More Spring in my step...

"The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another. The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month."

Fisherman's Luck , Henry Van Dyke (1899)

Yesterday Annabelle learned the meaning of soft...while we were playing with a branch off our pussy willow tree.

Then we counted 31 robins in our backyard. So now the small girl is "tweet-tweeting" all over the house. Which of course, makes me grin.

Also, here are a small bunch of crocuses that I found timidly peeking up at me.during a stroll around the yard.

The miniature daffodils I planted in pots last Nov. and then relegated to the darkest, coldest corner of the garage are just now unfurling their sunny yellow splendor.

It may be premature, with snow in the forecast for tonight but we will not let that keep us from at least pretending that we are already quite under the enchanting the spell of spring.

Signs of Spring

I must be in the mood for spring because today I:

1. Wore capris
2. Had a iced coconut latte
3. Let Annabelle crawl all over the front lawn
4. And planted sweet pea seeds

Now all we have to do is wait, and hope for the best.

So fun to be one!

How old is baby?

One!

Happy Birthday, to the nicest, dearest little girl we know.

What a joy you are Annabelle Lucy!

Where you'll find me today, Feb. 14, 2007

Under the weather. Very under the weather.

Our valentines and the big birthday party preperations have all been put on hold until my small daughterie is done being under the weather. We are in the middle of our 5th full day of dealing with a very naughty flu bug that has made itself quite at home in Annabelle's little tummy. Add a bunch of teeth that are trying to make an appearance and you have one very miserable baby and one very distraught Mommy.

We have been singing lots of songs and reading lots of books and rocking and cuddling...When she wants one of us to sing she'll crawl over to us and start, for lack of a better word, humming, "bye....bye...bye" to remind us it's time for a song. Rock-a-bye-baby is her current favorite. It's so sweet. She's a little song-bird and will often hum along...And singing seems to be a great comfort to her right now, so we've been doing a lot of it, as you can imagine.

On Friday, David felt so bad seeing his baby in such a sad and pitiful little state, that he brought a bouquet of red tulips home from work for her...It thrilled my heart of course that he would do such a thoughtful thing, but then he is always doing thoughtful things because he loves us, and because he is a wonderful, wonderful guy! He came down with it on Sat but is back to work today and feeling fine, thankfully. :( So far the sickie bugs haven't gotten to me. We'll see how long that keeps up.

I am hopeful that we'll soon be on our way back to healthy. But sooner rather than later, would be nice.

This :

“ Know you what it is to be a child? It is something very different from the man of today. It is to have spirit yet streaming from the waters of baptism; it is to believe in love; to believe in loveliness; to believe in belief; it is to be so little that the elves can reach to whisper in your ear; it is to turn pumpkins into coaches, and mice into horses, lowness into loftiness, and nothing into everything, for each child has a fairy godmother in its soul.”
-Shelley-

Has got me pondering this:

At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, " Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 18 : 1-4

The little face that brightens all my days...

A fresh Start...

It's been a while since I last hit the, " publish" button. I have missed it. And even though I feel like I am leaving a big gap by not having written since before Christmas, it's just a little too overwhelming to think of picking up where I left off, all those weeks ago. So instead of filling you in on the last month, I am going to start fresh, with something that doesn't take a lot of remembering, a random re-telling of the thoughts and joys that have been on my heart and mind., today.
Naturally, that means I am about to talk about my sweet little family. Especially, our dear little daughter, who is my constant wee companion. And a source of non-stop delight.

For starters, here is snippet from a comment I left for a friend of mine who has such a lovely, lovely little blog, telling her about the excitment stemming from Annabelle's morning nap, relating to to all the excitement stemming from her very own little girl's nap, which you can read about here.
" Funny you should mention Audrey's crib/snot escapades in today's post because not minutes before Reading what you had to say about that I went in to check on a very quiet Annabelle who had been napping for a unusually long time...only to find her much to my horror, happily peeling and eating pieces of the cork off the bulletin board I have up next to her crib. She was so pleased with herself...I had no idea she could reach it from her crib...needless to say the bulletin board is being hung far, far away from her little reach..."

Words that our isty-bitsy, teeny-tiny daughter has been saying:

dog-dog
bite ( as in a bite of food)
belly-button ( she said it to David and I the other night…clear as day, you should have seen our jaws drop in astonishment)
pity (pretty) She says it when she is playing with my earrings and I say, " yes those are Mommy’s Pretties, be gentle!")
peas (Please)
yay!
duck
quack
bath
button
eeeka-oo ( peek-a-boo)
shoe
sock
yuck ( often copy-catting one of us for telling her to spit out whatever she just put in her put in her mouth from off the floor!)

And the new Word of the day: ooon ( i.e. balloon) She saw a smiley faced helium balloon at Fred Meyer’s tonight and it gave her such a thrill…I think know what Daddy is going to be getting her for Valentines day...Also while shopping, David decided we were going to dump out the contents of our canvas shopping bag and replace them with our baby…he get’s these silly inklings in the store of all places…and boy was she ever happy all tucked in her little swinging pouch.

Some of her Favorite Things:
Strings
Tags
Buttons
And Junk Mail(finally someone around here who appriciates it)

She loves giving kisses…And of all the kinds of kisses there are in the world, aren't baby kisses are the best? She opens her mouth slightly, leans in and lightly rests her tiny lips on yours, for well, quite a while…And Until this last week she was holding out on kissing her Daddy ( we think it has something to do with his scratchy facial hair) but now it’s a all I can do to get a kiss in edge-wise…and let me tell her Daddy is beyond pleased.
It was so cute, the other night as we were about to drift off to sleep , out of nowhere David asked me if I would like an Annabelle-kiss…
“From you?” I said.
“mmm hmmm.“
“sure.”
…the imitation was so perfect it sent me into a fit of giggles.
‘shhhh…you’ll wake the baby.” He wispers, smiling.

She waves all the time…she even waves at “things.” When I bring her out of her room from a nap, she’ll wave at the piano or the stove, or just out the window at the kitty.
She throws her hands up in the air, over her head and grins proudly when we say…“how big is baby?” “Soooo big.” Her poppy taught her how to do this over Christmas. My mom used to do it with me when I was a baby…

Does twirling is count as a hobby? If not, it should be. We have spent the last few nights dancing around the kitchen…with Christmas money from my Dad, David and I picked out a under the cabinet CD player to go in the kitchen…We have been having more fun in our music-filled kitchen. And Annabelle loves twirling, it makes her giggle and that, makes me giggle.

And now I need to run. Baby is all tucked in for the night and David and I have a date planned. We are going to play a cut-throat game of Phase 10 on the living room floor,watching Loony Tunes and eating chocolate. After all, this is precisely what Friday nights are for!

Pretty in Pink

I wish I could tell you that I just got in from are pulling a rosy-cheeked, tightly bundled Annabelle across the yard in a little red sled, the snow falling softly like lace down around us.
Instead I'll tell you the truth, that I am watching out the window as sheets of wind-blown rain,
pelt the side of the house. Not exactly the sort of weather you wish for at Christmastime...

I wish I could tell you our Christmas Tree glows from floor to ceiling, with sparkles and twinkles. Thankfully our little Annabelle has enough Holiday sparkle and twinkle of her own, to make up for the lack of tree, trimmings and usual Christmas decor at our house. We decided this year for all intensive safety purposes that maybe it would be better not to have real live pine needles, bark and twigs and such kicking around the house. Especially since Annabelle at any given meal, would just as soon nibble on bark as cheerios.
I didn't think I could cut out the Christmas tradition tree cold-turkey, so David graciously agreed to a mini tree, well actually three. One for each of us. They are about 8" tall. They are real. And really very cute. So that, on top of the anticipation of the big and beautiful Christmas trees to be enjoyed at at both Poppy and Nana's and Papa and Mor-mors and everywhere else we go over Christmas, more than makes up for not having a big tree of our own this year.

It feels like Annabelle is growing faster than ever. Her arms and legs are getting so long and she's fast. She gets around the house like a flash of lightning.
She loves to clap, dance and sing Christmas Carols. Her favorite is Feliz Navidad. Seriously.
She absolutely goes nuts when that song comes on the radio or if we sing it to her.

This morning she said the word button! Twice. If babies had hobbies, hers would be buttons.
That, un-folding the laundry, emptying out drawers and quacking like a duck.
The other day she said grandpa to my dad over the phone...
he was so proud you could almost hear the "buttons" popping off his shirt.
But I have to say my current favorite word that she says happens to be saying is: Ma-Ma.
The other thing that we are trying to teach her and is how to blow kisses.

Her constant beaming face and contagious laughter fill our house and hearts with more magic than a dozen Christmases.

That being said, may your Christmas be filled with more JOY than you know what to do with.

Which one do I use for our Christmas Cards?

 

My sweet wee girl lass...

Priceless...

You mean happiness to me...

" She's doing her part to make this world a cuter place to live in! "

Annabelle and I have been staying with my parents in ID. while David is away for job training. Being back in the house I grew up in, laying in bed at night, in the bedroom where I spent countless hours between sleep, dreaming about when I am a "grown up," wondering what the future holds in store, imaging the day when maybe I would have my very own daughter who would love to dream away the hours in this little attic room covered from floor to ceiling with blue ribbons and pink roses as much as I did. Letting the realization sink in that I am in fact right now, living out those very dreams. It's as if almost overnight, yesterday's dreams, have become the today reality.
The lull of soft rhythmic breaths fills the room. Peeking down into the crib I used to sleep in, on her chubby dimpled angel-face, I am overwhelmed by the enormous amount of love, of happiness and delight this wee girl-baby brings me, her Daddy, her Grandparents and Aunts and Uncles, to anyone who is blessed to know her.
As the meaning of her name suggests, she is a perfect and beautiful picture of God's grace. A shining light in a too often dark, depressing world.
Annabelle Lucy, you fill our days with laughter and our hearts with joy. You are our happiest happiness. I can't think of a single thing in the world, I'd rather be than your very own Mommy.

such a lovely little thought...

" The smile that flickers on baby's lips when she sleeps-does anybody know where it was born? Yes, there is a rumor that a young pale beam of a crescent moon touched the edge of a vanishing autumn cloud, and there the smile was first born . . ."

We blog to know that we are not alone...

" Why do you blog? " Someone asked me that the other day. It’s a good question.
Blogging for me is a window to the outside world, a creative outlet, a cup of coffee and a visit with a friend, a support group, a place to spin the tale of our happy little life, a record of Annabelle's baby days.
I blog because I am afraid that if I don’t I will someday look back on our life as this wonderful fuzzy blur…And I don’t ever want to lose the sweetness of these days. I don't want the simple, ordinary, day-to-day joys to fade from memory with time.

So life becomes a treasure hunt.

A challenge to see things from God's perspective. And to never stop thanking Him for the glimpses of joy of truth and of beauty He sends every day. To recognize, when David's smiles at me, numberless times in a day...it's God wispering, " I love you." To know that the delight that sparkles in the eyes of my tiny daughter, is nothing less than the joy of the Lord. To watch every evening, the sunset splendour as it glows across the hills and know it's Love, written in color, framed in by the corners of my living room window...a gift so exquisite, so personal. Or how often through the words of a friend, it occurs to me that I have just been divinely hugged .

I long to document His grace. Leave hints of His faithfulness for Annabelle to someday uncover. Proof that He is with us. Evidence of His goodness. A history of love. Our history.
Everyone blogs for a reason. Now you know mine.

strands of change...

This morning I feel like making oatmeal for breakfast…not because I particularly like oatmeal but it just seems like such a fitting way to start out this nippy mid-September morning. It‘s the sort of day some people would call dreary. I happen to view a dreary day, as long as it is not followed by 17 consecutive dreary days, as a friend.
It’s the kind of day where you wouldn’t be surprised to see squirrels rushing about with tiny wheel-barrels full of acorns, or have a random wave of nostalgia come over you as you notice for the first time, a strand of red leaves trailing like a scarlet ribbon, down the big oak tree outside your kitchen window… and you think, summer is being replaced. Silently, gradually and inevitably replaced. Evidenced by subtle color changes...by the smell of apples in the air…or the urge to throw on a sweater before running out to see if the mail has come, by the crunch of already fallen leaves…
But more is changing around our house than just the seasons. Our days have been full of comings and goings, of company, and of growing. Annabelle started crawling over Labor day weekend and is happy to introduce, with a great big grin, the two very cute new teeth she has sprouted.
She is infatuated with shoes and tags and will crawl half way across the house to explore Daddy’s cowboy boots or play contentedly for the longest time with, not her toys, but the tags on her toys…as you can see she is also very fond of the keyboard:
Khyxev v glnj h b8un xkol,,l98ik, yfvt v ft 6 bnfj ntuy cttr
I on the other hand, besides keeping an eagle-eye on her…have been busy with a series of cleaning “ fits” and “tirades,” determined to stay one step ahead of the small nation of dust bunnies that live under things in my house… namely because Annabelle is increasingly fond of eating them.
Yesterday she was following George, our cat around the living room. She finally got close enough to pet him…and I was thinking…”aww, now isn’t that so cute…she loves George… “ when she stuffed his tail directly into her mouth. I shrieked of course and George has once again and quite permanently, become a strictly “ outside cat.” Not that I think this extreme-borderline-paranoid-clean-bug will last for long. Or that our future children will never be allowed to munch on a occasional dust-bunny, poor things.
But for today, I am a first time mom. Perpetually enchanted by the curiosity of my precious 6-month old. Not wanting to miss out on a single smile or look or squeal…the carnival of senses she uncovers in a single exploratory trip across the living room. All of it makes me smile and wonder at the miracle of growth…the beauty of life… of design and development…and the love of God….
And all of this while I am spooning in sweet potatoes, or changing a poo-ed-bum, while I am reading ’ Where is Baby’s Belly Button?’ Even while hunting down renegade dust bunnies. " It's nothing short of an education"...I think to myself as I look down to find Annabelle staring out the window, her bright little eyes tracing the patterned leaves as they scatter and skip across the afternoon sky...

" love found it's way into their hearts and got comfortable."

For days, I have been wanting and meaning to curl up in our office chair, with a nice steaming mug of peppermint tea, and plenty of time to catch up with all of you…
But there has been a minefield of:
laundry, dishes, errands, phone calls, projects ( like cleaning out our garage, matting and framing a stack of pictures ), visitors and visiting-s, my renewed determination to exercise regularly…and a baby girl who has a growing aversion to taking naps, and one very unfriendly emerging bottom-dwelling tooth, as well as a very hard-working, hungry husband…
…between myself and the computer screen.
Yesterday was a bewitchingly gloomy sort of a day. The wind whistled around the house like a teapot set to boil and then forgotten… I imagined writing a post all about it…Or about being all cuddled up in bed the other night, and remembering out-loud the summer we spent falling in love. About how I had to get up after David fell fast asleep and haul out the album stuffed with old love letters and pictures because I couldn’t sleep…About the goose bumps I had in the middle of the night, caused by the return of all those lovely feelings…
About how first there had been the hope of love, and how that had become love’s gentle unfolding. I was a girl in-love with a boy, a common, everyday sort of occurrence I know, but he was a boy who was not as much of a boy as he was a man…and a man who I had measured all other men by, a hero of a man, my hero. Suddenly I was acutely alive with the sensation that everything, everywhere and everyone was and beautiful and wonderful. Life simply glowed with romance! The memories with a thrill, sent me back in time. And then I thought about how our love has changed shape since then (quick example: the definition of a date has gone from the typical, going out to dinner and holding hands across the table, or a long drive and a picnic, to…David asking me tonight if I wanted to have a “date” with him out in the garage, once Annabelle was soundly asleep for the night ) and deepened over the last three years. I wanted to write all about a favorite quote of mine that went, “ So then love found it’s way into their hearts and got comfortable. “ And how I feel we have lived our way into those very words.
I wanted to write about just this and so much more, but the morning slipped right through my fingertips and before I realized it, Annabelle and I were on our way out the door and off to spend the afternoon at Me-Ma’s…then home, then dinner, a tired fussy baby to put to bed, then a counter-full of dishes to wash by hand since my dishwasher has been broken for a while…the day was gone. And wouldn’t you know it, today has gone away too. Bedtime is fast closing in on us.
A nice little slip of pearly moon is out for the night. And it’s actually chilly enough that I may just have to go dig out a wool quilt, for our bed.
I ’ll leave you with the words of my husband from earlier tonight, for they perfectly express what is in my heart…

“ honey, how did we get so blessed?”