Thanksgiving

I'm so excited for turkey day this year, which is a bit unusual for me. I like Thanksgiving, but it's not usually a holiday I look forward to. This year though, I have Annabella. And I'm so excited for her. She'll get to see a bunch of family that loves her to pieces. She'll get to try all sorts of yummy new foods. And I'll get to spend 4 days with her where hopefully she'll be healthy the whole time (quick, knock on wood).

I haven't posted much over the past month or 2, and honestly, it's been a tough time. Annabella has been sick continuously since about October 14th. Even though she's got a rash covering her tiny little body, I think she's finally getting past it. I know the rash is counter-indicative of getting better...but I still think she's getting better. Why you ask? Well, we've had 2 nights in a row of sleep that was not terrible. Granted, it still wasn't great, but I'll take not terrible, especially 2 nights in a row of it. And last night, my little baby floored me with the amount of food she shoved in her face. I think that what I thought was her normal appetite was actually her not having much of an appetite. So when the docs would ask how her eating was, I would say that it was about normal. But when she's been sick for so long with so few breaks (even before Oct 14th she's had so many colds and ear infections), I just didn't know. And then this morning she ate way more than normal again.

So yeah, I'm pretty much stoked that my baby might actually get to enjoy spending time with family and eating new foods without feeling like crap.

Halloween

We dressed Annabella as a bumblebee for Halloween and took her to a couple of neighbor's houses.

Pictures of the Birthday Cupcake

And she's off!

Annabella figured out the walking thing tonight!

Jas and I were sitting a few feet apart, farther than ever before, and I had the video camera out (we'll post it later). So of course we urge her to walk back and forth. She stands up and takes 12 steps to me! Then she goes back and forth and back and forth. And then, she just up and walks past Daddy. And she just walks and walks. Her record without touching her hands to the ground was 17 steps. Before tonight I think it was 8. She just kept going.

My heart is bursting.

A good day

We had Annabella's ENT follow-up this morning, and she can hear! Really, the difference was night and day. She was yammering on through the test and was still looking for the really quiet sounds. I could barely hear some of the sounds over top of her talking, but she was still looking for them. So that was pretty much awesome.

I almost missed it, but I got to be with my baby at 12:21pm. I held her in my arms and told her how much I love her.

We made chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting. Jas and I sang happy birthday and gave Annabella her cupcake. She played with it for what seemed like minutes before finally putting a morsel in her mouth. One bite was all it took. The feeding frenzy began. She had this goofy smile that seemed to say "What is this and where has it been my whole life?" She just kept ramming more in.

Then we got her hand print in a clay mold we have. One of Annabella's Grandmas got us a set of molds for ages 1-5. It took several (okay, maybe a couple dozen) tries, but we got the hand print. And I will cherish it forever.

Then we played games on the floor in the kitchen. Annabella was a couple feet away from me, and Jas and I were cheering her to take a step. After a few minutes, she stood up and walked the 7 steps it took to get to me. My heart, already swollen with pride, swelled up even more. I held my baby and told her how proud I was, and that she would always be my baby.

I really can't ask for a better day.

Pix of Annabella with cake coming soon.

One year ago today

One year ago today, at 12:21pm, I was introduced to my favorite person on the planet. I looked at her and kissed her head and fell in love. Everything she did was magic, and we treated her like our perfect little china doll.

I had no idea how fully she would change my life, and I had no idea my heart could hold so much love. Now our precious little baby isn't so little anymore. And she's not a china doll anymore either. She's our adventurous, curious, smiley, happy, determined, little toddler. And we couldn't love her more.Annabella, I hope the next year brings you lots of fun, lots of mischief, lots of laughs. I can't wait to see how you grow. No matter what though, you'll always me mommy's little girl.

First Steps

Annabella took her first steps for Dada yesterday. Mama wasn't there. Mama was home 5 minutes later. To say Mama is bummed that she missed the big moment is an understatement. To say Mama is beaming with pride is also an understatement.

Way to go baby.