Water Baby

Hi! Today, as promised, we took Annabel swimming for the first time... I was so excited, I think Nate thought I had gone a little crazy. Even now that it is over, I am so excited about how fun it was, that I'm home at 10:45 on a Saturday night posting pictures so that all the world can see. Annabel was so cute!!! She loved the water... I mean, she isn't old enough to be splashing around just yet, but she was so content, and we did get some really big smiles while we were swimming. The setting was perfect - we went swimming in Nate's sister's in-laws' (follow that?) indoor pool. So the temperature was perfect, and we didn't have to worry about sun or anything like that. We had a great time splashing around with our nieces Hannah and Abby, and Nate's Aunt Patty... all in all, it was a wonderful afternoon. So I won't really say too much more about it - just check out these pictures of our little water baby!

Check out my new bathing suit

This is actually Annabel relaxing with Aunt Patty after the swim

Daddy & Annabel

Mom & Annabel

My little water buddha :)


Taking it all in...

I'm not sure what her daddy did to make her mad, but she is definitely pissed!

Swimming with Daddy some more

mmm.... that's some good fist!

How cute am I?

hanging by the pool

All tuckered out!

Crazy cousin Abby...

...and the equally crazy cousin Hannah!

Nate had a blast playing with the nieces... he has finally found two people who think he's as funny as he thinks he is! :)

Another smile... it was a great day at the pool!
Hooray!!!! I finally figured out what I was doing wrong when I tried to post videos... so here is our first one. Annabel in action. I'll post another one tomorrow of her 'talking' during play time. It's way past my bedtime (yes, it's 11:20 pm now - pathetic - but in my defense, last night was a BAD sleep night!), so this is all for tonight. Enjoy!

Busy Week

Hi! We have had a really busy couple of weeks, so this post will be pretty random... Here's a quick re-cap of what Annabel and I have been up to:

• Last week I had jury duty. Exciting stuff! My mom came to watch Annabel that day, and luckily I did not get selected for a jury. I was home by 1:00, which gave us the afternoon to go buy some work clothes (since none of mine fit yet - doh!)
• Last weekend Annabel was baptised... I don't have many pictures, but when I get some from my mom I will post them. Annabel looked so cute in her white dress! She was so good through the whole baptism, and hardly made a peep!
• We went on another hike this week, and actually got an annual pass to Eagel Creek Park. So we'll probably go there a lot.... especially since Annabel seems to enjoy it so much. There are some pictures below.
• My friend Charrel came for a visit this week, and brought her kids, Kaylie and Landon. We had a nice visit, and Annabel enjoyed meeting one of her potential future boyfriends. :)
• We are still having issues with Annabel's hearing screens.... we're not concerned about her hearing (based on how much she is babbling now and how she responds to noises/voices), but she keeps failing the screenings because she has fluid in her ears. So, we went to the doctor and found out she has an ear infection (she didn't show any signs at all). Now she's on drugs and hopefully this will help. If not, the next step is to send her to an ear nose & throat doctor. It will be a while before we know anything more. On a secondary note, she got weighed at the doctor's office and weighs 16 lbs, 2 ozs!!!
• Last weekend we met Uncle E at Rick's Boathouse for dinner, and after that went to see our friends Tracy and Drew. Annabel was a champ the whole night... even when we kept her up way past her bedtime! Nate got kudos from a stranger at dinner when they noticed he was coming back from changing her diaper. Now don't get me wrong, I appreciated him doing it... but nobody ever gives me an 'attagirl' when I change her diaper! He does it once in public and gets a freaking medal of honor. The injustice of it all....

Besides that, we've just been running a lot of errands, and taking care of things that I need to get done before I go back to work (ONLY 1 WEEK LEFT - AAAHHHH!)... dentist, insurance shopping, etc. Time is flying by!!! We should have some cute pictures to share after the weekend, because we're taking Annabel swimming for the first time. I am so excited!! I hope she likes it. :) Regardless, she will look adorable, in her cute little bikini and matching hat. Stay tuned....

Ok, enough talking. Here are the pictures:

Another post-hike nap

A sleepy hike

This is the way to hike...

She didn't like this hat too much, but I loved it!

Annabel with my Aunt Nancy & Uncle Mike. I love the way her belly is hanging out.

Landon, Kaylie, and Annabel.

Annabel having a conversation with Daddy... she talks to us all the time now. She looks so serious about it, it just melts our hearts every time!

A Walk in the Park

Hello! Yesterday was a beautiful day here in Indianapolis... 75 degrees, sunny, and no humidity. It couldn't be better! To celebrate the great weather, Nate and I took Annabel to a park after work, where we took her on her first hike. She absolutely loved it! She was wide awake the entire time, and was taking in everything around her... Nate was so proud. :) She definitely seems to enjoy the great outdoors. After the hike, we spent a little time hanging out on a blanket in the shade, where Annabel took a quick cat nap and then woke up to play with us some more. Here are some pictures from our day:

Daddy and his littlest tree hugger

Annabel and Me





Annabel & Nate (she's pretty heavy so we took turns carrying her)

Cat nap after her hike... hiking is hard work (even if you are carried)

Family self portrait
Also since the last post, we celebrated Nate's first father's day. Annabel gave him a nice card, and also the Photoshop Elements software, so Nate can do some fun things with our digital photos. We made him a special breakfast, and then went to Lafayette to celebrate with my family. All in all, it was a great day! Here are some pictures:

Happy Fathers Day, Daddy!

Nate picked out her outfit... but the shoes were my doing. :)

I knew Daddy would love the flip-flops! (Thanks Aunt Gretchen!)

Annabel & her Uncle John

Annabel & her Aunt Nikki

Annabel gets fresh with Mr. Duck.

Sleeping Beauty

Less than a month left....

Welcome to week 11 with Annabel! We are having a blast... though I have to admit I'm starting to realize that work is just around the corner and it's bumming me out! I have only 3 weeks left... that doesn't seem possible. At the beginning, 3 months seemed like an eternity, and I can't believe how quickly it has gone by. I will just have to be sure and enjoy every second I have left!

Last week and this week have been very quiet in comparison to the weeks before. In fact, once I got home from Florida, I don't think we left the house until Thursday! It's been very relaxing, and we've had a lot of fun just spending time together.

Annabel has been changing a lot during that time... she is starting to get the hang of her hands, and is batting at toys and things that we put in front of her. She is also starting to mimick us - when she is in the right mood you can stick your tongue out and she will do it back... we've played that game for a few minutes at a time... it's my favorite. She has also mimicked some noises and other expressions. It's so funny because now you can also see the wheels turning inside that big head of hers, as she concentrates on all of the different things around her, or when she's trying to reach for something or decide if she wants to give us a smile. She smiles a ton now, which of course Nate and I adore... I know that people tell you that every day it gets better, and I definitely believe them!

I think tomorrow we are going to try to get Annabel's first professional pictures taken... we'll see if I can get her there with her eyes open and her smile ready. Wish us luck!

Ok - now for the week's pictures - First, here are two pictures of Nate and Annabel at my cousin's wedding. She looked so cute in her pretty dress! Everyone told me that she brought her A game to the wedding, and was entertaining everyone with her smiles and happy mood. I'm so glad she was good for her daddy!

What a cute pair! (They clean up nice, don't they?)

It was a big night for little Annabel!

Playtime with Mommy

No matter how hard we try to keep her away from it, Annabel LOVES the tv. Nate turned her swing so that it was facing the opposite direction, but even that doesn't stop her. Here you can see her practically breaking her neck trying to watch "What Not to Wear" this afternoon.

Who needs to nap in a bed? Not Annabel! I'm her favorite place to catch some zzz's.

Cutie pie!

As I mentioned in my last post, I just got back from my friend Lisa's wedding in Key West. It was hard to leave (you can see I tried to pack Annabel in my suitcase), but I had a fantastic time. It was great to be footloose and fancy free for a couple of days, and spend some time catching up with my girl friends from high school. The wedding itself was beautiful (though steamy hot), and the reception was a blast. The only downside was that Nate and Annabel weren't there with me. Here are a few pictures from the weekend:

Sunset from the reception in Key West Bride & Groom - what a romantic setting!
Me and the bride

Our crew on the sunset sail
Me & my girls
This is what happens when Mommy gets out of the house...

Here are some pictures from my first day back. The weather was great, so we dressed up for summer.... We tried wearing sunglasses, with limited success. The first picture was our first attempt. She wasn't really a fan! Nate had some better luck later in the day.

Get these off me!!! Ready for summer!
How do I look?
Check out my cute new outfit! Thanks Leah!

I was in such a rush before I left for the wedding, that I forgot to post pics from our Memorial Day picnic.... we hosted a gathering of my college friends and their spouses/significant others/kids, in honor of our friends Ski and Marc, who were visiting from San Francisco. I didn't have my camera out a lot, but here's what I got...

Annabel & her Auntie Ralsto Annabel & her Auntie Ski

Annabel & Marc

Annabel, Ralsto & Jen
Thanks for coming over, everybody! We had a great time!