18 Month Update - Annabelle

I know, I know. I'm WAY behind again. Blogging just hasn't sounded enjoyable lately for whatever reason. But I know deep down that I want to document our lives (especially Annabelle updates!) so we can read back over them someday.

That's why I am sharing her 18 month update today completely out of the blue. I haven't posted in over a month, and then I show up just to talk about my child. Typical, right? Ha - sorry!

It has already been two weeks since Annabelle turned a whole year and a half old. How all of those months have passed by, I'm still not sure. Sometimes, the days really do seem long (especially right now while Dan is in pilot training

Annabelle has grown quite a bit since her last update at 15 months old - she is now 33 inches tall and weighs 22 pounds! She is tall and skinny, just like her mama used to be. Now, I'm just tall... and not so skinny. She now has 14 teeth (okay, actually 15, as another one has popped up since her actual half birthday), and she is as feisty as ever - and we LOVE it!

Since her last update in December, Annabelle has traveled to Kansas City and Joplin to celebrate Christmas, San Antonio for her dad's centrifuge training, and Dallas for another wedding (Nate and Margot). She went to the San Antonio Zoo (her 4th zoo!) and has exploded with words! Her vocabulary grows daily, and right now, she's up to about 30 words she uses pretty regularly (but not always on demand).

Annabelle still runs constantly - she is nonstop motion. She is still obsessed with all things duck and Daniel Tiger, and she is really starting to love owls as well. She can count to three, and she is wearing mostly 12 and 18 month clothing.

Our little Annie (what we call her most of the time) sleeps through the night from about 8PM until 8:30AM or so. She has started and completed a class at the public library about playing with a purpose, where we both met some new friends. She enjoys playing at the park, going down slides, and jumping on the trampolines at Urban Air. We're looking at getting her into a toddler tumbling class as soon as possible, but we're waiting for Dan's drop night so we can KIND OF know what to expect in the months to come. More about that soon...

It is such a privilege being Annabelle's mama. She is ornery and stubborn, but she has such a big heart as well. She loved fiercely, and she gives the best hugs and kisses. She is my little shadow, and I wouldn't have it any other way!

Next Annabelle update will be her 21 month update in June! How?! HOW?! My girl is growing up way too quickly.

Half Birthdays are Only Half Fun

As you know, Annabelle turned six months old last weekend.

I am still flabbergasted myself.

Despite not knowing how that happened, I still wanted to commemorate the milestone, and when I found this "half" onesie, I knew we had to take some photos.

Unfortunately, it was super cloudy / rainy ALL WEEK last week here in gloomy Ohio, so we weren't able to go outside to take these pictures like I'd hoped. We also weren't able to get good lighting... or even decent lighting... but I did my best with what I had.

I just adore this picture of her crying. This is why she has the nickname Waaaaaannabelle. She's just the cutest tiny human ever when she's angry.

And these five are my favorites out of ALL the photos we took (which was practically a billion, ugh) - she has the sweetest little smile, and I just love when she grabs her toes! She's really starting to play more with her feet, and it's fun to watch as she realizes they're attached to her. She can't quite get them to her mouth... this child is not very limber.

I wish we could have fed her half of a cake, but I'm not planning on giving her sugar like that until her actual birthday. It's kind of a rite of passage. But maybe we'll do half cakes in the following years!

Do you celebrate half birthdays?