self portrait

we're still working on our self portrait skills, but this one isn't bad. there's nothing like the weight of a cozy sleepy baby resting on your shoulder or on your chest.

good morning

my girlfriend jamie said it just right this week when she asked, "is it like christmas morning everytime you go in to get her from her crib?" exactly . . but better!

good morning, miss anabelle

learning to smile

another nice breakfast together (ok, yes, you caught me. i did time it so chris' pic would be on the screensaver)

her gentle giraffe just came in the mail this morning. now we have a friend to keep in the car so her sleep sheep can stay in her crib. if you aren't familiar with these, they make soothing sounds for baby and anabelle loves them. they are made by cloud b if you want to check them out.

breakfast

i don't quite eat breakfast as early in the day as i used to but i'm still able to put together something tasty and the view is amazing!
















this is the sign of a good nap!
















here we are ready to head to the dr. for my six week check-up. i got my approval to workout again, yah! it was so great to catch up with my midwife. she wasn't able to be at anabelle's birth. she was on call the next evening.
















look how big she is now in her basket!

mommy-daughter tummy time

this is one of my latest favorites. i seem to spend a lot of time on the floor lately and am definitely getting better at taking pictures with my phone.

i just got a new lens for my digital camera, yah! (a belated birthday present from chris - only belated on my end because i hadn't gone to pick it up yet). those pics will come in another post.

anabelle is really growing and getting quite strong. she is starting to make some fun new sounds, definitely is focusing on me when i talk or try to sing to her, and seems to be smiling more on purpose now. i'm just fascinated by her, in standard new mommy style)

charley

"somebody . . . anybody . . . please play with me. pretty please!"

this is how i found charley this morning. she has been so patient with me & anabelle.

baby beauty

if you'd like to see anabelle's photo shoot just click here!

helene cornell is so amazing! thanks sweet friend, xo.

need cool pics?

check out helene's site: http://www.helenecornell.com/

randoms

we've been trying out the new mesh sling. so far, so good. we really like the wrap we have, it's just too sweaty right now.












working on a little tummy time again. mason taught her this move. can you imagine how comfy an adult sized boppy pillow would be?!










both of us all cleaned up and off to sammi's 3rd birthday party.

lazy afternoon

enjoying a movie together

in her own room

three days ago anabelle officially moved into her own room for bedtime. i wasn't quite sure how it would go (at least how it would go for me), but you can tell by the picture she adjusted quite well. this is how i found her the next morning - sound asleep after almost 6 hours. well done, anabelle. i'll admit, i did miss her but we both slept really well.




her buddy mason is a die-hard swaddler. here is anabelle's version.

anabelle hanging out on our bed for a bit

"hey mom, this is pretty comfy!"

she keeps growing!

just like all the books say, my baby just keeps growing! she's six weeks old now and it's going by so fast. we haven't had one boring day, one sad day, one frustrating day. i just love it and love her!

just one thing is missing . . . (& you know i love him too!)

for now, we just 'keep swimming' (nemo style).

so she really isn't doing much (or anything) in this video, but i was thinking she was looking mighty cute anyway.

buddies

this week anabelle and i went to visit my friend alisha and her little man, mason. goodness, we've come a long way from the hanging out at the XO house at UF.

just an average anabelle day

a little glimpse into a day with anabelle:

a morning nap, nice & snuggly

"good morning, mommy!"

a nice afternoon nap with her friends

ok, time to get up again

out with friends for lunch

another nap on the way home

it was a great outfit day, so cute!

here she is giving me the eye.

"mom, are you still taking pictures?"

recent pictures

just wanted to share a few pics from this week.

we call this one 'milk coma'

i ate my cereal like this one morning. she didn't seem to mind.

cute & cozy in her stroller (super cute onesie thanks to my mom)

a nice nap after an outing.

our trip up to laguna beach to visit my friend lauren.

trying to wake up

if you like to watch a squirmy squeaky baby, you might enjoy this.

running out of space

this is how i found anabelle one morning this past week. we're going to have to transition to the crib pretty soon.

oh anabelle, i'm going to miss you being right by my bed.

holla if you need anything!

impressed with myself

i just finished putting away some laundry and am packing up a few preggo clothes to send to my dear friend mauri in virginia. her baby boy will be here in november!

well, some of you know i have loved my preggo skinny jeans - a great birthday splurge from my parents. they are amazing. i've been wanting to share them with mauri but i wasn't sure if that would mean i'd be sending off my only pair of jeans that fit. that's when i decided to just go for it and try on some of my pre-preggo jeans.

big day, i'm five weeks post baby and they fit!

i must admit, i'm quite impressed. as if i wasn't a big enough of a supporter of breastfeeding before . . it's amazing! i'm not sure how this happened but it's pretty cool.

greetings from afghanistan

chris working hard and staying hydrated

taking a minute to enjoy the lovely desert sunset



chris says things are going well overseas - a lot of 'rinse & repeat'. we were able to skype again at the beginning of the week which is always a highlight for me & anabelle.

he's keeping busy with a new desk job and switching to the day flight schedule. he says it has been a nice transition to flying when the sun is up and seeing more people during the day.

his birthday is this sunday so if you have a minute say a prayer & send him some love, thanks xo.

girly date by the coast

today anabelle & i met up for a date with my sweet friend lauren. we took a long walk by the coast, had a tasty lunch (& yummy iced lattes), and just a great visit together.

baby tong

we ordered this onesie for anabelle several months ago. it's still a little big, but i'm surprised it already fits as well as it does.

she is so proud of her daddy and all that he does! (and of course, so am i)

*just in case you don't know - 'tong' is chris' callsign

super model

yesterday was anabelle's first photo shoot since coming home. my photog friend came over and took tons of fun pics. i'll be sure to share when they are ready.

thanks helene!

a little skin

she worked hard and was pretty pooped by the end so we're laying low & just resting today. we slept 6 hours in a row last night! nice work, anabelle.

anabelle is 1 month old!

today is august 10th, 1 month since anabelle was born!

here is a slideshow of her first month

pushups . . planks

ok, maybe not this week, but she is getting strong!

green envelopes

so a green envelope might not be anything exciting for someone else, but for me it means i've received a letter from chris! each deployment i've bought a different color stationary for chris.



deployment 2005 - tan
deployment 2007 - red
deployment 2008 - navy
deployment 2010 - green

well, yesterday there it was . . another green envelope peaking out between some random junk mail. this was the first one addressed to me & to anabelle. i had anabelle in her wrap so we just sat on the couch to read it together. the letter was actually to anabelle and i was tearing before i was done with the first line. it was so sweet! after i read it, i read it out loud to anabelle. she looked up at me with her eyes wide open all the way through. how lucky are we?!

thank you, muggy! we love you too!

anabelle's birth story

i finally got it written out. it's sort of long. i suppose i'm a bit of a chatty blogger, ha ha.

still loving every sleeping smile, every squeak, every minute!

click the link below:
anabelle's birth story