A's Tricks

This is an old school video from May... it's worthy of the blog!

Wheelybug Walker

Trains!

Annabelle really likes watching trains... Or rather, hearing them. I have an app on my phone that makes sounds of animals and vehicles. Annabelle always makes her way to the picture of the train and smiles when the choo choo sound comes up. So cute! Anyway, I read about the Children's Medical Center having a nice model train exhibit. We were not disappointed! There were eight tracks and very elaborate displays. I think we will definitely visit again as she gets older.

A's First Visit to the Dallas Aquarium

Stephen and I LOVE aquariums. When we travel we always seem to have the local aquarium on our sightseeing list. The Dallas Aquarium is one of our favorites to visit although neither of us has visited in several years. We were so excited to take Annabelle with us this time to see her reaction. She may be too young to remember this visit but as she gets older we will continue to take her back to enjoy this attraction. It was such a fun experience!

Moon Sand Saturday

I found a  recipe for Moon Sand on Pinterest that I have been saving and I have been itching to try out. FYI- moon sand is a baby friendly, very soft version of sand made of flour and baby oil. Anyway, Annabelle is still a little out of sorts with her napping schedule (currently trying to drop the morning nap) so I decided to pull out the recipe as a distraction. She loved it! We played with the sand for about 20 minutes - a long time by her standards! At first she wasn't sure what to do with it but it didn't take her long to dive in and get her hands dirty... and everything else. By the end she was covered head to toe in sand and we immediately went for some swim time in her little pool. Extended fun! Here are some pics.

She is STANDING!

I finally caught her on camera! It's only a matter of time before she takes those first steps! AHH!

Ear Tubes Surgery

Annabelle is no stranger to ear infections. She gets them about every 6 weeks and it usually takes about two weeks (2-3 different meds) and includes a vicious cold before she can get over them. Ridiculous! After we got home from Arizona we found out that Annabelle had yet another infection in her left ear. That was it. Stephen and I had enough and immediately called to schedule an ear tubes surgery. We knew that the surgery was inevitable but since the tubes normally only last 6-12 months our pediatrician had recommended to try and put it off so that we could get closer to allergy season in the Fall. Unfortunately, we didn't make it to the Fall but hopefully this will help Annabelle stay ear infection free for a little while. Poor thing!!

Anyway, the surgery was at Cooks Children's Pediatric Surgery Center in Plano. That's where our ENT has his office and it came highly recommended. Annabelle did great. The surgery was about 10 minutes in all and she came out of the anesthesia pretty quickly and without any significant issues. She was up and crawling around when we got home- no big down time. And.... I think she would have been completely back to a normal schedule had it not been for her little stomach bug. She contracted a little something prior to the surgery and struggled to keep anything down. Again... poor baby! She has had a very tough week. Slowly but surely we will all be back to normal soon!

Sick baby

Hanging with Dad before the surgery 

11 Months!

11 months! How exciting! Annabelle is crawling, cruising and STANDING on her own these days. She is about 18 lbs and seems to be growing taller by the second. She has learned all sorts of new things- she can respond to simple commands, she has a great time turning the light switches on and off, she can open and close doors, roll the ball to you, clap, do "hands up" and "oh no" gestures. It is incredible to watch her learn so much, so quickly.

She has progressed to two bottles and two sippy cups everyday and will go to three sippy cups (fingers crossed) next week. She eats pretty much all table food with the occasional jar or squeezy baby food. I mostly give her those when we are on the go and have no other alternatives. Her naps are a bit up in the air at the moment. Due to family vacations, ear infections and general sickness, she hasn't been on a regular nap schedule for a couple weeks now. It has been hard but we are getting through it and trying to get back on the wagon. I have been thinking that this might be a good time to drop the morning nap.... we will see.

Other than that we are gearing up for her 1st birthday! I can't believe a year has almost past! I think I must have blinked!!

Annabelle's First Plane Ride

As you already know, Annabelle, Mimi and I drove on the way up to Arizona for Phil's wedding. On the way back we decided to fly. I couldn't have been more pleased with the decision especially since Annabelle was so GREAT on the flight. I was a bit nervous about her ears popping on the way up and down, so I was ready with pacifiers and bottles to relieve the pressure. She was fantastic.... slept 90% of the flight! Can't wait to fly again soon!

Asleep on the plane

Wedding Festivities!

Uncle Phil tied the knot!! I still can't believe that he is old enough to get married. In my mind he will always be my little brother--- round about the age of 8! I guess I will have to get over it though because is he definitely married now and it was a superior weekend full of celebration. Here are a couple pics of the wedding (and pre wedding) festivities!

PS- there are more pics to be posted...check back later

Bridal luncheon at Arcadia Farms

The Bride

Mom getting the room ready for the Bridal luncheon

Cousins at the Rehearsal Dinner

Exhausted (11pm) after the rehearsal dinner

Bride and Groom

sibling love!

Sisters!

sweet couple!

The Resort

Resort living suites the Nickles family! We loved hanging by the pool and drinking with friends and family. The Montelucia Resort was located at the base of Camelback mountain so the views weren't bad either....all and all the accommodations were fabulous!

Lovely views of Camelback Mtn.

Poolside with Dad and the Groom

Views from our porch 

Annabelle couldn't wait to get out to the pool

Fam time

A loved splashing in the fountain

Playing with Lillie poolside

Sweet Michael

Mom and A

Amarillo and The Big Texan

So, we had heard about this place called The Big Texan on the Food Network. It is famous for its "free 72 oz steak," promo. Its not really free though unless you can eat the steak, baked potato, salad, rolls, dessert and drink your drink all in ONE hour. While we didn't take part in the challenge, we did decide to be tourists and take lots of pics with all their restaurant props. It was about as much fun as you can have in Amarillo!

Enjoy!

The famous sign