Ticket to Ride! (In the Rubber Maid)

When Mom and Dad have an organizing streak hit 'em, it means good things for this girl:

She loves nothing more than to be pushed around the house. Fast. Everything she rides has to be fast. She has no fear.

Needless to say, Daddio (and his poor back) spent a good portion of Christmas clean-up crusing around the living room.

Until he burned right out. Turns out, he can tell her no. But only when his back makes him do it.

Fun stuff!

(now, whenever there is an empty tub in our house for any reason, we hide it quickly! ha!)

Christmas Part 1: Church, Family and Fun!

Christmas Eve 2011 was fairly fun and fairly chaotic!

Dad, GrandDan and Uncle Saeth got this girl ready...

In her Christmas pretties.

We met up with them for Christmas Eve services at church. Anna was so cute! She sat nicely on her uncle's lap for most of the service.
When the lights dimmed for "Silent Night" she started singing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," which is the song she associates with darkness. She was in complete awe of the candles and the singing and clapped heartily when it was all done.

Back at home, she found presents to be good fun.

Especially the "Band in a Box." Turns out, she likes maracas:

She wanted to play with, wear and read her gifts:

Christmas morning was wild and crazy withy lots of people, presents and more presents. The wagon was a favorite:

And the cousin sweetness? {{melt}}

Anna loved opening gifts...even if they weren't hers.

Her cousin's hamster cage system was interesting!
And, being her Father's daughter, she LOVED the Santa hat. In fact, she loves Santa in general. Well, everything but the real guy.

She generally loved the day...

And so did her Grandpa's.

Birthday Part II

When Gma and Gpa came to visit a few weeks ago, Anna got have another birthday party!

I think she was OK with that.

She totally has the unwrapping thing down...and loves it.

Anna loves kittens. LOVES them. So, several of birthday gifts from her grandparents were kitten-themed.

A kitten book.

A stuffed kitten.

A kitten puzzle.

Really? Is this a puzzle piece-worthy kitten activity???

Oh, my.

I think Grandpa and Grandma's favorite part of the trip was story time.

Has this girl got it good or what?

Post-Church Photo Shoot

For the first time in quite a while, we brought Anna to the church nursery. I volunteer there, so I get to go in with her and get her settled before leaving. When I brought her into the room, I sat her down next to another baby, and she gleefully squealed, "hi!" to the little girl.

After church, she was still all smiles!

We had such a gorgeous fall...

...making most days ideal for photo shoots with the new cam!

Though she's not crazy about posing. She'd rather cruise.

Even dad got his hands on the new camera!

Fun stuff!

Life Through A New Lens

A few weeks ago, my DH decided I needed a camera upgrade and bought my early Christmas/birthday gift: an SLR!

Needless to say, the clicking hasn't stopped.

Know what else hasn't stopped? Little Miss Perpetual Motion.
But now, I have a fast action lens to catch her:

The first night I had the new camera, a couple of Anna's friends came over to play...

Giving me the chance to catch them posing..

and being boys!

It was fun to start playing around with different shutter speeds...

...and just generally watching them play through the lens. I'm thinking she can hold her own.

These little guys adore her and are so sweet!

How cute is this??

Sweet Ty gave her several squeezes (if you ask him who he's going to marry, he immediately responds "Anna"! He's three.)

This is a pretty common look for her. Intent with some snack in hand.

Love these kiddos!