So Lucky!

We're so lucky to have two of the most wonderful, adorable children!
Happy St. Patrick's Day!

All Better Now!!

Everyone is feeling tons better now...Thank goodness! We did have another visit to the doctor for Annabel early this week because she broke out in this horrible all out body rash (like we needed THAT!) on Monday and when I called Tuesday morning (when it got even worse!) they said they definitely wanted to see her. Turns out Annabel is allergic to penicillin. She'd been on day 8 of her ten day course of antibiotics for her double ear infection, but apparently reactions for this medicine often occur during the mid-late end of the treatment course. Who knew? Anyway, Annabel is now labelled as having a penicillin allergy, so we'll avoid that one in the future! The good news was that her ear infections had cleared up and we didn't have to switch to a new medicine. SO...with that, everybody is feeling much better now!

And just in time for some great weather, too! More on our outdoor adventures soon...for now, here are some cute "we're feeling MUCH better" pictures! Enjoy!



Annabel did finally make friends with her medicine! No, she's not administering it to herself here, but she did love grabbing onto the dispenser and helping us- which actually did help because she'd take a little bit in, push it away and swallow, pull it back in for more, push it away and so on. That was better than the struggle it was when we first started the meds! Thanks, Annabel...we appreciated your help and it was super cute, too!


Annabel LOVES Daniel's cars and trucks!


We took the kids to IKEA one night when everybody was finally well enough to get out of the house a little- that felt great, I'll tell you. Daniel got a new road rug which he loves!


Annabel finally started eating food again! And she's full steam ahead with real people food, too- she's enjoying some pasta here. She'll gain that pound she lost while sick back real fast!


This picture will kill my brother (we're SOX fans, hello?!), but it was too cute to pass up! For the record, BEN put the hat on her, not me.


We knew Annabel was finally feeling better when she started becoming quite the escape artist! She's about to move the gate in this picture.


Annabel LOVES the dishwasher! (You can see the rash on her cheeks if you look closely.)


Annabel loves pretending to talk on the phone! She's just as chatty as her mommy!


Another example of how much Annabel loves Daniel's cars...she actually drives them, too. And she knows that they have to be placed wheels down- she'll fix them if they're upside down. Smart girl! I love her expression here, too.


More escaping. She's trying to figure out how to move the other end of the gate this time, since we now block the looser end with a chair. We're discussing the situation because this is getting silly and Annabel also figured out today that she could just go down the other (unblocked) hall- yes, we have another hall off our kitchen that leads to the dining room (it's on the other side of the cabinet you can see in this picture). There just really isn't any stopping this girl!


Annabel is also quite the climber these days. She climbed onto Daniel's chair without any trouble the other day. She was very proud of herself! On the one hand, I wanted her to get down, on the other she's SO cute!


I did get her to sit down in the chair and she was just absolutely precious- too cute for words! This picture reminded me of when we first got the chair for Daniel. I remember how cute and proud he was, too. We'll be getting a chair for Annabel, too, someday...although if she's gonna be on this one a lot, that someday may come sooner.


More pictures coming soon because we've been having a FUN week! Stay tuned!

Annabel is 11 Months Old!

Annabel is 11 months old today! She will be one in just a few weeks....WHERE did the time go? Well, I know where it went for the last six weeks- it all went to being sick and recovering, my poor family. But other than that, the last year just FLEW by! So now my baby, my baby, is 11 months old...and so begins the last month before the big ONE!

I have to say, in spite of all the sickness, this past month was a busy one for Annabel. She is learning so much so fast all of a sudden. It's been so much fun to see all the things Annabel is learning and all the new ways that she is playing.

One of the newest things we're seeing Annabel do lately is imitate us. She is always watching us and picking up on new things. The combing I shared a while ago was a great example, but there are other little things I can tell she notices and tries to do, especially when it comes to toys. You can just see her watching us play and interact with toys and then the next minute she's trying to do just what we were doing- like stacking blocks or driving cars and such. It's so cute and tons of fun to watch.

Annabel also loves giving things to us lately. We are having a lot of fun playing along with her. She makes the cutest little "excited" talking sounds when she gives us stuff, too. She's clearly very proud and excited to play this way. And if she isn't giving something to you, she's showing it to you- just as excitedly!

Annabel is also quite the collector these days. She always has more than one toy or spoon in each hand and this doesn't stop her from picking up/grabbing more- she will just keep adjusting the stuff in her hand so she can get more! It's pretty funny to watch. However, feeding her requires multiple spoons because she will undoubtedly take them all away. If she has a spoon in each hand already, this isn't a problem for her- she just puts both spoons into one hand and then takes the next spoon and she'll keep doing this. She can handle three spoons in one hand no problem! Aiyiyi. It's a good thing she's moving onto finger foods much more now.

Annabel also helps us clean up- at least it seems that way. Whenever Daniel and I are cleaning toys up, Annabel is right there helping us put the toys in the bin, box, etc. It's like she knows we're cleaning up and she knows how to do that. I love it! I'll start her early with that, no problem. Of course she often takes at least one toy right back out, but she does love putting things in containers, so "cleaning up" is fun for her.

Daniel's recent dancing phase is very exciting for Annabel, too, because she loves music. We think it's cute the way she "bounces" to music. She loves this kitty piano that we have- she loves to push the button to make the music come on, she loves to press the piano keys. Her face lights up with delight and she squeals with excitement when that kitty piano is on. It's the cutest thing!

Annabel claps all the time now, too. You always know when she's excited and happy because she's clapping. Her claps are just the cutest. And right up there with clapping and back to loving music, one of Annabel's favorite toys are the cymbals from the music kit Daniel got for his birthday. She just loves the things- she has the biggest smile whenever she hears these or plays with these.

And speaking of Annabel's smile, she's got quite the toothy smile! I think it's too cute! Annabel has two top teeth and two bottom teeth so far. Not sure when more are coming since I don't see any others coming up just yet.

Peek-a-boo has always been a favorite game of Annabel's, but lately, she will even cover us herself. And that toothy smile is always plastered on that face when we come out of hiding! Of course she hides herself behind things, too, and she loves when we find her. She was laughing so much the other day when we were playing peek-a-boo and it was the cutest thing ever. And this girl doesn't laugh much, which made those peek-a-boo moments even more precious.

Annabel is a pro at climbing the stairs now. She loves to climb the stairs. This also means she's become a pro at moving the gates that block the stairs. We are currently just using those flexible gates (the kind you link together that can make lots of different shapes- we put ours around the tree one year for Daniel) to block the stairs in the basement and the hall from the kitchen that leads to the main stairs in our front hall. These gates don't stop her at all! It's a good thing she gets so excited about what she's doing and starts making her cute "ooo-ooo" noises, so that we always know when she's moving the gates and heading up the stairs or down the hall! In any case, the gates slow her down for about two seconds and then we are always right behind her!

Annabel seems to understand us so much more now, too. You can tell things are just clicking in her brain when we are talking to her. She gets excited when we tell her what we're doing, what we're eating, etc. before we even get there- you can tell she knows what we're talking about. I love this! Annabel even seems to understand "no"- she will stop and look at you and even try to say the word occasionally "nanana" and then most of the time she moves on. She might go back a few seconds later or she'll at least wait until you notice her before further attempts (isn't this kind of her?!), but another reminder "no" with another fun distraction usually suffices. We'll see how long this lasts!!

I mentioned above that Annabel is moving onto finger foods much more lately. I'm really glad to be moving onto this stage finally! She is SO interested in our foods lately that we've been giving her small pieces of our foods, too, when they're manageable and safe for her. Annabel will even grab food out of our hands! She took a (homemade- yes I felt like baking today!) chocolate chip cookie RIGHT OUT of Ben's hand this afternoon and proceeded to eat it all! We kind of let her because it was so gosh darn cute! Don't worry- we watched her carefully, she took her time, very small bites and all- and of course I took lots of pictures which I'll share another time. She's getting really good at feeding herself big chunky things (such as her Gerber "crunchies") by taking small bites. Annabel did go through a phase of about two weeks where she didn't eat hardly ANY food (not even purees)- but I finally pegged that to her (probably painful!) double ear infection. In fact, when we went to the doctor yesterday, they weighed her and she'd actually lost a pound. Not surprising, but with how eager she is about food these days I have no doubt she'll gain that back just fine! Daniel is of course very excited that Annabel can eat real food, too. We're trying to teach him what she can have and what is still not safe, and how we can make the foods she can have safe for her and so on. I think it's working because when we went out to dinner at Patio the other night, Daniel took his french fry and broke off a teeny tiny (as he called it, and yes it was a teeny- about 1 cm) piece of his french fry for her! He was so proud of himself. I figured eh it's soft and it was small and he was so good about it, why not let her try it. Her first french fry. I didn't even have the camera! Annabel didn't think much of it anyway. Later, later, she can try again! Anyway, it's fun to have the adventure of giving Annabel new foods to try. So far she loves bread/baked (and sweet- ahem) anything...that's my girl!

And finally, the one thing that I'm most excited about lately are the kisses Annabel is always giving us! I love 'em!! She's sort of done them before, but now I feel like they really are kisses! I'll take 'em all!

Road to Recovery

Well- Hopefully we're on the road to recovery now. Daniel told us his fortune cookie on Sunday said: "Get Well, Annabel!" That was so sweet! I loved it.

So, here's the story...After hitting a fever of 104 degrees yesterday morning, I took Annabel to the doctor. (I hope to never experience a fever that high again- it took three hours to come down, and that was with Ibuprofen- my poor baby was miserable! Thankfully she slept through most of it. She was worn out.) Diagnosis: DOUBLE ear infection! (First time for ear infections for all members of this house- Ben never got them, I never got them, and Daniel has never had one, yet- now go knock on some wood!) My poor baby. No WONDER she's been miserable, all day and all night. So we're on meds again in this house. Annabel doesn't think much of them- even if they do taste like some kind of fruit- it's a challenge to get her to keep all of the medicine in her mouth! She likes her Ibuprofen better- she sucks that stuff down no problem and will open her mouth wide for that. Maybe she just knows how much better it makes her feel. Anyway, we're already seeing improvement from her prescription and a few more days should make things even better, too. Let's just hope we can kick all of this stuff out of the house for good now!

And now, I have some CUTE pictures to share with you! Annabel has recently starting imitating us- it's been lots of fun to watch her try to do the things I do. Last night, she found her comb and gave it to me, so I combed her hair. Then I gave her the comb and SHE combed her hair, too. It was the most precious thing! She was so proud of herself, too. She's just so sweet. Take a look at our cutie pie!

This is a GREAT shot of all four of her teeth!

Annabel "combs" her hair!

Still combing her hair! (The comb is in her curled up hand- not sure what the other hand was doing! It's a funny picture!)

Here's a short video, too! Annabel is so pleased with herself!

Please, please send us your healthy and stay healthy vibes!!!

More Videos!

Here are some videos from the last few weeks. We've got some cute stuff going on (in spite of all the sickness). Enjoy!

Here's an elaborate story from Daniel. And actually, before I took this video, he was even adding sound effects- "boom boom boom." In case you get "lost," Daniel is talking about how George (as in Curious George) got into our pipes before (on the ceiling of the basement) and now for some reason he's banging on them. Daniel sure makes up some interesting stories sometimes!

Annabel LOVES these little cymbals! It's so cute to watch her. (Daniel is looking for George- from the previous video!)

I thought this next one was cute...Daniel has been making his cars "talk" lately- they talk to us, they talk to each other. It's cute. In this case, the tow trucks are talking. Oh and George is still running away!

Here's a video of our fun new racetrack. Daniel doesn't want the car to "bescape" (his word for escape)- cracks me up!

Daniel made an owl puppet from materials we got at Nature Class. He was very excited to make the puppet- he cut a few pieces out and I cut the more complicated ones. Then he glued the pieces on and flew his puppet around. The owl ate things all over the house and then at one point he spat out the bones- just like we learned in class.

Here's Daniel's ABC song. When he's feeling contrary, which he apparently was in this video, he sings the ending- "Next time DON'T you sing with me." Aiyiyi. Life with a three year old! Anyway, he did okay in this video, once he got going- it's hard to catch him in the mood to sing and then to have him sing it right, but you still get the idea! I think it's fun to listen to him sing no matter what! Notice Annabel in the background pushing the stepladdder, having her own fun.

And now for some dance floor and music fun! Enjoy!

And here's a little music fun with Annabel, too! First she gets a hug, then the music goes and you can just make out her adorable little bounce! Just don't mind her runny nose.

And finally, one last video- a snippet of Annabel standing! More and more each day. Again, don't mind the watery eyes.

That's it for now!

Medicated Happiness!

It hasn't been much of a fun week around here...runny noses (Annabel has learned to start crawling away fast as soon as she sees tissues in our hands!), hacking coughs (the first of this kind for both of my kids!), fevers, absolutely NO appetite, and just plain tiredness. This cough/cold is definitely taking it's time in this house. Hopefully Monday everybody will feel infinitely better! Although with Annabel starting a high fever again...who knows, we may end up at the doctor on Monday. Sigh. BIG sigh.

Let me just say...thank goodness for Ibuprofen. It's like magic around here! And I'm not one to push medicine, at all (I like to try to wait it out)- but with these fevers and how miserable the kids have been, that medicine has sure helped! It put smiles back on our faces and gave my kids energy again...even if it was temporary! I could always tell when the medicine kicked in- Annabel would want to get down (from our arms) and start crawling and playing again, and Daniel would start talking and telling stories and walking around again. Otherwise, both kids were knocked out in laps (Annabel) or chairs (Daniel), clinging to me (Annabel) or to lion and kitty cat (Daniel) and we just plain didn't do a whole lot. So, I'll take the medicated happiness!

So here are a few "happy" pictures from our week. Ben missed the moment the other day when Annabel was clonked out in my lap (facing forward even, just sprawled out, arms to the side, legs tucked under a blanket- very cute but very unusual! my poor baby- she was just miserable enough to not care how she fell asleep)...so we didn't get that gem of a shot on camera, which is okay- I'd like to remember the happy moments, even if they were few and far between this week.

Daniel has deemed this flattened cardboard box his "dance floor" and he loves just dancing and flopping about on it. It's pretty funny. Yes, this was a medicated burst of energy! And no, I don't know where he got the idea for a dance floor!

Annabel had fun with this fire hat the other day- we played peek-a-boo, her favorite game!

Annabel also had fun with this tunnel, too. Another medicated burst of energy in this house! She didn't want to move much this week; she didn't want to be put down much either. Poor thing practically lost over a week's worth of walking practice!

Hi Mommy!
Check out those teeth!

One of the rare moments this week when Annabel did want to play...it was so sweet to watch her. I loved how she was sitting in this position...so cute!

Annabel's newest game- getting and giving things to you. We played "fetch" with this ball for over 10 minutes (Daniel was napping- so it was a good uninterrupted chance to play!). We had the most fun!

Another (small) burst of energy...Annabel crawled up the stairs and then had fun playing peek-a-boo with me from behind doors!

Annabel ventured behind our couch to the bookshelf the other day. She proceeded to take all the books off the shelf. We read many of them, she tasted many of them, we had fun.

The other day, Daniel built "merry-go-rounds with pulleys on the roof" with this game set we have. I thought this was very creative.

Annabel's claps are SO darn cute! Can't get enough of them, and I can't ever seem to catch them on video either!

Not much else new here...just please send us good health vibes! Thanks!