felt little kicks from the outside last night!

Yup, 18 weeks, 5 days pregnant with BP2. I lost over two months of my life in a haze of sickness and exhaustion, hence a semi-event-filled summer that I refuse to document. I would like to, but it is creating this pressure that makes me not want to blog. So I will say that, while this hopefully not our last child, I thought never again many times from late June until mid August.

Oh, and Annie is a hilarious, ABC-singing wonder-child.

She is just funny. This morning Chris let me sleep in a little and they were making pancakes but they couldn't find the syrup. I heard Annie say, "Mommy will find the syrup." We are working on emotions - happy, sad, mad, surprised, etc. - I asked Annie to make her mad face this morning and she said, "NO! I want to be happy!"

does this count?

first paragraph TMI warning....

We have been working rather halfheartedly with Annie about peeing on the potty. I figure we will go cold turkey with daytime diapers when I am home for two weeks at Christmas if we're not there yet (she'll be nearly 2 1/2 then and dammit I am back with the parentheses!). The problem with this is that she now knows how to take her diaper off and does it often. As I had her ready for the tub last night, she started peeing down her leg, so I pushed her on the potty that was right there and she finished in the potty! Yay????? I think maybe it was a coincidence, but a milestone all the same.

In other news, Annie talks, talks, talks all day long. She knows hundreds of words and is constantly surprising me with all she knows. She knows her colors, ALL foods (future chef like dad?), obscure body parts, and she loves knowing who is who. And what belongs to whom; e.g. Daddy's beer, Nana's yogurt. And where everyone is; e.g. Daddy running? Daddy watering plants? She likes to talk about her friends, stuffed animal friends and school friends and family friends. I learned a couple weeks ago that she could count to ten when I heard her just a-countin' in her crib on the baby monitor as she woke up from a nap! She skips six at least half the time. (that was a former parentheses phrase - perhaps I should have just left it in regular font). She knows her ABC's in and in-and-out fashion, knows a few in a row, hums a few, says a few, claps and cheers at the end! She likes imaginary play and tea parties. She is getting out of the parroting stage and has started actually answering some questions. I have also noticed that her memory has improved. For example, we went down to see Meghan last week for her birthday and Annie keeps talking about her. Well, she talks about Penny maybe a bit more, as in, "Penny Meghan's dog." I didn't notice much of a bond there, but Annie sensed something. Here is a silly video from today. I am figuring out my webcam. sorry for the bright light in the back. Also, here is an old video (maybe 3-4 months old) that is a little weird (I think Annie is sick or either JUST woke up) but I don't know what else to do with it and I like the way Chris whistles at the end.

hair

This is one of Annie's first hairdo's back in September 2009:

Annie is a cute girl. She has a sweet little face and a nice, shy personality and a pretty smile, albeit with some, um, interesting, teeth. But her hair is her best feature! She likes to have it done. She looks in the mirror and says "pigtails?" "bows?" "barrettes?" "pretty!!" It is fuzzy and crazy but fun. She uses conditioner every day but sometimes still has bad hair days.

Sometimes it is totally under control, sometimes completely wild, but always absolutely adorable! her little pigtails actually look like pigtails, and I am going to be so tired when her

curls stop defying gravity!

new york city in italics

I have a very annoying habit while writing of overusing parentheses (I am sure you have noticed this). I do it here, I do it in emails constantly, and I am not sure why. An old friend named Kevin who I thought of out of the blue yesterday once told me that I write emails like a 12 year old but that was okay because he could hear my voice when he read them (this was when I was overusing ....). I think I mostly use parentheses because I think fast, I type fast, and I want to add new thoughts but I don't want to figure out where they logically fit in. Anyway, OUT with parentheses, New York City was so fabulous that it is time to move on to a new literary style.

Anyway, do you find this quote depressing?

"All the lives we could live, all the people we will never know, never will be, they are everywhere. That is what the world is."

-Alexander Hermon

Chris says this is depressing, but I disagree. Not that it is incredibly uplifting, but it is truth. Our lives our products of choice meets destiny and we have to be happy where we are. Bloom where we are planted.

Anyway, in another life, I would have been a hip urbanite! Don't they talk about New York in the springtime or something? It really is that great.

Chris won a trip to New York City for being such a work superstar, so we traveled to NYC with 44 of our closest Sysco friends :) We walked and wandered, held hands, ran through Central Park, had a fabulous late lunch/early dinner at one of Chris's favorite chef's restaurants, saw a rockin' Rock of Ages, went for a breathtaking sunset cruise, and capped it all off with a couple hours just hanging out on a rooftop being cool with my cousins. It was so nice seeing them. We had a great time and enjoyed each other, but, even more so, maybe fell in love with Sysco a little bit again. It is simply wonderful having a husband who enjoys his job. The view from our hotel room and more:

happy beach days

We had a beautiful, joyful Easter with glorious weather. The azaleas, a month late, are finally in bloom and it is just so easy to love life.

It is a special thing to see the world through Annie's eyes. I love her so much she brings tears to my eyes. She has no memory whatsoever of last summer (which she loved). It is all new and all great. She love, loves the water. She is not a particularly fearless or adventurous child. She leans more toward caution, sitting at the top of the slide and building up her confidence before pushing off. She is so brave in the water though! She will go in up to her waist and does not want to be helped, but she likes me to stand right there. Then when she sees a big wave or feels a big wave pulling her feet, she can reach out and hold onto my leg. We cannot keep her out of the water, and it is only 63 degrees. Yes, she is my daughter. And when I finally have to pick her up and carry her back to the sand, I see our shadows, which have long legs and heads with matching halos of curly fuzz.

beach

Yesterday was, finally, lovely. I went for a quick run and then Annie, Toby, and I went to the beach while Chris went for his run. It was fun and beautiful but more than I could handle. Toby was so stoked to be at the beach that he was going crazy, chasing the ball and swimming and generally running around. Annie decide she wanted to go in the water and was doing okay until she was completely taken out by a small wave and rolled in her perfectly dry clothes. Before pictures:

birthday "week"

The last time I had a birthday week was probably in Gainesville. Back then, birthdays were definitely several days long but usually lasted at least a week. A perfect example of this was Jessica and Ellen's 21st birthdays, which were two Thursdays in a row, giving us all a two-week party.

I really am surprised and a little traumatized to be leaving my 20's behind. This is less traumatizing that surprising. I am 30.....? 30...?! What does this mean? I can't actually remember my 20th birthday, but it probably went something like this: BBQ at Royal Village, maybe some time by the pool if it was warm enough, beer, then maybe capped off by a night at Grog. I was single at this point, enjoying the Gville life. Ten years later, life is different: calmer, slower yet busier at the same time, happy, better. Yes, different, but I would say better. In some ways my life now is surprising but also could have been predicted. At this point in my journey, I am confident and capable, loving and open.

Now, away from the middle-aged rambling and back to the basics. My birthday started with dinner at our house and drinks at Fly's Tie on 3/20. Chris made a meatless feast, and many of my favorite people took their time to celebrate me! :) What feels better than good friends? My real birthday, though somewhat dampened by the transmission news and a horrid case of laryngytis, was fun and celebratory when we went to dinner with Nana, Mom, and Dad. Today, a trip to the zoo put the finishing touches on a very special and memorable week. A few pics:

Giraffe:

Annie, Chris and an elephant bum:

Annie and Grandma: