Learning to do GIRL hair

Today is a happy day for this mommy - who is excited (after 2 boys) about the new experience of doing baby-girl hair - because Anndra's hair is finally long enough to stay in a clip to the side. Wahoo! Let the fun begin...



We celebrated by going to Claire's - an accessories store for girls at the mall - which was having a sale on hair clips. I never knew I'd get so excited about itty-bitty bows, butterfly clips, and tiny jeweled bobby pins! It's like my inner girliness is coming out. :)

Parker's 8 birthdays

How did my little baby get so big so fast!?!?


1 day old:




1 year old:




2 years old:




3 years old:




4 years old:




5 years old:




6 years old:




7 years old:




today:

"King of the world"

Lincoln has been spouting some interesting phrases lately. I wanted to write about 3 from today before I forgot them.

Parker, Anndra, and I were having breakfast in the dining room when Lincoln popped his head over the top of the recliner and said, "What's going on here, folks?"

This one may be a you-had-to-be-there kind of thing. Lincoln was playing in the toy room... having his little play-dough creations talk to each other - and one of them said, "SOMEbody's in my way!" It totally cracked me up, but I guess it is kind of hard to explain on a blog.

I wish I had a picture of this last one. He was playing on the bleachers at the park with a friend from church. When he reached the top bench, he put both arms straight up in the air and yelled, "I'M KING of the WORLD!" (and I promise he hasn't seen Titanic). Maybe I'll have him re-enact it and take a little video... but it's never quite as good as when it was spontaneous.

Butler Beach

We had fun at a different beach (just down the street from the one we went to in July) on Friday. Unfortunately, I had a camera malfunction about 20 minutes after we got there and these are the only pics I got


Lincoln was ready to hit the waves the moment we arrived. I'm not sure I've ever seen him run so fast:




The friends who came with us:




Anndra needing a snack after the long drive:




Lincoln back from the water - "Mommy, I'm COLD!" - a little snuggle with me and he was ready to play in the sand - but still wanted his towel on his head:

Creepy Crawlies Update

Last month I posted some pictures of icky things that live all around us here in Florida. Now I'd like to add to the list...

a moth as big as Parker's hand:




and a snake that somehow found it's way into our garbage can:



I love how all the boys are fascinated with the snake and Anndra's looking up like "What's the big deal?"




Also, our "pet" spider is alive and well. We've been watching him for signs of 'old age' but so far the only change we've noticed (and you can't see it very well in this pic because I couldn't get him from a good angle) is that his back has turned bright yellow.




Another spider that Lincoln has become obsessed with is an inflatable Halloween decoration in our neighbor's front yard. He begs me to take him to see it several times a day:



My first thought when I saw it was - As if there aren't enough spiders around here already!

The Big Day

For the last of Anndra's birthday week posts, I'm going to share a few highlights from her special day.

I was actually away from the family most of the day because I took a good friend to the temple in Orlando.




When I got home there was just enough time to: throw the cake in the oven, run to the store for frosting, come back, have dinner, frost the cake, sing to our girl, and eat the cake - before her bedtime. Whew!

Anndra played with the frosting lids while the boys worked on picking out the perfect candle:






The cake before we chopped it:




Anndra patiently waiting for the 'party' to begin:




Trying to get a little taste in advance:




She finally gets her very own piece:



I think she likes it!




Immediately after Anndra went to bed, Todd and I simultaneously fell sound asleep in the living room while the boys played. (Sneaky Parker took pictures of us and then insisted I include them in the post).





It isn't that unusual for one of us to take an after-dinner snooze, but this was the FIRST time we've ever both slept while kids were still awake. Oh well... the house didn't burn down, right?

A Wonderful Year

Anndra's first year in pictures.


Birth:




1 month:




2 months:




3 months:




4 months:




5 months:




6 months:




7 months:




8 months:




9 months:




10 months:




11 months:




12 months:

3 first birthdays

Like any mom, I love looking at all the ways my kids are different from each other and all the ways they are similar.

So for today's "Celebrate Anndra" post, I've got a picture of each child eating their first birthday cake. I like the look of concentration on each of their faces.

Parker:



Lincoln:



Anndra:

Mother/daughter pics

Anndra's first birthday was this weekend. So to commemorate this joyous occasion, I'm going to put together several "Celebrate Anndra" posts to share this week.

This first one will show a few of her pictures next to my baby pictures because I've had so many people ask me if Anndra looks like I did at her age. What do you think?






Hanging out with older brothers:






Me in the bath and Anndra in the pool:






Snuggles with Daddy:






Each of us at the half-year mark (me 7 months, Anndra 6 months):