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: