fun with papa

for now, this will have to do for their 'wrestling'

maine

another trip for anabelle. this month we travelled all the way over to portland, maine. i was a little anxious thinking about the red-eye flight on the way there, the freezing temperatures in the northeast, how to dress a baby in the snow, and going on a trip where chris would be away from us snowboarding for a good part of it (just being honest).

so, it was all great & anabelle rocked . . again! yep, our baby is simply stu-pendous!

we didn't get that much sleep on the flight over, but anabelle was happy the whole time and we were able to nap once we got to our friend's place. the mountains are a lot different over there. chris braved the temps and had a good time boarding. i opted for a massage and chef duties for the weekend instead. it was actually 4 degrees one morning when we woke up. sorry friends, that's not for me. i'll just stay inside with anniebelle and do a little baking.

we had a blast visiting with friends (all buddies of chris' from the naval academy) and having chris not thinking about work. thanks tyll family for all of the coordinating and driving!

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single digit temps don't affect my camera (hee hee)

anabelle's socks don't seem to stay on very long these days. they must feel good on her gums because once they're off they are usually in her mouth.

the house we were able to stay at was right at the foot of sugarloaf and it was amazing! so cozy for all of us to just hang out and visit. here is anabelle snuggling with miss carrie.

relaxing on the couch with daddy before he hit the slopes.

decided we'd better go out in the snow at least once.

i am so in love with my family. i have never felt more joyful, more strong, more pretty, more 'in the right spot'.

silly daddy.

just look at these two . . . lucky me!

this is the face of a super sleeper.

more relaxing with papa.

"momma, can we wake up daddy now?"

this is my new favorite picture!

first day of sitting up by herself. yah, anabelle!

ok, switch positions . . . it's my turn for a few pics.

anabelle & her uncle bubba (#1 godfather). so glad they finally got to meet!

sitting up

last sunday, while we were up in maine (that post will come next), anabelle did some sitting up by herself for the first time. for a little more practice this week, i piled up some pillows around her to see how she'd do. i'm happy to report that i only did this one day (oh silly mom) and now she sitting up great with just a boppy behind her.

baby watching

this one is a little long but still fun to watch. it's crazy to see how much see has grown & developed (16lb 8 oz at her last check up!). we love getting to watch her try & learn and imagine her at other stages.

a couple weeks ago chris ran into a friend of mine at work. she asked him how daddy life was treating him. one of his responses: "i can't wait until we can wrestle!" that's my muggy!

stacking rings

the other night anabelle & i were playing with her stacking rings waiting for chris to get home from work. i started to stack them and then say 'boom' as she knocked them over. i wasn't expecting the great little giggle it caused. only a few minutes later chris walked in to join us in the fun.

bounce: to move in a lively way

last week we got anabelle a new jumper. the first one just didn't seem to do it for her. she loves to bounce but couldn't quite figure out how to work it on her own. as you can see in these videos, she has no problem with the new one.

go, anabelle, go!

this little girl could bounce all day.

a little mealtime conversation

saying grace or singing praises to the chef?!

latest slideshow

just finished anabelle's 7 month slideshow

i have so many pictures to choose from!

anabelle - look at daddy go!

naval aviation centennial celebration

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chris and his wingman, reid, taking off this morning from miramar

anabelle and i waiting to see muggy fly over

our nephew tristan watching the show

(sally, hope you don't mind i borrowed a couple of your pics)

chris chasing down that F-5

(great pic, sally)

it was so fun to be out there to see chris fly & hear all the people around us cheering. bonus that it was a beautiful day and that belle & i were with such a sweet friend!

anabelle is 7 months old!

anabelle is 7 months old today and continues to be quite the amplifier to the fabulous-ness scale of our lives.

slideshow coming soon.

target

looks like target somehow got a picture of me & belle from 2012!

(thanks for sending this, mom)

i heart mommy-land

i am so in love with being a mommy to our little anabelle. for those who know me, that's no surprise at all. it has been fun lately to hear friends say they think she looks like me. hey hey, lucky me because i think that little one is mighty cute!

she has developed a bit of a fan club at the crossfit gym (which makes it much easier for me to complete my workout). chris even came along to my class one morning this week which we both enjoyed. it was fun to have him see how i've progressed and see how well anabelle is doing around others. my 'coach' is a sign language interpreter so she's been helping us with our baby signs. so far we use: milk, cereal, all done, more, daddy, mommy, and good girl (that's what we learned today). chris likes to use: sweet & monkey, usually together.

must admit that i do miss chris lately. it has been amazing having him home. he's just really busy with work right now. i'm looking forward to some quiet time where we get him to ourselves, 100%. we're off to maine next week to see friends (can't wait!) so maybe march will be our turn, ha! he's off to the gym really early each morning & is home around 7pm, just in time for daddy-belle bathtime, which they both love (and i enjoy listening to). anabelle is still doing a great job of sleeping through the night (usually 8pm-6am . . . thank you, jelly!) and we're pretty pooped by 9:30pm.

exciting news for chris - he in a flyover this saturday as part of the 100th anniversary of naval aviation. they're having a huge celebration here in san diego with a 'parade of flight'. there will be over 100 aircraft flying and chris is doing a F-5 tail chase as well as a pass by himself. if you don't know what tail chase is, just know that it's pretty cool. anabelle, amy, and i are hoping to head down to a yummy restaurant on the water and time our lunch so that we'll be there to see chris do his thing. he's prepping for some big trainings - off to key west at the end of march and selected as one of six pilots to attend a top gun-ish school in japan for the month of june. (yes, i'm aware that "top gun-ish" doesn't really explain what a big deal it is, but i'm super proud of him!)

anabelle had her first serving of carrots this afternoon & liked them. cheers to my little foodie! she's up to 3 solids a day (which definitely makes for extra planning nowadays . . . bibs, bowls, spoons, cereal . . . and who would have thought that bananas stain?!).

i've been looking into baby swim class & found one close by with a 90 degree pool (yah!). we might give that a try next month. by the way, how did we already get to february? anabelle is going to be 7 months old tomorrow. wow-ee!

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this rolly polly girl quickly made it from her blanket over to the closet door to see how her 'friend' was doing this afternoon.

we have officially found some ticklish spots! the mirror was to her left and she kept seeing herself when she'd turn her head.

playing together

it's amazing to see how much bigger she is now with some of the toys she's been using for a while

enjoying a little bumbo time

oh those teeth, i know you're in there somewhere

she's enjoying her walker, hanging out while i baked - today i made pb&j muffins

happy napper

she sure moves in her sleep but is definitely a happy girl once she's up

hey morning glory . . . what's your story?

it's a beautiful afternoon here in san diego. the sun is shining bright and it's in the mid 70's. cinnamon blueberry muffins are sitting on the stove and lullaby renditions of coldplay are playing in the living room. anabelle is continuing to practice her squeeling & screeching (as you saw in the video) as i type with her in my lap.

i have more posts to catch up on so those will come soon.