Table food, are you kidding me!?!?

Happy (9 month) birthday to you,

Happy (9 month) birthday to you,

Happy (9 month) birthday dear Annalee,

Happy (9 month) birthday to you!

Today Annalee turns 9 months old!! Wow, where has the time gone. Two of my friends have been able to grow and birth their babies in the amount of time that Annalee has been alive!! Unbelievable!

We went to the doctor this morning for her checkup. Thankfully, she only had to get one shot. She is still measuring long and lean! As tall as a 10 1/2 month old, but only as heavy as a 9 month old.

The doctor told me that she can start eating table food now for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! Are you kidding me?? I was not expecting to hear that. It's going to take me a few days to process that. You're talking to the lady who kept her baby in the bassinet for 5 months (and even then, I only gave it up because another baby in the family needed it-otherwise, she'd probably still be in it!!) Just kidding. :) We were going to work on transitioning from bathing in the kitchen sink to bathing in the tub this week. I can't do both at the same time. I'll be ok, I promise, I'm just having some growing pains this week. :)

On to the pictures!! I take her pic with the same bunny every month (thanks to "aunt" Summer)..this month she was more interested in trying to eat the bunny!

Can you feel the love tonight?

Oh, where to begin...

Last night Micah and I went to see Lion King the musical! I was so excited about going, I could hardly stand it. I bought our tickets back in March because I didn't want to miss it. It did NOT dissappoint! I wanted to cry during the first scene when all the amazing animals came down the aisles...so impressive. I am a little dorky when it comes to musicals! Sweet Micah endured very cramped quarters in order to make my day. He also had the prettiest roses sent to me. Thanks for a great date, hon...and thanks mom for babysitting!!

Not much to say...

I don't have much to say today, but I thought I better post some more pictures for your viewing pleasure!

Annalee loves her bookshelf, sometimes she takes all the books and throws them on the floor (after tasting them, of course!). She also likes having her hair brushed, but who doesn't?

Good Times

We had some great family time this weekend! (The pics are out of order, but you can figure it out, I think!) Saturday, Micah and Annalee had a little playtime in the front yard. It was really hard for me to get her picture in the grass because she kept wanting to eat it. Check out Annalee's new hairbow that I made her today!! I found step-by-step directions at http://bowdesigns.50webs.com/index.html So fun! Now we just need some hair to put them in--in the mean time we'll just use the headbands too.

Saturday night we headed to Grapefest. Annalee did so great! She was very happy riding around with daddy so that she could see everything. Micah played a dart throwing game and won her a stuffed duck. She carried it around the rest of the night, so cute! We also bought her a blinking pin that she wore on the front of her baby bjorn. Dinner was great with Eric and Erin at Tolbert's. Good times all around.

Martha, Martha, Martha

O.k. I'll admit, I have a love/hate relationship with Martha Stewart. Yes, I Tivo her show everyday for the great recipes, craft ideas, cleaning tips etc, but have you noticed how much she sticks her foot in her mouth? It happens at least once a show. She has some major awkward moments, not to mention she is somewhat vain.

Anywho...she is having a giveaway right now for a trip to NYC during Thanksgiving that includes airfare, hotel, a fancy meal, parade tickets, a $1,000 gift card to Macy's and tickets to her show for you and 3 guests. In case you didn't know, I have wanted to go to New York for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade for as long as I can remember. I actually started to plan the trip for last Thanksgiving, but I stopped because I had a funny feeling about it and then I became pregnant a couple of months later. I wouldn't have been able to go because I was about 35 weeks pregnant at Thanksgiving last year. Weird, huh? Sooo...I have been entering her contest online everyday because I really think I can win!!! :) From now until Sept. 30th you can enter once a day per e-mail address. If you're interested, just go to http://www.marthastewart.com/ to enter, but remember, if you win you better take me as one of your guests!!! :)

1st Illness...boo

Annalee experienced her first illness...a stomach bug. And 36 hours later, her mommy experienced her first illness with a baby to take care of!! Yikes. That was a new one. Now daddy is battling the same thing. I can't help but wonder if there was another baby in the nursery on Sunday that started this whole ride!! Oh well, we made it and are doing MUCH better now. I couldn't help but take her picture while she was in her "sicky" outfit. (I don't put her in sweetpeas anymore, but I couldn't resist.)

Mallory Kate

Here she is...Mallory Kate. Congrats to Karson and Scott!!

Babies, Babies, Babies!

I am jumping with joy tonight because 2 of my best friends have given birth to their babies within 48 hours of each other! Cassy welcomed Cohen David in the wee hours of the morning on Saturday and Karson met sweet Mallory Kate around 5 this afternoon. Both moms and babies are doing great. I will post pictures of them as soon as I go visit. Thank you God for safe deliveries and no C-sections!

As far as my baby is concerned, here's a funny pic of her. We spent the day with my mom yesterday and somehow Annalee crawled under the end table and got stuck! Don't worry, I rescued her right after I took the pic!!

Reprimanded

Apparently I haven't posted enough pictures of Annalee lately and I am upsetting some of my readers!! I want to keep to people happy and comin' back for more...so here they are!

Annalee's 8 month picture in her chair with her bunny.

Practicing feeding herself......

It's in the mouth...yea!

Video of Annalee crawling.

School Started Without Me Today

(My classroom on the 1st day of school last year.)

For the past 22 years I have had a "first day of school"...not this year. I have very mixed emotions about this fact. I absolutely LOVE being at home with Annalee and being able to care for her and watch her grow every day. Although I wouldn't trade my job for anything in the world, I am a tiny bit sad that I was not standing in the hallway this morning at Hughes Elementary greeting fresh-faced 2nd graders for the first day of school. I was so blessed to have taught with the most talented group of teachers that I could have ever imagined. My job was literally given to me by the Lord at exactly the right time and plac e. I coudn't have hand picked a better place to teach for the past 5 years. I love you girls so much and I wish you the best of luck this year....I will be up to visit A LOT!! Know that I was thinking about you today.

Rocky Mountain High: Part One

Hey Guys...sorry for the long pause between postings, but we were on VACATION!!! Woo Hoo! I just have a minute to post, so I'll give you a little taste of what our week looked like in the beautiful state of Colorado. I plan on posting more details soon. (Yes, that is a fleece I'm wearing!!)

Things I love

There are just certain things that make me happy...Here is a little glimpse into the simple things that I love...in random order, of course.

My August to August Calendar/Organizer..my whole life is written in this book!

Dr. Pepper

My absolute favorite drink, although I never order it in a restaurant...I reserve it for special "treats."

Reef flip flops...I've lost count of how many pairs I've owned. It's a rare occasion that I am not wearing a pair of reefs. (I even prefer them over a pair of athletic shoes for my evening walks!)



Sharpie Ultra Fine Point Markers....any color! These are so fun, I love the bold colors! I actually love any type of sharpie-probably the teacher in me. :)







Notepads...at the moment this one is my favorite...it has 2 sides labeled "to buy" and "to do." Love it...I am a list maker. Currently I have 4 different lists going!!

Real Simple Magazine...

Super cute ideas

Organizing tips

Yummy recipes

Fabulous decorating stuff

Simple. Clean. Pretty.

This is the highlight of the mailbox for me!!

Swiffer Sweep Vac

I can thank Brittney for this obsession...a must have for wood floors and tile! I literally swiffer my house on a daily basis. There's nothin' like watching the little dust bunnies getting sucked into the canister AND trapped on the swiffer pad...so fulfilling!!

Clorox wipes

With these and my swiffer I am a cleaning machine! I use them for everything...dusting, countertops, floors (just "wear" them on the soles of your bare feet and scoot around the tile floors...good bye mop!).

I know there are tons of other little things that I love, but that will have to do for now!

What are your favorite little things???

Remember how you said that you love my sponteneity...

The above statement is how a voicemail from Micah started out. While I was in the dentist chair having my tooth drilled, Micah decided to us his talent of spontanious-ness and book flights to Colorado!! We had been talking about taking a short trip somewhere for our anniversary, but I was thinking we would drive somewhere close for an overnight stay. Oh no, we are actually taking a "real" vacation (minus a very sweet baby)! I know it will be good for us... but this will be the first time we are away from Annalee for more than a night. I can't wait to post pictures of our Rocky Mountain adventures!

On another note...yesterday I was blessed to spend the afternoon with Kandi and the kids. We hung out, grabbed some lunch at Chic-fil-a, and shopped at an adorable fabric store called Cabbage Rose. This place is genious..they have a play area for kids so that their moms can peruse through the bolts and bolts of super cute fabrics. Katie found a naked baby doll with some pretty scary hair...she drug it around in a little red wagon the entire time...why didn't we get a picture of that, Kandi??? So cute! The only picture taken was of the sweet baby sleeping during all of the excitement at Chic-fil-a. I really need to be better at taking pictures..I thought blogging would help me with that, but it only points out my lack of picture taking even more!

Fun Pics

I love these pictures of Annalee!!
Have a terrific Tuesday!

Showers and Sermons

I was so blessed on Saturday to get to see some of my favorite ACU chicks!! I love showers of any kind, but especially baby ones! I love that we are still getting together for special events even after 5 years after graduating. I'm loosing count of all the babies we've been blessed with!! It was so good to see you girls...hopefully we can have a fun gathering at homecoming this year!

Alright ladies, if you are in the mood to listen to a POWERFUl sermon on marriage...I've got the one for you! This morning Rick spoke boldly about the ministries of men and women concerning marriage...wow...I need to listen to it again because I need to hear it again! I hope my link works because it's a keeper.

http://www.rhchurch.org/audio-sermons/20070812-2-Final.mp3

Happy Anniversary!

Today marks 5 years of marriage! Apparently I didn't have a digital camera 5 years ago because all of my wedding photos are hard copies. I am still in disbelief myself! I tried to take a picture of a picture, but that turned out pretty ghetto...as you can see with our engagement photo above!

Things I love about my sweet husband:

• His commitment to God and his family



• His hilarious sense of humor



• His thoughtful, caring spirit for others



• The way he sings and plays with Annalee



• The way he talks in movie quotes (sometimes I don't know what's a quote and what's not!!)



• His spontaneity and willingness to do anything, anytime (very opposite of me!)



• The way he provides for our family..allowing me to stay at home with my sweet baby



• I could go on and on!

I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband. I love you Micah!!

Thanks to my awesome sister-in-law Kandi...I can post a wedding pic for you. She already had it scanned into her computer (I need software in order to scan for myself). Thanks Kandi...you are always a life saver!!

Watch my baby grow!!

So, I figured that since I didn't start this thing until Annalee was 7 months old I better back track a little bit and show you how she got here! I'll try to pick my favorite pictures from each month to share.

This is me at 40 weeks! Little did I knowI still had 8 days to go!

2nd day at home...sleeping in her bassinet

One month old...our little sleepy head!

2 months...she's finally awake!

3 months...sittin' in the bumbo

4 months old...celebrating at Caleb's 1st b-day

5 months old...aren't I getting big!!

6 months old...sitting up

Swimming with the cuz

Yesterday Annalee had a great time swimming with her cousin Caleb and good friend Elijah. She loved splashing in the waves at the kidde pool. Somehow I didn't manage to get a picture of all 3 of them...oops!

Today we had a fun shopping day with Karson (my VERY pregnant friend!). We even ran into Julie Tuel at Babies R Us...she just had twins and looks so great...the girls are just beautiful too! It was great to see you Julie!

I'm busy getting things ready for Cassy's baby shower on Saturday, so I should have some pics of all the acu chicks after that. We'll miss you if you can't be there!

Annalee LOVING the water!

Annalee and Caleb (He's 14 months old)

Here Goes Nothin'

I know, I know, I can't believe it either....I am now a "blogger." We'll see how this goes. I didn't even know this thing existed until Summer sucked me in...I can now thank her for a semi-unhealthy blogging addiction. I figured I better stop lurking around other's blogs and actually do one for myself! I knew it was time when every little thing that Annalee did I would think to myself, "hmm, that would make a cute posting!" I'm sure Micah will be thrilled (insert sarcastic voice here). It may take me a few days to figure out all the quirks to this thing...so hang in there with me. Until next time...