Playing the piano

A special treat for Anna is getting to play the piano. We have my Great Grandma's piano and it's old and out of tune but very special. We hope Anna will want to learn to play the piano or some musical instrument as she's very into music, singing, dancing, etc. as is Mommy and Daddy.

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Julie and Mary

Anna LOVES her babies. Julie and Mary are her "best friends" and keep her very entertained throughout the day. She's often quite busy feeding them, changing their diapers and clothes, and taking them for walks or to the grocery. She can also make them burp and likes to sing to them. She'll be a great help here in a few months when her new brother or sister arrives.

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Little Fishy

Anna is such a fish when it comes to water. She loves floating, getting her face wet, and playing in the tub, pool, or whatever is around that involves water. I often catch her with her stool pushed up to the kitchen sink trying to play in the water there. We'll definitely be starting swim lessons next spring.

Fall weather

We've enjoyed some beautiful fall weather lately and it's been so nice having the windows open and playing outside without being hot. We take walks almost every night after dinner which Anna loves and it's been fun chatting with the neighbors all over the subdivision as well. Anna's also had a good time playing with her new soccer ball. Daddy thought she needed one and every time we go outside now she has to have the soccer ball with her.

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Riding the train

Last Sunday night was the kick off for our Awana children's program at church and to celebrate they had the Boilermaker Special come. Anna loves trains and was pretty excited to get to ride on it until they blew the whistle. That was a bit scary for her as it's soooo loud but she did well.

Videos

I've had trouble getting recent videos to work so I'm trying a new site that I've seen on a friend's blog. We'll see if this works. I'm still in the process of learning this so I accidentally have two videos back to back. One is Anna on the pony ride and the other is from our friends' visit a few weeks ago, the girls playing in the wagon.

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Labor Day weekend

This past weekend we went to a Labor Day festival and Miss Anna got to ride a pony. We went to this same festival last year and she loved her pony ride then but we weren't sure how she'd like it this year. She LOVED it as you can see from the pictures and the video. She giggled the entire time which had us giggling too of course. It's amazing how much she's grown and changed in just a year!

Labor Day weekend 2006

Labor Day weekend 2007 - where did those long legs come from??

She looks so chunky with all the baby fat! :0)

Now she's a big girl

What a nice pony! My sister and her family, my brother, and Michael's dad all came for the festival as well. We had a good time especially once the game of volleyball in our backyard began. I don't think the college recruiters will be giving any of us a call anytime soon. :0)

Anna and Kenley had a great time getting dirty while we played volleyball. They were busy in the sand table, eating chocolate chip cookies, and playing in the shed. Here's a picture of the dirty little ladies before getting a serious soak in the tub. Too bad the picture doesn't show the ketchup all over Anna's face from her dinner, her filthy feet from going barefoot, and Kenley's black hands from the sand. They were a mess but very happy! They also both had very stinky poopy diapers. :0)

Visting Unca Nate

Last weekend we went to visit my brother, Nathan, at college. Anna was so excited. Of course she had to take her Dora backpack, can't go anywhere without it. She took off sprinting when she saw Nate and wouldn't let him put her down for the longest time. He's definitely her bud!

Nate has a pretty nice dorm room compared to what mine looked like many years ago. A 42" flat screen t.v., DVD player, playstation 2...they're living it up! Anna made herself quite at home settling in on the fouton and laying down on a pillow.

Big girl bed

We've transitioned Anna to a toddler bed and she's doing well. It took a few days to get her comfortable in it and to get her to stay in it but I think we've made it. The first time we put her in it, she locked us out of her room. The second time we went in to find she had emptied her dresser and was trying to put her bathing suit on. The third time she had looked at books that she left all over the floor and then fell asleep in the rocking chair (see last picture). But I think we're past all that now as she's been staying in her bed at naptime and bedtime and sleeping good. YEA!!

The batteries in my camera were running low and I couldn't get the flash to work but hopefully you can pick out the exhausted little girl asleep in the rocking chair in the corner. :0)

Fun with Friends

We had a great time this weekend with friends. Quentin, Paula, Elli and Jess came to visit and stay for a few days and it was so nice to see them again. We've been spoiled getting to see them 2 times in the past 2 months after not having seen them for 2 years after we moved from TN to TX!

On Saturday we went to a very advanced, large dairy farm that has tons to see and do. The corporation milks 30,000 cows across ten different farms and owns 19,000 acres. They make their own cheese, milk, and ice cream. We took a bus ride to one of the farms to see how they care for their animals. The girls loved riding on the bus.

The farm keeps all the heifer calves that are born and sells all the bull calves.

This is one huge milking carousel that the cows ride on 3 times a day. 72 cows can fit on it at one time and they are milked in 5 minutes!

Having a yummy lunch of gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches.

Anna and Jess liked playing the calcium climber game.

Before leaving the farm we were able to see a baby calf be delivered. I think us adults were definitely more into it than the girls but it just reinforced how awesome our God is giving animals the same maternal instincts as us humans in taking care of our babies. Nature is amazing!

The girls had a great time playing with the wagon. Be sure to watch the video...they're so full of energy and so fun to watch!!

Our neighbor, Bob, was out taking his dogs for a walk and stopped over to let the girls pet them. Gus and Scooter provided the girls with lots of entertainment. Bob let the dogs off their leashes and Gus did a great job burning some of the girls' energy by running all over the yard letting the girls chase him. They are good dogs who are patient with children. Anna isn't always very easy with them but they keep coming back for more of her attention. She loves to watch them out the window each day and they often run over to our yard to play.

Big Sister

Anna's going to be a big sister! Mommy is due on or around March 15 and we are very excited. We've been a bit fearful this week as some spotting has occured but after having an ultrasound we were much less worried. We heard and saw the baby's heart beating at 174 bpm but also found out there is some bleeding in the uterus. Hopefully with rest and the power of prayer it will heal on it's own and all will be well. Anna will make a great big sister, as you can see she's already the pro at feeding Elmo (see movie below). :0)

Mommy in Training

Anna has been practicing her mommy skills. She's often dragging her diaper bag and babies around the house telling us, "have a good day" as she makes her way to the "grocery" or "to church". It's so fun to watch her play and immitate us. She feeds her babies and Elmo, puts them to bed, reads them stories, and makes them burp. :0) This is such a fun age, most of the time. :-)

Making Cookies

Daddy and Anna have started baking together and this was their first attempt at making sugar cookies. Anna loves to help and is learning from a pro. Michael is a great cook which is nice for mommy. :0)

Time with Family

Over the past few weeks we've been blessed with getting to spend time with our families. Anna's doing great with learning each person's name which is difficult as we both have lots of family members. Unfortunately, many of my pictures turned out blurry so I don't have many to share.

Kenley was too cute wanting to be everywhere Anna was so whenever someone would hold Anna, Kenley automatically wanted that person to hold her too. I think Anna has a shadow. :0) It is so fun to see the girls play together.

Over the bridge, through the woods, and up the hill to Great Grandma Smith's house.

Having LOTS of fun playing in the sand with Aunt Aimee. She is definitely a kid at heart and will make a wonderful pediatrician!

New Shoes

Anna got some new shoes this week. At her 2 year check-up we mentioned to her doctor that she's still walking on her tiptoes. She didn't start doing this until she was about 16 months old which is odd because most of the time babies start this when they first start walking. So, her doctor recommended we get her some very good hard soled shoes for her to wear all the time to help break her of this habit. This week her new shoes finally came in and she's been wearing them a lot. Hopefully they help as they weren't cheap. She likes them which is good and thankfully we were able to find a pretty neutral pair that will go with almost anything.

She's got the modeling part down.

Advertising for Stride Rite :0)

See my shoes?

Visit with friends

This past weekend we had so much fun visiting our friends in Il. Quentin and Paula were our neighbors when we lived in TN and now we finally live closer to one another so we can visit much more easily.

Quentin, Paula, Elliana, and Jessalyn Bath time fun Reading a story together On Saturday morning we headed to the John Deere World Headquarters and had so much fun playing on all the equipment and getting to see it all up close.

Daddy would love to have a lawnmower (toy) like this to play around on. :0)

On Saturday afternoon, we went to a fun waterpark and all of the kids and adults loved it. It was definitely plenty warm so playing in the water felt great. They had many different slides, fountains, and pools for all ages.

Anna LOVED the waterslide. We'd get to the bottom and she would immediately start asking for more. She even went down it herself! Michael and a lifeguard put her on it at the top and myself and a lifeguard were waiting for her at the bottom. She came out head first on her back, went under a little bit, and asked for more as soon as I picked her up. She's such a dare devil and definitely loves the water!!