Life with a Baby

Our Weekend

2012-01-16T13:04:00.000-05:00

Our weekend was pretty low key. My parents came for a visit on Saturday to celebrate my birthday and we all went out to eat. I just had to share a few cute shots of Miss Annie from our walk Sunday. There's nothing better than a big, open field for her to run.

Hope your weekend was relaxing!

Bowling!

2012-01-06T11:34:00.000-05:00

We took Annabelle bowling for the first time last weekend. Of course she couldn't hold the ball yet, but that didin't seem to put a damper on her fun. Randy took this video with his phone, so the quality isn't the best, but you can see her excitement after her ball (finally) knocks down some pins. She would get so excited each time she bowled and she loved cheering for us after each time we bowled as well. We all had a great time! She's been asking me if we can go again, saying "bowling?!" while nodding her head yes at me.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-26T21:55:00.000-05:00

We had a wonderful Christmas this past weekend! It was so much fun to see Annabelle get excited about her gifts, but I think she still enjoyed being around family the most. It was such a relaxing weekend spent with family, something I always look forward to. We took Annabelle to see Christmas lights Friday night and she absolutely LOVED them. We went to a farm that does a big display each year, it was beautiful. Annabelle was in awe of the lights. Saturday was my Dad's birthday and we just enjoyed spending the day with him. We're looking forward to the new year, just one short week away!

She loved playing in the leaves during our walk.

A little static at the playground.

Trying on her Santa hat.

Right after waking up Christmas morning, I think the table and chairs with her tea set are her favorite gift.

Trying to figure out how to open her gifts.

Another favorite from Uncle Cory & Aunt Aliza.

Playing in Nana & Pop's garden.

Enjoying mimosas while cooking.

Baking & Cheese

2011-12-22T21:50:00.001-05:00

It's been a fun week around here. I spent a few hours last Sunday baking cookies for Annabelle's teachers. I also helped Annabelle make some home made cards for them, which was a lot of fun. I wish I had remembered to take a picture, but let's just say it involved paint and cute, little squishy toes. Happily, the tins I purchased to hold the cookies didn't hold as much as I thought they would, so we had a few left overs to enjoy for ourselves (good thing we've been working out each night after little miss goes to bed). Annabelle lovingly calls the cookies "cake" and will ask for one by saying "cake peeez?"

I had to share the picture below, this is what we get when we ask Annabelle to say cheese....oh boy!

What a ham!

Eyes, eyes

2011-12-19T13:22:00.000-05:00

We're getting ready for the holidays around here. This year has been more fun with Annabelle now that she understands a little more what's going on. I can't believe how good she's been with the Christmas tree. I really thought it would be too hard for her to keep her hands off it, but honestly, our cat has knocked more ornaments off the tree than Annabelle. We told Annie that the plush, snowman ornament hanging at the bottom of the tree was ALL hers, but the others were off limits. Just about every day she grabs her "Noman" off the tree and walks around the house with it. I stressed to her from the beginning that we only look at the tree with our eyes. She's been really great about abiding by that rule, she'll walk right up to the tree with her nose just a few millimeters from it and say out loud to herself, "Eyes, eyes" like she's reminding herself what to do, it's so funny! That's not to say there haven't been a couple times she's "accidentally" brushed up against the tree or given in to the urge to touch the sparkly snowflake that taunts her.

Annabelle talks about Santa all the time now saying, "Saaaaanta! Ho Ho Ho!" I guess they taught her the "Ho ho ho" in school. She was pretty good with meeting the old guy, she did a quick freak-out when we sat her on his lap and backed away, but then Randy made her laugh about something and she was fine.

I let Annabelle try some hot (warm) cocoa this past weekend, which was a big hit. Although, she did have to chase a couple sips with some water. I guess it was a little too sweet for her.

Here's some pictures from our regular weekend walk to feed the ducks:

The girl loves being outside! One of her favorite things to do is pick "fowers" a.k.a. weeds and feed the ducks.

Annabelle loves her Daddy!

Here's hoping you have a wonderful holiday!

C

Random Things

2011-11-19T10:52:00.002-05:00

Last Friday afternoon when I got home from work I decided to make some warm tea since it was so chilly out. I showed Annabelle how you dip the tea bag in the warm water and for some reason it cracked her up. I guess the idea of putting something in your drink attached to a string is pretty funny to a toddler.
Lately, Annie also loves sitting in the drivers seat of our cars while they're parked in the driveway. I assure you, this is a "game" that her Daddy started with her. He'll sit in the passenger seat while Annabelle stands in the driver's seat. She's so happy just pushing buttons and turning knobs. It's funny to see what entertains her. I walked out there the other day and the signal lights were blinking and all I could see was this little blonde head bobbing below the steering wheel. I'll be inside the house and all of a sudden hear a horn honking.....our neighbors must think we're crazy, but she loves it.

Annabelle is getting better at telling us what she wants. The other night I asked her what she likes to eat, she thought a moment and then said, "pisah (pizza), eggs, toast, and MEAT!" Every time I tell her I'm going to cook something she looks up at me and asks "pisah?" The kid repeats EVERYTHING we say now.

We're looking forward to the holidays and having some time off work. Whenever I talk to Annabelle about Thanksgiving she yells "Turkey!" and then I'll ask her what the turkey says and she replies, "bobble bobble!" Then she'll say "pie! yummmm!" She's such a silly girl.

Sometimes I'll turn on music for Annabelle and start dancing around the living room and she'll crack up laughing at me then start dancing too by spinning herself around in circles and bouncing up and down. She loves music. The other day at the playground, while Randy and I were pushing her on the swing, she just started singing her own little song. We had no idea what she was saying, but it was clearly her own little version of a song.

Last night, Randy and I got away and had a delicious dinner at Fish Bones. I was craving some seafood and that place did the trick! Seafood isn't something I make at home very often, although I see no reason why not. It was nice to have a quiet night out to ourselves!

I'll leave you with a short video of Annabelle singing the ABC song with me. My favorite part is where she says Hannah at the end, one of the characters in her favorite book...so random!

Cooling Off

2011-11-10T13:31:00.001-05:00

It's been a fantastic summer and I'm so glad the temperatures are finally cooling off around here. We can actually enjoy the outdoors. I could say our summer was super busy and that's why I haven't updated the blog in a while, but honestly we were just enjoying ourselves.

Annabelle's been growing and is talking so much now. I've lost count of all the words she knows, even though I'm the only one who understands half of them. It's so funny to hear her speak and know what's on her little mind throughout the day. Her newest game is sitting on the couch or bed and saying, "Ready........Set........Go!" then jumping up in the air and landing on her butt. Cracks me up EVERY time!

Annabelle's hair was pretty non-existent until she was a year old, then finally started coming in. She's had a little mullet for a while now, but I haven't had the heart to cut it, despite how ragged it makes her look. Randy's been begging me to let him cut it and I finally gave in this past Monday. I grabbed the scissors and snipped off her little lock of curls before I could stop myself (then lovingly placed it in her baby book). I have to say, it looks SO much better now, she doesn't look like she has constant bed-head.

She's been so happy that we can play outside more now, thanks to the nice weather.

Calling "Mimi?! Mimi?!" trying to get our cat to come and play.

Our Week

2011-05-31T12:44:00.000-04:00

This past Monday the babyista and I stopped by my friend Dana’s place to visit with her and her little girl, who just turned the big 1. It was nice to hang out for a couple hours and watch the girls play. Annie was very interested in all the new and different toys. At one point, both girls shared in their love of “shaking the baby gate”

(too cute!)

Our family recently joined the YMCA, which is literally a few blocks from our house. We could technically walk/ride our bikes there, but who am I kidding, it’s already hitting 95 degrees in the afternoons here. So Tuesday, Annabelle & I headed over to the Y. I dropped Annie off in the childcare and headed over to the step interval class. I was already pretty sore from Sunday’s workout (it was another step class, the first real exercise I’d done in months and I’m pretty sure I have zero muscle left in my body). So I was a little worried about this workout. My calves were so sore from Sunday, I had trouble getting out of bed in the morning because I couldn’t extend my leg all the way. I had a few minutes before class started, so I stretched and prepared best I could. The instructor was brutal and my legs felt like lead weights by the middle of the class. I was starting to get a little dizzy (shame on me for not eating anything before I left the house….hey, at least I remembered to feed the kid!) About 40 minutes into the class I hear my name called out and thought I was just hallucinating, but in reality it was a teacher from the childcare class coming to tell me Annabelle had had enough (luckily, so had I, so I quickly left the class and went to get her). In hindsight, she had been in a pretty crabby mood all day, so between my sore limbs and her sour mood we should have scratched the whole gym thing that day. Oh well, better luck next time.

Wednesday night we ordered take-out Thai food from our favorite restaurant around the corner. Randy & I used to go to this place all the time, but it’s one of those small, quiet, hole in the walls that you just don’t bring a toddler to. So, it had been a while since we had their food. IT WAS SO GOOD! Especially the Thai Tea which is a dessert all by itself. After Annie went to bed and while Randy played music that night, I made myself a nice, warm cup of flavored coffee and caught up on my Pinterest research (aka enjoying some photography, art, design eye candy and feeding my artistic side). If you haven’t checked it out, I highly recommend you do it.

This was my Thursday morning:

Annie was playing with one of Randy’s shirts and so he decided to put in on her. A little big, but she loved it.
She's been getting into everything for a while now. When I'm preparing dinner each night, Annabelle usually busies herself pulling things out of the cupboards. Thursday she found a new use for one of our plastic bowls.

She walked around with that thing on her head talking to herself and laughing because I was laughing at her. She also managed to find an old shower cap in the bathroom cabinet. I showed her how to wear it and she proudly walked around the house displaying her new "hat."

Here's a random video of Randy trying to teach Annabelle how to play the drums....poor kid.

Friday night, the three of us were enjoying the evening on the couch, letting Annie stay up a little later than usual (she often gets really sweet and cuddly around her bedtime, which makes it harder to say goodnight to her). It had been a little overcast earlier that day and there was a little thunder here and there, far off in the distance, but I think all of our hearts stopped at the same time, when all of a sudden a lightening bolt struck our neighbor's palm tree which is about 10 feet away from our house. The force from the strike knocked a picture off the wall in our house, fried one of our little TVs (which was on a surge protector) and knocked out our internet/cable. In fact, when the cable company came to check it out, they said there was still smoke coming from the wires in our box and everything inside had been welded together. So, needless to say we spent the weekend "unplugged" which I rather enjoyed, but my technology-loving husband had a harder time. I think he was having withdrawels by the time we resumed our service Sunday night....poor guy. The cable company had to dig up a large chunk of our yard to get to the heart of the problem, thanks to the lightening, it wasn't a simple fix.

Saturday morning I was able to enjoy a step class at the gym (this time the little peanut stayed home with her Daddy). It was nice to workout and not have to worry that I was going to get pulled out due to an unhappy child. We spent the rest of the weekend relaxing around the house and swimming in the pool to escape the heat. Sunday morning I whipped-up some home-made, cheesy garlic biscuits for breakfast. There were so-so in my opinion, I have an older recipe that I prefer, but Randy seemed to be pretty fond of the newer version.

Monday we had plans to join my parents on their boat for the day out at a nearby lake. We met them at their house and rode together to the lake. Only, we had a minor set-back once we got there as the battery in my Dad's car died, without warning. Luckily, we were able to get a jump to get the car to the auto parts store and put in a new battery. However, it wasn't quite that simple, as naturally the car stalled/died while sitting at a red light on the way. So we were temporarily stranded at an intersection halfway between the lake and auto parts store. Again, luckily, my Dad was able to get a ride to the store and back to pick up the batter/tools while Randy directed traffic around our car/boat at the intersection and my Mom & I entertained the baby (who hadn't had a nap yet) in the heat, away from the traffic. Thankfully, Annie was a good sport (I don't think she really cared what we were doing as long as she could play with her Grandma). We finally got the battery in and were off to the lake, a few hours behind, but since were weren't really on a schedule, all was good.

Looking in a shop window, while waiting for the car battery to be replaced.

Here are a couple before and after shots of Randy and my Dad knee-boarding. I particularily enjoy the wipe-outs, so glad I brought the camera for this.

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Annabelle enjoyed walking around the boat and perfecting her sea legs. She especially loved playing with the rope on the front of the boat.

Randy snapped a picture of me trying my hand at driving the boat.

Family Photo

Life

2011-05-18T23:26:00.002-04:00

Life has been going on, as it does, and I have yet to blog about it. Better late than never. Here are some random photos on what we've been up to the past month or so. We enjoyed Easter at my parent's home along with some of my family and Randy's brother Mike & girlfriend, Suzanne. True to our Florida weather, it was a warm weekend and so we enjoyed the great outdoors with some cornhole games. Annie busied herself with a pool provided by the Grandma & Grandpa.

Everyone kept yelling at Mike & Suzanne's dog, Zoe, who kept running into the middle of the game. So Annie decided to do the same. It's amazing how kids pick up on EVERYTHING adults do.

She enjoyed filling her Easter eggs with water, while in the pool.

In other news, a couple weeks ago we traveled down to South Florida for a surprise b-day party for one of Randy's cousins. We got there a little early and decided to check out the beach. There are SO MANY PEOPLE in South Florida! I can see why, the ocean is beautiful down there. Much clearer and blue than what we have up here, but I prefer something a little more secluded for my own personal relaxation purposes.

Check out these fancy rides we came across on our walk...

I don't know why you would need a steering wheel on a bike. The spare tire I guess you could justify...do they have AAA for bikes?

We enjoyed some tasty pizza on the beach before heading to the party.

Last week, Randy and I were able to get out of the house (Thanks Aunt Sue & Emily for babysitting!) to enjoy a Brett Dennen concert I've been looking forward to for some time now. I came across this guy's music a few months ago and must say he's very talented. I made Randy listen to some of his tunes before the show, but I think he became more of a fan after listening to him live.

So, I rushed Randy out the door (because the show was downtown and started at 7pm and ohmygosh if we don't get there on time and miss the show I will be pissed). So, we still left a little late and by the time we arrived the opening act hadn't even begun (at which time Randy gave me the "i told you so" look) and we proceeded to go for a stroll around the block to kill some time before going inside. We turned the corner and went down the street a little and saw a big tour bus, which we figured belonged to the band. Then Randy casually says, "Hey, there he is" and sure enough, there he was with a bag from whole foods in tow. So we headed over to grab this quick picture:

The show was fantastic, we had a great time and came home to a happily, sleeping baby thanks to my Aunt Sue & cousin Emily.

This past weekend, we spent a few hours at Sea World getting some fresh air and exercise. We found the kiddie section of the park, complete with all the water a little one could ever need.   We didn't have a suit for Annie, but there was no way we could deny her the fun of running through the water, so we stripped her down and let her do her thing. It was a complete success by her standards:

The only problem was her diaper became so filled with water that it began to sag to the point where Annie was walking around like a little plumber.  The diaper rash that followed the next day was NOT GOOD (oh how I miss thee, cloth diapers), but after a day or so was gone and all was well with the world again.

So, Randy's in Chicago for a few days this week, working. We got to G-chat over the interwebs earlier today and Annie had a blast laughing at her Daddy as usual. She even leaned in for a kiss of the screen.  (Good thing for her daddy, as her kisses are the slobbery, wet, open-mouthed kind).

Speaking of technology, our baby monitor/cam is set up via a secure connection over the web, so Randy can check-in on the little munchkin from his iPhone when he's away to get his baby fix and see things like this:

There's nothing sweeter!

Love,
Carrie

Introducing Sophie Norcia!

2011-04-29T10:42:00.002-04:00

My dear friend Wendy delivered her beautiful daughter,
Sophie this past Monday morning.

This little beauty was born at 35 weeks, just shy of full-term so she needed to stay in the NICU for a couple days to make sure everything was A-OK before going home (hopefully they will get the green light today to finally go home!) I know it has been hard on Wendy and her husband to be away from this sweet face, but Wendy's about the toughest gal I know, so I know she'll make it through!

Congratulations Wendy & Jim! She's a keeper!

Love,

Carrie

Lazy Days

2011-04-20T22:28:00.002-04:00

Oh how I love the precious spring days.

They are few and fleeting here.

By the time we realize they've arrived, the heat has already set in
and taken our comfort.

But not before we get a few lazy days of enjoyment out of our lovely Spring.

There's something about a toddler and a vast expanse of space to roam.

Like a turtle drawn to the ocean, so she went....over and over.

Love,

Carrie

Annabelle's 1st Birthday!

2011-03-28T17:35:00.002-04:00

We've been ~~recovering~~ relaxing the last week and just enjoying life with our new, one year old. I've been wanting to post some pictures from the big girl's big day and her birthday party though, so here you go.

Annabelle's birthday I stayed home with her and we enjoyed a relaxing day together. It was beautiful outside, so we ventured down to Park Avenue to walk around and enjoy the fresh air {see prior post, below}. That evening, Randy, Annabelle, & I went out to dinner and our little girl enjoyed EVERY. LAST. BITE. of her food.....as usual.

Annabelle LOVES icecream, so after dinner we took her over to TCBY for her very own frozen yogurt which she thoroughly enjoyed. I think she may have shared a bite or two with her daddy.

Annabelle's birthday party was a bumble bee theme {I thought it was adorable and knowing this little girl, I probably won't have much say in her parties from here on out}.

I designed the invitations via Publisher from a cute design I found and had them printed on the cheap online:

I had fun making all of the decorations for the party. I started a few months ago, so I would just do a little here and there whenever Annabelle was napping and I had some free time. Everything was pretty easy to make, cheap, & fun. The wreth that hung on the door was made out of tissue paper:

I made the "Happy Birthday" banner out of cardstock paper and ribbon.

The same went for the banner hanging below the candy bar.

The cupcakes were homemade and I just stuck some cute, little bumble bees in each one to livin' them up a little.

I made these poms out of tissue paper, super cheap & easy!

I had some left-over yellow card stock paper, so I used it to make holders for the flatware.

Here's a shot of all the delicious food. Thankfully, my Mom helped with some of the cooking!

One of Randy's buddies works for an event company and got us this sweet bounce house at no charge! Annabelle wasn't quite sure what to do with it, but wanted to be in it all weekend, regardless. The bigger kids at the party seemed to appreciate it as well.

Enough with food and decorations. Here is a couple shots of the birthday girl.
She was in a pretty good mood all day, and seemed to really enjoy her party. After everyone left she went right down for a nice long nap, which Mommy & Daddy were very grateful.

Longing to be in the bounce house.

She just realized there was something on her head...

There we go, much better.

Annabelle thoroughly enjoyed her birthday cupcake as well. She was a little reserved at first, but as soon as I held that sweet treat to her lips and told her to take a bite, all bets were off.

Annabelle had a good time opening presents as well. Thanks to Wendy for taking these shots. Here's Annie with her new kitchen set from Grandma & Grandpa.

Here we are together at the end of the party. It all went by pretty fast, but we enjoyed every minute of it, just like Annabelle's first year.

1 Year, Happy Birthday My Dear

2011-03-18T17:24:00.005-04:00

Annabelle & I are enjoying a relaxing day together.

But, I didn't want to let her birthday pass without a quick sneak peak into the special girl's day.

Here's a few shots from our trip down to Park Avenue earlier today. It was beautiful outside, so we enjoyed some time relaxing by the fountain and watching all the people walk by who were going to the art festival.

I'll be sure to do a 1 year post soon, along with pictures from the birthday party!

11 Months

2011-02-18T21:44:00.000-05:00

One month to go!

In one month you'll no longer be a baby, Miss Annabelle.

Although I'm pretty sure you don't think of yourself that way anymore.

You have a very independent personality, little girl.

You like to read your books by yourself now.

If we try to hold it for you, it's not long before you snatch the book out of our hands and promptly place it in your own lap, then commence flipping randomly through pages, pointing to the pictures, and babbling the story out loud to yourself.

You've also found the joy of standing up, but aren't quite ready to do it without a little assistance yet. However, you'll find your way around a room pretty quickly by holding onto furniture, walls, toys, whatever you can use to stabilize yourself. You love to use the walker Grandma got you, except you're not sure how to turn the thing around.

You also LOVE taking things out of the kitchen drawers!

You will pull almost every piece of tubberware out of the drawer and throw it to the side, like trash, while digging in the drawer with your other hand to find another piece to throw out. You also love to chew on the rubber handles of the pots and pans.

I'll have to try and post the video, but we found you the other day with your hands on top of two metal bowls, turned upside down, scooting them across the floor while you crawled.

It. was.very.loud.

However, you had such a big grin on your face at the time, we couldn't stand to stop you.

Annie, you love to bob up and down to the music from your toys.

It's one of the funniest things to witness, especially when you do it while standing in the bathtub, naked. You have certain songs on each of your toys that really get you moving and you'll keep pushing buttons, rushing through all the other songs to get to the one tune that you love.

You've also started nodding your head no.

I'm sure you learned this from all the "no"s we've had to say to you lately as you've been getting into EVERYTHING. So, it's hard not to laugh when we now tell you no and you look at us with a huge smile and nod your own head back and forth.

Annabelle, we think you've finally grasped the concept of waving.

You now like to wave to everyone. We were in the post office earlier today and you kept waving to the sweet lady behind me in line, and the kids on the other side of the room. This morning when I dropped you off at daycare and walked outside the glass door, I turned around to see you smiling at me and waving bye bye. You also like to wave to our cats when they catch your eye. I wish they could wave back at you!

We can't wait to enjoy another month of you baby girl!

Love,

Mommy & Daddy

10 Months

2011-01-18T22:42:00.002-05:00

Dearest Annabelle, yet another month has gone by and so have more discoveries and new experiences. You have such a curious personality, as I'm sure most babies do, there is just so much to see and explore. You have begun to pull yourself up on anything you can get a grip on. You prefer to be standing whenever possible and you have had multiple bruises this past month to show for it!

It is because of this new-found curiosity that your father & I have had to up the baby-proofing around the house. We believe in letting you have your own experiences, good or bad, so that you may learn from them, but there are some experiences which are just too dangerous. So, with somewhat of a heavy heart, I've "locked you in" and limited your access to certain areas of our home. I spent the other night installing two baby gates. The dining room has now become a catch-all place for things that just aren't safe for you to have your little hands on. Luckily, you enjoy the gates so far. You seem to think we put them there as yet another obstacle to use for pulling yourself up.

Your father installed locks on some of the kitchen cabinets the other night as well, since you've found the joy in opening the doors. We've also had to move the cat food dish and recycle bin to the "safe room" and out of your reach so you don't cut yourself on any of the empty tin cans or choke on any of the cat food.

I spent the other day applying rubber bumpers to the tile step in the living room and table corners as these are also the newest hazard around our house. Luckily, you've mastered climbing up AND down the step with ease, so it's not so much of a worry, but I still can't stand the thought of you losing your balance and falling on the hard edge of the step, even once. There are still many places for you to "get into trouble" in our house, and we don't intend on leaving you un-attended by any means, but at least some of the obvious hazards have been avoided.

I think all of the cruising and crawling has increased your appetite these days. You must be going through another growth spurt. For the past few weeks, you've been waking up in the middle of the night for a snack, then go right back down. I wouldn't be surprised if soon you grew a couple inches taller.

Annabelle, you're babbling more and more these days in addition to the few words you like to say, "dada, mama, diapdiap" {that's diaper in the Pope household} and recently you've even said "Piper" which isn't surprising considering how much you LOVE the cats and Piper is the only one who will let you get near him. But, the babbling is super cute! You will sometimes go off into a conversation all your own and I've noticed you tend to do this more when other people around you are having their own conversation. It seems as if you think you're joining the discussion, it cracks me up!

I'm sure there are many more nuances of yours that I'm forgetting at the moment. I will try to document them all at some point so that we can look back and reminisce some day, but for right now I guess I should start thinking about planning someone's 1st birthday party....geeesh!

Love,

Mommy & Daddy

1st Christmas with the Babe

2010-12-29T21:08:00.001-05:00

We had a great time this past weekend celebrating Christmas with my family!

My Dad's birthday is Christmas Eve, so we always go up a day early to enjoy the day with him. Annabelle had such a wonderful time with her Grandma & Grandpa. Her face lights up whenever she see's them.

Christmas is always filled with a house full of delicious food prepared by my mom. I think I downed 3 large mugs of hot apple cider within a 2 hour time span! My Aunt & Uncle from New Jersey made the drive down (to enjoy a warm, Florida Christmas....it was in the mid-20's at times!). It was a real treat to spend some time with them! We all enjoyed some board games after Annabelle went to bed Christmas eve, and the real competitive spirit between my Mom & her brother came out. It was pretty funny stuff!

Christmas morning Annabelle was bombarded with presents. I don't think the poor kid really knew what was going on. Just as soon as she'd get one toy opened and start playing, it was time to open another gift. A little overload, but it was a delight to watch. Randy & I just sat back and drank it all in. I have to say that I enjoyed being surrounded by a room full of new toys when it was all said and done. It was very nostalgic in that sense. The rest of the day was filled with more family coming to visit, our hilarious, annual "Tacky Gift Exchange" and more delicous food.

However, at the dinner table, it was someone's idea to pass everyone's plate around the table to be filled with each dish as it was passed.

This.was.a.disaster.

A funny disaster, but nontheless. We would forget which plate belonged to which person, people would end up with food they didn't even like on their plates...it reminded me of a scene from Christmas Vacation. In the end, we all ended up with food in front of us, somehow. Annie had to try a little of everything and by the end of dinner had a face full of mashed potatoes.

We finished the day with a walk and a warm fire in the back yard (plus a few cocktails for added warmth). It was a super relaxed weekend and so much fun to share with our little girl!

9 Months

2010-12-18T14:28:00.000-05:00

Happy Nine Months, Miss Annabelle!

You've officially been outside in the world longer than you were in my tummy!

You've grown into such a funny little girl with a wonderful personality.

This past month you no longer seem like a baby, but instead, more like a toddler.

You're pulling yourself up all the time. Every morning, we hear you on the baby monitor waking up and watch as you pull yourself up the side of the crib and patiently stand there, looking at the door, waiting for us to come and get you.

You are still crawling all over the place and especially love getting into things that are NOT baby toys....like the box of soda in the kitchen, the tupperware drawer, the cat's food dish, our shoes.

Annabelle, you are now waving at everyone. It's so cute! You wave hello & goodbye to everyone at daycare each day. You also wave to strangers when we're out shopping.

Such a social little girl.

You also enjoy clapping your hands these days. Whenever you do something you're proud of, it's usually followed by a round of applause you give yourself. You also love to clap your hands during meal time when you've just had a bite of something yummy.

Speaking of food, you've tried lots of new things lately. In addition to all of the baby food you consume, you've also had pieces of banana, grilled cheese, pasta, cheese, chicken, tomatoes, and much more! Daddy always gives you a few bites of his yogurt each morning after you've had breakfast, which is always a welcomed treat. Of course, Daddy also likes to give you licks of his ice cream too, which you especially enjoy!

It's hard to get pictures of you lately, Miss Annie. Thanks to your mobility & curiosity there are very few moments when you're just sitting in one spot. You want to touch everything!

We're looking forward to enjoying the holidays with you this year and even more excited about our trip out west next month, I'm sure we'll have lots of good stories to tell after that!

We love you Annabelle!

Love,
Mommy & Daddy

I'm too young for this

2010-12-14T11:22:00.000-05:00

That has been the thought going through my mind for the past month or so.

It's been in my thoughts because I've been having a numbing, pain going up and down the right side of my leg and face off and on for the past month-ish.

My first thought...stroke.

Hence the "I'm too young for this"

And it turns out, I am.

After a month of trying to ignore this annoying pain, I finally dragged my numb self to the doctor to see if we could find out the cause of all this.

After a quick exam and some tapping of the knees with that cool, little reflex tool (which always amuses me!) the doc took a step back and asked me, "About how much does your daughter weigh?" To which I thought she was just making polite conversation and answered, "about 18 pounds" but thought to myself, "Come on lady, focus here, what about my numb leg?!"

Duh Carrie! Silly me.

Apparently, the culprit of my numb pain is my daughter.

The doc then proceeded to ask me, "Do you hold her and carry her around a lot?"

"Does a bear sh*t in the woods?"

I didn't say that to her, don't worry.

But seriously, does that question even need to be asked?

She's 8 months old, what do you think?

Some nights I throw her in the backpack just so I can make dinner.

Granted, most of the time Annabelle can amuse herself while I get things done around the house, but there are no doubt many times a day I'm carrying that little bundle of joy around the house.

Anyway, the doc thinks my sciatic nerve may be pinched, thus causing the numbing pain.

Which honestly, is totally cool with me because

I'M NOT HAVING A STROKE!

She said it could be more serious, like a herniated disc, but only an MRI would confirm that.

However, I think I'd be in a lot more pain if that was the case, so no MRIs for now.

About the only thing I can do for now is be a little more mindful of how I carry and pick up ~~little~~ Miss Annabelle. I've started trying to leave her carseat in the car, since that's an added weight I really don't need. But other than that and being careful of HOW I pick her up, there's not much else to be done. I suggested doing some exercises to strengthen my back, but the doc said it could make things worse. (Gotta love a doctor who advises AGAINST exercise).

The good news, Annabelle has been pulling herself up a LOT lately and taking steps while holding onto the furniture...so maybe we'll have a walker soon and she won't want to be held as much, but I'm not holding my breath!

One of THOSE days

2010-12-10T10:48:00.000-05:00

Yesterday started off as one of THOSE days.

You know the ones.

Before your foot hits the floor you're already off to a bad start.

Running a little late because I NEEDED the snooze button one too many times.

Enjoying the morning with the husband & baby then look at the clock and realize I'm running 30 minutes late!

Taking the expressway ($$$=tolls) to work in an effort to catch up.

Realizing that Annie's lunch of pureed orange stuff has leaked out of it's container into her diaper bag (cue fast clean-up).

Then realize the gas light on the car has been glaring at me for a day and a half and I probably shouldn't push my luck, so I stop to get gas...not helping with the "running behind" thing.

Driving across town to track down a couple docs to get signatures I need for work when all of a sudden....flashing lights.

D*#%!

I understand why some people run from the police.

I felt like saying, "Hello Officer, I really don't have time for this right now, how does Monday look?"

I figured I better not push my luck, so I politely handed over my paperwork and sat confidently while the officer went back to his car.

"49 in a 35 zone isn't too bad" I thought to myself.

After all, I've been pulled over a few times in my day doing much worse and drove away with a nice warning.

"This guy seems nice enough, I'm sure if I'm polite he'll let me off with a warning."

Not.this.time.

Jerk

Ugghhhh! $166 ticket & 3 points later, I drove away totally giving up on the day...and it wasn't even 10am yet!

I decided to forgoe my errands, even though they needed to be done.

Some days, you've just got to throw in the towel.

I let the day go.

Honestly, if I didn't have to take care of the babe in the afternoon, I probably would have kept driving, instead of going into the office, and headed to the beach for the day for some R&R.

But, I went to the office, got done what I could, and picked up the kiddo after work.

We went home and enjoyed the afternoon together.

I'm lucky to have that little stinker, she totally made my afternoon, and by the evening, my bad day funk was a distant memory.

Love that kid.

Sweet Independence

2010-12-05T21:40:00.001-05:00

This is what happens when I let the baby feed herself...

Goofball!

Here's a shot I found on my camera, I didn't remember taking...I think Randy must have caught this one...love those eyes!

Spreading a little Cheer!

2010-12-02T10:25:00.001-05:00

The little things can really brighten my day.

For example, Randy brewing a fresh pot of coffee and bringing me a cup while I get ready in the morning....great way to start the day! Catching Annabelle's eye and getting a huge grin in return, so sweet! Cool weather that allows us to sleep with the windows open, ahhhhh. Getting holiday cards from friends and family in the mail, love this!

I'm old fashioned when it comes to that. I still enjoy the e-greetings, but I admit I always get a twinge of excitement when I open the mailbox and find a hand written envelope from a familiar name. It's just something small, but it does make a difference in my day.

I try to take the time to send out cards to our friends and family each year.

So imagine my excitement when I found out that the nice people at Shutterfly were offering myself and fellow bloggers an opportunity at 50 free Christmas cards! I've used Shutterfly in the past and LOVED the results!

This year, I'm thinking of using one of these designs for us:

I just love to personalize our greetings, maybe with this one...

With Annie's 1st birthday coming next year, I'm thinking of using one of their cards as well, maybe something like this:

I must say, I kinda wish everyone still wrote letters via snail mail. Don't get me wrong, all the email and communication technologies are fab, but there's nothing like getting something in your mailbox from a friend!

Happy Holidays!!!

Turkey Day & A Little Christmas Cheer

2010-11-30T21:23:00.000-05:00

I'm a little behind on the updates from the holiday this past week.

Apparently, when you take a few days away from the office everything on your desk multiplies like rabbits and waits for your return!

However, it was worth it to spend some quality time with Randy and this little bundle of sweetness....

This was the best picture I could get due to the fact that this little chick-pea does not sit still for more than a split second now-a-days.

The Thanksgiving festivities were so enjoyable at my Aunt & Uncle's house that I failed to capture any photographs, except the above...isn't it great to see Turkeys of all colors coming together for the holidays ;-)

We took advantage of our relaxing weekend by putting up the Christmas tree

{probably not the best idea with a newly-mobile child}

Annabelle was occupied mostly with her toys while I decorated the tree, but untangling the string of lights was too much for her and she had to check it all out.

Surprisingly, she hasn't been as rough with the tree as we imagined. For the most part, she leaves it alone, stopping to stare at it from time to time. When she does try to inspect it, she's very gentle. We've been stressing "gentle" whenever she's trying to pet the cats, I think she thinks the tree is a pet too.

She used to smile when I would take her picture, now she just crawls over to me.

8 Months

2010-11-18T08:00:00.000-05:00

So, I tried to keep the pictures to a minimum.

I was having trouble.

Dear Miss Annabelle, you're 8 months old.
We've been soaking up as much of you as we can.
We never seem to get enough.
You're constantly changing, growing, learning.
You've endured different emotions, pain, and happiness with your all.

This past month you suffered your first, real illness. You've had the sniffles here and there, but this was the first time it hit you a little harder. An elevated temperature, upset stomach, and loss of apetite had your father and I a little worried, but you took it in stride {ignorance really is bliss - your flushed face would smile through watery eyes just as much as ever, despite it all}. You recovered and life goes on, obla dee obla daa.

Annabelle, you're eating 3 meals a day now in addition to the 6 times a day you still have milk.
You.can.eat.
However, despite your ravenous apetite, you're still about average, or a little below in the weight category. It's all in your cheeks, hun.

However, I have a feeling your apetite will only continue to increase now that you're army crawling all over the place. You recently figured out this new trick and while the first few days you tested the waters, it didn't take you long to figure out that you can go wherever you want now....and you do.

You've climbed up the step by the front door, you've climbed down the step by the front door. You've found yourself under bar stools and tables. You've found Daddy's guitar and the lamp cord {cue Grandma's prompt phone call instructing Mommy & Daddy to remove all lamps and their cords from the area}. It's quite the little adventure we're on nowadays. You're on the move and taking names...and cat tails...and the tiniest pieces of goodness knows what you find on the floor.

Annabelle, you love to give kisses now. At first, I was a little worried we had a narcissist on our hands, as you would always lean in and give yourself a big wet one whenever we held you in front of the mirror, but you also love to give kissies to others as well. There's Grandma's picture, Daddy's picture, etc. However, you're particular about the characters in your books. For example, you have a book about different birds and you only stop to give kissies to the owl and sometimes the osterich....very odd, very very odd.

Annie, you've started to babble a little more this past month. You've muttered "dada" a few times, but you won't just give it away, you're really making Daddy work for that one. You'll also sit and go off on a "bababababa" spree from time to time. It's very gradual, but your "talking" is slowly becoming more frequent and our hearts just melt when we hear your soft voice come through, it's strange to think you have this unique voice when all this time you've communicated through cries. It's a welcomed change indeed.

It's been a great 8 months, we love you Annabelle!

Love,
Mommy & Daddy

Knitting Project.....Check!

2010-11-15T16:29:00.002-05:00

So, if you remember my post from almost a month ago, I said I was going to be working on a knitted cap for Annabelle. Well, I finally finished the little lid, which the munchkin will now be able to wear for the rest of the winter to keep her *almost bald* head warm.

I made it a little larger so it would last her a while. I have to admit, while some parts were challenging, it was fun working on it and I learned a couple new techniques. Another perk was the price, total cost of this little ditty, about $3 worth of yarn.

Can't beat that!

Oh My!

2010-11-10T21:12:00.000-05:00

It was COLD Saturday out on Grandma & Grandpa's boat!

Happy Halloween!

2010-11-02T15:43:00.000-04:00

We had a great Halloween weekend, despite our looming colds.

Saturday night, we headed over to our friend's house for their Halloween bash. We dressed up as the Flintstones, but I had to improvise on Pebble's ponytail with the bone clip as our Pebbles has very minimal hair at this time. We had a great time and Annie especially enjoyed watching the older kids and playing with the glow sticks!

Sunday we headed out to the trail for some fresh air and a nice long walk. The day was pretty low-key as the whole family was beginning to come down with a cold. By evening Annie was in need of some serious sleepy time, but just before dark we dressed her up in her pumpkin costume for a couple pictures. She was just about ready to melt-down before bedtime when the trick-or-treaters began to arrive.

Annabelle loved them.

We would take her to the door each time the bell rang and she would just smile and take it all in. Not a bad way to ease into her first Halloween. Hope everyone had a fun one!

"Me Time"

2010-10-26T12:25:00.001-04:00

The title of this post makes me chuckle just a little, because I've come to quickly realize that there really is no such thing. I've finally climed out of the hole in the ground I lovingly call denial and admitted to myself that any of this "Me Time" I speak of can only be obtained by denying some other part of my life. Yet, when I deny sweeping the floor or cleaning the bathroom, I don't feel so guilty.
{I admit I'm a little OCD when it comes to keeping the home fronts tidy}.

Anywho, in my attempt to make some "Me Time" for myself, I've recently been inspired by all the super-duper cute fall clothing {thanks to our tropical climate is far too warm to wear} and I've come back to my love of knitting! It's hard to get motivated to knit during the summer when the temps hit 99 or above, but now that we're enjoying oh-so-cool 85 degrees, I've whipped out my yarn and needles and decided to devote a few nights a week, after the babe has gone off to dreamland, to working on something fun.

Which brings me to this SUPER cap, exhibit A:

JUST KIDDING!

As cute and ridiculous as this would look on poor, unsuspecting Annabelle, I'm afraid my knitting talents are somewhat limited and it might be cute overload paired with the Thanksgiving dress my mother has already purchased for little miss.

I give you exhibit B:

So, in the mean time, I'll work on a more practical, little cap for Miss Annabelle.

One that she can wear more than once a year.

Happy Saturday!

2010-10-23T15:04:00.000-04:00

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-21T21:53:00.000-04:00

Our trip to the Pumpkin Patch this past weekend.
As you can see, Annabelle was thoroughly impressed.

7 Months

2010-10-18T23:04:00.000-04:00

Happy 7 Months, Sweet Annabelle!

It was about this time last year when your Daddy & I were about to find out if we'd be having a baby girl or boy. My how much can change in just one year!

The past month with you has been very pleasant, my dear.
Not that the others have not, but this past month has been especially pleasant.

As the summer came to a close and the air is finally cooling down, your personality is really beginning to blossom.

You are fascinated by the simplest of things, which is always a joy to watch.

You love holding anything new in your hands and examining it with the utmost concentration: a plastic bowl, Daddy's nose, Mommy's hair, the ridges in your floor mat...everything.

You recognize and remember certain people now, which has its ups and downs.

You consistently give those you know a huge grin when you see them, but now cry when someone new or you haven't seen in a while holds you.

You've also had a new love affair with sleep lately that's been a breath of fresh air for Mommy & Daddy. You now go to bed around 8pm and sleep until 7:30 or so most days. Some days you sleep-in late while others you're up with the sun rise. Sunday morning you awoke {we're not sure when} and happily played in your crib until we realized that you were up. You're also taking considerably long naps compared to what you used to do.

Annabelle, you sprouted your first tooth at six and a half months old. You now wear it proudly with every smile. I'm sure there will be more to come, but I'll never forget what a tropper you were with that first tooth!

You have yet to figure out crawling and it's been hard to just let you lay on your stomach and get frustrated, but we know you'll figure it out in your own time. You've actually come very close lately, getting up on your hands and kness, lunging back and forth. I hold my breath and bite my lip each time you do this, thinking "This is gonna be it, here she goes" then your stomach hits the floor and your toes go up in the air as your face looks back down at the ground while you let out an aggaravated whine. Soon, my dear.

The food, oh my goodness the food. You LOVE food. You have quite the sophisticated palette for a 7-month old. I've been making most of your baby food with fresh produce, but you refuse to eat my peas and carrots while you enjoy the store bought, jarred versions so much better. This considered, I've yet to find anything that you don't like to eat. You also love to grunt when the food does not go from the bowl to your mouth in ample time. You enjoy drinking from your sippy cup, which is usually filled with water, although sometimes I like to surprise you with a little apple juice. Although, I don't think it matters much what's in the cup, as long as you get to drink out of it...I think you think you're a big-shot.

This past week your squeels and screams have increased.

Why do you do this?

Seriously, why?

It's the cutest thing because you do it with so much enthusiasm and joy, but at the same time Mommy & Daddy are starting to lose their hearing and have to sit outside at restaurants so not to disturb the other patrons.

But, we really don't mind. It's like you're exploding with happiness each time and just can't keep it in so you have to scream...very funny!

Miss Annie, you've become very independent lately and enjoy playing with your toys by yourself as long as you know we're within your viewing range and sometimes you're so enthralled by whatever it is you're doing, you don't even care if we're in the room or not {but these moments don't usually last long}.

Annabelle, you love to watch other children. It's strange how much more attention you pay to children than you do adults. You will just sit and stare, studying their every move, whenever other kids are around. Time will tell if you're a people watcher like your Mommy or a social butterfly like your Daddy.

Either way, you're Annabelle Riley and you're 7 months old!

Love,

Mommy & Daddy

Daddy's Girl

2010-10-16T10:30:00.000-04:00

Look Out for Snaggletooth!

2010-10-15T10:11:00.003-04:00

A couple weeks ago Annabelle sprouted her first tooth!
::cheers & claps from Mom & Dad::

And you'd think we'd just won the lottery when we realized this milestone. It was a Sunday morning and I was walking Annabelle to her room to check the nether regions for a diaper change, when I casually stuck my finger in her mouth as I had done on countless occassions, fully expecting to feel her rubbary gums as I always did. In fact, I expected to feel the same old gums so much, that I had to double-check when I noticed a hard, sharp object across my finger. "She's got a tooth!" I screamed to Randy. "Really? Let me see!" he responded, while jumping off the couch and inserting a finger in her mouth, just as I had done {we gave up on washing our hands a long time ago before sticking our hands in her mouth, poor kid}.

There it was, a little, ridgid line of white enamel peeking out above Annie's gum line. And the best part, she had been an ANGEL all weekend. Which makes no sense at all since every time Annabelle has thrown any kind of fit in the past, any and all experienced parents have reassuringly told us that she's probably about to get a tooth. Well, that was not the case this time. Maybe the relief of the tooth finally coming through made her extra happy, who knows.

I've yet to catch said tooth in a photograph yet, it still has some growing to do before it's easily visible to the naked eye...but it's there in all it's glory and it's sharp as can be. Annabelle now prefers taking our fingers and shoving them in her mouth so she can knaw on them with her new tooth.

Pictures of our Snaggletooth Baby are soon to come!

Bad Blogger, Bad Bad Blogger

2010-10-13T17:35:00.004-04:00

I know I've been a bad blogger. I've yet to update ye 'ol blog in over a week {gasp} However, if something must give, let it be the blog, right? I figured the baby wouldn't appreciate not being changed just so I could do a little blogging. Anyway, better late than never, I say!

Randy is currently in Chicago for a new job and not only am I excited about that, but also the fact that he's getting some adult time for a couple days and not having to tend to a little one. Although, I think they both miss each other, just a little. Nobody can make Annabelle laugh quite like her Daddy and Randy was admittantly "checking-in" on Annabelle via the camera over her crib last night. I'm sure they'll both be glad to re-unite tomorrow morning!

This past weekend, we went to the Oktoberfest event again. They had one this past September that we went to as well, which was much less crowded than this past weekend. I'm actually very glad we went last month, because the lines for beers and brats were a little ridiculous this time, especially if you're holidng a 16 pound baby on your hip! Nonetheless, we enjoyed watching some authentic dances and visiting with our friend Joanna {who looked oh-so-cute-German in her blue & pink costume}

{German Dancers....in case you were wondering}

Before Randy left for Chicago, he started another home project {we're gluttons for punishment!} The front patio has been in serious need of a floor makeover for quite some time now. It's basically consisted of concrete covered by old, ripped, indoor-outdoor brownish carpet that no longer even matches the house. However, we'd become so accustomed to it, we really never noticed how bad it was....until we fixed it up. I'd like to say I helped with the project, but that would be a lie. I basically entertained the child and handed Randy pencils when he needed them. I did, however take about 5 minutes today and sprayed sealer on the grout {pats self on back}. Anyway, take a look at the before and afters:

{old entryway with rockin' carpet}

{new entryway with fancy smanchy tile}

Momma Time

2010-10-01T18:51:00.000-04:00

I've realized that I just don't have enough pictures of Annabelle & I together {the problem with always being behind the camera}. So, here's a little Annie and Momma love for ya'll.

Happy Friday!!!

Dancing Queen

2010-09-29T17:46:00.000-04:00

Just hangin' around the house, showing off her moves.
What else can you do to pass time on a rainy afternoon?

6 Months

2010-09-18T11:21:00.000-04:00

Happy 6 Months Sweet Annabelle!

Momma had to have a little photo shoot in the back yard this morning to celebrate the occassion! You're half a year old!

Annabelle, you have such a funny personality that shows itself more and more every month. You love it when Daddy talks to you in funny voices and often crack up laughing, which is sooo contagious! You've also begun "talking" to yourself in the mornings when you wake up, which is so funny. We like to listen to you on the baby monitor each day, just jabbering away.

You started solid foods a few weeks ago, which has been going pretty smoothly. So far you've had rice cereal, sweet potatoes, and carrots. You LOVE to drink water out of your sippy cup between bites as well. You grab the cup with both hands to show us how YOU can do it all by yourself! Apparently, you like to grab lots of things these days. The ladies at daycare said you snatched a bag of Doritos from one of their hands the other day, luckily, they thought it was pretty funny {it's ok, Momma loves her some Doritos too!}

Annabelle, you've started sitting up by yourself, this past month. You still fall to the side from time to time, but you're getting much better. Thanks to this new talent, you're not as content laying on your back anymore. You also love to stand up and hold on to the back of the couch (or whatever you can get your hands on). This makes Mommy & Daddy nervous, since our whole house has hard floors. We may have to put a helmet on you once you figure out how to pull yourself up on your own, or Momma may never leave your side.

Have I mentioned you love to talk nowadays! You talk to yourself in the car, in your jumperoo, while playing with your toys, and now when we put you down for a nap. I especially love the nap-time talk....it's much better than the old nap-time cry. Now, you lay in your crib, jabbering away, then the next thing I know, the talking has stopped and you're fast asleep.

You love to hold onto EVERYTHING lately. It's so much fun to see you experiencing new textures and colors. You love to feel all of the pages of your books. You're also very found of the kitty cats. Poor Missy has lost a few chunks of fur, thanks to your curiosity, but she still manages to give you a sweet lick on the head from time to time.

You've become more fond of the water and like splashing your hands in the it each time we take you in the pool {what are we going to do when it gets too cold to go swimming?!} You go to bed around 8pm now and usually don't wake up until 3:30 or so for a quick 5-minute snack and then right back down until 6:30 or 7:00am. Momma is starting to feel human again thanks to the extra sleep, which is always a good thing!

You've recently noticed the breeze when we take you outside and it sometimes makes you smile. I can't wait until the weather cools down a little so you can experience this too. It's hard to think that you've never felt cold weather! It's just one of the many things we're looking forward to showing you.

Happy 6 Months, Sweet Annabelle!

Love - Mommy & Daddy

Look Who's Standing

2010-09-17T10:29:00.000-04:00

Annabelle LUVS to stand now. One of her new, favorite past times is looking out the front window while holding on to the back of the couch. She'll stand there and try to grab the blinds while making raspberries with her mouth and talking to herself.

Of course, all that standing is a lot of hard work, so this is often what follows:

HAPPY FRIDAY!

From the Farm to the Face

2010-09-14T17:37:00.002-04:00

I've been soooo excited for Annabelle to start solid food with some FLAVOR! So this past Sunday we all went out to this great Farmer's Market in a nearby town to pick out some goodies for the good girl!

We picked up some carrots, yellow summer squash, zuccini, and sweet potatoes for the peanut.

I baked the sweet potatoes until they were soft, then scooped out the insides and put them into these cute, little freezer containers. They'll last up to 3 months in the freezer, so we made a good little stash. I peeled and cut up the carrots into small pieces, then steamed for about 15 minutes. I then tossed them into a blender and pureed them until the right consistency. I did the same for the zuccini and squash.

So far, Annabelle's only had the sweet potatoes and she seems to like them enough. She definitely doesn't look thrilled when she gets that first bite, but she usually finishes a whole serving. We're going about 3 or 4 days for each new food to make sure she doesn't have any allergic reactions, so next up, carrots!

Yum Yum!

Welcome Sophia Lynne!

2010-09-10T10:39:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the world, Miss Sophia Lynne!

Our good friends, Pete & Becca welcomed their daughter into the world yesterday, September 9th, 2010.

We can't wait to meet the little doll and see the whole family!

Congratulations Pete & Becca!!!

Our Week in Pictures

2010-09-07T16:37:00.000-04:00

Ya'll know how I like to take pictures, so here's what we've been up to.

Last week, one of our friends needed Randy to watch his two girls for a couple hours. I was a little nervous for Randy when he called me at work to tell me he'd be in charge of watching two little munchkins all by himself, but when I got home he had everything under control! One kiddo was in Annabelle's jumperoo while the other was curled up on the couch watching cartoons. Annabelle was VERY excited to see her friends when she arrived home with me.

All the girls had a fun afternoon of play!

Randy has always enjoyed "Jam Night" at our house on Wednesdays and sometimes I'll join the guys and do a little singing. We both wanted to make a point not to give these up after our little babe arrived. So, this past Wednesday, I decided to join the guys for a little fun after Annabelle went to bed {armed with baby monitor, of course!}

I've been wanting to get some shots with my new camera of the guys playing for quite some time now. Unfortunately, I didn't plan very well and charge my camera battery before the session, so I only got a couple shots.

Thank goodness for sound-proof walls!

Randy, Annabelle, & I hung out by the pool all weekend! I have to say, staying home and doing nothing really has it's perks! Randy grilled-up some delicious hamburgers for us along with some frozen Pina Coladas, which we enjoyed poolside while Annie splashed in the water.

Sunday night, we had crab legs! I haven't had them in so long and it was a perfect way to toast the end of summer. Randy rolled out some old wrapping paper to protect our kitchen table from the mess and we enjoyed some tasty seafood!

We're such suckers for cute kid stuff. This blow-up, kiddy mushroom pool was $5 at the grocery store and we couldn't resist! It works out as a nice playmat {when supervised, of course} on our, hard, tile floors. Annabelle liked the little mini-mushrooms that came with it.

We've also found a new, almost guaranteed, way to get Annabelle to fall asleep....the back pack! This is what happens almost every walk now.

It was a great weekend and a nice relaxing farewell to summer! Now I'm looking forward to some cooler, and more comfortable, Fall weather!

First Tastes

2010-09-01T21:37:00.000-04:00

Annabelle had her first taste of "solid" food tonight with some, ahem, yummy, rice cereal. (Although, I smelled the stuff and let's just say the aroma left something to be desired). Luckily, nowadays, Annabelle likes to put just about everything within her grasp into her mouth....including smelly, rice cereal.

She was very intrigued at the spoon with the white stuff on it.

I had to hold her hand down or else she would grab the spoon with her death grip and we would have a wrestling match on our hands with every bite.

Mmmmm, yummy mush!

"Ewww, what is this stuff?!"

Halfway through the meal, Annabelle decided to practice her screaming voice, which is always thoroughly entertaining....even more so with food all over her face.

I see a lot more laundry and bath times in our future!

Boating

2010-08-29T10:52:00.003-04:00

Saturday we met my parents out at New Smyrna Beach to try out their new boat! It was a beautiful day and I forgot how much cooler it is over on the coast with the nice sea breeze, which made for a much more comfortable summer day.

Annabelle couldn't wait to get on the boat with Grandma & Grandpa! We were worried about having to put her life vest on, but she was a real trooper and didn't even cry.

Randy and I had to get my Dad his own "Captain" hat for the boat. He wore it proudly!

We took the boat out to disappearing island, which was still under water when we arrived since it was high tide.

My Aunt Susan & Uncle Bill have a condo out by New Smyrna. They took their boat out to the island and met us there. This was Annabelle's first time meeting them!

Annabelle loves the fresh air, so she took a really good, long nap in the shade on the boat while the adults sat in the water enjoying a few beverages and watching the sting rays swim around us.

Once Annabelle woke up, the tide had gone out and she was able to sit in the sand with Grandma. She loved pushing the sand with her toes and feeling the water splash up on her!

Having fun with Daddy in the water!

"Mama"

2010-08-25T17:00:00.001-04:00

That has been the word our of Annabelle's mouth the past couple days. It started Monday night while she was in her Jumperoo and we were eating dinner. Annabelle sucked in her bottom lip and started making the "mmmm" sound and then all of a sudden, "Mamama Mama" came out! Then, yesterday morning and this morning in the car, she sat in her car seat showing off her new trick!

Randy's now trying even harder to get a "Dada" out of her!

{I'm not quite sure the video does it justice}

Babies

2010-08-22T10:39:00.001-04:00

Our friends, Dave & Dana came over yesterday with their daughter, Hailey for a visit. It was fun to watch the girls interact (as much as babies can interact at such a young age!) Saturday turned out to be a pretty rainy day, so it was fun just hanging out inside, catching up with friends. Hailey is such a sweetheart!

5 Months!

2010-08-18T09:35:00.000-04:00

Happy 5 months sweet Annabelle!

Annabelle, in the last 5 months you've learned many new things and have enjoyed discovering this big, crazy world around you. Recently you've learned how to sit on your own by putting your hands in front of you and balancing yourself for a minute or so before falling over {which is so cute!} You've also really enjoyed standing on the couch and holding on to the back cushions while looking out the front window {we think you may skip crawling all together and move on to walking, but time will tell}. Right now, you like to push up while on your stomach and will scoot towards a toy if we put it in front of you. You're going to bed around 8pm and sleeping until about 7am. You have no consistency in your sleep, though. Some nights you'll sleep from 8pm-5am and others you'll wake up at 1am and 3am for a snack. I just try to go with the flow since I now know you're capable of sleeping through the night, you're just a growing little peanut! You enjoy car rides and have started to like looking out the windows at everything passing by.

Annabelle, you've discovered your voice and will sometimes get into a squeeling session where you love to hear yourself squeel out loud! It's so funny because you make a really funny face when you're concentrating right before you let out a squeel. You've also been noticing the cats a lot more lately. It seems they can't walk by you anymore without you stopping and following them with your eyes across the room. Poor Missy has tolerated you petting her a few times and most of the time you're very sweet while doing this. Although, there have been a few times you have taken a chunk of her fur {poor Missy!}

You've become a pretty good napper lately too, I guess it's thanks to all of the growing you're doing. You're about 14 pounds now and taking at least one to two hour naps a couple times a day {this is a big improvement from your 15-30 minute naps} You've also become very skilled at holding objects and drop things less and less. In addition to toys and other objects, you love to hold your feet when laying on the couch and watching TV. It's just another uber-cute thing you do! You've become very interested in our food and almost always reach out for our cup when we're drinking something. We've let you try your hand at drinking water from a cup and you've done surprisingly well, not spilling a drop on yourself! I can't wait to start solid foods with you! Annabelle, you've also started to notice when other people are holding you and we are never quite sure if you're going to get upset when this happens. It's great that you know who Mommy & Daddy are and that you have a special preference for us, but don't forget to give other people a little credit too!

We can't wait to see what the next month brings! You've become such a sweet & fun little girl. We're looking forward to another month of discoveries and new tricks!

Love - Mommy & Daddy

Something to Make Your Monday a Little Sweeter

2010-08-09T08:07:00.000-04:00

"Soon You Get to try Porrige!"

2010-08-07T11:03:00.002-04:00

This is what Randy said to Annabelle at dinner last night. I about spit all of the food I was eating out of my mouth! I mean, I know what he meant, but it just felt like we were living in a nursery rhyme. I said, "Porrige? Really?" to which he replied, "What? Isn't that what they eat?"

I love Randy.

Sweet Lens!

2010-08-05T16:30:00.000-04:00

I don't know if I told ya'll, but Randy was a little under the weather last week. It was a bit of a rough week with the hubs being out of comission and trying to balance work with taking care of a teething babe and I will be the first to admit that I made sure he knew what a PITA it was! However, despite my grumbling, the hubs did something very sweet. So, I ask you, who has the sweetest man in the whole world? ::raises hand::

I came home today to this:

Ohhhh, Ahhhhh, Look at it sparkle!

An oh-so-sweet 70-300mm lens for my new camera! Oh what cool pictures I'll be able to take! I can't wait to try it out!

Ok, I'm done bragging about my adorable hubby, thanks for listening.

Bartender, hit me with another shot of milk!

2010-08-04T22:30:00.000-04:00

While Randy was whipping up some grub last night, Annabelle & I were sitting at the bar keeping him company when I had a funny thought, "Daddy, can I get a shot of milk over here?!" Amused by this idea, I promptly poured some of the white stuff into a shot glass and placed it on the bar in front of Annie while asking Randy to take a picture (cute, right?) No sooner had I set the glass on the bar than Annabelle swiftly reached out for the tasty treat (could you blame her, a glass full of her favorite stuff right in front of her, talk about dangling a carrot!) Before I even had a chance to intercept, well, just take a look for yourselves.....it still ended up being a pretty funny picture, just not what I intended.

On a completely different note, I had to stop by Target on the way home from work the other day to pick up a few things and HELLO {why are there so many people in Target at 3 in the afternoon on a Monday?!} Then I realized, for almost every adult I witnessed there was at least 1 {but usually 2 or 3} children with them and they were filling their baskets with folders, pens and pencils, paper...and then it hit me...BACK.TO.SCHOOL.

I was in back to school hell.

I had run into Target for a quick grab-a-few-items-and-I'm-out trip and instead found myself playing Frogger as I dodged clusters of children along the aisles of the big, box store. How did this happen?! Summer has just begun, right?! It's time for school to start already? Actually, I'm relieved because that just means we're closer to Fall and hopefully some cooler weather, but, really, who am I kidding? Where we live cooler weather doesn't even begin to show it's face until December. ANYWAY. As soon as I realized my situation I made a bee-line for the door, but not before picking up a handy-dandy tray for Annabelle's Bumbo seat! I was pretty excited about this, until we got it home and my sweet, little girl almost instantly realized how much fun it is to sweeeep her toys off the tray and onto the floor so Mommy can pick them up and we can do it all over again!

Oh what fun!

"Get Yo' Man Chicken!"

2010-08-03T11:51:00.002-04:00

I had to share this recipe with all of you because it was DELICIOUS! I can't believe I forgot to take a photo of it last night, but the house smelled so good while it was cooking that we were just a *little* excited about chowing down when it was dinner time! So, I've taken a picture from the website where I got the recipe:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/neelys/get-yo-man-chicken-recipe/index.html

We've started eating at the table with Annabelle in her high chair each night. We give her a few plates and bowls to play with {since she hasn't quite started solids yet, but soon!} Anyway, I felt really guilty eating this in front of her, she just kept looking at us with this confused look on her face like, "Where's mine?" Poor girl. Anyway, this chicken was great and we will for sure be making it again!

Eat your heart out, Elton John!

2010-07-30T10:03:00.000-04:00

I had to pick up a few items at Target yesterday and came across these adorable sunglasses. Annabelle's been in need of some, especially with the amount of time we spend outside and by the pool. Randy & I noticed as soon as she put them on that she looks a little like Elton John, don't you think?!

She was pretty tolerant of her new accessory and even started to crack up laughing when she saw how much she was making us laugh!

On another note, today is Randy's birthday! Happy Birthday Daddy! Poor guy hasn't been feeling well all week, so we're going out tonight {as long as our day care doesn't cancel "Parents Night Out"} Whatever we do, it should be a lot of fun!

In addition to the sunglasses, I picked up this cool, little teething toy yesterday for the babe. She was somewhat interested, but all she really seemed to want yesterday afternoon was the empty box of milk storage bags that was laying around.

Figures.

Yet, I can remember countless afternoons playing with and in empty boxes with my big brother when I was a kid. Some of our best times were had with simple items like that. We'd pretend they were forts, airplanes, whatever mood struck us that day. It was a lot of fun to make up all that stuff, maybe this will foster a good imagination in Annabelle. I guess I'll have to start stopping by the stock room of Target looking for empty boxes instead of heading for the toy aisle from now on.

Wife, Mommy, & Ninja

2010-07-29T10:19:00.000-04:00

I realized last night as I crept out of Annabelle's room, that I needed to add something new to my resume of tricks.....Mommy Ninja.

I had no idea of my new-found talent until I suddenly noticed I had just balanced my sleeping babe with one had, standing on one foot, while the knee of the other leg helped support her so I could use my other hand to carefully hoist her into her crib {all while holding my breath, mind you}. Then, I swiftly removed my hand from behind her head and placed her blanket on her, being careful not to make any breeze or draft that might wake her as I covered her up. Then, with all of my concentration, I very carefully took one slow step at a time, rolling each foot on the floor so as not to make a sound on our wooden floors. Once to the door, I pulled the knob towards me, then, again with all my concentration, turned the knob all the way so it wouldn't make a sound while I pulled the door closed {by this time, I think I was turning blue from holding my breath, but I didn't really notice as again, all my concentration was on getting the door closed as silently as possible}.

It takes some intense training to become a Mommy Ninja, but luckily, I've had lots of practice! My adversary's keen sense of hearing proves for a tough match, but once she's tired, she's no match for the Mommy Ninja

She always has new tools in her bag of tricks so the Mommy Ninja must constantly stay on her toes!

Just Because!

2010-07-28T09:38:00.000-04:00

Annabelle this morning winning Daddy's heart
{like she really needed any help!}

4 Month Stats

2010-07-26T17:50:00.000-04:00

Annabelle had her 4-month appointment today. Here are her current stats:

Height 24 3/4 inches long - 50th percentile

Weight 13pounds 14ounces - 50th percentile

She only had to have 2 shots this time which went very well, she only cried for a minute until Mommy picked her up and then she calmed down pretty quickly. I'm just waiting for the day when she starts to recognize the nurse and starts screaming when she walks in the room, luckily it's not yet.

The nurse was very impressed with Annabelle's personality and said she's going to grow up to be the life of the party (she must get it from her Daddy!). She was smiling and laughing at her the entire time, it was too funny!

We'll probably start some cereal & solids in another month or so which should produce a whole new aspect of photos that I'm looking forward to taking. We'll also get to start getting some good use our of all those bibs we have, I can't wait!

Mini-Vacation!

2010-07-25T18:21:00.004-04:00

This past weekend we went on a little mini-vacation here at a resort in town, but it was nice to feel like we "got away" for a few days! We spent the weekend with our good friends Tom & Tammy and their two boys, which are two of the cutest little guys I've ever laid my eyes on! We had a blast and got some much needed R&R!

Annabelle was very excited to get going Friday and was very well behaved while Randy & I packed the car to the brim.

Annabelle & I before hitting the pool on Friday.

Tammy, Tom, and their two cutie-pies.

Randy & Annabelle had a good time floating in one of the lazy rivers. Annabelle loved looking at all the trees and people passing by.

Annabelle checking out the waterfall (I told ya'll she was a little dare devil) :-)

Connor & his Daddy having fun floating down the river.

Garrett loved watching the birds at the resort, they were very brave and didn't hesitate to approach our area looking for a free meal.

Annabelle, tuckered out after a swim in the pool.

2010-07-20T15:44:00.004-04:00

If you haven't noticed alredy, you've been re-directed to our new URL: http://www.ourlifewithababy.blogspot.com/

Please bookmark our new site and sign up with Google Friend Connect or Blog Frog to get updates from new posts. Thanks for Reading!

Monday Night Meal

2010-07-20T15:37:00.004-04:00

On my quest to try some new recipes, yesterday I tried making Chicken & Arugula Pita Pockets. I have to say, as pretty as these were, I don't think I'll be making them again. The homemade pesto sauce was delicious, but a little too decadent for my taste.

Annabelle had fun helping me make dinner, she was my official "food smeller" it was fun to watch her face as I let her smell all of the different ingredients. In fact, we were having a pretty good time until she decided to sneeze on the tomatoes sitting in front of her....oh well!

4 Months!

2010-07-18T16:05:00.002-04:00

Here we are at 4 months! Life has been more & more fun every day with little, Miss Annabelle. She's getting such a personality with every passing day and we love seeing it shine through! She still loves the mornings and always greets us with a smile when she gets up for the day. It's a great way to start the day!

Annabelle also loves to watch Mickey Mouse Club House in the mornings while we're getting ready for work. She gets so excited when the music comes on and starts kicking her feet, smiling, and flailing her arms wildly.

Annabelle loves her Daddy, who never fails to make her laugh out loud on a daily basis. She's quite the dare devil too, as she loves it when he plays "rough" with her. Speaking of playing, she's learning more and more every day that she can splash while in the bath, which always makes for a fun time.

Annabelle has become very good about riding in the car and almost always falls asleep. However, the longest we've gone is my parent's house which is about an hour and a half away, so we haven't seen how she does on really long road trips yet.

We think Annabelle is beginning to teeth, as she's become more adament about putting her hands (and just about everything else she can) in her mouth. I've can start to see some pearly whites shining through her top gums as well, so we don't think it will be too much longer.

Annabelle still loves to be outside, but with our very warm & humid summers, it's hard to keep her out there for long, unless we're in the pool. She loves the pool and enjoys being pulled through the cool water. When it's too hot outside, Annabelle enjoys playing with her toys. She's become very skilled in grabbing her toys and now likes to grab for just about anything that's in our hands as well, such as remote controls, cell phones, etc. (so if you get a strange phone call from us, please disregard!).

Our baby girl is growing sweeter by the day and we can't wait to see what the next month will bring!

Just Another Day by the Pool

2010-07-17T23:40:00.003-04:00

Phew!

2010-07-14T09:21:00.000-04:00

A big sigh of relief this morning! Annabelle did much better last night, which makes me think the night before was just a fluke ::fingers crossed:: She and I had a nice little chat yesterday about letting Mommy & Daddy sleep, which must have done the trick (If only it were that easy!) Whatever the reason, I'm glad this wasn't an on-going trend.

This is where we are

2010-07-13T11:44:00.000-04:00

For the past 3 or 4 days, Annabelle hasn't been very interested in breastfeeding, it's hit or miss. Sometimes she just likes to lay there and smile at me or look around every time she hears the least, little noise. She's suddenly so much more aware of her world, "Oh look, we have a cat, there's another one!" (I'm sure this is what she'd be saying if she could talk). So, needless to say she doesn't always get a good feeding each time I nurse her and thus my supply has gone down because of this and now why when she DOES want to eat there's not enought food to satisfy her and the cycle goes on and on. So this is why I've had to be a little more careful about avoiding distractions while she eats. However, despite my best efforts, she's in need of a little extra food at night. So we've gone from sleeping through the night (9pm - 5am roughly) back to the newborn schedule (9pm - 1am - 3:30am - 6:30am). At least, this was our schedule last night, who know's what it will be tonight. I believe we've hit the 4 Month Wakeful Period (Google it, interesting stuff). Nice right? It's a lot of fun juggling this schedule, running a non-profit, house cleaning, cooking meals, and quality time with the fam, but whatever, exaustion never killed anyone, just made them a little cranky. I am cranky. Today anyway, tomorrow still waits to be seen and I make no promises. Predictability is for the birds, it's the unpredictability that gives spice to life and without spice, well, life is boring. However, I could stand for a little boring when it comes to my sleep at night.

Free Entertainment

2010-07-12T10:23:00.000-04:00

This past weekend was spent just hanging around the house, but it's hard to entertain a 3-month-old all day long. The options are somewhat limited. However, I'm always impressed by my husband's creativity. Sunday evening, I noticed a strange quiet in our house. When I walked through our back room, I happened to look out the window and this is what I saw in our back yard!

What's that?! My sweet husband pulling a wagon with a pool float and baby in tow!

All I could see from the house was the top of Annabelle's little head bobbing up and down as her Daddy took her for a tour of the yard.

Apparently she loved it, good idea Randy!

Diapers in the Sun

2010-07-10T16:33:00.004-04:00

{For this photo, I used the abundance of natural light to highlight the diapers, making sure to keep the direct sunlight behind me. I took the shot from several angles, but loved this one the most. I used a higher aperture, but low enough that I would keep the blurring effect of the diapers in the background. This photo was taken not long after I purchased my new camera, so I was still learning and playing with all of the settings}.

This was the view from our pool Saturday afternoon. I stripped Annabelle's diapers to remove the detergent that had built-up over the past few months. So far I love having cloth diapers! We use Fuzzi Bunz which adjust as Annabelle grows, so she'll be able to wear them until she's potty trained. They're obviously a little more work than disposables, but worth it for the benefits, in my opinion. So far we've saved over $400 on diapers in the few months that Annabelle's been with us, the diapers have already paid for themselves! In addition, it can take up to 500 years for 1 disposable diaper to decompose. Considering we go through about 8 diapers each day, that's a lot! Another benefit is no diaper rash. I haven't had to use any diaper cream on Annabelle since she was born! The cloth diapers are supposed to be a little gentler on baby's skin. We do have to wash a load of diapers every 2 to 3 days, but it's as simple as dumping a bag of dirty diapers in the washing machine and throwing them in the dryer when done. We spend about 10 minutes while watching TV stuffing the inserts back into the diapers. So, a little extra effort, but well worth it for us! We can even use the diapers if we ever decide to have another little one, but this is not an invitation to start asking us about that!

One Year Ago Today

2010-07-09T09:28:00.000-04:00

Randy and I were trying to wrap our heads around the fact that soon there would be 3 people living in our house! I was thinking about it this morning, and the only way I can describe the way I felt when we found out we were going to have a baby is to relate it to the way you feel when you find out someone you know has died. Not to be morbid by any means, but whenever I find out someone I know has passed away, it takes a while for the idea to kick-in. The fact that where there was once someone, now, suddenly, there is no more. Forget about the sadness that comes with a death, that's not what I'm talking about at all. Just the slap-in-the-face feeling you get when something life-altering has suddenly happend. That's how I felt when I found out about Annabelle. All of a sudden, there was life where there had been none before. It takes a while for the idea to sink in.

That's where we were one year ago today....and now we can't imagine life without her!

Our Weekend

2010-07-06T16:27:00.000-04:00

This past weekend we traveled to my parents' house for a visit and so that we could attend my cousin Aubrey's wedding. We drove up Friday night and Annabelle decided to wake up (even though it was past her bedtime) to visit with Grandma and Grandpa.

After a few hours of play it was time for bed so we could be up bright and early for Aubrey's wedding.

The wedding took place at the Sweetwater Branch Inn located in Gainesville. The grounds were beautiful and I couldn't resist taking some pictures.

My Uncle Cary & Aunt Sue, Aubrey's proud parents, looked stunning!

Randy and I posing for a picture before the wedding (I think this was one of the few times all day we held Annabelle...Grandma is quite fond of her).

This cake was DELICIOUS!

Congratulations Aubrey & Craig!

A little more spoiling for good measure!

Awesome shoes!

Annabelle LOVES Aubrey!

We had a lot of fun with this Photo booth at the wedding

It was a long day!

Sunday, we went for a walk to see the donkeys by my parents house. My dad decided to try out the Moby wrap.

"Hold on, Grandpa...I need to take this call."

After we got home Sunday night, we took Annabelle into the back yard to watch a few fireworks. She seemed to enjoy them and wasn't afraid of the loud noises. I think we have a little dare devil on our hands!

Happy 4th of July!

Wedding Weekend!

2010-07-02T10:16:00.000-04:00

My cousin, Aubrey and her sweetie, Craig are getting married tomorrow!

Aren't they a cute couple?! I can't wait to go to their wedding and share in all the fun as these two walk down the aisle together. Aubrey & Craig are such a fun-loving couple I wish them many, many, many years of wedded bliss!

It's going to be great to celebrate with these two and see some of our family this weekend! I'll post some pictures early next week!

I Hate Mondays

2010-06-28T07:40:00.000-04:00

Just so hard to say goodbye to the weekend!

12 Weeks to Better Photography

2010-06-27T16:00:00.000-04:00

So now that I have my new camera, I'm trying to learn as much as I can about it. I've decided to take some lessons from the 12 Weeks to Better Photography program I found online. It's a lot of fun and provides a crash course for novices such as myself.

I've already begun on the first two weeks' lessons (I'm a little overzealous) and wanted to share my progress thus far.

The first week is all about aperture. Basically, the aperture controls how much of a photograph is in focus. the f/stop on the camera controls the focus and the smaller the f/stop, the less of the picture is in focus. I purchased a special lens that has very low aperture for this reason, because I like the blurry background effect a low aperture gives photographs. Anyway, the first lesson has you take 3 pictures, each with a different aperture to compare the changes.

This picture was taken with f/stop 22, notice how most of the picture is in focus and you can clearlly see the fence and grass in the background.

The next picture was taken with f/stop 8, notice how the backgrond is a little more blurry, but you can still make out the fence and some of the grass.

The last picture was taken with f/stop 1.8, the entire background is blurred out so that the focus is solely on the flower pot/flower.

I'll try to post some pictures from the second lesson, ISO & Shutter Speed, as soon as I can.

Our Saturday

2010-06-26T18:21:00.000-04:00

I've been doing some research on Digital SLR cameras lately and I finally decided to purchase a Nikon that I've had my eye on for a while. So in my free moments last night and this morning I've been snapping pictures of anything and everything so that I could try out different effects and lenses. My cousin Aubrey is getting married next Saturday and I'd love to be able to take some nice pictures at her wedding.

Last weekend Randy and I purchased a Jumperoo for Annabelle and she just loves it! She likes to look at all the toys that surround her and reach out to grab them. While playing with MY new toy, I took a picture of her new toy.

Annabelle plays in it every day now. Her legs are still too short to reach the ground so we had to put a few old encyclopedias under her feet (they finally came to some good use!). Thanks to these books, she's begun to realize she can make herself bounce up and down, what fun!

I thought I would do a day-in-pictures since I'm still trying to learn all the features to my new camera. This morning the baby and I headed out to the tennis courts to visit Daddy (Notice Annabelle's Tennis outfit!).

I had fun getting some action shots of the guys, and of course, I had to get a few of Randy's tennis serve.

After tennis we had to cool off in the pool, it was a hot day people!

Once we were nice and cooled off we all settled down for a relaxing nap!

All in all it was a relaxing Saturday. Annabelle went to bed early and we enjoyed Randy's famous tacos for dinner, yum!

HAPPY SATURDAY!

A good pair of blue jeans

2010-06-24T12:49:00.000-04:00

makes me feel the same way my dear.

Happy Daddy's Day!

2010-06-21T09:54:00.000-04:00

Annabelle and her Daddy had a day full of fun yesterday. Little girl wore her guitar onesie in honor of Daddy. The day included some playtime with pops as well as a little swimming in the pool with Daddy & Grandpa, then off to lunch at Smokey Bones where Annabelle politely slept the entire time so Daddy could enjoy his meal. Overall, it was a fun day!

3 Months

2010-06-17T10:50:00.000-04:00

Let the fun begin!

Many of our friends have told us that their children became MUCH easier after the magical 3-month mark, so I've been secretly awaiting this day for what seems like much longer than 3 months! However, I must say that things have gradually become easier over time (ya'll didn't think I believed that once she hit 3 months she'd wake up in the morning and be a perfect angel the rest of her life, did ya?!)

Well, by far, the best thing that's happened this last month is sleeping through the night. About 5 or 6 nights a week Annabelle's sleeping about 8-9 hour stretches. On her "bad" nights she may wake up around 2 or 3 am wanting a little snack, but then usually goes right back to sleep. She's also been chomping down on her hands, A LOT! My mom thinks she may be cutting some teeth (please not yet!), but hopefully the pearly whites won't make their debut for another month or so. We've started to get some giggles from our little girl as well, and while it's sooo cute when it happens, it's still somewhat of a rare occurance, which makes it even more exciting when it does happen. That little voice comes through when she laughs and it's just the most precious sound! Then we have the rolling. I was so excited when Annabelle first rolled from her back to her tummy, but the poor dear hasn't figured out what to do when she gets to her belly and starts to get quite upset, so I'm thinking my excitment was a little pre-mature. She loves to listen to Randy play his guitar, especially when he sits in front of her and sings to her. One night, she was a little fussy so Randy started playing for her and she feel asleep after a while of listening to him (this might be offensive for some musicians, but Randy certainly didn't mind). Annabelle also loves to watch Mickey Mouse on TV every morning when we're getting ready for work. She sits in front of the TV in her bouncer and squeals in excitment during the show while throwing up her arms and legs, it's the cutest thing!

We're enjoying watching Annabelle have all of these new experiences, like looking at the trees above her everytime we take her for a walk in her stroller or the expression on her face when we put her feet in the pool. It's been a lot of fun and we can't wait for the following months when she'll have even more fun experiences (like trying baby food for the first time!).

Sometimes I can't believe it's already been 3 months and other times I feel like it would never get here. We're having so much fun with our little girl!

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling...

2010-06-14T16:17:00.000-04:00

Annabelle started rolling from her back to her stomach a few weeks ago. At first is was random and has recently become more consistent. Today, I couldn't put her on her playmat without her rolling over! Which is great, except when she gets on her stomach she doesn't quite know what to do and gets upset, so the playmat which used to keep her entertained for a while, now requires mommy & daddy's assistance.....hmmm, have to think of new entertainment!

Smiles

2010-06-09T22:40:00.000-04:00

Annabelle is such a happy baby! This is just a glimpse of her personality...

Weekends in the Sun

2010-06-05T14:23:00.000-04:00

Last weekend we saw our fair share of BBQs. Saturday we went to our friends Tom & Tammy's house for their son's 5th birthday party. The kids had a great time swimming in the pool and we all enjoyed some delicious food off the grill. Annabelle enjoyed watching all the kids having fun, I'm sure she was dreaming of the day when she would be big enough to do all that stuff!

Saturday morning I took Annabelle and we ventured off to our city's Farmers Market. Let me just say that I was not impressed. I think we're going to try another local Farmers Market tomorrow that's a little bigger. There were only 4 tents and maybe 2 people out "shopping." However, I did get some DELICIOUS local honey (great on your Sunday morning biscuits!) and some fresh peppers, corn on the cobb, and tomatoes. Here's a picture of our bounty:

Sunday, we went to our friend Matt & Laura's house for another BBQ complete with a kiddy pool and slip-n-slide, which really brought me back to the days my brother and I would play in our back yard for hours on our slip-n-slide (which really was a huge sheet of plastic with a tall sprinkler in the middle, but to us it was AWESOME!). Which reminds me, did ya'll ever dump dishwashing soap on your slip-n-slide? If you didn't, you missed out on some crazy slip-n-sliding! :-) Anyway, after some back yard antics at our friends' BBQ we headed inside and put Miss Annabelle to bed in our friends guest room and after a few minutes of fussiness, our little girl was out like and light and remained that way until we left that night, which was great because Randy and I got a little adult time with our friends and enjoyed singing some tunes while the guys played their guitars.

Monday, we headed over to my parent's house for a Memorial Day BBQ. My mom and dad purchased a couple pool floats for Annabelle, so naturally we had to try them out. They're still a little big for her, but I'm sure she'll grow into them soon. Grandpa had fun taking Annabelle for a ride around the pool in her new float and she loved splashing her feet in the water.

Talking with Daddy

2010-05-29T10:26:00.000-04:00

Annabelle loves to watch us talk to her and she's constantly studying our faces to see how she can make sounds. Here's some video of Annabelle and her Daddy having a little conversation:

Happy Friday!

2010-05-28T17:30:00.000-04:00

Updates

2010-05-26T13:41:00.001-04:00

Annabelle had her 2-month appointment this past Monday and all went well. Our little girl currently weighs 10 pounds 14 ounces and is in the 50 percentile for height and weight. She also got her first round of shots, which I really wasn't looking forward to, but she took it like a champ and didn't even cry when they gave her the first one! She was a little cranky/sleepy that night, but has already bounced back to her bubbly self.

I also wanted to report on little one's sleeping habits because I'm so excited about it, but I wanted to make sure it wasn't a fluke first. Yet, after a few weeks of sleeping through the night, I feel pretty confident in making the announcement! Annabelle has been sleeping about 7 hours straight each night in her crib and even gave us a good 9 1/2 hour stretch last night! It's been so nice getting that extra little break, but Randy really misses having the peanut in our room, so we still bring her in for a few hours in the early morning to spend some pillow-talk time with mom & dad.

Here's our little girl before her bath the other night.

2 Months

2010-05-18T09:45:00.000-04:00

Annabelle is 2 months old today and my how time flies! Morning is always the best time with Annabelle as she's always in a good mood. Luckily, I have a work event tonight, so I'm staying home with the little angel this morning before going in. Here's a picture of our little girl first thing in the morning after waking up, she loves it when we talk to her on the changing table, just look at that smile!

The little bug has also mastered the art of holding her rattle, but I don't think she realizes she's holding it quite yet. I took a little video this morning of her new trick (please ignore my baby talk!)

Annie's First High Tea

2010-05-15T16:23:00.000-04:00

Saturday, my mom and I attended High Tea in celebration of my cousin Aubrey's bridal shower. It was a beautiful day and Aubrey looked fantastic! We can't wait for her wedding this July, it's going to be beautiful! We brought Annabelle along so she could meet her cousin Aubrey, they hit it off!

Baby Moods

2010-05-14T10:49:00.000-04:00

Annabelle is certainly showing more of her personality lately. She's a pretty happy girl in the morning and it can sometimes go downhill as the day progresses (Randy says she's like her mommy in that respect....I don't know what he's talking about). Anyway, here's our serious little girl from this morning, she spit-up not long after this picture, which may explain the expression, but who really knows for sure:

Fur Baby

2010-05-12T15:13:00.000-04:00

Our fur babies, Piper & Missy, have done well adjusting to the small, screaming human who has recently invaded their space. To date, they have yet to sit on her, attack her, or try to eat her....so I consider it a success. Piper sometimes can't take her crying and simply gets up with a sigh and walks out of the room. Missy is still a little unsure about Annabelle, but is quickly warming up to her. She even licked her head the other day. Here's what I found a few days ago while Annabelle was taking a nap.....looks like Missy has given up her position of baby of the house and has taken on the responsibility of watching out for the new baby:

Welcome Hailey Pospishil!

2010-05-10T18:16:00.000-04:00

Our dear friends Dave & Dana welcomed their daughter, Hailey into the world today, May 10th at 4:45am (just after Mother's Day!). What a great Mother's Day gift! Little Hailey weighed in at 6 pounds and 5 ounces. Needless to say we all can't wait to meet her! I'll update with pictures just as soon as I can.

Happy Mothers Day!

2010-05-10T07:43:00.000-04:00

My mom & dad came by yesterday to spend the day with us for Mother's Day. We had a pretty low-key day. We went out to lunch and Annabelle slept the entire time.

Tuckered Out

2010-05-08T11:37:00.000-04:00

Annabelle had a fun time with her Aunt Sue last night while mommy & daddy enjoyed at night out at Cheesecake factory (martinis, margaritas, crab rangoon, and bang bang chicken & shrimp are just what the doctor ordered!). Afterwards we headed downtown to a small little venue to hear some up-and-coming jam bands, needless to say we were the only ones there not wearing patchouli and tie-dyed clothing. The music was pretty fantastic, unfortunately I couldn't keep my eyes open after the second band went up. This was no reflection on their talent and luckily I can enjoy music just as much with my eyes closed, but we headed home soon after to get some shut eye.

The little princess was fast asleep when we returned (Thanks Aunt Sue!) and she slept soundly in her crib until 4am, which is pretty good for her. She's still recovering from her cold and has been taking a lot more naps lately, here she is this morning....so darn precious!

Hanging Out

2010-05-07T13:09:00.000-04:00

I've had the pleasure of hanging out with Annabelle at home these past two days while she recovers from her first cold. This morning, she entertained herself with the spinning birdies and butterflies above her swing...

Update

2010-05-06T14:42:00.000-04:00

We just got back from the doctor's office and the little bug is fine. Just your common cold, which is what I suspected, but you never can be too careful with a newborn. I decided not to take her to daycare this morning since it would be irresponsible of me to get someone elses child sick (although, I'm pretty sure this is how our little girl caught her cold....grrrr). Oh well, like I said before, at least she'll have a strong immune system. It doesn't seem to be effecting her attitude much, she's been just as smily as ever, here's a quick snapshot I took this morning.

Ugghhh

2010-05-05T21:43:00.000-04:00

The title of this post says it all. My little girl is sick. That's right folks, my nose snifflin', eyes waterin', sneeze makin' little angel is sick. Two freakin' days into daycare and this is what we get. Ugghhh. Luckily, her temperature is normal and she doesn't seem to be upset by all this mess. I've already sent in an email to the pediatrician to check tomorrow since they like to know about any youngins' under 2 months showing signs of a cold (she's a week shy of 2 months ya'll! Not that it really matters, I'd be just as upset even if she was past the 2 month mark). The good news....when my kid starts school she'll have the immune system of a shark (check it out, they have really awesome immune systems by the way!).

I have no picture of the babe this time as she is sleeping peacefully and Momma is not going to dare wake a sleeping, sick, baby..... ::sigh::

First Flight From the Nest

2010-05-03T15:27:00.000-04:00

Today was Annabelle's first time at daycare, sniff sniff. Although, we're very lucky in that my job is flexible and as long as I can manage to get everything done that needs doing, it doesn't really matter how long I'm in the office. So for the first few weeks anyway, I'm only going in for about four hours a day. This makes the whole daycare fiasco much easier for both Annabelle and her mommy & daddy to ease into.

Things went great today, we got out the door in time and bug didn't cry a tear the whole ride there. Once there, after going over all the logistics with Ms. Meredith, I quickly put her in the swing, kissed her on the cheek, and was out the door before I had any time to really think about what I was actually doing. It wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. The thought of Annabelle discovering other little babies, toys, and experiences made me happy. She's getting a taste of the world around her!

Here we are before we left this morning

When I went to pick her up, Ms. Meredith said she was very good and smiling a lot all day (her new trick!). She had a typical day of naps, feedings, and diaper changes....oh to be a baby! On the way home she slept the whole way, I guess all that eating and napping wore her out!

Here's Annabelle, still napping, when we arrived home....I think I'm going to like this whole daycare thing!

Sharks and Minnows

2010-05-02T16:06:00.000-04:00

Today was Annabelle's first swim, the water was 82 degrees and the outside temp was 91 degrees. She was a little taken by the water at first, but once she adapted to it, she seemed to have a little fun. We hope to have her swimming ASAP

Growing, Growing, Growing

2010-05-01T11:06:00.000-04:00

While cousin Nancy was in town this week we ventured out and about. Annabelle had her moments, but overall was pretty well-behaved. She required to be held at lunch, so Randy had to master the art of ordering and eating with one hand.

This morning, Annabelle amused herself with her activity mat and actually enjoyed the music and "Clyde Frog" as we lovingly call him. Here's a little video:

Visits with the Fam

2010-04-29T19:19:00.000-04:00

Randy's cousin, Nancy, came down this week from Tennessee to visit Annabelle. As you can see they hit it off!

Sun Bathing

2010-04-25T21:12:00.000-04:00

This past Saturday I had my organization's Family Picnic so Randy brought Annabelle out to join in the festivities. It was a pretty sunny day out by the pool, so we kept little girl covered up, but couldn't resist getting some pictures of her out in the sunshine!

She's on her way to being a Florida Beach Baby!

Baby Crack

2010-04-22T21:15:00.000-04:00

Here's some more pictures of Annabelle from today, I just can't resist...

Being a baby is a tough job

Today was the first time Annabelle didn't cry after we took her out of the bath!

Life, How It Can Change

2010-04-21T20:15:00.000-04:00

As I was laying in bed this morning around 4am, listening to the little angel root around in her bassinet, knowing the cries for food that would soon follow, I couldn't help but think about where we were only a little over a year ago. In Mexico. On our honeymoon. Allowed to sleep the whole day away without interruption. Allowed to take a shower without having to ask the other person if they would watch the baby for a few minutes. Allowed to go out to dinner without hesitation. Allowed to have a few too many margaritas and stumble back to our room without worry. Allowed to spend the day on a remote island off the Yucatan Peninsula with no other gear but the small, woven bag on my shoulder.

My how life can change. We all know it's true, we've all experienced those big, life changing moments. Every now and then we're reminded that nothing's a guarantee. It makes us appreciate life a little more.

Right now, I appreciate all the mornings throughout my life I was able to sleep in. I know they'll be back one day (and that day will be sweeter than ever!) If I had known just how sleep deprived I would have been once I had children, I would have had some serious reservations. SERIOUS reservations. I guess that's why you don't really know until you experience it, because what's even more unbelievable is that you can have something so special come into your life that you don't mind getting up at 4am.

The Great Outdoors

2010-04-20T21:15:00.000-04:00

Today we took Annabelle on her first trip to the trail by our house. We needed the fresh air and exercise, she needed the nap. It was a win-win kind of day! However, I think we spent more time getting ready and packing the car than we did actually roller blading, but the experience was worth it. Here's Annabelle with her daddy getting some fresh air.

On another note, (WARNING - this may be TMI or too gross for some...don't say I didn't warn you), Annabelle has been very, ahem, regular since we brought her home from the hospital...that is until the past few days. In fact, her diapers have been only wet ones for the past 3 days, which had us a little worried, but our Pediatrician's website noted how it's normal for newborns to go 2-3 days without a bowel movement so we waited it out. Well, lo and behold when we returned home from our little outing today we smelled something funny and got very excited (Yes, we know how sad it is that THIS is what gets us excited these days, but none the less) Daddy promptly took the little stinky angel to her changing table and proceeded with the changing of the diaper only to discover 3 days worth of yellow, baby goo all at once had accumulated in our sweet little girl's Fuzzi Bunz (yes we use cloth diapers and they're great, especially after seeing them stand up to the test today!). Anywho, I took a video, but Randy would kill me if I posted that on the interwebs so here's a candid enough picture for ya'll.

Yum! (Can't say I didn't warn you!)

Here's a little video from our outing today, check out Randy's skills!

Baby Einstein, Take One

2010-04-19T21:44:00.000-04:00

We tried out the Baby Einstein DVD today for the first time. Annabelle was entertained for about 5 minutes. Our cat, Missy was entertained just a little bit longer.

This is what life has come to

2010-04-18T13:38:00.000-04:00

Sleep deprived and walking Annabelle around the house while the blow dryer is running, the loud noise is one of the only things that calms her down.

Lazy Saturday

2010-04-17T12:31:00.000-04:00

Annabelle will be a month old tomorrow and to celebrate we are enjoying a lazy day at home today...what's new right?! Ahhh, the life of a baby.

In the spirit of MC Hammer....Stop, Tummy Time!

2010-04-15T20:16:00.000-04:00

Here's Annabelle working out those neck muscles today, although she enjoyed just laying on her belly and looking at Mommy most of the time instead.

The little peanut is all tuckered out after a long day! (Sorry about the picture quality, I didn't dare turn on the flash when I took this picture, never wake a sleeping babe!)