Fall Break 2015

We had such a nice fall break this year! I have resigned myself to being ok with just not being able to keep up with posts like I used to (just trying to keep up with Annie's monthly posts is enough for me!), but I really want to document some major events when I can. I figure just getting some pics up is something!These are out of order, but oh well!

Friends Blakeley and Winnie babysat Annie while Henry and I got to go to Disney on Ice on Friday!

He was beyond thrilled!!

On Thursday after our beach trip we went to the farm to pick up Maggie and got in some farm time.

Before the farm, we ran by our friends' house who has baby chicks. Henry was loving it at you can see. Annie loved it too and kept making cheep cheep noises, but I just couldn't capture it!

Is that pic a framer, or what?!

We met my folks at at condo in Orange Beach from Friday through Wednesday and had a wonderful time. The weather was beautiful.

We got a pic of Annie in front of "Annie Girl" at Zeke's Landing, and I was happy it was there again! The pic isn't very good in the dark, but oh well. Now I am hoping this can become a tradition of a photo op each time we go!

Practicing her standing skills on the sand!

This was on the way!

She kept putting the shell in her hair and saying bow.

Annie loved the water but HATED the sand!!

And Henry was a fan of both!:)

We attempted some family beach shots. This always proves to be a challenge:)

We were sad to come home on Wednesday...sniff, sniff! It was a great trip!

Annie-17 months!

Sweet little miss continues to grow, learn, change....here are a few highlights about her this month!

-LOTS of new vocab this month! I know I haven't done a thorough job of writing them all down, but a few are: Maggie, blankie (bay-ee), apple, yes!, button, airplane, down, knock knock, grandpa, strawberries (her version!), out, open, cute! (I figured this one out while I was shopping. I was holding her and every time I pulled something out away from the rack to look closer, she would say something. Finally I figured out she was saying  "cute!"...I must say this a lot for her to pick it up!), pumpkin (her version), BITE!!! (demanding and loud!), belly, sorry (she likes to "hit", which is really just a little pat, so we have her say sorry to Bubba or us if she does this. It's so funny, though, because half the time she volunteers "thank you" instead. She gets the 2 confused:), cheese (she says it when we get the camera out-over and over!), go go!, sock, rock (like a rocking chair), walk.

-The other morning she was playing out in the living room, and I walked in and sat by her. She looked at me, said "nana", put her hand to her mouth to sign "eat" and them pointed to the kitchen. It felt like a lot of clear communication! I knew exactly what she wanted! 

-She used to shake her head "yes" for every question we'd ask her. That's changed. Now everything is "no"...not in a defiant way-I think it's just her word of choice right now! She always shakes her head at the same time and is pretty serious about it. It makes us laugh!

-She loves to hold hands to pray, and gets the biggest kick out of us saying "amen" and letting go of hands. Oftentimes she will want to hold hands immediately again, say amen, and let go. She also babbles along to Henry's song or prayer he's saying.

-She is so loving, and will give lots of hugs and kisses to all 3 of us, plus any family or friends when we prompt her to. When we put her to bed at night, we stand and sing a song or two with her blankie (which she has really started to love recently btw) around her and her paci in. She always snuggles in right away with her head down on us the whole time. Several different times mid-song, Steven has said she will raise up, pull her paci out of her mouth, and give him a kiss, them put it back in and lay her head back down all on her own! Melts our hearts! So sweet!

-She doesn't see much TV, but when she happens to see one of Henry's shows on for a minute, she loves it and raises up on her knees and just points and talks and talks. She gets quite animated! She still loves to play with a wipe. She will pretend to clean things. I can distract her easily by giving her a wipe. Both kids are this way! So funny. She gets the biggest kick out of Elmo. She's never seen the show, but he is on her toothpaste and she just stares and talks to him and tries to say "Elmo". Henry has a pair of PJ's with Elmo on them, and she squealed and laughed when she saw them. Funny when reactions are not taught like that. She has started to ride with Henry around in his motorized Jeep and it is so cute. She looks like such a big kid, and she will laugh and wave. She loves the wind blowing in her hair, the radio buttons, and the buckle. She doesn't try to get out and fusses when they stop!

-She's learned she likes ketchup (ugg!), and so now she fusses to use it when Henry has it out (which is quite often-it's how we get him to eat a lot of different things!). This is WAY too early for my liking. If only she weren't so persistent!

-She still gets so excited about Facetime, and just this month she has really started showing off. She will want to go get her blankie and show it, she points to bubba, mama, etc and says each one. She's trying to think of everything she can to entertain the person on the other end! She says and points to all of her body parts, including saying "belly" and pulling up her shirt to show it off. She did this the other day at a restaurant, too. She is very social and says hi to everyone. She was getting some attn. from the people beside her after she said hi, so then she proceeded to say "belly?" and raise her shirt up for complete strangers to see. It got her lots of attn, of course!

-She had her first haircut this month! It was really just a trim in the back, and I did it myself, but it makes it not look quite as straggly and is the first of many to come!! I really noticed, but I don't think others really did:)

-She took her first steps this month! Steven was actually the only one to see her take 2 steps at home on 10/3, but I saw her take some at church and a few at home since then, and nursery workers at school have said she has taken a couple there, too. She still does not seem super motivated in this area, but a month ago I wouldn't have said she'd have taken a step at all by this point, so I know she's making slow progress. I'm hoping by her 18 mo update, she will be voluntarily taking more steps than not. Part of the problem is that it has to be her idea. If we try to get her to walk, she usually doesn't like it and just sits down and fusses. This month she has let us hold just ONE of her hands and she will walk quite a ways. She is also standing more and more on her own, and will stand up, loose her balance, then get back up on her own over and over. I know she's capable of walking, it's just getting her to do it at this point! She's taking her sweet time I guess!

We sure do love you, little mess. You are a sweet blessing to us Miss Anne. We can't wait to see what is in store for you next month! 

This is what I have to put up with while I'm trying to take pictures! :)

And this!!

Annie-16 months!

Miss Anne is 16 months old (as of 9/26)-time is flying by! She's getting to be a busy girl and her babyhood is quickly becoming a thing of the past, but we are loving every minute of it! She's a sweetie. Here are a few things about her this month.

-She's talking a lot. She's saying words that I didn't even know she'd been taught. I was wearing a t-shirt that had an emblem of a tree on the front (shout out to my CHS alma mater!), and she looked, pointed and said "tee" for tree. Then the next day we were walking into school and she was looking up and pointing to the trees lining the walk and said "tee" again. Didn't know she'd picked up on that one! She says oosh for shoe, ouwww when she gets hurt (or thinks she has), choo choo for train, bow, pretty, cheese, and please. She has been attempting lots of 2-3 syllable words this month and some are-grandpa, cracker, pineapple (pie-ahh). She will attempt most of what you ask her to repeat. She also has been putting 2-3 words together and some are: hi mama, hi dada, up please (bup peas), volunteered to try and "say thank you cracker" after I gave her a cracker in her car seat. After the grocery store one day a worker was taking our cart for us, and she waved and said, "bye! thank you!" I thought this was so smart and friendly!:)

-She's doing great at school and all the adults tell me how friendly she is when they see her. She gets strolled around the halls, and evidently she waves and says "hi!" to everyone she sees. She continues to love babies, and especially her buddy Owen at school. If we are there first and he comes in, she high tails it over to her saying, "baby! baby!" the whole time and pulls up on his stroller to see him. It's cute she has a baby friend-he's just 6 months younger than her and weighs more than he does, but she definitely thinks of him as a baby! She has been using the little slide at school, and I've gotten to see her climb up the ladder all by herself and slide down, then plop on the carpet. She looks so big doing this! And she loves it-all smiles and claps! They sing and read a lot at school, and she's evidently a big fan of "itsy bitsy spider". She's so cute trying to do the motions. She "sings" along and also sings with us at night when we put her to sleep in her own way.

-She's a good eater and has really been using her fork a lot this month. Sometimes when she's lost interest in her food I can give her a fork and she will get busy! She can spear her food and feed herself like a pro. And she's so proud about it!:) She's a strong righty just like Henry was a strong lefty at this stage.

-She only uses her paci for sleep. We keep it in her crib. Last month as soon as I picked her up, I'd take it out and toss it in the middle of her bed with her blankie. This month, she has voluntarily taken that responsibility on herself, and it is so cute to watch her take it out, then toss it in. And it is also cute when she teases me and will take it out, and hold onto it when I tell her to throw it, then stick it back into her mouth and giggle. She gives it up pretty easily after that, but she does good naturedly let me know she'd really kinda rather keep it. :) Oh, and she calls her paci her "pass" right now.

-She is a very loving little thing, and is always giving us hugs and showing love. She loves to "waller" on people on the floor (us, her teachers, her friends, Maggie, etc). She lays her head down and says, "awe". She also loves to fall backwards and will do this over and over once she gets going, so we have to watch her because sometimes she doesn't watch were she's going to land! Sometimes she gets really wild and will flop all over the place and play "rowdy"-usually when Steven is on the floor and Henry is getting rowdy, too.

-She's getting more and more mobile! Mid-month she started pushing the walker/baby carriage around reluctantly. Steven got her interested by putting an actual (toy) baby in there. Now it's the end of the month and she pushes it all over the house and re-adjusts it when she runs into stuff and gets stuck. She and Henry will "race" around the living room and through the kitchen. She's adorable and I can get flash forwards of the 2 of them playing like big kids together. She also stands up on her own-randomly without really thinking about it I don't think. She will now stand for a long time and even clap and dance without any support. I think we are close to having a walker. She will now more willingly let us hold her hands and walk around.

-This has been a month of football, so Steven has taught her to say, "Go, Vols!" while moving her hands around and around while saying "go", then throwing them up in the air for "Vols"...not sure if I'm explaining it clearly, but it's certainly cute to watch, and she's awfully proud and all smiles when she cheers.

Well, there's so much more, but I must stop. Annie, you are our sweetie-pie,and we sure do love you! Thank for being such an easy, sweet baby girl.

Annie-15 months!

 Well, I'm a month behind. I kept thinking I'd get better photos, but everyone is so ready for bed at the end of the day that is just doesn't happen! The lighting is terrible on these and her hair is wet, but oh well! I need to make Saturday morning my picture taking time instead I guess-if we can stay in town on the weekends! Anyway, here is Annie's 15 month update. I had it all written on time, so at least there's that!

Steven and I agreed the other day that it seems like Annie is really developing her own personality the past few weeks. She is coming into her own even more, and we are enjoying it. Sometimes she gets forgotten (not really, but you know what I mean) because big bro is so vocal and active. It is neat for us to see a glimpse of who she is going to be. This month has been a really fun one with her. See below for a few highlights.

-She had her 15 month check-up and all was great. She is not walking yet, but I said I was not concerned. I see her making mobility progress, she's just on her own schedule. We are suppose to help her practice (which she doesn't love), and just return for her 18 mo check up. She weighs 22 lbs (35%) and was 30.5 inches long (50%). She was a trooper with her 2 shots. So thankful for a healthy, growing girl!

-Annie has had a huge transition month with me going back to school. She has done better than I could have hoped, and I'm so thankful. She is in nursery while I teach from 7:30-12:30, and she loves it! She gets SO much attention (one day it's just her, one day it's her and one other, and on the busiest days, it's just 3-5 total). She gets to go over and visit Henry's class most days and he also gets to go see her and will request to eat lunch with her which they let him do. So sweet!

-She is also down to one nap a day which is another big transition for her! She was leaning that way anyway, and with the school schedule it just made since to go ahead and switch to one a day. She's done great with that as well. She falls asleep in the car on the way home and generally takes a 3 hour nap (sometimes more!). She wakes up so happy. She has really become a rock star sleeper in so many ways. She just lays down and puts herself to sleep so easily. Henry was easy, but we still gave him more attention than we do her with the sleep routine. She sleeps a solid 11-12 hour night, too, and when she wakes up from both nap and in the morning half the time I don't know it because she's so happy in there just rolling around and talking, etc. She really is easy in the sleep department. 

-She is becoming such a talker and tries to say so may words. Among these are...hot! (she will touch things then pull her hand away and say "hot!" even if it's not really and if she hears us say "hot" about something, she immediately repeats it over and over, ball (usually not just said once-it's more like-ball, ball, ball!!), baby (evidently loves to hold baby dolls in nursery and points to all the pictures of babies and says "baby!"-sounds a lot like bubba right now), diaper, oosh! for shoes (obsessed with them right now!), poopoo (she's not telling me when she does or anything, but she just repeats it when we say it, or she will volunteer the word when I'm changing a diaper), uh-uh (like as in "no"), Aunt Mae (mat mah), eat (deet!), water (wahwah). I know there are more, but those are the new ones I can think of right now. The doc asked if she can say 2-5 words, so I think we are good:) Everyone at school talks about what a good talker she is. Even if you can't understand what she's saying, she will give you a sentence in her language all the time. Lots of expression and passion! She's gotten really good at her animal noises-pig, dog, cat, horse, cow, sheep, etc. Will repeat "roar" for lion or bear. So cute!:)

-Speaking of mobility, she has been doing some new things this month. She is pulling up to her feet all the time (onto the fireplace, sofa, in crib, in tub, end table if there's something on it she wants. She just not much of a risk taker which I think is part of the reason she's a little behind (which I am kind of enjoying to be honest). I still kind of have to do a double take when I see her in standing position, though, even though she's so old! She was standing at the play kitchen reaching for its top cabinet at school the other day when I walked in and she just looked so big! She lets us hold her hands and she will take steps that way for a short distance, but she isn't too interested in much more right now. I know we should work with her, but I am fighting my desire to keep her "easy" right now!

-She's so interested in the things around her and I often catch her looking up in the sky and pointing to the birds, moon, trees, airplane, etc that she sees. I think I say this every month, but she still just loves music and is so responsive when she hears it. She has her own dance moves that just crack us up.

-She knows lots her her body parts now....hair, ears, belly, toes/feet along with all the ones she knew before...eyes, mouth, etc. I love to quiz her on these:)

-I've noticed some new play this month-she loves to put on/take off lids to anything. It will entertain her for a LONG time. She also likes to line things up (like the pool stacking cups we have outside). It's so amazing to see them try to gain order at such a young age. I guess it is innate in some! She's obsessed with straps and immediately grabs the straps to the high chair, buggy, or push car (which she adores btw along with the buggy-as soon as we get out at the grocery store she is begging and leaning to get into the cart!) and pulls them around herself and tried to connect the buckle. Guess she wants to be safe!:)

-Bath time is still a favorite and she is totally wild! She loves to be on her belly and kick like a crazy girl.  She throws a fit when we take her out no matter how long or short it's been!:)

-She is not a fan of loud noises or anything that might seem threatening. She immediately bails on whatever it is she's doing and makes a bee line straight for mama. I remember this happening around the same time with her bubba.

I know there's more, but I must stop at some point! Precious girl, Annie, we love you so! You are such a blessing to our family.

Henry is 3 and a Half!

As of August 26, our precious boy is 3 and a half. How can it be?! It is amazing the changes that can occur in just 6 months in a child's life. Everyday is fun and new. I have just kept up with some very random things over these past months that I'll write so I can remember this phase of his life. Sweet memories!

-Still so incredibly loving. Tells me "Mommy, I love you" ALL.THE. TIME! I probably hear it  50 times a day right now, especially in the car. He's really sweet in that way and wants to "snuggle" and be together.
-He always notices when I look different than my normal "mom" self-like if I'm wearing jewelry or have my toes painted, he always sees it right away and talks about it-Oh! Mommy! I like your necklace!-he is always so sweet when I'm trying stuff on in the dressing room and he's with me, too. He will tell me things look good, etc. It's really sweet coming from a three year old, even if it's not true!:)
-He loves to imitate Steven and goes through phases of copying everything he does. He wants to tuck his shirt in and wear a belt and tall socks like Daddy (the work version). He loves to ride on the mower with Steven and they have a special routine at night where Steven twirls him around like crazy while they sing "This is the song that never ends". They also love to swim together, play golf (in the yard) together, and go to the doughnut shop together on Saturday mornings. They have a great relationship.
-While they do have their moments, overall Henry is a very sweet big brother. He talks so sweetly to Annie and explains things to her and teaches her things in his own words. He wants her to be safe and always tells me if she's not buckled, if she has something that seems dangerous, etc. He thinks she's cute and after she's done something sometimes, he will say, "Awe, look at Annie, Mommy. She's so cute" The very first thing he ALWAYS prays to God at night is "Thank you for Annie".
-A couple of months ago they were playing together in the playroom and I was listening in. I heard him say, "Ouch, Annie!" but I waited to see how it would play out. A minute later, I heard him say in a serious tone, "Mommy's not going to like it that you're hurting me!" It was so cute.
-Henry had a big transition this month with starting preK at my school. They are learning so much, and he loves it!I love that he is not only learning his "academics" more, but he is also learning Bible verses and about different character traits-so cute to her him say big words like initiative and enthusiastic! And he can generally tell me what they mean, too! He has a different job everyday (calendar/math/snack helper are some). His teachers are precious and he love his classmates (all of these change daily). Among his friends are Eli, John Lane, Ellis, Anily, Zoe, Sarah Elizabeth, Abby...and many more. Needless to say, he is really enjoying school.
-He can spell his name (orally), trace his name pretty well, write H to start his name, has full capital letter recognition and most lower case, can count to...maybe 30. Most of these things he knew pre-preK (ha), so I'm excited to see what he will be adding next! I know they are doing letter sounds because I her him saying them.
-Henry is generally a positive little guy, and he goes through phases of what we call "super positive" times where nothing's in his way so to speak. He will say stuff like, "Let's just sit here and chill out. This is a great day. We are just enjoying our pool!" and stuff like that. We get the biggest kick out of it. This is just one example of many.
-He is so interested in God and Jesus and all things spiritual. We have SO many conversations about this stuff. It is great and challenges us! He often times asks questions that really makes us think! He will especially want to know about Heaven, where God is, and how big/strong God is.
--He is into paraphrasing books and will "read" a story to us (from memory). Loves "Caps for Sale" and "Oliver"
--He still adores music and is in 3 yr old choir at church now. He adored vbs this summer and the CD that went along with is has been well loved. He loves to dance and has his own signature moves.
-We had a scare the last day in May at our pool with Henry, but since then he has made AMAZING strides. At the end of the summer, he is officially an independent swimmer. He can swim the length of our pool without any help as well as jump off the diving board and swim to the ladder and get himself out independently. He treads water and comes up for breaths on his own. He is truly like a little fish. He would rather be under the water than on top! He took one week of lessons in June (hosted at our pool), which got him good exposure, but he really learned by us just using our pool daily and pushing him a little each day to do more. While I would never just walk off and leave him, it is nice to know that he is capable of getting to the edge without help when he needs to. He was leaning over playing in the water the other day, and he toppled in accidentally. We say with our own eyes that he could compose himself enough in that situation to swim to the stairs and get out independently-fully clothed! Again, he's made amazing strides for just 3.5! 
-He's had many firsts in the past 6 months-his first time bowling (oh.my.word-he was beside himself over this!!), first play (Peter Pan), he's played his first board games-Chutes and Ladders and Candy Land (which he calls Candy Castle)-he's a fan!, this is random, but he is finally eating jelly! He had rejected it up until we got some homemade from a neighbor this summer! In general, he is eating better than I thought ever would. He still is not a huge fruit or veggie eater, but at least he will consume a decent amount of food to survive now!
-He's so ticklish, all you have to do is mention it and he starts laughing. We have a lot of fun with this:)
-Still takes a 2 or so hour nap every afternoon. There are maybe 1-2 times per week where he just rests in his bed and doesn't sleep, but overall he still really needs it.
-A few random quotes: "I need something!! (from bed)", "What can I screw?!! (at the top of his lungs at home with screwdriver in hand), "We forgot to say I love you!" (as we were leaving a friends house), GASP "I didn't know that!!", "Mommy, are you perfect?", "Do you know the whistling woods? They're so, so scary!", "The Bible is too Holy Spirit for me" and so many more! He keeps us laughing everyday with his comments.

Henry, you are a bundle of energy and joy, and we are so happy you're ours! We love you, son.

Annie-14 months!

I'm so behind! Sheesh! I had this written much closer to the time Annie was actually turning 14 months, but I was waiting to get better pictures of her. I see now that this is not happening, so I am just gonna post what I have. Hopefully I can get some better shots next month when I have my real camera charged and ready to go.These are from a couple of different tries....:/

Our sweet, sassy girl is 14 months old! She is really coming into her own and becoming quite independent. She is changing everyday! Below are a few highlights about her.

-Annie is full on "knee crawling" now. She's learning to book-it, too! She seems to enjoy being able to explore more now and is into the cabinets and toys like I knew she would be. She often talks and yells as she crawls, then she will come up on her knees to look around and talk some more and wave her hands around, then will be on her way to wherever her goal was.
-She has gotten FOUR teeth this month, and they have been doozies! They make her have all the classic symptoms-drooling, light fever, runny nose, and even loose diapers. She had a couple of rough days this past month-days where I thought she'd totally had a personality change, especially around the 4th of July-but it would always turn out to be another tooth, poor baby.  I know they must hurt coming in. She's also started grinding her teeth, and it makes us cringe! I think she's just feeling things out, but still, I wish she wouldn't!
-She is so responsive to our questions. She always nods her head-usually yes, but sometimes no-even if she doesn't understand what we are asking.
-Some of her favorite toys currently are the tunnel and picnic basket she got for her first birthday. She also loves the magnets on the fridge. She likes Henry's trains and will have one in her hand as she crawls around, making a clunking noise:) She will sit up, try to put it on its wheels, and drive it back and forth on the ground. I don't even remember Henry doing that at her age! She still adores books and will sit and just look and look at them.
-Something else I've been noticing about her "play" is that she loves to put things away. She will put all of her play food in the basket, put all of the little soft animals in the little velcro ark we have, will put magnets in a ziplock bag, will put her blueberries (or whatever snack) in the cup holder of her highchair tray. She gets so happy and proud when she does this. I remember Henry dumping stuff out for forever, but putting it all away seemed to come way later. She seems to be doing this earlier than him, and the dumping out phase is not nearly as dominant as it was with him!
-She's learned the sign for drink (or milk-I'm not sure exactly which one it is). She is a much thirstier kid than her brother every was, so we were getting a lot of screaming at mealtime between bites. Finally I realized she was was begging for her sippy! SO, we taught the sign which has cut down on some demands!:) Often after she takes a drink she will say a big, "Ahhh!" in satisfaction.
-She loves Facetime and knows the ring. As soon as she hears it she starts squealing and "talking" (another new thing this month where she jabbers and jabbers and carries on a whole big conversation with us). During Face time, she will wave and say "hi!!", try to kiss the person on the other end of the phone, say and waves "bye bye!" at the end of the conversation. She certainly knows cousin Kaia (because she spent some time here in May), so she squeals and laughs when she sees that big cuz.
-She has really started loving swimming even more, if you can believe it! She will sit on the steps and splash, splash, splash! Then she will lunge forward for one of us to get her, but we let her go under the water first and she holds her breath and comes up ready to do it again! She also has swimming "posture" now and wants to be on her belly kicking her legs and splashing her arms. We both feel like if we would let her go, she could almost swim on her own it's that good! I just barely hold her chest with my hand and that is all she needs. She sits on the side and will put up her pointer finger and try to say "one, two, three, jump!" with us, then she falls into the water for us to catch her. She is also really good at relaxing on her back for a second, then she wants to play in that position and will kick and splash with her arms. She is definitely comfortable in the water.
-If Annie hears us whisper, she starts to do the same with her jibber jabbering and it is so, so cute.
-She loves to sit beside us up on the sofa. She acts like such a big girl. When we put her down she throws a fit and wants back up!
-She loves her babysitters Jasper and Lily. She knows them and goes to them! She has done so much better in nursery this month, and I am so thankful!!
-There's much, much more, but I hope that hits the highlights and helps us remember this sweet phase of being 14 months.We love you sweet Annie, more than you know!

Looking outside the window was much more interesting than Mommy's camera.

This one is not from the same set, but I wanted to include it anyway because, well, she's technically in her pjs like the others, but it also shows her mop of hair that is constantly in her face and also her sweet morning smile. She's such a happy girl in the morning.

Photo try #2...wet hair this time?!