Anna Merriman

This photo captures how Anna looks in real life quite well. So Irina probably took it
Anyway, the 11th of September 2009 was the setting, back in our flat. You can see the blanket/duvet we put on the floor when Anna plays (to keep her away from cat hair etc.), and the sofa cushions from her room (did I mention she has moved into her own room now – big girl ) that are just about still working as a way of stopping her from crawling away when our heads are turned. Which reminds me, we need to move the coffee table out of the living room, before she hits her head.
Anyway, back to the photo…

Smiling Anna With Her Cube And Ball

Ah, upon checking the folder this photo was taken from, I can see this is the first day with some videos in it. I’ll go and upload them to YouTube, and include in a separate post, as the import process to Anna’s site creates duplicate posts if I put both and photos and vids into one post (and correctly categorize it).

Deciding to take advantage of what was then the rapidly ending of summer days in Astana, Irina, I and Anna walked across to Ali Ba Ba (the outdoor seating section of Farhi) and had a snack and a couple of drinks. Anna behaved brilliantly, probably helped by the face we were sat at the Kazakh-style tables, which are low and surrounded by cushions on a raised floor. This meant she wasn’t stuck on our laps the whole time, or in her pushchair.

Anna and Chris sat in Ali BaBa

Oh, and for making it easier to follow what is what when this picture is automatically imported into Anna Merriman’s site, the photo was taken on the 9th of September 2009. 09/09/09, though not at 09:09. That would have been a little too early for all of us, and a little excessive just for obtaining a pretty time and date. That said, as the camera is still set to UK time, it thought it was 09:10 – only a minute off!

Yes, there is indeed a branch of Kentucky Fried Chicken here in Astana, in the Mega shopping centre to be precise. For any doubters out there, below is a photo taken on the 7th of September 2009, with Anna sat in her pushchair.

Anna In Mega

Ooops, just re-checked the picture, and the yellow lighting of the fast food outlet sort of drowns out the KFC symbol. I tried playing with it in Photoshop, but to no avail. Anyway, the store is there, but no Burger King or McDonalds stores in Astana just yet, to the best of my knowledge.

The 4th of September 2009 saw this photo being taken of Anna sat up in her denim shorts. The shorts are actually a better fit than they look there – they were just pulled a bit high on Anna’s tummy. Since this shot, she can not only sit upright completely solo, she can also stand (whilst holding onto the sofa/toy box) a lot better, and walk around, when supported by furniture/parents

Anna Sat Up In Denim Shorts

The rest of the photos will be spread out over the next week or so, so make sure you come back again. If baby photos aren’t your thing, I’ll be trying to add a few ‘normal’ posts along the way as well, so don’t go away