Armstrong Family

Hello all! Well I'm sorry I don't have any pictures this entry. I am in Tennessee with Annabell visiting some of our family. It was a total last minute plan. I just really wanted Dad and the girls to see Annabell in this stage (she turned 5 months today). She is just so adorable. She laughs at everything and doesn't cry much, which makes showing her off easier ... ha. She is learning like a sponge these days. When I was reading a book to her and Mikayla this afternoon she was trying to change the pages just like her big cousin was. TOO CUTE! The laughing has also become more frequent and adorable! I will get her daddy to tape us when we get home while I tickle her and I'll post it on here. Speaking of her daddy, we miss him! We can't wait to see him! OH, and she finally realized she could put her toes in her mouth and keep them there! It was adorable. I was getting her ready for her evening bath and while I was changing her she put her toes in her mouth...she loved them. She was sucking on her big toe and when she couldn't get to it because I was taking off her outfit or changing her diaper she would begin to whimper until she got her toe back into her mouth. She seems like she is teething with all the drooling she has done lately but she still has the ridge in her gums and no bumps or anything...so who knows, only the Lord. Well we are really enjoying our visit. Annabell was able to go to her aunt Kari's 3rd grade class and watch her teach. We are going to take the girls to see Santa Claus tomorrow and then we are baking cookies and putting up the Christmas tree! Well I will update more later! Love ya!

Video

Hello everyone, I'm trying to see if I can post a video of Annabell. It's nothing spectacular, Just her playing on her back, she was pretty much mesmerized by the camera. I'll have to start taping her more often so she is use to it. Well I hope this turns out okay, if it does I'll post somemore soon! Well everything here is good, I'm just trying to clean the house while she's sleeping and get some more chores done. Annabell still has the sniffles but I believe she is over the worst of her cold. She is talking a lot now and is a wiggle worm! She LOVES to do back bends off of our lap...we will be finishing our Christmas tree tonight. We started last night but between Annabell and making supper we didn't put on any ornaments. So we are going to do it tonight as a family. I'll make sure to post pictures. We love y'all!

1st Thanksgiving

Well yesterday was Thanksgiving and we had a pretty good day. Except for the fact that Annabell has picked up ANOTHER cold from a little boy who claims to be her boyfriend ;). He's too cute. Anywho, we got up early and watched some of the Macy Day parade and then proceeded to make fresh Cranberry Bread for breakfast, Annabell was strapped to me during the making of the bread and enjoyed watching me crack eggs and stir the pretty colors. She then had a pretty long belly time just before we went to Mima and Papa's for Turkey Day supper. It was nice. There was alot of family there and Annabell enjoyed visiting whith her big pop who would let her watch TV even though mom said no, ha, they are already spoiling her, and 2 of her Great Grandma's were there as well, included is a picture of her Zachritz Great Grandma! Well say a little prayer for Annabell to heal quickly from her cold. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and thought of your many blessings!

ATLANTA~

Hey everyone, sorry I haven't posted a blog in a while, but we just returned from Atlanta, GA. this morning. We had a great time. We attended the National Youth Workers Conference again this year, but it was a little different. Last year I was pregnant with Annabell and this year she attended! It was very different having a baby with us, but just as fulfilling. We saw a few

people we knew, my longest friend Diane finally met Annabell. It was wonderful to see her. We walked through down town Atlanta everyday (which was nice to actually walk where there were hills, great work out!), and strolled through the Centennial Park that was built for the 1996 Olympics. It was a very cool site to see. We saw a ton of concerts and listened to several speakers. Our friends Tabi and Kesh attended with us, which was nice. Annabell was totally worn out from the long days. We would wake up and she would play and then sleep while we walked some of our long distant walks. She loved wearing her shoes for the first time, and she also wasn't bothered by tights. Her eating picked up again while we were there. She is once again eating a lot, but I think it's because she is going through a growth spurt. She has already slept a ton today and is out again. She is at such a fun age! She laughs and smiles at everyone and everything. She seems to be so much more aware of her own strength which is seen by her belly time constantly improving. She also is playing more independently now. She's slowly not needing me as much :(! But she is still mommy's girl! She's is also becoming daddy's girl too! She LOVES Brad's voice. Whenever he talks she stops what she is doing to listen to him. She will follow him with her eyes where ever he goes! Speaking of talking, oh my gosh is she talking allot! She seems to like the quietest times to talk, like when we had up front seats the the speaker at the conference and she started to talk away like she was having a conversation with him! ha. She is going to be a jabber mouth like her mommy! Well I have a ton to do before Thanksgiving and A LOT to be thankful for! I will put more up then hopefully! Love ya!

This weekend!

Hey everyone! Well Annabell had an eventful weekend which included lots of time at the park. Her daddy took her to the park on Saturday. She was so cute that we had to snap some photo's. Brad had her all bundled up because it was actually pretty chili here. He then got her nice and cozy in his arms for bed time.

Sunday our church had a picnic at Jim Jeffers Park. It was a great time. Brad played touch football, which he is paying for today! I played soccer with the little kids...oh my gosh, it made me miss soccer so much that I think I'm going to try and find a women's league here in the Cape. Annabell enjoyed time with her big pop and grandma. They took her after first service instead of her going to the nursery and hung out with her while I attended 2nd service with Brad. All in all the day was a lot of fun. Well her sleeping isn't getting any better lately, but I've come to the conclusion that it won't until I introduce solids to her which I'm not willing to do at this time. So I think I'll just suck it up until 6 months! I'm actually becoming quite use to waking up in the middle of the night anyhow. Well Annabell hasn't rolled over again yet...I'll keep you updated. Her new thing is playing with her feet and toes...she loves to hold on to them. Well I hope you enjoy the photos! Love ya!

way to go Annabell!!!!!!

Hey everyone! I just wanted you all to know that Annabell rolled from back to belly today. It was so exciting for me! She was reaching for her rattle just above her head and was on her side and then threw her leg over and BAM, she was on her belly! She started crying because it took her a minute to get her arm out from under her....toooooo cute. No pictures because I forgot to put the memory card in while I was snapping away!!!!!! UGH!!!! But I took some video even though she didn't do it again for me. Oh well, at least I saw it! I'm so happy! Love ya'll!

Hair and Sunday Best

Hey everyone! Well Annabell is doing well. She wore a cute little outfit to church on sunday so I included some pictures of her in it for her Grandparents. She is starting to feel better, still a little stuffy but it's almost gone, and it's not waking her anymore. But she still is waking in the night, for a feeding. I try not to feed her but if I do feed her she is back to sleep for several hours, instead of waking every 10 minutes. So if anyone has any suggestions I'm open to hear them. I tried uping her feedings during the day which she is loving...eating every 1-2 hours now! So that is where we are with sleeping. Well Brad got to spend some quality time with Annabell and I last night and her gave her a bath...as you can see he also did her hair! This is what it looks like when Brad does her hair...well I love ya'll!

Playing

Well today has been a pretty nice day. It is gorgeous here! The weather is perfect. A cold front has come down and I'm really enjoying it and so is Annabell. We took Roxy out side to use the bathroom this morning and she was loving the cool breeze, probably in the upper 60's or lower 70's. We then went shopping for Christmas with her aunt Adrienne. We found some great sales at Kohls. Annabell enjoyed it until she got hungry and then started crying at the store so I ended up feeding her in the car before we even went home, such is motherhood. But when we got home we both took a nap, about an hour for Annabell and a power 30 minute nap for me. MUCH needed since she has been sick. Her congestion looked like it was almost gone, but it just seems to be sticking around and waking the poor baby in the middle of the night... She starts crying so hard because she wants to sleep but gets woken up by not being able to breath well. Which has taken it's toll on me, but with the little nap today I feel ten times better. We then woke up, ate and then went to the park. It is a great park they are building across the street. I'm already hoping to have Annabell's 1st birthday there. They have opened it while still finishing some of the park. So it's not completely done but almost. So we walked around. Annabell's favorite time was watching the wind blow in the palm trees. She seemed mesmerized by them. She then played in her exersaucer for a while, and she loved it. We don't have to put a towel around her anymore because she can control her balance pretty well. Here are some pictures of her playing. Well I gotta go, she's waking from her second nap... love.

Halloween

Happy Halloween! Annabell enjoyed her first Halloween! She was a pumpkin, thanks to Kelly giving us Emma's old Halloween Costume. She was so precious. We had a pretty good day, besides the fact that she was very congested. We made a pumpkin pie from scratch and she loved feeling the pumpkin guts in her hand. It took forever to get her hands clean after that! Well around 5pm we headed over to Rachel and Todd's house for a small get together. It was pretty nice, we ate pizza and apples with carmel and for dessert we had the pumpkin pie. Yum. We got to see a few trick or treaters...and Brad and Todd Babb carved pumpkins for the babies...

Annabell's is the white one. Brad did a great Job for her! Annabell was relaxing with Mason, Todd and Stefanie's son, and decided to suck on his hand...they were so cute, we couldn't help but laugh. We took some pictures with Lilia, Annabell and Mason in their costumes. Lilia is 9 months, Annabell 4 and Mason 1. They were so precious so I included some pictures.

Well Annabell had her 4 month check up today. She is 25.75 inches long (95th percentile) and 13 lbs (50th percentile) and 50th percentile for her head. He said she was doing great besides her congestion. He said I could introduce solids to her at anytime (starting in the evening) but if I don't want to that it's fine. We decided to wait until 6 months unless something changes. She is very interested in food though. She thinks it is so neat when I eat, she just stares at me using the fork. She also had her shots today....I hate her getting those. She was being so cute and then BAM the nurse stuck her with 4 needles in about 10 seconds. She was crying so hard but stopped as soon as I picked her up. I fed her before we left to give her a little extra comfort. So far she hasn't been fussy or anything, she just wants to sleep, I don't blame her either. Well I Love you all!