pictures are hung

before dinner last night i was able to squeeze in a few things on my to-do list and managed to hang a couple of our fabulous family pics we had taken in may. 

they are right by anabelle’s highchair and it seems she approves!

i must say, i think they look great!

pigtails

before anabelle was born, chris & i were talking about future ‘rules’ for our baby girl.  you know, when she can start dating; getting earrings; bangs or no bangs, etc (ha!).  i remember him throwing in “no pigtails!”  wait, what?  pigtails are a given with little girls.  did he not like them?  nope, he quickly followed up his comment with “they are just too dangerous.  not fair to a dad.”  hope he doesn’t mind that i gave them a try today.  holy big girl!  i was surprised how different it makes her look.  I love them!

so muggy, is it like daddy kryptonite?

he’s home in just three more days so I suppose we’ll see.

anabelle news

as if she wasn’t cute/cool/fun enough already, here are some of anabelle’s latest:

she loves to hug carter now (carter is her monkey).  it’s so stinkin’ sweet and it makes her giggle when she does it.  definitely need to get a video of that one.

i believe she is starting to realize there is ‘milk’ hiding under mommy’s shirt.

she still loves to jump and will be happy bouncing just about anywhere.

she’s back on a bit of a spoon strike . . . oh well.

she has started to toss pieces of food off her tray.  seems to prefer the right hand side.  i try really hard not to laugh when i’m down on my hands and knees picking up and there are little bits raining down on my head.  ha ha!

she has discovered a new skill as an expert unpacker!  diaper bag, laundry bin, suitcase, you name it.  she’ll have it emptied out (one item at a time) in no time flat.

my new fav (she has only done if a few times) - if she has fallen asleep in the car and i’m taking her into the house, she will rest her head on my shoulder.  it’s so perfectly snuggly.  makes me want to just sit down and hold her while she naps.

and of course, meal time is still a happy time!  (well, as long as you don’t try using a spoon)

just as busy as a bee!

last night - a little after bath fun with her friend in the mirror

why, hello there!

and good morning to you!

wakey wakey!

anabelle is figuring out her walker and is on the move. 

don’t mind me talking through this one -  i got a little excited!

left foot, right foot

a few florida videos

anabelle and i are getting settled back here in san diego.  still need to finish unpacking.  you don’t realize how much work you actually do on your own until you’ve had 2 1/2 weeks of 24 hour help.

only one more week and chris will be home too, hooray!  i got to talk to him this morning which was a surprise.  things are going well.  he’s just trying to figure out what to do with the 4 day weekend he has since today and tomorrow are a japanese holiday.  more studying, i imagine.

ends up that the anabelle i took to florida is definitely not the anabelle i brought back.  she grew and learned so much while we were gone.  seems all that sunshine and salt water were mighty good for her!  she’s quite the expert at blowing raspberries, has her ‘da da’ down pretty great, scoots up to her knees quick, has a lovely kissy noise (grandpa’s fav!), will try to pull up on almost anything, and is getting more and more stable walking around holding your fingers.  i told chris he is going to have to sit and watch anabelle for 24 hours straight so he can catch up on all that she discovered since he left, not to mention all the new pretty white teeth.

one of the days that he got a chance to call,  i told him that anabelle was becoming such a big girl and asked him “what are we going to do?”  “raise a big girl, i suppose” was his response.  well put, muggy.  and so we will.

sweet kisses

 

i’m coming to get you, mommy!

we made a quick overnight trip to tallahassee to visit my sorority sister christie and her 9 week old, camden.  anabelle had fun checking out his room & his toys.  i wasn’t sure what she’d do in this elephant.  she’d never ridden on anything before.  i was pretty impressed . . . but the dismount could use a little work.

our visit with auntie christie and baby camden

 

that’s a big fish!

just checking in on anabelle

friend baby update:

my two friends who had babies last week are both doing great (hooray!) and have named their little girls.

caitlin mcnamara (in chicago)

amari selene (here in san diego)

also, my brother-in-law’s little sister (not sure what that makes her to me) just had her first baby yesterday – jubilee kate.  isn’t that such a delightful little name?!

blessings all around!

water fun . . . continued

this weekend we gave tubing a try.  anabelle wasn’t super excited but didn’t hate it.

thanks grandpa for taking me & mommy out to play with your friends

we headed to the beach yesterday to start the father’s day celebration

anabelle decided to have a little taste of sand

big waves for the gulf coast! 

oodles of seaweed . . . we brought a lot home in our swimsuits.

normal life continues, even at the beach

yah for milk!

we headed back to the beach this morning to squeeze in a little more fun

(cute hat courtesy of gran)

anabelle made her way from her tent, across our sheet, over to the chairs

she’s so quick to her feet now

anabelle did some great exploring in the sand today, ate a couple handfuls, a tried throwing handfuls off to the side to get it out of her way (ha!)

a few cute pics from my phone

fun & more fun!

went with grandma & great-grandma to the local library for baby story time . . . it was all about dads!

she’s pulling up on everything and marching all around

look at me!

grandpa taught her to push the ball back & forth

today my mom pulled out one of my old dresses that my grandma made for me - looks pretty great on anabelle!

i have a feeling it’s going to be a busy & wiggly flight home tomorrow.  i miss my parents already.

sprinkler park

alright, I’m not really sure if that’s what they are called but we sure have been having fun there!  I’ve taken anabelle twice and was surprised at how much she enjoyed it.  I thought she’d be too little to play but as you can see by the pics, that was not so.  I had fun too.  hopefully if we go again I’ll realize that It’s probably a good idea for me to wear a swimsuit, not just anabelle. 

my sweet friend, robin (gymnastics coach/big sis), was in town with her kiddos visiting her parents too.  so glad we got to catch up!

park trip #2 – this time grandma & grandpa came along

sprinkler parks & grass.  two things we don’t play at very often in san diego.  might as well fit it all in while we’re here!

not sure how I keep catching this shot but a is getting really good at her planche.  heading back to crossfit after three weeks off is going to kick my butt.  I’m thinking anabelle will be just fine.

a few florida videos

she cracks me up!

another tasty meal

pillow fun

i have more videos but am having a little trouble getting them to load.  i’ll try again soon.

two sweet friends just had baby #2.  one last night and one this morning – two beautiful baby girls!  cheers to mommies & babies!!  can’t wait to hear your stories and the names you choose for your little bundles.

another slideshow

just finished anabelle’s 11 month slideshow,

check it out!

- - - - - -

i LOVE waking up with this little beauty!

another beautiful florida day

on vacation - always a great time for an awesome headband!

anabelle is 11 months old!

all the books say that as the months go by baby will continue to learn & grow, explore & discover.  i must have missed the chapter about baby continuing to melt & enchant, warm & brighten, but anabelle sure didn’t!

everyday for the past 11 months i have been completely smitten’ with this little pumpkin.  she makes the tough/blue days not so bad and the great days simply delightful!  i sure dreamt about this baby girl a lot but there is no way i could have dreamed it to be this incredible of an experience.

what a joyful blessing she has been & continues to be.

11 months?!  how can that be?

she wasn’t super excited about the grass this afternoon.

*the slideshow is halfway done but i just have to get myself to bed.

snuggles

anabelle has been an early riser on this vacation (pretty normal for her) so this morning i decided to nurse her lying in bed.  when she was done she seemed to have the wiggles a bit, then just snuggled up close and took a little 10 minutes snooze. 

it was baby spooning & it was awesome!

first time in the gulf

sunday we made it out to the beach for a bit.  the gulf of mexico is so pretty and so much warmer than the pacific ocean.

anabelle loved riding up & down as the waves came in.

these days we have to pack much more than a towel and a water bottle.  anabelle had a nice little set-up and it was great to have lots of help from grandma & grandpa . . . including a tasty homemade picnic!

anabelle was playing in her tent for a while and then decided she wanted to see what the sand was like.  she reached out the door and grabbed one handful at a time, bringing it in and sprinkling it in her lap.  after a few of those she crawled herself out to get a better look.

rinsing off.

note to self, this is a great way to get a swimsuit full of sand!