Starting early

Just catching up on the news.

Just some new pictures

During that fabulous weather we had on Saturday, I was able to get some really cute pictures of Annabelle.Plus, a few weeks ago, Annabelle got some new light-up shoes that I had to show everyone.

And, of course, I had to so an updated piano lesson. We have one probably once or twice everyday. I just hope she continues to be this enthusiastic about practicing the piano throughout her teenage years.

Rooftop troubles

Yesterday was supposed to be a very enjoyable and productive day. We had unseasonably warm weather, an absolute gorgeous day (if only it would last). In the morning, I went to a practice for our ward's Primary program, which took place today, while Michael got in some quality daddy-daughter time with Annabelle, which included a very long walk while Annabelle rode her bike. When I returned, the plan was to finish the project Michael started last week of putting up a rooftop antenna that would provide us with network channels, such as ABC, CBS, etc. Then, by the end of the day, we would able to watch all sorts of sporting events on tv, including football games and the MLB playoffs.
Michael purchased the antenna and necessary parts and began the process of putting it up last week, but halfway through he changed strategies and it became too dark before he could implement the new plan. So, yesterday, he bought a few more parts to make the process a little bit easier. However, things did not go as planned.

He got the antenna set up on the roof, but then he discovered the cable he bought to run from the atenna to the tv was just a little but too short and he had to run back to the store to exchange it for a longer one. Once he was back and it was all set up, we discovered that we only received one of the eight promised channels, and it was not one of our priority channels. I guess we didn't get a strong enough antenna or something, because after all of Michael's hard work, we weren't getting what we wanted and nothing we did changed that. So, Michael then spent the next hour taking apart his day-long project. As you can see, Michael wasn't happy last evening. It was not a good day.

Annabelle's Halloween costume

When my friend told me that she was making her son a Halloween costume this year, the thought of making Annabelle a costume sounded really fun and appealing. However, I have very, very limited sewing experience (the extent of which includes making a rather hideous-looking outfit back when I was like 10. My mom was kind enough to let me pick out the material we used even though she probably knew it wouldn't look great and helped me sew a shirt and shorts). My friend, who knows enough about sewing to be able to make a darn good-looking turtle costume for her almost one-year old, was kind enough to offer to help me make whatever I wanted for Annabelle.

This is the first Halloween that Annabelle is old enough to understand somewhat what is going on and the first year that we've lived in a neighborhood where there are lots of kids that will be coming to our door. (I think last year, we had a total of like 4 trick-or-treaters.) So, I got really excited.

Soon after, we went to the store to look at patterns. After debating between a ladybug and a princess, we decided to make a princess dress and Annabelle picked out the material (which was, of course, a very girly pink color). According to my friend, it wouldn't be too hard of a dress to make, but we did hit a few confusing spots along the way. Thank goodness she knew what she was doing because there is no way I could have figured out how to make it on my own. Here are a few pictures of the process.
And here is the finished product. Add a crown (which I'll get later), ruby red lips, big eyes, pink cheeks, and whatever else princesses have (according to Disney movies) and Annabelle is well on her way to becoming a real princess as well.

Annabelle's piano lesson

At first, it was hard to have piano lessons with no one else home to watch Annabelle. But, it has been several months now since I started teaching again and she has learned correct "Mommy's teaching a piano lesson now" behavior and usually stays in the back and watches a movie. After an afternoon of lessons, Annabelle was tired of being left out and asked me to give her a piano lesson. Here is a video of what she learned in our one minute lesson.

Inside fun

Because it's been so cold outside, here are some of the things Annabelle has been doing lately to keep herself busy inside. She and I each colored a piece of paper and then taped them together to make a crown. She loves it. We just have to be careful because it's so fragile. We've had to tape it back together probably about 5 times, and we just made it yesterday.
Then, Annabelle received a package from her great-grandma which included some dress-ups. As soon as she saw the dress, Annabelle had to try it on and likes to keep it on all day. Add her high heeled purple shoes and our homemade crown, and she looks like quite the princess.
We've also had our friends Christy and her son Nico over a lot lately, and Annabelle and Nico have enjoyed playing a game of "come and get me". It was so funny to watch, but of course as soon as I got the camera, they kind of stopped doing it and Christy had to jump to get the game going again.

Just in time

Annabelle's winter coat from the last two years has become too small for her and Saturday, I got her a new one. Apparently, I got it just in time too because today we had our first snowfall and a high of only 39 degrees. The coat I bought is going to be a great one. It's one of those 4-in-1 types if coats, where you can use it 4 different ways. It's a size 4 and it also came with mittens and a hat. The coat fits great; however, I am extremely disappointed in the hat. Either Annabelle has a large head or the manufacturers accidentally matched a size 12 months hat with a size 4 coat. As you can see from the picture, it's a pretty tight fit. But Annabelle was very insistent on wearing it during our walk. It never stayed on for very long before I had to pull it back down. Anyway, I wasn't quite ready for snow yet, but since I have no choice now, I will happily embrace the new season.

Playing with our food

Last night, we had leftover chicken alfredo and breadsticks. I put some noodles and 2 breadsticks on Anabelle's plate, said a blessing, and we began eating. She went immediately for the breadsticks, holding one in each hand. As I was bending over my plate to take a bite of my food, I hear Annabelle say, "Hello. How are you? I'm fine. I'm eating noodles". I look up to see Annabelle holding one breadstick up to each ear. As she sees me looking at her, she said, "I have two phones". I starting giggling so hard, I almost spit out my food. But I had to quickly regain my composure and tell Annabelle that we don't put food up to our ear. It's not polite to play with our food. I was trying to tell her these things with a straight face becase if she saw me laughing, she wouldn't have stopped and would continue to rub breadstick remnants all over her face and hair. Apparently, I did a good enough job of looking normal that Annabelle stopped and didn't do it again. But, holy cow, it was funny.

Pumping in the cold

Even though the weather has changed drastically in only a matter of days and it's quite cold outside, Annabelle was very insistent that we go outside and swing. I tried to tell her it was too cold, but she really wanted to. We managed to stay outside for about 7 minutes before she decided it was too windy and cold. However, in that short amount of time, I was able to get a quick video of her pumping on the swing. She's not perfect, but she sort of understands what to do.