From birth to month 3

I've taken a picture of Annie each month in our big green chair to document how much she is growning... here they are so far :)

Hold your head up high

Annie is getting so big and strong! When I help her roll over on her tummy she can lift her head up and look around. What a cutie!

A few more Easter pictures

Belated Easter pictures

So I'm a little late but better late than never right? Annie had a great time on her first Easter. My mom came for the week before Easter and kept Annie that whole week while I was at work. I will forever be amazed that she managed to do an amazing job watching Annie while also cleaning my house, making me lunch, having someone come in to clean our carpets, and doing a little redecorating that looks amazing. I struggled to take a shower while I was home on maternity leave... hmmmm... I'm hoping mom passed these ridiculous multitasking skills down to me and they just haven't come out yet???!!! I will keep you posted but don't hold your breath. Anyways, Brad came over to for the later part of the week. Annie loved meeting her Uncle Bard and they became fast friends. We had an Easter party on Friday night when we died Easter eggs and gave Annie her Easter basket. It was really fun. Then on Easter morning we woke up and the Easter bunny had come and hid eggs all over the yard. Will helped Annie find them and then we headed to church. I love Annie's Easter outfit that I got at the Kid's Clothes Connection consignment sale... Aunt Jane found it of course! It was actually way too big and I was planning on having Annie wear the top as a dress but it was a tat too short so we when ahead and wore the giant pants giving her the effect of hammer pants. Of course she could pull it off though :)

Annie's Dedication

April 5th was Annie's dedication at church. Mr. Jim took Annie up and down the aisles and introduced her to all the members explained that they will be her choir directors and Sunday School teachers and mission trip chaperones. Then we said a prayer and sang Jesus Loves Me. It was so wonderful and Annie did so good! She just looked around at everyone and was totally happy. I've heard Jim has a perfect record for no crying and Annie helped him maintain that... I was really nervous we would break it... wheeeew! Then afterwards Jane organized a beautiful lunch to honor the day. Thank you to everyone who was there and who helped. It was so cool to look around the room and see the people who will be there for birthdays and graduations and other special occasions for Annie. We are so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends.

Annie's first party

Annie went to her first party last weekend. Our church hosted a party for all the babies and pre-schoolers at Town Creek Park. There were games and a moonwalk and snacks. We just socialized a bit as Annie's not quite ready for those things but had a great time! By the end she was pooped out. It was especially fun to hang out with Elizabeth, one of Annie's friends in her class and meet her parents Kathy and Jason. Annie has all girls in her class and it will be so fun to watch them grow up together!

Highwaters are awesome

3 months what? Whatever! All of Annie's 3 month outfits are now highwaters... so much for those! They were adorable while they lasted!

My Flower Power Friends

I had the opportunity to go to an institute about service learning last summer at Martha's Vineyard. I was of course thrilled to go because hello... it's Martha's Vineyard and I am passionate about the concept of service learning and was excited to learn more. I was a little nervous though because I was going for a week with four other people I hardly knew. Well, turns out we had an incredible experience and the other members of my team of some of my favorite friends. We ended up playing cards every night and implemented the flower power rule... would take too long to explain... and wore flower power Black Dog tie-dyes for our final presentation. When we got back my wonderful friends threw me a baby shower and Ralph got Annie her own Black Dog onesie. It is actualy sized at 6 months but little Annie is sporting it now. She looks so cute! Thanks Ralph!!!

3 months old

I can't believe that Annie is 3 months old today! She is laughing more than ever and loves to talk. She also loves her toys now. Anything that moves, lights up, sings, etc. is a big hit. It's so cute to watch her. She loves to play with her toys and will play for hours. She is also starting to realize she can actually control those things attached to her arms (aka hands) and we have reach the point of everything is better when it's in your mouth. I love it! We are working on grabbing things and rolling and we're making progress. Here are some more recent pictures...