busy weekend

on sunday went to a friend's birthday party at a tumble & trampoline gym. thankfully chris didn't hurt himself, ha, and everybody enjoyed a little bouncing (but this girl needs to get back to those kegels).

after a little tummy time i started doing handstands over anabelle and she just kept laughing and laughing!

yum, sweet potatoes!

play date at the park - chris & tristan wore each other out

anabelle seems to like the swings & the sunshine

reading a little curious george with daddy

charley makes her giggle

pretty face

bath time with papa

la belle bistro

i'm enjoying making homemade baby food for my little foodie.

so far anabelle has tried out avocado, banana, apple, sweet potato, and apricot (so far, the top favorite!).

introducing apple was a bit entertaining. she was not a fan the first few tries.

the jelly jig

our nickname library:

anniebelle, boo, little, bitsy, munchkin, . . . . and chris' latest addition, jelly.

well, our jelly loves to do a little dance when you help her stand and chris usually sings a little 'deedle le dee' to accompany her performance. we call it the jelly jig!

trip to savannah

in early january, anabelle & i flew to savannah (yep, another big trip) for a memorial ceremony for my grandmother, betty hudson. january 18th was her birthday so family gathered together to have a birthday celebration in her memory.

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anabelle meeting her great granddaddy.

belle and grandpa

enjoying a little cereal from fellow foodie, grandma.

it was a busy week,

& a chilly week.

so glad we got time to be together with family.

shutterbug

when you really enjoy your camera and you have such lovely subjects to snap pictures of, how can you resist . . . . over & over & over?!

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anabelle & i getting ready to go meet auntie deidre (godmother) for a lunch date yesterday.

enjoying a little time with carter (monkey).

yep, that's a baby polo.

anabelle often wakes up right before chris leaves for work. it works out nice that he can see her for a few minutes before his long day. the other day she was working some crazy bed head.

good morning, anabelle!

her eyes are still beautiful blue. the doctor says that if they are going to change they will likely change in the next 3 months.

just taking it easy in her crib.

new kicks

my brother ben, who we affectionately call 'uncle boy', got these awesome kicks for anabelle. it will be a little while before she can wear them but she sure will be stylin' once she get moving.

6 month check up

on monday anabelle had her 6 month check-up. dr park was really please with how anabelle is doing. even said "she really is almost too easy" and hinted how baby #2 probably won't be this way. chris & i figure whenever baby #2 comes along, he/she will be bald and somewhat of a maniac! anyway, anabelle is now 15lb 4oz and 27 inches long. she got another round of shots during the visit and handled it like a champ. she cried a bit in the office and then was over it. here she is in the car getting ready to go home, rockin' her 4 circus bandaids. i fed her a bit once we were home and then she crashed hard, sleeping through to the next morning.

daddy's race

last weekend chris ran the carlsbad half marathon. as his biggest fans, anabelle & i were there to cheer him on. he mentioned how hilly southern california is . . . compared to running in afghanistan.

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pre-race, post port-a-potty

just finished, 1:29:09!

fan club

standing

anabelle seems to love standing up. this also seems to be her favorite chatting position and she has been working on her volume!

friends let us borrow this walker. she doesn't do any 'walking' yet but likes to hang out in the kitchen with me.

finally - i'm back to blogging

catching up on my blog has been on my 'to do' list it seems for weeks and week. well, finally i'm back and have oodles of pics & videos to share.

life continues to be grand. tiny challenges here & there, sore muscles from the new hard-core crossfit workouts (loving it!), breaking in my new food processor (thanks mom & dad) making a little baby cuisine for my mini foodie, and as usual, keeping my camera close by.

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here is anabelle after finishing taking her '6 month' shot

she's a quick roller now. even has started rolling left now.

anabelle relaxing on the couch. she can quite sit up on her own yet but she sure doesn't need any help chillin'.

chris came home from work one evening to find anabelle & i listening to a book from gran and snapped a few pics. nice work, muggy.

anabelle's doctor recommended that i start giving her a sippy cup (just 1 ounce of water a day) so she can start practicing and working on a little more coordination. today was her first try. it's definitely a soothing thing for her to chew on. not sure if she's figured out there is anything inside.

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several more postings are on their way!

a few pics

me & anabelle - starting our day

me & anabelle - ready for bed

she is just starting to rest her head on my chest and i absolutely LOVE it. yesterday, we had dinner at a friend's house and she feel asleep on me. i could have sat there for hours.

another great car nap




















anabelle is rolling over all the time now. i put her down and she starts rolling so quick she usually ends up taking the blanket with her.

our little belle - aka 'skeletor'

she's a busy wiggler these days

i am baby . . .

. . . here me roar!

anabelle sure has been testing out her voice. every now & then we can chat back and forth. (sorry i'm sort of loud on one of the videos. didn't realize how well the mic would pick me up)







just finished her 6 month slideshow too.

i've been overhearing chris refer to me as 'the baby whisperer' when he's talking to some of his friends. sort of funny.

anabelle is 6 months old!

it has been a quick and incredible six months since anabelle was born. i have lots to write about and oodles of pics to select from for this month's slideshow . . but all of that will have to wait until tomorrow. it's time for this mommy to get to bed.

great work, anabelle! you continue to rock this "i'm an awesome little baby" thing and are a special blessing to us every single day. we love you!

my everyday christmas

catching up on pics & videos. our little anabelle continues to be my everyday christmas!

we are getting used to 'real life' here in cali with chris back to work. i just started crossfit yesterday (a core strength and conditioning workout program). it was hard work but felt great. bonus - they let me bring anabelle with me.

we are off to a wedding up in redondo beach tomorrow and working on plans for a trip up to sugarloaf (maine) with a bunch of chris' buddies from the naval academy. it's going to be so great to catch up with them & anabelle with finally get to meet her uncle bubba (her godfather). i'm still undecided if i'm going to board this trip. it has been quite a while . . and i'll be honest, i'm still getting used to leaving belle behind. i am excited though that i got dibs on chef duties for the trip. time to put together our vacation menu, yummy!

anabelle is working on sitting up by herself, has almost found her feet, enjoys kicking & splashing in the bath, and just loves anytime you help her to stand up. she's still figuring out her johnny jump up but i don't think that will take long. every now and then i catch her trying to push up on her feet & head when she's laying on her belly. i suppose it's her baby version of downward dog like in yoga class.

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our little fam

snuggling with papa

rockin' the babylegs

hey mom, nap time is done . . let's play!

out & about

the bottom left is anabelle zonked out after a shopping trip to target.

anabelle no longer needs her infant insert for her carseat - such a big girl.

i love this video! one night while we were in louisiana over christmas break, anabelle & i had a little case of the giggles.

on tuesday i was showing anabelle the spot on her mat that has a squeaker in it. she watched for a bit and then rolled over. well, the next day i was in our bedroom brushing my teeth when i heard a little noise coming from the living room. this is what i found . . . she had figured out how to make it squeak with her foot. what a little smarty pants!