Sunday, December 6, 2009

Missing WI


It is always this time of the year that I begin to miss WI. Not so much ALL the snow, but enough that makes it feel like home. Every year, with the exception of this current year, we have had the entire winter season with barely a snow flake in sight. There is honestly something about sitting in your house (hopefully because school was cancelled and no one can go anywhere), sipping a cup of tea/coffee/hot cocoa, watching the snow flurry down in a rush to blanket the ground in a fresh new look, that just "feels" cozy. If you have never had the pleasure of being in a snow storm, or heavy snow fall, then you have missed out. (The aftermath, however, is pure annoyance - shoveling, scraping, sliding, ice, cold, bundling up, wearing 10 layers... Wait, this post is supposed to be about missing WI!)

This year we were lucky enough to experience a bit of that. I woke Sat. morning to snow drifting down from the sky. You would think I thought it was Christmas, that is how excited I was. I roused Jon from bed and quickly made a hardy breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast. Then we bundled Anna up and made our way outside for a little snow fun.



Anna was so excited about putting the carrot in the snowman's face. She thought it was the best activity ever. Well, almost the best activity until Jon started tossing snowballs at me!




We continued our winter-filled fun activity day with ice skating. The girls joined us and I believe this year was much more successful than last year. I practically had to drag the girls off the ice rink. Anna, however, was not too fond of ice skating and preferred the coffee/hot cocoa and cookies that Jon and she went to celebrate making it 2/3 of the way around the rink! ;)

If you look closely below, maybe you can see the only pic I got of the two of them skating.
By the end both Juana and Veronica were becoming fairly proficient at skating and were actually letting go of the edge of the rink!




Last I leave you with a parting photo of Anna. She found a pair of goggles and tried them on.






Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Thanksgiving 2009

Here are some pics from Thanksgiving! We had LOTS of fun visiting w/ family and were very sad to see them depart. Luckily, Christmas is just around the corner!!





The boys crashed after Thanksgiving dinner. Must have been good :)




It is hard to get a good shot of a little person in motion in the house!! This was about the best one of Anna in her hat.



Here is that goofy hat!!


Heidi Jean


Sweet cousins (Don't ask me what was up with that hat Anna is wearing)



Visiting the geese



Getting a push from Papa Baker


Aunt Ashley w/ the girls


"Higher Grandma!!"
Heidi gets a little help from Papa Baker



Friday, November 20, 2009

Anna's annual professional pics

We had Anna's yearly pics done (I love the fall colors so we had them done in the fall). If you would like to take a look at them go here:

http://meganparkerphoto.com/photocart

Your access code is "Anna"


You will need to register for an account in order to view the pictures but it is super easy. Once you have registered, it will prompt you for your assess code (Anna). From there you can view the pictures. Let me know which you like!


Thursday, November 19, 2009

Random pics


So I have finally gotten around to loading pics from my camera to my computer. They are from the last few weeks. This first one was from my birthday. MMMmmm... MagPies cakes! Yummy. (BTW - Thank you Liz for the MagPies gc. I am saving it for a cupcake emergency - I feel one coming on soon!) Notice the little fingerprints on the side of it? Yup, that would be Anna sneaking a taste while I was taking the pic.

These beauties were a gift from our lovely next door neighbors, whom I am sad to be reporting, are moving soon. (BTW - Anyone looking for a delightful home close to me??)

Ah, I reluctantly will introduce you to the newest member of our family - Baby Kitty. It looks like she is here to stay - tail-less and about a sweet as sugar. She follows me everywhere and is completely devoted to me. Apparently she knows who to suck up to! (It was Jon to get in the house and me to stay!)
Here is a Sat spent with this Baker household. We were bored so after some errands we stopped by McKay's Bookstore. Anna takes her book choosing VERY seriously.


Look Mom! It's raining (in the car apparently).


Lovin' the chocolate goatee.



Typical weekend morning in our house. (Notice in the pic below how much of the bed Anna requires. Yes, that is my side of the bed and yes, she does come in at about 5 am every morning.)

Anna decided that Dad needed to "Air out the dogs." so she took his socks off for him.

And here Dad convinced her to give him a little massage.

Here I am at 16 weeks pregnant. I am as of today, at 17 weeks 5 days. Not much change to report though.

Finally, we come to the end of a day. See all the "La-La's"? We are currently up to 8 of them.


Thank you for joining us on our random picture journey. We miss everyone back home and can't wait to see everyone again! And a BIG THANK YOU goes out to all my wonderful friends who helped make my 30th birthday awesome!!

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

The Pumpkin Patch






We had the joy of going to a pumpkin patch after an extremely rainy evening. Let's just say, it was so muddy that they canceled the hay ride!! :-( Luckily Anna didn't really notice. Enjoy the few pics we got before we gave up and went home.

BTW - These pictures look really dull when I post them on this website - Is it me or is it my computer? They look fine when I pull them up on iphoto!!

Monday, November 2, 2009

Brief update and Halloween fun



Here is a brief update on the goings on of our family. It has been a very busy October and I may have to break up the pics in a couple of blogs.I will start from the end of the month and work my way back.

Life has been good at this house. Halloween was fun but wet. Jon even got into the spirit!



We took the entire crew (plus 2 of their younger siblings) trick-or-treating in a friend's neighborhood. The kids had a blast, despite the rain. Eventually Jon had to get the car for the little ones as they were too tired. Anna really enjoyed being out and getting candy. She is handling the candy desire very well and we don't get TOO many requests. :)




Anna hiding from the rain.

As for the pregnancy, things are going great here. I have found that I can not handle the smell of apple scented candles, air fresheners, and basically anything that smells of artificial apple. Amazingly, Yankee candle doesn't really seem to upset me too much but I tend to stay away from that scent these days. Oh, and there is some smell to my car that really bothers me on some days. I keep trying to talk Jon into letting me take it to the cleaners and let them clean out the car....

Currently I am at 15 weeks (that would be the 2nd trimester) and I don't feel as tired as I once felt. I am not showing at all and it looks like this pregnancy may turn out to be similar to the last - as in I may not show much until the last month.

Lots more to share. We made homemade egg rolls and went to the pumpkin patch. I'll post more pics later!

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Anna's pics

We had Anna's pictures taken by a local photographer and the few that have been posted are amazing!!

For a sneak peek, go here:

http://meganparkerphoto.com/2009/10/almost-3-knoxville-childrens-photographer/

Monday, October 12, 2009

The Many Personas of Anna

The many personas of Anna


From a fiesta celebration...


To a mad hatter...

Then a fun lovin' playground chick...

Next a cooking diva...

Finally a doting daughter!