Happy Birthday Annabelle!!!!

Can you believe it??? Our girl is 1 year old...where in the world did the year go? It was a very busy birthday weekend. Auntie Mary flew in on Thursday evening. On Friday morning we went to Annabelle's swim class. This is her second swim class and she is loving it. She knows how to kick and attempts to blow bubbles. We came home and put her to bed then Mary and I headed to Costco for the party supplies. Later that evening Grandpa and Susie flew in from Tampa. We all went to Los Tios for some tasty mexican food. The next day was busy busy busy....we spent all mornign prepping for the party...the boys got the yard ready, Mary prepped the burgers, and Susie made the pea salad. It was a very busy morning. The guests started arriving at 1pm...just in time for Annabelle to wake up from her nap! She woke up refreshed and got dressed in her party dress. It was a wonderful party with lots of guests and great food. Annabelle LOVED her cake. It took her a few minutes to figur it out but she finally devoured it....and the ice cream too! After the guests left we opened presents...she got many sweet gifts. Everyone spoiled her!

I will mention that did do a bit of teething over the weekend and got her 5th tooth in time for her birthday!



Here are some pictures from the party.

Annabelle and Susie before the party:


Annabelle and her cake..yum!


Post Party relaxing:


Special necklace from Auntie Mary


Party with Goody and Poppy

Happy Mother's Day!

On Friday we went to Megan's house for her and Allie's first birthday playgroup.
We had a lovely weekend! My first mother's day was very nice! I slept in until 9am (yes, I consider that VERY late these days). Paul made a wonderful pancake breakfast. Later that day, Goody and Poppy came over and we headed over to a restaurant for a tasty steak dinner. We then came home and had desert. It was a nice day.

Paul also managed to finish up with the yard and I even planted some flowers. The yard is finally ready for a party!

Picture from the playgroup:

Fun Week

This week has been full of activities. On Tuesday we headed over to John's house for some playtime. Thursday we had Gymboree and today we had Alli and Megan's birthday playgroup. Below are some pictures.

Annabelle is such a good little walker. She can finally wear some of her dresses. It was hard for her to crawl in dresses but it's easy to walk in them. Also, she was definitely teething. She is proud new owner of 2 new teeth on top. Ahhh...the better to eat with!

Thursday was our 4th anniversary. We went out to a nice dinner while Goody babysat.

She is certainly developing a little personality. She is starting to get mad when you take away something she wants. She can easily let you know what she wants with some cute little gestures. She is also adept at kissing and playing peek a boo. These are all important things called "gesture games" or "interactive play"...whatever you want to call them. They are important developmental milestones. We are also starting to incorporate some whole milk into her diet. At one year they are supposed to switch over. She also knows how to kick a ball. That usually doesn't happen until 24 months so is doing that really early. I credit Gymboree...we kick balls in there all the time.

In John's swing:


Walking on grass:


Kissing Daddy:

Fussy Annabelle

We think she is teething again. It was a rough 2 nights the last couple of nights...fever, grabbing her teeth, etc. This time though, she doesn't seem herself...seems a bit out of it. So, I'm going to take her to the doctor tomorrow to see if it's something else.

Today is beautiful! We are going to take a nice walk. I'm hoping the sunshine will do her some good.

We spent the weekend working in the yard. Paul is busting his butt! It's starting to look nice again. We had to kill off the grass, I mean weeds, and plant some grass seed. So far, so good! We'll see though.

Darn Computers!

Well, sorry for the lack of posts recently. Here's what's been going on with us.

On Thursday the 26th Paul and I traveled to Nashville. We traveled there for my half marathon. So, on Thursday we headed to Nashville! We arrived in Music City and proceeded to the hotel then to the expo to pick up my race packet. That night we went to dinner with Kathleena and her friend Sarah who were also there for the race. On Friday we slept in...what fun that was! We decided to go to the Country Music Hall of Fame. That was fun. We saw Elvis Presley's gold cadillac and gold piano, amongst other things. That afternoon we headed to Team in Training's Pasta Party. Afterwards we headed back to the hotel so that could get some sleep before my 4am wake up call!

On Saturday, I got up and met up with my TNT compadres! After some breakfast we headed out on the buses to the start line. The race went well. There were a lot of hills which I'm not used to and didn't train on. It caused some achilles tendon pain. After the race we headed back to the hotel and took a LONG nap. That night we went to see a show at the Grand Ole Opry. We saw some old country legends and a few modern day ones too. Sunday we headed back home.

Goody and Poppy watched Annabelle while we were gone. It was nice to get away but we sure did miss her! From what we were told, the weekend went great for them and they had a good time with our girl.

Speaking of our girl, she is doing great. She is getting such a little personality! She is a very busy little lady and is constantly into stuff. Now that she is really walking it's a whole new ball game. Man! I'm constantly chasing her around. Today we went to our first story time at a local library. It was fun...though I doubt Annabelle truly understood what was going on.

So, anyway, my computer charger died on Monday. Sorry for the lack of posts! I promise to be better!

I will post some pictures later today.

Walking!

Well, I can say that Annabelle is officially walking. She's been taking a few steps here and a few steps there, but the last few days she has been walking more than she has been crawling. It is so cute to watch. We'll take a video soon!

Paul was out of town over the weekend golfing with sopme buddies. It was just me and Annabelle over the weekend. On Saturday we went to John's first birthday party. We had a lot of fun! Below is a picture.

Sunday was a lazy day. Worked on the yard while missy was sleeping.

The Birthday Boy, John, and Annabelle in the wagon.


Look ma! I'm walking

Icky Weather...

It's been an icky few days here. It was absolutely miserable on Sunday. However, we did manage to get some fun in over the weekend. On Saturday we went to Gymboree. We missed a class and decided to make it up on a day that dad could go. Below are some pictures. Then Goody came over for dinner to babysit so that mom and dad went to a movie. It was nice to get out. On Sunday we just hung out at home, staying out of the wind and rain.

On Monday Annabelle hung out with Parker and his mommy while I went to grocery shop and get my nails done. Today we are going to Parker and John's first birthday playgroup. Will post some pictures tomorrow.

Daddy playing airplane...


Having fun in the tire swing...

Happy Easter! .Belated!

Easter was a lovely day, albeit COLD!!!! Where is spring?????
Paul, Annabelle and I all went to church in the morning. Later that afternoon, Goody and Poppy stopped by for dinner. We had a honeybaked ham (YUM!), pea salad, potatoes, and a strawberry shortcake trifle for desert. It was a very tasty dinner. Annabelle got macaroni and cheese...which, of course, she enjoyed. I think she's actually finally starting to really eat it. In the past, you think she has chowed down on it but then you take her out of the highchair and find a good portion of it in her chair. Lately, however, I'm not finding a bunch making me think she is actually starting to get the hang of eating it! Time to move on to other dishes, I guess!
Here is a picture of Annabelle with her bunny ears:

Lots of Pictures!

This was a busy week for pictures! On Thursday we went to see the Easter Bunny and on Friday we had Easter pictures taken at the Picture People. Annabelle really loved the Easter Bunny...it was actually hard to get her to look at the camera because she was so enthralled with him.

Today we went to Cailey's first birthday party. It was lots of fun and I think the babies liked looking at each other. We are having Goody and Poppy over for Easter dinner tomorrow. We are planning having a Honeybaked Ham and all the fixings. I'm going to make a trifle for desert.

Here are some picture from this week:

Annabelle and the Easter Bunny:


Easter pic:

First Steps

That's right...Annabelle took some solid first steps yesterday. She would take one while Mary was here but finally took 2-3 in between pieces of furniture. Now, we wouldn't say she's walking yet, but she is solidly taking several steps here and there. When she realizes what she has done, she seems very proud of herself.

Also, got some pictures from Mary...here's one more from the festival.

Auntie Mary's Visit!

Auntie Mary flew in on Friday night to see Annabelle...well, and Paul and Celeste, too, we think! On Friday night Mary and I joined up with Beth for a girls night dinner in Old Town. On Saturday, everyone went to the cherry blossom festival. We had a great time...the weather was beautiful and the blossoms were gorgeous. The area was bit crowded, but we managed just fine. On Sunday, Mary and I went to a small town south of DC for some shopping. We had afternoon tea at a cute place called "The Pink Bicycle." On Monday, more shopping, but this time to designer stores in Chevy Chase. We had a great time, and as usual, Annabelle is a wonderful baby to take wherever we go. As long as she can see what's going on, she's happy.

On the Annabelle front, she started doing something new this weekend...peek a boo and to a small extent, waving. It is very cute and she gets a big kick out of hiding under something and then bolting out from it. She is ALMOST walking...she has beend standing on her own alot and took a few small steps on her own this weekend..small steps between pieces of furniture. Mary is betting she'll be walking within the week...we shall see.

Here are some pics from the weekend.
Annabelle loves the blossoms


Celeste, Mary, and Annabelle at the Festival

Goofy Girl

Annabelle is developing quite the personality. When awake, she must CONSTANTLY be on the move. She will still sit in the stroller as long as it's moving and she can see things. I absolutely love watching her discover new things. I do patty cake with her. She is beginning to anticipate things. She know nows that at some point I write a "B" on her stomach. So, as we approach that part of the poem, she starts to giggle and push my hands away, knowing I'm about to do that.

She LOVES pushing her little toy around, practicing walking. We think she'll be walking in no time. She also love crawling to the stairs and crawling up them...don't worry...she doesn't do it alone...I watch her and make sure she doesn't fall down.

She has this cookies she loves..but boy oh boy do they make a mess. Here is a picture:

Beth Visits

We had a nice visit with Beth this weekend. I picked her up at the airport on Saturday. Since she was on an airplane for so long, we decided to grill out and hang out at our house. On Sunday we went shopping...she wanted to try out some stuff at babies r us and then we went to the maternity store so she could get some clothes. On Sunday night we went to PF Changs for dinner. Then on Monday we got manis and pedis then off to her hotel. We'll see her again this coming weekend. Here is a picture of Beth with Annabelle.

Annabelle's first trip to Dulles Airport

It's been another busy week in the Crutchfield household. We had Gymboree on Thursday and Skylar's 1st birthday party on Friday. Pictures coming soon.

Today I will go to Dulles to pick up my friend Beth. She is in town from England for a conference. She'll stay with us until Monday. I am very excited to see her 6 month preggo belly and she's excited to meet Annabelle. Paul is outside as we speak working on the yard. We killed off all the grass because it was mostly weeds. We have the whole yard fenced off from Bailey except for a small portion in the mulch for him to do his thing. Paul will aerate and then put down top soil this weekend. Next weekend he'll hopefully be able to get the seed down followed with hay for protection. Hopefully by May we'll have some nice new grass and a cleaned up backyard. I love hanging out back there but it's a mess!

It was raining earlier and now it's dark and dreary....yuck!

Here is a picture of Annabelle and her walker. She is really motoring around with it now.

Fun Trip!

This last weekend we went to Virginia Beach. I ran the St. Paddy's Day 8k on Saturday. We left Thursday and stopped in Williamsburg to have dinner with friends Nick and Sarah.
On Friday I checked into my race expo to get my race packet then we headed back up to Williamsburg for Nick's 40th birthday party. We stayed just a bit and headed back to the hotel so I could get some sleep for my race. The race went really well and my pace was quicker than it had been...even with the crazy wind against us the last 2 miles along the boardwalk. I ran with my buddy Kathleen. After the race we checked out of the hotel and headed back up to Williamsburg to hang out with Nick and Sarah the rest of the weekend. Below are some pictures. What's new with Annabelle...well, she's giving kisses. Seriously...if you say "kiss" she'll open her mouth and put it to your cheek. It's so darn cute. She is REALLY getting around now...almost walking. She's becoming a pro at climbing stairs. I teach her how to go down them too...feet first, of course. I'm trying to increase her variety of solids...she likes grilled cheese and macaroni and cheese.

Me and Kathleen before the race:


Crossing the finish line:


Post race breakfast:


Sarah and Annabelle

Long Week!

Well, sorry for the lack of posts. It's been a long week. On Wednesday I watched my friends baby, Parker. Parker and Annabelle get along really well and she is very interested in his walking abilities.
On Thursday we had Gymboree class and then coffee with some of my mom buddies. Doing coffee is starting to get more difficult as the babies are so mobile and don't really want to sit in their strollers or on their mommies laps. Also, they are all eating cheerios, etc so now we are starting to make messes wherever we go. Alas, perhaps the days of coffeehouses are over...maybe we should start having moms coffees at people's houses!
On Friday we had our last day of swimming. The pictures we took last week didn't come out. It was one of those disposable waterproof cameras and I think that it didn't work because it didn't have a flash. Everyone, including me, brought our real cameras on Friday so below are some pictures.

On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night Annabelle experienced some massive teething issues. Her first 2 teeth on the bottom came in without too many issues and pain. However, this time, she has been miserable. Up at night, all night, mostly crying in pain. On Friday night she even ran a fever...it got all the way up to 102. YIKES! So, we gave her a cool bath and some tylenol and it went away. She woke up Saturday morning with 102 temp again. It went down and she pretty much stayed feverless all day. She did wake up several times Saturday night but didn't seem to get a fever that high. It did get up to 100.5, though. Man, rough times. So, I sit here somewhat exhausted. I hope those teeth come in soon so this stops. I hear that the molars are the worst...not really looking forward to that.

Group Picture:


Mom and Annabelle getting ready to get into the pool


Annabelle chatting with Megan

Weekend Fun.

This past weekend was very nice. The weather on Saturday was spring like so we decided to take in Alexandria's St. Patrick's Day parade. Annabelle really seemed to be interested in the loud bands and dancing girls. Below are some pictures. Sunday we just hung out around the house...it was considerably colder on Sunday. Today I had a babysitting swap with my friend Carolyn. I used my free 2 hours to go to Costco and get my car cleaned. Yes, I know....very exciting.

Family Picture


Irish Dancers


Taking it all in

Time Flies!

I can't believe I haven't posted anything since Monday. Annabelle keeps us so busy.
I guess another reason is that my computer power adapter broke so I haven't been able to get on the computer in a few days.

It's been a normal week here...nothing too out of the ordinary. Thursday we went to Gymboree class and today we had swimming. We had a special treat today...Daddy came along. We have some video that we will upload today some time. I bought a waterproof camera so I hope the pictures from that turn out well. It will be a few days before you all see the pictures because of the fact they aren't digital (gasp!).

Separation Anxiety

Annabelle has reached this point where she is starting to experience separation anxiety. There are times during the day where I cannot step away for a second before she starts crying for me. It would be really sweet if it wasn't so tiring. If I walk into the kitchen and she can no longer see me, she'll start whining and crawl into the kitchen looking for me. Once she sees me she'll book it over to my leg and pull to a stand on it and yank on my pants until I pick her up. It's actually pretty cute...but ask me about it again in a few weeks and I'm sure I'll feel differently.

This weekend we went to Goody and Poppy's weekend house in Kilmarnock, VA. It was a nice weekend away. We did come home to a new brushing of snow.

Pictures from Gymboree

I actually remembered to take my camera to Gymboree yesterday. Here are a few of the pictures (I took a bunch)...


Crawling through the tunnel:


Playing with the balls...

Busy, Busy, Busy....

Sorry again for the delay in posts! Annabelle keeps me on my toes during the day. She is a very inquisitive little baby and is pretty much into everything.

Some friends and I have started a babysitting swap. My friend watched Annabelle yesterday for 2 hours. I grocery shopped and went to Babies R Us all by myself. I know it sounds boring, but it was bliss shopping alone in the middle of the week. I don't know what I'll do next week...Today I watched my friends baby. She got a pedicure and went to Target. It was interesting watching 2 babies at once. I got a small glimpse of what having twins could be like. Wow.....maybe 1 baby is enough??? :-)

Tomorrow we have Gymboree and then mom's coffee afterwards. The weather is getting a bit warmer so all of that darn ice is finally melting. I can't wait for spring!

On Monday we had Annabelle's 9 month appt. She got 2 shots (Hepatitis B and Polio)and they tried to take a urine sample. That is a very interesting endeavor...it's this weird bag that they somehow attached to the vagina. She didn't like it very much. She did not deliver, so they said we'll do it at the 12 mo appt. Annabelle is now 17lbs (25% percentile), is 26.5 inches long (25% percentile) and her head is 17.5 inches around (50% percentile). The doctor was pleased with her progression and was impressed that she was already cruising. She has been in those percentiles pretty steadily since birth. She may be a peanut, but at least she's consistent!

Crappy Week

Well...it's been a pretty crappy week. The snow from Tuesday turned into ice. I mean ice,too. You can't step through the snow..it's frozen solid. Then Tuesday night at around 11pm Paul got really sick. He spent all night Tuesday and most of Wednesday getting sick. Because of things, I didn't feel comfortable taking Annabelle out in case we were carrying germs. So, we skipped Annabelle's friend Megan's Valentines Day Party on Wednesday and then Gymboree on Thursday. It's hard to get out anyway because everything is frozen. Paul has finally recuperated...poor guy. There has been a nasty bug going around...a stomach virus called norovirus. He was back up to fighting speed yesterday morning.

The school system closed for 3 days...including today. Our swim class follows that schedule, so, class was cancelled today. We will be going to Zoe's first birthday party today and it's a Valentine's theme so hopefully Annabelle can still give out her valentines.

Here is a picture from yesterday. We took the sled out.

Snowy Day

Today it's snowing...it was supposed to be a big storm. But, it's turned into a smaller storm. Goody and Poppy gave Annabelle a sled for Valentine's day. Here is a picture of her in it. Check out the goofy look on her face.

So, we decided to hunker down and not go anywhere!

Another milestone reached!

Annabelle has reached another milestone...cruising. She has been doing this for about a week. Crusing is basically pulling oneself up onto furniture and then using that furniture to get around. She moves from one piece of furniture to another with ease. This is usually the from the coffee table to the couch and vice versa. She does this in both the living room and front living room. Another favorite is from the changing table to the leather chair.

Apparently, this milestone is normally reached at 11 months or anywhere between 9-13 months. So, Annabelle doing it at 8 months is really early. Another indication she is a smart girl! I'm not making it up...I promise! :-)

Frigid Temps

Boy...is it cold out there! We've been reluctant to get out of the house, but finally did it yesterday. Annabelle and I ran a few errands then met up with a friend of mine for lunch. Last night I had mom's night out. A bunch of us went to a wine bar called Tallula's (http://www.tallularestaurant.com). It was nice to get out with just the girls. Paul had a good time playing with Annabelle and gave her a bath.
Here are some pictures from yesterday:

Yes, it's patent pending:


Look at my teeth!

Finally, those darn teeth.

I forgot to mention...Annabelle finally has her bottom two teeth. They have been there for about a week. I think that had to be the longest process ever. She started teething around 3 months and it continued off and on until now. Geesh! Some of Annabelle's friends started teething and within a week had 2 teeth. You just never know.

Today we went to playgroup at Heather and Leah's house. Mom forgot the camera, but her friends had some so be on the lookout for some pictures from today. Here is a picture of her taking a nap today. She puts her butt up in the air...it's hilarious.



Also, here is a video from a few days ago. You will have to copy and paste the link.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1600450119010178520&pr=goog-sl

Mac N Cheese

One of THE most confusing aspects of parenthood thus far is when to start solids, how much to give them, etc. This especially applies to finger food...when are you supposed to do this? Most of my friends are further along in this process. I am just so scared that she'll choke. But, I got brave today and gave her some mac n cheese that I made in the meals for munchkins class. It had cauliflower mixed in with it. She seemed to really enjoy it, albeit a lot of it ended up on the floor much to Bailey's enjoyment. Here is a picture:



Our little fashion diva:

Time Flies!

There is a phemonena that occurs when you have a baby...time disappears right before your eyes. I never really experienced this pre-baby, well except while on vacation. I just realized it's been a few days since I posted and thought it had only been one or two days...but man, it's been 4! Where did the time go??? On Thursday we went to Gymboree. We usually have our class on Wednesday but I'm switching to the Thursday class so we can hang out with some friends. On Friday we had swimming. I love swimming! That really poops out Annabelle. I had my team in training run on Saturday. We did 6 miles and boy did I feel it! This was the first time since starting training that I actually was sore after a run. Guess it was a good workout. Then, of course, Sunday we hung out all day at home and watched the Superbowl festivities.
Today is our slow day of no activities. I think we'll run some errands. I've been itching to go to a scrapbook store for a while, so I think we'll do that. Here are a few pictures from yesterday.

Annabelle and her first purse:


Dad and Annabelle getting ready to watch the big game:

Babyproofing

Well, Paul finally got one gate up...only 3 more to go. I wish we would have done this sooner. We should have babyproofed months ago then we wouldn't have to be worrying about it now. It just crept on us sooner than we thought.

Here is Paul putting in gate.


Also, Annabelle is doing something a little funny. It's a prelude to walking, I think. It looks like she is trying to stand up on all fours but then she starts crawling that way. It's weird...here's a picture.

Object Permanence

Object permanence is a baby's ability to realize something still exists even though they can't see it. This on average happens at around 9 months. Annabelle has been demonstrating this for some time. However, today, it was really strong. She likes keys..likes to chew on them. She managed to get a hold of Paul's keys. I thought it was gross for her to be chewing on it. I took them away and she had her first temper tantrum. You would have thought she was writhing in pain by the way she was crying for those keys. Usually, if I take something away, I hide it or move her out of the room. That didn't work this time. She knew those keys were around somewhere and darn it, she wanted them. Wow...that was some crying fit!

Funny Girl

Annabelle is such a cutie. Yes, I know I'm biased. But you should see her get around. I just laugh and laugh as she gets around. It's funny to see such a tiny girl moving around the way she does. Here are some great pics from today. She's crawling all over place getting into everything. I went to Babies R Us today and bought 4 gates, electric outlet plugs and some magnet things to keep her from opening up the cabinets. She is already starting to get into them.

Annabelle knows a good thing when she sees it:




Here is a link to the most recent video. You may need to cut and paste:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4330934155693316855&pr=goog-sl

Tomorrow we are meeting some friends out for coffee.

Busy few days....

Sorry to have not posted in a few days....

Wednesday we had Gymboree class. This class is a workout for mom. Lots of lifting, swinging, etc of Annabelle. But, I think she is really enjoying it. Thursday was a blah day. Mom wasn't feeling all that great so we stayed in and took a nap! It ended up being a very peaceful, quiet day. Today we had swimming lessons. I think Annabelle really enjoys the water. The water was a bit cool today...but Annabelle was warm in her mini wetsuit. Some of the other babies were a bit cold.

Mom and Dad went out to dinner tonight while Goody and Poppy babysat. It's so nice that they are here. I don't know what we would do without them.

I took a good video today of Annabelle...be on the lookout for it tomorrow.

Homemade Baby Food

Today I made Annabelle some homemade baby food. I made her some lentils and some butternut squash. It's very easy...just cook the food, puree it and then put it in ice cube trays and freeze. When it's frozen, put into ziplock bags and voila! You are done. You can defrost them one at a time for a quick, healthy, and all natural baby meal!

We also went to our friend Shannon and Allie's house. We had a lot of fun playing with John, Zoe, Lily, Allie, Belle, Urban, and David. Here are some pictures from today. Annabelle is sporting yet another fashionable ensemble from her Auntie Mary.

Getting out...

Annabelle and I had to get out of the house today. We have been cooped up too long. So, we did some simple errand running and grocery shopping. Nothing too exciting. We did venture to the new Harris Teeter store. It's really nice...like a cross between Giant and Whole Foods.

Here are some pictures of Annabelle from today. You can see how well she is standing. That girl is CONSTANTLY on the move. Chasing Bailey is one of her new pasttimes. Bailey fights back by licking her face over and over again. She is so busy during the day that at night she really goes down like a bag of rocks. We are enjoying her new early bedtime of 7pm!

Snowing....Finally!

Well, it's snowing today! It's been snowing steadily since about 12pm. It is actually starting to accumulate, too. We are planning on going outside for some pictures with Annabelle for her first snow! Update...here are the pictures.

Belle and Dad


Bailey enjoying the snow too

On Friday we had our second swimming class. We had a ton of fun. Annabelle slept very well after that. She was very active in the water with kicking her legs and chasing after rubber duckies. Our little stinker is very very mobile now. I've been reading a book about things you can do to stimulate your baby. According to the book, babies that do things early tend be very bright babies. I guess Annabelle is a bright baby! She is doing lots of things early. Plus her head just keeps getting bigger! hehehe...gotta keep stimulating that brain. The book also says that brains grow with activity. I know you can't take everything in every book word for word...ther are just too many differing opinions out there. BUT, I'll believe our baby is bright!

Here is a recent video. You may have to cut and paste the link.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-101890179469305494