Merry Christmas!

Hi! It is quiet at our house for a change... Annabel is taking a nice long nap, and Nate and I are hanging out in our living room strewn with new toys and other Christmas mess. But we don't care, it's nice to catch our breath! Christmas, with one small exception (I'll explain later), was perfect. Annabel woke up around 7:45 and wandered into the living room still pretty sleepy. I think to say she was overwhelmed by all the new toys might be an understatement, as she took it all in. Her favorite gifts were definitely her pool full of balls (we call it the ball pit), her tricycle, lawnmower and blocks. My mom, dad, brother and sister arrived around 8:00, and we all sat around playing with Annabel and her new toys and had a yummy breakfast for a couple of hours. It was nice to not have a hectic schedule, and really just enjoy the morning. Annabel was great entertainment as she explored all her new gifts - she was in such a great mood, and I just loved watching her. Christmas used to be a lot of fun, but having her just takes it to another level entirely.

We went over to my aunt's house after Annabel's nap, and had Christmas with my dad's side of the family.... as always it was a chaotic but very fun time, and it was really great to see everyone that traveled home for Christmas. Annabel was star of the show, and of course she didn't mind one bit - she's such a ham!!!

We went home around 7, and this is where the exception comes in - some how I ended up catching a stomach flu and it hit me like a freight train on our way home. I was in rough shape through the night, but thankfully am feeling much better today. A little tired, but better.

So enough from me, here are several pictures from Annabel's second Christmas:

We went to my parents' for Christmas Eve mass and dinner - here's a family pic that I really like.

Here's the whole family - doesn't Annabel look like a big girl, standing for the picture all by herself? She's so independent these days!

Mommy and Annabel on Christmas Eve

The cutest little Santa I've ever seen!

Grandma and Grandpa got Annabel the Elmo Live doll, which she was very excited about. I think she'll need to grow into it a little bit more to really appreciate it, but as with anything Elmo, she is a big fan.

Here is what the living room looked like before Annabel woke up

The ball pit was the first thing she played with, and she liked it so much that we had to take her stocking into the ball pit in order for her to see what was inside.

The tricycle is a little bit old for her now, but she loves to ride on it (and thank goodness for the parent steering on the back). This will be a big hit this summer, I'm sure! But for now we had to hide it because we both got tired of pushing her around the house on it. :)

Uncle John and Annabel playing with some stocking stuffers in the ball pit

Annabel and her lawn mower... oh, and you'll notice that she has changed from her Christmas jammies to this new Cinderella night gown from Grandma and Grandpa. I'll have to see if I can get her saying Cinderella on video - it's the cutest!

We got Annabel some of these old skool blocks, and I think that Nate might enjoy them more than Annabel.

Grandpa and Annabel are steering straight for the block tower....

...seconds before impact.

Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of the demolition mess, but it was impressive. After all, demo is Annabel's specialty!!!

And of course we took tons of video.... here are a couple of my favorites!








Hope all of your holidays were just as merry!

Merry Christmas!

We just got back from a great weekend away with most of Nate's family, where Annabel had a ton of fun playing with her cousins. I have lots of pictures to post later, but for now, wanted to share this..... After last year's fearless performance, I had higher expectations. But then again, I guess this comes with the age. Annabel was not a fan of Santa this year! Fortunately her cousin Gretta enjoyed it at least. :)

Annabel says "HI!"

Go Colts!

Pics from our weekend

Hi! Not much to update today..... we had a low key weekend at home and really enjoyed our time with Annabel. We went and picked out our Christmas tree, and enjoyed seeing Annabel's reaction. She's actually doing really great with it.... hasn't bothered it much at all. We put her ornament (elmo, of course!) low where she can get to it, and it plays music. So now that she knows how to work it, she enjoys pressing the button and then dancing around in circles while he sings "Jingle Bells." And she loves singing "HEY!" when he does.

In other news, we had our first exciting potty experience tonight.... we just got her a potty seat that sits on top of the big potty (with elmo all over the seat, of course), and she thinks that is pretty cool. Anyway tonight we put her up there before bath time and she dropped a little something in there! I'm pretty sure it was an accident, but exciting all the same. :) Aren't you glad you know?

Anyway, I was snapping pictures like crazy this weekend - so here you go!

Annabel found a pair of her own sunglasses this weekend - she thought they were pretty awesome.

This is on our way to go get our Christmas tree - pretty in pink!

The Christmas tree farm was far away, so Annabel decided to take a little nap.

Having just woke up, Annabel wasn't too into the Christmas tree thing.....

She did like the Christmas tree once it was decorated though! This is her with her elmo ornament.

Annabel enjoying a yummy breakfast

Who doesn't enjoy wearing a fireman's hat and pink balloon while pushing a teddy bear in a stroller around the house?

Just goofing around....

A few random pics in black and white

Road trip

We went up to Chicago for Nate's cousin's funeral services yesterday. While the funeral was as sad as you might expect, it was bitter sweet as always, bringing family together from long distances. The day was emotional, but the time spent together healing.

Fortunately for us, my mom was already on vacation this week, so we were able to leave Annabel with her for the day. My dad took a half day off work too, and I know that they had a blast. She was in such a good mood when she woke up this morning! Made it hard to go to work.....

Anyway, wanted to post this picture that we took in the car today. I thought it was pretty cute.

Christmas cometh early!

This morning at our house, Christmas came early for this mommy.... Annabel reached a developmental milestone I've been anxiously waiting for - she understands bribery! :) She was being particularly obstinant about brushing her teeth this morning, and so on a whim I said "If you let Mommy brush your teeth, you can watch Blue's Clues" - and her little mouth popped right open! Hallelujah!!! My life just got a little bit easier....