We're back!

Hi! Nate finally had time to take a look at our wireless internet last night, and thankfully we are up and running again. Who knew that a few days offline would cause me so much trouble! I am supposed to be painting our deck this morning... I woke up early, took Annabel to day care, and was ready to by 8:30. One problem - the deck is soaked with dew. So now I'm sitting here waiting for the dew to dry (that's a first for me). Hopefully I will get out there soon.

Anyway, so it's time for a quick Annabel update, for those of you who have been suffering from withdrawal: Annabel is sitting like a champ now. I love being able to plop her down while I fold laundry or do other things. She definitely can keep herself entertained much longer, and she's much happier than laying on her back. She constantly rolls from her back to her belly when she is laying down, which is problematic because she can't seem to figure out how to roll back over. To this day she's only done it that one time at the doctor's office. The good news is that she is starting to show signs of crawling. I've actually seen her get her entire belly off the floor a few times, though it doesn't last long. She hasn't figured out how to keep her knees under her yet. But she's getting there! She is talking up a storm, and going though another stage where she sticks her tongue out constantly (you can see in the pictures below). We continue to introduce new baby foods - so far she's had sweet potatos, squash, and peas. We're starting with the veggies before we give her fruits, hoping that it will keep her from turning her nose up at them. So far so good! I can't say that peas were her favorite, but she did eat them.

Ok, here are the pictures... you can tell I've been on a bathtime kick. Enjoy!

Could her eyes get any bigger?

Tongue out in the bath

Shivering baby after bath

Our big girl. She is still such a happy baby!

I just love this face...

Mmm... Dr. Pepper!

Here's some crazy hair before bathtime

Check out my cool hair!

Here's a video for the week... I posted a video when we first started using the bouncer, and said that "she loved it" I think at the time that was a bit of an overstatement. Now here is a video of a little girl who LOVES her bouncer. She is a bouncing machine!

The unemployed life...

So I discovered this week that there are some things I miss about being gainfully employed - like my laptop, treo, and sprint air card. :) Sorry no blog in such a long time... we are having internet troubles at home, and so I'm making this post from a friend's computer (so that means no pics - sorry!). I just didn't want anyone worrying about us....

I am off this week between jobs, and loving life for the week. I've spent some great time with Annabel, got a little house work done, and have plans to go to the spa this week with my KPMG girls, and then visit with my mom on Friday. Not a bad week!

The house officially went on the market last Friday. We have been busy bees getting it all ready, and I have to say it looks so good now that I hate to leave it! We haven't had any calls to see it yet, but we are hoping that if we can just get someone in the door, it will show really well. Our realtor seems to think so. So if you know anyone who wants a great bargain home on the southwest side, let us know!

Alright, gotta run. Don't want to overstay my welcome on the computer. Hopefully we'll be back up and running soon. If not, I think I get my new laptop next Monday and this will be one of the first things on my to-do list!

Busy weekend

I think Nate and I will both be glad to get to work tomorrow, to take a breather from the weekend. This weekend we made a huge dent in our "things to do before we put our house on the market" list. We had the help of several people.... on Saturday our friends Amber and Nathan watched Annabel for us so that we could work on the house. That afternoon I developed a deep love and appreciation for the pressure washer. If you haven't used one of these things, you should try it! We cleaned our deck, siding, sidewalk and front porch with it, and it is truly amazing the difference that it makes. Then last night my parents came to Indy for dinner (we took them to Fogo de Chao for my dad's birthday - see pics below), and stayed today to help. My mom watched Annabel while the rest of us got tons of things done around the house. The only things we have left to do are to paint our deck, clean the garage, and pack up some clutter to send to storage. Our goal is to put it up for sale after next weekend. Then, we hope for the best!

So here are some pictures.... the first is a picture of Annabel, all dressed up and ready to take Grandpa out for dinner:

Annabel, who is usually a breeze at restaurants, got really tired and really cranky towards the end of dinner.... Nate finally got her to go to sleep as we were leaving. The poor thing had played hard during the day with her friend Brooklyn, and was totally pooped!

Here's Annabel doing something that she first achieved at Brooklyn's house... she can hold herself up on a table. I wouldn't say her balance is great - she kind of leans on it - but she can do it by herself, which she gets excited about. The thing I like best about this picture is her lack of a booty. How does a girl who has so much cushion everywhere else, have such a tiny little bottom? She sure doesn't get it from me!

She's feeling brave, with just one hand!

She is sitting like a champ these days.... she is still wobbly, and hates it when she falls backwards and we don't catch her (though I would hate it to, since we're on a concrete slab - OUCH!).
Tonight we were trying to feed Annabel her last bottle, and she fell asleep on me... but she didn't fall asleep relaxed, she was almost sitting, and as her head would fall backwards, she would jerk it back up again. Once again we were a little slow to grab the camera, but she did it for us a couple more times once we got it. Finally she conked out and took a cat nap before waking up and realizing she was starving.

I forgot!

I can't believe I forgot to mention it... I am getting a new job! I've been waiting til everyone at work knew to talk about it, and the time is finally here. I am wrapping up at KPMG on September 12, and starting my new position on September 22. I am going to be a Director of Accounting Policy at Cummins, in Columbus IN. It's kind of ironic that I will be working for them, since 90% of Nate's family works for Catepillar - one of their major competitors. Now we'll be adversaries... hopefully that won't make holidays too awkward.

Nate and I are looking to sell our house (or at least try) and move down to Greenwood, which will be close to in the middle for both of us. I am very excited to try something new, though I will miss the friends I have here. Hopefully they'll still be my friends when I'm gone. :)

Chow Time!

Today was a big first for Annabel - her first meal (that isn't in the form of a bottle)! She had some rice cereal, took to it very quickly, and really seemed to enjoy it. Somehow, I'm not surprised! :) Here are a couple of pictures of her messy face after the meal was over. At the bottom, there's a video of her first few bites.

She looks happy, doesn't she? It's about time, she says!

As I mentioned in my last post, we spent last weekend in St. Louis for a family reunion/birthday celebration. As promised, here are some pictures:

Annabel plays with Grandpa's new cane

Annabel and Aunt Heather

Annabel was up late every night... this is her on the last night when she couldn't stay awake any longer...

Nate's dad is a big fan of fish... this was a special gift from me to him for his 60th birthday!

Family picture at the park

This is one classy guy....

Annabel loves her Great Grandma Bonky!

Annabel with her cousin Gretta

The teeth must be genetic!

Annabel and her cousin Greyson

Me & Gretta at the park

3 generations

Melia, Julie, Gary, Sarah & Annabel after the birthday fiesta

Birthday kids - 30 and 60!!! Happy Birthday guys!

My sleeping angel...

Annabel at the park

Look at my pretty white dress!

Check out my new toy!

mmm.... tastes good!
Ok, video time! The first is of Annabel enjoying her first meal, the second is a very special magic trick from Gretta, and the last is a video of Annabel "playing" (aka eating) her new toy.

Supermodel

Hello! Happy almost Labor Day... We are writing to you from St. Louis, where we are joining Nate's family for a reunion/birthday celebration. His dad turns 60 and his sister is turning 30, so it's a big party! We are also celebrating our 5 year anniversary today - can you believe it's been that long? I can't... though I joke about how it feels like an eternity, the years really have flown by. I'm sure that won't slow down any now that Annabel is here!

I've been trying to post some pictures for a few days now, but keep having problems with the upload. I have finally been successful, thank goodness! This Wednesday Annabel and I went to get her first haircut, so now she looks a little neater and not so much like a ragamuffin. It was getting a little wild! :) After that we went to get her picture taken at Portrait Innovations... it was supposed to be a quick little excursion that would result in my getting a picture package for $9.99. Yeah right! We were there for over an hour taking about 100 pictures, and when we were done they were all so adorable I ended up purchasing about 8 poses. Oops! Nate just shook his head and said "I'm not really that surprised" when I came home with a very large envelope of pictures that cost significantly more than $9.99. But I think you will agree that the pictures below were too cute to pass up!

Rub a Dub Dub - This is one of my favorites!

A Day at the Beach

This one captures her personality so well!

This was the last picture of the day, and she was still smiling like a champ! The photographers loved her... said she was one of the easiest babies they had ever taken pictures of.

She's sitting up so good these days!

I just think this one is too cute for words...

In other news, we got a package this week from Nate's mom, with a funny tshirt inside... see below!

What butt?

Last Saturday we babysat for Brooklyn while her parents went out for dinner. We had so much fun! Both girls enjoyed using Nate as a play gym...

Good friends....
This picture is such a great representation of their relationship. One of these days, Annabel will catch up and return the favor! Look out, Brooklyn! :)
I am doing my best to snap lots of pictures this weekend, so I will post those when we get back. Have a great holiday!!!