Fun with Auntie Mary

We had a good time with Auntie Mary last weekend. We think Paul had a good time in Miami, but unfortunately, he can't remember much.

Mary flew in on Friday night. On Saturday, we started off with some tasty lunch at our local Thai restaurant. Then, we headed off to Chevy Chase....Dior, Jimmy Choo, and Saks. Annabelle did pretty well...especially at Dior where the salesladies were oohing and ahhing over her. Can you blame em? HA!

Then on Sunday, Lita our old nanny watched Annabelle while we headed out to the jewelry show. LAter that night, we exchanged gifts where Mary definitely spoiled Annabelle and me too.

Here are some pics from the weekend.......

On our way shopping!


Annabelle loves Auntie Mary's shoes:


Annabelle and her new Eloise doll:

Santaphobia

Last year, Annabelle enjoyed her first Santa experience. This year, not so much. We were standing in line, waiting for our turn, and she seemed to sense what was about to happen. She looked at him and then suddenly clung to Paul for dear life. When it was our turn, we walked up, peeled her off of me and handed her to Santa. She immediately started screaming. An hour later, after dinner, just the mere mention of the word Santa made her cling to Paul. Several hours later at home, same thing. Poor Annabelle....Santa was very scary.


Tomorrow night is my annual ornament exchange with my moms group. Then Paul is off to a bachelor party this weekend in Miami. Mary is flying in to keep me company. Should be a good time!

Bodily Functions

That's right folks, Annabelle is aware of her bodily functions. She thinks burps and farts are funny and even trys to fart on purpose. I'm not lying. I'm partly to blame for this because I encourage her by laughing. She also says "poo poo" when she poos. That is thanks to grandpa who taught her that word while they were visiting for Thanksgiving.

We've had a rough few days with Annabelle...she has been waking up and NOT going back to sleep. Paul actually got up with her Tuesday morning at 4am because she refused to go back to sleep and wanted to play. It's all very strange. I hope it doesn't happen on Thursday night, as Paul and I are headed up to Baltimore for the night for Paul's Company's Christmas party. Goody and Poppy will be staying the night, so I pray for a good night of sleep for them.

We got our Christmas tree and decorated this last weekend. The house looks lovely and Annabelle takes great fun in shaking the tree. Darn those real trees...tehre are needles everywhere already. We did put all of the breakable ornaments towards the top of tree, thank goodness, as she has also taken to taking them off and playing with them. I found an ornament in her shape sorter box today.

We've been a little slow on pictures since Thanksgiving. I promise to take some in the next few days. We just feel like suddenly things have gotten oh so busy.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Grandma and Grandpa flew in from Portland, OR on Wednesday night. The Thanksgiving weekend started off on a healthy note with Paul running our local Turkey Trot race. It was 5 miles and he did great, running a 9.5 min mile.

We spent all day cooking..turkey, mashed potatoes n gravy, stuffing, green bean casserole, and cranberry relish. Goody and Poppy came over and brought some yummy sweet potatoes. It was quite a feast. Of course, we finished off with some pumpkin pie. YUMMY!

On Friday we got up and went for a long walk to Old Town. We walked a loooong time...eating some Hard Times Chile for lunch. We went to Christ Church (http://www.historicchristchurch.org/) and Gadsby's Tavern (http://oha.alexandriava.gov/gadsby/) for a little historical sight seeing. George Washington attended chuch at Christ Church and drank ale and attended balls at Gadsby's Tavern.

Daddy Racing


Feast Day

Finally....some pictures!

I finally got my new laptop today...whoo hooooo.....

Here are some recent pictures.

Love my clothes!


Yummy Apple!

Updates with Annabelle

Everything here is pretty quiet. I'm in the process of getting a new laptop, so sorry for the lack of pictures lately. We have alot on the camera, but they need to be downloaded.

This past weekend we went to the church's fall festival. Annabelle had her first pony ride and train ride. She liked the train and wasn't too sure about the pony.

Annabelle continues to amaze us. She makes us laugh everyday! She's big on showing you her tummy and rumor has it that she does it at daycare too...lifts up her shirt and pats her tummy...especially when you remark on how much she has eaten. She also knows her body parts and thinks it's funny to pick her nose...ewwww! Her vocabulary has really grown by leaps and bounds too. Still, her favorite word is "NO!" I think she has gotten the gist of teasing too....if you ask her for a hug or kiss, she'll playfully shake her head no, smiling....then out of nowhere, you'll get the hug or kiss. We think she is the smartest baby in the world! :-)

We are all looking forward to Thanksgiving...my mom and dad are flying in from Portland, OR. Should be a good time with the DeWitts!

Annabelle's New Tricks

Paul and I tried to get away this weekend to Kilmarnock, VA. Alas, it wasn't to be. Paul's Aunt Jill came to watch Annabelle for us while we went away. On Saturday, she came down with a nasty bug...throwing up, etc. It was a rough day for Jill. On Sat night we had to head back home. Sunday was rough...but by night Annabelle was a lot better and slept for nearly 13 hours. Monday and Tuesday were pretty good too and Annabelle is finally better. Phew...that had to be THE sickest I've ever seen her.

Auntie Jill brought over a few new toys for Miss Annabelle....DOLLS!!! Annabelle LOVED them. I didn't think she was ready for them but sure enough, she is. She feeds them bottles and covers them up and says "night night." Another new thing...Annabelle will now grab my finger and bring me to her play area and motion for me to sit down and play with her. It really is quite cute. She loves dancing and is an all around clown! She loves to read and I can't tell you how many times in one day we will read "The Christmas Story," "Barnyard Dance," "Ten Little Monkeys," "Neighborhood Animals," and "Hand Hand Fingers Thumb." I think I have all of them memorized, as does Paul. hand hand finger thumb, one thumb one thumb drumming on a drum, dum ditty dum ditty dum dum dum......OOPS! sorry...got lost there for a second

Annabelle is also chomping down on whole apples these days. She loves them..I was surprised when Paul gave her a whole apple and she ate it down to its core! (pictures forthcoming)

Long time, no post!

Sorry about the delay in posting! Things have been busy around here. I got back from my girls weekend in NYC on Sunday the 21st and time has flown by since then. I had a lovely time in NY with my girls...although I did miss Annabelle a ton (and Paul and Bailey too). I oohed and ahhed over every baby I saw while away....almost more ooohhing and ahhhing than I did over shoes! hehehe....speaking of shoes...below is picture of all the shoes we bought over the weekend....my purchases only account for 3 of the pairs. In addition to shopping, we did get some culture in and saw a show...Grease!

Annabelle was a good girl for her daddy and I know she kept him really busy! We got back into our little routine on Monday. On Thursday, we had our annual Halloween Party...pictures below!

On Friday night we spent time with Goody and Poppy. Poppy had a big party to celebrate his 75th birthday. Pictures forthcoming!

Annabelle seems to be doing really well at daycare. Her teachers are impressed with her prowess on the slides!

Finally got the pictures from Virginia Beach off the disposable camera and onto a CD. Some are below!

Halloween Party:

Matching Costumes:

Group Picture:



VA Beach:
Annabelle examining the sand:

Goody and Annabelle:



NYC
The Shoe Haul:

Brushing teeth!

Annabelle loves brushing her own teeth. She won't let us do it AT ALL!!! She also wants to brush everyone else's teeth, including Bailey's.

Busy Week!

It's been a busy week since my last post. On Friday we left for Virginia Beach. We had a really nice time. Turns out, Annabelle LOVES the beach. She really loved the sand. She rolled around in it and playing in the ocean. She even tasted it...several times. I think we have a beach lover on our hands. We spent a few days relaxing and playing in sand before heading home on Tuesday. Unfortunately, we forgot our camera but did buy a disposable camera down there so it will be a few days before we have any pictures.

Today we went to a pumpkin patch called Cox Farms. Annabelle loved all of the fall colors and really loved romping around in the pumpkin patch. Annabelle enjoyed hiding in the pumpkins and running away with mommy's kettle corn.

In the wagon...


Running away witht he kettle corn:


Where's Annabelle:

Fun at Baby Blast Off!

Annabelle seems to be adjusting well to daycare. She is napping and is starting to eat the variety of foods that they provide. She loves circle time and the playground. When we pick her up she is very happy. She is sleeping great at night indicating to me that she is getting LOTS of playing in during the day.

We have a very busy week coming up. We are leaving tomorrow for VA Beach for 4 days. We come back on Tuesday ad I head out to NYC on Thurs for a couple of days. Look for another post on Wednesday.

Here are some pictures from Baby Blast Off.

Annabelle in the ball pit:


Annabelle climbing around:


Annabelle and her "Congrats on Daycare" flowers from Auntie Mary:

Big Week!!

Annabelle starts daycare this week. Her first day will be Wednesday. It was supposed to be Monday, but the center was closed for Columbus Day. I, however, did not get that day off so I had to move around my work schedule a little bit this week. Auntie Mary sent some congratulations flowers to Annabelle to commemorate the big day! Pictures forthcoming.

Annabelle's friend Belle came over to play on Saturday. We went to the playground where they both loved the swings. Here are some pics from the day.

Same old, Same old....

Nothing too terribly new to report. I will say that Annabelle's personality is getting stronger and stronger by the day. We went out to eat tonight. We decided to sit outside at our favorite mexican restaurant, which we can walk to. There is a playground across the street from the restaurant. She kept pointing to it and saying "ma." That pretty much means in Annabelle language that she wants whatever she's pointing to. I've interpreted it to mean "more" especially when food or milk is involved. However, in this context she was telling us she wanted to go the playground, which she LOVES!!!!! So, in between bites of food and sips of margaritas, we took her over there to play. She is definitely a girl who knows what she wants.

Here are some pictures from the birthday party this weekend.

Cousins...


Annabelle exploring the countryside...

Lots going on!

I forgot to mention that Annabelle and I started a new class. It's called Blast off for Babies on Tuesdays. It's similar to Gymboree but is more about free play. Gymboree is very structured. I like both! Structure and free play. So, we may have to sign up for a Gymboree class soon. I've noticed that Annabelle gets bored on the weekends. We may have to get a class on Saturday.

We start daycare next week on the 8th. It's actually more like pre-school. She'll be there 3 days a week. I am really loving the working part time thing. It's been a great balance for me.

On Friday I took Annabelle to get her Halloween pictures taken. My, that was an experience. I don't know if I'll try that again until she is able to follow directions like "stand right there" and "smile!" She just wouldn't sit still. She is a little ball of fire.

Yesterday we went to Todd and Blanka's house in Purcelville to celebrate their daughter's, Julia, first birthday. It was nice to see the family and to celebrate the special day with everyone. Pictures are forthcoming.

Here are some recent pictures.

Grandpa Visits

Paul's dad, Jack, came into town this week for business. He is spending tonight with us. He took us to dinner...sweet! After dinner we walked over to the playground and grandpa pushed Annabelle in the swings.

Here are a few pictures from today.

Grandpa and Annabelle:


Mom and Annabelle:

Cutie Patootie

We celebrated Paul's birthday this weekend. On Friday night we just chilled out at home with Paul's choice of dinner...pizza and wine. We decided we would go out for a nice dinner when we get a babysitter. On Tuesday we went out to eat with Goody and Poppy to celebrate. Paul's dad is in town this week too so we will get some celebrating in with him as well.

Annabelle loves to mop the floor....she has seen me do it a million times and now she mimicks me. Here are few recent pics of our girl.

Annabelle in Paul's favorite outfit from Auntie Mary:
"You can't spell Princess without ESPN"


Annabelle ready for her 'skins game!


Cleaning the floor:

No more binkys!

Well, we have decided to phase out the pacifier. She will be starting daycare Oct 8 and I don't want to have to worry about those when she goes. She was only using it for sleeping anyway. We tried it last night...she was fine without it. Whoo hoo!

So, by blogging this I'm devulging some somewhat strange behavior on my part. I like clean feet. I try to do no shoes in the house so I can walk around barefoot. I just don't like the feeling of dirty feet...weird, I know. Well, I have started to wipe down Annabelle's feet before naps so she doesn't get her sheets and/or sleepsack dirty. I've only done it a few times....I promise! Well, she must have picked up on it because she now wipes her feet with baby wipes if she can get a hold of the package of wipes. What have I created????

Annabelle cleaning her feet

Renaisance Festival

Today we went to the Renaissance Festival in Maryland. The weather was beautiful! We also went earlier enough so we didn't have to deal with the crowds too much. Paul threw darts and knives, winning a ceramic mug and beer to go in it.

We enjoyed some archery displays and jousting shows. Annabelle seemed to enjoy it although her nap was ruined and thus ended the day on a cranky note.

Here are some pictures...
Paul throwing darts...


Annabelle enjoying the scenery...

Teething, Tantrums, and Talking...

Teeth update: She has her top front four and the bottom front four. Additionally, she has 3 molars about half way out and the 4th one on the way. That makes a nice grand total of 12 teeth. Only 8 more to go.... :-(
She has actually been taking all of the teething ok. She's had a few days where she seemed a bit fussy, but overall you wouldn't know she had her molars coming in.

Talking, Talking, Talking...she is now saying "bye-bye" and "cheese". I've heard her say "milk" a few times as well. She loves to say "ball" and "shoe." She says "uh-oh" a lot too...most of the time it's at the appropriate time (like dropping something or falling), sometimes it's not.

Tantrums...yes, folks...she throws tantrums. I thought that these things did't happen until the "terrible twos" but apparently that's wrong. If she doesn't get what she wants, she throws herself on the floor and cries a bit. It's so cute...right.

Last weekend Paul headed out of town for some golf and I threw a baby shower for a friend on Saturday. I don't recommend doing that kind of thing with a husband out of town and not available to help. It all went off without a hitch, though.

So far, the working thing is going great. I actually look forward to work and I look forward to my days off with Annabelle. It's been a great balance for me so far.

Here is a pic of Annabelle throwing a tantrum:

Trip to the winery..

It's been a fun few days! On Wednesday we went over to Goody and Poppy's house to celebrate Goody's birthday. Peter cooked and Annabelle ate cake. It was a very tasty dinner.

For Labor Day weekend, Paul and I went to Charlottesville and went to some wineries. Goody and Poppy babysat for us. It was a very pleasureable weekend...as evident in our wine purchases. We went to 7 wineries...Horton Cellars, Barbouresville, Jefferson Vineyard, Sugarleaf Vineyard, First Colony Vineyard, and last but not least, Prince Michel Vineyard.

Annabelle has a new facination with mom and dad's shoes. It is really cute. She trys to put them on all the time. See a pic below.
At the Omni Hotel...


Paul at Prince Michel Vineyard...


I think Annabelle loves shoes!!!!

Smartest Baby in the World!

She can read!!! OK...I'm exaggerating....We have the cutest book that she loves called "The Little Pea." She is now pointing to the peas in the book and says "pea!"

We toured Annabelle's future daycare on Saturday last weekend. It was a beautiful facility. Annabelle wanted to immediately get down and start playing. She LOVED it there...cried when we left. The teachers were really sweet. I think it's going to work out great!!!

We had some more visitors this week. My buddy from college, Jennifer, and her mom Ginny came in for a few days Monday-Wednesday. On Monday we went into Old Town for a bit of shopping. On Tuesday we went into Georgetown for some lovely walking around. We had some great pizza for lunch and did a wee bit of shopping...yes, that's all us ladies ever do. Annabelle didn't get anything these trips, but mommy did! I got a cute H&M jacket and a necklace (on sale! whoo hoo)at Banana Republic. Jennifer got a lovely dress and Ginny got some framed prints. Between Mary and Jennifer's visit, I'm done shopping for a while.

Group Pic:

Another busy week!

Phew! It's been a busy busy week.

So far, working part time is going great. Annabelle seems to really enjoy spending time with the nanny and other baby.

On Thursday, Auntie Mary flew in for a fun filled visit. Thursday we did some shopping at Tysons Corner. Annabelle got out of there with 2 new pairs of sketcher shoes. She actually did a little jig in the store...like daughter, like mom? We'll see...Paul is worried about the checking account! On Saturday, dad watched Annabelle while Mary and I shopped again (shocker!). That night we all went to the Redskins preseason game. It was a very wet experience. It started pouring, along wiht lightening, about an hour before the game was supposed to start. The game was delayed so we hung out in the car...not so fun. We finally got into the stadium and started enjoying the game. At the beginning of the 3rd quarter, it again began to storm with lightening. We decided it was finally time to head home and got DRENCHED on the walk back to the car. On Sunday we went to brunch at our favorite little mexican restaurant. All in all, a fun weekend.

Annabelle...oh, Annabelle...where do I start with her. Her new favorite activity is climbing on the furniture and her new favorite word is "NO!." I kid you not...she is saying no. I was sitting with her in the backseat and was resting my arm on the carseat and she pushed it off and said no. I couldn't believe it. She is saying it a lot now. Additionally, I can no longer leave her alone in the living room as she has discovered how to climb the furniture. Not good, I tell you!

Here are some pictures from Mary's visit.

Mary reading to Annabelle:

Fun Weekend!

We had a very fun weekend! On Saturday we had Annabelle's first real trip to the zoo! She seemed to REALLY love the animals...smiling, laughing, pointing and clapping when she saw them. Her favorites seemed to be the birds and the prarie dogs. She also seemed pretty interested in the small mammal exihibit. Another thing she REALLY loved was the petting zoo. She actually chased the goats, etc. around. She loved patting them. She even cried when we left it.

On Sunday we went to the park and played in the swings and slides. Then we went to Goody and Poppy's house for dinner. She loved the swings!

Annabelle can now say the number 2 and "more." The nanny told us she could say it b I didn't believe until we heard it. If you say "1" Annabelle will follow with "2." She is also saying more. Her vocabulary is certainly growing. We have this toy...it's a magnet fishing pole with magnetized fish. It takes some major hand and eye coordination for a child to use it the proper way. Well, she picked that up this week. She loves "fishing" with her pole. She is very good at it.

Here are some pictures from the last few days....

Zoo Pictures:

Annabelle excited about the prarie dogs:



Petting the animals:


Pointing at the small mammal exhibit:

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Busy Busy Busy

Sorry for the recent lack of posts. It's been a combination of being busy and my computer power cord dying AGAIN. I am still awaiting a part so I'm on Paul's computer right now (he's going through computer withdrawls as we speak). I don't have any of my pictures on his computer, so those will have to wait.

Last week we went to Stephanie and Belle's place for a lovely playgroup. The weekend was busy getting ready for going back to work.

I started working this week! So far, so good. I feel a little guilty that I'm enjoying it. So far, Annabelle enjoys the nanny. She will start going to daycare in October sometime. Until then, we have a nanny.

On Tuesday night Aunt Christina paid a short visit to the DC area. We had a nice dinner with her and Goody. Today I was off so I went on a long walk with some friends. I'm back to work one day tomorrow then off for the weekend.

I think working part time will be just the right mix for me.

Annabelle is really goofy. She is now putting on her shoes and brushing her hair (pictures forthcoming). She loves yelling into the phone, pretending that she's talking. She is also loving to look through books and turn pages on her own. She points to things and babbles, like she is trying to read. She has several solid words now, including mama, dada, ball, doggie, and touchdown (don't ask!). She'll also say "hello" into the phone and "uh oh" at the appropriate time, usually when she drops something.
She absolutely adores Bailey and tries to feed him her snacks and give him his toys. He is very patient with her.

New Stuffed Chair!

We ordered Annabelle a big stuffed dog chair. It finally came today and Annabelle was happy to see it! Her friend had one and Annabelle really took to it. So, we decided to get her one. Here are some pictures of it.

Annabelle and her stuffed dog:



Bailey checks it out:

Nice Week

We've had a pleasent week in the Crutchfield household! On Monday we went and (finally!!!) had Annabelle's one year pictures taken. We tried a new studio called Kiddie Kandids at Babies R Us. They had a large assortment of backgrounds and props, but the customer service stunk. I think I'll stick with the Picture People.

On Tuesday daddy took us out to lunch. It was a lot of fun...we need to do it more often. We went to Whitlow's on Wilson in Clarendon (cute neighborhood in Arlington). Later that night, Paul and I had a date while Goody babysat. We went to dinner and then to see Hairspray. On Thursday we went for a nice long walk with Carolyn and her little man, Parker. Today I hosted a mom's coffee...13 moms and 13 babies made for quite a morning. All the kiddos got a lot of playing in. It is so funny to see all of them walking and interacting with each other (including fighting over toys!). It seems like just yesterday they laid on blankets waving their little arms and legs in the air. Time is going by way too quickly.

On the working front, it looks like I'm back to work 3 days a week starting August 13th. I'm a little scared and nervous and feel a bit guilty, but at the same time I'm excited and looking forward to it. I think that it will be the perfect combination for me. If it's not, then I can just quit!

Here are a few pics from this week:

Annabelle loves her pet poodle from Auntie Betty:


Out to lunch with daddy: