Yeh Mon!

Yesterday we tried Annabell's little brother's hat, that Brad bought him while in Jamaica, on Annabell just to see what it will look like. SHE WAS HILARIOUS! She was wearing it and dancing around and going back and forth in the living room from one place to another. It was so funny.

On a not so funny note, she also busted her lip and teeth yesterday. At home we play on the beds and throw her on them and she then bounces up and down and throws her face and body into the pillows and blankets, etc. Well we went to her G-ma's and Big Pops for dinner last night and after dinner she was playing on the plush carpet, she laid on her belly and felt how fluffy it was and then BAM! She threw her face as hard as she could into the carpet like we do when playing on the beds, her head literally bounced up and blood began to pour out of her mouth...needless to say I was a nervous wreck. Once the bleeding stopped she did better but her lip swelled up & her gums were also bleeding. Being a mother can be so emotional! I felt horrible because there was nothing I could do to help except hold her.

Well that is all for now, love y'all!

One Year Check Up

Well we finally had Annabell's one year check up. They lost the appointment somehow so I had to reschedule for a later date. Annabell did wonderfully. She was so good while the nurse and doctor looked at her. She was interested in what they were doing. She officially weighs 21 lbs (75%), and is 31 inches tall (95%), and her head was 46 cm (75%), yep she's got her mom's "watermelon" head as my dad would call it. ha. But it fits her beautifully! Well I was going to allow her to continue her morning feedings with a bottle but she weaned herself! Two days ago she refused her morning bottle and would only take it in a cup. It was as if she new it was "babyish", ha. She did the same thing yesterday, so this morning I didn't even try the bottle, she went straight for the cup. She does very well with it. She is learning so fast, and knows a lot more than I even knew she did, for example, I had my 28 week check up three days ago and I was allowing her to play with my keys while the nurse drew blood. She dropped them so the nurse put them on the back handle of her stroller. She became a little restless so the nurse asked her, "where are your keys?", and she turned right around to them! She also will point out her belly, and other body parts, like her feet. She also started dancing which i adore! It is so precious to see her bouncing around and swaying her head to music. She has always had a special liking to music...especially drums and guitar...she likes trying to imitate the kids playing Rock Band in Brad's youth group.
Yesterday we went outside and walked, walked, and walked some more...she enjoys walking around on her own now. So we are having to teach her to "STOP" at the end of the drive way so she doesn't go into the road. It took several times yesterday of me allowing her to get near the end of the drive way and then telling her stop once the road began. But about the 4-5th time she finally stopped at the road and began to fuss because I wouldn't allow her to go into the road. She is also learning to be more gentle with babies which is comforting. She is becoming a little less jealous too. 2 days ago her aunt and uncle brought their new born over, she did surprisingly well, and even "pet" Briana once...she learned to pet people and things from her aunt Kari while she was here. She also regressed a little bit and tried to sit in Briana's bouncer (her old one) while Briana was napping on the couch. Once uncle Josh started playing with her she forgot all about the baby and regression and indulged in the attention. Here is some video of her riding the horse she got for her birthday, she was cracking us up because she was riding with one hand like they do in rodeos. Here is also a picture of Brad with Briana. Love y'all! Oh and here is one belly picture of our little boy!

Moving all around

Well ever since Annabell has started walking a lot she has also started to sleep a ton! She took a 2 hour and 40 minute nap this morning and went down again 30 minutes ago (about 3:20pm) which yesterdays late afternoon nap lasted until 6 pm, and then was in bed by 8pm! Anyways, while she is awake she is a busy girl...she is constantly in and out of her rocker and climbing on everything! I have some video of her sitting down on her rocking chair...she loves it. She also now loves to sprawl out on her belly in the tub or on the floor, she thinks it is so funny. She has a 7th tooth coming in and a possible 8th...that on top of all the movement and a possible growth spurt is what I think is causing her need for sleep. Well she is also weaned off her evening bottles and is only receiving a morning one now...she loves that one so I'll probably let her hold on to it for a little longer, until something in her schedule changes and then wean her off of that too. Waiting until something changes in her regular schedule has helped wean her easier. Well we love y'all!

Big girl Potty!

WARNING! GROSS DETAILS! READ AT OWN RISK!

Well the cutest and funniest thing happened tonight. We had a long day at Lakes park with the girls (Annabell and Mikayla). So once we got home Annabell took a long nap, woke up played, ate, and had a late bath around 7:45pm. As soon as she started playing she got her "serious" face going. I knew that was a sign that she was about to poop in the TUB! Uck, all you moms know how incredibly gross that can be to clean up so I picked her up and she hadn't gone yet, but it was on it's way, so I sat her on the toilet, which brought a HUGE smile and laugh to Annabell, and then she proceeded to do her business. It was so funny because she sat there as if she knew what to do. She has seen her parents on the "potty" before, so I am sure she got a kick out of doing something like mommy and daddy, ha! She even sat patiently so I could wipe her, and laughed some more. It was hilarious! It also made me excited for the day that she can do that! Which I know is a year + off but it was fun to see. Sorry to gross everyone out, but it's a mommy thing, I had to record this! Love y'all!

Today

Today Annabell stood up all by herself when she feel down on her butt, with no third party help...she put both her little feet down, pushed off with her hands and was up! I was so happy I got to see it! Her signing has also picked up again and she is letting me know that she understands, along with now understanding how to turn her head and shake NO to me, haa. I'm trying to say yes more, so maybe she'll start doing that as well! Anyways, I'm very excited! Love y'all!

just a quick update

Well I don't have my camera this week so no pictures...sorry. My sis has it on her cruise, so I just wanted to write down a couple of things Annabell has been doing and achieving before I forget them. Well as you know her cousin Mikayla is here and is a huge help. Since Annabell's daddy is in Jamaica it's comforting to have her here, and she is a huge help with Annabell. Annabell is walking and falling everywhere....i didn't think she could hurt herself and be okay so much in one day. She has several boo boos on her hands and feet from getting into stuff she shouldn't at the park. She also has made her lip bleed a time or two. She is so adventurous, she can open our sliding doors and has pulled on the front door handle trying to open it! I now have to make sure the doors are dead bolted at all times! She can reach on her tippy toes and pull stuff off the table and counter tops! We had planned on going to Lakes park today but can not go since it's been raining since the middle of the night last night! So we settled for bible study (where they played with other kids) and Mel's Dinner. Where they give free ice cream to the kids, Mikayla loved that part! Oh. almost forgot, Annabell officially calls out to me, and Mikayla too I believe. I took her to nursery on sunday and she began to cry when I was leaving saying...mammmmaaaaammmaaa and trying to see past the lady that was holding her. SO CUTE, also much harder to leave! She is also trying mommy, but it sounds like Ammy. But she sometimes calls for Mikayla with a similar name, Ama. So I'm not too sure which one she is saying with out seeing her look at the person she wants. Well that's about it, I'm sure I'm forgetting a ton. Love y'all!

Sea World

Annabell went to her first amusement park and had a blast. A lot of my friends in Florida have taken their children before 1 year old since there are so many parks here, but I never saw the point since she's so young. Yet, I am so glad her cousin Mikayla is in town so that we were able to go to the park (for 50% off because of our YTB business by the way!), it was awesome (my first time too) and the girls loved it! We woke up at 5:30 am and was out the door by 6 am. Annabell and Mikayla both stayed awake from 5 am on! I couldn't believe it. We recently (about 2 weeks ago) put Annabell in her first forward facing car seat and she is so stimulated by everything she can see that she doesn't fall asleep very easily. She only napped at the park for about 20 minutes and then was up until 6:45pm! I was amazed by how well she did. She was so excited to see everything. She even tried to get into the tank with the sting rays! ugh. She really loved the underwater tours when she saw the ping-wins, dolphins, whales, walruses and more. She wasn't able to ride any rides do to height restraints, but really enjoyed walking around in the sprinklers at the park. One of the most memorable parts of the park was the "Shamu" show. She was crying hysterically not because we were only 10 feet from Shamu himself (splash zone); But because of the roar of applause by the people in the theater. And then, when she started to calm down a bit, BAM!...Shamu took his giant tail and splashed us, and I'm not talking as if a hose sprayed us, I'm talking about an entire baby's pool worth of water all at once....she was in her Aunt Kari's arms and jumped so high that Kari said she would of been 10 feet in the air if she didn't hold on to her. So when we went to the dolphin show she was a little apprehensive but did great once she caught her eyes on the acrobatic actors and dolphins. We did everything in the park with a few exceptions, and finally got back into the car (after getting lost in the parking lot..ha) at 6:30pm! I was so amazed with how Annabell did. The next day we went to the beach with a similar lack of sleep for her...she has not been on her usual sleep schedule because we have done so much for the last 3 weeks that I am amazed at how well she is doing. I'm blessed with a wonderful daughter. And to think that 5 years ago tomorrow Brad and I got married and God had her and our son (on his way) all in the works is amazing to me! I couldn't of imagined a more beautiful blend of me and her daddy. She now is clapping a ton, which is her new "trick" and snapping (attempting) her fingers to music. She also blows kisses with out the hand movement, and is always her daddy's girl. Speaking of which please say a prayer for Brad and his youth group while they are on their missions trip in Jamaica. We are so proud of him!

July 4th!!!

Well for the fourth we had a fun family day. Brad got up early and went to work (lawn care) and then came home by noon. We were at G-ma's house by 1pm and hung out with Brad's family all day. It was a lot of fun because the girls got to play together (Maddie and Annabell) and we were able to see everyone, which is a doesn't happen often since we all either live apart or have different work schedules...so needless to say it was a nice day. We had the works for dinner too, Big pop cooked ribs, and G-ma made her famous twice baked potatoes. So good! Plus much more. The adults played WII and the girls played in the baby pool and all around the house..they were pooped out by the end of the day. We also took a family photo which was nice, and we had a photo of the three girls, Briana, Annabell, and Maddie with their great grandmother, Meema! That was a little challenging but here are some pictures from it. The girls seemed to really enjoy the sparklers and popping things (don't remember the name of them). They would both laugh as Matt and I would throw them on the ground. We have a little video of them laughing, but they were really laughing hard just before we got it on film. And surprisingly, Annabell slept well while the loud fireworks were going off. She also really enjoyed watching them on the way home. She didn't fall back to sleep because she was so interested in the fireworks, she kept pointing and saying "oooohhhh". It was adorable. So all in all it was a great day! Here is some video and pictures for y'all! Love ya!

1 Year Birthday!

Well it has taken me a while to put this post up for a few reasons. My camera battery ran out on her birthday so I had other people send me pictures from the big day, and we have had family in town. Brad's sister Michelle and her hubby Matt and daughter Madelyn have been in town. So we have been spending time with them. Well for all those who were not here for Annabell's 1st birthday party I will give a recap. She woke up in a great mood, which was wonderful. We put her in a dress we had bought her while we were in the Bahamas since the theme of her party was a luau. She also wore a special necklace from her Nanny. It is a shell necklace my mom bought me a few years ago, so it made me very happy to see she would wear it with out pulling it off. She didn't mind it at all and this way she had something special on her first b-day from her Nanny. We then went to church, and rushed home to prepare for the party at 1:30pm. It was at the park across the street (Joe Stonis Park). It was a nice day but HOT! The rain sprinkled for a minute of two which helped cool things down. We had a lot of Brad's family over and our friends. It was so nice to see how many people came to her birthday. Well first we all ate hot dogs and hamburgers, complements of chef Brad. Then the kids all got together and busted a pinata which was fun for them. Then the cake came! I stayed up quite late making 50 cup cakes and one cake for Annabell the night before. I put a Hawaiian flower on the cake, it was my first time decorating a cake so I was thrilled it came out descent. My neighbor Heather came over to help me cook the cupcakes, she was a HUGE help, I wouldn't of got all of them ready in time with out her! Anyways, Annabell just looked at the cake at first, until I gave her a taste of the icing. After that it didn't take her long to get her hands messy. She kept squeezing the icing in her hands as she enjoyed the feel of it. After that we had to change her outfit because she had icing everywhere. Then we opened presents and headed inside. It was a really nice day and she received sooooo many gifts! I still haven't had a opened them all! She took a surprising 3 hour nap after her party (surprising because she had so much sugar for the first time). What a blessing she is to her daddy and I. I love seeing her learn every day. Like today we were in the car and lately she has been watching me clap and snap my fingers...she started to try and snap her fingers today! I also was patting my head say "head" and then she would copy me. I love how smart she is! She is walking really well now. She walks most of the day. She still hasn't "free stood" but should any day now. She has also started learning to use a spoon...which is a messy task! ha. She doesn't grasp to scoop the food, but will put the spoon in the food and then to her mouth. She amazes me. Well I have a TON of video of her playing lately and pictures from her birthday and visit with her cousin Maddie. They have done a lot together lately. They went to a place called "Pump it up". It's an indoor bounce house for kids...toddler time seems to be on Tuesdays, and she had a blast! Her G-ma went in the houses with her since I can't with my big belly (son ;) ). Annabell and Maddie played well together here. They both would laugh as they would fall over trying to walk in the bounce house. They also found some cars the could ride in, and would take turns pushing one another, too cute. When Annabell was riding once, Maddie climbed in through the window and slid down to ride too, so funny. They also went to Lakes Park together and played in the water sprinkler area...it's such a great place and you only pay for parking! It's awesome! Well her are a ton of photos and video...love y'all...oh and there is video of Annabell and Bekka (neighbor's daughter) playing in the pool on Wednesday at the house. They had so much fun together... Heather and I enjoyed it because we could kick up our feet (both pregnant) and relax while they played! Love y'all!