Last weekend was cousin Melissa's wedding in Visalia, so we headed out to the valley for another fun weekend. They asked Kyle to marry them, which meant we got to be part of all the fun activities! Friday night included rehearsal and a delicious rehearsal dinner followed by a fun night of bowling! Because we knew we would be out late both Friday and Saturday night, we stayed at Jon and Sarah's house so that we could find one baby-sitter for Annaliese and Reed, and so that she could go to bed and not have to be woken up once we came home. It was a wonderful plan and I think Annaliese and Reed had a great time together! On Saturday, Kyle didn't have to be to the wedding early, so we were able to spend the day at home with Jon and Reed. Grandpa, Grandma, and Mama Joan came over for a little while as well.
Looks like they were discussing something serious!
Thanks Mama Joan for the cute pants...they came with an adorable jacket that Annaliese did not want to try on for the picture!
Goodbye kisses
The wedding itself was absolutely gorgeous. Melissa looking so beautiful and happy. And Kyle looked pretty good himself, standing up there in the front as Deputy Commissioner of Civil Marriages. Yep, that was his title for the day. In California, anyone can marry anyone...you just fill out a form at the courthouse, pay a small fee and they give you the title:) (Granted, it's only valid on that specific day, in that specific county, for that specific couple!)
Our best attempt at a family photo before we headed off to the wedding
Before heading back home on Sunday, we were able to stop for a quick, unplanned visit with my good friend Julie and her husband Travis. We haven't seen them in quite some time so it was good to catch up...they were gracious enough to put up with Annaliese making a mess of their house and trying to play with their cats (who had no interest in playing with Annaliese!) Kyle was also able to catch a little Sunday afternoon football! Unfortunately, I left the camera in the car.
My little peanut is just a few months away from being two already! The time is going by so fast, and while I sometimes wish it would slow down a little, I also love watching her learn and grow each day. It is amazing and so refreshing to watch her little mind work, to watch her be fascinated by new things, and to watch her little personality develop. I am afraid I am going to have my hands full with her! So what is she up to these days? Sleeping: Pretty much the same as it's been: She goes to bed around 7:00 pm and sleeps until between 6:30-7:00 am. (This morning I got lucky and she didn't want to get up until 7:45!) She takes one afternoon nap, usually starting around 1:00, and lasting for anywhere from an hour and a half to 3 hours! I am so fortunate, because she is actually really flexible in her nap schedule so if I want to go to the gym in the early afternoon and put her down later, she will go down with no problem (and still go to bed on time) or if I know we have something later in the afternoon, we will eat an early lunch and take an early nap...and again, she usually has no problems with that! Annaliese likes to sleep with her blankie, her 'duck' (which is really a penguin!), and her book (The Picture Bible)...although she doesn't need any of them when she goes to the baby-sitters house!
She sleeps in a variety of positions, sometimes on her back totally sprawled out, and other times curled up in a ball with her blanket pulled over her head! It's always very cute:)
Eating: Annaliese loves to eat...but her favorite foods are definitely dairy products! She would eat yogurt, string cheese, and cottage cheese all day long if I'd let her! She usually eats whatever I make for dinner and one day she might love it and the next day not want anything to do with the same food! This morning she couldn't get enough scrambled eggs with spinach!! She also takes after her parents and has quite the sweet tooth...I think she's as excited as I am that candy corn are now readily available!
Teeth: We have finally started to see a few new teeth come in...3 of the 4 canine's are making their way in very very slowly. Thankfully, she is tolerating it much better than any of the previous teeth! We are still waiting for the second set of molars.
Activities: Annaliese loves anything active! She still loves to be outside, swinging or going down the slide. She likes to go on walks, but only if she gets to walk, not ride in the stroller so getting exercise is becoming more difficult for me! She also enjoys helping me in the kitchen, building with legos, reading (I keep trying to get a video of this because it is hilarious!), doing somersaults, and buckling/unbuckling anything that has a buckle!
(She's getting better...sometimes she can make it all the way over!)
Clothing: Most of her things are 18 mon or 18-24 months. There are a few 12-18 mon things still in the drawers! Shoes are all size 5 now. And she definitely loves shoes...she will sit and put them on and take them off for a very long time!
Let's see, what other tidbits of information might I want to remember down the road when I look back? Her vocabulary is expanding every day, with her most frequently used words being 'nack' (snack), 'hites' (lights), 'stuck', 'pees' (please), 'tank you' (thank you) and 'bobby' (any sort of hair bow, pony tail holder or bobby pin). She will repeat the names of most animals, and can readily identify dogs, kitties, and turtles. We watched a show on tv last weekend about predators/prey which was all about lions, cheetahs, deer and antelope. Everytime a lion or cheetah came onto the screen, she got all excited and say "kitty, kitty!" (I know, maybe a weird show to watch with an almost-two-year old but she loved it!!) Annaliese doesn't seem to have any interest in counting or colors, so I guess those skills will come later:)
Kyle was at a men's retreat with some of the guys from work all weekend, so it was just Annaliese and I! We didn't have any big plans besides relaxing and catching up on sleep:) Well, that was my plan, anyways. We started out with running errands on Friday and then met up with some work friends, Stacey and Nancy, for sushi. They both had to work, which meant we didn't go until 7:45 Friday night, well past Annaliese's normal bedtime. But she was a champ and did wonderfully. She even tried some sushi...she was not a fan of the seaweed, but enjoyed the rice and some of the fish!! She also entertained quite a few people in the restaurant...it's a small place, and she started getting antsy so I let her walk around a little bit. She was all smiles! Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures:( I was hoping that since we didn't get to bed until 9:30 Friday night, that she might sleep in on Saturday morning, and I guess she sort of did. She slept until 7:30, which is much better than 6:30!! We filled our day with a walk around the neighborhood, a stop at the park, baking pumpkin muffins (after all, it's fall!!) and reading books.
Come Saturday night, Annaliese was a mess and was more than happy to play in the bathtub! Lately, we've just been having her shower with us, so being able to play for awhile was a special treat!
Sunday was filled with going to church, watching football and checking out the local concert in the park.
It was a good weekend, and while we had a great time together, it sure was nice to see Kyle walk through the door at 5:00 tonight!
Last weekend we headed to Visalia and Grandpa and Grandma Gillette's house for a hot, fun-filled weekend. We got there fairly early on Friday and Annaliese wanted to swim right away. It's been awhile since Daddy has seen her swim, so she was able to show off all her skills!
doing a beautiful starfish (i.e. floating on her back and catching her breath)
She then flips back over and swims the rest of the way.
After getting out of the water, Annaliese and Grandma said hello to the puppies and then came inside. Auntie Sarah, Uncle Jon, and Reed came over for dinner and Annaliese and Reed were able to have some play time together.
On Saturday, we celebrated Melissa's bridal shower; we all went over to Auntie Sarah's house early so that she and Grandma could get things set up at the country club where they were hosting the shower. Mama Joan, Kyle and I had some time to play with the munchkins before Mama Joan and I joined them for the party. Kyle was on babysitting duty and seemed to handle two kiddos just fine!
Snack time!
Lunch time...thanks for sharing your chair Reed!
And here are just a few shots of Annaliese looking cute:)
After Melissa's shower, we left Grandma and Grandpa's house and went down to Visalia to my friends, John and Alecia's house. They just came home from a trip to Michigan, but were still gracious enough to let us come for dinner and spend the night. We haven't seen them in awhile, and it was so good to catch up! Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures with them.
Annaliese feeding her snack to their dog Reese
Knowing that we would be heading home, which meant 2 1/2 hours in the car, before we left John and Alecia's house we took a quick walk to the local park for a little playtime!
Thank you to everyone for a wonderful weekend! It is always so good to get over to the valley to see our friends and family!
