcium in it? That gives us strong bones!") or naming the birthday months of all her extended family members or translating Spanish to English--we wonder how we're ever going to keep up with her. We have also observed that Abigail is very musically inclined. She loves to learn new songs, and not only does she memorize lyrics quickly, she stays remarkably in tune! She has shown us over and over again that she can learn just about anything if we make up a song about it. She entertains herself (and anyone within earshot) all day long with her sweet singing and creative play. This has been a great blessing to her mother as she is learning to juggle new responsibilities and demands on her time! Abigail's sweet laughter and smiles and unrestrained affection, her energy and enthusiasm for learning and exploring, and her eagerness to please are constant reminders to us of why the Savior has admonished us all to become like little children.

This was definitely a red-letter year for Erik, starting with "Match Day" in mid-March where we learned that he would be doing his 3-year pediatric residency here at Emory! It was a difficult decision at the time, but we felt good about ranking Emory first, and we've been counting our blessings ever since! Erik graduated from Emory with his MD and master's in public health in May. His father, also a physician here in Atlanta, donned his own cap and gown for the event and got to "hood" Erik in the special medical class ceremony. It was an exciting milestone for the whole family, and we're very proud of him! Since starting residency in July, Erik has been working very hard (a gross understatement). Fortunately, he is enjoying it! He has already set himself apart by his charming personality, his limitless intellectual capacity, and by being the only resident at Emory who eats homemade wheat bread sandwiches for lunch every day. When he's not saving lives at the hospital or roughhousing with his favorite two-year-old or sleeping soundly in his bed, he can usually be found in some cozy corner of the house listening to L'Anita read Harry Potter. (She finally got him hooked!)

As wife, mother and Chief Financial Officer, L'Anita has stayed busy this year trying to keep up with the needs of her growing family while also juggling online classes and an in-home day care and running marathons in her spare time. Ok, not exactly. She did take on a full-time babysitting job for a month in the spring to help a friend, though (giving her a little taste of what life would be like juggling two!). And she did run a total of 120 miles--most of them during pregnancy!--to complete her jogging course. She continues to work toward her undergrad degree by taking classes through BYU Independent Study. L'Anita has made considerable progress in her Spanish while our family has attended a Spanish-speaking congregation for the last 18 months. Serving in the nursery, she spent a good part of each Sunday teaching young children. She learned a great deal herself about love and patience and is quite proficient in Spanish primary songs.

We love you all and wish you a happy 2010!

~The Heiss family

Erik, L'Anita, Abigail and Anne

Meet Anne

Our little Anne came 2 months early!

It was a long four weeks in the NICU, but we have our sweet little girl at home with us now. Here are a few pictures from the hospital.

Day 3 in the hospital--when I finally got to hold her

Anne came home on December 13th. Over the last three weeks, she has gained weight beautifully and is a joy to our family. I'll try to post some more recent pictures soon.

Thanks for all your faith and prayers.