Sanaa Danielle Bonner is 1 year old! She had a blast at her birthday party. Special guest: GRANDMA! A great birthday surprise...we didn't know she was coming. The people in attendance were: me, Aniia, Alexis, Granna, her Dad, her Teetee Yvette, and Grandma. She played with her Grandma and her Dad the whole time. She got to eat taquitos and mini tacos (her new favorite food), and we let her play in her cupcake. I don't think she liked the taste, but she enjoyed smashing it on her chair and face! 

After her party, we all went to JCPenney to get her 1st birthday pictures taken. She was NOT happy, since she had to wake up in order to get them done. She looked at the photographer like she was crazy because of the funny sounds she was making. They're supposed to make kids laugh or at least smile...didn't work for Sanaa! The only thing that made her smile was the music coming from Yvette's phone. She danced a little and gave a few smiles. (Pictures are being picked up no later than January 27th, so check back for those next week!)

I'm sure everyone enjoyed themselves!

Sorry family and friends for not updating Sanaa's page for a few months. We've had some issues with uploading pictures. Anyway, Sanaa is doing wonderfully. She's trying to walk, she's talking and eating more and more! And guess what...SHE'S TURNING ONE NEXT MONTH!!!! Her party will have an Elmo theme and I'm hoping she enjoys herself. Look out for your invitations in the mail!

Hey family and friends!

I was just looking through Sanaa's clothes today and found that she doesn't have ANY 9month clothes! She has some 12 month and 24 month clothes, but NO 9 months! So if you are in a generous mood or just want to get Sanaa something, she could use some 9 month clothes. By the way she's been eating lately, she might by in them by the end of next month!

I just added some outfits and things to both the Babies 'R' Us and Target registries. More than anything, she could use the onesies. It might still be too hot for her to wear some of the long sleeved and long pants outfits. Thanks!

***And if you plan to go to the store instead of purchasing things online, please be sure to either let me know what you get or ask a sales associate about scanning the baby registry.***

Sanaa is such a big girl! She drinks her juice and water from a sippy cup, she sits up by herself, she crawls (I mean, actual crawling), ans she even says 'hi' if you say it to her! I'm gonna have to get gates soon because she will crawl to wherever I am, even the kitchen . She is definitly spoiled too because she doesn't want to crawl sometimes and will fuss until someone picks her up! I'm trying not to pick her up when she does that, but I hate hearing her cry. Anyway, she's still a morning baby and gives me a great big smile when she wakes up.

Right now, she is in size 6-9 month clothes and size 2 shoes, but she will be out of both soon. If anyone wants to get her anything, she could use some socks with non-slid feet (9months+), bottles (Avent or Playtex), bibs and outlet plugs. Since she's eating food now, she goes through about 4 or 5 bibs a day! If you're feeling really generous, we could also use the child safety gates, a Bumbo seat and some toys (lights and sounds a plus). You can find all of these things on her baby registries at Target and Babies R Us.

Sanaa is SO much like me that it's crazy! The only things she didn't get from me is liking anyone that will pick her up and waking up all cheery in the morning. She's such a happy baby...unless you don't feed her as soon as she's ready to eat! Her next doctor's appointment is on Monday (5/19) and she gets her second round of shots. I'm NOT looking forward to that, but I know she needs them to stay healthy. I do want to know how much she weighs. I'm sure it's around 14lbs if not more with the way she eats! Hopefully the doctor will tell me that I can start her on fruits and veggies. I'm really looking forward to that. Although it will be messy, I'd like to know which foods she likes. I'm going to start her with veggies instead of fruits. The book I have and the website I use both say that babies are more likely to be interested in veggies if they don't get fruits first. That is because fruit is naturally sweet and veggies are bland. Of course, anyone would go for the sweet first! I'm also going to do homemade food for her instead of buying the jars. At least, I'm going to start out by doing that and if it doesn't work, jars it is! I figure it would be easier to eat the same thing as her...I'll just steam everything and not add any spices or sweeteners to her food.

My next step is to get her a highchair or booster seat so she won't slide everywhere when I feed her. That will lessen the mess and keep the food in a controlled area...at least until she learns how to feed herself!

We took Sanaa to get her ears pierced yesterday! She took it how I expected her to...she screamed her head off! Then I think she was mad at me (I held her) for the rest of the day because she only cried when I held her. Joe took her and she immediately stopped crying. She was ok though, after I gave a little bit of Tylenol. Then this morning, we took her for her 3 month pictures (see her photo album). She only smiled in 1 pose, but at least she didn't cry! We chose 3 poses of her and 1 of all of us, which we got in a 10x13. If anyone wants to see all of the poses, they should be up for view on the Sears website by Monday afternoon. If you want to view them, here is the info you need:

Session ID# - 41084A112626110

Session password - XN2BDPF3K

Another thing to know: I had to create a website for my computer class. Naturally, I chose to make Sanaa the theme of the site. It is due on Monday morning and should be available for view by Monday night by visiting http://astro.temple.edu/~tua07256

This is what I shared with some of my friends via email back in January. I can't believe I actually forgot to add it here! Anyway, here it goes!

"So as many of you know, my mom flew out here to help me prepare for Sanaa's arrival on January 13th. We went shopping on the 14th, and that's when my contractions started. Some were big and some weren't, but they kept picking up all day. They got to be 5 minutes apart, so Joe called his mom (who took all of 5 seconds to get here) and we headed to the hospital. In triage, they told me I was only 1cm dilated so they sent me home with the advice to keep the appointment I had on the 15th and to take an Ambien so I could sleep. I woke up on the 15th still having contractions, but just kept my appointment with my doctor at 1:15. She checked me and said I was 3cm and that if I walked around for 3-4 hours and still contracted, I could come back to the hospital. Of course, I did, but only got to be 4cm. I walked the halls of L&D for 4 hours with no progress. I was still contracting every 5-8 minutes, so my doctor was nice enough to admit me around 10pm (I think...time was a blur to me). My nurse gave me the IV drip, which had me going to the bathroom every 20 minutes, and told me to keep walking. I was checked again around 8am (again, just a guess) on the 16th and I was only 5cm. My doctor gave me another Ambien and told me to rest.

A few hours after that, my doctor broke my water and started me on pitocin. Those were the worst contractions ever! I asked for the epi, but the incompetent anesthesiologist couldn't get it placed (after stabbing me like 4 times). So my doctor gave me Nubane in my IV and I slept for an hour. I woke up in so much pain that I didn't know what to do with myself, so I asked for the epi again (but from a different anesthesiologist). After the epi, I started feeling lots of pressure so my doctor checked me and I was 7cm. Only about an hour later (at least it felt like only an hour), I couldn't fight the urge to push, but everyone was telling me not to (they thought it was in my head and I couldn't be fully dilated already). But after I yelled at  Joe, my nurse got the doctor to check me and I was 10cm and +3 station. Everyone was taking their sweet time thinking I would take forever to push her out. But it only took me about 10 good pushes and 17 minutes to get her out! Sanaa Danielle came screaming into the world on January 17th at 12:21am. She weighed 6lbs 9oz and was 19inches long. The doctor handed her to me right after she was born and I couldn't stop myself from crying. The nurse took her and dried her off while my mom, Joe's mom and Joe were snapping pictures and video tapping. In my head, I kept saying "Wow...I'm really a mommy now. That's really my baby!"

About 2 hours after Sanaa was born, I was transferred to the postpartum floor. Those rooms are about 1/3 the size of the labor and delivery rooms! Mom and Ms. Linda left and Joe and I began to settle into the room. I was starving by then after not eating for a day plus, but all they had in the room was crackers and juice (which I scarfed down). A nurse from the newborn nursey came and took Sanaa for the first mini checkup while I rested. I didn't want to stay in the hospital any longer than I had to, so we were released on Friday (the 18th) afternoon. Sleep was very difficult in that VERY uncomfortable hosptial bed, so I couldn't wait to get home to my nice comfy bed! Ever since, life has revolved around Sanaa...but I wouldn't change it for the world!"

Reading that made me want to cry because I remember how I felt then. Those feelings are magnitized even more now when Sanaa looks at me and smiles. Even if she doesn't realize that I'm her mommy, I know she loves me by the way she looks at me (expecially when I feed her). I can't wait for the day when she calls me "Mama"! And it's hard to actually understand what people mean when they say "Enjoy it now...they grow up so fast"...until you become a parent.

We had quite an exciting night. Of course, my mom and I went shopping yesterday. We actually filled up the truck AND backseat with everything we need! YAY! Anyway, the whole day I was having contractions, but they got real bad when we went to the grocery store. They were about 7 minutes apart by then, but not too bad. So we got back home and Joe and my mom started to unload the car. I was having the contractions every 5-8 minutes at that point and for about 30 minutes after. Then, after I'd called my doctor just to have her tell me to call back when they were 5 minutes apart for an hour, I started having them 4-5 minutes apart. So we decided to order some food then go to the hospital. It took an hour to get our food, then we headed to the hospital. I was VERY uncomfortable by then and was hoping they would admit me. Well, obviously I wasn't admitted because I'm only 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced (-2 station). They gave me a Ambien and told me to take a warm shower and go to sleep at home. Boo to them!

Anyway, I'm still having contractions every 7-10 minutes, but they aren't that strong. We're going out today to pick up a dresser and extension cord for Sanaa's stuff. As soon as we get her sheets and stuff washed, I'll post a picture of the room. I have a doc appt today at 1:15, so wish me luck that these contractions have caused me to dilate some more and the walking helps increase the contractions!