Jumpin' with the Boys

Today I went to keep my nephews who had the chicken pox. Anna always loves to try to be one of the guys when they are around. Since she has found a new love of jumping I thought we'd go out and jump on the trampoline. These boys really look like they are sick huh? Ha! This is Logan (red shirt) and Ryan. They wouldn't admit it, but they love to play with Anna. They had a great time.

Singin' in the Rain.

Today is the first of several consecutive days they have predicted rain. Since Anna is SO insistent on going outside every minute of the day, I let her run around in the rain. It started out as being just an "educational" trip to the back porch where we'd learn where the rain comes from...etc. HA! But it quickly turned into just running and splashing. She still learned that the rain comes from "up dair". :)

My Office Redesign!

I recently was commissioned to redecorate an office downtown for an attorney. Here are some before and after pictures of the project. It turned out pretty good and I had fun doing it...even though it took me a while because I'm a one woman team. Ha! The attorney loves it. Notice the original art on the wall (the big striped painting...real original, right?!) Ha! The only thing I kept in the office were the two black leather(ish) "client"chairs. They were recovered amazingly by my new favorite upholstery man. :) Almost everything else is new. Even the stained concrete under the desk chair.

A NEW CAR!

Nana and Papaw bought Anna a new car. She loves to ride around and pretend she's driving.

Funny Face.

Even after the face-plant incident and bruise on ther face, she still had some time to make some faces for the camera.

Anna's First Shiner.

No, not the beer. And it's not even a "real" black eye...more like a black cheek bone. She was standing on the couch (I was sitting next to her!) and like lightning, threw her face into the window sill. She was fine. She only cried for a few seconds then was back standing on the couch doin' her thang. She pointed to the bruise later and said "ouchy". Funny. It really doesn't look as bad in this picture. It has gotten a little more blueish-purple... and I apologise for the crust around her nose.

She's Bailin' Out!

This morning when I went to rescue Anna from what she thinks is her cage, I found her straddling the top rail of her crib. Yes, half her body outside and over the rail and the other half in. My mom tells me that I used to bail out of my crib all the time, but I think she said I started doing it at a much younger age. Nonetheless, Anna has figured it out. I suppose it's only a matter of time before I hear a loud thump, which would be her hitting the floor, then hear a screaming child running down the hall and around the corner. I should set the video camera up, huh?

How to eat a bean burrito.

This is Anna's first attempt at eating a bean burrito. I really need to get her out of the rut i've enabled of chicken nuggets and green beans for every meal. She has shown several signs of only wanting that certain thing to eat. I have a friend who is a Child Development Researcher who had kids brought to her at like 9 months old who eat burritos for lunch...they eat them without any assistance!

Mornin' Sunshine!

Nice hair this morning...

We LOVE warm laundry!

Although it probably doesn't happen as often as it should around here, warm laundry is one of Anna's (and my) favorite things. The gravitational pull of a huge pile of warm, just out of the dryer laundry is just too great for her. She walks up to the pile with a huge smile and usually a little giggle, and as she nears the edge of the pile does the "nestea plunge" face first right on top. Then she swims around in the clothes and eventually buries herself. She lays there as the warmth slowly fades...which sometimes can take a while. I think she learned all of this from me since I usually wrap myself in warm laundry after I pull it out of the dryer. It's a nice quiet time for both of us as we lay in the floor with underwear, socks, blankets, and other things draped all over us.

Italy, Here We COME!

Ha! ...we wish. Our great friends, Justin and Amy, came to visit us last night on their way back home...TO ITALY!! They came bearing gifts for us and Anna. We got some amazing Italian chocolates and coffee and Anna got a super neat, hand painted venetian mask from Carnival (sp?). She had fun spreading the glitter around to everyone while trying on the mask. Justin and Amy were coming through for a family wedding and stopped to eat and chat before heading home to see the folks then boarding the long flight back to Aviano. We were SO glad to see them and so privileged to have them come by. Anna wasn't on her best behavior, but we managed to make it through the night without any huge meltdowns. Check out the link to their blog to the right to see some amazing pictures of where they get to live!

Out cold!

Anna got all bundled up and went on yet another wagon ride Saturday afternoon. She had had a long day of play with my sister's kiddos and Nana. She hadn't had much of a nap all day (which is much needed for everyone's sanity) so when Daddy took her around the neighborhood later that day she was pooped. He said she started slowly sinking down into the blankets and finally fell asleep about halfway into the ride. We pulled her into the living room and left her in the wagon since she'd for sure be up and ready to go if we tried to mover her. She slept there for almost 2 hours!

Land Ho!

Anna has a "telescope" on the top of her play set thingy. It has no real magnification. She likes to look through it every time she reaches the top. And I'm pretty sure she's got the wrong eye closed to be looking through it correctly. She gets the gist.

Pigtails and Sunglasses.

Anna LOVES her wagon. Every time we go outside to play she always goes straight to the wagon, points at it and says, "this?!" It was very sunny one day and I insisted she wear her eye protection. Ha! I knew it wouldn't last. But funny while it did.