The Beach..I love the beach!!

Last month, we made a trip to Florida. This trip was for two reasons, but I'm only going to focus on the vacation part in this post. We stayed in Destin the last few days of the trip, and we all had an amazing time. Anna loves the beach as much as we do. In this picture, it looks like she's telling daddy all about how big the ocean is...

I'm not sure what she was thinking here, but it really looks like she's concentrating on something. Maybe she's trying to design the best sand castle ever and she's just not sure where to start...
We were even able to get mom out to the beach one day. Dad had come too, but didn't last very long. He decided he would rather sit in the car. :) At least mom got to enjoy feeling the sand between her toes...Of course there was some shopping too. Anna really loaded up at the build-a-bear workshop. And there was no way she was going to allow anyone to help her carry her new friends...But all in all, we spent a whole lot of the trip in the van. It was a long drive to Gainesville, FL then back to Destin, FL and then back home. But I don't think any of us would trade one single minute for anything different. The "Florida Trip", as Anna called it, was perfect.

What?? I have a blog???

I guess maybe I forgot about it. Ok, not really, I just haven't taken the time to post anything in f.o.r.e.v.e.r. I could try to sum up the last 10 months, but really that would be ridiculous. I believe I will just stay in the now and move forward. So......

Anna is in preschool now, and recently she had her school picture day. :) So cute. Stay tuned for pictures from our recent trip to the beach...

Better than I ever imagined

Yes, Christmas this year was bigger and better than I ever dreamed it would be. Anna had a blast this year, but this year was better for me because I slowed down to enjoy it. I am normally a person who can't sit still, mainly because I'll fall asleep if I do, but because of this I miss out on a lot of quality time with Anna. I changed my ways the past few days. I have played with her for hours and not touched the laundry or dirty dishes. And even though it will take me through the end of next week to get caught up on work and chores, I wouldn't trade it for the world.

This picture was right before leaving for our church's candlelight service on Christmas Eve. Daddy was at work, but the two of us went.

After our service, we went to my brother's for dinner and then to their candlelight service. Afterwards, we came back to their house and put the girls in their matching pj's. Sooooo cute!!! Here they are giving each other a goodbye hug.

I have lots of pictures of Anna with all of her new toys, but there are too many to choose from. I'm sure you will see them in pictures along the way, but she got a new wagon, a tricycle, a 4-wheeler, a kitchen...... and those are just the big things. Imagine all of the little things and all of the clothes that she got!!!! Yeah, she had a great time!! I hope everyone else did too.

We've got some catching up to do.....

Let's go back in time a few weeks to November 16th. That was the day that Anna turned two!!! She had a great birthday party and got lots of perfect gifts. Let me share a few pictures...

She got a horsey!! And she absolutely loves the horsey. She got the perfect little tea set and a Mr. Potato Head. And she got a baby carrier. Do you think she likes it?????I promise you neither the tea set picture or the sleeping with the baby carrier picture are staged. Anna is responsible for both setups.

And here are a few pictures that Cherie did for us for Anna's 2nd birthday.

Ok, now that you've seen Anna turn two, let's fast forward to this past weekend. We put up the Christmas tree, and this year Anna got to help. She did such a good job, see.....

That's all for now, but the fun's just getting started. She's TWO!!!!

Trick or Treat

Anna's first real Halloween experience was too much fun. She was a pirate, mainly because she is just too cute when she says "argh!!" We went trick-or-treating with some of her friends, and she got to ride in the wagon with a monkey. :) At first she was kind of confused about what was going on...

But she soon figured out that at each door, she would get MORE candy!!

By the end of the night, she was enjoying her candy too!!! (Notice the chocolate covered mouth)

A wonderful Saturday!!

This morning, Anna and I packed up and headed to the Little Rock Zoo. Just the two of us. The weather was awesome. It was cool and crisp, I love it. And I believe 9 am on a Saturday has to be the best time to hit the zoo. For the first hour or so, I felt as if we were the only ones there, which was awesome because Anna could get out of the stroller and check things out for herself.

They have the grounds set up for the annual Boo at the Zoo, so there were some really interesting decorations to check out.

I love that Anna stopped to let me take her picture under this very appropriate sign. :)We got to see lots of animals, giraffes, lions, bears, you know, normal zoo animals, but I think the best thing that I saw was the great ape carrying around a stuffed bunny. You gotta love that.

Pumpkin Patch

Several of us headed to the Hardin Farms Pumpkin Patch a couple of weekends ago. We loaded up with kids, the wagon, ice chests and picnic lunches. The weather was perfect, and we all had a blast.

Anna picked her a pumpkin in the patch...

She rode the big slide and loved it...

Everytime she would get to the bottom, she would turn around and start heading back to the stairs. She would have stayed on the slide all day I believe, but there were other things to do. We had to move on...

She got her face painted with a cute little ghost with a pink bow and played on a little bit smaller slide (which she enjoyed almost as much as the big one)...

Oh, I really wasn't going to show this picture because I look like such a dork, but I'm just going to do it. Just don't ever tell me how hard you laughed...

Yeah, it took a lot of persuasion to get me on the slide. Obviously, I was not as excited about it as Anna was.

So there you have it, the pumpkin patch. :)