a caboodle of collages

first off, did you know they still make caboodles?

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she is just busy all over the place

(the last pic is looking through the ring)

on your marks, get set . . . .

go jelly go!

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anabelle following charley down the hall

man, all that creepy crawling makes for a dirty little belle.

*mommy confession: i lint rolled my baby the other day!

she had dog hair all over her and it was the quickest thing i could think of.

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left and right and left . . . .

(notice papa's comment at the end. nice, chris)

just a little belle news

our belle has been a busy girl . . .

how many times have i written that?

she is still rockin' the army crawl. she tends to favor using her right arm and her left leg as she scoots around on her belly. she has been getting might dirty when we're at the gym, even gets dirt under her fingernails. thankfully papa does such a great job with bathtime.

she has decided to go on a bit of a spoon strike but is doing great with her finger foods. it was getting a bit tricky trying to get her to eat her cereal in the mornings so we have transitioned to a 'cereal smoothie' in a sippy cup and she seems to enjoy that. she still kicks her little feet and makes some pretty sweet yummy noises as she eats.

recent additions to her menu are yogurt, frozen edemame, sauteed zuchini and bell peppers, homemade sugar free banana zuchini muffins (i know, doesn't sound too exciting but they were actually pretty tasty), frozen blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and cherries . . . after which i realized those ones could probably use a bit more supervision. i'm pretty sure her fingers were blue for a while.

when anabelle lays on her back, she likes to 'treasure hunt' with her feet. she sort of feels around when she knows there is something close and then will try to scoop it up between her feet so she can bring it to her hands. she'll keep at it too if it doesn't work on the first try.

next week she is starting swim classes. we'll got twice a week in the afternoon. i'm really looking forward to it and excited to see how anabelle reacts in the pool. i think she's going to love it. this should get us all set for some quality beach time when we go home to florida in june.

on the topic of travel, anabelle have a new trip added to our calendar for september.

it's a big one!

do you know where this statue is?

i'll give more details later. first, i have to get working on anabelle's passport application, hee hee.

random:

american apparel infant karate pants - super cute!!!

ok, that's it for now.

more coming soon.

phew, i'm back online!

just over a week ago, my computer decided to turn off while i was working on it and wouldn't let me turn it back on. boo! thankfully i had backed it up a couple weeks prior so there aren't that many files that are taking a cozy nap in there. the computer is in the shop right now trying to recover the rest of my files . . . a momma can take a lot of pictures in two weeks.

i'm happy to announce that right now i'm typing away on my snazzy new white toshiba and i love it! it's a perfectly petite computer, just right for me. once i get microsoft office installed (thanks daddi-o) i'll be all set!

needless to say, i have a bit of blogging to catch up on.

first i'll start with a few fun videos.

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time to move & play

and now papa is home - time to model her anabelle crown for him

another evening after daddy got home - he makes a great jungle gym

more play

funny girl

my first mother's day

well, when your day starts like this who would ever complain?

mother's day was a lot of fun. no one told me it would feel kind of like another birthday!

my first mother's day card from chris & anabelle

(it had a picture of me & belle on the front)

chris made a delicious breakfast and it was an all around great day!

my mom sent me this poem about a week before and i think it's just perfect:

First Mother's Day

Little girls have always dreamed,
Of one day being grown;
Of having a home and family,
And children of their own.
As little girls they played the games,
With dollies cuddled near;
Of being grown up Mommies,
And now that day is here.

For cuddled sweetly in her arms,
Of the little girl now grown;
Is the sweetest dream she ever dreamed,
A baby of her own.
In all the years of growing up,
In the games that little girls play;
None will ever be so sweet,
As her very first Mother's Day.
- By Allison Chambers Coxsey

thanks mom, xo

i am so blessed to have the mother i do and to have the opportunity to be a mother myself to such a lovely little belle. i knew i was going to like this role and here i am, 10 months in, and completely in love with every moment. go team!

let's play

one of anabelle's favorite new toys . . an empty egg carton!

charley is pretty fun too

working on more coordination . . .

. . . can wear a baby out

daddy's here now so how about we all just relax for a bit.

that's much better!

learning & having fun

yesterday while i was putting together anabelle's dinner for her, i heard her start to clap on her own for the first time.

now she does it throughout the day & has a huge smile when she hears her little hands clap-clap together.

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i find myself getting a little frustrated with our dog charley here and there (it sort of like 'marley & me' issues but much less crazy), but she is such a good girl and anabelle just loves her. it definitely helps me when i see how she lights up when charley comes over to play. plus, charley is super patient with her now that anabelle can crawl over to try to catch her wiggling tail or grab a fist full of fur. here we are playing together yesterday & anabelle having blast.

she has also started to turn the page herself when we are reading her a story.

oh, & looks like we see the tip of a little tooth coming in!