Bananas and Bagels

It's been a few days now that we've been on the one nap a day schedule. Anabelle is doing ok with it. She is definitely most cranky around 11 am and 5 pm, and wants nothing but to be held and carried around. It helps to get out of the house and plan activities to keep us busy. Here she is on Saturday morning, she decided to wake me up at 7:00, which is early for her. Bananas and bagels for breakfast that day-yum!

Lately Anabelle has been getting attached to items and carrying them around the house. If you give her something to hold, or she finds something, she will carry it around with her for quite some time. If it is something that you don't want her to have and try to take it away, you are in for a fight. Where she used to be easy going, she now cries like it is the end of the word. So if it's not going to hurt her, or break the item I usually let her have it. You know, pick your battles. Today after a trip to the grocery store she carried around a package of tortillas for about 25 minutes and then finally decided she should put them in the fridge.

We are set to get some serious snow around here over the next few days, even a blizzard watch for tomorrow. So today we went to the grocery store to stock up, filled up the car with gas, and this afternoon we are off to the post office. Trying to get all the errands done so we don't have to leave the house if we don't want to. Hopefully we'll be able to get out and play in the fluffy white stuff.

Goodbye morning nap, I'll miss you!

John and I have been going back and forth for the last month about whether or not we should drop Anabelle's morning nap. It has been a busy month with travel and visitors and some illness thrown in for good measure. Every time we thought we would try, it just wasn't the right time. Last week she seemed like she might finally be ready, so this week we started. Her new schedule is:

wake up around 7:30

eat breakfast get dressed and play

get out of the house and do something fun!

12:00 home for lunch

12:30 nap

hopefully sleep till 3:30

eat a snack

play, go outside, or run errands

5:00 home to cook dinner (this is the hardest part of our day, Anabelle is tired and clings to my legs while I attempt to cook dinner and entertain her. Usually she only wants to be held and that's hard to do while cooking)

6:10 Daddy's home -Yay!!!

6:30 Dinner

7:00 bath or playtime

7:30 bed

So here is a picture from the 1st day. She had a bit of a hard time in the morning around 9:30 and was attempting to sleep everywhere, but standing up- wouldn't lay down . It was like she just wouldn't give up, but tried to lean on everything. Here she is leaning on the couch in her classic "I'm tired" pose.

Overall the new nap routine is going well, Anabelle seems to be adapting well. It does make the day longer for both of us, by bedtime I am exhausted too. On the upside we can now do more socializing. Most toddler activities (storytime, playdates, etc.) take place around 9 or 10 o'clock and so we would often miss them because of morning nap. Yesterday we were able to go to the library to see a puppet show. Anabelle did pretty well sitting through about 20 minutes before letting me know she was ready to go by getting chatty.

Later in the day we went outside to get some fresh air. It had snowed about 2 inches during nap time and since the temps were a little warmer (about 28) than they had been earlier in the week we thought we better get out and enjoy it.

Trying to eat the snow

Anabelle is getting better at walking around in full snow gear, but she still falls a lot and it is pretty frustrating for her.

As you can see in the video, she is getting better at communicating her wants and needs. Lately she shakes her head "no" at everything, even though sometimes I don't think she quite understands that she is saying no.

While Daddy's away...

Ooh Daddy left his bag here, let's see what's inside...

Head phones, I'll save these for later when I rock out with my ipod

Some coupons for when I order a pizza later

Here's the menu, I wonder if they have hot wings?

There has got to be something better in here

JACKPOT!!! Daddy's Kindle, now I can finish reading War and Peace

Lately Anabelle has been sitting on the bottom step of our staircases. She backs up slowly to it and just sits and bops her head to some "imaginary" music, and kicks her little feet. It's pretty cute. It makes for a good opportunity to take a picture of her since she is sitting still, which rarely happens.

How is it that toddlers can stand in the "hover" position for so long? They must have amazing muscles in their legs! Anabelle plays in this position most of the time. As if she is afraid to sit down because that will mean she is committed to playing with something for more than 1 minute.

Toddler Ownership Rules

Cleaning out my desk today I came across these rules; I acquired them while teaching at Loyola University Preschool and found them to be not only true, but pretty funny.

Toddler Ownership Rules

1. If I like it, it's mine.

2. If it's in my hand, it's mine.

3. If I can take it from you, it's mine.

4. If I had it a little while ago, it's mine.

5. If it's mine, it must never appear to be yours in any way.

6. If I'm doing or building something, all the pieces are mine.

7. If it looks like mine, it's mine.

8. If I think it's mine, it's mine.

9. If it's your and I steal it, it's mine.

10. If it's broken it's yours-maybe.

And just in case you were missing your favorite little girl, here she is wearing her Bears gear for the last time of the season (wah, wah insert sad pouty face).

Caution: This baby will try to bite you!

Toddler Fashion Show

Dressing a baby girl is the most fun thing in the world, and some days she is just so darn cute I have to take some pictures. After looking at these pictures I realized that we may have a future super model on our hands?

At the start of the runway, strike a pose

walking the runway, make sure to flash a smile for the audience

looking fierce!

don't forget to show the back of the outfit

pause at the end of the runway and give your best "I am way too cool to be here" look

tell your agent that hair bows are so 2010!

** This outfit is from Grandma Sue, love it!**

16 months of Anabelle!

Today our little Anabelle is 16 months old. I decided to snap some pictures before she went off to bed tonight. You might notice a small bump on her head over her right (your left) eye. That's because today after waking up from her nap she decided to do some acrobatics in her crib. Over the monitor we heard a very loud thump followed by a sudden and loud wail. Rushing into her room I found her sitting in her crib screaming and with a big lump on her head. But after about 2 seconds of attempting to hold an ice pack to her head, she was smiling and I realized it wasn't that bad. However it has made me worry about her ability to escape her crib and how soon that is going to happen? I hope we have a while because I am not ready to have Anabelle sleeping in a toddler bed yet. Here is the little monkey looking cute as usual.

Several times a day I open various doors throughout the house; the refrigerator, the pantry, the coat closet. Anabelle has learned that these doors don't stay open long and therefore she must go investigate. So as soon she hears the crack of the door she throws her little body into the space and begins to frantically grab whatever she can (i.e. raisins, mustard, olive oil, pretzels, a scarf or boot). Well tonight someone forgot to close the coat closet, I'm not gonna name names, but it wasn't me and there is only one other person who can open the door (**cough John cough**). Anyway little Miss Belle had a great time exploring and playing with shoes and boots.

Finally a little video for you from yesterday. Anabelle has been more into our cats lately, following them around and even petting Morgan from time to time, when he allows it. Merlin on the other hand (paw?) runs away anytime she comes near him, which of course makes her chase him more because she thinks its a game. Sometimes she'll even say "Meow" which is adorable =)

Time with good friends always goes by way too fast

My birthday started out great with my Mom coming by to make me a special breakfast; a pork roll sandwich. For anyone who doesn't know, this is a New Jersey thing. Pork roll is like a cross between bologna, salami, and summer sausage. Then you slice it in circles and fry it in a pan, you add an over easy egg, a slice of cheese and put it all on a crusty roll. It is THE BEST! What a way to start the day, thanks Mom!

Mom brought me a birthday balloon.

**please excuse my early morning pj's, no makeup, and not done hair look =)

Trying to get a birthday picture, with a not cooperative Anabelle.

After breakfast I spent the rest of the day running errands and preparing for our guests for the weekend, Adam and Marena. In the evening John got home and we had a birthday dinner at Outback and then home to open presents and put Anabelle to bed. John gave me a really pretty pair of silver hoop earrings. Then around 9 o'clock I headed to the airport to pick up 2 of my favorite people.

Adam & Marena

From the moment they got in the car till the moment I dropped them back off at the airport the fun didn't stop. We had a great time and my cheeks hurt from laughing so much. On Friday Adam and Marena went into the city to see a friend of ours defend his dissertation. Curtis is now Dr. Mason and we are very proud of him! We celebrated by trying out a Chicago tradition that we had never tried before. Hot Doug's has been touted as the best place in town for a hot dog. The line is long, but worth it. I had a char-grilled dog with ketchup, mustard and pickle. I also enjoyed some duck fat fries and tater tots. Everything was delicious, and the customer service in this place is phenomenal! I give it 5 stars.

John, Adam, Anabelle, Curtis, Erica, Marena at Hot Doug's.

I had to get in on the picture too.

Friday night we had a great time going out to dinner and then just hanging out. We spent a lot of time laughing and showing off our knowledge of 80s music. Saturday morning came way too early, we were all tired from staying up late. We had a fun day planned with some friends coming by to watch football and get a chance to visit with Adam and Marena while they were in town. It was nice to have a lot of old friends from college around and get a chance to catch up.

Anabelle enjoying some cake from Marena.

Anabelle and Darcy.

Me Marena and Darcy

Before we knew it, Sunday morning was here and it was time to take Marena and Adam to the airport. I wish we lived closer, but I am so thankful that we do get to see them as often as we do. Can't wait for the next time we are together!

Anabelle and Marena get in a few last hugs.

Bye Adam and Marena, we love you, thanks for visiting!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today I am 32 years old. For the last 2 years I have been so preoccupied with having a baby that I didn't realize until now, that I am in my 30s. I am not going to boo-hoo about getting older. I am going to celebrate that I am here to get older. If this last year has taught me anything, it is that a long life is not always a given. So I am going to celebrate my birthday and be grateful that I have a fabulous life that I love. Thank you to my family and friends for being so supportive and making life more fun. John you are wonderful; always making me laugh, and taking care of me -I love being your wife. Anabelle you are everything I ever dreamed our daughter would be and more, you amaze me every day!

Lots of fun times to be had this weekend with friends and family all around me, I can't wait!!

No Fool in the Rain

John and I kicked off our weekend with some really exciting stuff! (Now that we are getting older it is a cold hard fact that this really is excitement for us -sad I know) We broke down and purchased a snow blower. Thanks to lots of gift cards from Christmas, it didn't end up costing us very much. Here is John testing it out. We'll see how it goes when I have to use it, I don't have very much faith in my ability to run a snow blower. I for see it taking off at a breakneck speed with me flailing behind trying to figure out how to stop it. You're welcome for that visual =)

Saturday night John and I were treated to a fantastic night out courtesy of our friend B-Towne. We boarded a party bus in Lombard and then traveled down town to the House of Blues. Once there we were told to skip the line and go around to the side door. The door man took our tickets and put special wristbands on us and sent us to the elevator. From there we went up to the 4th floor VIP room, which was awesome! It was pretty cool to see a side of the HOB, we would never have normally seen. We were there to see a Led Zeppelin cover band, which despite not playing my favorite song of all time, was pretty good. We were able to watch the show from a separate balcony, and it wasn't too crowded. We had a great time. We ended the night dancing to a live band by the stage. It was a late night for us, but worth it.

Our busy weekend left me with a sore throat, so I am attempting to rest up and get ready for all the festivities that are coming our way this week. Thursday is my birthday, and Marena and Adam are flying in. I can't wait to see them! We have lots planned so it should be a fun and busy weekend.

With a busy week ahead, Anabelle decided I needed some help around the house and so she offered to unload the groceries today. Good thing I have her around or nothing would get done!

Dressed to impress

Uncle Mike and Auntie Steph got this adorable dress for Anabelle from Lid'l Dolly's, a store in Tennessee. They specialize in making Southern Belle and pageant dress. Don't worry I'm NOT gonna go all Toddlers and Tiaras on you. We thought it would be fun to play dress up and take some pictures. I think it will be Anabelle's Easter dress this year. We just need to get some little white shoes by then.