Merry Christmas....and Happy Birthday!

For those of you who don't know....Ross's birthday is also on Christmas. He turned 27 this year, which is crazy! I am so thankful for Ross and all he does for me and Annabelle, so I wanted to make sure that his birthday wouldn't go unmentioned in this post.

We celebrated Christmas eve and morning with my family. We spent the night at my parents house. We all got new jammies, as usual, and so did the kidlets. Mine also double as exercise attire (I am not sporting them in any of the pics however).

Annabelle opening her stocking....with the help of Miss Bradee Jane, of course.

Cooper and Anna playing with the cups that were in her stocking. You can stack em' up on top of each other (which Anna loves knocking down) or inside of each other. Nothing special, but she liked them.

Anna got some new books from Grandma & Grandpa Overman...which are always a hit with her.

But I think her favorite toy was her new xylophone. All the kids, and grown ups, had to take their turn playing a song or two. It has only been a few days and the nose seems to be getting continuously louder.

Annabelle got a plethora of toys from Santa, her aunts/uncles and both grandparents...to many to take pictures and post. But I had to show off my favorite new dress for Anna. Just as I work at AE for the discount...my mom works at Gymboree so that we can use hers. Shopping for Annabelle's clothes are just as fun as shopping for mine.

Later that night we went to the in-laws for Christmas and to celebrate Ross's birthday. We had dinner, cake, and ice cream and opened presents. Did I mention I love the holidays?!

Ross got surround sound and an dvd player/up converter for the new tv.

As well as a new flat screen monitor for the computer....men and their electronics!

I was spoiled again this year. I got everything I asked for including, but not limited to: weights, a new exercise ball and workout dvds, clothing of all sorts, whitening strips, a massage certificate, many gift cards to restaurants, the 2nd season of The Office and a membership to Costco.

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas. We love you all and are grateful for your friendship.

First Birthday

We celebrated Miss Annabelle's birthday with our families on Sunday at my mom's house. Anna had her cousin Bradee to help her open her presents. Most kids like the wrapping paper and boxes at this age...not Anna, she liked the toys!

She got toys, stuffed animals (monkey, of course), books and clothing...thanks everyone for the great presents!

Annabelle's cake. I made 2 because I expected Anna to at least play in hers. WRONG!

She loved being sang to and being the center of attention (no surprise there), but she didn't want to touch her cake. Maybe it was too big? So I cut her a slice. When she finally touched it she did not like the sticky feeling the frosting created in her hands. She would just stare at her hands and mush the frosting in her palms. I even tried feeding some to her and she didn't want anything to do with it. It was all quite anti-climactic.

Today we took Annabelle to the doctor for her regular check up. I was really hoping that she would hit the 20lb mark so she could sit in a forward facing car seat. She weighed in at 19lbs 5 oz. So close! The doctor said to wait a few weeks and hopefully she can get a new car seat - I know she would enjoy sitting forward a lot more so she can see everything.

**Side Note: She was 29.1 inches long (47th percentile) and in the 75th percentile for her head. She got her shots, which she did not like, and now is crying herself to sleep on her HUGE pillow...kidding.

Drumsticks and Thunder Thighs

This is a short post, but last night Annabelle was hanging out with her cousins and getting picked on because of her size...as usual. So I challenge each of you to guess who is who...Annabelle will be a year tomorrow, Maddie is 10 months today and Cooper is 7 1/2 months.

My family teases me that I don't feed my daughter (which I do!) and that she will forever have chicken legs like her mother...I am sorry if the latter is true.

I know it really isn't hard to guess, especially in this last picture. I like this picture however, because you can tell how Anna can't sit still ever! Yesterday she took 3 whole steps by herself from me to grandma Dinsdale; it won't be long till she is walking.

P.S. My post title is like the before and after on Wheel of Fortune - I love game shows.

Utah vs. Utah State

Last night we went to the U of U vs. Utah State basketball game with some friends. Ross and I put on our Aggie shirts and put Annabelle in the only blue shirt she owned and we ventured out for a good time.We had a really good seats, that just happened to be in the middle of a sea of red. However, everyone was still nice to us...maybe because we weren't wearing their wrong kind of blue (if you know what I mean) or maybe because we have such a cute daughter. There were a significant amount of Aggie fans who attended as well.


This was Anna's first basketball game and she had such a good time. The hawk came right by us and she couldn't take her eyes off of him. He gave her a high five and then shook his head at me (my Aggie apparel).

Even though we didn't leave until 10 PM and her bed time is usually around 8:30, she liked staying up late. She loved being around so many people and having lots to look at - she couldn't sit still.

This would be my wonderful friend Ally who attends the U of U, but used to go to USU...hence the neutral colors. Thanks again to her and her husband for the great seats. The Aggie's lost big time; they were no match to the HUGE guys on Utah's team.