What to do about the dog food.

Ok, so now that she's crawling, Annabelle is obsessed with Bailey's food dishes. I turned my back for 1 second and she had a piece of his food in her hand, about 2 inches from her mouth. Yikes!


Today she pulled herself to a stand for the first time. That's scary too. We put her in a sleepsack while in the crib, and she even managed to stand in that. Yesterday we had Gymboree and as always it was loads of fun. Today we stayed in...the weather was gloomy and mom didn't feel like going anywhere. We did a nice long walk today, though. Tomorrow is swimming! Wahooooo

Time to Babyproof

Annabelle is getting around way too easily these days. We think it's time to babyproof. Here are some pictures of her getting into the entertainment center. We have a large open space in it where there is a large vase. She is very interested in this vase. Babyproofing is #1 on the priority list.

Busy weekend....

Paul and I spent the whole weekend cleaning out our basement. Very exciting, I know. It was a mess...I am quite the packrat. We also borrowed a shopvac and did a huge cleanup. That kept us really busy.

I think we can say that Annabelle is officially crawling. She got about 3 feet today. Here is a video of her crawling a little bit. She is doing really well and transitions well from sitting to crawling back to sitting. You may need to cut and paste the link.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=620246930253461513&pr=goog-sl

Picture of crawling:



I fed Annabelle some of the homemade baby food. It was a carrot apple puree with brown rice. I don't think she likes the brown rice very much...probably just the texture. I kept her in the highchair a bit so I could straighten up the kitchen. The next thing I knew, I turned around and she was asleep. She has never fallen asleep in anything other than the carseat, the pack n play, and the crib.

Cooking class

Last night I took a cooking class to teach us how to make nutrious and all natural baby food and toddler meals. It was a lot of fun...we turned it into a mom's night out. Here is a website for more information: www.meals4munchkins.com

We finally had to lower the crib ALL the way down to the bottom. Annabelle was getting way too good at pulling herself up. In fact, she has pulled herself up to a full stand. This has only happened in the crib, though. On the crawling front I would lean towards saying she took her first "crawls" today...but, I won't. She only got about 3 or 4 inches before she plopped down.

Swim Time!

We started swimming lessons today. They start at 10am. Unfortunately, that's right in the middle of Annabelle's morning nap. That's the only nap I can count on her taking during the day. Well, she wasn't too pleased with getting up early. However, once we drove to the pool and got in the water, she had a good time. Here is a picture of her in her wetsuit. Uncle Jack and Aunt Christina gave her a swimsuit, however, it was too big so we'll have to save it for next year.



The swimming was a lot of fun and didn't present the logisitical challenge I was expecting. We did lots of fun things in the pool. Annabelle instinctively knew to kick when I pulled her along in the water. We both enjoyed it very much.

Almost crawling and almost first tooth!

Well, I think Annabelle will be crawling any day now. She is very good at getting on all fours and rocking back and forth. She has figured out how to move her hands and feet to move forward but will only do it for a second before plopping down. She is very good at the "combat crawl" which consists of scooting along her tummy. She really gets around well this way.

Almost Crawling:


Also, her first tooth is just about out. You can see the teeth...they are about half way thru. She's actually been pretty good natured during the whole teething affair. By the way, I'm a little annoyed by the whole process...she's been teething for about 3 months now. It takes FOREVER.

Tomorrow we have our first swimming lesson. I bought her a mini wetsuit to keep her warm. We heard the pool wasn't all that warm. Should be interesting to say the least.

Playtime!

On Tuesday Annabelle and I went over to Heather's house. We had a blast playing with John, Lily, and Belle. Here is a picture from yesterday. Annabelle is playing with John.


Today we had our 2nd Gymboree class. Here is a video from the class. I think Annabelle is getting more out of this class than she did from the 0-6 month class. This class is 6-10 months. She'll turn 10 months at the end of March. We may move into the 10-16 month class after that. We'll see. Here is a video from last week from the birthday playgroup. After a few minutes, there is video from today's gymboree. You may have to copy and paste the link.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3927183295099119659&pr=goog-sl

Rainy Day

Annabelle and I were going to run some errands today. However, it's been raining all morning so I don't know if we will end up doing that. We have a post office, grocery store and CVS (drugstore) all within walking distance to our house. One of my favorite things to do is to get Annabelle in the stroller and take a nice long walk and take care of small errands at the same time. I was planning on doing that today too. Oh well...darn rain. Mondays are errand running or cleaning days (yes, I know..my life is so exciting! :-)). Tuesdays and Thursdays are moms coffees (I usually go to at least one), Wednesdays we have Gymboree and Fridays are full: mornings are swimming lessons and afternoons are playgroups. Swimming lessons only run for 8 weeks starting this Friday. I HAVE to stay busy or else I go insane.


Annabelle has this funny habit of "doing her hair" while she is taking a bottle. She will hold her own bottle about half the time, but when she doesn't, she does her hair. She'll rub her hands back and forth on her head, smoothing out her hair then pulling it then smoothing it out again. It's pretty funny. Blanka got a picture of it this weekend:

Busy Friday and Saturday

In my mom's group we have a wide variety of ages. We all met at the new moms group at the hospital and quickly became friends. The babies range from birthdays in Dec 05 to July 06. Thus, we are starting to celebrate 1st birthdays...where in the world does the time go? On Friday we went to Harpers first birthday playgroup/party. It really is funny how crazy things get when babies start to crawl and walk. We have one walker and a bunch of crawlers. The party was pure chaos, but so much fun. Here is a video from the party:

On Saturday we went to stay the night with Todd, Blanka, and Julia. Aunt Jill and Cousin Scott along with Craig were there too. These are some pictures that Blanka took. We also got some fantastic pictures, but unfortunately they were all wiped when the memory card was removed to download the pics at Todd's house. Annabelle was quite funny when put next to Julia. She tried to hold her hand and touched her face....she came dangerously close to poking Julia's eye out too. Yikes!
Julia and Annabelle:


Todd and Paul (holding Julia)


Tonight we had to lower the crib. Annabelle ALMOST pulled herself into a stand and it scared mom to death. SO, down the mattress went. We just can't believe how quickly our little girl is growing. It goes by so quickly.

Gymboree Again

Yesterday we started Gymboree again. Annabelle is now in the 6-10 month class. It was a great class and really wore her out...it also wore me out a bit as it required a bit more physical activity than the 0-6 month class did. It will be every Wednesday from now until April. Next week we start swimming lessons.

Annabelle is starting to get such a little personality. We just love it. She is definitely a girl who knows what she likes! As for her teeth, I am starting to see two white buds pop thru on the bottom. They are almost out, thank God.

Today we had coffee with some other moms. Annabelle and Allie played together a while...I took a video. I'll have it posted tomorrow night. Not only do you get my mommy voice, you get the voice of several other moms!

Here are a few pics from the last few days...

Post Bath Mohawk...

Happy New Year!

Hope everyone had a wonderful New Year's Eve! Ours was low key...just the way we like it! Our friends Tim and Sheila came over. We made fondue...we started with a swiss cheese fondue, then did a coq au vin (broth) fondue with meats and dipping sauces. Then we played a little bit of Taboo. Paul and I don't own any board games...it was a lot of fun. I think we need to get a few. Then about 1/2 hour before midnight we fired up the chocolate fondue, complete with cheesecake, marshmellow, and various fruits for dipping. Annabelle was a doll the whole night, sleeping away in her crib.

Miss Belle is very active these days. She is easily bored and needs to be constantly stimulated. This afternoon after mom and Annabelle both had a nap, we tried to have a family snuggle, but Annabelle wouldn't hear of it. She needed to be doing SOMETHING! She got a couple of pianos for Christmas. Below is a link to a new video...it's a combination of a few different video from the last few days.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3729224788618210950&pr=goog-sl
She is also starting to perfect her pincer grasp. She sees tiny things on the carpet and tries to pick them up. I guess that's a reminder to me to vacuum on a daily basis.

We just can't get over how much she changes everyday and how she is truly the joy of our life.

Lots of sounds

Annabelle has become adept at creating all kinds of new and interesting sounds. Below is a link to a video of Belle that exhibits several of those wonderful new sounds. Also the video will demonstrate her keen ability to put just about anything into her mouth!
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-936889837949525625&pr=goog-sl

She has been doing something that I have failed to post about. She now reaches out to one of us to hold her. I swear it is the cutest thing. Additionally, she is DYING to crawl...poor thing. You can just tell she is sooooo annoyed at just sitting in one place. She's trying really hard to get moving.

Test!

Hi everyone...

We are testing the video! Click on the link below to see if you can see Annabelle. Paul got a new toy from his mom for christmas. It is the coolest mini camcorder. SO easy to use even I can do it!

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1575273971105184998&pr=goog-sl

Where the heck are those teeth?

Well, Annabelle is in full throttle for teething. It's been drool city here lately....even getting the front of her jammies wet. I hope they pop out soon...it feels like this has been going on forever, well off and on for the last 3 months. I hear that sometimes teething causes diarrhea and symptoms of colds. Well, that must be true. I don't believe she is sick but she sure is congested a wee bit and has had a few messier than normal diapers. We'll see! She has also been a bit fussy at night and has been waking up in the middle of the night.

Tonight mom and dad are getting to go see a movie and go out to eat. Goody and Poppy will watch our girl. We like having family so close by. I don't know how people w/o family nearby do it.

We finally have all of Annabelle's new toys out of their boxes and ready to be played with. We got a few that are 2+ so she will have to wait a year or so to play with them. One of daddie's new gifts (from goody) was a tiny camcorder. This thing is way cool. We've been playing with it a bit and will be sharing videos ASAP!

Merry Christmas!

Hello Everyone!

Hope you had as wonderful a Christmas as we did. On Christmas eve we had Goody and Poppy over for dinner. I made a turkey tortilla soup (recipe from Mom!). It was TASTY! I think that will be our new traditional Christmas Eve dinner. The next morning we woke up and had our traditional Christmas morning breakfast (baked french toast with cream cheese).

Annabelle had many a gifts to "open." It was fun opening them for her and she really enjoyed the wrapping paper and bows. Then we went over to Goody and Poppy's house to open gifts and eat dinner. Dinner was superb, as always. Here are some pics from the day.

The next week or so will be fairly quiet and laid back. In January Gymboree starts again and mom will also be taking Annabelle to swim lessons. Mom is NOT looking forward to finding a bathing suit. Other than that, we are just hanging out. Mom MAY go back to work part time but that all hinges on finding part time child care. We'll see!

Annabelle's new dolls

We've been getting a decent amount of gifts for Annabelle, as you can probably imagine. One of the gifts so far (they are too big to be wrapped, so we could see em early!) were these handmade Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls. They were made by Grandpa Jack's wife Susie (we still need to come up with a good name for her for Annabelle to call her). They were done in pink and green clothes to match her bedroom. Here is a picture of Annabelle with them:
Mom is considering going back to work part time. We interviewed a nice nanny today. We'll see how it all works out.

Dinner with friends

Lately Annabelle has been a very difficult baby during diaper changes. We have this huge mirror above the changing table in the living room. We will try to change her diaper and she'll want to twist and turn to touch it.

Tonight Paul and I had dinner with some friends of ours, Carey and Eric. They have a daughter 1 month older than Annabelle. Her name is Cailey. Here is a picture of them playing together.

Another busy week

Annabelle has not been into the solids as much as we had hoped. Yesterday I gave her sweet potatoes. For the first time, she actually opened her mouth for them and squealed in delight! It was most funny. Also, lately she has been trying to hold her own bottle. She pretty much grabs it out of my hands and feeds herself. She can almost do it w/o any help at all. She takes it in and out of her mouth...testing her abilities, I'm guessing. It almost seems like she's trying to be independent about the whole thing..is this a sign of things to come?

Happy with sweet potatoes:

Another night away!

On Saturday nigh, Goody and Poppy kept Annabelle overnight while mom and dad went to Annapolis for the night. They went out to dinner with some friends and then to a few bars. Mom realized she's too old for that...she was pooped by 10pm. It was nice to sleep in, however. Here are a few pics from Annapolis. It's a very nice city...one of Maryland's finest.

Playgroup

Today we went over to Annabelle's friend John's house. Here are some pics of Annabelle and her friends.

Annabelle is REALLY trying to learn how to crawl. Here are a couple of pictures of her. She'll start off on her playmat then get all the way across the other side of the room by scooting and rolling. Also, she is starting to get on all fours and kind of rock back and forth. Here are some pictures:

Busy Week

Phew...sorry for the lack of posts! It's been a busy week! We have been out of the house a lot this week. Yesterday we had lunch with Annabelle's Godfather, Mike. It was nice to see him as it's been a while. Here is a picture:
Today we need to finish up some Christmas shopping. Then we are meeting some of moms friends out for moms coffee.

Trip to Homstead Gardens

Today we went to Homstead Gardens (http://www.homesteadgardens.com/) with Goody and Poppy. It is a really neat nursery in Maryland that has lots of Christmas stuff. Annabelle was enthralled with the toy trains. They had a lot of them up. Unfortunately, the camera battery died after just one picture.

Annabelle is starting to do a lot of bouncing when sitting on the knee. It's pretty funny...she really gets into it and laughs at herself. She is also getting to be much more interested in Bailey. They start to look for each other now. When Bailey comes inside after a walk or going to the bathroom, he immediately looks for Annabelle. Likewise, she often looks for him and gets a BIG smile on her face when she sees him. She loves "petting" him and Bailey is a good sport when she pulls on his beard, showering her with lots of kisses.

Playgroup

Yesterday Annabelle hosted playgroup. It's always pretty funny to get several babies around the same age in the room all at once. Also for the first time, Annabelle go on her knees and hands and wobbled back and forth as if she wanted to crawl. Guess we better get the house babyproofed as quickly as possible. She will be crawling very soon. Here is a picture of Annabelle and Allie playing together. They are only 9 days apart:
Today we went over to her friend Megan's house. They sat together and played at this neat toy. They were also looking at each other and babbling. I can just see it now...Megan"Oh, Annabelle, I just LOVE those white robeez with the bows! And that skirt, oh my!" Annabelle: "Thanks! My godmommy got me this outfit. I just love all those bows your mommy puts in your hair! I wish my mommy would do that!" Megan's mommy Emily took a picture, hopefully I can get a copy. This was the one day I forgot to put the camera in the purse!

Sippy Cup!

We were inspired by our friends Emily and Megan to try the sippy cup. Megan liked hers so much that Annabelle wanted to give it a go. She really liked it! We're not sure if she understands she can get liquid out when she suck at the top, but at least it kept her entertained. In fact, it's the only thing so far that if you take it away, she cries.

Annabelle with the sippy cup:

Annabelle without her sippy cup:

OK! Finally...here are some pictures from this weekend. These are some pictures of Annabelle decorating her first tree. I think she had fun.

Here is a picture of her eating carrots for the first time:

A new first!

Hi everyone!
I REALLY need to get the rest of the pictures downloaded. We will, I promise. Paul likes to do it and do some photoshop editing. He has been in training for his new job, so I'm gonna ask him to do it tonight!
However, we had a first last night! We went up to Balitmore for Paul's company's Christmas party. It was a lot of fun. We left Annabelle overnight for the first time. She stayed with Goody and Poppy and it seemed to all work out pretty good.
Anyway, check back tonight or tomorrow morning. I'll have some pictures up from Mary's visit.

Busy Weekend!

This weekend Auntie Mary came for a visit. She arrived on Thursday night. On Friday we went shopping and ran errands. That night we went to go get Annabelle's First Christmas tree. On Saturday, the girls went shopping while Dad decorated the outside of the house and got lights on the tree. Annabelle had her first trip to Jimmy Choo and Dior! That night, we decorated the tree. We have a lot of pictures and still need to download most of them, but here are some pictures of Annabelle on her first trip to get a Christmas tree! Come back later tonight for more pics!

Wrapping Presents

Mom was wrapping presents last night (yes, she is on the ball!). Annabelle LOVED the crinkly paper...wouldn't stop playing with it. She was very curious about all of the paper. We just love watching her discover something new everyday.

Tonight Auntie Mary gets in for a visit. She is Annabelle's Godmother for those of you who don't know. We are excited about her coming! We will get our Christmas tree and decorate this weekend. So, she will be here in time for Annabelle to decorate her first tree!

Book Club

Today mom hosted a book club meeting. We read "The Year of Magical Thinking" by Joan Didion. We discussed the book for about 20 min before we reverted back to talking about poop, solids, sleeping patterns, and teeth. Oh well....we tried.

Annabelle continues all of the same things that I posted about the last few days. We still think she is teething. Today, her naps were all turned around for some reason. Just when you think you have her figured out, she'll change things up on you.

Visiting Santa!

Today we went to the mall so Annabelle could meet Santa for the first time. She was VERY into his beard and it was actually pretty difficult to get her to smile at the camera...and when she finally looked towards the camera she smiled at me, not at the camera. Oh well...it was still cute. We also did some Christmas shopping. It was a good day to go...the mall was not crowded.

Thanksgiving Weekend

We had a really nice Thanksgiving weekend. On Thursday Aunt Betty arrived on the train from New York City. We drove to Todd and Blanka's house for dinner. As usual, the food was good. This was the first time that Paul met Julia, Todd and Blanka's new baby girl. Also, it was the first time that cousins Scott, Mary Beth, and Jaime met Annabelle.

We stayed over and on Friday, I prepared breakfast. After chowing down yet again, we all drove back home. Aunt Betty came back with us and stayed the night. On Friday we walked around a bit down in Old Town and then went over to Goody and Poppy's house for dinner. On Saturday morning Aunt Betty got up with Annabelle and let mom and dad sleep in. It was great. After hanging out a bit at home, we all went to Arlington Cemetary to visit Paul's Grandfather's grave. Then it was to the train station so Aunt Betty could go home. We'll miss her on Sunday morning!

As for Annabelle, we believe she's teething. After spending months of sleeping through the night, she is now waking us up. Additionally, she is starting to get those drool rashes on her face and chin. She sometimes crys like she is in pain and we feel so bad we can't fix it.

She is also starting to get into remotes, phones, and keys. If all else fails, she'll play with one of those.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Loves My Hair

Annabelle has recently been into my hair. She stares at it and pulls at it. When I hold her, she grabs onto it. It would be funny if it didn't hurt so much.
Today we went to the mall. It was pouring raining out and I was getting a little stir crazy. So, I bundled up the little one and out we went. It would have been a good day for Christmas shopping had I been organized. The mall was almost empty.
Annabelle was a good girl while we were out...I think she is a born shopper!

She's a stinker!

Well, we took Annabelle in for her 6mo appt yesterday, shots included. She is doing very well...she is on the smaller side. 25% for height and weight and 50% for head circumference. That's cool with me. Although it may seemed biased, I like babies on the smaller side! She did OK with the shots at the time, but has been a cranky pants ever since. She has refused to take naps and she kept us up all night last night. I'm hoping she sleeps better tonight...we are exhausted.

Quiet Day

Today was a peaceful Sunday. Dad and Annabelle hung out and watched football while mom went out and ran some errands. Did some more playing with Annabelle on the floor. We are trying to give her time on the floor so she can practice her scooting and sitting up. She is doing pretty well.

We are also trying to show Bailey that Annabelle is above him in our pack. One way to do this is have Bailey receive food from Annabelle. So, we put a doggy treat in her hands and he takes it. Don't worry! Bailey is gentle. Here is a picture of her and Bailey together.

Picture Time!

Yesterday I took Annabelle and got her Christmas pictures taken. They did a pretty good job. I think the pictures tired her out because for the rest of the day she was cranky. Here are 2 of the pictures they took.

Dreary Day

Well, it was such a dreary, rainy day out today. We were going to go to the movies (http://www.nationalamusements.com/programs/baby_pictures.asp?page=2 ) but decided against it. Instead, we stayed inside and played. We played on the floor. Annabelle is starting to try to scoot to get things. So, I laid her down on a blanket and put some blocks in front of her. She tried to scoot to get them. Then she learned all she really has to do is pull the blanket towards her and she can get the blocks that way.





Then we played with the bubbles again. She is really enthralled with them.



















Tonight we decided to try rice cereal. I'm not quite sure if she liked it or not. She took a few spoonfuls before she gagged. Oh well, we'll try again tomorrow night.

Night out for mom and dad!!!!!

Tonight we got a night out! Goody and Poppy babysat for us. We went to dinner and then saw Borat. Annabelle was a good girl for them. I know every parent is biased, but she is just so darn cute. Every time we go out and about, she woos anyone who peeks into her carseat. Today we went to Michaels and she was enthralled by all of the christmas decorations, especially the lit up trees. We are really looking foward to Christmas just to see how she will react.

Coffee Time..........

Today Annabelle and I went to coffee with some other moms. She was a good girl in the coffee shop. She is starting to just fall asleep on my shoulder which I absolutely love. She did it again today. I was holding her and she just slumped on my shoulder and went to sleep. So, we decided to go home...nap time was overdue. After a good nap, we played on the floor. I bought some bubbles from gymboree. These bubbles are awesome...last forever and don't leave any residue. So, you can play with them in the house. I think she liked them.

Another post tonight!

I am trying to experiment with this blog....it's all new to me. This post is really just to see how I can get pictures attached. I wanted to share Annabelle's Halloween picture. It was a lof of fun dressing her up, although she REALLY hated her halloween costume.

Getting on with it!

All-
Ok...finally felt the final bit of guilt that our dear cousins Todd and Blanka have managed to send out their blog and here sits this one still. I'm working on it. Enough about that. From here on out, everyday either Paul or I will post something about Annabelle and what she has been up to.

Today she was a really good girl. I stayed home to get some things done around the house. She took 2 solid naps and at the end of the day, she fell asleep on my shoulder. I gave her a bath tonight. She doesn't get one everyday, though. For the first time she actually seemed to enjoy the water. She usually crys a little bit. But not tonight! She sat by herself and splashed the water with her hands. She tried to play with the rubber yellow ducky too.

She continues to love her exersaucer, and mommy is glad because it gives her time to get something done.

Some of you have asked how she is doing with Bailey and vice versa. Well, she laughs at him and tries to pull his beard. He reacts by licking her all over.

That's all for tonight!

Been busy...........

Hi again.....

I've been so busy that I haven't had time to post again or even send out the link to this blog to friends and family. However, I do plan to change that! This blog will give friends and family who are interested an update on Annabelle....what she is doing, how she is growing, etc. Sometimes we don't have time to send out pictures, but this will help!