Our Day of Celebration

Get ready for picture overload!!

Balloon from Daddy. (And, yes, she still sucks her fingers. Any great advice on that one??)

M-n-M Pancakes

Making cupcakes

Coloring M-n-M's

Sorting M-n-M's by color. Anna never did really understand what we were doing. She just knew that all the M-n-M's had to be on the papers before we could eat. :)

We also played Hide-n-Seek with the big red stuffed M-n-M. Kellen had a blast! However, he was pretty frustrated that Anna hid it in plain view on her rocker EVERY time it was her turn to hide. ;o)

The look on her face when she walked in and saw the table decor after nap.

The Table

The Cake

When Daddy got home from work the real celebration began.

The song--which she sang right along with us. :)

Oh my! She gave her all in the blowing out of the candles! So cute!

Despite her adorable effort, we eventually had to help her with the last one before she burned her lips.

The gifts. This girl made out like a bandit--between us and extended family Annie is finally loaded up with girl toys. Thank you family--you guys rock!

A Baby!

A Baby Bed!

Shopping with Baby!

And finally, cooking for Baby in her new kitchen with the chef outfit from Kellen.

Happy Birthday Annie! You add SO much JOY to our home!! We love you!

Happy Birthday Anna!

Two Years Ago Today...

...we were headed to the hospital to have, what I thought was, another baby boy. I didn't realize how much my heart longed for a daughter until the doctor said the words, 'It's a girl!' Since that time, your daddy and I have learned that we didn't know as much about parenting as we thought. ;o)

What joy you have added to our home!!

You enjoy making people laugh with your silly faces. You are fearless, strong, and stubborn--so different than your brother. You seem to be a thinker, who only talks when necessary. You love your babies and spend most of your day nurturing and caring for them. When not playing babies you find joy in emptying drawers, unrolling toilet paper, dumping toys and ripping books--sigh. If anyone around you is upset, you get very disturbed and want to comfort them (including fit throwing children in Walmart). You are a Daddy's girl through and through--asking daily, "Daddy?" until I explain that he is at work. Starches are the only food group that you will eat--stinker! Like your mother, you are an animal lover. You are a go-er--running to find your shoes if you think there is a chance that someone might be leaving. Your favorite song is 'Itsy Bitsy Spider' requested over and over with the word, 'Pide." Thus far, in your short life, Kellen is your best friend--the one you laugh with, irritate, and imitate.

We look forward to . . .

Seeing you grow up never knowing a day apart from our Savior! Watching how God works in your life through your nurturing, strong personality.

Our prayer for you is . . .

Strength and dignity are her clothing,
and she laughs at the time to come.
She opens her mouth with wisdom,
and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.

Proverbs 31:25-26

We love you Anna Elizabeth!

Happy 2nd Birthday!

Snow is Our Favorite!!

snow ice cream

Funny Book

I finally started our Funny Book. Thanks Leslie for the idea! It is a place to record all the funny things our kids say so that as they grow up we can read it together. I had great intentions of creating a cute scrapbook with a picture to accompany each story. However, my desire to make the book cute and perfect resulted in no book at all for the past 4 years, sigh! I broke down and bought a plain old journal and started writing. It's better than nothing, right? Here are the first few stories in our Funny Book. I'll try to remember to share more as we record them.

2011--Some of Kellen's favorite cereals are: 'Yucky Charms' and 'Crap-n-Crunch'

December 2011--While folding laundry, Kellen asked if he could wear my bra. Knowing that Daddy would think it was funny I obliged. When Daddy saw Kellen in the bra he laughed and said, 'What are you doing?' Kellen's response: 'Mommy let me wear the thing for her elbows.'

January 2012--Kellen insists on wearing his underwear backwards so he can see the picture--creating a rather uncomfortable situation.

January 2012--Anna woke up in the middle of the night, so I went in to rock her for a few minutes. When I got up to put her back into her crib, she grabbed my shoulders and said, 'Sit!' Knowing that the times when she will let me rock her are drawing to a close I decided to comply. After about 10 minutes of rocking I mentioned that maybe it was time she go back to bed. She jerked her fingers out of her mouth and said, 'No! Sit!' We cuddled for a while longer before I insisted that she return to her own bed. She certainly knows how to make her desires known!

Thanks again Leslie for the Funny Book idea. Oh, how I wish I had started it a few years ago!