Such A Little Grown-Up :)

She might be about ready to start earning her keep around here, seeing as how she can take care of a baby and talk on the cell phone at the same time!

We had her 1 year check-up and shots today.  She's a little grown-up now!

Height - 30.25 inches ( 90%)
Weight - 22.32 lbs (86%)
Head - 18.3 inches (88%)

To Annabel

My sweetest little Pickle: 

Today you are one.  ONE.  Wow!

You are such a happy baby.  You’re so sweet!  You love to give hugs, you light up when someone you know walks into the room, and you don’t really like to be alone.  If someone leaves you, you will follow them wherever they’ve gone and stay close, typically raising your hands up at their feet to be picked up. 

Whenever we say “Hello!” you put your hand up to your ear like you’re talking on a phone.  I have to think it has more to do with us playing with your toy phone than you imitating what you see… we’re not on the phone that much!  And whenever we say “bye-bye” you used to wave, but now you’ve started blowing kisses.  Anytime you hear the garage door open or close… you start with the kisses. 

You also give real kisses freely.  Although I’m not sure a wide open mouth and tongue hanging out is exactly appropriate to be using on everyone, I still love it :)

You love balls, Dex’s toys, his cars… you like to copy how he plays with his cars.  He races around pushing them along the floor and so you will do the same thing. 

You love Lilly and you love pulling her tail.  I have to constantly remind you that we don’t pull her tail, then we’ll pet her for a little bit and then you’ll go after her tail again.  She’s a fairly good sport about it.  She just runs off if she’s had enough. 

You love the silky trim on your blankets, eating food by yourself, and being chased.  Oh my gosh, chasing you makes you laugh SO hard, it’s the cutest thing.  I want to remember that laugh forever! 

You also love the water!  You’re a champ in the pool.  You’ve already started putting your face in the water and you’re learning to blow bubbles.  You can imitate Dex and me pretty well.  You’re just so smart :)

Baby girl, you are both confident and willful.  You are not a cry-er and you are not afraid to try things.  You climb, you run, you fall and get right back up.  I can only remember one time that you’ve bonked yourself so hard that it made you cry.  And you’ve bonked yourself a lot!  You might just be a little bruiser, like Daddy says.  If I am in your way, you will grab my hand and move it so you can get where you want to go.  You’re moving up and down the stairs with ease.  Well, maybe you’re not so graceful going down, but you can still do it! 

You love your brother.  I would call you borderline obsessed with him.   I think he makes you laugh more than anyone else.  I love seeing that look in your eye when you’re watching him.  It’s just sheer adoration.  I hope you two are great friends forever. 

Anna, I prayed for you for a long time and then I waited for you to grow in my belly for nine excruciating months (I don’t particularly like to wait for things :)).  Waiting to see what you would look like, what you would act like, what kind of personality you would have… I worried and anticipated, and then all of the sudden you were here!  You didn’t look anything like I thought you would, but you are the most beautiful girl I could have ever imagined.   Your sweet smile where you face squishes together when you look at me or your wide open grin as you run my way just melt my heart every single time.  You are the happiest little thing I’ve ever seen.   You have most definitely made our family complete. 

I know I have been given a very special task of being yours and Dex’s mommy, and I don’t ever want to take that for granted.  I’m not perfect, but I try every single day to give you what you need and love you like you deserve to be loved.

I love you more than you will ever know,

Mommy

I love these pictures because she's in the little cradle Poppy made her and the quilt Emi made when she was born.  One whole year ago :) 

Sit Down

I can't get this girl to sit down in the bathtub.  I put a non-slip pad on the entire bottom so I feel a little better, but she either stands up and loves the bath or sits down and hates it!  haha!  I say "Sit down honey!  Sit down sweetie!  SIT DOWN ANNA!" a hundred times while she's taking a bath.

Parent Vacation - Belize

**Warning:  Picture overload!**  

Sean and I took our first tropical vacation last week.  And my first time to ever use a passport!  It was WONDERFUL and so needed.  A big thank you to my parents for keeping the kids for us so we could enjoy a week away  :)

We stayed at the Matachica Resort & Spa.  It was individual little "huts" all along the beach.

This was the view from our hut/house. 

A few ocean pics.

Our house for the week!

We had to take a boat to get anywhere on the Island.  This is the town of San Pedro behind Sean.  This is the main town on the Island, about a 10 minute boat ride from where we stayed. 

A little crab friend.  Look, he's smiling at me!  :)

There is a large coral reef about a half mile from the beach.  These little pieces of coral washed up all along the shore.  I think this picture looks like a coral bone yard.

Teeny-tiny sea shells!

An iguana at breakfast.

It was overcast and rainy the first 2-3 days, so I walked around and took some pictures along the beach.

One of our rainy mornings... sitting and drinking coffee and listening to the rain.

One day we went to the mainland to go see Mayan ruins and do some cave tubing.  Just getting there was quite the adventure, and I'll just say that there are no pictures because I had my camera in the wet bag because we were all so soaked (and cold and miserable). 

The top of the tallest ruins were WAY up there.  I'm talking super scary to look down and there were no rails or guard or any kind... eek.

If you looked to the left you could see Belize... 

...and if you looked to the right you could see Guatemala.  

Us at the top.  I wish you could tell a little better where we actually were... oh well.  WE KNOW.

We were at the top of this thing!

Can you see those people at the very top on the picture below??

A little bit of the local cuisine we ate...

Sean did some fishing one day.  We delivered it to the kitchen where we were staying and they cooked it for us for two nights we were there.  You can see the iPhone pics below.  They're not great, but you get the idea.  It was a feast!

We devoured it :)

Second night of fish.

And finally, we got our resort certification and went scuba diving.  Our friends took some underwater pics which I'm excited to see.  I haven't gotten them yet, but hopefully you won't be able to see the sheer terror in my face  :)

These are some sharks off the side of the boat.  We actually went snorkeling with these guys and some stingrays in the shark-ray cove.  These are nurse sharks, which I guess means they won't eat you ???   

After scuba-ing.  My hair is ca-razy!

Oh yeah!  I dove Belize!!

Until next time, Belize!!  We will be back :)