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.

Twelve Months: Annabelle

One year old. My tiny baby is ONE YEAR OLD. I'm not even sure I understand how this happened... it seems like just yesterday, I was finding out I was pregnant... and the next thing I know, nine months had passed, and I was delivering her... and now 12 (!!!) more months have passed, and she's already a toddler and no longer a little baby. Life sure isn't fair that way. 

We celebrated Annabelle's birthday two days early over Labor Day weekend so family could be in town. It was small since nearly all of our friends were traveling for the long weekend (they don't get many breaks in pilot training, so when they have the opportunity, they take it!), but it was so much fun anyway. Little Miss enjoyed all of the attention, getting to be outside, and of course her cake and ice cream. 

I think we created a monster, though. She now loves sweets. Oops. 

The next day, we all went swimming in the hotel pool that my family was staying at. Annabelle just loves being in the water, so we knew it'd be a fun birthday activity for her. She loves her whale, but she also loves trying to dive out of it. Little Miss Independent just wants to do everything on her own.

After swimming, we went to Braum's, where her great grandma got her some blue birthday cake ice cream - her first time eating ice cream at a restaurant! She loved it and kept diving in for more with her mouth open.

Dan and I had an unexpected date night after all of that since family was around to watch Annabelle. We had a fun time, but then I realized how upset I was that I didn't get to put her to bed myself on her last night as a little baby... so we snuck into her room when we got home so I could take a picture of her last sleep before she turned one. Look how peaceful and angelic she looks. Aww. And that was her last night in that size of pajamas too - she's now fully into the 9 month size there! My sweet tall girl. 

When she woke up, we had a little balloon party in bed! Dan helped me blow up all the balloons the night before, and she was so amazed at them. I don't think she'd ever seen one, let alone played with one, before. She loved having them around, and we let her play for about a half hour (supervised, of course). Her little face is filled with such joy! 

Before her grandparents and great grandma had to leave town on her birthday morning, we took Annabelle to Cracker Barrel for the first time, and she really enjoyed it. She ate SO MUCH FOOD (which she totally does now - she eats constantly all day long... I have no idea how she's so small!) and waved at every single person who walked by our table. She's such a flirt. 

I can't believe that in one year, she's gone from the teeny tiny baby in the center to a big(ish) one year old! Time sure does fly once you have a sweet baby to spend all your time with.

I won't be posting monthly updates anymore because it seems like overkill now. I really wanted to record her first year with as much detail as possible, though. Thanks for following along as I did that! I will still share about Annabelle, of course, and post lots of pictures... and I'll probably make an update post about her every three months or so.