This Week's Update

Annabelle is really starting to "talk." She has her own language... it's cute, but I have no idea what she is saying. Earlier this week we were at lunch and she started talking to a person at another table. (She is very social) They looked at me and wanted me to translate what she was saying. Ha! Their guess is as good as mine. It doesn't really matter tho, I just nod and smile and she seems to be happy with my response. She does have a few actual words in her vocabulary that I can understand. They are mostly sounds, like vroom, woof, meow and quack. She also knows dog, that, up, yes, and NO is her recent favorite. I can tell that she is really trying to develop her vocabulary. She really watches your mouth as you talk and even tries to mimic specific words. It's an exciting time!

Anyway, here are my favorite pics from the week.

Captivated by Elmo and Sesame Street

First visit to IKEA

A still loves story time at the library.  

Kissy kissy

1 more waffle, please!

Learning to scoot on my wheelybug

Curious Kiddo

The simplest things make Annabelle happy. Today in lieu of her normal nap time (because SHE decided she didn't need a nap today...) we went for a walk. We explored the neighborhood, the park and the huge grassy hill that is behind our park. She really had a good time climbing on rocks and picking up sticks. She really likes to find things on the ground and then give them to me. Sweet... except its usually trash or dirt or sticks.

Here are some pics of my little explorer.

PS- Annabelle had such a good walk that she finally took a nap. :-)

Artsy Fartsy Thursday

Turns out today was full of arts and crafts. I love it when that happens! If you know me or follow the blog, you know that I try new crafts with Annabelle all the time. She seems to really enjoy them and I do too so it's a win, win. Anyway, we went to the YMCA today and came home with an apple construction paper craft (25% Annabelle participation, 75% Mom). Played with finger paints in the bath this afternoon (100% Annabelle). Then colored a monkey puzzle (I did all the coloring but Annabelle did try to put the pieces together for me!).

Monkey puzzle, apple craft

Finger painting in the tub

Taste test: fail

This is the face she made just after she dumped all the paint out. Kinda devious huh?!

Maybe It Will FEEL Like Fall Soon???

Today is the first official day of Fall and while many (including me) would like to enjoy the cooler temps typical in this season we've seen no such luck. The weather continues to linger in the high 90's. I keep thinking that if I dress Annabelle in her new cute Fall wardrobe every morning that the cooler weather will fall- pun intended- in step. Turns out that I just have to change her into summer gear by 10am. Maybe next week? Let's hope!

Anyway, here is the update on our week. A got her creative buzz on with edible finger paint which she seemed to love. Note to self, toddlers like to roam which means the paint goes everywhere. I started out with her outside on the driveway but by the end of the art project the paint had traveled via A's hands into our garage, neighbors lawn, the curb ect. Good thing it washed easily!

Annabelle also did her usual visits to the park... we go so frequently now that its hard not to pass by without a plea from our little girl to stop and play. She is really enjoying playing with her friends - on the playground, at play dates and pretty much any time of the day. I do have to note here that she got several voluntary hugs from her friends last week (both boys and girls). This is possibly one the cutest things I have ever seen. Our neighbors little girl came over and hugged A so tightly that they both lost their balance and fell over in the front yard! HA! And one of her little boy friends surprised her with a big clumsy hug at the Arboretum on Friday. She looked stunned but didn't move away...

A's big milestone- Annabelle made it through her first Sunday school class this week. There was a bit of hesitation and some tears but she powered through and we were very proud of her. We haven't ever left her for that long with caretakers (other than relatives). This is a big deal! Anyway, I think the more we go, the more comfortable Annabelle will be with the new surroundings.

Last thing, A's sleeping habits are much improved over the past weeks. I think the tough teething phase has passed. THANK GOODNESS! She now has her bottom left molar, right is just breaking through. She also has her top left molar! That is a lot of teeth coming in at one time. No wonder she was grumpy.

I think that is all now. Whew!

Playground!

Playing at the park with Dad and Tillie.

Lazy Saturday Play Time

I haven't posted video in some time. Here we are just playing on a lazy Sat. morning.

A's Week

This was a busy week full of field trips to parks, museums and the Arboretum. Lots of playing with friends and neighbors! This was one of those weeks that makes you sit back and smile because, honestly, life really can't get any better than this!

Here are the highlights in pics.

Playing with friends at the park

Playing on the stairs at the museum

Doing the Heisman pose at the Arboretum

Silliness with Mom

Brushing our teeth 

Falling asleep at lunch because we had so much fun playing that we are exhausted! 

Digging for dinosaur bones

Doing laps up and down the hall with Dad 

A's first big booboo.... she is obviously not bothered by it!

Beautiful Places

I love the Arboretum! And, (lucky us) we have friends with memberships which allow us to visit frequently. This week Annabelle and some of her friends had a great time exploring the gardens. I didn't take very many pics as most of the time the kiddos were on the move. One of the best things about the Arboretum in the middle of the week- kids have free range to roam pretty much anywhere. Also, that means that A is exhausted when we leave!

Anywhoooo.... Here are the pics that I did take.

A and H

A and G

Cuddles and Teething

Annabelle has been teething for about a week now, poor thing. Her back molars are coming in and they are really bothering her. So, as you can imagine, our little girl has had a rough time sleeping this week. She runs a slight temp and would rather be cuddled up with Mom and Dad than sleeping alone in her crib. Sweet girl! Here are some pics that I grabbed throughout the weekend. I hope she feels better soon but until then I will continue to enjoy our cuddle time.

Picture Time

Annabelle and her friends had a photo shoot this week compliments of little Miss Harper. The newest member of the 1 year old club had a photo booth at her birthday party. Naturally, all the playgroup Momma's insisted on group photos. Check 'em out below. Hilarious!

1 out of 3... Not Bad

Annabelle likes the rice box so much that I decided to research additional sensory experiences. So, this week I tried 3 different experiments.

First, since it is still SCORCHING hot here, I decided to try a water and ice sensory experience. It was pretty simple- I just had two plastic containers. One was filled with luke warm water, the other had a bunch of ice cubes. I added baby oil and glitter (everything is better with glitter, right?) to the ice and let her go at it. It was a FAIL. Annabelle was not at all interested in playing with the water or ice. In fact, almost immediately she turned the ice container over and the whole thing was over in about 3 minutes.

For the second experiment I cooked spaghetti noodles and put them in a big aluminum container. I added some color to make it a little more appealing and headed outside to play. Annabelle was mildly entertained. She put her hands in and squished around for a minute and then took some out and put it on the floor. Then she walked around with some noodles in her hand only to drop them on plants in our front yard. Ha!

Today, I decided to make it really simple. I grabbed shaving cream,  a cookie sheet, paint brushes and food coloring. I wanted to make a little note from A to her Dad so this project had an artistic edge to it. What happened: I put a thin layer of shaving cream on the cookie sheet. Sprinkled a few drops of food coloring on top of the shaving cream. I gave A the paint brushes and showed her how to swirl the colors around. She loved it! After she had swirled I transferred the design onto a piece of white paper and let it dry. The design stayed on the paper and I wiped the shaving cream right off. Meanwhile A kept on playing by putting her hands in the shaving cream and using her paint brush. Fun!

Toilet Paper

Annabelle has a new obsession... toilet paper. Any time she can get into a bathroom, she heads to the tp holder and starts unraveling. Obviously, I try to prevent this since I would rather not go broke by buying toilet paper ALL THE TIME! But, today I was refilling the bathrooms with tp and Annabelle stealthily grabbed a roll and ran into the living room. By the time I realized what she was doing, it was too late! There were white pieces all over the floor. It was so hilarious watching her tear the roll to bits that I didn't even try to clean up (right away). I grabbed my phone instead and took pics. She loved rolling the tp on the floor and tearing it up. Then when she was done, she ran through the pieces.

I LOVE accidental fun activities!

Go Gamecocks!

So, it's officially football season again! YEA! I thought I would share Annabelle's game day outfit. (I made the tutu and onesie decor).

All resulted in the cutest Gamecock fan EVER!