Show-off!

So, yesterday we went to my parents' house to have Thanksgiving dinner with my dad's side of the family. When we arrived, everyone crowded around Annika in the kitchen to see how much she had changed since their last visit. Aunt Blanche made the comment, "She's probably running around like crazy these days, huh?" I replied, "No, she isn't walking yet." Then I turned around to unpack our food and heard everyone gasp and cheer. When Geoff put her down and let go of her hands, she walked to my mom! I'm convinced that Annika took her first steps just to prove me wrong! Of course, we spent the rest of the afternoon getting her to do it over and over again.

As long as we kept clapping, she kept walking!

She had a few falls when she dove toward her destination!
When we left my parents' house, we took an old friend with us. My mother recently went through our childhood toys and kept the ones that were still in pretty good shape. My brother and I used to play with this Fisher Price farm when we were little. Along with the A-frame house, school, and construction site, it provided us hours of entertainment. As you can see, Annika loved playing with it, too. She especially enjoyed putting the construction worker in the tractor seat. (He must have escaped from the construction site that stayed at Nanny and Pop's house!)

Blessings

This morning I am reminded of all the many blessings in my life. . .

I am married to the most honest man in the world. He loves us very much. I am thankful for our marriage and home.

Someone, unbeknownst to me, has taught my Butterbean to say, "Cheese!" when she sees the camera. Can you see the bottom tooth that finally popped through last night?

I have a wonderful family, which includes my five precious nieces and nephews, Sam, Julia, Tori, Mallory, and Chase. Happy Birthday Mallory!

I love my job and am blessed to work with people who are passionate about what they do and inspire me to be a better person.

I was raised with wonderful women role models-Aunt Connie, Mother, and Mimi. Annika will surely be blessed by them, as well.

I am continuously blessed by the curiosity of my child. Here she is this morning watching the squirrels outside her window.

I am blessed by many loyal, true friends, whose pictures would take up an extraordinary amount of space. My oldest and dearest being Lori, April, and Cindy.

I am blessed to have recently rekindled old relationships with my dear friends, Anna and Melanie.

I am blessed to be loved and cherished by God the Father and Comforter. He has never forsaken me.

Look closely, and don't overlook your blessings.

The Artist

I've tried several times lately to get Annika to color or paint. My attempts usually ended with me prying the crayon or paint-covered finger out of her mouth and abandoning the whole idea. Today we tried again with these great toddler crayons. She really enjoyed marking on the paper and then examining what she wrote! She paused several times to point out what she had done and "tell" me all about her artwork. Clear some refrigerator space Grandpa/Bestemor and Nanny/Pop because an artist has arrived!

Look what I did Mommy!

Visit to the farm

This weekend, Annika got to visit my parents on the farm. It looks like they had a fun-filled weekend! She had a wonderful visit with Nanny and Pop, and she even got to see her Uncle Jud! Geoff and I used the time alone to run errands, try out a new restaurant (Holeman-Finch Public House), and sleep in past 6:30 a.m. We missed our little Butterbean, but she had a terrific time!

The fall decorations at Rutland Farms are always the best!

Hanging out with Uncle Jud.

Post bath snuggle time with Nanny

This photo was taken after we arrived to pick her up. She wasn't quite ready for her visit to be over! Who blames her?

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

Annika received this adorable "Butterbean" costume last year from Bestemor (Geoff's mom, Lily), but it was way too big for her little tiny body. This year Bestemor bought her a great monkey outfit, but we discovered that it was too small as we dressed for her costume party at school. I climbed in the attic, dug out the bean costume and cut some holes for her long legs. She LOVED this costume! She kept leaning her face over on the beans like they were her pillows!

After snapping a few photos at home, Geoff and I took her to EAV-O-WEEN in the village. (We live in East Atlanta Village.) She really enjoyed watching all of the other kids, adults, and especially the dogs, in their costumes. Here's a family shot. Geoff and I didn't sport our costumes until we headed to the Monster Bash on Nash Avenue later on in the evening.

Annika and I have a secret guilty pleasure of watching "Yo Gabba Gabba" on Noggin in the evenings. Our friend, Reid, made this awesome costume and dressed as DJ Lance from the show. Annika kept pointing to him and saying, "Daa" for dance. She bobs her head and dances any time she hears the words, "Yo Gabba Gabba"! The friendly faces from left to right are Annika, Geoff, Princess Aubrey, DJ Lance, and Witch Adrienne carrying their newest family member, Abram.

We hope you had a memorable Halloween! Boo!

Mowing the hardwood floors, just like Daddy!

A month ago, when Annika turned one, Geoff and I bought her a walk-along toy. Rumor had it that she used the one at daycare all of the time. Of course, as it usually goes with finicky toddlers, she refused to use the toy once Geoff and Grandpa Glenn put it together. She points to it a lot and says, "Wheeee!" since that's the noise we use to entice her to use it, but refuses to push it. Yesterday afternoon, Annika was watching Geoff mow the lawn with the push mower. I guess she thought that Daddy was playing with his "Wheeee!" toy. She immediately came inside and began pushing hers all around the house screaming, "Wheeee!" When she hit the walls or furniture, she yelled "Uh-Oh!" until I came to the rescue.

Was she tired after all of that pushing around the house??? No! Although she's still not walking yet, climbing is on the top of Butterbean's "fun things to do when Mommy's not looking" list. Eating dog food, pulling Geoff's sports collection off the shelf, and putting rocks in her mouth also fall on this list!

Speaking of Geoff's collections. . . the Duff beer plate and fake can is one of his wonderful displays. Please note that it is hidden behind the refrigerator! He looks forward to the day when we have a room for his "stuff", and I do too!

Enjoying the weather

What a beautiful afternoon! After we got home from school, Annika and I played in the backyard for a bit. Geoff has worked so hard making our backyard a refuge that we can all enjoy. You should have seen the overgrown mess that existed when we moved in four and a half years ago. Annika loves being outside, especially since it means she can pick up rocks, dig in the dirt, and smell the flowers.

She almost stood up by herself . . .then she realized that she wasn't holding on to anything.

She didn't let her first taste of dirt ruin her appetite! Butterbean fed herself the entire dinner I fixed for her-woohoo! She had 1/2 of a rice cake with peanut butter, dried cherries, home-grown tomatoes, some baby food, milk, and rotini with tomato sauce. It's the largest meal she's had in a while, so we were thrilled!