Wrinkly Toes

Annagrace has been sleeping trough the night since she was two months old. But lately she wakes up two or three times a night. A dare not feed her b/c I don't want to reward her and start a pattern. (I enjoy my sleep!) She does sleep better when she has a bath right before she goes down for the night. So, I thought . . . longer bath = more sleep (MAYBE???? I'm grasping here!) So, I let her stay in the bathtub for a long time and just play and play (she is a little fish) hoping she would ware herself out. When I got her on the changing table I just starting laughing . . . her feet were all wrinkly! I left her in the water so long she shriveled up.

(Side note: Annagrace has, what her doctor called, a cyst on her heel. She said it is totally normal and will go away on it's own. Has anyone else ever seen this?)

And while I was trying to take a picture of her foot Annagrace found it hilarious when I would touch her hand. She would stick it over the edge, I would barely touch it, and she would laugh, laugh. laugh! I wish I would have videoed it - sound makes ALL the difference.

President Hinckley

I just heard about the passing of our beloved Prophet, President Gordon B. Hinckley. The news brought me to tears, which made me feel a little silly at first, but there was just something about that cute little old man that always made me smile. I have always felt a connection to him though I have never been closer than 100 ft to him, but I guess that's all it takes. The moment he stepped foot into the Marriott Center (during a devotional when I attended BYU) there was a rush of the spirit through my entire body . . . so STRONG . . . so REAL . . . that I KNEW beyond a shadow of a doubt that this man was a man of God. This same rush was experienced again on BOTH occasions that I was blessed to attend General Conference. He had a cute, gentle way of leading and guiding. I will never forget the instructions he delivered to us college students: "Don't be a scrub." Within a day at least half of the dorm rooms on campus had the quote plastered on their doors and walls. He was a great man and I loved him dearly. But I am so happy for him and his adorable wife Marjorie - that they can now be together again.

9 month Check-up

Annagrace went to the doctor yesterday for her 9 month check-up. I can't believe how fast time is flying by. But everything is great! Her length is growing faster than her weight at this point. Which doesn't surprise me, since her Daddy and his family come from the land of giants. But, all of the nurses and the doctor just loved her to death. As soon as we walked into the exam room Annagrace looked up, saw the huge Pooh bear and Tigger dangling from the ceiling, and immediately waved her little arm and, with all her 9 month old southern accent, said "HE-EY." I overheard the nurse out in the hall telling the doctor about how it "made her day." And that, of course, made my day.

In other news, she has started pulling up within the last couple of days. She can pull herself up onto her knees, but needs just a little bit of help to make it all the way up to her feet. She is also pointing. I'm not sure why or at what, but that one, precious little finger is flying all over the place lately.

Beach 2

Here are a few more beach pictures that were taken with the other camera. (I almost forgot about them!)
Tyler is already trying to teach her how to drive!

This is at Bayou Bills - they have a huge stuffed Alligator in the lobby.

LOOK at that SKY (I know I should be saying look at my baby) but seriously, it was gorgeous! I can't wait to go back in the spring when the temperature matches the appearance. (I swear - no photo-shopping here!)

AHHH. . . the BEACH

Tyler had a couple of days off so we headed to Florida to visit my adopted "Mom" (Laurie's Mom) who moved to the beach and I mean ON THE BEACH. This is her condo building and she is on the 8th floor. It's a beautiful condo! Annagrace was excited to see Grandma Betty and the beautiful beach. Look at that water behind her . . . makes you just want to jump in (if the water wasn't FREEZING!!!!)

We immediately went for a walk on the beach. I couldn't wait to get my feet in the sand.Afterwards we made a quick run to Target. We forgot to bring our swimsuits and "Mom's" condo complex has a hot tub and a heated, indoor pool. So we bought make shift swim-outfits, I guess you could say. Then we went to dinner at Bayou Bill's. I wish I took a picture of our seafood platter (more like table top) of food that Tyler and I shared. It was delicious though.

Today we got up and went for another walk on the beach. Annagrace wore her warm and cozy bear pjs - she is the cutest Teddy Bear I have EVER seen. Here are a few more pictures:

Then we went to Gulf World and had a blast but freezed our butts off. Luckily there were several things indoors so we could warm up between the outside shows.

Annagrace tried a sippy cup for the first time while we were in PCB. She did okay but I don't think she has the whole idea down yet. We'll keep working on it.

My album - if I could sing!

I copied Tara's game - it's fun! Pulleys Mill

They'd never expect it
(You can go to her blog for the instructions)

I'm so PROUD!

Well, I've been thinking for a while now that we have a future designer on our hands because Annagrace shares my love of fabrics. She will just study and feel a new fabric, she is fascinated by the different textures. But, tonight was a very proud moment for this decorator Mommy. . . Annagrace read her first House Beautiful. I am now daydreaming of how she will live out my fantasy as a REAL (REAL = get paid) Interior Designer, maybe in New York . . . she'll have four page spreads in Architectural Digest, wear the latest fashions and to-die-for shoes, carry the cutest purses, lunch with the oh-so-fabulous . . . and maybe, just maybe drag her ancient Mommy along with her. (Can you tell I've been watching Cashmere Mafia???)

Girls Lunch

So I hosted a Mommy lunch last week and we enjoyed it so much that we decided to make it a weekly thing. So, this week we went to Jenn and Tyson's house. The kids had fun playing and the Mommys had fun chatting away. Our lunch was Jenn's super yummy homemade soup, Heather's homemade bread, and my cranberry, almond salad and apple crisp.

Annagrace enjoyed Cheerios!Look at Heather's adorable prego belly! I love it!

Splish Splash

Annagrace took her first bubble bath tonight and she LOVED it. She kept kicking and grabbing at the bubbles but when she didn't get the satisfaction of being able to hold them she gave up and played with her trusty rubber duckie. Check out those baby blues!

Just daily odds and ends

I have been helping some friends decorate their new house. While I was busy I let Annagrace play with/empty the diaper bag (she loves bags - she's such a girly girl) but she found Mommy's little side pocket and ended up with this:

Annagrace is trying lots of new foods now. At first she gagged a lot, even on tiny pieces of bread, but it seems like she has gotten over it. We have quickly progressed from the tiny pieces of bread to Rice Crispies . . . to Cheerios . . . to pasta . . . and now graham crackers. But I have to say the Rice Crispies were my favorite. It was so cute watching her little finger pick up those TINY little Rice Crispies and put them straight in her mouth. Tonight she had a lovely dinner of Rice Crispies, graham crackers, and a jar of sweet pea baby food - DELICIOUS!

Walking

Well, we tried to go walking Wednesday morning but it was absolutely freezing!! I know I sound like a whiny hinney to all of you Utah and Idaho people but it was 22 degrees outside AND super windy!! We made it around the neighborhood once and had to come home. Annagrace looked so cute all bundled up and she stayed pretty warm and cozy in the stroller except she had a bright red nose and watery eyes by the time we got home. So, I guess we are going to have to be Mall walkers or something, anything indoors!

This is seriously how she fell asleep the other night. I promise I did not pose her!

Resolutions

Wow, I can't believe another year has flown by. It seems like it was just yesterday that I was 6 months pregnant and we were stuck on I-19 for 19 hours on our way home from our Christmas vacation to Idaho. (They closed the road we were on and we were stuck on the interstate - no food or water or BATHROOM for 19 hours - Thank goodness for truck drivers!) Anywho, I am so thankful that we are entering this fabulous new year as we, a family, not we, a couple. This year Annagrace will learn to walk and talk, have her 1st birthday, and hopefully a first haircut. She is growing so fast and I know I will be sitting here again on 1/1/2009 saying I can't believe how big she is. She is a beautiful baby with the cutest personality and sweetest demeanor. I know all Mom's think this, but she is the perfect baby!
As for me, I want to do New Year's Resolutions (and actually stick to them), but it makes me a little nervous to lay them all out here online. I will be accountable, others will know if I am succeeding or failing. But, maybe that's a good thing. So, here goes . . .
1. Read my scriptures daily. I know I should have concurred this goal as a child, but shamefully I have not.
2. Make a daily effort to recognize Heavenly Father's hand in our daily lives. As President Henry B. Eyring spoke of in conference:"I wrote down a few lines every day for years. I never missed a day no matter how tired I was or how early I would have to start the next day. Before I would write, I would ponder this question: “Have I seen the hand of God reaching out to touch us or our children or our family today?” I want to do this, I may even make a little craft project out of it (that I saw in another blog).
3. I want to glow. You know what I mean, glow with the peace and happiness that draws others to you and your spirituality. I think the two previous resolutions will help with this. The missionaries really struck a cord with me one night. Their spiritual thought focused on striving to have a Christ centered home, a home where the spirit can be felt by all who enter. They said that they definitely felt it, but it made me wonder if EVERYONE can. So, I guess my resolution extends out to my home as well - Do others feel the spirit when they are in my home and with me.
4. Make time to read. I need to learn to just walk away from the TV and read. I love to read, but I love the TV more, so I find myself only reading when we are driving or flying. There are so many books that I want to read, but never make the time to do so. Tyler even gave me a very nice book for Christmas: Jane Austin The Complete Novels. I want to read it from cover to cover by June!
5. Be more outgoing. I really surprised myself this last year. I really tried to break out of my shyness shell and meet new people. By doing so I have made at least three new, very wonderful, life long friends. I want to continue this and be even more brave this year. As part of this, I want to get to know people that I already know. You know, the women at church that you are friendly too, and exchange pleasantries with on Sundays, but never make an effort to see them at any other time during the week.
6. And of course, the cliche resolution: work on my weight. Get back on track with healthy eating and exercising. Towards the end of last year I was doing really well with the exercise part so I just need to continue and try to cut out the junk/fast food.
7. And last, but not least . . . build my little bow business into an empire!
Well, there you have'em.

Parting Shots

Here are a few missed photos from Thomas' visit.
This is how we found the two of them the night that Thomas was babysitting.

Annagrace's souvenirs from the World of Coke.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

We went to Sigi's house for New Year's. Annagrace was an angel, of course, and entertained everyone all night long. She only make it to 11:00 (not that I was tring to keep her up). But, I went in and grabbed her so that I could at least be holding her on New Years.