STOP... Party time

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHELSIE!!

She is the BIG 22 today!

Last night I went to a bridal shower for my friend Tara with a bunch of friends from Utah State. I love getting together with these gals...we always have so much fun doing pretty much nothing at all. But it does get pretty loud! (I don't know how that happens with me there!)

Tara is the girl in the middle in green and it's about time this girl got snatched up!

Me, Melissa and Tara

Brynn and I. This picture really showcases how BIG and beautiful my eyes are!

Pull ups

So, last Thursday I heard Anna waking up from her nap...nothing sounded unusual, but when I walked into her room, this is how I found her...



It's a good thing that a few days prior to this event Ross had lowered the crib...otherwise this good news could have been not so good. Doesn't she look so proud of herself?




Since last week, she has gotten much better at pulling herself up. She likes to pull herself up to her bouncy seat, exersaucer, (both of which she had lost interest in for their actual purpose) and her high chair. Although, she has yet to pull herself back up in her crib. And she hasn't figured out how to get back down when she is done...she lets us know she has had enough by looking at us while screaming. She's known to be subtle.

Holy Moly!

So last Saturday I did the XTerra Mountain Triathlon held at Snowbasin. Now before you are too impressed..I did it relay (I only did the running). John (my brother-in-law) did the swimming at Pineview Reservoir and a kid that works with his dad did the mountain biking from the dam up to Snowbasin. It was crazy! There were professionals from all around the world. I felt slightly out of place.

Now I thought to myself...I run all the time...so it will have some hills...I will be ok. BOY WAS I WRONG! So basically I ran straight up the mountain for two miles (their website says you climb up to 7,500 ft.), on a gravel and rocky trail and then straight back down. On the way up I am surprised I did not roll my ankle because I was just running on top of rocks and the way back down I was trying NOT to go so fast for fear I would eat it.

Any who, the run kicked my trash. I didn't do as well as I had hoped; although, we at least finished 8th out of the 20 in our division. I still had fun and it was great to see my husband and little Anna at the finish line (along with the rest of my fam-thanks guys!) Hopefully next months triathlon will be better.

This is me before the race..I am the only one who is not wearing the typical running attire of a tight fitted tank top...its just not my style.

Crossing the finish line.

My cheerleaders.

Andy, Me and John. They had time to rest before this pic was taken since running is last. That would be why my face still matches the color of my shirt.

Obstacle Courses

Anna is getting so much better at crawling..it's crazy. She likes to follow me everywhere (but makes stops along the way to play with things in the hall way, including her new favorite toy-the door stopper). She is now attempting to pull herself up to things (although, she can only get up onto her knees right now) and likes to crawl over things.

When she gets onto her hands and knees, she usually just rocks back and forth and looks really confused like, "What am I doing?" That is kind of what my face looks like too...I am so photogenic!

Here is what happened next. It's like I have become an obstacle course for Anna.

But she still is trying to figure out the best route to get over the obstacle.

Almost there!

Made it! And graceful too :)

Camping

So last weekend was the Ross's family reunion. It is up at Bear Lake and its always a lot of fun. However, this is the first time Anna has slept in a tent...or should I say tried to sleep in a tent. The first night was a nightmare. She cried so hard when we put her down for bed. After TWO HOURS we went on a drive to get her to sleep and then put her to bed. She woke up wailing 2 hours later and then again 2 hours later. I think she would wake up and not know where she was at. She ended up sleeping with Ross and I, but still had a hard time.

Taking naps was even hard to do. Every time we got close to the tent she would scream. But the second night was much better..we just let her sleep in her car seat (in the tent), but she didn't wake up once. By the end of the weekend, she was exhausted...and so were we. But it was good to see all of Ross's family and we still had a good time.

Here is Anna NOT taking a nap.

Anna didn't like the sand too much. After a few seconds she ended up liking it a whole lot though.

She loved the lake. She just sat there and splashed in the water for the longest time.

I think she had a hard time too because she is used to crawling and rolling around everywhere, which is hard to do outside. So we would lay down our towels or sleeping bags to let her play on...but it just wasn't the same for her.

Ross's cousin Lauren was Anna's personal babysitter - Lauren wanted to hold her and Annabelle was having a good time; so was I :)

The kids all do tie dyed shirts as an activity...Chelsea made a shirt for Annabelle and Danica...but Ross didn't get a pic of them together. I will have to get one and post it...it's pretty cute. By the way, little 2 week old Danica did much better at camping than Anna. Oh well!

Say CHEESE!

Annabelle has a funny new smile. She just started doing this Monday and I think it is hilarious! I didn't know if I would be able to capture it on film...but I got the camera out and said "Cheese!" and she immediately smiled. It did take a couple of tries to get her looking at the camera...and here are a few of my attempts.

Silly Annabelle!

So I know I just posted a video, but sometimes I feel that pictures don't do my daughter justice. They don't show how truly cute, silly, and loud she really is. I know this video is a little longer (about 2 minutes) but I think that it is stinkin funny. Click on the link and enjoy!

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=338312011786434657&hl=en

Ross and Anna

I hardly ever put pics of Ross on here...not on purpose!

So I decided to make a post..just for them...

here are a few recent ones I thought were cute!

In green, with no bow, my daughter looks like a boy.

My daughter hates to cuddle, much to our dismay. Ross thinks if he keeps on hugging, she'll eventually want to be a cuddler. Doesn't look like it will be working anytime soon!

Another Niece!

Last Saturday, at about 5:00 in the morning, Ross got a text message from his little brother Caleb. I know right?! But it was quite understandable - his wife just had a baby! Her name is Danika and she is so tiny and cute. We went up to see them that afternoon and it was so weird to think that Annabelle was that

small (well almost) just 7 and 1/2 months ago!

I totally forgot to take my camera, so I called Ross's sister

Chelsea and she sent me this pic of her. Awe!

Remember the days when your little one would fall asleep doing practically anything (especially eating) and sleep through everyone passing them around. I wish those days lasted a little longer for me-but it comes with its trade offs...

like sleeping through the night :)

Thought I would post a pic of miss Anna when she was the same age..

Danikaand her don't look too much alike, like I thought they might-

since Anna looks like Ross and Caleb looks like Ross-

Danika looks like her mommy- lucky girl!

This picture is from Christmas day.

I had to put one in with Annabelle's eyes actually open!