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. :)

Pictures

Go check out some of the latest pictures of little miss Anna. Go here and here.

Building a House

Yep, I'm building a house. Not a house for me, but for someone else. You guys know that show Extreme Makeover Home Edition. Yeah, that's what I'm doing. They chose a family in Bigelow, AR, which is just about 30 minutes from me. So......I'm volunteering and helping build a family a new house. Yesterday was my first day there, it's an awesome experience for sure. If you want to follow along and see the progress being made, you should go to this website. See ya later!!!!

A haircut!!

Yes, can you believe it!?!?! Her first haircut!!! She did great too!! I was so afraid that she would throw a fit and not sit still, but she did just the opposite. She brushed Barbie's hair while Sheila cut hers. I'm not sure she even realized anything was going on.

Then she turned into a little diva. She let Sheila blowdry her hair and "style" it.

I see many trips to the salon in Anna's future.

Fabulous Friday

I got to take off work yesterday and take Anna to have some fun. Aunt Sandra and Cousin Katie joined us and we went to the AR Museum of Discovery in Little Rock. Oh my goodness, those girls had so much fun. They played so hard and were so good. Well, for the most part....there was this one time that Anna hit another girl because she was playing with a toy that Anna wanted to play with. Well, not hit exactly, more like swatted at, but regardless, it was not acceptable. Anyways, other than that, she was great and had the time of her life.

Here goes Anna when we first got there. Running around, checking it all out....

And here she is riding an eggplant???????

And now reading a book on a big plastic sofa.... And then she posed as a football player with pigtails.....

Well, here we are, July 13, 2008.....exactly 6 years ago today, Howard and I were saying 'I do' to one another. We never thought about where would be 6 years from that day, and who knows where we will be in another 6 years. I love you, Howard, and can't wait to see where else this life together takes us!!!!

We made it back from vacation!!! We had a blast, but it's back to reality now. :)

The three of us headed out to Destin a week ago, and had the time of our lives. We played in the sand, played in the water, and watched a very dear friend get married!! Thanks, Stephanie and Mark, for having your wedding in such a beautiful and fun place!!!

So this was Anna's first time to the beach and she immediately knew what to do. She absolutely loved playing in the sand....

She also LOVED the ocean!! She would have stayed in it for hours on end had it not been for those pesky jellyfish!! There were tons of little ones that would sting just enough to be irritating!
So she spent some time surfing on the sand instead of in the water...

Then when she was tired of that, she spent some time laying out in the sun....well, actually it was in the shade but she didn't know the difference. She was just doing what all of the other girls were doing...
Then there was the wedding, of course. This is the only pic I got of the bride and groom and the entire wedding party. It was a very beautiful wedding, on the beach at sunset!! Who could ask for more!!

We all had a wonderful time and can't wait to head back to the beach......next year maybe. :)

Busy, busy, busy

But I guess that's the story of my life these days. And I'm loving it!!!! So we came back from the Memorial Day weekend with a short week at work. But for some reason, it seemed long. Maybe it's the fact that the boss is out for two weeks (last week and this coming week) and I'm having to fill those shoes on top of my own. It's a good feeling of accomplishment when it's all over and the department has survived, but right now, it's a bit overwhelming. But anyways, so work was busy and all this last week, but today, even though incredibly busy, was very much fun!! We got up this morning at 5 am, put on our running shoes (along with some other things), loaded up Anna, and set out for Little Rock. Howard and I both ran the Dino Dash 5k!! Not together (he's way faster than me), but we both did it. It was such a good time!!! My friend, LaMonica, actually ran it with me as my coach and encourager. She was perfect in every way. It got really tough about halfway through as we turned around and started running towards the sun. And the hills.....there were some big, long hills!!! It was a hard race, but I feel so good that I was able to finish. :) After the race, we met up with Howard's mom who had Anna for us while we ran, and we headed to the Museum of Discovery. Very cool place too!!! They have a space that is just for kids 6 yrs and younger, so it was perfect for Anna. She had a blast!! Didn't really want to leave, but we had to get back for cousin Katie's 1st birthday party!!! It's hard to believe that little girl is already one!! It was a great party, but I have to tell you, by the time we got home from that, I was tired! My head hit the pillow and I was down for the next hour. That was a wonderful nap too!! So here I am, Howard has run out to rent a movie, Anna has been asleep for an hour now, and I'm enjoying a diet coke (and some popcorn when Howard gets back with a movie)!! A perfect ending to a perfect day!! Oh, and hopefully I can post some pictures of these events at some point. I don't exactly have pictures on my camera, but will try to get some from those people who took pictures. Oh my gosh, I can't believe I forgot to mention the face lift!!!! Don't you guys just love it!!! I do, I think it's amazing. Christy at Be Design did an amazing job for me!!!

It was busy, but so much fun!!!

We had quite the weekend. I'm still exhausted, but I'm going to try to make this post happen. We all went to Louisiana for the weekend as there was a very important wedding to attend. :) Since the wedding wasn't until Saturday night, we decided to take the girls to the zoo.

Luckily for us, we had the best tour guide money can't buy. :) Cousin Aaron is the most precious and amazingly smart 7 year old I know. He definitely kept us informed with all kinds of animal information. I'm telling you guys, he's like a walking encyclopedia. So anyways, a couple of hours and several gallons of sweat later (it was so ridiculously hot and humid), we decided the girls were done. Besides, they needed a nap before the wedding. So that's what we did. Then it was off to the wedding. It was beautiful, as was the reception. We stayed out till almost midnight that night. Anna hung in there the whole time. Apparently she is a real party animal. And she even slept in the next morning, till 11:00!!!! Once we got up, dressed, and our bags packed, we spent a little more time with the family before we headed back home. Anna and Katie kept us entertained as always. :) How cute are these girls!?!?!?

I'm afraid her daddy may be leading her down the wrong path

Anna got a new toy.....a basketball goal. I'm not really all excited about it, as I would rather it have been her first ballet bar, but Howard didn't ask me what I wanted. So there you have it, her first basketball goal. And as you can see, she's figuring it out quickly..... or not.

She just needs a little bit of help, and daddy is right there to lend a hand. :)

Maybe in lieu of a ballet bar, I could just make her wear a tutu when she's playing basketball.

You never know what you might find

It's like everyone says.... if they're in the other room and being too quiet, they're probably up to something.

Well, sure enough, she was up to something. I couldn't even be angry with her though. I loved that she was exploring, even if it did mean that half a roll of toilet paper was unrolled and on the floor. AND she was picking off every little piece that was stuck to the roll.

I did it!!!!!

I finished my first ever 5k!!! This past Saturday, Kelly and I ran/walked a 5k! It was more awesome than I ever imagined it would be and I can't wait to do it again.

Good times

Anna and her daddy spent a little time flying a kite this afternoon.

And just as she was getting tired.....

The neighbors showed up with candy and tractors!!!
Then all was well!!

Quick Update

Yes, I realize it has been almost forever since you've seen an update from me. It seems like this last month has been so incredibly busy for us and I've just not a had a chance to sit down and do this. So instead of doing laundry right now while Anna's napping, I'm doing this. I hope you guys appreciate my procrastinating on the laundry to keep you all informed. :)

Anna has really started playing with her baby dolls. These have never really been her favorite toys, up until now. It's so cute too. I can ask her where her baby is and she'll run right over to the toys and start searching for her baby.

She also likes covering the baby doll up with blankets.......or whatever she can find. In this case, it was the dirty laundry. Yes, I made the mistake of leaving the laundry in the hallway, and Anna found it. You can see the little baby's head sticking out the top of the pile of clothes. :)

These next pictures I took just this morning. Anna found this gift bag in the closet. So I opened it up and sat her inside. She thought it was the funniest thing. Too bad I wasn't quick enough to catch the laughter. Instead I got this face.....

But once she got done playing inside of it, she threw one of the handles over her shoulder and started dragging it around the house with her. She loves to pretend to carry a purse. I guess she takes after her mother and likes big purses.

I didn't get a picture of it, but shortly after this picture was taken, I found her over in a corner of the kitchen filling the gift bag up with dog biscuits. She's a mess.

Happy Easter!!