Playgroup!

We had some friends over today...John and Belle. I think they had a good time playing. Belle and Annabelle had a few tiffs over some baby dolls, but other than that, they all got along great. Below are a few pictures.

Annabelle loves to peek out the mail slot in the door to see what's going on outside. She does it when one of us leaves to go somewhere. I finally got a picture of it.

Goofy Girl!

Annabelle is just blossoming! She has a very strong personality and definitely knows what she wants and doesn't want. Her vocabulary is expanding by leaps and bounds and is now up to a little over 20 words that she can say. Additionally, if you ask her to point to certain things in books she can do that too. She loves to share and wants to include Bailey in anything and everything that is family related. We have family hugs and the three of us will hug and she'll always say "B", "B" (her word for Bailey, which we use with him too). So, Bailey gets to join in the family hugs too. If she shares a cracker with mommy or daddy, she'll give Bailey one too, hence the dog's recent weight gain.

She loves school. According to Paul, who takes her in the morning, as soon as she gets dressed she immediately runs to the coat rack and starts to point at her coat and says "shoes" "shoes." If you ask her if she wants to go to school, she vigoursly shakes her head yes. She is also putting her own clothes in her dirty clothes hamper in her room. We are starting to work on her learning how to put her own toys away.

Her hair is LONG and now it's a game for how long we can go w/o cutting it. She still hasn't had a first haircut and now I am resisting cutting it.

Her words now: B (for bailey), cheese, apple, nana (for banana), Elmo, poo poo, milk, hi, bye bye, book, blocks, bubbles, cracker, night night, football, ball, baby, snacks, shoes, more, and of course, mommy, daddy, and her own name, Annabelle. Currently, we are working on please and thank you. Additionally, she is starting to count....only to 3, but hey, it's a good start!

Another funny thing she this morning. Paul was reading Cindarella to her and on the last page where there is a picture of Cindarella and the Prince, she pointed to the the prince and said "Daddy" and pointed to Cindarella, she said "Mommy." I guess she understands the concept of a couple and or love. I'm thinking that's a good thing.

Here are some recent pictures:

Combing my hair!


Solving a puzzle....

Happy New Year!

The New Year started off with a bang...we went to the Redskins/Cowboys game where, for the second time, Celeste got drenched. Even with the icky weather, we had a good time, especially with the Redskins kicking the cowboy's butts!

With our babysitter out the window, we decided to have a little NYE party. It was a lot of fun and we think even the kiddos had fun. Good food, good friends, and good drinks...what else could you want?

Here are some pictures:

Busy few weeks

Phew...the holidays are finally over. While it was fun, it was also busy...all good stuff, but busy. On Christmas weekend we headed out to Purcellville to stay the night on Saturday. We had an early Christmas celebration with the Kovers. We ate good and laughed a lot so that was a good weekend! Then on Sunday we headed home with Aunt Betty. She stayed with us on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. It was a lot of fun to spend Christmas with her. We cooked our traditional Christmas eve dinner of turkey tortilla soup and then on Christmas morning we had our baked french toast with cream cheese for breakfast, which Annabelle thoroughly enjoyed. Annabelle wasn't too into opening presents but she certainly enjoyed the fruits of mom and dad's labors. We headed over to Goody and Poppy's house for Christmas dinner where we had prime rib and Yorkshire pudding.

Annabelle got spoiled rotten and really loves all of her new toys and books.

Here are some pictures!
Christmas Day:


Julia and Annabelle


new baby stroller....

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: