Off to the (Turtle) Races!

On a beautiful day in Northern Minnesota, one of the neighboring towns had a little festival. Part of the festivities was the turtle races. We decided that was not to be missed. When we arrived, Anna took it all in from her vantage point.

Then, when the time came for her heat, she eagerly selected a turtle from the bin. Note her lack of hesitancy.

 

She was so excited about her turtle when I told her to look at me so I could take a photo, she leaned over and KISSED the turtle. Gross. Didn't manage to capture that and I wasn't about to ask for a redo!

 

Though well-loved, the little guy came in second in his heat. 

Better luck next year, I guess!

What She's Been Up To....

When she got to Minnesota, she was soooo excited to get some quality time with Papa Dan. 

 

He had a special little chair for her...

...and they spent a fair bit of time reconnecting. It was so sweet.

Then Papa broke out the sprinkler. This was a first for the girl (whose mom couldn't find a matching swimsuit in the unpacked suitcase :)

 

The other great part of being in the MN? 

Buddy. AKA "Meow" The usually cantankerous old cat seems completely unfazed by the little person who sits on him, messes with his tail, points to his eyes and generally tries to boss him around.

  

Such a rough life.

For Bethie

Before we really kicked of the day today, we had an apple...

...and some light reading.

Like No Time Has Passed

You know what's awesome? Friends. Not just any friends, but the "we haven't seen each other in what seems like an eternity, but that's OK and we'll just pick up where we last left off" friends.

Friends who take the lastest change in your life and embrace her.

And enjoy her. And do the things she enjoys.

And make sure that you know
that even though your life has changed,
their friendship hasn't.

And if those friends give her a thrilling ride around the driveway in an old highchair...

...and cuddle up to read her a goodnight story?

Then she'll end up loving them every bit as much as you do.

Project 30: April 11, 12, 13, 14, 15

4-11-12
Focus
Sometimes, you just gotta hunker down and do the work. That kind of day.

4-12-12

Independence

I'll spread my own peanut butter on my sandwhich thankyouverymuch.

4-13-11
Impending
'tis the season for storms and clouds and hail all the lovely that is Kansas in the spring/summer.

4-14-12
Chums
Though one seems to be more into actually playing with his ball. She's just using hers as a seat so she can eat her raisins.

4-15-12
Silly
Oh, Toto. What would we do with out you and your antics?

Project 30: April 7, 8, 9, 10

4-7-12
Tradition
Dying eggs. With Grandan. What could be better?


4-8-12
Perfectly Imperfect Moments
Crying in her chocolate-covered Easter dress. But the picture-perfect photo? Not what matters. Especially on this day.

4-8-10
Discovery
Who knew California strawberries could be bigger than your hand?

4-10-12
Wonder
Anna's first hot air balloon sighting. She had no idea there were ballons THAT BIG!

18 months.

Today, my baby is 18 months.

I can't believe it's a been a year and a half since she entered the world. A year and a half since I became a mom.

A year and a half since we became a family.
A year and a half since my heart started beating outside of my body.

A year and a half of magical moments.

A year and a half of milestones, new discoveries, coos, chuckles, tears, words, discoveries...wow.

Project 30 days 4, 5 and 6

This project is proving to be really fun! I like thinking about what photo I'll use for the day and why.

On April 4th, the sunrise was beautiful and a bit more red than this photo shows (sailors heed warning??). I love that in our house you can see the sun rise and set from our deck. We often watch the sunsets...but the sunrise viewing needs to be a bit more purposeful ;). Glad I took the time to catch it on Wednesday.

We spent some time at the park on Thursday.

Anna loves to go high.

I can still remember the rush of feeling like you were swinging SO high.

Do you?

Finally, today, Friday, is a photo of our levity, Oggy the Doggy. We spent a lot of time blowing bubbles. He spent a lot of time chasing bubbles. And catching them in his big, drooly mouth.

Love my brown-eyed boy!

Project 30

Over the last few years, I've had several friends do a "Project 365" where they take a photo each day to capture their day-to-day life. Recently a friend decided to do a "Project 30" and post a photo each day for 30 days, to capture something that is of importance to making the most of life.

I loved that idea, so decided to do it to!

So, for the month of April, I'm taking a photo every day that represents something important, of note or significance to me.

On Sunday, April 1st, we spend time with my in-laws. They've been out of town for two months, so it had been quite a while since Anna had seen her "papa." She was so moved to see him. She squealed and ran to him, then spent most of the time with them snuggling with him. He even remarked that he'd like to see her face, but since she'd been snuggled in so deep, he hadn't really had a chance!

The photo below, my first for "Project 30" is baby girl snuggling with her Papa. Grandparents are so special.



This second photo was the only one I took yesterday. I hadn't yet decided to do this project, so when I looked through my phone pictures, I found just one from yesterday. And it was (clearly) taken accidently! But, it was taken as I rushed from my office to my car. As my work day nears an end, I am always filled with an "I get to go see my girl!" electricity! I love heading her way. This moment, the frenzy of finishing up the day, rushing to the car and racing with the rest of the rats is part of my life right now and the reward at the end of that day is so, so sweet!

This third photo is of the blossoms on a dogwood tree in our yard. On our wedding day, Michael and I noted how beautiful all of the blooming trees were at the chapel where we were married. That church had a beautiful white dogwood in front of it, and we loved it. A few months later, we found a sad, dying dogwood in Lowe's at the end of the season. It was dirt cheap, so we grabbed it, figuring we could try to give it some TLC and hopefully get a beautiful tree that reminded us of our wedding day every time we looked at it.

Well, it's the "little tree that could" and it's really doing well! This year, the blossoms are very early and particularly pretty. I'm so proud of our little tree.

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!)

Who...

...is that cool baby?
Oh! It's HER!

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.